Joshua Ingram from Fort Worth, Texas is a musical storyteller, guitar stunt man, and breath-taking vocalist. Brett Dillon from KHYI the Range in Dallas says “Joshua Ingram, flat ass bad ass, you blow me away dude!”
Interview conducted on April 26, 2023
By Dan Locke
With a lifetime of creating music Ingram has relentlessly pursued the art of expression and the perfection of his craft. He started writing songs as a teen and has not stopped. In his own words “There is always something more to say, play and give to the audience.”
Three full length albums and several singles into it, Ingram continues to stay flexible in the ever shifting paradigm of the music business. In fact, he’s often remarked that he’s not in the music business, but the people business. Ingram commits fully to his audiences both live and online. Grab all three of the albums and sign up on the email list, follow on social media, and make a plan to see the next show. You will be inspired, awakened, and blown away.
What is your upbringing?
I am from a middle class American family in Texas. I have two younger brothers. My mother owns a quilt business and my father is a retired fire fighter.
How did you discover music?
Music was always on in my home. I was probably aware of it before I was born.
How did you start to write music?
In junior high, I just wanted to make my own music and not just learn songs that were already out there.
Describe your music.
It’s changed a little over the years, but always has a been lyrically driven. I like to tell stories and share uplifting messages. It’s 12 tone western music with even time signatures. Some people think it sounds like country, some people think it sounds like rock. There are always guitars, sometimes pianos, most of the time drums and bass, most of the time there are harmonies on the vocals. If you think somewhere around Eagles or Counting Crows, you’re on the right track.
What was your first performance like?
It was a party at a friend’s house. She hired my band to play on her back patio. It was rough and we barely had enough equipment to do it. We were lucky the cops came pretty quickly and shut us down.
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP ?
Yes, BMI
What makes a good songwriter?
A songwriter has to be able to think of complex ideas and communicate them in a simple and beautiful way.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
I can’t remember, but I wonder if I still have it somewhere. I messed around with recording most of my songs, so I may be able to find an old cassette with them on there.
Do you remember how you got your first guitar and do you still have it?
My first guitar originally belonged to my dad. It was Hohner brand, and my mom had previously given it to him as a present. When he upgraded to another guitar, it didn’t get played much and since it was about the time I decided to start messing around with guitar, it made sense that I should use that one. I’m not sure if I asked him, if he ever officially gave it to me, but it was mine if you asked my 12 year old self. I remember learning all the chords, learning how to change strings, learning how to play through pain on that guitar. I’m not sure where it wound up. Once I started playing professionally, I upgraded my guitars and would loan that one to people who wanted to start playing. It wound up being several of my friends’ first guitars. Someone probably still has it somewhere. Maybe it’s in some 12 year olds’ hands right now.
How long before we start seeing some new music?
It’s hard to know exact dates, but we’re working on finishing an acoustic EP right now. Once we get the recording finished, which could take another month, it takes about 6 weeks to get all the plans in place for a release. If all goes well, I’d say in 10-12 weeks we’ll have a new product on the market, but we’ll be able to start promoting it in half that time.
What is the process of writing your music?
I usually start with what I want to say, and then build the lyrical structure. The lyrics themselves usually serve to give the song a feel, like a roadmap to write the music into.
What are you feeling about streaming music?
Streaming music is the main way people listen now. It’s not too different from radio play, except that people can control what they listen to. It’s ok, but it allows people to me much more locked into only hearing one thing, which means the people with the biggest budget usually control the market, which is kind of how it always has been.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
Anyone who plays music knows that sharps are part of music. If you don’t play, I don’t know if you’d know. Without sharps, we don’t have the keys of G,D,A,E,B,or F#
Is there still Pay to Play?
Pay to play is always a thing. The only thing that changes is who you pay.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with.
Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense
Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas .
If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
I’ll try just about anything once.
In the past if a musician stopped doing music they found a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
I love working in restaurants. I like working with people, but I could also be an auto mechanic. I love working on my cars.
What is your happy place?
Without a doubt, it’s the stage.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million) , Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180 song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited . Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative than the mechanical royalties paid to artists based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
On January 19, 2021 Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties, covering the country superstar’s discography from his 1994 debut In My Wildest Dreams through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. In addition, it was not an easy thing for him to do. However, by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. Now he does not have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands, which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sell your back catalog if someone like Universal is willing to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
sure
There are many platforms out there that allow artists to get their music heard. Artist Republik, DistroKid, Tunecore & plenty others offer distribution services. These services enable independent artists to put their music on some of the most popular streaming services globally, from Spotify to Apple Music & everything in between. If you’ve been in any part of the music industry in recent years, you probably know someone that has distributed a song.
Spotify reports that in 2021 there are about 8 million artists on the platform. Of those 8 million artists, about 57,000 are raking in a whopping 90% of the total revenue from streams. That means that .71% of the artists on Spotify are making good money. In 2020, there was a total of around $5 billion paid out to artists on the Spotify platform alone.
Therefore it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
What do you think that could mean to independent artists?
Nothing. The only thing streaming has done is eliminate the opportunity to sell hard copies at shows. Indy acts still make their money playing live shows and selling merch. I tell people I use music to support my clothing business.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenge and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment.
TikTok has become a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artists to earn revenue when people use their music. In many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to huge boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.
TikTok does this algorithmically generating a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch.
Because a song can go viral because of this.
Sony Music and Warner Music Group- , The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
Possibly, but I’m, still figuring out how to use it.
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer.The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary,Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could become a force in the future of streaming music?
Everything new does pretty well at first, then they taper when something else comes in. I’m sure it will have an impact but I have no idea how much.
