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"We were most creative when our back was

against the wall." Anita Roddick

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So what do you need for a lifetime career in music?  [the real story]

How to record interviews or ambient stuff?  [the Industry Standard revealed]

A tip for the gas/petrol filler cap  [which side is it on?]

Mac rules? [a lot of sense from a Member?]

Testimonials

Subscriber's Section [... MySpace, Soundclick, Cycast etc? ]

The gags: .....      [Sometimes it  pays to be old … from Paul]

 

So what do you need for a lifetime career in music?  [the real story]

You may have noticed that my band has chalked up yet another life career success at The North Pier in Blackpool this Summer.

They are calling us the saviours of The North Pier as the venue was destined for closure and this year marked the final, last chance, last ditch scenario.  We pulled it off.

It got me thinking what is really necessary to survive in this cut throat, million miles a second business where you just have to be a Saint, Mother Theresa, Elvis Presley, Beyonce, Steve Levine and Barak Obama … all rolled into one!

If you consider the amount of skill and knowledge Bryan Adams has … they reckon that he could mount and rig his own show single handed … and likes nothing better than proving that.  If you consider the amount of skill and knowledge Mick Jagger has … they reckon he is happier with a calculator in his hand than a guitar.  If you consider the amount of skill and knowledge that I have ?????

This is not bragging but worth considering … in glancing at the show pictures for our current presentation in Blackpool [ go to http://www.makehits.com/archive4.htm ] I realised that I had:

1)       Researched, created and recorded all the music involvement for my band

2)       Wrote the music for the backing band

3)       Created the set, production, staging and choreography for the production sequences involving my band

4)       Designed and chose the costumes [and my new hairstyle …grin!]

5)       Designed, created and mixed the live sound presentation [using latest Yamaha Digital mixing desk]

6)       Designed  the lighting production [using state of the art digital lighting design desk]

7)       And finally designed the programme for sale at the venue not to mention produced the three latest CD’s available.

And I have guys Emailing me constantly asking me: “Dec, can you get me a record deal quick?  I’m broke at the moment and need the dosh.”

 

Yes, I sat and pondered that our business, Show Business, is exactly like all other businesses … it is knowledge based, requires a lot of study and learning, and then requires enormous dedication and hard work.  Oh, and you have to know where to get the ‘fairy dust’ and know how to and where to sprinkle it liberally.

 

And where do you learn all this stuff?   ‘How To Make a £Million From Your Music’. 

"There is no scientific answer for

success. You can't define it. You've

simply got to live it and do it." Anita Roddick 

How to record interviews or ambient stuff?  [the Industry Standard revealed] 

Until recently all radio/TV interviews, that is outside broadcast stuff, was done on the standard Uher tape recorder.  Quite bulky by modern standards, unwieldy but incredibly reliable and Broadcast quality.  You had to have a separate microphone and carry spare ¼” tapes.  Very little tape hiss but still there. 

There has been a rash of small portable handheld gismos that purported to be Broadcast Quality. 

After much investigation, testing and research, the one that has come out on top for reliability, sturdiness in the field and quality is the Olympus LS-10.  This is the Industry verdict. 

The Olympus LS-10 has a built-in 2GB flash drive and can accept secure digital media cards up to 8GB in size. There is a very good assortment of included accessories, but an AC adapter would have been nice. Its long battery life almost makes up for it though. 

Almost all the interviews I have done recently have been on this stunning bit of kit.  It sports a double stereo condenser microphone set up … a warning light to say it is in pause mode [what a brilliant idea?].  how many important interviews have been ruined by the pause button being left on?  Solid state, so nothing to go wrong.  Except it could fall through the crack in the floor boards? [grin!] 

Price is a silly £200 or less …. Check out the review at http://www.wingfieldaudio.com/olympus-ls-10-review.html 

"When you run an entrepreneurial business,

you have hurry sickness - you don't look

back, you advance and consolidate. But it

is such fun." Anita Roddick 

A tip for the gas/petrol filler cap  [which side is it on?] 

Have you ever rented or borrowed a car, and when arriving at the gas station wondered..mmm,  which side is the filler cap?.  

