The Caged Animal

Okay since this is my blog and I am the Hot Instrumentalist, I am rightfully allowed to vent.

I don't know what my problem is. I feel like a caged animal needing to get out and be free. I think I'm about to bite someone!!!

I gotta get some lyrics down on paper. I gotta get some beats put together. I gotta do sumpthin'.

There is an old parable in "The Good Book" aka The Bible that talks about the story of the 5 talents and how if you bury your talent it will be taken away from you. Now a talent in biblical days was a form of money but hey, its almost the same thing.

Our talents will bring us money... IF used correctly.

Its also been said as "use it or lose it".

So what I plan to do is take action. I'm going to have to do... something. Something besides my 12-hour J.O.B.

I must get outta tha cage!!!! NOW!!!!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Beats4ADub.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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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

How To Develop Your Songwriting Creativity

Are all songwriters naturally creative? Can creativity be learned?

Anyone can learn how to rap. Some people learn by taking classes. Others like myself learned by trial and error in the school of hard knocks. The quickest way to learn is to take a classes. The best way to learn is through trial and error. It's good to have a bit of both.

How do you spark your creativity so that you can write a hit song?

You can use different methods. The best way to access your creativity is to draw on inspiration. Sometimes inspiration will hit you like a flash. You'll have ideas pouring out of your mind and you won't be able to keep up with your brain's output. Take advantage of moments like these.

Most of the time you won't get a complete song out of these flashes but you will get the foundation for a great song.

There are other times when you may not have a flash of inspiration but you know you need to create. What works for me most of times is when I keep listening to the music over and over until I get something I can write down on paper. Once I have one line written, the next one is easier to write because I have a set the foundation. The song almost writes itself from this point.

I am now what I like to call in the "flow" or "groove".

It's at this point where I usually don't want to be disturbed and I want to finish what I've started. Sometimes this isn't always the case. There are plenty of songs that I have to comeback to finish. As long as the foundation is there I am usually able to reconnect to the energy and feeling (the inspiration ) that I had originally.

We are all different but we all have access to creativity. To be creative means "to create" which is a gift all of us have. Some of us are better as creating in certain ways than others.

All songwriting coaches advise to always keep a pen and paper or voice recorder handy just in case you get one of these flashes of inspiration.

How do you know what will work for you?

Some ways you can stimulate creativity include:

• listening to other genres of music like jazz or classical music
• keeping a pen and paper or voice recorder as suggested previously
• taking a walk in the park or going to the mall
• reading a book
• brainstorm - just start writing whatever comes to mind
• start a random conversation with someone else creative
• collaborate with another writer

These tips should get your creative juices flowing. You'll never know which idea will be your million dollar baby.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.LearnHow2Rap.net

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Be On The Lookout For The Rap Beat Creator Podcast

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls,

The Rap Beat Creator Podcast is coming soon. It'll have mostly current events in music and some music business tips but it will be entertaining!

I'll send out the first podcast by the end of this week.

Also, coming early 2009, I'll be revamping my best selling audiobook "How To Get Thousands of Dollars Worth of Free Hiphop Advertising" as well as releasing my new book, "Teach Me How To Rap."

You'll be the first to know...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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The Importance Of Having A Winning Team

Have you ever played any organized team sports like football or basketball? I played both in school and what you learn in practice is way more valuable that just how to play a sport.

You learn things like "there's no "I" in Team", "together we stand, divided we fall" and all sorts of lessons to help you build a "team spirit".

How does this relate to the music business?

Well for starters, if you look at the music industry and the biggest power players, you'll notice there are teams. Even a solo artist like Jay-Z has a team. The Wu Tang Clan is a team that can be a football team all by itself! More currently you have crews like The Diplomats, T.I.'s Pimp Squad Clique, and Ludacris' Disturbing Tha Peace.

When I was touring with KRS-ONE in California, he had a team. There was his personal manager, Simone, his road manager, and several other people who were there to make sure everything went on schedule as much as possible. Everybody knew what they had to do and sometimes they even did another persons job if it was necessary.


A good book to read about building your music business team is Donald Passman's 'All You Need To Know About The Music Business.' In it, he outlines the basic team members for people wanting to be in the music industry.

