Choosing the Right Hip Hop Instrumentals for Your Album

Amateur producers blast the volume of their projects. It may entice you. However, when you get to the studio, the high volume will allow little room for your vocals.

Also, when choosing professional quality hip hop instrumentals, it will not be the producer that makes the hit but rather the artist. Your emotional content and character MUST be completely exposed in your performance in order to get your audiences attention. Learn to express yourself accurately. Do not be someone else. In the end, you will thrive because of your uniqueness. You will fall short of your goals if you are the same as everyone else. If you have a choice to pick a silver chain or a silver chain, which one will you choose? But what if the choice is to choose a silver chain or a gold chain? This is how the market works. You should also be choosing your beats the same way. They should be all original.

Don't settle for mixes that are high priced. It probably took minutes to produce the track but you are charged a fortune for it. Look for original hip hop beats only. And don't worry about someone else leasing the same beat.

That's why you choose an underdog producer. Remember, there are thousands of great producers. Only some are greatly exposed resulting in their beats being highly circulated. Find an underdog that suits your style and stick to him/her. You are more likely to get special deals.

WORKING WITH YOUR PRODUCER

Once you have a producer who you are satisfied with, work with the producer for more deals and more instrumentals for your projects. Still shop around. You need to do what you have to do in order to complete your project(s). Just make sure that you take full advantage of your producers deals. Learn to negotiate and be reasonable. Remember, a true hip hop beat takes time when composed from scrap. I've heard of producers saying that you should produce 5 beats a day! I've been producing music for 17 years and 4 years professional. Trust me. At that rate the producer is very likely to be welding pre-made clips that take very little time. I've even heard clips on mainstream artist songs! LAZY! LAZY! LAZY!

BEATS WITH HOOKS

Don't always look for beats with hooks. It does too much work for you. Learn to explore your talent. After all, you are an artist. So be an artist. Learn through discovery and practice. You'll be amazed what you can achieve when you find yourself. Also, it will give you an open door to find someone who may be gifted in singing if you simply do not possess the skills. You might even have a friend who can do it.

IN CLOSING

Thank you for reading this information. I want to be able to help artists who need direction. I hope that this has helped you in some way. Good luck on your journey to becoming the next hot artist!

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11 Final Tips for a Smashing Album Release Party

It is your big day, the release of your album. Here are some final tips in a four part series on how to make your album release party a success!

Invite a big crowd! I cannot say enough about how much more exciting an event is when it is packed with excited people. Obviously you will use the social media such as Face Book and Twitter but don't forget that a personal invitation to a friend or special attendee sometimes means more if it is in writing. Special invitations can be obtained at little cost and sent to people in the music industry who have a lot of clout such as the local DJs, A&R, bloggers, radio stations, other radio personalities, reporters for the music sections of the local press,. Music store employees, are key. Of course existing fans and anyone of the type who will enjoy your style and genre! And ask your fans to invite friends! Limit your music events prior to and after the party so people come to THIS event!

Posters! Posters! Posters! Call in some favors of a graphic design friend and have him or her create a colorful or dramatic poster. Plaster them everywhere with the date, time location and special instructions for your show. Most coffee shops, and sandwich shops allow these types of posters. Don't forget the local colleges and gyms. Clubs, music stores, Anyplace your genre congregates needs a poster!

No cover charge! Nothing brings out a crowd than free! That way they will have more money for their drinks and they can invite their impoverished friends! Also, you are likely to make it up on the album sales and this will make the venue more likely to accept the bar tab as their pay in full!

Free gifts during the event! Ask some of the local music scene businesses to pony up some free gifts, perhaps gift cards, an iPod Shuffle, etc. You can exchange free advertising on your poster, think of a sponsorship logo, to pay them back. Free CDs, drawings, free to the first 25 people, a few from the stage during the performance, sell at a discount incentive for bringing additional guests. Also, have a "business card" list of your future performances... perhaps offer a discount on the card! Or you could have a free signature drink at the bar.

