Music scams: Both musicians and listeners can be off-key

Scams & Cons

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The hills are alive with the sound of scammersSinging lies and deceits that are decades old.Their songs fill my heart with hopes of stardom,But they just steal my songs and leave me broke.Musicians that travel to Nashville, Los Angeles, New York, Austin and other music centers are looking for a break and scammers step right up to boost their egos and brag about the now-famous who became stars only after meeting them.It’s quite a temptation and hopefuls rarely do the due diligence to find out whether what they’re being told is true.Fans get duped, too, by musicians who seem to overflow with talent, but are only good at syncing the silent instrument they hold to a recording playing through a nearby speaker.We’ll tell you the tales of how the sound of music ends up being the sound of cash being taken from your pocket. It results in a tragic ending, set in a minor key.Col. Tom Parker profile from Smithsonian MagazineDavid Hooper: Music Business RadioDavid Hooper booksLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices