It’s been a hectic time recently, and there’s plenty of news to get through, so here goes:
Last month, I graduated from Southampton University, having completed my Bachelor’s in Music with a First. In addition, I was awarded the Hazel Muras-Osborn Composition Prize, for “the best achievement overall as a composer on the course”. This prize took me totally by surprise, and an achievement I am very proud of. No doubt it will be a fantastic thing to have moving forwards.
Furthermore, it has been suggested to me by one of my lecturer’s that I submit an essay that I wrote for my final year to an Academic blog, before reworking it and submitting it to a full Academic Journal. Needless to say, I will be taking up this opportunity eagerly.
Following on from all that, next month I will be starting my Master’s in Music Composition, once again at Southampton University, lasting for a whole year. I’m very excited to start it, to focus more closely on my composition after three successful years of a wonderfully broad musical education. I’m especially looking forward to working more closely with the composers there – in particular, Matthew Shlomowitz, who I have already had much success in working with.
In addition to this, I am on the committee for SUStrings, the Southampton University String Orchestra, for 2015-16 in the role of Librarian. I hope to bring a new spin to the role and orchestra, by placing an emphasis on playing student works – either composed, or arranged. And in keeping with a tradition started last year, I hope to make the final concert of the year a soundtrack concert, for which I, as well as other members, have already started arranging a number of pieces.
Perhaps most excitingly though, I have been brought onto a game development team as lead composer. They have already begun work on the game, with a demo of some sort expected next year but a full development time of at least two years, meaning I have time to work on the soundtrack once my Master’s is completed. This is obviously a fantastic opportunity and I look forward to bringing you all more news as I get it.
In addition to all of this, I have a flat all to myself for this next year, and I am in the process of building a new PC (my poor old laptop is getting on a bit and I need the extra grunt of a desktop). With the privacy and extra processing power this gives me, I should be able to return to streaming composition on a more regular basis – and in higher quality! I’ll let you guys know as soon as everything on that end is sorted out.
If you’ve got this far, thanks so much for reading all of this! I promise the next update will not be as slow in coming along as this one was. Given everything that’s happened to me recently and is going to happen, I’m very excited for my future in composition.
For now, I’m just enjoying a sweet Disaronno on the rocks after a hard day’s arranging…
I wrote a comment on Anna’s blog about Spotify, and originally wanted to post this in full. However, I felt it best to cut down my comment into a much smaller, streamlined one. I wanted to keep my original post, so here it is in full:
Hi Anna,
I love that you’ve raised the topic of Spotify, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree with your conclusions. Whenever an artist decides to pull music from Spotify or refuses to let their music be put on there, the response from Spotify is always the same “If people are listening on Spotify, at least they aren’t pirating it!”
Now, I’m sorry, but I’m just not buying this. It relies on three assumptions:
1) That pirating is necessarily a bad thing
2) That Spotify gives artists a liveable wage
3) That there are no better alternatives for artists
I find these to be severely misguided and I’ll tackle them one by one. Firstly, this article by Anthony Hill (http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/news/2013/05/piracy-downloads-130315 – seemingly my go-to article as of late) shows that piracy often leads to MORE album sales and not less. I know this from experience with friends and acquaintances who pirate as a way of “trying before they buy”. They are often those who spend the most on music, or if not, often say they would if they had more disposable income.
Secondly, Spotify still pays artists a ridiculously low rate per play. For the artists who are in the Top 40, that’s not a problem – the sheer number of plays on their hit singles mean they rake in the cash. However, take, for instance, the case of King Crimson – such a large, succesful and influential band must be able to make a lot off of Spotify, right? Well, Robert Fripp has never been a fan of Spotify, and thus only two tracks were ever made available on there. Between them, they garnered 618 plays, leading to Spotify sending a massive £1.61 (Yes, you read that right) to the record company (http://www.dgmlive.com/diaries.htm?entry=15629). The money then went through the company and had to be divided between the label and the band members. What was paid out to them is so little it’s not even worth calculating.
Honestly, if King Crimson can make so little money from their tracks, what hope do small, unheard-of bands have? 618 plays is probably about as many plays as such a band will acquire in a year, and that pittance can hardly be considered a liveable wage.
I did a little number crunching of my own to investigate. Even IGNORING the multiple £100+ collector’s boxes that I have bought from King Crimson, I have spent at least £100 if not £200 on King Crimson’s music. By comparison, I have listened to them over 5000 times in the last few years according to last.fm (and are my most played artist) which, after a few sums equates to about £13-14 paid to the label. In other words, I would have to listen to King Crimson for over 30 more years at the same rate to give King Crimson anywhere near how much I’ve paid for music (again, excluding the collector’s sets). And I will no doubt be buying more music from them as the years go on.
Spotify claim that people still buy CDs and downloads even when using Spotify, but I question this. From my own experience, a lot of people I know who once pirated and now use Spotify rarely, if ever, buy music any more. They believe that by enduring adverts or paying a subscription fee, they can sufficiently support the artists they listen to, because Spotify presents itself as an endgame and not as a stepping stone to further supporting the artist.
