The Growth of Live Music

After years of declining physical record sales, artists, bands and record labels lately are focusing on live music shows. Record labels are also providing their bands 360 deals. Sounds cool, what is it exactly? Previously, record labels mainly used to only fund the process of producing a physical record; also known as long plays, tapes and compact discs. Nowadays, labels are also funding and helping their signed bands and artists organize and sell their live shows, and also eating a large portion of the profits.

Thanks (or not) to the internet and the ease of pirated music distribution, the generic public is no longer bothered, or even willing to buy physical music records. There is still hope though; Johnny is still willing to spend his hard earned money on music. Maybe not on physical music records, but people seem to be going to concerts much more than ever before. It seems that the sound quality is of no difference to Johnny and most of the population, so he won't bother if he listens to MP3's on his computer.

On the other hand, going to a concert is a social experience where one can head bang and interact with sweaty people, some of which you've never seen. It's a new experience, totally different than when you're frequenting the same old rotting bar for several years. So invest today. Instead of spending hundred Euro, the bankrupt currency, alone in a bar, might as well invest some of it on a concert ticket and the rest on some ice cold beers to help you bear with the heat of indoor concerts, or maybe as a chick investment.

Mention the world's biggest acts and you will notice that even though the world economy is spiralling down, they are still managing to sell out their world tours. International renowned electro band Depeche Mode and their Touring the Universe Tour, U2, who embraced the internet like no other band, Lady Gaga and many other world renowned bands and artists all managed to generate a decent income, which you and I don't even dream of. Navigate through several online ticket websites and you will notice that there is at least a concert of two in the city where you live, if not more!

Some time ago, the editor of one of the blogs I write for, wrote a rant about the music industry. Unfortunately his rant was criticized by many, and unlike other of his self-opinionated articles, its publishing on several music news sites was rejected for one simple reason; encouraging piracy of music over the internet. It is kind of funny; it seems the editors of the other websites do not know how to read. In this rant about music, Octave Shaper is simply stating that like many other world industries, the music industry should stop pointing fingers, think out of the box, and search for its golden eggs goose somewhere else.

That is why I admire the music's industry Father Christmas, Mr. Cowell's and his shows, such as X Factor. Mr Cowell, instead of trying so hard to sell records, changed his business model and now is helping many aspiring artists by giving them the chance of having their own sponsored tours. Thanks to his international renowned shows, Cowell is raising live music awareness, and "brand awareness" for the artist and bands involved, while still making truckloads of money, most probably more than ever before.

In my opinion, the music industry was wrong in pointing its fingers and blaming the internet for its decreasing income from sales of physical records. It's true the internet made it easier for the distribution of pirated music, but it also made it easier for Johnny to buy concert tickets. If you need a carton of milk, you still have to leave your home, walk to the grocery store, and if it is expired and you didn't notice, you have to walk back to return it. If you want to purchase a concert ticket, you can do it from the comfort of your sofa while keeping your butt warm and cosy.

Thanks to the internet, social networks and viral videos, it is now easier for agents and bands to grasp the attention of new crowds. With the tsunami of new music being constantly uploaded on the internet, it might be difficult for non-established artists to infiltrate the masses and grab a big piece of the pie, but they will always have their share of crumbs. Let's not also forget that the internet also made it easier for already established and world renowned artists to reach new horizons in the music industry. Simply have a look at how many Facebook likes and Twitter followers famous artists have. Do you think Lady Gaga would have had the same influential effect on the world as she has now without the internet?

By profession, Leo Pechlino is an IT expert while in the evenings he likes to listen and discover new music. An avid writer, Leo reviewed several music records for several music blogs. Most of his work can be found on Muzikablog music blog ( http://www.muzikablog.com ). Leo is also a technical writer and from time to time publishes IT industry related articles.

Stress Relief and Discos

When we feel stressed and exhausted, we look for something that could somehow re-build our strength, right? Yes, there are many events that challenge us every day so the least that we can do is to live as lightly as possible. You can, for instance, think of positive thoughts. These thoughts can make you happy enough to get you going.

You can consider traveling around the country, or better yet, you can visit other countries. Just make sure proper arrangements are made before the travel for an easy and trouble-free journey. If you want, you can just hang around the house and be with your family. You can invite your family to go shopping, watch movies and maybe go on a picnic. If you are the type of person who loves extreme sports and adventures, you can try outdoor activities such as camping, trekking, climbing, biking, swimming and the like. Regardless of what you choose to do, the important thing is that you are enjoying the moment.

But if you feel like you want to dance the stress away, there are many avenues that you can consider. You can go to dance schools if that is what you really like. Dance schools will appreciate your talent and support it all the way. If you are not into dance schools, you might want to consider discos, night clubs and the like.

In considering a disco place, you can start by identifying night clubs within your area that offer accessible and safe night life. For sure there is a district somewhere in your place where discos and night clubs thrive. It is up to you if you want to dress up. But of course, you would want to look great wherever you go, right?

When clubbing, it is a good idea to bring some friends and loved ones. With that, your disco or night club experience will likely be memorable.

