tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143417400492540262024-02-02T07:34:25.681-08:00Free Musik GroupAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-43192623314015180992012-12-14T14:04:00.001-08:002012-12-14T14:04:49.936-08:00What a Producer Does and Why You Should Consider Using One<h1>
What a Producer Does and Why You Should Consider Using One</h1>
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Working as a producer for the last twenty years, I’ve recorded with all kinds of
artists from “fresh off the boat” newbies to artists whose experience in the
world of music doubles or even triples my own. In every case, my role as a
producer stays essentially the same. It’s that role that I’m going to describe
in this article. </em>
<strong>What is a Producer?</strong><br />
The best way I know to describe what a producer does comes in the form of
this analogy: A producer is to a recording as a director is to a film. When it
comes to making a film, the buck essentially stops with the director. It’s the
director who steers the ship working with everyone from the actors to the
technical editors in order to achieve his or her overall vision of the movie.
It is exactly that way with a producer when it comes to making a recording. Not
only must the producer have the experience to work with the studio engineer
(often possessing the technical expertise to engineer the project themselves)
but a producer must also have the musical understanding to help the artist with
everything from song choice, structure and arrangement, to the all-important
vocal performances that are vital in giving a recording its personality. In
short, a producer provides the experience and necessary perspective to guide a
recording from start to finish.<br />
<strong>Producer Backgrounds</strong><br />
Producers can come from a variety of backgrounds. Here are the four most
common and what each brings to the process, but, typically, producers have
experience in more than one of these areas.<br />
1) <strong>Producer/Songwriter</strong> – Since at its essence, a recording
is dependent on the quality of the song, the producer/songwriter is heavily
involved in the song selection process. Not only does this type of producer
have experience in knowing what does and doesn’t work when it comes to
pre-existing songs, but often this producer will co-write songs with the artist
for a given project.<br />
2) <strong>Producer/Musician</strong> – Here, it’s often an instrumental and
music theory background that gives this type of producer their experience. They
have first-hand knowledge when it comes to working with musicians and knowing
what instrumental approach will work best in a given situation. <br />
3) <strong>Producer/Engineer</strong> – In this case, the producer’s primary
experience comes from actual recording (i.e., placing microphones on drum kits,
recording vocals and mixing albums). By becoming an expert in the nuts and
bolts of the recording process, an engineer/producer can make the recording
process a smooth one for the artist.<br />
4) <strong>Producer/Music Fan</strong> – This is someone who lives and
breathes music and has the instincts to guide artists and session musicians
through the recording process without necessarily having had the “hands on”
experience of being a songwriter, musician or engineer themselves. They often
bring great perspective to a situation where being too close to any one part of
the process might compromise the overall recording.<br />
<strong>What Do Producers Do?</strong><br />
Producers can be involved in many different aspects of a recording. Some
producers are very “hands off,” acting mostly as the voice of experience and
perspective for artists who already have a fairly clear idea of who they are and
where they’re headed. On the other end of the spectrum are the producers who
are involved in every element of the recording, from co-writing the songs, to
engineering, to playing one or even all of the instruments. In some, but
certainly not all of these cases, the resulting recordings have such a
distinctive sound that the producer becomes as associated with the recording as
the artist themselves. For the record, no one way takes precedence over any
other for producing a recording. The only measure of a producer that matters is
whether or not the resulting recording is satisfying to everyone involved. As
most producers operate somewhere in between minimal and complete involvement,
here are the main areas where most producers do their work.<br />
1) <strong>Pre-production</strong> – This includes working with the artist to
decide if the songs are as good as they can be and, ultimately, which songs
would work best as a group for an album release. It also includes deciding on
the overall sound of a recording which involves deciding which session
musicians/instruments would be best suited to achieve the sound and feel of a
particular song. <br />
2) <strong>Instrumental Recording/Arrangement</strong> – At this point, the
producer works with the assembled musicians and helps direct their performances
in the studio in order to achieve a cohesive sound for the recording.<br />
3) <strong>Vocals</strong> - Finally, because the typical music listener
responds first to the voice of the singer, one of the most important roles of
the producer is working with the vocalist to help them give their best and most
sincere performance of their material. It is extremely difficult for even the
most experienced vocalists to have any perspective on their performance while
it’s happening. For this reason, a producer is the voice of reason and
experience who knows how to encourage a vocalist to do one more vocal pass or
helps them realize that it would be better to take a break and come back to
fight another day.<br />
<strong>How Do I Find A Producer?</strong><br />
For those who are new to the process of recording, whether it’s an album
project or even a song demo, it is unclear where to look to find a producer for
your project. Generally speaking, word of mouth in your music community serves
as the best, most organic way to find a producer right for your project.
Another effective way to find a producer, particularly if you’re interested in
doing a whole recording project, would be to look at the liner notes on some of
your favorite independent CD projects made in the city where you plan to
record. Often, those producers are available for hire and it’s just a matter of
getting their contact information, which the CDs usually include. Finally,
there’s no rule that says you can’t contact a well-known/successful producer
whose work you admire. Maybe they will be too busy or too expensive to work
with, but you never know. If you’re respectful in your request, there’s no
reason not to try.<br />
<strong>Conclusion</strong><br />
At the end of the day, it’s a good working relationship and the trust between
artist and producer that makes for the best results. So, be sure that you not
only like a producer’s work but feel comfortable working with them as well.
You’ll be spending a lot of time with this person and trusting them with your
art, so make sure that you feel like the producer you choose is willing to give
you and your music the attention necessary to get a great recording.<br />
Good luck!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-74760349305720061472012-11-02T17:57:00.000-07:002012-11-02T17:57:01.683-07:00How To Utilize Your Social Networks<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div>
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If you’re using Twitter a channel for promoting your music, then you know the importance of getting retweeted. A retweet can extend the reach of your post exponentially, and should be one of the main focuses when using Twitter to promote things going on within your music career. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Thankfully for your sanity, there have been hundreds of studies into just what kinds of post get retweeted the most. Here are 10 very easy tips and also some helpful information that will help you get your tweets retweeted as often as possible. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">There are many things to consider when created a post to get potentially retweeted. You need to take into consideration the time of day your posting, what type of demographic you have as followers and many other little factors that are specific to your style of music. If your followers come alive at night, then make sure you’re posting tweets during that time to increase the chances of getting retweeted. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Below you’ll find 10 very easy to implement tips to help you get retweeted. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
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<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Ask questions.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Help your followers learn stuff.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Stop just tweeting about yourself.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t tweet the same thing all day.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Post quotes or creative messages.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Include a link in your tweets no more than 50% of the time.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">If you enjoyed a certain post, tweet that author and let them know.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Make sure you have a profile pic and not just the Twitter egg. </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Share other people’s tweets often.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> Make sure your followers are targeted to your demographic</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Whether you want to agree on it or not, Twitter is a very powerful tool. By doing some or all of the above recommendations on a consistent basis you can see a big increase in your content getting retweeted.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-79564845414670504582012-11-02T17:49:00.002-07:002012-11-02T17:49:54.771-07:00What Are The Essential Features Of A Hit Record<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>What Are The Essential Features Of a Hit Record?</strong></span></div>
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We have all heard those hit songs that can be considered ‘timeless classics’.</div>
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Whether it’s a hip hop track, a rock classic or an 80’s power ballad, these songs share some essential features that ensure they will be on the airwaves for years to come. Obviously there is not one hard and fast rule for this as every song is different, but here is a list of features that many of these hit records share.<br /><br /><strong>A ‘catchy’ song</strong><br /><br />Starting with the obvious, a hit record must be a great song. Above all the melody must be strong, as this is what a listener focuses on and this should be accompanied by some great lyrics and a good groove. You can apply the best production techniques possible, but if the song is weak then the record will sink without a trace!<br /><strong><br />A strong vocal</strong><br /><br />Having a great vocal is a real asset to any record. If you have a quality song and you have a strong vocalist to sing the melody, then this can be the golden ticket to creating a hit record. A great vocal does not necessarily need to be technically proficient, but more to do with how a singer can successfully interpret the emotion in the song i.e. how they can convey the message in the lyrics.<br /><br /><strong>A creative arrangement</strong><br /><br />After the song and the vocal, you need to ensure you have a strong arrangement. This involves using the right structure and ensuring each section of the music is interesting for the listener. This can be achieved by adding extra instruments, adding a counter melody, changing the drum pattern, or changing the key etc. Have a listen to some hit songs, and pay attention to the subtle differences between each section. How is verse 2 different to verse 1? How is the last chorus different to the first?<br /><br /><strong>An accomplished performance</strong><br /><br />You may have the heard the crude expression “You can’t goldplate a turd” and this definitely applies to creating a hit record. A track must sound like there is ‘life’ in the performance and no amount of editing in the studio, fiddling with EQ’s, compression or reverb can replicate this. It can be hard to put your finger on it at times, which is all the more frustrating, but sometimes one take just sounds better than another. If you have musicians who put there all into a performance and play with real emotion and intensity, then the production phase becomes far easier!<br /><br /><strong>A well produced track</strong><br /><br />Although there are examples of hit songs which don’t technically sound very good, generally the really big and timeless records do sound excellent. A well engineered record does not guarantee it will be a smash, especially if the song, vocal, arrangement and performance are not up to scratch, but it can add an extra dimension to the overall sound, if the EQ’s are well balanced and the right amount of reverb and compression is applied.<br /><strong><br />The timeless factor</strong><br /><br />Despite having all the previous factors in place, if the track sounds like the last trend, and the musicians or band members look like it too, then the record might not take off as you would like. Having said that, a ‘retro’ look and sound to a band can work out really well if you go back two or more trends.<br /><br /><strong>Are all the above factors essential for every hit song?</strong><br /><br />Well in short, no.<br /><br />There will always be some songs which become hit records and cannot be explained. You will find some songs with weak vocals and melodies which take the charts by storm.<br /><br />However, on most of the really big hits, you will find they contain the majority, if not all, of the factors in this article. Songs like “Merry Christmas Everybody” by Slade will be heard every December in shopping malls and on the radio. Other hits like “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson and “Imagine” by John Lennon will be played all year round for many years to come.<br /><br />Would you like some great tips on <a href="http://make-music.net/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">how to write a song</a> and compose music in any style? Download a FREE 10-page guide on “5 Essential Elements On How To Improve Your Music Making In Any Style” at <a href="http://make-music.net/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://make-music.net</a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-79199561405995006352012-11-02T17:45:00.001-07:002012-11-02T17:45:42.240-07:00What's The Real Cost Of Signing A Record Deal<br /><br />
