Music Streaming Services: An Overview

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Today I want to share with you a terrific infograph that I’ve found, and which covers all the music streaming services in existence. Well, all minus Google Music. For some reason, whoever compiled this decided to omit it. But other than that, everything’s been included – Spotify, Pandora, Last.fm, Turntable.fm… there’s even a corner explaining how Facebook might become a force to be reckoned with sooner than most people think.

And just in case you ever wonder how much musicians are paid whenever you stream a song of theirs, then just jump to the end of the infograph.

Struggle (Gino Tunessi) – Uruguayan Independent Artist

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

You don’t need to.

You don’t need to listen to Josh Ritter singing with his eyes dancing on a horizon of fire and brimstone “inside this gilded cage a songbird always looks so plain” to have an idea of the entrapments an artist has to avoid as he goes his way. You don’t need to walk on the bare hum of a stage night after night to understand how anxiety can first paralyze a performer, and then bring out the best on him. And you don’t need to be a creator to understand that the most compelling works come from the greatest struggles – struggles that pitch a person both against himself, and against the very plateaus he is set to conquer. You don’t need to sample one such struggle in the flesh to know how that feels, and the eventual statures it can let you reach. You don’t need to.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

And if you’re going to do it, then this album by Uruguayan artist Gino Tunessi is ideal. Not perfect. Ideal. Because it’s pure zeitgeist. It isn’t named like it’s named for nothing. Through a very personal story, it ends up speaking of the difficulties performers aiming to break through to larger audiences have to face nowadays. Its every note rings with the contradictions that arise from having something like the Internet to make your work publicly available, and the feeling which comes from failing to get the support needed to promote your music right on your homeland. And that’s a common story for people all over the world, of course. It happens in Uruguay, and it happens everywhere there are artists that have something to communicate.

Recorded in 2009 and issued in 2010, “Struggle” was written in its entirety by Gino and produced by Álvaro Sánchez. Gino also co-produced the album, and all instruments were played by him and Álvaro.

Gino Tunessi

On the whole, the sound of “Struggle” is gentle but it doesn’t lack bite. Acoustic instruments take center stage, and polite nods to artists such as Beck abound, with sound effects that end up playing a truly melodic role. Continue reading →

Mike Bishop (Record Together) – Interview (Part 2)

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Find below the second part of the interview with Mike Bishop from RecordTogether.com. This is where we talk about the artists he likes and his musical background. To learn more about Record Together itself, read the first part of this interview and the original blog post.

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?

The first album I purchased on my own was “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Consequently, it also became my favorite album. It was so scratched from being played there were only a few songs left that didn’t skip. The bass on that album was my biggest influence in learning how to play.

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

I’ve been playing in bands around the Twin Cities, Minnesota area since I was 12. I played in “Modern Day Supplement” for about 5 years, and then 6 years in a band called “Live From Heaven”. Here’s a clip from a Live From Heaven show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3BtCdklVLQ

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

I’m partial to rock music, but really enjoy anything with a groove. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rage Against the Machine, Garbage, Nine Inch Nails. I can usually find at least one thing to appreciate in all music. Continue reading →

Mike Bishop (Record Together) – Interview (Part 1)

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Another great interview for you, this time with Mike Bishop from Record Together. As you probably remember (the site was reviewed last month on MusicKO), RecordTogether.com lets you crowdsource the recording of individual tracks for your own songs. The site is really ingenious, as it lets you ask people in other parts of the world to record their parts in exchange for a bounty.

The interview has got two parts. The first is about the site itself, and you can read it below. The second is about Mike’s musical background and his favorite artists, and you can read it here.

Full Name: Mike Bishop
Age: 23
Startup: Record Together
Position: CEO

PART I

THE STARTUP

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

The idea came from some frustration I experienced trying to find studio musicians to collaborate with on recordings. I felt like there had to be an easier way to find a talented violin or pedal guitar player. That’s I think what makes it distinct, is that it’s the first free market on the internet for musical recording talent.

What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?

We have had 342 registered users since we launched in November of 2011 with over $100 paid out to musicians. The response has been much better than I had expected, and I’ve had a lot of people tell me they have wanted the same thing for a long time. Most of our traffic is coming from the United States and Canada. The has also been a lot of participation in England, Germany, and The Netherlands – pretty much all over.

