Now it is no longer necessary for aspiring musicians to even be signed to a label, be it and indie or a major. With the birth of web 2.0 it is possible for artist to be visible within their market with the use of online tools to map out some form of PR strategy. We are no longer restricted to hearing new artists via radio play and the record store’s new artist sections. In today’s society everybody is online with their own individual online presence enabling them to interact with the masses through the use of social media, which includes social networks, websites and Apps. This now means that as an artist you have an audience of maximum reach as there are no limits to your distribution.

A couple of UK artist we can see that heavily use online PR within the urban scene includes the likes of, Wiley, Skepta, JME, Lethal Bizzle and the list continues. These artists use social media including Twitter, Facebook and official websites to interact with fans and keep them up to date on new releases, tours, competitions, merchandise availability and also to show the world that they are human through normal interaction and conversation with their fan base.

The post The Importance of Online Music PR for EDM and Urban Music Artists appeared first on Radio Vida 1620 AM.

Notation Programs VS DAWs

Notation programs are software used to create sheet music. You would need to know how to read and write music to use it. DAWs or Digital Audio Workstations are stronger for producing professional sounding audio. The amount of sounds libraries, virtual instruments and effects are endless. DAWs have more powerful ways to manipulate notes and sounds than Notation programs.

How do I decide which type of program to choose?

Generally, if you want to create great sounding audio, use a DAW. Alternatively, if you want to compose for live instruments, an orchestra, choir and won’t need to record your tracks in a studio, plus you’re game in music notation, choose a notation program.

Best Notation Programs for Music Composition

Finale

Finale is the cream of the crop in music notation programs and is used professionally by sheet music creators. The printed music at your local music store would most likely be made using Finale. The learning curve is a little high though, with tons of features. It may be too complicated for beginners but you can try Finale Notepad first which is a free, easier version to use.

Sibelius

The main competitor to Finale, Sibelius is great for all types of composers. Finale targets the traditionalists, and Sibelius the more general audience. Maybe too bold of a statement, but Sibelius tends to be popular with media composers such as film and video game music composers. The interface is very easy to learn and use, and is more beginner-friendly.

MuseScore

MuseScore is the best free notation program out there. It has a lot of features and is considered equal to the full blown programs such as Finale and Sibelius. A little hard to learn for the beginner, but will greatly pay off considering this is a free program with full capabilities.

The post Music Composition Software – How to Choose the Best Software for Your Needs appeared first on Radio Vida 1620 AM.

Music centers can break out in the must unlikely places. Take the small Balearic Island of Ibiza, for example. When people think of island vacations, they likely picture sandy beaches, rolling waves, and drinking cool beverages under the hot sun. In other words, they dream about enjoying the great outdoors.

However, it’s the great indoors, instead, that makes Ibiza a coveted destination for dance music aficionados all over the world.

Much like latter day world explorers, hippies arrived in Ibiza in the ’60s, bringing with them musical styles not yet heard in Spain. And in 1973, Pacha Ibiza, the island’s first pivotal club, began to attract music-loving night owls. Soon after, rising musicians from around the globe were flocking to this sonic melting pot, and eventually many other popular night spots took root, including Es Paradis and Amnesia.

In the ’90s, dance music began to evolve at a rapid rate, similar to the way the internet and personal computers started fast-forwarding our culture into its brave new future. And when the electronic dance movement started to take shape via house, trance, techno and other keyboard and computerized styles, DJs in the Ibiza club scene took on the role of turntablest agents of change. There’s even a genre named after the island, called Balearic Beat, and this indigenous Ibiza music is notable for its strong grooves, which are mixed in with distinctly Spanish influences.