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<span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">What’s The Real Cost of Signing A Major Record Deal?</span></h1>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">If new artists are akin to California fires, the intensity is still the same as it was 20 years ago. It's just that more people now have matches. Sadly, they're all choosing to light up in the same spot. Everybody wants a major deal. It makes you wonder how many more crooked deals will be dealt before newcomers finally decide to promote their art independent of the strings of majors. Aligning with a major label offers few benefits beyond the spoils of fame and the facade of a panoramic lifestyle. Let's examine the merits and demerits of being on a major label, shall we?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline;">Fame</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sure, having the long-reaching tentacles of majors will help deliver your product to the masses and bring you ample exposure. The problem is that new </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">artists often get peanuts on their percentages in exchange for fame. Who wants to be a broke but famous star?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline;">Advances</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's true that you're likely to get large advances from majors. That said, just remember that you have to pay back the advances and recordings costs from your royalty rate as applied to actual sales. When your records no longer shift those monstrous units, you'll find that you're stuck making money for a label even if the passion and financial benefits are long gone. It's like taking a loan that ties you to your creditor long enough to limit your long-term success.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline;">Sales</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ah, the main objective of everyone who's ever picked up a mic. If you made an argument in favor of sales 12 years ago, I would've nodded in agreement and slapped you hi-five. A cursory glance at the record sales within the last 5 years, however, shows an industry that's on its knees. Every dime spent on promoting an artist's record, from video production costs to radio promo, is recoupable from his royalty points (with few exceptions, of course). When, say $300,000 of income goes to the label, only about 10% of that goes towards recoupment. This way, you'll have to shift a bazillion units to see substantial revenue from royalty points.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline;">Major vs Indie</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's a surprise that newcomers, who clearly have respectable artistic goals, aren't deciding to pass up opportunities to sign to majors. Drake, for instance, had an opportunity to buck tradition and stick it to the majors. He had already gathered reams of buzz. His mixtapes were moving like hot cakes. He had an opportunity to debut in the Top 10 as an independent artist. In the end, he chose to play ball with the same people that passed on an opportunity to sign him when he was just Wheelchair Jimmy. The world is waiting to see how his deal with Universal will impact his craft.</span><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">On the flip side, Chicago outfit the Cool Kids and New Orleans MC Jay Electronica have shown that it's possible to attain reasonable success sans the backing of a major. Did you hear the one about Cool Kids co-headlining a North American tour with the Clipse in 2009? That's an indie act with no full-length album co-headlining a tour with a major act. Lucrative deals with the likes of Nike and EA Sports stand as a testament to the Chicago duo's ability to leverage their music for indie success. Similarly, Jay Electronica, who's affiliated with New York-based indie Decon Records, has managed to build a cult-like street following while churning quality music.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">Indies like Rhymesayers Entertainment, Duck Down and Stone's Throw Records have all managed to stay relevant for decades while consistently dropping quality albums. Everyone seems to be jostling for the top spot these days, but the smart ones have figured out that the middle is where the gold lies.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline;">Quality vs Quantity</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">One area that illuminates the disparity between majors and indies is album packaging. Sometimes it takes an album that offers a combination of quality music and unique packaging to get a consumer's attention. Brent Rollins, the mastermind behind many classic hip-hop album covers (including Freeway & Jake One's </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Stimulus Package</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">) laments that big labels are more reluctant to invest in superior packaging.</span><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">"When I work with large labels," says Rollins, "it’s like pulling teeth just getting them to use something like a metallic ink on an album cover. Sometimes they talk about something like 5 cents out of a dollar extra to do something. I know that adds up when you’re printing a lot of them, but we’re talking about giving something back to people."</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">While large record companies are typically less enthusiastic about embracing new ideas, independent labels have always been synonymous with creative liberty. Others might continue to seek the rat race that is wooing a major label, but diligent artists will seize every available opportunity to steward their future and change the game.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">Take it from Courtney Love, who's seen both the good and the ugly side of major deals. "If a record company has a reason to exist, it has to bring an artist's music to more fans and it has to deliver more and better music to the audience. You bring me a bigger audience or a better relationship with my audience or get the f--k out of my way.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline;">Summing It Up</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is not to suggest that major record cartels are irrelevant. Previously undiscovered artists benefit from the huge promotional break a major has to offer. It takes a ton of funds to break a new artist -- funds most artists don't have on their own. But it's important to weigh the pros and cons of signing to a major before making the plunge. What's the real cost of signing a freaking 5-album major deal in the long run? What does it mean when an artist has to recoup, say $250,000 of her promo budget while the label earns 10 times that amount? Keep in mind that most artists makes $0 from royalty points until recoupment is clear. That's sad.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">The music industry is a burning house and people are running into the building with more gasoline instead of trying to douse the fire. Will this be the generation that finally capsizes a broken system or will it be the one that settles for the okey-dokey? Will this be the generation that revolutionizes music business or will it be the one that settles for a stint in the belly of the beast? That question lies in the hands of the Drakes and the Jay Electronica's of this world.</span></strong></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-64837949829311474932012-11-02T14:20:00.000-07:002013-10-01T18:43:24.987-07:00How To Get Your Music Published<a href="http://musicclout.com/uploaded/pictures/adminpictures/cr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://musicclout.com/uploaded/pictures/adminpictures/cr.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Getting your music published is usually one of the first goals an artist looks to accomplish in a developing music career. However, lots of up and coming musicians are lost in the dark when it comes to understanding how to get their music, instrumentals and beats published. What we decided to do for those who are in need of this information, is layout the basics of getting your music published in today’s music industry. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">First and foremost, you will need actual recorded music to make this whole thing possible, so if you’re not at that stage in your career, that’s going to be the first thing you need to complete. Once you have recorded music the next logical step is making sure those recordings are protected from copyright infringements by registering them with the library of congress. This step protects your recordings for basically your entire life plus 70 years, so make sure you don’t miss this step.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Once you have your music, instrumentals and beats protected by the library of congress, you’ll want to then create a spreadsheet where you can add in all of the music publishers that you’re going to be researching. Once you have the spreadsheet created, the next step is going to be researching music publishers who work with your style of music, instrumentals and beats. When researching publishers for your music it’s important to note things like non exclusive or exclusive deals that they offer to their artist. This is a very important step that you don’t want to miss because it can possibly have a major effect on what you would like to do with your music in the future. Ideally, finding more non-exclusive deals is the best possible option for most new independent artists. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">When you have your spreadsheet filled up with at least 100 music publishers, you’ll need to create an email template that you can send to all the companies listed on your sheet. Make sure the first email you send is somewhat short and to the point. All you should try to accomplish on your first email is permission to send another email with an MP3 attached or a link to your music for them to consider for their roster addition. As you start getting responses back, make sure you’re noting them on your spreadsheet and also responding back with all of the information that they are asking you for. In some cases, they’re going to request you send them a physical CD. If you have one, send it. If you don’t, just be honest and let them know that you only have digital recordings of the songs that they’re requesting, however you have no problem getting them on a physical CD if needed. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">One thing to keep in mind is that as long as the music publishing deals you’re signing are non-exclusive, you can always look for and work with more publishers for those same songs. However, if the deal is exclusive, it’s going to be a guarantee that the publisher you signed the contract with is going to be the only one who can work with the songs that you signed with them. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Once you get this down, the only thing left is to repeat this process over and over as often as possible. Like most things, with more people out there that are working your songs the more likely you’re going to start getting placements on a consistent basis. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-69143954706319523772012-10-19T20:51:00.000-07:002012-10-19T20:51:19.461-07:00Kendrick Lamar Reveals Meaning Of "good kid, m.A.A.d city" & Collabo With T.I.<div class="summary">
Kendrick Lamar reveals the meaning behind the title of his album "good kid, m.A.A.d City" and discusses working with T.I., J. Cole, and Scoop DeVille. </div>
West Coast hip hop is being revolutionized and <a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/KendrickLamar/profile/" target="_blank">Kendrick Lamar</a>is at the forefront. With his first major studio album dropping next week, K.Dot has been making the media rounds to promote <strong>good kid, m.A.A.d city</strong> and finally comes clean as to the meaning behind the decoded title. He also discusses collaborating with <a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/TI/profile/" target="_blank">T.I.</a> and his project with <a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/JCole/profile/" target="_blank">J. Cole</a>, and recording with producer Scoop DeVille.<br />
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The title of his album is an obvious ode to the city he’s from, Compton, but Kendrick had not actually divulged he meaning of “<strong>good kid, m.A.A.d ity</strong>”, but now says it is double meaning, “Two meanings, the first one is...My Angry Adolescence Divided,” and adds the second meaning is, “My Angel’s on Angel Dust.” Apparently the Cali rapper smoked a bad batch of weed once that was laced with angel dust, “that’s the reason I don’t smoke...that was me, that the guy laced...It was just me getting my hands on the wrong thing at the wrong time.” As for the capitalized “As” he says it is just a style choice, “I just wanted that to stand out – on the capitalized As.”<br />
Recently he called T.I. onto stage during a performance, and Lamar admits that the two had recorded something together, “We got something, on his album – with Tip...It’s a crazy joint.” As far as the anticipated collabo project with J. Cole, Kendrick remained tight lipped, “Ya, we gonna drop that out the sky, I ain’t givin no dates, no nuthin.” <br />
His single “<a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/kendrick-lamar-poetic-justice-song.1035884.html" target="_blank">Poetic Justice</a>” which is a smooth track featuring<a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/Drake/profile/" target="_blank">Drake</a> and production by Scoop DeVille. K.Dot talks about working with the producer, “me and scoop go back, all the way back to like ’08. He always just had crazy beats...I finally got a chance this time around to just lock in with him...he’s thinking out the box, man.” <br />
Kendrick Lamar’s <strong>good kid, m.A.A.d city</strong> drops October 22<sup>nd</sup>.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-71586709288525586902012-10-19T20:48:00.000-07:002012-10-19T20:48:42.364-07:00Missy Elliott Talks "Supa Dupa Fly" And Titles For New Album<div class="summary">
Fifteen years later, Missy Elliott talks about "Supa Dupa Fly" and discusses her recording process and possibly titles for her upcoming LP. </div>
