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

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

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