Music VS The 9-5 Grind

Alright, I'm going to keep this short and simple. A popular question amongst budding musicians, producers, beat makers, DJ's, and all other creative mammals is "How can I get anywhere with my music while I still have this 9-5 cubicle problem?"

A valid question, without a valid answer. There are many things one can do to free more time, and in turn have better means to be creative. I have struggled with holding jobs for as long as I can remember. It seems that after 3-6 months my boredom overpowers me to the point where I will either quit, or immediately start looking elsewhere for something "better" and more "satisfying" on a temporary basis.

A very important factor in balancing your day job and real job is to treat your art as a "job" with no exceptions. I dedicate a minimum of 1 hour per night, 6-10 hours on the weekends to work in the studio on whatever projects I currently have simmering. If you treat your art as a hobby then it will remain a hobby. If you treat your art as a job, and verbalize to your family and friends that this is a job than there is a better chance it eventually become exactly that.

One thing I am trying to do right now is make money from home via web publishing and internet marketing. Internet marketing takes minimal amount of money, and a butt-load of time, but once you have your niche markets and a handful of sites with passive and residual income you can eventually get to the point of only working a few hours a day, which in turn equals MORE TIME FOR MUSIC. I know, it seems far fetched but it really isn't. I recently met a chap my age from the states named Silvano who is trying to do the same thing. He is a hip hop fiend with a dream to make his living from home providing the world with relevant content relating to our mutual friends "boom" and "bap".

Since we share the same dream in a matter of speaking, we have formed a bond based on past experiences and future ideas. If you ever want to leave your 9-5 and chase a dream, you have better chances of surviving if you have a team or at least a handful of people with the same visions. Stay tuned as I will be getting more specific with certain steps individuals can take to free up more time. 4 Hour Work Week???? Thats coming later!

Respect

MrBlue
www.myspace.com/basementtheory

The Unemployed Musician

If I had $20 for every unemployed musician in Canada alone, I would be rich! And at this moment in time I am currently "unemployed" and I am a musician, so you do the math! It can be so frustrating when you have a passion, and you put sweat and tears into your craft but yet you have to work a day job. One can easily lose their focus and creative steam when having to spend 8 hours a day doing something that you have no interest in.

Through my struggles as a music producer I've learned that one of the most important factors that divide the "successful" and the "unsuccessful" is their ability to make something out of nothing. You must be an Alchemist!

When I am jobless I rarely take down-time, but rather immediately begin planning my next gig or business idea. This blog is one of my business ideas! I try my best to stay productive and most importantly, to stay positive. It is very easy to get down or discouraged when you have no idea when you next check is going to be. So here are a few tips that I've picked up over the years that help me keep focused, and get working as soon as possible:

-Keep making music! The last thing you want to do is take a break.

-Take an entire day to write down ideas and potential business models that you can begin to incorporate as soon as possible.

-Keep making music! I can't stress enough how important this is!

-Get emailing, and get on the phone! Update your press kit or demo and start getting them out to labels, managers, other artists, etc... There are so many directories on the internet, and also some services you can pay for either monthly or annually. musicSubmit a great place to start.

-Stay active on the internet. Visit forums like HipHopCanada.com and stay in touch with your community.

-Work on anything that you have been putting off. Call your artists and get them into the studio to record.

-Stay positive, and stay focused! I know it's hard when you have bills to pay and a wife or girlfriend that is on your case to get a job, but they mean well. Don't sell yourself short!

-Nothing happens by sitting around and waiting. In my first week of unemployment I would send out on average 30-50 resumes a week. Sometimes more!

-Visit MoneyInMusic.com, this site has great articles and great resources. I go there for ideas and inspiration.

Remember, it's not the end of the world if you lose you job, or aren't getting any gigs. Keep busy and keep your brain working, even if that means sacrificing a little sleep or a saturday night at the bar to throw peanuts at albino midgets. You have to make sacrifice and you have to keep your priorities in check. If you get out of the groove it will be 10 times as hard to get back in when your "groove" is needed. Good Luck!

Respect

MrBlue
www.myspace.com/basementtheory

Music Books. Are They Worth Buying? Part Three

With the first two reviews I introduced The Assistant Engineers Hand Book, which relates to the world inside a pro-recording studio. Second, I reviewed the "Industry Bible" which is a proven resource when discussing anything legal or financial in todays Music Business.

