Three Favorite Things
Tom Paul's Brooklyn Songwriter Circle - Tom Paul is a songwriter/producer in Brooklyn who hosts a songwriter circle twice a month. It's a great place to meet other songwriters of all genres, get honest feedback, and learn about songwriting. The community that Tom has created single-handedly is pretty amazing.
Twitter is still one of my favorite things, as I've met so many people who have become friends and fans, as well as booked gigs and other cool opportunities. This year I also started using HootSuite.com to pre-program some of my tweets so I can organize my Twitter time better, and spend more time making music!
HBO's True Blood - I'm not a big TV watcher, but after hearing people on twitter talk about it so much, I had to check it out. Now I'm hooked!
Something You Learned This Year About The Music Industry
Music is one of Google's top ten searches of all time, and Google is preparing to really get involved in the music space. With its new music search and discovery options, Google has the power to dominate. With their inevitable partnerships with major labels, I'm concerned that Google will become a redux of the old music industry, making it harder for the smaller labels and indie artists to make a dent. It's still too soon to say for sure, but I'm keeping my eyes open.
A 2010 Primer
With Google's plans for music discovery, I believe it's even more important for musicians and bands to have their own blog now. Blogs are updated often, and attract search engines such as Google, which allows for you and your band to be discovered.
Last year this time I was interested in writing a book on search engine optimization (SEO) for musicians, but based on my market research, not enough musicians were interested in that kind of info, much less doing it. Optimizing your band's website or blog for music discovery may be the next frontier, but not a lot of folks want to go to the trouble. 2010 will be a good year to see how the chips fall.About You
2009 found me newly single, which enabled me to overhaul and refocus my music activities, which has been a blessing. I'm cutting back on my teaching and article writing and I've returned to performing with a vengeance. I'm writing songs for myself and others, and I'm thrilled to still be making music after almost 20 years in this biz! I intend to gig even more in 2010, promote my live EP, DIRTY5, and continue building my fanbase. As my spirituality has become a growing part of my life, I have now been invited to perform inspirational music at new venues around the country. I'm looking forward to writing new music in this genre as well, so I'm happy to keep evolving as a musician.
I've started getting my music placed in movies, which had been a long-time goal. This year, I even made my film acting debut in which I performed, and even had a speaking part, which was very cool.
Links
- Blog: http://RockStarLifeLessons.com
- Newsletter: http://TheSoulflower.com
- Twitter: http://Twitter.com/carlalynnehall
- Facebook: http://Facebook.com/carla.lynne.hall
- MySpace: http://MySpace.com/carlalynnehall
