The Bad News

In my 15 years of making a full-time living in the music world, one thing has become more and more clear to me.  It’s work.  The romantic image of the starving artist or songwriter being so incredibly talented that one day he or she gets “discovered” and becomes rich and famous is a dangerous myth.  I say “dangerous” because the more you as an artist believe it, the less inclined you’ll be to do any work on your own behalf. The gritty reality is that if you don’t do the necessary (and daily) work promoting yourself and your music, it’s highly unlikely anything will ever happen.

The Good News

There has NEVER been a better time to spread the word about yourself and music. The internet, with its downloadable digital music files, social networking sites and countless other advances that we can’t even begin to imagine yet, has leveled the playing field in a way that will make the “work” you have to do infinitely more effective.

Gather Your Fans

The more you can identify and reach out to your fans the better off you’ll be.  Whether it’s your friends on MySpace or Facebook or the email addresses you’ve been collecting at gigs or online, it’s these people who you need to be able to reach effectively to spread the word about what you’re doing.  Treat your list of email addresses like the gold that it is.  It’s these people who will not only consider buying your music when it comes out, but more importantly, will also help spread (”viral” get it?) the word about you and your music.  Once you’ve got a network of fans that you can reach out to, you’ve dramatically increased your potential to spread the word about what you’re doing.

Be Creative

The fact that the playing field has been leveled and almost anyone can get their music out worldwide is both a blessing and a true challenge.  Instead of fans knowing that the local Tower Records is where they should go to find new music, the internet, with its infinite musical venues, has become the new (and overwhelming) place to find what’s new and great.  The more creative you are in your presentation, the more likely a fan of yours will be to forward a YouTube link with your video or any one of a thousand other ways you can create to present yourself and your music.  Again, the plan is that by putting something out there that’s unique enough to rise above the typical internet fare, it will take on a life of its own and appeal not only your current fans but also to new fans in ways you’ve never imagined.

Stay Current

The outlets for music and ways of marketing online change and advance almost hourly.  Taking time out of your day to be aware of the next MySpace, Facebook or Twitter will pay huge dividends going forward.  It’s not enough to find one way of reaching people and stubbornly stick to it.  If that were the case, bands would still be mailing postcards to let people know about their gigs.  Did I just date myself?

Give It Away

Don’t be afraid to give something to get something.  A free download of a song in exchange for an email address is the best deal out there these days.  Make it worth someone’s while to give you his or her email address and you’ll be amazed at what happens.  Let your music speak for itself.  If fans like their free download, there’s a much higher likelihood they’ll come back and buy the rest.  You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to do this either. Take a peek at a simple and effective example by clicking here.

Make Sure Your Music Is Available

I can’t think of anything more depressing than the artist who comes up with an amazing vehicle to promote his or her music, watches it go “viral” and generate huge web traffic to their site only to have nothing readily available for sale.  Don’t expect most people to wait around or check back with iTunes every few days until your music is up.  Make sure that before you go about promoting your music, you’ve taken the necessary steps to insure that if and when people want to buy your music, they can do it easily.  Companies like Tunecore make this essential step both simple and cost effective.  Don’t wait around for people to start asking how they can get your music.  By then, it’s too late.  Do it first.

Trust Me, It’s Real

Be patient. Not every online marketing attempt you make will result in thousands of downloads and new fans.  However, every effort you make to get the word out about your music (even if it’s fifteen minutes a day) becomes part of the bigger picture of reaching new fans.  The more fans you have, the greater the potential for any one thing you do going viral and bringing in not only more fans but income.  All of a sudden your “friends” on MySpace and Facebook just became a whole lot friendlier.  Think of your work as a series of base hits that will get you ready for your shot at a home run.  Good luck!

In this article, I will offer some tips for harnessing the power of MIDI without hindering your creative flow. This is the second article in a two-part series. If you’re new to MIDI and computer recording, check out the first part: MIDI and Songwriting: How it Works, What You Need To Know.

It’s All About the Sound

Part of the beauty of MIDI is it gives you the ability to choose among many different instruments or sounds for each part. These days it’s not uncommon to store gigabytes of instrument samples and synth patches to use in your productions. You might have 100 different Rhodes keyboards, each with a slightly different tone or effect. Maybe you found 500 drum kits to cover all the bases from jazz brushes to booming hip hop beats. You can spend hours or even days sifting through your massive library, previewing sounds until you arrive at the perfect voice for any given part of your song.

