Prepare for the Master (CD Mastering) by: Richard Dolmat Many artists are still confused as to what goes on during a mastering session. This article will try to shed some light on the last step before fame and riches (well, at least the last step before duplication), and help you with preparing your music before sending to a mastering studio. Mastering is the last stage of production, right before the master CD is sent for duplication. It is extremely important for your product and can dramatically improve the quality and consistency of your recordings. Since many musicians have home studios, it is more important than ever to get your final CD mastered properly. It will bring your home-recordings closer to a "radio ready" professional level. Some of the work done at the mastering stage include: -> Equalization and harmonic balancing for consistent sound throughout your entire album. -> Adjusting micro/macro-dynamics (volume changes) of your songs for consistency and loudness. -> Checking inter-channel phase and polarity for mono compatibility. -> Final CD layout with proper song spaces, segues, fades and crossfades snapped to CD frame boundaries. -> Sample and bit rate conversion with dither to Red Book CD Standard. It's amazing how a good mastering job can bring out the width, depth and dimension of a song. You'll hear sounds that used to be buried in the mix, the vocals will shine through, the reverb and effects will be heard, and the whole CD will be more enjoyable over a varying range of playback systems. At Digital Sound Magic Studios, we have a one-free song policy. Send us a song (usually through www.yousendit.com) and we master it for free. No catch, no obligation. But don't assume all the work lies on our shoulders! You have to do some legwork too by giving us the best source audio and as much information as possible. This will make the final mastering process run more smoothly and ensure that you get the absolute best master. Here is a list of things for you to check before you send out your songs for mastering: -> If your final product is an audio CD, most mastering engineers prefer to receive 44.1 kHz (24bit) data files on CD-ROM (wav, aiff). This gives us the best source material to work with. -> Include all ISRC codes along with your songs, we need these before we burn the final master disc. -> DO NOT add any processing to your main mix bus (ie: compression etc). Keep it natural and clean. -> Do not clip your files, keep your peaks somewhere around -6dB and you'll be safe. It's nearly impossible to remove distortion. -> Leave space before and after your music (ie: 2-3 sec at head and tail of each song) -> If you have one, include the UPC number of the disc. -> Make sure ALL your song names are in full. No abbreviations please! We need full names to add as CD-TEXT (which some CD players use to show your band name and song name). -> Include your CD album title. -> Give us a track list of the order you would like your songs to appear on the final CD. -> Include your FULL contact information (Band Name, Album Name, Contact Person, address, tel, fax, web, email etc). We use this information to print onto your duplication master disc. -> Send along a few of your favorite songs as reference. Rip a couple of songs from your favorite CD and add these in with your original files. This can do wonders in helping the mastering engineer understand the 'sound' you are striving for. It's always easier to 'hear' an example than it is for you to explain it! The absolute bottom-line in mastering is COMMUNICATION. Speak up if you have a concern. It's important that you get what you are paying for, and at Digital Sound Magic, we don't mind taking a little longer for a better product. ©2005 Richard Dolmat (Digital Sound Magic) =========================================================== About The Author Richard Dolmat is owner, engineer and producer for the Vancouver based recording and mastering studio Digital Sound Magic. Visit his site at: http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com   Richard Dolmat may be contacted at http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com rdolmat@noahnine.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Richard Dolmat is owner and engineer for the Vancouver based recording studio Digital Sound Magic. Visit his site at: http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com   Copyright Usage:

 

When I first set out to write this article about voice problems in singers, I was looking for two experts from contrasting fields of medicine – "medical" and "holistic". What I found, instead, in the first practitioner that I interviewed, was a delightful mixture of the two. The following biography of Dr. Brian Hands was taken from the website VOX Cura, his Toronto clinic. There is a link to the website at the bottom of this article. "Dr. Brian Hands, M.D., FRCS (C), is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in his field of laryngology, sits on the Board of the Canadian Voice Foundation, is a member of the Voice Foundation in the U.S. and is on the editorial board of The Medical Post. Brian Hands' life-long passion for the arts, combined with his medical practice as an ear, nose and throat specialist, has led to a growing practice among performing artists of all disciplines. He is voice consultant for the Canadian Opera Company, Stratford Festival, the major theatrical companies, Mirvish Productions and the former Livent as well as major record labels." I hope you'll enjoy reading about Dr. Hands and his work treating singers with voice problems. Linda Dessau: Why did you decide to focus on the voice problems of singers? Brian Hands: As an ear, nose and throat resident, options for training in taking care of voices is limited. After a few years of practice, a board member of the hospital where I was working offered me the position of voice doctor to the Canadian Opera Company. I quickly became fascinated and passionately excited by performers who use their voice – the purest sound a human can produce. I loved doing it. At that time, in Toronto, CATS and the Phantom of the Opera were beginning their production. Touring singers from all over the world would call the Canadian Opera Company for referrals if they had voice problems while they were in Toronto; eventually rock singers, movie people and theatre people from Stratford all started being referred. This is the work I get the greatest enjoyment from, and I try now to limit my practice to only voice problems. I identify with the strong emotional aspects involved in performing; I love the creative arts. I believe in taking a mind/body/soul approach and use elements of energy work, chakra therapy, color therapy and yoga. I find the performers find these approaches easy to relate to. I start with a Western medical method of taking a patient's history and doing a physical assessment. And once that's done, I deal with the emotional and spiritual aspects of the person. I appreciate that my clients see me as non-threatening, like a friend – not a conventional doctor who just wants to label them and get them on their way. I see them as a whole entity and not just as a medical problem. Most voices DON'T have pathology, or a physical ailment. The singers are so relieved to hear that their vocal cords are fine! After a few short minutes in my office we're usually able to get to the deeper problems, emotional "baggage" that may have been with them since childhood. This brings more relief, the fact that someone is listening to them and understands them. I've heard many times, "How do you know so much about me, when we've just met?" Another joy for me is facilitating, for these singers, the cathartic release of their pain through singing. LD: What are the most common vocal disorders? BH: Muscular tension dysphonia or supraglottic hyperfunction - excessive muscle tension in muscles above the larynx. Common symptoms are pain after singing, inability to hit high notes, difficulty in passaggio (transitioning between the different registers of the voice), constant clearing of the throat, pain in neck and head and tightness in the jaw. LD: What’s a myth about singing that you’d like to correct? BH: The myth that some people should just mouth the words because they "can't" sing – with training anyone can sing! LD: What happens when a singer comes to your office for treatment? BH: We take an extensive physical history, find out about any allergies, examine the neck and throat, and look inside the mouth by using either a flexible or rigid endoscope. Frequently we use a sophisticated video exam called a videostroboscopic evaluation of the larynx. After all of these procedures we decide on a form of treatment. The most common course of action is reassurance that there's no structural damage to the vocal cords, coupled with talking about the underlying emotional issues that are bringing on the physical symptoms. Sometimes treatment involves speech therapy, and occasionally speech therapy and medication. It's rare that a patient needs surgery. LD: Is a vocal disorder a lifelong issue? Why or why not? BH: No, because once someone has mastered the proper breathing technique, they'll eliminate the physical symptoms that lead them to the clinic in the first place. Breathing needs to establish a deep connection between the 3rd chakra (solar plexus) and the 2nd chakra (creative energy) by planting their feet firmly on the ground through the 1st chakra. With those connections in place, the patient can deliver a breath from the 3rd chakra with inspiration from their heart (4th chakra) and then to their 5th chakra (larynx, throat chakra). Often, the trouble is that the spiritual connection (7th chakra) has been broken and their intuitive center (6th chakra) recognizes this. And thus there is a backlog of energy at the 5th chakra; an incoordinate activity with too much tension in the area around the larynx (leading to the muscle tension described earlier). LD: What are the three most important things a singer can do to prevent vocal disorders? BH: 1. Breathe correctly 2. Drink lots of water 3. Warm up every day For more information about Dr. Hands and the VOX Cura clinic, visit their informative website at http://www.artindex.com/voxcura/intro_index.html This article was originally published on the Muses Muse Songwriter's Resource website (March 2005) http://www.musesmuse.com. (c) Linda Dessau, 2005. All rights reserved.   Linda Dessau may be contacted at http://www.genuinecoaching.com linda@genuinecoaching.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive one of her free monthly newsletters, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/newsletter.html   Copyright Usage: none

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Every searching artist wants to get there. It's that magical place where something takes over, you know, when something bigger than you whispers in your ear and says "Relax - I'll take it from here!" I like to call it the 'soul zone', others simply call it the 'zone', I'm sure there are many other names for it. For those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, it is the ultimate state to be in as an improviser. You might have played a gig and gone through the motions and nothing particularly interesting sprung from you. You might have played a solo at a different time and place and thought you said some pretty interesting things. But then you'll probably remember those times when you played a solo and something absolutely magical happened. Maybe you closed your eyes and you went off into this magical mysterious place where nothing else mattered. While you were playing you felt like you were in the middle of a 'happening'. Your tone was just right, your phrasing was great and it seemed like you were truly improvising for the first time in a long while. And strangely enough, at the end of your solo, you look up and you can't remember a thing you just played. Then the band members look at you with a big smile of approval. You were in a completely altered state, or so it seemed. Does this situation sound familiar to you? If so, you have experienced the soul zone. One of those trance like states that every searching musician is trying to get back to. It's the spiritual realm. And we would like it to happen more often than it does. There's no question about it, this experience may well be one of the factors determining why so many musicians have turned to drugs and alcohol in the past. That Zen like state seems to be one of the reasons musicians play music at all. Of course the good news is that you can get there without the substance abuse! The question I have always asked is this: "Why does this zone only come about from time to time?" I think there are a number of reasons. First and most important I think is the fact that there are so many distractions when we play. I have found that as my career got busier as an artist, I was sometimes taking on the role of artist, manager and agent. By the time I got on stage I was finally having to think about entertaining, whilst asking myself all sorts of things like "Am I losing the audience? Do they like this song and if not should I cut it from the set? - have I brought enough people to this show? Is the promoter seething with anger - will she book me ever again? How many CDs am I selling over there? Should I be promoting my CD more during the show? Am I funny witty and charming on stage - dammit do they like me at all??" Yiiiikkes heeeeeellllllppp!! As you can imagine, this scenario doesn't exactly make for a Zen like transcendental state now does it? Of course I am exaggerating somewhat but my point is that all too often, there are too many distractions in order to get there. The other big big reason is that sonically things might not be right. How many times have you done a show where the monitors sound terrible or you're playing through a rented amp that isn't sounding any good to you? What if the drummer sucks? I have always thought that if the band is 'on' you simply don't notice any of them. The music just feels great and everyone is in sync - just like they should be. When this is the case everyone is in that zone and the music is magical. So it's definitely a matter of external factors being right as much as it is internal relaxation and the ability to let it flow. One thing that I have always found particularly difficult and is a continual learning curve for me, is the art of recording. And here I don't simply mean recording guitar parts, that is a craft that can be learned. I'm talking about recording an improvised solo that is truly inspired. The question is "How do you get to that zone in a cold sterile environment?" What amazes me is that there have been many many truly inspired solos recorded on albums, so those artists figured out a way to get to the zone. I have always found it easier to reach my optimum playing peak in a live setting. When I'm recording I want it to be just great, it's going to be immortal after all, you know, on a CD forever. And this is where the problem lies. Too much thought. To get to the zone one needs to totally let go. So what can we do to help us get to that magical place? First, understand that it might not happen and that it's perfectly fine if it doesn't. It might be out of our control. Before you step out to play, take a deep breath and center yourself. Nervous energy can take over and it's important to get as much external crap out of our heads as we can and give the music our full and undivided attention. Take your time as you play, think about playing behind the beat instead of playing on top to drive energy. Relaxation is the key and the right energy will come as a result. Have your internal antenna up for musical ideas. They might come from the band and you should be ready to grab some inspiration from them. Close your eyes. This can help, even just to get you on the right foot. Let it flow. Try to ignore any reasons for you to not be present. And that last part I think is the most important of all. Be Present. Not always an easy place to get to but if we can strive for it, I believe will make us better musicians, and we'll enjoy the music that much more.   Chris Standring may be contacted at http://www.playjazzguitar.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Chris Standring is a jazz recording artist and educator. For more info about him and his highly acclaimed home study guitar course please visit www.playjazzguitar.com   Copyright Usage:

