Three years ago I started a music blog covering local and national musicians, and aiming to showcase those with not only talent, but passion. Although at first the press releases came in slow and steady, they quickly became overwhelming. This is especially the case when you’re running a one or two person team, as many blogs are.

Though it might be easy to fall into the assumption that labels, magazines, blogs and radio stations are overstaffed and underworked, I’m here to tell you that for the most part, it isn’t true. Although it is true that most music industry professionals want to break the next big thing, they are often not only understaffed, but overworked, and sifting through hundreds of press releases a day can become not only tedious, but impossible.

That’s why making yours stand out is so important. It’s also why so many bands and companies hire PR professionals to handle their publicity. But for those on a budget (and really, who isn’t these days?) we’re here to help you craft your own PR campaign, with a few simple steps. Check them out after the jump. Continue reading ‘DIY Public Relations: What You Need To Know’

Forbes has released their annual Top 25 list for the highest-paid musicians in 2012. While we may wish that it was swarming with OurStage artists (all in due time) we’re certain you’ll recognize and love more than a few of these names.

Topping the list this year is Dr. Dre with $110 million in earnings, to which he owes a great deal of thanks to his Beats headphone line. You’ll also find long time favorites Elton John ($80 million) and U2 ($78 million) among the list, with the fresh faces of Taylor Swift ($57 million) and Justin Bieber ($55 million) not far behind. Check out the full list after the jump. Continue reading ‘Top 25 Highest-Paid Musicians: Do Your Favorites Make The List?’

OurStage artist Delta Rae will be heading out on a co-headlining tour with ZZ Ward this winter, featuring support from Martin Harley. After capturing audiences on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno and Conan, and making appearances in Rolling Stone and on VH1, they’re ready to hit the road and show fans where they really excel: live. Check out all their tour dates after the jump.

Continue reading ‘Delta Rae, ZZ Ward Announce Tour’

With pride for our friend and OurStage artist Jesse Terry, we want to let you know that he’s got a pretty big spotlight tonight on the CW’s “Hart Of Dixie,” which will feature one of his new songs. The show airs at 8pm EST.

If you like what you hear, check out Jesse’s new album Empty Seat On A Plane. He’ll be touring the northeast in early 2013:

January 4:
Guilford CT (Ballou’s Wine Bar)

January 12:
Branford CT (Ballou’s Wine Bar)

January 28:
NYC (Rockwood Music Hall)

February 14:
Londonderry NH (Tupelo Music Hall)

February 15:
Fall River MA (Narrows Center For The Arts)

More like this:

• Jesse Terry’s Planes, Trains, And Automobiles
• Running On Full

These last few weeks it seems like we’ve been posting more celebrity performances than not, and with the wave of awards shows recently, that’s not likely to stop any time soon.

Though there was a ton of performances on last night’s American Music Awards, we wanted to bring you our top five, in no particular order. Check out performances by PSY, Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen, Ke$ha and Christina Aguilera after the jump.

First up, PSY and MC Hammer. Though the pair was the final slot on the American Music Awards, , it was a killer performance that has since gone viral. Sporting the famed ”hammer pants,” PSY and MC Hammer nail it in this performance of “Gangnam Style.”

After promoting her latest album, Red, you’d think Taylor Swift would be a little exhausted. After all, she’s been appearing on every talk show and awards show for over a month now. However, right after accepting her award for Best Country Female, Swift launched into her masquerade themed performance of “I Knew You Were Trouble.” Though we love “Never Ever Getting Back Together” as much as the next site, it was nice to see a shift in performance choice.

Following up Taylor Swift in our performance list, comes the equally adored Carly Rae Jepsen, taking home the New Artist of the Year award and performing on a stage that featured colorful old-school phone booths, and plenty of glitter and glam. Jepsen stole fan’s hearts with “This Kiss” before and “Call Me Maybe.”

Ke$ha lived up to her reputation, with a wild performance of “Die Young,” featuring a light show, tribal drummers and even a drum performance by Ke$ha herself.

Speculated as one of the best performances at this year’s American Music Awards Christina Aguilera took to the stage Sunday night to perform a few songs from Lotus, including the title track, “Army Of Me” and “Let There Be Love.” Not only does this performance showcase Aguilera’s incredible vocal range and multitude of talents, but we catch her smiling once or twice throughout the performance, proving once again the passion she has for the stage.

