I Got Beats On Deck!!!

Be sure to check out the newest beat I've posted at www.MelloMelanin.com.


It's called "City Life".


Check it out and let me know what you think...


Also, I'm working on another "banga" for you. I'll be posting another blog shortly.




Let's Make It Happen!!!


Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.MelloMelanin.com

www.Beats4ADub.com

www.RapBeatCreator.com

How to make beats online with Sonic Producer…and GET PAID TOO!

What is Sonic Producer?

Did you know you could make beats online? Rapid changes in technology have influenced every industry including the music industry. Gone are the days where you had to spend thousands of dollars to record an album. Today you can record a complete album from the comfort of your home for a few hundred dollars.

Computers and the Internet have changed the music industry drastically. Several years ago just figuring out how to get online was a challenge for most people. Now with technology changing so fast you can even make beats online with new, inexpensive software called Sonic Producer.

With a membership to Sonic Producer, you can make your own beats in real time and export the finished song as an mp3 file. This means you can make your beats online and download them your computer, cell phone, CDs, etc. You can then take that song and market it all over the Internet on sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.

How to make money online with Sonic Producer

If you want to make money online with your song you can get a membership at sites like RocBattle.com or Soundclick.com. At RocBattle, for a small membership fee, you can set up a profile that allows you to sell your beats directly from their website using Paypal. You can also battle against other producers to see who has the hottest beat. You’ll get immediate feedback so that you can continue to improve on your beat-making skills while at the same time marketing your beats.

At Soundclick, you can also sell beats online to other artists. They have a low cost VIP membership you can take advantage of which allows you to customize your member profile page will look. You can even program your profile so that you can add Paypal buy buttons where people can buy your music online.

If you’re serious about making beats online or making you own beats and haven’t gotten started yet, you should check out my review of Sonic Producer at www.RapBeatCreator.com.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.MelloMelanin.com

www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Grindin', you know what I keep in the lining!

Good afternoon! I was going to post to my Blogger/Twitter/Myspace/Facebook (I post on Blogger and it goes to the other 3 automatically. I love it!!!) earlier this morning. We got extremely busy on at work and to add insult to injury, I've been doped-up on sinus medication all day! If you don't know what this means, let me break it down to you. Be really, really quiet. Now come closer to the screen. Closer... Okay, are you ready?

I'M SLEEPY AS A MUG!!!

And for my non-ATLiens, I don't really know what a "mug" is but its probably most likely slang for the "F Bomb". LOL!!!

My head feels like its about to roll off my shoulders and I feel like I got a newborn baby neck or something...like its got no support.

An even better visualization for my music heads would be a slow nod while listening to 'chopped and screwed" music.

Bottom line, I'm tired a f*ck and I'm ready to dip. I'm tired of looking at the clock because that's just pissing me off. I really hate to be drowsy at work but I hate my sinuses being congested even more.

It's a Catch 22 situation fa sho!

Well, at any rate, I got a little more than 2 hours left on my shift and I'm ready to go home, take a nap, wake up, watch Heroes, then make some beats!

Now that's really "Real Talk".

On the real, I'm still working on my next site. I can't wait!!! I'll let you know what it is when i buy the domain name. Until then, you gets nothin!!! LOL!!!

Have a great day!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.MelloMelanin.com

www.RapBeatCreator.com

SellMoreBeats.com Review

Less than a week ago I purchased a course by Allen Brown aka Fat Fingers called SellMoreBeats.com. Well, I'm here to tell you that was one of the best investments that I've ever made!

I watched the free videos he has online for about a week and I set a goal to get a membership. I'm glad I did but first let me give you a little back ground on who Fat Fingers is.

If you're serious about the music game and you've never heard of Rockwilder the Grammy Award winning music producer then obviously you've been living under a rock...no pun intended.

Fat Fingers co-founded RocBeats.com & RocBattle.com with Rockwilder. RocBattle is one of the biggest sites on the Internet for music producers to battle against other producers and even sell beats online.

If you've been following me for any length of time, you know I'm all about making money online and making and selling beats.

I had previously bought another course on selling beats online called "Live Off Beats" and I was excited at first and I applied some tips but the customer service was horrible and at best nonexistent. I'm still waiting to receive an email response for a question I asked a month ago. I have other gripes too but I'll post that on my "Live Off Beats" review page on RapBeatCreator.com.

Anyway...

I can't totally diss this program because it did point me to RocBattle.com and from RocBattle, I found SellMoreBeats.com. I understand Internet marketing so I read through the sales letter on his homepage and I subscribed to the free videos.

I learned more in the first 4 videos than any other online music marketing course I've ever taken... and believe me when I say I've spent plenty of time and money learning how to market on the Internet.

After I finally bought the membership to SellMoreBeats.com I spent a whole Sunday morning watching the videos and going through through the site. There are tutorials on everything from how to buy a domain name to getting your page built and marketing your site to generate sales... and sales = $$$!!!

If your serious about making money online with your music I suggest you click here to go over to SellMoreBeats.com and at least sign up for the free videos. If you only learn just one thing from these videos to help you boost your music career then you lost nothing and gained everything!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.MelloMelanin.com
www.RapBeatCreator.com





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More NEW Beats!!!

I haven’t had a chance to tell you about the new beats I recently posted at www.MelloMelanin.com.

Go to the site and check out “Hateration” and “Sunday Night Football”. They are both bangers!

I’m also going to launch a new website to display the newest beats as they become available.

Let’s Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
http://www.mellomelanin.com/
http://www.rapbeatcreator.com/

P.S. I’ve also dropped the price of single beat leases to only $20.00!

Fall Special - Discounted Beats For Your Next Song!

If you've been keeping up with me lately, you know that I've been on a serious beat making run. Its times like these when we are most creative. To celebrate, I've made it possible for you to lease some new beats at a deep discount for the next few days.



Go to www.MelloMelanin.com and listen to the beat selection. Pick out the ones you want to use for your songs and follow the rest of the simple steps. Your beat will be sent to you by email and you can start working on your next hot song immediately.



Here's the link again to my beat site:


www.MelloMelanin.com

Let's Make It Happen!!!



Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.MelloMelanin.com

www.Free-Hot-Rap.com



P.S. This Fall Special ends Sunday October 18th, 2009 at midnight. If you wait until Monday, you'll have to pay full price. Winners take action...losers are pretty much forgotten.