 

The Record Industry Continues Battle Against Free Music Downloads Movie and record producers alike are saying file-sharing networks that permit its users the ability to make copies from other network member’s computers are infringing on the copyright laws and costing billions of dollars in lost revenue. The recording industry claims to have lost 25% of it’s revenues since computer, so called thieves, have been using peer-to-peer file-sharing networks to obtain free music downloads. The two latest file-sharing companies to be targeted by these copyright lawsuits are Grokster Ltd, known for its Grokster file-sharing software and StreamCast Networks Inc. from which the Morpheus free music downloading software is distributed. Unlike Napster, Grokster and Morpheus put a spin on the popular file-sharing phenomenon. Instead of indexing the shared files like Napster did, these file-sharing products enables it’s network members to build their own indexes – thus allowing others within the network to download free music and movie files. While some musicians are protesting they are being cheated by these illegal free music downloads – others are speaking out backing how music, movies, pictures and copy are being shared over the Internet. Some music lovers actually use the file-sharing networks to check out an artists latest release before paying up to $18 for a CD that may only have one good song on it. You still will have those that will never make a purchase and continue to take advantage of the free music download networks. Many file-sharing network users have said that using these networks is good for the music industry. File-sharing can bring listeners to smaller, independent bands that they may not otherwise hear on radio or in the mainstream. With the likes of Apple’s iTunes store many have turned their backs on file-sharing networks paying 99 cents per song – Apple claims to sell more than 1 millions songs everyday. Although iTunes is limited still, thus giving file sharing networks a void to fill the unlimited access to music and movies that may otherwise not be able from iTunes. In late 2003 record companies started suing individuals that were downloading free music. With file-sharing networks like Grokster and Morpheus it will be much harder for the recording industry to track down files that are uploaded by individual users. With the Supreme Court now involved they are expected to make some type of ruling in June 2005 on what if any action should be taken against the makers of file-sharing network software. The wrong decision could discourage the future development of products like the iPod or other file-sharing software programs that could be used for legal purposes. Since Grokster and Morpheus do not monitor or have any knowledge of who or what is being downloaded, a federal judge in Los Angeles and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the copyright infringement charges against both these file-sharing networks. Based on the 1984 ruling of the Supreme Court that stated the use of Sony Betamax, which allowed users to make copies at home of copyrighted TV programs, was legal. The recording industries angle last week was that the approach companies like Grokster and Morpheus are making by advertising their software will provide access to free copies of copyrighted materials should allow them to be sued and shut down. While the jury may be out on this one for sometime – file sharing networks and free music downloads will continue with most users not really worrying about getting sued, since most do not download free music in excess of a few files per month. Copyright 2005 - Tim Somers, 3G Enterprises, LLC MusicHoncho.com Your Leader for free music downloads, MP3s, CDs, Music Movies and Electronics and many other music related products and services. http://www.musichoncho.com   Tim Somers may be contacted at http://www.free-make-money-site.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Tim Somers “The Home Biz Honcho”. Changing Your Life, Helping You Make Money While You Work From Home. Get Tim’s Top Ten Home Biz Opportunities – Free Report at: http://www.Home-Based-Business-Opportunity-Honcho.com If you are ready to start building a Residual Income – Tim will build you your very own Money Generating Website for FREE! http://www.Free-Make-Money-Site.com   Copyright Usage:

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Stretch The Skies, Inc. 770 Emerson Street Rochester, NY 14613 Phone: 585-254-0420 Fax: 585-442-3914 General Inquiries: 877-241-62613 Email: info@stretchtheskies.com Website: http://www.stretchtheskies.com   Rochester, NY--March 28, 2005--Vision Music USA and Stretch The Skies have fused their talents and resources to provide independent musicians with a technology driven, one-stop shop for achieving their musical goals. This union brings together teams of like-minded individuals focused on identifying problems and creating positive solutions for the artists with whom they work.   Progress in both online as well as conventional areas of the music business relies on a balanced system of trust, education, guidance and resources. This is the space Stretch The Skies intends to fill. “This merger will show the independent music world what can be achieved when the focus is on empowering the artist instead of competing with other organizations for an artist’s attention. When companies truly start concentrating on assisting musicians, our industry will be in a much better place,” says Jeff Fournier, President of Stretch The Skies.   The core belief behind this philosophy is that artists have the ability to empower themselves. The system is specifically designed to walk a musician through each stage of the music business by offering practical tools, industry education, artist development and a career path that makes sense. “If being a career musician is your goal, you’ve got to look at it as a business. We empower artists so they don’t have to rely solely on others. We feel the sooner an artist understands the business side of things, the sooner they will understand what it takes to reach their goals,” adds Josh Epstein, former President and co-founder of Vision Music USA.   Stretch The Skies addresses the hurdles all independent artists face, including selling merchandise and CDs and receiving credit for CDs sold. For example, they’ve created a revolutionary piece of technology called “The Music Button” that is designed to increase CD sales. And through their state-of-the-art, patent-pending technology for online distribution, artists have the ability to sell their music virtually anytime, anywhere from any website that allows for the retail link. Additionally, artists receive vital Soundscan credit for these sales.   In total, there are twenty-five different artist development services at Stretch The Skies, including commercial retail placement, college and commercial radio promotion, publicity campaigns, bio writing, graphic and web design and a pro bono press kit and demo evaluation. Artists are given a free account, allowing them the opportunity to research the system and services for themselves. The complete service listing is available on the company website. Contact: info@stretchtheskies.com Website: http://www.stretchtheskies.com Music Button: http://www.themusicbutton.com Phone: 877-241-2613 Written By Josh Epstein STS/Submitted by Keith Hannaleck   Keith Hannaleck may be contacted at http://www.muzikreviews.com khannaleck@yahoo.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites. Hannaleck built and maintained his own website in 1998 while networking and building his reputation through countless reviews and interviews (since the year 2000 totaling over 2,000 articles online and counting), creating a special niche for himself. Through many years of dedication and hard work, he has reached a respected level of competence and knowledge that is frequently sought by the music industry today. Known for his speaking from the heart interpretations of music and being able to put it in layman’s terms for music fans, his work is found everywhere in cyberspace and in traditional print media, from press kits to quotes from reviews in magazine advertisements.   Copyright Usage: none

 