If you like Christina Aguilera, check out OurStage artist Shianne Mariah Phillips.

More like this:

• Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe” EMA Performance Video
• “Watch This!” Wednesday: Cee-Lo & Christina, Azealia Banks & Wiz Khalifa

While artists have individually expressed quiet distate for the paltry royalties paid out by music streaming services such as Pandora or Spotify, a unified statement from a large group of allied musicians has been noticeably absent. At least until this past Wednesday, when over 100 notable artists signed off on a letter publicly criticizing the Internet Radio Fairness Act. The letter, publicized by the MusicFirst Coalition, a group comprised of musicians’ unions, artists, and record labels, demands that Congress refuse to “gut the royalties that thousands of musicians rely upon” by passing the bipartisan bill, which would dramatically cut the royalty rates that streaming new media services such as Pandora are required to pay.

Continue reading ‘Musicians Rally Against Internet Radio Fairness Act’

Billy Ray Cyrus goes back to basics on his latest album Change My Mind—and it sounds so good.

The title song, inspired by his decision to end divorce proceedings and reunite with his wife, is one of nine tunes that mixes bluegrass, roots, southern rock, gospel and country music for a distinctive sound. Those that only know Cyrus from his work with daughter Miley on the Disney show Hannah Montana, may find the gritty sound surprising, but Cyrus said it’s his true musical voice.

“I’m very proud of this album,” said Cyrus who wrote or co-wrote every song on the album. “This is really who I am. When I grew up and listened to country music, this was the music I wanted to make.”

Cyrus talked about his life as a young singer-songwriter, living in his car and hoping for his big break. Yet when his single “Achy Breaky Heart” from his 1992 album Some Gave All album topped Billboard charts for weeks and went 9x-platinum, it was a double-edged sword. Cyrus was bashed by critics even as sales soared and the album stayed at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200 chart for 17 weeks in a row and became the best-selling debut album of all time by a male solo artist. Continue reading ‘Your Country’s Right Here: Billy Ray Cyrus Gets Back to Basics’

Everyone’s favorite southern music and film festival is right around the bend! Well, maybe March isn’t exactly right around the bend, but between today’s line up announcement and festival details, we’re aching to share the good news about South By Southwest.

Among the festival’s line up announcement was Hawthorne Heights, Charlotte Church, Driver Friendly, Of Mice & Men and OurStage’s own Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown.

SXSW will take place March 12-17, 2013 in Austin, TX, and the full line up can be seen here.

Check back with OurStage, and we’ll keep you up to date on the latest SXSW happenings. Don’t forget to let us know your thoughts on the current line up in the comments.

If you like Driver Friendly, check out OurStage artist Dawnoverzero.

More like this:

• Hopeless Records Sign Driver Friendly
• OurStage Artists Invade SXSW

The concept of the struggling artist is nothing new and in fact, it’s more prominent today than ever before. Playing frequent shows, selling merch and making quality music aren’t always enough to pay the bills these days. Often times, you may find yourself aching to create a new album, some new music videos, or invest in better equipment. But without the cash, what’s a struggling band to do?

Enter: crowdfunding. Most are familiar with the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter. However, Kickstarter isn’t your only option and in fact, not always your best.

Did you know that Kickstarter only accepts 60% of applications and only has a 44% success rate? Read on after the jump for our comparison of three of the top crowd funding sites: Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and Crowdtilt. Continue reading ‘Comparing Crowdfunding; Why Kickstarter Isn’t Your Best Option’

From the minute Florida Georgia Line hit the  stage at a recent Washington, D.C.-area show, it was clear why the duo’s star is rising.

It wasn’t just the ease and enthusiasm they put into their performance—right from the first notes of “It’s Just What We Do”—but a certain mix of confidence and amiability that blends into a palatable charisma. Not that the duo—known individually as Tyler Hubbard of Monroe, Ga., and Brian Kelley of Ormond Beach, Fla. —thinks that way.

“It says Florida-Georgia Line but we know we couldn’t have couldn’t have done it without our amazing management, our booking agent, our whole team,” said Kelley, back stage after the duo’s set opening for Jake Owen, speaking of the band’s first gold record for “Cruise.” “Our manager has assembled what we think is the best team in Nashville so we know it’s for everyone, not just us.” Continue reading ‘Your Country’s Right Here: Florida Georgia Line “Cruise” to Big Time’