Exciting and Important Announcement from Elena Vogt

Elena has announced some exciting updates, the first of which is being asked to sing on a track of a Rap/DJ artist in New York. So if you want to hear that song, called, “PUT IT ON REPLAY” Listen Now!  This will be marketed sometime soon, but its taking a back seat to the BIG news!

THE BIG NEWS is that Elena's latest single is ready for release!

The song is called 'BREATHE SLOW" which is a remake of a song written by one of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey's writers! It charted at #3 on the UK Pop charts a few years ago and is being released by Dauman Music/Universal Music Group! This remake was produced by the Billboard Chart topping producers, ‘Klubjumpers’ . Listen Here!  We have been told that this release is going to have lots of radio plugging both in the USA and in Europe. Which of course is very exciting! 

Finally, following Elena’s successful run in the Heineken download competition with her song ‘Taste of  You’, and her recent feature with the same song on Microsoft Windows Media Guide free downloads, she has been selected as one of 50 artists in New York to have a song available for download in a competition with Pop Chips via Facebook! If she wins, this will result in a performance for the Spin Magazine event in Austin, TX.

The link is below, you need a facebook page to vote, by downloading her song ‘Taste of You’. It will really mean a lot to us if you can help her win. Also pass the link onto your friends and kids and ask them to download it as well.

Here is the link to the competition page, please download ONLY Elena's song so that she has a shot at winning! Thanks! Voting ends on September 12th!  Vote Now!

Thank you for supporting Elena!

 

Is There Such a Thing As a FREE Download?

There is no such thing as a free download! Even though it's true to say that a fan can download a song for free or in exchange for supplying their email address. In such cases the Artist or Label meet the cost. So how much does it cost to produce a song?



Stacey Young - singing live

 The first major problem is that no two songs are the same. A price for one created in a few minutes, will be different to another that takes a few months. Another factor than can seriously extend time and therefore cost, are the musicians and the rehearsal time they may require, before you get the sound that you're looking for. There are so many variables to consider before you can even attempt to put a price on a song. But we'll try our best.

Let's assume that a simple three and a half minute song is written, sheet music is available for the experienced session musicians and now its time to take over a studio and record. All vocals will be completed free of charge by the writer.

An estimate for a simple arrangement with a well-rehearsed group would be about six hours per song. This is loosely calculated at 1.5 hours per finished minute of music. Some people will say less and others more. There is simply no strict calculation you can use, but for our purpose it's about right.
The money side will roughly equate to £25 per hour for the studio over 6 hours, which is £150. Four session musicians at £100 each, adds another £400 and our sub total so far is £550.

After this, the tracks have to be mixed and this largely depends on the Producers or Sound Engineers and how they work. Time again is another factor that is as long as it is tall. It takes however long it takes to get it right. But more time spent in mixing usually means a better quality finish. A very vital part of the creative process to achieve the best sound is to take plenty of breaks for the eyes and ears to rest. Some will mix over two days to give themselves a clear break and come back refreshed to finish it off the following day.
Mastering for one song could take up to two hours, probably less per song when mixing an album.
So we will run with a very low price of £100 per day, as our Writer knows the Producer very well. This adds another £200, making a total of £750 from start to finish with quite a few shortcuts and favours.
As can be seen, to produce a song ready for a decent commercial level is an expensive undertaking. Which leads to the question. Why should there be free downloads at all if it costs this much money to produce? Hmm, Good Question!

'Free downloads' cost us and our Artists money to produce and record. Please help support our musicians by buying your favourite music from our website. ~ Thank you for your kind assistance.

Its Summer Festival Time! ~ How do you get onto the big stage?

There are so many bands and performers anxious to get on the summer festival scene every year, but the truth is that hardly any attach their music or documentation of their fan base on their introductory emails. Without these simple attachments, your email application is simply destined for the trash bin and they don’t have time to follow a link to your website to find whatever they want to see. You probably have only 15 seconds to capture a promoter’s attention.

 

Lets be clear about one thing, festivals are an ideal opportunity to get onto a stage. An unknown band will not make the main stage at Glastonbury, but there are many other side stages that may feature them. Organisers are keen to provide a wide appeal to increase their chance of a massive turnout at their event and if they want to add a new sound to their repertoire, they first of all need to know what that sound is and the number of your fans that may possibly be drawn to the festival itself. ‘Discovery’ at a festival would be an amazing coup for both you and the Festival itself.

