International DJ Expo 2009 - Mike Stier Wrapup
< Continued from page 4
Wednesday, August 12
5-6pm: Making Tracks: Remixer/Producer Roundtable (Gear & Tech)
Panel: Josh Harris (Producer), Kevin Greene (Beatport.com), Nick & Danny (Disco Fries), Dave Gadbois (Producer), John Edelman & Steve (MetroMix), Scott Rubin (Reachable Music), Gary Deane (CodeRed), Russ Harris (eSntion), DJ Skribble.
Moderator: Jim Tremayne, DJ Times Magazine
All of the different options that are available to you depending on what your career path to go.
Jim Tremayne asked DJ Skribble ‘if a young DJ came up to you and asked you how they should get started in making music, what would he recommend?’
DJ Skribble responded that with digital technology available to you today, all you need is a laptop, remix program and a creative imagination; use a cappellas and different arrangements that other DJs/producers use and like and then use those a cappellas as a foundation to produce your own remixes.
Josh Harris recommended Cubase, Ableton, ProTools, Sonar, and thinks that most of these programs more or less accomplish the same thing but you have to figure out which software programs suits your brain. He also went on to say that there are some pretty good tutorials on YouTube.
The Disco Fries both went to the Berkeley College of Music in Boston and are heavy proponents of Logic in addition to Ableton.
Scott Rubin made an interesting comment and said that whatever really works for you, you should stick with and as you need to evolve with technology and you need to evolve with money, programs, etc., stick with what you’re using until you can’t use it to get the job done.
Jim Tremayne: Looking at the global marketplace, if you’re selling music that’s mostly appreciated in Europe, do you have to look at this beyond your initial environment?
According to Gary Deane, 90% of his sales are from Europe: the UK, France, Ibiza. But it’s amazing and perhaps a little surprising that it doesn’t necessarily translate back here in the States.
Jim Tremayne: How does a label get onto Beatport.com?
Kevin Greene: When Beatport first came onto the scene, they were acquiring music from small labels, some of which were substandard. Beatport also sometimes uses aggregator — someone who distributes content, providing feedback and then hand the music to a web portal such as Beatport who then figures out the best way to position the music on their website. The aggregator scenario is not an ideal scenario; some are only content delivery while others take the time to develop labels to push the music, which, of course, is an ideal scenario.
Jim Tremayne: What are ways that labels can promote and get their name out there? How do people know how to look for them? For example DJs need to market themselves such as connecting with fans; create a following in your community; start small and you (might) eventually get big.
Kevin Greene chimed in and offered that above all else, the music filters itself out, and the main thing is to promote your music as much as you can in order to get it out there. When you’re small, give your music out [at such networking events such as DJ Expo or Winter Music Conference] because invariably, you’ll go farther if your music marketed well and not just that but that it’s good and sounds great.
Jim Tremayne posed a question to Paul Gadbois when he asked him what is the best way to get a performance out of an artist?
Paul said that as a producer, he likens his role as a coach and tries to instill confidence and a support structure that makes them feel comfortable so that they can come in and do their job. You don’t want to be a dream stealer; let them learn that on their own because while not everybody that sings is a singer.
Josh Harris’ approach likes a singer to be rehearsed. He doesn’t believe in rehearsing on the microphone unless it’s a writing session. And if the singer is physically capable of doing it, he prefers the singer to sing through the song from start to finish, maybe 5 or 6 times because Josh likes to be able to close his eyes and listen to the song from start to finish and have it feel like it’s one complete take because he’s not interested in hearing any edits, punches, changes in the vocals.
Interestingly, I was a bit surprised to learn from Josh that some artists have been known to get nervous when they see that the record light is illuminated in the studio. Well, actually I imagined that that sort of thing happens but I would’ve thought that that happens more on a stage in front of hundreds if not thousands of fans. Therefore sometimes going with the warm-up take winds up being the best take because if an artist doesn’t know if they’re being recorded they usually tend to be a little bit more relaxed but that also comes from not making the environment stressful, as Josh went on to say.
In summary: this business is about trial and error. See what works for you based on your personality but you cannot get by without reaching out and networking. Be prepared to fail but be ready to heed the call when you do make it and take advantage of every situation, taking things both in stride as well as rolling with the punches. The “P” word for last year and I’m going to assume of DJ Expo’s past, the word perseverance and its brother determination are two words that can be the bane of your existence or your savior. All of us have an inherent talent but it’s how you identify that talent; believe in yourself and learn to tap into that belief and that will ultimately prove or not, whether you have the mettle to go the distance in the Dance Music industry (or anything in life, for that matter). Like the chorus from that Chumbawamba song, “Tubthumping” goes, ‘I get knocked down but I get up again…’ And then there’s a favorite quote from a t-shirt that my parents had given to me when I was little that says: ‘Do what you love, love what you do, and the world will come to U.’
