Monday, January 31, 2011

Keep It Moving

The worse thing you can do in this industry or any other is to stand still. No matter where you are in you career, you have to keep it moving. You can't allow yourself to become too comfortable. This is often a hard thing to do because people around you will support where you are more than they will support where you want to be. You have to remember that the vision was only given to you so others can't see beyond what's in front of them. You have to take every comment and complement in stride and just keep it moving. Stay motivated and focused on the bigger vision. Don't let ANYTHING sidetrack you or make you relax your efforts. I know this can sometimes be hard but you can't get too satisfied with your accomplishments. For instance, if your goal is to achieve any real level of wealth or success as an artist/musician then you know that your calendar needs to be filled with things that will lend themselves to that end. You can't fill your calendar with a bunch of local dates paying a menial fee and then wonder why you are not advancing or why you always have to do something else to supplement your income. You have to live for what you REALLY want. Success is yours without a doubt. You just have to remember to KEEP IT MOVING!

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Is Talent Enough?

I hear people complain all the time about the music that is being made or musicians and artists will say how someone isn't talented and was just given their success. These kind of statements bring us to one question. Is talent enough? The answer is no. Talent doesn't guarantee you success. The only thing that guarantees success is hard work. Is seems that the music industry is full of critics and most of the time the people that are criticizing only have time to do so because they are not working on fully developing their own talent or career. Some times ego can play a part as well. Most people with talent are lead to believe that because they are talented they are entitled to special treatment or consideration. That is not at all true. Talent can give you a head start but it is your work ethic and dedication that will be the deciding factor. Take Michael Jackson as an example, he was definitely gifted with tons of talent but he only became the superstar we know as a result of his years of hard work. He never settled for anything less than greatness in any of his endeavors. It is this work ethic that made him a superstar. That's why you may see an artist that you think can't sing as well or have as much talent but that artist is more successful than other more talented people because of his/her work ethic. So don't fool yourself. Talent is not enough. Now let's get to work!

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

You Get What You Pay For

One of the most important things to remember in this industry is that you can never sacrifice quality. I've seen so many artists/musicians try to take financial shortcuts only to end up spending more money to get what they really wanted. You get what you pay for. Everyone is always looking for an easy way out or something for nothing. I've heard people complain about not having the money or this and that. The bottom line is if you want to compete in this industry then you have to pay the price. This is a business like any other and if you want quality and experienced expertise, then you have to pay for it. Most people don't realize that they end up spending more money by trying to cut corners by sacrificing quality. Think about it this way, if you are going to spend $1500.00 or more to package and distribute a thousand CD's or more, why would you not make sure that you have the best possible product you can make. Once it's packaged, it's too late to say I coulda, woulda, shoulda. As a producer, musician, mix engineer and studio owner, I run into this all the time. People will say that we are too expensive only to go away and spend money on crap then return for us to either redo it or try to clean up someone else's mess. At this point, they still have to pay the original fee and then some. It's always better to take your time and go the quality route if you are really serious about competing in this industry. Save your money or even get an investor but this is not a business for the faint at heart. I hope you heed this advice and save yourself some money and time in the future. And for those who are in the business of providing quality music business services, do not cheapen your services. Make people pay what it is worth. If they can't afford it, then keep it moving. THIS IS A BUSINESS! Also if you are doing any spec deals, it is important for the artist to know that the studio is still owed the full value of the work put into the project and it will just be paid from profits on the product or in shared ownership of the material. Now go put your budget together and make a quality product that you can be proud of for years to come.

