Articles
Touring, self-release, money and the scene, written for bands who do the work themselves.
-
Touring
Visas and setlist royalties: paperwork before an overseas tour
A plain checklist for bands touring abroad: which work visas to research, why to start early, and how to collect live performance royalties.
-
Money
Your band already owns more sellable assets than you think
A practical inventory of the recordings, video and art a band already owns, and the direct sales, memberships and licensing that can pay for them.
-
Money
Picking the right room: break-even math before you book a show
How DIY bands can judge a venue before booking: right-sizing capacity, reading the deal, finding break-even and checking the local scene.
-
Scene
One podcast line, a wave of headlines: the Jasta and Tool lesson
Jamey Jasta called Tool's Fear Inoculum "spa music" and it went everywhere. What bands can learn about how quotes travel, as of January 2025.
-
Touring
Build the backup plan before your singer walks
Exodus has lost a vocalist on the eve of a tour and swapped singers in one announcement. A band crisis plan you can write in an afternoon.
-
Scene
Three bands, one voice: what Maynard's side projects teach players
Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer show how work outside your main band sharpens your writing and spreads your income, without burning out.
-
Scene
Death Angel's 2024 tour exit: side projects and the calendar
What Death Angel's 2024 exit from the W.A.S.P. tour shows working bands about side projects, availability and announcing a drop-off.
-
Self-release
Your audience lives on rented land: social media for working bands
Use social platforms to get found, then move fans to an email list and a store you control. A working band's guide, written January 2025.
-
Scene
Spotify's mood playlists and the heavy music they leave out
How Spotify's playlist logic and royalty rules sideline album-first bands, as of early 2025, and what independent metal acts can control instead.
-
Touring
Lower-waste touring for DIY bands that also saves money
Practical ways for small touring bands to cut fuel, waste and power use on the road, focused on the changes that also save the band money.
-
Money
Fair pay for musicians: what's broken and what other countries do
Why streaming-era pay leaves working musicians short, and the policy, platform and union fixes worth pushing for, including models from abroad.
-
Touring
Rent or buy the tour van: how to decide with real numbers
Renting vs buying a used tour van for small and mid-level bands: what each really costs, where each wins and how to run the comparison.
-
Money
Gig income for metal musicians: getting through the lean months
How working metal musicians can handle uneven gig pay: budgeting for lean months, extra income streams, clear deal terms and where to find support.
-
Health
Mental health on the road: what helps and who to call
Touring wears people down. Practical habits for the van, and verified music-industry support lines in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
-
Money
What streaming actually pays a metal band, and where the money is
The per-stream math, why album-first metal bands get squeezed by it, and the direct sales that still pay for the next tour.
-
Scene
Women and non-binary artists in metal: what bands can actually do
Lineups, pay and coverage still skew one way. Concrete moves for bookers, bands, fans and media to put women and non-binary artists on the bill.
-
Self-release
Protecting your riffs, name and logo: IP basics for bands
Copyright, trademarks and licensing in plain terms for independent bands, plus what to do when someone uses your work without permission.
-
Money
When crowdfunding works for a band, and when it flops
Crowdfunding isn't lazy, but it isn't free money either. What separated the metal campaigns that cleared their goals from the ones that stalled.
-
Touring
The label isn't the plan anymore. The road is.
Labels sign bands that already earn. Build your draw on tour, keep your merch margin, and bring a deal in only when you can set the terms.
-
Touring
First tour budget: gas, beds, food and who runs the day sheet
A first-tour budget for DIY bands: how to estimate gas, where to sleep, how to eat cheap, staying healthy and why someone should own logistics.
-
Money
Giving your music away can make you more money
Why a CD sale often pays the band less than a beer at the bar, and how free downloads build the list that routes your next tour.
-
Health
Drinking and using on tour: getting help without going broke
Substance problems set careers back. How bandmates can help, why sobriety carries no shame, and where to find low-cost treatment.