Photos and Videos! Take plenty of photos and video if you can coerce a local videographer to come. It does not have to be professional quality, but a good amateur should be able to create a clip good enough for U Tube and FaceBook. My Space

After Event Buzz! Remember that a successful party will last much longer than the night! You need to plan for it to last as continued Face Book entries, blog entries, music clips on your website and You Tube, photos etc. Your photos of people having a good time will help spread the BUZZ and make it last weeks!

Lighting! Each venue has different lighting. The worst is the "Walmart" like overhead florescent lights. Don't event think of using them! Pick up some "up-lights" and gels, or rent the LED type and set them up. Lighting can turn any place into a spectacular venue!

Opening Act! Invite an opening act that has a following. It should be a similar style and genre and keep it short. Many established bands will help out their younger cousins in the trade.

Your Music! Play your key release several times. And try to play each song twice during the evening. Include songs from previous albums if you have them to reward old fans.

Food! Have a little available. But remember the event is about music. Finger food, easy prep and minimal cleanup are important considerations. No venue wants you to hand out ice cream cones on a hot night as it requires too much cleanup. Keep it simple!

Finally, some advice from a popular Birmingham album release venue, remember to mingle and talk to your supporters and fans!

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Eight Factors to Consider When Choosing a Venue For An Album Release Party

The completion of an album, whether your first or tenth, is an amazing accomplishment. You have put an enormous amount of time and effort into making the music just perfect. You have practiced over and over and recorded it numerous times. The producer and background artists have played their magic and it is done. It deserves a great launch!

An album release party is a special time to tell your story. The story about the band, the inspiration, the ideas, how you came up with the theme, who helped you plan and produce it, what it means to you... you get it. The party is meant to establish a personal and emotional connection with the audience and to do that they need to know you and your group and the meaning the album holds for all of you. One key element of an album release party is the venue. You have to pick just the right place.

Venues vary in a number of ways. Some have the feeling of a Walmart; you know, overhead florescent lights, plain colors, no texture. Others have small rooms or rooms broken up by lots of pillars that interfere with seeing the stage. Still others have a much more vibrant feel.

Match the Music! The venue also should match the type of music or at least not clash. A heavy metal album is poorly served by having the party in the community room of a church! Of course, some venues can be made to match virtually any genre, but that may cost lots in term of decorating and lighting costs. So, if the venue is a plain Jane type place, plan for appropriate decorations, but do not over do it!

Parking: The venue needs to have plenty of free parking, easy to get to and did I say free parking? Nothing is a bigger turn off to potential attendees than having to drive around a block numerous times. Make sure the parking is close by, free and in abundant supply... and did I say free?

Lighting is a key element to any party and an album release party is no different. Dis the overhead lights for up-lights, pin spots and floods. Use color! Consider using lights that beat with the music. Have someone really plan out the layout of the lights. If lights are available at the venue, you can save a bunch of money on rental fees!

Food: You should have at least finger food at an album release party. Some venues require you to use their caterer. This may be OK, but it may not be affordable. Look at the requirements prior to booking any venue.

Day of week/Time of day: Most venues charge more for Friday and Saturday nights as compared to weekdays. If it is not within your budget, look at other days! Also, some venues have a discounted rate for a very late night on Saturday, especially if they can book an afternoon wedding and have the late evening free. Inquire about this and see what you can work out!

Alcohol: Alcohol is almost a mandate for an album release party. But, an open bar at your expense is not something you are going to be satisfied with! It will be very expensive and some people will abuse it! Consider a token system if you are wishing to offer free alcohol. Hand out the tokens and after that the people can purchase drinks on their own. Another alternative is to just offer beer or wine. These two choices are considerably less expensive than a full bar and can add just the touch! As a side note: Most venues have alcohol licenses. In most states, that license comes along with a requirement that all alcohol be purchased from the venue; NO BYOB is allowed. This may not be the wish of the venue, but it is the law so please do not ask for the venue to knowingly break the law, they may loose their license!

Size: The whole idea of an album release party is to invite tons of people. You want several hundred if you can. And obviously you need a venue to hold that many. Most local bands will find a venue that can hold 200-350 a perfect space. But, many venues are not capable of handling 300 plus people. Make sure you do your homework and ask around about how many people will turn out. Talk to your agent, talk to other bands and plan accordingly.

