According to a 2015 Nielsen Report, 2015 was another newsworthy year for the record industry. Not everything was good news, but overall, the demand for music is stronger than ever.
Combined (Physical + Digital) Album Sales Continue to Decline
But When SEA (Streaming Equivalent Albums) Are Factored in, Consumption is Up
Total Digital Consumption Surges 26 percent
2015—The Year of Adele
“25’s sales loomed so large, it represented 3.1 percent of total album sales in 2015,” states a Billboard article from the beginning of 2016. Click below to read it:
Mixing with Avid Pro Tools is just like mixing in any other medium… except when it’s not. This is to say that although the process is in most ways akin to how you’d work with any other storage and signal processing technologies, certain distinctive characteristics of Pro Tools lend themselves to somewhat different approaches than you may have previously encountered—and a few aspects of digital mixing may actually have no precedence in the traditional lexicon of production techniques.
This may sound perfectly reasonable, but entering the world of Pro Tools mixing can quickly become an unexpected and confusing mélange of contradiction, confusion, and outright frustration. Ask 10 engineers how to best go about mixing in the box, and you may get as many differing responses. Worse, it’s likely that much of what you’ll be told will neither be backed up with clear explanations nor hold up to thorough and thoughtful analysis. What’s a budding Pro Tools mixer to do?
The Dark Side of Music Production
The audio industry has always had a murky side to it with regards to matters like sonic quality, preferences about gear, and accepted practices for recording and mixing. Mythology has reigned supreme, and many “truths” are held as gospel for reasons that are largely unclear. An SM-57 is the best snare mic, period. Mixes come out better when monitoring with NS-10s. Analog sounds more natural than digital. Tube mics are superior to all others. Oh, and here’s another for you—the Pro Tools mix bus is inferior to an analog mix bus.
Where do these stories come from? There are no doubt a myriad of sources: the many real, legitimate experiences of intelligent and capable professionals; hasty conclusions based on partial or flawed observations by wide-eyed neophytes hoping to break into the business; a fair amount of marketing hype from audio equipment manufacturers; technical commentary made by individuals with no background to support such statements; years of an industry mindset of some that valued secrecy over sharing for fear of giving away personal tricks and techniques… the list goes on and on. What’s clear from observing these forces at work, and the resulting music industry zeitgeist, is that there’s both good information out there as well as a large number of shady beliefs. For the uninitiated, it’s hard to know what to think.
The whole thing is quite a slippery slope, because the final arbiter is hearing, and there’s no way to measure or compare what different people hear. Furthermore, numerous related factors—often unknown to the listener—might support a different conclusion about the basis of some phenomena that otherwise seems to have a simple explanation. What does it mean if a golden-eared engineer claims to hear a subtle artifact that you do not, and offers an accompanying explanation? It could certainly be that he/she truly has exceptional ears that are “better” (or more finely tuned) than yours, and has built a reasonable analysis from that observation. But it could also mean that he/she thinks there’s something there or wantsto hear it. It could also be that though there’s something going on, the explanation itself is off base. It’s very easy to fool your ears, and just as easy to jump to shaky conclusions even with the best intent.
It’s tempting to offer up the seemingly sage advice to just trust what you hear rather than blindly accept what you’re told. Sounds reasonable, right? But wait—this is exactly the sort of approach that’s caused such rampant confusion in the first place! When it comes to evaluating audio quality and understanding psychoacoustic phenomena, there’s only one way to develop meaningful conclusions—conduct double-blind tests in neutral, controlled environments, such that neither the listener nor the tester knows which options are being heard at any time. Only under these circumstances can you honestly and legitimately reach conclusions about subtle sonic issues. Otherwise, you’ll unfortunately have to be skeptical about both what you hear as well as what you’re told…
One of the hot button issues discussed by people who like to talk about this sort of stuff is the difference between using the “mix bus” in a DAW versus using the summing network in an analog mixer (or, more recently, an external summing device designed strictly for this purpose). Actually, there’s no such thing in the world of digital audio as a hardware device with a common conductor fed by all channels in an analog console; Pro Tools and other DAWs use a mathematical algorithm for accumulating the values of multiple signals feeding a mix. But the algorithm does the same thing, so we’ll succumb to peer pressure and call it a mix bus.
But does a digital mix bus behave the same way as an analog version? Some users are convinced that otherwise identical mixes sound different—and better—when routed through the individual channels of a console or dedicated summing network. Many of these folks blame the DAWs’ mix busses, claiming some sort of inadequacy in the algorithm’s ability to accurately sum audio signals.
As the debate rages on, it can be very difficult to separate fact from fiction, and truth from myth. Since it’s a logistical challenge to create an accurate, unbiased test that compares mixes differing only in their summing methods, you’ll have a hard time researching this issue yourself. Fortunately, it’s possible to distill some simple conclusions amidst all of the chatter:
There is no evidence that the summing mechanism in Pro Tools—or any other current professional DAW—degrades or otherwise modifies the quality and character of mixes.
There can be audible differences between the sound of a mix created via analog versus digital summing. Depending upon the circumstances and the listener, these differences might be characterized as anything from negligible to significant. Typically, the difference tends towards subtle. In some—but not all—cases, producers and engineers prefer the results derived via analog methods.
If the digital audio mix bus is not responsible, what is? This is not understood definitively, but the explanation may be similar to why many other aspects of analog audio technology have a distinctive sound—the artifacts of analog audio that are inevitable byproducts of storage, transmission, and signal processing often act like sonic enhancers, injecting mixes with subtle flavors that to many sounds good. Interestingly, these manifestations of analog audio essentially reveal fundamental shortcomings of the technology, so it’s ironic that the effects can be pleasing. This is most certainly the primary justification for hanging on to more or less antiquated technologies such as analog tape machines, which at this point in time are a complete hassle to maintain and operate except for the fact that they yield desirable results under the right circumstances.
More specifically, how do listeners describe the differences between digital and analog summing? Some have commented on sonic characteristics involving tone, warmth, and detail. However, these are more likely based on related phenomena such as distortion caused by overdriving analog components. Others have noted differences in the width and depth of the soundstage. The actual foundation of such a distinction is unclear.