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Partially responsible for revolutionizing the role of female rappers, <a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/MissyElliott/profile/" target="_blank">Missy Elliott</a> recently spoke about the fifteen year anniversary of her seminal album <strong>Supa Dupa Fly</strong>. Miss talks about how she feels that album was far ahead of its time, and then discusses possible album titles for her new project and her recording process. <br />
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When <strong>Supa Dupa Fly</strong> dropped in 1997, people did not know how to digest it, as it was a unique flow, and the visuals that accompanied were completely different from anything else people were seeing on TV. In her interview withFuse, via <a href="http://www.rap-up.com/2012/10/19/missy-elliott-debates-new-album-title/" target="_blank">Rap-Up</a>, Misdemeanor talks about how she feels it was ten or so years ahead of its time, “Everything about it, you hadn’t heard it before...even the rap flows was different. I think it was 10 years ahead, 15 years ahead.” <br />
Discussing possible titles for her comeback album Missy mentions a Ustream session she had with fans, and how now she’s stumped on what to call the project, “Somebody said <strong>Class Dismissed</strong> sounds like class is over. <strong>Class In Session</strong> sounds like you’re taking people to school. I gotta figure it out.” <br />
It may be fifteen years later, but when creating music goes, Missy believes in sticking to the formula that has worked for her over the years, “My approach to writing and producing, compared to when I did it in 1997. I don’t think it’s any different.” Missy adds that she’s always trying to stay ahead of the trends in music, “ I think I go in the same way, I try to write what is relatable to the people, not necessarily just what I think is hot... As far as producing, even back then, I try to do the opposite of everything I’m hearing.”<br />
She was tight-lipped about features, but did hint that “Not Tonight (Ladies Night)” part two, which originally featured <a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/Eve/profile/" target="_blank">Eve</a> and <a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/LilKim/profile/" target="_blank">Lil Kim</a> was a “great possibility”. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-7021153375921577372012-10-19T20:39:00.000-07:002012-10-19T20:39:36.169-07:00Exclusive: MMG's Omarion Announces "The Care Package" EP<div class="summary">
During an exclusive interview with HNHH, Omarion announces he will be dropping an EP entitled "The Care Package" on November 12th. </div>
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After a summer of dominance, MMG continues to release stellar mixtapes and albums. In an exclusive interview with HotNewHipHop, <a href="http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/Omarion/profile/" target="_blank">Omarion</a> announced that he will be dropping a free EP as a prelude to his upcoming album.<br />
Always one to cater to the ladies, MMG’s R&B singer says he will be dropping the project entitled <strong>The Care Package</strong>, on November 12<sup>th</sup>, which happens to be his birthday. Omarion said, “I just decided maybe a couple of days ago, I’m gonna be dropping a hot new...what i’m calling it, <strong>The Care Package</strong>.” <br />
He adds that although it’s his birthday, he wants to give a gift to his fans, “On the day of my birth, November 12<sup>th</sup>, we just gonna give ya’ll four or five records, hot and heavy for the women, to keep ya’ll warm, we gonna be giving away some free music. It’s my gift to you.” <br />
HNHH will be dropping the full interview this Tuesday where we joined Omarion on the set of his latest video shoot.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-41617751725363245682012-07-05T03:48:00.004-07:002012-07-05T03:49:29.103-07:00Music Managers<span class="mw-headline" id="Music_managers">Music managers</span><br />
A music manager (or band manager) may handle career areas for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_ensemble" title="Musical ensemble">bands</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singers" title="Singers">singers</a>, and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ" title="DJ">DJs</a>.<br />
A music manager may be hired by a musician or band, or the manager may discover the band, and the relationship is usually contractually bound with mutual assurances, warranties, performances guarantees, and so forth. The manager's main job is to help with determining decisions related to career moves, bookings, promotion, business deals, recording contracts, etc. The role of music managers can be extensive and may include similar duties to that of a press agent, promoter, booking agent, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_manager" title="Business manager">business manager</a> (who are usually <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_public_accountants" title="Certified public accountants">certified public accountants</a>), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_promoter" title="Tour promoter">tour managers</a>, and sometimes even a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_assistant" title="Personal assistant">personal assistant</a>. Manager's contracts, however, cannot license those responsibilities unto the manager in the same way a state license would empower the agent to do so. Therefore, conflicting areas of interest may arise unless those are clarified in the contract. That said, a manager should be able to read and understand and explain a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract" title="Contract">contract</a> and study up on the long-term implications of contractual agreements that they, the bands, and the people they do business with, enter into.<br />
Before the manager enters into an agreement with the band, their relationship may be regarded as competing for interest; after a good contract is signed, their interests, obligations and incentives are aligned, and the interest in success is shared.<br />
Responsibilities of a music manager are often divided among many who manage various aspects of a musical career. With an unsigned act, music managers may assume multiple roles: graphic designer, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publicist" title="Publicist">publicist</a>, promoter, and handling money and finances.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talent_manager#cite_note-2">[3]</a></sup> As an artist's career develops, responsibilities may grow, and because of their percentage agreement with the band, the manager's income may grow as well.<br />
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A music manager becomes important to managing the many different pieces that make up a career in music. The manager can assist singers, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwriter" title="Songwriter">songwriters</a>, and instrumentalists in molding a career, finding <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_producer" title="Record producer">music producers</a>, and developing relationships with <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_company" title="Record company">record companies</a>, publishers, agents, and the music-loving public. They should carefully consider when certain contributions have been made which would also entitle them to cowriting credits, Executive Producer credit, or Producer credit should they become involved in songwriting, financing works, or actually producing demos and recordings, and should carefully know these jobs and these fees should be considered either as separate from the contract, in addition to the contract, or as free to the musician as clarified in emails and the contract. The duties of an active music manager may include supporting the band's development of a reputation for the musician(s) and building a fan base, which may include mastering and launching a demo CD, developing and releasing press kits, planning promotional activities, creating social network identities for bands, and booking shows. A music manager may be present during recording sessions and should support the artist during the creative process while not interfering between the artist and the producer, but also musicians may also find valuable feedback in 3rd pair of ears and this should be carefully considered as well. They may gain access to a recording studio, photographers, and promotions. He or she will see that CD labels, posters, and promotional materials appropriately represent the band or artist, and that press kits are released in a timely manner to appropriate media. Launching a CD with complementary venues and dates is also a music manager's responsibility.<br />
Early on in an artist's career, the different facets of management and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing" title="Marketing">marketing</a> fall upon either the band itself or, if they have one, their manager. Because the band or artist is relatively unknown initially, promotion, booking, and touring are minimal. A new music manager begins by establishing a clear understanding of what the artist(s) want. This can be accomplished through either a written or verbal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract" title="Contract">contract</a>. A music manager's first task is to solidify all artist development aspects and then concentrate on product development.<br />
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<span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talent_manager&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Compensation">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Compensation">Compensation</span></h2>
Striking a tentative compensation agreement that can be renegotiated after three or four months is recommended, and the rate of pay is generally based on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_(remuneration)" title="Commission (remuneration)">commissions</a> of 15 percent or more of performance and commercial incomes [4]. This amount depends on the level of development the band or artist is at and the experience, networks and resources of the manager. (The less developed the artist and more experienced the manager, the higher the commission.) The artist or band should never agree to circumstances that cannot be terminated or negotiated within a short period of time.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talent_manager#cite_note-3">[4]</a></sup><br />
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<span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talent_manager&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Photography">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Photography">Photography</span></h2>
Managers usually secure the services of a professional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographer" title="Photographer">photographer</a> while the artist is recording. Different 8x10 pictures of the artist can be used for websites, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc" title="Compact disc">CD</a> labels/jackets, posters, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_kit" title="Press kit">press kit</a>. Cost for high quality shoots vary from $500 for a basic shoot to thousands for several looks. Photographers are not expected to cover material cost. It is important that the manager obtains an agreement upfront confirming license to use the images which will cover the uses necessary, in addition to high resolution digital images on CD. Managers are also advised to have photographs taken before CD designs or artwork goes into production. Managers are also responsible for hiring additional staff when necessary.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-35479392841131324692012-06-18T21:26:00.000-07:002012-06-18T22:00:48.519-07:00How To Tour Locally<h2 class="harticle">
<a href="http://www.musicclout.com/article/89/how-to-tour-locally.aspx" id="ctl00_cphC_aArticle">How To Tour Locally</a> </h2>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6360557344742119"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thanks to the internet, many artists are now able to record, promote, and distribute their music independently. Getting the music out to fans has never been easier, but getting the band to the fans can still be as difficult as ever. Many independent musicians work other jobs to support their passion, but that can make it difficult to go out on tour for weeks on end. Thankfully, there are some viable options for up-and-coming bands to get a chance to tour in their local area while still maintaining their day jobs and lives.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The key to touring locally is to build local sustainable tour markets that you can use to expand upon later in your career. Many major cities are surrounded by smaller towns and cities that would probably love to have good live music come their way. A good starting point would be any city or town within a 2 to 3 hour drive of your hometown. The first step is to identify which venues you can play. Although you can email every bar in town and hope for the best, you’d be better off doing some proper research. You should research similar local artists and see where they like to play. Then take a chance and send them an email; who knows, maybe they’ll love your stuff.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Even though you may not have many people coming out to your show, you should still try your best to promote it; if all goes well, you’ll be coming back to play to hopefully a bigger crowd. The main idea behind local touring is to try and make a few new fans at each show you play. Then next time you play, those fans will come back and bring more friends.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Another good idea is to trade shows with other bands. You can research bands that are similar to yourself in other tour markets, and ask if you can play a show with them in their town. Then when they get a chance to go on tour, you can play a show with them in your hometown. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And if money is really tight and you don’t want to spend a lot on cheap motels, couchsurfing.com can be a great way to meet local people and stay at their place for free.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s usually a good idea to go on local tours every six weeks. That way you have enough time to play all the local markets and take some time to recover at home. Then get right back to it! You want to build a loyal fanbase locally so that when the time comes, you can start expanding to larger markets and hopefully draw in some of your local fans.</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-80327821935526181152012-06-18T21:17:00.001-07:002012-06-18T21:17:04.891-07:00Harley - Here We Go (Green Screen Test)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-d-kZeU6Y70?fs=1" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-84707499669786730492012-06-18T21:14:00.002-07:002012-06-18T21:14:51.838-07:003 Tips For Landing A Record Deal<h2 class="harticle">