Somebody Said You Were Lookin' For Me...Here I Go!

Whassup folks,

I took a hiatus from making beats for a while but lately I've been on fire. I just made another new beat last night called "The Absolute" and I posted it on my new site:

www.MelloMelanin.com

You can listen to all the beats there on my music player online for FREE! Some of the beats you can download free and others I lease and sell.

Over at Soundclick.com, my beat called "Run Dis Town" has been steady rising to the top like fresh bread in a hot oven! I'm lovin' it. Once again you can check it out @ www.MelloMelanin.com. Holla!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.MelloMelanin.com
www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. Be on the lookout for a special offer where you can learn how to get thousands of dollars worth of FREE Hiphop advertising. I'll be sending that out by the middle of the week. Much Success!!!

2 FREE New Beats...Available for Download Right Now

Whassup Folks? Haven't blogged in a while but I got some great news for you. I've posted 2 new beats that you can download absolutely FREE.

Alright, enough talking. Here is the link below to the beats:

www.soundclick.com/mellomelanin

You can click on the link or copy and paste it in your browser.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com
www.soundclick.com/mellomelanin

P.S. I'll be posting more beats up this week so stay tuned....

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Congratulations Eddie Meeks: 20 Years Rockin' The ATL

ASYLUM ENTERTAINMENT & PROPHETIX would like to officially congratulate EDDIE MEEKS for 20 years of rocking shows in the city of Atlanta!!!

In order to officially commemorate this milestone, EDDIE MEEKS will be performing live 9/25 at The Atlanta Bench - 602A Marietta Street - Downtown ATL. DON'T MISS ONE OF THE LIVEST EMCEES OF OUR TIME!!!!!

Come and be a part of HISTORY!!!

Eddie Meeks Rockin' Live On Stage

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Prophetix.net

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What Is Your "Why" For Making Beats?

Check out the latest Rap Beat Creator Podcast, "What Is Your "Why" For Making Beats?"

Click here to listen now or copy and past the link below in your browser:

http://free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep8.mp3

As always let me know what you think...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 8

I know you've been waiting for this. It's been hectic but I finally put together another Rap Beat Creator Podcast. Episode 8 is called "What is Your "Why" for Making Beats?" Its from an article I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

Click on the link below to hear the mp3 file. It will play instantly on your media player and you can even download it.

"What is Your "Why" for Making Beats?"

If the link won't play, you can copy and past the link below into your web browser and it should begin to play.

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep8.mp3

Let me know what you think but most of all, use it!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com

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Top 5 Excuses For Failing In The Music Business

I learned a long time ago that excuses are the tools of incompetence which build monuments of nothingness. From that point on, I've never like excuses and I can smell one coming a mile away.

In my many years of dealing with the music business, I've heard enough excuses to build the Washington monument and several other monuments. What I've come up with today are the 'Top 5 Excuses For Failing In The Music Business'.

Here they are:

1. "I don't have any money."


2. "I don't have time."


3. "I don't have any contacts"


4. "These industry heads ain't feelin' my style of music"


5. "I'm too old"

I was going to go in detail with these excuses but why? Well on second thought, I will address them one at a time really quick.

The old excuse "I don't have any money" really sucks. There are so many free things you can do to promote yourself these days that it makes no sense to use this excuse any more.

We've all heard this one: "I simply just don't have the time". Tell that to someone who doesn't really understand time. We all have 24 hours to live each day. No one gets more & no one gets less. The difference between the Russell Simmons & Diddy types of the world is how they spend their 24 hours. They spend their time making their goals come true. We should all use them as a examples for success.

For the person that says, "I don't know anybody or I don't have any contacts", once again there are so many free ways to get contacts online through sites like MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter. It really makes no sense to use this excuse. It can be put to rest in the information age.

And this one, "These industry heads ain't feelin' my style of music", is just shallow. There is a market for just about every style of music. If one music business person doesn't like your music so what? MOVE ON!!! You can always put out your music independently. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't succeed because they don't like your music.

My answer to the "I'm too old" excuse is "for what?" This is a super excuse. I know people who have used this excuse and it always made me cringe. Here's why.

If you're passionate your music, I mean truly, really passionate then you will make a way to do it. When I went on tour with KRS-ONE he was either 36 or 38 years old. I know you're saying, "well, he's an established artist."

Yeah...and????

My answer to this is stop making excuses. There are some spinoffs of these excuses but these are the main ones. I'm sure you heard them as well as I have.

Remember you only fail if you stop moving forward.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com

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Music Production Machine - Make Beats at Home!

Here's a great article by Alexander Pauken for beginning music producers. Even more experienced can pick something up from it. It's called "Music Production Machine - Make Beats at Home!"

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New producers-to-be may be constantly scanning the web for a music production machine suitable to their beat creating needs. With the advent of high technology over the past few years, music recording equipment has become increasingly advanced, as well as increasingly easier to use.

This makes things much more stress-free for the layman with no production experience, who just wants to make beats but has no idea where to start. All you need is a music production machine, or interface, that you can wrap your mind around and get used to rather quickly.

Here are some tips to make your introduction to the production interface even simpler:

Grasp the Instrument

If you are a creative person interested in producing hip hop instrumentals, chances are you get ideas for catchy songs in your head all the time. Now, the only problem here is translating what is in your head to the interface itself.

One difficult hurdle that you are going to have to get past is learning an instrument. If your aim is producing hip hop, focus on learning the keyboard. You may have a sweet synth part playing in your head, but if you can't translate it on the keyboard, you have nothing!

Learn the Terminology

Nothing makes an interface harder to navigate than not knowing the terminology.

For example, you may think you have no use for quantization if you have no idea what that word means. However, quantizing your beats gives them proper timing, and keeps them programmed correctly with the song's beats per minute. It is one of the most important elements to add to your beats!

With these concepts in mind, producing your own beats should now seem like a much smaller hurdle! With the right interface and the proper understanding, you should be well on your way!

Still in the dark about what interface might be right for you? If you are using a Windows-based computer, why not try Fruity Loops or Pro Tools? If you are a Mac user, GarageBand or Logic Studio may suit you perfectly.

Looking for tutorials on how to use an interface? Want resources like industry insider info, production manuals, and even 100% FREE beats? Head on over to Instrumental Hip Hop Downloads to become a music production machine!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alexander_Pauken

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

www.Free-Hot-Rap.com

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For all my Twitter-heads out there....

