Review of Pro Tools 12

            With such a digital revolution happening now in music, manufacturers are creating products that are affordable, easy to use, and yield great results quickly and efficiently. Companies are creating audio interfaces that are small, efficient, good quality, and the ability to carry to different locations for recording. This makes collaborating and writing music very easy because one can record ideas or even full recordings during the time of the writing process. Bands are working in this way because instead of waiting to go to the studio, they record ideas and build on them to create the final song.

            In the recording and producing world in recording studios, AVID has created something very similar in their industry standard software, Pro Tools. Pro Tools 12 is very different from previous versions. Although it looks and operates the same as previous versions, it has one key feature that makes writing and collaborating very easy. Pro Tools 12 has a feature that allows engineers to send Pro Tools files to other engineers and work on a session. For example, if a producer is composing a song in a New Jersey studio and his partner is in California, the engineer can record, and write parts in the session, and send the working file to his partner in California to continue collaborating.

            Many people reading this will question that this feature was available by simply sending the Pro Tools file and then opening it. Though this is the same, Pro Tools 12 makes it easier because it operated like the Cloud where you don’t have to keep sending and resending through dropbox or email. One other point to the new Pro Tools 12 is that you pay for this upgrade with a monthly subscription instead of the regular sell price of $699 for the full version, or $399 to upgrade from a later version. This also makes it very affordable to people who could not previously own Pro Tools systems.

            We are experiencing the age of the digital revolution to the point of now engineers can create songs together while being in different states! As a producer, and engineer, being able to collaborate with other musicians is a crucial part of my work, but now being able to collaborate from my studio to theirs, is invaluable to the growth and success of the industry.

A Successful Business Plan

            Creating a business or business plan can sometimes be a daunting task. The key is to know what you do, and why you do it. That statement may be the most important aspect of your business in terms of profit and longevity of your company. There have been specialists that work tirelessly to study how a business plan and a business will run, what the best way to expand and further your business, and how to be unique enough so you attract clients, customers, etc. Steven Gedeon is a person who is an entrepreneur, and a public speaker who has created or led over a dozen private, public, venture capital, and non-profit organizations. His main specialty is in the technology field where he helps start, strategize, plan and execute business plans. Gedeon is also an associate professor at The Ted Rogers School Of Management, which happens to be the largest entrepreneurship program in Canada.

            On a YouTube video featuring Steven Gedeon talking about how entrepreneurship is like playing the guitar, he describes that you must work extremely hard to be successful. He compared it as you do not learn guitar by watching videos, tv, or reading a book. You learn guitar by playing the guitar, which is the same as starting a business. You start a business and become successful by always doing it. There will be failures along the way but Gedeon describes these failures as an opportunity to learn and better yourself.

            In a slide show presentation by Steven, I was fortunate enough to understand his concepts and realize his points in the slide show. One key concept that I took away from the presentation was hat you must be really good at something, and be unique. He talks about how specialists are paid more than generalists, which makes a lot of sense because as a specialist, you are in high demand for clients and businesses. The key is to separate yourself from the heard and stand out. Only then will you be able to push your business in a direction where success is the end result.

            A business plan must be unique, and exciting to investors. In an article in Entrepreneur, one of the most important aspects about a business plan is its uniqueness. This is on the topic of what Steve Gedeon describes as setting yourself apart from everyone else. Investors are not going to invest in a generic business or product, they want something unique and they want to know that they are putting their money towards something that will yield them profit. They also want large market sizes, which some businesses might not have, but with the right marketing and understanding what your company does, it can be surprising the actual size of your market when you know what your business actually DOES.

What is the best social media site to market on?

I decided to research a question that many starting businesses to online marketing ask. What social media site should I use to market my business?

            There are so many social media sites out there today that it is almost hard to keep track of! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumblr, and Flickr, are only a handful of the social media sites that are available to us. Today, it is almost impossible to be on every single site, and be able to manage your online marketing successfully.

            This particular article explains the main social media sites, and which one is best for you.

            According to the chart available on the article, Facebook is the most dominant social media website that users access. The truth is, Facebook has always been a great way to interact and promote basically anything from business, to hobbies, to staying in contact with loved ones. However, with all the traffic in Facebook, should Facebook be the ONLY website that one uses to promote their business?

NO!