What’s the bottom line on how all of this affects you? Honestly, I wouldn’t give any of it a second thought. The fact is, until you can master the many other challenges of production—putting together great songs and arrangements, working with amazing musicians playing beautiful instruments, doing all of this in superior sounding recording environments using quality microphones and preamps, and building mixes with inspired balance, tone and depth—worrying about the nuances of digital vs. analog summing will probably distract you from far more important issues…
Latency Issues When Mixing
In general, latency in digital audio is a time delay observed for data at different locations of a system. Unlike traditional analog setups, in which everything occurs more or less instantaneously, various processes in a digital audio signal chain require small but detectable amounts of time to complete. The primary culprits are tasks such as conversion, disk access, and signal processing. Since each of these can themselves contribute measurable delays in handling audio, latency is cumulative when a signal is subject to multiple processes in series.
If you have ever recorded through a DAW, you have likely dealt with latency in the recording process. Delays can wreak havoc on a musician monitoring a live performance. We’ve seen that reducing the size of the hardware buffer and forgoing signal processing on live signals can improve monitoring latency to an acceptable level. Though converter latency cannot be eliminated, using higher sample rates does help.
Latency can also be an issue when mixing. However, in this case the problem isn’t that audio is delayed between disk playback and monitoring. Though this does occur, the only time it could matter is when theamount of latency varies on different channels. As long as latency is the same for all channels, the only repercussion will be a (typically) imperceptible lag when entering playback.
Without inserts, there’s nothing in the signal flow of an Audio track that introduces latency.
When latency is the same on multiple tracks, signals arrive at the mix bus simultaneously, and will not interfere with one another.
Having seen that it’s not unusual for audio signal paths to exhibit latency, when is the amount of channel latency different? When mixing, there are two possible scenarios:
DSP plug-ins always introduce a small (and occasionally not so small) amount of latency.
Native plug-ins sometimes introduce latency, if their algorithms utilize look-ahead processing.
Analog hardware inserts always introduce latency due to the conversions necessary to route the signal to the external gear and back to Pro Tools.
Digital hardware inserts sometimes introduce latency, if the external hardware’s algorithms utilize look-ahead processing.
Different signal processors on channels. In some cases—though not always—latency will be introduced due to channel inserts:
Different routing used for channels. When sending the output of certain tracks through a bus and subgroup (as we’ll demonstrate next week), those tracks will be slightly delayed.
In this example, bass signals enter the mix almost a millisecond later than simultaneous snare signals. However, it’s highly unlikely you’ll hear this difference.
Here’s the tricky part: the only time this matters is when the relevant tracks contain in part or completely the same material. This would be the case if:
You’re summing together a processed and unprocessed version of the same signal. This can be a nice technique when you want the sound of (typically) extreme processing but also want to maintain some of the original signal characteristic.
You’re processing a track for an instrument that was recorded with multiple microphones. Let’s say you’re compressing a snare mic. Since the snare sound is also picked up by the overheads and other drum mics, the phase relationship between these tracks changes if the compressor exhibits latency.
Here, snare signals enter the mix later than the drum overheads. Since the overheads also pick up the snare, phase cancellation can occur.
In these scenarios, the combination of a processed track with latency along with similar tracks without such delays generally results in some sort of phase cancellation. Phase cancellation is generally not desirable, but all is not lost. Fortunately, it’s possible to compensate for latency so that you can implement any of the above setups without interference problems.
Another topic of some dispute is the computational approach used in various DAWs to crunch numbers for signal processing. It turns out that software developers might implement different methods, depending upon factors such as hardware support, ease of coding, and portability. Some DAWs utilize floating-point math, in which data is represented in a manner resembling scientific notation. Others do fixed-point math, using a prescribed number of integral and fractional digits. There are those who feel that floating-pointmath is superior since it is more flexible and can convey a wider range of values than fixed-pointcomputation given the same number of digits. However, the resolution of floating-point representation decrease as the values increase, and the noise floor also varies. Ultimately, proper coding should make these issues insignificant. If you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll listen to Colin McDowell, founder and president of McDSP, one of the leading developers of third-party plug-ins for Pro Tools and other DAWs:
“If the fixed vs. floating point question is in regards to algorithm quality, the difference should be negligible. The code can be created on either platform to equivalent specifications. As long as the input and output bit depth are equal to (or greater than) the bit depth of the files being processed, and the arithmetic processing is double that bit depth (i.e. double precision), output signal noise level can be made to be lower than the smallest value representable in the output format.”
In the past, Pro Tools HD required TDM hardware whose DSP chips utilized 24-bit inputs and outputs, while RTAS signal processing supported by host-based systems was based on 32-bit floating point arithmetic. Both were capable of producing high-quality results, but some users felt that subtle differences could be identified between the two methods. What could have explained these perceptions? Was this another example of mind over matter, or were there differences in coding methods that could yield audible disparities?
Fortunately, as of Pro Tools 10 the above issue is of academic interest only since all computation is now performed via 32-bit floating-point math. By design, the DSP chips used in HDX hardware do floating-point arithmetic just like the signal processing in host-based sytsems, so (essentially) the same algorithms can be used for both native as well as DSP processing. It’s nice to know that any given plug-in should sound the same regardless of the platform, and the use of 32-bit floating-point math also provides a mamouth amount of headroom that makes it virtually impossible for users to overload computation engines.
Whenever YouTube describes its efforts to fight back against copyright infringement and discourage misuse, it’s always quick to point to its Content ID system.
Content ID is the system, first rolled out in 2008 and extended to music in 2010, through which rightsholders are able to upload their content to a database that YouTube then uses to match against works uploaded to the site by third-party users. When the system detects a match, the rightsholder can then choose what to do with it, including simply tracking the content, monetizing the claim or, if desired, blocking the video outright.
This system is powerful, and has allowed some artists and rightsholders an additional degree of agency. It’s also been the subject of a number of controversies, both among artists and YouTube users, with the latter launching a campaign that forced YouTube to make adjustments to the system.
But despite controversy, Content ID is still a potentially useful tool for any musician or record label. The ability to control and/or monetize music on YouTube is powerful; different artists working in different genres with different business models and varying assumptions about the scale of their audience will find it makes sense to use the tool in different ways. For the lucky artists who rack up huge play counts, monetization could add up to a meaningful revenue stream. Other artists will focus on using Content ID solely to prevent infringing content from appearing on YouTube, encouraging their fans to listen in ways that are more remunerative. Still others may take a case-by-case approach.
However, not every artist has the same range of choices. YouTube doesn’t make it abundantly clear how to join Content ID. Its copyright page, for example, shows how to file a takedown notice and how to dispute a Content ID claim, but doesn’t clearly lay out how a creator can get her work included in the automated detection system.
Fortunately, there is an application process. However, for many artists or small independent labels, direct access to Content ID may still not be made available, depending on their circumstances.
Is your work already in Content ID?
