The New World of Music Marketing

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Social media is the stepping stone for music marketing. Musicians who are successful have a marketing plan in place. Social media presence is just a tip and stepping stone to the over all music marketing plan.

Musicians Resources Blog has a great free ebook which consists of 96 pages of great music industry know how, and its completely free. Check out their post "Music Marketing: 20 Things You Should Know".

Another interesting book to look at would be "Music Marketing: Press, Promotion, Distribution, and Retail".

The book retails for approximately $17, its a great investment for any musician, and well worth reading, just for the industry knowledge.

The more you know about your industry, the better prepared you are to conquer it.
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Defining What Is Music Publishing?

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In most cases, music publishers will make an agreement with song writers to purchase the various copyrights  to their songs in exchange for promoting the song to the recording industry, as well as video and television entertainment venues.  They may offer a small up front advance on royalty earnings to the writer.  Most generally, the music publisher will enter this arrangement with the contracted terms that they will be entitled to a 50/50 share of any future royalties earned from the song they are promoting.  The music publisher is then responsible for promoting the song, keeping track of where the song is used and collecting the royalty payments for its use.  Once any advance money paid to the writer has been recouped, the publishing company is also responsible for disbursing the writers portion of the royalty payments to them.

Thanks to the U.S. system of copyright law, there are several venues of music publishing so your music publisher may be able to sell your song multiple times to increase earning capacity.  While there are many copyrights involved in music publishing, there are four main categories that music publishers are concerned with:  Mechanical, Print, Synchronization and Transcription.

To facilitate accounting and make it possible for your song to be used over a much wider scope, the music publisher will register your song with one of the three performing rights organizations (also called PRO's in the United States):   American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), or Society of European State Authors and Composers (SESAC).

The performing rights organizations are responsible for tracking the Mechanical copyright usage of your music in radio or television, businesses background music, night clubs or by bands performing your song at a club.  The performance royalties that are paid for this use are negotiated by the PRO's by setting up blanket contracts with the various users of your song to pay a set amount as a performance royalty and then using research combined with an algorithm to determine the most probable amount of usage for your song or music.  The publishing company  and the writer are then issued checks for their portion of the performance royalties earned by the song as was outlined when they registered with the PRO.

All other granted copyrights are controlled by the music publisher and those wishing to negotiate royalty prices for their usage must contract them through the music publisher who is paid directly and then pays the songs creator.
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Start A Gospel Record Label

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Establishing your own gospel record label may be easier than you ever dreamed.  The definition of a record label is an entity that records and produces media in the form of CD's or other recording formats.  When your band creates its first CD and successfully sells at least one copy, then you have become the minimalist form of a record label.  But what if you want to take the whole process a bit farther?  Following the simple advice in this article can put you in competition with the big label giants faster than you could imagine.

Choosing the right name is important, especially for a gospel record label.  Independent gospel record labels are recognized by their names and some of the more successful labels state exactly what the intent of the music produced by the label is.  One successful independent gospel record label is Redeemed Soul.  With a catchy name that drives right to the point, there is no doubt in the music fans mind about what type of music will be on the recordings of this company.  Similar independent gospel record labels like Christian Records and Bought Records have seen similar success.

Once you have the name for your gospel recording label, you need to make it official.  File the proper paperwork in your state for a Fictitious Name statement or Doing Business As statement.  This little bit of paperwork is going to do several things to help you along the road to successfully owning an independent gospel record label.  First, it makes the identity yours so no one can come in and take it from you.  
It also gives you the ability to accept payments in your record labels name, meaning increased credibility in the music recording world.  Additionally, having an official name for your recording label will open many doors to furthering your labels success.
 
Beware of accidentally breaking the law.  We all get excited when we enter into a new project and starting ones own gospel recording label is no different.  Unfortunately, you might wind up paying some hefty fines if you don't take the time to learn the local laws for your area.  You may be required to obtain a business license, a retailers license and a tax ID number.  If you are required to have these things and you are operating your recording label without them, you may be in for some terrible heartaches.  Being charged with tax evasion or other crimes looks bad for any record label but it could be sudden death to an independent gospel recording label.

