The music industry is a competitive and difficult game to get into. If you want to be successful you must have the right image. Marketing and PR teams take a long time to help sculpt the perfect image for artists. All to make them relatable to their target audience and attract the right market. ‘Image’ …
If you are interested in the business end of the music industry, you might want to consider a career in Music PR. But what qualities do you need to work in this sector? And how do you get there? Linda Coogan Byrne of Good Seed PR explains to us exactly how she did it. Rising from …
A Session Musician is a career that is often overlooked in the music industry. If you’ve never heard of it, a session musician is employed to perform on stage or in the studio, but is not a full time member of the group. They are often paid a one off fee for each job. Being a session …
Most people, at some point in their lives, think “I wish I could play an instrument” or “I wish I was musically talented”. Well the truth is, you can be! All it takes is a bit of time and the will to learn. But where do you start? // If you already know what instrument …
We’ve all been there… we discover an artist with an original sound, they haven’t even been signed yet, but they’re amazing. All of sudden they change direction and become “mainstream” – that dreaded word true music fans fear. So why does this happen? Joanna Jones takes a alternative look at the world of record labels …
We are fairly used to hearing about a young band being proclaimed as the next big thing in music. Even the most optimistic of music fans these days have started to become jaded by the continuously churning music hype machine. We have been burnt, let down and disappointed before, so it’s no surprise that cynicism …
Beyonce received a lot of stick recently over her decision to mime the national anthem at President Obama’s inauguration. Is the reaction justified? Is the outrage completely understandable? Here’s food for thought … So when is it acceptable for pre-recorded music to be used? What if an artist is ill or feel like they are …
Behind the Job #1 – Game Sound Designer Written by Edel Close For the first in a series of job profiling features, we take a look at a Belfast based sound design company, Hyperduck Soundworks. Chris Geehan and Dan Byrne-McCullough, who founded the company, have worked on award winning Microsoft games and a string of …
Behind the Job #2 – Jupiter Ace Written by Edel Close In this latest edition of “Behind the Job” we talk to Gregory Ferguson, aka Jupiter Ace, about his work as a dance music producer. Gregory has had a number 1 hit in Australia with the Wynter Gordon track “Dirty Talk” and had huge success …
The Role of Music in Football Written by Edel Close With Euros upon us, we thought we’d take a look at how music is used in football. From the anthems to the crazy songs made by the fans. Everyone seems to go a bit crazy, sentimental and patriotic when we come together for major sporting …
Music Buying Habits Written by Sarah Doherty How much do you value your music collection? Do you begrudge paying for music you know you can probably get for free? We take a look at how music buying habits have changed over the past few decades and how it’s affecting the artists you love. Today we …
Linkfest Set for Derry Debut Written by Rory Mooney In a year of firsts, Derry will play host to a brand new festival dedicated to 100% live local music. Coming off the back of a string of successful events and concerts (Peace One Day concert) Derry has shown what an appetite it has for live …
Head Returns Written by Robert Brown Back in January of this year it came to light that Belfast’s biggest independent music store would be closing down. This was met with major disappointment and anger within the local music scene and by the general public, especially when it was revealed that the clothing brand ‘Superdry’ would …
Glasgowbury CD Sampler Reviews Written by Leigh Forgie The countdown to Glasgowbury has begun and for those of you who can’t quite decide which acts to see, Chordblossom’s advice would be to try and pick up a copy of the Glasgowbury sampler, free with last week’s issue of Hot Press magazine. A fantastic sixteen track …
