refe | creative deconstruction

Fan Participation and the Democratization of Music

Posted on 28. Feb, 2010 by refe.

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Digital technology continues to transform the music industry. Most believe that this transformation is causing the industry to evolve into something new that will resemble nothing that has come before it. Others are beginning to suggest that perhaps the music industry is instead reverting back to a state closer to how it all began. What [...]

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State of the Music Business at the Millennium Music Conference

Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by refe.

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This past weekend I attended the 14th annual Millennium Music Conference in Harrisburg, PA. Fourteen years is a long time for anything to last in this business. I would imagine that panel topics have changed quite a bit since the conference first appeared on the scene in 1996.
This year members of over 300 bands were [...]

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The Lower Class Musician

Posted on 16. Feb, 2010 by refe.

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For some music is a hobby and that is okay. However, if you plan on feeding your children by touring the Chitlin’ circuit, that’s another thing entirely. When I realized that writing songs for Columbia Records and recording demos with The Fugees wasn’t going to sustain me forever, I had to get adjust my expectations. These gigs were few and far in between and often times didn’t pay half as much as you would expect them to.

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Can Music Stand on Its Own in Today’s Entertainment Culture?

Posted on 03. Feb, 2010 by refe.

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Did you watch the Grammys? I didn’t.
Music’s self-proclaimed “biggest night” celebrated it’s 52nd year this past Sunday with one of the most colorful, over-the-top spectacles in the broadcast’s history. Pink pulled a Cirq Du Sole while dripping wet and suspended from the rafters. Lady Gaga played a duet with a rock and roll icon who more recently [...]

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Why Innovation Is Not Enough to Build a Brand (Or a Band)

Posted on 01. Feb, 2010 by refe.

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Innovation is important. It elevates a product beyond simple retail and causes it to become a catalyst for change in the marketplace and culture. Innovation is also notoriously elusive. Today’s stroke of genius could be tomorrow’s old news. Worse, that first-to-market concept you’ve been hustling to get out the door could be short-circuited by the [...]

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100 Resources for DIY Musicians from Label 2.0

Posted on 06. Jan, 2010 by refe.

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Greg Rollett of Gen-Y Rock Stars and Label 2.0 sent me an email this morning letting me know that he had just published a new report called 100 Resources for DIY Musicians, and that he had been kind enough to include Creative Deconstruction as one of those resources.
The report is a follow-up to last year’s [...]

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Why You Should Be Excited About the Independent Music Industry in 2010

Posted on 22. Dec, 2009 by refe.

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Many bloggers and artists seem to be ending 2009 on a note of cynicism. While the year began with a sense of excitement about new possibilities available to artists, the independent music community has begun sounding unusually negative lately, even jaded. It’s like everyone is racing to be the first to declare the DIY revolution [...]

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Creative Deconstruction, the Music Industry and DIY in 2010

Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by refe.

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As 2009 comes to an end I thought it might be a good time to evaluate how things are coming along here at Creative Deconstruction. I began work on the blog around February of this year, and published the first posts in March. Since then I’ve humbly watched as a nice little community has developed [...]

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The Only Reliable Way to Get Your Band Covered on Music Blogs

Posted on 07. Dec, 2009 by refe.

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Despite my reluctance to chime in, I have noticed an important omission from most of the articles on the subject of music blog coverage. Very few seem to highlight what I consider to be the most effective tool of them all – relationship.

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Music Technology Recap – November 2009 Edition

Posted on 02. Dec, 2009 by refe.

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This is a guest post by Gabriel Nijmeh, a business analyst and music technology enthusiast.
Another month whips by since Refe first asked me to write the October music tech recap and I’ve really started feeling deja vu. You probably are feeling the same way but doesn’t it seem like we keep discussing the same issues and topics [...]