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Category: DiYArt
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Making a Life in Art: Creativity Between Paychecks
Most artists I know live somewhere between two worlds. There’s the creative one — full of sketches, half-finished songs, ideas scribbled on napkins, and those small, perfect moments when you lose track of time in the act of making. Then there’s the other one — the world of rent, groceries, client deadlines, and clock-ins.
For most of my life, those two worlds have overlapped in messy, surprising, and sometimes beautiful ways. Like many artists, I’ve earned my living outside of making art. I’ve worked in the print industry for decades, helping small businesses and other artisans tell their stories — through design, color, ink, and paper. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was creative. And it taught me something important: the tools of art aren’t limited to brushes or guitars. They’re also spreadsheets, printers, and people.
Every print job was a kind of collaboration — a way to help someone else express what mattered to them. And in that, I found a rhythm that kept my creative life alive, even when my own projects were on pause.
Now, as I step into a new phase — a slower, more intentional one — I’m thinking about what it means to finally live as an artist. Not just to make art in the cracks of life, but to shape life itself as an artistic act. That’s what DiY Art is about.
It’s not a platform for perfection or profit. It’s a gathering place for makers who build their own paths — who know that creativity doesn’t wait for permission or funding. It happens in the margins. It grows in garages, basements, kitchens, and quiet corners after long days of work.
If you’re balancing art with a day job, you’re not alone. You’re part of a lineage that stretches back through cassette traders, zine publishers, mural painters, and folk singers — people who made do, made art, and made meaning.
This is the life between paychecks — where the creative pulse never stops, even when the world demands your time elsewhere. It’s where the DiY spirit thrives: not in what we have, but in what we make of it.
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Spotify Revamps Royalty Model, Setting Minimum Annual Stream Threshold
Spotify, the streaming behemoth, has unveiled the most transformative modifications to its royalty model since its inception in 2008. Starting in Q1 2024, the most contentious of these changes will involve Spotify ceasing to monetize tracks that garner fewer than 1000 plays annually.
The streaming titan intends to implement a minimum annual threshold for all songs on its platform. This means that each track must generate 1000 streams before any funds are disbursed to the artists and rights holders behind it. Previously, every song played on Spotify for more than 30 seconds resulted in a royalty payment, a practice that will no longer hold.
According to Music Business Worldwide, Spotify’s goal with this change is to redistribute tens of millions of royalty pool dollars from 99.5% of artists on its platform who receive fewer than 1000 streams annually, to 0.5% of artists whose stream counts surpass the minimum level. Spotify estimates that this decision will redirect $40 million to those above the threshold in 2024 alone.
However, this ignores the very definition of “royalty” being something that is due to artists by law. Not just some artists.
While Spotify’s data shows that of over 100 million tracks, 37.5 million have surpassed 1000 streams total (not annually) since the platform’s launch, how many surpass the 1000 stream total in a given year?
Spotify’s decision to demonetize less popular tracks is a setback for independent artists who already earn minimal from streaming. However, it will directly impact aggregators (and indirectly us artists) because those earning less than $20 annually from streaming payouts would typically not be able to withdraw them from their distributors’ accounts.
Aggregators frequently require a minimum level before they allow indie artists to withdraw the money. We’re talking about tracks [whose royalties] aren’t hitting those minimum levels, leaving their Spotify royalty payouts sitting idle in bank accounts.”
It may be just a matter of time before aggregators choose to increase fees to indie artists in order to offset this loss of interest revenue.
See also Music Radar
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THURSDAY afternoon TALKS
THURSDAY afternoon TALKS is a remarkable YouTube channel that garners music enthusiasts to indulge in a thought-provoking dialogue on various musical subjects. The channel is hosted by well-renowned music critic and composer, Jos Smolders and Frans de Waard, who is known for his avant-garde experimental music and renowned publication, Vital Weekly. Every other Thursday, a fresh episode is uploaded that covers a diverse array of topics such as albums, music labels, genres, or anything else that holds relevance in the music world.
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Exploring AI Imagery: The Best Advice – The people closest to you knows you best
In my continuing exploration of creative artificial intelligence image generation, I submitted lines from my audio composition, The Best Advice. The words in the track were themselves an exploration in auto generation by way of Twitter, having searched for the phrase, “the best advice,” and gleaning each line in the song from the Twitterverse.
