While it would seem like common sense to not put something dirty back in your ears when you can visibly see residue on it, everyday I watch musicians put wax filled dirty things in their ears. After doing this, these musicians will then wonder why their ears are clogged up and feel swollen. The easy solution is to carry some hydrogen peroxide with you in your road kit. Simply dip your plugs in and then with washed hands pull the gunk off. With In-Ear monitors, dipping the plugs in a cap-full of liquid may not be recommended, but you can Q-tip the solid part down with the liquid to get rid of any excessive gunk.
This past Saturday was March 6th, which while being insignificant in the
grand scheme of things, this was a big day for Musformation. After two
months of planning, brain storming and research Todd and I officially
started posting to Musformation on a daily basis on 3/6/09. It wasn't a
planned launch as much as a bunch of bugs got fixed, we started giving
out the URL, and we had something to say. The later part of that saying
is a lot of what this site is about. We have something to say.
- How To Pursue A "Corporate Sponsorship" To Get Funding For Your Music
- Band Tip: Spend Energy Making New Fans Instead Of Badgering Your Friends
- Lessons On Building Fan Community From Lady GaGa
- Surround Sound Coming Soon To iTunes
- Getting Paid By SoundExchange - Watch The MetaData!
- Music Business Reality - You Need Smart Management And A Smart Label
- Root Music Is A Great Way To Make Your Facebook Page Look Fantastic
- Why Attending Your Mastering Session Can Hurt Your Record
- RockBand Network For Unsigned Artists Has Launched
- Exercises To Improve Your Controller/Button Timing
- Initial Reports On Rock Band Authoring Is DIY Is A No Go
- Scratch Off Record Covers Are All The Rage - See The New MGMT Cover In Action
- MP3Cut Is A Website To Edit MP3s/Make Ringtones
- Mistakes You Shouldn't Make When Writing A Press Release
- Recording/Mixing Tip: Don't Get Lost In Overdubs And Double-Tracking
- 7 Ways To Inflate Your Mailing List
- Using Shuffle To Improve Your Mixes
- BroadTexter Can Help You Text Your Fans When You Come To Their Home Town
- Engaging Your Fans Through Creative Contests
- Band Tip: Get To Soundcheck EARLY!
- GigLeader Is Another Site Where People Can Search For Your Band For Potential GigsWhy SoundCloud Is Great To Get Your Music On To Blogs
- Band Names Are Running Dry, How To Avoid a Generic Name
- TuneCore Now Offering Ringtone Uploads And Free Software With Tutorial To Do So
- ReverbNation And AudioLife Go Public With The Reverb Store
- Gain Studio Is Studio Management Software
- How To Setup A SoundCloud Remix Contest
- SellABand Will Reopen Under New Ownership
- Is Your Client Dense? You Still Have To Make It Work!
- Innovative Album Packaging - Scratch Off Album Art
- Aphex Twin Outdoes Himself Again - Embeds His Face In A Spectragraph
Hey Everyone,
First off thanks for baring with us through our growing pains. As the site grows, the internal gears get cranky and need some oiling. Jackie as always did us solid and tweaked out some of the problems with RSS, Commenting and the site crashing. Thanks so much for baring with us and as always if you have any problems please email us here. Sorry for the trouble and as always thanks for the support.
First off thanks for baring with us through our growing pains. As the site grows, the internal gears get cranky and need some oiling. Jackie as always did us solid and tweaked out some of the problems with RSS, Commenting and the site crashing. Thanks so much for baring with us and as always if you have any problems please email us here. Sorry for the trouble and as always thanks for the support.
One of the things that separates professionals from amateurs is the ability to deal with who is hiring them. Often times we do not get to work with ideal personalities when working in the music business and our clients can be so ridiculously slow you want to go to their childhood home and look for lead paint on the walls. The sad thing is if you blame the client you will probably fail them and you will not continue to grow your business. What a true professional does is learn how to idiot proof their process and get through even the most dense mind. Smashing Magazine, despite being aimed at graphics nerds, has written a fantastic piece on this subject that can be enjoyed by anyone who works in the music business and looking to gain a little more peace in their life working with mentally "special" people in this business.