<a href="http://www.musicclout.com/article/88/3-tips-for-landing-a-record-deal.aspx" id="ctl00_cphC_aArticle">3 Tips For Landing A Record Deal</a> </h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We get asked all the time here at Music Clout; how can I get a record deal? The answer is somewhat complex in this day and age within the music industry. With so many things changing at neck breaking pace, record labels are often changing their approach when looking for artists to sign to their label. However, there are some fundamental things acts can work towards that can increase their chances of locking down the record deals they dream of.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re going to lay out the 3 basics of what just about every label that is still in business is probably looking for. You’ll probably agree that these things are very simple and what artists should be doing to constantly be evolving with their music. However, with so many music acts out there that are not growing and following these steps, it sometimes makes the most sense going back to the basis. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ok, so here are the three basic tips that are at the core of how you get a record deal. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Having The Best Music:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> I know this goes without saying, but you’d be so surprised by the numbers of acts that just don’t pay enough attention to their actual music. Most people end up getting blinded by the truth, because of close friends giving them praise for the music they’re putting out. Always look for people who can give you a non-bias opinion about your sound, and don’t be afraid to take criticism. It’s always honestly that makes you grow the most. Also, make sure your current sound is somewhat in line to what’s popular within your actual style of music. Record labels aren’t looking to go too far outside the box when it comes to their current and future signings. Always make sure that the music you’re putting out is the absolute best it can be, and if you feel like it’s not ready, just be patient and release the music when it is ready. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Having A Ton of Fans: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nothing will get a record label more excited than signing an act that has a ton of fans. Actually, if just this one area is strong, everything else can be overlooked, including having great music. However, don’t count your lucky stars that this is going to happen to you. Most of the time stories like that are made from “American Idol” finalists and rarely translate to your everyday average up and coming music act. Regardless, acts must always try and work on building a solid and supportive fan base for their music because it’s going to be a main factor in helping the acts build their careers and eventually receive a record deal. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Be Proactive: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Being proactive is underestimated and totally underused. If you’re working on growing your music career five days a week and someone else of equal talent is only putting in three, there’s no doubt who’s going to make the most moves forward to get a record deal. One of the best things an act can do to increase their chances of getting a record deal is by breaking up the responsibilities to various members of the group. This technique ads accountability for actions and also increases the overall productivity of the bands growth. Once you start to make strides in all areas of your career, you can then be very aggressive when it comes to really learning how to get a record deal. Start off by finding the labels you would want to get signed to, learn their contact information and start being proactive by contacting them and making them aware of your music. </span></div>
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So now you know what to say if ever asked: how can i get a record deal.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-78988730597329800452012-06-18T21:13:00.000-07:002012-06-18T21:13:17.877-07:00Being a Well Rounded Musician VS Mastering One Instrument<h2 class="harticle">
<a href="http://www.musicclout.com/article/86/being-a-well-rounded-musician-vs-mastering-one-instrument.aspx" id="ctl00_cphC_aArticle">Being a Well Rounded Musician VS Mastering One Instrument</a> </h2>
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As we go along in life we experience our perspectives and views on the world around us constantly changing, Based on experiences and new encounters in society, with jobs, and money we go through many different stages that slightly change our values, our likes and dislikes, our daily routines, as well as who we consider to be our friends and enemies. Human beings especially artsy minds, in general tend to get bored with routines and habits of others who become predictable.</span><br />
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<br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">As musicians and music fans we experience many of the same feelings. As years go by, you will constantly be learning your craft, you may even change your instrument of choice, the genre you play, or even go through fads were you decide you are going to master jazz or classical pieces, even though your band plays metal. As these change you may find yourself getting annoyed with band mates, the material you are playing or the region you are playing in. </span></div>
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<br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In the professional business world people are taught to pick one specific concentration and become as fluent and knowledgeable in it as possible. Such as choosing your major in college education, finding a career with that focus and then working a lifetime constantly growing, being promoted and becoming and expert in your field. But is this the same for musicians? What creates a more successful musician, one who is well rounded, been here and there, played keys in one band, guitar/vocal in another, and plays bass now, or one that has always and only been lead guitar since they began playing 15 years ago? Unlike most other professions, musicians do have the choice, and can be successful whether they are moderately good at many different instruments and styles, or focus on one main attribute, but there comes a time when you have to decide which is best for you.</span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Instances when it can be productive to be a well rounded musician:</span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><ol>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Your band is a cover band who plays a large catalog</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">You are in higher education for music teaching, theory, composing or music therapy</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">All members of your band play many instruments and you can create a dynamic live show by switching up who plays what throughout the show*</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">You are a studio musicians who writes and records solely your own materials</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Playing music is your favorite hobby and passion but not career</li>
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<br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">When focusing on one instrument, one genre is good:</span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><ol>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">You are trying to get your full band signed and put out many albums (A&R reps need to see constancy and steady growth in what the band or artist has been doing, they need to be well maintained and clear visions and goals for their music)</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">You are trying to be a mainstream top 40 artist (think of all the successful legends, they are know for being the best at one thing, the best guitarist of all time, the best female soul singer, the greatest bassist to ever live)</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">You want to maintain a steady and loyal fan base (think of the musicians who have dramatically changed their style, or bands who come out with a second album sounding nothing like their first and how negatively their fans react and the press ridicules them)</li>
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<br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">If you have or plan to work with the same band for years and decades, it is important that everyone in their own time is experiencing with different sounds and improving their own skills, to consistently bring new and exciting concepts to the bands writing of material. It's like being in any other type of a relationship. You have to work as a team, grow together, communicate, express feelings, and if not things could end badly, just think of how many bands end up slitting ways.</span></div>
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<br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">While the benefits of practicing and learning many different styles and instruments can be debated, it is always a valuable attribute to be a well informed musician. Reading up on other genres, current events, learning the history of music, especially your genre and about legendary musicians is always beneficial! </span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Regardless of which you decide is best for you, the main idea to keep in mind is time. Being a successful musician takes time, a life long journey of never quite being perfect or feeling like you have mastered your craft is the true reality of being an artist. So if you think it is a better use of your time to dabble here and there with different genres or instruments and the idea of actually mastering of a particular instrument does not entice you then go for it. But if you find a connection and passion while you are behind the mass of a particular instrument or voice then focus on that one thing. If it truly is your passion and you feel connected to it, it should never really feel like a job or chore, but a duty you must do be an accomplished musician and reach your goals. </span><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Check Out this article on Rolling Stones voted </span><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/talking-heads-19691231" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Top 100 Artists of All Times</a><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-78438953664050386772012-06-18T21:11:00.000-07:002012-06-18T21:11:16.702-07:00Why Streaming Your Music Is A Good Thing<h2 class="harticle">
<a href="http://www.musicclout.com/article/85/why-streaming-your-music-is-a-good-thing.aspx" id="ctl00_cphC_aArticle">Why Streaming Your Music Is A Good Thing</a> </h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Streaming music online is a touchy subject with some musicians, therefore there are a lot of different viewpoints on whether or not it is beneficial to allow free access to your intellectual property. The fact is, the benefits and disadvantages will depend on what level you’ re at in your music career. Figuring this out, along with your personal preferences, can help you decide what the best route to take is. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There are some artists spanning over many different types of art, painters, musicians, writers, etc, who have expressed a view that art should not be bought or sold, and its beauty is so great that it’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">necessary </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to a society that it’s freely shared for everyone to enjoy. One can say that these types do have a morally correct viewpoint, and in theory, it’s a wonderful concept. If you are this type of music artist at any level of your career, by all means, let your music stream away and be happy that someone is listening and hopefully being inspired! However, for those of you that are starving and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> o.k. with it, it might do you good to just accept the fact that streaming your music is becoming necessary evil, especially when you are an unknown.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The main reason for it being necessary is the invaluable exposure you or your young band can get from allowing your music to be streamed online. Free for anybody to listen? The shear fact that you have made your music free and widely available, could be the only reason new ears are listening. Also remember that the current fears about our economy have resulted in consumers being very selective when buying any product, even if it is just a measly $0.99 song. Allowing your music to be streamed gives a way for the consumer to first “test out” your music before making the decision to buy it which is good because people want to be absolutely sure these days that what they are buying is going to be worth the price, and they’ll actually use it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Most importantly, in the first stages of your music career, not enough consumers know about you for it to be worth you trying to sell your music through a distributor like iTunes or CD Baby. Sure, you can register with one of these distributors and you may get a small number of loyal, local fans, that will buy your music, and you may receive a small royalty check. Royalty checks, no matter what the amount, are kind of neat to receive, but if you factor in the monthly/yearly cost to have your songs registered with iTunes, and the more expensive, non-monetary, cost of keeping your music sheltered, it just doesn’t make sense. Knowing how tough it can be for a starving, up and coming band, any money, no matter how small the amount, does seemed needed, but in the long run, getting a $100 royalty check every six months won’t do as much for your career as opening it up to everybody, and letting it stream.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There will be a certain point in your career, however, where you’ll have to decide when the best time will be to start really focusing on selling your music. This decision can be made based off your personal opinions about art and intellectual property, or based off the numbers that you proved you can hit, or you can project. We all remember Radioheads big deal a few years ago, where they allowed anyone to download their whole new album off their website for free. This left a lot of people angry, and guaranteed, most were probably those who stood to profit from Radioheads proven track record of selling mass amounts of records. Up until their latest album, The Black Keys would allow anyone to stream any of their music off their website, but in a recent interview, they revealed that it was time for them to stop this, realizing that streaming just doesn’t make sense for established, revenue-generating bands. What this really means is that someone figured that they had potential to make huge profits if they just stop giving free access to their music. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If you are one of those types that would care to make some dough from the work they put in their music (there’s probably a lot of you), the best thing to do is be patient about it. As long as you write good music, stay persistent, and effectively market it, people will buy it. The thing that a lot musicians don’t seem to understand is that ther’re a lot of opportunity costs when starting out a music career, and giving free and easy access to your music through streaming it online, at least in the beginning, can be the one investment that will pay off the greatest.</span></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-23957281435634472322012-06-18T21:08:00.003-07:002012-06-18T21:08:40.648-07:00Defining Your Style<h2 class="harticle">