"How to Earn Over $30,000 With Your Music By Year's End"   By Kenny Love   Copyright © 2005 Kenny Love All Rights Reserved   As an independent musician and/or recording artist, if you did *NOT* earn $30,000 (or more) with your music alone last year, let's jump right in and get you started with doing so this year.   Again, bear in mind that the main necessary ingredient is "consistency" of every aspect, and on a weekly basis.   Remember! This is a worst case scenario, in regard to what you should be able to easily earn within each aspect, and you are very likely to earn much more.   The "lead generator(s)" in each aspect reflects the various resources that you will use to obtain results in these areas.   So, here is the financial mathematical layout. ___________________________________________   [---GIG EARNINGS---]   Practically any band should be able to market and promote itself well enough to obtain, at least, one gig per week, whether the band is based in a metropolitan or rural setting, and whether it performs on a fulltime or part-time basis.   So, in our worst case scenario, let's look at getting one gig per week:   1 Gig X 1 Week @ $300 X 4 weeks = $1,200 per month   Lead Generators:   * Contacting venue managers and bookers directly * Signing on with an area booking agent * Placing low-cost ads in your area weekly newspapers * Contacting area performance theaters * Host your own gig at an area hall or theater * Contacting high schools for performances * Contacting college student activities offices for performances * Low-cost college newspaper ads for possible gigs * Low-cost college radio ads for possible gigs * Your website calendar gig notices/tours   Note: Provide your media kit and business card to prospective clients.   =====   [---GIG CD SALES---]   As you are already aware, most gig employers will allow you to sell your music during performances.   So, in our worst case scenario, let's look at getting sales during gigs, with a minimum of 100 people at each gig, and with 10% (10 sales) of the crowd who, after witnessing your mind-blowing spectacular performance, suddenly realize that life is not worth living, and they simply cannot go on unless they own a copy of your CD:   10 sales X $10.00 (per CD) X 4 weeks = $400 per month   Our monthly sub-total is now $1,600   Lead Generator:   * Your incredible stage performance that left them mesmerized. * Your website for additional sales.   ===== [---TEACHING---]   Right now, in your own area, there are innumerable people who would like to learn to play your instrument, or be able to sing as half as well as you. So, why not teach them how to do so while earning a bit of income doing it as well?   So, in our worst case scenario, let's say you teach only one day each week, with only two students, at one hour each, while charging $10 per student, per lesson:   1 day X 2 students X $10.00 (per student) X 4 weeks = $80 per month   Our monthly sub-total is now $1,680   Note: If you decide to devote an entire day of the week to teaching, say 8 students/8 hours, your income increases to $80 per day/$320 per month.   You can also consider contacting area community colleges that will likely be receptive to your classes within their "Continuing Education" program, which can even pay a bit more money. And, if time allows, why not get the best of both worlds, so to speak, by teaching both independently, as well as within the college system?   Lead Generators:   * Placing low-cost ads in your area weekly newspapers * Contacting high schools to post notices/fliers * Low-cost college newspaper ads * Low-cost college radio ads * News releases to area radio and print papers * Feature interviews on area radio and in newspapers * Your website with your class notices   Note: Provide your credentials to student prospects in the forms of a resume and/or portfolio.   =====   [---ONLINE SALES---]   Just a few noted sites include: CD Baby The Orchard Amazon.com New Artist Direct   With fairly decent online promotion, at the least, you ought to be able to realize an average of 3 sales per week from each of these sites. While all may not produce those 3 sales individually each week, some of them are likely to produce more than 3 sales, dependent upon your promotional efforts, of which should still average out to 3 sales each.   However and again, let's review a worst case scenario:   4 sites X 3 sales each X $7.00 = $84 X 4 weeks = $336   Our monthly sub-total is now $2,016   Lead Generators:   * Peripheral online sales from gig audiences * Low-cost ads in area weekly newspapers * Low-cost college newspaper ads * Low-cost college radio ads * Internet marketing and promotion on music message boards, music forums, and within discussion list signature files * News releases to area radio and print papers * Feature interviews on area radio and newspapers * Your website sales   =====   [---WEDDINGS---]   Though weddings occur within every month of the year, the biggest and most traditional month for weddings is June. And, right now, in your own area, there are quite a few being planned for this summer. Weddings are one of the most lucrative income generators for musicians, because families generally are very liberal in spending on them, and go all out, so to speak, for this special day for their daughters.   So, in our worst case scenario, let's say you can get, at least, one wedding gig per month, at $1,000 per gig (more wedding gig opportunities are likely during summer months especially):   $1,000 X 9 months = $9,000   Our monthly sub-total is now $3,016   Lead Generators:   * Caterers & Catering Services * Placing low-cost ads in your area weekly newspapers * Your website notices of your availability for weddings * Providing your business card to area upscale restaurants that cater wedding receptions and banquets * Your business card left with flower shops * Your business card left with jewelry stores * Your business card left with bridal shops * Your business card left with tuxedo shops * Your business card left with bridal services   Note: You should also provide your business card to wedding attendants who inquire about your services for upcoming functions that they may be hosting in the future.   =====   [---WEDDING CD SALES---]   You may also be able to sell your CD at weddings, however, ASK FIRST when coordinating your performance arrangements. Attendants usually interact with the band, as it is a happy occasion.   If you are allowed to sell your recordings at weddings, you should do so passively by having your CDs placed near the performance area in a conspicuous position.   However, I would not "hard sell" (repeatedly mention) the CD from the stage, unless of course, a wedding coordinator decides to do so, or states that you may do so.   So, in our worst case scenario, let's say, at least, 100 people attend each wedding (more are likely to attend many weddings), with 10% of them purchasing your CD:   10 sales X $10.00 (per CD) X 1 month = $100   Our monthly sub-total is now $3,116   Lead Generator:   * Your performance * Your website notice   =====   [---RETAIL STORE CONSIGNMENT SALES---]   Since stores won't be laying out cash in advance for your music, you should have very little problem consigning your music to retailers.   A word of advice is for you to not consign more than five copies per per store, per 30-day period, at any time. Limiting copies to stores will allow for sufficient time in your product moving off retailer shelves.   Consider getting your product consigned with, at least, five area retailers. However, if there are not enough music stores in your area, consider consigning it with other retailers such as; bookstores, flower shops, jewelry stores, and any other such retailer that gets quite a bit of traffic and might be interested in carrying your music.   You will, generally, be required to present retailers with your own consignment form, and I have created one that you can freely download and customize for your own use at:   The Consignment Form   Just be sure to duplicate it so that both you and the retailer have copies.   So, in our worst case scenario, let's look at your area retail possibilities:   5 Stores X 5 copies X $8 (your take) = $200 per month   Our monthly sub-total is now $3,316   Lead Generators:   * Low-cost classified or display ads in area newspapers * Low-cost radio ads * Low-cost cable television ads * News releases to all forms of media * Feature interviews at local television, radio stations and print media * Music reviews in your area print media * Your website listing area stores carrying your music   Note: Provide your media kit and business card to retailers in order to further influence their decision in consigning your product.   =====   [---PRODUCTION---]   Did you produce your own CD? If you did, and if people are raving about how great it is, why not consider producing other area bands as well for some extra cash?   Between now and the end of this year, you should be able to produce, at least, two acts for, at least, a $1,000 fee each.   Lead Generators:   * Word of mouth and fellow musicians you know * Placing low-cost ads in your area weekly newspapers * Low-cost college newspaper ads * Low-cost college radio ads * Your website notice of your production skills * Fliers in music instrument stores   Note: Provide your media kit and business card to contacts.   As our monthly sub-total is $3,316, providing a grand sub-total of $29,844, when you add on your $2,000 production fees for both bands that you produce, your minimum grand year-end total comes to $31,844.   As I stated at the beginning of this article, each of these aspects contain 'bare bones' minimum figures in respect to what your earning potential is within them.   =====   * Special Note: In each of these areas, it is very likely that you will experience repeat business, as well as word of mouth promotion, which will further add to your annual income this year, thus, creating the potential for doubling or even tripling your income. _____________________________________________   Editor's Note: Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion and media publicity firm that also provides business and career services to musicians.   Kenny Love may be contacted at http://yahoogroups.com/group/BSharpNews kennylove@MuBiz.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion, media publicity and music business/career firm for musicians. Some of his noted music clients have connections to some of the most celebrated entertainers and projects in the Music and Film industries. He is also the author of "Explosive CD $ales Tips," as well as publisher of The B# Newsletter, a highly informative music business resource.     Copyright Usage: Please ensure that "Editor's Note"/byline remains intact with article.

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How to Get State-of-the Art Video Singles Cheap   By Kenny Love   Copyright © 2005 Kenny Love All Rights Reserved   When it comes to promoting their new music releases, I have found that most musicians only consider radio as the vehicle for exposing their music to the public.   Rarely do they consider publicity, in the form of print media, i.e., music magazines, weekly arts and entertainment publications and newspapers as support tools to help support their radio airplay (another subject I shall address shortly).   But, even rarer, is their consideration of the importance of having videos for their singles. A video of your single, which was once considered an optional luxury, is now a standard, vital and necessary tool if you are going to compete with fellow independent recording artists for media and consumer attention.   And, a video is even more important if you are going to compete with major label artists. In fact, since having a video for your single, particularly, your very first single from a new release, is so vitally important, why would you even release a recording without one in today's music climate?   To me, that is like a soldier going to war with only a handgun while leaving his automatic weapon behind in his barracks.   But, perhaps, in your mind, you believe that it is still very expensive to produce videos for your singles. Even more, while you are likely an expert on producing music, you probably feel like an amateur when it comes to video production. However, that need not be the case any longer.   So, I am going to show you a no-brainer approach to easily getting a video produced for, at least, your first single from your new release, if not all of your singles.   =======================================   * Steps to Getting Your Video Singles Produced Cheaply *   1. After you have your mastered soundtrack, and have selected your first single, you should then contact an area college, university or art institute.   2. Tell the school's administration department that you need to get in touch with its "broadcast journalism" department.   3. When you reach the broadcast journalism department, ask to speak to an "advisor" or "department head."   4. Tell the advisor or department head that you are an artist interested in getting a music video produced, and that you would like to be put in touch with either a senior student or graduate student who is majoring in broadcast journalism with, perhaps, a concentration on "production" or "direction."   You may also want to stress your preference for a student who has experience with having produced music videos already. Depending on the size of the school, there will likely be several highly qualified student candidates.   In most cases, you will find video producers or directors who will want to work from a script, which includes a story line, for your video single. If that is the case, and you are in need of a script, I would like to direct you to MuBiz.com, which can produce a video script from your single. See the below link:   Video Script Service   You can also see a sample video script that I created for a client at the below link.   Sample Video Script   5. As for the low cost of getting broadcast journalism students to produce your video, in quite a few cases, these particular students are already in need of videos for their class projects, and yours just may be the one that will pique their interest. This is a no-cost method, and you will often need to arrange this setup one semester in advance.   In other cases, students may either own their film equipment, or be able to borrow school equipment for production. And, in this case, there may be nominal charges, however, these charges will be very affordable.   The best thing about this particular scenario is that, while you will get the best production knowledge from the student, as well as your video produced with the latest technology, you cannot be charged commercial rates, such as if you used a videographer or related service that officially operated in a commercial status.   But, perhaps, the best thing about this avenue to take for producing your video singles is that, not only will you be able to bring your marketing and artist status up a notch by having a video, you will now also have another product that can be used two-fold:   1. For further promotion of your single   2. Able to sell another product on online music sales sites as well as in retail outlets.   In some cases, you may also wish to offer it as a package deal with your CD. Additionally, why not go a step farther by incorporating it within your CD, placing it on DVD, as well as making it available on video cassette for retailers and consumer?   Note: Depending on the extensiveness of your production, most videos can be produced and edited within two weeks, if not sooner. _____________________________________________   Editor's Note: Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion and media publicity firm that also provides business and career services to musicians.     Kenny Love may be contacted at http://yahoogroups.com/group/BSharpNews kennylove@MuBiz.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion, media publicity and music business/career firm for musicians. Some of his noted music clients have connections to some of the most celebrated entertainers and projects in the Music and Film industries. He is also the author of "Explosive CD $ales Tips," as well as publisher of The B# Newsletter, a highly informative music business resource.     Copyright Usage: Please ensure that "Editor's Note"/byline remains intact with article.

 

