The Miews

Today's guest is none other than filmmaker Reginald Hudlin, a man whose work quietly shaped the world-views of so many Gen-Xers over the years. Hudlin also helped birth the careers of some of America's top film stars. In addition to discussing Hudlin's latest film "Marshall" (in theaters October 13, 2017), Reggie and I delve into how growing up in East Saint Louis, Illinois, and eventually attending Harvard University, shaped his perspectives on some of life's biggest issues; and why he...

This episode marks the Relaunch of The Miews podcast. Today, our host, Shaine Freeman:

Author, Speaker, & Independent Radio Professional - D Grant Smith of Appetizer Radio - Talks Indie Music Radio When it comes to building lasting relationships with indie music radio professionals, or just the media in general, "growth farmer" D Grant Smith from Appetizer Radio knows a thing to two about what works. If you're an artist or band who hasn't been able to figure out why radio programmers aren't playing your music then listen to this interview. D Grant Smith lays out a blueprint...

Andy Gesner of Hip Video Promotion Discusses Music Video Promotion Music video promotion planning is something every artist must do if they want to have a successful release. But, almost everytime an artist tells me they're about to release a music video and I ask if they've put together a marketing plan for it, the answer is almost always, "No, I haven't." But the messed up part is that these artists spend tons of money and time making the video with no plan for how they're going to...

IndieMono Founder and Spotify Curator Carlos Casany Helps Indie Artists Gain Fans Carlos Casany is the founder of IndieMono where he is a professional Spotify playlist curator. Carlos spends a great deal of his time searching out the best indie music he can find, in an effort to give artists/bands a chance to be heard by his more than 30,000 Spotify listeners. Here, I speak to Carlos Casany about the benefits artists gain through being added to Spotify playlists, despite the ongoing...

3 Things Top Artists Do To Guarantee Success In Music + New Indie Music By Top Artists Success in music for any top artist can be traced back to a number of key things, but there are 3 things that the most successful artists do to guarantee themselves staying power in the industry. Interestingly enough, most indie artists rarely do these things and then wonder why they struggle to find success in music. So, here I am going to share with you: WHAT YOU'LL LEARN MUSIC FEATURED...

4 Reasons Most Unsigned Artists Do Not Make Money + New Indie Music By Top Artists There are a number of reasons why unsigned artists do not make money, and the excuses range from "Oh, well there's too much music being released," to "I need to do more shows." But the truth is there are really just four reasons most unsigned artists don't make money from their hard work, and on today's episode of The Miews podcast, Shaine breaks those four issues down. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Also, after Shaine...

Singer-Songwriter Will Carpenter of Ships Have Sailed Talks Building A Fanbase In 2016 Some musicians love to ignore the business side of music no matter how many times it hits them in the face; but not Will Carpenter. The Ships Have Sailed frontman has learned a lot from his journey as an unsigned independent artist. Having played some of the largest music festivals in North America - from SXSW and CMJ, to Canadian Music Week - Will has developed a keen sense of how things work in today's...

Pianist Charley Raiff Talks About His Dealings With Major Labels and More Charley Raiff has a lot to be excited about. From working with top producers on his new release in Persona, to playing tons of dates in the northeastern U.S. But his excitement isn't just about being an artist, it's moreso about him being able to successfully record an album despite being told by major label execs that his music was great but, it's "not what's on the radio." Some artists would not bounce back from...

Interview with Billboard.com Senior Editor - Gail Mitchell + Hot New Indie Music Getting a feature in a major publication is one of the many dreams that music artists have, and thanks to people like Gail Mitchell - Senior Editor at Billboard, this dream has become a reality for many musicians. This award-winning journalist has covered some of the industry's most iconic artists - from Prince to Stevie Wonder, over the course of her 30+ years in the music business. This episode, I sat down...

