Inspiration

Things that other do or did and made an impact. (see also http://novadeviator.tumblr.com for another stream of inspirations)

Reid Speed: EDM vs. Underground

”

Music is for everyone, but the unique thing we sought to create with dance music was a dark yet vibrant space where artists and punters alike were free to create and express their souls without judgement, a place to change the discussion, not regurgitate the same old (often negative and empty) stereotypes. The experience itself was the star, the magic happened in the symbiosis between DJ or artist and the dancers who came to create their own self-expressions in response to this flow of love. Only those who were really good – DJs, producers, and promoters- MAYBE got to profit off their talents (maybe not, but profit was never the motive). Only people doing real work got what little money there was. Sure, there were sketchy raves thrown by shady promoters whose lineups didn’t deliver.No underground is without flaw. But the majority of the scene was there for the pure joy and love the music brought us. Today, many a festival has traded this authentic experience for a commodity that can be purchased, consumed, and discarded with about as much thought as a we give a plastic water bottle. And sure, most underground cultures historically have been co-opted in similar manners. But the scene we built was not a corporate cash cow for an elite business class who profited handsomely at the expense of the skilled but less-well-marketed. It was a true supply and demand culture of talent and appreciation. I firmly believe real artists deserve to make a fair living off their art.But when so much of “what sells” in EDM today is just marketing at work, and when what is being sold is often not even made by the person who collects the paycheck for maybe not even really playing the show, we have a serious disconnect at play. Do YOU really want that? Do YOU really want to see more ghost-produced button pushers winning because they have the biggest marketing budget? Or would you prefer to see authentic artists reaping the benefits of their talents? The choice is ours.”

— Reid Speed Perfectly Sums Up The EDM vs. Underground Debate With One Image

techgnosis

“[Leroy] Smart [(DJ SS)…] got closer than anyone to achieving the kind of techgnosis that many electronic musicians aim for: to disappear completely into the music, acting merely as a spirit guide for its relentless flow of machine-sourced sound.”

— Derek Walmsley on DJ SS (The Wire 376, June 2015)

Why 2015 is the Year of Community Not Competition

[…] What is it about the music industry that fills us with such self-doubt, we feel upset when other artists succeed instead of optimistic? What is so broken about the indie music scene that we literally laugh off the idea of making money? Of all of us finding success instead of a chosen few?

[…] At the end of the day the only thing I’m sure of is this: Community is my antidote for cynicism. Social media and networking groups have changed my life in the last year, mainly because I let them. Putting myself out there like the new kid at school, with no expectations and no real plan, has given me the faith in myself that I struggled to find for years.

Community not competition is my motto for the year. I hope you’ll join me.

via Guest Post by Rorie Kelly: Why 2015 is the Year of Community Not Competition – CyberPR Music | CyberPR Music.

potential futures for sound publishing and distribution

This development is exciting, revealing potential futures for sound publishing and distribution away from the download culture and immediacy of the worldwide archive of sound towards a more personal interaction delivered by post and performed by the listener. Thus the future of sound curation, so hotly debated this year, could lie in sculptural works of sound, texts and images that entice participation and instruct my listening through a tangible materiality and a physical presence.

In this jouissance of the material thing, there’s the danger of fetishism: that as we abandon the repository online we might start an archive of objects offline instead, their beautiful feel and touch requiring not my listening but inviting their preservation by leaving them unperformed and mute. But if we keep an performing what we hear, see and read, and engage with the aesthetic of the craft by crafting a listening response, we might just avert this fate and instead fast forward to a future where work is savoured in its materiality by performing its process while touching and singing its words.

— Salomé Voegelin, Papering Over The Cracks, The Wire (Jan 2015)

Build that machine

“How can you make money? Don’t worry about money. That comes after you have an audience, which comes after you learn how to make beautiful things.

“Hobby Artists” (people who don’t make a living from their art) have a very idyllic view about art and money. They think artists should never work with brands, that money and art should be separate, that art should live in purity inside a vacuum. That’s why they’re not professional artists. Professional artists constantly live at the intersection of art and money. Making money is half their job. Being a professional artist is 50% making art, 50% building a machine whose input is art and whose output is money. Half your job is to build that machine. It’s different for everyone, it will take a long time. Have low overhead. Be lean. Use what you have. Reuse it.”