Include a good quality recording of a live gig are imperative. Everyone in the music industry knows that a recorded sound can be manipulated to death to get the right sound for your song. What do you sound like live? Its a critical question and probably of more importance to the festival organisers. If you owned a club or festival wouldn’t you want to see ‘who’ you’re booking? Alternatively, make use of an electronic press kit but make sure your information is up to date and valid before submission.

What can you do to increase your chances of featuring at a festival, or to open for a national act at a club?

First of all, get back to basics and don’t run before you can walk. You usually need to have experience under your belt. So, if you’re a new band, start small at your local clubs and make sure the venue is right for you. Update your online profiles pages so the promoter is not misinformed. Make sure your fan numbers are plainly visible, to do this its best to use a music website platform that collects information from your other online profiles, one such as Reverbnation is quite popular. Make sure your best song is featured first, and remember that 15 seconds from paragraph one! So don’t use a long intro or instrumental (unless that is your thing).

Keep your shows updated on Myspace and other profiles. A promoter wants to see that you’re a working band! It is extremely important that promoters understand where your fans live, since they need to fill their clubs so be sure to connect them to a place that showcases your fan base. Popular festivals and conferences don’t necessarily care as much about a big fan base in their particular market because they usually have bigger artists on board to fill the venue or can rely on the aggregate of all the fans from all the artists that are playing.

Do not submit to something if they are not looking for your genre.  It is annoying to the promoter and it is a waste of your time and money. Take the time to update your online profiles and sync everything to give you the most competitive press kit.  A promoter is going to think if you took the time to do that, you’ll take the time to publicize the show you may be booked for. Always respect the promoter’s decision and don’t take it personally if they do not select you. While you may not be a good fit for their particular opportunity, it does not mean that you will not be a perfect fit for a future opening! Promoters all know each other and talk together. The last thing you want is having word travel among the promoter community that your band is unprofessional which can lead to lost future opportunities.  

The same tips work when submitting to A&R execs, labels, managers, licensing companies, award shows, etc. 

Remember, even Lady Gaga was unknown at one time!

Kashy Keegan - A musical Inspiration

Kashy Keegan is a 26 year old piano singer/songwriter from the UK. He taught himself to play keys and writes and produces all of his own material.

His songs characteristically contain strong melodies with meaningful and powerful messages. He takes inspiration from all of life, the good, the bad, the rise and the fall for he sees it all as having reason and purpose.

Kashy is a true reflection of his music. He puts every ounce of his heart and soul into his writing. He has a sensitivity for emotion that is authentically expressed throughout his many compositions.

"My mission has always been to try and write songs that can provide some form of comfort, healing or positive inspiration for people."

His songs have achieved high ranking in many songwriting competitions, including the National UK Songwriting Competition and Songwriter Universe's Best Vocalist and Best Song Of The Month competition. He also enjoyed chart success with his song 'This Is My Dream' reaching the number one position on both the Track4 Euro and Pop charts in Germany.

So should you find yourself feeling low or depressed, play some of Kashy’s music and walk to the light, don’t hide, just be yourself and let your inner light shine!

You can find Kashy's music on Reverbnation, Myspace and Facebook. Join him there.

Sell Yourself to Sell Your Music and expand your Fan Base!

In today's musicians world there is a unique opportunity to succeed where others have failed! Why would you need or even want a Label? After all, the world is your Oyster.
An unfledged artist today has a variety of tools and opportunities for global distribution, unlimited promotional opportunities and so many new methods of getting their music in front of people from all over the world. So stop worrying about the music industry and just focus on what you do best, your music. Then keep in touch with your fledgling fan base. It will grow even if you just spread news about your new music or gigs. Just don't keep updating your profile every five minutes with the same message.

Social Media - the best route to expand your fan base!

Every musician is a creative being and you can find all the tools you need to make yourself successful. Let's prove it, just search for 'Fred' in Google. Follow the link and turn down the sound. Seriously, turn down the sound! I'm not going to comment on the content, but he plainly does NOT have any musical talent. But the point here is to just look at the figures. His Youtube channel has been running since October 2005, it now has over 2 million subscribers, over 110 million channel views and over 700 million upload views. That is an average of over 30,000 views or plays per day over six years. There's a lot you can learn from 'Fred'. For instance, he's started merchandising as well, you can do the maths, simple sales average of 1% based on his daily viewers.

