28 posts tagged “music”

Music is a hard business, and it's getting harder every day.  Very few people will make it in music, and the competition is fierce.  So what sets you apart from the competition?  Except in rare circumstances, I believe the ultimate deciding factor is persistence: the main difference between successful and failed musicians is that the successful ones did not quit and were able to outlast their competitors.  The one thing I've heard repeatedly from music industry people is: If you want to make it in music, don't give up.

I often read Tim Ferriss' blog.  Tim is the author of The 4-Hour Workweek, and a guest lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Princeton University.  Independent musicians are essentially entrepreneurs, and so much of the same advice applies to both.

Today I read a post on Tim's blog entitled The Prescription for Self-Doubt: Watch This Video.  Here's an excerpt from the post, which I recommend reading in full:

Business icons, superstar professional athletes, billionaires — it doesn’t matter how rich or how accomplished — I’ve had them all tell me the same thing…
There are moments when you feel the world is too much. Days and even weeks when you want to (or perhaps do) pull up the covers and half-sleep in bed until nightfall, avoiding a feeling of hopelessness that seems insurmountable. Long-awaited deals fall through without warning, haters attack you without reason or fact, circumstances turn good decisions into awful realities — sometimes it just feels like the deck is stacked against you and there is nothing you can do about it.

Have you felt that way?  Has the music business provided you with tremendous ups and soul-crushing downs?  You are not alone. 

But will you quit?

Modern independent musicians have more tools available to them than ever to make music, and get it out to the public.  For a little bit of money, anyone make a reasonably good recording.  Once you have songs recorded, it's even easier to distribute them to the public.  Given the size and diversity of the online community of music lovers, it's no surprise that almost all artists can find some people who like their stuff.  But what if that's not enough for you?  What if you want music to go beyond a hobby, and reach more than a handful of fans?

If you want your music to have the widest possible appeal, your songs must be really strong, melodically and structurally.  If you want to catch the ears of labels, publishers, radio program directors, or anyone else in the mainstream music industry, your songs must be well-written and tightly arranged, and they must be undeniable.

My good friend Michelle McAfee helps artists who need advice and an honest opinion about their music.  She has worked as a staff writer at Warner Chappell, she has been through the major label machine as an artist, and she now works in A&R.  People in the industry trust her opinions about music, because she knows what labels and publishers are looking for.  She knows the mainstream music industry as well as, or better than, anyone I know.

Michelle has recently started offering her consulting services to independent musicians, and I want to spread the word.  She hasn't asked me to do this, I'm not getting paid, and I'm not one to endorse something or someone I'm not passionate about.  If you want to work with her, be prepared for honest opinions and constructive criticism.  And if you take her advice, your music and your chances in the music business will improve.

If you're interested, please contact mcafee.michelle@gmail.com

I'd like to wish everyone a very happy new year!  I hope that 2008 will be a fantastic year for all of us.

Here are a couple of rock tunes that I wrote and demo'd up just before Christmas.  One is called Contagious and the other is called A Picture of You.  I don't sing the lead on either as these tunes aren't the kind of stuff I do as an artist, and I don't think my voice would necessarily do them justice.  I'd love to hear what you think of them!

A Picture of You Final

Contagious Final

1 comment

Hey all,

If you've already voted for me, thanks very much!  If not, now is the time to go to Slicethepie.com and cast your vote.  It could be the deciding factor in whether or not I win the showcase, and receive 15K to record a new album!  Here's the latest news from Slicethepie:

"We've got a real battle going on this week - Shortwave Fade overtook Freddy last night and there are now only a few votes between them. Current share of the vote is split as follows: 24% - 23%."

Now, more than ever, I need your vote to win!

