Well hello all! This post is gonna be a little bit heady as it’s more about the biz of the music industry and songwriting in particular… But if you’re a brave soul read on!

This past week on August 31st, 2022 the Wall Street Journal printed the news of an agreement between streaming services (such as Spotify, iTunes, etc) and publishers to increase the compensation paid out for mechanical royalties… Basically what that means is Songwriters can earn more money from their recorded work when you stream music (like we all do constantly) basically anywhere. This is great news considering how most of the streaming services got to be the giants they are today on the backs of Artists and Songwriters work while simultaneously paying them as little as legally possible… and by legally I mean the laws governing streaming were few and scarce up until recently as the entire business only came to be within the past 20 years.

Thus this new agreement is an exciting step in the right direction! For the Wall Street Journal piece in it’s entirety click here: Songwriters and Music Publishers to be Paid More by Streaming Services

Thanks to you (yes you!) for reading and following along with me on this crazy musical journey! See ya soon!

-Kent

Chicago! Thursday night at Madcats Music Lounge was a blast! Great seeing everyone who made it out- can’t wait till next time!

Speaking of next time… it’s today! (Well tonight lol) but I’ll be playing the Montrose Saloon at 8 PM tonight so if you’re around the Chicago area make sure to stop by and say hi!

Being on the road for these gigs is a ton of fun… to be honest the most challenging part though is trying to remain disciplined to keep writing, eating right, and working out! Basically don’t wanna lose my fitness in the busy schedule but ya know… in the end it’ll be worth it.

Anyways that’s all I’ve got today- cheers to y’all for coming along on this journey. See ya on the road!

~Kent

Welp we are just shy of two weeks removed from the third stop in my “Fatal Love” tour. Looking forward to the next chapter happening up in Chicago. There’s gonna be a few really cool announcements made at the Madcats show along with a reveal of some cool stuff I’ve been working on so make sure you get there early and plan to stay the whole night cause it’s definitely going to be worth it! (Also they’ve got great food there so where else are ya gonna be for a Thursday night?)

The first stop of the tour in Nashville with my band was a huge success! (Check out a few photos below thanks to my buddy Nate with @claytoncorners). Working hard to make these shows the best that they can be!

Want to give a shoutout to everyone who’s been following along thus far in my journey and to say I see you and I appreciate you! I’ll be posting bi-weekly updates here so if you’re just now catching wind of my music blog make sure to subscribe so you can catch all the updates!

~Kent

“Fatal Love” | 7.15.2022

Whew! It’s been a long time coming but it’s finally time!!! My latest singe “Fatal Love” is set to be released everywhere midnight tonight. Check out the link here: https://linktr.ee/thekentdean for that pre-save option as well as pre-order from iTunes and Amazon! (Actually tho haha- it really helps!)

This song is the culmination of a lot of hard work and life experiences rolled into one pretty personal expression of love and betrayal. It’s a heartbroken lovers expression of anguish. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Also note- I’ve got another kinda cool announcement coming soon so keep your eyes and ears open and tuned in to my socials and website for that in the upcoming days!

Thanks to you all!

~Kent

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of heading back up north to my old stomping grounds of Duluth, Minnesota for their inaugural North of Nashville showcase event. Such a tremendous opportunity and everyone was so incredibly welcoming- from the folks putting on the event to the attendees. It felt a lot like going home.

Anyways I just posted the full live video of my performance to the link below! Check it out and let me know what ya think! Cheers!

Kent Dean – “Don’t Let Me Fall“ | 2.5.2022

Unreleased | “Tennessee”

STARTERS

As spring draws to a close here in Tennessee music, events, and venues around the country are starting to see an increase in performances. First off- yay!! It’s really exciting to witness the art and life of this town seemingly reborn.

NEW MUSIC

Yes. I’m heading back into the studio to work on three new songs to release later in 2021. With the delays and myriad issues 2020 posed to both music and the rest of the world I’m really looking forward to leaning into this season of creativity, production, and potential in the coming months and years.