<a href="http://www.musicclout.com/article/78/defining-your-style.aspx" id="ctl00_cphC_aArticle">Defining Your Style</a> </h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What kind of music do you play? That’s usually one of the first questions people ask you about your band. Sometimes that can be difficult to define. With the rise of electronic music over the past several decades, music genres have become mixed and twisted to create new styles of music. So we decided to put together a quick guide to help define some of the many styles of music that are out there.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Acoustic </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through entirely </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_acoustics"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">acoustic</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> means, as opposed to electric or </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_music"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">electronic</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> means. Performers of acoustic music often increase the volume of their output using electronic amplifiers. However, these amplification devices remain separate from the amplified instrument and reproduce its natural sound accurately. Often a microphone is placed in front of an acoustic instrument which is then wired up to an amplifier.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Matt Costa, Damian Rice, Jeff Buckley</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Adult Contemporary Music</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a broad style of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_music"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">popular music</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_music"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">vocal</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> music</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7.199pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">rock</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> influence, as well as a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_format"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">radio format</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> that plays such music.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Taylor Swift, Michael Bubl</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bubl%C3%A9"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">é</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, Sheryl Crow</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Alternative Metal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Alternative metal is an eclectic form of rock music that gained popularity in the early 1990's alongside grunge. In many instances, it can be accurately described as a fusion of heavy metal and alternative rock, especially the indie rock of the 1980's. It is characterized by some heavy metal trappings (most notably heavy riffs), but usually with a pronounced experimental edge, including unconventional lyrics, odd time signatures, unusual technique, a resistance to conventional approaches to heavy music, and an incorporation of a wide range of influences outside of the metal music scene. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: 3 Doors Down, Breaking Benjamin, Avenged Sevenfold</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Alternative Rock - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">An umbrella term used to describe a style of music that emerged in the late 80's and early 90's. Alternative Rock is usually characterized by bands who have a "do-it-yourself" or non-conformist attitude; hence "alternative". </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: R.E.M., Pixies, Nirvana</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Blues</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - the name given to both a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_form"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">musical form</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_genre"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">music genre</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">; The blues form, ubiquitous in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">jazz</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">rhythm and blues</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">rock and roll</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is characterized by specific chord progressions, of which the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-bar_blues"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">twelve-bar blues</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> chord progression is the most common. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Ray Charles</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Blues Rock</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues-rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a tube guitar amplifier, giving it an overdriven character.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers Band, Stevie Ray Vaughn</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Classic Rock</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the 1970s.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: The Who, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Country</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music. Country music often consists of ballads and dance tunes with generally simple forms and harmonies accompanied by mostly string instruments such as banjoes, electric and acoustic guitars, fiddles such as violins, and harmonicas</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Jimmie Rodgers, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dubstep</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Burial, Skream, Benga</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Electronic Dance Music</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment. The music is largely created for use by disc jockeys and is produced with the intention of it being heard in the context of a continuous DJ set; wherein the DJ progresses from one record to the next via a synchronized segue or "mix”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Dubstep, House, Techno music</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Folk</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> (Contemporary) – Folk music can be described as the traditional music of a country or region. Generally, when people use the phrase “folk music” they are referring to the traditional music of American and Great Britain. Traditional music from other countries and regions is more often known as “world music”.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Fleet Foxes</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Funk</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. Funk songs are often based on an extended vamp on a single chord, distinguishing it from R&B and soul songs, which are centered on chord progressions.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: James Brown, Earth, Wind & Fire, KC & The Sunshine Band</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hip-Hop/Rap</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Run-D.M.C., 2Pac, Dr. Dre</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">House</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago in the early 1980s. House music is centered around a 'four on the floor' rhythmic structure and may feature a prominent synthesizer bassline, synthesized or sampled drums and percussion, electronic effects, vocal samples, often with reverb or delay effects.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Swedish House Mafia, deadmau5, Daft Punk</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Indie</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Two Door Cinema Club, Bon Iver, The Wombats</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jazz</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - form of art music which originated in the United States through the confrontation of blacks with European music; jazz differs from European music in that jazz has a special relationship to time, defined as 'swing', a spontaneity and vitality of musical production in which improvisation plays a role, and sonority and manner of phrasing which mirror the individuality of the performing jazz musician</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Metal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are generally associated with masculinity and machismo.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Motorhead</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Punk</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> – a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. Punk bands created fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: The Ramones, The Clash, The Sex Pistols</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pop</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Madonna, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Reggae</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. Based on a rhythmic style characterized by accents on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae usually accents the second and fourth beat in each bar, with the rhythm guitar also either emphasizing the third beat or holding the chord on the second beat until the fourth is played. It is mainly this "third beat", its speed and the use of complex bass lines that differentiated reggae from rocksteady, although later styles incorporated these innovations separately.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Matisyahu</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rhythm & Blues (R&B)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - From the early 1950s, the term rhythm and blues was frequently applied to blues records.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7.199pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Starting in the 1950s, after this style of music contributed to the development of rock and roll, the term "R&B" became used to refer to music styles that developed from and incorporated electric blues, as well as gospel and soul music. By the 1970s, rhythm and blues was used as a blanket term for soul and funk. In the 1980s, a newer style of R&B developed, becoming known as "Contemporary R&B".</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rock</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. Musically, rock is song-based music usually utilizing a verse-chorus form, but since its inception, the genre has become extremely diverse, and common musical characteristics are difficult to define. Rock is typically centered around the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with bass guitar and drums, although a variety of instruments are often used. The most common time signature used in rock music is 4/4, however other time signatures are also used.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Techno - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a form of electronic dance music (EDM) that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s; it is a style of fast, heavy electronic dance music, typically with few or no vocals.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples: 2 Bit Pie, Altern 8, 2 Unlimited</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">World - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">in its classic definition is a general categorical term for global music, such as the traditional music or folk music of a culture that is created and played by indigenous musicians and is closely related to the music of the regions of their origin</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Please note, these are just some generalizations. Lots of artists cross over into other genres and you can really define your style as anything you want. But when you’re trying to promote your band, you want to use styles and artists that people understand and have heard of; otherwise you’re just another random band with a strange sound.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-76469407661103839772012-06-18T21:06:00.003-07:002012-06-18T21:06:47.950-07:00The Truth About Mainstream Success<h2 class="harticle">
The Truth About Mainstream Success </h2>
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Ever wonder why so many artists become one hit or one album wonders? Music consumers over the past decade have adopted the idea that the majority of artists are brought to fame using the<span> </span>“boy band” formula. This formula that label executives simply have an idea of an artist molded, find the talent to fill the requirements, and then easily market them to make lots of money sounds like a wonderful idea. However, that rarely is the way that an artist reaches fame. Unless the artist is connected to an already established celebrity, there is a long and sometimes strenuous journey that lies ahead of them and their business partners. This journey is known as the pipeline of events that must happen in making any ordinary musician with recorded songs into a successful main stream well-known artist. </div>