Thanks for your support,

Freddy

I consider myself to be an independent artist.  I have my own record label.  I record my own music with my friends. I write the songs, finance the recording, pressing, graphic design, promotion, etc. by myself, with my own funds.  No one calls the shots but me.  The closest I ever got to a deal was a distribution agreement with a small label here in Canada, for Canadian retail, to capitalize on the promotion which I had paid for myself.  I run my own sites, myspace, blogs, etc.  I am a solo artist, not a band, and I don't play every instrument, and so I need to hire musicians to play for me both live and in the studio.  Fortunately, I have some very talented friends who help to keep the costs down.  I am also extremely fortunate to have some very dedicated family, friends and fans who support me tremendously.  I have been working for years to get my music out to the people.  I love making music and wouldn't dream of doing anything else.  I want the recordings that I put out to be as professional and polished as they can be, and I want the songs to move people and be catchy.  It's a fantastic job!  Though the pay could be better... :)

Am I indie?

Fantastic news!  I've made it to the final 14 out of 1,

Freddy2samplesm

This Thursday, I'm heading to LA for the TAXI Road Rally.  For those of you who don't know what TAXI is, here's an excerpt from their website:

What Is TAXI?
We're the world's leading Independent Artist & Repertoire Company. As a matter of fact, we invented independent A&R more than a decade ago. Since 1992, TAXI has specialized in giving artists, bands, and songwriters real access to the people in the music business who have the power to sign deals.

The Music Industry Comes To Us To Find You
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.

Every year, they put on a huge, free conference for their members called the Road Rally.  I went a few years ago and made some contacts, but nothing really came from it.  But it's free, and I like to go to California in November to escape the early stages of the Canadian winter.  If any of my fellow voxers will be there, let me know, and we can meet up for a drink.  I'm going to try and make the most of it this time; meeting people, networking, getting my new album out there.  I'll let you know all about it once I get back.

The other day I was at my parents' house for dinner, and we were talking about my music career.  My new album, Doublespeak, is soon to be released, so we're all very excited.  Anyway, we started talking about my very first recording that I did when I was a little kid.  It's a cover of Bob Seger's Old Time Rock and Roll done at one of those 'mall studios' that were popular for awhile, at least here in Canada.  It has always been a bit of a joke in my family, because I mispronounce the word reminisce as remin-siss.  In fact, at my cousin's wedding, I ran into my aunt and uncle who I've not seen in ears, and that was one of the first things they brought up.  Since I started making proper records, I think the joke has intensified.

I've always had a mix of embarrassment and pride about my version of Old Time Rock and Roll.  I still cringe every time I hear remin-siss, but otherwise I thought I didn't do too bad, especially seeing as I was 9, with no vocal training, and in the studio for the first time.  I was reading the lyrics from a sheet, and I wasn't really familiar with the song.  Plus, I was only allowed one take.  Special thanks to the recording engineer who neglected to stop me and tell me that the word isn't remin-siss.  Maybe I ought to have known it would go poorly when I began the first line: Just take those old records off the shelf/I'll sit and listen to them by the self.  So I thought it would be a good idea to share it with the world, and in doing so, purge myself of the embarrassment.  Here it is:

Old Time Rock n' Roll

The other day, I went to the new Julie Taymor movie Across The Universe, starring Jim Sturgess and Marilyn Manson's girlfriend, Evan Rachel Wood.  I am a huge Beatles fan, and I was really looking forward to seeing this film.  I wasn't disappointed.  The story line was basic, and what I expected, but the real stars of the show are, of course, the songs.  I thought the songs were done very well, as they should be, given that the producers of the soundtrack are T-Bone Burnett, Elliot Goldenthal and Teese Gohl.  But as I sat and watched and listened, the lead vocals started to grate on my nerves.  In the cinema, they are so up-front as to be in one's face, and the use of autotune (by which I mean the pitch correction software used by the producers, and not necessarily the Antares product) was so glaringly obvious that it became distracting to me.  I realize that pitch-corrected vocals are ubiquitous and have become what people expect of pop music these days, but I felt it robbed the vocals of their character.  The voices began to sound like funky clarinets, gurgling from one note to the next.  The harmonies sounded like unison synth parts.  I've heard no word on whether the cast can actually sing, so perhaps the use was entirely necessary.  The video of the cast's appearance on Oprah has been removed from YouTube, but you can still see them do their thing live on Good Morning America.

