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  When you’re involved in two sides of the industry like I am–being both a publicist and a writer, sometimes it feels like all you’re ever reading is artist bios. Trust me, I’ve seen it all, and a lot of those bios I’ve read are  not  pretty. A bio is a major reflection of the band or artist it’s about. This may seem like a big duh, but you’d be surprised at how many bios out there are poorly written or make the band look  bad  because they are poorly written. And honestly, I think the truth is most of us don’t realize how important a bio really is, and we don’t know what to look out for when it comes to writing them.  Take a look at some of these don’ts to get a head start on what not to do in your next bio revision. Don’t Ramble Please, please, please, save everyone’s time and energy by keeping your bio concise.  This is not the place to ramble on and on about the entire history of your band, or about your entire life story. Sure,  you  may be interested in those details, but the res

  More artists than ever before are finding huge audiences for their music with songs that were recorded from their home studios. Long gone are the days when creating and sharing great music meant having to record at a fancy music studio manned by professional recording engineers. But don’t be fooled. Home recording isn’t easy, and you shouldn’t confuse knowing how to write songs with the ability to record and produce music. Home recording is a skill just like anything else, and it takes time and practice to get better at it. If you’re new to recording from your home studio, here are five tips to help you get started: Invest in the right equipment Let’s start with the basics. It’s safe to assume you’re on a limited budget and don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to spend building a home studio. The good news is that you can create great-sounding music from home for a reasonable amount of money with the right equipment and expertise. At the very least, you’re going to need a DAW (Dig

  Songwriters don’t have it easy. We’re writing songs during the most competitive time in music industry history. If you’re a professional songwriter, income sources that used to be reliable, like licensing, have become much less so in recent years. And with today’s playlist-centric listening culture, it’s a feast or famine situation for many professional songwriters. But even if you’re not writing songs for your main source of income, there are plenty of challenges you will likely face as a songwriter. If you love making music and want to do it seriously for the rest of your life, it’s helpful to know why so many songwriters call it quits. Discouragement Songwriting can be a thankless endeavor for lots of creators at different points in their careers. Maybe you’re just starting out and are struggling to write something that finds an audience. Or maybe you were a part of something big a few years ago and haven’t been able to match that sort of success ever since. Discouragement is one

  Branding. It’s one of those words we hear tossed around a lot, but no one ever really takes the time to explain what it means. So let’s start there. In a nutshell, branding is what you think of when you think about your favorite artist or product. Likewise, when you think of your favorite artist, a certain feeling and aesthetic probably come to mind. You can picture their fashion, the mood, and lighting at their shows, the feel of their music, how it makes  you  feel. That’s branding. When done well, branding isn’t something your audience should ever really notice. It shouldn’t stand out or draw attention to itself. It should just attract your target audience and slowly but surely you should see your engagement and interaction go up.  Branding done right is an incredible way to get in front of more of the people who naturally like what you have to offer, and to create a strong, lasting bond that can lead to a more engaged fan base, higher live show turnout, and merch sales. It’s not

  When it comes to social media, it can feel like you’re screaming into the void. You put all this time and effort into trying to create a post that people are going to care about, only to check back hours later and see you only got 5 likes. We’ve all been there.  So, what if I told you that there was a way to never again wonder what to post. A way that you could quickly come up with new ideas—the kind of ideas that encourage people to actually interact with your content, so that the next time you post something you’re sure to get lots of interactions? And how about if the icing on the cake was that you’d also grow your following and create a true community of fans through all of this? You’d be in, right? What is the 70-20-10 rule? The 70-20-10 rule goes like this. 70% of your content should be related to building your brand, 20% should be sharing the content of others, and 10% should be self-promotion.  The reason this is so important is that if you’re like a lot of us on social media

  It’s the dream of countless music-makers to spend their days writing music and earning a living. For many developing artists, songwriting seems like the opposite of working at a conventional job, and in some ways they’re correct. When you create music, you are your own boss and what you say goes. It’s a creative pursuit that allows you to express yourself exactly how you want to. Compare the experience of creating a new song to sitting in an office all day, and the two experiences couldn’t be any more different. But here’s why you actually should think of songwriting as your job even if you aren’t doing it for money or aren’t far enough along in your career to get paid to make music. For the vast, vast majority of songwriters, it takes years of effort to develop an interest in making music into a defined and reliable skill. We’re obsessed over the musicians who started creating when they were young and quickly found success, but this situation is simply not the reality for most songw