Posted August 2009.
Wednesday, August 12
5-6pm: Making Tracks: Remixer/Producer Roundtable (Gear & Tech)
Panel: Josh Harris (Producer), Kevin Greene (Beatport.com), Nick & Danny (Disco Fries), Dave Gadbois (Producer), John Edelman & Steve (MetroMix), Scott Rubin (Reachable Music), Gary Deane (CodeRed), Russ Harris (eSntion), DJ Skribble.
Moderator: Jim Tremayne, DJ Times Magazine
All of the different options that are available to you depending on what your career path to go.
Jim Tremayne asked DJ Skribble ‘if a young DJ came up to you and asked you how they should get started in making music, what would he recommend?’
DJ Skribble responded that with digital technology available to you today, all you need is a laptop, remix program and a creative imagination; use a cappellas and different arrangements that other DJs/producers use and like and then use those a cappellas as a foundation to produce your own remixes.
Josh Harris recommended Cubase, Ableton, ProTools, Sonar, and thinks that most of these programs more or less accomplish the same thing but you have to figure out which software programs suits your brain. He also went on to say that there are some pretty good tutorials on YouTube.
The Disco Fries both went to the Berkeley College of Music in Boston and are heavy proponents of Logic in addition to Ableton.
Scott Rubin made an interesting comment and said that whatever really works for you, you should stick with and as you need to evolve with technology and you need to evolve with money, programs, etc., stick with what you’re using until you can’t use it to get the job done.
Jim Tremayne: Looking at the global marketplace, if you’re selling music that’s mostly appreciated in Europe, do you have to look at this beyond your initial environment?
According to Gary Deane, 90% of his sales are from Europe: the UK, France, Ibiza. But it’s amazing and perhaps a little surprising that it doesn’t necessarily translate back here in the States.
Jim Tremayne: How does a label get onto Beatport.com?
Kevin Greene: When Beatport first came onto the scene, they were acquiring music from small labels, some of which were substandard. Beatport also sometimes uses aggregator — someone who distributes content, providing feedback and then hand the music to a web portal such as Beatport who then figures out the best way to position the music on their website. The aggregator scenario is not an ideal scenario; some are only content delivery while others take the time to develop labels to push the music, which, of course, is an ideal scenario.
Jim Tremayne: What are ways that labels can promote and get their name out there? How do people know how to look for them? For example DJs need to market themselves such as connecting with fans; create a following in your community; start small and you (might) eventually get big.
Kevin Greene chimed in and offered that above all else, the music filters itself out, and the main thing is to promote your music as much as you can in order to get it out there. When you’re small, give your music out [at such networking events such as DJ Expo or Winter Music Conference] because invariably, you’ll go farther if your music marketed well and not just that but that it’s good and sounds great.
Jim Tremayne posed a question to Paul Gadbois when he asked him what is the best way to get a performance out of an artist?
Paul said that as a producer, he likens his role as a coach and tries to instill confidence and a support structure that makes them feel comfortable so that they can come in and do their job. You don’t want to be a dream stealer; let them learn that on their own because while not everybody that sings is a singer.
Josh Harris’ approach likes a singer to be rehearsed. He doesn’t believe in rehearsing on the microphone unless it’s a writing session. And if the singer is physically capable of doing it, he prefers the singer to sing through the song from start to finish, maybe 5 or 6 times because Josh likes to be able to close his eyes and listen to the song from start to finish and have it feel like it’s one complete take because he’s not interested in hearing any edits, punches, changes in the vocals.
Interestingly, I was a bit surprised to learn from Josh that some artists have been known to get nervous when they see that the record light is illuminated in the studio. Well, actually I imagined that that sort of thing happens but I would’ve thought that that happens more on a stage in front of hundreds if not thousands of fans. Therefore sometimes going with the warm-up take winds up being the best take because if an artist doesn’t know if they’re being recorded they usually tend to be a little bit more relaxed but that also comes from not making the environment stressful, as Josh went on to say.
In summary: this business is about trial and error. See what works for you based on your personality but you cannot get by without reaching out and networking. Be prepared to fail but be ready to heed the call when you do make it and take advantage of every situation, taking things both in stride as well as rolling with the punches. The “P” word for last year and I’m going to assume of DJ Expo’s past, the word perseverance and its brother determination are two words that can be the bane of your existence or your savior. All of us have an inherent talent but it’s how you identify that talent; believe in yourself and learn to tap into that belief and that will ultimately prove or not, whether you have the mettle to go the distance in the Dance Music industry (or anything in life, for that matter). Like the chorus from that Chumbawamba song, “Tubthumping” goes, ‘I get knocked down but I get up again…’ And then there’s a favorite quote from a t-shirt that my parents had given to me when I was little that says: ‘Do what you love, love what you do, and the world will come to U.’
Posted August 2009.