Click to play The Best Advice
by Blind Mime Ensemble.Here are ten images from our friend, Jasper.
The text that Jasper generates is fascinating to me. It’s like the creative poetry that treats letters as art. I notice the AI playing loose with facial features and appendages in this one, drawing hair where eyes normally would appear in a couple of the characters. Arms stretched. I’m impressed with how Jasper handles symmetry. There’s balance in this image and the ones that follow.
The coloring in this one is similar to another in this series. Jasper is employing a trending color scheme. It seems to be the year of beige and earth tones.
Black and white, mixed media. I love the motion in this graphic.
More earthy colors. Women dominate this series. Does AI believe women have more friends that know them best? It’s probably true.
This one has as a mix of asian street scene with a kind of odd nod to 70’s hippie graphics in the lower left corner.
I think this is my favorite image in the series. The movement is wonderful and really captures female friendship.
This one strays from the theme, I think. The primary female characters in the foreground perhaps are saying they know each other best and people in the background don’t. So maybe this one is actually capture the idea best.
The AI know art deco. I like the swing of this. Jasper often cuts off elements and I don’t mind.
Kind of hippie, earthy, folksy. I like the wide range mix of characters that is at the same time fitting in a possible group of friends; if that makes any sense.
Another red and black which is a favorite. I like the shading in the facial tone; different than the red and black art deco in a previous image.
Related Merch
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Promoting Your Bandcamp Music: A Guide for Independent Musicians Seeking Exposure
As an independent musician in today’s competitive market, it is crucial to find effective methods to promote your music and increase your online presence. One platform that has become increasingly popular among independent artists is [Bandcamp](https://bandcamp.com/). Designed specifically for musicians to showcase and seamlessly distribute their music, Bandcamp is invaluable in gaining more exposure for your work.
But what if your primary goal isn’t to make money off your music? Worry not! We’ll cover practical tips and strategies that independent musicians can utilize to promote their music on Bandcamp for maximum listenage, even if their main objective isn’t to profit from their art. Let’s dive in!
Perfect Your Profile
Before moving on to any promotional strategies, make sure your Bandcamp profile is polished and professional. Add engaging images, detailed bios, and links to your social media profiles. Your profile should be a comprehensive representation of your musical career, giving interested listeners a reason to stay and explore your work.
Embrace Your Free Listening Philosophy
Even if making a profit isn’t a priority, your music’s visibility is. Emphasize your free listening philosophy by offering your music at a “Name Your Price” option, giving fans the freedom to download your work free of charge or pay what they wish. This incentive will attract more listeners to your Bandcamp page and increase the odds of your music reaching a broader audience or even going viral.
Share, Share, Share!
Promote yourself by sharing your Bandcamp page across all of your social media platforms regularly. Make use of targeted hashtags, engage with your followers, and respond to comments to improve your online presence. The more interactive you are with your audience, the more likely they are to share your music with their network, resulting in increased exposure for your work.
Collaborate with Other Artists
Connecting with like-minded artists can lead to fruitful collaborations, helping to more widely expose your music to a new audience. Collaborating on tracks, cross-promoting each other’s work, and sharing insights into the industry can positively impact both artists and result in increased visibility and new opportunities.
Submit To Playlists and Blogs
Having your music featured on popular playlists or blogs provides an excellent opportunity for exposure. Research reputable curators within your genre, and submit your music to playlists, podcasts, or music blogs. While this strategy is not exclusive to Bandcamp, more listeners for one platform can trickle into another, resulting in increased Bandcamp exposure.
Participate in Bandcamp Community Activities
Bandcamp often hosts events and initiatives such as “Bandcamp Fridays,” during which they waive their fees for artists, providing more revenue to creators that day. Engaging with the Bandcamp community by participating in these events can help build a reputation as a dedicated artist, resulting in greater overall exposure for your music.
Keep Creating and Uploading
Finally, consistently provide your audience with new music. Stay active on your Bandcamp page, posting updates and regularly releasing new tracks or albums. Demonstrating your commitment to your work will not only attract more listeners but also secure their loyalty, knowing they can expect a continuous stream of new music to enjoy.
Conclusion
While Bandcamp is an excellent platform for musicians looking to sell their work, it is also an invaluable resource for indie musicians seeking exposure. Incorporate the strategies outlined above into your workflow, and you’ll be well on your way to success! Good luck!