The truth is, before you choose a social media site, you must analyze and understand who the audience is that your business goes to. For example, if you are selling and manufacturing make-up, according to the chart, you would probably want to use Pinterest and Instagram. This is because Pinterest is very popular for women and Instagram, is popular with many different kinds of people. For the purpose of this post, I will leave out Facebook, because one should never not have a Facebook page for their website. This blog is to get more detailed into promoting business to specific target audiences.

So which social media site is right for Frankie P. Studios?!

            For my business, the social media site that would most benefit me (other than Facebook) is Instagram. The reason being for this is because I run a studio for bands, and artists, as well as instrumental lessons. Other than twitter, the site most popular for ages 18-29, is Instagram. Although my target age is higher than ages 18-29, the majority of my clients, and future clients, are in that age group.

            Overall, it is in the best interest of the business to decide the proper social media site to market on. This is also not saying that you only have to pick one or two, but to understand where you will get the most publicity and traffic for your business is crucial to getting new clients, and building your business. 

Resources 

Manafy, M. (2014, July 9). How to Choose the Best Social Media Site for Your Business. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://www.inc.com/michelle-manafy/how-to-choose-the-best-social-media-sites-to-market-your-business.html

Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites | March 2015. (2015, January 1). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites           

Entertainment Media and Publishing

In this ever-changing world of entertainment publishing, there are countless resources in getting your work published and out to all viewers.  As a musician and studio owner, I try to find the avenue of publishing with the most benefits. From TuneCore, to CDBaby, each website offers different aspects when publishing your work.

Many publishing websites work with streaming media players such as YouTube, Spotify, Rdio, etc. These streaming players are the key to getting your work out to the public. I have found YouTube to be an extremely popular source. In today’s ever changing technology world, YouTube has become one of the prime ways of gaining popularity with your work.

So what makes a bad publishing site?

            Many publishing sites offer free subscriptions, and connect with various streaming sites. However, there are some sites, while they do offer free accounts, you have to pay to get your work out to the popular sites.

            I have found that this is more of a way to go when you have been gaining profit on your work. For example, if someone is just starting out, they may want to find the site like TuneCore and CDBaby, set up free accounts and have them streamed to all the popular websites to see how their work will fair.

In my business, I have a wide range of sites I could choose from. From social media, to iTunes, any work done in my studio can reach endless possibilities. I have found that the most reliable way to publish your work is to market it at the same time. For example, if one publishes a CD on TuneCore, they should share it on every social media site they have to direct everyone to their work. Often times, people publish work and then do not market, or promote it.

Publishing your work is a great way for the public to be in contact with your business, but doing the work in marketing and promoting will only benefit your profit and business.

Industry Blog Post

In the music industry, the most popular type of legal controversy or incident that happens is copyright infringement on songwriting. Of the more recent incidents, the one that hit most of social media would be the Tom Petty and Sam Smith case. Sam Smith wrote a song called Stay With Me, and a few weeks ago there was an article that Tom Petty claimed that Sam Smith’s song sounded too much like his original song, “I Won’t Back Down.” This infringement settled on an agreement where Smith would give Petty songwriting royalties.

            This song was not lyrically the same, but chordally. Many of the incidents I found were songs that sounded the same rather than a conflict of lyrics.

            For example, many, if not everybody remembers the famous copyright incident with Vanilla Ice and Queen. Vanilla Ice made the song “Ice Ice, Baby” which in turn, created a huge controversy because the bass line sounded exactly the same as Queen’s “Under Pressure.” Ultimately, Vanilla Ice got to keep the rights to his song because he claimed that indeed it was similar, but different to where there was one or two notes that made it completely different.

            The last example I found, which I never knew about was an incident with George Harrison. Harrison wrote a song called “My Sweet Lord” and it hit the top of the charts for a while. The incident came when the song was argued to be the same as a song called “He’s So Fine.” The Chiffons recorded this song in 1962. Ultimately, the judge believed Harrison did not intentionally mean to copy the song but he did rule that the two songs sound very similar to which Harrison was found guilty of ‘subconscious plagiarism.”

            These articles really display how one must really protect them and make sure their art is very unique and original in the event a song or product gets publicity. A step I take when I have written a song or created a product is Google different aspects of it. Sometimes people create art and don’t even know that it was created, such as the events of Harrison. The reason to Google the title, a chord progression, is to check to see if it has been done, how many times, and protect the fact that if you decide to sell it, you’re protected.

http://www.fairwagelawyers.com/most-famous-music-copyright-infringment.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/29/us-music-samsmith-tompetty-idUSKBN0L22F620150129

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eV6t8_pOSo