"Setting Up In-House Retail Sales"   By Kenny Love   Copyright © 2005 Kenny Love All Rights Reserved   Now, that you are familiar and likely connected with online music sales sites, such as CD Baby, or combination online/offline retail sites, such as The Orchard, you are probably comfortable in having your music distribution and sales fairly covered.   But, what if you could get even more music sales, and even more profitable income?   I'm speaking of consigning your product to retail stores, but, with one exception...consigning your product nationally, or even internationally.   For all concerned, "consignment" means placing your music in retail stores on a trial basis, then collecting payments when it sells, with the retailer keeping a portion of your sale.   You see, as consignment goes, most musicians who consign their music to retailers, usually limit their consignment territory to only local retailers, or on a regional level at most. Their reasoning is that any larger area will be too difficult to manage.   But, that is simply not so, and they are losing a fantastic amount of money by limiting themselves to their local regions.   So, I am going to show you how you can easily consign your music to retailers and be able to collect payments for sales every thirty days (or so) via a "step-by-step" process.   It is important to note that the consignment process will be most successful if you are already receiving some degree of promotion and publicity results, such as radio airplay, press coverage, video airplay or through your music being played in nightclubs via record pools, of which I have addressed in a previous article.   Otherwise, you may find your ability to move your product from retailers' shelves almost as difficult as if you did not have product on them. And, if you do not have some degree of promotion or publicity, whether you have hired such a service, or you choose to conduct it yourself, practically, the only way that you will experience sales is purely by retail customers' accidental discoveries of your music.   So, ready?   1. Concentrating on retailers (both major chains and independents) in areas where you are getting radio airplay, video airplay, press coverage or any other form of promotion or publicity, contact retailers in these areas who your distributors may not service. One of the best up-to-date online sources to use, particularly, for the U. S. is Yellow.com   This is the online version of the Yellow Pages, and you should look in such categories as "Compact Discs," "Compact Disc Retailers," "Music Retailers" or similar categories.   2. You may prefer to visit local retailers in person, introduce yourself and make them a consignment offer, such as the amount that you will need from each unit sale, etc., and how often you will need to collect payment for any sales (usually every thirty days is the normal time frame). Retailers will also expect you to make a written agreement available to them that spells out the terms of the consignment. 3. As for retailers outside of your local area where you are already getting promotion or publicity, you can simply contact them via telephone and relay the same information that you do with local retailers in person.   In both cases, you should direct them to your website, whereby hopefully, you have your music streaming for them to listen, as well as have a bio and other important information regarding you and your project.   You are also free to utilize the retail consignment form that I have already created, and which you can download, customize with your own information, then upload to your own website, that is freely available at this Consignment form.   4. Once you have uploaded your customized version to your website, your retail accounts can then simply download it from your site, or you can fax a copy to them if they prefer.   You will also note that I have included discounts for retailers within this 1-page form that are designed to dramatically reduce the number of returns that are a commonality with retail consignment and distribution. The less returns, the more money you make (and keep).   Additionally, you will see where I have limited the number of units to five (5) at any given time. This is to ensure that there are just enough copies that should sell with no problem within a 30-day period, especially, if you already have promotion and publicity occurring in the retailer's area. This limit also ensures that you have enough product to reasonably service enough retailers.   Also, with this limit, re-orders are more likely to occur before the end of your 30-day periods. This type of retail activity looks really great to traditional distributors who, after seeing your product's retail track record, may contact you to inquire about carrying your product. This will give you stronger bargaining power with them, as well as wider distribution, than if you did not have retail product available and moving.   And, even if distributors do not call, this will allow you to approach them with an attractive sales history and track record.   Also, be sure to provide local retailers with two copies of the consignment form to sign (carbon paper between two original copies still works) so that both you and the retailer have copies.   5. As for retailers outside your area, or local retailers that prefer to use the online consignment form, be sure that they download, sign and either fax or mail the form to you *BEFORE* you send them product. This creates an initial record and verification of a purchase request. You then, in turn, sign the form then return a copy to the retailer along with his order.   6. When sending retailers product, be sure to *ALWAYS* send your product via some shipping/tracking method. I would, personally, use the Certified/Return receipt service with the U. S. postal service, and I believe that the U. S. postal service also now has tracking for 2nd Day Air/Priority mailings as well.   These particular services are probably the least expensive services on the market, but they will ensure that your product doesn't get lost or stolen en route to the retailer. They also ensure a record of the retailer having received your product for those few unscrupulous retailers that may not wish to pay for your product if they received it by first class mail, but would sell it and keep its profits.   7. At 30-day intervals, contact your retailers, whether in person or via telephone, to inquire of any sales that have occurred. While you can pick up payments locally, you should have distant retailers forward you a check for payment that corresponds with the number of unit sales.   You could also have them pay you online via a credit card through PayPal, or another such online service. This would eliminate lost/stolen checks through the mail, while guaranteeing your payment quicker.   8. If, for example, within a 30-day period, you have three sales, with two unsold units with a retailer, you have the choice of either waiting for the remaining two units to sell prior to forwarding more product to the retailer, or you can offer to forward three more units to the retailer. However, it is probably best to wait until the two remaining units sell.   9. In either above case, once all five units have sold at any given retailer, begin the complete process over, starting with the retailer signing or faxing another copy of the consignment form in order to ensure accurate sales records and sales continuity for your project.   Note: Should your project begin to experience a large sales volume, you may wish to hire someone, i.e., a student or intern, to work this aspect of your project, and whom you can pay a commission for each sale. This will eliminate your need to pay hourly wages or salaries, and will further save you money. _______________________________________   Editor's Note: Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion and publicity firm that also provides business and career services to musicians.     Kenny Love may be contacted at http://yahoogroups.com/group/BSharpNews kennylove@MuBiz.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion, media publicity and music business/career firm for musicians. Some of his noted music clients have connections to some of the most celebrated entertainers and projects in the Music and Film industries. He is also the author of "Explosive CD $ales Tips," as well as publisher of The B# Newsletter, a highly informative music business resource.     Copyright Usage: Please ensure that "Editor's Note"/byline remains intact with article.

 

"Does Your CD Cover $ell (Or Suck)?"   By Kenny Love   Copyright © 2005 Kenny Love All Rights Reserved     Oh, I know the last part of the title (Suck) isn't a very pleasant description to apply to anyone's CD cover. But, in the interest of plain old honesty, and to face our demons head on, I wanted to (again) utilize a worst case scenario that we can only improve from.   And, having said that, think of the average (and not so average) recording artist's CD cover, and I'll bet you will agree that 9 out of 10 CD covers present the artist simply posing while staring straight into the camera.   And, the few artists who want to appear different, unique and diverse, simply either turn sideways, stare into deep space, or gaze downward or backward for their photo sessions.   If you happen to be among the aforementioned guilty, you should realize that by *not* becoming more proactive and aggressive with the visual aspect and design of your CD cover, you are shortchanging the potential of your release from the onset, and not giving it its best possible chance for maximum success.   I first began noticing this overall trend when CDs began replacing albums. And, I believe that the difference was due, in part, to the dramatic reduction in the cover size.   Consequently, I felt that both labels and artists, perhaps, decided (consciously or unconsciously) that the reduction in size did not allow enough room for visual creativity, which is not the case.   But, those are only two reasons. For, I also believe that, while they may be decent to great professional music producers, I have found that most recording artists whom I encounter are amateurs, at best, in respect to marketing their releases from a visual perspective.   And, it's not their fault, because 'visual' just doesn't happen to be the medium in which they work. However, this isn't to say that they can't learn to become much better at pre-selling their releases visually.   But, as an artist, perhaps, your argument is that your music is, primarily, based on the "sonic" aspect...that it will mainly be "heard" and not "seen."   This is, in part, true but also consider that, generally, before your music is HEARD, it is first SEEN (unless you are sending 'plain vanilla' promotion singles to radio or handing them out at will to friends, associates, etc.). And, here is how:   Radio:   Due to added expense, most independent labels forego manufacturing 'singles' and, thus, usually send their complete retail releases out as promotion copies to the media. Hence, the radio music directors and program directors will SEE your release before they open your case to HEAR your music.   And, as the MD/PD takes your CD out of its package, does it, *POW!*, hit him with a bang visually, and immediately instill deeper interest *BEFORE* he hears your music?   Or does your, possibly, average to boring cover instill a blasé feeling that causes the MD/PD to presume that your music is, yet, another below average release, and is a further waste of his valuable time without giving it, at least, a listen?   * Press   The same thing applies to press music editors, reviewers and calendar editors as with radio personnel. Will the press personnel see a boring, posing cover and get that "Geez, here we go again" feeling, or will they assume that your lackadaisical cover will be accompanied by even more boring content, such as your bio, press release, fact sheet, etc.?   * Retail Consumers   While many potential retail consumers will, indeed, "hear" your music first (on radio or in nightclubs), there are also many more potential retail consumers who will not.   And, these particular consumers are the ones who either go to music retailers weekly for new releases and spend additional time browsing, or they may be consumers who are simply weekly browsers seeking the new, unique and creative 'next big thing'.   In either case, for the consumers who espy your CD in their favorite music retail stores...does your cover jump out at them visually, make an immediate impact, and cause them to do a 'double take'?   Does it then make them pick up a copy of your release, maintain their interest and force them to read your credits and song titles?   Subsequently, does it then drive them to a listening station for further review and, hopefully, purchasing it?   Or, will they simply look at, yet, another boring cover and go, "Eh," and replace it for your competitor's that is far more visually attractive, and your competitor's who may also have read this particular article, with one exception...he acted on this information while you did not? :-)   Self-Realization:   Now, get a copy of your CD and take a look at it...I mean take a *really* good look at it. Then, using the radio, press and consumer theoretical perspectives above, honestly ask yourself if your cover has visually maximized its full potential.   Does it readily subscribe to the old U. S. Army slogan, "Be all you can be?" Is it, truly, all that it can be? Is it the best possible cover that you could ever hope for with this release?   Or, do you realize for the first time that you have both shortchanged yourself and your release, and that your cover is probably causing you to lose some significant sales, as it could, indeed, be presented to both the media and consumers much better?   If you now harbor the slightest inkling of doubt, after having given your cover another look, it is also safe to assume that your cover may be a bit questionable to others and, particularly, media professionals as well.   So, let's say that you now realize that your cover is below par, and could be much better...that you can now admit that you truly did not give it your absolute best shot...that, in fact, your cover was an afterthought, at best. How do you get started on "conceptualizing" it from a visual standpoint?   Well, one way is to first consider your title...   If this is your debut release, can you make something unusually funny or witty out of your first or last name? Can either your first or last name present a double meaning, such as Byrd, Love, Green, Wolf, Young?   While those of us with such names are often ridiculed in our early school days, we have the advantage of our "weird" last names standing out and benefiting us in our professional careers. :-)   If your release has a subtitle, or this is your second or additional release, can you put a twist on its title?   The same goes for your songs. I'm betting that you have, at least, one song, regardless of your genre, that can be selected as the title and used as the basis for a very attractive cover and graphic depiction of your music.   For even more information and assistance on making your CD cover a $ales $uccess story, please visit the below link.   CD Cover Concept Service   _________________________________________   Editor's Note: Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion and media publicity service that also provides business and career services for musicians. See the company's corresponding website at http://www.MuBiz.com     Kenny Love may be contacted at http://yahoogroups.com/group/BSharpNews kennylove@MuBiz.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion, media publicity and music business/career firm for musicians. Some of his noted music clients have connections to some of the most celebrated entertainers and projects in the Music and Film industries. He is also the author of "Explosive CD $ales Tips," as well as publisher of The B# Newsletter, a highly informative music business resource.     Copyright Usage: Please ensure that "Editor's Note"/byline remains intact with article.

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"Alternative Sales Sources for Your Music" By Kenny Love Copyright © 2005 Kenny Love All Rights Reserved Following, is a list of alternative sources that may be interested in carrying your music for sale for their particular clients and customers, if only they were aware of your music. Most of the clients and customers are already "captive" audiences who are waiting on a product or service, so why not promote (and sell) to them as they wait? Additionally, if these sources have their own in-house music system (which many do), you should also speak with them regarding adding your music to their own in-house "playlist." I have also suggested genres that I feel will lend themselves best to the particular businesses below, however, it will also depend on the businesses' own personal tastes as well. ===================================== 1. Music retail stores (Any) 2. Bookstores (Mostly soft, Jazz, New Age, but depends on store) 3. Flower shops (soft Folk, New Age, Jazz) 4. Boot stores (Country, Americana) 5. Western wear (Country, Americana) 6. Restaurants (Any, but depends on restaurant) 7. Church stores (Gospel, Christian) 8. Christian bookstores (Gospel, Christian) 9. Doctors' offices (Soft Rock, Pop Rock, New Age, Jazz) 10. Convenience stores (Any) 11. Airport gift shops (Any) 12. Bus station gift shops (Any) 13. Train station gift shops (Any) 14. Electronics stores (Any) 15. Office supplies (Any) 16. Corporate/company cafeterias (Jazz, New Age, Soft Rock) 17. Jewelry stores (Soft Rock, Jazz, New Age) 18. Barber shops (Any) 19. Beauty shops (Any) 20. Nail salons (Any) 21. Sports shops (Any) 22. Health clubs (Rock, Dance, Electronica) 23. Apartment management offices (Any) 24. Variety stores (Any) 25. Game arcades (Rock, Dance, Electronica) 26. Bed & Breakfast Inns (Jazz, New Age, Soft Rock) 27. Bridal consultants (Jazz, New Age, Soft Rock) 28. Bridal stores (Jazz, New Age, Soft Rock) 29. Tuxedo shops (Jazz, New Age, Soft Rock) 30. Bridal services (Jazz, New Age, Soft Rock) 31. Clothes cleaners (Any) 32. Mainstream clothing stores (Any) 33. Shoe stores (Any) 34. Coffee houses (Jazz, New Age, Soft Rock) 35. Computer stores (Any) 36. Eyeglass stores (Any) 37. Consignment shops (Any) 38. Farm supply stores (Country) 39. Flea markets (Any) 40. Swap shops (Any) 41. Formal wear stores (Any) 42. College bookstores (Any) 43. College music stores (Any) 44. Gift shops (Any) 45. Hardware stores (Any) 46. Hospital gift shops (Any) 47. Hotel gift shops (Any) 48. Insurance companies (Any) 49. Massage therapists (Jazz, New Age, Soft Rock) 50. Cellular telephone services (Any) 51. Motorcycle shops (Any) 52. Night clubs (Depends on the genre) 53. Party supply stores (Any) 54. Pawn shops (Any) 55. Cosmetic stores (Any) 56. Satellite dish stores (Any) 57. Thrift shops (Any) _________________________________________   Editor's Note: Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion and media publicity service that also provides business and career services for musicians.   Kenny Love may be contacted at http://yahoogroups.com/group/BSharpNews kennylove@MuBiz.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion, media publicity and music business/career firm for musicians. Some of his noted music clients have connections to some of the most celebrated entertainers and projects in the Music and Film industries. He is also the author of "Explosive CD $ales Tips," as well as publisher of The B# Newsletter, a highly informative music business resource.     Copyright Usage: Be sure to maintain "Editor's Note" byline intact with article.