Here's a loose sketch of your team members:

1. You (The Artist/Producer)
2. Personal Manager
   
3. Entertainment Lawyer
   
4. Booking Agent
   
5. Business Manager

Let's look at each of these in more detail:

You is self explanatory. Without You, none of this is possible and there is no need for the rest of the team. You are the center of the team.

Your Personal Manager is what Passman calls the CEO/General Manager of your team. This person is responsible for helping you direct your career and basically going to bat for you in whatever way to boost your career. They can also be responsible for helping you pick your other team members.

The Entertainment Attorney is, according to Passman, the most important member of the team. They take care of the legal details for the artist, help negotiate contracts and make sure the artist can get what they want with the least amount of legal hassle. They also help shop your music to get a record deal. Their job is generally to protect the artist.

The Booking Agent is the person who is responsible for getting you gigs. They help you get concert dates and public appearances.

Last but not least is the Business Manager. This person handles all of your finances and they are responsible for making sure all of your money dealings are in order. They help you budget, pay bills, make investments, check your royalty statements, etc. In a nutshell they are the ones responsible for helping you make your net worth grow.

Do you now understand the importance of having a team? You can try to do it all alone but you'll make much more money if you have a team of players to help you succeed.

One more thing on the quality of the members of your team. This has more to do with your team members' mindset. Make sure your Personal Manager, who is the CEO/General Manager of your team, is a go-getter. That is worth repeating.

Make sure your Personal Manager is a go-getter.

Your Personal Manager can make or break your career so choose wisely. And don't be afraid to replace your team members if you need to. If you have a weak link, then you need to get rid of the dead weight. In the end, it will be a blessing to your career especially if you plan to be in the music business on a long term basis.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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WHO DID THAT BEAT? Frequency "Makes It Good" With Snoop & Ghostface : NODFACTOR.COM

Here is another producer who demonstrates that hard work and persistance will pay off in the end. Check out this article on beat maker Frequency from NODFACTOR.COM.

WHO DID THAT BEAT? Frequency "Makes It Good" With Snoop & Ghostface : NODFACTOR.COM

It goes to show you hard work does pay off. Also, if you're not up on NodFactor.com then you're missing out on some good interviews with very successful producers.

If you want to get more placements or sell more beats online, you should check out the review I did on LiveOffBeats.com. There are some other tutorials online but I like the fact that the site host, Postman, starts his training with your mental attitude.

If yo mind ain't right, how can you ever expect to attract opportunities and make money. You have to see yourself getting your beats sold & see yourself actually collecting checks. You are what you think!

Education is the key...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. If you're really serious about getting into the production game and making a living from the beats you make, you should check out this review on LiveOffBeats.com. It might just change your life....

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Developing The Habit Of Persistence

One of the keys to being successful in life is developing the habit of persistence. It doesn't matter if you want to be the best beat maker, emcee, football player, doctor, lawyer, etc.

If you want to be the best, you must be persistent.

The legendary basketball champion Michael Jordan is a great example of being persistent. Mike practiced and practiced until he became almost flawless. You know the story. Cut by his high school basketball team, he went on to become one of the greatest basketball players in history.

He won a NCAA Championship in college, 6 NBA Championships, NBA All-Star Trophies, Olympic Gold Medals, and all kinds of endorsements.

The passing of my friend JAX showed me something and it made me take the time to reflect. STAHR The FEMCEE said JAX told her she needed to get in the habit of writing everyday. It didn't have to be much. It could be a couple of bars but as long as it was done everyday it would become a habit.

Last night on WRFG 89.3 on Jay Force's show Rhythm and Vibes, I heard so much music from JAX that I never heard before. That Brother was truly on the grind...

...before it was even cool to say grindin'.

What I came away with was to step up my game. Double my failure rate. Stay focused on what I want to see manifest in my experience. Use concentrated force to overcome road blocks.

I'm already committed to blogging everyday. I would like to add a new commitment of making my own beats everyday and/or working on a song.

This is not hard for me to do because I'm so used to writing. Writing is easy. What is hard is staying focused on the big picture sometimes.

