nickfurlong

It was difficult. I was a little choked up at certain moments and trying to contain myself emotionally. Pouring my heart out to a crowd of that size while our song was being played by all of those wonderful musicians in the house band made it all VERY real. I managed to make it until I got off the stage, and then I stood in the crowd with my fiance, a lot of my best friends, and all of the fans, and we just hugged, cried and watched the final moments together.

He did. There was a specific moment I will never forget when my dad and I were driving in his old beat up gear van and I was crying because I used to get made fun of A LOT for loving rap music as a white kid growing up, in a small hillbilly town. I was like 14 years old I think. He turned and said "Son... You can't listen to any of this. If you love what you're doing, do it unapologetically and if people make fun of you, fuck em." In the years approaching me moving to LA I also recall many convos of him saying that I'd only ever know how things would play it if I took the ride. He really gave me the courage to blindly throw myself out into the world and into the music industry with a head full of ideas and a heart full of enthusiasm.

From everything I know, he was the kind of friend you want. We didn't get the chance to become very close, and I really wish we had more time once he slowed down. As a music producer he was dedicated to his craft, and at always getting better. He was fearless in pushing the envelope of his own music, and inspired by a world of taste and diversity. He also was SO prolific, and had a keen sense of identity in the way he wrote and produced a song. I found those to be some of the things that stood out the most to me.

Not totally, but in some ways yes. I also think it HIGHLY depends on who you are as an artist. Do I think that somebody like Calvin Harris could tour less and continue to release music successfully? Yes. Do I think he would continue to be AS successful? Maybe, but touring definitely eliminates any extra doubt. Now an act like twentyonepilots. I don't see them NOT in an arena. I read an interview recently actually where Tyler Joseph had talked about the pressures to find a way to provide the same interactive experience in the age of COVID, and at the time they didn't really seem to know what to do. It will be very interesting to see how touring changes, if it all, in the future.

There are SO many ways to make money in the music business. None of them are easy unfortunately, and collecting can feel like walking backwards through a forest with your eyes closed. Here's the best way I can break it down for you:

In the United States there are three songwriting societies known as PROs (ASCAP, BMI, and CESAC). Step 1 is to register for one of these. Personally, I chose BMI. You will be given a member ID number for yourself as a songwriter (this is how they will pay you performance royalties). You will then create a publishing company with that same society, linked to your member ID, name it whatever you want to associate with you as the musician (think of it like your very own company name). Now, if you publish a song you and it starts generating money, then about 12 months after the song is released you will begin to see money being collected by the society you chose and paid to you in two ways, one as a songwriter to your songwriter account and one as a publisher to your publisher account. If you begin to create more songs that generate more income then I would advise looking into doing a publishing admin deal. This is where a third party company (ex: Kobalt Publishing) would ensure that the PROs are collecting ALL of the money your songs are earning. It's a HUGE industry with a lot of moving parts so it's easy to leave money on the table if you aren't careful. Another HUGE thing most people don't realize they can do is sign up for your SAG-AFTRA performing rights if you are an actual performer on a song. This + neighboring rights! Look into all of these.