Making Money in the Music Business

Shirley Jones of the renowned classic R&B/soul group The Jones Girls is our very special guest in this week's podcast episode #116. Shirley shares her remarkable music journey with her sisters including how their mother fully groomed and developed them to be both impeccable singers and embody the highest level of professionalism. Shirley shares a variety of stories from their careers including how they auditioned and became the background singers for Dianna Ross as well as the "go to" background vocalists in R&B/soul music recordings. In addition to the musical experiences, Shirley discusses the importance of understanding the business side of music including royalty and publishing administration in order to create a legacy of wealth. Listeners will be inspired by the stories discussed while also gaining advice on how to polish artist development, professionalism and business acumen in the music industry.

To learn more about and follow Shirley on social media, visit:

IG: @shirleyjonesofthejonesgirls

Twitter:@jonesgirlshirle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonesgirlshirley

Maxx Myrick, program manager for DC Radio, is our very special guest in this week's podcast episode #115. Maxx shares a wealth of information about how he began his career in radio as a teen and how he grew as a radio professional who started a number of noteworthy stations across the country, both digitally and via "brick & mortar." He started such iconic radio stations as Chicago's V103 and XM Satellite Radio. Furthermore, he was the program manager for WHUR in Washington, D.C. and has now established and manages DC Radio, which is a long-format station that specializes in broadcasting podcasts about music (including our podcast "Making Money in the Music Business"), current topics, self development and much more. Listeners will gain valuable insight about how radio works both intrinsically as well as how artists' music is placed on playlists in this compelling conversation regarding today's radio environment

.

To learn more about DC Radio, visit and follow the following links:

Radio Station: www.dcradio.gov and 96.3 (HD4)

IG & Twitter: @dcradiohd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DCRadioHD/

Music Tip:

Upcoming Music Conferences 2020

https://www.synchtank.com/blog/key-worldwide-music-industry-sync-events-list-2020/

Of note

March

16/03/20 – 19/03/20 Winter Music Conference Miami, USA

16/03/20 – 22/03/20 Miami Music Week

April

01/04/20 – 03/04/20 ASCAP Experience Los Angeles, USA

04/04/20 – 05/04/20 North American Conference on Video Game Music New York, USA

21/04/20 – 26/04/20 Richmond International Film & Music Festival Virginia, USA

21/05/20 – 23/05/20 Chicago House Music Conference & Festival Chicago, USA

Dr. Cynthia Biggs El, songwriter, vocalist, producer and publisher, returns to our podcast for a Part Two discussion in this week's podcast episode #114 (Part One is episode #109). Cynthia further shares a historical account of her music career this time speaking more from the perspective of being a music producer. Cynthia is the co-producer of the Teddy Pendergrass classic hit record "Love TKO." She shares the process of working with Teddy Pendergrass in the recording studio, how she became co-producer of the record and the various barriers as well as joys of producing such a major hit song. Similarly, Cynthia delves deeper into managing her music business including the process of registering her music as a writer and the important steps of copyrighting. Listeners will gain continued insight about music production while also better understanding the tremendous importance of having a sound business acumen or at least a team of professionals who fully understand the music industry business to maximize success and revenue.

To learn more about Dr. Cynthia Biggs El, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Biggs

In this week's podcast episode 113, Dr. William Smith and Kenya M. Johnson discuss the concept of "do what you love and love what you do," which are music tips discussed in previous episodes. William and Kenya provide personal examples in music of the pros and cons of doing what they love, how others can navigate doing music as a passion versus a career, and the importance of building a relationship with music and putting in the work necessary to be successful. Listeners will gain valuable lessons about doing what you love while also developing yourself in a way that allows you to love what you do despite various ups and downs along the journey.

Lenora Zenzalai Helm, vocal jazz musician, composer & educator, is our very special guest in this week's podcast episode #112. Lenora shares an extremely dynamic career path in music that began with her attending Berklee College of Music being the first African American woman to graduate with a degree in film scoring to working at music labels such as Sony to now being an assistant professor of music at North Carolina Central University. Lenora provides a brief discussion of the challenges of being a female in the music industry and how she has navigated the ups and downs especially as she is on the heels of releasing a new big band music album "For the Love of Big Band due this March. Listeners will gain incredible insight on how the path to a music career is never straight and that there are many ways to achieve success while fulfilling creative goals and interests..