THE IN-LIST

Yes, I’m aware that I don’t post as often to this blog as I should… but as the great Sherlock would say “the game is afoot!” And yes things are happening that should increase my ability to share content here in the very near future! So if you haven’t yet subscribed… do it! (Especially if you believe in my music and career for the long term. Think investment here as I will not soon forget those who believed when it wasn’t popular. Cause yeah. Someday soon… it’ll be the New Thing 😉

FINE

As always…. thanks for joining me on this journey and following along with my story. I love you all!

~Kent

(P.S Enjoy the full video of an unreleased song “Tennessee” above!) 🙂

Well spring is in full swing here in Nashville. Finally seeing thunderstorms and rain showers rather than storm warnings… which is a good thing lol. But I could do without the tornado warnings.

In a couple weeks I’ll be expanding outwards from Nashville and attempting to find some gigs in St Louis, Missouri. Rather exciting news! We’ll see how it all plays out but everything is an adventure regardless so it will be a blast I’m sure.

In more immediate news, I’ll be headed back into the studio to work out a couple more tracks. This time they’re definitely less extensive in the production side of things (I mean what isn’t… have you heard Gypsy Heart??) Anyways, it’ll be mostly piano and vocals… but we might decide to throw some strings and guitar cause hey- Why not? I’m crazy.

This week looking to set up a live video shoot to record a couple live band songs— it’s kind of last minute but if it works out I’ll be sharing it here! So make sure to subscribe to this really sporadically posted, hopefully entertaining, but always erratic, blog of my musical journey!

Cheers!

-Kent

Well 2020 was quite the year! Crazy ride filled with ups and downs… New places, new faces, new friends, and lots of music and (of course) COVID. I’m really looking forward to when that word is as rare as the Spanish Flu. I mean seriously, it’s time we move on people… But I digress.

Anyways my scheduled release plan for music was set back due to the inability to promote via live shows, which is primarily how young artists in Nashville get their music heard. So after the release of Gypse Heart (which if you haven’t heard yet… Go listen!!! And if you have well then… Go listen again lol) I devoted a considerable amount of the time I had been focusing on networking and playing out to writing. So yeah, lots of new music that you all haven’t heard yet! *P.S if you follow my blog here you’ll get first access hehe* okay enough self-promotion…

As I’m looking at 2021 and trying to navigate this whole crazy music scene amid a post-COVID world and mindset I’ve realized that simply landing in the stream won’t get you to your destination. Sounds extemporaneous, I know, but let me explain. Since arriving in Nashville in the fall of 2019 it’s really easy to fall into the trap of simply being here… People, myself included at times, start to think that things are going to simply happen because of the fact that they have made it to the right town and are surrounded with the right people. But that’s not the case! Hard work is critical. But simply working hard without definite goals can be almost as useless as not working at all. For if the effort isn’t concentrated on distinguishable goals it’s much the same as trying to swim across an ocean by jumping in… But then just treading water hoping someone will throw you a rope. Now this may sound trivial to some, and indeed if you’ve already mastered the mantra:

If a man does not know to which port he is sailing
No wind is favorable…

Then you are already two steps ahead and I applaud you as well as encourage you to continue on. But to be fair this can be a hard concept for people to grasp. Especially when it comes to an industry such as music that seemingly does not have any definable milestones to latch onto as definite goals. The catch, though, is to create those goals. Study the lives and careers of those who have gone before and see their small successes as initial goals to emulate. Did they play small venues? Cover gigs? Writer’s rounds in Nashville? Start small and build. But don’t let the small wins become an anchor where you find yourself treading water… Forgetting that the goal is to swim across the ocean. Keep driving… Always looking for the opportunities to progress. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the goal is just to survive until someone else lifts you out. No, drive. Progress. Build. Let 2021 be the year where you set definable goals towards a definite end. That end being a better version of you. Better music than you had before. Better lyrics than you’ve ever written. Yes, even playing bigger shows than you have previously. Excellent goals. But start now and set deadlines for accomplishing them. Aim for the stars… And you won’t find yourself crawling around in the dirt.

Whew! Okie dokie… that’s where I’m at on this January 26th, 2021! Trying to set definable goals and then act in accordance to accomplish them. By the way this is favorable in all walks of life. Not just music. So think about it and if you can add something to help here comment it below!!!

Cheers to you all! Hope your Holidays and New Years were fantastic and we’ll talk soon!

P.S Yes, I’m planning on releasing another single this year so stay tuned!!!