About

Hello. I’m Ashley Morgan. I’m a professional jazz trumpet player and blogger. I started Big Arena Records in 2005 in the hope of creating a successful independent record label.

Many things have changed since then.

At the end 2007 I took over the reigns of Upstart Blogger, one of the blogosphere’s most successful independent blogs. This altered everything. The shear power of the traffic that flowed through Upstart Blogger made it immediately apparent to me that blogging was the only viable way forward for me as an independent musician.

A year later, after a long and devastating break in my playing career, I relaunched my personal portfolio site, Ashley Morgan, using the power and authority of Upstart Blogger to slingshot a micropatronage initiative that has made my jazz career profitable and sustainable. 

As time went by it became obvious to me that running a record label was a complete waste of time. Independent artists need to be independent. Big Arena Records was folded down and left to drift aimlessly for almost a year. Record labels are over. A dinosaur relic of a bygone age. People hate record labels. And rightly so.

In May 2009 a new Big Arena Records morphed into existence as a blog for independent musicians. If you’re a musician looking to take full control of your own future then I hope you find this blog useful, informative and enjoyable. It is my sincere hope that this blog becomes a valuable resource for all independent musicians, regardless of style or approach.

Thanks for reading. And thanks for listening.