Industry Talk

With album sales in free-fall, alternative revenue streams are becoming ever-more important. We explain where todays songwriters can look to earn money from their music.

The world of music retail is changing fast, with digital distribution bringing new opportunities for independent record labels. Our in-depth guide to starting, running and developing your own business will help you get up to speed.

If there's one thing most of us would like to know, it's how to make some extra money — and if we can do it through making music or producing audio, so much the better!

Ray Kurzweil brought human feeling to digital synthesis, and his ultimate goal is to achieve immortality by fusing human and artificial intelligence. In the meantime, he's returned to Kurzweil Music Systems to oversee the next generation of music technology...

A recording contract might seem like the Holy Grail, but record labels are not charity concerns and their contracts are not set up with your interests in mind. Our guide to contract terms, written by an entertainment lawyer, explains what it all means and what the implications are for the artist.

Ken Freeman couldn't afford a Mellotron to play his string parts, so he invented a new kind of electronic instrument. But though the world would eventually embrace string synthesizers with a passion, he never got the credit he deserved.

I recently tried to purchase a Marantz CDR500 but I was told that, due to a new EU directive that bans the use of hazardous...

As Native Instruments celebrate their 10th anniversary SOS goes behind the scenes at the company, remembers the highlights, and looks forward to the next decade in software instrument design.

The annual MIDEM conference is the music industry's biggest shop floor and networking opportunity — and whether you're an artist, a DJ or a producer, you can do business there. Read on...

We go behind the scenes at the home of the Pod and Variax to get the latest on developments in the world of guitar modelling technology.

We've seen some curious studios in SOS over the years, but not many have included a warehouse full of vintage hardware, Pro Tools HD rigs, and thermostatic ovens. But it's all part of the daily routine at FX Copyroom...

Is the German GEMA essentially the same as the MCPS? Does a band putting out its own CDs need to register with different people in different countries, or do these organisations cover all situations?

From simple beginnings as an offshoot of an electronics project, RME have established themselves as well-respected soundcard and recording interface manufacturers whose products usually offer that bit more than those of their competitors. We talk to their head of development about their recent innovations.

Having been one of the UK's most popular rock acts in the early '90s, Thunder found that record labels were no longer willing or able to promote their releases properly. Now they have taken matters into their own hands, using the Internet and new methods of distribution to get their records back in the charts.

As Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi celebrates his 75th birthday, we conclude our history of this innovative company by coming right up to the end of 2004...

The recession of the early '90s was difficult for many companies — but not Roland. Diversifying still further from their roots as a maker of synthesizers and organs, they emerged stronger, encompassing almost every area of hi-tech musical instrument manufacture.

Since Bill Putnam's sons founded Universal Audio anew, the company have become well known for software emulations of old gear, as well as for their hardware recreations of vintage classics. We find out how they go about it...

As the music industry struggles to adjust to the growing effects of the Internet on sales, even traditional concepts such as copyright are being reconsidered. We examine the Creative Commons movement and explain how it could be useful to musicians everywhere.

Roland made their name with analogue synths and effects, but by the mid-1980s, they needed to go digital to remain competitive. It was a leap into the unknown for the company, but it ushered in a golden era...

This month, we see how Roland survived some tricky times at the start of the 1980s, and how founder Ikutaro Kakehashi ensured that they were well-placed to take advantage of technological developments over the following few years.

We would all like to make a living from selling our own music — but how would you actually go about it? The UK-based Association Of Independent Music offer some thoughts on how to cope with the opportunities and pitfalls of the modern music industry.