Brooklyn’s Fanciest Rummage Sale

Talk about bang for your buck. This Saturday, July 17, you can hear live professional music and hunt for bargains for free. The One World Symphony will hold its Super Summer Rummage Sale in Brooklyn Heights—complete with live jazz, cabaret and classical music, led by Artistic Director and Conductor Sung Jin Hong. The wares include two-piece suits, tuxes, dresses, gowns, scores and CDs…

Personal Branding the Concert Pianist Way

Most of us have heard so often that it’s important to have a personal brand that we’re sick of it. The overuse of the term is beginning to devalue it. I’m not a box of cereal; I’m a human being, you might say.

That is true. And it is increasingly difficult to find a differentiator as the competition for jobs and consulting assignments is so fierce. Maybe it’s because we’re looking at ourselves as a business. We’re using dull and dry terms to describe ourselves: team player, proven track record, top producer. They don’t exactly leap out and grab someone by the throat.

But a review in The New York Times last week of two young pianists got me thinking that we should be looking at it in a different way. The Times music critic began: “Many young classical musicians feel pressure to stand out.” Well, who doesn’t? It’s not just pianists; everyone in this tough economic climate is looking to stand out. But it was another sentence that really got my attention: “It is not enough to play an instrument – or sing or conduct – brilliantly. You have to search within yourself and define your artistic identity. Your performances should convey what you believe in, what excites you.”..

The Sounds of the Recession

Over the past year, the recession has touched nearly every aspect of our lives—from the way we travel, to the way we dress, and even the things we eat—which is why it should come as no surprise that the economic downturn has impacted the way we listen to music, too. After all, great depressions have been known to spark cultural revolutions before.

So will this time be any different, and how exactly has the music industry shifted since this current recession began?

Country musicians and rap stars are changing their tune. While pop singers have pretty much ignored the recession so far, country stars have taken the downturn head on, tapping into the angst of the unemployed with songs like “Shuttin’ Detroit Down,” “Red White and Pink Slip Blues,” and “Prayer of a Common Man.” Rap stars have jumped on the bandwagon as well, coming out with albums that reflect the times, like Young Jeezy’s “The Recession,” and announcing the end of bling…

Recession Briefing 5.14

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Despite the sour economy, mainstream music has been remarkably free of songs about tough times. Country music seems to be the exception. (Associated Press)

Dollar stores are cleaning up: Nearly half of all U.S. households now shop at the low-price stores each month. (Los Angeles Times)

Faced with tough economic realities, more adult children are moving back into their parents’ homes. The AARP found that 11% of adults between 35 and 44 were living with their parents or in-laws. (New York Times)

New unemployment claims rose to 637,000 last week, despite expectations that they would fall. Ongoing claims also set a record at 6.56 million. (Bloomberg)…

Redux: Will the Recession Spark a Music Revolution?

Little known fact: Many of America’s quintessential cultural elements – the hamburger, the hotdog, Hollywood, baseball, horse-racing and rock-and-roll, to name a few – can be traced to Great Depression. We’ve been shocked into recalling that financial markets feature cycles of contraction and expansion. But culture does, too. Oddly, these cycles appear to be inverted. When the market contracts, culture seems to expand. Innovators emerge, values shift, and tastes change. People begin to play outside the box.