Songwriting and Inspiration

By Amr “ZAG” Awwad

Yo, ZAG here with another Music Biz blog. This time we’re covering songwriting and the inspiration when it comes to writing your own material. As a Hip-Hop artist, we often have the highest bar to set when it comes to intricate lyricism and uniqueness. Although you may not see that being the case when it comes to many rappers in our mainstream. Anyway, that’s a topic for another day!

Today I’ll be going through my own process of songwriting with ya’ll and some tips and tricks that I’ve learned since I started spitting in 6th grade.

You Don’t Always Have To Rhyme

Remember that time when you were in 3rd grade and you were asked to write a poem? And all you could think of is “The Fat Cat ate a Black Bat then sat on my Lap.” Yeah, turns out you don’t always have to do this. More important than rhyming is actually creating a scenario with your words that also happen to fit on a beat.

“Making all of this money hoping I don't get rich
Cause ni**as still getting bodied for foams
Sometimes the truth don't rhyme
Sometime the lies get millions of views”

- Chance The Rapper on “Acid Rain”

Yes, rhyming is obviously an integral part of songwriting for the most part, but remember lyricsdon’t always have to rhyme. Rhyming can even curb your creativity, especially if you find yourself trying too hard, because it can keep you distracted from finishing the idea you’re trying to write down.

You Can Rhyme the Ends with the Beginnings

You can take the last word you used in your first sentence and instead of trying to rhyme it with the next one, you can build up your story by rhyming that word with the first word in the next sentence and build up a new rhyme scheme from there.

“Life was stagnant for a 9th grade cat with a heart for rappin’
No Cappin’, only beanies with American Flags
Corrupted by whitewashed American standards, yes
So I packed my bags and headed West”

- ZAG

Here, I’m talking about how I wanted to pursue a career in “Rappin’” followed by the rhyme, “No Cappin’” which means “No lie” but also literally no caps; as at the time I only wore beanies with American flags on them. A double entendre and a true story.

You Can Continue Your Line Into the Next Bar

When I started writing my own raps, I always thought every line had to end at the end of the bar. I thought it was a very strict art form, until I met MF DOOM. A rather ugly brother with flows that's gorgeous, he became some sort of an inspiration for me when it comes to rapping outside of the box. There really isn’t much to say about it, you have to listen to him yourself to know what I’m saying.

Kendrick Lamar is also really good with this, I suggest you check out “Sing About Me, Dying of Thirst” from his album, Good Kid M.A.A.D City

When it comes to inspiration, there’s a huge difference between inspiration and biting. You can be inspired by other artists’ lyrics and persona, but it becomes biting when you copy someone’s exact lyrics. Kinda similar to writing an essay, where you can cite other authors (inspiration) in an essay (song) without completely copying them.

An excellent example of a piece of art that’s heavily inspired by other artists without losing its integrity is Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. Lin Manuel Miranda made sure to litter Hip-Hop references throughout the play as to pay respects to those that shaped black music, especially that most of the cast for Hamilton are indeed black and brown themselves.

An example of this would be 10 Duel Commandments in Hamilton that is a take on Biggie’s 10 Crack Commandments. You can listen to both below and see that even though one is inspired by the other, they are both still two separate bodies of work, and the only way to notice it is if you know both songs.

There are some wrong ways in which you can bite someone else’s lyrics. Sometimes certain rappers can get too lazy and just keep ripping lines from one of their dead friends. Yeah, it’s really sad, but Joey Bada$$ isn’t really making this easy for us when he keeps recycling lyrics from his late friend Jamal Dewar, also known as Capital STEEZ.

“Teach her many lessons
Reduce the stress and balance out the imperfections”

- Joey Bada$$ on “500 Benz”

“I got these bi***es stressing
I never love 'em, I just balance out they imperfections”

- Capital STEEZ on “Vinyls”

“Unfortunately, I am not that type of niglet
But pass the pot, let me skillet”

- Joey Bada$$ on “1Train”

“Keep a stash even when my pockets was looking thin
So pass the pot and let me skillet”

- Capital STEEZ on “Chicago”

There are many other instances where Joey is stealing lyrics from STEEZ without paying proper respect, to the point where STEEZ even prophesied this in his last song recorded 10 days before his untimely death.

