West Midland Music Scene

We don’t all like the same kind of music. The tastes for different kinds of music are centered within different datum of society.
For the musicians to market their music to the entire world, internet can be a radical tool. It sounds pretty gentle than acted. It is vile to say that a good album will be famous, whoever makes it. Music doesn’t deal itself unless it’s being noticed by the grapevine.

Music Niche

Getting his music noticed on the web is a huge problem for a musician because there’s a whopping amount of people crating prime music. Recording and music production instruments are getting less costly and more pocket-sized day by day. The quality of music software is heightening with the advancement of computer oomph. It’s been more about having what it takes to make professional sounding music rather to having skill. Everybody’s thinking about giving their music a world market because everybody is having access to the internet. So what can be the best way out?

The inventive fix is niche marketing. It’s all about marketing music to a blue-ribbon group that should have interest in it. For example choosing rock niche and being more specific to be confined to a certain age group and promoting music to those people through articles and blogs can be a good practice. It can be more innovative marketing if music is made basing on mood and certain time of the day: music of sunrise for example. Once a niche is well-chosen, the next step is making websites and blogs and getting search ranking for that word. Once all these efforts are made then the specific group will get to know about the offered music and it will be favorable for music sales.

Niche marketing is no doubt targeting a tiny area but an overpoweringly huge domain of customers. Limiting in area implies limiting competition and sashaying to the front of all the throng of other musicians.

To get good search rank for blogs and websites, efforts should be made on trying to write good articles about the specific niche and getting quality links in to the website. But the articles should be newer ones and should be based on completely new concepts. Choosing a good niche for targeting with the music is the crux of all and then being creative.

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Sell Music Online

Ever since its inception to almost every home, the internet has been used as a tool to get publicity. As a musician, you may find it very useful to utilize this properly to get what you want- gigs, record deals and so on. While you can consider selling your music from your own site, it will be easier to get noticed if you sell music online through a community or a retailed CD site, preferably mainstream.

One of the biggest choices out there will be Apple and Amazon. The sale of digital albums grew by 56% in 2009, with 98% of the singles market going into the paid section. Now, there can be two ways of going at this. One of them would be to get a deal with a major record label and have them put your music up the internet, through these websites. The publicity through this angle will depend on the fame of the record label itself, which means signing up with a big label gets you places, obviously. The amount you earn, in this case however, might be lesser than you would have hoped for. The reason for this being the label will act as the middle-man, taking a cut out of whatever you will earn. The way to get around this, if you are looking to earn more off of your music, would be going at it alone- a long and lonely journey, or going through a wide range of intermediates that don’t really cut into the commission part too much. It may sometimes be seen that these intermediates will sometimes cater to only a certain genre or put you through to just one site. However, most such companies are open-minded and will accept newcomers, if the band can or has proved their mettle. DashGo is one service that Amazon recommends to independent artists to help them get noticed on the Amazon playlists. Although it may be hard to spot the right deals in the mesh of all them all, you may appreciate the fact that break-even is quite low. For example, if an intermediary asks for 40$ for a one-album promotion and sell the album at 8$ a CD, you break even if you just sell one album per month. For more tips you can check this site, it’s Zimbalam – a UK music distribution agency.

All the prices and the offers may seem delectable, but the end of the day, as the owner of artistic property, you must be careful about the rights you have over your own work. Take care on the documentations and always make sure that whatever happens, you will be the sole owner of your music at the end of the day. Take time to understand the legal issues and also learn about stuff like EAN, ISRC and UPC numbers, they are vital to each album. Also note that regardless of your wishes, music sold online will always be sold in a MP3 format. All this said, keeping abreast with all the latest trends of selling music online and being your biggest fan yourself will get you places, maybe finally up on that stage you always dreamt of performing on!

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Digital piano is also known as electric piano, digital pianos use sound chips and speakers to reproduce piano sounds (recorded notes from a real piano) they are increasingly becoming more popular in these technology age.

If you want to bring the joy of music into your home you should consider getting a great digital piano! An electric piano can now rival the best grand pianos in sound quality as digital pianos sound and feel very close to an acoustic piano. The digital piano can sound like an acoustic piano by using digitally recorded piano sounds called samples, which are then played through electronic amplifiers and speakers when a button is pressed.

It’s a great purchase for the modern musician. The electronic keyboards are perfect for playing other than piano sounds, attractive sounds for classical, jazz , rock, pop, instrumental music and lots more. Electric piano – www.mannsmusic.co.uk usually have several voices, they come with different types of piano sounds and sounds of other instruments, a key is played you can sound like a harpsichord, organ and more.

