Welcome to another issue of Technolite

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In todays newsletter:

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1. Site Updates

2. Video tutorial

3. Start your own record label?

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1. Updates.

There is a new free ebook (in pdf format) that I made which is free to spread. It contains upto a million free MP3s for you to download. These range from commercial to non-commercial tracks. The ebook is a hand picked directory of best sites for free MP3s, containing 1) Record labels 2) Directories, 3) Internet radio and 4) Artist sites.Here is the direct download link: MP3 Directory.

There are some hand-picked books/ ebooks for you to check out. These are the better ones out there at the moment. I have used most of them and that is why they are on the site. The link to them is here: Techno Books.

I have put on the site some Reason tutorials. I find them slightly complicated. But if you have a go at drum making with Reason then you will notice how similar/ the same the inputting system is to our own beat making tutorial, found here: Techno Beats.

The Reason videos are here: Reason Videos.

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2. Video tutorial

I have just prepared some video on how to make a quick song in 5 minutes and can be found here: Tutorial.

The link will open in a separate window. This video doesn't contain any voice narration. I got the idea from a Fruity Loops video which I thought was too complicated and fiddily to be creative. So I made my own with a basic idea, and basic tools ;)

It is a "what you see is what was done" sort of video. I haven't added any extra Ooomph to the drums and in my opinion they are too loud, especially the hi-hats. But what I have created is a work sheet. So any issues can be ironed out here. This is what I create when I am going to make a song. It shows what works with what, and you can fiddle around with the dials and knobs so that you can easily see if something sound cool or not.

As you can see with the start strings, I have just chosen a chord and then adjusted it to make it sound different. The song loops after 32 steps, but if I didn't set it to loop then it would continue down the pattern until it got to the end and then onto another pattern or back to the start.

The bass line you will probably remember from the "hard bass tutorial", found here: Hard Synth Sounds

With the bassline, it runs with the kick and snare, how do I know where to place the bass? Every 4th step or on every yellow line. If you keep to that then you can jump around placing the bassline before or after the yellow lines- just to give it a bit of flavour.

The drum line is easy and there are tutorials on the main site that has done that to death. Note two things though. The snare and the clap are put on separate channels so that the kick can still pump away. If you put a snare where the kick is, the kick will not play.

Also note the open hi-hat, this is not used as in normal dance tunes (inbetween the kick) because I want to show that drum noises can be used as a mini hook, and even though the open high hat is a touch too loud, it plays its role very well. It is just so the song doesn't get too boring. The bassline is a mini hook and so are the strings, but after time that will be dull.

The loop comes from the free 100+ loops that are available with the Beginners ebook. It was adjusted to fit in with the song, and played slightly louder with distortion so that you can hear it, but it doesn't sound too overpowering.

At the end, the mess around, it was made so that you could easily make up a much longer tune twiddling different dials. The old version of Josh Winks "Higher State of Conciousness" was mainly built upon a distorted TB303 bassline sound with the cut off dial being moved up and down.

I hope that it shows what can be done in a few minutes. It makes then the idea of creating a fully fledged tunes in a couple of hours quite simple, and that is what the Beginners Guide actaully shows you. It can be found here: Beginners Bible

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3. Start Your Own Record Label?

I have seen countless people stating that they want to make a record label. Surely many artists have done it and made tons of cash. P.Diddy is worth $500 million, alot to do with his record label. So it pays. But, is this a good idea?

One answer = no. Why?

Well, I wanted to go down that route, and I thought it would be quite simple. Get a name, then advertise. How wrong could I be. I bought the book that I have put on the site - Start and Run Your Own Record Label. At the start it shows you some great examples of people who have made it. However once over, Daylle gets down to business, and that is what it actually is. A business. So what do you need initially?

You need to set up a company,

You need a business plan,

You need funds to press CDs/ flyers,

You need contracts (and when money is involved, you need them water tight, so a qualified music solicitor to write them up is wise- none of these "bought Internet contracts".

You need back up cash- if the artist is hot, then you could get a race of CD buying, now if you have used up your order and shops are telling you they want more, and you can't fullfil, then your reputation as someone who "gets the job done" will be tarnished.

Now I don't know about you but those few sentences just made me stop and re-evaluate my plan. Anyone that does it any different is not a real label. Be careful if you sign anything, if you make music, try to keep all the rights for yourself. That is how Ozzy Osbourne made his money. He kept the rights to his music and made a fortune. If you get someone else involved then you will probably end up signing over the rights to your songs.

Also, if you really do want to go down this route, make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons. If at any stage you say "To have famous artists under your belt" stop now. You should be wanting to have a label for reasons that you can strive for. For example "to get unsigned artists out there", "to bypass major record labels", "to be in control of what you do, when you do it", "want to attract major labels"...etc.

I will always promote doing it yourself. Especially when the Internet is concerned. What better medium for music is there around, and is free? And that is why I have made up a wealth of promotional material readily available within the Beginners Bible, which can be found here: Beginners Bible

If you still want to make up your own label. There are some big rewards to be made out of it, that is no lie, then I would only recommend something that tells it like it is, and that is Start and Run Your Own Record Label, second edition which can be found here: Start and Run Your Own Record Label.

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