We all use social media, see the picture I took from this website. It’s great to keep in touch with everyone. Though often we can’t do a day without it anymore. Despite all great effects of social media, they are also addictive. Dope is short for great and amazing, but also for dopamine. In the ’80s and ’90s, dopamine was known as happiness-hormone that also controls our movements. We produce it in our brains. Now scientists have discovered, that dopamine […]
Last weekend I was invited to the birthday of a friend. Lots of people were there. He invited all of us to visit the dance performance “Pink Cast” by Introdans, by bringing the performance to the party location. What a great surprise! Since I quit to work in theater lighting 25 years ago, I usually don’t visit theater or dance performances anymore. Surprises always have something disruptive. They catapult you out of your routine, into something new. It makes you […]
The most exciting part of being an artist, is to create. It starts to get really good, when you get in a flow once you start creating. The act of creating always results in something new, something that wasn’t there before. You might have an idea upfront where you want to go, though in the end you are often surprise yourself with the result. For everything new you create, you break the borders of what is known so far. This […]
It’s spring, so I’m writing about eggs 😉 Just kidding. The egg is a great symbol. The shell is strong and vulnerable at the same time, just as we are. Music is liberating, music helps you to face difficult situations. Though if you work with live music, if live music becomes your work, the situation turns around. Look at the egg. As long as there are no cracks in the egg shell, you can put a huge amount of pressure […]
Touring is very stressful, for musicians en crew alike. That was discussed this week again at the ILMC. Sleep deprivation and performance pressure are two obvious reasons for the stress. The show must go on, right? Traveling itself can be pretty upsetting to. It all depends on how you feel about home, what you call home. In 2017, David Goodhart introduced the distinction between Anywheres and Somewheres. Anywheres feel at home anywhere. They get their self esteem from achievements in […]
Is there a fair payment, if you work in the music business? How do you define ‘fair pay’? Usually people talk about the invested hours and how much they get paid per hour. But in the music business it works differently. How much you get paid as a musician for a live show is very much depending on how big your audience is and what they are willing to pay for a ticket. The income of an independent manager, agent […]
The death of rapper Malcolm James McCormick, better known as Mac Miller, shows once again how devastating drugs are and how important rehab is for musicians. Caleb Anderson, founder of Recovery Hope, wrote a guest blog for me about how to prepare for rehab. Many chapters of preparation are similar on how to prepare for going on tour, though there are some important additions regarding social interaction. Entering addiction treatment for drugs and alcohol is an incredibly positive step toward […]
As a a songwriter, artist, music producer, and music business professional, you can’t put Jen Miller in a box. I’m happy to interview her about her project Girl Gang Music. Despite her different roles in the music business, she feels that “there’s a strong desire to put women into a box”. That’s partly why she started Girl Gang Music. Jen, how did you become involved in the music industry? I am a self-taught independent songwriter and music producer, originally from […]
Last month there was a huge discussion in the Dutch media about a musician who used internet tolls in the past, to enhance his online profile. It might have been less shocking, if the same musician wouldn’t have recently advocated for more honesty and openness on the internet. What’s gotten into him, what inspired him to do so? That’s a question many people ask. According to his own explanation, he was too insecure and too eager to become successful. Somehow […]
What mental challenges to you have as a musician? And how do you deal with it? That’s the theme of a new series of interviews with musicians that I’m doing. The first one is with Madeleine Davis, singer of Boney M. for several years from end of the ’80s onwards. It’s mentally very challenging to be in the spotlights. What was for you the most challenging part? And why? “The most challenging was dealing with the personalities and mentalities of […]
In January, Sony organized a panel in London about mental health and music. They invited 3 speakers to look at mental health from different perspectives. While the event was planned to be for employees of Sony only, the great response lead them to invite friends in the music industry as well, with in the end more than 300 people attending the event. I invited Bec Adams, one of the initiators of the event, to tell me more about it. She […]
In the last couple of years, I’ve asked myself frequently the question if it’s possible that fame hurts. Usually when I’ve heard of another musician who died on an overdose of painkillers, like Tom Petty, Prince and Michael Jackson. This week I read that Lady Gaga is cancelling at least 10 dates if her worldwide tour because of severe pain, just like she did last year September. Many famous musicians use heavy doses of painkillers on a regular basis, often […]
Last month I did a ‘Career Clinic’ about passion and burnout for students of the pop department of Conservatory of Amsterdam, earlier this month I did a masterclass about this subject for students at the Herman Brood Academy in Utrecht. Passion gives you a positive vibe that can protect you against burnout. And the same passion can make you go too far, so you are more likely to burn out. In Amsterdam I talked to a small group of students. […]
In the Netherlands we’ve had a controversy this week about a Dutch rapper who was stuck with his car. Some young women picked him up, on their way to a party. He filmed himself, using offensive language against the women, and put it online. Would we have this commotion, if the rapper would have been white, or if the women would have been colored? The rapper is confirming the stereotype of misogynist colored rappers. But the whole issue is as […]
Last week, Time Magazine has announced the voices behind #MeToo as Person of the Year 2017. Beware, it’s not over yet. Take for example the scandal we recently had in the Netherlands. Maan, 20 year old winner of Voice of Holland, got sexually intimidated at a live performance at Radio538. She closed her eyes during part of the performance. When opening her eyes again, a naked male stripper was in front of her in the studio. She was so shocked […]