Hey for all my Twitter-heads out there, you can now follow me on Twitter @RapBeatCreator. I've just linked my blog to Twitter so we'll see how it works.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com
www.Twitter.com/RapBeatCreator

P.S. I've been on Facebook for a while. I just don't know how to link to it from my site or this blog yet. Once I figure it out, you'll be the first to know.

P.S.S. I haven't recorded a podcast in a while. I'm going to make myself record one tomorrow night. Stay tuned....

What Is Your "Why" For Making Beats?

I've been working on this blog post in my mind for several days now. I learned this question from a top producing real estate broker several years ago. I was at a seminar and he was the main speaker. One of the things he said that really stuck out then and it still rings in my head today is: What is your "Why" for doing what you're doing?

What he meant by your "Why" was what is your core motivation for doing what you want to do. What are you primary reasons?

That really struck a lasting note for me and every so often I ask my self that question.

What is my "Why" for being in the music business?
What is my "Why" for making beats?

My "Why's" may be different from your "Why's" but its crucial to identify what your "Why's" are.

Some of my "Why's" for being in the music business include being passionate about my art and being in control of my own destiny. I am big fan of being self-employed or operating a true business where you don't even have to be present for it to operate.

Another "Why" would be because I like to travel and the music business gives me the ability to do just that. Its great to get paid to perform in a place you've never been to but have always wanted to go. I've been from Vermont to California because of my involvement in the music business.

Some of my "Why's" for making beats include being able to record lyrics whenever I want and with the sounds I want. I want the music to sound as close to what's in my head as possible. Another "Why" is the ability to create another stream of income. The music producer gets credit for writing songs as well.

So there you have it. Think about his question and memorize it. Use it as a gauge to constantly measure how you feel about making music. Once you know your "Why", its like you'll always have an internal compass to guide you on your path to success.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.TheRapBeatCreator.com
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com

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How I earn money with my music web site

If you've been following my blog or have been on my email list for a while, you know I've been building The Rap Beat Creator website since 2007. I've had some ups and downs but I still make money everyday. I'm not saying I earn millions or even thousands of dollars but I know I'm on the way. What I have learned, through lots of trial and error, is that there is a better, simpler way.

I've been online since 1995. I started with a simple America Online dial-up account. All I knew how to do was send email and surf the web. I knew the web would be big and I knew that someone was making money but I didn't know how.

I read about affiliate programs back in 2001-2002 but I wasn't focused at making it work. I even had the free Affiliate Masters course that Internet marketing guru Ken Evoy offered but I wasn't ready for the work commitment it called for.

By the end of 2002, my group Prophetix, had a professionally built website and the webmaster added a blog to our homepage (http://www.prophetix.net/). This was great because I could connect with our fans and back in 2002, almost no one had a music blog at that time.

But I still wanted my own personal music related website where I could become financially independent.

In early 2007, I bought a course on Internet marketing from one of the leading Internet gurus Derek Gehl and I got lots of valuable information from that course. The thing I didn't like was designing the website myself. I could have paid someone else to do it but I didn't have the money to pay anybody. I took too long for me to built and I'm more of a marketer than a designer. I made a few sales but I really didn't have a good blueprint to make money consistently.

But I still kept on going with the website and I ended up learning more about affiliate marketing. I revamped my whole business model and web site to recommend affiliate products. I bought another course from affiliate marketing guru, Rosalind Gardner, and I learned a little bit more and...

...I made a few more sales.

Then one day while I was reading Rosalind Gardner’s book, I saw a reference to the Affiliate Masters course that I talked about earlier by Ken Evoy. I decided to read it again...this time all the way through. Finally, I realized I had found it. This was the blueprint I needed! And the best part about it...

It was still absolutely FREE!

All these years had passed and I had a great step-by-step roadmap at the palm of my hands that could have made me financially independent long time ago.

No use crying over spilled milk now, right?

I had previously read another on of Ken's free e-books called "Make Your Content PREsell". I knew he had been around the Net for a while and he had some good quality material.

I began to change up my site using his materials and I began noticing my revenue going up! What really got me hooked on using some of his strategies were some of the case studies that he offered on his site.

He calls his customers, his "fans" and here's why:

Honest to God, no kidding, one of his "fans" created a web site about the healthy benefits of juicing. Yep you heard it right. Juicing. Literally squeezing juice out of oranges, apples, and other kinds of fruits to drink. Its healthy and its what she likes to do. And she's making enough money online to quit her full-time job, but she likes her job so she doesn't want to quit.

But that's her choice. She has achieved financial freedom.

Another man built a site with his sister about organizing kids birthday parties and within the first 2 months, he was making over $2,000 a month. By the next year he was financially independent. I'm serious as a heart attack. Check out the case studies for yourself.

Checking out these case studies made me rethink my strategies and revamp my site even more. I had set a goal this month to increase my revenues by 20% and using Ken's strategies I did it!

How cool is that?

If I had to start over again, I would have used Ken's flagship product, Site Build It (or SBI! for short) to build my business. When you are building an online business from the ground up, there are so many things you have to learn, its ridiculous.

You have to learn about web hosting, securing a domain name submitting your web site to search engines, etc. SBI! does all this for you and if you follow the steps and stay focused I believe you can duplicate the results of his best students.

Starting a business is risky and many businesses fail within the first 5 years. SBI! teaches you how to build and operate a business and how to minimize the risk for success.

Even if you don't purchase SBI!, he still teaches you how to build a successful affiliate business and he gives you his flag ship products to sell. This dude is serious. I signed up as an affiliate again this time because I saw how SBI! was changing lives and its growing my business already.

Another young lady I follow named Lisa Irby is a successful SBI student as well. What's crazy is I discovered her on YouTube. She was doing a video on Internet Marketing and I began to check out her site. She admitted to being financially independent since 2006. She even made a video about how much money she had made from Google Adsense in July 2009. She made almost $6 grand ($6,000.00 USD) and called it her best month ever from Google.

I knew the game was REALLY serious after I saw that video.

So for anybody who's ever asked me how I earn money with my web site. This is the way. I just follow the steps of the people who did it before me. But if I could do it all over again, I would have stuck with the free Affiliate Masters course Ken Evoy offers and followed it step-by-step.