What features can we expect to see implemented in future revisions?

More social networking features and an easier to use interface. There isn’t really anything that I have to model this off of, so I am always looking for ways to make this easier to use. I would also like more in depth tutorials for getting high quality recording results. Continue reading →

New Releases Now! – All The Latest Music Releases

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Name: New Releases Now!
URL: http://www.newreleasesnow.com

The Internet makes it dead easy to discover new music, right as it’s become available. And the way things stand right now, you don’t even need to subscribe to lots of different sites to stay on the loop. There’s services that can do all the hard work for you. New Releases Now! (NRN) is one of these.
Presented by Almighty Music Marketing (a company that’s been devoted to the promotion of music ever since 1995), NRN is constantly updated with the latest music releases, and every imaginable genre is covered. Rock, pop, metal, punk, country, synth pop, cajun/zydeco, neo soul… All in all, over sixty different genres are included. And you can find more than music through this site, as NRN also keeps track of comedy albums.

The site features the most recent releases on its homepage, and you can find both the newest albums and songs using a simple search tool. And you’re also given the option to browse entries by genre and by release date. If it’s a new release, you’ll find it. In all cases, titles come with iTunes and Amazon “Buy” buttons, and a “Find A Retailer” widget that lets you locate the nearest points of sale. Continue reading →

Mickey Richardson (Share My Guitar) – Interview (Part 2)

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

This is the second half of the interview with Mickey Richardson from ShareMyGuitar.com, and if you liked the first part then I’m sure you’ll enjoy it from start to finish. Mickey gets to talk about the music he’s been inspired by, and all of his favorite artists.

It must be said that he’s got an excellent taste in music. Read on, I’m certain that if you check MusicKO regularly you’ll find he’s keen on the very same artists that you love.

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?

I have been interested in music for as far back as I can remember. My parents had an old piano in the house. I gravitated to the piano and taught myself to play by ear. Then around 13 years of age I acquired a drum kit and messed around for a few years before migrating to the bass guitar. I played bass for many years and joined a bunch of bands that gigged all over Los Angeles and Orange County. Listening to music, playing and creating original music has always been very important to me. Funny enough it wasn’t until I started SMG that I really ever even tried playing guitar!

The first album I can remember purchasing was Van Halen’s “1984” on vinyl from a record store called “Best Records” in Simi Valley, California. But before that, I would listen to my Dad’s old records. I remember listening to stuff like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John, various Beatles albums and all kinds of other 50s and 60s music. The music was great and it left a strong impression on me from a really young age.

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

I’m not in a band currently. There are songs posted on my SMG profile from a previous band that I co-wrote and recorded on and I still enjoy listening to those songs. Hopefully I can find the time to play live again sometime soon.

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

My favorite music includes anything that sounds good to my ears. I used to rule out county and rap music when I was a kid. But I have heard some amazing country artists and some good rap too. I think it’s important to keep an open mind but if you checked my iPhone you would find music from Alice in Chains, Guns N Roses, The Beatles, AC/DC, Bad Religion, Ozzy, Queen, The Sex Pistols, Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin… okay, this list gets pretty long, so I will leave it at that. Continue reading →

Mickey Richardson (Share My Guitar) – Interview (Part 1)

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Fresh from my summer vacations, I’ve got some great interviews for you. The first one is with Mickey Richardson from ShareMyGuitar.com, a superb social network for guitarists that was reviewed on MusicKO last month. You can read the original post here before delving on Mickey’s great answers. Pay special attention to the in-depth advice he gives when asked about the obvious mistakes to be avoided when launching a music-related startup.

And the second part of this interview (“Music & You”) can be read here.

Mickey Richardson From ShareMyGuitar.com

Full Name: Mickey Richardson
Age: 39
Startup: ShareMyGuitar
Position: Founder/CEO

PART I

THE STARTUP

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

The site was conceived mainly because I had taken up playing guitar. Like a lot of people do when they start playing, I was looking for a way to find good quality online lessons, as well as a way to get answers to my many questions I had about playing guitar like: What kind of strings should I use? What is the correct way to hold a pick? What songs should I focus on learning? What scales should I practice? The list goes on and on. The thought process was that if I could find a community where I could exchange questions, ideas and so forth in a format much like Facebook but just for musicians, it would be the perfect way for me to connect, network and progress on guitar. That’s how SMG came about.

