Starting A Digital Label

Developing a digital record label is certainly not an easy task. The benefits are great but the work involved is also rewarding in it of itself. In our experience with creating digital labels and running the distribution aspect of things, we figured out what some of the essential needs and even essential wants are to get a label off the ground. We hope you enjoy reading this as well as take into consideration some of the helpful tools that many don’t necessarily think about when running or starting a digital record label.

Put it all in writing
It is important that you have contracts ready for potential artists that will show them just how much they will receive off their music as well as how much you will retain. This is also important to protect you from certain artists who might not be thrilled for whatever personal reasons they may have. Additionally, you should have contracts reviewed by a professional lawyer (although costly, we recommend it!). If you start to notice that your record label is making quite a bit of money and is gaining rapid exposure then meeting with an Accountant and take proper steps to ensure you are financially stable and secure. We recommend you do this prior to even developing your record label for the sake that you want to get all ducks in a row prior to anything happening!

Be Open Minded With NO Ego
There are thousands of record labels that release music every single day. Some have massive success and some unfortunately do not. Before and after your label is up and running, don’t expect to make thousands of dollars because YOU love your music. Here’s the hard truth, if you don’t make money, it is because people are not digging what your releasing. Rather than being upset and arguing that your music should be making tons of revenue, face the facts that the sound you produced perhaps might not work at the current time, and that you should try something different. It has gotten incredibly tougher for record labels to succeed and one of the first things that you must do is be open minded to criticism and advice as well as have a simple mind and not massive ego.

Establishing a presence
So, now that you have you have your legalities out of the way, go ahead and begin to create your presence. By this, we mean a reputable webpage that shows the label logo, information about your label, the focus / sound of label, your email, etc!! An artist is much more comfortable and willing to work with you if you come across as professional, trustworthy, and of course reliable. If you need any help creating a label logo, website, or anything else graphically, feel free to contact us.

Establish Your Sound (And Make It Solid!)
Your record label is a brand and sticking to one genre isn’t bad however, it does not hurt to have various types of genres that you release. If you like Dubstep, focus on only going after those artists, if you like Trance, then go for it! We will never tell you to NOT do a genre but do recommend that you be open minded and release multiple genres. You also want to ensure that the music you release is of good quality. If you need Mastering or any sort of Audio Enhancing services, click here for our cost effective solutions!

Sign Those Artists!
You can get artist one of two ways. Either you hit them up directly by using Soundcloud.com or establish an A&R Department. The cost effective solution is to literally hit up hundreds of artists every single day in hopes that some will reply back. The other option is to setup an A&R department. This sounds like a lot of work and already, some new labels might look at this as a daunting task but truly, just find 1 or more people that you can easily count on in terms of communication and that know the sound well. This A&R Department can focus strictly on looking for artists through the free methods of Soundcloud.com. With this department looking for music as well as you looking for music, you pretty much establish that you want to look for a certain style and sound.

Get A Release Schedule Established
While I understand that you really can’t plan for everything all the time, you should try and develop a consistent release schedule for each quarter, or even for the year (if you have that much music.) We don’t recommend that you release your entire catalog in one week or a month for the sake that when a person goes to a store (For example, Beatport.com) the material will be buried in the amount of music that they release everyday and your label will soon be forgotten in the digital black hole that is the music industry! With that said, space out your releases and focus on 3-4 releases if you have a lot of catalogue signed.

Remember this: FOLLOW UP
If you are trying to make stuff happen for you and your label then try your best to make it happen. We do know the feeling of emailing and not getting replies and things of that nature but what you have to do is constantly follow up to get to your goal. This is obviously not news to most however, we have found that a lot of folks do NOT follow up and do not stay on top of potential ideas and solutions that will help them excel and advance in their careers! Music is fun yes, but its also a business! Treat it like a business and make things happen with your creativity and business sense!

Publish Your Music
It’s quite important that each track released is registered via ASCAP, BMI for the USA and PRS For Music for outside of the USA. Symphonic Distribution is working towards providing an easy to use Publishing service to ensure that all works are properly registered while giving you all of the royalties earned from Performance and Mechanicals.

Marketing Of Your Label
So, you have your contracts set, your presence set, your music set and releases in a schedule, what do you do about trying to get the word out? Well… First off, DEFINITELY use the social networks. Send messages to DJs, Fans, Friends telling them about your label, artists, and its releases. We also have some very useful Marketing services available to all record labels (some of which are FREE!). In addition to our services, we have an established and basic Marketing Plan created for those that need some extra guidance in this department. Click here to access both!

Final Thoughts
We hope that this brief post has helped you to gain some knowledge on how to start a record label. Of course, this is one way of doing it and everyone can have their own method of starting a record label. As always, we are here to help and provide consultation to anyone interested in getting a record label off the ground.

8 Ways to Make the Most of Your Time in the Studio

You’ve compiled a list of songs, and you’re ready to head into the studio. Whether you’re recording at home or in a professional studio there are ways in which to make your time spent more efficient and worthwhile. By speeding up the process you not only rid yourself of excess expenditures, but also effort, time and frustration.

1. Get Prepared
Before heading into the studio rehearse the tracks you’re going to record with your band for a few days. Practice the full songs with solos, intros and any other extras you think you’d like on the track. This way there are no big surprises once you begin recording and less screw-ups due to people not knowing their parts well enough.

If you’re the vocalist, know your lyrics. Practice them, memorize them and even experiment with different keys to see what sounds best to you. This also includes preparing your instruments. Change strings or replace drum skins if you need to. Make sure everything is in good working order.

2. Be Healthy
While many artists claim that the use of drugs and alcohol help their creative process or sound, it’s likely you can find that space without them, and end up saving a ton of time. One tip for vocalists—avoid dairy products like milkshakes as they’re not good for vocal chords. Drink water instead. Make sure everyone is feeling good, no broken fingers or tennis elbow. Get a good sleep before recording, and don’t over exert your vocals. Everyone should be at their top performance level.

3. Get into the Right Headspace
Come together as a team. Prepare yourself mentally for recording. Remove distractions, even if this includes friends or family members, from the studio. While it’s nice to have them there, you’ll only be wasting more of your time. Concentrate on the music and your job.

4. Inform Your Engineer and Producer
Have a chat with your engineer and producers about what sound you’re looking for. If there are any other tracks or performers out there who have a sound you’re looking for let them know, as it will help them in the long run to get you exactly what you’re looking for. Play around with mic settings, amps and other equipment before recording to test the sound, instead of fooling around with it after every take—you may be doing this anyway, though.

Continue reading by clicking here.

5 Reasons For Recording

It can seem tempting for home bodies, or those who are just starting out recording to gear up at home and just do it yourself. While it’s becoming easier to get every basic thing you need to record at home, there are many reasons why using a professional studio is a better idea.

1. Studios have Trained Professionals
Unless you have some very knowledgeable friends it’s hard to pass up the chance to record with highly skilled recording professionals. These people, from engineers to producers, know how to get the sound you want, and are familiar with all the studio equipment, helping to cut down time in terms of searching out that perfect sound.

If you’re going to a professional studio search be sure to check their credits, or who they’ve worked with and what they’ve produced before. This will give you a good idea of their abilities and genres of expertise.

You’ll find at a professional studio you’ll save a lot of time by having skilled pros at hand who know what they’re doing and how to do it. It saves the frustration of you and your band sitting around tinkering with piece after piece, track after track and still being unable to come across the sound you’re hearing inside your head.

2. Objective Recording
This is another reason you’ll want professionals around. If you’re recording at home you might hear what you want to hear. Having someone else critique your work can be the difference between an okay track and a polished hit. These people have experience in making hit records and they know what works and doesn’t work. Be ready for a little constructive criticism.

3. Top of the Line Equipment
Check out the equipment in a professional recording studio and you’ll understand that, unless you have the bucks to put behind tens of thousands of dollars of different instruments and hardware, a home studio in no way compares. Professional studios will usually have over $25,000 just in different mics to help you achieve perfect sound. Not only that but you’ll find different percussion, keys—you name it, it’s all at your fingertips, so if you get the sudden whim that a song needs a keyboard dubbed in it’s there for you.

The production equipment is also what makes pro studios superior. While there are some great home studios out there, you can’t beat having top of the line computers, mixers, compressors and amps right there in one studio.

4. Acoustics
Unless you’re prepared to fork up some cash to sound treat a room specifically for recording, you’ll find you won’t be as happy with the sound, especially in regards to percussion.

Professional studios are built to acoustic standards so that everything sounds clean and pristine, and not like you recorded in your dad’s garage. You’ll get fuller sound, and the percussion will be tighter when you use a good studio room.

5. Don’t Take Your Work Home with You
While this is hard or impossible for many musicians, it feels good to be out of the house recording somewhere entirely dedicated to making music. Not only is this atmosphere more inspiring but will actually energize you to get the job done and avoid the distractions you’d find at home. It feels more like you’re getting something accomplished, and with so much equipment at your beck and call you’ll find recording much easier.

