Archive for August, 2010

Right so I am busy planning out the various tutorials that I am going to offer on this site. Well, not entirely but at least the first few

My idea is to offer two types:

• Screen cast style where by I will describe the subject through an interactive video. This will usually involve me providing theoretical foundations for the concept and then performing demonstrations which can be followed and replicated. Any associated files, projects, documents and the like will be included with the tutorial as a download.
• Written tutorials comprising screen shots and textual descriptions. These will be used where concepts are of a purely theoretical nature such as when discussing a concept from music theory or perhaps some kind of sound analysis.

As a first pass design at the various curricula, I want to do the following two courses:

Production Technology

Compressors

• What, Why, When
• How – Threshold
• How – Ratio
• How – Attack
• How – Release
• Where – Drums
• Where – Percussion
• Where – Bass
• Where – Leads
• Specific Applications – Sidechain Compression
• Specific Applications – New York/Parallel Compression

Music Production and Sound Design

Drums and Percussion

• Theory – What is the rhythm section of a track
• Practice – Designing a Kick
• Practice – Designing a Snare
• Practice – Designing a Clap
• Practice – Designing a Open and Closed Hi Hat
• Practice – Designing a Shaker
• Practice – Designing a Wood Block
• Practice – Sampling
• Practice – Sequencing
• Practice – Processing and Effects

All of the above are going to be screen casts and I will probably refine this list many more times because I think it’s quite week and doesnt provide a thorough (enough) overview of concepts and practices.

Nonetheless it’s a start and if this list is anything to go by, then perhaps 2 years from now, I will have hundreds of tutorials on this site. Provided I can ensure that the quality is of the highest level, I plan to completely outdo anything else that is available on the internet.

I have also been toying with the idea of giving it all away for free, both the tutorials and my own music. I know you probably think I am nuts but there is method in this madness that I will go into on another post. For the time being, let me just say that my plan is not to make money from the music on its own because in this internet age, that money would almost be negligible. It’s simply not a viable option anymore. Instead, the plan is to use my music and tutorials to get myself exposure and ultimately gigs as a DJ and performing artist because that is where the money is at.

After watching the industry for a number of years, I have observed the following:

• Artist X is a bedroom DJ and producer.
• Artist X makes tons of tracks, send them to labels for a few years and gets shot down time and again.
• Artist X starts DJ’ing at a local pub/club to get experience and tiny bits of exposure.
• Artist X eventually makes a track that a small label is willing to sign.
• This track then  ends up on Beatport and Trackitdown which is where the artist’s name starts to grow a little bit.
• X releases a few more tracks but now he has developed some industry clout and a big label signs him up.
• X then releases his track on the big label and then his name really blows up.
• The big label usually handles his marketing and acts as management agent controlling his DJ bookings and requests which now start to come in thick and fast from all over the world.
• X now has made it.

Now I know I am making this process sound quite mechanical but honestly I have watched it happen with small names turning into big names countless times and the process always seems to work like this. Also on reading many interviews with famous DJ/producers, they pretty much all say the same thing.

Now my intention is to kind of bypass some of this because it is both a slow process and I am getting into the game pretty late….Note I didn’t come up with this strategy, I am basically copying this guy, Tom Cosm, who pretty much releases everything for free and through providing high quality content and proving his worth, he is currently touring Europe for 4 months playing gigs all over the continent despite not being affiliated with any label or studio whatsoever. His whole reputation has been built up by making good music (firstly!) and then providing good content to the whole community. The only thing he sells are HD versions of his tutorials that can be purchased and shipped on a DVD (I have bought all of them), but you can still download standard quality versions as well as all his music, directly off his site, for free.

So in short, my plan is to give it all away and build up a solid reputation around my personal brand. Using this approach of not waiting for a record label to bite means I can distribute my music at my will and get (potentially) millions of people listening through the power of viral and social media marketing.

It’s a plan that is certainly full of holes and naivety but that’s exactly why I like it