Digital or hard copy? CD or vinyl? Download or streaming? Label or self-release? How do I get reviewed? What's an ISRC code? Bassist and bandleader Lisa Mezzacappa leads a workshop guiding independent musicians and ensemble leaders through the often overwhelming landscape of releasing your music in our diffuse digital age. We will talk about the most common avenues for releasing your music on your own, and getting your music onto streaming sites, online music services, and in brick-and-mortar record stores. We will discuss aspects of managing a successful release, from budgeting to dealing with vendors and manufacturers, to planning your timeline. We will also explore publicity strategy, licensing, and other questions brought to the workshop by participants. In a storied career as an academic, journalist, arts administrator and independent musician, Lisa Mezzacappa has been immersed in the arts for nearly 20 years. She was a critic and arts reporter for a daily newspaper in New York before pursuing a degree in ethnomusicology at UC Berkeley. She subsequently worked at New Langton Arts and Stanford Lively Arts, and has been a freelance copywriter, publicist, grant-writer and marketing consultant for Cal Performances, the Mondavi Center, Oakland Ballet, Kronos Quartet and InterMusic SF. As a composer and ensemble leader, she has been awarded grants from the Gerbode Foundation, the MAP Fund, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Aaron Copland Fund, InterMusic SF, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the Wattis Foundation, American Composers Forum and the City of Oakland. She has released a dozen recordings of her music on jazz and contemporary music labels in the US and abroad, as well as on her own micro-label, Queen Bee Records.
Release! A DIY guide to putting out a record in 2021
Digital or hard copy? CD or vinyl? Download or streaming? Label or self-release? How do I get reviewed? What’s an ISRC code? Bassist and bandleader Lisa Mezzacappa leads a workshop guiding independent musicians and ensemble leaders through the often overwhelming landscape of releasing your music in our diffuse digital age. We will talk about the most common avenues for releasing your music on your own, and getting your music onto streaming sites, online music services, and in brick-and-mortar record stores. We will discuss aspects of managing a successful release, from budgeting to dealing with vendors and manufacturers, to planning your timeline. We will also explore publicity strategy, licensing, and other questions brought to the workshop by participants.
In a storied career as an academic, journalist, arts administrator and independent musician, Lisa Mezzacappa has been immersed in the arts for nearly 20 years. She was a critic and arts reporter for a daily newspaper in New York before pursuing a degree in ethnomusicology at UC Berkeley. She subsequently worked at New Langton Arts and Stanford Lively Arts, and has been a freelance copywriter, publicist, grant-writer and marketing consultant for Cal Performances, the Mondavi Center, Oakland Ballet, Kronos Quartet and InterMusic SF. As a composer and ensemble leader, she has been awarded grants from the Gerbode Foundation, the MAP Fund, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Aaron Copland Fund, InterMusic SF, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the Wattis Foundation, American Composers Forum and the City of Oakland. She has released a dozen recordings of her music on jazz and contemporary music labels in the US and abroad, as well as on her own micro-label, Queen Bee Records.