Making a Scene Presents

Making a Scene Presents - The Power of Reference Tracks: Learning to Mix by Listening

If you want your mixes to sound more “pro” without buying more gear or plugins, this is the shortcut nobody talks about enough. Reference tracks. Not copying. Not stealing ideas. Just listening smarter.

Most indie artists think mixing is about twisting knobs until things sound good. That’s half true. The real skill is knowing what “good” even sounds like in the first place. That’s where reference tracks come in. They train your ears faster than any tutorial ever will.

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Making a Scene Presents - Record Labels Should Be Terrified: Artists Are Building Their Own Economies

For most of music history, there was one road. If you wanted a career, you went through a major label. They had the money, the power, the distribution, and the connections. Artists were told this was the only way. Sign the deal. Give up ownership. Wait to get paid later. Maybe. That story is breaking down fast. Today, artists are quietly building something new. Not a trend. Not a side hustle. A real replacement. Artists are creating their own economies where music, fans, data, money, and marketing all live under their control. No gatekeepers. No middlemen. No waiting.

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Making a Scene Presents - Web3 Sync Licensing: Decentralizing the Music-to-Media Pipeline
The Old Sync Game Is Rigged (And Indie Artists Know It)

If you are an independent artist, you already know the truth about sync licensing, even if nobody ever said it out loud. The system is closed. The gates are tall. The same names show up again and again in film, TV, and video games. Music supervisors pull from trusted libraries, pre-cleared catalogs, and relationships built over decades. If you are not already inside that circle, you are usually invisible.

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Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Murali Coryell

Murali Coryell’s story is one of deep roots, hard-earned growth, and a lifelong connection to music that runs far deeper than a famous last name. His journey started before he could walk. He was held as a baby by Jimi Hendrix, lived with Carlos Santana, and grew up around dinner tables shared with Miles Davis. Music wasn’t something he chose later in life. It was the air he breathed from the very beginning.

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Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey's Interview with Katy Dann

Katy Dann is a Welsh singer and songwriter who writes and sings straight from the heart. Her music blends rock, pop, and soul into a sound that feels powerful, honest, and deeply human. There’s emotion in every line she sings, but it’s balanced with strength, confidence, and a sense of joy that pulls listeners in fast.

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Making a Scene Presents an interview with Robert Top Thomas

Robert “Top” Thomas comes straight out of the Florida backroads, where the air is thick, the nights are loud, and the blues still mean something. He’s a swamp blues musician in the truest sense, pulling his sound from muddy rhythms, raw guitar tones, and stories that feel lived in, not written for show. When Top sings, it sounds like a late-night confession on a screened-in porch, with cicadas buzzing and a storm rolling in from the Gulf.

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Making a Scene Presents Ace Studio 2.0 Artist Edition: The Deep-Dive Review Every Indie Musician Needs

The walls of the old music industry are falling, and indie artists are finally getting the tools they deserve. For years, only big studios and big budgets had access to high-end vocal production, full instrument libraries, and teams of session singers ready to jump in at any moment. But now there’s Ace Studio 2.0 Artist Edition, a tool that lets any indie musician create pro-level vocals, harmonies, and expressive instruments right inside their home studio.

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Making a Scene Presents - Decentralized Touring & Ticketing: Taking Control of Live Revenue

If you’re an independent artist, you already know the truth. Touring is the lifeline. It’s the one place where you can still earn real money, meet real fans, and feel like you have a shot at building something that actually belongs to you. But the moment you step onto the traditional touring path, you slam headfirst into the same old walls that have stopped artists for decades. The big one is ticketing. Ticketmaster-style gatekeepers sit in the middle of everything, stacking fees on fees, blocking real fan access, and letting scalpers scoop up seats before your fans even know the show is on sale.

The result is simple. You work. They eat.

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Making a Scene Presents - How to Use AI Art to Build a Visual Brand Fans Remember

How indie artists can use Midjourney, Ideogram, and Leonardo.ai to create a powerful, consistent visual world

When people talk about branding in the music industry, it usually sounds like something only major labels can afford. Big agencies. Big budgets. Big teams deciding what your album art should look like or what colors fit your vibe. But that world is dead. Indie artists now have something better than a room full of marketing people. You have AI art tools that let you build your own visual universe with nothing but your imagination and a prompt.

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Making a Scene Presents - The American Music Fairness Act: What It Really Means for Indie Artists in a World Where Radio Isn’t King Anymore

For years the music business has danced around the same old question. Who gets paid when radio spins a song? If you think the artist gets a piece of that pie, you’re giving the system more credit than it deserves. The truth is, in the United States, the performer and the owner of the recording still earn nothing from AM/FM radio airplay. That weird loophole has survived almost a century. Now the American Music Fairness Act wants to close it, and the fight around it is getting louder every day.

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