I recently spoke to Entrepreneur.com. You can check out the article here.
As the article notes, there are many opportunities to make money from music. These opportunities exist for the musician and the entrepreneur, and while the music industry has seen its business convulsed over the last few years, the new business opportunities continue to grow.
There will always be a place for new artists. This provides the music entrepreneur (whether a performer or someone working behind the scenes), with a guarantee of access to the market. However, when coupled with these recent industry developments, the music industry becomes a highly compelling place to be. Just look at some of the changes:
- With the new distribution channels, profitability has increased: you can earn more by selling a $0.99 download than you can by selling a $10 CD and so you can be profitable with a much smaller fan base.
- As there is no need for a physical product, the scalability of some elements of the business are now unlimited. Downloads also mean there are no logistical questions about producing and distributing CDs. Nor do you have to deal with wholesalers, returns, breakages, or a host of other problems.
- In a wired-up world, word of mouth will sell products better than any paid-for advertising. All you need to do is stand in the right place and get swept along by the wave.
- There are new and emerging outlets for music, such as ring tones. Some of these markets can be incredibly lucrative, for instance while a download of a whole track may cost 99 cents, a short snippet sold for use as a cell phone ring tone may cost the equivalent of $9 (yes, that’s nine US dollars, it’s not a typo). Figure out which might generate more income for you.
The entrepreneurs—whether musicians or business people—who will succeed will be those who understand the key relationship is with the fan base (in other words, the income source), and nurture that relationship as an asset of their business. These people will not let their asset depreciate when the band has its inevitable “musical differences”.
How to Make a Noise
How To Make A Noise is perhaps the most widely read book about synthesizer programming. It has been revised and updated, and is now available in hard copy form. The book is a comprehensive, practical guide to sound design and synthesizer programming techniques using:
- subtractive (analog) synthesis
- frequency modulation synthesis (including phase modulation and ring modulation)
- additive synthesis
- wave-sequencing
- sample-based synthesis
How To Make A Noise was reviewed in Wusik Sound Magazine #017. Here are a few selected quotes from the review:
- “I feel quite confident in saying that this book is THE synthesizer programming book.”
- “How to Make a Noise is, in my opinion, the de-facto authority on synthesizer programming.”
- “It does not matter if you are a beginner, a seasoned veteran, or somewhere in between those two levels, this book will offer something to help you improve your skills.”
If you want to know more, or to have a look at the table of contents and a sample chapter, then go to: www.noisesculpture.com/htman.
Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User
Since Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User was published there have been a number of changes to the featured synthesizers, including:
- Rapture has been updated to version 1.1.
- Z3TA+ has been updated to version 1.5 and Z3TA+ Update Manager has been released.
- Dimension LE has been launched.
As a result I have made an update available to download from my website. Follow this link www.noisesculpture.com/cakewalk to get the update.
The download is freely available to anyone, and while it will be of most use to people with the book, if you’re still wondering whether to buy it, please feel free to download the update and take a look. You can also download the table of contents and a sample chapter from my website.
There will be further updates if and when Cakewalk again updates any of the synthesizers featured in the book.
Building a Successful 21st Century Music Career
Your career in music begins today: decide to begin your career and you’re off. Don’t wait for a record company to call and offer you a contract, because they won’t. All you need to do is decide to start your career.
Building a Successful 21st Century Music Career is about how you can proactively start, and manage your own music career so that you can earn your living through making music—whether as a musician playing pop, rock, soul, R&B, classical or any other style of music; as a songwriter or composer; or as a producer.
To find out more, go to noisesculpture.com/c21.html.
Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User
Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User is the ultimate guide to understanding and using all of Cakewalk’s synthesizers, and learning about synthesizer programming.
The book starts by discussing the general theory around creating sounds with the featured synthesizers looking at oscillators, samples, frequency modulation, wave shaping, phase modulation, ring modulation, and how these sound sources can be deployed. From there, the chapters focus on each distinct synthesizer, its range of uses, what tools are available with it, and how to set it up for day-to-day use.
This book is the comprehensive guide to understanding and using all of Cakewalk’s synthesizers and features the complete range of Cakewalk (and rgc:audio) synthesizers, including Pentagon I, Z3TA+, Dimension, and Rapture.
You can find out more at noisesculpture.com/cakewalk.
