Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

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Promote Your Music Band Yourself By Increasing MySpace Plays And Get More Fans, Gigs, And Get Signed

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
Clive Calvin asked:


Having a consistent and deliberate music promotional and marketing campaign is probably the most important thing you can do to increase the odds of your band or artist being recognized and successful.

Myspace music promotion and online music marketing is the key to any band and artists success. If your looking to promote your band or artist and get your Myspace music player to have a higher song play count and major label type music promotion you have many more opportunities available today than could of been imagined just a few years ago.

Increase your myspace song plays and views using a do it yourself Myspace Plays increaser software to have total control of your music promotion for your band or artist.

If you’re an artist or band, music promotion is a area of you must focus on.

Creating great music is crucial, but the music business is just that… a “business”. The competion for potential fans is greater today than ever before. Promotion is the key to the success of any aspiring artist or band.

Talent will get you noticed, but promotion is what sells CD’s, digital downloads, gets you loyal fans and gets people to your shows.

Hiring a professional promoter can help jump-start your career. There are also services like TuneBoom Pro that will handle certain key areas such as Myspace Promotion. This is perfect as you might find taking care of your own promotion does not leave you enough time to actually be the artist. And for those that do have the time they even offer software to help you do it yourself.

Whether you use a myspace plays and views increaser software or a service to do it for you make sure that they have many “promotion packages” for aspiring indie artists and also experience working with many major artist’s, labels and managers.

if you’ve already recorded your music and offer your music as a digital download or CD, and if you’re ready to perform live on a regular basis it is crucial that you take a proactive role in your music promotion. Use them to increase and get more myspace music and video plays and promote your page so new fans will find you.

How do you get exposure to the largest audience on a reasonable budget? Myspace music promotion is the most effective tool a band can use to get a viral buzz started. By building up your Fans/Friends and having a active Myspace music player you will have a greater chance of getting noticed and standing out from the crowd.

It is important that potential fans and important music executives and venue booking agents do not come to your page and see a low myspace music player play count or they will get the impression that you do not have many fans and that you are not marketable.

Also make sure to keep all your fans informed of your performance schedule and other band info by using the “bulletin” feature and the section to post your upcoming shows.

This is a exciting time for the indie artist and band. You now have the exact same tools available to you that the todays top artist and major labels use..In fact by using TuneBoom Pro you are using the same service and company they use and they also offer new affordable promotional packages.

Get your artist and band noticed now by using these exciting proven promotional strategies and packages.

Things to look for in any myspace music plays and views increaser software or music promotional service include get myspace plays, get more plays, myspace music player, Increase myspace music plays, increase myspace plays, myspace friend adder, increase myspace plays, Band Promotion, Myspace Promotion, Promote my band, myspace mp3 increase, mp3 plays, Boost Myspace music plays, Get more Play.

If you focus on achieving all the above you will have a strong opportunity to get more fans to notice you as well and venues to book you and important music executives and insiders. If your looking to get attention and get noticed and signed by a record label these strategies are your tools to getting you to stand out.



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Music Contracts and Clauses

Sunday, August 9th, 2009
Ty Cohen asked:


There is no perfect music contract for every single situation. First and foremost, it is important that you have a wide variety of music contracts to choose from and that you and all parties involved understand the content within each specific music contract. There are hundreds and hundreds of music contract clauses to pick from but we are going to review some of the standards that should always be included. If need be, you can add clauses or take away where is needed.

1. Clearly define the time, date, amount of compensation of performance and have a signature from both parties.

2. Precisely define the expectations of the performance. What do you expect and what does the performer expect? How many breaks? How long should the minimum performance be?

3. Set the location, date and time. This is obvious but necessary so everyone is on the same page.

4. Payment. How will the parties be paid? Is it a fixed amount, percentage of door? When will the artist be paid? What is the method of payment? This is a crucial part of a music contract because after all, money can cause people to become angry if the terms are not unmistakably defined.

5. Identify who has the recording, reproduction, transmission and photography rights in the music contract.

6. A merchandise clause is always essential. Some venue have different terms for the sale of merchandise so this needs to be revised to match the venue they will be performing at.