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There are many departments and people who will work hard on the development of a successful artist. Much like the many parts used in putting a car together on an assembly line, each part of the music industry pipeline must be properly put in place and work well in order for the ending product to be productive. A new artist, much like a successfully put together new car, must be then well maintained and closely cared for in order for success to continue. If any steps are skipped in the development process or with maintenance, failure is likely to happen. This of which is quite common. Hundreds of artists a year are attempted to be marketed and brought to fame, but fail due to missing or malfunctioning parts in the pipeline. </div>
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In this pipeline there is the Artist, <a href="http://www.musicclout.com/Opportunity.aspx?c=33&g=0&page=1">Artist and Repertoire</a>, Marketing, Distribution, Retail,<a href="http://www.musicclout.com/Opportunity.aspx?c=31&g=0&page=1"> Publicity</a>, and Media personnel, all of which are working to get the artist efficiently to the consumer. Each member of the pipeline needs to stay well informed, and aware of the current status of the developing artist. Any malfunction in the communication process could lead to failure. Even Jimmy Iovine, chairmen of Interscope Records once said “if this company (Interscope) is about anything, its about discipline and staying focused”.</div>
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<span> </span>The first step an upcoming artist must take is to get noticed. There are millions of bands in the United States, from little jam bands who have never played in public, to huge top selling artists that are featured on covers of Billboard and Rolling Stone magazines. On a yearly basis, each of the major record labels and their imprint labels (Sony, EMI, Universal, and Warner) receive over 10,000 demos of aspiring artists. Of these 10,000 artists, only between 5 to 40 of them will actually be signed. The job of finding and sifting through these artists would go to the Artist and Repertoire person or team, depending on the size of the business. Since the 1960’s, it has been the sole purpose of the A&R personnel to<span> </span>research artists, go watch the artist perform, talk with the artist, the artist’s manager if they have one, and get an overall feel for them. The A&R person is looking for an artist that shows potential to be able to endure the process of becoming a successful part of a label’s roster. These attributes include, having an already stable fan base and marketability at the grass roots level, some sort of history in successful touring and recorded music, and the overall determination to cooperate and work hard with all the departments in the pipeline. The last point is very important. This being because once the A&R person finds an artist they believe is worth their time, they then must work hard in convincing the label executives they work for, and every member of the pipeline that this musician will be an asset to the label. </div>
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<span> </span>Looking from the artist’s point of view, the search to getting signed is a grueling and nerve racking process also. Some artists get so caught up in the idea of being signed that they will do anything to get a record deal. Many young aspiring musicians, who haven’t had any experience in the industry and are naive to contracts, sometimes find themselves with the record deal that has a ball and chains attached. Kevin Czinger, the founder of Volcano Entertainment said “In this business, the first rule is, never act out of desperation, because there is always someone out there looking to sucker you.” Many bad contracts will take away all rights of the artist to their music, and leave them with little to no credit or money for their hard work. But let’s say an artist was spotted by an A&R person from a credible label, was offered a decent record deal, and they accepted. </div>
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Now with that process over, the real path to success begins. From the A&R department the artist is handed over to the marketing team. The marketing team has the biggest steps to take in getting the artist up and going. The marketing team will analyze what the artist has to offer, what they have already accomplished, and what they are capable of in the near future. The marketing team is responsible for making the artist seem extremely appealing to distributors, retailers, radio and other media. The biggest factor in making an artist look like an asset is to show that they will make the business money. For retailers money means the artist will bring in sales and increase store customers, while for radio it means that the artist being in rotation will increase listeners. For other media like magazines newspapers, and online outlets it means the artist will create a buzz, and increase readers, hits and again sales. The marketing team can always make the artist seem more appealing by giving incentives to the businesses by adding deals, discounts, and promotions if they agree to take on the artist.</div>
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While the marketing team is working hard, they will usually hire an image consultant to work with the artist or band on creating an image that will catch the eye of their demographic. Ever since the debut of MTV and large color music magazines, the image and style of musicians has become one of the most valuable and important selling points. Many artists will despise yet go along with image changes and adopt certain character traits to fully create the persona their label and image consultant believe will work best for them. </div>
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Once an artist has their image ready and a solid album recorded, the next step is to physically get the artist out to the public. This process is much more difficult than most would think. It involves an important middleman, the distributor. Most major labels have a distributor of their own, and many smaller labels as well as independent labels, will rely on the distributors of the majors because it is not an easy job.<span> </span>When a label has a completed album they will send the master to a duplication factory with an order of how many pressings they need. That factory will then pass the CDs on to the distributor. The sole job of the distributor is to hold the albums safely in their warehouse and to efficiently ship out albums when a retailer requests them It comes back to the marketing department whether or not there will be a demand from the retailers for the albums. If no stores want the albums they will sit in the warehouse collecting dust and the label as well as the artist will loose a lot of money. </div>
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It becomes very apparent how closely linked each department in the pipeline is and how much one effects the success of another. Now the demand from the retailers, that is go greatly wanted, will depend on the overall success and growing popularity of the artist in the public spotlight. A retailer will not buy a bunch of CDs from an artist just for them to sit on their racks, take up shelf space, and eventually make the effort to send them back. (In which, yes, retailers have the right to send back albums that do not sell, and for a full refund too.) Therefore a buzz in the media that is reaching the consumers must be on going. No matter how big of a scale or little of a scale the label is working on, the artist should be doing interviews for press, magazines, and newspapers on whichever level they are in. For example if a major label is working with the artist on a big budget, appearances and interviews could be done on widely known media outlets like SNL, Billboard Magazine, late night shows and big radio stations. For a smaller budget and label, local newspapers, smaller magazines, and college radio stations should be having coverage, as well as an efficient online campaign. </div>
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The media is a very important factor in an artist’s success in the mainstream world of technology today. A growing attribute in media has been the Internet. The Internet has become the most popular medium for consumers to receive information as well as find music and videos. This transition has also brought the record industry into a different realm for the first time since physical recordings could be mass-produced. The digital recording or the mp3 originally gave the record industry a big scare with significant decreases in sales. This was due to large amounts of illegal downloading, allowing consumers who usually would have paid anywhere from 15 dollars to 25 dollars for a CD, acquiring the same material completely for free. This left the record labels with less income from sales and many distributors piling up returned or unsold albums. The industry has since found ways to use technology to receive a handful of new streams of revenue. Sales in cell phone ring tones, online mp3 stores, such as iTunes and Amazon as well as many online streaming radio formatted stations have become extremely helpful in making up for lost sales. Atlantic Records back in 2007 even announced that, “more than half of its music sales in the United States are now from digital products, like downloads on iTunes and ring tones for cellphones.”</div>
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<span> </span>The online streaming stations like Last FM, Pandora, and AOL Radio offer thousands of popular as well as upcoming artists for consumers to listen to and also offer spotlights and capabilities of purchasing songs listeners like. Along with the Internet buzz importance of an artists personal website as grown as well.<span> </span></div>
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Two departments, some that work right within the label, and some who are independent and work on retainer for a label are the Promotion and Publicity companies. Both of these companies are two more important factors deep within the pipeline. The job of a Promotion company is to get radio stations to add artist songs to their rotation. In theory, but not always, it is suspected that a largely played artist on the radio will bring in lots of revenue by touring. The publicity company has what could be a never-ending job. Their duty is to dish out human interest stories, some a little stretched from the truth, and enlarge the public buzz of an artist. As an artist becomes more famous the demand for insight into their lives and their background will grow.<span> </span>Sometimes like we have seen in cases like Britney Spears, the demand can grow to an unacceptable level.</div>
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If every member of the pipeline has worked hard and the artist has received a profitable release of an album, a following of more singles being released and music videos will usually occur. Along with a successful release will also usually come a large tour with big ticket sales. Once all of this has happened, the artist and the label will then turn into the maintenance part of the pipelines job. Maintenance is a crucial part in any artists career and will indefinitely determine the longevity as well as the stability of it. Along with this new success an upcoming artist will experience a change in personal relationships with friends and family as well as adapt to the new relationship with their newly found fans. Artists will work closely with their publicist as promotions team to make sure everything stays on track. </div>
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Soon after the tour or even sometimes during, the artist will start to work on their next album due to the fact that most contracts bind the artist to a three to four album contract. In most cases this is to ensure that royalties are being paid and all recoupables have been fulfilled. Recoupables are the monies that an artist owes back to the label. The majority of albums will cost thousands of dollars start to finish. The label will pay for everything upfront, but once revenue from the album starts to come in, the artist will usually not receive any more money until all the debt has been paid. In the meantime the artist will usually have received an advance of money when signing the record deal and hopefully was smart enough to ration the spending of the money until they could ensure the album would be profitable. </div>
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Royalties are monies earned from songs or sound recordings that will come in from many sources like CD sales, digital sales, and synchronization to commercials and movies. Royalties are given to the entity with the copyrights to a song. In most cases the label will demand that they hold ownership of all songs recorded; however many musicians that are also songwriters will fight for their right of ownership to their music. The RIAA, the Record Industry Association of America is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry in Washington. Their mission is to manage and enforce US copyright laws and to make sure the owners are receiving the proper income. Almost 90% of all professional sound recordings produced and sold in the United States have been created, manufactured or distributed by RIAA members.</div>
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The function of maintenance will be ongoing for the rest of the artist’s career. They must now keep a good relationship and work with their managers, publicist, and label to sustain a solid career and credible view from the public. Main stream success is almost impossible to reach and even more impossible to maintain through the years, with so many eyes watching, people pulling for their side to have the biggest say, and struggle over rights, it is definitely not a joke. As your grandmother always said be careful what you wish for!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-28447090049226225562012-06-18T21:03:00.002-07:002012-06-18T21:03:33.302-07:00Finding The Best Record Label For Your Style Of Music & Goals<h2 class="harticle">
