When Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert was 20 years old, he uploaded a few songs to SoundCloud, a free music-sharing platform. The tracks got a couple hundred plays, then a few thousand. Three years later, on the strength of a moody song called “XO Tour Llif3” and a series of streaming-only mixtapes, the rapper, now 23, has racked up over a billion Spotify streams and nabbed a Best New Artist Grammy nomination. Lil Uzi Vert’s rise is impressive. But this year, he’s just one in

It’s an interesting time. Consider Portugal. The Man, a rock band whose hit “Feel It Still” was one of the most pervasive songs of 2017. I heard it everywhere. And it sounded strange. It is truly an odd song — a throwback with entirely modern production at the same time. It stood out. Today, you can’t necessarily think, “Rock music has to be this and it can’t be that.” We’re challenging the notion of what rock music can be. Listening to a playlist might mean going from a Beat

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The best musicians in the world are known for their catchy tunes, powerful vocals and incredible instrument skills. They’re also frequently known for their mesmerizing stage presences. If you’re a musician who wants to captivate audiences at upcoming shows, your style can contribute to your overall stage presence. Eye-catching fashion and strong stage presence often go hand in hand for musicians. Take Advantage of Striking Colors Color can make life a lot more interesting. If

Image via Getty/Johnny Nunez Recently, the producer Zaytoven announced that he, along with his label Familiar Territory Records, had signed a deal with Motown. This partnership came hot on the heels of similar deals for Metro Boomin, who shared word of a joint label with Republic Records this past June; and London on da Track, who signed a deal with RCA as a solo artist in August. This raises the question, why? Why is now a good time for producers to step out from behind the

Seth Godin describes a tribe as “a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.” He goes on to explain that tribes have been in existence for millions of years and that all a group really needs in order to be considered a tribe are shared interests and a way to communicate. At its core, building a tribe seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? The reality is that fostering a sense of community isn’t something that comes naturally to most

After I began to outgrow my first guitar and develop musical tastes of my own, I started asking for a new guitar. The problem was, I didn't know exactly what I wanted. Walking into a guitar store was mind boggling. The brands and prices became a blur; was there a “best” brand? Was there an ideal model? And, of course, money is always a factor. Few can afford to walk into a store and buy a several-thousand-dollar-dream guitar. While everything is subjective, here are my own op

Image via Shutterstock This article originally appeared on the TuneCore blog. I want you to think of some of your favorite songs. You know, those choruses you could sing over and over for hours and still not be sick of them. How do you think those songwriters stumbled upon something so seemingly perfect? Was it a bolt of inspiration out of the blue? Or did it stem from their understanding of music and countless hours of practice? More likely than not, it was a combination of

There’s this myth in the music industry that packing up and moving to Los Angeles to chase your dreams is bound to result in massive success. The only problem? It’s not necessarily true. Sure, there are plenty of artists who make the move to California each year and find themselves in the right circles, talking to the right people, and making the right moves — but that isn’t because LA is some magical place that does all the work for you. It’s because they had a plan in place

Cardi B performs at The Joy Theater on Dec. 29, 2017 in New Orleans. Just when you thought Cardi B's smoldering run in 2017 wouldn't cross over into the new year, the Bronx native is already proving her detractors wrong. On Tuesday (Jan. 2), Cardi notched another feat when she became the third artist to have her first three entries on the Billboard Hot 100 reside in the Top 10 simultaneously. Of course, the loquacious MC didn't hold back her joy, as she celebrated her new acc