- WaTunes Announces Marketplace To Sell Music Directly To Fans
- Ian Rogers Of TopSpin Talks Staying In The Newscycle
- The Bizmo Launches Hit Or Not Facebook App To Test Your A&R Skills
- The World's First Remixable YouTube Video?
- Walmart Will Allow You To Sleep In Their Parking Lot On Tour
- Guitar Intonation Intricacies
- YouTube Launches Automatic Playlist Generator/Music Discovery Tool Disco
- Giving Superfans With Tattoos Free Admission To Shows
- Tips From Consumer Reports On Keeping Your Van Running For Less Money
- Facebook Album Downloads/Sharing Start To Heat Up With Angels & Airwaves And GBC
- Merch Strategies - Don't Just Give It Away, Get An Email Address
- The Jamie Thomas Ruling Shows 1 Illegal Download = 3 1/3rd Dead Relatives?
- The Lessons From Public Enemy's SellABand Fail And How To Do Crowdfunding Right

- Real Numbers - The Story Behind Legitimate Business's Free Album Release
- Recording Tip - Fix It Now, Not Later
- Making A "Mixtape" Of Your Friends And Local Scene Can Help You All
- Re: Making A "Mixtape" Of Your Friends And Local Scene Can Help You All
- The Subs Show The Potential For Video Creativity Using YouTube Annotations
- Getting Blogged About - Send A Stream And Download
- EarLove Earplugs Are A Cheap Way To Get Great Sound Reduction
- Mint Chicks Team With Music Hy.Pe To Fansource Many Cool Promotions
- The Best BitTorrent Trackers For Uploading Your Music
- A Few Not Obvious Ways To Gain New Fans
- What Defines A Successful Email Campaign?
- Twitter Keeps Cracking Down: Flashtweet Loses "Select All" Feature
- Select From 300 "Follow Me On Twitter" Buttons For Your Website
A while back we received some complimentary EarLove earplugs to review for our site. I kept forgetting to take them with me to shows until last night and I was very glad I did. Upon popping in the EarLoves I was shocked at how they lowered the whole frequency spectrum instead of the horrible muted tone most earplugs give. As I watched MiniBoone rock Brooklyn I got to listen at a comfortable volume while not losing the energy and mix of the instruments. With a 12db rating , they take the sound down just enough to make the concert enjoyable while still being able to feel it. For just around $16 these can make your music listening and practice a much better experience. Color me impressed.
Songwriting Scene is a kick ass blog that covers a lot of content of interest to songwriters. One of their better pieces of content of late has been an interview with vocal coach Siobhan Quinn who gives great info on how to get your vocals the best they can be. Check it here.
- How To Use Discount Code Promotions To Build Up Your Following
- SoundCloud And The Hype Machine Partner Up!
- Many Wireless Mics Will No Longer Work In June!
- Jango Adds The Ability To Get Fan's Email Adresses!
- Should We Be Excited About MusicDNA As A MP3 Replacement?
- MyBandStock Shows What Sets Them Apart!
- Bandcamp Adds Discount Codes And Better Organisational Features
- TicketMaster & Live Nation Merger Approved - We're All Screwed
- Band Tip: Re-Think Your Guarantee
- NextBigSound Now Tracking 15 Different Site Stats
- The Music Venue List Is Another Concert Booking Resource!
- BandMetrics Launches Public Beta
- MKTG Ideas Is A Blog Of Marketing Ideas Brought To You By The New Music Tipsheet
- UStream Launches Producer Software To Make Streaming Your Concerts Easier
- A Lot Of Questions With The Band MiniBoone
Many of us remember Bjork's mystifying (and often frustrating) Medulla album where she recorded the majority of the record using only vocal sounds, and now David MeShow has gone in a similar direction, but with a more traditional sound for his vocal band. Using only a little distortion for the guitar and pitch to to get the bass correct, MeShow has constructed a pretty traditional rock song using only his vocals. Pretty amazing stuff and having video of him making the sounds certainly helps us appreciate what a feat it actually is.
