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Is This The End of the 4-minute Music Video?

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Mark Mulligan wrote an interesting article on his Music Industry Blog called “Understanding ’15’: How Record Labels and Artists Can Fix Their YouTube Woes.”

In it he argues that musicians should stop focusing exclusively on 4-minute videos (which, due to their length, fall into a “revenue no-man’s land” on YouTube) and start creating music videos that are formatted to capture maximum ad revenue and appeal to the average YouTube viewer based on their usage habits — meaning the videos should be very short (15 seconds) or much longer (15 minutes).

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Is There A Link Between Music And Happiness?

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Music activates so many parts of our brain that it’s impossible to say that we have a center for music the way we do for other tasks and subjects, such as language.

If the song has lyrics, then the parts of the brain that process language, Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, kick into gear. Researchers have found that songs can activate our visual cortex, perhaps because our brain tries to construct a visual image of the changes in pitch and tone. Songs can trigger neurons in the motor cortex, leading you to tap your foot and boogie. Your cerebellum gets into the act, trying to figure out where a piece of music will go next, based on all the other songs it’s heard before.

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Why Mediocre Intonation May Not Be a Practice Issue, But a Focus Issue

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Have you ever found yourself worrying about a tricky passage a couple lines in advance? And totally flubbing it when you got to it, precisely because you started thinking about it?

An external focus of attention is not universally helpful. The research in this area also suggests that beginners or less advanced individuals, may perform better when using an internal focus.

In addition, and this is true at all skill or experience levels, there will be plenty of times when adopting an internal focus is more effective for learning. If you need to break down a skill, figure out what’s going on, and make technical adjustments, an internal focus often makes more sense than an external focus. Because if there’s a fundamental technical reason why your intonation or sound or rhythm is unstable, simply shifting your focus is probably not going to be an effective or stable long-term solution.

So an external focus is not a one-size-fits-all panacea – but then again, what is? Take a few days to experiment with different levels of external focus, and see what changes in the consistency, fluidity, and accuracy of your technical execution!

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6 Keys To A Good Residency Gig For Musicians

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1. You (and your fans) are in it for the long haul

You can’t judge the success of your residency on the first (or even the last) night. If you’re used to playing a show at a local club and getting 300 people out, think about your residency as a chance to throw a revolving party where those fans can pick and choose when they want to attend. They won’t all be there at once.

2. Your residency is all about location, location, location

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to picking the right venue for a residency.

First and foremost: do they host residencies? If not, can you convince the venue?

3. Timing is everything

As a general rule, there’s no “right time” for a residency, but there’s definitely a right time for your particular fanbase.

4. Variety is the spice of life

Residencies are usually longer gigs: 2-3 hours. So you can’t just play the same 45-minute set every time. You can’t just play the same three-hour set every time either!

5. Guests are golden

The best way to keep your residency dynamic is to highlight a different guest artist each night. Collaborate with them on at least a couple songs, or the whole set if possible. If your residency shows are long enough, you can even offer the guest their own set: opening, headlining, or sandwiched in between two of your sets.

6. Consistency is key

After all the talk about variety this tip might seem contradictory, but what I mean is this: don’t throw your fans for such a loop that they feel alienated.

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10 Music Marketing Lessons I Learned From Lisa Lepine

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1. It’s all about the name

Lisa thought that 80% of music marketing was taken care of if you had a good band name that communicated something about your story or your sound to fans, talent buyers, and journalists.

2. You have to know your story

What IS your story? How did you come to music? Is there a narrative about your life or music that will captivate someone even before they’ve heard a note?

3. Your music is the LAST thing that matters

We live with what Lisa called “the reality of the glut.” There is an abundance (many would say an overabundance) of music being released today. People in the industry, and to a lesser degree music fans, are required to constantly sort through all that music and make quick decisions. If you send an email to a blogger, what separates that email from the other 300 correspondences they received that day asking for the same attention you’re seeking? Your story!

4. Brainstorming will yield both brilliant and batshit crazy ideas

One thing that took me a while to understand is that there’s real power in the process of brainstorming, but you can’t be afraid of looking or feeling dumb. And on the flip side, you can’t be judgmental of someone else’s ideas. Early on, I would leave a conversation with Lisa saying to myself “she’s spot on half the time, and then the other half it’s like she doesn’t even know me!” (Again, because we’re all misunderstood geniuses, right?)

5. You need a reflector

Not a shiny thing to wear while bicycling (though you might also need one of those). What I mean is, sometimes we don’t see what makes us unique. We lose perspective. We live our whole lives inside our thoughts, bodies, and habits, so nothing about us feels particularly noteworthy.

6. What makes you different is your most valuable asset

Be fearlessly unique. Lisa was. She was the first at any club to get up and dance when the music moved her (this in the hipster HQ of Portland, Oregon where most people would listen to music with arms folded and head nodding almost imperceptibly). She wore outlandish hats. She greeted you at the front door by ringing a gong. And she valued what made others unique. Which is why she was so skilled at helping artists identify it, cultivate it, and communicate it more effectively.

7. You don’t stand a chance unless you stand with others

Perhaps Lisa’s best gift was as a builder of community. She connected people. She connected the right people with the right people. She knew that any effort you make could be enhanced by collaboration, or that overused term “synergy.”

8. Find your artistic persona

“Persona” is another word for image, branding, packaging. It’s the thing that carries your story into the world. It’s the “wardrobe” for your soul. Lisa could really help an artist uncover their persona by searching for that unique, authentic element that set them apart — and then brainstorming ways to dramatize or supersize it so it connects with an audience (in a live setting) and with industry people (on paper or online).

9. Promotion is about growth, not conquest

Lisa’s nickname was “ProMotion Queen.” Pro: “Professional?” Yes. But mostly “in favor of moving forward.”

The whole promotion process for Lisa was really about self-discovery. We engage through telling stories, and you can’t tell your story until you know it. So there’s an element of digging deep, and of reflecting on the past — but all as a means of motion and growth.

10. No one will do it for you

Because Lisa had a reputation as a real connector (as well as a manager, consultant, festival booker, etc.), people would come to her with expectations that they’d receive some immediate career benefit: a booking, a review, whatever. For most artists, that wasn’t her job. Her job was to empower you to get your own bookings, reviews, etc. It’s that whole “teach a man to fish” thing.

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The 3 Things You Should Do Right Away When Trying To “Break Into” A New Music Scene

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1. Read all the free magazines in your town, every week

Make a habit of picking up all the free weeklies. They’re usually easy to find in grocery stores, coffee shops, vending bins on street corners, music venues, hair salons, and elsewhere.

2. Go to CD release parties

The album release party is probably going to be a local band’s biggest event of the year, so everyone comes out — other bands, bloggers, people in the local music industry, etc. Because all those people will be gathered in one place for these events, you should go to as many album release parties as possible. Pretend you’re a wedding crasher and go make some new connections.

3. Do some field research

Now that you’re out there exploring venues and bands, it’s time to take some more mental notes. How do the bands perform? What’s working? What isn’t?Turn around and look at the audience. Who’s here? Is the audience reacting positively to the music? If so, do you think they’d like your music?

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