 

Although podcasting is new, it is well on its way to becoming a mainstream communication medium. Podcasting, simply put, is audio files that are delivered via RSS. Many people believe that podcasting is solely for the distribution of music files, but really, nothing could be further from the truth. This emerging method of audio file distribution has opened an array of marketing and communication opportunities to businesses. Currently, most who are familiar with podcasting are technically savvy, but it is clear that podcasting will be more than a passing fad as many businesses are adopting podcasting and employing it in unusual yet powerful ways. Podcasting can be used for talk shows, tutorials, music demos, educational training, stories, comedy clips, debates or even foreign language tutorials. While RSS has had the capacity to include audio files for a few years, only recently have entrepreneurs made the conceptual leap, taking advantage of the new power held within this communication medium. In reality, podcasters cover the gamut; some are professional broadcasters, while others are obvious amateurs. Podcasts are usually published with associated meta information that includes descriptive data about each specific audio file. This allows listeners to make a determination of which audio items are of interest. If listeners are using a news aggregator that supports podcasting, they will automatically receive updates in their feed reader or news aggregation software when a new podcast exists for a feed that they have subscribed to. Why is podcasting so beneficial to the subscriber? Unlike traditional radio, with podcasting the subscriber decides what content he/she receives. Podcasting is extremely useful to the subscriber because the user can easily receive information he/she would like, and listen to it when they want. The material, once downloaded, can be listened to and viewed on wireless handhelds, allowing subscribers to utilize time on the road. Topic-specific radio talk shows with commentaries, interviews and debates can now be heard at a time and place of the listener's choosing. Consider the benefit of educational tutorials and foreign language instruction; lessons could be listened to during a work commute. Supplementary class lectures, step by step tutorials or walking guides are all possible using podcasting. An unlimited collection of books read aloud for elderly or visually-impaired listeners only scratch the surface of what is possible in the future of podcasting. The fate of podcasting is in the hands of the subscribers. The subscriber can easily delete podcast feeds that do not satisfy their needs with the single tap of a button. Ultimately, the subscriber maintains control and determines what podcasts are deemed successful. This intrinsically builds in a quality control level and will ensure that the more innovative instructional and interesting podcast feeds survive. The technology is fresh and, like the Internet, is opening doors to entrepreneurs. As podcasting evolves, users will find more creative kinds of audio content to deliver. The low barrier to entry has forced this new medium to the forefront, as businesses and individuals have really little to lose in adding podcasting as a communication channel. About the Author: Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing and publishing RSS feeds and NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a wireless messaging software company.   Sharon Housley may be contacted at http://www.notepage.net sharon@notepage.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net and FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com . Sharon also manages the Software Marketing Resource at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com   Copyright Usage:

 

In my life, sleep is the number one way that I can either enhance my self-care and nourish myself or defeat my self-care and deplete my energy, peace of mind & productivity all in one shot. When I’m rested I’m more resilient to stress. My body is more flexible and willing to work, my head is more clear and focused, I feel happier and more at peace and I’m nicer to myself AND to everyone else. When I’m overtired, on the other hand – my body and my emotions feel more brittle. Unexpected turns can send me into a hurricane of a tizzy, my mind is foggy and I’m much less likely to be kind to you OR me. I know this. I’ve known this for some time now. So, you’d think I consistently get enough sleep to make sure that first scenario happens all the time, right? After all, I AM the “Self-Care Coach”, my self-care must be perfect, right? Well…….not so much. As well as writing about sleep, I must mention another self-care concept here – in order to explain why I’m a bit bleary-eyed today. The concept is SELF-SABOTAGE. The dictionary definition of sabotage is "an act or process tending to hamper or hurt" or "deliberate subversion". Why on earth would we sabotage ourselves? That's a complicated answer. And a simple one. We choose to. Sometimes it's so frightening to imagine changing, growing or making conscious choices that we deliberately hamper our own efforts. We make choices every minute of every day. Our life is up to us. These are intimidating thoughts. And doing things the way we've always done them feels safe and comforting. I know I’ll feel so much better if I get a good night’s sleep. And sometimes, for whatever reasons, I don’t choose to “feel good”. And when self-love and common sense win out and I AM able to do what I need to do in order to get a good night’s sleep, I am rewarded. Aside from benefits I’ve already mentioned, a good night’s sleep can also have specific rewards for us creatively. A few months ago I came across an article titled “Does a good sleep make you smarter?” (www.msnbc.com, in the “Health” section). The article described a research project going on at the University of Luebeck in Germany, which has determined that a good sleep not only makes us smarter and better at problem-solving, but more creative as well! The article points out that “history is dotted with incidents where artists and scientists have awakened to make their most notable contributions after long periods of frustration.” In other words, when we’re struggling with a problem in the hours before sleep, our brains actually keep working on the problem while we’re sleeping, and the answer might just “pop out” in the morning! So, the longer and more restful sleep that we have, the more time there is for our “sleeping brain” to work on the problem that our “awake brain” has been struggling with. This relates to the common spiritual practice of praying, before bed, for the solution to a problem, or to the self-help practice of writing a question on a piece of paper and slipping that under your pillow before bed. So what stops you from getting a good night’s sleep? How do you sabotage your efforts? Over-work? Television? Internet surfing or gaming? Food, drink or other substances that make it difficult to sleep? Irregular sleep habits? Here are the five things that work best for ME for getting a good night’s sleep. For more suggestions, there is a great list of tips at http://www.sleepnet.com/tips.html or you can read my article in the Genuine Self-Care newsletter (http://www.genuinecoaching.com/esc-newsletter.html, choose August 2003 from the drop-down menu). 1. Turning off the computer and television one hour before I’d like to be asleep. This gives me time to wind down, quiet my thoughts and prepare myself for sleep. 2. Getting out of bed early on the weekends. This means I don’t stay up too late or sleep in too long on the weekends. I try and keep my bedtime and wake-up times within about an hour of what I do during the week. Otherwise I spend half the week getting re-adjusted and life’s too short!! 3. Giving up caffeine. Even before I gave it up completely, I really had to limit my caffeine and “just say no” anytime after about 5:00 p.m. or else the caffeine affected my sleep that night. 4. Breathing techniques and other relaxation exercises. Just a few minutes of deep breathing can calm me and send me right off to sleep. The simplest tips are to focus on breathing from the belly (diaphragmatic breathing) and to focus on long exhalations (exhalation is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for relaxation). 5. Setting the scene with music. I use music both as I’m winding down and getting ready for bed, and as I’m going to sleep. I’ve experimented to find the music that best does the job for me; this is obviously a very individual choice. I recommend either instrumental music or vocal music that is either without words or sung in a language you don’t understand (so you’re not mentally caught up in the words as you’re trying to fall asleep). Wind instruments (I like the shakuhachi flute) are nice since the natural breaths and pauses that the musician takes can mirror your own deep, slow breathing. Have you ever woken up in the morning (or in the middle of the night!) with the solution to a problem, a new idea for a song, or another creative spark? That sounds like the work of a good night’s sleep! This article was originally published on the Muses Muse Songwriter’s Resource website (January 2005) http://www.musesmuse.com.   Linda Dessau may be contacted at http://www.genuinecoaching.com linda@genuinecoaching.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive one of her free monthly newsletters, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/newsletter.html   Copyright Usage: You’re welcome to reprint this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the contact information at the end), and please send me a copy or link to your reprint at linda@genuinecoaching.com. Thanks!

 

For this month’s column I interviewed Dr. Sarah Mickeler, B.Mus., D.C. Dr. Mickeler is a former professional musician and a chiropractor who concentrates on musicians’ injuries in her practice. She can be reached via her website at http://www.drsarah.ca. 1) What led you to specialize in musicians’ injuries? I have a very personal connection to musician's injuries. I had trained as a classical clarinet player and it was during my undergrad that I started to have all sorts of problems from playing too much and with poor posture. Unfortunately, I was told, as many others are, that I should just play through the pain and that maybe it would get better! Of course, it didn't, and it eventually led to the demise of my career as a clarinetist, because I was totally unable to hold up my instrument. So, I decided to pick a new career that would help others musicians - and hopefully before they got to the point that I was at! Chiropractic appealed to me because of the whole health care paradigm that it embodies - as chiropractors, we diagnose and fix the cause, rather than masking the symptoms. 2) What is different about treating musicians than treating the general population? Often, what I tell people who don't understand the specifics of musicians' injuries, is that "it takes one to know one". As a musician, it can be very difficult to explain to a physician or physiotherapist or even another chiropractor what the mechanics look like when you are playing your instrument. But when someone comes into my office and says that they play flute, or guitar, or tuba, or whatever, I know exactly what the physical component of playing their instrument involves. That is a very important first step. Secondly, not only do you have to be able to have a good understanding of what playing that instrument involves, but you have to be able to see that person play. Even if someone tells me they play violin (I automatically think: "ok, so they will be leaning their head to the left and have right shoulder problems, etc..."), I am often shocked to see how over the years of playing they have contorted themselves into a little pretzel while they play! So, on the first or second visit, all of my musicians bring in their instruments and I do a thorough playing analysis to see what it is that they’re doing right and wrong. It could be that their posture is contributing to their injury. Or maybe there’s something about the instrument that we could change; it might just need a minor adjustment in the thumb rest or a key positioning. For instance, I have very small hands and found it difficult to reach some of the alternate fingering keys on my clarinet - so I had them sawed off and re-soldered on in a different direction so I could reach them. Thirdly, it is important to recognize that there are some really common reasons for performance injuries. The most common ones are a change in repertoire, a change in the instrument (such as a new mouthpiece or something similar), a change in practice time or an upcoming recital. If we can pinpoint what it is that the performer has been doing differently lately to contribute to their injury, that helps immensely. And lastly, it is so important to realize, especially for freelance artists, that you can't just tell them to take a muscle relaxant, and take a few weeks off. If these people took a few weeks off, they wouldn't have a roof over their head or food on the table. While it’s occasionally absolutely imperative that a break be taken, most of the time I take a holistic approach to treating performers and change and fix what we can, within the obvious limitations of current gigs and upcoming events. 3) What’s the most common injury that you see in your office? In my office, there is a tie for the most common injury. The first is upper back/shoulder/neck pain - I lump these together because those terms can mean the same thing to a lot of people - often someone will come in and say that their shoulder hurts and point to the pain, but to me what they're pointing to is actually their upper back or lower neck. This one is often a function of poor posture or poor practice ergonomics. If we can figure out how to improve the overall posture and ergonomic situation then this tends to resolve quickly. And the second most common injury is hand and arm pain. You would not believe how many people walk into my office with numb and tingly hands and fingers - which can be very scary if you’re the one to experience it - to find out that the problem isn't actually their hands and fingers at all, but it's a little further up the arm and can be quite easily treated once properly diagnosed. Or they come in with tennis elbow - but they have never held a tennis racket in their life! In my office, I call tennis and golfer's elbow "musician's elbow" because it is a repetitive strain injury. It is really, really common and surprisingly easy to treat. 4) What can musicians do to prevent injury? First of all, don't be a hero! There is just no reason to practice for hours on end without a break. Always remember to take a little break for every 30 minutes that you are playing. Secondly, don't play through pain. The pain signal is there to tell you that you are doing something wrong. Playing through it is not going to get you anywhere - other than in more pain and in worse shape down the road. Thirdly, be aware of your ergonomics. If you sit to play, does your chair fit you properly? In rehearsal, do you have to strain at all to see both the stand and the conductor? Are your arms contorted oddly in order to be able to play properly? This is not good. And lastly, seek the help of a professional who can not only help you with the injuries that you are currently dealing with, but can help you avoid future injury and optimize your overall performance. You can find out more about Dr. Sarah Mickeler and her Toronto-based chiropractic practice concentrating on musicians’ injuries at http://www.drsarah.ca. If you’re not in the Toronto area and would like to find a chiropractor that treats musicians’ injuries, check out the Musicians Health site, by California-based chiropractor Timothy Jameson. Dr. Jameson created the Chiropractic Performing Arts Network so that musicians all over North American can find chiropractic solutions for injury and prevention. http://www.musicianshealth.com/CPANdisclaimer.html. To echo Sarah’s advice, please pay attention to any pain signals your body is sending you! Admitting you’re having a physical problem doesn’t make you any less of a musician – it means you’re a very smart musician with years of playing ahead of you!! This article was originally published on the Muses Muse Songwriter’s Resource website (February 2005) http://www.musesmuse.com.   Linda Dessau may be contacted at http://www.genuinecoaching.com linda@genuinecoaching.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive one of her free monthly newsletters, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/newsletter.html   Copyright Usage: You’re welcome to reprint this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the contact information at the end), and please send me a copy or link to your reprint at linda@genuinecoaching.com. Thanks!