If you want to learn how to build an online business and become financially independent doing something you love, I highly recommend learning from Ken Evoy and SBI!. Start with his free stuff and learn all you can from him. Its like having a license to print money.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
http://www.rapbeatcreator.com/
http://www.free-hot-rap.com/

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Marketing Your Act With Your Own Music Videos

When it comes to marketing your music, television is the granddaddy of all marketing mediums. Some people, including your target market, watch countless hours of TV every week. Music videos are a great way to market your band. Look at the impact music videos had on Micheal Jackson's (R.I.P.) career. One video, Thriller, literally changed his life and the way music videos were made forever.

But making a music video for television isn't cheap. You may get lucky like my group did and get a TV quality music video for a few hundred bucks but generally that's not the case. How do you record and market a music video to help you get the buzz that you're looking for?

Advancements in technology have made it feasible for an artist to make and market a music video with a digital camera, a computer, some inexpensive software, and the Internet. A few years ago my DJ, Jon Doe produced a video with my partner-in-rhyme Eddie Meeks. He used a digital camera from his job and recorded a music video right in our studio which happened to be in his basement.

Here's the video below. Click the play button to check it out!




With the power of the Internet you can upload your music video on to sites like YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, etc. for the world to see. Even though I've had a music video on BET, this was more economical, simpler, and quicker to produce.

Will this make you a millionaire overnight? Probably not but it will get you some exposure on the Internet and it will definitely get you some more fans. You never know whose watching your music video. It may just be the break you're looking for.

Another great way to market you video is to record a live performance. This is also a great way to connect with your fan base as well as showcase your work to music executives.

If you use this music video marketing method correctly, you can set it up as an big event where your have you fan base tune in for the live performance right at the comfort of their computer.

Like I stated in the beginning, television is the granddaddy of marketing. If that's the case, then the Internet must the direct offspring. Putting your music video on the Internet is the next best thing the getting exposure on TV because you get all the same benefits with more reach and less hassle.

If you don't have a music video yet, then you should start planning on making one as soon as possible if you're serious about your music career.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Music Downloads: Can Your Fans Find Your Music?

The music business is constantly changing because of the Internet. Let's face it: the World Wide Web isn't going anywhere and more and more people are using it everyday. Music downloads are revolutionizing the music business. An artist who is not taking advantage of the Internet and posting their music on the web for downloading is not going to be ahead of the game.

There are plenty of sites where you can post your music downloads. MySpace.com is one of the biggest social networking sites that specialize in music downloads. Its catered to artists of all genres so if you don't have a MySpace artist page then you're missing out on some really good exposure.

In fact, record labels are looking to MySpace and other social networking sites to sign new artist. For example, 2 big music success stories include Tila Tequilla & Soldier Boy Tell 'Em. Tila Tequilla even had her own reality show. Soldier Boy Tell 'Em was picked up by Atlanta music producer Mr. Colli Park who had previous signed platinum selling acts the Yin Yang Twins. He's had several Billboard #1 hits since he got signed a few years ago. You could be next but if you don't have web exposure, its a good chance you might not get a label nod.

In addition to getting a label to sign your act, you may also build your own fan base online. MySpace keeps track of your music downloads, how many times your music has been played, and how many times your individual page has been viewed.

MySpace isn't the only site that offers music downloads. There are other sites like IMEEM and Soundclick.

Even though you post your music downloads on other sites, you should strive to get your own web domain name and web site. Having your own site willl offer you more flexibility as your market your music online.

Music downloads are the present and future of the music business. It's still good to make demo tapes and press kits because you can put something physical in your prospect's hands. Making your music available online gives you another option for marketing your act.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com


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The Billboard Bangers - Week #33

If you're really serious about making it in the music business and music publishing, then you should definitely check out your competition on Billboard.

This week in the Billboard Hot Rap 100 chart I'm going to review the Billboard Bangers which are the Top 10 songs on that chart. I'll review the rappers as well as the producers who made the beats.

This week's Top 10 Billboard Bangers are:

1. Best I Ever Had - Drake (Produced by Boi-1da)
2. Every Girl - Young Money (Produced by Tha Bizness)
3. Wetter (Calling You Daddy) - Twista Featuring Erika Shevon (Produced The Legendary Traxster)
4. Successful - Drake Featuring Trey Songz (Produced Noah “40″ Shebib)
5. Throw It In The Bag - Fabolous Featuring The-Dream (Produced by Tricky Stewart)
6. You're A Jerk - New Boyz (Produced by Dominic "Legacy" Thomas)
7. Ice Cream Paint Job - Dorrough (Produced by 2 Much)
8. Run This Town - Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West (Produced by Kanye West)
9. Hotel Room Service - Pitbull (Produced by Jim Jonsin)
10. Always Strapped - Birdman Featuring Lil Wayne (Produced by Mr. Beatz)

Let's start with #1. Hands down, Drake is the man right now. His flow is tight and his hook is catchy. The production by Boi-1da is nice and mid-tempo and Drake rides the track perfectly and his verses are visual. I'm lovin' that this joint came off a mix tape and now its the #1 Rap song in the country. How dope is that?

#2 is a song that features Drake again. As a matter of fact he's on the Top 10 list 3 times which is almost unheard of for an artist who wasn't even signed to a label. This time the song is Every Girl by the Young Money crew which is Lil Wayne and some of his artists. I'm more partial to the radio edited version only because that's what I've heard the most. All the emcees kill their verses but I'm still partial to the radio edits. The track is nutz as Tha Bizness kills the beat and the song has a nice melody and its "singable".

I'm not feelin' the #3 song that much even though I am a Twista fan and have been since he stepped on the scene in the 90's. I like the beat and Twista rocks the verses. Its just the hook I don't like. It's corny and it sounds cheesy as hell but people obviously like it because it's the #3 song on the chart.

The #4 song is Drake featuring Trey Songs with "Successful". Although the theme is not new (see Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy") they turn it into a heart-felt song about being successful and enjoying the finer things in life. The track is okay. I think the artists really sell this track.

#5 is definitely for the ladies. Its the Fabolous & The Dream. This song follows the "simple is best" formula. The rhymes are simple, the hook is simple, & the track is simple. Not a whole lot to say about this song other than I won't be playing it alone in the car. Once again, its definitely for the ladies.

On to #6... The New Boyz have a hit with "You're a Jerk". I can't say I'll be playing this one either but hey they made it to the Top 10. I don't really know what's fueling this song. The lyrics are okay and the beat is Fruity Loops as hell but what ever works...