Here’s a word of advice. Prioritize your creative process wisely! First spend your time crafting, performing, and recording the musical part in your MIDI sequencer. Later you can spend the time choosing the perfect sound for the output of that part. If you spend too much time picking sounds before you record the part, you risk expending your creative energy and losing your inspiration. Be sure to lay down the goods as soon as inspiration strikes!

Start out by quickly dialing in a sound or instrument that’s along the lines of what you’re going for. A basic grand piano sound, a generic pad synthesizer, a tight drum kit perhaps. Then go wild jamming, crafting, and recording a killer take. Once you’re finished recording the part, go back and choose the perfect voice for your part. A perfectly colored piano, a drum kit with just the right punch, or perhaps a synth that creates the perfect “airy” atmosphere.

The Perfectionist’s Best Friend. Or is it?

MIDI allows you to go back and tweak, fix, re-record, and perfect to your heart’s content. With just a few mouse clicks, you can drag a misplaced note back into place. Perhaps you’d like to adjust the intensity of how you delivered part of a riff. Maybe you need to shorten or extend the length of time your final chord rings out. All of these are easily accomplished using MIDI technology. But that’s just the beginning.

How about when you’re faced with the challenge of performing an extremely fast and complex part but physically you can’t pull it off? MIDI laughs at this challenge! You can slow down the tempo during recording, then speed it back up during playback. Or even record the root notes first, then go back and add the harmonics separately. With MIDI, the recording and editing capabilities are endless. But then you’re faced with that age-old question. When is the song finished?

It’s up to you to hold back. Limit the amount of time spent analyzing, tweaking, and perfecting each note and rhythm. You will do your song a great service by keeping the human element intact.

I’m here to say that quantization is NOT your friend! It’s easy to overuse this seemingly cool feature. Quantization tells the computer to adjust your performance to conform to a strict tempo. Yes, you could vary the degree of quantization, which can be effective. But I say avoid using it altogether. Allowing your own human error to peep through can give you that extra touch of character, soul, and groove. Don’t be afraid to let your song breathe!

In the end, it’s all up to you. Everyone has their own style and process. Over time you will see what works and what doesn’t. Just be sure to take a step back and be aware of how the technological tools at your disposal are enhancing or hindering your creative process.

Brian Casel
Serve The Song

Twitter: @Casjam

It is important to understand the concept of a music supervisor. This person essentially controls what songs are placed in a TV show, film, or commercial. The majority of projects have a budget allotted for licensing music, and the music supervisor is the one who manages this aspect of the budget. The director of the film project may choose “where” the songs are placed, and what type or mood of music is needed. But they usually defer to a music supervisor to sort and find the songs needed for these crucial and incidental scenes in the project. When these songs are finalized, the music supervisor will “clear” them with the performance rights organizations, like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

At the time of this writing, some of the easiest placements are with reality TV shows - famous for low budgets, usually on cable networks. While I personally have a low tolerance for so-called “reality” television, the good news is these “lower end” song placements often result in larger placements in more reputable projects down the line. As with any venture, networking is important. Once your name is used and you can reliably provide music and build a reputation with these music supervisors, the chances are quite good that you will receive additional placements in the future as they move on to other projects.

One of the positive aspects of music licensing is the general nature of music supervisors. A great majority of them actually resist using songs from major label acts. It makes it easier to license, keeps the cost down, and generally there are less hoops to jump through with an artist that isn’t already working with a publishing company. But don’t be alarmed. These music supervisors usually pay fairly and treat the artists well. It’s in their best interests actually.

You do need to be quick on your feet when dealing with licensing for TV or movies. Often they need music in a matter of days - sometimes hours! Other times in post-production they may find they need an instrumental version of your song, or an extended intro, or some other unique twist to your music. You need to be able to turn this around quickly. If you can, and you reliably deliver your edited or remixed works on a consistent basis, music supervisors and directors will love you. This often results in a prolonged relationship as they work on other projects.

Because the performance rights organizations (ASCAP, SESAC, BMI) will be paying you for your song’s usage in film, it is important these songs, titles, etc be registered immediately with them.

In the past (and even now), it has been common for advances to paid against the royalties. In the future it has been predicted these arrangements will be less common and songwriters will have “gratis” licensing opportunities. This basically means you only get paid the performance royalties - not some advance. In the short term that may mean less money, but the revenues over time will equal thousands of dollars. Do the math: dozens or hundreds of song placements with royalties coming in from all those avenues could mean a comfortable passive income for decades.

