/carltonsmithmusic/images/michael_knight_new101cropped-ID-f25dc910-48ba-4254-95b5-74747d0c4dbb.jpg "Carlton Smith Music Logo")
Photo by Spencer Imbrock During this global pandemic, there are a lot of stories about price gauging and shady actions. There is an old saying that "there is profit in chaos". People and business drop everything when there is panic. When fear and uncertainty hit those who stay grounded can find opportunity. The truth of the matter however is that...
Read MoreHip hop journalist and TV producer Dream Hampton ripped the band aid off the wound that we call R Kelly. In doing so she revealed the puss and disease that runs rampant across the music industry. It’s inconceivable to hear that your idol can be suspected of such heinous actions, capable of demeaning another human being. Sexual assault and human tor...
Read MoreThe secret to success in today's music industry is that in order to make it, an artist must be an entrepreneur. The days of performing at an open mic and waiting for an A&R in shining armor to discover you are over. Today's successful artists don't view their careers passively, they view themselves as active entrepreneurs. The artist entrepreneur...
Read MoreMade popular in rap music and later expanding to other genres, sampling is the practice of taking a piece of existing recorded music and inserting it into a second derivative piece of music. Producers who sample may take a large recognizable section such as a chorus and insert it into their work, or very craftily "chop" the sample by rearranging di...
Read MoreThere has always been beef in music. Jay-z vs Nas, David Lee Roth Vs. Eddie Van Halen, Brahms Vs Pyotr Tchaikovsky, but when differences revert to fisticuffs, or worse, both parties have reached a low place. This week’s kerfuffle between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B made the music business and hip hop particular look bad on a major stage. The famous mil...
Read MoreThe music industry is full of artists that failed and succeeded. It all depends on how they approach one particular subject. The fan. In today's industry the fan has multiple options - listening to millions of songs on streaming media, legacy libraries on digital and physical media, video games, movies, TV shows, books, amusement parks, travel, fes...
Read MoreI recently gave a speech and received a piece of advice I had to think about. A slightly over middle-aged woman approached me and mentioned that she enjoyed my speech but she would have liked it if I didn't swear. During the speech I used the term "pissed off." When I used it, I didn't think of it being that harsh of a term, but I thanked her for h...
Read MoreTalk to many new artists and you hear a lot of the same same things. "I don't need a record label, I don't need a manager, I don't need a publisher, I don't need a booking agent". Wait thirty minutes and you get to the crux of the matter " I don't have money, so I'm forced to find ways on my own to make it but I'm not making an impact." If this is...
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