<a href="http://www.musicclout.com/article/62/finding-the-best-record-label-for-your-style-of-music--goals.aspx" id="ctl00_cphC_aArticle">Finding The Best Record Label For Your Style Of Music & Goals</a> </h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We are having a discussion today around the office about what are consideration the best record labels around, and it created a storm of opinions that were all across the board with no clear winners. What we did find though, was some of the factors that should go into determining what the best record labels are for your music.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you’re a musician looking for a deal, you probably asked yourself a few times: what are the best record labels</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> that I should be approaching for a possible recording contact? If you’re anything like me, that list includes an entire page worth of possibilities, only leaving you more confused. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To determine what the best record labels are for you, you’re first going to need to decide on what factors make a label great in your opinion. For instance, do they develop the acts they sign, do they make their acts sign a 360 contract, have they had any success with their acts, who runs the labels, are the artists they have signed in the past happy with that labels performance, and so on. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Once you got your factors down, now it’s time to research and find the best record labels that best fit the type of deal you’re looking to get. Once you have your list of labels down, you can now consider these to be the best record labels for your music.</span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-58175994272519116582012-06-18T21:01:00.001-07:002012-06-18T21:01:33.251-07:00How Releasing Holiday Covers Can Skyrocket Your Promotion<h2 class="harticle">
<a href="http://www.musicclout.com/article/83/how-releasing-holiday-covers-can-skyrocket-your-promotion.aspx" id="ctl00_cphC_aArticle">How Releasing Holiday Covers Can Skyrocket Your Promotion</a> </h2>
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The Holidays are a time for cheer, spiked eggnog, caroling, and great classic songs! With many celebrity musician's coming out with classic cover's and CD compilations like NOW releasing Holiday favorites, it has become a common and favorable venture for musicians world wide to do their rendition of these classic songs, preform them at gigs around the holidays, put them on an EP they may release around the New Year, and add their version to their website page. </div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">However when being an independent musician it is important to be careful of what exactly you recreate without getting into a copyright infringement mess. Many classics are public domain but make sure that the version you are going has copyright date of 1922 or earlier for it be 100% public domain cleared. Here are some other facts about copyright and the public domain that are vital for us all to know! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In general, </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">under the copyright law, the creator of the original expression in a work is its author. The author is also the owner of copyright unless there is a written agreement by which the author assigns the copyright to another person or entity, such as a publisher.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Copyright Infringement happens when</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A work of authorship is in the “public domain” if it is no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection. Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner.</span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-35824303122683441362012-06-18T20:59:00.000-07:002012-06-18T20:59:08.412-07:00What Record Labels Are Looking For<div style="background-color: transparent;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So you have hot beats, your rhymes are on point and you even got major swag. What happens now? Is releasing ‘good’ music enough to get you signed? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although much of the industry is revolutionizing how it does business, certain aspects of it have remained the same. Every act should be doing shows consistently and selling CD’s along with merchandise. That being said, stay up to date with approaching new ways to sell your music. Artists need to see forward-thinking movement. One example is, state-of-the-art mobile apps that allow you to charge your fans by credit card, on the spot! If they just want mp3’s, you can charge them right away and have a link automatically emailed to them to download your album. Selling units is of the utmost importance. Record companies want to see that you can move units without their help. The bottom line is, if you can’t sell records on your own, labels no longer have the interest nor the resources to sign and develop you. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Are you completely inspired by Drake and want to sound just like him? I didn't think so. However, does his sound subconsciously influence how you sound? There is an interesting balance that should be considered here. Record label A&R’s love to hear familiarity in acts they are scouting. However, don’t (by any means) be a copycat. Borrowing elements of the hottest pop music of the moment can be used sparingly, but incorporate your own unique approach! Yes you are an artist, so you may feel inclined to write music that defies genres and sounds like it’s from the year 2040. Just keep in mind that a good song is like a good meal. Most people who like pizza, may be apprehensive of trying a duck burger over their favorite pizza. The argument then becomes, who is your target audience? Yes, many people eat duck but statistically pizza is consumed by millions more (also due to availability, supply etc). In this case, we are talking about record label A&R’s. They don’t want to market and sell a duck burger, they’d rather take a pepperoni pizza, add a dash of duck to it and voila! It’s all about a balance of pop appeal, uniqueness and believe it or not, talent. Just remember, you shouldn’t be 10 steps ahead of radio, but make sure you are a good 2-3 steps ahead. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Social media is so unbelievably important to record labels considering signing a new artist. Immerse yourself into this invaluable tool now. There are so many different ways to expose your music on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other sites (including the 45,000 sites that will launch by the time I finish this sentence). Once you have a product, you must spend a large part of your day submitting your music to blogs. The exposure a positive blog review can get you, can help propel you to another level. One of the most effective online campaigns, comes in the form of viral videos. Shooting clips can be done on quite the budget nowadays, so explore this idea as much as your resources allow. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Always remember that networking is one of the most important aspects of your career in the music business. The corny record producer from your neighborhood that you don’t like? Keep in touch with him. He may launch a label, get a distribution offer from Universal and be looking for music like yours! You never know, one person could change your life. All things considered, you absolutely should never burn bridges in this business.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If you take into account the aforementioned details and combine them with talent, hard work and persistence, there’s no limit to what goals you can reach!</span></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-91802572237876575942012-06-18T20:56:00.001-07:002012-06-18T21:05:35.147-07:00Why You Should Care About Your Image<h2 class="harticle">
Why You Should Care About Your Image </h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Innovative and successful artists need to capture their audience and time period to be remembered any genre’s hall of fame. Artists often get more recognition and commentary on their style and image even than their music. Audiences are either captivated and copy their musician idol or are fascinated to see what they will come out in next (or both). For artists that have not hit “the big time” it is even more crucial to find an image that stands out and your audience remembers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj both on iTune’s top ten singles right now (as of Feb 21,2012) are flooded through tabloid magazines and blogs to capture what outrageous thing they will wear next. The have mirrored image success from veterans like Madonna whose image is as valuable as her music. Viewers mirror their favorite musicians. Thousands of girls dressed up like Lady Gaga for Halloween decked in leotards, shoulder pads, and jeweled sunglasses, just as millions have put on gloves, bustier tops and piles of jewelry fashioned to be like Madonna. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is important to be natural and incorporate your style of music. Creating a buzz about your look cannot sustain just by shocking viewers. Madonna has created pop and dance music, and we have seen that reflected in hear early years to even her later albums in leotards and wristbands; it matches her music. There is a necessary balance between being original and being true to your music genre. Find your personal style, stick with what you are comfortable and feels right, because it becomes various obvious to your viewers when you feel awkward. Do not chase after trends or mimic what has already been done, just focus and intensify your look.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As an up and coming artist it is important to develop your look to brand yourself for your online existence for audience attachment. Your image is not just about the clothing you wear, but needs to reflect in everything you do from logos to your social media pictures. Your image is your brand, it is how you are recognized and encrypted into the world’s mind. </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-77525954879763872682012-06-18T20:54:00.002-07:002012-06-18T20:54:27.011-07:00Inside The Mind of an A&R<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Everyone these days is an artist. I’m pretty sure my mailman has an album coming out. Technology has saturated the market to a point of redundancy and monotony. This, fueled by a singles-driven market causes record labels to become weary of investing in unknown acts (understandably so). Any artist should have; hit songs, consistent shows lined up, a great following, independently moved units, radio play and/or impressive YouTube numbers. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s true, labels are looking for music in the style of artists who have hit it big already. The key is to dance along the line of familiarity and originality. Be a couple steps ahead of radio, but within a comfortable distance. If you are too left field, it would be hard to digest by labels and possibly even fans. If you are too similar to what’s hot now, you’ll miss the boat by the time your music gets big.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Make sure you have the ultimate product, before you invest ridiculous amounts of time and money into promoting it. Although the following has been stated repeatedly, sometimes repetition is key to truly understanding your goals. Practice your craft everyday, play gigs as often as possible and find legitimate sources of constructive feedback. As an artist, you must also realize that that it takes financial investment to develop a brand. PR, radio campaigns, web developers for your site, service companies, CD replication, copyright, professional photos, graphic design and so much more. If you are genuinely prepared to make your music a career, investing into your brand is key. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All that being said, it’s all about great art, a story and a movement. Truly, it’s a constant battle of balancing the time of perfecting your craft and developing your brand. Once you find this middle ground and you persistently create a movement with hit songs, you’ll find your way. Pursuing A&R’s through their assistants or interns, attacking blogs consistently with your music, creating interesting viral videos and finally developing an enthusiastic following will propel you towards where you need to be.</span></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-87708991194276887152012-06-18T20:51:00.002-07:002012-06-18T20:51:42.065-07:00The Ugly Truth About Today's A&R<h1 class="entry-title" style="border-image: initial; border: 0px currentColor; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 26px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 15px 76px 0.3em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The Ugly Truth About Today's A&R</h1>
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<br /><a href="http://musicmadecool.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/ar.jpg" style="border-image: initial; border: 0px currentColor; color: #1982d1; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-27" src="http://musicmadecool.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/ar.jpg?w=584" style="border-image: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); display: inline; float: left; height: auto; margin-bottom: 1.62em; margin-right: 1.62em; max-width: 97.5%; padding: 6px; width: auto;" title="A&R" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit;">A&R has always been one of the most misunderstood aspects of the music industry. Heck, a lot of people don’t even know what A&R stands for (Artist and Repertoire, taken from the days where an A&R's job was to link songwriters up with a performing artist). In the past, the most commonly known aspect of an A&R's job was discovering unsigned talent and getting them a record deal, which was partially true. Today, you don’t even have to leave your couch to discover new music, but musicians still salivate at the thought of getting their music discovered by an A&R rep. Truth is there aren’t that many major record labels anymore, meaning less A&R Departments</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit;">, meaning an even less chance of being discovered by one of them. It has been said by many in the industry that in the digital age, A&R is dead. However, like most facets of the music business, the digital age has merely transformed it. Now there is a new definition of how A&R works.</span></div>
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Back in the “golden years”, A&R used to serve as the middleman between the artist and record label and work very closely with the artist. They would discover a band, convince the record executives to sign them, find the band a record producer and studio, and help develop many aspects of the artists career such as style, promotion and marketing. Today, thanks to the internet, most of that can be done by the artist themselves. Recording hardware and software is cheap, accessible, and can be easily ran by monkeys. Marketing and promotion can be done through social media websites and digital distribution, and now every major player in the business wont even acknowledge you unless you already have some self-made clout. So now, who is an A&R rep for? Record labels? Artists? Do A&R's even exist anymore?</div>