With figures like that and if he had a few ounces of musical talent, there's no doubt that he would have been signed by a Label. Now tell me, what aspiring musician would not want to have numbers like that? In fact, that's probably a higher number of plays than some of the top names in the industry have achieved over the same period.
These figures are only taken from Youtube, when you look at the number of sites available to musicians, you can then begin to grasp the power of the tools that are out there and available for you to use.

Whatever style of music is your scene, there is a market for you. But be aware, that there are also millions of similar singer/songwriters out there too. What makes you stand out from the crowd? What is your unique selling point (USP)? Discover that and you will be hitting some serious numbers too!

Working with Justin Langston

Justin is a talented, dedicated and young Musician / Singer / Songwriter / Recording Artist from Midland, Texas. He began playing guitar at the tender age of 11 and recollects his dad showing him a few chords, but he distinctly remembers more what he said at the time, "It starts from the heart and if you ever become great it is a gift from GOD".

Playing and creating music from the heart is the main ingredient of Justin’s music and he has learned to play a vast array of instruments including lead and bass guitar, drums, keyboards and many other instruments. In 2010, he recorded his debut album at the age of 16, ‘Love in the making / Gone wrong’ and he is very proud of his first masterpiece. This self-published album taught Justin a lot about music projects in general and more are sure to follow!

The show, ‘America’s Got Talent’ has been holding recent auditions and Justin has sailed through the first two pre-auditions. He is now awaiting the result of the third before they move onto the next stage in the process. This is coming up in mid March, so we should hear the results shortly.

Not only is music running through his veins, but the desire to help others is an important aspect of Justin’s character. He has recently got involved in a campaign that AT&T is promoting, called "Don't Text and Drive" and he will be going into schools to perform and help kids become aware of this growing danger. Hopefully, the teachers will learn something too!

One thing we will say, if his energy and determination remain as focused as they are now, you will certainly be hearing a lot more from this dedicated young singer in the future.

Justin has now published his Official website, http://www.justinlangston.com/ and you can also find him on Facebook, Youtube, Myspace and Reverbnation.

How do people find new music?

We conducted an experiment with Solar-Isis, one of our bands, to set up profiles on Last.fm, Ourstage and Soundcloud, to find out if any new activity was generated on a passive profile over the course of a full calendar month, beginning the week before the Christmas holidays. The short answer is nothing! Which we sort of expected.

So if you think any of these sites are going to allow a passive artist to upload their music and wait for loads of plays. Think again! There is no option but to work these profiles fully before you gain anything from them. But watch out for hidden costs!

To get involved with last.fm you have to download their ‘scrobbler’ and start listening to music. It gets you involved, but now you are wasting time listening to other music instead of promoting your own. The common concensus in their reviews (www.Alexa.com) was that after it sold out to CBS, it has not been as effective for musicians unless they buy in and pay for plays.

Lower down the internet traffic rankings is Ourstage which hosts a variety of contests for musicians. However, there are some sour comments about discrimination and some bands being unfairly blocked from the site, but in the main the feedback is positive and the site is free. We didn’t discover an unwanted upsell after we established our profile. But unless you are working the site the chance of anything happening here is still very slim.

Soundcloud charge a premium rate for artists, which is really a waste of time unless you are looking to collaborate with other musicians and refine your sounds. You will meet a lot of other musicians, which appears to be the major opportunity on this site and as for it being another outlet for your music to be discovered by the general public, forget it.

As most online musicians know, if you don’t work a profile then nothing will happen. But to be honest, we are working with Reverbnation and Facebook and have no time to work additional profiles. On Myspace, we are receiving so many messages that profiles have been deleted and the frustratingly slow speed when trying to use it, just make it impossible to be utilised as an effective promotional medium.

So our conclusion is that Facebook is the best option at the moment to virally promote your music with the co-operation of a genuine fanbase. It’s free to use and its traffic rank has been in the top 5 globally for the past few years!

This concludes the first stage of Gateway Music’s investigations into ‘How do people find new music’.

Musicians are mugged over and over again!

Many years ago a famous singer was signing with a major label when he pointed at the date and said, “Jeez, do we owe you $1,969 already?” This is a true recollection from the sixties when artists were ‘mugged’ by Labels and Managers on a regular basis.