Cost: Of course, venues would love to charge you for the use of the space. And of course, you would love to get it for free. Well, maybe you two can come together and make a deal! If you expect 200 people, on a weekday, the venue can probably make enough on the alcohol sales to make it worthwhile if it is not booked. But, remember that the venue has some significant costs associated with setting up and cleaning up. They may also have the costs of security and an attendant. I would suggest you offer a minimum bar tab with you making up the difference to ensure they are not left in a negative zone. The event may also want to make sure you pay a clean up fee... some concerts tend to get a bit wild!

As a co-owner of an event venue in Birmingham AL that hosts album release parties, I must suggest one thing...Negotiate! But be flexible. The venue will typically know what they can offer and still be profitable and you are sure to get the best venue you can possibly have for your album release!

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What Factors Could Affect Your First Album Sales?

There are two pieces of information that could possibly help us to determine album sales. They are:

a) Historical figures - what was the level of sales in the previous years.

b) Top sales figures - how many copies did the leading albums record.

The above allows us to determine a realistic projection upon which we can confidently create a plan. The answer to the question can be found if we discuss the factors that should determine the cost of the first album:

Potential Sales - How many albums are you hoping to sell? How can this be known? You can know this by taking orders from the record stores you know and then projecting across the number of shops within the targeted territory.

So if your focus group thinks you can sell 50 copies and there are 1,000 similar stores that you can sell to directly, then potentially you can sell 50,000 copies. (The Billboards count shows there are limits to album sales.) What is a focus group? -A focus group is a group of close friends who work within the industry that can give you unbiased opinions, guidance, and criticism about your recordings. The object of their critique is to provide improvements that will make your recordings sellable and more appealing to your niche. Your focus group must include DJ's, record stores and some promoters who are knowledgeable about your niche.

Number of fans - In October 2007 Radiohead released the acclaimed album that created the music business model. The website is said to have had 1.2million visits and less than half of the visitors paying $6 for the album. The average is just over $2 for each visit.

Unless you are like Radiohead, visits to your website will be a lot less popular with visitors so the only way around this is to ensure you have a process for acquiring more fans into your database. It is especially important that when you play gigs you need to generate as many names, emails, and phone numbers of those who come to tell you how great you are. People lives are so hectic that you cannot rely on them chasing you to find out more about you and your gigs or tracks available. You need to build better relationships with the fans to ensure future sales.

Costs involved -Using the Thriller album concept, the label made $650million (if we assume the label made $5 for every album) Remember this is an astronomical hit record. Only a few will even sell a million copies (10 out of 150,000 in the USA).

The point to consider is that if all you're hoping to sell is 1000 albums at ?5, the total you hope to make from record sales only is ?5,000 then your recording costs would be between ?500 - ?1,000 maximum. This conservative estimate gives you a small room for profit. If on the other hand you can sell 5,000 units at ?5 then the total income you can expect is ?25,000 on record sale and your costs should be between ?2500 - ?5000. This is a rough estimate and you can project other expected sales along the same lines.

Do you want to learn more about making money with your music? If so, download my brand new free 5 week music business training course here: http://www.musicbusinesstools.com/

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Plan for a Successful Album Release Party: Developing a Time Line

An Album Release Party is a big event for most bands. It is almost like planning for a wedding. It takes time and good planning. There are numerous duties that need to be done and numerous deadlines that must be kept and monitored. To have a great album release party, put together a time line or a project plan.

Include the following items in your plan:

Date of the album release and availability: Most groups have their new album available at the time of the release party. Although this is not an absolute requirement, if you choose to have it available, make sure you have a solid commitment from your supplier. Plan to give them some extra time just in case!

Venue availability: Many venues are booked long in advance for Friday and Saturday nights. Plan accordingly. Search for a venue early on place this item near the top!

Promotional material: It takes time to develop promotional material. You need a graphic artist, a photographer, a layout, the proper text, a biography for each of the band members, you get the picture. This material takes time to develop and the less time you have the more expensive it gets. So, plan ahead and pull in some friends but budget time in you time line!

