COLUMN: Payola is a fun-sounding word that may make you remember coloring with a Crayola 64-pack when you were three, but the word essentially refers to bribery. To be precise, bribery in exchange for promotion of a product, as in payoffs for the airing of recordings. Which brings us to the use of music in [...]

COLUMN: Scott G says we shouldn’t be too hard on Maxim magazine for reviewing an album they hadn’t heard. They are pioneers in a new form of rock journalism.

COLUMN: Scott G was happy to ogle the tons of software, DAWs, gadgets, guitars, and gear galore at the NAMM show, but an Apple demo seemed to predict the way the industry is moving.

COLUMN: Proving once more that bigger does not mean better, the 50th Grammy Awards event was bombastic, bumbling and bloated. Scott G watched and would have been appalled if he wasn’t so bored.

COLUMN: Going behind the scenes and inside the shenanigans, Scott G peers through the smoke and tries to avoid the noise as he accompanies Giannetta Marconi to the Los Angeles Music Awards.

COLUMN: Like everyone who loves music, Scott G has noticed the ad world’s insistence on borrowing old songs to set the mood for commercials. Is it because they’re too lame to come up with original music? And how much does it hurt the music business?

INTERVIEW: Managing at least 5 interlocking careers, Los Angeles-based Sheena Metal maintains a wickedly funny view of her life on the radio, on stage, and behind-the-scenes in the swirling worlds of music, movies and TV.

COLUMN: Record companies, radio stations and iTunes don’t fully control what music you get to hear. Scott G examines the ever-changing role of the music supervisor for motion pictures and TV.

REVIEW: Blending big ballads with confessional lyrics, Sheva touches listeners at the core of their emotions. Scott G gets lost in the melodies of “The Closest Thing” even while admiring the sonic textures of her band.

REVIEW: You’ll find clever lyrics, strong melodies, and excellent musicianship on songs in several genres on the new Rob Kendt album. But as Scott G points out, this may be too much of a good thing.

INTERVIEW: Lead singer of indie bands Pope Jane and Junkie Cousin, film actress, political clothing designer, and outrageous singer / songwriter, Danielle Egnew has a huge voice, legit stage training and a compulsion to rock. Scott G interviews the forceful yet friendly femme fatale.

COLUMN: There are patriotic tunes that everyone in the USA finds familiar and exciting whether played by marching band, orchestra, or rock group. Scott G reveals some of the eyebrow-raising facts about the top 14 crowd-rousing anthems.

INTERVIEW: Singing, songwriting, recording, and playing lots of gigs may be the traditional way for an independent music artist to get ahead. With the release of ‘The Kitchen Sink’ by Sean Wiggins and her band Lone Goat, the singer shows that the quality of the work may be as important as the quantity.

INTERVIEW: Delvian Records has been called aggressive, brash, quirky, fanatical and a secret weapon for indie artists. Company president Benjamin van der Wel talks with Scott G (Delvian recording artist The G-Man) about music, marketing, mojo, media, and the madness of running a record label.

REVIEW: Celebrating an endorsement between G-Man Music and the fiery axe-makers known as Minarik Guitars, Scott G (The G-Man) reviews the Minarik Inferno X-treme, a design that is fueling the excitement of a new generation of musicians.

INTERVIEW: Born to sing, Astrella Celeste is attempting to fuse pop music to an inner spirituality. In an interview with Scott G, she talks about how songs are a part of life, love, memory and peace.

INTERVIEW: A performer needs a good name, so when Marcel Oosterom started appearing in clubs to play mixes of what was called raggamuffin’ and hiphop beats, he did so as DJ Insane. Did that help draw a crowd? Undoubtedly. But it was the quality and intensity of his music that kept the crowds coming back.

REVIEWS: Scott G goes back to old habits by writing a batch of CD reviews. As in his prior reviews, the musical styles he covers are all over the place, from the hip hop of Enjae to the glorious organized noise of Nine Inch Nails, from East/West chanteuse Noa Dori to two very diverse soundtracks (’Rize’ and ‘Young, Single and Angry’).

COLUMN: With the BBC announcement of a new version of the Sgt. Pepper album (cover versions of Beatles songs by mostly mediocre bands), Scott G suggests we take this concept to ridiculous heights (or depths). Imagine the Insane Clown Posse singing Merle Haggard.

COLUMN: Scott G offers a warning to musicians: the world says it wants originality, creativity, boundless imagination, innovation, and new ideas, but it just isn’t so. The fact is that you can go too far. Handcrafting your own CD packaging, for example. Or covering it with wax before sending it to anyone.

COLUMN: Commercial makers are grabbing songs faster than ever before. Can’t quite remember the title of that oldie? Want to know who does that new techno funk dance groove track? Scott G is rather fond of some Web sites that help you out and let you help as well.

COLUMN: Writing about music is like knitting about sculpture. Sure, that’s a paraphrase of a more famous line, but isn’t that the kind of thing music critics do? Scott G is happy to disparage those pencil-neck geeks of the music press (even while his alter-ego The G-Man fears the result when his “Crazed + Dazed” album is released).

