From one of my favorite mixing books, The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook, I found an excerpt called Magic Frequencies.

Happy Labor Day!

This is a big day for DIY artists as it marks the first time that musicians not affiliated with a label or royalty collection agency can collect revenue direct from a free streaming music platform. We’re very proud to now offer DIY artists the same royalty opportunities as those presented to record labels acts.

Now’s the time to upload your music to Last.fm. Then sign up for the Artist Royalty Program in the Music Manager.

In other Last.fm news, subscribers have been given access to the new Last.fm beta, which includes a facelift and improved user experience. One notable benefit is when you make your music available to download free, it will be included in iTunes podcasts, reaching an even larger audience.

Great times for DIY artists!

The Ring and I

It might seem hyperbole to claim, as many Wagnerites do, that The Ring Cycle is “The Greatest Work of Art Ever.” But the grandeur and power of this monumental work have permeated our culture from Star Wars to Bugs Bunny to J.R.R. Tolkien.

Musical Language

What is music? How does it work? Why does it move us? Why are some people better at it than others? In this hour, we examine the line between language and music, how the brain processes sound, and we meet a composer who uses computers to capture the musical DNA of dead composers in order to create new work. We also re-imagine the disastrous 1913 debut of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring…through the lens of modern neurology.

Jazz in Song: The Words

Songs can have an effect like no other art form. Great lyricists put in the heart and soul, and master interpreters add the flesh and blood, forging the combination of words and music that makes up the magic of songcraft.

MPR Grammar Grater Episode 20: Unfinished Business

Legend has it that Constanza Mozart, in an attempt to rouse her husband from bed during the late morning hours, would sit at the piano and play a C major scale. She’d get all the way up to the B natural. And stop.

Wolfgang couldn’t stand it. His ear was begging for some kind of fulfillment, so he’d leap out of bed, rush to the piano and bang out the final note, much to his relief.

Music:
Eli Paperboy Reed and The True Loves

If you’re a jazz lover, then you’ll love both NPR: Jazz Profiles and The Traneumentary. NPR’s Jazz Profiles covers the lives and music of artists like Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald. It’s fantastic! The Traneumentary celebrates the artistry and recording of John Coltrane. It’s a deep look into the life and music of this amazing jazz pioneer.

The final podcast is brought to you by Pandora. One of their most recent episodes details Hip Hop Rhyme Schemes. If you’re not familiar with Pandora and the Music Genome Project, check it out right away. You’ll love it!

Andrea was also generous enough to let you have a free chapter! Click here to get it…

Andrea was kind enough to let me give you a free chapter! Click here to get it…

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If you’d like to hear the rest of this interview where she reveals some of her tried and true techniques for writing hit songs, then consider becoming a Samurai Songwriting subscriber. Just click this link. You won’t want to delay because if you sign up now, you’ll get access to the previous issue of Samurai Songwriting as well as the current issue which is being released in a couple of days. After this issue comes out, you’ll have to pay extra to receive back issues so join now while there’s still time. We’d be honored to have you.

Molly-Ann Leikin’s Books and CDs:“How to Write a Hit Song: The Complete Guide to Writing and Marketing Chart-Topping Lyrics and Music” (Molly-Ann Leikin)


“How to Be a Hit Songwriter: Polishing and Marketing Your Lyrics and Music” (Molly-Ann Leikin)


“Master Class in Songwriting with Molly-Ann Leikin (audio book)” (Molly-Ann Leikin)

Subscribe to Samurai Songwriting to hear the rest of this interview.

Molly-Ann Leikin’s Books and CDs:
“How to Write a Hit Song: The Complete Guide to Writing and Marketing Chart-Topping Lyrics and Music” (Molly-Ann Leikin)


“How to Be a Hit Songwriter: Polishing and Marketing Your Lyrics and Music” (Molly-Ann Leikin)


“Master Class in Songwriting with Molly-Ann Leikin (audio book)” (Molly-Ann Leikin)

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Ze inspired me a lot this past year. His show is most definitely 2nd Tier, even if he doesn’t know it. But that didn’t inspire me as much as his prolific output. That, and his total honesty and authenticity.

Another thing that hit me when I realized that he was only doing the show for one year, which was about half way through the show’s life, was that it’s a good idea to have an exit strategy. All thing’s must come to an end after all.

I’ve got about 20 of my favorite episodes in iTunes that I’ll revisit when I miss The Show. It was a great run and it made huge waves on the internet. Congratulations, Ze! And I hope to see you somewhere else soon.

