“Data Is The New Hustle” – Is The Music Business Getting Any Fairer?

“Data Is The New Hustle” – Is The Music Business Getting Any Fairer?

During last Tuesday’s SF MusicTech Summit, I had the privilege of moderating a panel alongside several top minds within music and technology, where a short, yet powerful quote was said that resonated deeply with myself and several members of the audience. “Data is the new hustle,” pronounced BitTorrent’s Executive Director of Marketing Matt Mason. The traditional music business has never been rational (as Incubus manager Steve Rennie pointed out), nor has it ever been easy or straightforward. However, Mason points out that the democratized use of online tools and metrics is beginning facilitate a new kind of music business – one that is becoming fairer for artists.
“The music game has always been about hustle,” Mason says. “I've worked in the content industries since my teens, and have never seen a successful artist who didn't, at one time or another, figure out a way to get their stuff in front of people that mattered to their career in a really creative way.”
To Mason’s point, artists of yesterday would have to employ a hustle mentality in several different ways in order to get their music heard. The trouble was that in order to do so, one would have to go through a number of gatekeepers – many of which were nearly impossible to access without the right connections or a large enough bank account.
“In the music business, hustle has taken on many forms over the decades,” he continued. “We've all heard stories of payola, threats, favors and bribery, but there's also a negative side, to mangle a Hunter S. Thompson quote on the music industry. It's never been fair, it's never been rational, and it's always been dirty. Which is why data is such good news for the music business.”
Nowadays however, executives all the way up to the major labels are examining the very same data figures that we all have access to such as YouTube views, SoundCloud plays, and social media metrics. With data, popular artists can now prove they are popular. If they decide to approach labels, brands or other industry sources, they can now demonstrate that they really have an audience, and can even pinpoint exactly where they are and to what degree they engage and spend money with them.
“Artists now have so many tools at their disposal,” Mason said. “The real problem is knowing how to use them, knowing how to understand the right metrics and then act accordingly to get a better outcome. But that's a better way of hustling than paying off a DJ to play your record. Data means the music business is getting a little more democratic.”
While many would argue that artists continue to get the short end of the stick in today's music business (perhaps especially in regards to licensing with streaming platforms), artist data metrics can now prove to be just as powerful - if not more powerful - than any personal connection or bribe.
The proof is always in the pudding, as they say. If you as an artist claim to be remarkable, and you've got the stats to back it up, that data will certainly place the ball firmly in your court.
—
Hisham Dahud is a Senior Analyst for Hypebot.com. Additionally, he is the head of Business Development for Fame House and an independent musician. Follow him on Twitter: @HishamDahud

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Hip Hop Marketing At The Strip Club

Hip Hop Marketing At The Strip Club

The Wall St. Journal takes a look at hip hop music marketing through Atlanta strip clubs featuring dj collective Coalition DJs. Strip clubs are a marketing staple for Southern hip hop with djs getting paid to play singles ideally at the peak of the evening. Apparently Coalition DJs are a dominant force in the current Atlanta scene with a well-developed approach for helping break records.

Hannah Karp, writing for The Wall St. Journal, covers territory that I've long found of interest. Karp focuses on Coalition DJs:

"The Coalition DJs were assembled in 2008 as the brainchild of Atlanta music exec, Xavier Hargrove (DJ Big-X). After nearly 10+ years of watching DJ Funky, DJ X-Rated, and DJ Fernando establish their names individually via popular Atlanta gentlemen’s clubs such as Jazzy T’s, Strokers, and Magic City, X felt that combining their efforts would make them a force to be reckoned with in Atlanta’s booming urban nightlife and music scene."

A lot of what Karp describes Coalition DJs standardizing draws on various elements they must have been observing in the clubs. For example, I wrote a piece for ProHipHop in 2006 that drew on sources describing special music nights, fees and even a feedback process.