I was sitting in my living room this afternoon, thinking about what other great books I still use, or still influence me today? Then I recall a moment about three weeks ago, when I was strolling through Indigo @ the Eaton Center doing some holiday shopping. I eventually sat down with a book, simply titled Audio Post Production In Your Project Studio. What intrigued me about this titled was the recollection of 4 years prior when I had just wrapped up doing location sound/scoring a Slasher/Horror indie short called "Booth" with a good friend of mine. We had such a stellar experience! The location sound was tedious, but the post process of editing, syncing, and then ultimately... in a two night whiskey binge... we scored the flick. Post audio presents a form of creativity through the stimulation and use of one's ears, as well as the visual, emotionless accompaniment of the motion picture. Writing music and creating sounds to be heard is one thing; composing that music to CAPTURE and SET the emotion and pace of a visual journey is another. This book helps bridge the two adventures into one. Audio Post Production In Your Project Studio presents the theories, experiences, and practices of 20 year Classical Music veteren, Casey Kim.

In a very straight forward, non-platform specific manner, she covers each and every area of the Post-Production process. What really kept me reading was the overall feel and focus on the "Project Studio"aspect of modern post. Over the last 10 years we have seen countless Big League post facilities loose clients and business to small, intimate, digital environments. Thats always good news for guys like myself! I forgot to mention that I read 200 of the 304 pages in this book under 3 hours! Let Soulja Boy crank that! For some reason I feel he'd have problems reading this blog :)

Respect.

MrBlue
www.myspace.com/basementtheory

Music Books. Are They Worth Buying? Part Two

Since post number one I have been spending time reviewing some of my books from college (The Trebas Institute) and reviewing books online. Music Books Plus is one of the best resources for anything relating on the music business. They have a very extensive collection of Audio, Film, and Music focused books. They also have a pretty sweet affiliate program! Click here if your curious :)

Book number two of my Music Books blog series is All You Need To Know About The Music Business: 6th Edition. To put it plainly, you will not succeed in the music industry if you do not have your music business game perfected. This is something that takes time, and contrary to popular belief there are no shortcuts. It's who you know, THEN what you know. This book was written by Donald S. Passman, who is a veteran top dog music lawyer. In the music business, success strongly depends on knowing HOW to protect yourself and your intellectual property (your music). This book provides an in depth, detailed guide on all things legal and financial.

This latest edition was supposedly labeled as the "industry bible" by the Los Angeles Times. That's a pretty big statement, but after reading through the first few chapters I realized why a statement so bold could easily be attached to this essential guide on the business of music. Traditional topics are covered such as Royalties, Publishing, Advances, and Copyright Law. It also takes an in-depth look on the ever evolving world of digital media covering such topics as:

• Music Downloads and Streaming
• How Royalties are computed in the Digital Age
• Industry Tactics to combat Piracy

This book will prove to be a "backpack" reader. You will find yourself carrying it around, needing to have access to it in a flash. If you are serious about making a living in the music industry, and competing with the overnight hype behind such artists as Soulja Boy (I can't believe I just mentioned his name) who infest the digital realm in this new Web 2.0 world, then you will want to have your backpack handy!

MrBlue
www.myspace.com/basementtheory

Music Books. Are They Worth Buying?

I occasionally get asked by peers and professionals alike "I saw this book online about recording. Have you read it? Should I get it?"

I had the opportunity to get my degree in Recording Arts and Sound Engineering, so I did a fair bit of reading while I was in school, but I also did a fair bit of drinking. Needless to say I had to re-read a handful of books when I was re-introduced to the real world after graduating, so I've always found it difficult to recommend anything to anybody, especially if their intentions were unclear. So today I decided to re-visit some of my old literature from audio school and post a few books that I still use from time to time (there will be 3 or 4 separate posts over the next two days, so stay tuned!) If you have any questions, feel free to contact me! :)

Assistant Engineers Handbook is a book that I still pick up when In need of intellectual support. If you ever want to get a job in a recording studio (which can be a very cult like process) you must start off as an Intern, or Gopher, as it's widely known. After 6-12 months of making coffee, ordering pizza, answering phones, and fucking things up, you'll probably have picked up a thing or two about recording and how a studio is run. At this point you will be in a very strategic position to take on the roll as Assistant Engineer (which essentially means a lot of paper work and setting microphones up) , but there is a good chance you will get your own chair!

This book covers everything from studio etiquette, to filling out the different types of paperwork (includes diagrams), and everything in between. It was written with a very non-tech approach so even the average studio newbie would understand the terminology when reading. It's not a big book, around the 300 page mark, so you can have the advantage of going through it's contents easily when needing reference for those killer studio sessions you will be having!

MrBlue
www.myspace.com/basementtheory