But is it really live?  Now the use of pitch correction has made its way into live performances.  For a particularly dismal example, check out Billy Joel's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl.  It sounds to me as if the sound man set it to the wrong key.  So we know that pitch correction is widely in use at live performances by huge-name acts; does it make a difference to the audience?

I suppose I must be on a musical kick, because when I was recently in Toronto, I decided to take in a showing of the Queen/Ben Elton musical, We Will Rock You.  It was nothing short of breathtaking.  The young stars sang so beautifully and perfectly, and the music was so well done that I was nearly moved to tears.  I emerged from the show feeling uplifted and possibly even euphoric.  But, somewhere deep in my mind, I couldn't help but wonder if the cast members had been aided by live pitch correction.  I voiced my concern to my companion who told me that, f she learned that had been the case, she would be extremely disappointed.  Obviously it matters to her.  Maybe it matters to me as well.  I want to believe that they were simply that good, but I'll never know for sure.  It's not like it is performance-enhancing drugs; there won't be an autotune test that the performers have to pass.  And I wonder, should live autotune be considered the steroids of the music world?  Or is it nothing to be concerned about?

Over the past number of years I have learned more and more about studio recording, and in particular, the wonders of autotune.  I firmly believe that it is a technology sufficiently advanced as to be indistinguishable from magic.  If I were to tell my non-musician friends about the things that can be done with pitch correction, or indeed with music editing software, they would surely find it difficult to believe.  It would be even harder to convince them that live pitch correction is commonly in use.  In fact, I believe many people who willing accept its use in the studio would be put off by its use in a live setting.  They might feel like they had been duped.  And maybe we have been.

I want to start an 'Autotune Project'.  I want to get my hands on the masters from classic acts of the past and apply pitch correction to see what it does to the character of the song and the vocal.  Can you imagine 'Satisfaction' with it?  Or 'Stairway to Heaven'?  'Strawberry Fields'?  Feel free to substitute any one of your favourite classic tunes.  I'm sure it would not sound right, much like when they do it to Bono.  But these days, it has probably gone too far.  People are so used to it, they will not settle for less than perfect pitch.  If you heard Maroon 5's Adam Levine without it, you might not even recognize his voice.  And he is but one example.  Perhaps you've even used it in your own recordings.

And I still bought the soundtrack.

I've recently completed my second album, Doublespeak, and I'm getting ready to release it.  When I released my first album, Things You Never Thought I'd Say, I was entirely new to the music business, and I had absolutely no idea what to do.  You would think that, by now, I would be better prepared to do it all over again with the new disc, but the truth is that I don't feel very well prepared.  I've learned so much in between albums, and I feel like I'm applying that knowledge to my pursuit of a music career, but the specifics of releasing and promoting an album just don't feel really clear to me.  I know that it is not only preferable, but necessary to have a plan of attack.  So I am setting out to formulate one.  I am not currently supported by a label so, like many of you, I am doing it myself.  Here's my list so far in no order of priority or importance:

1. Prepare a new press kit that shares design cues with my new album.  Update the bio and the fact sheet to reflect my latest accomplishments.  Press a demo with the 4 songs from the album that will captivate the intended recipient (this may change according to the target).  Incorporate photos from my latest photo shoot.

2.  Have the new album pressed and ready to go, with UPC.  Decide on distribution method - CDBaby is an obvious one for me.  Last.fm, Indie Pool here in Canada, etc.

3. Create a press release, both electronic and paper, to announce the new album to media outlets and interested parties.

4.  Plan a CD release party.

5.  Notify the local media of the impending release and party.  Send advance copies of the album.  Secure a spot on local Breakfast Television.

6.  Approach local 'zines for possibility of feature and promotional giveaway.

7. Speak to radio promoter about flogging a single or four to radio.

8.  Plan a tour in support (not as easy as it sounds).

9.  Find angel investor to fund music video and tour.  Or devise a brilliant viral video and get famous on YouTube.

10.  Attend the TAXI Road Rally and sell myself to the industry folks in attendance.

11.  Try to secure some new film/TV placements for songs from the new album.

12.  ?

Have any of you released your own album?  What things have you found useful or wasteful?  If you have any advice on making a splash or creating a buzz, I'd love to hear it.