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Friday, 06 November 2009 |
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from Penny Distribution :
• Most commercial scripts that I’d receive from advertising agencies
the audio column on the script generally say the following – ‘generic
upbeat music’.
• Usually the agencies locally don’t put a huge amount of thinking
into the music on a commercial but focus on the ‘message’ of the ad.
• At the point where I enter I am asked to do a ‘director’s
treatment’ where I outline usually on a single A4 broken into
paragraphs how I will approach the commercial. This is where I begin to
plant the seed of a particular type of music into the ad agency’s
brain.
• One thing to remember before anything else is that ALL ad agencies
are heart-scared of losing their client no matter how small! They will
do nothing that they might consider will be at odds with their client’s
profile.
Click here to read Coin's entire post.
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Friday, 04 September 2009 |
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Songwriting as a profession has always had a great deal to with trying to write hits. Hits are not everything, but they earn the songwriter lots of money and end up meaning a great deal to a large number of people. Songs become hits because, in some way, they touch people. They communicate a feeling or idea, and that sort of communication is what drives the songwriter to write. Clearly art and commerce don’t have to fight it out every time.
The ongoing explosion of the music industry, and the immediacy of the Internet has changed (and is changing) things drastically. The vast numbers of songwriters hawking their wares, and the immense number of sites offering downloads of the latest and greatest tunes, makes writing a hit both more important and more difficult.
One reason hits are more important in today’s music business (from the songwriter’s perspective, of course) is because there is no longer a market for album cuts. Album cuts are those decent, but unremarkable songs that often filled up albums that had one or two hits on them. For every hit there was a need for a number of good songs that bands could perform in concert and use on the album. As a result, once upon a time, you could make a nice living writing those. But today’s demand for singles is even fiercer than it was back in the days of 45 rpm records—mp3s don’t even have a B side. And only a hit is going to cut through and be heard.
One reason that writing hits is more difficult is that new niches develop constantly, new trends become old, and the song that might have captured the attention of fans last week is now done and overdone. The immediacy of communication is translating into an acceleration of changing tastes. Look at a slow motion example to see why this is important. If you listen to what soul and R&B music was when it came out, you can begin to get the idea. An old style R&B hit song would be retro today, at best. (Great to have in your song catalog for movies, through). And with so much music out there, what are you going to track so that you are current?
Some of the change comes from the constant demand for new, and different music, and part from the proliferation of bands, each with their own take on the music scene. As a songwriter, you face the triple challenge of finding someone who likes the sort of thing you write, can do it well, and then promotes it. But being close to, and working with, artists who are developing a fresh sound is a lot easier than trying to keep up with the tastes of the millions of music consumers. So there, at least, is a place to focus.
In all this change, one thing remains constant. Ultimately a hit is an indefinable combination of musical hooks, memorable music, and lyrics that somehow strike a chord in a huge cross section of listeners. So if you focus on just that goal—writing a tune that touches your audience musically and lyrically—then you are doing all you can, at least in the writing phase.
“Writing phase?” That’s right. This is just one phase of the things you need to master to be successful. As we will discuss in future blogs, writing that great song is just the beginning, and in practice might not even come first. Confused? You won’t be when we cover the next steps in your songwriting business.
Read more at http://www.insidermusicbusiness.com/blog
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Friday, 04 September 2009 |
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Once you have written a great song, the business of songwriting kicks in—you need to get it ready to pitch. Pitching is your presentation of the song; the demo recording is a key element in making an effective pitch. The song must be heard.
A good recording simply isn’t enough. Your recordings have to cut through immense amounts of competitive clutter. Your demo is your main advertising and marketing tool, and it has to work. For your audience, the demo is the song.
For film and television placements, your recording is the final product. A music supervisor won’t ask you to change the vocal or fix a bad note because they like the song. If it isn’t right, they pass. When they listen, they imagine your particular recording, not just the song, in the scene.
You’d think that pitching to singers would be less demanding, but despite the quality of your lyrics or melody, it is the music, the hooky riffs, the cool sound, that listeners respond to first. Because your pitch is a sales presentation (and it’s all about getting attention) your arrangement and recording must grab them. It should smell like a hit.
Remember that the music supervisor or producer won’t be listening to just your song—they get hundreds. The CDs and mp3s will be stacked to the virtual ceiling and each gets only a brief listen. Yours must instantly stand out and refresh those tired ears.
This bumps you from your comfy songwriter chair to that of producer and arranger. If you have a home studio, as I do, you might be the band as well. If you have those skills, this can be very cost effective. But even skillful songwriters and performers can trip over their egos in producing their own demos. It can be hard for me to identify weaknesses or give the song the polish that it needs to land the gig. That’s why hot producers are in demand.
An important point: In pitching songs to artists, the singer is the critical element in the demo. He or she has to have the right pipes and the ability to make the song sound the way it should. Most singers are good at one style of music, but less effective with others. Unless you write only one kind of song, for one kind of voice, you will outside singers, at least.
Many top songwriters turn to professional demo studios because they provide professional musicians using pro gear to get the right sound. You can send them a rough recording of your song (to indicate the tempo and feel), and notes about how although you sing like early Bob Dylan the song should have a female vocalist who sounds like the flavor of the moment. And the good ones come through.
One difficulty in working with a demo studio is that they have to interpret what you tell them, and their interpretation might sound wrong to you. The best thing is to set it aside for bit and listen as if it was someone else’s song that you had never heard before. They might have added some good ideas. It is easy to get invested in your own interpretation. One friend of mine who uses demo studios finds that he often hates the song when he first gets it back, but later loves it.
So a top notch recording is as much a key element of your business as it is for a performing/recording artist. Unfortunately, no matter how you do it, good work will cost a bit, however, because even studio musicians like to eat semi regularly.
