Makin' It Magazine

95% of the music I receive is deleted without ever being listened to. Why? Outside of the fact that I  get 300-700 records sent to me each week via Email, Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Its just impossible for me to listen to every song I receive and still find time for my family and work. In an effort to increase the amount of material I listen to I have outlined “15 Reasons I didn’t listen to your music” in hopes that you will shape up

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Every month I find myself in a barbershop, record store, or club parking lot listening to artists claiming that record labels will sign just about anybody these days. I hear them complain about radio stations not playing their songs. I hear them talk about the lack of opportunities for artists with real talent to get heard. I’ve listened to many different versions of these same complaints for over five years as an artist, a manager, a studio owner, and a consultant. These complaints were the exact reason that I put together “The Beat Game: $5000 Rap Contest.” My whole purpose was to provide a level playing field where artists could showcase their talent and get some much needed exposure regardless of where they came from. The funny thing is, when I mention the contest to those same artists, half of them turn their nose up because they feel they are too good to be participating in such a contest while the other half will ask for more information. I’ll talk to them and explain the details but once I tell them there is a $35 entry fee all but a few will loose complete interest. I’ve had artists tell me everything from “I don’t pay to rap…” to “You should be paying us to participate…” I laugh it off because these are the same artists that sit around complaining about their situation, which brings me to the title of this article, “Why wack artist get deals!”

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For years, the studio was the central location for music production. A mixing desk, filled with hardware synthesizers, samplers, and sound racks feeding it. However, the evolution of technology has changed this, making hardware less necessary by providing software alternatives that can achieve the same results. In the last few years, applications such as Fruityloops and Reason began to find their way into mainstream music production producing the same results that could be found in digital hardware synthesizers and samplers such as the MPC, Motif, Phantom, etc. When you don’t have access to all the most expensive gear, you can do a lot with a little these days.

While software is cheaper than most samplers and keyboards, the argument always comes up that software is designed to imitate hardware. It’s also said that software doesn’t have the same quality sounds like hardware. Nowadays, there is nothing about using hardware that you can’t do with software. Any knob you can turn on a sound rack, you can do the same with the click of a mouse.

The importance of personal computers in modern music is something people are going to have to get used to, because for every new keyboard that’s out, there’s a software program that can do the same thing. With that being said, if you like to use hardware, then use it. If you like computer based programs, learn how to use them and I guarantee you’ll have them sounding just as good as hardware. At the end of the day, people don’t care how you make your beats, or what equipment you use to make them. Just make sure they sound good.

When it comes to any business, one thing will always be true. You are your biggest investment. The time and money you put into yourself is directly reflective of how seriously you take yourself and how seriously other people will take you. The truth is technology is evolving so fast that what used to cost thousands of dollars can now be done for a little over a hundred bucks. There is no reason for anyone to claim to be a model and not have comp cards and photos, with tools like digital cameras and Photoshop so easily accessible. There is no reason for a manager, promoter, or producer not to have business cards when you can easily get 1,000 full color for just $35 (www.NeedCDsNow.com). How can you call yourself a rapper and not have a single song recorded when there are so many programs that will let you turn your home computer into a virtual studio. When you approach a label or agency that is interested in your talents or services how seriously would you expect to be taken, when you don’t even have the basic necessities for conducting day to day business in your given field.

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