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Courage

Success in the music industry can be very elusive. The fact is that the mere definition of what defines that success has changed so much that people have become down right delusional. The one thing that has not changed is the fact that it takes tons of courage to succeed in this business. You have to truly be unafraid of ANYTHING especially failure. I've worked with so many musicians and artists who had the potential to be world class but they lacked the courage to leave the comfort zone of their small town fame or where just afraid to take any real chance on their career. Success is not something that just happens. You have to work for it and pursue it. You must take every opportunity to travel and expose who you are and what you do to as many different people in as many different places as you can. This combined with the Internet can and will definitely improve your chances of success. You must also gain a presence of some sort in a major market. If you are trying to become an actor then you already know that living in Mississippi is not the place for an aspiring actor to build a career but it takes courage to make these kind of decisions. Most people will make excuses like I'm to old now, I don't have enough money, I don't have any contacts in that city, etc... These are all excuses and excuses only satisfy those who make them. If success in this industry is what you want then you have to have the courage to take in the world or at least join it. Now if you are satisfied being a local hero or a small town star then you have already arrived but don't waste anyone else's time with stories of how you are going to make it big and do this and that. Remember talk is cheap old do is still the thang, if may borrow from the Little Richard book of wisdom. Decide what you want and then courageously attack it and don't wait for people to tell you it's OK. Most people are afraid of success so all they will do is tell you why you can't be successful so don't listen to them or else you will be just like them. Be courageous and let's go get the success we so deserved. In the immortal words of James Brown, "I don't want nobody to give nothing, just open up the door and I'll get it myself." Now that's courage!

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Monday, January 24, 2011

Facing The Truth

As we navigate through this business and our careers, we soon realize that not everything and everyone are what they appear to be. The closer we get to success the smaller our circles become. This can be hard because it involves us facing the truth about a lot of our associations and relationships. The truth is most of the people that we consider friends are only around to try and usurp our energy and get something for nothing. These people pretend to be in your corner while all the time stealing your ideas and concepts attempting to make them their own. This is a hard truth to face but in order for us to reach our goals, it is a truth we must embrace. Now this doesn't mean that everybody is out to get you but you have to learn to be more discrete about what you share and who you share it with. After all, this business is about competition to most people and they want to win at all costs. If you think I'm being paranoid, test the theory. If you are working with people that praise you in your presence but never publicly acknowledge your contribution to their work, if you are working with people that miraculously always seem to have the same ideas as you only after you have told them of your plans and if you are working with people that will sell themselves and take credit for work they didn't do then it's time to face the truth. These people are not your friends and you should only deal with them as it suits your business. Bottom line, only get involved with them from a business perspective and only discuss things that concern them and never discuss your other business plans or aspirations. Having to face this truth only means you are on the right track or better yet, you have arrived and you just need to tighten your inner circle. Welcome to your success.

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Maintaining Your Passion and Drive

The music industry is full of ups and downs. If you are not careful it can make you loose focus and forget the reason you started pursing your goals. It is important to always maintain your passion and drive in all that you do in this business and your life. What most artists/musicians miss is that talent is one thing but it is our passion and heart that makes the real difference. No matter how long you've been doing what you do, you should still attack every situation with a child like exuberance. I do a lot of studio work as well as live performance and the truth is I still enjoy playing my instrument now as much as I did when I was twelve years old. I've come to find that my passion and love for what I do is contagious in every situation. When I play on people's records, that child like energy helps to drive the music to a beautiful place and the same is true with the live shows. People really connect with seeing someone putting their all into something they love because it makes them feel good as well. We just have to get out of our own way. I mean you can be focused on being the best this or that but without connecting with your passion for the craft you will come off kinda flat or pretentious. We should always be in the creative moment. Playing music is like being in love and when you are in love you bear your soul and become vunerable to the one you love. We have to open ourselves to the music with the same passion. Your play your personality. Just be you and never be afraid to bask in the sunshine of your love for what you do and every time you play, dance, sing, write or whatever you do, put all of YOU in it. This is the secret to success because this is what drives the unknown X factor people speak of. Some people call it the IT factor as well. Don't try to figure it out, just be honest and forever passionate about what you do and rest will take care of itself. Don't become jaded hang on to what made you love this from the start. Now go and create something beautiful.

