How To Get More Fans Online

Since the transition to digital all kinds of music is widely available and it has become really hard to separate yourself from the pack. With how easy it is to find music on the Internet today how do you separate yourself from the rest?  One major game changer is to have a strong online presence and following.
You must create a site for your self, a blog where you can let people know what you think, and a fan page just to get started. It is very important to constantly stay on top, responding to people comments and questions. When people realize they can connect with you and get to know you a little better, it helps establish a stronger fan base.  If you have access to a camera it is greatly beneficial to record some video of yourself and place it on YouTube for promotional purposes. Make a short intro telling a little about your self and why you are in this industry. Let people know what your believes are and what you hope to achieve through your art. The more content that is out there for people to see the more likely it is for people to like something and connect with you.
 Keep your fans interested and up to date with information on upcoming events that they can attend or a twitter where they can follow your moves and know what you are up to.  If you keep persistent with your fans they will respond and your fan base will grow. Having links to your music on everything you do online is also a must. People can find your work from all kinds of different relocations on the internet and you want to make sure that no matter what site takes the consumer to you, there should always be a link to let the consumer access your work. Using these simple tips you can start building and connecting with your fans right away.

How To Distributing Your Music

The music industry is changing and is not what it was twenty years ago. In the traditional industry in order to get your music out to the public it was a long road of agents and labels.  You had to find a talent agent to shop your work to the major labels in hopes that they might like it and decide to market and distribute the work. The chances were far and few since not everyone knew an agent that had connections to get their work on the labels desk.
This has all changed since we transitioned into digital and it is now possible to completely bypass the major labels. Thanks to new technology like iTunes, amazonMP3, and Spotify to mention a few, the way consumers purchase their content is now mostly digital. This allows us to put our music on cloud hosting and make it widely available to anyone in the world. Instead of relying on major labels to distribute out music, it is now available on all major download sites and can be purchased by just about anyone. Site like cdbaby.com and tunecore.com are making it very easy for anyone to self-release their music with out the need of a major label.
If you have copyright protection on your work you can use one of these sites to help place your music in all the major distribution points across the Internet. Now all your fans can go online find your work and buy it with the ease of a click. The best part is that you get to keep almost all the money on sales of your work. Where in a deal with a major label you will only receive fractions of what your music is selling. The industry is changing for the better, and the sooner artist find out how to release and distribute their own work the better off the industry will be. 

Interview with Brad Schram

I had the pleasure of speaking with Bradley Schram whom is an attorney in the general Detroit area. During our conversation we spoke about zoning and running a small business out of a home. I started by asking Bradley if I wanted to run my business from home, what is best way to go about it? He first stated that in order to be able to have a home business you must first check in with the homeowners association to make sure you have permission to do so. Once you are clear from your HOA Bradley then mention you have to go to you local state office and register the type of business you are looking to open.
Those are the first two basic steps to securing a business at home. I then asked him if my HOA will not allow me to operate from home is there any way it is still possible? This can make or break some small businesses that do not know the law. You can create a business under another address and do operation out of your home. For instance if I purchased a office downtown and registered my business there, I could still keep inventory at my home. We then spoke about what is the next step once you have your business registered.
He advised once you know what you would like to call your company to apply for a federal trademark and have protection of your name. I asked him why not a state trademark to find out since my business will have heavy internet marketing and music sales across state lines it is important to have a federal mark to protect you. In all I learned almost anyone can open their own business with a little knowledge on trademarks and your local city law. Once your business is registered and trademarked you are ready to compete with any business in the nation and the possibilities are endless.

Label Liabilities

There are many branches and division that fall under a recording label. Recording, legal distribution, and marketing are just a few of the perks that a record label can help the artist out with. After reading several articles about liabilities a label can face, it leaves one to contemplate the legal team that works for these labels. The Wallace Collins article raises an excellent point about lost or stolen recordings, and who is liable for them. Once a master recording is made, it is the final copy of the artist work. Countless hours have been spent into the creation of the music so now that it printed down, it is imperative to have back-ups and to know where your master actually is. Placing a price on music that never hit the airwave can be complicated since you cannot prove that these tracks were not going to be the next hottest tracks. Major record labels have a system in place to prevent these events from occurring but smaller label do not. Another big liability that needs to be addressed is the actions of employees signed under the label. In Birdmans case a woman is suing for sexual assault in the studio. The owners of the label may not have committed the assault, but they are still liable for their employees action under their roof. This is a massive reputation buster and someone has to be held liable. Knowing you employees and having good insurance is a good start to protect yourself from incidents like this one.  One of the most important parts of having a label is the band or artist you will be signing. There are many places a label can be held liable and the artist are no exception. “One Direction” a boy band that was signed by Simon Cowell under his Syco Entertainment label is now being sued for using a bands name that already exists. Due to the nature of the beast a label is responsible for its artist and their image.  Research must be done to know that you are not infringing on others rights. These are just a few liabilities a label can face and if your thinking about starting a label, these situations should all be kept in mind.