In the Lucky #7 spot is held by Dorrough with "Ice Cream Paint Job". This is another ode to the art of having fly whips. Its pretty self-explanatory. The beat sound like a like Lil Jon track from the "Get Low" era. Its sure to have your trunk rattling. Being a person who used to have a loud custom stereo system in my first car, I can appreciate the track from that stand point.

#8 is almost like a posse cut. I'm a fan of Jay Z, Kanye West, and Rihanna so these names alone should make a pretty good song. "Run This Town" is kinda the truth. Jay Z pretty much runs NYC and he's still on top of his game. "DOA" is currently my personal theme song and I've been a Jigga fan since '96. Can't wait until Blueprint 3 drops in September. Kanye & NO I.D. both kill the track. It sounds like a song from a movie soundtrack. Its bright & full.

Miami rapper Pitbull holds the #9 spot down with "Hotel Room Service". I actually like this song because I was a big 2 Live Crew fan and he make some references from one of their songs "One & One". This is definitely a club banger and I see radio and clubs playing this for years to come. The track is all uptempo club music. Definitely a winner.

Pulling up in the rear at #10 is "Always Strapped" by Birdman and Lil Wayne. I love this track! Mr. Beatz is that dude right now. The track is bangin' with the guitar rifts just under the beat. Lil Wayne does a different style and it works and Birdman's rhymes ain't to bad either but this track...whew!!!! It's hot.

Well there you have it. My first Billboard Bangers review. If you make beats online then I hope you take some time to listen to these songs and figure out why they are hits. Some are obvious Bangers and others well, not so obvious. I catch up with you next week with a new Billboard Banger review. Holla....

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

http://www.rapbeatcreator.com/

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The Power of Planning In Your Music Career

There is an old saying that goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

There is also another saying, "There's nothing new under the sun."

Let's put these two sayings together and apply them to the music business. In reference to planning, you REALLY need a plan if you want to succeed in the music business. In reference to the second saying, planning is not something that was just created within the last 10, 20, 50, 0r 100 years. Planning has been around since the beginning of time.

Ancient warriors would plan their attacks on their enemies, way before there were guns & cannons. Planning not only gives you the advantage over your competition but it gives you a compass to help you reach your goals.

If you plan to make beats online or make your own beats, then you will need to do some planning if you haven't started yet.

How do you make a plan? What are the first steps?

The first thing you must do is write down your goals. Make sure you make your music goals S.M.A.R.T. goals. This means your music goals must be Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Timely.

Let's say your goal is to make beats online and post those beats up on MySpace.com for the world to hear. The first thing you would do is WRITE IT DOWN! Once you write your goals down, something magical happens. You take your goal from being a thought to something physical, something tangible.

From there you will set a deadline for reaching your goal. A goal without a deadline is dream.

Once you have a deadline then you need to figure out what steps its going to take to reach your goals within the deadline you've set for yourself. Make sure to give yourself some realistic but challenging expectations. Set a deadline for each step in the process.

This next step is where most people fail because it takes action. Do something everyday toward the completion of your steps to reaching your goals. You must do something. Nothing is going to happen by accident. It could happen but would you really want to bet your life on that?

Putting this in practice would look something like this:

"In 30 days I will make beats online and post my music on MySpace.com.

In order to do this, I need buy an online beat maker like Sonic Producer. Once I make some beats I really think are hot, then I'm going to export them as mp3 files so I can upload them to MySpace.com.

On MySpace.com, I will upload my mp3 songs and post them on my profile page on MySpace. "

This is a very simple plan and anyone can do it. Once you really understand the benefits of planning and setting goals in your music career, you'll wonder why you hadn't planned a long time ago.

Don't hesitate start working on you plan today.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Rest In Peace Baatin of Slum Village

I found out about this yesterday. Titus (Baatin) Glover of the group Slum Village passed away this weekend. He was only 35 years old. He will truly be missed.

On a personal level, I had a chance to host a show that Slum Village headlined and that is the memory I will always have of him. It was at the Apache Cafe and the place was packed. When Slum ran down their catalog, EVERYBODY in the crowd seemed to be rockin' with them, word for word.

I also remember promoting "Fantastic Vol.2" here in Atlanta for months. Putting posters & flyers out all over town for Goodvibe Records back around 2000 for Slum Village. Those were some of the best of times for me in my life and I feel good to know that I had some good influence on this man and his group's career.

That's how I want to be remembered, on stage, crowed packed, and everybody singing my songs. Baatin Rest In Peace Brother. You will be missed.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Are You Proactive or Reactive In Your Music Career?

Are you REALLY serious about your music career?

One way to know if you are serious is to determine if you are proactive or reactive. Let me give you the definition and example of each one:

Proactive: controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than waiting to respond to it after it happens. For example, you have a show coming up in 2 weeks at a local club. A proactive response is to email your fan base (if you've been collecting email addresses like you should be doing) the info about your club date. You know that doing this will help you gain more exposure so you take it upon yourself to do it ...not someone else.

Reactive: reacting to a stimulus. This means that in order for you to take action, something outside of you has to happen first. For example, you are a great emcee but you don't like to rehearse for shows. Your friend has to tell you to rehearse over and over but you always wait until the last minute to do it and your performance never comes off as it should. This is an example of a reactive person.

You've heard proactive people called "movers and shakers" or "hustlers". Reactive people are often called "lames", "busters", "lazy", etc.

There's a saying that goes, there are 2 types of people in the world: those who make things happen and those who wonder what happened. Don't be one of the 2nd types of people.

So as you read this, give a good look at you life and your music career. Are you being proactive or reactive?

Holla back!!!

Vocabulary definitions by WordNet (http://wordnet.princeton.edu/)

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Unlimited Potential to Make Your Dreams Come True

I was thinking about something the other day. Its a question you've often heard from many motivational and educational speakers.

I think its worth repeating over and over again.

What is the one thing that you would do if you knew you couldn't fail?

Or put a different way, if you had $1,000,000 ($1 million) dollars and you could do whatever it is you wanted to do, what would you being doing?

The answer to these questions can point you in the direction of what just may be your life's work.

Why am I even bothering to talk about this? And why, right now? We'll I remember going through these questions and even though I'm older (and hopefully wiser) I still ask myself these questions and I still come up with same answers:

I'd be doing music.