If you are worried about the entrance fees, then you might want to know that there are clubs that offer cheap entrance fees. These are just a small price to pay if you really want to have fun. If you are hungry, food and drinks are served. Given the fact that there are many disco places out there, you should consider which disco is better. In order to determine that, you should consider the following:

1. Disco light effects are remarkable. For a business owner, lights somehow change or affect the mood, and if you utilize it well, many customers will patronize you. If you seek to have the best disco experience, look for discos with stage lights, LED lighting system, lasers and the like.

2. DJs play the music. You know that without music, discos are boring. DJs should be creative and upbeat so that they can play well. They should have different equipment such as mixers, sound systems, controller, audios and other crucial electronics.

3. Special effects like fogging machine and the like. With these machines and lights, surely you will have a different clubbing experience.

These equipment will surely make your life more colourful and groovy. Don't be afraid to dance or go to night clubs because you have the right to have fun.

Francisco Perry is an enthusiastic writer of EllumiGlow.com who likes to share information on nightclub lighting and dj lights as well as related products.

The Art of Singing

No matter what style of singer you may wish to be, it is very important to understand how to look after your voice and most importantly understand how your voice works. You wouldn't dream of entering a Triathalon without months of training for the event, and yet with singing many of us just expect our voices to be able to tackle anything we throw at it without any training at all.

If you'rr serious about singing and want to get the most from your voice, its really important to invest in singing lessons. First off you will learn about the correct breathing techniques to fuel your voice. This is vital,otherwise it's like putting Diesel petrol in a unleaded car, you can imagine the output you would get! Through singing lessons you can learn to stretch your range, smooth out breaks in the voice, improve tone, diction and overall sound. Then once you have this basic understanding and know your voice, you can truly make the most of it and sing the style that you wish, too. How can we expect to improve our voice if we don't understand what is causing the problem in the first place! Your voice is your instrument and therefore you need to first learn about how to play your instrument to get the best possible sound from it.

Of course the next stage once you have learnt the essential technique's is to practise, get your voice stronger, more agile and challenge it to do new things. This is where the fun starts. The hard work starts to pay off as you see yourself achieving and singing the songs you thought you never could, or struggled with before. Then we start to add the essential layer of performance. This will obviously vary depending on the style of singing you have chosen to specialise in. In Musical Theatre for example, there is a strong emphasis on the dramatic communication of the story through the songs. But even with commercial music the artist still needs to find that connection with their audience as they sing. The listener should be taken on a journey through the use of lyrics and musical style of your singing, be it heavy rock or classical it should make no difference, finding that connection is what counts. Of course this requires the singer to be both confident and to let go and go to that vulnerable place and give everything to their performance. For some this will be a natural thing,they may love to escape to this place when they sing. For many it can take years to get to the place where you are no longer thinking about remembering the words, worrying about the high notes or your singing being affected by the nerves brought on by large quantities of people looking at you! Singing is one of the hardest things to do when you are nervous as the first thing to go is your breathing. You freeze and stiffen up,you stop breathing correctly and from then on everything else goes to pot! That's where the more practise performing in front of others you can do the better.

For singing lessons with a vocal coach in Auckland, visit http://www.vocalising.co.nz Claire offers singing lessons for all ages from her Takapuna home. Learn to sing and get the most from your voice.

http://www.vocalising.co.nz

Drum Practice Tips

Many times when we're practicing, the way we're using our time could be spent more efficiently. For example, when you're playing a new groove and you're having trouble with one small part of it each time it comes around, you can get way more out of your practice if you would focus in on only the problem spot.

You see, music is a language, and when you began to speak English (or whatever your native language might be) you started with short, simple words. You didn't say, "Mother, if you would be so kind as to bring me that toy automobile over there, I would be forever grateful and in your debt." You said, "Momma" and then "car" and then "Momma, car," etc., until you could create a more complex sentence with all of the nouns, and verbs, and adjectives, and so on.

And this is what we tend to do when we're practicing a groove. We want to get the whole thing down RIGHT NOW. I understand, but if you slow it down and break it down, you're going to have a far better result far quicker. Which is ultimately what we want, we just don't see the quickest way of getting there naturally on our own.

This brings in an idea from yesterday's blog - PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT (which will always be typed in ALL caps, btw). So if you can play most of the groove, and you're just stumbling on one little part, we'll need to use what I call the "zoom in, zoom out" method. This means that we'll take the part of the groove that you're struggling with and focus only on that. For example, let's say we're learning the groove from Brain Stew by Green Day. (See also, Last Resort by Papa Roach.)

For many drummers, playing this groove is a piece of cake (the method still applies to whatever you're working on), but beginners tend to have trouble playing the double sixteenth notes on the bass drum while keeping solid eighths on the hi-hat. So we'll isolate that part and work ONLY on the problem spot.

It may even be helpful to only play one of these patterns at a time. Both, Bass, Hat. Over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over some more. This is getting good at the word, rather than struggling to say the sentence. Dig it?

So once you can perform this effortlessly, you'll go back to trying the sentence. If it goes smoothly, and you can now play time SOLIDLY throughout the groove, great! You've got it down, and you're ready for a new challenge. That was super quick! If you're not successful with it yet, that's OK too. All you need to do is zoom back in on the challenge spot, and drill it again. Once it feels comfortable again, then go back to trying the whole groove, and repeat this back and forth process until you can perform it smoothly.

To learn more, download my FREE 29-page ebook here.

Aaron is the owner of http://www.TheCompleteDrummer.com where he provides drumming lessons and tips.