Its quite amazing to think that the same conditions still apply for many upcoming singers and bands fifty years later! However, the path to fame and fortune may be more hazardous now with the internet revolution and these ‘Make you a Star’ overnight systems.

Some sites match your music, with clever algorithms; to what music professionals are looking for. There is a wider market now with film scores, computer games, television and radio shows, etc. so the chance of your music getting ‘out there’ is greater than ever before! Give them $20 and they will make you famous!

Then you have the musician sites, where you register for free and they host your uploads. This will then be followed by the ‘upsell’ where you have to pay for larger storage space, more fan email systems and other similar ‘must have’ tools.

Additionally, you can get your music played on ‘radio’, where you set up your profile (yet again) and to actually feature on a playlist, another little ‘upsell’ comes along.

You may have noticed these little ‘upsell’s, keep appearing. Well, to put it bluntly this is where they mug you. Many sites will charge a simple $20, some others that prefer to get their hands deeper into your pockets will charge a monthly fee. If you’re chasing the fame and fortune route to success, well, I won’t even begin to mention the big labels at this stage. But, lets say you join a few of these sites at a cost of $20 here, another $20 there, before you know it you will have spent out $100-200 for no return. Now work out what income you have received from your music, are you in a plus or minus situation. The chances are that you will have a big, bold and red bottom line!

Consider a radio playlist opportunity, where for as little as $20 they will play your song on their little online radio station. Possibly twenty listeners on a good day, which works out at $1 YOU are paying somebody to listen to your music. Yes, they can play it more than once, but that’s not the point. It will be far better on your pocket to stop and think.

Go out and do a gig, where you’re playing or singing in front of fifty people for and getting paid $200. That works out at $4 YOU RECEIVE per listener. You’re a musician who gets a kick out of making and performing music. So the moral of this story is, ‘Don’t get mugged! Get out there and Play!”

"You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing." - Dale Carnegie

Elena Vogt - 'Our' girl in New York!

We are very pleased to welcome Elena Vogt to our artist roster on Reverbnation. Elena is a talented singer/songwriter whose method of song writing has been compared to the same thought process of Michael Jackson in creating his music, during a recent radio interview. Like Michael, Elena does not play an instrument and relies upon imagining the finished song in her head as she creates it. Which is an amazing gift in itself. Add to this her bubbly personality, stunning good looks and incredible voice, she has the ability and talent to take her to the very top!

A 'first' for our roster is that Elena is based in New York while we are located in Dartford, Kent, England. It was only the online friendship between Elena and Sandra who works with Solar-Isis, that we sought contact to establish a working arrangement in the first place. In Sandra’s words, ‘Take off your blinkers and realise that with the internet you can virtually work together anyway.’

We are the first to admit, that it’s a good feeling to remove our blinkers and we are hoping that Elena achieves great things in the future as she is already widely regarded as a global star in waiting. We wish her the best and will do our part to help her flourish and achieve her ambitions.

You can find Elena, her videos and music at her main website, on Reverbnation, her latest news is on  Facebook, Myspace, Youtube and Twitter.

Jo Jackson - Brilliant Acoustic sets from the Guitar Girl!

Jo Jackson is the latest addition to our artist roster on Reverbnation. Based in Rochester, Kent, she is keen to work on more live entertainment with vocals and acoustic guitar in local pubs. Jo sings covers for a wide variety of songs from good old 60's to up to date chart music, which are all broken down into an acoustic guitar set in her own inimitable style. With her quick wit and confident delivery, we are positive Jo will achieve what she sets out to do.

Jo is working on more songs for her online profiles at Reverbnation, Facebook and Myspace. Visit her there soon!

The X-Factor & Auto-Tune

Gamu Nhengu on the X-Factor

This show has an uncanny knack of exposing modern music to the fans and creating a great deal of controversy at the same time. Contestants trashing Simon’s villa in Marbella, Home Office involvement on Gamu Nhengu’s right to stay in the UK and next up will be the forthcoming and inevitable fight for the Christmas No 1. Some say that, “All press coverage is good marketing.” Really?

 It seems to us that many music fans are finally catching up with what is really going on in the show after ‘X-Factor’ chiefs admitted in August that the auditions by Gamu Nhengu, Shirlena Johnson and G&S were altered in post-production with ‘Auto-Tune’. Some critics of the opening show suggested that it questions the authenticity of the show’s format, while many viewers were shocked by this deceit and heated debate on its use in the show became a hot topic.