Some musicians may be surprised to find that their work is already included in Content ID. If you release recordings with a label that works with a digital distributor, your recordings may already be in the database. (Sometimes, artists find this out the hard way when they receieve a copyright notice on their own YouTube Channel).
Unfortunately, it may not be easy to obtain the actual terms of the deal governing the use of your work. Such deals are typically covered under non-disclosure agreements, so we’re not even allowed to look at them, but anecdotally their terms seem to vary—with different deals offered to major labels, independents working through the licensing body Merlin, or the many unaffilliated artists out there. This is one area where you should insist on transparency from your commercial partners. It is important to be proactive with your label and/or distributor and make your wishes known about how, when, and whether you’d like third-party uploads of your work to appear on YouTube. You may have more options than they’ve told you about.
Applying for Content ID
To find where to apply for Content ID, you have to dig through YouTube’s help files. Eventually though, you’ll land on this Content Identification Application, which is the first step to joining Content ID.
The form itself is fairly straightforward, asking for contact information, details on the types of and amount of copyrighted content you control and your reasons for wanting to join Content ID.
However, filling out the application is no guarantee that you will be accepted into Content ID. As YouTube says, “Content ID acceptance is based on an evaluation of each applicant’s actual need for the tools. Applicants must be able to provide evidence of the copyrighted content for which they control exclusive rights.”
In short, if YouTube either doesn’t feel the tool is a good fit for you or that you have not provided adequate evidence of exclusive rights, that it will reject your application. It’s a little odd that YouTube thinks it’s in a better position than you to determine whether you “actually need” this tool, and their criteria for evaluation are frustratingly vague. In the context of bigger debates about the widespread problem of infringing content on YouTube, citing Content ID as a comprehensive solution looks dubious when access to those tools aren’t available equally to creators big and small.
As far as we can tell, the application process tends to favor larger rightsholders, those with thousands of individual songs in their catalogs. This makes a certain amount of sense, since rightsholders that are accepted into the program are required to comply with technical actions such as uploading the content, providing the proper metadata for Content ID’s CMS and so forth. And it’s understandable that YouTube would want to be somewhat careful about who they let into the system. Content ID’s effectiveness would certainly be compromised if a flood of people were empowered to use an automated system to claim ownership of stuff that isn’t theirs. (On the other hand, they’ve already got a flood of clueless uploaders writing “I do not own this; no copyright intended!” so there is some asymmetry to consider here.)
Those who don’t “qualify,” for whatever reason, are often sent to alternative services, such as YouTube Content Verification Program, which is aimed at helping copyright holders expedite takedown notices against infringing uploads. But that’s not a satisfactory alternative for artists and rightsholders who see their stuff being used without permission and are frustrated that a takedown of one link doesn’t prevent a new link of the same infringing content to be repopulated by another user.
As a result, many independent rightsholders that are eager to join Content ID end up taking an alternate approach to signing up, one that involves working with a middleman.
YouTube Partner Services
YouTube Partner Services are companies that act as an intermediary, briding the gap between smaller creators and YouTube’s Content ID system. This approach is recommended by ASCAP for performing songwriters who want to participate in Content ID and continue to collect royalties through their PRO.
The idea is straightforward. Partner companies work with a large number of smaller creators and manage their YouTube Content ID for them, handling both technological and legal hurdles. In exchange, they take a percentage of the revenue, usually between 15% and 30%.
Some examples include Audiam, AdRev, Vydia and ONErpm. These services are often paired with other distribution assistance, such as making your music available to streaming music services or digital download storefronts.
However, it’s important to note that, when these services work with Content ID, they tend to focus (almost exclusively) on monetization, not removal. As such, musicians that go through partner services often don’t gain an ability to use Content ID to take down unwanted videos, and, in some cases, may lose a portion of their revenue on their own channels.
So far, the only services that we’ve been able to confirm that allow musicians to take down unauthorized copies if they choose are Audiam, Exploration.io and Believe Digital, and ONErpm, and even with these, you may need to make a special request to be able to block or mute unauthorized uploads.
Failing to give creators the full range of tools is a serious weakness for many partner companies. Still, for independent musicians eager to take advantage of Content ID monetization, a partner service is likely the easiest path. Just read any contracts that are signed very closely and be aware of any rights that you are giving up and for how long you are doing so.
Conclusions
When it comes to Content ID, there is very little that is simple. Everything about the process including signing up, uploading work, making claims and dealing with appeals is, in its own way, complicated. And like too many parts of the music business, it lacks transparency, and seems oriented to deal with the needs of the bigger commercial players.
Yet there is some real potential here if the tools are made available to the full range of creators. Detection technology is still relatively new, and all companies that offer such tools should prioritize inclusivity, transparency, and accessibility, whether it’s Content ID or competing systems like Audible Magic.
Every Musician knows that fans are what drive their business. Building a Fanbase of loyal followers is critical to obtaining success in the Modern Music Industry. Of course, building a fanbase is not easy! It takes a lot of work and dedication to create a audience of people that are loyal.
Why Build a Fanbase
Before diving into the 5 Ways to Build a Fanbase, we thought it would be good to get into some of the reasons why it is as important, if not more important, to build fans than it is to practice your music. Seriously? Is this a joke? We can hear you ask these questions through the internet 🙂
Seriously, think about this point for a minute. We all see some really BAD! musicians make it all of the time while many great artist never make it out of the local Bar Scene. What’s up with that?
Don’t take our word for it. Here’s a video for you guys’s and gal’s to ponder. This is a video of Britney Spears live in a couple of different concerts. The fun part of this video is they isolated her wireless mic signal. Curious what her voice sounds like without any processing? Before watching this, keep in mind that Britney Spears is one of the top grossing female artist…
The Music Industry from a Social Perspective
Now that we have your ears bleeding from the Britney Spears video, we thought this infographic highlights some other interesting points.
We thought it was interesting to see that Britney has more followers on Twitter than the President of the United States, which is impressive considering the number of the musicians out there that have incredible talent that have not been discovered.
Talent does not Equal Success
Have we hit the point home with you? Talent does not equal success! If not, maybe this may help.
“Britney’s $46 million net worth saw a nice boost in 2014, most likely due to her Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood. And the steady and huge paychecks from Britney’s gig entertaining tourists are set to get even bigger.
With the combined income of $475,000 for each show (just under Celine Dion’s per-show earnings of $476,000 for her residency) and her other business ventures, including her fragrances and a new lingerie line, TMZ reported that Britney earns around $1 million each week.”
