Yes, we have finally released our 2017 recap. They become bigger and bigger a year. Even though I cut out things. It was a crazy 2017 I literally went around the globe with my artists. So many fun things and successes.
Showing posts with label Musichelp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Musichelp. Show all posts
Monday, April 2, 2018
Sunday, November 26, 2017
What are Musichelp looking for!
We open up for submissions again. Which is always fun. But instead of writing stuff on the homepage around everything, they asked me to go through it here on the blog since the info could be good for other purposes.
Many think it's just about a good song. Yes, you need a good song, it won't work with a bad song. The truth is that is very many good songs out there and then the story becomes the main focus.
We need a good song and a good story around the artist. What is a good story?
This is kind of tricky. No, it won't just be that this song is something that people feel passionate about. It usually circles around the artists themselves. Everybody has them you just have to present them in a good way. No, I don't care who is playing in the band. In the truth, we want to know the nearest future. Where are you heading is there any bigger stuff coming up. Here is a blog post about artist branding.
Then you say, is not that your job. No, we are looking for artists that are working hard. We are not a developing company that builds up One Direction, Spice Girls, Backstreetsteet Boys band. Still, it has to have some momentum to it. We don't expect that you have played the biggest arena but have done ten gigs is kind of a must. If you just are a studio artist that looks to get more numbers on Spotify, we are not that kind of company. We are the company that builds artist using several platforms, both live, recordings and placements.
Also, send songs that are unreleased. here is a kind of long blog post explaining why.
Think kind of like a job interview. Not for you (yes we get demos with full CV.s of the band's members, fun but not useful), for the band. Like what is your career highlights, what is your goals.Yes, this might be your future job. Our goal is to have a long working relationship with our artists so yes we test our artists as well. If you only see your music as a hobby, we are not the right company for you.
And never apologize or be to cooky. And in the end, yes we are a hit company so if your genre is very odd we probably are not right for it. Think what is played on commercial radio.
Here you go back to Musichelps submission page.
Many think it's just about a good song. Yes, you need a good song, it won't work with a bad song. The truth is that is very many good songs out there and then the story becomes the main focus.
We need a good song and a good story around the artist. What is a good story?
This is kind of tricky. No, it won't just be that this song is something that people feel passionate about. It usually circles around the artists themselves. Everybody has them you just have to present them in a good way. No, I don't care who is playing in the band. In the truth, we want to know the nearest future. Where are you heading is there any bigger stuff coming up. Here is a blog post about artist branding.
Then you say, is not that your job. No, we are looking for artists that are working hard. We are not a developing company that builds up One Direction, Spice Girls, Backstreetsteet Boys band. Still, it has to have some momentum to it. We don't expect that you have played the biggest arena but have done ten gigs is kind of a must. If you just are a studio artist that looks to get more numbers on Spotify, we are not that kind of company. We are the company that builds artist using several platforms, both live, recordings and placements.
Also, send songs that are unreleased. here is a kind of long blog post explaining why.
Think kind of like a job interview. Not for you (yes we get demos with full CV.s of the band's members, fun but not useful), for the band. Like what is your career highlights, what is your goals.Yes, this might be your future job. Our goal is to have a long working relationship with our artists so yes we test our artists as well. If you only see your music as a hobby, we are not the right company for you.
And never apologize or be to cooky. And in the end, yes we are a hit company so if your genre is very odd we probably are not right for it. Think what is played on commercial radio.
Here you go back to Musichelps submission page.
Friday, August 25, 2017
If you give me this, I will work with you.
I just got another of these messages from an artist with no clue. Sure I have written about this in my blog hundreds of times in different versions, still, I get these messages. So I will take it one more time, sorry if you feel that you have read this before.
What I got was a single of course already recorded and mastered. The artist asked if we could work on this, they wanted to release it in early September. They were already recording an album and wanted it to reach a bigger audience (sorry they all tell this, so it's not YOU).
Nothing wrong with this. At least they sent their stuff before it was released (see this post). But the timing is not that good. We are a couple of days to September. Always count that we need 10 weeks minimum to release a track. Yes, there are idiots that now will tell me that they can upload a track in 24 hours to get it online. Yes, I can actually get a track up in 3 hours. But what's the point of that? These 10 weeks are preparing and doing PR so your track really has the chance to get as many peoples attention as possible. Yes, it can be done faster but not that good.
Also, don't you think we have other artists that we work with that already has booked time to release around here? I don't think we would drop any of these jobs to get on your project. Oh yes if your project could guarantee us to get a lot of money in return we might push something, still quite unlikely.
This is a good artist though so they were willing to push their release to another time this autumn.
Of course, they had been asking us if we wanted to listen to the music. In fact, I just wanted to know more if there was a point to listen to them. I asked the question that actually no one sends in but every company wants an answer on.
What are your plans for this autumn and spring?