— Jack Conte, via TechCrunch

Kaskade: Free The Music

[…]

When I signed with Ultra, I kissed goodbye forever the rights to own my music. They own it. And now Sony owns them. So now Sony owns my music. I knew that going in. Soundcloud is beholden to labels to keep copyright protected music (read: all music put out by a label, any label) off their site unless authorized by the label. Am I authorized to post my music? Yep. Does their soulless robot program know that? Not so much. So some stuff they pulled was mistakenly deleted, but some tracks were absolutely rule breakers. The mash ups. (Read about those little beauties in “Politicking of a Mash Up”.) I post mash ups mainly because I don’t need to keep these things tucked under my pillow, pulling out my little Precious only to be played at gigs. You want to hear it? Grab it. Like it? Great. The end.

But the labels, they aren’t feeling this approach so much.

There’s always been this cagey group of old men who are scared to death of people taking their money. Back in the day, they were upset that the technology existed to record onto cassette tapes directly from the radio. “What! (Harumph!) Why will people buy music if they can just pull it out of the air?!” Yet, people still bought music. Because it was more accessible. Because more people were exposed. Because Mikey played it for Joey on the corner and then Joey had to have it. It’s music, and we buy what we love. We can’t love music we haven’t heard.

Innovation helps the music industry. The industry only needs to make the effort to keep up and adapt. Make no mistake: exposing as many people as possible to music – all music – is a good thing. Everyone wins. The artist, the audience, even the old guys who just want some more cash.

The laws that are governing online music share sites were written at a time when our online and real-life landscapes were totally different. Our marching orders are coming from a place that’s completely out of touch and irrelevant. They have these legal legs to stand on that empower them to make life kind of a pain-in-the-ass for people like me. And for many of you. Countless artists have launched their careers though mash ups, bootlegs, remixes and music sharing. These laws and page take-downs are cutting us down at the knees.
And yo, musicians definitely need knees.

We have moved beyond the exhausting notion that our greedy hands need to hold onto these tunes so tightly. The world just doesn’t work like that anymore. I’d happily parse out the pieces of every song I’ve made for others to use. Remix that. Use that. Think you could do it better? Show me. It’s laughable to assert that someone is losing money owed to them because I’m promoting music that I’ve written and recorded. Having the means to expose music to the masses is a deft tool to breathe new life into and promote a song. It’s the most compelling advertising, really.

But it’s more than advertising. It’s sharing. If a person likes one song, then you know what’s likely to happen? They’ll press the download arrow and own it for free. You won’t believe what happens next! They become familiar with the artist, and seek out other material. Maybe they buy that. Maybe they talk about it online. Maybe they go to a show. Maybe they simply become a fan and tell a friend.

I’m cool with that. The labels should be too. It’s exactly what they’re trying to accomplish by funneling endless money for Facebook Likes, Twitter trending hashtags, and totally ridiculous impotent advertising campaigns. Let the people have the music. Or, to put it in language that makes more sense for the ones who can only speak dollar bill – Free the music, and your cash will follow.

(via thisisadynasty.tumblr.com/post/87945465547/brb-deleting-soundcloud)

 

10 things you should NEVER say during presentations

At our TNW Conferences we see a lot of presentations and I have given a fair share of presentations myself. I often see people making the same mistakes and cringe when I hear the same excuses or basic errors when people get on stage.

The easiest way to lose an audience is to make a mistake in the first minute, and that is exactly where most mistakes are made. Here is my list of 10 things you shouldn’t say during presentations:

1: I’m very jet-lagged/tired/hungover

Not sure where this comes from but one in five presentations at any conference will start with an excuse. ‘They only invited me yesterday’, ‘I’m really tired from my trip’ or another lame excuse that the audience really doesn’t want to hear. We, the audience, just want to see you give it your best. If you feel like shit and can’t give it your best than maybe you should’ve cancelled. Take a pill, drink an espresso and kill it!

2: I’ll get back to that later

If you happen to stumble upon an audience that is eager to learn and interact you should always grab that chance and enjoy it. If someone has a question that you will address in a later slide just skip to it right away! If someone is brave enough to raise their hand and ask you a question you should compliment them and invite the rest of the audience to do the same. Don’t delay anything.

3: Can you hear me? Yes you can!

This is how a lot of people start their talk. They will tap a microphone three times, shout ‘can you all hear me in the back’ and then smile apologetic when it becomes clear that, yes, everybody can hear you but nobody raises their hands.

