mistrustmusic's posterous

Facebook | Let's get Vienna to number 1 on 11th APRIL!

If Rage Against the Machine and Delirious can do it, so can Ultravox!! Facebook | Let's get Vienna to number 1 on 11th APRIL!. Join the Facebook campaign to get Vienna by Ultravox to Number 1 in the UK charts... If you're not a Facebook user, you can find out more about the campaign and where to download Vienna here on the Official Ultravox website... Just to remind you.... [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJeWySiuq1I]

Filed under  //   UK   audio   blog   blogging   buzz   cd   delirious   download   entertainment   exposure   facebook   itunes   music   radio1   rage against the machine   ratm   twitter   ukcharts   ultravox   vienna   wordpress   yamaha  
Posted April 4, 2010

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!

Filed under  //   audio   bands   cd   comments   exposure   itunes   mixing   music   music production   production   remix  

Become a fan on Facebook

I've just published my own music page on Facebook so if you like my tunes or want to spread the word, why not become a fan! mistrust

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Promote your Page too Don't forget that you can listen to some of the tracks on the soundcloud music player here on my blog!

Filed under  //   audio   exposure   facebook   free mp3   music   soundcloud  

Youtube and other video sites driving web traffic

I'd guess that a lot of people have a video or two on Youtube, Google Video, and some of the many other video hosting sites. Out of those people, how many of them use the videos to drive web traffic to their own, or someone else's website? I've got a couple of the O'Neill surfing clips on Youtube. These are two of the sections that are used in the "Deep Blue Open 2005" promo film, featuring three of my tracks.  Since I uploaded them, I've have quite a lot of hits, but it doesn't seem to be driving a lot of traffic to my this blog or the mistrust music website. The videos are amongst quite a lot of other surfing videos so you'd think that people who watch those would follow the links to my music. Maybe not. There doesn't seem to be a lot written on the web about how to improve your traffic using Youtube etc. Maybe someone could suggest something. Following on from the last post - "The Colour Purple" - I can now report that I was featured artist of the week on a show on Purple Radio, which is the official radio station of the Big Chill organistion. The DJ, Ketsbaia, played three tracks, "Dubcrazy", "Painless Light" and "Distant Shores". I got a few nice comments from the DJ, and some support on the Big Chill Forum. My tracks were played alongside a lot of "A-list" bands, and seemed to hold up ok. He ran out of time to play a fourth track "Never Alone", but said that he liked it that much that he'd play it in a couple of weeks. As for other things... The "mistrust clan" went to Borth near Aberystwyth for a week in a caravan at the end of July. It's an old fishing village, which is very quiet and suited Paul (my stepson, who has PDD-NOS, and a massive social phobia, amongst other things). It started off as a complete disaster - pouring rain, burst car tyre, everyone worn out - but in the end we didn't want to come home. Lots of nice scenery and fresh air to inspire me to write some new tunes. I'll put some of the photos on Flickr soon. I'm in the middle of applying for a new job, and contemplating a move from the Manchester area to Yorkshire. Things are happening at work which mean I could be out of a job or at least being downgraded in the next two years, so the time is write to put my skills to better use. Besides that, the holiday proved how much Paul, and the other children, need to be nearer the countryside and aware from where we're currently living. If anyone reading this lives in the more scenic areas of West Yorkshire, please can you leave a comment saying if it's a nice place to live?