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Hit Songwriting Tips Podcast 08-22-06

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My Odeo Channel (odeo/cfb1828a74bcd082)

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Find out more: Music Business Radio – Weekly Podcast Now Available

Current show features Dez Dickerson. Dez is probably best known as the lead guitarist and musical director for Prince and the Revolution, but has worked with a number of artists including Narada Michael Walden, Aretha Franklin, and Vanity 6.

You will learn a lot about music business and promoting your music!

“New technologies rarely actually replace existing technologies. They tend to reposition them.”

A fundamental difference between the digital and analog ages is content in the analog world is tied to the medium. In the digital world, content is not tied to the medium. It can be cut and pasted. The producer isn’t in control anymore and the consumer can make the content better.

How to harness the power of interactive media:
Targeting will win the money. The shotgun approach to advertising isn’t effective anymore.

From: iMedia Connection Podcast

“Millennials Rising : The Next Great Generation (Vintage Original)” (Neil Howe, William Strauss)

Somebody asks a Ninja, “What Is Integral Theory?”

His answer, “Complicated.”

Click below to Download this movie:
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If you like it, tell a friend!

You got questions, Ninja got answers.

Previous Episodes of Ask A Ninja

Remember to send your questions to askaninja@gmail.com.

Daily Source Code has played your song On My Feet Again. Find out more about this PodShow at http://music.podshow.com/

That right. One of my songs was just played on Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code! I don’t know exactly how many subscribers he has, but it’s a lot.

For those of you who don’t know, Adam Curry was an MTV VJ from ‘87-’94 and is one of the founders of podcasting. His podcast, The Daily Source Code, is also played on Sirius Satellite Radio.

BTW, I’m podcasting my own original music at The Graham English Podcast and you can subscribe with iTunes here:
The Graham English Podcast on iTunes

Are you podcasting yet? If so, post your podcast URL in the comments section of my blog.

People pick favorites largely on what others have deemed popular, a new study finds.

The study itself may be new but the principle isn’t. Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., in an academic setting, created the 6 principles of ethical influence many years ago. One of them is the principle of consensus or social proof.

It makes complete sense having the truth about something tested and agreed upon by your peers. In fact, it’s the scientific method. And if consensus in the field of chemistry comes from a group of chemistry experts. Where does the consensus for a hit song come from?

Who are the hit song experts?

It had to start with just one person. One listen. Who was that first person and what happened to spread the virus to the next person, and the next and so on? Stay tuned for upcoming tips and tricks on how to create buzz and unleash the ideavirus.

For now, I’m going to scale the question down a bit because a hit song feels a bit out of my reach right now. Maybe after some experience as a hit songwriter I’ll be able to answer that question. For now, I’ll reverse engineer–something I love to do–a different and more concrete goal.

What do I want to be able to do? Maybe I’ll create a popular podcast.

Hmmm. New question: where does the consensus for a popular podcast come from?

Since I believe podcasting is the most important thing every musician should be doing right now–and my own podcasting has been irregular at best–my objective is to be one of the most popular podcasts in a specific category of a specific podcast directory. As research, I’ll determine the podcast directory and category. I’ll also research what podcasts are already popular and see if there are any footprints to follow.

In the mean time, I’ll record a weekly songwriting tips podcast. Next action: Mix my current podcast.

Of course, I will share any and all duplicatable patterns that I find along the way. Are you podcasting yet? Do you have any advice or any questions about how to create a popular podcast?

What Can I Do With Feeds?

So, once you’ve found one or more RSS feeds you want to subscribe to so you can keep up to date with their content, what’s next? What you need is a way of grouping your feeds together and displaying them so you can see them all in one place. There are several ways of doing this, which one you choose really depends on which you find easiest.

Lots of different companies offer separate downloadable programs (often called ‘desktop readers’ or ‘aggregators’) or websites (often called ‘web-based readers’) and even some web browsers and email programs will read and present RSS feeds.

Feed Reading Software

There are many feed reader applications. I have used and recommend the following:
Mac OSX: http://www.ranchero.com/netnewswire/
Windows XP: http://www.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/

Web Based Feed Reading

Google Reader: http://www.google.com/reader/
Bloglines: http://www.bloglines.com/
Newsgator: http://www.newsgator.com/
MyYahoo: http://my.yahoo.com/

Subscribe to a Blog

On the left and right sides of my website you will see a red XML link button. To subscribe to my feed all you do is copy and paste that link into your feed reading software or a web based reader like bloglines. If you already have feed reading software installed, all you need to do is click the button and your software should automatically add my feed to your reader.

