Tyrone Corbett, Producer, Shares Recording Secrets on Blog Talk Radio

It’s not often you have the attention of an esteemed independent producer like Tyrone Corbett for a full 60-minutes.  Corbett is half of the powerhouse duo that makes magic at Bo-Ty Productions, LLC.  The other half of Bo-Ty Productions, LLC is Robert Donzella, and together this record label and production team is raising the stakes in independent music.

Today, Tyrone Corbett will critique two tracks generously donated by F-Jam Collaboration Studios on Rising Star University powered by  Blog Talk Radio.  The tracks, “Jazz Junket,” and “No Time To Waste” are in the working stage of production.  You’ll be able to hear and learn how a track takes shape and form and understand how “it takes a village” to make music happen the right way.

Bo-Ty Productions, LLC recently dropped four winning tunes that are catching fire.  Anwar Robinson, Season 4 American Idol Finalist, released “Night’s Hot” and “Exceptional,” while Bryan Galligan, The Prince of Pop, is turning heads with “Little Pompeii” and “2nd Time Around.”  Corbett will also take time to comment on the production of these hits.

Blog Talk Radio offers a wide array of listening and participation options:  You can stream the show live via internet by clicking http://www.blogtalkradio.com/musician-edition and talk to other listeners in the chat room.  The chat room is a great place to write in questions or send in shout-outs.  With option two, you can listen live via phone by dialing 347 884 9980 .  Option 3 is the ‘listener’s” option where you can stream any broadcast any time you like.  The show is archived and available for listening at all times.  Option 4 gives you the ability to subscribe to the Musician-Edition podcast and and always have the latest broadcasts delivered right to your playlist or iPod/iPhone.  Finally, option 5 is On-Demand.  Visit the web page at Musician-Edition and scroll down to the “On Demand” episodes.  You’ll be able to download an MP3 or share the broadcast with a friend.

Tyrone Corbett and Robert Donzella are names you’ll want to remember in the music business.  Their companies, “Bo-Ty Productions, LLC,” and “9 Mile Road Music Publishing” will soon be household names.

Rising Star University is open to the general public through Blog Talk Radio.  Rising Star Artists‘ musicians hear from an industry insider or expert where a broad range of topics are covered.  Rising Star University is a great way for musicians to learn some of the tricks that are used in the music biz.  Starting in October,  Rising Star Artists’ members will also receive a narrated slide show with more in-depth information and helpful links.

To register for Rising Star University Alerts, click HERE to fill out the form.

Break-Out Production Company is a Star Maker

Bo-Ty Productions lights up the music industry.

Most overnight success stories come from years of hard work, perseverence and sweat equity. Bo-Ty Productions takes the conventions of those qualities to weave a fabric of timeless music. Every artist produced by Bo-Ty is assured to get that “A” list polish that doesn’t wear off with time. So, why write about a production company? Isn’t it the artist that supplies the talent?

Artists come in all degrees of experience. If you looked through a kalidescope you’d see how the facets change with a slight twist of the lens. There are a gigabytes of statistics to back me up. Patrick Foster, Media Correspondent for the London Times wrote an in-depth article about digital music sales, in December of 2008. Foster writes, “…more than 10 million of the 13 million tracks avalable on the internet failed to find a single buyer last year.” Will Page, chief economist of the MCPS-PRS alliance (the UK royalty collection society), found that for the online singles market, 80% of all revenue came from around 52,000 tracks. Most of the 52,000 tracks sold went to big hits…Alicia Keys, Rhianna, Lil Wayne, Josh Groban, Taylor Swift…you get the idea.

When I listen to the tracks that sell, I’m struck by the gap. Josh Groban has a magnificent singing voice and I don’t have to look up the crawl to see who’s singing. Same goes for Lil Wayne’s voice – it has style and character, but I don’t put him in the same catagory as Luther Vandross. So what makes a Lil Wayne tune so memorable? Production. His producers take his talents and amplify them so he sounds like a super star. Josh Groban’s voice stands on its own, but he only writes a few of his songs. He needs to find music that fits his voice and style. No one can be a hit making superstar on their own.