Karp describes a similar scenario in which Coalition DJs screen applicants, give feedback and feature the music in clubs, often at special nights.

But there's obviously more to the story here. Music from major label artists is also being promoted through strip clubs by major labels and individual artists are also going direct to dj.

So that would suggest that individuals and groups like Coalition DJs have a more complex array of deals, side deals, etc. all possibly within the bounds of group and individual agreements and, according to Karp, fair play as long as they don't have radio shows.

Fascinating to consider, strip club marketing also offers a real world activity that surfaces on the web but can't be replaced by the web.

Personal comments:

Ok yes I thought this was a crazy article when I first saw too, but yet alot make sense. I know this won't work in every strip club. But it might take some time for to catch on.

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Deep House Production Tips Part 1 – Deep House Tutorials (loopmaster)

Deep House Production Tips Part 1 – Deep House Tutorials
Deep House Production Tips Part 1

Hey Deep House fans, here’s part one of a two part series for Deep House production tips to get your juices flowing in the studio. While this article is primarily focused on Deep House, you can of course apply many of these tips to any genre.

1. Deep into the vibe of House!
A lot of Deep House’s vibe comes from its rhythm. While the drum patterns don’t generally deviate much from the 4/4 template, leaving them straight makes them sound too robotic. To give them a more human feel – à la Chris Brann’s Ananda Project – you can apply 16th-note swing quantisation or some more sophisticated groove quantisation if your sequencer supports it.
Analysing live drum breaks will give you a more human feel than straight quantisation, though you’ll probably find that keeping the kicks dead on the beat works best.

2. While programming riffs and chord progressions with a mouse is convenient if you can’t play the keyboard – and handy for tricky stuff, of course – you should at least give the old-fashioned live approach a try.
Mistakes can always be corrected later using your sequencer’s MIDI editor, and you might be surprised at how much better your sequences sound when you’ve played rather than programmed them. Plenty of top producers swear by the ‘human touch’ to inject a bit of life and soul into their tracks.

3. A very commonly used sound in Deep House music is the electric piano.
While it’s possible to spend hundreds of pounds on a commercial electric piano emulation, there are some superb free plug-ins out there that are more than capable of doing the job.
**Lacking some effects? You’ll find an ever-growing selection of quality free plugins here

4. If you want to create an authentic electric piano sound, it’s crucial that you use the right effects.
An Auto-Filter effect in particular can be used to add movement and feeling to an electric piano sound. Add an autofilter and turn the LFO Rate up to around 1.5Hz. Then add delay and reverb plug-ins in that order. Play with the wet/dry level of the reverb to make everything sound more intimate.

5. If your chords don’t have enough body, you can make them bigger by doubling them with another instrument.
Even if the part you double it with is extremely quiet (you don’t want it to overpower the original chords), it can still add character and definition. Also use augmented chords like 7ths and 13ths instead of just basic triads to get that classic Deep House feel.

6.When using doubled parts in this manner, you can use the stereo space to create different feels.
Try doubling the electric piano with something else, using a stereo imaging plugin to increase the stereo spread of the electric piano and to “mono-fy” the other patch. This will keep the electric piano vibes rolling around the stereo field while retaining a lot of definition in the centre of the mix.

7. You will probably want a wide and full feel in your Deep  House track so make use of the full stereo field.
A stereo imaging plug-in can make this a lot easier. Try turning the width value up  for an extra wide stereo image that’ll give your tracks a widescreen feel. Be careful of overuse though, stereo imaging plugins can sound great but they’ll also result in some bad mono compatibility and phasing issues if you overkill it.

8. Don’t forget the Mono!
Another way to create a wide sounding track may sound wrong but it’s to make some elements of your track Mono. This creates contrast and enhances the perceived width of your other elements.  If you are using as stereo enhancer turn the width down to 0%. This will ‘mono-fy’ the signal and enable you to place it precisely in the stereo panorama using your sequencer’s pan control. This can be useful when you want to accurately position percussion sounds in the stereo mix.

