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Songstuff

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Blog Entries posted by Songstuff

  1. In a recent study conducted by the University of Westminster, it has been found that there is crisis in mental health within the U.K. music industry that is at alarming levels. The study, “Can Music Make You Sick” was commissioned by Help Musicians UK. It looks at how having a career in the music industry impacts upon the mental health of musicians.
     
    2,211 musicians took part in the study. Researchers Sally-Anne Gross and Dr. George Musgrave revealed that 71.1% of musicians have suffered from anxiety or panic attacks, while 68.5% have suffered with depression.
     
    Primary contributory major issues include:
     
    money worries, due to juggling jobs and uncertain pay poor working conditions  
    The study also found musicians are more likely to be subjected to:
     
    sexual abuse bullying discrimination antisocial and unsympathetic working environments  
    Additionally, musicians often don’t have sufficient income to allow them to get professional help.
     
    Help Musicians UK is the leading UK charity for professional musicians, throughout their professional life. They help both at times of crisis, and of opportunity, providing much needed support at a crucial point in their career. 
  2. MyWerx and ASCAP have joined forces to provide ASCAP members with 600 MB of FREE Copyright Protection through its WerxProof service.

    MyWerx copyright management platform provides songwriters with WerxPost, a free database for managing their creative work, and WerxConnect, a social network connecting Creators and their collaborators to their work. The MyWerx web application and iPhone application deliver the best possible proof that you are the creator of your works. The evidence includes geolocation (where you were when you created it), dates and time stamps, who you created it with, and multiple copies of the work are easily stored and shared as the work develops.

    MyWerx provides Life Cycle Copyright Management solutions. MyWerx patent pending technology is a platform that makes it simple for creators to manage their works in one location for free, coupled with a subscription based copyright protection service. The platform keeps all interested parties in a work up-to-date in real time.
  4. Output have become known for distinctive, groundbreaking VSTi.
     
    Exhale is a Kontakt based VSTi offering a "modern vocal engine" for music producers, and sound designers, who want highly processed vocal samples for their productions.
     
    So we have included a text based review, a video review including a demo track, and a video tour of Exhale.
     
    Read our "Output Exhale Review"
  5. IsoVox 2 Review
     

     
    Getting a good vocal sound takes a lot of preparation. The size and shape of te room you record in, the ambient noise from electronic and other sources. In a home studio environment the issues are multiplied. For a start, not everyone has a dedicated studio, and even less are acoustically treated to both reduce spill onto recordings, and spill from the studio to the outside, or to shape the sound recorded by dealing with hot frequencies and reverberation.
     
    IsoVox have presented a solution, the IsoVox 2. Read the Songstuff IsoVox 2 Review.

  6. Member Hub Pages

    By Songstuff ,

    We recently introduced the "Member Hub", a place to pull together a whole host of useful stuff for our members. The main hub page itself includes:   The latest Songstuff Stuff site blog entries. Access to the latest Member Articles (new feature!) The latest topics from our Showcase board The latest images The latest Lyrics critique posts The latest song critique posts Who's online and a selection of community info Latest community blog entries Member Birthdays   and that's just on one page!   The hub itself gives you access to:   Member Articles Music Tools (Music theory tools) Rhyming dictionary Music Industry News (Billboard, ASCAP, BMI, Sound Exchange, PPL, SESAC etc) More...   We are evolving and improving the member hub to better support your needs.   Your feedback is not only welcome, it is an important factor in how we develop the Member Hub and the features it provides access to.  
  7. "You Rocked The Country" by Amy Abernathy, @ames1212
     
    Amy's piece was selected as the closest to the initial challenge brief. Well done Amy and congratulations!
     
    Read Amy's entry and an interview with her by following the link below:
    Ballad Challenge #1 Winner Amy Abernathy
     
    To everyone else who took part, many many thanks for getting involved. There were some great lyrics contributed, covering a range of genres. It was great to see your lyrics evolve, trying to meet the initial brief and in some cases writing in ballad snog form for the first time.... Some songs evolved into quite different songs from how they started!
  8. Featured Artist - Simon Darveau
    Montreal based French Canadian artist  Simon is a singer songwriter, self-taught guitar and piano player and wannabe sound engineer in his free time.
     
    Simon is currently building his home studio where he hopes he will spend most of his time writing and producing his own music as well as collaborating with other artists in a near future.
     
    A proud member of "The Travelling Songstuffers", a virtual international group, Simon hopes to produce an EP featuring some of their work.
     
    Read About More Simon Darveau and other excellent Featured Artists 
  10. Featured Artist - Danny Rains
     
    Songwriting once cast a spell on a wayward youth named Danny Rains. It sent him stumbling headfirst into a mystifying underground world of melodies, harmonies, and words.
     
    Now, many years since, he still returns to that deep well of unknowable truths. In the early morning dark, he often finds himself staring into a fog of half-remembered dreams, feeling around the bed for a pencil or a guitar, hoping to capture a little piece of that world to bring back with him to the other side.
     