If you’ve been humming and hawing about whether to splurge for the gear and do it all yourself or to record in a professional studio, hopefully this has given you something to think about. Skills, plus experience, plus top of the line equipment and recording space prove invaluable to a great record.

Music Dictionary

The following collection of terms is the most complete music business and recording industry dictionary on the World Wide Web. Remember, understanding entertainment industry terminology is absolutely crucial to your success in the business. After reading this glossary, you will hopefully have a more thorough and complete understanding of the music business.

Acetate. The material in vinyl mastering used to produce a “master”
acetate record from which all duplicates are molded from.

A Side. The A Side is the single chosen by the record company for
radio play. It is expected to be “the hit.” The B Side is usually an album
cut that is not expected to have significant radio play.

Acetate Dub. A one-of-a-kind, individually cut record made of acetate
(not vinyl). Also known as a “dubplate” they generally wear out after 50
plays on a turntable

Acoustic. As in “acoustic guitar” or “acoustic version”: Instruments
that do not require a power source to be played and properly heard or that
is not electronically modifed (such as a non-electric guitar, drums, or wind
instrument). A recording arrangement that is entirely or primarily composed
of acoustic instruments.

Acoustics. The characteristics, such as how sound is reflected and
absorbed, that give a space such as a living room, concert hall, or cinema
an identifiable sonic “signature.”

ADAT. An 8-track digital tape, identical in appearance to a VHS
cassette. ADAT is the most popular digital tape-based recording format and
contains up to 44 minutes of 8-track audio per tape.

Administration. The supervision of all financial, copyright and
contractual aspects of either an entire catalog or a particular song.

Advance. Money paid before the recording or release of a song, to be
deducted against future royalties of that song.

Adult Contemporary. Also known as “soft rock” it is a music genre
targeted to the adult market (30+). It is often distinguished by orchestral
background music, conservative backbeats, and frequently features “love
songs.” Not quite as conservative as “Easy Listening,” it borrows generously
the emotive ballads that occasionally appear in “Pop.”

AF of M. An abbreviation for American Federation of Musicians.

Air. The Vamp, the Verse, if there is one, and the Chorus
(composed of “8s”), ending with the Rideout, constitute the component parts
of the printed sheet-music copy. But there is music that exists between the
sung lines (“fills”) that can be described as the “Air” in the song. If
“Air” is recognized as “music without words,” the Vamp and Rideout, too,
must be listed as “Air” pockets.

Air Checks. A recording made of a televised show on 3/4″ tape to be used
for demo reels.

Airplay. Radio or internet broadcast of a music recording.

Amplifier. An electronic device which increases the strength of an
electrical signal. For instance they take relatively small electric signals
and increase them to a strength powerful enough to drive a speaker. For
musicians, amplifiers are used with electric instruments and microphones to
increase volume and modify basic frequency sets (such as increasing bass or
treble tones, or adding distortion effects).

Analog. In a music and recording context, analog refers to a way of
sending information electronically using variable voltage. Very similarly to
the way AM and FM radio signals work, analog devices use a continous wave
signal as a carrier onto which information is encoded as electric pulses.
Analog signals are limited in the amount of data they can transmit. They are
also vulnerable to interference that causes distortion or other inaccuracies
to appear in an analog recordings. However, because the voltage oscillations
of analog signals are similar the wave qualities of sound, there are
arguments (of some merit) that analog can more faithfully reproduce sound
(but is much more difficult for editing and correcting recordings).

A&R. An abbreviation for Artists and Repertoire; record company
staffer or liaison in charge of selecting new artists, songs and masters.

Arrangement. The adaptation of a composition for performance by other
instruments and voices than originally intended.

Arranger. One who adapts a musical work to particular instruments or
voices.

Artist. An individual or group under recording contract.

Artist Management.
The task of developing an artists’ career.
The artist manager typically advises the artist on all business decisions
and attempts to promote the artist through all available means, including
demos, media coverage, person to person networking and internet promotions.

Assignment. The transfer of rights to a song or catalog
from one copy-right proprietor to another.

Audition. A formally arranged session (usually by appointment through an
agent) for an actor to display his or her talents when seeking a role in an
upcoming production of a play, film or television project, usually to a
casting director, director or producers.

Avail. A courtesy extended by a performer to a booking agent indicating
availability to work during a certain timeframe. Avails have no legal or
contractual status.

Backgrounds. Another term for backup vocals on a song.

Backline. Specific musical instruments and equipment needed for a live
performance. In certain circumstances, the “backline” refers to equipment
that is expected to be provided by the venue.

Balls. A deep and resonant vocal tone.

Bed. The soundtrack that goes under your voice-over. It may be a bed of
music or sound effects or a combination of both.

Big Five. A phrase that collectively refers to the five largest
corporations in the global music market: Universal, Sony, BMG, Warner, and
EMI.

Billboard. To emphasize or set apart a copy point is to “billboard” it.

Biography. A concise account of an artist or group’s industry related
experience or background.

Booker. An agency employee who sets appointments for talent/models.

Booking. A confirmed date for a live performance or studio session.

Booking Agent. One who finds employment for artists from buyers of
talent.

Borderless. A photograph that takes up the full space of the paper with
no white edges.

Boom Mike. A microphone on the end of a pole, held above actor’s heads
to record dialogue.

Boot Legging. The unauthorized recording and selling of a performance of
a song.

Bullet. Designation of a record listed on the charts, referring to
increased record sales.

Buyout. A one-time payment for shooting and airing a commercial.

Cans. Studio term meaning headphones.

Cartage. A gear management and transportation service provided to
professional musicians by private companies. Cartage companies are
responsible for bringing all of an artist’s musical equipment to a studio
for a session.

Catalog. All the songs owned by a music publisher considered as one
collection.

Charts. Lists published in the trade magazines of the best-selling
records. These are separate charts for pop, soul, country western, etc.;
musical arrangements.

Chord. Three or more notes sounded simultaneously that imply a harmonic
function.

Chorus. A section of the song that repeats itself at certain intervals.
At the turn of the century, and continuing into the sixties, Choruses were
compared and shaped within thirty-two bars of music.

Clearance. The right of a radio station to play a song.

Clearance Agency. Same function of a performance rights organization,
such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC.

Click Track. A perforated sound track that produces click sounds that
enables one to hear a predetermined beat in synchronization with the movie.

Clipping. A condition where the dB (decibel) level of a track is too
high and causes sound distortion. Clipping can also occur if the dB levels
of two tracks combine with each other to cause distortion.

CMYK. An abbreviation for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. The
colors used in the printing process in which four distinct color plates are
printed one on top of the other which combines the colors to make
photo-realistic images.

Collaborator. One of two or more partners in the writing of songs.

Commercial. Regarding the music industry, the potential to sell, or that
which has mass appeal.

Commission. Percentage of income paid by actors to their representative.
If it is an agent, the amount cannot be over 10% for a union contract; if it
is a manager, the percentage is unregulated, but is traditionally 15-20%.

Common-Law Copyright. Natural protection of a song based on common laws
of the various states. Was superseded by a single national system effective
January 1, 1978.

Composer. One who writes the music to a song.

Composite. A type of head shot popular in the commercial industry which
positions several different images of the subject together on one 8″ x 10″
spread giving casting directors a quick way to determine how the subject
will look in different settings.

Composition. A musical work; the art of writing music.

Compulsory License. Statutory mandate given to a copyright owner to
permit third parties to make sound recordings of the copyright owner’s song
after it once has been recorded.

Console. The audio board or control panel that allows the engineer to
direct the audio signal to the recorders, and to combine the various audio
components into the final mix.

Consignment. An arrangement through which a retailer takes possession of
an artist’s product, such as CDs or t-shirts, and only pays the artist for
inventory that is sold. Essentially, when a sale occurs, the retailer
purchases product from the held inventory to meet the order. This system is
common among online retailers of independent music.

Consumer Publication. Entertainment oriented periodicals written and
published for a general public readership, i.e., Rolling Stone,
Spin.

Control Room. The room from which producers direct musicians and
engineers operate recording equipment during a session. The control room
contains the bulk of a studio’s recording equipment, including the mixing
board and multitrack recorder. Control rooms are typically separated from
the live studio in which musicians perform by a soundproof glass panel.

Co-op Advertising. Retail advertising partly or fully paid for by a
record label and/or distributor. Can also refer to a group of retail
advertisers pooling funds to jointly advertise.

Co-Publishing. The joint publication of one copyrighted work by two
publishers.

Copyright. As a noun, means the exclusive rights granted to authors and
composers for protection of their works; a song or musical composition; as a
verb, to secure protection for a song by filling the proper registration
forms with the Copyright Office.

Copyright Infringement. Stealing or using somebody else’s copyrighted
song.

Copyright Notice. Notice comprised of three elements.

1. The symbol of copyright, the word “copyright,” or the abbreviation “Copr.”

2. The year the song has been registered for copyright or the year of first
production of the work.

3. The copyright owner’s name

Copyright Office. Federal government department, one of whose main
purposes is to file and supply information regarding copyrights.

