keeping your focus

LOOSING SITE OF YOUR DREAM

I was in a meeting yesterday with the executive director of AMP Academy, as he was talking about the syllabus, and the different tracks, he began to talk about focus. While we where discussing developing the different tracks, it became  exceedingly clear how important staying focused was key to reaching your goal. Keeping the main thing, the main thing, is the main thing. 

In this multi- faceted space we live in, it can be extremely complicated, and distracting due to all of the different pieces needed to make it all work. These distractions can rob you of your dream, by getting you caught up in learning all the technical pieces of the business, while important,  can totally distract you from the main thing.

If your a writer, write. If your deal is sound, learn your skill, publishing learn the business of publishing and so on. My point here is; develop your main interest first. Don't allow the peripheral distractions to derail you. I'm not saying you don't need to learn about all the pieces, I'm just saying get good at what your good at, then add the pieces. I hope this short blog has helped you to see the importance of staying focused. I wish I had more time to continue writing , but have have some pieces of my own to get to. My final thought is; Hold on to your dream with all you've got, and never loose focus on the main thing.

Music business/ The truth

 I have been working in the music business for years and doing daily research, and have written around 200 blogs. I'm very fortunate to have and opportunity to write a book. The music business/ The Ugly truth. Here is an unedited version of the forward. I'm on chapter 9,The book should be coming out around the first of the year.

Forward

  Entering the music business fun, fact, fiction, or all of the above? After 25 plus years in the music industry, I have found that it’s a mixed bag of the good, the bad, and the ugly. From the outside looking in, it appears to be all glamour and excitement. Sorry to disappoint you, but that misconception and a box of sparklers will get you a nice refrigerator box under the bridge.

  My goal with this book is to show you the truth of what the music business is really all about. There is a lot of information out there from the academia perspective. That’s good, however most of that information belongs right where it sits; in a book. The real world of the music industry can only be learned through experience. And that’s exactly how we plan on translating this information to you.

In this book I am drawing from over 20+ years of personal experience in the industry, as well as from other seasoned professionals I have met along the way. The information you will be getting comes from Grammy award winning, Dove award winning, Stellar award winners, as well as others whom have achieved high levels of success and notoriety in this industry.

Our goal is to provide you with accurate, up-to-date information that will help you enter into this world without falling into all the traps and costly experiences of being unprepared.  Remember there are no short cuts. Miss a step, trip and you will land hard.

 I have dedicated my life to this cause, and I hope you will get what you need from this book to get you started and prepared for the exciting road ahead. Good music to you.

CHANGING THE MUSIC BUSINESS FROM THE INSIDE OUT

INSIDE OUT

Recently we were meeting with Jody Robinson from HIS Radio to plan our November 10th event in Savannah GA, and he came up with a great tag line for AMP:  (CHANGING THE MUSIC BUSINESS FROM THE INSIDE OUT).  I nearly fell out of my chair when he first used that tag.  There was no doubt that this expressed our mission as clearly as anything we had come up with up to that point.

The cry I'm hearing from nearly everyone I speak with about the music business is for change.  The old days of Corporations reaping and controlling this industry needs to go away.  It's time the creators of the industry get their piece of the proverbial pie as well.  I mean the writers, musicians, artists, sound engineers, etc.  All the business folk deserve their fair share as well, but I mean fair and equitable.  It has basically been one sided, and the creative community has suffered. 

So what do we do?  Good question, and I'm glad you asked.  We have to change it from the inside out.  That means one person at a time with a new way of thinking.  The old paradigm must fade away.  I used the word fade in the previous sentence because that's the way it will happen.  How fast it happens depends on how pro-active the creative community wants to be.  AMP is on fire for this change and we are going to kick it off in a powerful way Nov. 10th in Savannah, Ga.  If you want to be a part of this go to http://www.hisradio.com/savannah.php. Info will be available OCT. 1st.

We are going to be unveiling a new music business model -- a new way of doing business: a  win - win for everyone.  There's no need to say more, if you're ready for change stay tuned and join us.  There will be a limited amount of spaces so register early.

Music business secrets

WOOD SHEDDING

When fans see their favorite Artist on stage, and see how flawless things appear; they truly have no idea how much work went into the show behind the scenes.  In all appearance it looks easy.  Most people think musicians are lazy, stay up all night, and sleep all day.  Ok, part of that is true, but not the lazy part.  The hours put in to become a true professional are unbelievable.  In order to succeed in this business you must have a passion and drive that is relentless.

Talent will only take you so far; hard work will get you the rest of the way. 

There is a misconception that the music business is all fun and Glamor.  I have a term I use called Glamoritis.  This means you are blinded by the lights, fame and  money and can't see the reality.  I take no hostages, this business can be a lots of fun if you have the passion.  However if you're not having fun and it's stressful most of the time, you're probably in the wrong business.  There are those people who are lazy that enter into this world.  They don't last long, and have to live with what could have been for the rest of their lives.  Don't let that happen to you.

All I'm saying is, if you don't have the passion, and you are not willing to do the work; save yourself lots of pain and disappointment and keep your day job.  I am not trying to discourage anyone, I'm just pointing out the reality.  Don't let the glamor blind you, get to work.

Getting started/ Songwriting foundation

excerpt from my book coming out soon --

DIVING IN

It’s time to get our feet wet now.  If you’ve stayed with me this long I will assume you’re serious, and have already decided to dive into the one thing without which there would be no music business – SONGWRITING.  So let’s get started.

First, what is a song? Song:

1. set of words sung

2. art of singing

3. instrumental work in vocal style

4. animal call

5. Same as poetry

6. poem

Now we know the definition of a song , let’s learn a little history.

Clay tablets relating to music, containing the cuneiform signs of the "Hurrian" language, had been excavated in the early 1950s at the Syrian city of ancient Ugarit in what is now modern Ras Shamra. One text contained a complete hymn, both words and music and is the oldest known preserved music notation in the world.

Prof. Kilmer transcribed this piece of music into modern music notation. Other individuals have also attempted to transcribe this music, with differing interpretations.

The tablets date back to approximately 1400 B.C. and contain a hymn to the moon god's wife, Nikal. Remarkably, the tablets also contain detailed performance instructions for a singer accompanied by a harpist as well as instructions on how to tune the harp. From this evidence, Prof. Kilmer and other musicologists have created realizations of the 
hymn.