    Read About More Danny Rains and other excellent Featured Artists
     
     
     
  11. Dave Bradley is a science journalist by day, but by night he's Cambridge's most wannabe singer-songwriter rockstar. Dave has played guitar for four decades or thereabouts and writes and performs acoustic and electric in a range of styles and has been likened to a range of artists, including Glenn Tilbrook, David Bowie and James Taylor, which is very flattering to him, of course, but he really is just a Geordie chancer with a loud shirt and six string...
     
    Click through and support!
     
    Dave Bradley on Bandcamp
    Dave Bradley on Songstuff
  12. If you are a song writer, interested in studying and developing your craft, take some time to browse around our ever growing collection of song writing and lyrics writing articles.
     
    http://www.songstuff.com/song-writing/article/
     
    If you find this page useful, please like and share the page, comment, tweet or re-tweet your support.
     

     
    Our articles cover a broad range of topics related to writing songs, from title selection, through song hooks and song structure, to the process used to write songs. When it comes to Songstuff helping songwriters, these articles are just the tip of the iceberg. A large range of tools, help and other benefits are available through our community. Don't wait, drop by, sign up, sign in and take part.
     
  13. Collaborate on Songstuff, bringing lyricists, songwriters, musicians, recording engineers, and producers covering many styles of music.

    Come along and take part!





    Join our general Collaboration Group and keep up to date with collaboration projects, create your own collaboration group.

    Each group provides you:
    your own forum
    your own web pages
    your own communication tools to allow you to easily communicate with your chosen collaborators!

  14. For songwriters, it is an ongoing discussion, what exactly makes a song great? If you could understand exactly what it is that makes a song great, then perhaps you could use that knowledge to your advantage when writing new songs, and avoid common mistakes.
    Unfortunately it isn't as cut and dried as that. There is no right answer. That is why there are no song writing rules, only guidelines.
    So we started a topic to encourage our members to explore the topic. Not to find a right answer, but in the hope that by exploring what it meant, by exchanging ideas, that it would help them arrive at a better understanding.
    You can find the topic here
    What Makes A Song Great?
    It's free to join our community and you are welcome to take a part in the discussion.
  15. Independent Music - The Importance Of Building A Team

    All too often, bands overlook one of their biggest assets: each other. As individuals it is far harder to stand out. The amount of tasks they can complete effectively limits just what they can achieve. By electing to work alone they greatly reduce their ability to work, and therefore their chance of success.

    This article goes through the pros and cons of teamwork for songwriters, musicians and bands, discussing what they stand to gain by working together, and provides a number of ways that teamwork can can be used within the music industry.




    Read "Independent Music - The Importance Of Building A Team"


    Comments

    Please leave any comments,suggestions or other feedback below...
  17. Bands, Give Your Fans Real News, Not Spam

    Bands face an ongoing challenge when it comes to spreading the word about their music, including both the task of getting their music in front of completely new listeners and the task of keeping in contact with their existing fans. This article explores the key issues involved in communicating with fans and provides some recommendations to make and keep it a positive experience.



    Read "Bands, Give Your Fans Real News, Not Spam"


    Comments

    Please leave some comments and feedback on this article, and / or suggestions for new articles by leaving a reply below.
  18. We have a lot of members releasing songs and albums just now. However, very, very few, if any, use any form of release process. In particular, there is very little in the way of build up to the release. Releases tend to be haphazard in nature.






    On many occasions impatience to share their new music seems to be the driving factor. All the artist's development time and budget leading up to the release is devoted to creating the music with marketing and promoting their release being minimal, almost an after thought.

    Typically, the artist releases their music into a void, having built up very little expectation for their music. Having, in the case of albums, spent several thousands of dollars on recording and mastering their album and often invested hundreds of hours in completing it, they fail to make the most of all their effort.

    Too many times we hear of albums having been released selling (or sometimes giving away!) less than 100 copies. Sometime less than 50.

    Is this the fault of the music? No. It is the fault of the artist. Your music could be the best music the world has ever heard, but if it is released into a void it will go nowhere. Few people will hear it. Fewer will download it or buy it.

    You cannot rely upon listeners being so inspired by your music that they share your music with their friends, or that somehow the music press will get to hear about your music despite you having done almost nothing to bring it to their attention.

    In short, you need a plan.

    Over the next two months we will be looking at what you can do to ensure a successful release including some practical tips you can directly use.

    Head's Up

    We plan to launch our first products over the next couple of months, including an “Album Release Kit”, containing all the elements you need to pull together your album, from costing and budget, to time-line, example press releases and press kits, background information and best industry working practice, using check lists, mind maps, flow diagrams, guidelines on engaging people and companies to help, release case studies and much, much more.
  19. Fan Engagement

    Keeping it fresh while engaging your fans isn't straight forwards. At least that's the what many artists tell us. They start a band blog and pretty quickly run out of interesting things to say. They write the odd interesting post, but most posts are boring as hell, or barely related to their band and their music. More common still is their blog just dries up. So what could they do?

    Have no fear Songstuffers! We've collected 15 excellent ideas to help you engage your fans using video.





    Read "Fan Engagement"

    Comments

    Please leave some comments and feedback on this article, and / or suggestions for new articles by leaving a reply below.