“How you not going to give me mine, every time I rip a line
I haven't seen the limelight, in a right mind
Rappers base their careers off of white lies
A ghost writer been why he so nice
And the time he spit some of his lines it's no concept”

- Capital STEEZ on “Last Straw”

I don’t think there’s harm in taking certain lines from other artists if you’re planning on crediting them somehow in your music, whether that be Lin Manuel Miranda’s way by making obvious Hip-Hop references throughout Hamilton, or interpolating lyrics, like how I do in one of my poems.

“Raising generations of youth that speak truth to power
Telling the Nas from the hilltop that this world is ours”

- ZAG on “Yesterday”

Nas means people in Arabic, my mother tongue. It’s also the name of the Queensbridge Hip-Hop legend, who has a song called “The World is Yours” off his debut album Illmatic. So I’m interpolating that in my song while still mentioning Nas, as a way of paying respect.

So there ya go! Hopefully my tips are going to come in handy the next time you pick up a pen and pad. Also, I’ll be leaving one extra link relating to what I’ve been writing about in case you’re interested in doing more research on your own.

How to expand your music library

Photo Credit: Amber Zbitnoff

By: Edgar Vega
How to expand your music library

If you want to open up and listen to some new music that you aint used to but you just don't know where to start then use some of these tips.

Go off of what you like.

If you mainly listen to hip hop and you want to expand then something you can do is start by your favorite song. Hip Hop is always sampling something so if you like something from the beat you can start looking around for something similar to that. This definitely helped me when I was only stuck listening to Hip Hop.

What you've heard.

Although as of now you might be stuck thinking “I don't like anything out of Hip Hop” your wrong! I used to really really like the song “Super freak” by Rick James and I didnt know it wasn't Hip Hop. Sometimes you'll realise that a lot of the catchy songs you like that are always being played at the store arent Hip Hop so that can really be a way to start you out.

Just cannonball into it.

Sometimes you just need a jump into the unknown waters to test things out. It won't hurt to just explore if you don't like something then you don't but you'll never really know if you keep telling yourself you wish to expand but stay in the same little circle of repeated melodies and drum loops .

Thanks for reading :) Sincerely, Edgar Vega

How To Feel Comfortable Sharing Music

Photo Credit: Amber Zbitnoff

By: Edgar Vega
Tips on how to feel comfortable with you art

Me myself I have never really felt comfortable sharing any of my music with anyone because I used to have a mindset that told me I sucked at making music and it would bring my confidence down. A Lot of artist struggle when it comes to sharing there music and its fine, everyone's been there and it's just a process and something you have to grow out of it you wanna grow as an artist. These are a couple tips that personally helped me when I first started making music and I hope they can help you to step out of your comfort zone.  

Know that your art is unique.
I know this will sound corny but it's true and this was one of the main things that helped me out. No one is going to have YOUR sound because its your sound and artist get there own sound from picking up things as they grow up and no one has lived the same childhood as someone else. Your sound is unique and it is something new the world hasn't heard and yes maybe you could be taking inspiration but no one starts a new sound without inspiration from other art forms. A unique sound is something everyone has and you should share it with the world because it'll always be something new, never  the same.

You always gotta start at the bottom of the hill.
Don't be hard so yourself because you aren't a Kendrick lamar or J.Cole writer it all takes time and growth. Music is a constant trial and error sort of thing so the only way to get better at your writing and music is to go through a lot of bad lyrics. Trust me I been there I used to think beans and cheese used to rhyme and now I try and keep those in there seperate lane.

Get feedback
If the first two weren't enough for you than just ask for feedback. Have someone listen to what you got and ask them what you could improve or what would sound better and all sorts of questions like that. This is a perfect way of sharing music and also growing out of that shy stage where you don't wanna share your music. Feedback from your friends will definitely be helpful so I think this is a great idea if you're indecisive about some of your work.  

That is all I have and I hope it can help you out but always remember, To follow your own unique sound and to never be shy of sharing something because you never know how far you can get by sharing some of your work. Love yall :)

Sincerely, Edgar Vega A.K.A “PRIMOE”

Plan Your Daily Routine and Take Control of Your Creative Work Flow

By Daniel Pak
@pakrocks // daniel@pak.rocks // pak@totemstar.org

School's out for the summer! I've been playing a lot of Lego, soccer, and 'ukulele with my kids and visiting with family in Minnesota. Its been wonderful! But after a week or so of fun in the sun, I always start to get that itch. The need to write. And especially in the summer, when there is much less structure in my daily schedule, it's so easy to get distracted, racking up hours swiping aimlessly on social media and being lured into late night binging on Netflix.