The answer I always get is:
1. We keep going to record the rest of the album.
2. We are planning to get some gigs.
3. We are really not sure.
4. We are giving out more singles.
The answer I want:
1. We have planned and booked these gigs and we are planning to visit these industry events to promote our music.
2. We are also planning to this things on social media to promote this single we are planning.
3. We are going to be on this thing that people really watch.
4. We have all these things for the first single that we are planning to do.
I guess the best answer was a band telling me that to the spring they will "burn rubber on the road in Europe". So you have booked a European tour? Well, not yet but we plan to do it, it can't be that hard.
I guess many think that this is the job of the label, PR team, booking team. Yes in a way but you have to start the things to happen. I can't get your radio interviews if you are not visiting that city that the station is broadcasting from. I can't get my booking contacts down to a show if you don't have any shows. It's hard to support nothing.
Then they usually go to technical stuff. Our single is recorded in this studio or and mastered by this person. Sorry, that is a none story. That won't get you the gigs or the PR or anything. The sound of the recording is probably really good if you used professionals. At the same time, I have number one hits recorded by a nobody in a kitchen. It's really not that important. Your song won't be better if it's mastered at Sterling Sound in NYC. It will be a good master, but if the recording and song are already crap it will be like polishing a turd.
Let say that the song, recording and the master are brilliant. Still, nothing will happen if you don't have planned what steps you want to take to promte the stuff. That has to be in place before the release, it's nothing you make up on the way.
When you hear people talk about that it came up on the way, it's usually when something is already in motion. Things are dragged to things that are in motion.
The secret is that I already know what is going to happen with my artist I work with. Right now we are planning the spring of 2018. The Autumn we already spoke about before summer and we are mainly updating around the events that we agreed to work on. Then, of course, things change. Suddenly you get a really great opportunity and we have to reschedule. That is a good thing and usually if a single is pushed because of events it's just a good thing. If it's pushed by laziness then it's bad, usually not happening that often.
Same with my professional things. I know I will be in Barcelona on Future Music Forum in September. Also, know that I will be on Reeperbahn in Hamburg in September. I will be in NYC in October and in Tokyo. In fact already know where I will be in January, February, and March next year. Right now I'm checking the opportunities of April 2018. Yes, this schedule will change, still, as long nothing better comes up I at least know where I'm heading.
So can you give me a good plan that is reasonable, the chances that I will work with you is pretty good.
What I got was a single of course already recorded and mastered. The artist asked if we could work on this, they wanted to release it in early September. They were already recording an album and wanted it to reach a bigger audience (sorry they all tell this, so it's not YOU).
Nothing wrong with this. At least they sent their stuff before it was released (see this post). But the timing is not that good. We are a couple of days to September. Always count that we need 10 weeks minimum to release a track. Yes, there are idiots that now will tell me that they can upload a track in 24 hours to get it online. Yes, I can actually get a track up in 3 hours. But what's the point of that? These 10 weeks are preparing and doing PR so your track really has the chance to get as many peoples attention as possible. Yes, it can be done faster but not that good.
Also, don't you think we have other artists that we work with that already has booked time to release around here? I don't think we would drop any of these jobs to get on your project. Oh yes if your project could guarantee us to get a lot of money in return we might push something, still quite unlikely.
This is a good artist though so they were willing to push their release to another time this autumn.
Of course, they had been asking us if we wanted to listen to the music. In fact, I just wanted to know more if there was a point to listen to them. I asked the question that actually no one sends in but every company wants an answer on.
What are your plans for this autumn and spring?
The answer I always get is:
1. We keep going to record the rest of the album.
2. We are planning to get some gigs.
3. We are really not sure.
4. We are giving out more singles.
The answer I want:
1. We have planned and booked these gigs and we are planning to visit these industry events to promote our music.
2. We are also planning to this things on social media to promote this single we are planning.
3. We are going to be on this thing that people really watch.
4. We have all these things for the first single that we are planning to do.
I guess the best answer was a band telling me that to the spring they will "burn rubber on the road in Europe". So you have booked a European tour? Well, not yet but we plan to do it, it can't be that hard.
I guess many think that this is the job of the label, PR team, booking team. Yes in a way but you have to start the things to happen. I can't get your radio interviews if you are not visiting that city that the station is broadcasting from. I can't get my booking contacts down to a show if you don't have any shows. It's hard to support nothing.
Then they usually go to technical stuff. Our single is recorded in this studio or and mastered by this person. Sorry, that is a none story. That won't get you the gigs or the PR or anything. The sound of the recording is probably really good if you used professionals. At the same time, I have number one hits recorded by a nobody in a kitchen. It's really not that important. Your song won't be better if it's mastered at Sterling Sound in NYC. It will be a good master, but if the recording and song are already crap it will be like polishing a turd.
Let say that the song, recording and the master are brilliant. Still, nothing will happen if you don't have planned what steps you want to take to promte the stuff. That has to be in place before the release, it's nothing you make up on the way.
When you hear people talk about that it came up on the way, it's usually when something is already in motion. Things are dragged to things that are in motion.
