mistrustmusic's posterous http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com Most recent posts at mistrustmusic's posterous posterous.com Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:43:07 -0700 You should watch this video http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/you-should-watch-this-video http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/you-should-watch-this-video I know that I said that I was moving my blog over to my main website, www.mistrustmusic.co.uk but seeing as though some people are still reading my posts on here and have maybe subscribed via newsfeeds etc., I'm going to carry on posting here  for a while. However, I'm probably only going to post small excerpts on here and the full version on my main blog. Hopefully, then you'll get used to my new blog and start following me there! So here goes... You should watch this video.... Without repeating exactly what Ian Shepherd wrote on his production advice website, you should really watch this video. I can't really write much about it that will really do it justice, so it's probably a good idea if you just watch it first - like I did - and then see what you think about it. As Ian says on his own blog, there's more to it than first appears. The real message will "shock, surprise and move you." [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSO_d1svtfU] Click here to read the rest of this post and more on mistrustmusic.co.uk

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Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:38:06 -0800 Reality check for a bedroom musician http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/reality-check-for-a-bedroom-musician http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/reality-check-for-a-bedroom-musician Well, I've certainly had it coming to me!At last someone in the music industry telling me how it really is. Giving me an honest opinion about my music and production skills. Or actually, limited production skills. Nice tune, shame about the production.  I finally got to meet someone from the record company that let me do a few remixes for their bands. The remixes massively raised my profile and gave me a big confidence booster, and really made me think about my own tunes and how I can improve them. However, the opinion is that I really need to get some feedback and a second opinion when I'm making some tracks. Someone to bounce ideas off in terms of mixing and production, either alongside me or on the web, before I send in a remix or put any more tracks on the web if I'm doing anything more than saying "I'm just doing this for fun. Get back on the forums and read up on "production". I could release stuff on the web, free of course, and say "Hope you like the tune, but don't mind the production." I guess if I'm honest with myself, it's ok putting out tracks on Myspace but when I'm making them for someone else to release or who has a reputation to keep, I really need to get the production-side of things sorted. Probably needed the advice and the objective comments, as I've probably been living in cloud cuckoo land or splendid isolation for a while.  After doing a couple of remixes I've done that had commercial releases, one of which made it onto a proper remix cd, I'd probably started to believe the hype. I guess that when a musician or a band starts to sell a few CDs or gets some radio airplay, they just carry on thinking that everything's coming up roses. So, the advice is that I should pick out a few of the many unfinished tracks I have sitting on the laptop, and really work hard of getting them to sound right. I'm not looking to get signed by a label. Just doing it as a hobby, for fun, but I have an incentive to get it right and to stop messing around, coming with millions of ideas and not finishing anything. An incentive. A very good incentive. I was a bit downhearted when I got the comments and feedback, but I did ask for an honest opinion! So, if there are any bands and musicians out there and you get some honest opinions about your tunes or production techniques that knock you back, take it on the chin, pick yourself up, getting working to improve what you're doing!

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Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:04:06 -0700 A career in music? http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/a-career-in-music http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/a-career-in-music I've always wanted a job in music, maybe as a pop star or producer (only kidding), but resigned myself a long time ago to the fact that it would never happen. I've been working in education for the last 12 years, and recently started doing a lot of e-learning stuff, which involves audio and video production, so thought it's probably the nearest I'd ever get to put my music tech skills and general musical knowledge to some use. However, that may change in the near future, and I may actually get my career in music after all. I've had an interview at a university where they want someone to become the e-learning subject specialist in their music library, which covers both general music stuff and music technology. They have quite a lot of professional music people teaching there, both composers and producers, so it would be an ideal chance to learn more about that side of things, and hopefully improve my own music and production skills. Of course, a lot of you on here probably already have the ideal music career, but I'm interested in technology, music, and how the two work to not only make music but promote it too. Sounds ideal to me! The only problem now is I have to wait to see if I've got the job......

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Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:41:28 -0700 Ning not Facebook or Myspace http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/ning-not-facebook-or-myspace http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/ning-not-facebook-or-myspace I've just signed up to a new "social network" for music technology and production people, run by Music Tech magazine in the UK. Called MTM Studio Net,  it says that it's

the place for producers, engineers and recording musicians to showcase their music and share production ideas.

So far, about 70 people have signed up in only a few days, probably people who read the magazine, but it looks like a worthwhile place to get some new ideas about making music and for people to hear my tracks. It's probably the sort of place to be if you don't want the hassle of Facebook or Myspace, and is part of the broader Ning umbrella where people can set up their own personal "social network". If you want to join MTM's Ning, head over to: http://musictechmag.ning.com/ Anyone else come across any other "social networks" for music technology or production that I can add to my blogroll?

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Thu, 03 May 2007 11:11:55 -0700 All the world's an MP3 stage http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/all-the-worlds-an-mp3-stage http://mistrustmusic.posterous.com/all-the-worlds-an-mp3-stage I've been thinking about the number of music hosting sites and MP3 directories that I have my music on. Most of them are free-to-download places where people can just have my tracks for nothing. I started off in late 2004 by choosing just one site - Electromancer.com, which is now no more, just because I lacked confidence about my music and it seemed like a good place to start when I'd never even considered putting my music out to the public. In fact, even though Electromancer closed down last year, a lot of the artists are still active on the forums of another site, Nervejam, and are still as friendly and supportive as ever. I got a bit more confident after getting some great reviews, thinking that more people might give me a listen, so I followed links and recommendations about other hosting sites, signed up to 2 or 3, and waited for the plays to roll in. Then I started chasing more sites and more plays, until I had tracks on about 1o or 15 sites. I've now lost track (and usernames/passwords) of most of those sites, and still get the occasional email from them, saying someone has posted a comment. A quick check on google as to which sites I'm on offers up 94 links for "mistrust music site" and 30 for "never alone mistrust" (my first track from 2004). I still see the same old faces on all these hosting sites, desperately looking for more plays, trading reviews, asking if the rolloff should be at 40Hz or 20, continually producing new tracks in the hope of what? Getting signed by an independent label? How many of them trawl the unsigned band pages looking for new talent?  I don't mean any disrespect to all these unsigned artists, if that's what they're happy doing. It's just that I have got the time any more to keep making tracks, posting reviews, etc. I've thought about uploading my music to loads of other MP3 hosts, especially the ones that have been recommended by music magazines, just to get a few more people interested, by right now, what's the point? I've got a blog, a myspace profile, and somewhere to host a few tracks. I've been featured on a local radio show and played by a few DJs. That's probably all I need. I've signed a non-exclusive deal with a music library, so it's not a bad life. Here's some homework you, dear reader: How many websites am I listed on for "mistrust mp3" at google? Answers in the comments box, please! Don't forget to listen to some of my tracks... 

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