Who among us wouldn’t like to earn $475,000 for every show? That is especially a compelling question when the average working musician makes about $35,000 per year.
How did Britney get to this point? You guessed it, she has a loyal Fanbase!
The Steps to Building a Fanbase Starts with Awareness
Awareness refers to any marketing initiative designed to provide visibility to your product. Awareness takes a number of different forms, but is most effective when you are targeting a community that is more predisposed to already liking similar things.
What does that mean to a Musician or Songwriter? Building Awareness means finding fans that may like your music and letting them know you exist. It is critically important for an emerging musician to get to know the types of fans that will connect with their music. Look for and seek out bands, songs, etc. that are similar to what you do and research the demographic of their fans. What type of person likes the type of music you create?
There is a fanbase for everything on the worldwide web. Doesn’t matter what you do, there is someone out there that likes it.
There are 3 Quick Steps to Identify Fan Demographics:
Find artist: Look for Artist that are ahead of you in the success curve…not the superstars backed by the Major Labels. If you don’t know any, read the online blogs that are well known for seeking out and writing honest reviews of artist such as Pitchfork. YouTube is another great place to research music. Don’t limit your search to a local area. Looking nationwide and even worldwide can make a huge difference in the audience you market to.
Social Networks: Review the artist social networks and research the fans that are making comments, forwarding their tweets, etc. The engaged fans that actively promote a musician is one that is passionate about them. Finding out what motivates them is important to find fans like them for your band.
Bloggers: People who write articles on their blogs about artist are critical to the success of a band. Bloggers can easily have a reach and following greater than Billboard and Rolling Stone magazine combined. There is a search engine conveniently called the Blog Search Engine that makes it easy to search for a topic that returns blog results.
Awareness Continued: Demographic and Psychographic Overview
Traditionally, demographics have been the bread and butter of analytical information for marketers. Demographic information is the information that one typically sees on a census like age, ethnicity, gender, geographic information, marriage status, whether you have kids or not, and so on. While some of this information is helpful for music marketers—particularly geographic information, as it pertains to routing a tour—demographic information can be a lot less helpful than psychographic information.
Psychographics is the study of interests, values, attitudes, and lifestyles. Fans of music can live anywhere, can be married or unmarried, can be of any age, and can have a range of income, and as such, it’s important to identify other shared characteristics that are less tangible—those traits that are not identified on a census—to properly target the correct market.
In many cases, the fans of bands mirror their favorite bands’ traits in many ways. Core fans of Morrissey might be more likely to be vegan, fans of Nine Inch Nails might be more focused on technology, fans of Phish might be more focused on a casual dress style, and so on. These psychographic bonds, or shared interests, between the fans and the band is a critical point to determine early on in any marketing campaign. It helps to dictate the high-level marketing campaign focus, including branding, images, communication strategy, and product offerings.
Ideally, a marketer integrates both the useful demographic information as well as the psychographic information, but it is important to note that psychographics often function completely outside of demographics.
The Second Step in Building a Fanbase is Acquisition
Once you have the attention of a prospective fan, it is a marketing best-practice to obtain some form of permission-based contact. From an online standpoint, collecting an email address from someone who has listened to one of your songs is a form of acquisition. From a social standpoint, Facebook fans, Twitter followers, Instagram friends, and YouTube subscribers can be considered permission-based contacts as well. Physical forms of acquisition include capturing the address of a fan, or collecting a phone number.
Collecting permission-based contacts allows musicians to continue a relationship with their new fan after the initial awareness phase. It’s important to note that the different forms of permission-based contacts result in different monetization opportunities down the line. Email marketing, for example, usually converts at a higher rate than social-based contacts.
One of the best ways to do this is to provide something FREE to the potential fan in exchange for their email address. The Acquisition stage is far too early to ask for money. Imagine the process being like a date. The first step, Awareness, is like glancing at each other across the room in a bar. The Second stage is walking up and talking with them…hoping to say the right things and get their phone number… This is the Acquisition stage for a band. Now that they know you exist, you want to get just enough interest in what you do to get them to provide you with an email. Giving something of perceived value away for FREE is the best way to do this. Could be a song, but could also be something personal like a signed photo of the band or a recipe on how to make a killer Margarita. Anything that has a minimal cost to the band, but enough perceived value for the potential fan that they would be willing to part with some personal information.
The Third Step is Building an Online Presence
The third Step may actually be the second or even the first step, but we want to make sure and include this in series. It is important that your band and music is represented positively and professionally. When a potential fan searches for you on the internet they need to find you! It is critical that a Musician’s website, twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. sites have a consistent design and present a professional image.
There are several sites that provide a variety of services to bands. The most popular are Bandcamp and Topspin for general hosting of band websites. Both of these services charge fees.
Bandcamp will host a site for free; however, they take money off the top for sales — 15% for digital sales and 10% for merchandise sales. They have tiered pricing. When sales are $5K or greater in digital sales the commission decreases from 15% to 10% (https://bandcamp.com/pricing).
Topspin charges a fee to host a site. The pricing starts at $9.99 per month for basic services, $49.99 per month for presages and other marketing services and $99 per moth for Enterprise services that support split commission payouts (https://www.topspinmedia.com/products/topspinplatform/). Topspin also charges percentage of sales as well that average 15-20%.
Here’s a video that provides a good overview of the Topspin services:
Other options
Something that many of you may be thinking is why not use a Facebook page to build our fans? They are free…Right? We highly recommend that you use Facebook to build Awareness and Engage with Fans, but it should not be your primary site.
The reason using a site you do not directly control is because they frequently change their terms and conditions that limit access to your own fans. A good example of a social network that hurt many musicians when the tides of the internet changed is MySpace. Remember those guys? Bands, Record Companies, etc. invested major money and time building custom MySpace websites and developing fans only to see it all disappear practically overnight.
There is no way to reconnect with the fans that are lost if a social site changes their policies or goes out of business. Those artist have to start building again from ground zero. Same holds true with Facebook. They keep most of the information about followers private and charge page operators to connect with their own followers. Further, even when an artist pays to Boost a Post, there is no guarantee that their fans will ever see it. Facebook uses an algorithm that promotes based on $$ spent. One can hope a post makes it into a fans newsfeed, but there is zero guarantee that it will.
