The Successful Singer-Songwriter

This week I'm talking about how taking a series of small steps is key to career success.

• Why it's important not to bite off more than you can chew
• The importance of attainable goals
• Why it's great to build rleationships for the long term
• How to plan for the next 6 to 12 months

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.

This week I'm talking about how we sometimes sub-conciously sabotage ourselves and let opportunities pass us by. 

• What is self sabotage?
• Why do we do it?
• Fear of success/failure
• How we can avoid it

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.

This week I'm talking about why it's important to regualrly release music even though you might not be 100% happy with it.  We'll discuss - 

• What do we mean by imperfect?
• Why release the record?
• How an audience hears things differently from you
• Why it makes you more productive

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.

We're back after a short(ish) break and I'm looking forward to bringing you new weekly podcast episodes. 

This is a short trailer to let you know what's been going on, what I've been doing and what the podcast will be like from now on.

Thanks for sticking with me, it's good to be back!

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.

This week I'm talking about mastering.  I'll cover - 

• What mastering is
• The history of audio mastering
• Why we master differently for streaming platforms
• Tools of the trade
• Human vs online mastering
• Should you do your own mastering

Please support the Podcast here

Phil McDonald Mastering

The Successful Singer-Songwriter

Facebook Community

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.

This week I'm looking ahead to getting back to gigging again and for most of us, not having played live for over a year means we're going to be a little rusty. I talk aobut some things you can do to polish your act. 

• How getting someone to video your set provides a useful tool for spotting areas for improvement
• Why it's important to play to the room and choose your set carefully
• How not having a big lyric folder in front of you improves your look
• How knowing how all your gear works is very important
• Why carring a spare of everything is a must
• Get to know the venue staff/sound guy

Please support the Podcast here

Phil McDonald Mastering

The Successful Singer-Songwriter

Facebook Community

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.

This week I'm talking about simple things you can do in the studio to create a bigger sound. We'll cover - 

• Do you need to make a bigger sound?
• How double tracking guitars and vocals can make a massive difference
• Using simple backing in your DAW
• Hiring session musicians and where to find them

Please support the Podcast here

Phil McDonald Mastering

The Successful Singer-Songwriter

Facebook Community

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.

This week I;m talking about simple mistakes to avoid in the home studio environment. I'll cover - 

• Why your recording space is so important
• How it's vital to get the input level right
• The perils of overdoing the effects
• How over thinking can slow things down
• How to avoid timing issues

Please support the Podcast here

Phil McDonald Mastering

The Successful Singer-Songwriter

Facebook Community

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.

This week I'm looking at how you can have a better experience in the studio. I'll cover - 

• Why it's important to know what the purpose of the record is
• Making sure you're happy with the studio and personnel
• The inportance of you being ready and the songs bing ready
• Why you need to be realistic about time and budget

Please support the Podcast here

Phil McDonald Mastering

The Successful Singer-Songwriter

Facebook Community

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.

This week I'm joined on the podcast by singer-songwriter Mark Sims. We chat about how Covid has meant big changes not only to how we perform, but how we write songs and go about our careers in general.

We discuss - 

• How to apapt your songwriting process
• The experiece of livestreaming
• Mark's new EP and the remote recording process
• What the future hopefully holds.

Mark Sims on Spotify

Please support the Podcast here

Phil McDonald Mastering

The Successful Singer-Songwriter

Facebook Community

Please head over to Phil McDonald Mastering if you'd like a free, no obligation test master of one of your songs.

If you'd like to support the podcast you can  Buy me a Coffee here.

Thanks so much for your support.