Via I Have Synth
Why is the man always trying to bring us down? Our beloved congress passed an act last year that gave much of the bandwidth used by wireless mics over to Telecom companies. This means your wireless microphones may no longer work come 6/12/10. Fortunately many manufacturers are offering rebates for upgrades and you can find a list of all of the mics affected. Read up more on this subject here.
- How Vampire Weekend Got To #1
- Facebook Ups Their Game Adds Post Insights...
- Rockband Network Now Open For Submissions
- Interview With A Blogger: Bjorn from Discobelle
- Use Bandcamps Download Codes To Send Out Digital Promos
- Selecting An International Tour Venue
- Pro Tools Tip Of The Day: How To Duck Audio
- The Searches You Should Be Checking Every Day
- Hands On With The Teenage Engineering OP-1
- The Hype Of Surround Has Died But Still A Great Gift To Fans
- The Most Important 6 Second Drum Beat
- Gear Buyer's Tip: Search For Common Problems Before Buying
- A Guide To Some Of Google's Lesser Known Tools
In case you haven't noticed it's pretty cold out right now. Your practice space may be even colder considering many of the bands I work with often neglect the fact that these spaces need a good amount of heat. If you are looking to no longer freeze during practice The NY Times just tested out 10 popular space heaters and make some recommendations. Enjoy!
Another NAMM introduction, Roland has now made available the VP-7, a new vocal processor that works with your keyboard. As you'll see in the video, background vocals can be created with no singing at all (its generated from your keyboard). You can also add reverb and even access a vocoder. The package also includes a headset microphone and footswitch.
- Finding New Bandmates - Put Some Personality In It
- Another Reason Getting Blogged About Is Imortant (Even The Small Ones) - Blog Aggregators
- The Flaws In Every Social Network Strategy And How You Fix Them
- Real Numbers - Myspace Vs Facebook Vs Email Effectiveness In Marketing
- IndieHitMaker Will Help Get Your VenueScans In To SoundScan
- How To Make Your Record Leaking A Positive Thing - Get It On Bandcamp ASAP
- Build A Compact Plate Reverb
- Ableton & Serato Announce The Bridge, The DJ World Goes Wild!
- TC PolyTune Tunes All Of Your Strings At Once! Wow!
- Pro Tools Tip Of The Day: Avid Sends Chills Down Digidesign Users Spines With NAMM "No Show"
- Next Big Sound Shows Some Unbelievable "Freakanomics" About Susan Boyle
- Songwriting Tip: Have Your Tools Handy
- Real Numbers - Offering Email Versus Tweets For A Download
- Band Tip: Go Watch Shows Of Other Bands In Your Scene
- Educating Your Audience - Teach Them About RSS To Lock In Fans
- Let's Not Call The Slowdown Of Digital Sales A Certain Thing Quite Yet
One of the things I see time and time again when a band loses a member, they feel like they will never have chemistry with a new person again. They are horrified at the idea that no one else will ever fit in with them, like a sad pathetic friend who has just been dumped. One of the things to keep in mind if you want to find people who are like you is that you have to show people what you are actually like. Showing off a bit of personality shows what people are getting into and gives them something to like about their prospective new band. If the majority of us read the above ad posted on a traffic pole we would give it a big giant WTF? However that special someone who loves both the Contortions and Lightening Bolt ,but does not wear bandannas may have felt they met their match. While your ad probably won't read half as crazy as the above one, showing some of what you are like in an ad will rule out people you will potentially not like as well as making people who are into it, even more passionate to respond. A win-win situation.


