So what exactly is Auto-Tune?

Firstly, its not that new and has been used as a recording studio tool since 1997 following its launch by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune has played a key role in selling millions of songs during this period. It’s pitch-correcting software devised by Andy Hildebrand simply helps people sing in tune by correcting any sharp or flat notes from a singer’s recorded performance. Recording studios simply fell in love with this set of tools and applications released by Antares. But by 1998, the secret had been famously exposed by Cher’s smash hit ‘Believe’ and months earlier by Milli Vanilli's public bust up with their label.  In general, studios don’t like to talk about what they are doing. Instead of making subtle adjustments to the track, producers Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling reportedly reset the software's "retune speed" and came up with a mangled, robotic effect which spawned a global smash and blew the Auto-Tune lid wide open. From tinkering with studio equipment for a joke, they had created the "Cher effect".

Auto Tune has become just a part of life in the world of pop and R&B. Faheem Rasheed Naim, better known by his stage name of T-Pain is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer who uses the software in many of his songs. This has inspired others such as Snoop Dogg, Kanye West and Lil Wayne to do the same. In fact, Kanye West used the software and applied the technique to an entire album in 2008 with ‘808’s & Heartbreak’.

Auto Tune Software

However, the same controversy that haunted the X-Factor recently, also surfaced at the same time when Jay-Z issued ‘DOA (Death of Auto-Tune)’ in 2009, telling his fellow hip-hop stars it was time to ditch the technology.

So is this the last we will hear about Auto-Tune technology? In our opinion this is highly unlikely. Especially after industry experts claim that the software is used in 99% of all recorded music and can be bought separately or as part of song production software.

Just like the X-Factor itself, ‘integrity’ is something that is alluded to, but rarely achieved.

Our 'Projects List' just keeps on expanding!

Now that we have expanded our artist roster on Reverbnation, our working time is just taken up with everything that needs to be done on a day to day basis and the massive 'Project List' is being chipped away at ever so slowly. Too slowly in our eyes, but at least we are making progress with what we are doing.

Our latest task has been constructing an Amazon Music shop, as you can see from our link to the left and slideshow to the right. This is now finally complete and we will be linking this to our main website shortly.
Why are we using Amazon? and isn't that a bit of a cliche online? Quite simply, they have a much wider selection for the best price compared to most High Street Music Retailers. It's a name you can trust and has a quality of service that is second to none. There you have it, from a guitar capo or gig bag, through to a brand new Roland Keyboard or drum set. The choice is virtually limitless. Go on, have a browse now!

Our next big task for 2011 will be launching our Gateway Music Online Radio Station. We have really wanted to take this step for quite some time, but first its having the knowledge and the funding to run a station effectively and turn it into something that will become popular. Those that know us quite well, will already know that we make radio jingles and advertising for online presenters. You may have even heard some of our work without actually realising it! We decided several months ago that running a regular radio show may be too time consuming. Somebody told us that there is method in our madness. But quite where this 'method' actually is, we will leave for you too discover.

Meanwhile, our local chart placings on Reverbnation go from strength to strength. Shame that there's no serious money involved with this but we are always pleased to see four of our artists in the All Genre Local Chart for NW Kent.

Although Desmond is now recognised by some people when we film a new music video locally, we are still working very hard to broaden his and all our artists exposure to a global market. If you have listened to any of our artists on the roster and you like what you hear, tell your friends or better still post a link to their music on your facebook page. It's all appreciated and very welcome. Likewise if you would like to get involved with our various projects, then send a message to our main email address gatewaymusicprod@yahoo.com

The latest addition to our Roster is Ian Edwards

Ian Edwards and Band

Ian Edwards and his band are a fantastic addition to our roster. We first heard them on Reverbnation and were very impressed with their fresh style and unique vocal interpretation.

They are based on the south coast near Hastings and have been known to gig as far afield as North London to prove their dedication to live performances.
They have only recently moved into the online music world and we hope that we can provide a broader base in which they can operate.
Maybe a gig in Kent sometime soon, who knows.

Tweet

They have been rising solidly up the Reverbnation charts week on week and we hope to see them feature in their Local Top Ten very shortly. Recently they have developed their Facebook and Myspace profiles too. Give them a listen on Reverbnation, or play our audio clip on our full profile page (to the right).