Planning a daily routine is crucial to a productive creative work flow. I was reminded late last night while reading a Universal Audio blog on producer/composer Che Pope (Kanye West, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean), who talked about balancing being both a producer and a business person at the same time. He talked about handling business calls and emails in the morning and focusing on music from the afternoon on. Last summer I made sure to block off hours in my calendar to spend time in my studio and write, with my phone and wifi shut off so that I wouldn't be distracted by calls, texts, or emails.

Pope's interview reminded of a great infographic I was hooked on a couple of years ago, titled The Daily Routines of Famous Creative People, which shows the daily schedules of people like Mozart, Maya Angelou, and Pablo Picasso, all based on their diaries, letters, and other documentation. Check it out and be sure to hover over the colored blocks of time to see the specifics of what they were all doing.

Everyone has a different daily routine that works for them, but the important thing is to figure out what works best for you and to stick with it. Keep those songs coming!

5 Ways to Bring More Sounds and Melodies to Your Musical Toolkit

Written By Jahlil Kirby

1. Sound Packs / Drum kits

These are like a box of chocolates; you never know exactly whats in them, but you know it's gonna be sounds. Wether they're good or not depends on your taste and your source. Now when I think of packs, I know there's a FREE way and a NOT free way. My personal favorite source is reddit drum kits (Link Provided). There is what seems to be a never ending list of sound packs that are more than just drums all for free. Just be careful of what you are downloading just in case someone isn't too honest. My only negative is that some of the sounds like the 808s and other sounds come up in multiple packs but overall this is a good source. You can also subscribe to sources and buy packs, possibly even from one of your favorite producers, but that costs money and as a fellow producer, I know the value of having quality free sources when you can get them.    

https://www.reddit.com/r/Drumkits/

https://splice.com/features/sounds

https://www.noiiz.com

2. VSTs

VSTs like Nexus, Sytrus, Massive, and plenty of other awesome instruments are amazing and all and bring so much to your sound especially ones like Massive that are sound design based. However, they can be very expensive. So if you are broke or don't want to break the law pirating them for free, you're going to have to settle for other free VSTs and Plugins. One great source to find them is producer blogs with lists telling you how good they are and saving you the time of running through a bunch of the same type trying to find the one that doesn't completely sound like a bad stock plug in. Here's one on e-pianos to get you started. 

https://blog.wavosaur.com/best-fender-rhodes-e-piano-vst-freeware/

3. Samples

This is basically the sound pack work except it's all up to you and you have control of the sample rather than just being handed ones. BEWARE: Copyright is real and will come to get you so brush up on your laws and be careful using uncleared samples! The source can be literally anything. Door knocks, glass bottle whistles, your uncle's awful cough, and if you can legally do it, records and music online are great sources for you to chop up or fix to your needs to make your music great. And if you need help sampling with your DAW, Youtube has PLENTY of videos helping with many topics on almost all decently known DAWs. As long as you can mess with it and make it sound good and original ( and it's legal ) it's a go in my book. 

4. Colab and Network

Possibly the least thought of option, working with others is a great way to develop your musicianship as well as your sound library. There have been a good amount of times People I've worked with as well as myself have put great work for others tracks for other people and I've gotten put on with many great sources and sounds from other producers I've met. Before I knew about producer blogs and good sources for kits, I was pretty much using solely stock sounds that did't sound all that great. Now I have plenty of sounds and options to play with when I make music. There's probably plenty of people out there that can help you make gold for your next project. It's just up to you to ask whether you network in person or over social media platforms like Instagram. Just remember that copyright is definitley a serious thoing and you are good to go!

The Difference Between A Beatmaker And A Music Producer with DJ Khaled

Photo Source: Billboard.com

By Paul Laughlin

For the most part, anyone who makes beats digitally calls themselves a music producer. I've done it myself and probably still do it sometimes as a result of the misunderstanding of the term in most of my circles. After 20 years as a vinyl DJ (and Serato ScratchLive control vinyl DJ), I finally started making beats of my own thanks to my work with Totem Star artists. I started calling myself a producer, as every other beatmaker was doing. But was I wrong? I guess it really depends. Let's dive further into this topic by listening to DJ Khaled's explanation of a what a music producer does, self boasting and all, and why it is so much more than a beat maker in his interview with New York's Hot 97.