Cash Music
Cash Music is a non-profit company based in Oregon. They have build a very powerful music marketing platform that is funded by investors, not musicians. The platform is 100% free for musicians. What is the catch? It takes some IT skills to setup. Bandcamp, Topspin and other similar services do the backend legwork to create stock website templates, integration with Amazon for image hosting, commerce collisions, etc. Cash Music provides the conduit to these services, but the Artist using their platform has to set everything up on their own. Amazon S3, for example, is where files are stored for the sites. The users have to sign up with Amazon and create an S3 account. The good news is that anyone with an Amazon account can sign up for S3 for free. They do charge fees for data traffic, but it is minimal. Cash Music is a bit more technical to setup, but it will scale with an artist from a small band to a huge worldwide fanbase without any problems and it is free! We believe it is well worth the time it takes to get the sites configured than to pay 10-20%+ of sales to a third-party. That money can be used to make the next album.
Once a band has the permission and the means to reach out to fans, the next step is to properly engage with them. Engagement can take various forms, including email newsletters, social posts, text messages, direct mailings, and much more. Proper engagement is a key factor relating to the final step of marketing: monetization.
Fans love being connected with musicians they love. The best way to do that is to give them a peak inside the lives of the band. Writing posts that let fans know what you are doing, what city you are in, who you had dinner with, etc. will get a lot of traffic. However, the best way to engage fans is through video. Live broadcasts from Back stage using Google Hangouts, Twitter Periscope, etc. is a great way to get them engaged.
Fans, of course, have to know you are going to be live on video. This is where the emails come in handy. Send them an update letting them know you will be live at a certain date and time (include the timezone). You could even ask them to sign up for the event using free services such as Eventbrite. This strategy goes back to the FREE exchange we mentioned earlier. Tell them about an event they will be interested then ask them to give up something personal to get access to it. Eventbrite can be used to collect more demographic details about your subscribers that can help with marketing efforts down the road. The final step would be to send a notice to the Event subscribers letting them know a Live event is starting, but to also send a note via email and post to all social feeds (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc) announcing the event is going to start.
Engaging fans through various channels and providing them something FREE or exclusive will keep them engaged long term.
The Fifth Step is Monetization
Alright, we are almost through this post on 5 Key Ways to Build a Fanbase! Monetization is the last, but most exciting step in the process. This is when you can actually start making money!
Once you have made fans aware of you, captured their contact information, and been engaging with them, you have made it to the end of the “conversion funnel” — monetization. A common trait among new musicians is to attempt to monetize prior to having the previous three marketing pillars buttoned up. Of course, without fans with whom you can communicate properly, monetization is not going to be effective. The VERY IMPORTANT point is NOT to try to get Fans to pay for anything until all of the above steps are in place. If we think about the dating example we mentioned earlier, Monetization is the point dating moves to a marriage. This process takes time to develop before the Fan is ready to commit to your band. Rush it and you will likely put off the new fan and disengage them.
When Fans are engaged they will stay that way as long as you keep them engaged. People are naturally fickle. They will divert their attention elsewhere if you don’t continually communicate with the. The key is to provide them with communication that isn’t always asking for money. When you drop in money making opportunities in-between times of routine updates it increases the probability they will convert. For example, when you hold a concert email everyone in the area letting them know. Offering a VIP gift of some sort helps. Create an interesting product and then offer it as an exclusive for fans. Customized lighters, coffee cups, mouse pads, gold plated sculls with the band logo, etc. can all be created easily now days. Hold online concerts and charge a discounted fee for loyal customers to watch the event. Live streaming is much easier now days with YouTube and Facebook live available.
Another good monetization step is to follow how the major record labels do business. They promote an album before it is out. Then they drop a song, making of video or something to peak interest, they will then release a single ahead of the record release, they will then offer preorder opportunities to fans giving them a few extra tracks or something, and finally they drop the release. The more excitement that can be built before a release the more sales one will get at the release. Preorders also give a good idea of the demographics of the fans that are buying the album.
Conclusion
Wow, you made it this far! thank you for reading! We compiled as much detail as we could for the 5 Key Ways to Build a Fanbase. We will continue writing on the topic. If you want to stay in touch with the music industry, please considering signing up for our newsletter.
Keith Urban was specifically promoting his new album, Ripcord, when he spoke to USA Today earlier this month, but he could have easily been talking about country music as a whole. “Melody is key,” he told music journalist Bob Doerschuk. “How many songs do we sing along to where we don’t even know the words? Melody pulls us in.”
Urban hinted at an essential part of music that’s not easy to verbalize. Defining the outdoorsy lyrical theme in Luke Bryan’s “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” or grasping the reflective production values of Tim McGraw’s “Humble and Kind” are fairly routine. But explaining the arc of a melody is much harder. There’s a reason Martin Mull once said, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.”
Still, if you listen to some of the current top 20 titles on Hot Country Songs — Maren Morris’ “My Church,” Jon Pardi’s “Head Over Boots,” Old Dominion’s “Snapback” or Urban’s “Wasted Time,” for starters — it’s clear that there’s a strong melodic thread running through the genre. There’s no reliable way to measure it, but country is arguably producing great melodies as consistently as any other genre at this moment in time. It’s ironic, because country has long been praised for its lyrical prowess.
“Right now, I feel like country has taken the best of everything, all the melodies and phrasing, and then they’ve just continued to tell great stories,” says Dan + Shay’s Shay Mooney, a co-writer of Rascal Flatts’ aptly titled “I Like the Sound of That.” “A great lyric is awesome, you know, but if it’s not a good melody you’re not going to care what they’re saying.”
Some other genres are struggling with a shortage of melody, based on the discourse during a Country Radio Seminar panel, “From the Outside Looking In: Other Formats Give Their Take on Country,” in February.
iHeartMedia VP urban and urban AC Doc Wynter, programming at a time when rap has injected plenty of spoken-word into his format, said he’s seeking more music that recalls the sound of Smokey Robinson or Luther Vandross, artists whose biggest successes relied on such ultra-melodic titles as “Tears of a Clown” and “Stop to Love.”
“The Weeknd is a savior for us because traditional R&B has just fallen by the wayside,” said Wynter. “We’re hoping that we’re going to encourage more people who want to sing to bring music to our radio station.”
Cumulus corporate PD of rock formats Troy Hanson drew huge laughs during that same CRS panel when he imitated a throaty, modern-rock screech, essentially criticizing the lack of melody in his format. He has become an advocate for injecting adult alternative album rock into his playlists, basically enhancing the singability of his stations.
“We need to find some of these Black Keys and Muse artists of the world and bring them back [to the format],” he said. Melody isn’t restricted to the lead singer. Chris Lane’s hooky song “Fix” gets some of its mojo from Ilya Toshinsky’s signature guitar line, but that title would not be as addictive without its undeniable vocal progression.
