Music Meets Business

Archive for the ‘Music Business Blog’ Category

Music has come a long way and will soon be brought, distributed, and listened to differently. What does this mean? Well the days of radio stations giving artist a fair shot at getting airplay is not likely. Radio only plays 4 to 5 of the same songs all day due to payola which only caused a negative effect for Major and Independent record labels and Music company because people are now tuning in online radio stations and downloading whatever they choose on there I pods for more variety of music…

What does this mean you ask ? It means Music company’s and record company’s will eventually be shut out of the equation and will no longer be able to make massive amounts of money … Even now there are not a lot of company’s signing anyone If you do get signed It will mostly be a bad deal… The Music market is saturated with artist who want to make music their career and the ones who will proper in this game are the ones that are able to see the direction that music is going…..

now is the time to capitalize on all the available free technology and use it to your advantage. Now its the time to stop dreaming of being signed to a label and start thinking about selling your own music online or even out the trunk of your car. The future of Music is online no doubt if you don’t know about computers you must learn to use the power of the internet to reach your goals and fulfill your dreams.

Recording music at home these days are not that expensive and can be done for not a lot of money, If you want to set up a small recording studio in your room for under $1000 you can ! Here are the things that you will need to get started.

1. Computer or laptop with a Pentium 4 processor or a duo core processor
2. Midi Keyboard
3. Condenser Mic or a usb powered microphone / Pop Screen Filter
4. Head phones and speakers
5. Closet or a corner

When you have these Items you will then be ready to make some great sounding music! but here is what you need to know about each item to get maximum quality sound from them.

Computer or laptop

In order to prevent freezing and computer crashes you must have a computer that i strong enough to handle recording . I recommend a computer that as memory at least 80 gigs on it and It also needs a strong processor like a Pentium 4 or duo core processor If your computer does not have the power then you will experience audio drop outs freezes and crashes especially if you record to more than one 2 tracks.  If you cannot afford a brand new pc then you can go to the pawn shop or a computer repair shop and they will have cheap used computers that you can by under $200.

Midi Keyboard

Midi Keyboards are used to play instrument sounds from programs like fruity loops, Reason, Sonar, Pro tools, Project 5, Sample tank and more. Some midi Keyboards have microphone inputs on them that will provide phantom power and audio input for your computer I recommend the oxygen 8 . Midi Keyboards can give you control to your mixing and recording programs.. you can adjust your mix from the Midi keyboard instead of using a mouse or key pad.

Condenser Mic and a Pop screen Filter

Your microphone is going to determine how clear and accurate your vocals will sound .. If you use a radio shack microphone then your recordings will sound muffled sounding like you recorded the vocals in a cardboard box. In order to get a good vocal track you need a good microphone I recommend the MTX Brand of microphone because they sound clear and they are not expensive you can find one on eBay or a pawn shop if you don’t want to spend a lot on it.  The Pop Screen will filter out the popping noises that are produced when you are using words with P in it and any other harsh pronunciations.

Head Phones and Speakers

Head phones and speakers are used for 2 reasons If you have more than one person in the room and you only have one set of headphones then you will need speakers for everyone to here the song , but while recording you should not play the beat through your loud speakers this will cause interference with our recording and It will not sound clear. When recording vocals the artist or performer needs to listen to the beat in his or her head pones  so that the room is silent and only records the vocals. Recording studios have a sound booth that is used for recording vocals the booth is silent and you cannot here anything from the inside of it.. If you are recording your song in a room you can use a closet or even a corner to record your vocals he goal is to isolate your vocals as much as possible by creating a complete silent environment. While recording vocals you may have o cut of fans, air conditioners, tvs, and such because these sounds can mess up the vocal track. If you do not remove the noises from the room when recording your vocals then the sounds may appear louder when you get our music mastered

Closet or  Corner

Using a closet or a corner is a trick for isolating your vocals this gives you a direct more focused recording for your vocal you can use sheets mattresses or even set your mic up in the middle of your clothes and use the open area for recording your vocal. There are many other ways of creating a recording space if you are interested in learning more tricks or if you have a few tricks and tips of your own please leave them in this blog  or contact me directly at studioa@mixmaxmastering.com

Here are some tips for Getting a great CD Cover Designed:

• Take some good quality pictures for you cover
• Find a great Photo shop user or graphic designer that can take your idea and bring it to life
• Make sure your CD cover looks like your music.
• Your CD Cover should appeal to your audience and stand out !
• Your CD’s artwork should include your contact info and websites
• Hire a graphic designer to do your Artwork try http://www.hotstardesign.com they wil do your cover for $65
• Make sure your artwork is in high resolution for print.
• Make sure ou have the correct barcarole on your music before sending it out to get printed!

What should your artist website consist of?

This article is written for those who are thinking of or already have an artist website. There are a few things that are essential to an artist website below I will list the standard format.

Navigation

Your sites navigation is important because his is how your sites visitors will maneuver around your site. Your websites navigation needs to be simple and clear. The typical format for website navigation is usually on the side or across the top f the page preferably under the header.

Your navigation shouldn’t be more than 5 or 6 links if your website is for you as artist. Standard Navigation links for artist websites should be:

• Home
• Bio
• Music
• Blog
• Fan Club
• Contact

The above list is my recommended link set up, If you don’t have the need for either one of the pages you do not have to include it in your navigation, most artist make the mistake of putting a big coming soon or under construction sign on pages that don’t have content, I suggests to not include pages of links if there is nothing on it you don’t wont your site to look incomplete.