Cover Record. Another artist’s version of a song already recorded.

Cover Set. Set which is always ready for shooting on a moment’s notice.
If a film crew is scheduled to shoot outside, and it rains, they move to the
cover set.

Co-Writing. Joint authorship of one work by two or more writers.

Craft Service. The food table on a music video set, or refers to the
person(s) who handle the food.

Cross Collateralization. Means of recouping the money spent on one song
or recording against the earnings of another song or recording.

Crossover. A song which receives airplay in more than one market.

Cue (musical). Another term for the talk back system in a recording
studio usually conducted through headphones. It can also mean an audible or
visual sign that tells you when to begin reading.

Curriculum vitae. Short account of one’s career or qualifications.

Cut. (Musical) To record; a recorded selection.

Cuts. Lines, speeches, songs, or any other element in a printed script
left out of a particular production.

DAT. An abbreviation for Digital Audio Tape.

Date. A recording session or live engagement.

dB. An abbreviation for Decibel, a comparative unit of
measurement of “loudness.” 1 dB is approximately equal to the smallest
change in loudness that can be detected. 0 dB is the threshold of hearing,
65 dB is a normal speaking loudness (at 3 feet), 130 dB is the threshold of
pain (rock concerts are often about 120 dB).

Demo. A recording that demonstrates the talent and music of an artist to
potentially interested parties, such as booking agents or A&R
representatives. As the cost of professional-grade recording has decreased
as a result of improving technology, the production standards applied to
demos have generally been raised.

Diaphragm. The lower part of the lungs, filling the abdominal space,
that supports the voice when actors and singers breathe correctly on stage.

Diction. Clear, sharp pronunciation of words, especially of consonants.

Discography. A catalog or list of recordings made by a particular band
or artist as well as the related information such as the playing time,
recording date and label.

Distributor. Company that handles the sales and shipment of a record
company’s product to retail outlets and one-stops for a certain territory.

DJ. An abbreviation for Disc Jockey.

Donut. A type of spot that has prerecorded material at the beginning and
at the end with a “hole” in the middle for the voice part. The parts can be
reversed as well, with the voice being the donut and the pre-recorded
material in the hole.

D.O.R. Dance-Oriented Rock; a categorization of popular music utilized
by radio stations.

Downstage. The area of the stage closest to the audience.

Dub. An audio or video copy. Also called a “dupe” (short for duplicate).

DVD. An abbreviation for Digital Video Disc. A disc that uses
optical storage technology similar to a CD. DVDs can hold high quality
video, digital audio, and computer data (up to 4.7GB per side). With
widespread support from virtually all facets of the entertainment industry,
DVDs are positioned to render all other formats (video tape, audio CD, video
cartridge) obsolete.

Dynamic Range. The range between the loudest and softest sounds a
soundtrack and/or sound system can reproduce properly.

Editorial print. Editorial print work involves photographs used to
compliment the story line of an article in a magazine.

8 x 10 Glossy Pictures. The primary calling card to the people who will
be calling you in for interviews and auditions, and casting you in their
productions.

Engineer. Individual who operates studio equipment during the recording
of a song.

EP. An abbreviation for Extended Play or Extended Play Record.
This expression designates a recording longer than a single, but shorter
than a full-length album, or LP. Often EPs are promotional releases by a new
band and contain only four to six songs.

EQ. An abbreviation for Equalization. Electronically boosting or
dampening the level in certain frequency ranges relative to other
frequencies from the same source. Equalizers are processing units that
adjust the strength of specific frequencies.

Exclusive Songwriting Contract. A contract which prohibits the
songwriter from writing for more than one publisher.

Fader. A control on a console or amplifier that changes the strength of
a signal. Faders are often sliders or knobs that can be adjusted quite
gradually to modify the signal intensity. The most basic example would be
the volume control knob on a stereo.

Feedback. When sounds or vibrations from speakers are picked up by
microphones (or other input devices), and are amplified by the sound system
(often re-output though the speakers to create a vicious cycle). In a
recording environment, it is usually heard as “rumble,” in a performance
environment it is heard as a dreadful, screeching, high-pitched squeal
through the PA system

Filter. An electronic network that allows certain frequencies to pass
while blocking others. Active filters contain powered components such as
operational amplifiers (op-amps) and are normally inserted before the main
amplifier. Passive filters do not contain any powered components and are
normally inserted between the amplifier and the loudspeaker.

Flanging. An effect in which a signal is delayed between 0 to 20
milliseconds and combined with the unaffected, initial source signal. The
effect is similar to chorusing (with only one replica signal), but the
effect has a distorted, “doppler-effect” sound (like the sound of a jet
engine passing overhead and receding in the distance). The term “flanging”
comes from a time when the effect was achieved by playing back the replica
signal on a reel-to-reel tape deck and pressing on the flanges. Today’s
technology creates the effect using a variable comb filter.

FM Radio. “FM” stands for “frequency modulation” which describes the
radio wave signal of a broadcast — audio signals are conveyed through the
changes in frequency of a carrier wave. FM broadcasting is a hi-fidelity
medium that can broadcast in stereo.

Folio. A collection of songs offered for sale to the public.

Four Color Process. A printing process in which four distinct color
plates (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black — collectively known as CMYK) are
printed one on top of the other which combines the colors to make
photo-realistic images. Typically, an image is created on a computer, the
images is converted to CMYK and is output as four, separate, film
separations. A separate plate is made from the each film separation. Colored
ink is applied to each plate. Each plate is stamped on paper, one at a time,
creating the final printed image.

Free Goods. A fixed percentage of product deducted from the total in a
shipment to account for “giveaways” and promotional copies distributed for
free. No royalties are paid to the artist for “free goods.” Example: A
distributor sends 1000 CDs to a retail chain, but only charge for 900, the
artist does not get paid for the 100 “free” CDs. The 10% will also likely be
a charge-back (the label’s loss will be deducted from the artist’s
royalties). Therefore, an artist’s lawyer should negotiate a limit on the
quantity of free goods the record company may distribute (it is often capped
at 15% on albums; 30% on singles).

Generation. The process whereby each time you copy a piece of film or
tape it losses some clarity.

Gig. A catchall phrase used as a term for performance at a venue. Often
used for shorter events as opposed to a “concert” which implies a large
venue and a long musical set.

Gold Album. Certification by the Recording Industry of America that a
album has sold half a million units.

Gold Single. Certification by the Recording Industry of America that a
single has sold half a million units.

Groove. Rhythm or tempo that helps create the “feel” of the song.

Harmony. The combination of musical notes to form chords that serve to
enhance the melody line; the art of combining notes into chords.

“Head” Arrangements. An arrangement devised spontaneously. No chords are
prepared for instrumentalists and vocalists. Instead, they read off lead
sheets and an arrangement is made from various experimental styling devised
at the studio.

Heads Out. Manner in which a reel-to-reel tape is stored, with
the loose end at the beginning of the tape, enabling the tape to be played
immediately.

Heavy Metal. Musical category characterized by high-volume, maximum
guitar presence.

High Note. The highest note sung in a particular song which varies
according to the musical key of the song.

High-Speed Dub. A tape copy that is made at several times normal speed.
Often used in reference to tape duplication. High speed dubs are often less
costly and have a quicker turn-around time than real time or at speed dubs.
They can be susceptible to problems, so always check your dubs before
releasing them to prospective clients.

Hook. A phrase or melody line that repeats itself in a song; the catchy
part to a song.

Hot Mike. A microphone that is turned on.

IFPI. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry
is the organization that represents the interests of the international
recording industry. It comprises a membership of 1400 record producers and
distributors in 76 countries. It also has national groups in 46 countries.
The IFPI headquarters is in London. Regional offices are maintained in
Brussels, Hong Kong, Miami, and Moscow.

Impresario. An entertainment entrepreneur.

Indie. Industry slang for “independent.” The term is vague and is used
to variously refer to smaller record labels, smaller publishing companies,
artists signed to these labels and companies, unsigned artists, and the
music produced by all of these.

Insert. A mix engineering term referring to an external EQ or processor
that is being “inserted” on an individual track.

Inserts. The artwork that accompanies a CD in the form of a booklet or
fold-out pamphlet in the CD jewel case. The front panel is typically 4.695
inches in height and 4.75 inches in width. The insert contains all liner
notes, song titles and times, and sometimes lyrics, photos or other artwork.

In The Can. A phrase borrowed from the film business and used in
voice-overs. When a good take is achieved, it is considered ready for
processing or “in the can.” It generally means that the director has the
take he wants.

Intellectual Property. Conceptual ideas that can be transferred or fixed
on to a tangible medium, such as a song, book, film, Web site. The
“intellectual” component of a work is the expression of ideas, the
“property” refers to the physical form or manifestation of it.

J-Card. The artwork on an audio cassette box named for the shape it
makes when folded to fit in the box.

