How To Set Up Your Own Pandora Station (DIY Artist Info)

Most of us whether you are a artist or not have listened to Pandora, but as a independent music producer I use to wonder what would I have to do to get my artists music on Pandora with their own station. After doing the research and with the help of Pandora's information I have the steps so here you go. To submit music to Pandora you need 1. A standard free Pandora account based on a valid email address that's attached to the account. 2. A CD of your music. 3. A unique UPC code for the CD that you are trying to submit. 4. The legal rights to your music. 5. Your CD should be available through Amazon as a physical CD and the name of each track listed in the track listing on the page for that CD. 6. Mp3 files for two tracks from your CD. Also remember that you can only submit one CD at a time. Once you have all of those items go to the Pandora page and complete the submission form and good luck, hopefully you will have your own station. To submit or learn more go to http://www.pandora.com/

Do I Need Digital Distribution??? ( #Artists #Producers DIY Info )

Have you ever wanted to get your songs, albums, or beats on Itunes to sell? You ever wondered how artists get there music on Rhapsody, Amazon, Spotify, etc?? In order to get your music on those sites to sell, you need to go through a "digital distributor" who would distribute your music to these places and more. Music that is in Mp3 form or other file formats are distributed through these companies. Since its been a decline in the sales of physical CD's, digital distributors provide a service that is necessary for today's music artist. If you plan to sell your music and you already have the fanbase ready to buy, its a must you sign up with one of these companies to get your music into these online stores for your fans to buy. There are many digital distributors out here that offer a lot of services besides distribution so you would have to research these companies individually and see whats best for you and your needs. Two of the more well known digital distributors are TuneCore and CD baby, but there are others such as Mondo Tunes, HiFiveMusic, Songcast, Indigoboom, Catapault and Red Nine Music. Red Nine Music is a independent (meaning they have no record label affiliation) distributor but if you sign up with them there are no up front fees or start up costs and artists retain 100% ownership of their master recordings and songwriting credits. Artists do not need to have a previous sales record or established fanbase, which for me personally at this point in my career, Red Nine would be my personal choice as they seem to cater more to the independent artist no matter what point they are in their career. As a DIY artist out in the work and do the research that's necessary to make a solid decision. The more popular named distributors might not cater to your needs as a artist in the way say maybe a Red Nine Music would. Its all about your needs so choose wisely, but hopefully you now know more about why you need a digital distributor as a independent artist.

7 Tips To Help You Speed Up Your Workflow

7 Tips To Help You Speed Up Your Workflow

HOW IMPORTANT IS PANNING?????

When you first start making music/beats you really don't know how important that little "pan" knob is to your overall mix. In the beginning I used to pan instruments hard left or hard right just because it was there, but over time you learn how to use the effects of panning better but like anything else it takes practice. Panning is a important part of your stereo image. Stereo image has two perspectives, left to right and front to back. Reverb, delay, EQ and volume is what creates the front and back of the mix. If you make music on a computer, you have to work hard to achieve a realness that live instruments bring. This is where panning comes in. Imagine that you are sitting in a crowd watching a band perform. The drummer is usually in the center, keyboard players are on the right, the vocalist is dead center, the kick and the snare drum are center but the cymbals might be off to the side a little bit. As you can see when you pan from a audience's point of view its probably different from what you normally do now, depending on your experience in mixing.So to create a "realness" use that perspective when panning. Depending on the genre of music things could be different of course. If you are creating a orchestra type of track or feel in a song, it makes sense to follow a seating chart, that will help you really create how a orchestra is seated in a real performance.Don't be afraid to experiment when mixing, try different things and see what happens. There are never any rules when it comes to music but these are just a few guidelines I keep in mind and that I personally use for myself.

WHAT ARE ISRC CODES????