Interview With Rudolph Zwaans

I was fortunate enough to get to meet Mr. Rudoplh Zwaans who is a recording engineer and music producer right here in Orlando, FL. Mr. Zwaans is best know for his one of a kind music and raging live shows in the downtown area.  I was able to sit with Rudolph and have a discussion about the entertainment industry. The first topic we discussed was his process of getting live shows and how he gets what he fells like he deserved. One very important point he mentioned when selling yourself is to show how you can benefit others. Instead of focusing on your strengths and all that you are good at, he mentioned to try and focus on how you can help others. This demonstrates your skills and at the same time shows how beneficial it can be to have you around. It is very important to keep a good image of yourself and a clean reputation. We then continued to talk about getting the money you are asking for. The best way he descried it was you “will only make as much as you think your worth”. This theory is a little different due to it has no solid supporting facts, but there is still lots of truth told. In order to get a larger payday you have to sell yourself as a very valuable asset. If you come into a negotiation with only half your confidence then you will not show your value and you will not be rewarded. If you show how much of a crowd pleaser you are then your value just skyrocketed, as did your pay. Last we discussed the matter of ethics in a negotiation. Rudoplh mentioned how important it is to always keep your composure and never let your opponent see your weakness. If you let emotions into a deal the oppositions can read you easier and exploit your weaknesses. To sum it all up when entering a negotiation one should be prepared with background of the opposition, have confidence in oneself and be able to show the value you are bringing to the table and how it can benefit others. If you can demonstrate these values you should have a much easier time in your future negotiations. 

Information about the Industry

After listening to several podcast about the entertainment industry I found some very important information one should be aware off. One of the important things mentioned in the Trademark Productions podcast is how to avoid having your business hacked into and have your information stolen. They mention how hackers protect their identify by hiding their IP using proxy servers to avoid having information tracked back to them. This can be used in reverse to your advantage and help you protect your files from the hackers. You can block your IP and use FTP severs to transmit files over the Internet with almost no trace. This is very important when sending highly confidential information that you don’t want anyone to see. Another great point was mention in the Employment Law podcast, which talked about having to sign contracts that have provisions. Some very important points mentioned include, know why the provision is being made, know what was the original contract and know what has been changed from it. You should never sign any contract unless you fully understand all of the terms. The last podcast interviews recording artist Moby about the future of the music business. He has several interesting points about the industry including how he feels record labels are doing more to keep people from listening to music instead of promoting it. This may sound crazy but there is a lot of truth behind this statement. He mentions how Labels need full control of to music to such and extent that if a radio stations play a song at a time not mentioned by the label they go and send cease and desist letter to the station. Music has become primarily digital and the record labels are at a constant fight against piracy. They used to be the primary source where consumers would get their music from but now with the Internet they are loosing the battle. It is important to know how to protect yourself from hackers but it is also as importance to know where to industry is headed so you don’t get left behind.

AKG C414 Review

The AKG C414 is one of the most popular, and easily recognizable, large-diaphragm condenser microphones used in the studio and for live recording. Designed to handle a wide range of recording situations, the unique sound and durability of the microphone has made it a standard for decades. Because the pattern switching is electronic, the microphone must be attached to a phantom-power source in order to change patterns. It takes half a second for the new setting to take effect, and the microphone retains it when you turn off the phantom power. You can put it in Lock Mode if you want to disable the onboard controls so the settings won’t get changed accidentally during a session. On the rear of the microphone are three switchable low-cut filters (0, 40, 80, or 160 Hz) and three pre-attenuation pads (0, –6, –12, and –18 dB). The 40 and 80 Hz filters have a 12 dB/octave slope, while the 160 Hz filter’s slope is 6 dB/octave. The C414 XLS can handle SPLs up to 140 dB without the pad engaged, and up to 158 dB with the –18 dB pad. The microphone offers an overall dynamic range of 134 dB. What distinguishes the C414 XLS from earlier models is its potential for handling beefier instruments in more settings. With its extra patterns and ability to handle higher sound pressure levels, the C414 XLS could even be used on a snare drum in a live setting, a fairly non-traditional use for a condenser microphone. I was also able to get a sense of how this model sounds as a room microphone. I set up the C414 XLS about 13 feet away from my acoustic guitar while I close captured the instrument with a small-diaphragm condenser. The added ambience of the room captured by the C414 XLS was a nice addition to the mono track, with the slightly out-of-phase signals merging to create stereo-like depth when panned slightly off center. The C414 XLS was one of the best sounding microphones I’ve used for this test. AKG knows not to mess with a good thing, and they’ve definitely maintained the classic sound of the C414 in the C414 XLS. With the addition of four intermediate polar patterns, the company has increased the microphones versatility, making this an attractive microphone for studios in need of a top-notch, multipurpose condenser. I would rate this Microphone a 4.5 out of 5 and recommend it to anyone that has the budget to afford it.