Think about it, if you play a ton of shows, the best way for people to see your show is if they like your music.  And how will they like your music?  By hearing it!  So free makes sense in this case, because it can drive new fans to your shows.  More fans at your shows can equal more cash, either immediately or eventually.

What if you don't perform?  Does free still make senses?  Yes and no.  It depends on what is free, and what is special.  You should never limit the opportunity for a new fan to hear your music.  Whether it's through a youtube video or from mp3s on your site, do not hinder this process!

The new music fan is aware that all music is basically a few clicks away.  So the mp3 is not special anymore.  But, content that supports the mp3 is very special, and valuable!  Because there is no system that collects all the unique data that surrounds your music, you technically already have an advantage.

This advantage can spread amongst many websites, but the most effective way is to place most of this content on your own website.  Kind of a no-brainer, but still good to make the connection between unique content and your website

You'll definetely want to keep posting content on places like MySpace and YouTube.  But reserve some special content for you website, and then reserve even more content for a section that people have to pay for.  The true fan wants access to as much info as possible about you and your music.

And that's another distinction .. The super fans are into your music AND you.  So don't hold back, give them what they want.

Let's connect this back to the free model ... By giving them mp3s for free, you give them a taste of your stuff.  If they like it, then they'll listen to what else you're offering and maybe even become a super fan.

Both Mimi and I've seen this first hand .. We chose to give away all of our mp3s a few months ago in exchange for an email signup .. and it has 'paid off' so to speak.  The amount of new people hearing our tunes because of the free downloads is like 2000% higher than what it was before we were giving away freebies.  You can check out our free model at our Mimi & Teft website.

So I think YES, the free model can work in the music industry.  Post a comment if you've questions or opinions about the free mp3 world.

Teft

Act 3 is about death.  Your submissions don't have to be about a person dying, or a death scene ... instead, it can be anything that symbolizes the end of a phase.  Like a flower wilting.

Also, music is tremendously needed right now!  You can submit music via video onto the JumpCut platform for submission into the film.  And Spike said that he needs much more music than what is currently been submitted so far.

Either way, Spike needs your content!  Audio or Video!  Go over to Nokia Productions right now and start submitting!!! 

Here's the YouTube version ...

I found the accapella online and was thrilled because of how clean the track was ... perfect for a remix. It took a bit to figure out the bpm. Live didn't lock it in correctly. I originally intended to speed it up to 132 bpm and make it even more housey, but I abandoned that idea right away! I also threw out Live and did it all in Logic Pro (7 not 8).

What did I use? NI Battery 3, RMX Stylus (supporting drums in the chorus), ohm-Force Minimonsta, and 8 reFX Vanguard instances. Yep, good ol' Vanguard!

For the mastering section, I used the PSP Neon HR into Logic's native compressor and then used iZotope's Ozone as the limiter. All in all, about 8 hours of production.

Until next time!!!!!!!!!!

I've been a bit quite over the past few months ... lots of work, songwriting, promotions, etc .. you know the drill. But, what's really exciting is that I'm helping out on a project that involves Spike Lee and Nokia. Basically, the project requires lots of people to upload lots of movie clips, photos, songs, and even text messages.

First, check it out at www.nokiaproductions.com and get a feel for the project.

Second, me and 4 other guys are making blog posts about submitting material and making cool stuff ... check it out here.

Here's a mashup I made...

Have fun and submit a ton!

The song in the middle and end is "Take Me" by Mimi & Teft

First off ...

This camera is nuts (and expensive)!! Imagine, for moment, that you could take a Canon 5d and make it snap photos at 24 frames a second .... that's right! 12mp at 24 frames a second. But wait! There's more. It can not only double, but triple that speed!! In the movie industry they call this resolution "4k". It's basically 35mm film, only saved to compact flash card!

Some stills ...

Ok, so these aren't 4k stills ... not even standard definition stills! But they're Mimi & Teft teaser stills! Check 'em out ...

More to come ... very soon!

Want the mp3? Download We're Brothers Forever (Teft Remix) mp3

A big thanks to Mimi for lending some background vocals! She's a fellow Filipina, too!