Jacket. The packing for a vinyl album. Usually cardboard to protect the
record from damage, as well as a paper or plastic sleeve that fits over the
actual disc to protect it from scratches.

Jewel Case. The clear plastic case that houses a CD and its accompanying
artwork. It typically has a hinged cover and a tray where the CD sits snugly
to protect it from dust and scratches. Standard jewel cases are
approximately 3/8″ in thickness. CD singles are often sold in “slim” cases
which are about 1/4″ thick and contain less artwork (smaller inserts).

Jingle. A short phrase of music usually accompanied by lyrics used to
convey a commercial message.

Label. A record company.

Larynx. The human voice box containing the vocal chords.

Leader. Conductor or person in charge of the band.

Lead Sheet. A musical notation of a song’s melody along with the chord
symbols, words and other pertinent information.

Leader Tape. Reel-to-Reel tape which contains songs separated by white
tape for easy access.

Liner Notes. Musician, songwriting and production credits printed on the
packaging of a recording.

Lithography. A printing process as opposed to a photographic process
used to inexpensively reproduce a large quantity of headshots.

LP. An abbreviation for Long Play or Long Playing. This
expression dates from the recording discs developed by Thomas Edison in the
1920s. Although others had been producing discs for twenty years before
that, Edison’s LPs had the “longest play” (20 minutes each side). When music
was primarily distributed on vinyl records, LP simply meant any full-length
album. The term is less common now, but it is still occasionally used to
refer to full-length CDs.

Lyrics. The words to a song.

Lyric Sheet. A (typed) copy of the lyrics to a song.

Lyricist. The writer of the words to a song.

Manager. The person or organization responsible for developing an
artist’s career. The manager typically advises the artist on all business
decisions and attempts to promote the artist through all available means,
including demos, media coverage, and person-to-person networking.

Market. Selling place; medium where only one type of record is played
(i.e., pop, R&B, E&W, Rap, etc.)

Marketing. The process of increasing product sales by generating public
interest in an artist’s music through various promotional means, including
exposure in print, television, radio, and the Internet.

Master. The original recording. The tape from which dubs are made. Also,
a finished recording of the song from which records are pressed and
distributed to radio stations and record stores.

Mastering. Final preparation of a recording for mass duplication. This
includes evening out audio levels (so that loudness is consistent throughout
the album) and polishing the audio quality of the recording.

Master Use License. A license granting permission to use existing
recorded material, including but not limited to: vocals, music, TV or film
dialog, speeches, and sound effects. For sampled material, a Master Use
License is required regardless of the length or amount of material that is
used.

Mechanical License. A license granted by a copyright owner for the use
of copyrighted material on a recording. Mechanical licenses are required any
time a copyrighted composition is used. Other licenses may also be required,
depending on the nature and medium of the project.

Mechanical Rights Organization. Collection agency for copyright owners
of money earned from the mechanical reproduction of their songs.

Mechanical Royalties. Moneys earned for use of a copyright in mechanical
reproductions, most notably records and tapes.

MIDI. Abbreviation for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A
standard digital language/interface for transmitter-receivers (Universal
Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter, UART) that enables electronic instruments
and editing devices (synthesizers, computers, drums machines, etc.) to
communicate with each other.

Mike. Attaching a wireless transmitter to an actor’s body or clothes to
record dialogue.

Mix. The final audio product combining all the elements into one
composite soundtrack. “Mix” also applies to the act of creating the mix.
This is sometimes referred to as the “mixdown.”

Mixer. A control panel that allows the engineer to combine the input
signals from several channels (each channel could be a different input
device — guitar, synthesizer, microphone, etc.) into one or more output
channels. The mixing board gives the sound operator level control and basic
tone control of the input signals, as well as the volume and tone control of
the combined (mixed) output. The goal of mixing is to get a well-balanced
level set. Mixing also refers to the process of equalization which uses more
advanced mixing boards that can achieve a greater audio quality.

Modulate. To change from one key to another in a song.

Monitor. A speaker for use in recording studios.

Mono. Short for Monophonic. A descriptive word for sound systems
that have only one sound channel.

MOR. “Middle of the Road”; songs that may be classified as easy
listening.

Motif. The shortest significant melody of a song or theme.

MP3. Abbreviation for MPEG Audio Layer-3, it is a compression
system for digital audio. The MP3 format is one of three compression systems
derived from MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) technology. The MP3 format
compresses digitized audio data. The MP3 reduces the number of “bytes” (unit
amount of digital data) in an audio file by a factor of 12. This reduces the
file size of an audio file (to 1/12 its original size) so that it can be
quickly and efficiently transmitted over the Internet. An MP3 may be
downloaded in minutes rather than an uncompressed CD audio file which could
take hours.

Music Publisher. The individual or company who: Screen songs and gets
them commercially recorded, Exploits the copyrights, Protects the
copyrights, Collects income from performance, mechanical synchronization and
printing rights both in the United States and in foreign countries.

Neutral Demo. A demo that doesn’t sound like it’s for one particular
artist, but best represents the song whereby it can be recorded by anybody.

Nondestructive Editing. Nondestructive editing means that all of your
original audio files remain completely intact, even though in Jam it appears
as though they have been changed. All editing features in Jam are completely
nondestructive.

Non-Linear Editing. Putting scenes together on a computer using film
editing software capable of moving them around, and/or out of order, for
ease in building a demo tape, or a scene in a movie or commercial.

Off-Card. A union musician working on a non-union project is known to be
working ‘off-card.’

One Sheet. A marketing document created by a record label that
summarizes in marketing terms, the credentials of an artist or band; as well
as describing in summary form, the promotion and marketing plans the label
has developed to help sell the record. It also includes interesting facts
about an act’s fanbase and target audience, as well as all the essential
promotion, marketing, and sales tactics that the label will use to help
convince a distributor to carry and get behind a new release.

One Stop. Wholesale record dealer that sells the records of several
manufacturers to juke box operators and record sores.

Option. Acquiring the rights to a story, such as a current events,
true-life story, that guarantees that no one else can work with the party
who sold the story. Options typically last for a year or less.

Out Takes. Parts of an original recording or taping that will not be
used in the finished product.

Overdub. The addition of instruments or voices to pre-existing tracks.

P.A. A production assistant who usually gophers and manages the extras.

Packager. One who selects and combines talent for shows.

Pan. A very bad review from a critic.

Payola. Secret payment to broadcasters to play certain records.

Pen. To compose or write.

Per Diem. Money given to performers and crew when on tour to cover the
expense of food and other personal incidentals.

Performing Right. Rights granted by U.S. copyright law which states that
one may not publicly perform a copyrighted musical work without the owner’s
permission.

Performing Rights Organization. Society whose purpose is to collect
monies earned from public performances of songs by users of music and to
distribute these to the writers and publishers of these songs in a
proportion that reflects as accurately as possible the amount of
performances of each particular song.

Performance Royalties. Monies earned from use of one’s song on radio,
television and other users of music.

Phase. Two sound waves are said to be “in phase” when their frequencies
are synchronized. This will produce “constructive interference” that will
boost the level of that frequency. Two sound waves are said to be “out of
phase” when their when their frequencies are non-synchronous. This will
produce “destructive interference” at the points where the respective waves
have opposite polarities. Destructive interference is a “cancelling out” of
sections of the combined sound.

Phonorecord. Any device which transmits sound other than that which
accompanies a motion picture or other audio-visual work.

Photo-Offset Reproduction. Reproduction of musical manuscript by
printing press.

Pick. A song that has been reviewed by the trades and projected to have
success.

Pipeline. A listing or schedule of music projects in some stage of
production.

Pirating. The unauthorized reproduction and selling of sound recordings
(i.e., records, tapes, CDs).

Platinum Album. Certification by the Recording Industry Association of
America that an album has sold a minimum of one million units.

Platinum Single. Certification by the Recording Industry Association of
America that a single has sold a minimum of one million units.

Plug. Broadcast of a song; to push for a song’s performance.

Plugola. Secret payment to broadcasters for free mention of products on
the air.

Points. A percentage of money producers and artists earn on the retail
list price of 90 percent of all records sold.

Pop. A term derived by shortening “popular” music. It describes a music
genre that has the greatest audience appeal. It appeals both to younger
audiences as well as adults, but tends to be marketed toward the younger
(and more profitable) demographic. Pop often includes crossover hits from
R&B, Country, Rock, AC and some of their sub-genres. The music classified by
“pop” has catchy hooks, memorable melodies, energetic backbeats and a
structure repetition through a verse and chorus pattern (usually).

Post. A short form of “post production.” This is the term applied to all
the work that goes into a production after the talent leaves. This includes
such processes as editing, multi-tracking, music selection, adding special
effects and mixing.

Presence. A performer’s ability to command attention onstage, even when
surrounded by other actors.

Press. The manufacture of a large quantity of records duplicated from a
master for commercial sale.

Press Kit. A presentation including newspaper clippings, review of
movie, television, musical and theater productions, a biography, headshot
and resume given to the media and interested industry professionals. Also
called a press package.

