The Deal Maker

By TJ Chapman

TO HELP YOU STEP UP YOUR HIP-HOP GAME, LEARN HOW A POWER BROKER BREAKS ARTISTS

I started out DJing back in ‘84 when I was in eighth grade. From there, I hopped into other things like management and promotions. From the management came other deals, including renegotiating a contract for my first artist that I managed named Beatmaster Clay D, one of the Florida-based legends and pioneers, back in ‘92. I did my first major deal with Island Records for an artist named Prince Rahiem in ‘93. It was all about hard work, but I guess my success was also due in part because I moved from Detroit down to Florida at the right time, during the middle of developing this whole southern music scene.

How can artists build buzz for themselves without a major label backing them?

The best thing, in my opinion, is viral promotions. I’m real big on that. For me, the No. 1 way to build your buzz is using the various viral tools that exist, such as the free e-mail accounts from Gmail and Yahoo, as well as the free e-mail lists like FanBridge and ReverbNation and various social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. They can work the various blogs, message boards and forums. Another good one is Imeem, where you can build your own playlists.

The streets are also definitely important. With the new generation of kids and musicians, everything is all about the computer and the Internet. But they need to supplement promoting online with the traditional street promotions: making sure you hit the clubs, making sure the DJs know your name, dropping mixtapes, getting your music played — from the regular clubs to the strip clubs. Everybody thinks it’s all about having a rep in the street, and that’s not necessarily true. It’s really about developing credibility in general.

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1.Intro
2.Get the Money – Mic Geronimo ft Royal Flush
3.Green Day – Lloyd Banks ft Havoc and Cormega
4.Euphoria – Rakim ft Styles P, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes
5.The Invitation – 50 Cent
6.I See You – Snoop Dogg
7.Dancin’ – Hoodfellas
8.Puttin’ Work In – EPMD ft Raekwon
9.Be Me – Lil Wayne
10.Come Out – Tony Yayo ft Nice and Prodigy
11.Southside Symphony – Frenchie, Deezy the General, Louis V & Lexx9Eleven
12.The Pyrex/Smells Like ‘95 – Fokis and Havoc
13.Outro

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Top 5 Tips for better mixes

Okay, so you’ve got your chart-topping single all composed.

The synths are catchy, the beats are interesting and the vocals are filled with sexual innuendo – but nothing seems to mesh!

Here are some tips on how to make your mixes mesh more…

1. One at a time

I’ve noticed a lot of beginner producers have everything blaring out and try and mix from there – you’ll find it a lot easier to mute everything, then bring in each track one by one, mixing everything as it’s added in.

2. Flat Response Speakers

If you can, grab yourself some speakers with a flat response – this means that they don’t emphasise any frequencies.   For example, Hi-fi systems with subwoofers tend to boost the bass, so if you mix on them you’ll find your mix is drowning in flabby bass!   Not everyone can afford these, however so the next best thing is to…

3. Get in the car!

Try your mix out everywhere.   In your car, in someone else’s car (make sure you get permission, you can get in a lot of trouble otherwise), on your desktop computer, on your laptop, in your headphones – everywhere.   You’ll get a much better idea of what the song sounds like through a bunch of different systems.

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Home Recording Studio Monitors and Headphones

 

Ruthless Self-promotion in the Music Industry

- By Jeffrey P. Fisher

How do you…

— Get your band more paying gigs?
– Land a publishing deal?
– Increase bookings for your studio?
– Score new soundtracks and jingles?
– Make more money from your music products and services?

How can you break down barriers and achieve the success you want, need, and feel you deserve? There is only one way to ensure your continued success in today’s music world: you must master ruthless self-promotion. And ruthless self-promotion has only two functions:
– To find new customers and convince them to buy what you sell.
– To keep your existing buyers and, more importantly, get them to buy again (and again).

What is ruthless self-promotion? It’s the constant pursuit of new buyers for your music products and services. You use various techniques to uncover the most motivated buyers and then carefully follow up to close sales. Essentially, there are only two ways to promote your music products and services: You either contact someone or you convince someone to contact you. All of your subsequent promotions fall into these two distinct approaches.

There are three simple methods you can use to contact people. One, you mail (or e-mail) a letter or other sales package. Two, you place a phone call. And three, you make direct contact. Alternately, you can only use four methods to solicit contact: One, you place an ad. Two, you send publicity. Three, you have a store front. And four, you run a web site (which is really just advertising, publicity, and a store rolled into one neat package).

The key to successful ruthless self-promotion is to promote before you produce. Think first how you will promote and sell your music products and services before you actually create them.

Next, identify your target market. Read more…