Guest blog by Taylor Forcier

You would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t love at least one type of music. Whether it is country, hip hop or rock, there is a genre of music out there for everybody. If you really have a deep love for music, you may be thinking about creating your own music. There are thousands of people each day who pick up a guitar or start striking a piano in order to make a name for themselves in the music business. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people making music today are completely anonymous. For every Justin Timberlake or Katy Perry, there are a million unknowns out there. While this may seem daunting and discouraging, it is important to remember that anything is possible. If you put your mind to it and work hard, you can make a name for yourself in the music business.

Get a Music Degree

Perhaps the best way to make a name for yourself in the music industry is to get a music degree. Most colleges and universities around the country offer some type of music degree program. While in college, you learn important technical skills that put you a step above all those people trying to make it without any training whatsoever. Most music schools allow you to get a music degree in a specialty of your choosing. That means that people who play an instrument where lessons are not usually offered can receive training thanks to a degree program.

Obtaining a music degree is also beneficial because of all of the people that you will meet while in school. Music schools only hire the best musicians to teach classes. As a result, you know you will be learning from the best. In addition, you will be surrounded by classmates who share your love of music. You will be able to find out new techniques and share ideas in an environment that fosters learning.

If you do not want to attend a traditional university, several online music production schools exist. These programs offer a similar education to what you find in a traditional college and can be taken from the comfort of your home.

Get Your Name Out There

In the music business, it is all about who you know. You won’t be able to make it anywhere if you spend all of your time cooped up in your bedroom making music. You need to get out into the world. You should start playing as many local shows as possible. You never know who you might meet at a local bar or music venue. Fellow musicians might have a contact that can help you break into the music business. In addition, you would be surprised how many talent scouts attend local music venues. Record companies have people whose sole job is to find new talent. By getting out and playing shows, you increase your chances of being noticed.

Be Unique

The talent scouts you see at local shows are looking for new and interesting musical acts. They aren’t looking to find a band or singer who is an exact replica of an existing artist. Due to this, you should try to create a unique sound that is all your own. You will stand out and record companies will take notice. If you are having trouble creating a fresh sound, think about your favorite musical groups. You can try to combine certain sounds from different groups to create music that is fresh and original.
While following these tips does not guarantee that you will break into the music business, they will certainly help. One last tip, if you do gain notoriety, be sure to stay humble. Nobody likes an arrogant rock star.

About The Writer: Taylor Forcier has been playing violin since she was six, she also guest teaches part time at local grade schools to encourage students to become enthused about music. Through her partnership with Onlineschools.org, she is able to not only teach young people near her home, but can also work with students from around the world.

Caveat: Dwight Yoakum’s photo was used it illustrate the subject of the blog article. To the best of our knowledge Mr. Yoakum does not own nor endorse Namba Gear products.

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Lil Namba Remix Backpack owner David Cook is traveling all over the world and wanted to share some of his “Namba Moments” with us. As we discovered, David is also an excellent photographer. So, we are posting David’s continuing Namba travels on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/nambagear. Check it out and see where David goes next.

By the way, if you are already on Facebook, please “Like” us; we like you back. So come over to Facebook and let’s take a Namba Gear photo tour on the road with David Cook.

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Helping us get the word out about the Lil Namba Remix Backpack is Los Angeles, CA area dj, DJ Michael Trance. Mike travels a lot as he is also a product specialist for Roland in addition to his dj duties, so he is the perfect guy to talk about the travel advantages of using the Lil Namba Remix Backpack. Thanks for the support, Mike.

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DJ Tech Tools is known to be the place to go to learn about the latest DJ Gear. Check out this review of the Lil Namba Remix Backpack.

Review by Matt Belcher

All traveling DJs need something to carry their gear around in, even if they’re just hoofing it down to the local dive bar for a tune-up set. After hunting for a suitably rugged, comfortable and well-priced bag for my digital DJ endeavors, I finally struck gold with the Lil Namba Remix Backpack. The smaller brother of the Big Namba Studio Backpack, this medium sized, nice-looking gear bag really does the job, and is integral to my setup. If you’re interested in a single gig bag for a laptop/controller/soundcard rig, check out the full review.