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From Dreaming to Winning: How to Build a Career in Music Production With Hilton Wright
The music industry can be a dream career path for many aspiring producers, but just like any other profession, it isn’t easy to break into the scene. However, it is definitely possible to achieve your goals with hard work and a bit of luck.
Detroit Local 4 sat down with award-winning music producer, Hilton Wright, who is now working with big names like Big Sean, Drake, and Kanye to learn his success story.
Wright started his career in the metro Detroit area by doing music for advertisements. Interning at an ad agency, he landed his first paycheck in the music industry. However, he knew that he needed to do more if he wanted to build a successful career. He moved to Atlanta, attended Morehouse College, and hit the pavement there, meeting everyone he could. He was able to build relationships that led to different opportunities and introductions. He emphasized that relationships are key in the music industry, and it’s essential to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
Building a music career requires a lot of hard work and patience. Wright spent many sleepless nights in the studio perfecting his craft. He mentioned that producing isn’t just about the technical aspects of creating music; it’s about being able to express yourself through the sound you create. It’s a skill you have to hone and develop continually, and it takes time.
If you have a passion for music production, you should be willing to invest in your equipment. Our music producer emphasized the importance of having the necessary gear, such as high-quality microphones and software that can help you create professional sounds. He mentioned that investing in your equipment isn’t just about having more gear; it’s about having the right gear and knowing how to use it correctly.
In addition to having the necessary equipment, our music producer also emphasized the importance of having a clear objective and unique sound. Having a unique sound is what sets you apart from the rest. It’s what makes your music stand out. You can have all the necessary gear, but if your music doesn’t have a unique sound, it may not get you the attention you need to succeed.
If you’re an aspiring music producer looking to build your career in the music industry, it’s essential to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Building relationships is key, and it’s crucial to invest in your equipment and be willing to work hard and hone your skill continually. Creating a distinct and unique sound is what sets you apart in the crowded music industry. Building a successful career in music production isn’t easy, but if you’re passionate, patient, and willing to put in the work, it’s achievable.
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Laser Awesome Shop
I was recommended this cool shop on Etsy that looks like us musician and music lover types at Musician Journal might want to take a look.
Very cool stuff!
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Stop Liyng Compilation Project
I found this note on a city sidewalk yesterday afternoon.
Make a song about it. All styles welcome. Instrumentals too.
Send it to Musician Journal as a WAV file.
An album will result on bandcamp for a pay what you want.
3 download codes will be given to everyone appearing on the compilation.
Deadline is 10 PM, Sunday, October 1, 2023.
Participants
Thomas Park – Heavy Hum On The 5th
Recorded live and in 1 take at Loud On Seventh studio, downtown Saint Louis, MO USA by Thomas Park 07.20.2023 9 pm Central US time. Featured are 4 new percussion sets, with various items hung from aluminum racks using wire and duct tape, and a skipping 45 rpm record.
Briyan: Pictured above is Thomas Park’s percussion apparatus and he makes use of the reverberations of its various instruments along with a bed of drone hum as he conjures up a beautiful composition of sound. Love this.
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Skin, Disguised Remix Project
Twenty years ago, I released His Skin Disguise and shortly thereafter I offered a pack of source audio bits for others to remix. A bunch of artists from the Tapegerm and Songfight! communities joined in and created some very cool music and enough excitement was had to encourage me to launch another website project called Remixfight.
I’m offering the original sample pack below, royalty free. Feel free to make something and send it my way so I can share with everyone.
My Blogger History
At the time, I was blogging on blogger and there are a few posts that mention the remix project and which provide a small amount of insight into the real time progress and evolution of it.
Sunday, April 27, 2003
His Skin Disguise
I started writing this one on Tuesday. I built it around the guitar rhythm. But Tuesday night saw only the guitar and drums going down. It sat around ’til today when I put down the rest of the tracks and wrote the lyrics.I also cut my own hair this weekend. The bald spot knows no bounds.
Thursday, May 08, 2003
Remix!