9.Effects are generally used quite sparsely in Deep House, so those that you do use need to be up to scratch or they’ll stick out like sore thumbs.
Unlike some genres, Deep House uses a relatively small amount of effects and instead relies on the interplay of  key elements to create a vibe. Reverbs, then delays are the most commonly used effects.

10. Stay out of the mud!
If you’re using reverb or delay send effects on sounds that have a large amount of low end you can end up with a muddy mix. You can curtail the amount of bass output from the send effect by adding a high-pass filter at any point of the effect chain.

11. Don’t go dead-centre
When you’re using a lot of percussion sounds, you can find more space to squeeze sounds into the mix by panning their stereo positions – if you pan all your drum sounds dead centre they can become one indistinguishable mass.

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Pulselocker’s Hybrid Subscription Music Service For DJ’s Takes Another Creative Step

Pulselocker's Hybrid Subscription Music Service For DJ's Takes Another Creative Step

Pulselocker launched last year as a subscription streaming service for DJs allowing them to download music to their computer more economically than the dominant pay-per-track model. Earlier this month they launched a web-based version combining on and offline access with special touches designed for pro and semi-pro DJs.

Pulselocker is a unique hybrid service with a smart solution to music subscriptions that include downloads:

"For DJs, what makes the service interesting – and unique – is that unlike other subscription music on demand offerings, users can actually take the songs they 'rent' and save into a special Pulselocker folder on their computer. From here, those tracks can be played with specific, whitelisted DJ’ing applications, like Traktor and Serato."

The service now includes unlimited streaming with pricing "based on how many tracks a DJ wants to save for offline playback, starting at $9.99/month for 25 tracks up to $59.99/month for 1,000."

Rights holders are paid in multiple ways as the founders note:

"As a company founded by artists, our goal was to create a business that gave DJs the freedom to access all the music they could, while keeping the artists’ interest top-of-mind. That’s why we developed our triple monetization strategy, which pays an escalating royalty each time a track is streamed, downloaded into the Locker and DJ’d for more than 90 seconds and purchased outright. While we won’t solve piracy, we’re focused on building a model that puts more money back into the artists’ pocket. "

DJ Pangburn explores some of the more interesting nuances of the system, such as the designation of micro-genres:

"Until 50 people use the same genre in a playlist, it won't become available on Pulselocker. While this will probably introduce some sanity into the micro-genre absurdity, it might not sit well with DJs trying to create their own movement. That decision, however, wouldn't rest with Pulselocker brass, but with its user base. If 50 users cannot be swayed, then so be it."

Perhaps micro-genres aren't the biggest issue around but it's another example of how the Pulselocker team are bringing their creativity to every level of a product designed especially for DJs.

Apparently deals are in the works with majors but, for now, Pulselocker is an indie-focused service

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Designing Layered Kicks and Basses for Tech House by Paul Maddox

Designing Layered Kicks and Basses for Tech House by Paul Maddox

Posted on August 18, 2013by Morris Hayes Jr/ Dj Duece

Designing Layered Kicks and Basses for Tech House by Paul Maddox

Designing Layered Kicks and Basses for Tech House by Paul Maddox

In this sample tutorial from Producertech’s new course ‘Techno & Tech House Production in Live’, Paul Maddox of Spektre shows us how to design layered kicks and basses for Tech House.

In the video Paul initially goes through some useful tips for removing unwanted noise from recorded samples, and then shows how you can edit the auto filter automation, and clip modulation parameters to sculpt 2 kicks together.

Paul then shows us how to use Ableton’s clip envelope modulations for pitch and volume to create a sudo side chaining effect on basses. This FREE tutorial is Part 1 of a sample module Producertech are showing from their ‘Techno & Tech House Production in Live’ production course. Part 2 of this video can be seen by enrolling at Music-Courses.com

About Techno & Tech House Production in Live

On this course, Paul shares the secrets of his success, uncovering his methodical and clever approach to producing slamming house and techno.
To hear the track made on the course, visit Producertech’s brand new Soundcloud page using the following link: http://tr.im/48xb7

As well as being able to download the Live set made throughout the course, signing up also allows students to get their hands on a huge pack of bonus Loopmasters samples to add to their library. Furthermore, the course is currently listed at an introductory price of 25% off. To take advantage of this generous offer, visit the course page, here:http://bit.ly/17c0Knk

The course comes with the Live set made in the tutorials as well as over 200MB of extraroyalty-free Loopmasters samples.

Enjoy!

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Classic Tracks: Skream – Midnight Request Line (PrimeLoops.com)

Time to delve once more into the vault for another look at a classic track, and a chance to take it apart to see how it works. What makes it such a good tune? Why was it successful? How can you try to get some of this magic into your own work?

So this week we’re heading back to the early days of dubstep. Not the absolute beginnings, as it morphed out of garage and grime, but the period when it really started to take on an identity that Imost would recognise today – heavy half-step beats, dubbed-out sound FX and slow motion bass riffs. As this happened, some familiar names started to emerge, who would be seen as the dubstep originators; for instance Mala, Pinch, Loefah, Benga, and of course Skream. It was Skream who came up with one of the tunes that defined the whole scene, and even made people outside of dubstep prick up their ears; Midnight Request Line.

This track illustrates perfectly Skream’s knack for coming up with a great, memorable hook line, and giving it space to breathe. It’s what has pushed his career to such heights lately, and it’s in evidence here; what’s really remarkable is the simplicity. What we’re talking about is that synth line that runs throughout the track.

It’s essentially just an arpeggiated chord; a minor chord going up a single octave, which moves down by one whole tone, and then back to the original note. There’s a tight delay on the sound, in 16th notes – there’s a lot of delays in this track – which gives it more movement. But it’s the way that the riff is handled which makes the real difference. Listen more closely and you’ll hear that the synth line develops by moving to the 5th note of the scale; we first hear this when the bass drops in. When it does so, it also drops to half the speed; the riff is on 8th notes rather than 16ths, and the delay changes to 8ths as well. This gives the track the feel that it’s let up in intensity; it’s dropped down in pitch, as well as speed, and you find yourself anticipating the move back up to the original key and original speed. When it does so, it feels like the track is kicking on again, there’s a real sense of momentum.

So far, so good. But the real masterstroke is Skream’s balancing act; as mentioned, he steps the riff down at the same point the bass and full drums come in. Many producers go for maximum intensity at the drop, and could have it the other way round. This way, however, the bass and drums give the drop the oomph it needs for the dancefloor. Then, eight bars later, the riff returns to the original speed, giving the track an extra push of momentum. Simple, but extremely effective. The riff then switches up every eight bars; the next time round, he introduces a subtle high-pitched hi-hat on 8th notes to give the track a touch more drive. After that, the gunshot sound effects and simple harp arpeggio (which is just the same minor chord as the riff, but descending this time).

The riff is further tweaked in the second drop; it’s on a slightly different synth sound (there’s a bit of a resonant filter on it) but it’s basically how we hear it in the intro; just the first two notes of the riff, with some hefty delay. It works as a switch-up, and then we’re back to the main riff in all its glory – and original synth sound – as the track finishes off. This really is an object lesson in how to take a simple melody or sample, and base a whole track around it; changing it just enough to stop it being boring, and structuring it so that the energy and drive of the track benefits as a result.

