Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Go 'head Steve and Chris! Check out the new Blackberry ad feat The Martinez Brothers!
I first met Chris and Steve at a West End / Paradise Garage party some years ago and then saw them perform live for the 1st time in Boston at Bruno's 'Utopia Sundays' party. They couldn't have been nicer and more down-to-earth. I instantly loved their dad, a Paradise Garage devotee and a hugely supportive dad to his incredibly talented children. To appreciate their love of music, you must talk with their father. It is clear where their passion for music comes from.
While Chris and Steve's first official outing as DJs came at NYC's Club Shelter, NY would truly bare witness to the birth of these superstars in the months and years to come.
Today, The Martinez Brothers are a power duo - part producers / part DJs / part drummers. They travel all over the world performing for dozens of dance floor denizens every weekend and I couldn't be happier for them.
Check out their new ad for Blackberry - congratulations fellas!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Fantastic new documentary about house music (preview here)
I couldn't be more proud of my friend, Muema, for taking up this incredible project. I've known Muema for over 10 years and have watched him become a curator and documentarian of house music culture. As a super talented photographer, Muema launched speedgarage.com and then bouncefm.com, both of which were/are incredible cultural resources for club culture in New York City and around the globe. This documentary isn't just another film about people dancing in clubs around the world. It's also a manifestitation of a long-time passion for curation and photography. Muema understands why we, in the community, are so drawn to it.
House Music Movie (working title) is a feature length independent documentary film about house music, dance and global pop culture. DJ’s, producers, remixers, dancers and fans discuss their careers and celebrity in this behind-the-scenes look at the house music industry. Along with footage of house music in action, the film also captures candid conversations about house (also called electronic dance music) with authors, artists, club owners and cultural experts.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Can You Eat? Then You Can Master Social Media!
During this Digital Audio Engineering Course I took at Bloomfield College, the professor referenced a really valuable piece of information from an article/tutorial published by Digital PR firm Ariel Publicity. They used the basic food pyramid as a guide for how best to conduct yourself through the maze of social networks.
I have to admit that I violate some of the rules Ariel points out and am trying to adjust because I agree with a lot of the points raised. I hope you can use some of this information to better dissemination your own information. Here's the article (below) and video (above):
----------------------------------------------------
Here’s Your Social Media Food Pyramid
It happens to me all of the time when I teach artists social media.The face goes blank, the frustration begins to settle in and then the artist says it:
“I just don’t have anything interesting to say.”
REALLY?
I’m shocked by this every time. You are an artist; you do things we mere mortals are totally enamored by: you PLAY MUSIC, you write songs, you perform them in public!
So PHLEEASE, do not tell me you have nothing interesting to say. I ain’t buying it.
All you are missing is a System for Social Media Success.
Luckily, unlike sheer god-given musical talent, social media is a learnable skill.
As I was teaching my system to a client in my kitchen a few weeks ago over coffee and bagels and it HIT me.
THE FOOD PYRAMID!
Remember that chart they brought out when we were in 2nd grade to show us how to eat well-rounded meals? I have re-tooled it for you so you can now participate on Social Media healthily! And you won’t even have to think about it – just follow along…
You wouldn’t eat only bagels all of the time. They are a treat once in awhile, but they are not healthy to eat every day – and a diet of only bagels would be boring!
Most artists are only serving their audiences bagels all of the time. Plain bagels. Over an over again.
Uninteresting.
We want a burger, or a giant green healthy salad, we want some candy,
Please give us protein! But you keep serving bagels, bagels, bagels!
These are five things that when used in concert with one another can help you ratchet up your social media effectively and manage it easily.
YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA FOOD PYRAMID
Use the following as a guide and mix and match them to suit your comfort level (just like your diet, eat what feels right for you.)
GROUP 1. DIRECT ENGAGEMENT
Like: BREAD, CEREAL, RICE & PASTA
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 3 – 4 out of every 10 posts
Make sure you’re in a two-way conversation with people consistently
Facebook: See something interesting something on their Facebook pages? Don’t just “like”, write a true comment about it and get more involved.
Twitter: Send messages to people or mention you are with them by using the @ sign and their username (For Example: I’m @CyberPR). Retweet (RT) comments you like by others.
Blog Reading: Create a Google profile and join communities of blog readers. Leave comments on blogs you like.
Video: Bonus! Make custom video comments or greetings with a Flip Camera; post them as comments or contributions. Subscribe to other people’s channels, and comment on their videos.
Location: Create fun spots that relate to your band/ music and check in, interact with others when you are out and about.