Print. Producer’s cue that an engineer’s final mix is good enough to
“print” or use.

Printed Edition. A song published in the form of sheet music.

Producer. The individual who oversees the making of a single or long
playing record, radio, television or stage show from inception to
completion.

Production. The technical aspects of the music industry, including sound
systems and lighting requirements as well as video and recording process.

Professional Manager. The person in charge of screening new material for
music publishers and of obtaining commercial recordings of songs in his
company’s catalog.

Program Director. Radio station employee who determines which songs
shall be broadcast.

Promoter. One who secures talent from an agent for the production and
presentation of a performance; the primary risk taker in the event.

Proof Sheet. After a roll of film is shot and developed, it is printed
onto sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 or 11 x 14 inch paper, holding up to 36 exposures.
Use a photographer’s loop to check the lighting and focus.

Prosody. The marriage of words and music.

Publication. The printing and distribution of copies of a work to a
public by sole or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or
lending.

Public Domain. Unprotected by copyright due to an expired copyright or
caused by an invalid copyright notice.

Publicist. A person hired to create awareness of a person or project.

Queued Up. Previewing a tape and having it set to start playing at the
beginning of a song.

Range. The vocal extent of a singer’s voice, from its lowest note to its
highest.

Rave. An extremely good review from a critic.

Red Book Standard. The format standard for the audio CD that allows
universal compatibility with any Compact Disc and any CD player. The format
stipulates that the audio be recorded in stereo at 44.1kHz sample rate with
a 16 bit word, among other things.

Reel. A video tape compilation of an actor or director’s best work.

Regional. A commercial airing in a part of the United States.

Release (marketing). The issuing of a record by the record company, or a
film by a studio.

Release (legal). Legal document releasing producer from liability,
usually refers to talent allowing the producer to use his or her likeness on
film and soundtrack.

Retouching. A photographic process whereby certain flaws in a picture
are covered up or removed.

Reverb. Reverberation is caused by repeated echoes of sound that
gradually fade away. The echoes are too quick, too numerous, and too
irregular for the ear to distinguish individually. This occurs in
environments that allow persistent echoes to occur such as a room or hall
with hard-sufaced walls. A reverberation unit is an electronic device that
can simulate natural reverbaration (and can do so accurately enough to sound
like the source is in different kinds of rooms, from a small concert hall to
a cathedral). The individual echoes are repeated randomly and the quantity
of the echoes is increased as they fade away.

The Rideout. The Rideout is the music that begins on the downbeat of the
last word of the song. Just as all songs have a Vamp, every Chorus comes
packaged with a Rideout.

Rider. A contract between a performance venue and an entertainer
detailing the finalized (negotiated) terms and conditions of a performance,
such as performance length, compensation (i.e. travel expenses, lodging),
profit share, and payment.

Road Manager. Traveling supervisor hired by artist to coordinate details
of concert tours on behalf of the artist.

Roomtone. The sound a room makes without anyone in it. Everyone has a
different sound, so recording in the same room is sometimes critical when
trying to match voice parts from one session to another.

Royalty. Money earned from use of the record or song.

Sample clearance.  The authorized use of a copyrighted sound recording
to be incorporated into a new composition.

SASE. Means “self-addressed, stamped envelope.”

Scansion. The analysis of verse to show its meter.

Score. The compilation of pages of sheet music that contains all the
music for a show.

Scoring. Music added to help fill scenes or dialogue cut by a director
during post-production.

Self-Contained Artist. An artist who writes and performs his or her own
material. Also refers to artists who require no production or personnel
assistance from promoters.

Session. Meeting during which time musicians and vocalists make a
recording.

SFX. Abbreviation for sound effects. Sometimes also written as EFX. or
FX.

Sheet Music. The pages containing the music and lyrics to a single song,
as opposed to a score containing all the music for a show.

Showcase (musical). A presentation of new songs and/or talent.

Sibilance. A drawn out or excessive “S” sound during speech. In extreme
cases, the “S” sound is accompanied by a whistle. Sibilance is annoying and
a hindrance to some voice actors. “S” is a popular letter with copywriters
and is found in most lines except the last one.

Signature Song. A song that is primarily associated with a single famous
singer, as “Singing In the Rain” was with Gene Kelly.

Single. A small record played at 45 rpms containing two selections, one
on each side; record released because of the expectation by the record
company that “A” side would achieve success.

Song Plugger. One who auditions songs for performers.

Song Shark. One who profits from dealing with songwriters by deceptive
methods.

S/PDIF. An abbreviation for Sony/Philips Digital Interface, a
standard audio transfer file format. It is usually found on digital audio
equipment such as a DAT machine or audio processing device. It allows the
transfer of audio from one file to another without the conversion to and
from an analog format, which could degrade the signal quality. The most
common connector used with an S/PDIF interface is the RCA connector, the
same one used for consumer audio products. An optical connector is also
sometimes used.

Spec. Short for speculative. It usually means volunteering your services
and postponing payment until a project sells.

Speed. Exclamation that indicates the film and the audiotape are running
simultaneously at the correct speed.

Split Publishing. When the publishing rights to a song are divided among
two or more publishers.

Spot. A commercial for radio or television.

Standard. A song that continues to be popular for several years.

State-of-the-Art. Contemporary or current.

Statutory Copyright. Status acquired by a composition when it is
registered with the Copyright Office or is published with the proper
copyright notice.

Stereo. Short for Stereophonic. The separation of recorded sound
onto two distinct channels. Different audio tracks are split and sent to two
different channels. When played back through two different output channels
(two separate speakers), the result more effectively imitates the acoustic
quality of a live performance than a “monophonic” recording (where all sound
comes through one channel).

Storyboard. A frame-by-frame artist’s drawing of key scenes (with the
lyrics printed underneath) serving as a rough plan for the way a music video
should appear and what camera angles the director should use.

Strike. To remove something from a set, or tear it down.

Studio (sound). An audio isolation room where the talent performs, with
an adjoining control room.

Stylus. A needle made of steel or gemstone (diamond) that is housed in a
magnetic cartridge on the arm of a phonograph.

Subpublisher. The company that publishes a song or catalog in a
territory other than that under the domain of the original publisher.

Subpublishing. When the original publisher contracts his song or catalog
to be handled by a foreign publisher for that territory.

Subwoofer. A speaker designed to produce the lowest audio frequencies at
an adequate volume. Most subwoofers, or “subs” as they’re commonly called,
are designed to operate from 80 Hz downwards, as the ear can usually
pinpoint the source of any higher frequencies. The bass units of small
three-piece systems are commonly referred to as subwoofers, but they often
have limited output below 50 Hz or so.

Sweeten. The addition of new parts to existing rhythms and vocal tracks
and horns.

Synchronization. The placing of music in timed-relation to film.

Synchronization Right. The right to use a musical composition in
(timed-relation to) a film or video tape.

Tails Out. Recording tape wound on a reel so that the end of the
soundtrack is on the outside. A tape wound “tails out” is usually marked
with blue adhesive tape, while one wound “heads out” is usually marked with
red adhesive tape.

Take. The attempted recording of a musician or vocalist. The “attempted”
refers to the usual circumstance in which it usually takes several takes to
get the recording right from the musician, producer and sound mixers
standpoint.

Talkback. The system that allows people in the control room to talk with
the talent in the studio.

Tear Sheets. An actual copy of a print ad torn out of a newspaper or
magazine and put in an artist’s portfolio.

THX. A set of technologies from Lucasfilm first developed for the cinema
and subsequently for the home. In the theater, THX standardizes the sonic
environment by stipulating not only the acoustics required but the playback
equipment as well. In the home, both electronic and speaker strategies are
employed in order to have the program material more closely match that of
the dubbing stage.

Time Reversion Clause. Contractual agreement in which a publisher agrees
to secure recording and release for songwriter’s material within a certain
period of time. Failure to secure recording and release triggers reversion
of the song rights to the writer.

Top Forty. Radio station format where records played are only those
contained in lists of the best-selling records.

Top One Hundred. Lists published in the trades of the top selling
singles for a particular market.

Track. One of the several components of special recording tape that
contains recorded sounds, which is mixed with the other tracks for a
finished recording of the song; the recording of all the instruments or
voice of a particular music section; music and/or voices previously
recorded.

Trades. Industry newspapers and magazines read by all professionals to
keep up with trends and news in the entertainment business.

Transparencies. The slide form of a photograph.

Union Scale. Minimum wage scale earned in employment by members of AFTRA,
AF of M, SAG, etc.

Upstage. The rear area of the stage farthest from the audience; also
used to describe an actor’s attempt to distract audience attention from what
another actor is doing.

Vamp. All printed copies of songs begin with a few bars of music called
the Vamp or Intro. It is recognizable as the first musical statement at the
top of the copy and it is further identified by the absence of a logic.