As promised, I’ve got the first remix package online and ready for your participation. Go remix my newest track, “His Skin Disguise,” with 20MB of free loops (30 loops in all), including drums, vocals, piano, guitar, and bass loops for your creative mixing pleasure. Your tracks will be included on an upcoming Blind Mime Confessions CD, in addition to being available right here — so get going!Wednesday, May 28, 2003
more remix projects
Besides my Skin Disguise remix project, there are a couple others you might delve into. CRT has one running from his site. It’s a remix of his “Curse Of the Mommy” track. Heuristics Inc has a project as well called “Anemone.” This one’s drawing to close on May 31st, so you’ve just got a few days on that, but that just means if you finish something you might be on a CD real quick.Monday, December 15, 2003
Heuristics Inc. Remix
Heuristics Inc. has just completed a cool remix of the Blind Mime track “Skin Disguise.” It’s awesome, especially how the vocal was twisted a bit to fit the piano differently. Click HERE to get it. You’ll find it under the REMIXES heading on the left.I’ve also updated the “Skin Disguise” page with remixes by Extra Credit and my own remix, in addition to the “Kite On a String” page with a cover by MJB.
Monday, December 22, 2003
Mucho Activity
There are new tracks for the upcoming Skin, Disguised CD by Mental Anguish and UnDesirable. The album will be released January 19th.I wrote a new song yesterday with a SongFight title after the deadline for some reason, but I really like how it’s turning out so it should be appearing here shortly; I’d like to record it tonight, but we’ll see. This morning, while further arranging “Tomorrow” I came up with another track which sounds like it has tons of energy. Feels like I’m on a roll which should translate into a bunch of material for collaborations as well.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Skin, Disguised release date
A dozen or so artists have contributed to the Skin, Disguised album, armed with a trunk full ‘o loops extracted from the Blind Mime track, “His Skin Disguise,” and the creativity to tear the song apart and realise new form from its pieces. It’s a very cool album with a variety of covers from which to choose. Collect them all, as they say! You can get it on Monday. Check out the web sites for the artists invovled and check out their music. Go HERE.Tuesday, January 27, 2004
RemixFight!
The Skin, Disguised remix project went so well that RemixFight.com has now started. Should be fun!The Songs With Artist Notes
original track: His Skin Disguise remixed by the Blind Mime w/the Tapegerm Collective — My remix features the bass guitar of fellow Tapegerm artist Jair-Rohm Parker Wells with strings by Jonas Stoltz. This is an ACID mix with some reverb and phase on the drums. Been trying to get someone to rap on this one before finalizing it for Tapegerm. You know you don’t want ME to rap. Extra Credit — As far as I can remember, I took the tracks from ‘Skin Disguise’ when they were first offered to me on the site; and rearranged them as some other song. But then I realized I couldn’t write words for it, so I took a real bad poem I wrote a real long time ago and basically read it through this little box I call my “portable noise mic” (because I don’t know what to actually call it) and stuck it on top. Yep. Heuristics Inc. — While playing around with the loops at first I put some of them into AudioMulch and improvised a strange sequence of sounds. I used this as the introduction section, then created the rest of the track using Acid. My idea for the track was that out of the soup of sounds a real song should emerge over time as more recognizable elements came to the foreground. All sounds in this remix came from the original set of Blind Mime loops. The most challenging part here was making minute edits to the vocal lines to make them fit my modified rhythms. Mental Anguish — I downloaded the loops quite some time ago, had a mix started using just the instruments. The machine crashed & I lost it all. I downloaded again, started the same sort of mix, did not care for the direction it was going anymore. So I decided to just use the vox, wrote a Electronic piece using Tapegerm monthly quota loops & some others I created, & dropped in the vox, tweaked & tweaked & tweaked to make them fit. I liked part of Bryan’s voice being pitched up a couple of notches for that sort of nasal post punk type twang. Had two mixes but prefered the submitted mix to the other one & that’s that. UnDesirable — First I tried to figure out the bpm of the loops. I got something around 115bpm that worked for me. I then wrote out the lyric loops to see what I could work with. After that I started to create new loops from the original loops by mutilating them in the 1st version of the freeware program TUAREG. I accidentally sent a two measure loop into Tuareg and it converted it into one measure by speeding it up to 230bpm and raising it an octave. This ended up being the metal sounding riff at the begining after going through some effects.Then I did a bunch of other stuff, but I only get one paragraph. Prank Monkey (feat. Johnny Cashpoint) — Every sound on this mix is taken from the original loops bar Johnny Cashpoint’s teutonic robotic