We wish them all the best and hope to support them as much as we are able to do so.

Gary N joins Gateway

We are pleased to announce that Gary N has joined our roster. Gary has taken a business break from his music for over ten years and has now returned to further develop his unique sounds.
Previously he has DJ'd at local clubs in Brighton and all over the United Kingdom. His work also included music production with his former labels of Interflow, Bigfeet Records and Interflow Recordings.

Gary's main interest is the Dance House scene and he is now in the process of working on some original material to be uploaded to his Reverbnation profile in the next few weeks. He is working with cubase, or finding his feet again as he puts it. His home benefits from a fully fitted studio near Brighton. We know Gary works 'full on' with his musical projects, our late evening or midnight phone calls to compare notes on new sounds and discuss what we are doing in great detail are testament to that.

We wish him all the best with his forthcoming projects and hope that we can combine our resources to create a formidable team for the future. You can also find Gary on Myspace and Facebook.

Stacey Young

'Singing' must be Stacey's middle name. Wow, can she belt out a song or what! Go and have a listen, you won't be disapointed by this girls ability. Stacey joined us at the end of May and we have been working with her on her Reverbnation profile. She has been at Number 1 in her local chart since she joined us and we are now working hard on promotion in the Reverb National, where she has just got past the Top 50 barrier.

Stacey Young

We have not neglected Myspace either and getting her noticed more there has led to her appearing at Number 8 on the UK Country Myspace Chart for 20th June 2010, which we are very pleased with.

She is currently singing at Park Resorts, Cayton Bay, Scarborough for the Summer season and will return to Kent sometime at the end of September. So hopefully, we can meet up and get some more songs recorded for her and finalise all the online activity to create a streamlined and cohesive plan for the future.

You can keep up to date with Stacey's latest news on her Facebook page.

Solar-Isis Summer Tour

As in previous years, our Pop/Electronic group, Solar-Isis, are hitting the airport and flying out to sunny climes. This season they are ignoring the Ibiza hotspot and have set up some gigs on the Costa Del Sol.

Based in Marbella, they have bookings already from early July at the Ocean Bar and other clubs in the harbour area and also at Granada, Gibraltar, Mijas Costa, Benalmadena, Malaga, Estepona and Puerto Banus. They have some studio time booked in Marbella and will find more work as they gig to take them up to the middle or end of September. We wish them a great summer (even though we wish we could go too) and we have reminded Sandra to keep up to date with her band profiles.

Follow their tour on facebook.

Gateway Music website published at last!

It took a while finding all the links to our artist profiles, but at last the main website has gone online. Its maybe not the all-singing, all-dancing type of site that many people associate with music. But, to be perfectly honest we don't need one that works this way as we are not hosting any music or video. Maybe we'll add a bit of  'Flash' sometime, who knows? It's merely a portal to all our other online activity which is taking longer and longer for us to process every day. But it saves us a lot of time in hopping from site to site. Why don't you take a look from this link and tell us what you think?

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For people that are finding it hard to find music teachers, we have a link to some of the best online music courses on the internet that teach everything from music theory to guitar, drums and violin on our website. The same information can be found on our new music course blog too. Music is not the easiest of things to understand and learning an instrument can take a few years to really become proficient. With our online courses, you can learn at your own pace, in your own time and simply replay if you need to repeat a lesson to fully understand what is going on.

Where else will you find a music teacher that can accommodate the one hour midnight lesson that you really want! Click here for more details!

Rachel Joel is the latest addition to our Artist Roster

Rachel Joel

Rachel Joel has joined us and brings a wealth of experience in the music industry and is also a voice coach with her own clientele of potential singers. We were able to do some work on her profile quickly and were pleased to see her appear in our local chart as well.

While here in sunny Dartford, positive vibes are emanating every day to offset any political shenanigans and our team are buzzing! Lots of time in the studio to lay down more tracks, out in the park with the sunshine to create music videos and hunched over our pc's trying to write more songs. Every day is bringing something new and now Gino has been talking with some online Radio Stations with a view to making jingles for them.

Three Gateway Artists in the Local Top Ten

Andrea has now uploaded more songs and is still working on more which will be uploaded to Reverbnation shortly. She has also been working with Desmond on some joint projects and their first video has also been uploaded. The battle between them for #1 in their local chart is still in full flow, but nobody's ego is being crushed and they continue to work together. We will be publishing the new Myspace music profiles for Andrea and Desmond within the week and hopefully this will give them another online outlet to reach more people in the music industry.