 

1. Connect with your DREAM – Indulge yourself in a vision of the bigger picture and get out of the mire of self-doubt, details and challenges of today. What’s the purpose of it all? What are you working towards? What is your unique mission to carry out? Daily Practice: Spend a few quiet moments reflecting on your BIG CREATIVE DREAM. Then, capture your thoughts through words, images and/or music and look back on these every day as a way to reconnect. 2. Connect with your “INNER ARTIST” - That part of you that's naturally exuberant, joyful, free in its pure expression of creative thought; undamaged, unhindered, unencumbered. Daily Practice: Approach your art as child's play. Start your creative work time by playing your instrument “wrong”, switching hands or in two different keys at the same time. Write a song using only words that start with the letter “d”. Make mistakes. Laugh. 3. Connect with your MUSE – Nurture your relationship with this special inner voice. Listen for its wisdom and carry out its wishes. Daily Practice: Your muse is unique to you, and so are the ways you can best tune in to it. Experiment with other forms of art that inspire you, nature walks, meditation, cooking and people who glow. 4. Connect with your BODY – When unhealthy habits sap your body of its vitality and strength your creativity and productivity will be sapped as well. Daily Practice: One of the best practices for a healthy body, mind and spirit is to get enough sleep and rest. Tonight, end your evening activities a half hour early and spend that time winding down. Release the worries of the day by writing or speaking about them. Calm yourself with a bath, tea, massage, music or a good read that doesn’t remind you of your work. 5. Connect with SPIRIT – Redefining your vision of a Higher Power to one that supports your creative life can unleash a powerful source for your creativity. Daily Practice: Write a letter, humbly thanking your Higher Power for your creative gifts and describing all of the ways you’re making use of them. Include things you wish are true that aren’t quite there yet, & read this letter daily as a way of expressing gratitude for another day lived as a creative artist. 6. Connect with your THOUGHTS – You can learn what your inner critic wants and how to peacefully coexist with it. You have the power to change your perception, and to out-think your fears and your inner critic. Daily Practice: This is from “Taming your Gremlin” by Richard Carson. Simply notice when you have a self-criticizing or negative thought. You don’t have to act on it, dwell on it, believe it, argue with it or rationalize it. Simply notice it. 7. Connect with your FEARS - There can be fears just under the surface of every choice we make in a day’s time. Fear of being rejected keeps us from asking someone to join us for coffee. Fear of financial insecurity keeps us from buying something wonderful that would inspire us creatively. Fear of failure keeps us from starting or finishing a new project. Daily Practice: Name one fear that’s guiding your actions today. Write it down, and then talk about it to someone you trust, or explore it in song, musical improvisation or art. Now, identify one small step towards the action you’ve been afraid to do and commit to when you’ll do it. If the action is small enough to be done in two minutes or less – do it today! 8. Connect with your FELLOW TRAVELERS – whether it’s your band mates, conductor, audience, mother, spouse, artistic community members or children, our relationships can enhance AND challenge our lives in many ways. Daily Practice: Ask someone else about their dream (creative or otherwise) and listen intently to their answer. Ask questions and let them know you’ve heard what they’ve said by repeating little bits back to them. In this one brief conversation, practice NOT sharing your own personal experiences, simply be there to listen intently and witness their dream. 9. Connect with your STRENGTHS - Learn how to acknowledge your own gifts, accept compliments graciously and to present yourself confidently as the extraordinarily unique artist that you are. Daily Practice: Create a list of everything that’s wonderful about you – the different roles you hold in life, your accomplishments, the failures you’ve learned from and survived, the losses you’ve endured, the gifts you were born with, the skills you’ve developed and the knowledge you’ve gained. Read this list every day and connect with your strengths. 10. Connect with your SURROUNDINGS - A cluttered environment can create chaos and makes it that much more difficult to get things done (“Where’s my pen?”). Daily Practice: A major clutter-clearing can take weeks and is best done a little bit at a time so it doesn’t get too overwhelming. For today, simply put away your things after you’re done with them.   Linda Dessau may be contacted at http://www.genuinecoaching.com linda@genuinecoaching.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive one of her free monthly newsletters, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/newsletter.html   Copyright Usage: You’re welcome to reprint this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the contact information at the end), and please send me a copy or link to your reprint at linda@genuinecoaching.com. Thanks!

More Details at: http://www.musicianswellness.org

 

Performance anxiety is not something that only happens to musicians, singers, actors and dancers. It happens any time we feel pressure to "perform" in a specific situation or over a period of time. Writing a book or creating a painting or sculpture may evoke symptoms as well. Symptoms of performance anxiety include "butterflies" in the stomach, quickened heart rate or more severe symptoms such as hyperventilation, dizziness or intense fear. The 5 main reasons for performance anxiety are: 1. We're not present in the moment, inside our body. When we're focused on our (negative) thoughts and on what we *think* about what's happening, as opposed to just taking in the sensory information from around us without analyzing it, we miss out on what's happening. 2. Perfectionism. Unrealistic expectations can warp our perceptions of how great we actually are! 3. Lack of training in performance-specific skills. Sometimes our training is focused more on the execution of our art form, and not specifically focused on helping us become comfortable and confident performers. Performing is not natural for everyone and needs to be learned. 4. Past trauma. People who have suffered abuse or trauma have a much harder time being "exposed" in a performance setting. Sometimes, also, we have had traumatic experiences to do with our art form – such as critical teachers or harsh performance experiences. 5. Difficulty connecting with other people. Gifted performers have sometimes grown up very isolated because of time spent with their art form instead of "playing" with their peers. When you generally think of yourself as different or an outsider, or in terms of "me" and "them", being in front of an audience just magnifies that and it becomes more difficult to think of the audience as lovingly receiving your talents and gifts. Instead you may see them as judgmental or unkind. The ideas in this article were adapted from the Level I Training in Performance Wellness developed by Louise Montello of Musicians Wellness. Visit Musicians Wellness at http://www.musicianswellness.org.   Linda Dessau may be contacted at http://www.genuinecoaching.com linda@genuinecoaching.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive one of her free monthly newsletters, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/newsletter.html   Copyright Usage: You’re welcome to reprint this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the contact information at the end), and please send me a copy or link to your reprint at linda@genuinecoaching.com. Thanks!

 