7. If the gig is out of town, you need to define who will cover the cost of meals, transportation and lodging.

8. In a music contract, sound and production, how and who needs to be stated. Do you provide or do you allow your artist or band to choose who?

9. Acts of God are often mentioned to protect everyone involved. This includes weather and/or illnesses.

10. What if there is a cancellation? How will it be handled? Will there be a penalty? Cancellation policies need to be clearly defined in all music contracts.

11. Depending on the performer, royalties and licenses is a clause that needs to be added, especially if the work is copyrighted.

12. Next, in music contracts any specific requirements or restrictions directed toward the performer needs to be undoubtedly stated. Dress, language, smoking, drinking or anything along those lines.

13. If there is an agent involved their terms need to be included as well. What kind of compensation do they receive? Do they have any sort of obligations?

14. Finally, a clause for insurance and security should be written. Who provides or should have what?

Obviously, there are many more types of clauses that can be included in music contracts. These are your very basic but should always be included in your basic music contract. It is up to you to decide which clauses apply to each situation. But as long as everyone is clear on all terms then your music contract will be fair and of high-quality.



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How to Become a Singer and What You Can Do Today to Make it Happen

Sunday, August 9th, 2009
Gemma King asked:


So, here’s the main problem

When people decide they want to become a singer is that they simply don’t know what to do next. Even if you have the talent to be the next big star, getting noticed by a record company, or anyone in the music industry can be tough! Many wanna-be singers don’t have the ‘inside information’, or contacts that are needed to ‘make it big’ in the music industry even though they know they have the talent to go all the way!

Don’t let your dreams pass you by

Most people sadly let their dreams of stardom pass them by without ever doing anything positive or constructive in order to achieve their goals and end up regretting later in life! It’s so easy to get caught up in the corporate ‘9 to 5′ grind that dominates the modern world and miss out on doing what you really want to do. If you truly want to be a singer, believe in yourself and make that promise to yourself now that you will go for it. You will need to take positive steps, and the first positive step I want you to make is to read this entire article. I promise you won’t regret it!

First, I want to examine the top 3 ways in which many talented (and some not so talented) people, try, and fail to get noticed every year…

American Idol / X-Factor…

There can be only one American Idol / X-factor winner every year, and there are only a few people who have ever had a career longer than 1 year even after winning the competition. The person who came second is instantly forgotten. So if you are serious about a career in the music industry then you won’t want to rely on TV competitions to be your only way of getting noticed.

Demos that just get thrown away…

You can always send of stacks of demos to record companies and other people in the industry, but since everyone’s personal computer is capable of producing a ‘demo’ these days there is no real value in a demo these days. How is your demo going to stand out from the pile that these companies receive every single day? The reality is that most demos go straight in the bin when they haven’t even been listened to! Is it really worth spending lots of money on recording your demo when very few people will listen to it?

Auditions where you don’t get a chance to show your talent…

You could always go to auditions, however you are rarely given an opportunity to showcase your talent, as a judgement is made about your looks as soon as you walk in the door. Even if you are clearly the most talented singer on the day, if your look isn’t exactly what they are looking then you will be unsuccessful. These endless chain of auditions can get pretty disheartening after a while, and if you don’t live near a major city (and I mean New York, London or Los Angeles), it can get pretty costly to attend these auditions.

The thing is that record companies ARE always looking for the next big artist to come along, as this means lots of money for you and for them.

The problem is how do you get out there and get noticed…?

Imagine this…

You come off stage one evening, and one of the audience comes up to you and says, “Hi, my brother works as a manager for “some famous band” and he’s always telling me to look out for new acts that he might be able to manage. When I heard you start singing I just knew I had to tell him about you, so I phoned him up and let him listen to you sing, and he’s asked me to give you his number, can you call him tomorrow?”

So you gladly accept this number and call this guys brother up. You arrange to send off the demo you recorded a few weeks earlier when a couple of musicians who had seen you performing wrote some songs for you because they thought you were great! Your demo is now not getting thrown in the bin at the record company, but being passed around the bosses who want to see you perform.

