MicroBiz
MicroBiz is Pyragraph’s small business channel. If you’re a soapmaker, dog groomer, or roadside hocker of melons, check out these posts for tips and tricks from creative business people in the trenches.

SOMOS: ‘We Are’ Taking Over Downtown ABQ
I loved SOMOS because it wasn’t just aimed at adults. I love downtown, but I’m in middle school, and downtown there are a lot of bars and not a lot for kids. SOMOS had both. They had a beer garden for adults and fun installations and booths for both adults and kids!
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No One Knows Anything About New Mexico A chat with Marcella Ortega, the Latina David Sedaris
I’m recording stories from my life that I find most entertaining and maybe it’s at the expense of other people but I’m not using anyone’s real name. I am a bit worried how I’m portraying myself and my family reading it ’cause I think they’ll be scandalized or concerned by it.
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Dear Rich: Using MIDI Music from a Video Game Cartridge
Dear Rich: I want to know if it is considered sampling when you record sound coming from a synthesizer that is playing electronic note data stored on a memory chip. Technically when you play an NES game (’80s video game system), the music that is playing is not pre-recorded. It is actually played “live” from musical note data on the game cartridge (gameplay triggers a MIDI pattern) in the console into the internal synthesizer.
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Gun Sense Now! Maggie Byers and Emilie De Angelis of Moms Demand Action NM
After last week’s tragedy in Parkland, Florida, I reached out to Maggie Byers and Emilie De Angelis of Moms Demand Action NM to talk about recent developments on the gun control front. Moms Demand Action is a bi-partisan grassroots organization fighting the epidemic of gun violence in the US.
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Coffee + Creatives Job Listings: 1.8.18
Welcome to the inaugural Coffee + Creatives Job Listings! We are pleased to bring you the latest in gigs, jobs, and funding for creatives around the world. Jobs and funding opportunities included in our listings tend to be flexible and/or remote, though we will include some from our home state of New Mexico.
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Fast Heart Mart Out with New Book on US Music Tour
As long as I’ve been a fan, Martin has said the same thing: “If you choose a path to fall back on, you will.” Martin is balls to the wall.
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Dear Rich: Should I Submit Fabric Designs to Vida?
Dear Rich: I built my business on printing my designs on fabric and making stuff. Now there’s a handy service (VIDA) that makes stuff with your uploaded design and sells it to others. I am just leery of any “catches.” Can you look at the licensing agreement?
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Mad Men and True Believers
For the most part, I’ve had the good fortune of doing work that doesn’t compromise my beliefs. But a few years ago I wasn’t so lucky.
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No Internet, No Music: Why Musicians Need to Care About Net Neutrality
Musicians and the music they create are critical to halting further attacks on net neutrality. When net neutrality protections were at risk of being destroyed in the past, musicians came out in large numbers during a multi-year campaign to save it. And we are needed this time around too.
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Do I Need a Booking Agent?
Trust me, filling a ticketed show is hard work. Getting 30 people out to a gig on a Friday night in a large metropolitan city is like pulling teeth! That’s why bands split bills. If you’re at a place where you can fill the room, you probably could use a booking agent.
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What Does It Mean When Someone Says, ‘Your Work Reminds Me Of…’
Inevitably someone is going to compare your work to someone else’s. And when someone says, “This reminded me of your work” it’s hard to know what they mean.
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How Do I Know If I’m Ready for Management?
If your inbox is overflowing with booking requests and media opportunities, and you simply cannot handle the workload on your own, you need a manager.
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Dear Little Bobby: Waste Not, Guilt Not
Far too often in this country we throw things away that would still be wanted by someone else. Everything from perfectly edible food which places like Whole Foods throw away because the bananas are “a little too yellow” to the unwanted pets that get thrown away by fools who get a dog without wanting the responsibility of its care.
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Dear Rich: Can I Be Sued for Modifying My Own Writing That I Donated to the Public Domain?
I believe that a greatly modified public domain work would be a new work and therefore copyrightable, right? I couldn’t be sued for modifying my own writing, could I? What are my rights in this case?
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Choosing Board Members to Maximize Your Nonprofit’s Effectiveness
The very best prospects for your nonprofit’s board will be people who share a passion for, and commitment to, the nonprofit’s mission. No matter what name recognition or professional credentials particular people may have to offer, they will not be assets to your nonprofit’s board unless they care a lot about what you do.
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Want to Support the Arts? Start a Nonprofit!
We artists and writers can’t afford to passively watch all the things we care about burn to the ground. Rather, we should be proactive in ensuring that the arts have a place to flourish and thrive in every town and community in the US.
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