Preferably performing with a live band similar to The Roots. And no matter how much I try to "do" something else. I still have this yearning or passion to perform live on stage with my own band. I mean I've performed with a live band several times and those were some of my most high energy performance. To put it simply, I felt great.

No other feeling for me can substitute that feeling of being on stage rockin' out with a band.

Now, am I saying this is what every artist should feel like? Nope.
Am I saying this should be every artist ultimate goal? Nope.
Am I saying this is the only way to be involved in the music business? Nope again!!!

What I am saying is this IS my calling. Even if I'm not performing on stage, I'm always doing something music related. It maybe behind the scenes helping out another artist. It may be making beats, it may be writing this blog, recording a podcast or video, or teaching aspiring artists how to break in the music business.

Whatever it is, you can rest assured, that music is involved some kinda way.

So think about these questions long and hard. Give it your full concentration. Set aside some time just to reflect on the answers to these questions. They may give you just the right insight you need to move forward in your music career or even to a career that you desire more than music. Who knows? You may discover deep down that music ain't for you but you love writing graffiti and drawing. You'll never know until you follow your heart...

Mello Melanin, The Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. Time waits for no man. Get busy moving in the direction in which you want to see you life unfold.

The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 7

If you missed the videos about Music Publishing & Copyrights, you can always download or stream the live audio of The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 7, right here on The Rap Beat Creator Blog.

Click here to listen now!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Something I Found Out I Can Do With Reason 3.0

Yep it's official! I know I should have figured this out a long time ago but sometimes things don't always work out. What have I figured out how to do?

Sampling!!!

I know you might be saying, "Mello, come on bruh. You're just figuring that out?" Yep, I am.

So since I've added this new powerful tool to my arsenal, it means I have more capability to experiment with different beats and sounds.

Stay tuned folks. I'm about to come with dat heat!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Insider's Secrets to Music Publishing & Copyrights

Whassup,

I just recorded my newest podcast dedicated to the late Michael Jackson. I haven't put it in mp3 format yet but if you have access to watch video, then you MUST check this 2 part video out.

I'm not sure if you know this (most artist don't) but the real meat of the music business is music publishing. Michael Jackson knew this and he has many songs credited under his name. He even bought the Beetles catalog which is worth millions!

In these videos I touch on some little known facts on music publishing as well as copyrights.

Let me know what you think. I encourage comments for dialogue.

Here is Part 1:



Here is Part 2:



Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
http://www.rapbeatcreator.com/

P.S. You gotta know I love doin' this right? How many other YouTube videos will you see the host rockin' a wife-beater tank top??? LOL!!! Holla...

Music Publishing & Copyrights

My next podcast/videocast (Episode 7) will be dedicated to Michael Jackson R.I.P. I will talking about music publishing and copyrights. Here's me talking about it in the video above.

Mike had a massive catalog of hit songs that he wrote himself not to mention the power buy of The Beatles catalog.

Personally, I don' think he was broke at all. Just because you have debt it doesn't mean you're broke.

Duhhhhh to the media!!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Micheal Jackson R.I.P.

I almost can't believe it as I type this. The King of Pop, Micheal Jackson, the icon, has passed away suddenly today.

Man, I hope y'all are bumpin' his joints right now.

God blessed this world with very talented, gifted, young man.

Micheal, you will truly be missed.

Somberly,

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

Make Your Own Beats Online For Free

I know I always tell you about Sonic Producer and how it gives you the power to make beats online and then export those same beats all over the web in mp3 form.

But what I haven't really stresses enough is that you can you can also make your own beats online for FREE right now with Sonic Producer's free trial.

It cost you...nothing!

It's completely free to try it out online. You don't have to give out any of your personal information to use it either.

Here is the link again in case you misplaced it:

Sonic Producer

When you go to the homepage, scroll to the bottom and click on the "Sitemap" link. You will be taken to a page that shows all the links in the Sonic Producer website. Scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the "Try out Sonic Producer for FREE" link.

You will then be taken to the main production page and you can start making beats immediately!

Why not learn how to make your own beats online for free?

Here's the link again so you can get started as soon as possible:

Sonic Producer




Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 6

Whassup? This is Episode 6 of The Rap Beat Creator Podcast. It's called:

"Starting a Hiphop Label vs. Getting Signed."

Click on the link below to listen to it right now:

"Starting a Hiphop Label vs. Getting Signed."

If you've ever wanted to learn about the pros and cons of starting your own record label then you NEED to listen to this free podcast packed with all kinds of music industry tips.

If you're just getting into the business this will give you realistic look at what is like to be an artist on a label versus running your own.

To listen now click the link below:

"Starting a Hiphop Label vs. Getting Signed."

I always encourage feedback.

Thanks for your support!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. Since I started doing my podcast, it has gotten over 1,000 downloads. My last 2 episodes as of this writing combined for over half of that total. The Rap Beat Creator Podcast is getting big and if you don't keep learning about what it takes to be successful in the music business then you're gonna be left behind so keep listening...and watching...

How to make a vision come to life

What's up to my dedicated readers? I'm glad you're here for many reasons. Some people who follow me by blog and/or email have expressed how much they appreciate what I do and that's a great feeling.

Well, I've added another weapon to my arsenal. If you checked out my last blog you know I already use a webcam. The thing about the webcam that I don't like is that the video is very "grainy". No I didn't get the top of the line but I didn't get the bottom of the barrel either.

I did however have an 8mm analog video camera that had plenty of good show footage that I wanted to put on the web. The only problem was the video capturing devices that were on the market a couple of years ago were more than what I wanted to pay.

Well, (and this is why I love eBay) I found a video capture device for $15.00 with NO shipping fees...

...And it was shipped from Asia!!! How crazy is that?

It arrived at my house in about 7 days so immediately went to work to test it out. The only problem I had was that my old computer wasn't strong enough to capture from an 8mm camera. It would only capture from digital video camera. And if you've been following me since January you know what kind of computer issues I was having. Blah, Blah, Blah!

Now that the computer issue is straighten out, I can use my $15.00 video capture device with my $30.00 camcorder and make a million dollars by next Friday right? Not likely but I will be able to do more live product reviews, online interviews, etc.

I tested everything out last night and the quality of the video is GREAT!!!

So whether you want to learn how to make beats online, watch me make a beat, or get some good marketing and promotions tips, you'll be able to see all of this live with your own eyes instead of just reading and hearing about it.