Now that you've spent hours and days and weeks and months recording your musical masterpieces (and you've also read my article "Tips for a Great Recording Session"), you have arrived at my favorite time in the studio; The Mixdown. But don't think your job is done yet! The mixdown is just as important as recording. As an artist, you have to approach the mixdown from an artist's point of view and stay on the creative side of the fence where it's still possible to shape and mold your songs throughout the mixdown process. Remember the old "Yin-Yang" principle which states, "whenever you turn something up, something else disappears. Furthermore; whenever you turn something down, something else gets louder". This applies to EQ, levels and almost anywhere you have two or more tracks. The Beginning Of The End STOP!! Don't even think about starting your mixdown on the same day you finish tracking. Take a day off, have a break and then come back refreshed with a new perspective. Now back to business... First of all, let's "zero the board". This is simply the action of bringing all the faders to the bottom and centering all the pan knobs and effects sends. I know what you're thinking, you're thinking "but our mix sounded good when we were tracking!". OK, but did the mix actually sound good or were you just accustomed to hearing it that way? That's why zero-ing the board is important. It flushes your memory and allows you to start from scratch. It might even be better to mix a song that you finished recording a while back. 1. Get Kicked. This is where I prefer to start. Other people like to start with the vocals and build around them. But I'm more rhythm based and prefer to start with the kick drum. One tricky part of any mix is getting a good gain-stage structure where you don't clip the master faders at the end of your mixing session when all your instrument faders are raised. We must be careful to keep watching the master bus clipping lights to make sure they never get into the red. Here is why the kick is a good place to start. Play your songs and watch the master bus VU meters. This is probably the only time you will "mix with your eyes". As you're watching the master VU meter, slowly raise the kick fader until the master meter reads about -7dB. If you are a four piece band, then you can leave the kick there and move on. But if you have a really dense tune, then you may have to lower the kick to -8dB or so (to leave room for all the other instruments as they come up). Now you are set to mix. The kick should be the only channel that you set levels by watching. Every other channel mixed into the song will be with your ears relative to the kick. 2. Moving On From now on, it's pretty much a free-for-all. Some people like to move on to the bass next, in order to find the balance for the low-end of the song. Other people like to keep working on the drum kit "as a whole" before moving to other instruments. I prefer to move onto the drum kit over-head mics. They say that a great drum kit sound can be captured using only two over-head mics, and a kick mic. And it's true. Some of my tunes only use three mics on the final mixed versions, even though we had used up to ten mics for the recording of the kit. If you placed your over-head mics properly (i.e.: so the snare sounds centered in the stereo image, and not skewed to the left or right speaker) then you will have a better stereo image of the drum kit when the mix is finished. Otherwise you might have to do some fancy panning or EQ to get a balanced image with the drum kit. You can now bring in the rest of the kit underneath the over heads to fill out the sound. I prefer to leave EQ and effects to the very end of the mix, after all of the instruments are playing. Try to place your toms in the same panning position as the overhead mics recorded them. If your floor tom in the overheads is to the right at 3 o'clock then pan your individual floor tom fader to the same position. And don't forget to check your phase between your mics pointing down and your mics pointing up. 3. Big Bottom Now I like to add in the bass. Nothing too important here if you have good source audio. I'm also a huge side-chaining fan. I LOVE to side-chain the bass with the kick so the low end frequencies wouldn't fight for space in the mix. It just makes things sound "tighter". Sometimes you may have to eq the lowest of the lows out of the kick in order to make a little more room for the bass to sit in the mix. 4. Pads and More Here is where I add the "pad" type of sounds. These are sounds that usually have longer sustains and hold the chords of the song. Sounds like strings, sustained electric guitar chords, synth pads, and maybe even some rhythm acoustic guitars are great foundation instruments. I like to lay these instruments on top of the drums and bass tracks we have already mixed. You can get very creative with the panning of these sounds and create a wide stereo field. This will help make your mix interesting by allowing your lead instruments and vocals sit in the center of your stereo image, attracting attention to themselves. 5. The Vox Let's finally add the vocals. I usually start off with the lead vocal, and then place all the harmony and background vocals underneath the lead. Sometimes, you can end up putting the vocal a little too high in the mix, and a great way to check this is to turn your monitors way down and listen to the mix at an almost inaudible level. This way of listening to your mix will surprise you, but you have to be confident and trust your ears. If something sounds disproportionately loud at this quiet level, then it is too loud. If you must, then you can compress the vocals too, but that really depends on the song's style. Maybe a few fader rides are a better choice then some static compression. 6. The Rest You can start adding effects and other fancy shmancy things to your tune. Get funky with automating some pan knobs, fade-in some pads etc.. Here is a good time to get creative. It's also a very good time to actively listen and re-adjust your mix. Is the kick too loud? Should I put some higher frequencies on the bass? Should I compress the backing vocals more? Is the coffee finally ready? When you feel you have a good mix, burn it to CD and listen to it EVERYWHERE! In the car, in the bath, at home, on the TV set, at your friend's place etc., and make a lot of notes. And at the end, if all your notes cancel out, then you are finished!   Richard Dolmat may be contacted at http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com rdolmat@noahnine.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Richard Dolmat is owner and engineer for the Vancouver based recording studio Digital Sound Magic. Visit his site at: http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com   Copyright Usage: none

 

You’ve got your recording (or songwriting) contract in hand and everything’s coming up roses, right? You get your check, finally, but it’s not quite what you expected. If you sign not knowing what’s owed you then you might be shorted some well-deserved income. So make sure that anything you sign contains a statement to the following areas (preferably in your favor): Performing Rights – this means you get a chunk of the change when your songs are played over the radio, television, Internet and at some public venues like concerts and such. And who keeps tabs on this? Check out ASCAP-http://www.ascap.com/index.html, SESAC– http://www.sesac.com/home.asp and BMI– http://www.bmi.com. Mechanical Rights – This is the most commonly known. It includes anything physical such as tapes, CDs, etc. The Harry Fox Agency is nearly 80 years old and for artists with 2500 or less recordings they can learn more at http://www.songfile.com/ regarding small licensing. Print Rights – Exactly that – anything in print like lyrics or sheet music. Foreign Rights – Again, anything that deals with foreign publishing and licensing. Synchronization Rights – Ever heard a Garth Brooks or Rolling Stone song in a movie or television show? That’s synchronization and it can mean big bucks although some artists overlook this very important right when signing. If you fail to have some or all of these areas covered when signing a contract it can mean the loss of big money for you. If you can afford it hire only the best entertainment attorney to handle your contracts. A good attorney can be expensive, especially if he has to do all the legwork but you can save time and money by looking into products such as the 101 Music Business Contracts software at http://www.MusicContracts101.com . This easy to use, contracts creation software features over 100, professionally drafted, music business contracts and agreements. As with any contract you sign – be it a house loan or a recording contract – it’s best to have an attorney look the documents over before doing a final signing. However, a great money saver is arming yourself with knowledge, like 101 Music Business Contracts, before you ever set foot in a law firm. As the www.MusicContracts101.com site suggest, Protect Yourself, Your Music and Your Career – Get It In Writing! This article was written by Ty Cohen, the music industry's most recognizable voice! Ty is the C.E.O of Platinum Millennium Publishing, Platinum Millennium Records as well as owner of www.MusicContracts101.com and www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com . Some of his work includes: books, directories, mini-courses and software programs including the titles: "How to Make a Fortune in the Music Industry by Doing it Yourself" and "How to Make $500,000.00 "or More" A Year in the Music Industry by Doing it Yourself". For nearly a decade, Ty Cohen's Get Amplified! Newsletter and series of Free Music Industry Success “Mini Courses” has helped over 40,000 independent musicians, singers, rappers, composers, record label owners, producers, managers, agents and others reach their music business goals. Using a unique combination of tested and proven music business success resources, which includes a series of books, directories, software programs, videos, seminars and newsletters, our goal is to educate and empower musical individuals just like you with the tools needed to succeed! To find out more about Ty Cohen, his services, products and how he may be able to help you succeed in the music industry go to http://www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com and sign up for his free limited edition music industry success 10-part “Mini-Course”, it will work wonders for you and best of all, it’s FREE, but EXTREMELY VALUABLE! Reprint Rights: You may pass this article around and even use it on your own website, blog, newsletter or anywhere else, just as long as you keep the content exactly as it appears here and you DO NOT change anything on it, including the links. Thank you for taking the time to read this article and I wish you Much Success! Ty Cohen. C-E-O Platinum Millennium PO Box 1733 Bridgeport, Connecticut 06601-1733 email - Ty@PlatinumMillennium.com For more great music industry resources please be sure to visit our family of websites. www.MusicContracts101.com www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com www.TheIndustryYellowPages.com   TY Cohen may be contacted at Ty@PlatinumMillennium.com . Click here to view more of their articles. This article was written by Ty Cohen, the music industry's most recognizable voice! Ty is the C.E.O of Platinum Millennium Publishing, Platinum Millennium Records as well as owner of www.MusicContracts101.com and www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com . Some of his work includes: books, directories, mini-courses and software programs including the titles: "How to Make a Fortune in the Music Industry by Doing it Yourself" and "How to Make $500,000.00 "or More" A Year in the Music Industry by Doing it Yourself". For nearly a decade, Ty Cohen's Get Amplified! Newsletter and series of Free Music Industry Success “Mini Courses” has helped over 40,000 independent musicians, singers, rappers, composers, record label owners, producers, managers, agents and others reach their music business goals. Using a unique combination of tested and proven music business success resources, which includes a series of books, directories, software programs, videos, seminars and newsletters, our goal is to educate and empower musical individuals just like you with the tools needed to succeed! To find out more about Ty Cohen, his services, products and how he may be able to help you succeed in the music industry go to http://www.MusicIndustrySuccess.com and sign up for his free limited edition music industry success 10-part “Mini-Course”, it will work wonders for you and best of all, it’s FREE, but EXTREMELY VALUABLE! Reprint Rights: You may pass this article around and even use it on your own website, blog, newsletter or anywhere else, just as long as you DO NOT change anything on it, including the links. Thank you! Ty Cohen. Ty@PlatinumMillennium.com     Copyright Usage:

 

by Richard Dolmat You know your songs are great (and so does your girl/boyfriend, family, pets etc), and you finally decided to record an album in a real studio. That’s great! But what actually happens when you get there? When you finally do pick the perfect studio, one that you feel comfortable at, there is a certain routine that must be followed in order to get the best performance and the best recording for your budget. 1. Tune Your Instruments. This also includes your drums and any tunable percussion instruments you may have. There is absolutely nothing worse in the world than to have a perfectly written song with a perfect performance be ruined because someone didn’t take an extra 2 minutes to check their tuning. Tuning takes a few minutes; a recording lasts forever. 2. Be Well Rehearsed. You’ll be surprised how many bands suffer shock when they get the final recording bill. The main reason for this is because they confuse rehearsal time with recording time. Rehearse at home, in the garage, at your uncle’s house; anywhere but at the recording session. When you arrive at the studio, you should know your songs inside-out and be ready for the red light. 3. Practice with a Click Track. A lot of drummers aren’t able to play with a click track. Make sure yours can. A click track is essential in getting a good basic rhythm track that the rest of the band can lock in to, and to sync-up loops and delay times. 4. Be Early. Many studios start charging their clients from the exact time agreed to in the contract. Just because you decide to show up late, doesn’t mean that the studio should give up that time for free. Be early and be ready to go. 5. Get the Sound Right. Never, ever try to “fix it in the mix”. It doesn’t work like that. Take an extra few minutes to tweak the sound before recording it. Turn that knob, tighten that string, have another sip of water. Remember again, tweaking may take an extra minute, but the recording will last forever. 6. Know When To Quit. Recording often leads to diminishing returns. Spending 20 hours in a row at the recording session isn’t going to make your song twice as good as spending 10 hours. This rule also applies to mixing. If you’re tired, call the session and come back the next day fresh and ready. 7. Record Alone. Don’t bring your friends, family, parents or anyone else into your sessions. As fun as it may be, you are there to do a job and record the best music possible. If you are a millionaire, then by all means, have a party at the studio, but don’t count on getting anything done. 8. Mix and Match. After letting the engineer do the first rough mix alone (which he should) do an A/B comparison of your mix to some of your favorite CDs. Remember that the production CDs you are listening to have already been mastered. But it’s a good way to compare levels and panning. 9. Bring Spares. Always bring spare strings, drum heads, bass strings, water bottles, throat lozenges, etc to a session. You’ll always need the one thing you forgot to bring, so bring it all and leave them at the studio until your recordings are finished. 10. Have Fun! This is THE most important point of all. Creating and recording music isn’t rocket science. Although there is a science involved, you should let the engineer worry about that. If you’re not having fun, then you’re in the wrong business! © 2004 Richard Dolmat (Digital Sound Magic)   Richard Dolmat may be contacted at http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com rdolmat@noahnine.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Richard Dolmat is owner and engineer for the Vancouver based recording studio Digital Sound Magic. Visit his site at: http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com   Copyright Usage:

 