Now, there is no doubt that the playing field has changed. The old record industry model doesn’t work any more. But there are better platforms, in my opinion, than Spotify. I truly believe that Bandcamp, which I mentioned in my vlog this week, is a far better platform as it mostly cuts out the money-grabbing middle men, and allows artists to share music on their terms.
Sorry this is such a long rant but I hope it was at least interesting. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
As we’re now reaching the end of November, people may have noticed my slightly more ragged appearance than normal. I have been taking part in No Shave November, but due to a lack of proactiveness I didn’t have my own donation page. So what can you do to help? Simple, find someone else who has taken part in No Shave November or Movember and donate to them! Perhaps think about donating a bit more for me, too 😉 I’d personally recommend donating to my good friend Scott Hunter, because his facial hair is magnificently glorious (http://uk.movember.com/mospace/9714465).
December is surely one of the most despised months for musicians. Between the learning and relearning of inane Christmas tunes (ugh), frequent and frantic rehearsals (always perfectly organised… not), and then all the concerts (so. many. concerts…), Christmas time is often one of the most stressful times of the year.
Thankfully for me, my schedule for the next couple of weeks is not too bad (as I have learned the all powerful, two letter phrase: no). However, in comparison with my schedule in previous years (or, indeed, the schedules of other musicians this year), this year’s schedule looks completely barren.
So, this holiday season, please spare a thought for the musicians. Whilst you’re excitedly looking forward to your Christmas holiday, they’re most likely rushing from rehearsal to rehearsal to concert to rehearsal so that you can have a soundtrack to your festivities…
Whilst working on this blog post, it was immediately apparent to me that for different people, developing one’s professional online profile would be a very different task depending on what one was trying to achieve. I found Jess’s blog post a particularly noble attempt to create a checklist of steps for anyone to take in developing your profile – everything she wrote would be of use to anyone trying to utilise social media. I found her first point, in particular, “Decide what your goal is”, to be very valuable, as there is little point in pursuing a direction with your profile which does nothing for, or in fact hinders, the objective you are trying to reach.
I did, however, feel that it was slightly short, perhaps missing out some important points as I mentioned in my comment. In particular, I felt there was a lack of emphasis on interaction, which Nabeel also mentioned in his comment, though in a more specific way:
“you didn’t mention the ways in which we as potential employees can engage with [employers] or attract them to our profiles.”
Whilst I disagree with the specificness of the comment when compared to the ultimate aim of Jess’s post, I believe that Jess could have touched further on a general level as to how one’s profile might attract and engage one’s desired audience (In Nabeel’s case, employers).
Charlie’s blog post took a very different direction, looking at a more specific aim: building brand. His discovery of BrandYourself was of particular interest and I definitely plan to use it in the future. What I found particularly fascinating, though, as I stated in my comment, was that so many blog posts focused on LinkedIn and Twitter for development of business based profiles. Twitter’s popularity in particular, I was somewhat surprised by, and Charlie summed up the reasons for its usefulness very neatly in his response:
“Twitter is a really well sorted way of debating and communicating, and I’m convinced the 140 character limit, the way the timeline is chronologically sorted and how easy it is to use is the reason it is perceived to hold so much potential.”
I did find the article that he linked to be very interesting, however, with Twitter bringing in more Facebook-like features. It shows that, despite the popularity of Twitter within communities such as ours, Twitter still believe they can expand their userbase into Facebook’s territory. It will be interesting to see whether they can do so whilst maintaining the website’s strengths and not introducing any sense of “exclusivity” (as Charlie aptly put it) that can be inherent in the nature of Facebook.
In my last post, I covered the advantages and disadvantages of multiple online identities, and briefly mapped out a model ideal. However, holding what I describe as a “strong” identity is only a starting point: one’s online profile must be developed to take full advantage of it.
UoSM2033 Topic 3: Discuss the ways in which an authentic online professional profile can be developed
There are countless ways to grow one’s online profile and I will analyse these though my eyes, those of an independent musician, looking at the experiences of other musicians.
WHAT DOES AN ONLINE PROFILE DO FOR A MUSICIAN?
Take a look at these two videos:
Both videos feature people who have been extremely successful through their online profiles. Gary Vaynerchuk’s has allowed him to develop a public brand (enabling the creation of new media, books etc.) whilst MatPat’s Game Theory series served as an online portfolio and enabled him to secure a job.
I would argue that the successful independent musician requires even greater interplay between their online profiles and offline selves than these examples; selling your music, as an extension of yourself, to your audience, the public, rather than selling yourself as a product to companies.
“The objectives of the online artist… should be audience expansion and audience retention.”
Fig. 1: The Audience Feedback Loop
My concept of the “Feedback Loop” is shown above; it displays the four main ways a musician develops relationships with audiences, and how these “Feed Back” into one another. Creating flow around the diagram retains and expands your audience by engaging them. Whilst the quality of your music, your performances and merchandise are minimally affected by the development of your online profile, your general profile and interaction with your audience are most certainly enhanced.