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We came across the following blog by CBE Music on The New York Songwriters Circle describing one artists frustrations at playing for only 2-15 people per night; who then came up with the idea of sending out a video-invite to help pack the house. We have included their video below. To read the entire story, go here.

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We are pleased to present another guest blog from Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby. Derek discusses a very timely topic in how to get the best use out of Twitter.

How I use Twitter

by Derek Sivers

Someone recently asked my advice about Twitter, since BusinessWeek magazine just named me one of their “20 to follow” for entrepreneurs.  I’m not a Twitter expert and don’t claim I’m one to emulate, but here are my personal thoughts on how I use Twitter:

Twitter is a P.A. system

Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and mailing lists are all a P.A. system.  (Remember P.A. stands for “Public Address”.) Speaking through them is like stepping up to a microphone, on a stage, in front of 10,000 people.  What can I say that’s worth saying to 10,000 people?  It has to be something that most of those 10,000 unique individuals will find interesting.

I try not to let that paralyze me into thinking that everything I say has to be super-important.  Occasionally I light-heartedly post something cute or funny.  Nobody wants to be around someone who’s too heavy and profound all the time.

Depends on the size of the room

Musicians know that you perform differently to 5 people than 5000.  If there are only 5 people in the room, you can take advantage of the intimacy to be more casual. If I’m hanging in my living room with 5 friends, it wouldn’t be strange for me to say to them, “I’ve been tired all day. My foot hurts.”  That’s just regular conversation with friends. But I wouldn’t say that to 10,000 people.

Reversing it: With a few of my best friends I actually do enjoy hearing the tiny details of their day.  I want to know that they’re feeling sick, or just had the best Chinese food, or missed a flight.

Because of this, I have two profiles on Twitter and Facebook.  One public, for anyone.  One private, only for 20 close friends.  I highly recommend this.

These social media tools have double use, so if you’re only using them super-publicly, adding tons of “friends” you don’t know, you might be surprised how Twitter/Facebook feel completely different when you’re only following a few real friends. Then you really can enjoy sharing and hearing about the tiny things that shape our days.

Ask interesting questions.

Ask good questions that you think people will enjoy answering creatively and succinctly. Examples:
    * “Complete: I need more ___ and less ___.”

    * “What comes first: thoughts or feelings?”

    * “What’s the opposite of music?”

I’ve been fascinated with the amazing responses that come back from people. Surprisingly insightful, creative, or funny.(When I asked, “What’s the opposite of music?”, 200 people answered with interesting variations on chaos, silence and nothing. But then came my favorite answer:  “Business.”)

It’s like songwriting. Be artistic.

Think about songwriting or poetry: You’ve got something you want to express, but instead of just spewing it out bluntly, you choose to do it artistically within certain limitations.  Like fitting an idea into 12 syllables, where the last word needs to rhyme with “train”.

Instead of telling every detail, you use a few key words that give the gist, then leave the rest open to the listener’s imagination. Sometimes, like a songwriter, I feel like documenting or expressing something big that happened to me, but don’t feel like writing an article about the whole story.  So I compress it into an intriguing short post, letting imagination fill in the details.

For example, when my only one-night-stand told me a year later that she was briefly pregnant (because of me), and I was wrestling with the thoughts and emotions behind that, I felt the need to share just: “Found out I was a dad for 10 weeks.”

Other favorites:
    * “Came to NYC for a wedding. Decided to stay. Cancelled return flight. Found a place & signed a 1-year lease. Now buying clothes.”

    * “Walking in NYC. Feet, sandals, and jeans covered in mud from a festival in central England where I was this morning.”

    * “Rented a car at the airport. Accidently drove it off a bridge into a creek. Car totaled. I’m fine. Shoulda paid the $8/day insurance. Damn.”

Like any songwriter, I’d like to think that my mini-statements are at least entertaining and maybe even inspiring to someone.  I enjoy the creative challenge of expressing myself publicly in a succinct and intriguing way.

P.S.  twitter.com/sivers

You can follow my posts at twitter.com/sivers.  Then please email me to give me your Twitter URL if you’d like me to follow you back.

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