Although I am not a huge DJ Khaled fan myself, I can't deny that he produces huge tracks and a lot of big artists continue to want to work with him. In the interview, DJ Khaled explains that a  producer, as the leader of a teams of artists, musicians, and more, create and sell musical ideas/projects, bring together artists and other musical creatives for a project, promote an artist and/or release, and, most importantly, find the resources to make the project come to fruition. 

Here are some highlights from the interview:
"A producer gets the job done and makes the record come out, come to light and 90% of the creative process...I come to the artist with an idea and they either love it, and if they love it, they contribute to it and make it ten times bigger. Producers get the job done. From getting a beatmaker with you in there, sometimes I got to call a guitarist in, a keyboard player in, sometime I got to call a guy that plays the flute. I tell them sometimes what to play out my mouth. That's producing. That's getting played. That's writing. That's putting the masterpiece together...I make records, I find records, I put records out...Not everybody can do those three steps."

~DJ Khaled

And for those that think DJ Khaled has no musical talent, check the video below:

5 Tips on How to Conquer a Crowd

Written by kidLIO

There comes a time in a performer's life, where they have to learn how to conquer a stage with only a microphone and without the music. Whether it is as a comedian ora host. There will be a time where instead of entertaining the crowd, you are inter-taining with the crowd, in the sense that you are interacting withe crowd between sets of other artists. Some have natural-born instinct to the taking of a crowd... and then, some don't. 

Here are 5 tips on how to conquer a crowd. 

• 1. Assess your crowd; it's important... Trust me.
  When you step onto the stage the you are about to conquer, as a host for the first time, you need to focus on the energy that the crowd is already giving to you. Assess the way that they wait for the artists to arrive, monitor their chatter and prepare  yourself. Maybe even prep them from backstage with jokes, and queues of the shows beginning. When you know your audience, you can feel deep into your stage and connect with the crowd. If you arrive with low energy while everyone in the crowd is hyped, they will assume that there is nothing to be excited about. If you arrive with energy way too loud to register, the crowd will extend how overwhelmed they are towards the artists in an exhausted manner. 
   
• 2. BE ANIMATED... but humble.
  We love a fun host who knows how to make a joke, but it gets questionable when there isn't any room left for ego, unnecessary stories and loss of interest from the crowd. Know when to be humble but also know that crowds are crowds for a reason, keep them happy but not exhausted-- they still have quite a show to go!
   
• 3. Stay hydrated!
  No crowd wants a host too tired to remind them of when their favorite artist is hitting the stage because water bottle isn't being used backstage. Stay hydrated between sets to prevent voice cracks or strain of voice. You have an important job here, best to keep up with it. Also, water is life. If you're hyping up a dope artist on stage and suddenly you collapse from dehydration... it'll be awkward for everyone... in every way. 
   
• 4. Love on your crowd-- AT ALL TIMES!
  Living up to the potential of a "perfect host" is obviously unattainable for any person, no matter their caliber of humor, speech or bravery on stage. There will always be a different essence to each crowd that you assemble and speak before. During a rowdy crowd, or a crowd too quiet to be excited, love on your crowd to remind them of how important they are! Thank them for their contribution to the event your hosting and thank them for their dedication-- even when they won't be quiet. 
   
• 5. Know when to be stern.
  More often than not, there will be crowds that are too hype to listen to a middle man. The key to understanding the element of your crowd is by knowing when to set rules, standards of how to respect each other, the artists and the venue. In other words, when to e stern. Don't be afraid to remind crowds what they are there for and remember to keep all dialogue in between interactive, respectful and with purpose. Don't yell at a crowd because you see someone chewing gum or drinking water. But also, if fabrics and objects start hitting the stage, call a time-out and a take a moment to structure. 

Hope these help! Enjoy!