There are a few other tricks that Skream uses to keep things rolling, too. The drums are outwardly in a simple halfstep pattern, but he has a flurry of hi-hats (quite hefty sounding ones too, probably a 909 closed hat sample) between the kick and the snare. Closer examination reveals they also have a very tight delay on them, probably 1/32nd note, pretty quietly layered into the mix. This gives a sense of space and movement on the mixdown, and helps the otherwise sparse beat sound a bit more full. The clap also changes each bar; on bar one of the loop it’s got a layered snare or pitched-down clap in there, on bar two it’s just a clap. Again, it switches up after the second drop; the layered snare suddenly has a huge reverb on it which filters down at the end of the tail.

We mentioned the harp arpeggio earlier; this is used in two ways. The first time we hear it, it’s like an intro to the drop; just the three notes that signal a new section is on its way. This is how it’s used throughout most of the track, and it makes a nice change from the usual risers and white noise whooshes that many producers use. But then when the gunshot section comes in, Skream takes this fill and uses it as a main element instead.

We could go on – there are plenty more subtle details in this track that would bear scrutiny. But the real lesson with this track isn’t about any one particular detail. It’s about attention to detail in general. Nothing in this track happens the same way every time; delays speed up and slow down, reverbs appear and disappear, one melody ascends while another descends, a riff mellows out while the drums get tougher. Everything has been thought about, and while none of the changes are huge, they all add up to a track that works on the dancefloor but is still superbly listenable on headphones or at home.

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Dotted Music Releases The Electronic Artist Success Recipe Box [Free For Limited Time]

Dotted Music's Andrew Apanov is kicking off their new We Spin business training program for electronic music DJs and producers with a free bundle of audio and video interviews. The interviews include some ideas that are important for all DIY and indie musicians but the focus is always on the distinctive needs of electronic musicians. This is not production oriented material but rather focuses on the business side of things.

You may know Andrew Apanov from Dotted Music which provides a variety of marketing and web services for musicians. Apanov also produces the Stand Above The Noise video interview series with music business professionals which we've been premiering here at Hypebot.

In an email Apanov explained a bit of the rationale behind the We Spin training program and community, which starts in the fall, as well as the free bundle of business interviews:

"The tips that apply to bands do not always work for electronic artists. Most of the promotional and business advice still works, but there are a number of specifics (to start with, indie labels have always been key players in any electronic genre, and now their impact is only raising; so the popular 'you don't need a label' advice sounds odd to a producer)."

He also pointed out:

"90% of producers I've met and consulted have no idea what to do with their music other than 'sending it to labels' and through We Spin they will be able to learn how to brand themselves, use non-music hobbies and interest as their USP (unique selling proposition), build fanbases, partner with brands, approach labels and bloggers the right way, book DJ and live gigs and so on."

"The community part (technically, it will be a subscribers-only forum) is for getting answers to any marketing and business questions, like a one-stop destination for all things related to running an electronic music business career. I will be providing personal support and assistance to every member in there. There will also be monthly webinars for subscribers, invited guests, special offers."

The free for a limited time Electronic Artist Success Recipe Box is available in exchange for an email address, which will get you more info on the upcoming program, and contains the following:

10 Exclusive Audio Interviews

Starkey - "What It Takes To Make A Living Making Music"

Philadelphia-based street bass producer and DJ, released on the likes of Ninja Tune, Planet Mu etc. Co-founder of Seclusiasis record label.

Ian Clifford - "This Is The Best Time To Be An Electronic Artist"

Music marketer, founder of Make It In Music, worked at Three Six Zero (a management firm behind Deadmau5, mau5trap, Calvin Harris etc.)

Terry Church - "You Are A Brand And A Publisher"

Co-founder of social media management platform JustGo Music, former Editor of Beatport and a former DJ Mag editor, has done PR for David Guetta, Luciano, Dubfire, and many more top brands.

James Vorres - "Digital Stores Raise Your Exposure"

Digital/Label Marketing Manager at Juno Download, founder of Sccucci Manucci record label.

Jay Cunning - "Musician As An Entrepreneur"

A bass DJ, founder of Sub Slayers record label, co-host of the Sub Slayers show on the UK's underground KoolLondon.com.

dimmSummer - "You Have To Build A Fanbase"

Co-Founder of High Chai Recordings, an electronica label with numerous records making it to the Top 5 of the Beatport charts; founder of TrygaDesign.com.

