{ "ok" : true, "artist" : { "name" : "Rob Costlow", "page" : "costlow", "description" : "melodic piano pieces", "location" : "IL, USA", "bio" : "Music lovers of all ages will be transported to a less complicated, more relaxed world with Costlow's collection of original piano melodies that showcase the talent and universal reach of his passionate and raw sound. Even though Costlow's music is often placed with certain genres, his style is neither new age, classical or jazz. Costlow simply delivers independent, sincere and contemporary music to which listeners can easily relate.\n\nA Little More About Rob\n\nBy the time he was twelve, Rob Costlow was trying his piano instructor's patience by adding his own endings to songs during lessons and recitals. \"I literally despised taking lessons and especially practicing other people's music. It just wasn't for me. I had so many notes running through my head, I wanted to create my own music,\" admits Rob. This soon brought an end to the lessons that began at age five. Rob realized that his musical future was going to take a different path than the one set by his teachers.\n\nRob is a true Hoosier born and raised in Indiana. Growing up in a large family helped Rob become focused and tenacious. As the youngest of six boys, Rob got used to seizing every opportunity. In fact, it was one of Rob's brothers that introduced him to contemporary piano music. \"It was so different than the music I studied in lessons,\" says Costlow. \"It helped give me the courage to try my own hand at composition. I said to myself 'I can do this!' It was an immediate outlet to express myself and also provide a sense of calm when times were stressful.\"\n\nAt age eleven, Rob lost his mother to ovarian cancer. Even as a young boy, Rob was affected by his mother's constant courage in the face of such adversity. His Mom had and continues to have a huge impact on Rob's life and music.\n\nRob received a Bachelors and Masters degree in Kinesiology from Indiana University, Bloomington (IU). Before transferring to IU as a junior, Rob began his college career as a Piano Performance and Composition major at Ball State University. He then changed majors to Kinesiology as a sophomore, giving an ironic twist to the meaning of Rob's first album, Sophomore Jinx.\n\nAt IU, Rob was hit by a drunk driver and suffered injuries in both hands resulting in a broken left-hand and carpel tunnel syndrome in his right. Through surgery and physical therapy Rob has recovered, but still feels aching in his hands after an especially extensive piano performance.\n\nWhile working on his Masters Degree at IU, Rob unofficially started his own record label based on a business class project. In 2002, Rob released his first professional solo project, Sophomore Jinx (re-released 2005), containing all original music. In 2004, Rob officially founded Tourist Records. Through Tourist Records, Rob continues to create and license music. He hopes to inspire other artists to make their own impact in the world.\n\nProfessionally, Rob has worked for influential New Media companies. It is through the Internet that Rob has connected with many people of different backgrounds and cultures. He has gained fans of all ages worldwide, confirming that people are in need of much more than just your typical \"top 40\" music.\n\nRob admits that he is a perfectionist and from time to time he'll carry on a conversation longer than it should go. Rob loves to travel, \"cut a rug\" when the mood is right, eat pizza and twizzlers, put ketchup on everything, and spend time with his family.\n\nWhile Rob has come a long way since his childhood lessons, his love for creating original compositions is still at the heart of his contemporary piano music. \"Music is what inspires me,\" says Costlow. \"It is in my soul. I never force myself to write. I do it when it comes to me. I take things a day at a time.\"", "photo" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/img/costlow4.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/costlow/", "albums" : [{ "sku" : "costlow-reconstruction", "name" : "Reconstruction", "artist" : { "name" : "Rob Costlow", "page" : "costlow" }, "release_date" : "2008-08-05", "genres" : ["New Age","Neoclassical","Instrumental"], "vocals" : "instrumental", "moods" : ["tender","romantic","peaceful","reflective","hopeful","dreamy"], "uses" : ["emotional storytelling","wedding","romance","meditation or yoga","spa or massage","podcast background"], "energy" : 2, "instrumentation" : ["melodic piano","solo piano"], "sounds_like" : [], "summary" : "Melodic, tender solo piano pieces with universal contemporary themes; ideal for emotional storytelling, weddings, and calming background use.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Rob%20Costlow/Reconstruction/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/costlow-reconstruction/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/costlow-reconstruction", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=costlow-reconstruction" },{ "sku" : "costlow-woods", "name" : "Woods of Chaos", "artist" : { "name" : "Rob Costlow", "page" : "costlow" }, "release_date" : "2005-04-29", "genres" : ["New Age","Neoclassical","Instrumental"], "vocals" : "instrumental", "moods" : ["reflective","peaceful","calm","elegant","meditative"], "uses" : ["podcast background","meditation or yoga","spa or massage","study or focus","emotional storytelling","slideshow or memories"], "energy" : 2, "instrumentation" : ["solo piano"], "sounds_like" : [], "summary" : "Melodic, reflective solo piano pieces that are soothing yet complex—ideal for calm, focused, or introspective audio contexts.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Rob%20Costlow/Woods%20of%20Chaos/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/costlow-woods/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/costlow-woods", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=costlow-woods" },{ "sku" : "costlow-sophomore", "name" : "Sophomore Jinx", "artist" : { "name" : "Rob Costlow", "page" : "costlow" }, "release_date" : "2004-04-23", "genres" : ["New Age","Neoclassical","Instrumental"], "vocals" : "instrumental", "moods" : ["peaceful","reflective","hopeful","calm","tender"], "uses" : ["podcast background","meditation or yoga","spa or massage","study or focus","emotional storytelling","slideshow or memories"], "energy" : 2, "instrumentation" : ["melodic piano pieces","solo piano"], "sounds_like" : [], "summary" : "Melodic, contemporary solo piano pieces with a sincere, relaxed, and universally accessible sound—ideal for calming background use in podcasts, meditation, or emotional storytelling.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Rob%20Costlow/Sophomore%20Jinx/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/costlow-sophomore/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/costlow-sophomore", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=costlow-sophomore" }] }, "license" : { "music_license" : "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 1.0)", "music_license_url" : "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/", "listening" : "Stream the free previews, or buy an album for $8 to download it in MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, OGG or WAV. 100% of the price goes to the musician.", "non_commercial" : "Non-commercial projects may use the music under CC BY-NC-SA 1.0: credit the artist and Magnatune, and share alike.", "projects" : "Magnatune members may use any Magnatune music in their projects, commercial or not (videos, films, podcasts, games, apps, websites, adverts), including work for clients, under the Magnatune Project Licence. Projects released while a member stay licensed for good; new projects need an active membership. Credit is required. TV or radio broadcast, cinema, and background music in shops, restaurants or on-hold lines are not included: license those from the musician. Membership: $10/month, $99/year or $299 lifetime; agents can buy one themselves with MPP at /api/member-pass ($10 month, $99 year, $299 lifetime, one-off).", "projects_status" : "available", "projects_signup" : "https://magnatune.com/member/signup", "royalty_free" : "Membership is royalty-free licensing: no per-video, per-download or per-view fees, for every project created and released while a member.", "youtube" : "YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts: members may use the clean songs in monetized videos. Members register their YouTube channel (the set_youtube_channel MCP tool, or their account page) so YouTube's Content ID doesn't claim their videos. The free versions carry a spoken Magnatune voice and are non-commercial (CC BY-NC-SA), so they're not for monetized channels or client work.", "details" : "https://magnatune.com/info/licensing", "how_to_credit" : "Name the artist and \"Magnatune\", with a link to the album's web_url." } }