Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Monday, 15 September 2014

Why Do Most Artists Fall Short?

Why Most Artists Fall Short

Anything music video (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you’re making music you should have at least these basics covered, online profile on the popular social and indie websites along with at least 3-4 songs for people to listen to, pictures of you or your group (2-3 if possible) a bio and some YouTube videos.

If you don’t have these basics in place get busy getting them together because they help people discover you and people who are already familiar with your music learn more about you, get a feel for your personality and what you look to bring with your music. Any one of these may cause someone to take an interest in what you’re doing musically in addition to what they have already heard from you they’ll check back to see what’s new.

Artist that falls short of gaining the progressive momentum they seek usually happens because:

They are inconsistent in making music

They are not working regularly to hone their craft and improve on the music they deliver

They have not found a unique way to tell their story or make their song memorable

They don’t know how to write a good song

Poor production quality and/or track selections

Those are just some of the more common reasons artist don’t progress the way they’d like to. As an artist whether you sing or rap, you need to be continuously working on improving what you do and the more you do it the better you’ll get.

Everyone listens to music and as listeners we know the difference between a singer/rapper just starting out and a polished singer/rapper that’s put some time in. How they sound, the clarity in their voice, their delivery, the song structure and quality of their music production as well as the overall sound quality of the song are all indicators that lets us know where that singer/rapper stands musically.

People will rock with whatever they like as long as they like it. If the look and quality is up to par with what they expect they will support and stick with you. So artists should be writing every day and if you produce your own music then you should be doing both every day.

Another thing that I didn’t mention in the list above is strategy, many don’t have a plan of how to effectively create awareness and promote the new music they’re creating.

A$AP Rocky (a rapper from Harlem, NY) made a low budget music video for his song “Purple Swag” put it on YouTube, promoted it and increased awareness about the video being out and ended up doing impressive numbers with that song. Note: though the video might have been shot on a shoe string budget or maybe he didn’t even have to pay to get it done but the point I want to make is that the audio production for the song was in step with industry standards.

So with that, know that the details behind the music are important, even before you think about selling or promoting your music and a lot of artist lack consistency in their work ethic and quality in the products they turn out.

Check out the Disc Makers website to download free guides that cover many of the points that in my opinion prevent artists from seeing next level movement. These are very basic points and checks but I feel it’s necessary to say because I come across a lot of artist that don’t realize they fall into some of the pitfalls I listed previously.

I hope the suggestions and references help to work on improving your sound and writing ability, fine tuning your recording setup, your creative process for creating new songs and paying attention to song structure and finally, that anyone of your songs can start buzzing and gain momentum from low – no cost, DIY (do it yourself) online promoting.

Check for my other article “Choosing the Right Music” to get tips on how to go about choosing and shaping your sound.

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The post Why Do Most Artists Fall Short? appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

The Key To Sustaining Inspiration

Inspire Others by Sharing What Inspires You

By Trevor Hill

It was still dark when my alarm went off. In those first moments of waking, all I could hear was the patter of rain on the window. That just made bed all the more warm and cozy. I listened again and the rain gently continued; surely I could stay a little longer.

Then out of the gloom came the first tentative notes of a blackbird’s song. Then some more notes, slightly stronger. The blackbird seemed to be testing for response. It was like we might call inquiringly into an empty house – ‘hello’ (pause) ‘hello?’ (longer pause) ‘Is there anybody there?’

There was an answer – another bird called quietly. The blackbird sang back and soon another voice joined in. Now the blackbird, getting more confident, launched into the beautiful melody that defines the spring. In just a few minutes, many other birds were roused to take part so that a full chorus announced the dawn.

Birdsong like this I find truly inspiring. Yet if the blackbird had not taken the lead, starting out as a solo voice, the chorus may never have happened. In a way it’s the same with us humans.

When others take the lead, conversations can focus on negativity, complaining and narrow horizons. What if you were to share what you find inspiring? You could create some inspiring conversations with two immediate benefits:

You will become inspired by telling others about what inspires you

You will inevitably inspire some of the people you tell

In the longer term, you will also be encouraging others to tell their inspiring stories: there is a potential generative effect.

Sharing what inspires you may sound fine among close friends but what about the wider picture? You may feel that it would be awkward to share this in certain contexts – at work for instance. Yet these places are often where some inspiring input is needed most.

No one wants to be labelled ‘wacky’ so when we share our inspiring stories, we can do it with social skill and sensitivity.

Here are some suggestions where you could start:

Art (in its widest sense) is a great place to start. Whether it is music, film, painting, writing or whatever, our culture already gives us ‘permission’ to find it inspiring. What art experience do you find inspiring?

The natural world is another area where people feel comfortable about expressing inspiration. This is helped by the increasing awareness and concern for our natural environment. Like my account of the dawn chorus, what do you find inspiring in the natural world?

Biographies – life stories – are another category where we can share inspiration. Who inspires you? What is the reason? Who would be in your top 10?

You may have a good cause or favourite charity that generates inspiring stories. This covers a whole range of possibilities and, when you look at the generosity of donations, you can see that many people are inspired by them. What cause do you find inspiring?

So whether it is over lunch, in the office or on the road, there will be opportunities to share what you find inspiring. Take the lead and watch for the difference you will make!

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Get inspired.

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The post The Key To Sustaining Inspiration appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Sunday, 24 August 2014

An Interview with Underground Artist Emaculant

First off, great to meet an artist with such integrity. Can you tell us where the name Emaculant came from?

The name Emaculant comes from being told by society everyday that your not perfect your not flawless. We are all perfect in everything we do, perfection is only defined by you.

What album and style are you currently promoting?

I’m promoting my own style since I’m my own artist. My music though can be related to the canibus, the Eminem the nas or rakims. Its very lyrical nothing that is promoted by the majors anymore. The next album I’m promoting is MIC CLUB.

You’ve been featured by two record labels, can you tell us about that experience?

Being featured by two record labels is great. The first one is with probably the greatest artist I’ve ever heard in my life Absoloot. ASIAM records represents artists coming as they are and not having to change for anyone. MIC-NIFICENT records I am CEO of is a direct funnel for lyrical rap artist who are shunned out by the majors because they’re music is too elliptical.

You’re also quite the accomplished athlete, with Body Building, Basketball, and Boxing credits to your name, has that influenced your music?

I believe playing sports on a novice and professional level help mold my music. It not only gave me discipline, but also help me perform out the gate on a very high level.

It seems like you’ve been surrounded by music all of your life. What was it like growing up with your mother being an accomplished Opera singer

Though I haven’t seen my mother in many years, when she was around, she taught me a lot in music being a opera singer and composer. She taught .e Melody’s, taught me voice pitches and showed me how to recognize certains notes and keys in a music stanza. She taught me that songs should be mini movies with a beginning middle with a climax and peak, then a end. Music again that was taught to me is ones own, so there is no right or wrong way to make your music, as long as it comes from the heart.

What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened in your music career thus far?

The most exciting thing that happen so far for me in music is probably joining forces with Absoloot. Hes about a cause, about making a difference and if you just listen to his latest album Banksters you will see the direction he himself is leading not following.

Where are you taking your career next?

I feel I’m taking my career my music abroad. Im going to take it global. I want every artist with real passion for their art to have a way to exhibit their music, without succumbing to the evil empire we call the majors.

Where can we find out more about you and your up-coming projects?

You can find out more about my upcoming projects like MIC CLUB, and my solo album E=MC Squared through my http://ift.tt/1rWGijZ. Through my social media twitter (emaculant29) instgaram (Emaculant)…or of course just by googling Emaculant.

I want to give thanks to my brother and partner Absoloot, Jackie Robinson, bertrum gillings, jsharpe, wes nile and boon. Also give a shout out to Myrna Jenkins who will be presenting a new wave of dance stay tuned. Shout out to Marie-ange oliver a highly successful leader in our community and my personal inspiration.