Flipside Productions & Marketing - BLOG

DECIDING WHEN TO RECORD A FULL DEMO OF YOUR SONG

4/17/2019

You have just written your latest best song and you are asking yourself “What’s next? Should I do a full expensive version of this song or a simple piano/vocal demo?” This is often one of the most important questions a songwriter can ask themselves in this game. Getting this step right can often determine whether an artist records or passes on your song. Here are some guidelines I’ve used to help me successfully navigate the song demo waters.

MISTAKES THAT CAN KILL YOUR SONG DEMO

4/10/2019

So, you’ve written a great song and you want to record an amazing demo to present it to the world. But there are certain things you need to know and follow before, during and after writing your demos. Believe it or not, the presentation of the demo sometimes can be even more important the content of the demo itself!! You can have a great demo and a bad presentation can make music supervisors and producers to don’t take it seriously, or opposite, you can have an “okay” demo but a good presentation and attract the attentions towards what you had done. Here are things I have learned in a 15-year career and more than 3,000 demos.

LEGAL BASICS FOR ARTISTS, MUSICIANS & SONGWRITERS

4/3/2019

Copyright Protection. Under copyright laws, copyright (literally, the right to make and sell copies) automatically vests in the creator the moment the expression of an idea is "fixed in a tangible medium" (in other words, the moment you write it down, type it or record it on tape). With respect to music specifically, a copyright in the musical composition owned by the songwriter and a sound recording copyright in the sound of the recording owned by the recording artist (but usually transferred to the record company when a record deal is signed). It is important to remember that you own the copyright in your work the moment you write it down or record it, and you can only transfer those rights by signing a written agreement to transfer them. Therefore, you must be wary of any agreement you are asked to sign.

THINGS YOU MUST KNOW TO GET FILM/TV CUTS

3/28/2019

Film/TV Music is hot now. With hundreds of networks, and thousands of shows, there is an increasing need for new and quality music. Is Your Music ready for cuts and placements?

Write What They're Looking For. Though music supervisors look for music of all types, 3 of the most used styles of music tend to be:
Pop and Pop Dance (country is only about 6% of music used.)
Alternative & Indie (from singer/songwriter to bands like "21 Pilots")
Non-explicit Hip Hop. Basketball games, sports shows, video games all want hip hop with rapping, but they need it clean.

WHY WON’T A HIT SONGWRITER WRITE WITH YOU?

3/20/2019

I’ve been asked hundreds of times “Why are staff writers hesitant to write with writers who don’t have a writing deal?”. The short answer is that the people who have gone before you have ruined it for you. Here are the most significant reasons signed writers hesitate to write with unsigned writers.

UNDERSTANDING COPYRIGHT LAW BASICS

3/13/2019

The basics of Copyright law are simple. Armed with some simple principles, you can understand just what is covered and what isn't, and hopefully save yourself potential trouble and money. It’s great for any songwriter or any other art creator to know their rights on copyrights or at least to have a trusted lawyer or publishing company to protect their rights for them.

YOUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE AND HOW TO RECLAIM IT NOW

3/6/2019

As a business owner, you likely spend most of your time thinking about money, marketing, profit margins, and cash flow. But your most valuable resource is actually your time and it's time for you to invest a lot more of your energy using money, which is infinitely renewable, to free up what's non-renewable: Your time, energy and attention. For some, the very term "time management" feels like nails on a chalkboard. But if you're the owner of a business, managing your time wisely is critical. You're the most valuable person in your company, and you cannot afford to spend time spinning your wheels.

WHEN YOU HAVE TO WRITE BUT YOU CAN'T

2/23/2019

We all have been there. When have to write something specific that might not be our current mood but the project we're working on requires us to write it now. Or those times that you really need or want to write something but the "writers' block" is doing its job which is freezing the brain and not letting us to focus properly. For me personally when it comes to these situations, I do either one or a combination of few of these things to come over the block and do what I'm supposed to do. To write!

SUCCESS IN MUSIC WITH TEN TIPS

2/20/2019

Win the battle in your own mind first. Surround yourself with family and friends who share a similar vision and avoid those who have a negative attitude. Before you win the fierce battle with your competitors, make sure you've won battle with your own mind to persist no matter what it takes. When I left Kansas, friends told me I was just a church organist and not a Vegas singer. After nine years, I had sung and played every room in Reno, Tahoe, and most in Vegas. When I left to go to LA to write, musician friends said, "you're just a musician, you'll never make it as a writer." Now, 100 cuts later I don't hear much from them.