N-Type - "It's About Persistance"

A multi award winning dubstep DJ / producer, radio show host at Rinse Fm, founder of Wheel & Deal, Terrain, co-owner of Sin City Recordings.

Yvette Chivers - "Broaden Your Horizons"

A DJ and radio host, Managing Director at NE-Xcuse, creator of B-Side Project, a music network remix project.

Rob Sparx - "You Need A Team"

A drum & bass / dubstep producer and DJ with releases on Formation, Grid, Propaganda, Vibez, Audiophreakz, Dubting, On The Edge etc.

Mennie - "Labels Help Artists Grow Big"

A house DJ / producer, label manager at Fahrenheit Music, one of the Top 10 house labels on Beatport.

Plus:

Video Interview With Robert "Monolake" Henke

(Co-Founder Of Ableton Live)

I got an advance look at the bundle and I found a few bonus goodies including a track from the first We Spin Records music release.
More:

Electronic Music Artist Dot Dot On Making Money Outside Of EDM
The Challenges Facing Indie Musicians: Interview With Reimut Van Bonn

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DJ Shapes Sound with Fingers, Leap Motion

July 24, 2013 at 1:49 pm by Eliot Van Buskirk
DJ Shapes Sound with Fingers, Leap Motion

Leap Motion released an $80 motion sensor on Monday, which works with Mac and Windows. On launch day, Leap’s Airspace app store had 14 music apps for doing silly things like punching notes as they fly out of a song, or more serious things like playing the piano, harp, or drums in thin air.

We predict that developers will find other musical uses for Leap that the average music fan can appreciate; the possibilities for navigating music libraries in three dimensions seems particularly attractive (maybe it’ll even let those of us who remember use our special two-fingered vinyl-flipping technique, honed through years of digging through crates).

Someone has already figured out how to make Leap control Spotify, and we expect further apps to follow — especially if Leap Motion makes it into laptops, as some expect it to. It sure would be easier to swipe a hand in the air to skip a song than to remember which window it’s playing in.

However, the first popular uses for Leap are likely to be for making music, not navigating or playing it, because the gearheads are going to snap this thing up before music fans do. We just heard about an as-yet-unnamed app and VST plugin, from Aaron Leese of Stagecraft Software, still in prototype form, which lets Leap Motion owners reach out and touch sound. Sort of.

This technology promises to let DJs, producers, hobbyists, and fans-of-interesting-things sculpt and shape EQ patterns, delay filters, and other elements, by moving their hands in the air and the song. It also lets you see what you’re doing to the sound, creating the illusion that you’re actually touching music:

The astute reader might protest: haven’t DJ rigs, Grooveboxes, and other music-making gizmos been able to sense hand motions for, like, ever?

Yes. The difference is that Leap Motion detects a lot more than just the distance of your hand from a specific point on a device.

Leese explains,

First of all, very few, if any, of the existing mid-air style controllers have more than one dimension (most are a single infrared detector that gives one variable, distance, as a MIDI signal). While that is pretty cool, it’s not the same level of control. Also, the ones I have seen are mostly used to control one single, simple variable effect. Pretty cool, but it would be better to be able to use it like a theremin (control an instrument, that is).

Eventually, I plan to make a simple plugin that lets you map the three dimensions to any of the parameters on any plugin (instrument or effect). I also plan to bundle a number of my own effects this way, of course.

Another product in the works is a basic Theremin, but with a synth with a number of voices. Planning on calling that one the “There-e-thing”, since you can make it sound like a trumpet, or piano, or helicopter, or whatever.

I do plan on integrating this feature it into my other products also.

We’re looking forward to checking this out — and to what else Leap Motion and its inevitable competitors will bring to digital music.

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