x factor idol

An Update on Fox’s Hit Talent Shows

The top 13 took on big songs this week by having the men cover songs by Stevie Wonder and the girls songs by Whitney Houston. As I hoped in my last blog entry, the three standouts were Jessica Sanchez, Joshua Ledet, and Hollie Cavanagh.  Hallelujah!  Also, Billboard.com is officially reporting that Britney Spears is going to be the new judge on The X-Factor!  There is no end in sight for these reality/talent shows!
Let’s look at what happened on Idol this week.  My three favorites from this season shined brightly as expected.  Let’s first look at the girl who stole the night, Jessica Sanchez.  Fun fact about this girl- she is only 16 years old!  WHAT?!  Check out her version of Whitney Houston’s greatest hit, “I Will Always Love You”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ayYNAEs0few#!
She has a maturity about her when she sings that really makes this performance believable despite her youth.  People are blogging, tweeting, and facebooking about this girl and the general consensus seems to be putting her as the favorite to take it all this season.  We all know how I feel about this :)
Joshua Ledet didn’t fail to impress with his energetic performance of “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Trayt-40ytA#!
For me, Joshua performs and sings like a truly seasoned professional.  Randy Jackson pointed out one of my favorite qualities about him: “You can do up-tempos [and] you can do ballads.”  Versatility goes a long way on American Idol as we learned last year when the incredible Pia Toscano was voted off shockingly early.  Many think she pulled out an up-tempo too late and Americans had already made up their minds that she was stuck-in-a-ballad-rut.  This definitely isn’t the case for Joshua Ledet.  
The sweet and unassuming Hollie Cavangh once again displayed her vocal power with Whitney Houston’s “All the Man I Need”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO6SVwCLYRg&feature=player_embedded#!
Its hard to believe such a big voice can be coming from such a soft spoken girl.  I think America is going to find her sweet disposition very charming.  She will go far.
Sadly Jeremy Rosado was voted off this week.  Someone has go, and the judges felt like he was simply missing “swag” as Randy Jackson described it.  Fortunately for Jeremy he has an incredible talent and certainly a bright future ahead.
In other FOX-talent-show news- The X-Factor is taking on Britney Spears as one of their new judges for next season!  I have to say, this is a very interesting choice.  After all, she is notorious for popularizing a stereotype that pop-singers can’t really sing.  She has been the Queen of Lip Syncing for many years not only on television, but reportedly at her own concerts!  However, many would argue that vocals are a very small percentage of her brand.  She is a dancer, an entertainer, and an icon- does she really have to be a great singer?  Apparently not in order to judge the performances of others.  I’m rooting for her, but I think it will be hard to hear her critique someone for singing flat or out of their range when we all know what she is capable of live.  I suppose we can cross that bridge when we get there :)
-J. Burton

How do I get a booking agent?

Reality is real   

  When rain falls from the sky, and you're standing under the cloud, you're going to get wet...  If you eat too much you're going to get full.  If you don't pay your rent, you're going to get evicted.  If you're looking for a booking agent and you haven't done your due diligence, it's not going to happen.  Every Artist, new and old, is looking for a booking agent, if they don't already have one.  This is probably the most difficult part of the music business to grasp if you are new, and hardest thing to swallow, if you're new or an old timer.  So let's talk a little about why it is this way.

FROM THE AGENT'S POINT OF VIEW

   Most agents are thinking, simply: how can I make money off the Artist if no one knows who they are.  The answer more times than not is, I can't.  The vendor is thinking, how can I fill my venue with someone new if no one knows this Artist!  The answer more times than not is, I can't!  Thus goes the quagmire.  The Artist is thinking, how can I get anywhere if no one will give me a chance?  Thus the dilemma!

 

MY RIGHTS

  Right of entitlement - I'm owed something because of who I am, or what I do.  There is no right of entitlement in the music industry, only hard work followed by more hard work, followed by hard work!  When do I get the dessert?  Your passion, and love for your craft is your dessert.  If it's the fame and the fortune, and the money, you will starve for the rest of your life.  You will always hunger for more, and never be satisfied.  How do I know? Been there done that, and got the T- SHIRT!!

DUE DILIGENCE

  OK, I get it!  You want everyone to hear your music, and love it.  So do I, and you should!  I'm going to give you a list of things to do, and once you've done this, you might be ready to get a booking agent.

1, Learn your craft

2. Record a project

3. Play every venue you can

4. Build a fan base

5. Get a web site

6. Write a news letter

7. Write a blog

8. Use every form of media known to mankind

9. Network 'til you drop

10. Pray a lot

11. Help someone else

12. Build a team

   This is not an exhaustive list, however it's enough to get you started and increase your chances of being successful and getting that elusive booking agent.  If you're not willing to do all of the above, GOOD LUCK, YOU'LL NEED IT.  I believe this, the harder you work, the luckier you get!  

WHAT IS LP, EP ?

LP vs. EP

In the music world, there are some technical terms and abbreviations that need to be known.  Two such abbreviations or terms, aside from albums and singles, are LP and EP.  LP is the abbreviation for a long playing record (long play / long player), while EP is the abbreviation for extended play.

An EP, derived from the name extended, contains only a small number of songs.  There may be three, or at most five, singles. Conversely, the LP is synonymous to a full album.  These descriptions were the ones practically used for vinyl records.  Up until the 1980′s, vinyl records were said to be the primary medium used to promote an artist’s new set of music tracks.  These were directly sent to radio stations, and also to music clubs.

In this aspect, purely recorded EPs were used for the purpose of giving only a handful of people the overview of an artist’s new line of songs.  This also served as publicity, or a part of an entire promotional tour (campaign) for the artist.  The success of using these EPs was evident, as major record labels began manufacturing colored vinyl records for the public’s general consumption and sale.

Today, with the advent of CD and DVD technology, some bonus tracks have been added to what had been originally identified as music singles.  A vinyl record that initially contained 1 or 2 songs (a single), has now become EPs with the addition of more songs (extras, demos and probably remixes) with the aid of more storage space in the said disks.  For commercial purposes though, the music label companies insist on using the term ‘music singles with added bonus tracks’ to make the record more attractive to the buying public.  According to some sources however, these EPs have also been regarded as a form of mini album.

Similarly, because vinyl records have now been replaced with the newer disks as the main medium of music distribution, the term LP is slowly being erased with the common use of the term ‘album’ (pertaining to the one sided disks).  Although there may be as many tracks contained in LPs as in the full albums, LPs, back then, usually pertained to the two sided vinyl records wherein one side represented one half of the album, and the other side finished the remaining half.  These records were about a foot in diameter, and are 33 rpm.  These were said to be the domineering medium of distribution from 1948 to the latter part of the 1980′s.

1. With regards to vinyl record formats, LP stands for long playing record (like a full album), while EP stands for extended play (like music singles with added bonus tracks).

2. LP basically has more music tracks compared to EP.

EP, versus, LP really?

Banging it out

EP versus LP - this is a question that is creating a lot of chatter throughout the scrambling music industry. Old school - versus - new school. Old school says, an EP won't create enough buzz. They say radio won't pay as much attention to an EP, as an LP. An EP is good only for promotional purposes... Retail won't stock EP’s. It costs just as much to print EP’s. This is only a small part of the chatter among old school thinkers.

New school thinkers say, old school needs to catch up with the times. I consider myself a new school thinker, however I’m still in class. So, here’s what I’ve learned as I’m working on my undergraduate degree at "Street-Smart U”.
1. CD sales are on the decline
2. CD’s will not exist in a few years
3. Single song downloads are on the rise
4. Due to downloads, your ROI is going to be less
5. The industry as a whole is leaning towards EP’s
6. The general move is the DIYers can’t afford LP’s
One thing we do know for sure is, the industry is changing, it’s changing fast, and if you don’t want to get left in the dust you had better be ready for the change.
 
What does this have to do with the digital age?

The digital age is changing the face of the music industry forever. Where do we go, what do we do? These are the questions being asked, from the newbie, to the record execute, to radio, to infinity and beyond! Where do the answers lie? All of the answers have not come to the surface yet. However we are seeing with a lot more clarity, and it is getting clearer and clearer every day. So join us, as as we explore this complicated issue, and learn together where our future is leading us.

We would really love to hear your comments on this ever changing issue.

Let's learn together!!!!!!!!!

The music time bomb has exploded

The music industry is going through a shakeup.  Revenue from music sales has declined from more than $14.6 billion in 1999 to $6.3 billion a decade later.  Conventional wisdom holds that the rise of the Internet’s popularity is at the heart of this phenomenon, and the evidence mostly indicates that this view is correct.

Online stores like iTunes, along with an abundance of file-sharing and user-driven sites like YouTube, have changed the rules for marketing, selling, and distributing music.  To be sure, there are factors that complicate this narrative.  The 1990s likely saw a significant one-time boost in music sales as customers replaced vinyl records and cassette tapes with CDs.  Moreover, two recessions during the 2000s certainly did not help the industry.  Still, it is likely that technology, above all else, transformed the music business.  Record companies must adapt quickly or further risk becoming dinosaurs in an ever-changing commercial landscape. 

As illegal file sharing began to draw the ire of musicians and record companies, legal downloads became a growing business, as well.  Apple Inc. introduced its iPod music player in 2001, the dominant offering to this day; it added its iTunes online music store in 2003.  According to the NPD Group, a market research firm, the number of Internet users paying for downloads totaled 36 million in 2009, with online downloads accounting for 33 percent of music tracks purchased in the United States that year.  Digital sales rose between 2007 and 2009 despite the recession. 

Now that the bomb has exploded, and we have surveyed the damage, what do we do to help the wounded?  Who are the wounded?  Is there hope for them?  Is the internet the bomb, or the savior of the music business?  These are questions we must ask ourselves.  If we don't assess the damage and begin to take intentional action for the Arts, I believe we will see a watered down version, and lose the once thriving freedom of creativity.  The Arts community will lose its freedom from lack of funding due to unpaid royalties, and from its personal properties being given away through the internet.

We must take responsibility for our part in this ongoing dilemma.  Support the Arts, you just may be one of them!