How to Rock a Live Performance

Photo by Avi Loud

I see you. You've been busy putting in work in the studio. Hours and hours spent crafting beats, writing lyrics, recording vocals, bringing in guest collaborators, and mixing your songs to perfection. You've got a bunch of followers on SoundCloud and you're feeling pretty good about your Instagram. And to top it off, you just got booked for a performance and it's only one month away.

This is the moment that matters most. The "in real life" moment. All of the work you've been doing in the studio and on social media has brought you to this point - getting on stage and making a connection with an audience of people, many of whom you've never met before. And it can be nerve-wracking to think about what you're going to do when you're up there, in the bright lights for all to see.

Are my songs all memorized? Will I be able to hear myself and sing in pitch? Will the audience even care about what I'm singing about? Will they like me?

Last weekend I played a show down in Portland and I overheard a conversation between my drummer and keyboard player before the show about how you should always remember that an audience you're meeting for the first time is just waiting to love you. But it's all about how you transmit energy to them. If you go on stage and succumb to the awkward and nervous feels, chances are the audience will feel that energy. So what do you do?

There is so much involved with putting on a great live performance. Make sure you practice, practice, practice. You should have your entire set memorized from beginning to end. If you're performing with a band make sure you are tight and know every cue. Spend some time thinking about (and even scripting) what you're going to say to the audience between songs. Does your set list take the audience on a ride through different feelings, emotions, energy dynamics, etc? Have you thought about what you're going to wear on stage? More than anything, are you ready to get on the stage in front of a bunch of people and just be YOU? Because that is really the most important thing - people come to a show to be inspired, and you are the one they want inspiration from. Just as the music you write is an extension of you - your expression - your audience wants nothing more than the real you to captivate them, and that is when they fall in love with you.

I found a few great blogs with more detailed tips for rocking a live performance. Check them out!

Mind, Body, and Soul, The Guardian

Top 10 Tips For a Better Live Performance, Making Music

What to do when the song is over, DiscMakers

4 Tips On Getting More Out of Your Release

Whether it’s a single or an album, I’m sure we all want success from releasing our music. It can be a lot of work but if you’re willing to work for it and think ahead, you can potentially make some real noise with your music. Here’s four tips on releasing your music that should help.

1. Have a Reachable Goal and Set Up a Plan to Meet that Goal
What are you trying to get out of your release? More views? Emails? Followers? Knowing what you are trying to get can help give you a start with how you want to promote and release your music. A plan or strategy can help things run smoother with releasing your art as well. Things like knowing your target audience, what time you want to release and how fast you want to show your art to the public can all can and should be part of that plan. For example, planning to get more views to your music video that you've worked out a blog promotion for by releasing a trailer at 11am PST of a Friday will probably work better than just releasing the video as soon as it's done  with only a post on Facebook saying " check out my new video! " The more strategy used in your release the better the outcome you will have! 

2. Connections! Connections! Connections!
Now I know we've all heard "it's not about what you know, it's about who you know." But connections are more than just knowing the right person. Community building and outreach are extremely useful Networking skills.  Working with other artists and people in your community and other communities can spread your name out and get you recognition in other circles. It can get you shows in places around the globe. But more importantly, it get's you people to work with that support you and the dream you guys build as a team. Think about crews in hip hop like the Beast Coast movement in NYC. All different groups that share shows and features so the success each group has builds everybody in the community. That can help you get further than trying to make it all by yourself. 

3. Outside Promotion
Promotion can do a lot and spread you to places you didn't know your music could go. But promotion comes from a wide range of places. Blogs, college radio, word of mouth, and ads are just a few forms of promotion that you can use. With promotion like college radios and blogs, knowing how to write an email the right way can is vital and will separate you from a lot of other people also asking for the same thing. Emailing the right way could also benefit in other areas like booking. Even the pros today use blogs so don't take them lightly. Some blogs have huge followings so access to their fan base can be very rewarding. The same goes for college radios and online radio stations. People do actually listen to them so air play and interviews could do some good for your career.

4. Access is Key
If nobody can find your music how can you expect it to go anywhere. It's a good idea to get your music EVERYWHERE if you want tons of people to see your music. That means more than just Soundcloud. That means Soundcloud, YouTube, Bandcamp, Spotify, Itunes, Google play, and any other place you think people can find you. now making an account with websites like YouTube and Sound cloud are easily accessible and free. But the problem for some might come with streaming services like Spotify. To be able to use spotify you need to go through an aggregator like Tunecore or CD Baby. While it is a cost money, it could help you get where you want to be. Speaking of actually releasing, you might want to make sure your copyrights are good to go. you can't exactly use things like airplay and streaming services like Spotify if you have copyright infringements because of samples  If you do use a sample make sure you get it cleared and the songs you work on are registered with a publishing company to help secure and protect your rights. 

5 Ways To Improve Your Self Confidence As A Musician

Jawzilla in the element

Written by Mirabai Jyothi Kukathas

They say write what you know, but here I am doing quite the opposite. One of the biggest reasons I don’t write music or perform that often is that I lack the self confidence. When I sit down to write I hear a voice telling me not to bother. Every performance I’ve been a part of has been preceded by intense stage fright. So why am I, a person with very little self esteem, especially in regards to music, giving you tips on becoming more confident? Well, because my boss told me to. No, I’m just kidding; it’s because I’ve been working to become more confident and know first hand what’s helpful and what's complete nonsense. Now, you might be thinking, but Mirabai, unlike you, I am not a nervous wreck, to which I say, good for you but everyone gets nervous, especially preforming artists. I think it's really important to keep the following things in mind, so without further ado… HOW NOT TO BE A NERVOUS WRECK, written by a nervous wreck because primary sources are important.

1. Be kind to yourself. Usually people save the most important piece of advice until the end of the list, but I’m going to put it first on the off chance you get bored and stop reading to go watch a cat video or make some toast or something. Recently, I was asked how I'd  want a friend to react if I was experiencing anxiety before a performance, or even just in every day life. I said that I'd appreciate kindness and honesty. I realized a lot of people would say the same, but I was not treating myself with those qualities and often neither do others. . It’s easy to treat your loved ones with kindness or to crave kindness from them, but most people are far less willing to be easily excited, forgiving, or appreciative when it comes to themselves. So, be kind to yourself because you are pretty damn awesome.

2. Practice. This one’s pretty short, sweet, and obvious but it works: if you practice something you feel self conscious about, you will improve. If you improve, you will become less self conscious abut it. This is especially true in regards to music. You’ve probably noticed that you feel more at ease performing a song  you’ve practiced a million times or that writing a song is a less daunting task if you’ve done it before. Practice makes perfect.

3. Learn that it’s okay to be only or less than okay. Okay, I lied: Practice doesn't make perfect. There is no such thing as perfect, yet most humans expect themselves to somehow achieve this delusional aspect. A lot of self consciousness derives from the idea that you should be flawless at whatever you’re doing. We have these crazy expectations of ourselves, and when they aren’t met we get upset. I recently wrote a song which for some reason I decided had to be fantastic. When I felt that it wasn’t, I got really down on myself. The song was, in all honesty, pretty bad, but looking back on it with kindness (see no.1) I’ve decided that’s perfectly okay.

4. Surround yourself with supportive people. I understand that this isn’t always an option, but when it is, it’s insanely helpful. I assume that at at least one point in your life you have been around people who have put you down; who have made you feel less than. It really sucks. That’s why having a community of people who lift you up and vocalize the best parts of you is really amazing. It makes you want to make music and share it with your community. For me, Totem Star is that community. That's why the power of collaboration is so strong. You and your collaborators can teach each other and build yourselves up. I know it can sometimes feel like other people are able to create musical magic out of thin air, but they aren't and you'll see that through working together. So go write something with your friends. 

5. Celebrate the little victories. You wrote a song? It wasn’t very good? I have no idea what that must feel like, but congratulations! You wrote a song, that’s impressive, I’m proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself! You can always push yourself to make it better or you can write a new song that resonates with you more or perform something that showcases your talents and views more coherently, but always be proud of what you’ve accomplished. Big victories always begin with the little ones.

Here are a couple links if you want to read more on the subject. 

How Much Does Confidence Affect Musical Ability? by Anthony Cerullo from Sonicbids

Becoming a Confident Performer by Gerald Klickstein from Musicians Way

Five Tips On Expanding Your Audience

Image via crowdinvest.com

Written by Jahlil (Jawzilla) Kirby

I know the struggle of having a dream, putting in the work, spending hard earned money on studio time, then posting it online to receive ... 50 views. It's even more frustrating seeing other artists have more ease getting support and more views than you. Here you will learn the business side of making yourself heard. 