There are many sites that specialize in licensing music for film and TV. Each one usually has a daily or weekly list of music genres needed for various film/TV projects.

Here are a few:

TAXI

According to their website: “Record companies, publishers, and music supervisors call us directly to find new artists and bands to sign. They also call to find hit songs, instrumentals and tracks for TV and film placements.

“We get the request, then give you the exact details about what type of music they’re shopping for. The company requesting the material remains anonymous (for the time being) to protect them from being bombarded with truckloads of unsolicited material.”

Visit Taxi.com. Also check out their list of Success Stories

Broadjam

Broadjam works closely with film and TV music supervisors, advertisers and other industry professionals to bring music opportunities to you. Explore the projects that need music, and submit your best songs.

Visit Broadjam.com. Also check out their list of Success Stories.

Pump Audio

This is a newer venture by Getty Images, the famous image licensing company. According to TechCrunch, “Pump Audio’s catalog of music from 20,000 independent artists can be licensed for the Web, TV, or radio. Customers range from major TV shows like The Colbert Report to advertising agencies and podcasters.”
Visit Pump Audio.

Movies and TV aren’t the only place your songs can be placed. Video game music is another lucrative area - and we’re not just talking rock legends on Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Check out Phil Roberson’s take on composing video game music.

2008 was another great year for Broadjam artists, with dozens of members landing multiple licensing deals by submitting to Broadjam Opportunities. This week we’d like to share a few of the highlights from the past year. If you’d like to be the next artist to land a licensing deal through Broadjam, check out the latest Opportunities.

• Red Room Music Composition is Peter Aitken, a composer and producer based in the UK. Peter Aitken and vocalist Jessica Martin wrote the song “Go Wild” for the Wilderness Waterpark Resort. The song is currently featured in a video on the Wilderness Waterpark Resort website – check it out here.
• Complex from (Halflip) submitted two of his songs, “Stomp Out” and “Back Up”, to a Broadjam Opportunity and they were both used in a documentary called “First Wave” that was aired on national cable TV. The documentary made its broadcast debut on Thursday, April 24th at 4 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, seen in more than 30 million homes nationwide!
• Broadjam member Michael Brandmeier submitted his song “Returning Home” using Broadjam Opportunities and it was featured in the indie film by Cold Spark Films, “The Adventures of Foodboy” starring Lucas Grabeel of High School Musical. Michael also submitted his song, “Falling Up,” to Broadjam Opportunities and it was licensed for use in several different MTV shows, a reality series on Lifetime and a show on the Oxygen Network.

The point of Broadjam’s list of successes is to prove they do get songs placed. You can check out the latest placement opportunities and more success stories at Broadjam.

Musician Birthdays Today
Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy Division) is 53. Country singer Patty Loveless is 52. Rock singer Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) is 49. Country singer Deana Carter is 43. Rock musician Benjamin Darvill (Crash Test Dummies) is 42.

Rock Songwriter Delaney Bramlett Dies
Singer-songwriter-producer Delaney Bramlett, who penned such classic rock songs as “Let it Rain” and worked with musicians George Harrison and Eric Clapton, has died. He was 69. He is perhaps best known for standards such as “Superstar,” co-written with Leon Russell, which was recorded by Usher, Luther Vandross, Bette Midler, The Carpenters and most recently, Sonic Youth, in a version featured on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack of the movie “Juno.” [Full Article]

Do You Use The “Sensitive Female Chord Progression”?
So what is the Sensitive Female Chord Progression, exactly? It’s simple enough for the music theory-inclined: vi-IV-I-V. No good? Well, for a song in the key of A minor, it would be Am-F-C-G. Still confused? Here’s an easy way to see if a song uses the chord progression: Just sing Osborne’s lyrics, “What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us?” over the suspect four chords. If it fits, you’ve just spotted one in the wild. Once you’re attuned to it, you’ll hear it everywhere. [Full Article]

Toby Keith Got Into Songwriting To Pick Up Girls
Toby Keith is the first to admit that he got into songwriting to pick up girls. He says when he was 15 he went over to a buddy’s house to listen to him play some songs he wrote. Keith told Esquire magazine there was “a bunch of girls sitting around just swooning.” He said he “could tell they were just average songs,” and he couldn’t understand what the girls were freaking out about. Then he realized that “it was about the act of creation.The girls thought they could see into his heart and soul,” so Keith started writing songs himself. In another section he also says he’s always “just one good idea away from a great song.” [Full Article]

My 2009 Songwriting Resolutions

• Song quota. I will write at least four songs per month in their entirety and record them.
• CD. Complete strangers are asking me for copies of my CD’s - of which I have none. I will complete an EP of my half-dozen original songs for distribution and sale at shows.