With all the challenges life brings your way, it can be difficult to prioritize and do what really needs to be done but once you put all the excuses to the side and just do it, life gets simpler.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

Finding The Right People to Buy Your Beats

Now for my continuing rant about marketing. Like I said in a previous post, marketing is the lifeblood of your business. If you don't have customers, you don't have a business.

So how do you find the right people to sell your beats to?

You have to identify your target market.

How do you do that?

You identify your target market by doing research such as demographics and psychographics.

What are demographics & psychographics?

Here are the definitions according to AllBusiness.com:

"Demographics are the average or typical characteristics of the people who buy your products or services. Such characteristics include age, income, education, status, type of occupation, region of country, or household size.

"Demographics can also include the age of children, the status of home ownership, one's home value, and whether one's home is located in an urban or a rural location.

"Psychographics take this idea a step further: These include people's lifestyles and behaviors — where they like to vacation, the kinds of interests they have, the values they hold, and how they behave.

"To hone this information to fit your marketing needs, you will need to conduct research — survey people who have bought your products or those who use similar ones.

"You need to know both demographics and psychographics in order to advertise and sell your product effectively. You'll need to match the audience's characteristics of the media you choose with the characteristics of your desired purchasers.

"In that way, you won't loose precious dollars on wasted advertising and marketing."

I couldn't have said it better!

There is really no shortcut to finding out who your customer is. You can try but you'll "loose precious dollars on wasted advertising and marketing"....

....and why would you want to do that?????

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. If your primary goal is to make a living by making your own beats, then I would like to suggest you to LiveOffBeats.com. Live Off Beats can help you get sales for your beats so that you can make beats on a full-time basis.

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How To Get Your Video Played On BET

Here is the video for Gotcha that we did a few years ago. The story of how we got it featured on BET is pretty cool.

We had a friend at a local magazine called Creative Loafing who had done a full spread feature article on Prophetix. That friend, "Hutch" was also an instructor at Georgia State University in media arts.

He provided the facility and storyboard and we provided the camera. The rest is history!

Once Hutch finished editing the video, we begin to send out press kits to different video outlets. BET was on that list.

It took about a month of mailing out these kits but one day we got a return phone call back from a BET representative.

They informed us they wanted to air the video on a show called "The Next". We had a party just to watch it!

Imagine seeing yourself not only on the TV but on BET!!!

Now believe it can happen to you because it happened to me.

Was it luck? Nope. It was down to earth, street smart marketing. See even if BET never played the video, it was still getting plenty of airplay in other markets.

Once again its a numbers game.

But you've got to play the game to win it. It takes hard work, determination, and vision but if you follow the steps it takes to be successful you will be successful.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Oil

With Hiphop and Rap music being dominated mostly by males, the ego pretty much comes built-in. "I'm so and so, I'm this, I'm that..." is not only a hot line but it is the truth about the music industry.

There are all kinds of colorful artists out here in "the game" but the ones that truly shine are the ones who are not afraid to promote themselves.

I'm talking about the ones who have no shame in promoting themselves to the point that you MUST listen to what they are saying or doing.

My experience in the business world has proven this to me time and time again. I remember when I was promoting Da Unfold EP by my group Prophetix. I was out promoting in the streets and online all the time, every moment I could get. People knew that I was a hustler because of how much they saw me in the street. They bought into the hype I was selling.

Since then, whenever people see me or one the other members to this day, they always ask where the other members are because of the standard we set in the underground Hiphop scene in Atlanta.

What about you? What are you doing to promote your music...

...AND ARE YOU LOUD ENOUGH?????

Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the oil!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. If you already make beats online and you would like to learn how to promote your music then click here to check out Liveoffbeats.com. Now go ahead and get your squeaky wheel on!!!

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A Much Needed Vacation

Hey I'm back from vacation. I packed up the fam and went to a cabin in Blue Ridge, GA.

When I say I had a GREAT time, you gotta feel it with me. I had a ball. My whole family enjoyed it.

Dope hot tub, mountain view, no phones ringing, no cars. I mean it was perfect!

So I just wanted to say I'm back and be on the look out for more music program reviews. Also you'll find a revamped site within the next 2 weeks. Holla...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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