Nils Rurack

Do you like to hear new music? Do you like to discover new artists that you haven't heard before? Are you getting excited when an unknown song grabs you by the ears and doesn't let go? You have to play the song over and over again and feel the need to tell all of your friends about it? Well, you're in luck because the internet offers endless possibilities of music discovery. In fact, there is such a wealth of undiscovered artists out there that you will be overwhelmed by the mere thought of trying to find something. The available music streaming and download services use complicated algorithms to determine similarity in music and artists based on information that you feed them about your favorite artists, playlists and other available data. Sometimes they compare your taste to the tastes of other listeners. In the end, this method can work out or completely fail. Since every person perceives music in a different way and every artist puts their own talent and creativity into...

Are you a musician or in a band? Are you trying to get the word out about your shows, grow your fan base or sell music and merchandise? It's easier and yet harder than ever before. You can replace facebook in the headline with any other social networking site. There is a flood of social networking sites out there. There are hundreds of online music platforms out there. Where should you start and what should you do? It depends on your goals, level of determination and time to spare. Some sites are a must simply because of the amount of visitors and members they have. Others have tools to offer that will help increase your chances of success. Let me begin by putting out the disclaimer that I don't have all the answers. There are people out there that are in the music marketing business and they scour the web for marketing opportunities each and every day. I can't and don't want to compete with them in the least. But I might have a few pointers that make you want to try so...

It surprises me time and again how few guitar solos can be heard on the radio today. Although the guitar is probably one of the most played instruments in the world and in popular music, its presence is often overshadowed by keyboards, programming or simply doesn't exist. Over more than the last decade even rock music had most of the solos eliminated. There are a few acts that still incorporate solos in their arrangements. I have no idea why things are the way they are. Do bands skip solos to become more marketable and adhere to the "a hit song can't be longer than three and a half minutes" rule? Or is there a legion of hundreds of thousands of guitar players that can play great rhythm but no lead? It will probably remain a mystery to me. However, I do think that it is a shame because guitar solos were an integral part in the rise of rock music in the late 60's, 70's and still in the 80's. Styles that to this day enjoy the presence of guitar solos are blue...

Watching American Idol is one of my biggest pet peeves. I admit it. If you know me you'd probably wonder why since I am extremely picky with everything I listen to or watch. Growing up in Europe I wasn't exposed to too many live shows on TV with live music, at least not at a decent time of day. After I emigrated I embraced the opportunity to watch live performances (good and bad) on a weekly basis during season 2. Also, I am fascinated with the marketing idea behind the show that is pure genius. If you look at the success of the show over 8 seasons with mostly mediocre entertainment you have to admit that someone had a bright idea leading up to this phenomenon. What is Idol? It is a reality TV show dressed up as a singing competition. It is also a marketing campaign to find the public's favorite before they get signed to a record deal. This idea in and of itself is probably the smartest one I've seen in a long time. You ask the public whose record they want to buy and w...

As far as I can remember music fascinated me. I've been told that as soon as I was tall enough to reach the top of my parent's record player I played my mom's old 45s. Throughout my childhood and adolescence I would listen to music, learn instruments and play with others. Apparently I was pretty good at math in high school. Many people told me they were not surprised that I would be good at both disciplines, math and music since they had so much in common. But do they? In my twenties I went to college to study guitar and music. But what was music? That question always stuck with me and I even wrote half my thesis about it. I guess that's where my analytical skills come in. At this point I could translate my thesis and copy and paste it here but that would take up days and way too much space. What brought all this up? Two friends of mine sparked my interest last week by touching on this topic. Ed, one of my favorite internet radio DJ's confronted me with his 4 elemen...