Digital piano keyboard can be easily moved due to its portability; it can be connected to another sound system; and can be use to record music using computer software. It’s also great for privacy as it has the ability to use headphones so as not to disturb the neighbor.

However, with the great benefit attached with digital pianos, digital piano sound will always be electronic and never sound as good as the real action.  Also a digital piano depreciates more quickly as the technology improves just like computers.  An acoustic piano can hold its value for years but electric pianos are often replaced by newer model with more features.

The pianist controls the sound by how he controls the movement of the keys. In an acoustic piano, the keys actually move the piano hammer to strike the strings thus producing the sound. But electrical pianos have no strings, no piano hammers, and no dampers that are activated by the motion of the keys. Which give it short for the pianist to have control over the sound of the piano so making it difficult to interpret piano pieces accurately.

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Girls dancing with fishnet stockings

Music bands need to create an identity for themselves not only through the type of music they play but also in the manner they appear to the outside world. This has always been important as they play at concerts, get videos shot and in general need to adopt a look that best represents the music they play.

Images of Madonna cavorting in fishnet stockings and dancing sexily in a couple of videos have also made many music groups adopt similar styles to appear glamorous and attractive. Many young punk groups into gothic music have taken to the black color for their wardrobe as well as even makeup to complement the black fishnet stockings and that combination works for some, while for others it does not quite measure up.

The actual origin of these fishnet stockings continue to be debated. Some say that they were initially only worn only by prostitutes and bar dancers, while others aver that this came into style due to many actresses wearing them in the decade of the forties and fifties. There is however no doubt that these gothic music indeed look very sexy and very few men are not attracted to them.

Coming to music bands adopting them; it depends on the kind of image the band wants to project about themselves. Marketing of the music band is such an important and necessary activity nowadays thanks to wide exposure through live concerts, cable television and other such live events, that music bands cannot afford to neglect the way they wish to appear or the image they wish to create in their fans.

The use of fishnet stockings need not always be seen as a reflection of the sexy nature of the music band. You can have good recreational music also and yet have a nice young girl wearing fishnet stockings. It is the manner in which you present your act on stage or the way in which the music videos are shot that determines the look of the band and the image you wish to portray.

Such seductive clothing can be bought either online or by visiting famous stores who regularly stock them. They have staff well versed about the fit, style and trend that is in vogue and are the best persons to advise you on what would suit your band. These stores also have a returns policy which is free of cost so that you can go for any change you feel is required.

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If you’re an unsigned band the chances are you are looking for exposure, a way to gain industry advice, and some way of earning money out of what you’re doing.

Building your online presence is essential if you want to get recognized and taken seriously by labels and industry professional. This means developing a large following on Myspace, Facebook and getting your YouTube videos as popular as possible. If you manage to get a label to check you out taking these steps will ensure they will have no option but to take notice and give you a chance.

One new platform to help British musicians get noticed is a site called 1Click2Fame. This site acts as a online competition for unsigned bands to compete for popularity, big cash prizes, and industry advice. The last winner of the quarterly boot camp competition was a band called Euphoria Audio. They took home a cool £25,000 which helped them record an album at a top recording studio in Norway. Yearly winner Lucie Evans won £100,000 which helped her record an album and video in L.A, build a website and start making her way in the industry.

1Click2Fame has a number of star coaches within the site that interact and support competitors. They also provide one to one coaching sessions with the top performers.

These include:

• Kate Prince – Founder of ZooNation and choreographer for ‘Into the Hoods’
• Stevie Lange – Vocal coach to The Sugababes, Girls Aloud, Jamie Cullam and many more
• Alex Donelly – Former senior president of EMI.

If you are in an unsigned band and are looking make your big break maybe this is the opportunity you have been waiting for. The site is completely free to sign up to. Simply upload your best video, promote yourself like mad and wait for the votes to pour in.

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It may have been in America that early jazz or ‘jass’ music was first forged but Britain adopted the music lovingly and Birmingham played it’s part in this dance craze.

Pioneers of modern jazz

Two of the earliest jazz players were Ronnie Ball and Douglas “Dougle” Robinson, both born in the city during the 1920′s. Ronnie was a successful pianist and a stalwart of the early scene. Douglas played alto sax, clarinet and flute and performed with jazz legends Bert Ambrose, Tito Burns, Teddy Joyce and Ronnie Scott.