It isn’t your responsibility to check the audio. There will be people for that. If you speak into the microphone and you get the impression that it’s not working, just relax, count to three, and try again. If you still think the sound isn’t working just calmly walk to the edge of the stage and discreetly ask the moderator to check for you. Smile at the audience and look confident. Assume it all works until the opposite has been proven, then stay calm and wait for a fix.

4: I can’t see you because the lights are too bright

Yes, when you are on stage the lights are bright and hot and it will be difficult to see the audience. But they don’t have to know about all that. Just stare into the dark, smile often and act like you feel right at home on there. Feel free to walk into the audience if you want to see them up close. Don’t cover your eyes to see people but politely ask the lights people to turn on the lights in the room if you plan to count hands or ask the audience a question. Even better, talk to the lights people in advance so they are prepared when you are going to ask them.

5: Can you read this?

The common rule is to make the font size on your slides twice the size of the average age of the audience. Yes, that means that if you expect the audience to be 40 on average you are stuck with a font size of 80 points. You won’t be able to fit a lot of text on the slide that way, which is a good thing, and brings us to the next point.

tnw conference 730x331 10 things you should NEVER say during presentations

6: Let me read this out loud for you

Never ever, ever, ever in a million years add so much text on a slide that people will spend time reading it. And if you do, make damn sure you don’t read it out loud for them! The best way to lose your audiences attention is to add text to a slide. Here’s what will happen when you have more than four words on a slide; people will start reading it. And what happens when they read it? They will stop listening to you!

Only use short titles on your presentations and memorize the texts you want them to read. Or, if you MUST include an awesome three-sentence quote, announce that everybody should read the quote, then shut up for six seconds so they can actually read it.

7: Shut off your phone/laptop/tablet

Once upon a time you could ask an audience to shut off their devices. That was a long time ago. Now people tweet the awesome quotes you produce or take notes on their iPads. Or they play solitaire or check Facebook. Times change. You can ask if people turn their phones to silent mode but apart from that you just have to make sure that your talk is so incredibly inspiring people will close their laptops because they don’t want to miss a second of it. Demanding their attention is just not going to work.

8: No need to write anything down or take photos, the presentation will be online later

It is really cool that you will upload your presentation later. But if it’s a good presentation it won’t contain too many words (see point 4) and it won’t be of much use to them. For a lot of people writing something down is just an easy way to memorize something you’ve said. The act of writing down a sentence also embeds it in your brain and who knows, they might be really inspired and come up with something they’ve heard in between your lines that might change their business. Allow people to do whatever they want during your presentations.

9: Let me answer that question right away

Of course it is awesome if you answer a question right away, but you need to do something else first! Very often the question from an audience member will be very clear to you but not to the rest of the audience. So please say “I’ll repeat that question first so everybody hears it and THEN I will answer it”. Make it a habit to repeat questions also because the extra time it takes to repeat it gives you extra time to think about an awesome answer.

10: I’ll keep it short

This is a promise nobody ever keeps. But a lot of presentations are started that way! The audience really doesn’t care if you keep it short or not. They’ve invested their time and just want to be informed and inspired. Tell them “This presentation is going to change your life” or “This presentation is scheduled to take 30 minutes, but I’ll do it in 25 minutes so you can go out and have a coffee earlier than expected.”. Now all you have to do is keep that promise, which brings me to the last point.

Bonus tip: What, I’m out of time? But I have 23 more slides!

If you come unprepared and need more time than you are allowed you’ve screwed up. You need to practice your presentation and make it fit within the allotted time-slot. Even better, end five minutes early and ask if anyone has questions, and if they don’t invite them for a coffee to talk one-on-one. Giving an audience five minutes back will earn their respect and gratitude. Taking an extra five will annoy and alienate them.

Conclusion: come prepared, be yourself and be professional. The audience will love you for being clear, serious and not wasting their time.

I wrote a follow up post to this one titled “10 Ingredients for the perfect presentation” which you will surely also like.

(via The Next Web)

Emily Bick: drive to partition, modularise and automate music making

It’s unlikely that improvisation, or collaboration, or composition as we know them in all their spasmodic and messy glory are going anywhere soon. But the ceaseless drive to partition, modularise and automate music making – under the guise of profit and efficiency – destroys its basis in lived, shared experience that makes music fundamentally human.

— Emily Bick, in Collateral Damage, The Wire 366, August 2014