“We are all individuals, but unless we are also a brand, our individuality will be invisible. Being a brand means showcasing that which makes you special, in a way that is distinctive (recognizable), predictable (consistent), and meaningful (it allows others to understand what you do and why).”
So, how do we manage this? Take the example of Adam Pacitti’s infamous EmployAdam campaign. A large part of its success, as Art Jonak states in his analysis, is that “Simple Sells”.
I adhere to this by employing the same graphics across my online profiles (See Fig. 2 & 3), and using a consistent colour scheme. The images represent who I am (Portrait) and what I’m about (Music – from one of my pieces).
Fig. 2: My current Profile Picture, which I use on all of my profiles
Fig. 3: My current cover and background image
These two images are now almost as synonymous with me as my name, and username MistmanX, which I hold almost exclusively across the web (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4: First Page of Google Results for “MistmanX” (08/11/2014) – All but one result is about me, though admittedly some others are not relevant to my music
2) POSTING CONTENT
The music industry has changed. People want to “try before they buy” (Hill). Record companies are no longer the most important ears to reach. Your AUDIENCE needs to hear your music.
The other major strength of Pacitti’s campaign was directly showcasing his skills; his video “cleverly weaves in his resume” (Jonak). This is really important, and, with dedicated platforms like YouTube and Bandcamp featuring easy integration into Facebook and Twitter profiles, there’s no excuse not to.
3) BEING GENUINE
It is, however, important that your social media does not appear to just be an online marketing campaign. Ari Herstand makes good points in his article, but of most interest here is his last point:
“…fans want to get to know you on an intimate level. They want to live vicariously through you.”
Whilst his final point is perhaps at the extreme end of this thinking, it is important that your personality comes through in your profiles; this is why I do not hesitate to tweet about Formula One or Video Games, and why Jørgen Munkeby’s Twitter profile is one of my favourites (See Fig. 5). Tweeting or retweeting about spam email, memorial concerts or strange art in his hotel, expands his personality beyond
“Singer/saxophonist/guitarist/composer for the Norwegian Blackjazz band [Shining]”
making him more relatable and engaging his audience.
Ultimately, Social Media is just that; social. Numerous articles tackle this issue, from Dave Kusek’s on Hypebot to Joshua Smotherman’s on Cyber PR Music. The benefits of interacting openly with your followers are varied: adding a personal touch, allowing instant feedback and, perhaps most importantly, forming a community around you and your music.
The band hAND have an excellent conversational style on Twitter, actively inviting interaction from fans (See Fig. 6). My Twitter interactions with them made me even more interested in their music. Furthermore, and as a consequence, I went on to recommend them to friends, and they gained information from me, to guide them towards a new potential venue (See Fig. 7).
Ultimately, a community is far better at spreading the word about you through their friends, both on- and offline, than you could ever hope to on your own, auto-generating Feedback in your Feedback Loop. For instance, this news article by Damien Leech on Heavy Blog is Heavy reflects brilliantly on Townsend, Munkeby, Ihsahn and even myself, even if the mentioned collaboration is not yet happening. This content, created by a member of the artists’ communities, from the artists’ interactions with their communities, creates excitement, interest and engagement.
I realise that, up until now, this blog has been entirely about my work for the Living and Working on the Web module at Southampton. I think it’s about time I changed that, don’t you?
For part of the final year of my Bachelor’s degree at Southampton, I will be writing an EP – between 20 and 30 minutes worth of music. I knew I wanted to write a Concept EP from the very beginning, although the concept didn’t come straight away. Thankfully, once I did settle on a good concept, the concept flew.
The things that originally entered my head were an image, a word, and a parable by Schopenhauer.
The parable, known as the Hedgehog’s, or Porcupine’s Dilemma, is an allegory for the complicated and paradoxical nature of human interaction and intimacy. I was first introduce to the concept by a TV show called Neon Genesis Evangelion and it’s been an interesting topic of thought for me ever since.
The word, Isolosphere, was of my own creation, and is a manifestation of the mental state that one enters to protect themselves from further emotional trauma
This is the image, crudely sketched by me, a visual representation of the Isolosphere, with a person contemplating entering it:
My next step was to tie these ideas together and construct a narrative. The narrative has been devloped over a few weeks, and is best summed up with the working titles for the five tracks of the EP:
Isolosphere: Prologue – The protagonist and basic themes are introduced
Hedgehog’s Dilemma – The protagonist gets frustrated with his situation and contemplates cutting himself off from other humans on an emotional level
Isolosphere (Welcome to the Isolosphere/In Circles/Get Me Out!) – Multi-movement song – The protagonist enters the Isolosphere, experiences life from within it and eventually becomes disillusioned with the monotony of it all
Break it Down (Rejoice!) – The protagonist breaks down the walls of the Isolosphere and escapes, rejoicing in the joys of interacting with others
Isolosphere: Epilogue – An outro, but tainted by a faint voice calling to the protagonist, claiming that he will never truly be free from the Isolosphere
And there you have it, the basic concept of my EP. I have a lot more to talk about, but I’ll leave it there for now!
![IMAG0367[1]](https://mistmanx.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/imag03671.jpg)
The Progressive: Calum Burgess 