Posts by Jamie Hill

The foundational premise here, which most people don’t realize, is that getting on the bottom of the Top New Artist Albums chart is relatively achievable. You only have to sell around 200 records in a typical week to hit it.

The good news is that this work is enjoyable. Figuring out how to make a career from music is challenging—which I happen to think is one of the best parts about it.

Every day that you’re revisiting a work in progress is a day that it isn’t out there in the world, pushing your story forward.

Good producers have developed a sixth sense that tells them when a recording is working. But what if you can’t work with a good producer?

You know that shiny piece of crap on the radio that’s so perfect it’s soulless and devoid of any human connection? Don’t make that record.

But here’s the thing: in the music marketplace, being highly talented is not the destination point—it’s the departure point. It’s your ticket to entry.

Collaboration is challenging, and fraught with the potential for misunderstanding. Therefore it’s extra important to be as clear as possible.

A recording is an opportunity to use a much bigger and more ambitious sonic palette than you would have access to in a typical live situation.

If other people are achieving success with a certain sound, that means that you have less chance of succeeding with that same sound, not more.

The most full-featured compressor I own cost me less than a decent lunch. It also happens to have my favorite saturator built into it: the Klanghelm DC8C.

I just found an amazing EQ plugin that costs less than $25. It’s an analog modeling emulation of the EQ section of some early ’80s console. The SW34.