You then get invited to perform for these record company bosses, and because you’re an experienced and confident performer, you give the show of your life and before you know it you have a record contract.

It’s all about making contacts…

Ok, so you’re probably thinking ‘that all sounds a bit too easy’ or ‘but surely it doesn’t happen like that in the real world’. Well, I’m 24 years old, and I’ve been a professional solo singer since I was 20, and I’m currently in negotiations with a company regarding my first album release. I’ve been offered three record deals in the past however I’ve ultimately turned them down due to artistic differences. However, all the contacts I’ve made over the last 4 years have come from being out there performing. I’ve met other singers, songwriters, agents, managers and like in the example I’ve used above, family members of major recording industry managers.

Now you can choose one of three paths…

You can do nothing about your dream, and look back in 20 years and ask yourself why you didn’t go for it when you had the opportunity!

You can take your chance applying for TV shows, attending auditions and sending off demos. But you know the reasons why these methods rarely work, even for the most talented singers.

You can put yourself out there on stage and perform, get yourself noticed, build up your contacts in the industry and make things happen for yourself.

Get out there and people WILL listen to you!

So I really hope you’ve gone for 3. Now make the decision to make it happen! What is stopping you?

‘I can’t just give up work, I need the money?’ - Of course you shouldn’t give up work. You can sing as much as your voice can handle or as little as you need to to fulfil other commitments you have! Oh, and you’ll probably find the extra cash handy too!

I’m still at school, aren’t I too young?’ - No way! School is a great place to do musical stuff. It’ll be really easy to get a band together and there will be plenty of places that you can play!

There are loads of ways to get yourself out there and work as a singer, I started out doing just a couple of gigs a month while I was working during the day, although after 3 months I was earning nearly twice as much from singing as I was from my day job, so I quit! Now, I spend my Monday mornings having a nice long lie in, rather than stuck in traffic!

People LOVE musical entertainment, here are just a few examples of place you can play!

Bars Hotels Casinos Corporate Events Weddings, Birthdays and other private parties Live Entertainment Venues

The list goes on…

There are also endless possibilities when it comes to your act…

A Solo Singer Part of a Duo Vocal Group Full Backing Band

You are really only limited by your imagination…

There is ALWAYS work out there for good singers!

The thing is that there are lots of people who are very average singers out there who earn a good amount of cash from singing like this…and the people who pay these people are fed up of paying for average singers and are willing and eager to pay great money to hire great singers like you!

There are loads of ways to get out there and make money but there is more to it than just going into your local live music venue and asking to sing! In the box below I’ll be looking at some of the things you’ll need to have thought about before you head out there on stage!

Here are some things you’ll need to consider…

Will you be a solo singer or a band? - It can be easier starting out as part of a band, but being a soloist also has some major advantages? Of course you can always do both!! What kind of music will you sing? - You can pretty much sing whatever type of music you want. But you’ll need to think about what type of music your audience will want to hear! Your first gig - an exciting and nerve-wracking occasion…and you’ll want to make it go right, how will you go about this? What kind of equipment will you need and how will you use it? - At a very basic level you need to know a bit about microphones and what is the right way to sing through a microphone…its very different to singing without one!!! How will you put your set together? - You can just go out there and sing your songs in a random order, but you’ll stun audiences if you take the time and put it together properly! How will you find work? - You’ll want to find an agent, and there are agents out there who will want you on their book, trust me! What venues will you be working in? - As a singer you will need to approach different venues slightly differently.

So there you go…just a few things to think about. Of course there are other things, rehearsals, what to wear, promotional photographs etc…

Unfortunately, most people just go out there and don’t even think about half the stuff that I’ve talked about, and end up giving pretty bad, poorly presented shows. Trust me, I often work with other singers and the vast majority of them are simply not very good! These singers quickly get themselves a bad reputation, get fewer gigs, and less money as a result. It’s a real shame when people who have great voices and fantastic potential fail to think about these easy to avoid problems, and basically destroy their singing careers before they even start!

Of course this can all be avoided!