The Solar-Isis team with John and Richard have greeted the return of Sandra to add an extra dimension to their instrumentals and work continues on new vocals, but their summer tour of the Costa del Sol may yet get in the way of anything being uploaded before then. They have surged upwards to briefly hit local #1 on reverbnation for a day, dropping to #4 and are now climbing again. We hope to see them back at #1 in the next few days. Solar-Isis' Myspace profile has achieved #5 on the daily dance chart in the last week and they continue to hover around the top 30, much as they have done for the past month.

So onwards and upwards. If you wish to collaborate with any of our artists or indeed join us to help your own marketing, then feel free to drop us a line if you are serious about your music. Here's to another exciting quarter as we enter the summer.
 
Gateway Music wish you all the best of luck with your own music aspirations.

Early days on Reverbnation

Reverbnation is a web service for musicians which allows them to upload, stream, download, play and sell their music online. The site runs an active Music Chart for all genres that is updated daily and provides other tools for fan links and a fully optimizable profile page. It is ranked in the top 4,000 of all websites for internet traffic by Alexa.com, which ranks traffic flow throughout the worldwibe web. Reverbnation is probably the best tool for new musicians on the internet.

Going onto a new web service always takes a while to get used to the system, what tools are available and how it all works. Reverbnation was no different, but we were very impressed with the facilities available and didn't lose any time working our artist profiles and creating a label profile for Gateway Music. John created Solar-Isis and gathered a few friends to work on some club/dance music, his favoured style as he had been a DJ in Germany many years before. Reverbnation is a virtual online music community. If you 'fan' a musician, in most cases they will come back and 'fan' you in return. However, there is a limit of 1,000 artists you can add yourself as a fan too, but that wasn't going to concern us immediately.

Desmond Lewis

Within twenty-four hours, Solar-Isis has risen over 18,000 places in the global chart and were in the local top 100 in two days. John had been working with Andrea and Desmond too and within a week they were all in the top 10 of their respective local charts. Everybody was delighted with the results, but John knew that the hard work was about to begin as the majority of the band equity score had to be taken from the previous two weeks plays, visits and other activity. By the beginning of March, Andrea and Desmond were fighting it our for Number 1 in their local Dartford R&B chart. Meanwhile Solar-Isis were closing in on their own top spot after featuring at #1 in the Hot Chart climbing an incredible 18,364 places the day after they launched their online profile. It's all starting to look very promising!

Maybe, just maybe, the guesswork from last month was a lucky shot! Want to know how we did it? All in good time, more later!

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Reverbnation - Finding our feet and creating a cunning plan!

You know how it is, you find a new game on the internet and everybody who has been there before you, knows what to do and kicks your butt time after time. Some people will help you a little bit, but they are not going to tell a newbie their trade secrets about how they got where they are in the game until they either get to know you better or you join a guild or a clan. And, even then most people will hold back on what sets them apart from the rest.

Now imagine a new game called, 'How to get to local Number One on Reverbnation'. This time there is no clan or guild to help you. Other artists may be friendly but they are out for themselves too and really want you to buy their music or get noticed by Simon Cowell and not have to bother with all this online marketing ever again, nothing more and nothing less. How wrong they are, but never mind, thats another story for another time.
However, there is a trade to be made here, such as 'become a fan of mine, and I will become a fan of yours' and this is how most people start to find their feet. The downside is, it takes a long time to create contacts and make these reciprocal arrangments stand. Also, if you post this to your profile, it looks like you are begging for help! You're going to get nowhere. People like to associate with success, so you have to boost your own ego and sell yourself hard, nobody else is going to do it for you. With over 830,000 musicians trying to force their way to the top of the pile, or perhaps I should say mountain; little old me begging for a fan here and there is not going anwhere.

Every single artist on Reverbnation has the same tools to climb this virtual mountain, some of them are already mainstream global artists and the majority of these are not sitting pretty at the summit of this online music community. The secret dear reader, is in the numbers!

How many song plays? How many fans? How many profile visits? How many other artists are reccomending you? The list of numbers this site generates is endless. Everything is recorded and counts towards your BES (Band Equity Score) and Reverbnation are not going to tell you how they calculate this, so you have to guess.

I just hope that I have guessed correctly, more next time!