Whether you DIY, hire a studio and musicians, or use a demo studio, the costs and time must be factored into your business plan.
And even a songwriter needs a business plan. If you haven’t done yours yet, check out How To Write Your Music Business Plan and get started on one now.
Later we will discuss other essential parts of your songwriting business strategy, but this one ensures that your product—the song—is properly packaged and ready to take to market.
Read more at http://www.insidermusicbusiness.com/blog
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Friday, 28 August 2009 |
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From NewRockstarPhilosophy.com :
Confused by the music licensing world?
It can be convoluted as there isn’t that much info out there. Lucky for you, you got us on your side.
We had the opportunity to interview Sarah Gavigan,
a Music Supervisor who happens to also teach a Class on the subject at
UCLA and has an upcoming book coming out entitled, “How to Get Your
Music Licensed in a Commercial.” (out December 09)
We were intrigued by her deep experience in licensing music and
wanted her to share a little bit of wisdom with you guys. She was very
cool and was more than happy to participate.
Click here to read the full interview.
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Monday, 04 August 2008 |
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Licensing music to be played in films, adverts and TV shows has been
part of a label’s income for a long time, but recent high profile
artist tie-ins with games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero has made it
big news. As sales from physical music decline, how far can this slice
of revenue help to plug the gap? How much of a priority should it be
for a label?
Like many parts of the music industry, sync looks
like a black art to outsiders. How do you start getting sync work? Who
do you need to know? Who should you be working with? We asked three
industry experts to let us into their world…
Read more
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Saturday, 05 July 2008 |
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From Government Computer News:
The U.S. Copyright Office
is opening a new online portal intended to help the office move from a
paper-based environment to electronic processing.

The
office, a part of the Library of Congress, handles about 550,000
copyright claims annually. Beginning July 1, anyone will be able to use
the Electronic Copyright Office (eCO) portal
to submit basic claims and copyright applications electronically, make
online payments and upload works being registered. Those submitting
hard copies of the registered material can generate and print shipping
labels.
Click here to read the entire article.
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Saturday, 21 June 2008 |
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From .evolving music blog:
As a law student who geeked out on Copyright law,
the single most frequent question I’m asked is: “Dude, what the hell is
music publishing?” This is a very loaded question that triggers a
discussion about music Copyright law and the various royalties that
stem from each music Copyright.
Click here to read the entire post.
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Friday, 19 October 2007 |
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If you have recorded a cover version of someone else's song, and you plan to make that recording available over the Internet, the following information applies to you. You must follow these steps BEFORE you make your recording available for distribution to the public!
http://cdbaby.net/dd-covers
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Friday, 19 October 2007 |
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One outlet for marketing your original song material is the traditional
route of submitting your compositions to song publishers. Most publishers
have far more connections in the business than the average songwriter
and are more likely to be able to place your song in a significant
project than if you are marketing it yourself.
http://www.discmakers.com/music/ffwd/marksongtips.asp
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Friday, 19 October 2007 |
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What does copyright law say about your rights when an original
idea is formed between two or more people? A few principles regarding
joint works must be understood by the authors, and the most important
principle has to do with ownership.
http://www.discmakers.com/music/ffwd/2005/borg.asp
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Wednesday, 17 October 2007 |
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When a songwriter assigns a song to a music publisher, the publisher
can help in a number of ways. One of the primary roles of the publisher
is to secure commercially released recordings, CDs, and tapes of the
songs it controls
http://www.ascap.com/musicbiz/ascapcorner/corner1.html
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Wednesday, 17 October 2007 |
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Intellectual Property Law 101: The Power of The Mark by Nancy Prager
Whether
you're a recording artist, performing artist, composer or
lyricist, all of your artistic expressions - lyrics, music,
liner notes, etc - are your most valuable assets and must be
diligently protected by you. Legally classified as
"Intellectual Property" you can ensure that they
are not stolen or misused by someone else - but only if you
follow the proper procedures.
http://www.musiciansatlas.com/newsletter/nov05/copyright11_05.htm
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Wednesday, 17 October 2007 |
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Intellectual Property Law 101: Copyright Now or Cry Later by Nancy Prager.
Whether
you pursue the label route or self-release, it is important
to realize that the "thing" that you create as an
artist is a product, which must be protected. Your songs,
music and even your image are all classified as
"Intellectual Property" and qualify for a variety
of legal protections to ensure that it not be stolen or
misused by someone else. As an artist, it is your most
important and valuable asset and it is not enough to rely on
your managers, agents, or even lawyers, to protect your
interests in the works you create.
http://www.musiciansatlas.com/newsletter/oct05/copyright10_05.htm
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Monday, 15 October 2007 |
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You may know that you do not have to register a copyright in order for
your work to be protected under U.S. Copyright law. A work is protected
the moment it is "created and fixed in a tangible form of expression"
(e.g. when it is recorded or written down). That gives you some peace
of mind. But proving ownership and establishing your creation date if
someone infringes on your rights is often where the controversy begins.
http://www.ascap.com/musicbiz/copyright_tips.html
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Monday, 15 October 2007 |
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Publishing rights are the rights to a song. If you write a
song by yourself, you own the publishing (and copyright) from
the moment you finish the song. You don't have to set up shop
as a music publisher to own those rights - they automatically
come with authorship.
http://www.taxi.com/faq/publishing/index.html#q1
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Monday, 15 October 2007 |
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Before you do anything, and I mean before you do anything, you
positively must take this first step: Affiliate you company with ASCAP
or BMI. The reason you have to do this first is that these societies
won't let you use a name that's the same (or similar to) the name of an
existing company.
http://www.taxi.com/faq/publishing/set-up-pub-1.html
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