In my spare time I work as a vocal coach, and I often get asked by my students how to go about starting a career in singing. I decided to write a series of articles. These proved very popular, and so I decided to expand them, add some new chapters and turn them into a website. So check out www.becomeasinger.net

Thanks for reading,

Gemma King



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Get the Most Out of Goal Setting In Your Music Career

Friday, August 7th, 2009
Ty Cohen asked:


As you may know by now, goal setting for your music industry career might be one of the best steps you ever take. Some people love planning and some people dread it but regardless of which category you fall into, you want to make the most out of it.

1. First, come to a conclusion about what it is that you want. You obviously have to know your goal before you accomplish it. Do you have a clear idea of what you’re going after? Hazy concepts about some day succeeding in the music industry or with your independent music can lead to useless actions. Detail your goal, such as, I want to meet X number of music contacts this month.

2.Then, write all these down. Don’t let them float aimlessly around your head. If you put them in writing, you are more likely to commit to them. If you want to meet 10 music contacts or book 3 gigs then write precisely that.

3.Don’t underestimate the power of a deadline. Deadlines have a way of motivating people to get it done. Setting time limits for yourself and your advancement in the music industry is an awesome way to make yourself achieve them.

4.Here’s the fun part! Write down what you will achieve from these goals. Will you turn a bigger profit from the sale of your independent music? Will you meet more people and end up socializing more? What will you gain from these goals?

5.Anticipate or plan for setbacks. Hey, we would never learn from our mistakes if we never failed. There will always be bumps in any road in the music industry. Whether it be unreturned calls from music contacts, rearranged schedules, mistakes at a show, it doesn’t matter. Pick up, move on and learn a lesson.

6.Identify people or things that can help you achieve your goals. Think about it, club agents, bookers, managers, media outlets, artists etc…The music industry is all about who knows who and who can help who so don’t be afraid to use these music contacts to accomplish your goals.

7.Once you have written all this down, the make a small list of your preliminary goals. For example, if your goal is go get your independent music heard then the first thing you would need to do is get the songs ready and get them recorded. Schedule time at a studio. Whatever the small steps are, get them out of the way first.

Now, you have made your list so you should have a clear and precise idea of where you are and where you want to go. You know how to get there and who can help you. Now all you have to do is take action. Get your independent music heard or meet some awesome music contacts. Where ever you believe you need to be, get there!



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Your Life is Music

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
Olivier Detraz asked:


You made up your mind and decided to start a career in music. Congratulations! One realizes quickly that it is a challenge and the paycheck is not as regular with respect to other institutional jobs. Nevertheless my cousin is a violinist. He lived in Marseille, France last spring. One day he came back walking from the luthier, a maker of stringed instrument, who repaired his violin. He started playing on the street nearby the “Vieux-Port” area (the old harbor) just to test his violin sound. He did not pay attention of the few bars and the people around and soon realized he had money on his violin case. He stayed there for a few hours just for fun. He soon realized he could make a living. He could earn from one hundred-fifty to two hundred dollars in four hours. His only challenge was to use this money as it was made of all kinds of coins from one cent to fifty cents.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression says the adage. I recently read an article by Shaun Barrowes regarding “Starting Up a New Career in Music” on Ezinearticles website. According to Barrowes, “Getting your music known is absolutely your biggest challenge. First, make sure to get a good recording of your song(s). If you’re really serious about this, pay the money and get a professional recording studio.” You have the opportunity to win the audience and make your music heard. Of course there is a big “fan base for all genres out there” as S. Barrowes said, yet there is a process to follow on the road to your own success. Use the internet to promote yourself.

Again write good songs you might have to brainstorm and research topics and moods for your songs. Clearly define where you are. Paint a picture. Find your own genuine voice. Remember there is no right or wrong at this point.  Your songs are very important and they are a key. In order to work in your album, find the right songs. The right tone should be meticulously chosen.