HOW OFTEN TO RELEASE SONGS?

2/13/2019

This is a question I've seen many artists; especially new ones are struggling to find the answer. Some love to release a song each few days and some believe only in "perfection" and they don't hesitate to work even a year or two on just one single track before releasing it. But the main question is that how often to release songs and albums to be active enough yet not to be a spammer!
Well, when it comes to such topic, there's no right or wrong and it's really up to the personal mindset for indie artists or the managers of label for signed artists. And here is my personal opinion based on my 15 years of experience.

CONSISTENCY

2/9/2019

Just like most other jobs and careers, making a living from writing songs and being a professional in music industry requires a huge amount of sacrifices and more importantly it requires consistency. If you're anything like me, and the rest of 99.9% percent of other musicians, you'd fail for at least a couple of years! But the key here is not to give up. Not to be stubborn, taking no as an answer is okay here but don't "go home"!

WHAT IS MUSIC PUBLISHING?

2/6/2019

Music publishing deals with the ownership and exploitation of copyrighted music. Through music publishing, copyrighted work is sold for use in areas such as radio, performances, movies, TV, record sales, and streaming. Publishing provides a variety of avenues for an artist to earn a living while working in the music industry.
Live performances, club appearances, autograph sessions, and speaking engagements can get you a one-time check, but publishing your music can result in continuous payment for years — based on the popularity of your music. Ever wondered how some of these older artists are still able to buy homes and cars, and make investments without newly-released music? Then you should learn as much as possible about music publishing.

THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF A SONG

2/2/2019

I’m sure we would all have our own opinion about the most important part of a song, but I’ve compiled a list of my top 5 most important parts. All of these areas deserve extra special attention. In no particular order:

The hook. The title of the song is worth getting right. The better and more original your idea is, the easier it is to turn it into a hit song. A weak idea is hard to turn into a hit. It’s worth spending lots of time finding great ideas.

The opening line. Either peaks the listener’s interest or loses it. Killer opening lines increase your chances of keeping a listener interested or getting an artist interested in your song.

COLLABORATION AND CO-WRITER AGREEMENTS: WHAT THEY MEAN AND HOW THEY WORK

1/30/2019

Under the copyright law, an author or creator owns a copyright in his or her work the moment it is "fixed in a tangible medium" (i.e., the moment the expression of an idea is written down or recorded in some manner). When it comes to the recorded music business there are two primary copyrights of interest: one in the musical composition or song; another in the sound recording of that song. A copyright extends for the life of an author plus 70 years, and in the case of collaborators on a copyright it extends for the life of the last surviving collaborator plus 70 years.

ENTERTAINMENT LAWYERS: WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? & HOW MUCH?!

1/26/2019

As an artist or creator in the entertainment industry you do not need to know everything about the business in order to succeed, but you should hire people who do. When I was a teenage recording artist, I can remember being intimidated by the "suits". Now that I am on the other side of the desk, I have a broader perspective. I am here to tell you that those "suits" can help you; provided, however, that like any other aspect of your life, you use your instincts in making your selection.

HOW TO PITCH YOUR MUSIC

1/23/2019

There are a lot of people approaching me or respond to my approach for either publishing their music or using their demos for pitching to the bigger names in the industry. I can say about 40% of the demos are receive are okay in sense of professionalism but the other 60% usually have some sort of issue which makes the project to don't move forward. Here I list down some of the common issues and the solutions for them.

Decide what you want. Before sending your track or your demos to a publisher or a producer, make sure at least you know what you want, and it would be even much better if also be open for their suggestions too. When you are sending them a demo, do you something in mind? If you had the power to get the song in whatever direction that you wanted, what would you do with it? All these and things like these are what you need to prepare before sending your demos out. Don't be confusing and don't make people confused. At the end of the day, this is your project and you want it to move forward, right?

PATIENCE!

1/18/2019

Being a musician comes at a cost. An expensive cost that would never be paid back until you actually make it at least to a certain point in music industry. It's your time. It’s your energy. It’s your life you are spending on it. This industry is opposite of what many dream. It’s not that Disney world that you enter and from first day you are walking on the red carpet! This is music industry for God’s sake. You need to work harder than you can imagine and you need to learn very well on how to deal with rejections.