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Defining Yourself

One of the most difficult things to do in this business is to define yourself. It seems a bit contradictory being that music is supposed to be freeing and a unique form of artistic expression but most of us have fallen into the trap of trying to be all things to all people and this is just impossible. We have to divorce ourselves from the opinions of those around us and focus on what really defines our artistic expression. Now, don't get me wrong, we must keep things in proper perspective. I mean whatever art we create must still be commercially viable but even that has no limit when you are able to truly connect with who you are creatively and deliver an honest piece of creative work. This is so hard to do now because we have so many people that want to enslave us to their perception of who we are and sometimes the worst thing to do is to listen to some one who is really close to you. I know this sounds strange but the people that are closest to us sometimes like keeping us in a particular box that they feel like they can control. The truth is that as creative people we live our lives out of control. Not in a bad way but we must be allowed to live, breathe and grow according to our own creative hearts. This can sometimes be frightening to people. It is never wrong to be completely honest with yourself and those around you. If your honesty drives certain people and things away then they where not supposed to be in your circle anyway. Stay true to your creative self and enjoy the manifestation of what is to come.

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Taking Care Of YOUR Business

I've been super busy during the first few weeks of this year and I've been privileged to work with some great new clients and most of them have told me stories of bad musical and business experiences. The one thing I've realized is that to be successful in this business and any other, you have to stay focused on what you want and not what you don't want. You have to get used to taking care of YOUR business. The truth is that most of us could be much further along if we just focused our daily work, words, thoughts and deeds on what we want but most of us spend more time complaining about what someone did or took from us that we don't realize that we have chosen to stand in our own way. I advise you to look at all of your goals and then look at how much time you spend daily contributing to achieving those goals. Now, this includes emails, conversations, thoughts and actions. What you will come to realize is that when you really look at it, taking care of YOUR business is a full time job and the more you perfect this practice the more you will see success manifested in your life and career. Just don't let anything bother or take you off task or focus. Be sure to show some degree of daily work towards YOUR goals. Success is already manifesting for you.

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Making A Quality Record

With recording technology being so affordable today, just about everyone knows someone that considers themselves an artist or producer. It seems that when people don't want to really work for a living they think that being a producer is an easy out. These people go out and by buy tons of gear and recording software and begin to make a bunch of musical junk and pawn it off as product. If you are going to be in this industry and compete you must know how to make a quality recording. Now the first thing to consider has nothing to do with your gear. The first thing you need is a good song. A good song is a song that tells a great story in the simplest way with a great melody. It doesn't matter what genre of music, this still applies. Once you have a great song, you have to be sure that you are using the right sounds to convey the message of the song. Now, you do have to be aware of your market. For instance, if you are doing anything in r&b or hip hop, you know that the drum sounds have to be banging. I'm not saying you have to use the exact sounds that everyone else is using but just make sure that your sounds hit as hard and can compete sonically. Once you have your sounds, you have to record them as clean as possible. Only use effects when you are sure of what you want but most of the time it's best not to use any effects in the recording phase so that you can have more options in post. Be sure to critique every part of your recording. I mean don't get in the way of the vibe but just be sure to get each part cut as well as you can. After you record your song you need to contract a professional mix engineer and mastering engineer. I know you may think that you can do it since you have all of the software and plug ins but for the most part you are wrong. You can practice on mixing but I advise you to take it to someone who does these things and has a proven track record. You can compare your mixes to what you get from the pro mix engineer as a way to test your progress but you need to go to a pro first to insure your quality. The mastering phase should never be compromised. This is a totally different step than mixing and it requires another kind of ear. You definitely want to use someone who does this exclusively. These are just a few points to keep in mind to insure you are making a quality record. We will go into much more detail in our music industry guide to be published this fall. So keep working, stay focused and go write a quality song.

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Do Something Different

As we embark on a new year and new goals, let's be sure not to just repeat the same things we did last year. The music business still holds as much promise and success for all that are willing to work and strive for it. I challenge you to do something different. This concept starts with the simplest thing like your thought process. Make every thought one that contributes to who you want to be and to where you want to be in your career. Let's spend less time talking about things and more time DOING things. We must make our hearts and art pure. Reconnect with your passion and remember why you really love what you do and this will be the fuel you need to drive you to the next level of success. Become an even more dedicated student of the music industry. Take time weekly to update yourself on the legal and other changes in the game. Stay focused on moving forward in a positive and productive manner. We can't do the same things we've always done and expect different results. If we want new and different things to happen, we have to do something different to achieve those results. Our present and future are so bright because they are illuminated by what we have learned in the past so let's move forward to success not being afraid to take on new challenges. Success has already been granted.

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011