Interview with Shawn Barron - VP of Urban A&R at Atlantic Records + New Indie Music When it comes to discovering talent Atlantic Records VP of Urban A&R, Shawn Barron, has the Midas touch and a golden set of ears to match. After discovering some of the most acclaimed hip-hop music artists of today, including Drake and Ty Dolla $ign, Barron has been making his mark as one of the top A&R executives in the music business. On this episode of The Miews podcast, I sat down with Shawn Barron and...

5 Things Musicians Care About That Music Fans Don't + New Must Hear Indie Music Today, I'm going to focus on the 5 things bands obsess over that music fans do not even care about. Over the years I've found that musicians and their fans are on two totally different wavelengths when it comes to what they're looking for out of music - which is why only about 1% of the bands who pursue a career in music will reach superstar status and only 3% will be able to actually make it their full-time job...

4 Non-Productive Roles Many Musicians Force Managers Into + Top Songs By Unsigned Artists Great music managers are hard to find, especially when you consider that it's one of the few professions where no experience, license, or degree is required to negotiate contracts and collect money on behalf of someone who is not under your guardianship. In this episode I will share what some of the nonproductive roles that music managers may have to fill when representing musicians. MUSIC...

The Top 4 Things That Keep You From Booking Shows The 2016 touring season is now in full swing and most DIYers are making the kinds of mistakes that keep you from booking shows. Over the past decade I have spoken with scores of independent artists who don't have a booking agent or a capable manager, and these four (4) issues continue to plague unsigned bands who try to lock in live performance dates. No Draw.How do you develop a draw without shows? episode 122How To Get PressSending...

In keeping with our theme of HOW TO GET PRESS for the DIY Musician, I want to focus on the Top 4 Reasons Indie Musicians Get Stuck At A Day Job. There are a number of reasons why musicians experience a failure to launch when trying to make music their fulltime job, from fear to miseducation. Here, Shaine shares some valuable insights on why most musicians won't every make it, based on his 22 years experience as a music manager, musician/songwriter, and award-winning entertainment media...

3 Things That Will Take You From Nobody To Somebody In Music -- HOW TO GET PRESS (Part I) This episode you'll learn 3 ways to increase your chances of gaining press and going from nobody to somebody in music. If you've ever wondered why nobody is talking about you and your music there's likely a number of reasons this is the case for you. Maybe you're lazy, or afraid of rejection, or maybe you think it's because you don't have a publicist? I'm sure you can pinpoint a few reasons if you...

How Your Name Can Create Issues + Guests THE SLANTS Join Us To Discuss Their Recent Fight To Trademark Their Name When it comes to choosing a stage name for your band or self, a lot must be taken into consideration, as my special guest - Simon from the band The Slants has learned over the past few years while fighting in court against the US Patent & Trademark Office for the right to trademark their name; as you'll learn in this episode of The Miews podcast. When your parents discovered...

3 Kinds of Musicians Who Sabotage Their Own Career + NEW Indie Music There are 3 kinds of musicians who sabotage their own career, and smart managers do everything they can to avoid them. The artist-manager relationship, if properly handled, can be one of the most rewarding experiences in the world. It can also be one of the most frustrating and complicated arrangements that, if left to chance, has the potential to totally ruin great friendships. In the same way that a band might have an...

How To Become A Household Name (BRAND AFFINITY) + NEW Music By Top Indie Bands and Artists Every music artist wants to be a superstar, but the problem is that most don't know how to become a household name. The truth is, very few musicians can do it without the help of a great team and an equally amazing plan. You can be a household name in your city, state, region, country, or internationally; but you have to first understand how that happens. Becoming a household name takes money,...

3 Signs You Should Quit Your Dayjob To Do Music Fulltime + NEW Music By Top Indie Bands and Artists We all have - or have had - a job that we flat out hate(d). You might be at that job right now as you're listening to this. In the end, no musician wants to work a day job...at least I don't know of any who do. So, if you hate your job and dread going in everyday, here are 3 signs that you should quit your day job to do music fulltime. IF YOU CAN AFFORD TO QUITIF YOU FEEL YOU MIGHT COMMIT A...