Have you ever uploaded a track on Bandcamp and on the bottom right side of the page you see something that says ISRC codes?? Did you know what that was or did you think it didn't apply to you? Well after learning about it myself only a few months ago, I'll explain what it is and what its for. ISRC means International Standard Recording Code. Its a system that was put in place as a way to identify recordings. A manager or record label would have to go to the ISRC website (www.usisrc.org) to fill out a application and apply for a ISRC code. You can also obtain one directly from the RIAA. All recordings should be assigned a unique code if you want to track sales and radio playback. These codes are usually burned into the recording and it is your responsibility to provide the code information when distributing your recordings. The code can be used to track sales, radio station play and it can be used to track paying performance royalties. Depending on where you are at in your career you might not need one yet. The only recordings that need the ISRC codes are the ones that will be released for the public. You definitely need ISRC codes if you plan to sell your recordings, get them on the radio for airplay or distribute them they will help you track your sales. If you are releasing a song that has a album version, acapella version and remix version all 3 versions need unique ISRC codes assigned to them. This is just a brief explanation for those who never knew anything about these codes. I myself an still learning more, you can go directly to the site (www.usisrc.org) if you want to get a more detailed explanation. Hopefully this gave you a little more knowledge than you might have had.

2ND QUARTER MOTIVATION

Here we go its April already, how did we get here this fast? The days and months go quickly especially if you are busy, but the question you have to ask yourself is have you progressed or accomplished anything you said you were at this point in the year? Remember it was just New Years Eve so for those of you who make resolutions have you started them yet? With the 1st quarter of the year already over with, its time to evaluate what you have done and where you are headed as far as reaching your goals. The reason I am writing about this is because I am doing the same thing as we speak. It doesn't matter what the goal is, if you have not started to work towards it its not too late to start now. If its been family issues, money issues, work related issues or just being bet down by everyday life, refresh your mind and get back to focusing on the things you want to succeed in. We all go through things but its how you handle situations that determine the overall outcome. There 9 more months in the year which is a lot time if used correctly so get back motivated and get on your grind.

WHAT DO I NEED FOR A BETTER SOUND?????

One thing I use to wonder is what is the most important pieces of equipment necessary to get a good recording at home? I've been to big studios and I've seen what they use but that still couldn't answer my question on a a smaller scale with a smaller budget. I know that a good treated, soundproof booth, monitors and a mic were all a part of getting a good recording, but if someone were to ask me that question now I would say the most important gear in getting a good sound are the quality of your microphones, pre-amps, converters and monitors. Microphones - Every musician know that mics are one of the most important part of a studio. Even if you are not exactly sure on what mic to get most people know that brands like Neumann are expensive and considered to be good, and brands like Shure are less expensive but are still pretty decent. There are different type of mics (Dynamic,Ribbon,USB, Condenser) but without explaining what each one does, just know that picking a microphone should be a process. Take into consideration your budget and try different mics out, or ask questions before you buy. You want to get as good as a microphone as possible depending on your budget and recording needs. Microphone Pre-amps - The microphone pre-amp you use is highly responsible in the final sound you end up with. If your budget is low like most of us recording at home, you should use the pre-amps on your mixer or audio interface and choose a real good microphone. You can actually get decent results out of low quality pre-amps and interface pre-amps by using good mic techniques, using poppers, setting the gain and trim levels correctly and having a solid sound booth but with that said if you have the money you should get a good pre-amp. The better the pre-amp and mic together, the better the sounds you will end up with. A-D Converters - Analog to digital converters are another piece of gear that will highly determine your final sound and recording. Computers work in digital, the real world works in analog so if you are recording a hand clap into a microphone, its going to convert from analog to a digital waveform in your system. The converter is the gear that makes the clap convert from analog to digital. If you are recording at home right now, there is a digital converter somewhere in your system. Its more than likely in your audio interface box. The better the converter the better your audio will e. Think of it as a camera, the better the lens the better the picture. Most major studios use external converters like the Apogee Rosetta brands. Converters will keep the analog sound, sounding exactly how it should in digital form. Studio Monitors - Monitors of course are important because the sound you hear coming from them is what will determine how you mix,or even if you re-record the track. All the other pieces of gear I mentioned earlier are what leads to what you actually hear coming from your monitors. You want your monitors as accurate as possible to get a good mix. There are so many brands and different prices of monitors out, so take your time to investigate, budget to get a good pair. There are other things involved of course with getting a good sound in your home, like mic placement, room treatment, etc but if you do a good job at selecting a good mic, a good pre-amp, good A-D converters and solid monitors you are setting yourself for some good recordings.