Food Planning: Even though it is simple, you need to put it on the time line. You need to actually choose the menu, contract or arrange for a caterer, etc. If it is a simple affair, this will not take a lot of time, but none-the-less, put it on the project list and allocate some time to it!

Web development: This one is highly variable. And, it is likely to be contracted out. But a good web page can take a few weeks of time for the web designer. You will have some initial communication and then a back and forth communication with the developer as you edit and redo portions of it.

Written Invitations: These can be ordered, custom designed, hand-made, ready made or printed at home, the solutions are endless. Budget some time early on for this so they can be done in plenty of time to send them out.

Electronic Invitations: Other than the images that you include, this is a rather quick form of communication. Electronic announcements should be sent out about a month prior to the event date, again each week and then the day prior and day of the event. This ensures the highest attendance.

Guest list: Creating a guest list is usually not difficult as it includes your fan base to start with but then adds in the media people, local bloggers, local DJs, radio station personalities, music reviewers, celebrities, critics, A&R people, reporters for the music sections of the local press, and others who can help spread the word about your new release. Some of these people may need a personal visit and especially a personal hand written invitation! Place this on the project list and assign it a time!

Posters: Lots of posters!!! Give these several weeks. Most of the design work will be already done as they will have the same type look and feel as the other written material but remember that posters can cost a lot. If your printer has more lead time, he will tend to be less expensive. Rush jobs cost a lot! So budget some time and save some money! Posters should be plastered all over the place!

Detailed plan for the day and evening of the event: Make sure you plan out every minute leading up to the event. It takes time to set up the venue, decorate, prepare food, set up the PA and arrange the tables for the CD sales. A detailed work plan of who, when, where and how is needed. Don't forget extra extension cords, tape to tape down wires to avoid tripping, cash box, small denomination bills for change, business card sized list of your future concerts, etc. And make sure you have a few extra people lined up in case someone becomes ill or has an emergency and cannot attend.

Time to celebrate:

Remember beyond all of the sales and glitz and marketing, an album release party is a time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Plan time to actually enjoy the people you invite. Take time to mingle, talk to old friends and celebrate!

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Writing an Album!

I actually think that one of the greatest things the internet has done is to make it possible to choose what you like and leave the rest, that is why I think we should commit to giving our fans only the best tracks we have produced.

Some of the terms you will find that accompany digital downloads are: a la carte, Unbundling and Bundling. A la carte means the same as you get in the restaurant. You go in, look at the menu and choose the meal you like. This is very different from a fixed menu that you are stuck with. If you don't like what is offered that's bad news. In the same way music fans can now choose whether they will have a fixed menu or a la carte; and when the albums are average, fans are choosing a la carte - picking and buying only the tracks they want.

On the other hand Unbundling and Bundling means that the artist/musician/label can decide that you can Unbundle - buy whatever tracks you want on the album or you have to buy the whole Bundle. Furthermore where there are bundle deals the artist/musician/label tends to add other merchandise to the music to make the Bundle appealing. It is not uncommon for Bundles that include picture discs and tickets to gigs plus numerous additional tracks that cost hundreds of pounds.

If any artist/musician/label continues to release albums that have only 3 good tracks out of 12 then the following will happen:

Fans will begin walking away - they will spread the news that the artist/musician/label doesn't deliver or that their standards have dropped. Such comments are like daggers into the heart of the business. They have the tendency of being viral to the detriment of the artist/musician/label.
It will affect our credibility - I recently bought an album by one of my favorite bands and enthusiastically inserted the CD on my way home, but I was greatly disappointed that there was only one track I liked. The other 12 or 13 had their first and last play from me. I also made a decision that I would always listen to all the tracks before I purchase the whole album. In essence they have cost themselves money!
Loss of revenue - today's artists still need to sell albums and other merchandise and the music which develops all other avenues of sale. Without the recorded music there will be no album sales, or live shows and I guess little or no merchandise. People still want to buy albums; so let the artist/musician/label continue to give their best all the way!

