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Research : Professional Practices : Contacting Artists

Throughout my project I have contacted multiple artists/vocalists, with the aim of getting them featured on my EP

When approaching an artist, I have always approached them in a professional manor so that myself and my work will be taken seriously. I have been using email and social media platforms such as Facebook to contact artists I would like to work with. I have a attached a screenshot of one of the emails I have sent out to an artist to demonstrate the appropriate manor in which to contact people.

Professional email 1

 

Reply 1

This post relates to Learning Outcome 1

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Research : Professional Practices : Demos

Throughout this project I have been carrying out professional practices to collaborate with artists/vocalists

One of the things I have been doing is ensuring all of the demos I have sent out to artists are produced and mixed to a high quality. Firstly I create a beat in the DAW Fruity Loops using a variety of midi instruments and samples I have also been applying processes such as reverb, compression and distortion to mold these instruments to make beats that sound good.

After I have finished making a beat in Fruity Loops I then export all the stems into Pro Tools where I mix the beat and use a frequency analyser plugin, the plugin I use is called Neutron and it allows me to remove individual frequencies from each instrument stem to allow each instrument to better sit in the mix so rival frequencies are not competing with one another.

I have attached two screenshots of the processes the same beat undergoes in Fruity Loops and in Pro Tools

Fruity EvidencePro tools evidence

This post relates to Learning Outcome 1

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Research : Professional Practices : Communication

Today I have been carrying out research on professional practices within the music industry, I have been looking at a various number of websites and books. Sourcing the article Learn How to Communicate in the Music Industry(thebalance.com) by Heather McDonald I have found a relevant passage to help me define and explain professional practices in the music industry,

One of the most basic ways to demonstrate your professionalism is the way you communicate with your colleagues in the music industry. Whether you’re a musician approaching a record label, a label approaching a distributor or a wannabe manager reaching out to an established manager for some advice, being professional matters. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

  • Get to the point
  • Don’t be too casual
  • Respect Boundaries
  • Don’t lose your temper
  • Be Courteous

I have also been looking at the The New Music Industry: Adapting,Growing, And Thriving in the Information Age (David Andrew Wiebe)

David wrote professionalism is important….different industry people have different preferences for communication

Good communication is a key skill to have if you wish to be professional and successful within the music industry. Throughout the duration of this project I will be ensuring my communication with artists is always appropriate and  productive.

This post relates to Learning Outcome 1

 References

The New Music Industry: Adapting,Growing, And Thriving in the Information Age By David Andrew Wiebe

https://www.thebalance.com/music-industry-quick-tip-communicate-like-a-professional-2460778

 

 

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Week 7 Tutorial Write Up

Today me and Lee looked at all my demos I have ready to send to artists, he helped me finishing of the mixes for some of them so I can send them.We also talked about the importance to regularly be updating my blog so it doesn’t become a second priority. For next week I will go through my blog posts with Lee to see which ones are relevant and which ones are not.

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Week 7 Lecture Write Up

Our guest lecturer this week was Lol Hammond, Lol is a Music Supervisor at Vertigo Films he has worked on multiple productions including films such as Bronson. Lol defined a Music Supervisor as someone who is responsible for the composition, sound design and sourced music present on a film/TV production. Because of the nature of his job he has to wait for the film to be in assembly, he will then sit down with the director  and decide which scenes would benefit from music and which would not.

He described his job as “50% creative and 50% negotiation” he explained how he spends a lot of time talking to record companies/publishers trying to clear third party music for use. He went on to say how it can be very difficult sometimes trying to negotiate rights for a piece of music and sometimes the price set by the publisher/record company is out of budget, so he will have to find a similar piece of music that is easier to obtain.

To be a successful Music Supervisor Lol suggested you should have a wide range of musical knowledge in multiple genres, he also talked about how important it was to have good networking skills so you can gain more work.