INTERVIEW: Bringing indie artists together with fans is just the start for SoundOrbit. Their goals include creating a synergistic relationship between artists, agents, managers, record companies, distributors, producers, radio, film, advertising, and venues for live performances. The ideas come tumbling at you in this interview with SoundOrbit founder Alisa Mikeal.

INTERVIEW: Plug-ins, dynamics, compression, the use of maximizers, and so-called home mastering are all part of the aural landscape dealt with by mastering engineer Art Sayecki. In the conclusion of this interview with Scott G, everything gets fixed in the mix, including the controversial concept called artmastering. Part 4 of 4.

INTERVIEW: Are you recording on the right frequency? Mastering engineer Art Sayecki talks with Scott G about EQ, mixing, samples, wavetable synthesis, dithering, encoding, and what you may hear on sessions using 192 kHz. Yes, it’s an earful.

INTERVIEW: Getting superb sounding vocals, drums, and bass involves good recording techniques and proper use of equalization according to mastering engineer Art Sayecki. In an interview with Scott G, he freely provides advice to artists and producers. Part 2 of 4.

INTERVIEW: An audio mastering engineer can be a secret sonic weapon for every artist and producer. Scott G interviews Art Sayecki of Art Mastering and the result is 9,000+ words in a four-part article that reveals tip after tip you can use to make your recordings sound better than ever. Part 1 of 4.

COLUMN: The marketing ideas behind many of the commercials may have lacked brilliance, but the music in the spots was frequently outstanding. Scott G gets into the sweeping orchestral scores, the pounding rock rhythms and the ‘moderne’ sound of lounge.

COLUMN: There were approximately 9,000 minutes of advertising during the 2007 Super Bowl and a great many of them had very well-crafted music. Sure, some were awful, but most sounded very good. Scott G tries to ignore the marketing message and concentrate on the sonics.

NAMM REPORT: The developers, inventors, creators and programmers found at NAMM (formerly the National Association of Music Merchants) are a fascinating bunch of people. Some are geniuses. Some are certifiable. Some are both. And we must face the fact that some are electronic device zealots with an expensive hobby instead of a 401(k).

NAMM REPORT: The National Association of Music Merchants, now known simply as NAMM, held a lovely little party for four days in January. With displays of gear from 1,500 manufacturers and the hallways packed with 85,000 attendees, it was a show that was a sonic circus of electronic innovation.

COLUMN: There are deep, dark secrets in all of the heart-pounding and soul-melting music enjoyed by Valentine’s Day lovers and they are revealed by recording artist and commercial music composer Scott G (The G-Man). So sit back, relax, have some chocolate, and dip into some little-known stories behind those famous emotional tunes.

COLUMN: From chestnuts to carols, games to sleigh races, and loose translations to loose women, there are some interesting facts about the sounds of the season. Recording artist and commercial music composer Scott G presents some eyebrow-raising information about the most familiar and famous holiday music of all time.

COLUMN: Matt Forger. Michael C. Ross. Eddie Kramer. Elliot Scheiner. Joe Chiccarelli. Each one is a huge star in the world of recording. Scott G points out that you probably own albums with their names listed in the credits as engineer, producer, or mixer. Studio Expresso is what they all have in common.

REVIEW: Some music soothes you. Some seduces you. And some swaggers up to you and hits you over the head with a box of skateboard parts. Scott G (The G-Man) writes about an upstart new band called Manic Circuit that slams its way into your skull with songs of raw power combined with progressive structure.

COLUMN: Ever notice that some music artists suck? Sure you have. Ever thought it would be helpful to label these artists so we could avoid wasting time with them? Of course you have. In an interview with Brian Forest, Scott G explains how these worthless performers should all be lumped into a new genre of music that he calls “nada.”

COLUMN: Non-stop rock and roll, aerialists, pole dancing, costumes, wild props and cavorting with hoops are just some of the entertaining things in the current EU tour by Pink. The theatrical presentation is great. I know because I have been seeing it at Powder shows for the past few years.

INTERVIEW: Matt Forger speaks out to Scott G about everything from working with Michael Jackson to producing new artists like Mutant Radio. According to Matt, a pop song is a three minute fix of an emotional drug. We are connected through our humanity, and most successful songs speak to this.

COLUMN: With the “A&R Registry,” “Music Publisher Registry,” “Music Business Attorney Registry,” “Producer Registry,” and the “Film and Television Music Guide,” Ritch Esra and Stephen Trumbull provide vital connections in a rapidly-changing business. Scott G likes ‘em and uses ‘em.

COLUMN: Three personal managers of independent artists outline pathways for success in an increasingly competitive marketplace. “An artist’s music must be something I love,” stated Jennifer Yeko of True Talent Management. “It has to be music I want to hear in my personal life as well as when I’m working.”

A Special Report by Scott G (The G-Man): Where music meets licensing, there’s money to be made. How much money? “I have synched quite a few thousand songs into productions over the years,” states Peter Jansson of CRC Jianian Co., “and have charged anywhere between US$1.00 an