Melody “is something just innately wired in us,” suggests Frankie Ballard, whose forthcoming album El Rio kicks off with two ultra-melodic Chris Stapleton compositions. “You can accept that from a flute or from a harp or from a guitar, but, generally speaking, I think people really prefer it from another human voice, probably because that’s what we’re communicating with. That’s what real.”
It’s also mysterious. Glen Campbell, who has Alzheimer’s disease, needed a teleprompter during his final tour to remember the words to “Wichita Lineman” and “Rhinestone Cowboy,” songs he had sung thousands of times before. But he could still recall the melodies. Why that is, and where that melody comes from, still hasn’t been fully explained.
“I think it comes from Heaven,” Brian Wilson, noted for such indelible melodies as “God Only Knows” and “Good Vibrations,” said a dozen years ago. Wilson treasures his membership in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, in great part because it puts him in a league with another of pop music’s melody studs, Burt Bacharach (“Walk On By,” “The Look of Love”), who likewise can’t cite a source for that aspect of his songwriting talent. “You either have it or you don’t,” he said in 2005.
The process of writing melodies has changed in recent years with the growth and accessibility of recording equipment. Songwriters have historically accompanied themselves on guitar or piano while creating lead lines, but the hip-hop and pop genres began using “loops” — recorded chord progressions that repeat — and pre-recorded tracks to start the writing process. The melody is a late development in that scenario, and the results can be underwhelming if that melody is treated as an afterthought.
“It is important if you’re writing to a track to pause it, bust out an acoustic guitar and test [the song] over just an acoustic guitar,” says Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers. “If it holds up over that, then it was the right thing. And if not, then you need to go back and rework it.”
Songwriters who create melodies that sit atop of those pre-recorded productions are typically referred to in pop music as “topliners,” a term that likely draws some derision from people who have written melodies the more traditional way. Alternating between tracks and the standard guitar/vocal approach, though, happens frequently among many Nashville songwriters.
“You have to kind of switch between the two,” says Mooney, “because sometimes you’ll be writing on an acoustic guitar, and after the fifth song you’re like, ‘This is all the same stuff that we’ve been doing. It kind of sounds the same.’ But then when you hear a track, it’s like, ‘OK, this is something different,’ and it kind of inspires things in your mind. You’ve got to trick your brain into creativity sometimes.”
Philadelphia soul songwriter/producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff — responsible for such lyrically astute songs as “Love Train,” “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” and “Me and Mrs. Jones” — recognize that their words aren’t nearly as inspiring on a page as they are when attached to a series of notes that enhance the emotions behind them.
“Melody is important,” said Huff following a Warner/Chappell event on May 5 in Nashville. “If you didn’t have the melody, what is it?”
The songwriting community in Nashville hasn’t forgotten the importance of that component. It’s one of the underappreciated reasons for country’s boom in recent years. The words are still widely regarded as the driving force in the genre’s material. But when compared to other genres — particularly modern rock and hip-hop — that have underplayed melody’s importance, country’s consistent devotion to the part the listener is most likely to sing back is key to the genre’s current popularity.
“To me, it’s not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” says Ballard, “if it’s just peanut butter.”
This article is a reprint. Written by Tom RolandIt. It first appeared in Billboard Magazine’s Country Update on May 19, 2016.
About the Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters
The Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters was established to help in all areas of artist development. FMS through the generous donations of our sponsors can bring in the resources artist need to establish a career that can influence future generations.
FMS has the connections, insight, eCommerce expertise and business acumen that the vast majority of Musicians and Songwriters don’t have. Accordingly, as a 501(c)(3) organization, donations to FMS are 100% tax deductible, which helps our Donors pay-it-forward and promote the continuation of music for future generations — benefiting all of humanity. As a Music Foundation, every dollar we rase is used to develop the artist so they can make a living in the Music Industry and get their music to the world.
Jon Platt, CEO, is making a lot of changes at Warner/Chappell. The changes he’s making seem to be good; however, too many changes at once could cause stability issues over there. Will be interesting to see how things come together.
Warner/Chappel Music Names Mike Smith as Director UK Operation
Mike Smith
Warner/Chappell Music has announced that in November Virgin EMI music president Mike Smith will join the company as managing director of its U.K. operation. Until then, the office will be overseen by Jon Platt, to whom Smith will report.
Through a career at MCA Music Publishing and EMI Music publishing, Smith’s signings have included Blur, Elastica, Supergrass, Doves, Gorillaz, The White Stripes, The Libertines, Scissor Sisters, Arcade Fire, and Arctic Monkeys. Smith’s music publishing career spanned from 1988 until 2006, when he began working on the record labels side of the business, first as the MD of Columbia Records U.K. and then as president of music at Mercury Records, and finally as president of Virgin EMI.
“Having started my career in music publishing, it is exciting to be returning to a sector of the industry where I enjoyed so many great times,” Smith said in a statement. “Warner/Chappell is one of the real icons of music publishing, and it is an honor and a privilege to have been asked to help guide this great company and the amazing songwriters and catalogs it represents.”
Jon Platt
This appointment marks the latest in a series of moves that Platt has made since taking the reins as Warner/Chappell’s CEO in November 2015, and then becoming the company’s chairman at the beginning of this month. Other hires and promotions include Paul Kahn as CFO; Katie Vinten and Ryan Press to co-heads of A&R in the U.S. (excluding Nashville); and Chuck Gamble as VP, Catalog Promotions. Of his latest hire, Platt said in a statement, “Throughout his brilliant career, across both music publishing and recorded music, Mike has demonstrated his commitment to the art of songwriting, putting great songs at the heart of everything he does… With Mike overseeing our U.K. operations, we will be even more powerful as a global destination for the most distinctive, popular, and culturally significant songwriters in the world.”
About the Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters
The Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters was established to help in all areas of artist development. FMS through the generous donations of our sponsors can bring in the resources artist need to establish a career that can influence future generations.
FMS has the connections, insight, eCommerce expertise and business acumen that the vast majority of Musicians and Songwriters don’t have. Accordingly, as a 501(c)(3) organization, donations to FMS are 100% tax deductible, which helps our Donors pay-it-forward and promote the continuation of music for future generations — benefiting all of humanity. As a Music Foundation, every dollar we rase is used to develop the artist so they can make a living in the Music Industry and get their music to the world.
There has been a lot of chatter over the years about the problems with MP3’s. They simply do not capture the fidelity of the original recording. AAC has gone a long way to help that, but even then there is compression and sacrifice. When we use compression we lose quality. Those 1’s and 0’s have to be thrown out to make the file smaller.
File size was a much bigger issue when the first iPod’s came out than it is today. Hard drive space is cheap and the price is decreasing every day.
Craig Kallman, chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records was interviewed by Billboard Magazine. When he was asked about fidelity his response was, “Now is when we finally have the technological capabilities and the bandwidth capability to deliver people a convenient experience that also includes a true high-resolution audio result at the same time.”
Atlantic, Warner Music Group, Tidal, Pioneer, Onkyo and many others are starting to look very seriously at a new company called Master Quality Authenticated, or MQA for short. They provide a new kind of audio stream that they are calling Music Origami, which is basically taking the parts of a recording that are typically discarded and wrapping it into a compressed music file. The trick to what they are doing is putting the data under the noise floor.
Here’s a video of the MQA CEO expelling the process. He does a lot better job than I can.
Most of you have likely seen similar technology in action if you watch streaming movies. Have you ever notice that sometimes a movie is crystal clear and it may drop down in quality if there is a bandwidth problem? That is basically what is going on with MQA Origami. When bandwidth is sufficient to support a 96kHz stream the full file is sent providing original fidelity. The technology will step the quality down as bandwidth decreases to the point that we hear today from streaming services. This technology, however, is not limited to streaming services. There could be a day when music is mastered and distributed to end-users in the MQA format. It would simply take a new codec to uncompress the file. A software update would be all it would take to enable devices that have sufficient processing power.
How does MQA impact Musicians Now?
I’m glad you asked 🙂 To benefit from future technological enhancements we need to always keep an eye on the future. Home musicians often record at lower sample rates (e.g. 44.1 or 48kHz). CD’s and MP3’s are 44.1 and AAC files are 48kHz. The higher the sample rate and bit depth of audio being recorded increases the file size considerably. a 44.1 kHz mono file requires 5 megabytes of disk space per minute at 16-bit and 7.5 MB at 24-bit. A sample rate of 88.2 kHz consumers twice as much space as 44.1. Creating music requires numerous files. A drum set alone can have 8 or more dedicated tracks.
Most of the non-pro musicians I see record at the highest level they think they will need, which is most often 44.1 kHz 16-bit. The ones with Apple iTunes distribution in mind typically use 48 kHz 24-bit. However, the pro-studios that make the hit records generally record at 96 kHz 32-bit floating point. Why? Because pro-studios and record companies look toward the future. They can remix and sell their 96 kHz files as technology improves. A simple release of a remix album can bring in big $$ with minimal effort.
Remixing in mind is very likely the reason Atlantic and Warner are investing in MQA. They not only can sell remixed files at studio levels, the record industry has majority ownership of Spotify. Incorporating their high-fidelity streaming files into Spotify could leapfrog them over the competition that is not using the new technology.
Conclusion
Bottom line for recording musicians is to record at the highest quality your equipment can support. You may also want to read though the Apple iTunes Mastering specifications. Apple prefers to have master files sent to them far above what is needed today for recording. Why? Because they are planning ahead as well. If they have the high facility files in hand they can easily stream at a higher bitrate when the technology is ready.
About the Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters
The Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters was established to help in all areas of artist development. FMS through the generous donations of our sponsors can bring in the resources artist need to establish a career that can influence future generations.
FMS has the connections, insight, eCommerce expertise and business acumen that the vast majority of Musicians and Songwriters don’t have. Accordingly, as a 501(c)(3) organization, donations to FMS are 100% tax deductible, which helps our Donors pay-it-forward and promote the continuation of music for future generations — benefiting all of humanity. As a Music Foundation, every dollar we rase is used to develop the artist so they can make a living in the Music Industry and get their music to the world.
Is it even possible to make it as a Musician or Songwriter now days? The music industry is, no doubt, complicated and out of control! I’m you or someone you know, feels the pain. We all love music, but loving music isn’t enough to pay the rent. Navigating Musicians the complicated music industry is not easy for anyone — not even the biggest names in the industry.
This infographic shows the typical organizational hierarchy of a Record Company:
The big labels have resources that can take someone with minimal talent and make them a star. We all see the performances and wonder, how did they get on TV, Radio, Morning Show, etc. when we all know x people that are better? The reason is simple. The labels know how the system works — they created it!
But what about the guy or gal that can’t even get a meeting with a label? What about you or your friends? Why can’t we make it? Right! We are with you on that!
Do you ever wonder why record labels require musicians T-shirts to effectively give away their names, lives and careers by requiring them to enter into 360 degree deals? They do so because they can. They are in the business of making money for their investors, not making music. wholesale NFL jerseys Think about it…How many record company CEO’s were ever making a living as a musician or songwriter?
This is where the Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters steps in. We leverage our connections and resources to help the artist we huge represent develop their careers. In many ways we function similar to how an Independent or Major Label works with one BIG exception — We DO NOT take any ownership of the Intellectual Property of our artist. They come in with music — they keep it. We help them write hit tunes — they keep them. They make zillions of dollars as a superstar — they keep the $$ (although we hope they thank us when they win a Grammy ;).
As an independent artist, how can anyone make it on their own? We not only believe — we know, that it is very possible to make a good living as independent musicians and songwriters. The key to success, however, is not simply being talented — there are millions of talented artist that never make it! We believe the key to success is through learning how to navigate the complex nature of the industry. It isn’t a secret that record labels and publishing companies make money through the artist they represent. How many record label CEO’s actually made a living as a Musician or Songwriter?
Yet, we all know artist that have made it big largely on their own.
After being a school teacher, jingle singer and backup vocalist (for Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder) throughout her 20s, Minimo she released her debut album at 31 and didn’t get a massive hit until a year later with “All I Wanna Do.”
Pharrell is an excellent example of someone that has figured out how to navigate the music industry. He created his own production company, he has had a very successful career as an independent producer (his production duo, The Neptunes, wrote and produced Britney Spears #1 hit “I’m A Slave 4 U” in 2001 when he was 28). However, he also Off-Shoulder-Obsession was the singer/songwriter/producer for “Happy.” One of the biggest songs of the decade.
After serving in the US Navy for nine years and working on a factory assembly line, Withers released his debut album cheap NFL jerseys with the hit “Ain’t No Sunshine” at age 32.
Talented Artist Walk Away from the Music Industry Every Day
We are tired of seeing amazing talent walk away from the industry and give up their dreams because they can’t make a living as a musician or songwriter. Humanity suffers when people are not creating music. Think about cheap jerseys our world history. From the beginning of time people were creating music and sharing it with others.
Music Matters — Future Generations are Counting on us!
Every generation has created new music that has influenced future generations — Classical, Jazz, Blues, Rock, EDM, etc. Every genre of music can be heard in the next. The Rolling Stones, in fact, were deeply influenced in the UK by the Blues music that was coming out of America. Heck, they got their name from a Muddy Waters tune titled “Rollin’ Stone!” If the Blues music wasn’t being recorded and shared from America, the chances are we would have never had the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, etc…
We have been fortunate as a society to have had an industry that, good or bad, has backed artist and helped them get their music out. That all started to change sometime around the Napster era circa 2001. 15-years later, music is not being created or discovered like it once was. Now days there is more music available in the word than ever, but there is no filter that helps people discover music they like. It is very difficult for the average consumer to weed through the constant barrage of media hitting them daily.
Musicians need to create music that targets their core audience and generate fans if they ever want to make it in the music business. Fans drive plays, which drives credibility, that drives interest, that drives revenue… And the entire process starts by creating good quality music that is at a level that consumers expect — not a Garageband competition recorded in the basement.
The Internet is Quickly Evolving
Let’s talk a minute about developing fans and how the industry and the internet is evolving.
Here’s a video wholesale jerseys of Ian Rogers, former GM of Yahoo Music, CEO of Topspin and now the CEO of Beats Music talking about the Stages of the Internet and the importance of trusted sources.
The Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters can, and will, make a difference…
The Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters was established to help in all areas of artist development. FMS through the generous donations of our sponsors can bring in the resources artist need to establish a career that can influence future generations.
FMS has the connections, insight, eCommerce expertise and business acumen that the vast majority of Musicians and Songwriters don’t have. Accordingly, as a 501(c)(3) organization, donations to FMS are 100% tax deductible, which helps our Donors pay-it-forward and promote the continuation of music for future generations — benefiting all of humanity. As a Music Foundation, every dollar we rase is used to develop the artist so they can make a living in the Music Industry and get their music to the world.
Virtually everyone knows a talented Musician or Songwriter that is struggling to make it in the Modern Music Industry. It is very difficult to be “discovered” in today’s climate. And the ones who are fortunate enough to get a Labels interest are often pressured to sign a one-sided 360 degree wholesale nfl jerseys contract.
The sad fact of the matter is that even if they do sign a contract, there is zero guarantee that the record company will cheap jerseys actually promote the artist. All too often the artist ends up signing their name, music, copyrights, and career over to a Company only to find out they are still on their own. All too often they wake up one day realizing that they owe the Label that was supposed to help them hundreds of thousands of dollars, that they are “Controlled” by an organization that is not in the business of music — they are in the business of making money for their shareholders and investors, and with they have zero ability to get out of the long-form rock solid contract!
The Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters represents the artist that would otherwise not have a voice. Through the generosity and philanthropy of our donors, FMS provides services similar to a record label without binding those we serve into any contract.
It cheap nba jerseys is very difficult to be a young artist and turn away a development deal and a check for more money than they have ever seen in their lives! Countless musicians and songwriters have been in this situation. Recent news about Prince (RIP) highlights the struggles that even an artist as accomplished as he was faced.
“Record contracts are just like — I’m gonna say the word — slavery,” Prince said as recently as August while speaking to a group of reporters at his Chanhassen, Minnesota, recording studio, Paisley Park. “I would tell any young artist … don’t sign.” — Prince Warns Young Artists: Record Contracts Are ‘Slavery’, Rolling Stone Magazine, August 19, 2015
Prince was an incredibly famous Musician that also had incredible resources, yet he was unable to get out of his contract with Warner. This is a story we all need to take to heart. We hear about Prince. He can get articles into Rolling Stone. What about the thousands of others who end up bankrupt and unable to sing their own music without paying royalties to their Label?
When musicians and songwriters sign over their copyrights, this is precisely what happens.
Want another story of a famous PPT powerful rocker that had to file bankruptcy and nearly give up his career to fight a record label? Tom Petty’s Real-Life Nightmares, Rolling Stone Magazine, January 17, 2015
The Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters purpose is to help musicians develop their careers so when they do get to the point of signing a “Record Deal” they have the leverage to negotiate a fair contract.
Here’s a good video interview from Liquid Web’s This Week in Music with Scott Roger who is the Manager of Paul McCartney, Arcade Fire, Noah and the Wale, BDI and others. They talk about how Scott has navigated the complicated record industry. Scott Roger is one of the few managers out there that understand the music industry well enough to help his clients navigate it successfully. Of course, most artist can’t afford or even get a meeting with someone like Mr. Roger. This is another area where FMS can make a difference for the artist we represent — without taking any money, copyrights or intellectual property from them.
Music Matters — Future Generations are Counting on us!
Every generation has created new music that has influenced future generations — Classical, Jazz, Blues, Rock, EDM, etc. Every genre of music can be heard in the next. The Rolling Stones, in fact, were deeply influenced in the UK by the Blues music that was coming out of America. Heck, they got their name from a Muddy Waters tune titled “Rollin’ Stone!” If the Blues music wasn’t being recorded and shared from America, the chances are we would have never had the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, etc…
We have been fortunate as a society to have had an industry wholesale mlb jerseys that, good or bad, has backed artist and helped them get their music out. That all started to change sometime around the Napster era circa 2001. 15-years later, music is not being created or discovered like it once was. Now days there is more music available in the word than ever, but there is no filter that helps people discover music they like. It is very difficult for the average consumer to weed through the constant barrage of media hitting them daily.
Musicians need to create music that targets their core audience and generate fans if they ever want to make it in the music business. Fans drive plays, which drives credibility, that drives interest, that drives revenue… And the entire process starts by creating good quality music that is at a level that consumers expect — not a Garageband competition recorded in the basement.
The Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters can, and will, make a difference…
The Foundation for Musicians and Songwriters was established to help in cheap jerseys all areas of artist development. FMS through the generous donations of our sponsors can bring in the resources artist need to establish a career that can influence future generations.
FMS has the connections, insight, eCommerce expertise and business And acumen that the vast majority of Musicians and Songwriters don’t have. Accordingly, as a 501(c)(3) organization, donations to FMS are 100% tax deductible, which helps our Donors pay-it-forward and promote the continuation of music for future generations — benefiting all of humanity. As a Music Foundation, every dollar we rase is used to develop the artist so they can make a living in the Music Industry and get their music to the world.
According to the Huffington Post Article, 