To learn more about Lenora Helm, visit:

Website: www.lenorahelm.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lenora.helm

IG/Twitter: @lenorahelm

In this podcast episode Dr. William Smith talks with Deutsch Advertising music supervisor Dez Davis. He’s worked on some major campaigns and discusses the process of selecting music for ads as well as some of his most favorite and challenging experiences. He also talks about his background growing up in church and how he got into music supervising.

You can reach out to him on LinkedIn

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dez-davis-08692b79/

John Jointer, film director & producer of the docuseries "Indie Soul Journeys" is our special guest in this week's podcast episode #110. John shares a a detailed account of how his docuseries came to light, what inspired his vision, and how he has overcome a variety of challenges to ensure completion of the series. The film series features some of soul music's most successful and talented independent artists including two of our former podcast guests, Sy Smith whose featured episode will be screened in Chicago on Tues. January 28, 2020 at City Winery, and Eric Roberson whose episode was previously screened in 2018 in Chicago. Listeners will gain meaningful insight on how to respect the process of creating a project despite the difficulties and potential mistakes. The value of allowing missteps to become teachable moments is highlighted in our discussion and will inspire our audience to push towards creative goals and professional dreams.

To learn more about the Indie Soul Journeys docuseries visit/follow:

IG: @indie_soul_journeys

FB: www.facebook.com/indiesouljourneys

Tickets for Indie Soul Journeys Screening feat. Sy Smith at City Winery Chicago: https://citywinery.com/chicago/sy-smith-1-28-20.html

Dr. Cynthia Biggs El, songwriter, vocalist, producer and publisher, is our very special guest in this week's podcast episode #109. Cynthia shares a historical account of her songwriting career including being a monumental part of the "Philly music sound" having worked for the Philadelphia International Records label. Her main collaborations were with composers Dexter Wansel, Bruce Hawes, and Theodore Wortham as well as Gamble and Huff. Cynthia has more than 350 songwriting credits including Patti LaBelle's 1983 hit single If Only You Knew, which reached number 1 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 R&B Singles chart for four consecutive weeks. Cynthia not only shares the amazing work she has done, but also the process she uses to write such classic and timeless music. Listeners will gain incredible insight on how songwriting should be approached and valued. Cynthia will return to the podcast in upcoming weeks for a part two discussion for listeners to learn more about her professional background as well as gain effective songwriting strategies to create timeless songs in today's music industry.

To learn more about Dr. Cynthia Biggs El, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Biggs

Music Tip:

I Have a New Course Posted in Udemy "How To Read and Play Through Chord Changes"

https://www.udemy.com/course/how-to-read-and-play-through-jazz-chord-changes/

Centric, record producer (whose formal name is Christopher Mandujan) is our special guest in this week's podcast episode #108. Centric shares a wonderful account of his dynamic career in music production working with artists in hip hop, soul/r&b and jazz. In addition to producing music for co-host Kenya, he has also worked with such artists as Kool G Rap, Jagged Edge, Carlitta Durand and Raheem DeVaughn to name a few. Centric shares honest perspectives on his process for creating music as well as how he chooses artists to work with. Similarly, he shares how he is able to monetize his music career including music licensing and publishing. Centric's company FreeAtLastMusic is a licensing & publishing entity and he shares why its important for musicians to not only focus on their creative works, but also consider how to be creative with their music business in order to create revenue. Listeners will gain valuable insight on how to honor your passion as well as how to poise and pitch yourself to other musicians you want to collaborate with in order to maximize success in today's music industry.

To learn more about Centric visit/follow:

Website: www.iamcentric.com

IG & FB: @iamcentric

Twitter:@whoiscentric

To kick off 2020, Dr. William E. Smith & Kenya M. Johnson discuss the importance of setting intentions when considering your music goals for 2020. Both share personal experiences and the power of setting an intention, speaking it out loud and being patient in order to manifest dreams related to music careers. Listeners will be inspired and gain step-by-step strategies on how to set their own intentions for future success in both personal and professional goals.