Category

Essay

John Schaefer, Loki Karuna, Hannah Edgar, and Amanda Cook

Media Professionals Rely On Your Digital Footprint — Here’s What We Wish Artists Knew

As an artist, your digital presence is both a practical marketing tool and an opportunity for storyt...
Author
Amanda Cook
Sugar Vendil -- Photo by Titilayo Ayangade

Framing the Artist: Photography, Music, and the Power of Being Seen

I’ve spent years on both sides of the camera. As a musician, I know what it feels like to stand in f...
Author
Titilayo Monique Ayangade
Image

Call for Articles: “Money Matters” Essay Series

I CARE IF YOU LISTEN and NewMusicBox are excited to join forces for the first time to launch “Money...
Author
I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
Marika Hughes -- Photo by Petra Cvelbar

Artists Need Better Funding and Support Networks to be the Catalysts for Hope We Need in 2025 and Beyond

Last year, a seasoned performer-composer called to ask for my advice: though she had secured her fir...
Author
Jennifer Kessler
Anatomy of a Commission, Justus Schlichting

Anatomy of a Commission: A Modest Proposal from the Commissioner’s Perspective

I was asked recently to share stories about my experiences commissioning new music in the hope that...
Author
Justus Schlichting
Afrodiasporic artists at the Always, Already There Conference 2024 -- Photo by Jonathan Finlayson

There is no Scarcity: Afrodiasporic Artists are Always, Already There

Last month, I spent a week in Berlin. There was a happening – a very Black gathering that pulled par...
Author
deVon Russell Gray
Shruthi Rajasekar -- Photo by Tom Mungall

Considering the Context of Our Artmaking When Composing Response Pieces

Music doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it is a product of its time. Compositions are microcosms of the wor...
Author
Shruthi Rajasekar
Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher -- Photo by Richard Termaine Photography

Promoting Digital Content with Integrity, Intentionality, and Flexibility

How artists approach digital content is a sprawling, deeply complicated question. While some key top...
Author
Andrew Ousley
Evan Williams, Jenn Jolley, Stephanie Ann Boyd, Yaz Lancaster

The End of Finale: Reflections and Advice for Composing in a New Era

Some words from Carolina Heredia, ACF Director of Programs: The abrupt announcement by MakeMusic to...
Author
I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
Etienne Girardet -- Courtesy of Unsplash

Branding Basics for Artists: Finding Authenticity in Digital Spaces

For many musicians, it can be intimidating to figure out how to use digital platforms in ways that b...
Co-Author
Christina Jensen, Maya Cassady
Photo by Wu-Yi via Unsplash

The Ethics of a Personal Canon: Resisting the Lifestyle-ification of Music

In discussions of art music, it’s impossible to escape talking about “the canon” and how it colors o...
Author
Kathleen McGowan
Robot Pianist -- Image by Possessed Photography

With Advancements in Technology, is AI Really a Threat to Human Composers?

The music world is changing. AI is here, and it’s powerful. With the rapid evolution of AI mus...
Author
Christopher Wieduwilt
Brianna Matzke -- Photo by Marlene Rounds

“I Didn’t Notice My Hands Were Shaking:” Making Essential Music with Essential Tremor

I didn’t notice that my hands were shaking. Other people, mainly my fellow graduate students studyin...
Author
Brianna Matzke
Jessica Bailey -- Photo courtesy of the author

Earned, Not Learned: How Classical Music Notation is Not Built For Neurodivergent Students

At the drama school in London where I was a student from ages 11 to 15, there was an abundance of un...
Author
Jessica Bailey
Julia Perry -- Talbott Music Library Special Collections and Westminster Choir College Archives (Julia Perry Collection), Rider University

In her Centenary Year, the Efforts to Preserve Julia Perry’s Legacy Reveal Issues that Persist Today

From Manchester, England to New York City, performers, scholars, and music lovers gathered through t...
Co-Author
Samantha Ege, Garrett Schumann
Vivian Fung--Photo courtesy of the artist

Are Music Videos Worth the Time and Money Investment for Artists?

For better or worse, video content has become the number one way to satisfy algorithms and encourage...
Author
Vivian Fung
Katie Brown with the 2019 Gateways Music Festival orchestra --Photo courtesy Katie Brown

It’s Not Just an Access Problem – Orchestras Aren’t Creating Safe Environments for Black Musicians

For decades, American orchestras have struggled to increase the number of Black musicians on their r...
Author
Katie Brown
Phong Tran -- Photo by Alex SK Brown

Anatomy of a Commission: Rethinking Composer-Ensemble Commissions from a Visual Artist Perspective

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital res...
Author
Phong Tran
Juhi Bansal on a hiking trip -- Photo courtesy of the artist

Where Do We Find Resilience? The Practice of Persevering

There are views you don’t forget: that first, perfect glimpse to the other side of a mountain pass;...
Author
Juhi Bansal
Essay authors Amanda Cook, Forrest Howell, Jenn Jolley, Julia Kuhlman, Tim Igel, and Yaz Lancaster

Should Artists Have a Website? Thoughts from Around the Artistic Community

In the ever-evolving music industry, artists frequently find themselves at the crossroads of traditi...
Author
I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
Image

Anatomy of a Commission: Understanding the Institutional Perspective

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital res...
Author
Sarah Williams
JACK Quartet -- Photo by Shervin Lainez

Anatomy of a Commission: Performers as Commissioners

Designed for both music creators and their collaborators, “Anatomy of a Commission” is a digital res...
Author
Austin Wulliman
Dalanie Harris and Katie Brown of Classically Black Podcast -- Photo by Lasalle Smith

To Podcast or Not to Podcast? Reflections from the Hosts of “Classically Black”

Classical musicians in the 21st century are expected to continually adapt to the latest cultural and...
Co-Author
Katie Brown, Dalanie Harris
Mariah Goulet -- Photo courtesy of the artist

Higher Ed Supported Me Until My Career-Ending Injury — Then I Got Ghosted

One of the worst break-ups I ever endured came from a four-year relationship that I invested all of...
Author
Mariah Goulet
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