I'll still continue to do The Rap Beat Creator Podcast (Episode 6 coming soon) but like I said the video is a new weapon in my arsenal. After all, you can never have too many guns, right?

Holla!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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Make Beats Online With Sonic Producer

Hey, check out this video I put together on a live review of Sonic Producer. I've been telling people about Sonic Producer for almost a year now, and the response has been great.

If you're just getting starting in the music production game and you want to make beats online without buying a bunch of expensive equipment, then Sonic Producer is for you.

When I say you can make beats online, I really mean it 100%. There is no other software on the market like it and for under $30.00 bucks it has solidified its place in history.

Here is the video for you to check out...



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I tried to be as candid as possible & I had fun making the review. I encourage all feedback though. I have tough skin so don't hold back. You can comment here or directly @ YouTube.com.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Rap Beat Creator
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 5

Are you looking to make more money off of your beats?

In this weeks Rap Beat Creator Podcast I discuss "How to Make Beats That Create Residual Streams of Income Forever".

Click here now to listen to Episode 5!

Or copy and paste the link below:

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep5.mp3

In this podcast you'll hear real life examples of how to make money in the music business by making beats.

The music game is wide open. Don't sit on the side lines!

Check out Episode 5 of The Rap Beat Creator Podcast today!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

P.S. In case you missed it, here's that link again:

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep5.mp3

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The studio is back in effect. All haters be forewarned!!!

When I hopped up out my bed & turned my swag on this morning, I knew I would have a great day. I'm alive and well. My family is healthy. I have a job and a successful music hustle. I'm good.

On the real though, I finally, finally, finally got my computer issues squared away and my computer is ready to go.

One of the first things I did was....you guessed it. I made a beat. It felt good to know that I still had rhythm! I'm not sure if I'm going to feature it on the Rap Beat Creator Podcast this week but I'm sure you'll be hearing it soon...

Speaking of the Rap Beat Creator Podcast, I should have Episode 5 completed by this evening. The title is "How to make your own beats that create residual streams of income".

There is lots of money to be made whether you make beats online or use computer software like Reasons or Fruity Loops. Regardless of which method you choose, getting paid many times for a beat that you made once is the way to be successful in the music game.

I'll let you know when Episode 5 is complete.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

Dagnabit, foiled again!!! But there's good news too...

Hey, I know I haven't blogged in a while but it's all good. I told you about all the trouble I was having getting Windows XP to act right on my computer a few weeks ago.

Well, its still acting "fugly".

I don't know exactly what I did but whatever I did it wasn't right. I mean the computer is mad slow and it still locks up every now and then. And upgrading it is out of the question because the motherboard...well...it sucks to put it bluntly!

What I've decided to do is to get a new motherboard and CPU. I've found a place where I can get a motherboard and CPU bundle for around $150 so I'm gonna take advantage.

Here's what I'll be able to do with a new motherboard:

• Make more beats (what else would come before that?)
• Have better sound quality while making beats
• Produce "The Rap Beat Creator Podcast" quicker
• Upload video footage from live shows and live product reviews
• And more!!!

I should have this completed by Saturday. This computer downtime stuff has been kickin' my butt since January...JANUARY. I'll let you know how it goes...

On to other things...

I'll be working on the next Rap Beat Creator Podcast tonight. I should have something for you tomorrow...

Music I'm feelin' right now:

• Keri Hilson - "Turning Me On" - This is just a well put together song. No question. Polo killed the beat and Keri and Lil Wayne slayed the lyrics. This is a great example of a well written song. Period!
• Rick Ross - "Magnificent" - Another banger. The track by Justice League is bangin'. Rick Ross drops some nice jewels and John Legend add his own soul spin to the track. But the biggest factor on this track is the beat with nice breakdowns and the xylophone loop. NUTS!

I really like well put together songs. These two songs will not just be hits, they'll be classics!

Holla..

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 4: 3 Essential Steps To Making Your Own Beats

Here's the link to this weeks Rap Beat Creator Podcast. Its called:

"3 Essential Steps To Making Your Own Beats...
...How You Can Make Beats That Make MONEY!!!

Click here to listen now!!!

I had a little fun with this one and I think you'll enjoy it.

For those of you who've requested to hear different beats, keep listening for This Week's Featured Beat segment during the podcast interlude. The Featured Beat is for sale for $29.99 until April 30th, 2009! If you want to get more info, hit me up at mello@free-hot-rap.com.

However, The Rap Beat Creator Podcast is absolutely FREE and you can listen to it or download it so you can listen to it later, right now by clicking the link below:

The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 4

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Here's what people are saying about The Rap Beat Creator Podcast:

"I look forward to your next Rap Beat Creator Podcast." - Mike DoubleD
http://www.myspace.com/treesreachingdown

"Mello, this was very informative. It is good to hear how creative people work." - Eric G.

Enjoy and make sure to leave me comments about the Podcast.

Let's shoot for 10 to keep a good dialogue going.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

P.S. In case the link doesn't open automatically in your media player you can copy & paste the link below in your browser:

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep4.mp3

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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 3

Yeah, I'm being consistent with The Rap Beat Creator Podcast. Gold star for Mello! Okay so I had an Eddie Murphy "Boomerang" moment but seriously, I've recorded one of my most published articles called, "The Fine Art of Hiphop Street Promotions."

In this episode, I cover a few promotions tactics like using flyers and how to get the most out of the money you spent making them. Or basically, making your marketing work for you.

Click here for this weeks episode of The Rap Beat Creator Podcast or copy and paste the link below:

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep3.mp3

Let me know what you think. I need your feedback and comments so we all can grow.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com


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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode #2

Here is my second episode of the The Rap Beat Creator Podcast. Episode 2 deals with developing your songwriting creativity and 6 tips for fighting writer's block.

Here is the link to the podcast below. You can download it to your mp3 player or burn it on a cd and listen to it when ever you want.

Podcast: "Developing Your Songwriting Creativity & 6 Tips To Fight Writer's Block"

Don't forget to leave me some comments. I need at least 10.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

P.S. I now have under 50 free audio books left on "How to Get Thousands of Dollars Worth of Free Hiphop Advertising". If you haven't claimed your free copy yet, click here to get it now before the price goes back up to $19.99!!!

Sometimes the lesson to be learned is "Don't ever do this again!!!"

I told you all previously about the challenges I was having with my home computer that I shouldn't have had because...well...let's just say I should've known better.