The secret is that I already know what is going to happen with my artist I work with. Right now we are planning the spring of 2018. The Autumn we already spoke about before summer and we are mainly updating around the events that we agreed to work on. Then, of course, things change. Suddenly you get a really great opportunity and we have to reschedule. That is a good thing and usually if a single is pushed because of events it's just a good thing. If it's pushed by laziness then it's bad, usually not happening that often.
Same with my professional things. I know I will be in Barcelona on Future Music Forum in September. Also, know that I will be on Reeperbahn in Hamburg in September. I will be in NYC in October and in Tokyo. In fact already know where I will be in January, February, and March next year. Right now I'm checking the opportunities of April 2018. Yes, this schedule will change, still, as long nothing better comes up I at least know where I'm heading.
So can you give me a good plan that is reasonable, the chances that I will work with you is pretty good.
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
The big advances time is over....by far.
Today is number two in the list.
2) You’re Not Going To Jump Out of a Day Job into a Million Dollar Advance
The days of the big break are pretty much over. Labels don’t sign unproven acts with nothing going on. Labels want a sure thing that already has built it on their own. Oh and labels don’t offer million dollar (or six figure) advances anymore to new acts. If you’re waiting around to be discovered and aren’t taking your career in your own hands, you will be waiting till you’re dead.
This problem I really see a lot. The artist that thinks that it will be a big advance (especially if you sign with a major). It was a long time ago I saw these advances. Then someone always tells you about someone that got a huge offering, but always its something behind it. Like Joel Adams that took his song single handed to 200 million streams on Spotify, yes he got really big upfronts thrown after him. Like it says he had done the bigger part himself.
This is also reflected quite much other stuff that artists think is going on. For example, that bigger artist gets really big sums for playing on festivals, yes Justin Bieber does, but a midsize rock band is not. I get so many artists thinking that a showcase festival should pay them to get there. Duh, it's showcasing you are showing off products. If you think that companies get paid to put their stuff on fairs think again.
So what happened to the big advances. To explain it during the 80:s in the USA it was easy to write off an advance on the tax money. But not paying so much taxes they instead just signed bands and like a lottery sometimes one of these bands actually took off, still many didn't.
I don't know if the rules changed but today this is not the case. Today you have the time to wait until the act is finished and then do the move to grab it. Today it's more like to be a bidding war around a good band.
Yes, you have to do a lot of stuff yourself. Luckily there are some new companies (Musichelp is one of them) who invest time and resources to develop artist to the level where it becomes interesting. It's Do it yourself or try to build the team with experienced people that have large networks. Sometimes these people are called managers. I would change that term a manager is more to like to work with a really established act. These are more to be called developers. It's really in its infancy but this will be the hot part of the music industry in a couple of years, much like the songwriting teams.
The red part is from an article in Digital music news, here is a link to the whole article.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/07/27/millennial-musicians/
2) You’re Not Going To Jump Out of a Day Job into a Million Dollar Advance
The days of the big break are pretty much over. Labels don’t sign unproven acts with nothing going on. Labels want a sure thing that already has built it on their own. Oh and labels don’t offer million dollar (or six figure) advances anymore to new acts. If you’re waiting around to be discovered and aren’t taking your career in your own hands, you will be waiting till you’re dead.
This problem I really see a lot. The artist that thinks that it will be a big advance (especially if you sign with a major). It was a long time ago I saw these advances. Then someone always tells you about someone that got a huge offering, but always its something behind it. Like Joel Adams that took his song single handed to 200 million streams on Spotify, yes he got really big upfronts thrown after him. Like it says he had done the bigger part himself.
This is also reflected quite much other stuff that artists think is going on. For example, that bigger artist gets really big sums for playing on festivals, yes Justin Bieber does, but a midsize rock band is not. I get so many artists thinking that a showcase festival should pay them to get there. Duh, it's showcasing you are showing off products. If you think that companies get paid to put their stuff on fairs think again.
So what happened to the big advances. To explain it during the 80:s in the USA it was easy to write off an advance on the tax money. But not paying so much taxes they instead just signed bands and like a lottery sometimes one of these bands actually took off, still many didn't.
I don't know if the rules changed but today this is not the case. Today you have the time to wait until the act is finished and then do the move to grab it. Today it's more like to be a bidding war around a good band.
Yes, you have to do a lot of stuff yourself. Luckily there are some new companies (Musichelp is one of them) who invest time and resources to develop artist to the level where it becomes interesting. It's Do it yourself or try to build the team with experienced people that have large networks. Sometimes these people are called managers. I would change that term a manager is more to like to work with a really established act. These are more to be called developers. It's really in its infancy but this will be the hot part of the music industry in a couple of years, much like the songwriting teams.
The red part is from an article in Digital music news, here is a link to the whole article.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/07/27/millennial-musicians/
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
2016 Recap is released
We release a recap every year about the previous year. It’s always fun to do them, but it is also a lot of work finding all clips and pictures taken over the year on Facebook and other sources. So here it is Musichelp Recap 2016.
And also if you want to work with us we just opened submissions for 2017.
http://musichelp.se/send-music/
And also if you want to work with us we just opened submissions for 2017.
http://musichelp.se/send-music/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)