When we look at a talented individual, there are a series of reactions that get evoked. After the initial shock and wonder have subsided, we start to analyze this individual and his talent more critically. Most of us have the opinion that over and above the ‘innate’ talent that he or she was born with, there were two other aspects that brought him success. One is that he was blessed with luck and the second is that it must have taken him endless hours of practice to deliver the final product with such finesse and perfection.

The question has almost forever plagued everyone bothered with achieving success. And achieving success in the music world is also no exception. Whenever we hear a fabulous song or hear some mind-boggling guitar or sax, we immediately conclude that the player or singer has immense amount of talent. But the question still remains – is it talent or just hard work that went behind the success?

There is really no right or wrong answer to this perennial and also highly debatable question. There are of course, several musicians who are born with some distinct abilities and these ‘innate’ talents are further honed with the support of parents, teachers, and friends and so on. However, it is also not uncommon to find highly ‘talented’ musicians, no matter which genre they belong, decaying and going into oblivion quicker than they imagined.

So the moot question is: is having talent all that is required? Of course, it matters. But then, if there is some inherent love for an instrument and music in general there are plenty of examples where the individual was perhaps not born with the talent but decided to pursue this interest much later. We hear about writers who take up writing when they are in their ‘40s or even later, only to become a top-selling writer of all times! Similarly, there are countless number of bassists, guitarists, singers, saxophonists and other cadres of musicians who have picked up their first instrument in their late ‘20s or even ‘30s and have shined their way through to become household names.

Talent is a catalyst to achieve fame and fortune in music. This is an undisputed fact. But only talent has never worked for anyone. You also need perseverance and the dedication to give further shape to the talent, to hone it and to perfect your chosen art. If you study the biography of any reputed star – no matter what kind of music you have in mind – you would always find that even the most seasoned and acclaimed musician still spends hours in practicing his form of music. Practice brings out that rare perfection which remains hidden if you just have talent. Talent only pushes you to the rightful place – to remain there, you need practice and hard work.

Talent makes it easier for you to read and understand notes, chords, pick up new styles but only practice and that also dedicated and single-minded devotion to the art form can help you achieve a sustainable place in the sun.

If you are a musician and looking for band space in Brooklyn or Queens to practice,
contact Empire Rehearsal Studios for more information.

There are no free lunches in this world and paying for music distribution is no exception to this rule. One of the burning questions that could be plaguing your band is who pays for music distribution? While taking help from legal professionals is the best option in many cases, here are some fundamental facts you might like to know about music distribution and the money involved in doing this job.

In this industry you would come across several distribution companies who would distribute your album to a pre-set number of stores within a specified time limit, at a fee. While this is a perfectly legal way to go about music distribution, there are several options also available which you might like to look at.

How does a music distributor make money? He puts your album in stores and gets a commission from sale. Now the album may need special efforts to get sold and this includes, in-shop displays, vantage placements for getting noticed, and other steps for in-shop promotion. The distributor, as part of his service and in return for the money he is getting from you, may like to do this job at the stores. However, if you do not pay him any fee upfront, the in-shop promotion is your responsibility and the distributor simply finishes his job by ‘distributing’ and nothing else.

You have to remember that getting your album to the store is only half the job done. You also have to make sure that the album is accessible to the end-customer and people at large must come to know about its existence in the shops.

Therefore you have two options. One is to ask the distributor not to charge any upfront fees for ‘promoting’ your album at the stores but only ensure that the product reaches the shop shelves and the other is to pay the distributor an upfront fee so that he also ensures that the album moves out from the shop shelves into the hands of customers. When the distributor does not get any fees, he also cannot promise you that your album would get any prominent shelf space. This may not always be an attractive option, unless you already have an in-shop promotional plan ready to implement.

The ideal situation is to find a distribution company who likes your music and would also ensure that they are actively promoted in the stores. These companies not only make your product available but also promote them to generate demand. This is by far the best option rather than seeing your work of hard labor buried under heaps of CDS and albums which are actively promoted and are in hot demand.

If you are a musician and looking for band space to practice,
contact Empire Rehearsal Studios for more information.

Not many musicians have the blessing of a large recording company to support them in their musical ventures. Neither do they have the money power to advertise, hire talented promoters or PR guys to take them to places. Knowing how to promote your music the DIY way is always beneficial, though the start up process may seem a bit challenging in the beginning. Here are some tips to get the basics of self-promoting your music, aimed to take much of the stress out of the job:

• Goal setting: It is impossible to succeed if you have your fingers in several pies. Choose one at a time, regarding what you want to promote. Decide to promote a single or a show or even a website that the band owns. This primary task can set your future course of action in a far methodical way, rather than attempting everything at the same time.
• Decide on the target media for promotion: Once your goal is clear, your choice of media for promotion also falls in place. If there is a gig coming up, the right choice would be the local press, radio stations, and coffee shops and so on. In case you are promoting a single, your band mailing list could be a better option. Deciding on the right media for the right product can save you time, energy and more importantly lots of money.
• To self-promote your music it makes sense to have a promo package containing a press release, a short bio of the band, a sample CD, some press clips, contact info including e mail address and an attractive color photo of the band could be of great help.
• When disseminating information about your band and your music, do not give out everything in one go. Let people wonder about what you are going to come up with, next. This can keep the level of interest alive amongst your target group. Remember, like you, there are hundreds of artistes vying with each other to get a share of the audience mind space. So you have to carve out a niche for your music to make an impression.
• There is nobody in the world that can refuse a free gift. This includes your audience, recording labels, press personnel and everyone in between. Think of giving away free gifts to promote your music. This could range from free drink coupons for press people at the pub to attractive merchandise.
• Give adequate importance to branding, to make your name memorable and recognizable. Think of merchandise including stickers, badges, posters and so on where your band’s name (including the album name you are promoting) appear repeatedly to remain on top of mind of your target audience.
• The entire process of promoting your own music the DIY way would also result in generating loads of contacts. These contacts are important and you must keep a regular tab on them. Keep the list updated as these are the people you would need for your next promo campaign!
• One of the most relevant tips when getting started is to do your best at the local level. You may dream big, but your starting venue is always playing at local gigs especially when you are really not that well known outside your city or State.
• However you could plan a huge campaign when you have something big happening like a tour, releasing an album, winning a contract or an award and so on. This is big news which you would want to share with other labels, agents, music managers, and impresarios and so on.
• Be yourself. You cannot last for too long if you fake performances or try to cheat in some way. Remember you have to be remembered for the right reasons.
• Keep a smart data base. There may be many people who you would like to get involved with professionally, like managers, etc. You need to constantly update your database with such contact information.
• Finally, remember that it takes all kinds to make this world. There are some who are nice and many who are not. In stead of getting hurt by a couple of ‘no’s’ during your journey to stardom, be ready to hear that famous ‘yes’ which could be just round the corner.

If you are a musician and looking for band space to practice,
contact Empire Rehearsal Studios for more information.

If you are trying to etch out a living in the music industry you would have to keep in touch with a host of people at various levels having several types of expertise. Whether it is for finding the right company or label, or someone to write a good review for your album or trying to hire a talented music manager, you would always need some specialized talent to help you out of situations. It would not be wrong to say here that contacting the right person at the right time could be one of the most critical steps to achieve success in the music industry.

This may sound silly, the first time you read it. Of course, you have the phone numbers and e mail addresses of the people who matter. But is this all? Do you really know the specific expertise of the person featuring in your contact list? Would he or she be the perfect candidate for the job you have in mind? To get things done in this industry, you not only need to know the right person at the right places but also know their specific expertise. Here are some good reasons why maintaining a smart contact list makes good business sense:

• Targeting saves time. Imagine sending a soul album for review to someone who does not write reviews or is clueless about soul music! Or, worse still, sending your music to every record company listed in the directory! You are not only wasting their time – as they really have no use for what they receive, but also wasting your time and energy by wrongly targeting.
• Targeting saves money: Sending out digital samples may not cost you a pile, but imagine sending hard copies of your music to the wrong audience. Postage, cost of enclosures added to other incidentals could add up to a significant amount – which when wrongly targeted is simply throwing your music down the drain.
• Targeting shows your true involvement in the business: When you send the right demo to the right person – the recipient immediately recognizes your seriousness of purpose and realizes that you have done your homework right. They instantly agree to help you out as it is evident that you respect their time and talent. You have hit the right chord in their psyche.

Of course these rules are flexible since the whole business can be flexible depending on your skill, experience and needs. For example, if you are friendly with a song writer, he could always help you out with suggestions and recommendations regarding any support you may need to grow in this business. Even then, it always makes more sense if you constantly update your contact list. Finally, it could be an excellent opportunity to come across a country music reviewer putting you on to a soul music reviewer who truly understands the kind of music you are playing and gives you a 5-star rating.

If you are a musician and looking for band space to practice,
contact Empire Rehearsal Studios for more information.

‘I’m Like Brooklyn’ is written and done by Mike Caro and John Thomas, two musicians from Brooklyn.  This song is in the genre of pop rock, but its swinging melody and low key lyrics make it far less abrasive than many songs in the pop rock genre are.

‘I’m Like Brooklyn’ details the simple love for this suburb than the two musicians have.  It’s not a complex song and therein lies its charms.  With no gilding or complicated to listen to lyrics, the musicians invite you to fall in love with their home just as they have.  In their eyes, Brooklyn has none of the foulness that many people associate with it; instead, they make you go back to the times when Brooklyn was a beautiful place and people cared about each other-‘Summers in the street baby/B-ball hangin’ out with my peeps’’; this is the place that these musicians call home.  You can feel the love in every line and in seeing how the musicians interact; with smiles and laughter instead of tension or overt signs of emotion which dog so many musicians nowadays.

‘I’m Like Brooklyn’ is a charming and addictive song; you won’t be swept away by any means, but instead, gently and insistently rocked away to the dreams of home that these two have; where things are comfortable, warm and friendly.  The addiction factor definitely comes in though; you’ll want to listen to this song again and again because of the ‘feel-good’ feeling it leaves you with.  You will likely be moved to visit Brooklyn yourself and see exactly what it was that prompted such a moving, yet friendly and warm homage.

If you love Brooklyn, or even if you just want to listen to a very mellow and caring song about a suburb, then you should listen to ‘I’m Like Brooklyn’ and you’ll likely want to listen to it several times over.