My normal solution was to stick my head out the window, strain my neck and look, try to see in the side mirrors, or even get out of  the car.   

Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to share with you my little secret so you will no longer look like Ace Ventura on your way to the gas station or put your neck at risk of discomfort or injury. 

If you look at your gas gauge on your dashboard, you will see a small icon of a gas pump. 

The handle of the pump will extend out of either the left or right side of the gas pump icon.   

If your filler cap is on the left, the handle will be on the left? 

If your filler cap is on the right, the handle will be on the right.  

It is that  simple. Check it out now. 

"If you do things well, do them better. Be

daring, be first, be different, be just."  Anita Roddick   

Mac rules? [a lot of sense from a Member?] 

I hear such rubbish talked about PC being as good as Mac in the recording world …. It is nice to hear some sense…. 

Hi Dec 

I bought a Mac G5 to use totally for my recording. 

Yes it was expensive (compared to a PC) but it was probably the best purchase I ever made. 

It looks great, it records brilliantly (I use Logic) and the thing has never let me down.

It’s never crashed once. 

Mac is the industry standard creative platform…..graphics and sound. End of…… 

cheers 

Paul Hartley 

"Who is the voice in your head telling you to be better?" Sandra Bullock 

Testimonials 

“Hi Dec,

Your book has been very important for me, I have to admit it. It made me focus on things I knew before but never considered in such a systematic approach.

Anyway it's not so easy to implement so much stuff all together... 

Best regards

Max Carola

"You have to fight for what you want." Sandra Bullock

Subscriber's Section [... MySpace, Soundclick, Cycast etc? ]

Hi Dec, 

What do you make of music portals i.e... MySpace, Soundclick, Cycast etc? I was advised by Dave Brodsky in NYC to use MySpace so my guess is that it probably works... I don't have the same confidence in the rest however.  

Am I right to believe that publishers are loathe to work with anything but the complete article? Most say they want as near perfect a demo as possible, but I think a guitar /vocal could carry the right song... 

My one wish in life right now, is that my financial situation allowed me to invest in your offer and get you on the end of the blower, but disability benefits prevent it.

P*** W****** 

My Reply:    

Our rules are "one short reply to ONE question on music FOR NON-MEMBERS, Members of 'The Serious Writers Guild' have unlimited personal access to Dec by direct telephone, Fax and Email, apply at https://secure.mistral.co.uk/makehits/swgappsecure.htm ".     

[Any advice given here shall not be deemed as financial or legal advice under any existing or future laws of any country] 

P***** 

Interesting questions and the answers are kept very secret with much supposed information available … all wrong! 

<<<<<<< What do you make of music portals i.e... MySpace, Soundclick, Cycast etc?>>>>>>>> 

The answer is that you should ask yourself the question: “am I in this business to make a $FORTUNE?” … if the answer to that is ‘yes’ then MySpace etc. should be looked at as purely an ‘add-on’ to your main business of getting your music noticed …. If the answer is ‘I just want to make a living’ … then MySpace is a great hobby place. 

That $fortune is achieved this way: 

You simply have to provide a product that the record buying/video watching/concert going public want...simple! 

The sequence is: 

Join 'The Serious Writers Guild' at www.makehits.com

Learn your business, study your craft, copy the best  [just like a brain surgeon]

Realise that it is YOU that the public should want [not your music - the music is the simplest bit]

Gig or have your music gigged

Learn what works when gigging

Sell white labels/merchandise/collect database/fan base

Have queues down the street with 'sold-out' notices

Stock all local shops in your county with white labels

Increase the number in your band to the number required [with only unbelievable looking, fabulous performers]

Improve the equipment

Play bigger venues, all sold out, sell out every new white label, have 40,000 database 

INSTANT SUCCESS [usually after ten years.....or three years with a mentor like me] 

And...if you think it is different if you "just want other people to record your songs and make them hits"  THINK AGAIN!!!!!

The music sites and, for that matter, your Internet presence [web site etc.] are an adjunct to your main music business.  All other businesses know this. 