One of the most distinctive features about SMG would be that it is a niche guitarists/musicians network. Our members can connect and become friends with other musicians who are located in nearly every country in the world! Connecting with others is easy because of nice features like the wall feed, live chat and a host of other cool features. To me, one of the coolest things about SMG would be that no matter what culture our member’s come from, their guitar speaks the same language.

What was the original launch date?

Well, I guess I should first explain that the idea for the website was initially for a social network for guitarists, but due to complications with finding the right developers to make it all happen and work out all the logistics, I launched the SMG Blog prior to the SMG social network. The Blog was launched in August 2009. The SMG social network followed the Blog, by the end of December 2009.

What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?

The response has been really great. Our members have provided us with a lot of useful feedback to allow us to constantly improve and grow the site. It’s really funny when we look at the early versions of SMG and then compare them with what is here today. It’s like night and day! It’s so much better, not only in the layout or design but also in the stability of the site. Although we tend to get a lot of positive feedback, which we really appreciate, its also the people who have let us know what works and what doesn’t that has allowed us to make the site that much better. The most common response has been “Cool, Facebook for guitarists!” and we take that as a tremendous compliment.

The USA leads with the most active daily users. Next would be user from the United Kingdom, Australia and followed up with an even mix of users scattered throughout Europe. In any given day, you can find that new members have signed up from South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia as well. As long as there is an Internet connect, people can log on and join SMG! Continue reading →

RecordTogether – Crowdsource Tracks For Your Recordings

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Name: Record Together
URL: http://www.recordtogether.com

Think of all these albums in which bands couldn’t afford to hire extra instrumentalists. Just how good would they have been if a service like Record Together had existed back in the day? What if The Who had managed to hire cello players for “A Quick One, While He’s Away” (the mini-opera after which their second LP was named)? Would real cellos have sounded better than the jokey “cello, cello, cello” the guys ended up chanting in the finished record? Would that have taken away from the charm of the piece? That could be debated for longer than it took Brian Wilson to release “Smile” as he had originally conceived it, and we’d never come to any kind of agreement. Integrity, ingenuity, imnocence… the people who would veto using outside instrumentalists always end up talking about such things.

Yet, they have to admit that some classic albums could have been nothing short of perfected if artists could have had access to accomplished session players. If The Smiths had hired a full orchestra to play on their epic “The Queen Is Dead”, the end result could have been even better than it was. When the album was originally recorded, the band had to hire the services of “The Hated Salford Ensemble” (IE guitarist Johnny Marr playing everything using a keyboard) to get the accompaniment they wanted for songs like “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side” and “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”. Continue reading →

How Facebook’s “Listen With” Button Can Help You Promote Your Music

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Just How Good Is Facebook's "Listen With" Button For Musicians?

You’re a musician, you’ve read about Facebook’s new “Listen With” button, and you’re wondering exactly how this new feature can help you spread your music. OK, bear with me…

As you know by now, the “Listen With” button lets your friends listen to the songs you’re playing while you’re online. Well, I want to call your attention to how friends interact with these songs.

Each time a friend clicks on the “Listen With” button, the chat room that’s opened for your friend to talk with you will also display a link back to the artist’s Facebook Page. So, checking out that artist’s profile becomes as easy as 1-2-3. No need to hunt for information all over the Internet.

From a marketing point of view, I don’t have to tell you how cool this is. If you’re the artist at the center of it all, the “Listen With” button can make people who’s never heard of you before head down to your profile, and go through your bio, your songs and your merchandise. They’ll even get to buy tickets for upcoming shows. Everything will be just one click away.

This is the first time since Facebook launched it’s music partnerships that the company does something which lets artists gain fans so easily. Seen in this light, Facebook’s alliance with Spotify was just the beginning of an unparalleled incursion in the music scene. Is 2012 going to be the year in which music goes truly social? With the evidence we have at hand, a case can certainly be made.

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