SONGWRITERS WHO ARE DREAMERS

1/16/2019

Through years of working at Flipside, I met a vast array of people wanting to become professional songwriters. People of all ages, races, backgrounds and economic situations, most of whom would love to achieve some degree of commercial success with their music. As a student of people and a guy in love with studying psychology, I have studied what causes some people to succeed and others who are equally talented to fail in that quest.

YOUNG ARTISTS WITH ATTITUDE

1/12/2019

Few days ago, a singer friend messaged me and asked, “As a producer, what are you looking for in an artist?”. His question was actually very hard yet very easy to answer! I, same as most other producers, managers, labels and promoters, are looking for fresh talents with proper attitude. Here is why:
At least when it comes to Entertainment industry, when they say one is having some "attitude" problems, it is not only limited to being arrogant or ignorant or full of themselves, but it also includes issues such as bad time management, lack of commitment, not having a good common sense and in general anything that would make a person not very lovely! Remember, it’s entertainment. If you want to be shitty, and you can’t entertain even yourself to be a good person, how do you want to successfully entertain your listeners?

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE INCOME SOURCES FOR SONGWRITERS?

1/9/2019

Income sources for songwriters differ from other industries because songwriter incomes come from multiple royalty streams and advances. The major forms of songwriter income include performance royalties, mechanical royalties, sync fees, and advances.

Here is a very brief summery of how these types of payment would work for you as a songwriter.

HOW TO RESOLVE SPLIT DISPUTES IN SONGWRITING

1/5/2019

Today's international music industry is extremely dynamic. Such a large and evolving industry comes with questions of song contribution, so how do you determine who created what? Two words: Split Sheets.
It is extremely common for songwriters to collaborate with other co-writers to create new pieces. Many songwriters are left unpaid as a result of split disputes when co-writers cannot agree on split portions. The performing rights organization and record company involved will withhold royalties for a song if a dispute involving ownership arises.

Sennheiser Momentum Review

1/2/2019

Here is a general fact I think we all can agree on, which is “in-ear headphones can deliver awesome sound” simply because of their design. And they are considered as great for daily use due to their small designs and mobility. But many of us might not be aware of just how good they can be because we insist on using the cheap sets included with our smartphones and never find the time - or money - for an upgrade. But the thing here is that most of the time these headphones don't have to cost a fortune, yet they will deliver that great sound which you need to hear! These little guys can achieve an ideal sound isolation from the outside world and stop what you're listening to from spilling out.

IMPROVE YOUR SONG DEMOS

12/26/2018

There are many ways to make a demo better without spending more money on it. Try these quick tips to get better results.

Do all of the pre-production you can BEFORE starting to record the demo. Figure out the exact tempo. There are great phone Apps out there, just to nae one there is one called BPM that will let you tap out a temp and get the beats per minute. This saves studio time and it keeps you from recording the song too fast or too slow. Also go in armed with the key of the song already noted. If you are able, recording a good solid guitar or piano/vocal demo in the right key and at the right tempo can give you more time in the studio to work on more important things! It’s always a good idea to go in knowing the exact arrangement you want and even having the song charted in advance. The more time you spend before you are in the studio, the more time you have to experiment and get the song right IN the studio.

GET THE RIGHT SHOT THE FIRST TIME

12/22/2018

This blog is dedicated to all the photographers who continually agree upon wasting time and their hard-earned assignment money on post production. Sorry Photoshop guru's, I too enjoy the diverse applications of Photoshop but the reality is that so many photographers are lazy and rely too heavily upon post production work. A clear example was this past Monday while watching an instructional video on photographic lighting, while he had great content to discuss he kept making references to "Let's just remove that later in Photoshop". Keep in mind it wasn't a building or some extremely large item but rather a cable and a night table.

YOU ARE NOW A STAR

12/19/2018

When I first started out in the music business, I believed that someone was going to walk through a door where I was performing and make me a star! As I grew older, I started to face the reality that a minor percentage of the musicians and artists who have that dream, actually accomplish their goal. So, what is left?
realizing that being a star is secondary to expressing your soul and releasing from your spirit an energy, which is given to a very small percentage of the public. If you hone your craft, then you will draw the public to your front door. I will then guarantee you; the music industry will be standing right behind them trying to figure out how to make a buck off of your talent.