"An artist's music must be something I love," stated Jennifer Yeko of True Talent Management. "It has to be music I want to hear in my personal life as well as when I'm working." This view was echoed by Ben Laski of Sonic Management, and Steve Ross of Raving Loon Management, as all three spoke on the Indie Artist Management program presented by the Los Angeles Music Network (LAMN). "I will never work with an artist whose music I don't love," said Ross. "Commercial radio," added Laski, "sucks, and so…" He waited for the applause to subside, "…and so, why would I want to work with anything other than music that means something to me?" Each of them acknowledged the economic realities of the marketplace ("The product has to be viable at some point," Ross pointed out), but all three were adamant that their personal reaction to an artist's music was the primary factor in selecting them for representation. "It's like a marriage," said Ross, "so it's best to make a careful choice." Speaking before an audience made up of equal numbers of indie managers and artists seeking information about management, Ross, Yeko and Laski provided insights into their approach to guiding recording artists to achieving commercial success as well as their maximum career potential. Moderated by Tess Taylor, LAMN President, the event covered a lot of territory and generally moved rapidly from one topic to the next, although too much time was spent on answering repeated audience questions about California labor law dealing with booking agents. Basically, no one may "procure employment" for a client in California unless they are a registered agent who has posted a bond and followed other formalities. Since this means that managers are putting their entire contractual relationship at risk if they book a gig for a client, there were a lot of managers in attendance who were hoping to find a loophole in the law. Both Laski and Ross are attorneys, and Ross has obtained his agent license in order to book gigs for his clients. During a spirited Q & A session following the formal part of the presentation, one artist asked four questions without waiting for an answer and there was a bit of fun for the rest of us as we watched the microphone being wrestled away from her. It's nice to see passionate artists, but there is also something to be said for displaying a modicum of decorum in public. Highlights from the presentation: On obtaining publicity for clients: Ross: "You do whatever you can for publicity." He occasionally spends time in music chat rooms to see who is into which artists in local markets. "You call, write, give out 200 sampler CDs. It all builds for the future." Laski disagreed: "I don't believe in artists giving out free samplers to fans. Make an EP and sell it for $5." Yeko: "We call music editors to get reviews and write-ups, but the main thing is to figure out your goals ahead of time. Under the right circumstances, you can't give out too many flyers or CDs." Ross: "Writers across the country can be very helpful when bands come in from out of town." He also recommends that you "get on-air appearances for your artists who are on tour. Call people, tell them why your artist will be good for their station or their club." Taylor challenged him to give an example of how he talks to people on these calls. To much laughter, he said, "If I'm talking to a club, I always say the artist plays 'good drinking music.'" Laski: "There are different levels of publicity. At the start, you call reviewers. As you move up in sales, you hire a publicist to work a release or a tour, and you make certain he is in the proper genre of music. You can also call the BMI or ASCAP publicist, who can be helpful in getting contacts in the press." On preparing marketing plans for artists: Yeko: "It's helpful to list your goals, and the steps you need to take to achieve them. This is a good idea even if you don't follow your plan exactly as it was written." Ross: "Unfortunately, marketing plans require marketing money." Laski: "Marketing plans are too time-consuming. We plan what we need to do as the need arises. Too many factors change as you go along." On touring: Ross: "Outside of L.A., you can actually make some money." Laski: "Touring is going to be a losing proposition at the beginning of an artist's career, unless you can get tour support from a record label." On making money for indie artists: Laski: "We place songs on TV and film soundtracks. It not only makes some money for artists, it is excellent exposure." Yeko: "We have had great success with film and TV placement of songs, but some of our artists have developed clothing items and merchandise that actually generate more income at shows than CD sales." On artists looking for a magic formula for a breakthrough: Yeko: "There is no shortcut to success other than hard work." Ross: "When you get those e-mails from people offering to set-up showcases, or the ones that tell you all about a great CD sampler they're sending out, run away. These are never a good deal." On must-do lists for artists and managers: Ross: "Whatever you receive from anyone, whether it's a writer, club owner, or someone at retail, thank them!" Yeko: "Look into the NACA, the National Association for Campus Activities at www.naca.org. We've also had an artist who did an entire summer of playing shopping malls." Ross: "When you send CDs to radio or press, remove the shrinkwrap. And do not send a CD to radio without a proper 1-sheet." NOTE: you can download a PDF of a proper 1-sheet here: http://www.delvianrecords.com/onesheets/1S_Platinum_Radio.pdf Oddly, the most provocative statement of the evening failed to draw any comment from the audience or the panelists. Taylor began the program with a prediction that "In the wake of industry changes such as the Sony/BMG merger, indie record distribution may ultimately move from a single digit percentage to as much as 25 to 30 percent." Perhaps this is really a prelude to the next LAMN or NARIP presentation. Scott G writes and records as The G-Man and his work is on iTunes and at http://www.gmanmusic.com. # # #   Scott G (The G-Man) may be contacted at http://www.gmanmusic.com immedia@pacbell.net . Click here to view more of their articles. Scott G creates songs, radio spots and music in Los Angeles. A member of NARIP and NARAS, he writes for MusicDish.com and owns G-Man Music & Radical Radio (www.gmanmusic.com). Recording as THE G-MAN, his albums are on Delvian Records and iTunes. Some songs are available free at: www.myspace.com/thegman.   Copyright Usage:

 

There are currently many, many wonderful KJ’s out there hosting each night. Having met some of them, their shows are usually quite different but all are very enjoyable. The host will usually make (or break) a show so, as in any business, customer service is always the number one priority. This article will focus more on the hardware requirements as one of the most popular karaoke sites, www.karaoke.com, now has 3 complete KJ packages for KJ’s just starting out, differentiated by price (US$). What’s great about these systems is that they are portable, high-powered, easy to use and pre-assembled. Karaoke.com also used quality product names such as JVC, Crest Audio, Community Speakers, On-stage Stands, Raxxess and Gator Cases. Please allow 2-3 business days to receive these shipments and note that karaoke.com ships these items to the 48 contiguous US states only. Express UPS shipping is also not available on these items. KJ System #1 – US$3,995.00 This KJ System Includes: ¯ Karaoke.com pro-system PRSYS01 ¯ DKKaraoke 1,700 song Millenium ¯ Audio Stream AS890 Wireless Microphone ¯ 2 karaoke.com microphones ¯ Music book deluxe song book maker ¯ 13” Colour TV with TV Monitor stand KJ System #2 US$4,995.00 ¯ Includes all of the above as well as a Community Subwoofer and the 12 most recent Pop Hits Monthly Country, Pop & Urban karaoke CDGs. KJ System #3 – US$5,995.00 ¯ This KJ System includes what’s in #2 as well as the Community speakers – 2 pair, 12 of the Pop Hits Monthly Rock CDGs, and the Shure Wireless Microphone System. Please note that you are by no means ready to go as you still have to create your karaoke books and song request slips and purchase pencils, ensure the cabling is all there, purchase a monitor if you want your singers to hear themselves well, initiate your marketing campaign, etc. We believe it is important to understand exactly WHY you are getting into this business. If you think you get to sing all night, will be liked or respected as a KJ, think this is an “easy” job, etc., you will be very disappointed. A KJ’s job is to provide their karaoke services to the customers. They also have to deal with difficult bar management, staff and drunk customers Although you likely will be required to sing, you are not “in concert”. Setting up and tearing down the equipment quickly becomes a pain. You mistakenly skip a person in the rotation and you’re toast. The rewards of this job are many, however. Meeting new, wonderful people who ultimately may become life long friends, the fun you have watching others having fun, the satisfaction of knowing you put on a great show, “regulars” of the bar whom come out week after week to lend their support to your show, the financial rewards of being in business for yourself, the natural high you get by just being there and in control dispensing liberal amounts of fun, etc. Also very important is, of course, the Business Plan which will allow you to map out where you want to take this company over the next, say five years. Specifically, all of your financial and marketing information needs to be done in order to focus your time, energy, and resources appropriately. If you require financing (and not too many of us have at least C$15,000.00 - C$20,000.00 sitting around), it is imperative to have this plan in order to secure financing. Even with this document, however, you will still be required to put some of your own money into this business venture. Depending upon what you hope to get out of this venture, the benefits will likely far outweigh the negative aspects associated with this business. Good luck and may your God bless you.   Dave MacDonald may be contacted at http://www.karaokescoop.ca admin@karaokescoop.ca . Click here to view more of their articles. Mr. MacDonald, B.A.A. is editor of a new online monthly publication called Karaoke Scoop Ezine. He has been a desktop publishing professional for 15 years already and has been participating at various karaoke venues for over 10 years. He is also co-owner of A Cut Above Karaoke/DJ Services for over 6 years hosting shows ranging from 30 to 450 guests to date. Please check out his website at www.karaokescoop.ca for more information.   Copyright Usage:

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We all associate songs and music with events in our life. Many songs hold special memories for us. We fondly remember the songs that were playing when we went to our first dance, the songs the school band attempted to play during half time at the high school football games, the songs that we heard on our first date, or the songs we heard on the radio while driving our first car. The music of the 1970’s is probably the most impressive and most recognized of any era. The artists of the 1970’s provided us with numerous songs we loved to dance to and sing along with. At that time most bands actually played their own instruments and didn’t need to sequence part of it. Remember how we used to listen to the music then? At first we had eight track players in our cars, then we moved upward to cassette players. Vinyl records were the most popular way to listen to our favorite music. Every week you could go to your local variety or record store and pick up the new #1 song on a 45 record for under $1.00. Of course, there was always the radio to listen to - most of the popular channels were on am radio. We had many styles of music to listen to, including the bubble gum music of David Cassidy and the Partridge Family, soft rock of Barry Manilow, the great dance tunes of the Bee Gees and the Commodores, rock of Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin, the brass band sounds of Chicago, or the disco beat of Chic and Donna Summers. The nostalgia of the 1970’s music lives on today. We can listen to it on our local 70's’radio station, on cds, on mp3, download it on our computer, and burn it onto cds. For those of us who prefer records, we can still purchase them at record stores, antique or second hand stores, or yard sales. Of course, many of us have held on to our own record collections and record players and can pull them out at any time when we need to relive those nostalgic days of the 1970’s. Some bands are still performing after more than 30 years. There’s nothing like seeing your favorite 1970’s performers live in concert! The music of the 1970’s is still popular with people of all ages – not just those who grew up with it. It never grows old. It only gets better with each passing decade. Published by: Wendy Yeager http://www.wenmarcorp.com/music   Wendy Yeager may be contacted at http://www.wenmarcorp.com mjy222@hotmail.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Published by: Wendy Yeager   Copyright Usage: Include publisher

 

One of the Appalachian Mountain region's greatest contributions to the world is Bluegrass music. Born in hills and hollows, Bluegrass is simply mountain folk music with heavy Celtic influences. Today, you can hear the sweet harmonies of Bluegrass instruments and smooth vocals troughout the United States, and indeed the world. Bluegrass festivals abound, featuring performers from all over the globe. But the heart and soul of Bluegrass remains securely in the Appalachian region. During the warmer months the tight rhythms of the banjo, mandolin, fiddle, flat-top guitar, upright bass, and dobro echo off the hills and buildings of many small towns and cities. You'll often find Bluegrass being played at festivals, fairs, street corners, and front porches at most any time of the day. The future of Bluegrass looks bright as well because many of the performers in the region are youngsters who started playing an instrument at a very young age. It is quite common to find families spanning several generations playing Bluegrass together just for fun. If you have never had the opportunity to experience a live Bluegrass show, you owe it to yourself to do so. You'll hear this traditional Appalachian sound and most likely be hooked!   Rick Rouse may be contacted at http://www.rlrouse.com rick@rlrouse.com . Click here to view more of their articles. Rick Rouse is the owner of RLROUSE Webmaster Resources and the author of "Super Webmaster SEO Toolkit" which gives step by-step instructions for getting a top 10 listing in Google & Yahoo. Visit his web site: http://www.rlrouse.com/SEO.html   Copyright Usage: