Arrrrrgh my ears are ringing! (Part 1) - I have Tinnitus

I was never that super cool dude with the booming car stereo, where the sub-woofers significantly caused diminished trunk space, or the super cool kid on the bus with the loud iPod anyone can hear from more than 5 feet away;  Best yet, where I’m from in Jamaica, the dude in front of the speaker box at the session (alternative word for party) acting like the ridiculously loud volume is not bothering him.  Instead, I am the guy that complains about volume levels in the rehearsal room, at the sound check, and during the gig.  I’m the guy that wears ear plugs only on rare occasions, but could never sing with them because of this and that, so just never used them much.  That’s unfortunate, because now I’m the guy with TINNITUS.

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Why join the musicians union?

Most musicians have heard of the Musicians Union but what are the benefits? If you are a professional musician then you should definitely become a member. Even if you are an amateur musician who performs part time then you should still consider joining.

The Musicians Union was set up to protect the right of musicians. They negotiate and set standard minimum fees and terms of service for musicians and live bands. There is also a whole range of advice and guidance available including approved performance and recording contract for things like session work as well as legal advice available. It can be costly having contracts drawn up and professional music industry legal advice is very expensive. Joining the MU give you access to these.

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"The Internet As A Platform For Musicians"

During my last semesters at university I started to work on the relationship between music and technology (you can take a look at my blog about Media & Technologies: http://mediaandtechnologies.blogspot.com/).

My thesis “The Internet as a platform for musicians” (it can be found at: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=101233079) focused on how technological innovation have shaped (and still shaping) the music world.

For this work I gathered reading material such as books, magazines, online articles, etc and I had the chance to interview ( mainly by e-mail) musicians from the US, from UK and from Switzerland. There were independent musicians, soundtrack composers & producers, radio show host and other people involved in the music business.

The project is divided in 4 sections:

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Annoying music sends shoppers heading for the exits

Study illustrates the danger of retailers leaving the sound of their brand to chance

Half of Britain’s shoppers have left a store because they were annoyed by the music. This is the result of a study carried out by Immedia Plc, which develops music strategies for retailers. 

The findings illustrate the danger High Street brands face by not developing a suitable ‘sound’ for their brand.

1,000+ shoppers were asked both about their attitude to in-store music, and about how music affects them psychologically and emotionally. 

Key results are as follows:

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Getting paid gigs - a mindset issue?

An interview with Simon Scardanelli of Dr Scardo by Eliza Michaels, author of The Fan Formula.

Chatting to Simon Scardanelli about his new band, Dr Scardo, he mentioned most of their gigs are paid. I was intrigued so I asked Simon how he does it.

Scardanelli is able to look back on a long and varied career with an ironic appreciation of its highs and lows. As a child of the 60’s, Simon has been singing, writing and recording since the age of 16. He’s worked extensively in Europe and the US. Having been signed to both major and independent labels, Simon has an uncompromising attitude to his work and now releases independently through Resonator Records.

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Unusual Song Writing Technique

Hi guys,

I am not sure if any song writing teacher would recommend this but I wonder, can a poorly written, lazy and uninspiring verse make a well written chorus sound twice as good as it otherwise would have?

And, more controversially, could this be a song writing technique that is worth using?

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Internet Promotion from Zero in 2011

I know similar articles to this have been posted here many times, but I thought it would be worth giving my take today, right now, with my perceptions, right or wrong.  So please comment & debate.

Recently a friend of mine was asking where he should post up stuff for his brand new band (no web presence yet at all) given the decline in MySpace.  So I came up with this as my list in order of importance.

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Pete Townshend calls Apple 'a digital vampire'

BBC 6 Music launched “The John Peel Lecture” with Pete Townshend, the creative force, guitarist and chief songwriter of The Who, speaking live at this year’s Radio Academy Radio Festival in Salford’s Lowry Theatre.

The topic was: Can John Peelism survive the Internet? In an age of free downloads and a disposable attitude to music, can creative people earn a living, and without radio how can the “unpolished” music that John Peel championed find an audience?

The rock legend listed eight services that record labels and music publishers have traditionally provided to artists, such as editorial guidance and “creative nurture”.

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Competition: Win A Year's Subscription To The IMA Music Business Academy ($181 Value)

Hi guys. I’ve been a long term reader and contributor of Music Think Tank, and thought it’s about time I gave something more back to the community.

As some of you may know, I recently released my course ‘The IMA Music Business Academy’. It’s a course that aims to teach the independent musician the business side of the industry, giving them all the knowledge and practical skills they need to fast track their music career.

The course has received a lot of good feedback so far, and with the door now back open, I want give you the chance to get involved free of charge.

I’m giving away three prizes of a year’s long access to the IMA Music Business Academy (Each prize valued at $181). If you want to win this great prize, all you have to do is:

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Sonic Youth & Romantic Relationships

So Kim Gordon & Thurston Moore are breaking up.  This one didn’t hit me too hard as I was never a huge Sonic Youth fan (just a guy who liked some of their music), but back 15 years ago when Michael Gira & Jarboe of Swans broke up it really threw me for a loop as far as the hope of ever being able to find that ideal relationship of either (a) two equals that are successful artistic individuals (I’m not going to get into the debate about how many people are willing to shush off Jarboe & Gordon as tagalongs as I think it’s false) or (b) the ability of a semi-broken man (representing myself) to somehow ensnare an angel.  Of course both of these things are wrong & about celebrity worship, but when you’re someone obsessed with music it’s really hard to find any role models that present themselves as being in any kind of successful romantic relationship that doesn’t seem detrimental to their art.  There have been a couple minor rock star couples I’ve been friends with that have made me retain hope for the dream (in fact I did a series of interviews with them a few years ago in QRD), but also see the reality of the everyday problems in any relationship because in the end we’re all just people, which unfortunately kills the dream of one day rising up to having some kind of ideal indie rock god life.

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Brian John Mitchell has run Silber Records since 1996 & the zine gone webzine QRD since 1994.  He is perhaps best known for his music in the band Remora.  He runs a daily blog about running a label where this article originally appeared.

Biz: Why You Need Musicians Insurance (Pt.1 of 2)

Life as a professional musician these days often means being self-sufficient, self-sustaining, and self-employed. You may throughout your career work with different bands, be signed to different labels, or work for different companies that help shape the story you tell. One thing that you may not consider until you’ve started to develop your career is the importance of musicians insurance. Whether you’re a band on the road, a studio owner, or a private lesson instructor, several levels of musicians insurance can help ensure that your livelihood is protected.

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The Future of Music Coalition Looks to the Past to Understand How Musicians Make Money [Part I, Interview]

Whether or not you’re a musician, over the past ten years or so there have been incredible shifts in the music industry.  It wasn’t very long ago that you probably didn’t buy your music over the Internet, or have the ability to listen to any song you wanted to hear with a couple touches of the button, or if you were a musician have an incredible range of tools to promote and record yourself that weren’t ridiculously expensive.  All these changes have been welcomed thus giving greater opportunities to musicians and their fans alike to create and consume music.

While it seems these opportunities are being taken advantage of, how do we know these opportunities are leading musicians to a fruitful life of creating and living off of their art?  In music circles, we often hear about the “middle class musician” and how much easier it is to be a musician today than it was 15 or more years ago.  Yet, most of the evidence backing these claims in anecdotal and does not give a complete picture to the changing landscape in the music industry.

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Birmingham Recording Studio

I set up a London recording studio business almost 10 years ago and have worked with thousands of musicians in that time, something I consider to be a real privilege. Recently I have been looking at opening a recording studio in Birmingham, it makes sense from a business point of view because Birmingham has a very vibrant music community.

The introduction of a Birmingham recording studio to our company is exciting but I am very keen to get the right producer on board. After years of producing I think I know what musicians want from a recording studio but I see a great opportunity in asking you guys what you consider important.

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Desitara: The Search For Talent Continues

There are a lot of people around the world who are immensely talented in one or the other form of art. However there are very few platforms for these individuals to exhibit their talent. Desitara.com is a talent portal that has come as a boon for all talented individuals around the world. Desitara.com is one of fastest growing talent portals in the world. It offers a platform for individuals to exhibit their talent to the whole world.

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