Making a Scene Presents

Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Levi Platero Levi Platero is from the Navajo Nation in the Southwest United States. He first gained national attention with his family band, The Plateros, who emerged in 2004 as a blues-rock power trio often compared to artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Los Lonely Boys, and ZZ Top. The band spent more than a decade touring across the U.S., building a reputation for their high-energy live shows and strong musicianship. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey's Interview with Johnny Barracuda of the Soho Dukes SOHO DUKES won’t admit it, but they’re having a very good time. The band began in an unlikely way, not in a rehearsal room, but as a nineteenth-century–style drinking club roaming the pubs of London’s West End. On one of those legendary crawls, Bomber on bass and Johnny Barracuda on vocals crossed paths with Col “The Duke” Foster on rhythm guitar and Age Blackwell on drums. As the nights grew longer and the beer got more expensive, two more essential characters joined the group, Si Leach on lead guitar and the mysterious Swerve on keyboards. At that point, the cost of keeping the “club” alive became unsustainable, so they did the only sensible thing. Col picked up a guitar, and the band was born. http://www.makingascene.org

Recording Vocals at Home: From Living Room to Radio-Ready Recording vocals at home used to feel like settling. You’d stand in a bedroom or living room, sing into a mic, and then hope the computer could “fix it” later. That old approach is done. These days, an indie singer with a normal room, a few smart choices, and good habits can record vocals that sit right next to commercial releases without sounding out of place. Not because home gear is some kind of magic cheat code, but because the real process of making great vocal recordings is finally available to everyone. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents - Why AI Video Finally Makes Sense for Indie Artists using AIVideo.com For most independent musicians, the music video has always been the most expensive piece of the puzzle. You can record at home, distribute digitally, market on social platforms, but the moment visuals enter the conversation, the price jumps and control disappears. Crews, locations, schedules, favors, compromises. That is the old system. AI video changes that system, not by replacing creativity, but by breaking the video down into its smallest, most manageable parts. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene is reaffirming and expanding its commitment to the independent music community with a clear editorial mission: to continue delivering in-depth, practical journali/sm that helps artists take control of their careers instead of asking for permission from systems that were never designed to work in their favor. This commitment is not rooted in trends, hype cycles, or surface-level commentary. It is grounded in the belief that a healthy music ecosystem depends on a strong, informed, and economically sustainable music industry middle class made up of independent artists who understand both their creative value and their business power. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents - What the Hell Is an AI Agent and How can you Use it for your Music Business Let’s strip the mystery away right now. An AI Agent is not a robot. It’s not a sci-fi brain. It’s not some Silicon Valley thing meant for billion-dollar companies. An AI Agent is simply a digital helper that can think through tasks, make decisions, and take action for you, without you babysitting every step. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Johnny "V" Vernazza Johnny “V” Vernazza was born in San Francisco and raised in Daly City, right in the middle of one of the most explosive music scenes in American history. In the 1960s, the Bay Area wasn’t just alive with music, it was overflowing. Clubs were everywhere, and it was normal to jam at four or five spots in a single night. Add legendary rooms like the Fillmore, the Avalon Ballroom, and massive concerts in Golden Gate Park, and you had a city where music wasn’t a hobby, it was a way of life. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey's Interview with Laura Rain Detroit is a city built on grit. After decades of being written off, it is rebuilding itself as a powerful center of ideas, art, and creation. The city is once again attracting artists, innovators, and dreamers who bring new energy and purpose to the Motor City. Detroit didn’t lose its soul. It was just waiting for the right moment to rise again. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents - Why the Music Industry Middle Class Matters More Than Superstars The Lie We Were All Sold From the very beginning, most musicians are taught the same story, whether anyone ever says it out loud or not. If you work hard enough, sacrifice enough, and stick it out long enough, someone with power will eventually notice you. A label. A manager. A gatekeeper of some kind. That moment, we’re told, is when your real career finally begins. Until then, you’re expected to struggle quietly and call it “paying your dues.” http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents - The Power of Reference Tracks: Learning to Mix by Listening If you want your mixes to sound more “pro” without buying more gear or plugins, this is the shortcut nobody talks about enough. Reference tracks. Not copying. Not stealing ideas. Just listening smarter. Most indie artists think mixing is about twisting knobs until things sound good. That’s half true. The real skill is knowing what “good” even sounds like in the first place. That’s where reference tracks come in. They train your ears faster than any tutorial ever will. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents - Record Labels Should Be Terrified: Artists Are Building Their Own Economies For most of music history, there was one road. If you wanted a career, you went through a major label. They had the money, the power, the distribution, and the connections. Artists were told this was the only way. Sign the deal. Give up ownership. Wait to get paid later. Maybe. That story is breaking down fast. Today, artists are quietly building something new. Not a trend. Not a side hustle. A real replacement. Artists are creating their own economies where music, fans, data, money, and marketing all live under their control. No gatekeepers. No middlemen. No waiting. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents - Web3 Sync Licensing: Decentralizing the Music-to-Media Pipeline The Old Sync Game Is Rigged (And Indie Artists Know It) If you are an independent artist, you already know the truth about sync licensing, even if nobody ever said it out loud. The system is closed. The gates are tall. The same names show up again and again in film, TV, and video games. Music supervisors pull from trusted libraries, pre-cleared catalogs, and relationships built over decades. If you are not already inside that circle, you are usually invisible. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Murali Coryell Murali Coryell’s story is one of deep roots, hard-earned growth, and a lifelong connection to music that runs far deeper than a famous last name. His journey started before he could walk. He was held as a baby by Jimi Hendrix, lived with Carlos Santana, and grew up around dinner tables shared with Miles Davis. Music wasn’t something he chose later in life. It was the air he breathed from the very beginning. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey's Interview with Katy Dann Katy Dann is a Welsh singer and songwriter who writes and sings straight from the heart. Her music blends rock, pop, and soul into a sound that feels powerful, honest, and deeply human. There’s emotion in every line she sings, but it’s balanced with strength, confidence, and a sense of joy that pulls listeners in fast. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents an interview with Robert Top Thomas Robert “Top” Thomas comes straight out of the Florida backroads, where the air is thick, the nights are loud, and the blues still mean something. He’s a swamp blues musician in the truest sense, pulling his sound from muddy rhythms, raw guitar tones, and stories that feel lived in, not written for show. When Top sings, it sounds like a late-night confession on a screened-in porch, with cicadas buzzing and a storm rolling in from the Gulf. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents Ace Studio 2.0 Artist Edition: The Deep-Dive Review Every Indie Musician Needs The walls of the old music industry are falling, and indie artists are finally getting the tools they deserve. For years, only big studios and big budgets had access to high-end vocal production, full instrument libraries, and teams of session singers ready to jump in at any moment. But now there’s Ace Studio 2.0 Artist Edition, a tool that lets any indie musician create pro-level vocals, harmonies, and expressive instruments right inside their home studio. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents - Decentralized Touring & Ticketing: Taking Control of Live Revenue If you’re an independent artist, you already know the truth. Touring is the lifeline. It’s the one place where you can still earn real money, meet real fans, and feel like you have a shot at building something that actually belongs to you. But the moment you step onto the traditional touring path, you slam headfirst into the same old walls that have stopped artists for decades. The big one is ticketing. Ticketmaster-style gatekeepers sit in the middle of everything, stacking fees on fees, blocking real fan access, and letting scalpers scoop up seats before your fans even know the show is on sale. The result is simple. You work. They eat. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents - How to Use AI Art to Build a Visual Brand Fans Remember How indie artists can use Midjourney, Ideogram, and Leonardo.ai to create a powerful, consistent visual world When people talk about branding in the music industry, it usually sounds like something only major labels can afford. Big agencies. Big budgets. Big teams deciding what your album art should look like or what colors fit your vibe. But that world is dead. Indie artists now have something better than a room full of marketing people. You have AI art tools that let you build your own visual universe with nothing but your imagination and a prompt. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents - The American Music Fairness Act: What It Really Means for Indie Artists in a World Where Radio Isn’t King Anymore For years the music business has danced around the same old question. Who gets paid when radio spins a song? If you think the artist gets a piece of that pie, you’re giving the system more credit than it deserves. The truth is, in the United States, the performer and the owner of the recording still earn nothing from AM/FM radio airplay. That weird loophole has survived almost a century. Now the American Music Fairness Act wants to close it, and the fight around it is getting louder every day. http://www.makingascene.org

Making a Scene Presents an Interview with American Mile American Mile isn’t just a band. They’re a touring machine, a modern voice for Southern rock, and storytellers for the real American struggle. Built on pure road-warrior grit, the band is carrying Southern rock forward with a sound that’s loud, raw, and impossible to ignore. http://www.makingascene.org