1. Be ready to expand. Have a catalog of content ready and really polish yourself up the best you can before you try to promote yourself. Remember, you're going to have a much harder time promoting what doesn't exist yet and you have to think about if the listeners might want more. It might not be a bad idea to see what successful artists are doing to promote themselves that you aren't. This can be artists as big as Macklemore, who performs around the world, to artists that are local. Every artist offers something you can learn from. One of the reasons OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) and Tyler The Creator blew up is their originality and their amazing energy that goes along with their performance. Developing your skills and raising the quality of your music helps a lot. There are a lot of people that won't give artists a break and expect artists to have professional quality and be up to par before they even give them a chance, so keep that in mind. 

2. Social media offers tremendous opportunities to network and market yourself. Instagram is a great tool to use. Through the power of hashtags you can find people anywhere on Instagram that might be willing to work with you, creating opportunities to collab, share shows, and give shout outs to get to audiences you didn't have before. Join a group on Facebook! There's tons of groups you can join that allow you to network with people from all over the globe. There's definitely more social media platforms you can use but Instagram and Facebook are two solid platforms to start off with. You just have to stay up to date to find newer platforms and see what works for you. 

3. A solid way to expand your audience is to reach out to your community! This can be going to open mics and building yourself up from there if you're making zero noise at the moment. Working with other people builds a group that will give as much as you and others put in. A major example of this is the BEASTCOAST movement in NYC. A$AP MOB, Pro Era, and the Flatbush Zombies are the 3 top groups coming out of this movement and major artists today like Joey Bada$$, A$AP Rocky, and A$AP Ferg are a few of the artists that came out of this collective that all do shows together, do songs together, tour together, and show overall support of each other openly. You can't deny the success they've received from it. 

4. Using promotion isn't always a bad thing. More things than you know actually fall into this category. This may be free or may cost some money; but be careful not to get hustled. Ensure that the promotion technique is legit and gives you real results that don't just look good or give you numbers that aren't really there (like buying views). If you're still in school, this can be performing at your school assembly and gaining the support of your friends and peers. This could be sending your music to radios stations (e.g. college and local radio stations) to hopefully get played on air. This could be sending your music to blogs to try to get them to promote it on their page.

Tunecore is an example of a service that helps distribute music but it is NOT free. And of course theres the face to face word of mouth technique that if done correctly works really well. Building a street team is one example of this technique and can work great if the strategy is well thought out and the team is managed well. Even Tech N9ne has a street team and it's success speaks for itself. This means that you don't need to be signed to a label to gain a following. Other resources like a manager or a publicist aren't one hundred percent necessary, but they can be amazing tools to help you grow if you find the right people and can afford their services. There's a lot of options you just have to find them and experiment with what works for you and the audience you want to attempt to make your fans. 

5. Understand your audience's vibe and meet them halfway. Some of you decide your own line between selling out and appealing to other audiences. The most important thing about spreading your music is knowing who to spread it to while staying true to your craft. If you make Punk or Hip Hop, you'll more than likely have more success promoting at a skate park than your grandmothers bible club. One method could be finding some artists that you sound like or have a similar vibe to and reaching out to fans in that field. Instagram is a great tool for this. When you know who's listening to your music or who you want to listen to your music, you can better form your sound to their liking and have better success with the outcome of your music.

Jahlil (Jawzilla) Kirby is a regular at Totem Star and is interning with us through the SPOKES, the youth leadership body of Youth Speaks Seattle, Totem Star and the Arts Corps Teen Leadership Program. Check out Jawzilla's music HERE.

How To Memorize Your Song Lyrics

Jewelz Cypher Performing Live. Photo Credit: Amber Zbitnoff

Written by kidLIO

Have you ever seen Beyonce, The Queen Bee, herself reading song lyrics from a paper in her hands? From her phone? I haven’t either. It only displays her perfectionism in physical and mental memorization of her song and dance lyrics. As artists, and as entertainers, that plan to move around their stages, there needs to be a sense of urgency and desire to memorize the lyrics to our own songs. This is crucial towards our overall performance, in focusing on the song, the number of people we connect with in the crowd, and our art, itself.