Back to why write about a production company. If recording artists want sales, they have to take a raw, serious look at their production value. Yes, you can buy recording equipment. You can even auto-tune. Not the point. While some self-produced music is very good, there are too many mediocre songs that make music searches more of a chore than an adventure. So why not take the plunge and ‘Go Pro’ without worrying how to differentiate your tracks from the other 10 million tracks gathering dust on download shelves.

Bo-Ty Productions is a star factory. It’s amazing to me that most people I talk to aren’t aware of them. I’ve been aware of them for years and am never surprised by the dedication and commitment they give to every single project they produce. Principals Tyrone Corbett and Robert Donzella know how to squeeze out every drop of talent in an artist and then kick it up a notch. What’s so great about this company is that you don’t have to dig out evey coin under the seat cushions – they are as modest about their superstar talents and their pricing. The contrast of modest pricing and superior production is what makes Bo-Ty Productions such a find. With a long history of music biz experience and talent behind them, Bo-Ty Productions is one of the industry’s best kept secrets…until now.

Bo-Ty is about to make a splash on the music scene. Not only are they releasing two chart worthy singles; “Night’s Hot” by Anwar Robinson and “Little Pompeii” by Bryan Galligan, they’re kicking in the doors of cyber space and are launching both their production and publishing sites at the same time. Visit Bo-Ty Productions now to get your project off the ground.

Trouble Selling Your Music? How to put that “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” into your website!

Here’s a staggering fact for you to ponder.  Netcraft reported there was a 6 million…yes, an increase of  6 million websites from March 2009 to April 2009.  Even more shocking is that there are well over 231 million active websites all trying to get your attention.  Think about the odds.  You have a 1 in 231 million chance to get noticed on the web.  Where do you think that puts you on a search engine …?

I’ve done some research to help you get your music noticed and looked for ways for you to stand out in a very crowded e-market.  I want you to be noticed because you’re taking a big risk.  Music is a window to your soul and you’ll need a tough skin combined with an open mind to reap the rewards from all the blood, sweat and tears you’ve devoted to your art.

The tips are listed as shake, rattle and roll. There is no particular order for taking action.  You don’t need to shake before you rattle or roll.

SHAKE

It’s the music – not you – that potential fans are interested in.  I know…I know…you want a website with your name on it and you definitely need one.  Music is what you want to sell, yes?  Then tell people about your music.  Before you select a name for your CD, do a domain search to make sure you can register a domain just for your CD.  Do this for every CD you release.  Here’s an example of a CD title,  ”Thundering Turkeys Burning in Hell”.  I checked on the name and amazingly, this name hasn’t been registered.  Congrats!  You’ve accomplished your first step.  Differentiation.  You’re already more noticeable.

Next,  you’ll need to identify your sound.  Of course, no one sounds like you or has ever written anything that sounds like your music, so let’s stipulate that’s a given.  Give people who haven’t heard of you or your music get a sense of style by how you describe your music.  Your potential fans need a reason to compel them to click.  Imagine looking for new music and seeing this description, “You’ve never heard anything like this!”.  Is it rock, classical, jazz, pop? There are millions of Cd’s to choose from and I know I don’t have the time to fish for something I’ve never heard before.  It could be alligators mating.  I don’t know what an alligator sounds like while mating and I’m not anxious to find out.   So, I skip right past the unknown and move on to a description that grabs my attention.  You’ve got your shake on.

RATTLE

If I were the musician that recorded “Thundering Turkeys Burning in Hell”, I would come up with a few words that capture the essence of my sound.  Try this on for size,  ”Thundering Turkeys Burning in Hell” is an in your face Marilyn Manson meets Joni Mitchell album.  Now I’m curious.  I may not like Marilyn Manson’s lyrics, but I love Joni Mitchell.   This is a combo I need to hear and definitely worth a click.  A music critic/editor/blogger may pick up on the title and say something like:  ”Thundering Turkeys Burning in Hell” is devilishly clever and written as profoundly and poetically as any Joni Mitchell song.  Regardless of a music lover’s musical taste, you’ll definitely get more clicks. Don’t get stuck in the “there’s nothing out there like this” rut.  It’s the carpool lane to invisible-ville.

Invite reviews or comments rather than a simple 5-star rating system. I say give away 100 downloads and instead of payment, ask for an opinion.  Maybe even 150 downloads.  A common measuring stick for live performances says that if you can get at least 150 people to show up for a gig, you have reach.  Reach that’s beyond, family, friends, and associates.  Those 100 or 150 downloads is your launching pad.  If you can get 100-150 people blogging, writing and talking about you, your reach will expand.  If you do this consistently, your next release will go much smoother.  If word has gotten out that you give away the first 100 downloads for opinions, fans will be waiting at their screens for the track to appear.  Cost to you; $97.50 in advertising that you didn’t have to reach into your pocket for.  That’s assuming you gave away 150 downloads and would have earned $0.65 per download.  If the tracks had been streamed, your cost would be $4.50 assuming $0.03 per download.  Again, not out of pocket and dramatically less expensive than typical advertising.

When the reviews start coming in, don’t take the bad opinions personally.  If someone took the time to write, it means they’ve clicked and most importantly, listened.  Those opinion writers will talk about your music to others.  My take on bad reviews is they may be just constructive criticism written poorly, so read carefully and with an open mind.  Even if the review is mean-spirited, you can use it to get attention.  ”Here’s what people who hate my music have to say about me”.  There’s going to be a buzz about you and the tweets will start flowing. People will want to listen just to see for themselves if it’s really all that bad.  You’ve got your rattle on.

ROLL

How often do you reach out to your fans on a personal level?  Is it daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, every 6 months, once a year, whenever the mood strikes you?  There’s nothing better than an authentic consistent connection to your fans.  Why?  Sustainability, loyalty, tolerance.  You will produce more than one CD.  They may not all be as popular as “Thundering Turkeys Burning in Hell”.  How can you keep your fans from thinking you’re a one hit wonder and drop you like a Polaroid picture?  That’s where consistent contact comes into play and remember the authentic part.

Sustainability applies to you, your sound and your ability to produce music that people will buy.

Loyalty is built by developing relationships and loyalty allows for tolerance.  What if your follow-up CD,  ”Ant Eating Flesh”, where you’ve experimented with an electric harp, doesn’t quite make the grade?  The reason isn’t important for this example.  You need tolerance to experiment with an album or to have a bad idea so that your fans will buy it even if they know it’s not your best work.  That’s not to say you have license to get lazy and produce bad music, it does mean that you can have a rotten egg and not fall off the radar.

When you reach the part where your shake and rattle are on, then you’ll need to keep on truckin’.  Google adwords is a great free place to look up the traffic on keyword searches.  You’ll need to keep attracting new visitors to your site. First, keyword your name and the Cd’s title.  But, the remaining keywords should be relevant to you and your music and rank highly in the keyword search world.

Let’s suppose that your focal instrument is the electric harp.  Before using up my keyword space, I’d check it out on Google adwords or any other free keyword look-up website.  I did a keyword search on electric harp and it didn’t make to the top ten searches. However, there were 1 million searches for the word “harp”, so I’d drop the electric.  Use this logic for your keywords and you’re sure to increase traffic and bring curiosity to your site.  You’ve got your roll on.

These tips are just to get you started. Now get down to business and shake, rattle and roll!

Hasan Smith Interview on Blog Talk Radio

If you’re in the mood for a lift, listen to Musician Edition on Blog Talk Radio.  This week’s program features Hasan Smith, a Gospel, R&B, Hip Hop, Playwright and Comedian.  Thirty minutes was not enough time to delve into all of Hasan’s talents, but we did chat about his influences, motivations, and his new track called “The Deal”.   In “The Deal”, Hasan sings a tribute of thanks for the support and love his wife has shown him as he chases down his dream.  “The Deal” is a warm, sweet story of love, devotion and dreams with a beautiful melody and is sung with passion and desire.  Joining Hasan on “The Deal” is Jose Ecchevaria on keyboard and bass, Jacob Velasquez on drums, mixed and engineered by Paul Middleton and produced and sung by Hasan Smith.

To get your limited time free MP3 download of “The Deal”, visit Rising Mega Stars and sign up for a free membership.