Verse. The selection of a song that precedes the chorus or is the A
section in AABA pattern songs. The Verse follows the Vamp and is the first
vocalizing of the text of the song. The Verse seldom contains heavyweight
musical material. Since it is so scored in order to give preeminence to the
information contained in the lyric, most often Verses can be ad libded
without effort.

Voice Over. The act of providing one’s voice to a media project. Called
voice-over because the voice is usually mixed over the top of music and
sound effects.

Walla. The sound of many voices talking at once, such as at a party or
in a restaurant. Also known as “walla walla,” this old sound effects term is
derived from the idea that if a group of people got together and just kept
saying “walla” over and over, it would create a good sound ambiance for a
crowded scene.

Wet. A voice or sound with reverb added to it.

Windscreen. A foam cover or fabric guard placed over a microphone to
help prevent popped “P’s” and other plosive sounds. Sometimes called a
“windsock” or “pop filter.”

Work-For-Hire. Contractual basis whereby a record label or production
company employs a composer or lyricist to create music or songs for a movie
with copyright ownership to be retained by the producer or company.

Writer’s Signature. Unique style of the writer

Time Management for Bands

This post is slightly at odds with one of my mentors, Michael Branvold. Strange considering it’s based on his great advice on what musicians should do online daily. It’s not that I disagree with what Michael says. It’s that, well, there’s not enough time in the damn day! Time management is a bane to my existence.

Currently, I’m trying to start a new band, filling in with another band, and I’m running a blog on how to run a band. And guess what? I’ve hit media overload. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging…the social media list grows every day. I try to keep up, but it’s freakin’ hard! Not to mention I have a day job. Refreshing my Facebook page 30 times a day doesn’t help with job security. After backing off for a little bit, I’ve come up with a strategy to manage my time more efficiently. This post will concentrate on managing online activities since they can cut most significantly into a band’s time.

1. Prioritize
Make music. Make art. Before all else, do this. Social media and marketing are essential to your band’s success, but they can also be its downfall when not properly managed. If you find yourself blogging and tweeting more than writing new music, you’re doing it wrong. Social media and online promotion are meant to strengthen your music, brand, and fan engagement. If you’re not putting out good music or increasing your musical skills, all the social networking savvy in the world won’t help you. Prioritize. Know what to put on the chopping block for online activities. Creating music, artwork for your band, and videos needs to be at the top of your list. All else can be cut. The good news is these activities generate content for you to use with online marketing.

Now that you have your priorities, you need to…

2. Respond
Twice a day, quickly go through and respond to everyone and everything. Don’t linger or read more at each site. Just speed through it as quickly as possible. If you have notifications set up with your e-mail, you will know quickly what new followers, comments, or updates are happening on each of your sites. You won’t need to go to Facebook if no one has responded, so use your e-mail as your time gatekeeper. On Twitter, check your @Mentions and Direct Messages and respond. Then add any new followers. Quickly respond to your Facebook profiles and your YouTube. Follow back, add friends, and subscribe to all appropriate people. Remember, don’t linger! It’s easy to get sucked in and start reading everything. Only do this TWICE per day. Constantly checking your e-mail and Facebook is a tried and true way to completely lose your valuable time. Try checking at noon and, then, 6pm.

3. Interact
Social media is about being social. To build your fan base, you need to reach out and engage them. One on one, and one at a time. In addition to fans, you will need to be engaging with multiple media outlets: mp3 blogs, local newspapers, and other industry related figures. In this context, I refer to interacting as responding to other people’s posts. Put the focus on others and not yourself. Creating posts is dealt with in the next section. Interacting is, unfortunately, a giant time-suck and needs to be approached with discipline. You can constantly be spending time searching through blog posts, Facebook, and Twitter updates. You will need to give yourself time limits for each online service. Go through each and add comments, re-tweet, and share other people’s posts. Have a goal with these interactions, so you get the most value before you run out of time. Fans first. Venues and bookers second. Local media third. Responding and commenting on people that don’t care about your band won’t win you much. Focus on those with the highest social value to your band. Fans support you and go to your shows. Venues and bookers need your fans. Local media helps you get fans and shows.

Important: Keep a time limit for each! Get a timer and be strict.

4. Create
By “Create”, I mean creating posts, blogs, and e-mail newsletters. Anything that you put out there. Your Twitter update. Your Facebook status. Start easy and be consistent. If a blog post per week is too much for you, try once every two weeks. If tweeting 20 times a day burns you out, keep it at once a day. Daily “Facebooking” draining all your time? Do it every other day. Develop a strategy that you can keep up with daily, weekly, and monthly. One to two tweets per day. Once a month, pop out a new e-mail newsletter. Do not “Interact” or “Respond” when you “Create”. Dedicate yourself to putting fun, interesting updates in the social-verse. Get your mind on track to blaze through this. Focus intently on only creating new content. Be interesting and have a strategy for each of your online accounts. Twitter is stream of consciousness. Facebook is like talking one on one with a group of friends. Blogs relate interesting stories and adventures. By focusing solely on creating, you can reduce the amount of time you spend online. Facebook update? Done. Next. Twitter update. Done. Next. Once you’ve mastered your routine and reduce the time engagement, you can then consider doing more, a little at a time. Tweet 4 times a day. Facebook updates twice a day.

(See below on “Batching” on how to create multiple updates in only one sitting.)

5. Expand
Reach out for new people to follow, but intelligently. Find someone new that adds value to your online experience. A new, potential fan that likes your music. A blog that covers your band’s type of music. Seek out those that you can interact with. Just blindly adding everything on Twitter isn’t the goal. Finding someone who would be into your music is. Seeing updates that let you know what’s going on in your community is. Add another local band and see how they are using social media. Slowly grow your online reach. Grow it in a valuable way that enriches your band’s online presence. It’s not a number game, but a quality game. Don’t spend hours hunting down new people. Just add one or two at a time. Limit your hunt to a few minutes.

To continue reading click here.

How to make it in the music business.

The music business is very complex. Whether you’re a musician or a songwriter, you must equip yourself with various tools if you want to survive. How do you get your foot into such a saturated music industry? I present you with a few tips. Music business tips.

#1: Create a niche market for your music.
You must decide between competing against the big boys in the music industry and creating a new market for your music. Many musicians become successful by channeling their focus to a new market. Instead of ‘fighting’ to get a piece of the existing music marketing pie, they venture out to make the pie bigger. They focus on niche markets which their competitors have neglected or have not considered. The children’s music market is one example of such a niche market. It all depends on your individual situation.

#2: You must have a plan of action.
If you don’t have a sense of direction, you will not make it in the music business. Producers, managers, record companies, booking agents and publishers like to work with artists who have their career goals clearly established. They may not work with you if you don’t fit that criterion. You have to take that first step before anybody can help you. If you have no career goals, you will never know whether or not you’re making progress.

#3: Make an excellent first impression.Whenever you present yourself or your product to someone, you should make an excellent first impression. You will never get another chance to do that. An initial impression can mean a contract, a contact, or sadly, the door. You want the best, so give out your best. A first impression could either make you or break you. Set a foundation for further success and progress in the music industry, by creating an overwhelming and compelling first impression.

For more details click here.

Announcing Max 6 and New Pricing!

Powerful and Flexible Tools for Media
Cycling ’74 today announced Version 6.0 of its Max media development software. Accompanying this announcement is a retail price reduction for Max, with Jitter now included in all new Max sales.

The new pricing and upcoming update reflect Cycling ’74?s goal to make Max more accessible and easier to learn while continuing to extend the power and capability of the software. Based on extensive research and user feedback, Max 6 will be a milestone in the continuing evolution of Max. New enhancements to Max 6 include extensive user interface improvements, higher-quality audio, extended multi-processor support, organization tools for projects, and improved OpenGL animation and rendering tools.

David Zicarelli, CEO of Cycling ’74, outlined the company’s motivations, noting: “For a lot of people who would love Max, obtaining and learning the software is too much of a challenge, and we’re committed to changing that. Max 6 is the next step in our ongoing effort to increase the accessibility of our software.”

Pricing and Availability
Max version 6 will be available fourth quarter 2011. For owners of Max/MSP 5 and Max/MSP/Jitter 5, the Max 6 upgrade retail price will be $199. Academic discounts will be available. Customers who purchase a new version of Max 5 (including MSP and Jitter) on or after July 12, 2011 will be eligible for a free upgrade to Max 6 when it becomes available. Effective July 12, 2011 the new retail price is $399.
About Cycling ’74

Cycling ’74 creates software for the specialized needs of artists, educators, and researchers working with audio, visual media, and physical computing. The Max visual programming tools serve as the creative engine behind thousands of innovative projects.

More information about Cycling ’74 and its entire product line available at http://www.cycling74.com/products.

How To Start An Internet Radio Station

Starting your own Internet radio station is relatively pain free and inexpensive – with a credit card and dream, you can probably get started tonight. Kudos for finally deciding to take matters into your own hand.