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The answer is yes. Although there are a lot less major labels, the power of an A&R rep is diminished, and the web has provided an easy way to discover music. These labels still have a few A&R reps that have new methods for discovering new artists, and are used to filter through the watered-down internet. In the independent label world, old school A&R is still used, and actually still a very relevant way to scout new talent. The best example of this is indie label XL Recording's discovery, development, and utmost support of Adele a few years ago. She is still with XL, and is very successful. Other than that, the face of A&R has changed so much, most wouldn’t even recognize it anymore. Many have been saying that music supervisors are the new A&R people. Music supervisors are the ones whom, most of the time, are selecting music for film, tv, and video game projects (among other duties). Some 90% of the music placed in these projects come from unsigned, independent artists, and many have been discovered and launched successful careers by this approach.</div>
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Others have said that another new form of A&R is websites and blogs. The Artic Monkeys were the first band who’s career was greatly impacted by MySpace support. Incredibly popular music blogs have a lot of pull and can serve as the new “gatekeepers.” A blog like Brooklyn Vegan, one which is viewed by millions a month, can essentially make or break a new artist simply by featuring an artist on their homepage. Other sites like Yahoo music helped launched Katy Perry and the Plain White T’s, and sites like YouTube offer an excellent platform for videos, and are debuted on a weekly basis. YouTube has also expressed that they are not just in it to just throw any old artist up, and hope for the best. The label department of YouTube actively seeks out artists that they actually believe in.</div>
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Music publishers have also been thrown into this new A&R conversation as well. Long before Coldplay was signed to Capitol Records, they were affiliated with BMG music publishing who provided funds for recording and even shopped the band to labels. Chrysalis Music Publishing is also building a reputation for really getting behind and pushing their artists into the spotlight, setting an example for other companies to follow. </div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-70863839566909855812012-06-18T20:49:00.000-07:002012-06-18T20:49:20.823-07:00Youtube Can Get You Seen<h2 class="harticle">
<a href="http://www.musicclout.com/article/92/how-youtube-can-get-you-seen-heard-and-trended.aspx" id="ctl00_cphC_aArticle">How Youtube Can Get You Seen, Heard, and Trended</a> </h2>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.25468139885924757"><strong><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></strong><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">You Tube has been a technological sensation since its beginning in February 2005, with over 2 billions views per day and over 35 hours of video posted per minute. There is no question that YouTube is an effective tool in marketing yourself as an artist or band as well as cost effective. YouTube is the number one places to be seen, heard, and become or continue to be a trend.</span></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> YouTube was founded as a technology start-up to provide an opportunity to easily share videos. Within a year and a half of the site launch, there were over 65,000 videos uploaded daily with over 100 million views, being named the dominant provider of online video for the United States. Now, there are currently over 10,000 official partners with 94 of the top 100 advertisers running campaigns on the site. When posting a music video on YouTube, you are not only going to be seen from everyday people world-wide, over 70 % of the viewers are outside the US; but also industry people involved and affiliated with the site. YouTube is also a great opportunity for the average Joe to get coverage, the number 6 most viewed video is ‘Charlie bit my finger-again’ about a young boy and his infant brother biting him and how it hurt and it has almost 404 million hits. </span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Technology has been constantly improving and enhancing ways to serve the public, as an artist or group, being heard is essential to success in the industry. Luckily, YouTube is in your favor for the likeliness of being heard and attaining an audience and following. An excellent example is Justin Bieber who was discovered by videos posted with him singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments. Bieber went from being a gifted but normal kid from Canada to a teen sensation and holding the number spot for most views on a YouTube music video for ‘Baby’ with over 684,597,595 views. A great perk is that when posting a music video on YouTube, not only will you have views from the site itself, but people can also post the videos and links on popular networking sites: Facebook and Twitter, which opens more opportunities to be heard and create a following. </span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">To be a trend or be ‘trending’ is important in today’s social and media culture, as an up and coming band or artist, is an ambition to have the spotlight and attention. Youtube is an ideal outlet to post your music videos, with the amount of viewers and options to expand your video and viewing from the site to various other media outlets. By definition, a trend is to emerge, by using YouTube; you can trend and gain followers simply by posting a music video. YouTube is not only used by up and coming talent and the average person, but also established artists and bands as a way to reach out to their fans and share experiences such as music videos, interviews, and performances. A prime example is artist Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull for the number two most viewed YouTube video of all time ’ On the floor’ with over 463,245,100 views. When those activities are posted it keeps the bands and artists popularity up and constant and maintains a strong relationship with their fan base. </span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">YouTube is such a great resource for bands and musicians to create a following gain fans and show people worldwide your sound and image. Regardless of you are just starting out, been a band or musician for years and waiting for a big break, or well acclaimed, YouTube provides the opportunity to be seen, heard, trend, and rock –on.</span></span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-44342316266305956772012-05-01T20:53:00.000-07:002012-05-01T20:53:04.519-07:00Seeking Songwriting Success: Three Ways Follow-Through Pays Off<h1>
Seeking Songwriting Success: Three Ways Follow-Through Pays Off</h1>
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<em>Talent is a wonderful thing. On some level, we’ve all got it. However, what
separates the success stories from the tragically unrecognized geniuses is what
you do after the inspiration is over. <br />
</em>
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Songwriting is art. Like all art, songs require a healthy dose of
inspiration, which is nearly impossible to predict or control. In that way, the
spark that results in the creation of a song is a gift but the rest of the
process is nothing more (or less) than good, old-fashioned work. By following
through in a variety of different ways, you stand a much better chance of
achieving the goal of getting your songs out in the world and hopefully
generating some income for you.<br />
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<strong>1. The Song Gets Finished.</strong> We all have them: bits and pieces
of what seemed like a good start to a song that have languished in notebooks or
lost folders on our laptops. This is an unavoidable and necessary part of the
creative process, but there comes a time when some of these ideas should be
finished. Not all songs come easily and, on occasion, some of the best ones are
ideas that just needed a little elbow grease to finish up. By reviewing some of
these orphaned ideas from time to time, you’ll often find that there’s something
well worth finishing. By following through in this way, you’ll end up with songs
that might not otherwise have happened.<br />
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<strong>2. The Song Gets Demoed.</strong> Having a finished song is a victory
in and of itself. That being said, the reality of our business is that these
finished songs need professional demos in order to give them (and you) a
fighting chance of being acknowledged by the decision-makers in the music
industry Having a bunch of great songs that aren’t presentable isn’t a viable
way of pursing a professional songwriting career. By the way, not every song you
write will be demo worthy but for those that are, following through with a plan
on how and when to make high quality recordings of them is a big step towards
having your songs generate income for you. Like any business, you need to invest
money in order to eventually make it.<br />
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<strong>3. The Song Gets Cut/Placed.</strong> Okay, so you’ve got a great
song and a beautiful sounding recording of it. Congratulations. However, if only
a small group of family and friends ever hear it, then it might as well not
exist in the eyes (and ears) of the industry. I’ve talked about this in previous
articles, but there is nothing romantic about pitching your songs. It’s work.
Still, it is an absolute necessity if you’re hoping to sell your music.
Follow-through can take a variety of forms here, including reading industry
pitch sheets to find artists looking for new material, seeing which music
supervisors are looking for songs for a film or television show and even making
sure that an up-and-coming artist in your community (without a record deal) has
a chance to put their vocal over the instrumental mix of your existing demo. In
other words, get your songs out there. By the way, just in case you think
sending your song to someone means your work is done here, it’s the follow-up
(and follow-up and follow-up) that separates the pros from the novices. Never
assume that just because you’ve sent in your song you can sit back and wait for
your phone to ring. I highly recommend placing a note on your calendar to follow
up with an email or phone call two weeks later and two weeks after that if you
still haven’t heard anything. By following through on your pitches and following
through on your follow-through (getting my point?), you’ll give yourself a
fighting chance of getting your songs heard — after that, the sky’s the
limit.<br />
<br />
Talent is a wonderful thing. On some level, we’ve all got it. However, what
separates the success stories from the tragically unrecognized geniuses is what
you do after the inspiration is over. By digging in, doing the work and
following through you’ve got a much better shot at the kind of songwriting
success we all dream about.<br />
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</em></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314341740049254026.post-68342441543167002872012-04-25T19:47:00.000-07:002012-04-25T19:47:39.365-07:00Why Cover Songs Are Important<!-- .entry-utility --><!-- #post-## --><div class="post-2053 post type-post hentry category-cover-songs category-youtube-101" id="post-2053">
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<a href="http://blog.songcastmusic.com/why-cover-songs-and-videos-are-important/" rel="bookmark" title="Permalink to Why Cover Songs (And Videos) are Important">Why Cover Songs (And Videos) are Important</a></h2>
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Your peers have been creating a plethora of cover tunes on YouTube. From Bon Iver to the<a href="http://blog.songcastmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/CoverSongsYouTube.jpg"><img alt="indie_cover_songs" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2054" height="300" src="http://blog.songcastmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/CoverSongsYouTube-300x300.jpg" title="CoverSongsYouTube" width="300" /></a> Beach Boys, it’s been covered in a wide variety of genres and styles. But have you ever wondered… why?<br />
Cover songs are hugely popular with fans on YouTube, especially when the performer has a great voice or a unique take on a famous song (or both). But the reason so many indie artists have been covering famous songs is because it helps them reach new fans and helps to increase their SEO.<br />
<strong>What’s SEO?</strong> Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website in search engines. Basically it’s the process of getting to the top of a (Google, Bing, etc.) search. There are a number of ways you can increase your SEO; things like optimizing your website to include certain keywords and making sure you have a number of external links or back links to your site.<br />
That’s where YouTube comes in.<br />
<strong>Discovery: </strong>If you’re posting a cover song of, say, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” you’ll have a lot of “natural” traffic to that video because people will be looking for the original song and, in the process, “discover” yours.<br />
<strong>Traffic: </strong>If you include a link to your website in the info box below your video, you’ll drive traffic to your website. This will help increase your site traffic and (hopefully) your search ranking, as well.<br />
A few notes about <strong>copyright/licensing</strong>: this post pertains only to <strong><em>your</em></strong> rendition of a song.<strong> </strong>Additionally, recording your version of someone else’s song and posting it on YouTube, where anyone can watch it for free, is a gray area. YouTube (likely) has a blanket license from BMI and ASCAP for this purpose. But, there is a chance (if someone complains) that your video will be removed at any time.<br />
To <strong>sell</strong> your recorded version of someone else’s song, you must purchase a mechanical license.<br />
<strong>What do you think? </strong>Have you posted any cover songs on YouTube? Did you get a lot of traffic from it?</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335456759871579257noreply@blogger.com0