The stories that abound of success through folk clicking on your You Tube videos are simply that … ‘stories’.  Usually generated by record companies who will have a team of folk working on your site. 

<<<<<<<<<<< Am I right to believe that publishers are loathe to work with anything but the complete article?>>>>>>>>>> 

You are almost correct …. Some say: “we don’t make demos any more – it is as easy to make the finished product”. 

Record companies, Publishers, managements etc. want a track that they can lift the vocal off and replace it with their pet project vocalist [‘Can’t Get You Out of my Head’ by Rob Davis and Kathy Dennis sung by Kylie Minogue].  Production companies do this all the time … that is why it is well nigh impossible to gain their attention …. I outline the correct method for presenting a new toon in ‘How To Make a £Million From Your Music’. 

Some record companies and producers prefer a ‘stripped down’ demo … vocal, vocal arrangement [very important] and a single instrument .. classy 2009 acoustic guitar [not a strummy old hat guitar] or a fantastic keyboard …. Check out ‘Breathe It’ … track 13 on the Sugababes album ‘Angels with Dirty faces’. 

Almost every modern day album has a track like this. 

<<<<<<< my financial situation allowed me to invest in your offer and get you on the end of the blower>>>>>>>>

And how many times a day do I hear that? [grin!]  I have never heard a music guy say he had too much money from his music [except Members of The Serious Writers Guild] 

My one thought is … “how much did I spend on my musical education?” …. How much does a consultant surgeon spend over 18 years to earn his fantastic £¼ Mill fees per year?  A lawyer?  Barrister?  Athlete?  Accountant?  Architect?  The music industry is just as ‘knowledge based’. 

Somehow guys think that music is all luck, right place, right time, contacts.  Talk to any of the successful ones … particularly the long time successful ones and you find that it is totally not that!  Knowledge, commitment, dedication, persistence and a killer attitude is what it takes …. It is impossible to stumble on the art of writing and making hit records while strolling round the town. 

Regards

Dec [Cluskey]  dec@makehits.com  

2 Gold discs in 2008!  Decca have relaunched their ‘World Of’ series on the back of those hits.  Readers Digest are now promoting a triple album set …. Do you think I can help your music career succeed?  

Check out 'How to Make A £Million From your Music' at http://www.makehits.co.uk.  Secure purchase at https://secure.mistral.co.uk/makehits/swgappsecure.htm or fast cred*it card line: +44 1323.728005 or UK 01323.728005 

Please consider the environment, do you really need to print this email?  

 “How to Make A $Million From Your Music”. To see the course go to http://makehits.com/products090707/million.html   fast cred*it card line: +44 1323.728005 or UK 01323.728005 

To purchase go direct to: https://secure.mistral.co.uk/makehits/swgappsecure.htm 

“3 Minutes on the Radio with Dec” …. Available immediately at http://www.myspace.com/makehits 

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The gags: .....      [Sometimes it  pays to be old … from Paul] 

No one believes seniors . . . Everyone  thinks they are senile. 

An Elderly couple was celebrating their sixtieth anniversary. The couple had married as childhood sweethearts and  had moved back to their old neighbourhood after they retired.    

Holding hands they walked back to their  old school.

It was not locked, so they entered, and found the  old desk they'd shared, where Andy had carved "I love you, Sally."    

On their way back home, a bag of money fell out of an  armoured car, practically landing at their feet Sally quickly picked it up,  but not sure what to do with it, they took it home. There, she counted the  money--fifty-thousand dollars.  

Andy said, "We've got to give it  back."

Sally said, "Finders keepers." She  put the money back in the bag and hid it in their attic.   

The next day, two FBI men were canvassing the neighbourhood looking for the money, and knocked on the door.  

"Pardon me, but did either of you find a bag that fell out of an armoured car  yesterday?"

Sally said, "No."

Andy said, "She's lying. She  hid it up in the attic."

Sally said, "Don't believe him,  he's getting senile."  

The agents turn to Andy and began to question him.

One says:  "Tell us the story from the beginning"

Andy said, "Well, when Sally and I were walking home from school yesterday . . "   

The first FBI guy turns to his partner and  says, "We're outta here."        

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