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What’s Your Plan for 2012?

Randomness
Happy New Year

I know we are well into the new year already, but I still find myself thinking about things I want to accomplish this year, and how I’m going to make it all happen. 2011 was a fun and busy year for me, which is why posts on Tight Mix have dwindled a bit. I want to be able to find the time to blog more in 2012.

I also wanted to ask all of you — the musicians, industry hustlers, music fans, and tech nerds alike — what do you want to accomplish in 2012? Please leave a brief comment below so we can all riff back and forth to get each other pumped up before our (apparently) inevitable demise.

[Image credit: click here]

The Progression of Mobile Music Production [GUEST POST]

Technology
Girl with iPad

This is a guest article by Ruben Corbo, a writer for the website Broadband Expert where you can find internet service providers in your area and compare prices on different mobile broadband deals.

More and more, mobile devices are being utilized for the creation of high quality music content. Currently, there are several music production and editing applications for both the iPod/iPad operating system (iOS) and the Android platform. Amplitube, available on the iPad, lets the user feed audio from microphones and instruments directly into the device using a simple adaptor. Android’s Tape Machine Recorder application allows users to record and modify voice and other audio recordings to create professional grade music. Soon, Apple is going to take mobile music production to another level with the introduction of touch sensitive screens on new iPads. The iPad 3 will feature an accelerometer, which will enable the device to detect the difference between a light and soft touch. The implications of this with regards to mobile music production are HUGE!

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There’s an App for That: EMI’s Music Coding Project [GUEST POST]

Music Industry Technology
The Echo Nest

This post was written by Brittany Lyons, who aspires to be a psychology professor, but decided to take some time off from grad school to help people learn to navigate the academic lifestyle. She currently lives in Spokane, Washington, where she spends her time reading science fiction and walking her dog.

British record label EMI has teamed with technology company The Echo Nest to launch a music-based application coding project. Operating through the OpenEMI initiative, the project grants developers access to EMI’s music catalog for the purpose of creating applications for Apple and Android devices, and the internet in general. Potential applications could include streaming services similar to Pandora or music-based games like Guitar Hero.

The music coding project aims to create interactive technology tools in a democratic manner. Established and beginner developers have an equal shot at designing a potential application for the label’s approval—you don’t need programming PhDs to participate in the project. The end result is a product that promotes an EMI artist, The Echo Nest’s technology, and the career of the developer all at once.

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Mistakes Musicians Make When Gigging [GUEST POST]

Concerts & Festivals
lady gaga blood

This is a guest post from Shaun of Independent Music Advice, a website dedicated to increasing the business knowledge (and income) of independent musicians.

I’ve been watching a lot of live gigs recently. Some of the shows I’ve witnessed have been really good, and others…not so much. In terms of maximizing the outcome of every performance, most musicians simply aren’t doing enough.

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I’m speaking at Nova Scotia Music Week 2011!

Concerts & Festivals
Nova Scotia Music Week

Update: I had an excellent time at the conference, met lots of really awesome people and was so humbled to cross paths with a few existing readers and purchasers of my e-book! Thanks so much to the festival and anyone brave enough to attend my presentation, I had a blast. Time to take the puddle jumper back over to Portland, ME!

This weekend I’m heading up to Canada for the first time, and I couldn’t be more excited. Scott Long from NSMW asked me to do my own presentation and sit on a few panels at their conference this Saturday, November 5th 2011.

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It’s e-mails like this that make it all worth it.

Randomness
Casual Hearts

It’s so nice to receive e-mail from my contact form that isn’t spam or self-promotional nonsense. It’s rare, but when it happens, it’s awesome, brings a smile across my face, and restores my faith in humanity.

Hello Chris,

My name is Chase. This is nothing but a thank you. I just read your How to get your music on blogs article via CD Baby and I think it’s awesome that you take the time to give advice to aspiring artists and bands. Sincere advice from a successful source seems to be the most helpful and it’s very hard to come by at least in my experiences so I always admire anyone willing to do it and I vow to do the same upon achieving success in the future. So thank you for sharing the knowledge. Best wishes and take care.

— Chase of Casual Hearts
Singer/Songwriter

You’re very welcome, Chase :)

Kickstarter Advice from Successful Indie Artists [GUEST POST]

Marketing/Promotion
escape directors kickstarter

When my alternative-pop band, Escape Directors, set out in early 2011 to use the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to raise money for our new EP, we spent a lot of time researching tips and suggestions from those who had successfully set out to accomplish the same goal. There are a few articles out there giving the basics, but I figured I would share experiences from our successful campaign now that we’ve been through the trenches. I sought out additional advice from a few other Kickstarter-successful artists — Idgy Dean and Case In Theory — to get a more in-depth view of how other indie artists made it happen as well.

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