GROUP 2: SHINE A LIGHT ON OTHERS
Like: FRUITS & VEGETABLES
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 3 out of every 10 posts
All the best social media users know this and use it well. This takes all of the attention off of you and puts it onto others, and people will appreciate your kindness because you are recognizing them in front of new potential fans and followers and therefore helping them get known.
Quote people you like by sharing their profiles and videos on Facebook and re-post on your blog. Link to articles and interesting things that catch your attention such as videos, photos etc.
#FF (Follow Friday), #MM (Music Monday) and RT’ing on Twitter -
Reprint pieces of things that they’ve written, or link to music players. Review albums – talk about why and how those albums influenced you
by using http://www.bit.ly to track the effectiveness and to shorten your tweets.
GROUP 4. A PICTURE SAYS 1,000 WORDS
Like: MILK, CHEESE & YOGURT
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 2 out of every 10 posts
Visuals are extremely effective. And they mix up your strategy nicely.
Take photos using your mobile, post them directly to Facebook or to your Twitter stream.
Make a photomontage using Picasa [http://picasa.google.com], and post it on your blog.
I love Twitpic & YFrog because they are so easy to use and create instant Twitter integration.
Post videos on your custom Youtube channel, embed them on your blog and link them to your Twitter. They don’t even have to be videos that you necessarily make on your own. They can be videos of artists you sound like or play with, videos that make you laugh, or subjects that are thematic to your music and important to you like a charity.
GROUP 5. SHINING A LIGHT ON YOURSELF (AKA SELF PROMOTION)
Like: FATS OILS & SWEETS (Use Sparingly!)
Servings (Recommended Frequency): 1 out of every 10 posts
Of course these are OK to do once in a while, not in an over-hypey, annoying way. Just like treating yourself to a great pastry or some fries: its OK – but not too often!
It is after all, vital to tell people if you have an album coming out, a new track, a show, or anything that’s newsworthy, noteworthy, and important for your fans and followers to know about.
Don’t forget about your specific calls to actions or these won’t be fruitful.
So – Choose from Groups 1-5 and mix it up and soon you will be fully engaging people easily and naturally, without thinking. Just like eating!
SOURCE
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Music Business Is Not Dying
1) US album sales were up 1.3% last year, the first year since 2005 that's happened. 66% of these sales were CDs.
2) There were 249 million albums sold in the US last year. People will tell you that the music industry is dying, but 249 million of anything is still a huge number.
3) 75% of all CD sales were made offline. That means that people physically purchased the CD at a brick and mortar store or an event.
4) 40% of all CD buyers are over the age of 45, which means that the demo that mostly grew up with CDs are the ones still buying them.
5) Vinyl sales increased 37 percent in 2011, but only accounted for 1.2 percent of all physical sales. That doesn't mean that people who buy vinyl actually listen to it. Just like the old days, many still buy it for the cover and the artwork, and the trendiness (which is new).
6) Rock is the most popular genre of music, with 32 percent album share, while pop music represents 40 percent of all current digital tracks sold. Ninety-three of the 100 best selling vinyl albums in 2011 fall within the Rock or Alternative genres. I guess that means that the hip-hop and rap trend has run it's course.
7) People who live in New York or LA buy more country records than those who live in Nashville by almost 2 to 1. Having just come from a speaking tour in Nashville, I can tell you first-hand that it's a very cosmopolitan music town, with country no longer the major part of the industry as it once was. That said, country music represents 13% of the total album sales.
8) Digital country music sales are up 31% over last year. While it might have been true that country music lovers were slow to get into digital music, that's obviously no longer the case.
9) Acts that perform at halftime during the Superbowl get an average sales bump of 555%. Critics may pan them and you might hate them, but you still buy them.
All these numbers (which mostly come from Nielsen Soundscan and the IFPI) show that the music business is still huge, is still extremely diverse, and is still as quirky as ever. It is changing, morphing, shifting, and evolving, but it is not dying.
SOURCE
Monday, November 21, 2011
Emospiritual Travelin (tentative tracklist leaked)
What an exciting time! My sophomore album tentatively entitled "Emospiritual Travelin," is ready to be mixed and I couldn't feel more proud! Can't wait or you guys to hear it.
In honor of this forthcoming project, I thought I'd share the album's tracklist!
Stay tuned!
Adam
LP TRACKLIST
01. Emospiritual (1:16)
02. Travelin (5:07)
03. Don't Even Know (4:04)
04. Look Above (4:48)
05. Irlanda En Xhosa (5:33)
06. Bomb (5:15)
07. Runaway (4:01)
08. Shirley (4:24)
09. Note to Self (1:12)
10. Nothing But Me (Travelin Mix) (4:54)
:)
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