List all your songs. Pick the best twenty tunes. Ask some musicians, friends, your producer, manager or an agent to grade each song from one to twelve. Add up each grade per song and group them per grade. You might end up with ten groups. Eliminate the last one and rank the best ten songs from the best grade to the least. You might have some challenges as one group might be larger than others. In this case you can reiterate the same process with the specific group with your musician friends in order to be more accurate. Your objective is to select a ten-songs album. You may add up songs later but at least you’ll be able to target a tone.

If you have trouble finding songs sometimes rewriting some lyrics on some melodies can help or even changing a verse or a chorus melody can do. Before starting this process pick your best ideas. Sketch out your lyrics before writing. I think the key is to find a catchy title for your songs. I always think that there are two kinds of songs. The ones we keep for ourselves and the ones we communicate. I would play the most commercial ones just because. But that’s me. Remember that you are trying to sell something to an audience. There is always space for one tune a little less commercial in an album but it has to be well chosen. And it is just one tune. Remember the exception confirms the rule and it can be applied here too. Again this is only my opinion and definitely cannot be taken as a rule.

It takes time to grow from the bottom up so enjoy the process. A little reminder, a good thing to do is to start building your fan base from the very beginning. Write down first and last names. Emails, phone numbers are crucial. You are only as good for promoters as your audience. Keep your listing up to date. From a small stage to a large audience there are many places where you can express yourselves and those people can be anywhere so carry a paper pad or the equivalent to collect this data. We did it and collected one thousand names in about one year as an example and this is only for a small band. Those people spontaneously wanted to give their information to hear more about the band. Of course you can hope to gather fifteen percent of this crowd for an event. That’s a good start.

Good luck and remember to have fun!



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Get Signed And A&R Interest - Get More Myspace Plays To Increase And Boost Myspace Music Marketing

Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Clive Calvin asked:


What does A&R stand for?

A&R is short for Artist & Repertoire. The term originally was used to describe the role of people at record labels who’s job primary role was finding and developing new talent.

This included getting the right material for the artist to perform if they don’t write their own songs, selecting and making the deals for the artist to work with the right producers, songwriters, engineers, studio, etc., deciding which of their songs are the strongest, and overseeing the making of the record.

After the record is completed, the A&R person often is also responsible for getting the other departments such as sales and radio promotion excited about the record so that they do their jobs well.

Today, A&R people seem to concentrate less on developing artists, and often look for artists that have “developed” themselves. A&R people are under pressure to find immediate hits, rather than finding potential hits and developing them.

How do I get my music to an A&R ?

The best way to get your music to an A&R person is to cause them to come to you. Make them notice you. One of the best ways, with the new online strategies availiable is to show them you have lots of fans going to you Myspace page.

They can see this with your Myspace music player and the amount of plays you have. The higher count the more they see you are popular.

Find a good resource is that offers you the same exact strategies to boost you myspace music plays and increase plays just like the major stars of today to get you noticed fast. In fact they probably have worked with many top artists, labels and managers.

And dont forget a large Myspace play count will get booking agents and managers as well to notice you which will allow you to build a fan base through constant touring and relentless self-promotion. With marketing, and selling your own CDs, you have a good chance to show up on the radar. It is much more powerful when they call you rather than you calling them!

Can you get through just cold calling? It would be very tough and unlikely. They get to many artist’s and managers pitching their music and if they stopped for every call they would not have the time to do any other work.

Send an unsolicited demo? It will most likely come back to you. A&R people are busy, and generally listen only to the material that comes to them from a trusted source such as a manager, publisher, or music attorney.

What makes an A&R person want to sign you?

Hit songs and “star” quality. You can increase your odds of getting noticed by doing your own artist development and proving that the public has a strong interest in you.

Let them see that your Myspace music player plays are high. It shows them you have fans that are listening and returning to listen again. It shows them you are popular and stand out from the crowd!

Now you can use the EXACT same strategies the Major labels are using for your promotional campaigns. The playing feel has never been more level for the independent music artist and band as it is now.

Use these strategies to get myspace plays and get more plays on your Myspace music player. If you increase myspace plays, and use other tools like a myspace friend adder you will increase your chances to get noticed now!



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The Future Of The Music Industry And NYLVI - Where Do We Fit In?

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
Thomas Stenumgaard asked:


In this post I’ll explain how we at NYLVI see the future of the music industry, furthermore we will explore how independent artists, bands and labels can benefit from alternative revenue streams in the future.

Technological Change, Formats, Distribution And How to Make a Living

For a long time vinyl was the preferred format for music. However, at some point the CD came along and became the dominating format. But, as is clear, the CD has always been a format based on compromises. It is a digital format, but with limited capability to take advantage of the potential of digital music. At the same time the CD also has the cover art and the liner notes, but smaller than on vinyl, and lacking the charm and sound we like so much about vinyl.

As often happens with things that are stuck in the middle they disappear as technology advances and new and more convenient options become available.

Music as digital files has gradually become the preferred option for many people and the way to make a living from it has been to charge on a file by file basis. However, there is a shift under way towards streaming music.

People will still want to download their music for a few more years, but eventually streaming will be the preferred option, and this will continue to accelerate as especially cell phone Internet connections become more available, speedy and cheaper. There are currently tons of services for streaming music, such as well know players like last.fm, Pandora and Rhapsody, which have deals with labels, and others like Mixwit and The Hype Machine, which do not.

Basically there are two ways of making money from legal streaming services. The first option is from advertising and the other is from subscription. For the services, which do not have deals with labels, and instead rely on streaming files available on the net, one could argue that the payment to the content owner is increased attention, which is an increasingly scarce resource.

Further, some of these services have associate deals with other players, like Amazon and eMusic, such that people will buy the music they like from these in the format they prefer. However, these services, to some extent, still remain controversial.

There is no doubt that the shift to digital music in general has made if more difficult to earn money directly from the music. One could make the argument that piracy is one of the reasons, with people downloading music for free instead of paying for it. However, on the other hand one could argue that the increased availability of music increases people’s interest and that people would not have bought the music anyway.

In our opinion piracy is not the factor leading to reduced revenues, although playing a role as a change agent. The way we see it what is leading to lower revenues is the economics concerned with digital music.

When an artist can record a record, distribute it to a huge number of people and promote it almost for free, this will be reflected in the price one will be able to charge. Meaning that what can be earned from ad and subscription based services is less than it used to be, when buying a CD in a record store or on the Internet was the only option.

The consequence is that in order to make a living players in the music industry will in the future have to rely on alternative ways of making money. Some of these ways are playing more concerts, merchandise, commission based work, vinyl records, and probably many many more, which have not yet been thought of. In effect the role of digital music can, to some extent, be thought of as promotion for these alternative revenue streams.

The Democratization of the Music Industry

The shift to digital music files and streaming has over the last few years lead to a democratization of the music industry. Since it is no longer necessary for an artist to sign a deal with a major label to get his/her music out to a large audience the result is that we experience much more musical diversity. The consequence is that we will see much more variation in music taste.

What has up to this point been labeled as mainstream will gradually vanish and be replaced by a niche driven culture. There will be no next The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Rather we will see a lot of local variation tied to geographical locations or within global networks of people sharing the same music taste. So it will really be all about the edges.

So Where does NYLVI fit In?

The underlying idea behind NYLVI is based on the two aspects described above: The impact of the technological development on format and distribution, the democratization of the music industry and the economics concerned with these two factors. When building a marketplace for buying and selling vinyl records structured after the world’s music scenes in order to support independent artists, labels and record stores this is what we think about.

Vinyl Records

By focusing only on vinyl records we want to support one of the alternative revenue streams artists can make a living from. As we wrote in the last post we believe that vinyl records and digital music is perfectly compatible. Unlike the CD they are located on each end of the scale, and have a distinct set of qualities, which make them preferable.

While writing this post I have been listening to Fleet Foxes on The Hype Machine, where I discovered them, but since I like them a lot I have also bought their record on vinyl. The Hype Machine made it possible for me to discover them, recommend them to my friends and it’s convenient to listen to them while typing on my computer.

