Author: Benedict Roff-Marsh

I believe in Healthy Self-Interest. If everyone does what is rational, then success will be easier for all. Greed is the complete opposite of self-interest as it results in nothing but failure. Born in Canada in 1969 to English parents. Moved back to England. Lived in Australia since 5 y.o. Worked in Banking, Entertainment, Sales and Web. I always listen to and make music to keep myself on an even keel.

Build a Real World Fanbase

Your record may be superb, but if no one sees or hears it then it might as well not exist. Thankfully publishing your work these days is super easy with web and real world tools being pretty easy to access. However there is no point in pressing 10,000 copies of your new record only to discover … Continue reading Build a Real World Fanbase

Finish the Work – and Ship It

Knowing when to finish the work of art, and that it doesn't exist till it is wrapped in plastic and shipped to the distributor is a struggle for many artists. One that stops many in their tracks. I am probably unusual in that within days of getting my first synth, without any real idea of how … Continue reading Finish the Work – and Ship It

Pretty or Effective – Writing Music to Sell

This wasn't on my roster of things to write right now but I got this post from one of the smartest people on the net and it has something great to tell us musicians about how to tell our stories in music. I'll paste the whole thing here and link you to the article too: Pretty … Continue reading Pretty or Effective – Writing Music to Sell

Honing Your Craft

If you view yourself as a riff-machine then you will never make anything that is magical. Making riffs is easy. A robot could do that - and if there isn't already an iPad app for there will be soon enough. It takes a Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Michael McDonald, Darryl Hall, Vangelis... to make musical … Continue reading Honing Your Craft

Give Yourself Permission to Succeed

This is a big one. A really, really big one. Sadly most people don't realize it. It took me some time to work it out, but by watching other aspiring musicians in forums, business people in places I worked and in questioning myself, what I saw is that people commonly shoot themselves in the foot … Continue reading Give Yourself Permission to Succeed

How to Get It Out There – Approaching Marketing Music

So you have made good music but have no idea how to get it heard, let alone to #1 on the charts. Now this is the 42 cent question. If there was a simple 1-2-3 answer then there'd be no musicians with good records and poor incomes. As usual I will look at the background … Continue reading How to Get It Out There – Approaching Marketing Music

Good Music and How to Make It

There is no formula to getting guaranteed hits. Let's get that myth put away right now. As explained in the last few posts "Good" is not a personal preference but a gauge of the ability to pass value to other people - few would want to describe a Math textbook as good but if it … Continue reading Good Music and How to Make It

Why Modern Music Sucks – How Did We Get Here?

Some disagree but I believe that modern popular music is in a very bad place. Now I'm not the first to approach this. I know as I have heard about how Rome's about to burn all my life. It is part of not wanting to accept change. That makes it hard to be the guy who … Continue reading Why Modern Music Sucks – How Did We Get Here?

neo-Tradition – a new movement in music

I'm going to treat this post more like an open letter. Maybe some people would like to take this up and post to others. Maybe some people would like to take this into the studio and answer. Hi All This is to musicians and fans alike. To be a musician we generally need to be … Continue reading neo-Tradition – a new movement in music