One of Ibiza’s best known performers is Jens Gad, who was featured prominently on Enigma’s recordings. Tiësto, another Ibiza regular, was the first DJ to perform at the Athens Summer Olympic Games in 2004. Paul van Dyk may be from East Berlin, but his electronic dance music always goes over extremely in Ibiza. John Digweed regularly performs at hot spots, such as Space, and hosts his own radio show, Transitions. Other notable DJs include Above and Beyond, who are appreciated for their uplifting trance sounds, also host the radio show Trance Around the World and have had residencies at Cream, A&B, and others. Markus Schulz is also from Germany, and like many of his DJ contemporaries, hosts his own radio show, which is called Global DJ Broadcast.

Ibiza is more than just a DJs paradise, however, as nearly any and all musical varieties are now openly welcomed there. It’s so eclectic in fact many clubs designate rooms solely for certain musical styles, which range from Latin and garage, to R&B and hip-hop. Live music is also alive and well in the Ibiza calendar, as Kaiser Chiefs, The Arctic Monkeys, and Kasabian have all made notable island ventures, brandishing electric guitars, instead of turntables and various electronic wizardry. Much like major creative cities, such as New York, London, and Los Angeles, Ibiza attracts visitors from around the world. These other major metropolises may dwarf the island, size-wise, but Ibiza’s adventurous sense of experimentation makes it just as important as any other music capital. Those with ears to hear that want to explore the great indoors must put Ibiza on their travel itinerary.
This article was written by John McElborough. Find out more about Ibiza and book your room at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel – Ibiza’s number one music hotel for clubbers on loveibiza.net.

The post Ibiza Dance Music – A History of Dance Music appeared first on Radio Vida 1620 AM.

A Tracklist Will Help You Get Found
Including a tracklist or playlist with your mix sets is an essential part of promoting your career as a performing artist. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned pro, a proper play list is the best way to ensure your mix sets are easily found by house heads worldwide. With each tracklist, you provide Google an opportunity to index key search terms such as song title, artist, remixer, and label. Use this as a tool to be found by fans that follow and support the same style as you. Technically speaking, a playlist will promote your mix even when you’re asleep!

In the world of house music, there are thousands of underground, unsigned, and aspiring artists it’s amazing how much music never makes it to the mainstream market. Even then, what our culture considers “mainstream” is still considered “underground” in the world of major labels. It’s important that your listeners identify where the music is coming from, so that their hard work is in the spotlight as well.

Playlists are an Industry Standard
House and electronic dance music has always been about discovering new music. As a DJ/Artist, it is your duty to educate your fans and audience. Don’t be afraid to include a playlist with all your mixes – It’s an industry standard and without one you can easily be misinterpreted as lazy or holding back.

Minimum format: ARTIST – TITLE
Preferred format: ARTIST – TITLE – REMIXER – LABEL
Example: DJ Smith feat Mary Jones – “It’s getting funky” (Funklord Club Remix) – K1 Music

Show Your Support
It’s rare that you will become a world renown artist based solely on your DJ sets. Most disc jockeys do more than just play music. They often have a combination of elements working for them including a radio show, remix/production, a club residency, promoting their own night/event, or a record label. A natural progression for many DJs is getting into music production or remixing. One day, your music will be a part of someone else’s mix, and you certainly hope they give you proper recognition. Show your support and make sure you acknowledge their talent by including their information on your playlist.

Our Future Depends on You
With a tracklist you are providing a service to the artist or label in the event the listener wants to buy that song/track. Whether you’re a fan or DJ – Think about the all the times you’ve listened to a mix, and NEEDED to buy a certain song. You found out what it was, and you bought it on iTunes, Amazon, Traxsource, Beatport, or your favorite digital music store. With a proper tracklist, you’re saying YES to the future of the digital music industry.

The post House and Electronic Dance Music DJs – Use a Playlist appeared first on Radio Vida 1620 AM.

A Tracklist Will Help You Get Found
Including a tracklist or playlist with your mix sets is an essential part of promoting your career as a performing artist. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned pro, a proper play list is the best way to ensure your mix sets are easily found by house heads worldwide. With each tracklist, you provide Google an opportunity to index key search terms such as song title, artist, remixer, and label. Use this as a tool to be found by fans that follow and support the same style as you. Technically speaking, a playlist will promote your mix even when you’re asleep!