  20. Tips For Making A Music Video

    Here we have a collection of tips to help you create your own music video for your band. A music video is much like a movie, or, for that matter, just like the song itself. It should have a visual progression, in the same way it progresses musically.

    This article will give you ideas on everything from funding and casting to choice of locations, post production editing and promotion and distribution





    Read "Tips For Making A Music Video"

    Comments

    Please leave some comments and feedback on this article, and / or suggestions for new articles by leaving a reply below.
  21. Song Building Blocks

    Songs use a number of common sections. These sections are the building blocks of songs. When discussing song form these sections are assigned letters as labels, but you will be more familiar with their names such as verse, chorus and bridge.

    This article looks at the common sections, what defines them, and how those sections work together to form a working, popular song.



    Read "Song Building Blocks" now.


    Comments

    Please leave some comments and feedback on this article, and / or suggestions for new articles by leaving a reply below.
  22. Song Relase Tips

    When releasing a new song make the most of all your efforts

    Remember: People need to know your song has been released to buy it. It is up to you to tell them.

    Remember: More people are likely to be interested in your music if you build anticipation before the song is available. ie you build their appetite. This is why older songs by an artist are played BEFORE a new song is released. It's why they appear on TV and radio BEFORE a song or album is released. It's why they tell people when a new song will be available to buy.

    Remember: Build fans, make it desirable for the general public to join your fan club or fan list. Provide incentives.

    Remember: Keep fans. Keep in regular communication. Provide benefits of being in your fan list such as exclusive interviews, acoustic performances of your songs, special offers etc.

    IMPORTANT: Create a promotion plan so that your activities are coordinated. A properly coordinated release is much much more effective as your activities build upon each other and help to create a buzz of anticipation. By following a release process you will naturally create activities and supporting media that give you genuine reasons to contact your fans.:

    1. Set a realistic release date.
    2. Plan your activies, such as recording, creating a video etc. so that they are ready for use when your promotion plan needs them to be available.
    3. Your plan should have pre-release goals and activities that help build anticipation. This could be revamping your websites with new images, conact building and development, pre-releasing to press or music bloggers, getting back catalogue plays on radio and internet radio, pre-release interviews, showcase performances and any other anticipation building activity etc. Prime your fans for the upcoming release.
    4. Your plan should have a release event of some kind, Ideally this would be a launch party (when you are doing a proper release) but could be any kind of launch event limited only by your creativity.
    5. Your Plan should have post-release activities such as interviews (radio, tv, online radio, interviews for your fan list etc) and gigs.
    6. Note down lessons learned during each release, what works, what could work better, what doesn't currently work etc. and use those to tweak your release process, activities and timing so your release process will be more effective next time.
    7. Be patient. Don't let frustration during pre-release make you "just release it". Promotion activities are not intended to happen in isolation. It would be a shame to put lots of effort and money into creating a killer track only to blow it by having an unprepared, disorganized release.

    The first time you go through a release process takes a little extra effort, but you can build on that process for each and every new song or album release to make it more effective.

    By going through a process you begin to get a far better idea about things you may have missed, and highlight where your are spending too much time or not enough time.

    An effective release depends on timing, a range of supporting activities, good quality products, creativity, industry contacts, fans and effective communication. Neglect any of them and you might as well prepare to be disappointed by the response to the release.
  23. Ketchum Launches Music Division, Ketchum Sounds

    PR company Ketchum has launched a music division called Ketchum Sounds focused on matching brand sponsorship within the music industry. The new division will be headed by Marcus Peterzell, executive VP of entertainment with Ketchum Sports and Entertainment.

    Peterzell is an experienced music marketer. He joined Ketchum late in 2011 from sports and entertainment agency GMR Marketing. Ketchum Sounds has expertise in brand strategy, music licensing, artist partnerships and endorsements, tour sponsorship, and digital platforms. They aim to make the music industry more accessible to brands.

    Ketchum has previous experience with the music industry having being involved in Sharpie's sponsorship of the North American tour dates of One Direction, and Snoop Dogg's gig in a Doritos vending machine at South by Southwest.
  24. New Article - The Process Of Writing A Song

    A song writing process is used to enhance the quality of your work and the speed that each work is created. This article provides tips on creating and using a song writing process, plus observations and suggestions about writing key aspects of a song. It also gives you a draft process to get you started.

    This article is ideal for songwriters who either don't use a formal song writing process, or the song writing process that they are using is not quite working for them.




    Read the full article by clicking on the following link:

    The Process Of Writing A Song


    Comments

    Please leave some comments and feedback on this article, and / or suggestions for new articles by leaving a reply below.
  25. New Article - A Guide To Song Form - Song Form Overview

    Song forms are generally made up of a number of sections that may or may not be repeated within the same song. Popular music is generally based on the use of traditional sectional song forms, or structures that are derived from those traditional song forms.

    This article gives an overview of the different fundamental song forms, and it provides a basic understanding of common modern song forms.




    Read the full article by clicking on the following link:

    A Guide To Song Forms - Song Form Overview


    Comments

    Please leave some comments and feedback on this article, and / or suggestions for new articles by leaving a reply below.

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