Tony Kinsey from Sutton Coldfield is a composer arranger and musical director. Tony and Ronnie Ball, gained great recognition in London as two of the earliest British “modern Jazz” pioneers. Tony played local gigs with pianist Ronnie and later received drum tuition in New York from Cozy Cole. He regularly led his own quintet accompanying visiting American stars including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Oscar Peterson, Ben Webster and Harry “Sweets Edison. Tony also played with John Dankworth, Ronnie Scott, Tommy Whittle, Tubby Hayes and Arnold Ross and has recently been awarded the Worshipful Company’s Senior Jazz Medal for his contribution to jazz.

The only Ronnie Scotts outside London

Rock ruled Brum in the 60′s and early 70′s but jazz still found it’s place amongst psychedelic and progressive fusion bands such as Galliard and Ghost. During the 70′s BBC’s Pebble Mill studios sometimes scheduled popular trad artists of the time such as Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball and Cleo Lane for live shows. The 1980′s gave rise to Nick Millward, (of Kenny Ball’s “Jazzmen”), and King Pleasure & The Biscuit Boys who formed in nearby Walsall. The band are now one of the most popular jazz and swing bands in The World.

Jazz continued to simmer on a low heat, with the West Midlands favouring more acid jazz grooves which were popular with revelers at nights like Brothers & Sister and Fungle Junk. Since the demise of Ronnie Scott’s on Broad Street, Birmingham’s venues have been thin on the ground. Jazz is fighting back in full reprise though. New venues and home grown talent are standing up heralding an exciting future for jazz  funk devotees in the region.

Nu Jazz, Acid Jazz and Jazz Funk?

New contemporaries of Birmingham include Perry Hemus of Woodland records, multi instrumentalist Sowetto Kinch, Gilles Peterson acclaimed Sugarbeats, soulfull singers Chrissy van Dyke, Lupa and Lizzy Parkes, rap funksters Munchbreak, and fellow West Midlanders Will Holland (Quantic) and Russ Porter who now reside in Brighton. Other tasty tunesmiths are Central City Groove, Silverchét, Julian Argüelles, Toyin Kinch, Tim Amann and Alan Davies. Members of Cantaloop study at the Conservatoire and Unity Gain Theory collaborates with Wayne Lotek of Roots Manuva fame, The Walsall Jazz Orchestra also play Brumside.

Many distinguished musicians coast their way through Birmingham’s Conservatoire for professional tuition and the possibility of a rewarding future in Jazz. Other local organisations to “jazz it up” include Birmingham Improvisers Orchestra (BIO), Birmingham Jazz, Big Bear Music Group, BASS music, UKvibe.org and the Birmingham Jazz Festival.

Venues in the city comprise: The Yardbird, for international performers and DJ nights ‘Foundation’ and ‘Funk Box’, the Medicine bar, home to ’Leftfoot’ hosted by Different Drummer records, The Rainbow, presenting ‘Bam Bam’ and ‘Munchbreak’ (with live band), The Cross and Bull’s Head in Moseley, The Jam House and The Boiler Room in the Jewellery Quarter, The Mac at Cannon Hill Park, Atticus in Bearwood, The Drum (home to live box) in Aston and CBSO, Waterworks & NIA in the city centre.

Gilles Peterson, Sowetto Kinch and the Town Hall

An exciting prospect for Birmingham’s jazz scene is the reopening of the 18th century Town Hall which was home to Birmingham’s classical Triennial Festival that spanned over one hundred years, not to mention performances by the Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Bob Dylan and The Beatles. The Town Hall was also a stage for jazz. A live CD box set “Boppin’ With Scott” is available, with two performances recorded in 1948 by an ensemble including: John Dankworth, Ronnie Scott, Jimmy Skidmore, Bernie Fenton, Jack Fallon and Carlo Krahmer.

An impressive line up has been penciled in for the two week long reopening festival in October 2007. Saxophonist Andy Hamilton moved to Brum from Jamaica in 1948 and has since performed along side many jazz greats and has entertained ever since his first musical instrument – a “sax” made from bamboo. Andy will be playing for audiences in the Town Hall as will his saxy friend Sowetto Kinch. Other acts to watch out for during the festival include Ruby Turner (who now supports Jules Holland), Sugarbeats band, Kurt Elling, Cleveland Watkiss and acid jazz pioneer Gilles Peterson.

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