In the world of house music, there are thousands of underground, unsigned, and aspiring artists it’s amazing how much music never makes it to the mainstream market. Even then, what our culture considers “mainstream” is still considered “underground” in the world of major labels. It’s important that your listeners identify where the music is coming from, so that their hard work is in the spotlight as well.

Playlists are an Industry Standard
House and electronic dance music has always been about discovering new music. As a DJ/Artist, it is your duty to educate your fans and audience. Don’t be afraid to include a playlist with all your mixes – It’s an industry standard and without one you can easily be misinterpreted as lazy or holding back.

Minimum format: ARTIST – TITLE
Preferred format: ARTIST – TITLE – REMIXER – LABEL
Example: DJ Smith feat Mary Jones – “It’s getting funky” (Funklord Club Remix) – K1 Music

Show Your Support
It’s rare that you will become a world renown artist based solely on your DJ sets. Most disc jockeys do more than just play music. They often have a combination of elements working for them including a radio show, remix/production, a club residency, promoting their own night/event, or a record label. A natural progression for many DJs is getting into music production or remixing. One day, your music will be a part of someone else’s mix, and you certainly hope they give you proper recognition. Show your support and make sure you acknowledge their talent by including their information on your playlist.

Our Future Depends on You
With a tracklist you are providing a service to the artist or label in the event the listener wants to buy that song/track. Whether you’re a fan or DJ – Think about the all the times you’ve listened to a mix, and NEEDED to buy a certain song. You found out what it was, and you bought it on iTunes, Amazon, Traxsource, Beatport, or your favorite digital music store. With a proper tracklist, you’re saying YES to the future of the digital music industry.

The post Electronic music can exite you more than sex appeared first on Radio Vida 1620 AM.

By 1992 the Hardcore scene, or also known as the Rave scene was huge and rife all over the UK. Crowds of people in their thousands would flock in to empty warehouses and open land for illegal raves to take drugs and dance to hardcore for up to 10 hours at a time. Of Course there were legal raves such as the famous fantasia which started up 1991 and they in fact counted 30,000 people at One Step Beyond! This really was the beginning of the club and dance scene that we know so much about today. There were so many big name producers such as The Prodigy releasing ‘You Love’ back in 1991 which is one of the biggest dance tracks of all time. Various other big name British producers such as SL2 with ‘Way in my Brain’ and of course one of the most famous acts ‘The Ratpack’ with ‘Searchin’ for My Rizla” who really did bring Hip Hop in to the mix with their vocal and sound samples. Old Skool had become commercial and ‘Searchin for My Rizla’ went straight to number one beating massive acts such as Madonna and Kriss Kross to the number one spot in the charts. Most radio stations didn’t add ‘Searchin for my Rizla’ to their play-list as it was blatantly a song about taking drugs! When dance music finds its way in to the commercial scene it can sometimes mean the end of the underground scene where Hardcore was at the start of the 1990’s and this was evident with the release of Sesame Street – hardcore mix. This Old Skool sound and beat is timeless and still used in today’s dance songs and main steam pop records.

The post UK Dance Music in the Early to Mid 90s appeared first on Radio Vida 1620 AM.

“And listen to what?” I always say. “That crap you have in your glove box?”

I run into people and friends all the time that “Used to” listen to Dance Music, and claim knowledge of the most popular and listened genre of music in the world, but in all reality, they just really jumped a bandwagon at the time the radio was playing a lot of C and C Music Factory, Black Box, KLF, Pet Shop Boys, and every Top 40 artist had to have a “Club Mix” and thought that they were in “The scene” for a time period.

Then radio moved on to the “next big thing” and like sheep, they went with it, or reverted back to what they were listening to before. The fact of the matter is, Radio, MTV, and other mainstream outlets play what image they think they can sell you, not what’s really good, or popular. They create popularity. That is their business.

