Hip Hop Music Is Timeless: Don’t Put an Expiration Date on Your Favorite Music

Music is an art and Hip Hop music is not only an art but a culture. Hip Hop artists should strive to make their music timely. Think of artists like the O’Jays, The Rolling Stones, and The Isley Brothers. They have been making music for many, many years and what if someone would have told them they could only make music until they were 25 years old?

What if the world put a time limit on how long we could create art? Can you imagine Eddie Levert doing something other than making good music? What about Chuck D from Public Enemy or KRS-ONE? I can still enjoy a good show by De La Soul any day of the week.

These artists have been around for years and they are true to their craft. They put out good music consistently and they do not let anyone tell them when to stop doing what they love.

That love for what they are doing is the key ingredient to a successful career. When you start making music just to make some money or to satisfy a record label or whom ever, then you are on the way out. The people with long careers are passionate about their music. They are passionate about their fans. They are in touch with their fans and their fans are in touch with them.

Their music is not about winning awards or fancy marketing and promotions tactics. It is about making good music. Music they can be proud of…music that will stand the test of time and create a mental shift in the mind of the listener.

We will always remember the first time we heard a song from one of our favorite artists and when we hear it now it makes us feel a certain way. That is what artists should strive to do with their music. Then, the music will be memorable and timeless!

So what is the formula for making timeless music? It can be summed up in the following steps:

1. Have a passion for your music
2. Find a way to record and distribute your music
3. Promote your music to as many people as possible
4. Give great live performances
5. Repeat Steps 1-4

Using this formula, any artist, Hip Hop or otherwise, should be able to record and distribute their own brand of timeless music as often as they want to. So what are you waiting on? Now is the time to get started creating a legacy for yourself and your music.

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

Click here for Hot Hip Hop Beats and Instrumentals

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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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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 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 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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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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The Importance of Follow Up

I just got through checking my web stats and I'm glad I did. I recently sent out an email blast to my list with a new beat I made. I wanted to test the response to the beat so I sent it out to my email list and WOW!

I had more people open that email than any other email that I've sent out about the music business.

I was really shocked. I had scanned over these figures a few days ago but I didn't really think about the significance until today.

What I found out is people are still interested in custom beats. After all, I do give away 7 beats just for signing up to The Hot Instrumentalist Newsletter.

My results lead me to try another test using the email and I will soon put another "Beats For Sale" page up at The Rap Beat Creator.

You'll be the first to know...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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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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Are You On The Guest List? I Am!

Here is yet another marketing idea that worked for me back in the day when I was doing street promotions. It worked so well, my homeboy Eddie Meeks adopted it and later, Prophetix made it into a song!

I'm not sure what we were promoting at the time but Dialated Peoples was in town performing and their fans are our target market.

Whatever it was we were promoting, I made sure we always promoted our stuff as well. Since we were getting paid to put out flyers and posters for someone else, it was like we were getting paid to put our material as well...

...but that's another story!!! LOL!!!

Anyway, Eddie and I went there for one purpose: to get in. I told Eddie, "watch this, I bet we get in the show".

What I did next goes down in history...

I walked up and told the person at the ticket booth, "I should be on the guest list. My name is Mello Melanin." I was a guy and a girl and the guy said, "We don't see it. Are you sure?"

I was like, "Yeah, I'm with such and such records and these are our promotional materials. Why else would I be here."

He thought about it for a second then he said, "Oh okay, go ahead on in the club."

Eddie & I went in the club and celebrated where they couldn't see us. From then on the approach was named, "The Guestlist Tactic".

We did our work by passing out flyers and putting up posters then we chilled out and enjoyed the show.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. To use this tactic you must use absolute confidence. You can't go to anybody unsure of yourself but if you are confident this usually works well.

P.S.S. Used properly, you probably won't have to pay to get into another club. In fact, you'll find that you will often be put on the guest list simply by asking.

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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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More About Marketing Your Beats

Here is a follow up to my blog last week about marketing. Let's blow the lid off of what you think you know about business right now.

How important is marketing?

First, lets define what marketing is. A quick definition is matching buyers to sellers or in our case matching rappers to beats.

A more technical definition by the American Marketing Association is:

"Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."

Damn, that's too much to remember! BUT...

...it's the key to having a successful business.

Marketing is the lifeblood of your business. If you're not communicating with your target market then your business will suffer.

You can be slack in every other aspect but if you slack in marketing, your business will sink!

Why? Because marketing brings in the MONEY. A good marketing plan helps you identify your customer, helps you find out what they like, and creates the situation where you can get the sale.

And a really good marketing plan helps you get the sale over and over again. And ultimately that is what you want in your business: repeat customers and referral customers.

Now you really need to listen to this point. This is what separates the person who makes beats online and makes a fortune and the guy who make beats online and gets few if any sales.

The secret is this:

Your business is really TWO businesses in one. Your primary business is to make your own beats and your secondary business is to market your business.

Once you get this firmly in your mind, you'll change the way you look at the game and...

...you'll begin to make more sales.

Once again, if you're really serious and not just looking for a get rich quick scheme there is help out there for you to learn how to market your beats successfully.

Click on LiveOffBeats.com to get started marketing your beats now because if you don't market, no one will know you exist!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Is There Room For Another Rap Producer?

I read somewhere where someone said the music production game is saturated and there's not enough room for any more producers.

WHAT???

That's krazy!! There are thousands of people searching for beats online everyday. There are also hungry artist looking for beats that are not online.

The Internet has leveled the playing field so even new producers with no names can make a good living. In addition to having your own website there are other ways to make money selling beats online.

Sites like sound Soundclick and RocBattle exist so producers can make money and get global exposure.

If your beat sales are not where you want them to be you should check out Postman's site at LiveOffBeats.com.

There is so much FREE information that Postman gives away that its crazy!!!

The videos are on point too. I've watched the video on using the AIDA system as well as a testimony video on being persistant as you try to sell your beats. They are legit!

Oh yeah...

...None of this is going to happen over night but if you never get started, nothing will ever happen.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Guerrilla Marketing For Music Producers

I had a conversation with DJ Pocket from Serious Knock Entertainment (www.seriousknockent.com) the other day about a new artist he's releasing on his label, DJ Razor Ramon.

http://seriousknockent.com/Store-DJRazorRamon.htm

Our conversation was about how to marketing Razor Ramon to get better exposure & sales. I shot some ideas to Pocket about what he could do because I know he wants his project to be successful. Who doesn't?

We covered everything from flyers to email blast in a short period of time. It was like a crash course in guerrilla marketing in 7 minutes.

One thing I covered with him was how the copy (which is the wording in the advertising) actually sells the product not just the image. The image should enhance what the copy is saying to the reader.

Some people think that they can just put a nice "Photoshopped" picture on a piece of paper, billboard, website, or whatever and think their product is gonna sell like hotcakes.

I got news for you my friends. It ain't gonna happen!

Contrary to popular belief, people do read and its the words on the advertising that do the selling.

The example I gave him is using a flyer with text only on bright card stock paper. Previously, I told you about how I promoted "Da Unfold". I used really bright yellow card stock paper for our flyers with black text ONLY on the front and back and our logo. I put them all over Atlanta everywhere my target market hung out and out of town as well.

They were cheap to produce and we reached alot of people that way. When you don't have a big budget like a major label you have to figure out ways to make an impact.

Remember the music business is still competition and you have to make noise to get noticed.

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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