Wednesday, 18 September 2013
3 Benefits of Using Free Beats For Your Upcoming Album
It's not easy being an artist these days. To create an entire Album can cost upwards of $500 dollars or more and that's if it's cheap. You have to purchase studio time, buy beats, and get your songs copyrighted. That's of course before all of the marketing that you will have to do for your first album launch. Marketing alone can be in the thousands or more depending on your budget. If this is your first album you should not waste all of your money on beats. Most artists won't get discovered until a couple albums in anyways. Using free beats will give you practice that you need without having to pay the high cost of licensing instrumentals. Here are a couple of the benefits of using free beats.
Save Money
Artists usually don't get discovered right away and if they do it's usually because they know the right people. If you don't know a lot of people starting out I would suggest building up a fan base before you even think about buying beats or copyrighting your songs. You are probably going to spend over $1,000 on your first album and only going to sell about 50 copies. Unless you know a lot of people already you are probably not going to sell many copies of your first album.
Practice
The best thing about free beats is the practice you get. Nothing is better than recording songs on beats that are high quality. That's the great thing about free beats. You get to use them without paying. Some producers will even put fewer tags on the beat so that the artist can make a great sounding track without the producers tag on it every 5 seconds. Practice makes perfect and while you are in the beginning stages of recording this is a great way to get it.
Exposure
If you happen to make a great sounding track to one of these beats that you download for free, submit it to the producer who made the track. Most producers will support artists who make great songs to their beats. They will even host the song on their page and give you free exposure. The only thing better than using free beats for your recordings is getting free exposure at the same time. Getting on producers pages can be a great start to your career. Some of these producers know big people in the industry. They could help you further your career.
Top Tips For Safe Audio Setup
This is a delicate balance between the best sound and the safest process for guests and for your equipment. Having a speaker stand capsize can be dangerous, and expensive to replace. Keep speaker stands out of traffic areas, both on stage and off.
Keep mic stands out of stage traffic, and run cords and wires toward the front of the stage to keep them out of the way of performers.
Make sure you have a mixer zone, where you can work freely and not be interfered with. If there is no designated sound area, you will need to create one.
Dress your wires.
• Secure wires for speakers, lights and microphones to their stands.
• Bundle multiple wires running in and out of equipment to make a single wire bundle.
• Secure wires to inputs with tape or ties.
• Avoid running wires through traffic areas if possible.
• When you do need to run wires in traffic areas, invest in carpet runners with rubber backs to cover wires safely. This is good safety for your wires and equipment, and the guests at your event.
• Bundle multiple wires running in and out of equipment to make a single wire bundle.
• Secure wires to inputs with tape or ties.
• Avoid running wires through traffic areas if possible.
• When you do need to run wires in traffic areas, invest in carpet runners with rubber backs to cover wires safely. This is good safety for your wires and equipment, and the guests at your event.
Gaffer tape is your friend.
• Wires, cords and other lines in and out of the mixer and speakers should be secure.
• Run wires along baseboards where possible.
• Tape lines down using gaffer's tape. Duct tape sounds like a good idea, but it leaves a residue on carpets and walls. Gaffer's tape is safe for use anywhere without leaving residue behind.
• Run a piece of tape lengthwise down your cable. Keeping your cable centered press hard on both sides of the tape until the cable is secure. Tip: This is also good for an easy tear down after your event. Putting your foot on your cable, pull up on the tape, and it will come up in essentially one long strip for you. You'll have a nice tape ball when you're done!
• Run wires along baseboards where possible.
• Tape lines down using gaffer's tape. Duct tape sounds like a good idea, but it leaves a residue on carpets and walls. Gaffer's tape is safe for use anywhere without leaving residue behind.
• Run a piece of tape lengthwise down your cable. Keeping your cable centered press hard on both sides of the tape until the cable is secure. Tip: This is also good for an easy tear down after your event. Putting your foot on your cable, pull up on the tape, and it will come up in essentially one long strip for you. You'll have a nice tape ball when you're done!
It's amazing how easily wires can work their way away from where you've laid them, so don't be afraid of tape. It takes time to secure cords and wires, but that time is well spent. If you're still not sure how to do this safely, consider a class at a sound engineering school.
Keep the power coming.
Be sure to tape all of your cords to the outlets you are using. A careless guest can easily dislodge your power cord by accident, shutting down the show, and no matter how much you invested in your DJ training you won't get to show your skills.
Secure both the plug, and the power cord using the method described above.
Secure the input ends as well, and dress all power cords into your mixer by using ties, tape, or velcro. Neat and tidy cords are also efficient and safe.
Visit Trebas for other places to learn safe audio setup, such as event management school.
Valeria Stephens is a Copywriter at Higher Education Marketing, a leading Web marketing firm specializing in Google Analytics, Education Lead Generation, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Mobile SMS Alerts, Social Media Marketing and Pay Per Click Marketing, among other web marketing services and tools.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
3 Warnings For Independent Album Launches
Releasing your own independent album ensures you have total control over the end product, gives you the responsibility of getting your music to exactly the audience you're aiming for, and puts potential profits right in your own pocket. While this is an exciting, interesting, and thrilling endeavor, there can also be pitfalls on the way to your dream. The good news is that once you're aware of these problems you can take steps to avoid them. Consider these three common warnings and learn how to avoid the most common problems.
1) Take Advantage of Live Shows and the Opportunities They Bring
While getting out a quality product is important, the reality is that if you don't reach an audience, it may all be for nothing. There's a lot of focus put on gaining an internet following, and while it's important, it's not the best way to make money from your music. Set up live shows in your area to really get fans behind you - and to get the money rolling in. Even if the venue doesn't pay you for playing at first, you can sell merchandise - including your new album. Live shows are still the most lucrative way to get your name out there.
2) Treat Your Band Like a Business
Most people who get into the music industry do so because they love music and they want to share that enthusiasm with others. While this is a noble goal, if you really want to reach a larger audience, and make a living playing music, you need to treat it like a business. This doesn't mean letting the market dictate the way you write or play your songs, and it doesn't mean you can't have fun while you're doing it. But it does mean that you need to make savvy decisions about the way your music is produced, distributed, and enjoyed.
3) Quality Recordings Are a Must
The quality of your writing and the music itself is the first step, but if it doesn't sound as good on your alum as it does live, then you're not going to find success. You can pay big bucks to have someone engineer the album for you, or you can invest in audio school. The right audio engineering schools will not only give you the chops to get your next album out, but they'll give teach you how to engineer an infinite number of albums in the future.
In fact, audio school can help you in many other ways as well. When you're able to help produce the work of others, you'll have the opportunity not just to network with other prominent bands, but to get paid to do it. Audio engineering schools are an investment that can pay off big for many years to come.
Visit Trebas for more information on launching your career with other options like film production programs.
Valeria Stephens is a Copywriter at Higher Education Marketing, a leading Web marketing firm specializing in Google Analytics, Education Lead Generation, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Mobile SMS Alerts, Social Media Marketing and Pay Per Click Marketing, among other web marketing services and tools.
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