The Death of Dance Music has been predicted by one writer or another over the last 25 years and it always makes me laugh. Some of the same guys, (and gals) that were hitting the clubs in the 90’s, wearing their best Z-Cavaricci’s, Cham’s, Polo’s, Alexander Julian Shirts, Roots Shoes, Baby Doll Mini’s, Coach Bags, and “Jacked up” on enough Cocaine to stimulate the GNP of Bolivia, are now the same writers and “haters” that lost touch with what is going on, had a kid or 2, sobered up, and since it wasn’t on the radio anymore, and assumed that everyone stopped listening, and continued to be force fed the same 40 songs as everyone else in the country, until you heard it enough times, that familiarity tricked you into believing that you liked it.

Nothing, as we all know, nothing could be further from the truth but I always get a kick out of my friends and associates that don’t give any respect to the form, and pull out an old Megadeath, Journey, or Phil Collins TAPE, and say, “See now, this was the good stuff”

I have been listening to House, and Techno/Trance since the beginning, and not only is the old ground breaking stuff still able to hold it’s own on any dance floor, but it has evolved and gotten better over the years and has spread around the world like an infectious plague, and planted a flag firmly in the culture of most every civilized society on the planet. I love it when I play something from “back in the day” and somebody in my car will say, “Hey , I like that new stuff you’re playing…Who is that?”. And I’ll say something like, “Um, that’s Todd Terry with Martha Wash…it’s 10 years old”

The post The Death of Dance Music? Get Over Yourself appeared first on Radio Vida 1620 AM.

And with the aggressive rivalry in the dance music business today, your ambition of succeeding will have its adequate share of difficulties. There is no need to worry, though. Examples and tips for success in this kind of industry are available so you may have what all hopeful DJ’s like – people on the groove to their beat and hefty bank accounts. Now, wouldn’t you welcome the thought of that?

Be Seen, Be Heard

Ascertain that you are visible as this is possibly the best method in getting to the top of the heap. Do not just have other people discover you, go to them and flaunt your skills. People must notice you, hear you and sing praises to your music. You can do this by following these simple tips:

Get close to dance music aficionados by enlisting in online groups. With the Internet, you can easily tap the influence of social connections and make this work to your benefit so industry honchos looking for new talent will get to know you.

Be part of events where dance music enthusiasts and producers gather. You can get to know them, emulate them and take advantage of their networks, too.

Take advantage of the freebies that the Internet offers. With the rising popularity of video sites such as YouTube and dropyourtalent.com, you can now easily upload your music videos and ask your network to spread the news. Of course, be accountable for the quality and quantity of your uploaded videos.

Introduce yourself through your very own website. With this, you’ll have the chance to promote your profile, your work and your dance life. Remember, you’re your greatest marketing collateral.

Being recognized worldwide means letting go of shyness and having temerity. This is the only sure shot at taking a chance of the fame and fortune that the business has to offer.

Be You, Be Them

It’s true, the battle is fierce; therefore, you have to stand out. You need to have your own style of music, one that carries your individuality. Otherwise, you might just end up being an imitator.

Tiesto, for example, had to constantly reinvent himself in the earlier years before he became the leading producer of trance and electronic dance music now. He used to be an enthusiast of hardcore tracks, and of acid house music.

You should make your own music, as what the other great DJ’s like Tiesto, Fatboy Slim, Paul van Dyke did. It is important that you “find your own beat.”

But by finding yourself, you must remember that you are playing for others. They want to be “in” and they patronize everything that is “in”, thus, you must ascertain that your music is within the current trends of music. They should also be fun so others will buy it, and they must sound unique and original.

You must be deliberate in everything that you do, though. This means that you need to practice, produce, listen to beats and produce your own mix. This is exactly what DJ-ing is all about so you must do this over and over again, if you need to.

Soon enough, you’ll find yourself at the top of success in dance music!

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