By Christopher Knab,

Your cover is your calling card to the record industry and to the consumer...how well you design it and the other graphics for your release could well determine your success or failure as a musician.

"So then I said, 'Are you guys deaf? That's a hit record!' And they agreed to listen to it again."

Those twenty words reveal a lot about Alan Melina, from his stature in the business (he pitches songs directly to Clive Davis and others at the top), to his track record (he has signed writers and artists who have sold half-a-billion recordings), to his faith in the quality of the work he represents (often displaying an eye-opening level of self-confidence).

Over the years, I've stuck my neck out and spoken publicly about the things that I strongly disagree with regarding the typical music conference. When I started to create the first IMC, I implemented a lot of procedures that were designed to eliminate the problems I'd seen all too often. Many of my ideas were looked upon as radical, different... even ridiculous by some.

By John Schlick,

This series of articles is geared specifically at evaluating the position of Lighting Designer or LD. In this piece I'm answering the question: How does a lighting designer actually run a show?

His career has spanned the 1960s folk revival, USO tours in Vietnam during the war, the California rock scene, the Pet Rock scene (he wrote the theme song), major label deals, lounge circuits in Cape Cod, Colorado, and the Bay Area, not to mention weddings, corporate events, and nursing home gigs. (Did I mention he dated the Smothers Brothers' sister and skinny-dipped with Juice Newton?)

By Timothy Peters,