Archive for the 'Music Business' category

5 Ways the iPad Can Change Music

Apr 06 2010 Published by Jason Shadrick under Music Business

I am sure by now you all have heard of this cool little device that Apple released recently. You can easily do a quick search to find out all the opinions that the tech pundits seem to put out on a daily basis. One angle I haven’t read about is how this device can improve the lives of musicians. We all know that Apple changed everything with the iTunes store, but what about those of us who actually create music?

What has Steve Jobs done for us?

Well, I think the iPad (horrible name) is the best thing to come out of Apple for musicians ever. Yes, even better than the iPod.

Here are a few areas where I see a huge amount of potential in this device for both amateur and professional musicians.

Sheet Music Publishing

The biggest and most obvious area the iPad could be used is publishing sheet music. With the advent of the e-reader (Kindle and Nook), digital books are becoming more and more accepted. The issue with sheet music is that the screen has to be large enough so that you can see it while you are playing your instrument. There are some instructional music books on the Kindle, but it just doesn’t work. The iPad’s screen is in full color and large enough to set on a music stand and play from.

There needs to be a Netflix type program for sheet music on the iPad.  What if for 20 bucks a month you had access to the top 5,000 guitar tabs available?  They would be updated and changed each month but only available on your device. The legit guitar tab market has yet to be effectively monetized due to the logisitical and legal issues. Now is the time for this market to expand.

Making Practice Time More Efficient

How many times have you been practicing and became inspired to work on a certain piece and you didn’t have it with you? This has happened to me countless times and it becomes hard to carry all the essential books with you every time you go to practice.

What if you had access to all your music and videos while in your practice room?

Lets say you were working on the latest Satriani tune. There was a part you were stuck on, so you fire up your iPad, buy the tab and even see a short video of Satch playing it himself. Of course this would never replace formal one-on-one instruction, but for intermediate to advanced players it could be invaluable.

Right about now all the musicians born before 1981 are saying “ Why do you need all this fancy tech stuff to learn how to play?”

At one time, records, cassettes and radio (all used to help musicians become better) were considered “high-tech.” If everything we had today was available to you then, I guarantee you would be using them.

Live Performance

I have seen a few more progressive musicians use a computer in addition to their traditional rig of amps and effects. Although to me this is the least revolutionary item on this list, it is an important one.

We have all seen the cool music-making apps on the iPhone. I would love to see a version of GarageBand on the iPad. It doesn’t have to have nearly the functionality of the standard version, but it could be the best musical notepad ever. This could easily relay into using samples and loops from you device in live performance. It would be much easier to carry an iPad to a gig and it would mean more access to different sounds. If you are a traditionalist when it comes to tone, I doubt you would be even considering this anyway.

Educational Benefits

Arguably, everything on this list serves to better educate you as a musician. As a guitar teacher, having video, sheet music and audio files at the touch of a screen would make my life SO much easier.

Here is a scenario:

A student comes in wanting to learn the latest tune by band X, that of course you have never heard of. You fire up your iPad, you student signs into Hal Leonard’s sheet music store, you buy the tab and then begin to work on the tune right there. No more late nights transcribing and no illegal photocopies from the tab book at the guitar store.

You can then fire up YouTube and see exactly where the guitarist plays a certain lick or see what type of gear they use to get that tone.

Combine an iPad with a Fender GDec3 with some kind of wi-fi magic and the possibilities grow exponentially.

One iPad Per Student

Giving iPads to every middle school student will make them better students. Allowing them to learn about technology and research from a young age will make them better informed and it will give them a more global perspective of society.

This item isn’t so much specifically for musicians, but everyone should listen to more music and at least try to play an instrument, right?

If we factor textbooks into the cost of the device, the publishers could subsidize the cost and get their materials into the hands of a much larger student body. Each device will come pre-loaded with textbooks, apps and even special media that can be customized for each class. No more excuses for not taking notes in class.

In the end, this device will change the way we create, develop and consume music. Much like the iPod, there will be use cases developed for the iPad that we haven’t even considered.  This is all bleeding edge stuff, but with the right vision we can use technology to not only make this a better place, but make us better people.

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5 Links for The Weekend

Apr 03 2010 Published by Jason Shadrick under Guitar, Guitar Lessons, Music, Music Business

I know, many blogs give you these type of posts, but I found some cool and interesting links I really want to share and I figured this would be as good as place as any to do so.

Here goes:

Alex Skolnick writes a great blog and recently has been posting about how some of his favorite songs have horrible lyrics.

I recently have been becoming an avid reader of AudioTuts+. Ear training was always difficult for me in school, so I was very happy to see them to a roundup of the best ear training websites around. My personal favorite is IWasDoingAlright.

Christopher Davis is not only a great classical guitarist, but he runs one the best guitar blogs around. To celebrate my recent move back to the Motherland (Iowa), here is an interview Christopher did with Iowa Luthier John H. Dick.