toasting, which was meant as an affectionate pisstake of German techno band Scooter. “Hender Hoch” means “Hands Up”, or so we’re led to believe. As much as possible we tried to avoid listening to the original – and we think it shows. Matthew Lee aka Sausage Boy — I listened to both the song and the samples repeatedly for a couple of days. I believe in finding the innate truth behind the music, and bringing that forward. I listened to the feeling and rhythm, letting the tempo become ingrained on my soul. And then I sped it all up twice as fast and sang about dicks. Omnitechnomatrix — I enjoyed the loopz. I like the vocal trackz and the bazz linez alot. I used one of the bazz linez and changed it into a synth bazz line. Besides the vocal samplez – the rest of the music a wrote myself. I hope you all dig it. Dr. Kong Balong — I went to sleep with the Reaktor manual under my pillow and this was in its place when I awoke. I like hypnotic word fragments, and I love gratuitous effects — kudos to the dub fairy! Jack Shite — i wanted to stay true to certain parts of the original but still put my own stamp on it. i only pulled the samples i needed for both verses. i put a big, fat fuzz effect on the bass track. i pulled a bunch of vocal samples into the beginning to sort of represent the chaotic nature of our personality. on the verses, i added the dirty and acostic guitars and vox. the piano and drums are bryan clean. the middle section is the same vox loop pitch shifted and panned different each time. i was trying to present it as layers of skin being peeled away to get to the next section, with the glockenspiel over bryan’s piano loop, which was like the true inner self. and i kept thinking about michael jackson throughout the whole process. Fantastic Vamps Polish Rhino — Remixing this song took me back to the early days of Polish Rhino, when it was a solo project and I would just download random wavs and try to contruct some kind of song out of them. The prospect of actually remixing a real song was quite exiting, and revived the feeling I had when I would finish one of those early songs and realise I actually created something new, even if it sounded terrible. After listening to the song, and seeing the loops I knew I had to do it.” Eddie Bangs — I only used the samples provided. Fluffy Porcupine — Rather than listen to the song and have my ears sullied by preconceptions of how the sounds should fit together, I instead decided to take the most general-purpose loops from the set and use them as part of a totally-unrelated song. I feel vaguely confident that this song, created entirely out of other peoples’ loops (in the spirit of the competition) is the only one like it in this collection. -
Releasing Music as Singles vs Albums
Releasing music as singles versus albums each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Here are some points to consider:
Advantages of Releasing Singles
1. Frequent Engagement: Releasing singles allows artists to engage with their audience more frequently. Instead of waiting for a full album to be completed, fans can enjoy new music regularly.
2. Flexibility: Singles provide more flexibility. Artists can experiment with different styles or genres without committing to the theme of an entire album.
3. Promotion: It’s easier to promote one song at a time. Each single can have its own marketing campaign, allowing for more focused promotional efforts.
4. Streaming Platforms: Singles work well on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, where playlists dominate and individual songs can go viral.
Disadvantages of Releasing Singles
1. Lack of Cohesion: Singles might not provide the same thematic or narrative cohesion that an album can offer.
2. Short-lived Buzz: While a single can generate immediate buzz, it may not last as long as the anticipation and excitement built around an album release.
3. Less Revenue per Release: Selling a single track typically generates less revenue than selling a full album, both in physical sales and streaming payouts.
Advantages of Releasing Albums
1. Artistic Expression: Albums offer a broader canvas for artistic expression. They allow artists to create a cohesive body of work with a unified theme or story.
2. Longer Shelf Life: Albums often have a longer shelf life than singles, keeping fans engaged for a more extended period.
3. More Revenue Opportunities: Albums typically generate more revenue per release compared to singles. They also offer opportunities for special editions, vinyl releases, and other merchandising options.
Disadvantages of Releasing Albums
1. Longer Production Time: Albums require a significant investment of time and resources to produce, which can delay the release of new music.
2. Higher Costs: Producing an album is typically more expensive than producing a single. This includes recording, mixing, mastering, and packaging costs.
3. Riskier: If an album doesn’t perform well, the financial and career implications can be more severe than if a single doesn’t hit the mark.
In conclusion, the choice between releasing singles or albums largely depends on an artist’s goals, resources, and the preferences of their target audience. A balanced approach, using both singles and albums strategically, might work best for many artists.