Live365
Live365 is the top Internet radio network of stations, and they offer easy opportunities to become part of their music community. For a low monthly fee, you get 100 MB of space for your MP3s and a fully-featured control panel to manage all aspects of your station. You simply upload your songs and create your playlists. Listeners can then tune-in at their leisure.

The next step up is the Premium Package which gives you the capacity to do live broadcasts. From here, you can add a variety of options, such as more space, the ability for more people to listen to your broadcast at one time, and replays of live broadcasts.

If you think you might want your radio station to generate some cash, Live365 offers a professional package that lets you create your own station identity and launch a radio station directly from your own website. Prices for this vary on the features you require.

The best thing about Live365 is that your monthly fee includes royalty payments, something that can be extremely complicated for a novice. Also, you are never locked into any package you select at Live365, so you can make decisions about where you want your station to go as you become more familiar with the world of radio.

SHOUTcast
SHOUTcast provides a means of starting an online radio station as well, free of charge, though the methods are a little more involved that Live365. First, you will have to either run your own server, as per their direction, or have someone run it for you. Then, you will need to download their Winamp software. Their website can guide you through the process. This is free, but you will need to be comfortable configuring your computer to their guidelines, and you need to consider the question of royalties, should you want your station to be more than a hobby.

To continue reading click here.

Indie Music Band Tips: Finding A Record Label

Finding a record label is crucial in a band’s success. So, you’ve mastered the instrument, written the songs, have stellar music and finally come up with the perfect name. Now the only thing standing between you and quitting the day job is finding the right record label to take your music to the top. Before you max out your credit card buying stamps or get sent to 1,000 junk email folders, remember that there is a method to the madness. Here are a few rules to keep in mind to help your indie band’s demo rise to the top of the pile.

Continue the story by clicking here!

How The Internet Transformed The American Rave Scene

Rave was America’s last great outlaw musical subculture: created by kids, for kids, designed to be impenetrable to adults. American rave formed its own mutant funhouse approach to existing looks, sounds and ideologies. In the early-to-mid-1990s, it was driven not by stars but a sudden collective sense that, as the Milwaukee rave zine Massive put it in every issue above the masthead, “The underground is massive.”

What better place for such a subculture to flourish than on the Internet?

Rave’s rise mirrors the Web’s in many ways. Both mixed rhetorical utopianism with insider snobbery. Both were future-forward “free spaces” with special appeal to geeks and wonks. (It can’t be a coincidence that dance music’s instruments of choice are referred to by their model numbers: 303, 606, 808, 909.) Both took root through the ’80s and emerged in fits and starts through the mid-’90s, at which point both became part of the social fabric. Indeed, one of electronic dance music’s key genres, IDM, was named after an email list devoted to “intelligent dance music.”

“Part of the explosion of the whole electronic music scene has been totally tied to the Internet, and the way we can communicate over vast distances,” says Richie Hawtin, who as Plastikman was an early rave icon.

“The Midwest — and maybe national — scene wouldn’t have become so interconnected without the rise of the Web circa 1994-95,” agrees Matt Massive (born Matt Bonde, though we’ll identify him here by his pen name), the publisher of Massive.

The British started raving before Americans did, but they got the idea in Ibiza. In the summer of 1987, a quartet of English DJs (Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Johnny Walker and Nicky Holloway) vacationed on the Mediterranean island, absorbing both the expansive playing style of one DJ Alfredo — who spun everything from Cyndi Lauper to tracks made in underground electronic scenes in Chicago and Detroit to thousands, seven nights a week — and the readily available drug ecstasy (MDMA). They went back to England and — contra to the ultra-cool style long associated with London clubbing — began emulating the parties they’d witnessed on the island, pushing house and techno as the new sound of the future and ecstasy-fueled bonhomie as the new attitude, creating a communal sensibility that, by 1989, led to raves in fields with more than 10,000 revelers at a time.

In 1989, a popular Brooklyn DJ named Frankie Bones went to England and played a party called Energy, going on at 6 a.m. in front of 25,000 people. Inspired, Bones decided to start throwing parties of his own, bringing raves to the warehouses of Brooklyn. Soon after, scenes in L.A. and San Francisco began to sprout. Once the coasts adapted the new party style, things went inland, as loose regional congregations began to make themselves into a unified scene. Like drops in a pond, eventually their ripples began to touch.

At first, the connections were done the old-fashioned way. “By 1994, there was already kind of an established network of party-throwers and partygoers [in Detroit],” says Rob Theakston, a Detroit rave veteran. “At that point, the scene was maybe 200 kids max. Everything was very phone-based. [You'd] call the phone lines the day of to get directions, and even then, a lot of the direction lines would just give the vicinity because you would already know: ‘Oh, Harper and Van Dyke — that’s the old theater. We know where the party’s going to be.’ They wouldn’t give you the exact address for the authorities to find out.”

Many times, ravers had good reason for such secrecy. “I worked so much overtime trying to talk about how the rave scene wasn’t all about drugs,” says Ariel Meadow Stallings, who published and edited the rave zine Lotus in Seattle during the late ’90s. “It was very noble of me, and I still do believe it wasn’t all about drugs. But it is a drug culture. Even if you’re not on drugs, the culture of the party is determined by the fact that there are people there who are.”

As a style whose digital nature was encoded into its very name, techno is the music of early adopters. Rather than the smoothly homogenous World Wide Web of today, cyberspace was fragmented, and whether you were on Compuserve or AOL, the codes differed. “When [I] first signed up for the Internet in the early ’90s, [I was] assigned a username, by first and last name,” says Richie Hawtin. “Mine was RH199.” Whomever next signed on that shared his initials, then, would be RH200. Presuming that numbering system kept its pace, Hawtin says that today, “a number assigned anyone would be in the millions and billions. Having a two- or three-digit number dates you as early.”

Many early technology adopters became acquainted with bulletin board services (BBS) and proto-instant-messenger services such as V-Rave (the “V” is for “virtual”). “I got involved with BBS back in 1992,” says Stallings. “It wasn’t even the Internet. You were calling someone’s hard drive, essentially, and typing messages back and forth.”

“There was no World Wide Web,” says Cleveland-born techno DJ and producer Jeff Samuel, whose experience typifies a lot of the local-leaning early BBS culture. “I was hanging around on music boards with [early dialup service provider] Prodigy. There was this thing called Cleveland Freenet, by Case Western Reserve University, a private college. Cleveland, of all places, was one of the first places [where] you could do real-time chat. You couldn’t have Joe Schmoe getting on the Internet at that point. It just didn’t happen.”

“I was working in a computer lab all through college,” says Damian Higgins, a.k.a. Dieselboy, one of America’s top drum & bass DJs, who went to school in Pittsburgh from 1990 to 1995. “[In] my spare time, I’d go to the lab. I was addicted to the Internet — like these Korean kids at the 24/7 Internet cafes playing World of Warcraft, that was me talking about music and raves on V-Rave.”

During the mid-’90s, says incoming George Washington University media professor Nikki Usher, “The big shift was [to] smaller [forums]. You had AOL kind of in the background, where you have social networking happening on a big public forum. USENET groups allowed people to build groups around things that were of common interest. In this time, you start to see the smart communities of people who are really interested in tech, and really interested in identity politics. Those are kind of the first groups to come to social media.”

A number of rave-centric mailing lists were a key ingredient in connecting dispersed partiers. In spring of 1992, M.I.T. student John Adams founded NE-Raves, covering the Northeast and/or New England, while at UC Berkeley, Brian Behlendorf began SFRaves through Hyperreal. Within a week of its launch, Behlendorf told Mike Brown in 2000, he “went to a party [he] found out about through the list.” Soon came a succession of lists dedicated to specific cities (313, the Detroit list) and regions: MW-Raves for the Midwest, NW-Raves for the Pacific Northwest.

Early rave thrived on anonymity, from the multiple aliases of a producer like Hawtin — who went, variously, as F.U.S.E., Plastikman, Circuit Breaker, Concept 1 and Xenon — to the white-label 12-inch, a format whose lack of artist or track information gave it a cultish mythos. Information was scarce. “Other than at raves, there was no environment to talk about [the music],” says Samuel, who was active on MW-Raves and PB-CLE-Raves (Pittsburgh-Cleveland). “When someone put out a new mixtape, it was all over the lists.”

“Part of the experience of contextualizing or processing what had happened at that party was sitting down on Monday and typing out my review,” says Stallings. “It was sort of the digital water cooler for the ravers. I stalked people in classes whose name I’d seen on Hyperreal because I knew they were involved in the rave scene. There was definitely a lot of back and forth between the virtual world and the reality of rave.”

“NE-Raves had these get-togethers,” says Higgins. “There was no Facebook or anything nearly like that back then. We’d have getting-together picnics. We were always trying to interact with one another in the real world.”

Of course, there couldn’t be computer-facilitated discussion without some trolls hanging around. Brandon Ivers, who was a drum & bass DJ in the Minneapolis rave scene, recalls of one such list irritant, “It added this kind of anarchistic element,” he says. But they didn’t kick him out. “There was still enough of an ideal of, ‘Why don’t we make this all work?’ and ‘Let’s not censor ourselves.’ The Internet in general at that point [was] influenced by that WELL-style, ’60s-hippie, let-information-be-free type of thing.”