All blogs will have a link which you can subscribe to. It might be called Atom, or RSS, or simply Syndicate, but they all do the same thing. The reason there are so many names is because there are different standards to create web syndication services (much like the old BETA vs VHS video format competition). At the moment it appears that RSS is certainly winning the standards war so you will mostly see the orange RSS links everywhere.

Update: You can also subscribe to my blog by email. No applications to install, just my content, delivered daily, in an easy to read email. You’ll see the subscribe form to the left and to the right of this webpage.

Syndication is for More than Just Blogs

Blogs definitely started this syndication craze. It’s still in the ‘early adoption’ phase since not many people know how to use it but most of the big web companies are making subscription feeds available for almost any content and it is definitely here to stay. Chances are if you are reading an article from a big site you can subscribe to a feed that distributes those articles. Just look for that RSS symbol.

Besides article distribution a new technology has launched called Podcasting. A Podcast is simply syndicated audio, usually an mp3 file. Podcasts are downloaded and then you can listen to them on your computer or mp3 player.

RSS for Musicians

1. Get Your Music Heard Through Blogging and Podcasting
Let’s face it, not everybody has the stomach to become the next Creed or Ashley Simpson. Maybe our music will only ever reach a small number of listeners. That’s okay, but with the present-day model of 100,000-sales-or-else we don’t stand a chance – unless we self-publish. Or maybe we are working towards mass appeal but again, artist development doesn’t exist like it used to. So we build our fan base the old fashioned way – 1 listener at a time – through blogging and podcasting.

Example: Within 1 week, my music was published by 3 separate podcasts. See this post.

2. Build Community with Other Musicians and Listeners
Blogging is a Web 2.0 technology. It’s about community and conversations. So you pitch other bands on your blog and in your podcasts and in turn they do the same. It’s a win-win situation.

Not only does it connect musicians with musicians, it connects musicians with their listeners. Blogging allows your listeners to comment and respond to your music. Would you rather listen to a band that ignores you or a band that wants you to co-create the art?

3. Publish News and Tour Dates
So you’ve built a mailing list at your shows and you send them a monthly post card which costs you money. You also email them but with all the spam problems you don’t know how many emails are actually delivered. With RSS, they subscribe to your feed and your news and tour dates are delivered immediately. It’s a much more intimate way of staying in touch with your list.

4. Music Promotion Through Your Listeners
Ask your listeners to post concert posters (PDF or JPEG) of your show dates in their work places. Offer bonus pre-release audio content (podcast) as incentives. You can get really creative here.

5. Monetize Your Blog
Increase your income by selling CDs or audio downloads. You can even sell advertising from other bands or pay-per-click advertising like Google Adsense.

I really could go on and on but I think you get the idea. RSS is indispensable to musicians in the digital age.

The Future

RSS is designed to make your Internet life easier. At the moment it’s worthwhile to become familiar with this technology simply because you are going to be seeing a lot more of it. By keeping up with technology you will have the edge that can make your music an affluent career and not an expensive hobby.

By Monday, I was published on Grok Radio (Episode 9). Thanks Doug and Susan.

Yesterday I was published in the Netherlands on RobKast Radio. Thanks Rob!

Music publishing is undergoing a revolution. Podcasting can help your music get exposure faster than you think. Do it now!

This site aims to provide a location where musicians can upload music under the Creative Commons License for use in Podcasts, Mashups, Shoutcasts, Webcasts and every other kind of ‘casting’ that exists on the ‘net.

I just subscribed to their podcast in iTunes and they’ve got some really good music on there. Plus, they’ll probably be an important part of my soon to be released podcast about songwriting and music publishing.

Indie musicians looking for a good deal on digital distribution should look at Tunecore. Its no-frills pledge: “You get 100% of what iTunes and Rhapsody pay! We take NOTHING. Not a penny. It all goes to you. There are NO hidden costs or fees.

You pay a one-time delivery charge of $0.99 per song. There is a yearly maintenance fee of $7.98 per album. If you want your album in International iTunes stores (Canada, U.K./Europe, Japan and Australia) or on the Rhapsody service, there’s a one-time delivery charge of $0.99 per store/service per album.

I also recommend setting up a podcast to talk about yourself and presell your music. It’s a really good model.

Oh yeah, and blog like crazy. Connect to as many musicians in the blogosphere as you possibly can.