Now that you have a name, the know how and the legal issues all tied up, you can begin the fun part of owning your own independent gospel recording label.  This is the point where you need to promote your label, sign new talent and collect the profits of your labor.  Promoting your label both online and in the real world is an absolute necessity to see success as a record label owner.  Luckily, much of the time you spend promoting your label can also be combined with the time you spend looking for new talent.  Visit local churches that have praise groups or choirs.  Mention that you have a gospel recording label that is looking for new talent.  Many times, the members of the church  praise group are musicians looking to advance in their music careers by finding a recording label.  Sign a beloved musician from a local church to your gospel recording label and you can bet that the folks who come on Sunday morning to listen to her sing will be the same folks who buy her first CD released on your label.  By visiting several local congregations, you can quickly expand both your talent base and your customer base over the course of a few weeks time.
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Vocal Chords Strengthening Exercises

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Vocal chords strengthening exercises let us take good care of a very important part of our body - the vocal chords. Vocal chords are very important because it play a very important role in our lives. We use it all the time, everyday, to express ourselves' communication. Some use this as their way of living such as singers, barkers, TV or radio host, call center agents and many other occupations that makes use of the voice most of the time. Therefore, it is very important to maintain and strengthen our vocal chords.

First off, you need to use the appropriate vocal chords strengthening exercises suited to the size of your vocal chords. How do we determine the size? Thick vocal chords produces lower, richer sounding voice while thin vocal chords tends to produce higher pitched sound. The size of your vocal chords is permanent, thus what's more important is to enhance its performance through appropriate vocal chords strengthening exercises.

Vocal chord stretching is one effective vocal chord strengthening exercise. This will help improve vibration of the vocal chords when we sing or speak. The degree of vibration and the quality of the sound produce depends on degree of stretching it. Your voice power depends on how you control the tightness of your vocal chords.

Another technique is controlling the amount of air while singing. It is not enough to sing, sing and sing, music experts believed that vocal chords strengthening exercises can help a lot in order for your to sing like a pro. Air control while the vocal chords are vibrating to produce sound is one effective vocal chord strengthening exercise.

The next vocal chord strengthening exercise includes exercising also the tongue. A French scientist believed that the hypo-glossus muscle in the tongue plays a vital part to produce power in the voice and the vocal chords. To exercise the tongue muscle, you need to first relax it flat in the mouth. Then start to roll both sides towards the center of the tongue so that it creates a passage or groove in the middle. The strength of the vocal chord is believed to be influenced by this movement.

These are only the basic vocal chords strengthening exercises. There are a lot of exercises available which suit every voice range. Music experts and music trainers are always the best resources. They can assist to improve your singing or speaking voice through vocal chords strengthening exercises. In fact, you can enroll in formal classes for vocal chords exercises.

Another source are DVDs or VCDs that you can always play in your own home at your convenient time. Also, you can find some vocal chords strengthening exercises in the Internet. As said, there are a lot of ways if you really want to improve your voice. Just like the body, it needs an appropriate exercise to remain healthy. Our vocal chords need the appropriate vocal chord strengthening exercises to function efficiently.

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Music MP3 Format

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The MP3 file is one of the most popular ways to store music on computers and portable audio players today. The main reason MP3 became popular was because it compressed large audio files into much smaller sized files and still had good sound quality. But another advantage of MP3 files is that there are many software programs available that allow you to edit the sound and remove unwanted noises like pops and scratches. Editing software can also be used to adjust the overall sound level of an audio file.



Free MP3 Music Downloads are great for new Artists and Groups who are relatively unknown. File sharing has actually made some Groups very big, and many Artists do not mind providing their Music for Free. Look on some of the big Artist's Websites, you will no doubt find some links to some Free Content. Artists don't mind giving you a glimpse at their work in the hope that you'll buy the complete Album.

The equations and algorithms used in the MP3 format are similar to that used in JPG when compressing photographs. If you notice, a JPG photo is not quite the same as that of the original. You notice some blurred or darkened parts, blotches, and some minor flaws that are too small to be noticed by the casual observer. This is the effect of file compression.

There are mp3 music download sites that offer a limited number of music downloads while others let you download unlimited number of music files. These options have totally revolutionized the way mp3 downloads are handled. These days, music download sites offer more than just music. You can find movies in just about every category, TV shows, software programs, games, and more. Go ahead and burn files to a CD or DVD and create your own music library to include all your favorites.

TidySongs is a great overall program that can help manage music fast. You won't have to painstakingly go through your digital collection and compare it to what's found online, you'll simply click a few icons, run the program and you'll have your media safe and sound. Imagine the freedom you will have when you can transfer all your music to your mp3 player and find the song you want, on the fly because the music tags or in order.

Nowadays, some music stores have taken the level of competition a bit further by offering monthly or even yearly memberships. Several offer a limited number of music MP3 downloads while others let you download unlimited number of music MP3 files. This move has totally revolutionized the way music downloads are previously handled. Needless to say, when you can access millions of music MP3 downloads for a small one-time fee, you would be downloading music online whenever you are free.

Matador is one great place to find music MP3s from popular Indie groups as well as other music genres. This site allos you to download free and totally legal music files from groups like Spoon, Stephen Malkmus, Guided By Voices and so on. All you ever need to do is to drop by at their free MP3 music online page to download the music pieces.

It is possible to use your TV as a display screen for menus and playback information. You can also download movies and pictures to watch when and where you want. Some have the capability to record and playback messages. Another amazing advantage is that you can store you music in one place and various MP3 players in the home can access the collection.
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Home Music Recording - 7 Common Mistakes

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0369 With the developments in technology today, it has been easier than ever to ditch the expensive recording studio, and record high quality music right at home. Unfortunately, many who choose to make music at home make many amateur mistakes that lower the quality of their music. Below are a couple of important tips of how to avoid the 5 most common mistakes in home recording.

 

1.) Be aware of your room- The room that you are recording will have a major effect on how your recording sounds. You will want to record in a room that does not create lots of echoes. Hint: your living room is much better than the garage.

2.) Don't overdo you mixing - many amateur recorders tend to get really crazy with the signal processing, this especially applies when it comes to the effects. Start off slow and build from there, to many effects typically annoy the general listening artist.

3.) Watch those gain levels - When you record make sure you are not recording to high or low with your gain levels. It will be much more difficult later, when mixing, to control the quality of the sound input. Typically, gain levels between 45-60% are appropriate.

4.) You are only as strong as your weakest component - Remember you will want to use or rent better quality equipment for recording. After all, how good would a Paul Reed Smith guitar sound coming out of a Crate practice amp? (the answer is not very good). Make sure your equipment can create and make the sounds you want.

5.) Tune your Instruments Perfectly - Most artists who come to you will not have any idea how important perfect tuning is. Have a high grade instrument tuner handy to make sure all your instruments are in good working order.

6.) Use that metronome - Get a metronome, or at least make sure if you are recording live drums that they have one! It is important to keep you music at a consistent tempo when recording with multiple tracks. If you do not follow the beat and tempo perfectly, it will be hard for later musicians to contribute their parts after your record yours.

7.) Have patience - When you are recording, you will want to fly through each different instrument and each different track. Recording is an art form and it takes time and patience to get everything sounding perfect. Remember you can fix a mistake once it is burned to disc. So take your time, make it perfect and enjoy yourself.

MusicProducerInfo.com is loaded with information on recording music, audio mastering, making beats or being a music producer. Take advantage of this great resource with articles, tools and recommendations to further your music production skills. Visit http://musicproducerinfo.com/home-music-recording for information.

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Recording Studio Headphones

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Recording studio headphones of varying quality are available for vocalists and instrumental musicians to clearly hear themselves while they produce their best performances. In addition, recording producers need a clear reproduction of sound to be able to effectively mix recordings. But what do you need to consider before purchasing recording studio headphones?

shure-srh-440-studio-headphones-t First you need to be clear about why you need them. Do you only intend to use them to mix recordings or do you want your vocalists and musicians to hear themselves? If the headphones are for you alone then go for the best you can afford. If they are for your musician guests then ideally also provide them with great quality headphones. However, it rather depends on how much your guests are likely to mistreat the headphones and how much of your budget you are prepared to put aside to replace any broken ones. If you are on a tight budget then either buy them some less expensive headphones or encourage your guests to bring in their own recording studio headphones for their recording session.

Wireless headphones are not recommended for monitoring your recordings. Similarly noise cancelling headphones are not generally endorsed - you need to know in detail exactly what is being recorded. Also the majority of producers consider it sensible to mix using the output from monitors rather than headphones.

Any recording studio headphones you buy need to be within your overall budget. They also need to be comfortable to wear because you and your musician guests are likely to use them for long periods of time. They should be padded well so that the sound produced via the headphones does not include sounds from elsewhere. This is especially important if they are being used by a producer who is in the same room as the musicians. Similarly, performers using recording studio headphones should be able to concentrate on the sounds emitted through the headphones rather than being distracted and disturbed by other external sounds.

You should expect your headphones to provide a true, clean and flawless reproduction of sound. They should also have a good frequency range so that the bass and treble responses provide an excellent sound quality. Your headphones should be durable and light weight. An adjustable headband is also particularly convenient. Headphones can be sealed cup or open ended but sealed is generally better for recording and monitoring purposes. Whatever your decision, it is recommended that you only go to well respected manufacturers when you want to purchase recording studio headphones.

For even more information on choosing Recording Studio Headphones visit http://recordingstudiosetup.com/recording-studio-equipment/recommended-recording-studio-equipment/recording-studio-headphones

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Music Producers Handbook