“These were not particularly moderated discussions,” says Usher. “If you recall all the very early worries about AOL, you can have people posing like Internet predators in these chat rooms. These were not really regulated forums.”

Or at least not completely regulated: “I remember talking to the guy who moderated MW-Rave, Chad Sponholz, about it,” says Ivers. “He did take out messages that were blatant drug references. Everyone was convinced that the FBI or whatever was monitoring the mailing lists by ’97. But even before that, [it] was all pretty codified.”

The web had grown rapidly in the mid-’90s — it wasn’t just the province of university students anymore — and raves started showing up on the mainstream’s radar. The U.S. major labels began pushing “electronica” as music that could be consumed in album form by rock fans. It worked, sort of — Prodigy went to #1 with The Fat of the Land — and acts like The Chemical Brothers, Roni Size/Reprazent and Fatboy Slim did well.

Even Barbara Walters took notice. “They call it a rave, and it’s the latest kid craze,” she said on 20/20 in 1997. “Millions of youngsters, as young as age 10, flock to secret locations to party and dance through the night — that’s all night long — often ’till eight or nine in the morning.”

“I think a lot of [paranoia] went with increased media coverage,” says Dan Labovitch, a Chicago teenager during rave’s heyday and the founder of the website Rave Archive. “It wasn’t so much of a feeling within the scene as external pressures. Your parents would [see] some scare news piece [and] be like, ‘Oh, so that’s the stuff you’ve been going to on weekends.’”

But the rave scene also used the Internet to circle the wagons and protect its members from those external pressures. Jeff Samuel recalls the stir caused by one early website. “These email lists were constantly talking about whatever new pill was there that week,” he says. “And quickly there would become these copycat pills. Everybody was trying to figure out, ‘Which one is the real peace-sign ecstasy pill that’s really MDMA?’ The first ecstasy-test website was a huge deal. You could suddenly see photos of the pills: ‘This is the real one, and this is the bunk one that came two weeks later.’ It was pretty beneath the public eye at that point — the Internet alone was beneath the public eye at that point.”

The tone of MW-Raves, says Labovitch, “was very collegial. People were giving each other rides to parties and helping people out. You could be a 16-year-old kid and say, ‘Hey, can somebody pick me up from my parents’ house?’ And somebody would drive out, pick you up from your parents’ house, take you to a party, and return you. There were no thoughts like, ‘Something bad’s going to happen to me.’”

The mailing lists’ emphasis on region — “It was NW-Raves, not Seattle-Raves,” says Stallings — fueled rave’s road-trip culture.

“There weren’t always amazing shows in your city all the time,” says Higgins. “If you were hardcore into hearing cool DJs and acts and music, you had to travel to hear that stuff.”

“Any trip was an excuse to go to a rave,” says Stallings. “Whatever city I was in, a rave was the best way of putting a dipstick into a community. ‘Oh, the German ravers love whistles. They’re breathing through whistles. Everyone has a whistle in their mouth. They won’t stop whistling. Thank god there’s no whistles on the West Coast.’”

It wasn’t just fans who went road-tripping. “A lot of people really built their names and connections by being early adopters — Dieselboy most prominently,” says Massive. “He got a lot of early bookings around the country from the connections he was building on the rave lists.”

“I’d see the post on alt.rave about a party five, six, seven hours away,” explains Higgins. “It’d say, ‘Plus more DJs to be announced.’” That’s when he’d make his move: “I’d call the info line and be like, ‘Hi, I’m Dieselboy from Pittsburgh. I will play for gas money if you book me at your party.’ I was so small-time at the time that no one was going to fly me. So I drove around all over the place. I remember I drove 11 hours to play in Rhode Island.”

Established promoters found the lists useful in other ways. “We were using the Internet in 1994-95 to communicate to our fans in the Midwest about our events,” says Hawtin. “We stopped doing flyers and were able to announce events in the mid and late ’90s one day before — even hours before — and get hundreds [or] thousands of people.”

Not all of those pop-up parties — in a sense, the first flash mobs — were smashing successes. Jeff Samuel recalls a Cleveland party announced the same day online: “They basically piled us into a U-Haul truck, closed the door — we had no idea where we were going. We ended up in some really not-safe warehouse in a really not-safe area. There was broken glass everywhere. There was no heat. It was the middle of winter. They had lined the stairs with candles so that we could see where we were going. I was miserable — it was just freezing. I think I was the only person not on drugs there. They had one kerosene heater. I actually burned a hole through my shoe, getting all the way to my foot, trying to warm my feet up.”

Another victim of questionable raver ethics was the Kinko’s shop near University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where Matt Massive put his zine together.

“We were already figuring out how to rip off Kinko’s,” Massive recalls. “At that time they had those little counter packs, these blue rectangular things, and you could smack it on your knee and it would go back to zero.”

By the end of 1993, Massive hatched a plan to advance his zine’s nascent Internet capability by swiping a pair of then-brand-new Power PC hard drives from the copy chain.

“The computer Massive had was one of those portable SE30 Macs with a tiny monitor and a box,” he says. The Power PC, on the other hand, cost around $8,000. “A lot of stuff back then, we did it because we could,” says Massive. “I’m embarrassed to say it was probably [my idea]. When you’ve got a group of friends, schemes and heists get hatched rather quickly.”

Among the co-schemers: a group of hard-drinking skinheads collectively nicknamed the Pukers. “They weren’t SHARPS [Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice] and they weren’t really racists anymore,” Massive says. “They just really liked being thugs. They really brought a raucous element. We were afraid of them. They’d show up in combat boots. They’d get kicked out [of parties] every night for slam dancing.”

To prepare for the robbery, the Pukers “watched Goodfellas for almost 24 hours straight,” says Massive. “They didn’t get any sleep. They just kept watching Goodfellas over and over and over again to get themselves psyched up for this heist.”

With Massive acting as decoy by making copies — “I was the face, the one the Kinko’s people were on a first-name basis [with]” — the Pukers went upstairs, where the computers were kept, with bolt cutters: “Rather than trying to unscrew the monitor, they just popped the wires, put the [hard drives] under their trench coats, walked out the door to a waiting car, put the computers in the trunk, and drove off.” The monitors were left in place. Massive stayed put until the police were called: “I wasn’t going to sit around and feed the police a story.”

“They were hot,” Massive says of the computers, “but we could use them as leverage for other things.” Massive put his profits from selling the stolen merch into a T-shirt business that he says still thrives. “Massive T-Shirts to this day still makes me money,” he says with an ironic laugh.

With their profits, the Pukers purchased Waterworks, the company that supplied area parties with smart drinks, vitamin- and amino acid-enhanced fruit drinks popular at early raves. Smart drinks may have been nonalcoholic, but not in the hands of a crew of drunk punks. “They had a DJ special,” says Massive. “All the guys who were DJs knew about this — you’d get a smart drink that was 90% vodka.”

The Kinko’s shop shut down within a year of the theft. “You’d think a copy shop a block off of a university would stay open,” says Massive. “Not that we took joy from it, but we felt that we probably had something to do with that. We’d so pilfered the joint that I think they just couldn’t keep that location open.”

In 1995, two audio file-compression systems debuted. Though the MP3 would eventually change the music business (and the world) as we know it, the first format to gain favor — particularly among ravers — was RealAudio.

“RealAudio was the only plug-in that could broadcast live audio,” says Richie Hawtin, who began using it to play audio from his parties live online in 1996. Even bigger, and more consistent, was Beta Lounge, a San Francisco website that streamed live DJ mixes.

It was manna for dance music lovers now hooked into the World Wide Web. “I thought I was in heaven when I found Beta Lounge,” says Jeff Samuel. “I’d sit around listening to mixes. They had great taste. And they presented it pretty professionally.”

DJ and journalist Philip Sherburne, who cut his DJ teeth at Beta Lounge, remembers the site’s HQ in late-’90s tech-bubble San Francisco. “The space was basically a big warehouse,” he says. “There was obviously a lot of processing power going on, and there was often someone in the back fiddling with some obscure black box. Someone from the crew would always get on the mike to announce the DJ, which reinforced the idea of broadcasting out to the world. They were really pioneers of the whole podcast revolution.”

By the end of the’ 90s, when Fatboy Slim’s “Rockafeller Skank” featured in every third movie trailer and U2′s arena-tour opening act was DJ Paul Oakenfold, electronic dance music wasn’t nearly as scarce as it had once been. And the web helped get it up to speed. “It was communicating and reaching out to people who were into what we were doing,” says Richie Hawtin. “The scene on a worldwide level is huge. [But] compared to other scenes, it’s still such a small little microcosm in the world of music and entertainment. So we always, then and now, need to reach out and connect with like-minded individuals and bring them into electronic music.”

Source. npr.com