Now it’s your turn! Out of ideas? Here are a few resolution ideas to get 2009 started right - whether you have songs or not:

Ideas for Resolution … If You DON’T Have Songs

• Crank out songs. Jonathan Coulton’s Thing A Week Project and Ari Hests 52 Project. These guys put out a song a week. It helped their songwriting immensely. The group Bishop Allen put out an EP every month for a year. Think you could do something similar?
• February Album Writing Month (FAWM.ORG). This project that happens February of every year
• Collaborate. Kompoz, Jam Junky, Songfight.org, and others provide opportunities for you to get together with other songwriters regardless of geographic location. Give it a shot!

Ideas For Resolutions … If You DO Have Songs

• Record songwriting demos. Contributing author Cliff Goldmacher has written some phenomenal articles for Blogging Muses offering real world tips on demo recording and the strategies you should employ.
• Play out live more. Test your songs at open mics. Try an open mic tour. Get some other musicians together and put together some live song arrangements.
• Host a SongPull. Songpull.com has some great tools and exposure opportunities for those of you looking to network and share songs.
• Enter a songwriting contest. While winning a songwriting contest doesn’t necessarily validate you as a songwriter, it is a tremendous opportunity for networking and exposure.
• Selling Songs. TAXI, Broadjam and others offer channels where they match your songs with the needs of filmmakers, ad agencies, and soundtracks.
• Get your songs up on iTunes. Tunecore is currently making it possible to get your songs on iTunes for under $25. How cool is that? It involves some paperwork and jumping through a few hoops, but it’s a New Year. Make the resolution!

One of the latest to put this method of songwriting to work for them is Ari Hest, who we’ve covered from time to time - including the interesting thing he did when he was dropped from his record label - Apple’s Garageband saved his life.

On the “52 Project” web page, Ari writes:

“When I got out of my record deal this past summer, I decided it was time to try something a little different. It feels great to be an independent artist again, and I’m more inspired than ever to write and record. I was looking for a new way to present my music.

“So my manager and I came up with the idea of a project which we’re calling “52″. Starting January 7th, 2008, I’ll be releasing one new, original song every week for a year through a new ‘52′ website.”

If you’ve done the math, you’ll realize Ari is in the home stretch  of his 52-week project. Each week Ari releases a new song in good quality mp3’s (128kbps), high quality mp3’s (32kbps), and lossless .flac files.

Once ‘52′ is complete, Hest will invite fans to choose their 12 favorite tracks…those songs will then be remastered and released as Ari Hest’s next studio CD, in early ‘09. Until then, Hest remains on tour, with upcoming dates to include Solana Beach/San Diego, Los Angeles, Vienna Va, Portland and Seattle. (Source: AllAboutJazz)

It’s not a free project. It does require a subscription to the 52 Project. Potential members can subscribe at any number of levels on the 52 Week Project Subscription page, starting at $20.

As Jonathan Coulton, Ari Hest, Bishop Allen, and others have shown, adding these hard deadlines (or constraints) has strengthened their songwriting in ways they never imagined. There is also a book based on adding constraints to your songwriting, titled “The Frustrated Songwriter’s Handbook“.

Like Ari mentioned in the quote above, the exercise in constrained songwriting made him write songs from the gut, as opposed to over thinking the concept and execution - which often results in a songwriter getting nothing done.

Most important, the question should be asked - Has this project helped Ari grow as a songwriter? In an recent interview, he discusses this very subject:

“I think my instincts are getting better. I used to spend a lot more time rewriting material because the first thing that came out was usually missing something, but knowing I don’t have a lot of time to rethink or expand on it has made me hypercritical of my initial ideas. As a result I’ve tossed a few ideas along the way that weren’t as well thought out.” (Source: Metromix)

Give it a try. Next week we’ll be releasing a “2009 Songwriting Resolutions” article, and perhaps with the New Year many of us songwriters will add some constraints to our songwriting and get some songs done.