So let's take a look at the process of remixing from a radio master .... First, a checklist of some must haves:

• An application like Live or Acid
• Some loops or drum sounds
• A synth a two

The very first step is to get the song into Live ... import it off your CD and load it up. Live will start analyzing it and hopefully detects the correct BPM. Umbrella came up as 87bpm .. I pushed it to 100bpm. After it's locked in, you'll typically need to roll off the bass and potentially some highs of the master track. Why? Because we're converting the core rythm to a 4 to the floor house rythm.

Next, pick a FAT bass and start picking out the key and chord structure of the song. Once you've got it, try switching up the harmony and see what happens to the verse and/or chorus of the song. You never know what happens! So, figure out a cool bass rythm and lay it down.

Now, you need to work out those drums ... try different loops ... make it crazy ... make it cool ... whatever works. Just make sure it's beefy for a club.

Supporting synths are very important. Try experimenting with new synth lines and see how the song feels. Again, you never know what happens! Dial in those synths so they really help move the song in a club sense.

Finishing touches are usually effects ... meaning eq and phasey effects, and some cool synth effects. I added swooshishes all over the place on the Rihanna remix.

Oh yeah, one last tip ... strap a compressor to the bass and master track and trigger it with the 4 to the floor kicks to make the song PUMP! Check out my Umbrella remix to hear what I mean by the pumping of the compressor.

Have Fun

Photo Credits in the Video:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=114311823&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielleblue/177773556/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/solo_munechika/192847585/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sookie/96601739/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabyu/199919513/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/icanteachyouhowtodoit/1008652758/

Let's jump into a theoretical upgrade see what happens for a moment:

• 1: I spend a bunch of money on a new machine. Bank account feels the burn.
• 2: I get it home, unbox it, and then realize that I have to pull apart my current studio.
• 3: I rip out my old box and then setup my brand new shiny computer.
• 4: I spend 2 weeks solid of reinstalling my production software.
• 5: I spend another 2 weeks figuring out why half my plugins don't want to run on the new machine.
• 6: I finally get the new machine up to a "usable" state for music production and try loading an older song.
• 7: I experience a large dose of terror as I realize that my previous productions won't load!
• 8: I ask myself "why WHY!" did I have to upgrade my computer.
• 9: I moan and groan to all my music friends about the woes of running a production studio.
• 10: I blog about it.

Or, I could save the $4,000 - $5,000 on the new box and spend the 4 weeks of downtime on writing new music. Hmmmm. So why would I even upgrade?

It all depends on productivity. Shiny new toys are always appealing in the beginning. But in the end, it comes down to producing a song. Making a record! I don't think I've heard anybody say "sweet song ... I can really hear the quad-cores enhancing the song!"

I'm sorry if I'm sounding pissy about computer upgrades. There is always a time and place for upgrading. But I think it's very important analyze the reasons for upgrading. When should somebody upgrade? When you're computer cannot produce the music you are trying to create. That's a definite reason to upgrade. Otherwise, I always ask myself if I'm really ok with going through that 10 step list up above in this post. If I'm cool with it, then off to the Apple store!

The song's called Badlands and we've got two video versions: A 4:20 length quicky overview, and the full length version (1:27:35) for those that want to see how the hour/half shook down.

Listen to the mp3: (download mp3)
And check out the Video:

Want to see the full 1 hour and 27 minutes? Click Here.

I used Stylus RMX as the backbone of the beat. It's a great tool. Fast beats. Lots of control. In the chorus I used another instance of Stylus RMX in "kit" mode to lay in a thicker and kick and snare .. just for audio BEEF.

The bassline is from "Predator!!!" (not the movie), which is one of my newest favorites of soft-synths. I like Papen's "Blue", too, but Predator captures that analog synthy stuff.

I also doubled the bassline in the chorus with a patch from reFX's Vanguard. Past readers of my blog will know of my "undying love" for the Vanguard synth.

The chorus also got a leadish patch from Vanguard that helped the high transients move in the chorus. It helps give it that big "gush" that you generally want in pop choruses.

Towards the end of the hour we had lyric drama as Jesse was still putting together the second verse ... We already had the first verse cut. But, that's the fun of doing a song in an hour. It's also interesting looking at the video afterwards .. you get to hear the ideas that you forgot in the middle of the writing process!

Until next time ...

Video is copyright Teft Inc.

Badlands mp3 is licensed under: