Category Archives: Music Production

Interesting Movie: Press Pause Play

Posted on by
2

This week I was at home with a cold and I was browsing movies on Hulu Plus. I have a Roku box and like to watch online TV and movies through Hulu and Netflix. I stumbled upon this movie called, “Press Pause Play.”  It is a very cool documentary about how technology is shaping art. It includes film, songwriting, music production, visual arts, etc. It is an interesting jump into the worlds of creativity, commerce and technology. If you have a chance, check out the movie. Here is a trailer….

~~ Chad

Music Business Career Tips from Night Shield Entertainment

Posted on by
Reply

About 12 years ago I was producing and promoting a female R&B-pop artist around South Dakota. We met this young guy who said he had a record label and wanted to work on some music. His name is Gabe Night Shield. He was starting up his company, Night Shield Entertainment. NSE is a indie hip-hop label based in South Dakota that reaches around the world.

In the last 12 years I have watched Gabe grow his company, sign artists, gain fans, and make money. His drive and vision have been an inspiration to me. We have collaborated on a few projects, including a remix I did for his single, “Games” that is on his latest CD release. Night Shield Entertainment is the product of hardwork, passion and not giving up. Today Gabe posted some music business tips on his Facebook page and I had to share it with my readers. This advice is straight from the front lines of the music biz. Gabe is just like most of us, he loves music and makes things happen for himself.

Here are some tips that you can use in your music career:

Gabe says:
“So I’ve been reading a lot of other artists messages about this game and I decided to add my 2 cents to being successful in this music scene, these are the 6 steps I think all artists should pay attention to, and remember to take it for what it is, my opinion…

1. Hone Your Craft – When I 1st started in this game I never wanted to be an artist, I couldn’t rap for shit, I just wanted to promote other artists that I thought were dope and that people should hear. I didn’t even know how to write a verse but being around so many creative people kinda made me want to give it a try and when I started being on tracks with people that were 1000x better than me it forced me to step my game up. I don’t think I was “comfortable” with myself as an artist until my “Loved & Hated” album, which was my 3rd solo. When I listen to my first 2 albums there’s a ton of cringe worthy songs and verses. Allow yourself to grow as an artist and be able to take criticism, it’s not always “hating”.

2. Build Your Brand – You are the secret to your own success. Who are you? Why should I care? What makes you stand out from the 5000 other rappers out there? Define who you are as artist. I’ve tried to carve out my niche in this scene as a “personality”, someone like a Snoop Dogg or Puff Daddy that sort of transcend the actual music, sure they make great music but they are also known to most people even if they aren’t a fan or have ever even heard of their music. Not saying that’s what you should do but that’s my goal. Who’s your target audience? Don’t waste your time on people that will never be your fan no matter how hard you try, just try to please that people that do support you.

3. Be Patient / Hustle – Not everything comes over night. I’ve been doing this for years and while I have some “status” behind my name it took hundreds of hours of work to build whatever it is that I have going for me. Anyone that’s semi-successful in this scene works very hard at it. This game is 10% rap, 90% hustle. You can be the dopest rapper alive but if you have no work ethic it’s talent wasted, Soulja Boy will take your spot.

4. Be Humble / Be Professional - I work with anyone that’s “cool”. If I don’t dig you as a person, why would I ever want to do anything with you? The 1st step of this game is being “liked”, if people like you they are going to support you, same is said of the opposite. Even if I’m not a fan of your music but you’re a good person and you’re serious about your business I’m gonna do what I can to assist you given the opportunity.

5. It Takes Money To Make Money - If you just have a CDR like the 9,000 other artists out there and so & so comes along with a professionally printed album, who do you think people are going to take more serious? If you’re not going to invest in your passion, why should you expect anyone else to?

6. Network – No one can navigate this game solely by themselves. I try to never beef and do my best to never burn bridges, you never know who that person is that will open the next door for you is going to be. Now networking isn’t spamming the shit out of everyone’s facebook page with endless videos and songs, I personally hate that shit. That’s only going to annoy most folks. Networking is getting out there and shaking hands, meeting promoters, meeting other artists, meeting the fans and putting a face to the name. Let them meet the person and not just the name behind the computer or text.

And that’s what I got, I’m sure I could go on about this subject forever but this is my top 6, hope it’s useful to you guys…”

I hope to have an interview with Gabe Night Shield very soon… ~~ Chad

Hunter Hayes – Inside His Hit ‘Storm Warning’

Posted on by
4

I don’t know about you, but I love it when songwriters and artists give a glimpse into their creative songwriting and recording processes. I found a great video that shows new country artist, Hunter Hayes, dissecting his song, ‘Storm Warning.’

‘Storm Warning’ has been hitting the airwaves, and Hunter has been working his butt off on promoting his album live since 2011. If you haven’t heard the song, it is a fun country-pop-rock tune that is based heavily on a metaphor that compares a girl to a storm. Some great lines  in the lyrics and the production and musicianship is great. Hunter actually plays all of the instruments on this song. He has been rocking since he was 4. Amazing. The song was also produced by Dann Huff, who produces many of today’s top country acts like Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts. So if you have not heard of Hunter or heard ‘Storm Warning,’ this video is pretty cool…..especially for you songwriters and music geeks. I know I loved it…..

How You Can Stand Out in Today’s Music World

Posted on by
Reply

The music industry is in a very weird state right now. The power and money has shifted. The days of major record labels controlling what we hear and see are now gone. So are the days of selling physical music products like cassettes and CD’s….or records. This post is not about how the industry has changed, but we all know that it has. Everyone….EVERYONE, majors and indies are trying to find their footing on slippery roads. We all have access to sites like Facebook and Youtube…

In the past only artists with big budgets or recording deals could record commercially viable projects. The amount of music that made it to listeners and consumers was much smaller than today. Gone are the days of having to drop $20,000 to just record an album.  We are in a time where technology literally allows anyone with a computer to record and distribute music to a worldwide audience. This is a huge BLESSING and CURSE. The good news is that anyone can now record and distribute music. The bad news is that anyone can record and distribute music. The market is now flooded. Thousands, if not millions of new songs are out there at any given time. Everyone and their mother are releasing songs and videos now. How do YOU stand out from every other home studio warrior out there? The big answer, to me, is YOU HAVE TO HAVE KICK ASS SONGS!

If your songs are not at the level or better than what the pros are putting out, you will get lost in the sea of so-so songwriters. So you have to study the craft of songwriting. You have to study hit songs. You have to learn how to write like that. Most artists and songwriters think they can just write whatever comes out. They do not think they need to craft their writing. They do need to craft it, they need to make sure they can compete with the best of the best. Song craft is more than drum loops and production libraries. The song is the lyrics, melody and harmony.

So YOU as writers need to write the best damn songs you possibly can. You need to out write the competition. You need to study like most other writers do not. What do you study? Hit songs. Study their lyrics, melody, harmony, production, rhyme schemes, note ranges, topics, tempos, everything. I think if you work your ass off, you will start to stand out from the other millions of writers that happen to have Garage Band. Singers are a dime a dozen. Songwiters are even cheaper. You need to make yourself more valuable. You have to write awesome songs to stand out in today’s music world. Great songs get attention, and they last forever. If you don’t have great songs, people won’t really care.

So why not sign up to follow this blog. I don’t have all the answers, but I will help you get songwriting tips and inspiration. Hell, email me if you want your songs critiqued or if you are interested in songwriting lessons. I can help you get some direction in your writing, so you start cranking out hits and getting more downloads.

~ Chad

Maybe It’s Not Your Recording, Maybe It’s Your Song

Posted on by
1

Here is a little story that gets replayed over and over again in the songwriting world:

A songwriter writes a song that they think is the next big thing. It would for sure be a hit, and some artist or publisher would be stupid to pass on it. So they get a little digital recording rig and cut a nice little rough demo at home. The recording sounds good, not alot of effects, but OK. Then they play it for some people and those people say, “It’s Ok. Not bad.”

Then the songwriter scrounges up some money and goes to a mid sized studio in their neighborhood. They add a few more bells and whistles. People say, “Eh, It’s Ok. Not bad.”

So now the songwriter books studio time at the most expensive studio in Nashville. Hires the best musicians around and cuts another demo for the song. This time for sure this song is going to really make it. How could it NOT!? So they get the nice shiny mix back and the quality sounds just like anything on the radio….maybe better. So they play it for people and they say, “It’s OK. Not bad. Not too bad.”

WHAT!? How can this be? There is no possible way to make the recording any better. Why aren’t they going nuts for this song?! There in lies the problem….It is not the recording that people aren’t flipping out over….it’s the song.  Don’t make this mistake. Make sure you write great songs that get the point across and make people flip out no matter what they are recorded on.

Writing Songs if You Are Not a Musician

Posted on by
Reply

If you are a songwriter or singer, but not a musician, does that mean you are hosed if you want to write cool songs? NO!  If you can talk, and/or sing you can write songs! You do not have to be a musician to write some great stuff.  I think everyone has some singing ability, and pretty much everyone can talk….so you can definitely write lyrics and even melodies!  Sure, it could…..COULD be harder for people who are not musicians, but you have options…..

Options for people who want to write songs but don’t play an instrument:

1. Find someone DOES play an instrument. – You can collaborate with them in coming up with chords and melodies to your lyrics. If you both come up with words and melody, you both own the song. If you write the words and they do the music….you both own the song.

2. Write to Karaoke tracks of songs you don’t know – Yes, that is right! Use other song tracks….BUT make sure you do not know the song that you are using. You do not want to copy the melody or lyrics.  Basically songs without the melody and lyrics are just chord progressions, and you cannot copyright chord progressions, so you can use them for your song! This is a great way for singers who want to write songs, but don’t have access to musicians.  You can’t use the same recording, but if you do ever want to cut a demo of your song, you can have the studio use the same chord progressions., and BAM you have an original song!  Look on Spotify and Youtube for tracks. Pick songs you have never heard. Write your own words and melody to the tracks. Again, DO NOT use the same melodies and lyrics…

3. Hire demo studios that put your words to music – Maybe you wrote some lyrics, and just want someone else to put them to music. There are many demo studios that do this. Some will want part ownership of the songs, some will do it as a work-for-hire and you would own the song at the end. Make sure they have an agreement that you sign that specifies who owns what at the end.  I put client’s words to music quite a bit. Email me for the details on doing a demo with C-Sharp Productions.

See….just because you don’t play an instrument doesn’t mean you’re screwed when it comes to songwriting.

~ Chad

Email me if you have a song you would like me to critique…

It’s about the musical journey

Posted on by
Reply

There used to be a time when all I thought about was being a big pop star. It was only a matter of time before the world saw my talent and I would be rich a famous. I just thought that all I needed to do was record a demo in my bedroom and send it to labels and someone would scoop me up and make me famous. I’d never have to work and I would get to travel the world.
Well….the older I get, and the more I know about the big time music biz, the less that matters to me. I am now getting to a place where I make music and write songs because that is what I love. I love the process. I love the feeling I get when I write a decent song or cut a pretty good demo. I also like the fact that I have developed my own music business by helping other songwriters and singers. They hire me for my talents. I can do something they can’t, so they give me money to help them. It means a lot that they see enough value in what I do to hire me. That feels pretty close to what I imagined being rich and famous feels like. I get to make new friends, make new music and make some money. That is all pretty sweet. So as the new year starts, i want to focus on making music. I want to write songs that I like and not worry about whether they will be liked by the masses. I want to sing my songs. I want to have other people sing my songs. I want to finish the projects i have in the works with my great clients. Most of all, I want to enjoy the process and the experience. That is where success comes from.
- Chad