However, I will also have a copy of the record on my shelf, be able to appreciate the cover art and look at the liner notes. When I later tonight have friends over we might want to listen to it on vinyl, because it’s a different and more physical experience. Years ahead, although digital music will also be there, I will still be able to take the record out, think about it’s history and maybe at some point pass it on to someone else. And all this has a lot of value to me, which I am more than willing to pay for.

And, I can easily be charged a certain price for it because of the limited availability and the costs involved in making and distributing it.

The World’s Music Scenes

By structuring the marketplace after the world’s music scenes, meaning both geographical scenes and scenes based on musical preferences, we want to take into consideration the trend towards a niche driven culture. We believe the geographical part of the scene structure is a great way to make small local variations available to a global audience.

On the other hand technology has made it a lot easier for people, who share the same taste to connect. We therefore hope that the part of the scene structure, which focuses on scenes based on musical preferences, will help people with the same music taste to connect and share, and make the musical innovation within these networks more available to a wider audience.

So that’s what NYLVI is all about. Supporting local independent artist, labels and record stores by making musical innovation available to a global audience on vinyl.



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Band Contracts - Five Steps to Getting Signed

Friday, July 31st, 2009
Veronica Lane asked:


Do you have the music bug in you but do not seem to be getting as nobody seems to giving you a chance? You send your recordings to the bigwigs in the industry but of no avail. Nobody gives you an appointment when you seek one and you are an unknown entity. People you know say it is tough. It has always been tough getting there. However, these are a few steps which will help you. Here is a five step guide to getting Band Contracts

Step # 1: The first step is to choose a career in music. Granted you love music and worked hard, but you need to have that never-say-die attitude when you embark on a career in music. There are different ways to get into music and you need to pick the right music job for yourself. This should hold your interest and keep you going even when you find it tough.

Step # 2: The second step would be to send out a Demo. How will people get to hear you if you don’t send your recordings for demonstrate your prowess.! Learn about different companies in the market. Get to know their policies on receiving demos. Don’t send long recordings. All they want is to assess whether you have that spark in you to make it big. A short demo will be more than enough for them to take that call. Follow up with these companies. After all they are the bigwigs in the industry. Don’t be afraid if they reject you. Keep trying. You’ll soon be seeing those music industry contracts.

Step # 3: The next step would be to find a promoter. Promoters can do a wonderful job. They are the ones who get to work in getting you to perform; they are in charge of the nitty gritty of putting up shows. They are the chaps who can get you publicity. Now that is very important for you, the upcoming artiste.

Step # 4: Step four would be to take charge and promote yourself; you are your best PR person. So if you don’t have the backing of major labels, then don’t worry. You do not have to pay to get PR people to work for you. Just do it yourself. Once you begin to get noticed for your talent, the industry big wigs will approach you with music industry contracts.

Step # 5: The next step would be getting you an agent. Agents are guys who can make you a success in the music world. They are the ones who get in touch with promoters, arrange shows, the payments and all the logistics associated with getting shows to be a success. Your agent will also be largely responsible in getting you those Band Contracts  after all they do know the right people.

While these are just a few steps to help you make it in the music industry, do not ever loose heart. There will be a big break coming your way some time. After all, all our famous artists achieved fame only after facing disappointment. So stay put and work hard.



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Flamenco – Passion and Expression in Spanish Music

Thursday, July 30th, 2009
Mark Buckingham asked:


Flamenco dancing is an expressive form of dance, which has its roots in Andalucia, Spain and more specifically, according to some experts, in Jerez de la Frontera. It originated among Indian gypsies who had arrived and settled in Spain after travelling around Europe in the early part of the 15th century, to later be joined by others who came from North Africa.

The gypsies brought with them their own language, Romano, and an oriental style of music never before heard on the Spanish mainland. As the centuries passed, the cultures of the local population of Jews and later the Moors all had an influence on the gypsy music with elements from their musical styles being incorporated.

From their arrival in Spain, the gypsies were classified as outcasts of society and special laws were made specifically for them. Forced to live in camps as they were not allowed to own any property, many took up work in local mines or in the fields of the region leaving those with any sort of skill to make a slightly better living in work such as blacksmiths and jewellers.