Do you want to learn more about making money with your music? If so, download my brand new free 5 week music business training course here: http://www.musicbusinesstools.com/

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What's The Best Way To Record Your Album In The Recording Studio?

Playing a live show is an amazing feeling. The energy, the hype, the rush - it's all exhilarating. Everyone is vibing off of each other and the mood and feeling can be perfect. But playing in the studio to make a professional recording is very different. Many bands and musicians go into the studio with certain misconceptions. It's important that you know what to expect when you step foot into a recording studio so you can save yourself time and money. The topic of this article is whether your band should to play live off the floor when recording in a studio or record each instrument separately. This is an area where there is a lot of mythology and a lot of misconceptions.

First of all, for live performances it is extremely importantly for players to have line-of-sight and be vibing off of each other. No one disputes that is an important part of live music at a live show. And, indeed, there are some situations where it's necessary to replicate that in the studio. For example when recording orchestras or jazz ensembles it is very important. But for other styles of music (rock, pop, etc.) it is less important. Even though when creating or writing music together as a band it is a similar sort of vibe, and even historically musicians played live off the floor during the "golden-era" of recording, it is done less so nowadays. The majority of recordings in recent history have not been recorded live off the floor.

An important question to ask is "Is the recording process in the studio similar to jamming or playing a live show?" And the answer is no, in most cases, it is not. Yes you do want a good vibe between musicians and it is a producers job to help replicate that in the studio. Normally, certain instruments will be tracked and recorded separately from each others. For example one day may be drums and the next may be guitars and then finally vocals, layering them on top of each other. You have to be able to trust in your producer to recreate a vibe in the final recording that is similar to a live performance while at the same time using modern recording methods. You may end up being surprised that a number of different recordings when layered and produced professional have an amazing vibe to them and lock together in a certain groove. But for modern recording you need to adapt your playing to a studio environment and develop those techniques to give yourself the best possible final product.

Andrew Yankiwski is a professional audio engineer and owner of Precursor Productions, a Winnipeg Recording Studio.

Sign up for the Mastering Studio website email list and get 10% off all recording, mixing and mastering services. PLUS: Get 20 free videos that will help you save time and money in the recording studio!

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Setting a Budget for Your Album Release Party

An album release is a big deal. It is the culmination of a lot of work. It deserves a great celebration. And, the better the party, the better the overall sales! But to throw a great Album Release Party, there will be costs and you need to be able to meet them.

Items that will need to be paid for include:

Swag: t shirts, (figure $5 each in small quantities and single color) stickers, free CDs,

Sometimes you can obtain some free gifts in exchange for advertising on you posters, website etc. Talk to local music scene businesses about gift cards, iPod Shuffle, CDs etc

Posters and other print material like business cards, post cards, etc. Post them everywhere you can think. Coffee and sandwich shops, Whole Foods and other similar companies have a place for posters. Don't forget about local colleges, gyms, clubs, music stores, any place your genre congregates needs a poster. Part of this budget item includes the graphic design person who creates the images.

Press packages with music samples, photos, bio's, etc

Photographs. These should be done by a professional. Don't skimp on this one! Make sure your photographs include individual photos to include in your "bio" page as well as the photo of the complete band. Try different sites and outfits, time of day, lighting. There are plenty of photographers out there that are hungry, talk to them. Many will give another fellow artist a great deal, especially if you give them free tickets to your party and other concerts you are holding!

On-line costs such as a web site setup or update to an existing site

Venue costs, stay tuned on how to limit these!

Food: keep it simple, but have something.

Decorations: again, keep them simple. This night should focus on the music, not the table settings andcenterpieces!

Sales assistants: They can be borrowed relatives or paid sales clerks, just make sure you have enough of them to really sell your new album!

DJ for entertaining guests while you mingle

PA rental fees if you or the venue does not have one

PA technician: pay for a good person to control your sound!

As a co-owner of an Event Venue In Birmingham AL that hosts album release parties, I must suggest one thing...

Planning for the costs of an album release party can reduce the overall stress and allows you time to think about how to limit the cost. Create your budget early on and avoid costly surprises!

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