How to setup a songwriting group
Andrea Stolpe at Berklee Music Blogs has another great post. Most importantly - don’t get discouraged if it takes awhile to build up: “Have fun with your group, and try not to get too discouraged when folks come and go. Know that for awhile you might be the core of the group and the most committed to seeing results. You also might provide the inspiration and discipline others need to recognize their potential for writing songs.”
[Full Article]

Titans Kerry Collins looking to write a hit country song
His attempts at traditional country songwriting, however, aren’t looking like a laughing matter. On Tuesday, Collins established a music publishing company, Blue Q Music, and he is teaming with respected artist manager Stuart Dill, who has worked with the well-known likes of Freddy Fender, The Wreckers and Jo Dee Messina. Collins signed with performance rights organization BMI and recently attended its annual country music awards dinner.
[Full Article]

Coldplay responds to Satriani plagiarism allegations
Last week we covered the Coldplay-Satriani plagiarism accusations. Coldplay responds on their website: “With the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, we have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to his allegations. If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him. Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song Viva La Vida. We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours. Coldplay.”
[Full Article]

Reuters reports that on Thursday Joe Satriani filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the British rock quartet Coldplay, contending that the Coldplay song “Viva la Vida” makes use of “substantial original portions” of his composition “If I Could Fly,” an instrumental track. The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, seeks a jury trial, damages and any profits Coldplay gained from the song. On Wednesday, “Viva la Vida” was nominated for Grammy Awards for song of the year and record of the year.

Last year James Blunt plagiarism and Avril Lavigne plagiarism were big news items in the songwriting world. This year it looks like Coldplay gets the media coverage as rip-off artists. Is it deserved?

First listen to the songs being compared. Coldplay’s song is “Viva La Vida”, and Joe Satriani’s is “If I Could Fly” off the album.

In my opinion the chord progression is very common, and you can’t copyright chord progressions anyways. The melody - which is going to be the bone of contention - is subject to scrutiny.

But even then, the melody basically follows the chord progression. It’s not a unique melody by any means.

Coldplay itself is a derivative band. Many of Coldplay’s songs sound like U2 throwaway songs. Others sound like Radiohead cast-offs. So the fact they are being accused of “deriving” a song from another is not surprising.

In fact, the melody in question is so boring and uninteresting that another band called “Creaky Boards” has accused Coldplay of ripping THEM off in the very same song “Viva La Vida”. Check THIS out: (thanks Jose)

In spite of the unimaginative melody, I predict Joe Satriani will win this lawsuit. I don’t think it will be solely based on the melody either. I think THAT melody over an identical chord progression AND tempo will seal Coldplay’s fate.

Update: Via comments below, Jose shares Coldplay’s admission of plagiarism in the past in this article.

In this day and age however, it will not put Coldplay in the poor house. Superstar bands these days always carry plagiarism insurance - like Avril Lavigne through legal agencies Robertson Taylor in the UK and others.

I’m sure Coldplay is no exception.

Do you think Joe Satriani will win this lawsuit? Or am I on crack?

How is your website?
Smashing Magazine examines the Top 40 music acts in the United States and their websites:

While each artist or band may have a different approach with their website, there are certainly some common goals. Typically a band’s website serves as a home for fans to come and get any information they want, such as a bio, discography, and perhaps some lyrics. Most importantly, the site also helps the growth of the band by promoting upcoming tour dates and selling CDs, downloads, and merchandise.

In addition to providing information and selling products, the website is also an increasingly important factor in branding the artist or band. You can usually get an idea of the style of music based on the style of the website’s design. When new visitors arrive at the site they should get an idea of what the band is like very quickly. [Read More]

Berklee Music Blogs: Using Imagery In Songs

When we’re writing with imagery, we can keep coming back to specific moments to generate song material. I suggest trying to get specific as often as possible, considering the location and then describing taste, touch, sight, smell, sound, and movement. Don’t be afraid of becoming too detailed. As you rewrite, it will be much easier to pull back into generic thoughts and feelings than to become more detailed where you’ve only skimmed the surface. Finding that balance between imagery and thoughts/feelings takes some skill that you’ll develop over time working with these tools. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how many ideas you have, and how you can capture the listener’s attention with more intensity as you work imagery into your songs.
[Read More]