The people were treated badly and the flamenco song (the cante) was initially performed at family gatherings as a way to express feelings of depression and misery. During the early years, flamenco is thought to have been entirely a vocal art form, which was accompanied by the rhythmic clapping of hands.

King Carlos III changed the fortunes of the gypsies in the 18th century when he removed their specific laws and gave them the same rights as other Spanish citizens; however, this did not remove the stigma of mistrust that the Spanish people had of them. Due to their newfound freedom, the gypsies were able to improve their financial status and some of the previously out of reach items such as musical instruments became within their means, hence the arrival of the guitar (el toque) and its addition to the cante.

As the flamenco style of music became more popular near the end of the last century, performers began to appear at parties of the richer members of society with professionals staging the music and dance, the most popular of which were the fandangos, at ‘cafes cantantes’.

The ‘opera flamenca’ period followed as the flamenco gained in popularity and began to appear in theatre stage shows. These, however, tended to focus more on the melodic style of music – cante bonito – which did not express the passion as much as the early gypsy styles.

As the Second World War progressed through Europe there was little prospect of performances on stage, but during the 1950s festivals in Andalucian towns such as Malaga, Jerez and Cordoba rekindled public interest producing a new generation of performers.

The motions and ****** expressions of the female flamenco dancers can be compared to those of Oriental dancers with the only exception being that they are more forceful. Each style of dance uses a handheld musical instrument - the flamenco dancer, castanets and the oriental dancer, finger cymbals – however; the cymbals used in flamenco are not traditional and have only been in use for the last 100 years or so.

The centuries have seen flamenco progress from sombre home songs expressing feelings of hardship to popular stage shows throughout the world that continues to be developed.



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Tori Amos Boys for Pele Rock Music CD Review

Sunday, July 26th, 2009
Clyde Lee Dennis asked:


Tori Amos, the richly talented Rock artist has released her latest CD titled Boys For Pele and Wow! It’s really a good one.

Tori Amos has been a heavy hitter in the Rock genre for quite some time now and Boys For Pele is an excellent illustration as to why.

These days it’s a very rare CD on which every single song is good or better than the one before it. This CD is certainly one of those rare CDs.

I give Boys For Pele my highest recommendation. It just plain belongs in any serious music collectors collection regardless of genre preference.

While this entire CD is outstanding the truly standout tunes are track 7 - Caught A Lite Sneeze, track 16 - In The Springtime Of His Voodoo, and track 18 - Twinkle.

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 - Horses. It’s a great track!

Boys For Pele Release Notes:

Tori Amos originally released Boys For Pele on January 23, 1996 on the Atlantic label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Horses 2. Blood Roses 3. Father Lucifer 4. Professional Widow 5. Mr Zebra 6. Marianne 7. Caught A Lite Sneeze 8. Muhammad My Friend 9. Hey Jupiter 10. Way Down 11. Little Amsterdam 12. Talula - (The Tornado mix) 13. Not The Red Baron 14. Agent Orange 15. Doughnut Song 16. In The Springtime Of His Voodoo 17. Putting The Damage On 18. Twinkle

Personnel: Tori Amos (vocals, harpsichord, piano, harmonium, clavichord); Nancy Shanks (vocals); Steve Caton (acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, guitar, mandolin); The Sinfonia Of London (strings); Michael Deegan, Bernard Quinn (bagpipes); Clarence J. Johnson III (soprano & tenor saxophones); James Watson (trumpet); Tracy Griffin, Brian Graber (flugelhorn); Mark Mullins (trombone); Craig Klein (sousaphone); The Black **** Mills Band (brass); Alan Friedman (organ, programming, sound effects); George Porter, Jr. (bass); Marcel Van Limbeek (church bells); Manu Katche (drums); Mino Cinelu (percussion); Darryl Lewis, Mark Sterling, Marvin Sterling, Sam Berfect, Jack Trimble, James Crawford, Jr., Gus McField, Jr. (background vocals); R.O.B., Marcel.

Principally recorded in Counties Wicklow and Cork, Republic Of Ireland.



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