I have sung the praises of The Bad Plus here before. Ethan Iverson is usually to blame for their excellent blog, Do The Math. Recently, he posted a in-depth interview with Cedar Walton and a transcription of Walton playing “I’ll Remember April.”

Every musician has a particular way that they warm-up before a practice session or a gig. Guitarist Cameron Mizell outlines some of his favorite exercises in a recent post. I think this week I will write up some of my favorite exercises as well, since I just got a new copy of Sibelius.

Hopefully you take a minute and check out these posts. If you like them, leave a comment and let them know.

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Indie Music Revolution

Jan 30 2010 Published by Jason Shadrick under Music Business

Recently I was listening to a podcast about startups called This Week in Startups with Jason Calacanis. I enjoy learning about how business works and the process of developing and executing ideas. During an episode, Jason had what I thought was a GREAT idea about how to revolutionize independent cinema. Check out this short video:

Could this idea work for indie music artists as well?

What if a company such as MySpace (who is in desperate need of some help) took 10 million dollars and invested it into 100 unsigned independent artists. Each band would get $100,000 dollars to record an album and schedule a tour. The albums would be exclusively heard on MySpace and available for free. The artists would own everything about the music (masters, publishing, etc…).

Each artist would be REQUIRED to blog the entire process and document how every cent was spent (A great idea would be to give each band a credit card with a $100K limit and set them up on Blippy). This would give a unique transparent view and make each band accountable for the money.

There is another aspect of this I was thinking of. What if you got the top 75 – 100 music clubs in the country and gave each of them $100K a year to book one or two of the 100 artists in this program for a free showcase each week.

Imagine the exposure for an artist. They could play a great club full of potential fans every night. Since the shows would be free, it would be easy for fans to take a chance on a new act and maybe buy a CD or download or even PAY for a ticket next time they come through town. The venues would also be responsible to report the usage of the money just like the bands were.

So overall you are looking at 17 – 20 million dollars to create 100 new albums, help produce up to 10,000 live music events a year and expose new music to countless fans. Say you did this for 5 years and spent 100 million dollars. This would change the music business and give a boost to indie artists that has never been seen before.

Of course MySpace isn’t the only company that could do this. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and many other companies have this kind of cash just laying around.

The idea here to give struggling artists the chance to be great.

Get people used to the idea of seeing live music.

Make the venues open their doors to artists who might not of had a chance to play there.

It would truly bring music to the masses.

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Get Your Website Together

Jan 25 2010 Published by Jason Shadrick under Music Business, Reviews

I recently came across a great resource for artists and bands who want to get their website together. My website is built on WordPress, one of the most popular CMS out there. The big advantage to WP is the amazing level of customization you can have. Most people start with some basic theme that they like and then they tweak it from there. One of the best themes aimed at musicians is at BandWebsiteTheme.com.

I have spent the last few days playing with this theme and I found it to be not only easy to modify, but a great way to get a professional web presence going without breaking the bank. There are a few features that really stand out to me.

The first one is the integration with all the major social networks. All you need to do is enter the URL of your profile and click a button and it automatically places the proper links on your website. Another great feature is the ability to host a solid e-commerce area right on your website. If you have t-shirts, posters or pretty much anything else to sell, this website comes ready for that.

If I was just starting out and I wanted to get a website up and running in a hurry, this would be the first place I would go to get started.

Click the logo below to check it out.

BandWebsiteLogo

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Review: Music Success in Nine Weeks by Ariel Hyatt

Dec 11 2009 Published by Jason Shadrick under Music Business, Reviews

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Music Success in Nine Weeks is a book that tells you exactly what is found inside.  Author Ariel Hyatt is a music publicist who specializes in developing an online presence for independent artists.

First, let me tell you what this book isn’t.  This book isn’t a collection of case studies of artists who were in the right place at the right time. Nor is this book a way to make your music better.  This book gives you the tools and strategies to use the Internet to make you a more successful independent musician.

I love how this book is organized. Each chapter covers a list of tasks that you are to accomplish over the course of a week.  Topics such as developing your pitch, understand Web 2.0 tools and getting into blogging are covered.  Along with those tasks, Ariel gives you worksheets, quick tips and assignments to make sure you keep on the ball as you are developing. This is an EXTREMELY practical guide (something I wish more books strived to be) and anyone who picks this book up will find something useful immediately.

The best part of the advice Ariel gives is that it applies to more than just musicians. If you are a freelancer of any kind, these exercises and methods will work just as well for you. I found a few ideas that I am going to put to use with this blog.

Essentially, this is one of the best books of it’s kind around.  Ariel is great at what she does and this is a handy DIY version of her more expansive CyberPR Campaigns.

Make sure to check out Ariel and everything she does at www.arielpublicity.com.

Disclosure: Ariel is a good friend and she sent me a free copy of this book for review purposes. She is great at what she does and you should take a serious look at this book if you want to spread your gospel.

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