Tuesday, January 27, 2009

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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Sunday, January 11, 2009

Make Beats Online: Sonic Producer Will Change The Music Production Game

Can you really make beats online? The rumors are true. Its a fact that technology advances every 18 months. Within the last year music production software has changed drastically. There are music production suites for every budget. There are expensive programs like Reasons and ProTools. There are also inexpensive programs like Sonic Producer.

Although Sonic Producer cost less than an expensive meal for two at a Red Lobster, it can set the foundation for a 'hungry' producer to buy all the meals he wants for the rest of his life.

This software not only has a sequencer, but it comes programmed with an extensive database of sounds for you to choose from to make your own beats. As a producer you need industry quality sounds so that people will take you and your music serious.

The online interface for Sonic Producer also boasts a keyboard, 8 drum pads, and a 16-track volume control.

With the online keyboard you can play melodies and basslines to help you get the groove that you want for your beats. The 8 drum pads help you tap out the beat that you want with more accuracy. Most standard hardware beat machines have drum pads and Sonic Producer gives you this feature as well so you can have a more natural feel when making beats.

The 16-track volume control is great because you can mix sounds to levels that fit your track. A good mix can change the feel of a beat.

One of the features that Sonic Producer has that Reasons 3.0 doesn't have is the ability to convert your finished track in to mp3 format and export it. This means you can download it to your Ipod, burn it to a CD, or even upload it to your MySpace.com page or any site that accepts mp3. You can even create your beat, save them at mp3 files and upload them for sale on sites like Rocbattle.com.

For more information click here or copy and paste the link below in your browser:

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/Beat-Site-Reviews/sonic_producer.html

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com