Sneak Peek on beats for ThRob UGLY collabo album

These are just two tracks I'm currently working on for my collabo album as ThRob UGLY making my debut here in Los Angeles as a Rapper/Singer. 

The Difference Of The Industry Now & Then

Why the downfall of the major labels is the biggest fortune ever for independent artists!  Just another day where the sales of the music industry decrease - and once again is the general assumption that the golden era of wealth for musicians is over - but this is just wrong.  I can totally understand that nowadays rappers prefer to be independent. I would even recommend everybody to do his own thing instead of signing to a major label.


The major labels were used to make millions of revenue from artist's cd sales in the last years until the big bad MP3 format changed the game drastically. That was the beginning of the downfall for all CEO's that founded a record label - but is this really true?


People should of course consider that the beats that they hear on the latest favorite artists release were purchased for a certain amount of money. The studio time did cost money too and so did the mixing and mastering of the final tracks. Add the costs for the professional photo shootings, the promotion work of a manager and the distribution - summed up let's say expenses about $40,000 until a album is finally in the stores shipped and released.


Makes sense to you? Maybe before the digital revolution of the music - but not today!


Below are the most important changes that make clear why all the traditional schemes are not relevant anymore:


Promotion


We are living in much more faster times than ten years before. We are not depending on old marketing schemes. In fact the traditional marketing concept is over. Today independent artists can promote themselves via channels like Youtube, Twitter or Facebook. The power and virality of social media makes these channels much more powerful then the traditional word of mouth in the radio and tv stations back in the days - and the best part of it: they are totally free.


Production


Everybody can purchase a microphone in the music store and start to record his own song on his laptop. Big studio equipment is not necessary anymore, no more expensive studio sessions, and even the mastering can be done by software today that cost's not more than $400.


The new opportunity of digital music releases via Itunes allowed artists to distribute their music worldwide with just a few clicks and made the pressing of Cds senseless. Not to mention you have less expenses as if you would create a Cd including booklet full of photography and artwork. Then there's of course the shipping cost when distributing your Cd's to your customers...


Now who has really a problem? The artists that suddenly have themselves the marketing and distribution opportunities that were before only given to the major labels. Or is it the major label's whose business model is suddenly not working anymore?


Think about it and feel free to share this post in Facebook or Twitter that more people become aware of it!

Microphone Check! Simple Studio Techniques

When setting up your mic in your home studio I would suggest using a nice condenser mic, you can get one from 100 and up. You also want to get a pop filter, this will cut out the excessive p's and b's from getting to the mic. If you can, you should also invest in a mic pre-amp. This will give a good clean sound. If not you can just use the phantom power on your mix board.


The distance your artist should be from the mic is about a fist away. You should also set a ceiling on your mix board or software. This will prevent clipping from occurring during the recording.


I would advise you not to put any effects on the microphone during recording. You can always add those afterwords, if you put a bad effect on the artist during recording and don't like it, you can't remove it!

Now if you have the budget you should create an isolation booth. This will stop all outside noise from interfering with the recording. If you can't do this, most people use anything from a bathroom to a closet to create a good recording atmosphere. Use foam padding wherever possible to reduce and echoing effect.


So all in all its pretty easy to create a professional sounding microphone with a couple simple steps. Good luck and stay tuned for more posts!