Research Discernment

As technology evolves and expands so do the many ways we have to research and find information on the internet. There are so many resources for people to find information on anything they need, that there is almost no excuse to not to succeed if one really wanted to. With that said, we also need to have discernment over what is credible and what is valuable to us.

There are many people toting advice and giving expertise on how to make it in the music business. But who are they? What is their credibility? Who co-signs for them?

These are things to think about when looking for research. Two people that have been tearing up the internet with advice are Ty Cohen and David Hooper. This is no slight to either fellow or their prospective businesses, but more of a glance at how to find research discernment.

Ty Cohen and his Platinum Millennium Publishing provides various advice on how to start your own record label, using entertainment contracts, and other “courses” he is selling on “making it” in the music industry. I have personally been on the buying end of a few of his products, and in my own review, while relevant, most of the information offered is information you can get for free. When you search for “Ty Cohen” at a search engine, the first few pages of results are his own websites or sites he has input on. This can be a red flag in determining research validity. There are no valuable resources that vouch for him. When you search deeper you find reports and forums that elude to Cohen being a scam artist with his products. This is not exactly what you what in dealing with research.

There are tons of resources and pages of advice that don’t require a PayPal account. And while David Hooper does have products he is selling, if you follow his blog or his Twitter page, there is plenty of advice he is giving out for FREE. Hooper and his Kathode Ray Music is all about promoting your band/brand and advertising in the music business. In comparison to Cohen, Hooper has little to no scam reports. While free advice isn’t always the best advice, it is something to consider when looking for information on the internet.

You can check out Ty Cohen at http://www.tycohen.com/ or @MusicBizCenter; and David Hooper at http://www.musicmarketing.com/ or @davidhooper to make your own judgments. Be mindful of who you take advice from, and what you believe in research. Take everything you read with a grain of salt.

Until next time, Stay Tuned.