  It appears that  Jordan Brand  will continue its yearly tradition of Easter-themed releases in 2022 with a new  Air Jordan 5  expected to arrive just in time for the holiday. zSneakerheadz  reports that the “Easter” Air Jordan 5 will hit shelves in April 2022. While images of the shoe have not yet surfaced, the mock-up provided by the leaker suggests that the shoe will feature a pastel look with a predominantly pink upper fused with light green accents appearing on the tongue and portions of the midsole. The account also revealed that the shoe will come with special packaging possibly linked to the holiday. While the release details have yet to be made official by Jordan Brand, readers can expect this “Easter” Air Jordan 5 to hit shelves in April 2022 for $210. We’ll keep you updated with new developments including a first look in the months ahead. Air Jordan 5 Retro “Easter” Release Date:  April 2022 Color:  Regal Pink/Ghost/Copa Style #:  DV0562-600 Price:  $210  

  After learning that the  NBA  and  Nike  are coming together to celebrate the league’s 75 th  anniversary this year with an upcoming  Dunk collab,  at least one more colorway is expected to join the lineup. This time, it’s a Brooklyn Nets-themed pair of the NBA x Nike Dunk Low “75 th  Anniversary” courtesy of  @Teddyssole  on Instagram. Diverging from the pair that leaked last month, this latest makeup does feature official branding from one of the league’s 30 teams, specifically the hybrid logo on the heel counter, which features design elements of the former New Jersey Nets and current Brooklyn Nets, teams. The shoe also features the NBA’s 75th-anniversary branding on the tongue tag and a special lace dubrae honoring the league’s diamond anniversary. There’s currently no release info available for this Brooklyn Nets-themed NBA x Nike Dunk Low, or if more officially licensed team pairs will join the group, but stay tuned to Sole here for official updates. UPDATE (10/14):  Ahead of n

  One of the earlier Air Jordan retros, the “Midnight Navy”  Air Jordan 6  debuted in October 2000, when colorways that weren’t original were labeled Retro +. This variation has been absent from retail for more than 20 years but appears to be in line for a 2021 comeback. ZSneakerheadz  reports that the “Midnight Navy” Jordan 6 is on the launch calendar for Holiday 2021. Blocked like original colorways such as “White Infrared,” “Sport Blue” and “Maroon,” the shoe features white leather construction, contrasted by hits of navy blue on the tongue, rear pull tab, lace locks, and detailing along the midsole and outsole. It’s not known whether this year’s retro will feature the Jumpman or ‘Nike Air’ on the heel. It figures to be a strong year for the Jordan 6, with a  “Bordeaux” colorway  on the way, as well as  Travis Scott’s “British Khaki” collaboration . There’s not an announced release date for the “Midnight Navy” pair yet, but we’ll keep you updated moving forward. UPDATE (02/28):  Upd

  There’s a good argument to be made for why songwriters should create music for their listeners above anyone else. It’s natural to want to please your audience, and writing with their tastes and needs in mind is a way to try and do that. It’s also natural to want to win the approval of bandmates, managers, labels, and venues with the music you make. Plus, there are the added benefits of financial and critical success to think about if you’re a professional musician. But does writing for others first and yourself second actually result in music that audiences will more likely want to hear? Probably not. And in fact, intentionally or subconsciously doing this could end up making your music worse off in the long run. There’s nothing more important for an artist than gut feelings, curiosity, intuition, and experimentation. We should feel big, unignorable things when we write music and allow those things to tell us what to do and where to go. But when external expectations enter the arena,

  Clot  is no stranger to using low-top  Air Jordans  for its collaborative projects. Having delivered a Terracotta Warrior-inspired  Air Jordan 14 Low  earlier this year as well as two special iterations of the  Air Jordan 13  in 2018, the Hong Kong label has now reworked the Jordan 5 Low. According to  @zSneakerheadz,  the Clot x  Air Jordan 5 Low  is on the way but release details have yet to be shared by the account. A brief look from  @Spicychickenwings  shows only the heel of the shoe, which reveals co-branding embroidered at the center. Black satin fills in the rest of the shoe along with red hits appearing on the sock liner. Other details based on the mock-up depiction from @zSneakerheadz pictured above suggest that the collab will come with a jade-inspired lace lock along with a green translucent outsole. There are currently no release details available for this Clot x Air Jordan 5 Low collab but keep it locked to Sole Collector for updates. UPDATE (10/28):  Thanks to  @Chicke

  Back in 2019,  Nike  revealed how it plans to fight climate change with the introduction of its  “Move to Zero” initiative . Since then, the brand has been steadily incorporating sustainable materials into its sneaker releases. This trend will soon continue with an upcoming set of  Dunks  if these images are any indication. Official Nike product images of two forthcoming Dunk Low “Move to Zero” styles have surfaced this week. Both pairs come in the model’s traditional two-toned color blocking with white leather serving as the base of the uppers and are separated by either the sail or pink hue for the overlay panels. The shoe’s standout detail is the neon yellow footbed featuring Nike’s “Move to Zero” logo as well as the speckled outsole that’s likely constructed out of recycled materials. As of now, the official release date for these “Move to Zero” Dunk Lows have yet to be confirmed by the brand but grab a detailed look below. UPDATE (10/28):  Nike has confirmed on its website that