Founded in 1930, The Society of European Stage Authors & Composers began by helping European composers in the United States that were having problems finding adequate representation for collecting their performance royalties. In 1985 SESAC moved their company headquarters from New York to Nashville and they have continued to expand and develop ever since.

Ballestrini’s strong online fan base has had a major hand in many of the opportunities she’s been presented with. She thankfully said, “There was a MEAD Five Star Music Insider contest… and fans would vote for their favorite artists and the winner won $25,000 toward their career and because of my amazing fans, I won first place and they actually found me through MySpace. It was cool to be a part of that.” In addition to the MEAD Five Star Music Insider contest, she also was a member of the If I Can Dream reality web series, and is currently in a contest on TopBlip.com to win a spot as the opening act for Andy Grammer.

“I feel like a conduit for another purpose outside of myself, speaking of the nuances of why people fall in love.” said Rae on singing I Could Get Used to This. “I wanted to use visual interpretations, thus the video, to make the compelling point of the parallel universes between sharing a life and love and the loneliness of being alone.”

I can’t claim to know how inspiration happens. It arrives at unlikely moments, so we carry notebooks and scribble on napkins or sing a few bars of a melody into a cell phone. Sometimes when I play it’s as if my hands and ears are being led. The ideas seem to be coming from somewhere else, and we’re always looking for a way to tap into their source.

There’s a difference between networking and what I would call “social climbing”. Networking is exactly what it sounds like: building your network, your circle of people who know you and your music. One wants to be aware of who’s who and how much weight they carry in the industry, but it’s generally considered poor etiquette to pursue someone higher up the ladder too aggressively. This is sometimes known as “gherming” and is a good way to develop a bad reputation.

In October 2009, the nonprofit Future of Music Coalition posted a blog entry called The 29 Streams, which laid out all of the possible revenue streams available to composers, recording artists, performers, session musicians and teachers based on the contours of copyright law and business practice. The list, which has been re-blogged and re-posted hundreds of times over the past two years, was heralded as the go-to inventory of revenue streams for musicians.

You need to give your fans something that sets you apart from similar bands. Something that draws them in and keeps them there long after the final encore has subsided.

What a producer is generally not: a producer is generally not an agent or manager. A producer’s role does not include getting you signed (though someone with contacts may be able to help open doors for you, don’t ever assume that this is part of the situation). Some people may offer their connections (which may or may not be real) as a hook to attract clients, but I’ve seen many situations where the producer made promises and never made any effort to follow through.

Many independent artists think music placements are unobtainable. Graham Colton said it best, “I never thought about the possibility of it. I always thought of music on TV/film as ‘only for Aerosmith’ or gigantic movie songs.” But now look at him. In terms of licensing music to television, Graham is one of the most successful artists of our day. His songs have been featured on HBO, Kyle XY, Wildfire, Thanksgiving Day Football, and most importantly the boot song on American Idol with “Best Days.”

“Live From Music City” reaches and appeals to singers/musicians who have acheived at least mid-level entry points in their careers. We try to help the artists define the steps they need to take to advance …