So, what is the difference?

After publishing Why You Should Give Your Music Away for Free on Music Think Tank, I have been inundated with articles, comments, and other assorted replies decrying that the new digital music business models are killing the music industry. It got me thinking about a crucial distinction that is being overlooked, and the consequences of doing so are preventing many from seeing the opportunities that are abound. It boils down to one main concept.

The Music Industry is different than the Recording Industry, and these terms should not be used interchangeably. 

Allow me to explain.

The Music Industry is a huge, overarching behemoth that includes all kinds of different smaller industries. For example:

• Recording
• Licensing
• Touring & Live
• Merchandise
• Print & Web Design
• Publishing
• Marketing, Advertising & Public Relations
• Video Production
• Magazines & Newspapers
• Instrument Design & Manufacturing
• Music Hardware & Software

These are just the ones off the top of my head…I could go on if I kept thinking about it. The bottom line is that any business that is involved in music in any way can be considered part of the music industry. If you are a graphic designer who spends their time designing album art, or a bus driver who drives tour busses all over the country, then you are in the music industry.

Read the entire article at ThinkLikeALabel.com

On his last day as chairman of Warner Music Group, Edgar Bronfman Jr. promised that the company will fight Universal’s purchase of EMI “tooth and nail,” adding that it strikes him as “hubris particularly for Universal to think it’s going to be easy to buy EMI, and frankly to think they can buy EMI at all.”

EMI Publishing Goes to Sony, Label to Universal

Bronfman, in what was jokingly dubbed an “exit interview” with All Things D’s Peter Kafka at the “D: Dive Into Media” conference, said a combined Universal-EMI “would create what I call a super-major that would control not only the future of recorded music but the future of all digital media. I think it’s dangerous, I think it’s problematic and I think it’s got to be stopped.”

Watch the video and read the entire article at Billboard.biz

That said, all signs point to me being a Geek. Whew! In my (mac power) book that’s way better than being a nerd.

Here’s a great infographic to help you decide your fate. Feel free to comment below if you’d like to defend your brainy existence.

Geek Traits:

• Someone with a specifc niche interest/lifestyle that they have become the expert on
• A fan of gadgets
• An early adopter
• A Mac
• Wears ironic t-shirts
• Can be pretentious and longwinded
• Knowledge can range from mundane to “living encyclopedia” status
• Interests might include gaming, film (both artsy and anything Will Ferrel stars in), collecting, gadgets/tech, computing, coding, hacking, techno music, screen printing, etc.

Nerd Traits:

• Extreme interest or fascination with academics
• Introverted
• Socially Inept
• Diverse and sometimes impractical skillets due to broad interests in games, movies, science, computers, etc.
• A PC
• Interest might include: Battlestar Galactica (BSG), LARPing, SecondLife, Physics, Chess, Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Computer programming

From: MastersInIt.org

An all inclusive audio resort

I love Logic. It comes with everything. From synths to samplers to loops to drum machines to a ton of plugins. One of it’s best, and I’ll assume underutilized, is its plugin for Pitch Correction. If you’re confused by this tools ultra simple interface you are not alone.

That’s so simple it just might work!

The  plugin interface is so simple that I thought it can’t possibly be a “real” pitch correction tool. When I first opened it I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It has a piano keyboard layout, a couple of buttons and that’s it. So I of course headed over to YouTube to try and find a video about it and discovered that the guys over at Gearwire created a great six minute tutorial that outlines the plugin nicely. See below.

Other Gearwire videos

They also have a bunch of other great videos on subjects like Reason, Pro Tools, techniques like side-chaining and other plugins. Looks like they also do man-on-the street type of interviews as well. That’s kind of interesting. I’ll have to check one of those out.

I hope you get some use out of this tutorial. I know I did. The Pitch Correction plugin makes a lot more sense to me now.

Want to talk about this some more? Please leave a comment below.

Rafa Sardina with his Focusrite ISA8028 mic preamps

From MixOnline.com

Focusrite reports that Grammy Award–winning Los Angeles-based engineer/producer Rafa Sardina (pictured) relies on the company’s ISA Range of modules for production work in his studio, After Hours. His collection includes a rack of eight classic ISA110 modules from a Focusrite Studio console, and he recently acquired an ISA828 8-channel microphone preamp.

“My first encounters with Focusrite were with the Studio console at Ocean Way,” Sardina says. “I had quite a lot of experience in working on that board, and I was very fortunate to work in other studios that had them.”

Sardina’s client list includes Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Luis Miguel, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Paco de Lucía, and Alejandro Sanz. His diverse work covers everything from pop to R&B, to classical recordings and movie soundtracks.

Read the entire article here.

Leave a comment and let’s start a conversation.