What should your pages consist of?

Home Page

Your Home page should consist of a welcome message that welcomes visitor’s t your website. The home page can be used to advertise products you may have or sale and you can even promote other websites on your home page for profit! If you have a single that you are promoting it would be a great Idea to have your music playing in the background… The home page should encourage the visitor to sign up for your email list so that you can market to them in the future. Your homepage can be set up in many different ways but remember to make sure your home page focus on what ever you are trying to sell or promote.

Biography

Your bio page should consist of a few of your best pictures along with a professionally written biography about you and what you do. Your bio s supposed to make you look larger than life or the next best thing coming-out so your bio must be written in a persuasive manor.

Music

Your music page should consist of maybe a free music download or you new song, and If you have a CD for sale you can put 20 second clips of each track o the CD an on the page give the visitor the choice to either buy the entire CD or maybe buy the songs they like. Your music page can either have standard PayPal buttons or It can have a more professional looking shopping cart.

Blog

Your blog can be used to publicly interact with your fans blogging is a great way for you and your fans to communicate. Your blog can create relationships with your fans that last forever!

Fan Club

You can have a fan club form on each page of your website this allows people to enter their email for updates news events and shows. Your fan club page is an important page because this is the page that allows your fans to keep in contact with you through either email text or phone. Artist should give some type of insinuative to their fan club members or joining and even for being a fan as long as you have fans you can sell and market you music to them easier!

Contact

Your Contact page should consist of your phone number, email, other sites you belong to like MySpace face book or twitter. If you choose to not display contact numbers and emails you can have a contact form for your visitor to fill out.

If you are in need of a website or If you would like to upgrade your existing website please go to http://www.hotstardesign.com or contact he website designers at info@hotstardesign.com

Its every artist dream to get there music on the radio, but how do you get your music played on a radio station that only plays the same 6 songs all day? This article was written because I am tired of seeing artist waste time by not taking the proper steps to get there music played. Back in the day you probably could walk into a station with a hit song and get it put into rotation but that’s not the reality for today.

Today there are 3 ways to get your music played or put into rotation at a real radio station here is the list

1. Pay For Play
2. Know the DJ or Music Director
3. Get A buzz in the Internet, Streets and Clubs

Here is the key to your successes…. you have to understand the business and know everyone’s role. and when I say that I mean for each of the three things I have listed there’s a give and receive principle going on there #1major record labels pay anywhere from $80,00 to millions of dollar to these stations for them to put there songs into rotation, do you have that budget ? If you do then you can play the money game but if not there is a better option and its not #2 because even If you do know the Music Director or radio stations DJ they can play your song but if  none calls the radio station to request your song then use what, they wont play it anymore…. The role of the Music Directors and Djs are to play the music that everybody wants to here … do you think they want jeopardize here career just to play your music ? No…… So this leaves us with #3 Get a Buzz  now this is were you separate the true hustlers from the wanna bees… If you establish your own fan base and get the clubs and underground stations to play your music then you are more likely to get your music played on he air.. Radio stations and record labels don’t care about how hot you think your song is… they are looking for the new song that everyone is singing in the streets and clubs and my space. Music without a buzz is not worth much.. Its not about who you know it is more about who knows you…  you have to make them chase you.

Here  are a list of things you can start doing now to get a buzz.

1. Promote your music online on Forms Blogs and Social Networking Sites
2. Get a real website like www.yourname.com add your web address to Websites Blogs, Message Boards, CD’s, Fliers and any other promotional materials
3. Pass Out Free CD of your song at Clubs Concerts Malls Party’s and wherever else there’s a lot of people
4. Keep in contact with your fans by collecting phone numbers emails or mailing addresses so that they can be informed of new releases or event! You will need to contact your fans to tell them to request your music at the radio stations! (this is an important part)
5. And More!

After taking at least these steps you will be ready to go to the radio station and get your music played, but wait before you walk into the radio station and drop off your CD you need to call the radio station and ask to set up a music meting and after the meting is set up then you go to the radio station and present your music…  If you re not good with interviews or talking to people you can get someone to do this for you, Is kind of like going to a job interview you have to dress presentable and conduct yourself like a professional. Make sure your CD Is professionally packaged and labeled with your phone number website and email…  If your song is hot to them and you also have a buzz in the street they will play it Its all about your reputation and Buzz!

This is the chance for you to get free exposure.  We are in need of some new music , we have sponsors ready to invest there money into your music, you will get your music featured on our website and you will also get your music placed on our promotion CD that we distribute in south Florida also you will get free email blast and My Space promotion, We will be doing this every month so please sign up for our newsletter and send your music ASAP we will keep you up to date with all the new projects to come: Email a link to your music to  talent@earthshadowent.com

PS.Make sure your songs sound good and not distorted or low levels, It does not have to sound perfect but the better it sounds the more likely you will get placement on he CD , If you need a heap way of getting your music to sound its best we recommend you get it mastered here is a like to a company that we recommend for mastering. http://www.mixmaxmastering.com they charge about $40 per song and it will dramatically improves you music quality. Just send them your song through email and they will master one half of the track for free, you can buy the mastered track after you listen to the sample.