Here are some tips and techniques to memorize your song lyrics
The overall performance depends on how much the artist has paid attention to the song and on performing it rather than just remembering the lyrics. There are tons of different ways to focus on the song you are performing by simply remembering the words based on what kind of learner you are.

If you are a Visual learner, you may find that remembering the outline of which you wrote your song on paper may help you further remember exactly how each verse flows, the words and the intensity of which the words should be stricken with.

If you be more of an Auditory learner, you may find that memorizing the song by the instrumental solo crossing into the bridge helps more because you remember what specific instrumentals are cueing a special set of lyrics in the coming moments. Try practicing with accompaniment and memorize your cues, sounds, scats and runs.

Lastly, being a Kinesthetic learner means that you react best to memorizing lyrics through movement-- like dance moves. I don’t doubt that this helps Beyonce remember her lyrics if she is focused on the dancing and not the words. Practice using hand gestures, body sways or even full on dance-moves (shall you be comfortable) if you find that it helps you remember what comes next.

Finding a mental or physical technique can help your overall performance in total.

Learn more about whether you are a Visual, Auditory or Kinaesthetic learner http://www.vocalist.org.uk/learning_lyrics.html

Connecting with your crowd and getting them as involved with you as you may be with them is crucial to how much entertainment your crowd will be coming back for, how they’ll decide whether or not to support you, and if they think you are the real deal. Standing completely still on a stage may not get you to Madison Square Garden as quick as someone with more confidence in their movements. Learning to be confident with every step you take may begin with your appearance, how you present yourself on stage. Take the time find your individual artist style. Take quizzes to find the accuracy of your artist’s fashion style and do your best to attain it.

Artists speak on the do's and don'ts in front of a crowd to engage with the crowd and have the crowd engage with you. Follow the link below.
http://upcominghiphop.net/2016/01/31/how-to-impress-a-crowd-who-doesnt-know-you/

A recap of the most important do’s and don’ts:
          DO NOT show the crowd that you are unprepared
          DO address the crowd. Easy hooks, call and responses, etc.
          DO NOT turn your back to the crowd
          DO know your audience

Memorizing your words by following the technique of knowing who you are on stage, making songs easy to follow, and simply having fun will make this all the more effortless.

Finally, the outcome of your specific artist is sometimes mostly defined by what you show you are prepared and not prepared for. Being able to memorize your lyrics comes along with knowing what you, as a human being and an artist, want the world to hear and see and know of you. Any song that you perform shall be one from the heart, that way it’ll be easier to locate your soul and spirit when performing. Another big strategy to take along with you as an artist and a human is to never compare yourself to other people. If you take care of yourself, you’ll take care of your music. You’ll take better care of the lyrics, perfect the amount of emotion that comes with it, and the vibe that you share with your audience. What you share and your message is all a part of your artist but to relate to the message at any given time, even if it may not be on stage, should be something you are easily prepared for. Which means memorization is key. If you know your story, you don’t have to recall it, you can just be it.

For more info on how to find that inner being that channeled your lyrics at first, click the following link: http://www.vocalist.org.uk/tone_emotion.html

The point here, is there are several elements that are all branched together that explain exactly what it is that you need to do in order to strengthen your memorization; sometimes it begins with knowing your performance goes on to knowing your crowd, and may end with you always knowing YOU. Don’t compare yourself to Beyonce; compare yourself to your artist. What do they have in common? How does that define your lyrics? If you know you, you know your lyrics.

For more tips on memorization, check out the links below
https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/how-to-remember-lyrics-to-a-song-in-4-steps/

http://singerssecret.com/how-to-remember-lyrics/

Before You Post On Soundcloud

Image via developers.soundcloud.com

So you've spent hours in the studio recording and mixing your song and you're finally happy with the final mix. You've mastered the track using Landr or some other mastering service and you're ready to release it on SoundCloud for the world to hear.

But before you release your song, we encourage you to read through these blogs we've found that offer some great advice on maximizing your reach. Happy releasing!!!

8 Simple Steps to Maximize your SoundCloud Experience

8 Ways to Actually Get Heard on SoundCloud

11 Tips & Tricks I Used to Make a Following on SoundCloud with 4 CiTieS

The 13 Biggest Mistakes Artists Make on SoundCloud

Got any tips, mistakes, or horror stories about your SoundCloud experience? If so, share them in the comments section!