Making a Scene Presents

Making a Scene Presents - Booking the Festival Circuit Isn’t About “Buzz.” It’s About Proof

For a long time, getting booked on a festival felt like being chosen. You got the email, you posted the graphic, you told your friends, and you hoped the weekend would change everything. That feeling still matters, because it means you care. But the festival world has changed, and the artists who keep winning in it have stopped treating festi...

Making a Scene Presents - Why Ownership Beats Virality Every Time
The day the internet “loves” you can still be the day you learn you own nothing

Every indie artist has felt it. You post a clip and you don’t expect much, and then your phone starts buzzing like a broken snare. Comments show up from strangers, shares stack up, and somebody types, “How are you not famous?” and for a minute you can taste the alternate timeline where one ...

Making a Scene Presents - Why Monitoring Is the Most Important Part of Your Home Studio (And the Most Ignored)

There’s a specific kind of heartbreak that only home studio people understand. You finish a mix at 1:30 a.m., tired but proud, because in your room it finally sounds like a record. The vocal is sitting right where you wanted it. The drums feel tight. The chorus lifts. You do that little head nod like, “Okay… I’m getting goo...

Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Melody Guy

Melody Guy is a Nashville-based Americana singer-songwriter whose unforgettable voice and fearless honesty have powered a life on the road, with more than two million miles of touring across the United States. Blending rock, country, soul, and pop, she delivers songs with the kind of emotional clarity that stops people mid-conversation. Her voice has drawn comparisons to Eva Cassi...

Making a Scene Presents - Streaming Growth is Slowing And That’s Good News for Indie Artists.

For the past ten-plus years, the music industry has sold indie artists one simple dream. Get your music on streaming. Get on playlists. Get the numbers up. Then, somehow, the money will follow. A lot of artists found out the hard way that this dream has a catch. Streaming is real. Streaming is powerful. Streaming can introduce you to new li...

Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey's Interview with Jamiah Denzel Rogers

Deacon Denzel and Dirty Church is the kind of band that doesn’t just play a set — they build a room, light it up, and then invite everybody inside. Rooted in the sweat-and-soul tradition of rock, blues, funk, and gospel, their sound feels like a late-night revival meeting colliding with a barroom jam: gritty, joyful, and impossible to fake.

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Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Otis Walker

Otis Walker was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and came up in the deep musical tradition of the American South. He cut his teeth in the music business in Muscle Shoals, absorbing the sounds, work ethic, and soul that have defined generations of legendary recordings. That foundation shaped both his playing and his approach to songwriting, grounding his music in feel, groove, and auth...

Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Dana Maragos

Dana Maragos is a Chicago-based singer-songwriter whose music is rooted in storytelling, tradition, and a lifelong relationship with song. Her journey began early, when her grandmother bought her a $25 guitar in Chicago’s Old Town at just six years old. Growing up on the city’s South Side, Dana learned her first chords from a teenage neighbor, singing along to the songs of Bob D...

Making a Scene Presents - How AI Can Turn Your Fans Into a Street Team (Without Burning You Out)

For decades, street teams were built on chaos. Flyers stuffed into backpacks. Group texts that started strong and then quietly died. Friends-of-friends who swore they would help spread the word and then vanished the moment real life showed up. It was almost always unpaid labor, held together by enthusiasm, favors, and blind hope. Labels ...

Making a Scene Presents An Interview with The Long Honeymoon

Minneapolis-based pop-rock band The Long Honeymoon has been filling venues and winning over audiences for more than three years with their high-energy live shows. Built around original songs packed with rich vocal harmonies, catchy pop grooves, and clever arrangements, the band delivers music that feels both familiar and fresh. Made up of musicians with more than two decad...

Making a Scene Presents - Native Instruments’ Insolvency Shock
What It Really Means for iZotope, Plugin Alliance, Brainworx, Kontakt, and Indie Artists Who Depend on Them

Native Instruments is not just another plugin company.

For many indie musicians and producers, it is infrastructure. Kontakt lives inside massive writing templates. Maschine defines entire beat-making workflows. Traktor runs live rigs. Reaktor holds years of personal...

Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Joyann Parker

Joyann Parker is an American roots and soul singer-songwriter whose powerhouse voice and emotionally rich songwriting have made her one of the most compelling independent artists in today’s modern roots landscape. Blending blues, gospel, jazz, R&B, and vintage Americana, Parker pairs raw vocal authority with deeply human storytelling. Known for her electrifying live performance...

The 10 Most Common Home Studio Mistakes (And How to Fix Them Without Spending More Money)
Home recording has never been more accessible. You can buy a solid microphone, a capable interface, a powerful DAW, and professional-grade plugins without leaving your house. On paper, there has never been a better time to record your own music. And yet, a lot of home recordings still sound thin, harsh, muddy, distant, or unfinished.

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