Filed under  //   ABer   Aberystwyth   Borth   artists   autism   autism and music   big chill   download   exposure   family   google   ketsbaia   mistrust   purple radio   youtube  

Zen and art of selling music

Some people have been asking where they can buy my music. Well, the simple answer is: you can't. It's all free to play/download over the internet. You can listen to it and download it, make your own compilation CDs from my tracks. As long as you don't sell it on or pass it on as youre own, I don't mind. I'm trying to get my music into film, tv, adverts, that sort of thing, so the more people who listen to it, maybe the more chance that some music supervisor somewhere will hear the tracks and want to use it. That's the idea.... "mistrust music" can be downloaded here: TV Tunes (10 tracks) at MusicFreedom (including: Dubcrazy, Paul the phone is ringing, All roads) Making Movies (8 tracks) on MusicFreedom (including: Never Alone, Happy Birthday) Making Movies EP on Nishi Netlabel Myspace If you prefer me to send you a physical CD, I can send one out to anywhere in the world for just a small price to cover printing, postage and packing, with either the list of tracks that are on MusicFreedom/Myspace or a "pick and mix" selection of your choice. Click here to contact me if you want a CD.... If anyone wants to use my music for film/tv/advert work etc., please click here to discuss your project with me. Have a look on Youtube for examples of my previous film work. I'm already signed to Candy Cover music library on a non-exclusive deal...

Filed under  //   artists   download   exposure   film music   free download   free mp3   google   independent   label   lastfm   mp3   music   music library   music licencing   music publishing  
Posted July 5, 2007

All the world's 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,

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Posted May 3, 2007

Music Licensing

Someone on the Big Chill forum that I occasionally visit wanted some advice about getting his music marketed through a music library and wondered if he had to sign up with MCPS and pay £100 for the privelege. As you may have read on here, I've recently signed a non-exclusive agreement with a major UK library, and haven't had to register with MCPS, so something doesn't add up if this chap has been told otherwise. As far as I'm aware, the agreement I signed sorts out pre-clearance for my tracks that the library is offering to film, tv, companies etc. In other words, if a few tv production companies hear of one my tracks on the music library's website and want to use it, there's no need to wait ages for them to send me an individual agreement for each programme, for me to check them, sign them and send them back, etc, before anyone can use them. From what I understand, the music library registers my track with MCPS (they get listed as the publisher), the production company requests a licence from MCPS website giving the catalogue number of my track, and the production company pays MCPS for the licence. MCPS (eventually) sends the licence fee (minus their admin fee) to the music library, which then pays me (minus their take - usually 50%). If anyone else is looking for advice on signing up with a music licence in the UK, have a look here at the MCPS production music guide, which even shows you the official rate card for different types of production (anything from about £20 to £000s). The music library should be registered with MCPS - if they're in the UK and not on this list, it's probably not worth dealing with them. If anyone from the USA or other countries is reading this and knows something about it in other countries, please let me know.

Filed under  //   UK   USA   band   big chill   blog   blogging   download   exposure   forum   ipod   law   legal   library   licence   license   mcps   music library   musician   news   performing   prs   psychology   read   rights   social networking   thoughts   unsigned  
Posted May 1, 2007

Looking for music blogs

I can't seem to find many musicians who are blogging. Maybe everyone's too busy making music or playing live to keep a diary or blog of what they're upto. What's the point in blogging anyway, you may say. If you're a musician, unsigned or not, please post a link to your blog and I'll have a read and see what you're upto. I'll even add you the my "recommended" list. I know that Moby blogs on his myspace page, that's about it as far as I know. I blog so that I can a) promote my own music to people who wouldn't normally listen to it; b) let my "fans" and other listeners know what I'm upto with my music; c) help other unsigned musicians get some extra exposure. If you're not blogging or using Web 2.0 tools and all the latest social networking sites, you're missing out on a lot of exposure. Even my stepson has a blog about his music. So, as I said, please let me know if you've got a blog, or if you know of any musical bloggers out there. In the meantime, here's one of my new tracks for you to download for free.... mistrust: Say your name (glitchmix)...... [audio http://moses.last.fm/download/100909046/Say%2Byour%2Bname%2528glitchmix%2529.mp3]

Filed under  //   Self-Promotion   band   blog   blogging   download   exposure   free   ipod   list   mistrust   moby   mp3   music   music library   musician   myspace   personal   podcast   podcasting   random   read   social networking   unsigned   web2.0