AN INTERVIEW WITH SHATTERING SILENCE'S GUITARIST A.J. MURPHY

Today I thought I would switch up genres and interview AJ Murphy from Shattering Silence, an independent metal band from Brevard County Florida.

321 Indie Hip Hop: Hi A.J., how’s it going?

A.J. Murphy: Pretty good.

321 Indie Hip Hop: What brought you to want to play music?

A.J. Murphy: It was either do drugs or play music!

321 Indie Hip Hop: Great quote; I have to definitely include it. What instrument do you play in the band?

A.J. Murphy: I am the guitarist and back up vocalist.

321 Indie Hip Hop: When did your band first get together?

A.J. Murphy: We played together for years, but officially played our first show April 13, 2007.

321 Indie Hip Hop: What does the band have in the works at the moment?

A.J. Murphy: We have our first album, Blood Rust, produced by Joe Rodriguez of The Flock Of Seagulls, forecasted to be released late this year or early 2014.

321 Indie Hip Hop: Is there any of the band’s music out there that can be heard or seen anywhere?

A.J. Murphy: We released the Duct Tape EP in 2012 as well as a video for our single, Take The Hand Of A Liar located on You Tube.  We also have a bonus video in the works for our new album that will be released with the CD.

321 Indie Hip Hop: So tell me where did you all come up with the name Shattering Silence?

A.J. Murphy: To tell you the truth, we just locked ourselves in a room and said we were not allowed out till we came up with a name and several hours later the name just happened. 

 321 Indie Hip Hop: Tell me a little about yourself, when did you start playing guitar?

A.J. Murphy: I was about 14 years old when a friend said that I needed to learn guitar, but he gave up teaching me, so I just continued to teach myself and loved it.

321 Indie Hip Hop: Who were your music influences growing up?

 A.J. Murphy: I can go on forever, but Jimmy Page, Jeff Loomis of Never More, and DimeBag Darrell of Pantera have all been influences in my style of music.

321 Indie Hip Hop: Well A.J. Thanks for your time and I’m looking forward to hearing your new CD when it comes out.

Shattering Silence can be contacted on:

Facebook/ ShatteringSilenceFl

Twitter/ Shattersilence

CROWDSHARING

Are you an up and coming artist and are having difficulty raising money for that next mix tape or hit video? Then crowdfunding is for you.  What is crowdfunding you ask?  Crowdfunding is “the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.”  To set up an account this is fairly easy- you post your project on one of the sites and offer rewards to the investors, such as a free download, t-shirt, or hard copy CD, depending on the amount of donation offered and they will fund your project if they are interested.  There are many different sites that offer this opportunity depending on the purpose you are trying to achieve.  Some examples of sites that are tailored to the music industry are:

Kickstarter is the most popular site and has millions of investors waiting to fund a project.  This site is simple to navigate and will only charge a 5% fee if the project has reached it’s financial goal.

Indiegogo is a website geared to the entrepreneur trying to fund a project and is also similar to Kickstarter’s simple layout, although the fees are a little higher. It charges 4% of all donations and 3% for credit card transactions. 

PledgeMusic is also set up for the up and coming artists in the music industry.  This is probably the most expensive site as it charges 15% of all the funds raised. 

If you are an artist serious about your career and need to raise money, crowdfunding may be an option for you, but make sure you chose the right site for your project. Also, take into consideration what types of rewards you are offering depending on the site you choose.  Finally, use other marketing strategies as well to receive the best opportunities for success. 

Reference:

Prive, Tanya.  (2012).   What Is Crowdfunding And How Does     It Benefit The Economy.  Forbes.  Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaprive/2012/11/27/what-is-crowdfunding-and-how-does-it-benefit-the-economy/

Broadcast Music Inc. Could It Be For You?

If you are an emerging artist looking for a trade association to become involved with, Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) is the one for you.  BMI was established in 1939, based on the value of music and the creator. Their mission is to represent the songwriter rights and be the go between for companies that would like to play their music publicly and ensure the songwriter is paid. This association represents over “600,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers” (2013). BMI wants to make sure the songwriters get paid a fixed fee when their music is played publicly.  They also support the businesses such as television, radio stations, and networks; by offering them music licenses to allow them play the songwriters music.

This page provides many services such as career advice, royalty information, and a FAQ sheet with an abundance of information for their members about copyrights and publishing. There are also other links to news about BMI happenings, as well as spotlighting artists involved with the association.  In addition, they offer live workshops around the U.S. to its members on various topics such as music theatre, the Jazz artist and the creative process, and songwriting skills.

BMI is involved in a variety of events to support the songwriter, composer, and publishers, for example they host an annual award show to honor the songwriters, composers and music publishers of the years most performed songs. They also host music festivals, such as the Austin City Limit Music Festival and the LouFest Music Festival in St. Louis.

BMI represents many music genres such as pop, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Country, Gospel, Indie, Blues, and Latin. They also represent famous artists such as Eminem, Rihanna, Shakira, and Mariah Carey. So this association is for beginners to the established professionals in the industry.

     So if you interest in becoming involved in an association, please be sure to take BMI into consideration, it will be worth your time.

Reference:

http://www.bmi.com