Finally, after much do-it-yourself, trial and error work, I'm proud to say my computer is now stable and I can make more beats.

I can say however, that I actually learned something so my downtime was not a waste....a headache, but not a waste. This downtime started over something that only costs $5.95! Yup, you read that right. $5.95!

Turns out, the only thing I needed was a battery but I before I figured that out I'd already spent $135.00!!! Well, I'm glad to say that the money my parents spent to send me to Southern Tech was not all wasted

...And I think I've fixed the problem that causes the computer to freeze up.

With that being said...I'm back!!!! Holla...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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It's Finally Here!!!

Hey, I know it took me a while to get this completed but it's finally done. The Rap Beat Creator Podcast is official!

My first podcast is entitled "The Importance of a Winning Team". It was inspired by a blog that I wrote a little while ago.

Here is the link to the podcast below. You can download it to your mp3 player or burn it on a cd and listen to it when ever you want.

Podcast: "The Importance of a Winning Team"

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

P.S. I now have under 50 free audio books left on "How to Get Thousands of Dollars Worth of Free Hiphop Advertising". If you haven't claimed your free copy yet, click here to get it now before the price goes back up to $19.99!!!

WOW - This is how you become successful with Music

This is a great blog written by my man Ty Cohen. This guy has worked with some very big names in all genres of the music business. Click on the link below to read the complete blog.

WOW - This is how you become successful with Music… #comment-5758

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
http://www.rapbeatcreator.com/
http://www.musicmarketingpromotions.com/

In A Perfect World

You know, I'm really a big supporter of do-it-yourself marketing and promotions. I started using Guerilla Music Marketing Tactics back in 1996. I had no idea of what I was doing and what kind of impact it would have on my business and career. Those were the early days of Asylum Entertainment and we knew we need exposure...we just didn't have any money. We would chip in and pay for a set of flyers and post them around Atlanta hoping for someone to recognize us and give us our dream record deal.

Well, we did get an EP deal that gave us some exposure but being so young we didn't really capitalize on it like we should've. I really didn't know what real marketing was until I tried and failed at a home inspection business I'd started.

I thought I could get by doing "one shot" marketing where I just simply put some flyers out one time and waited for the calls to rolling in by the hundreds. Well...I was WRONG. What I didn't understand fully was "repeat" marketing. "Repeat" marketing is all about frequency. I had been promoting parties and events for a few years before I tried the "one shot" marketing approach.

After I fell flat on my face, I began to learn marketing from a real estate guru named Ron Legrand. He taught me the psychology of marketing and how to use it effectively to capture leads and eventually make a profit. I learned that it takes at least 7 times for people to really notice your marketing message...and even after those 7 there is no guarantee they will buy.

But the frequency of your marketing message is very important. When I was doing street promotions, we would market to the same spots every week for as long as the funding allowed. Over time people would recognize the flyer or the event itself and then word-of-mouth advertising would take over.

For example, we were a key part of The Kings of Comedy Tour featuring Steve Harvey, Bernie Mac, Cedric The Entertainer, and D.L. Hughley. Using repeat marketing, we hit the most popular clubs that our target market patronized, beauty salons, record stores, etc. We did this for almost a month before the actual tour arrived to generate awareness for the event.

The overall result: The Kings of Comedy Tour was the highest grossing comedy tour ever and the highest grossing concert tour for that year. That's not too shabby at all...

For a FREE CD on how you can get thousands of dollars worth of FREE advertising, go to my new website:

www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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Here's A Way To Make Money During The Recession

If you haven't heard that we are officially in a recession then you must've been hidding under a rock or living in a cave. We lost over 600,000 jobs in the United States last month (January 2009) and over 500,000 in both November and December 2008.

People, in addition to looking for jobs, are looking for other ways to make money. One of the ways you can make a few extra bucks is by learning how to market and promote concerts. Whether the concert is in a small club or a huge arena, there is money to be made.

There are alot of people who came up through the ranks organizing parties and concerts. Two of the richest men in Hiphop, Russell Simmons & Sean "Diddy" Combs got started promoting rap shows and parties.

If you would like to learn more about how you can earn money in this recession marketing and promoting concerts, click the link below for more information:

Make Money Promoting Concerts

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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The Power of Prioritizing In The Music Business

How do you absolutely 100% guarantee that you will waste your own time? You can be absolutely sure that you'll waste your time if you make detailed prioritized plans and you do the least important tasks on your plan first.

What does this mean to you? It simply means "do first things, first". No more. No less.

When you do first things first, you have done the most important and vital tasks first and you save the optional tasks for last. You might not even get to something thats optional but your most important and vital tasks should take precedent over everything else.

How do I know this and how does this relate to the music industry?

This is how I set up planning my tasks: I list everything that I need to do for the day. I then go down the list and mark each daily task either (A) Urgent, (B) Important, (C) Optional. The priority of these tasks may change from day-to-day.

I try to focus on doing 'A' tasks first. This includes most of family obligations, blogging, sending out email to my opt-in list, writing articles, budgeting, etc.

'B' tasks include things like making beats, finishing my new ebook, recording a new podcast, and creating a Facebook page.

'C' tasks include reinstalling Windows XP on my desktop computer, putting a video on my About Me page, changing where I put Google Ads on my website, www.RapBeatCreator.com, etc.

The problems comes (as I've learned the HARD way) when you spend time and energy on completing 'C' level tasks instead of 'A' & 'B' level tasks.

For example, a couple of weeks ago, I went to reinstall Windows XP which is a 'C' level task as I've indicated above and not only did I forget to back up my computer (consequence #1) but my hard drive had some corrupt sectors on it and I ended up having almost a WEEK of downtime.

My computer started freezing up and I had to format my hard drive at least twice. I got nothing done for a week and I'm the type of person who likes to stay busy with meaningful work. To add insult to injury the Windows XP CD-ROM exploded in my disc drive in to a thousand little pieces!!! At this point, all this installation business was way beyond frustrating.

To make a long story short, I had to reinstall Windows 98 as my operating system and it is not half as functional as Windows XP. There are alot of features that I've come to rely on to help me run my household as well as my business. Now I have to buy a new Windows XP disc & another hard drive when my computer was working perfectly fine before I did all this upgrading.

The lesson to be learned is do the most urgent & important things first and don't get bogged down by doing tasks that are at best optional.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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