ALL NOVEL Chapter 34
Chapter 34 Indie music
The melody and lyrics in the depths of my mind have never been forgotten. After waking up again, he pouring down wantonly, but then Lan Li was stunned because the recording software on the computer did not record it at all, so he had to stop temporarily. Performing, began to study recording software seriously.
Maybe, he shouldn’t be so troublesome. He just recorded a video and sent it directly to the tubing. Why bother to record a digital audio source here?
But, this should be a gift, not a debut. Thinking of this, Lan Li still honestly picked up the lazy thoughts, while groping for the recording software, while looking for recording skills, began to explore again. When the sky revealed the white belly, a “Cleopatra” of a little more than three minutes was finally completed.
Sure enough, recording music is an extremely troublesome thing, and Lan Li only feels back pain. He needs a break.
left the computer and made a pot of coffee in the kitchen. The strong coffee aroma finally saved Lan Li’s sleepy soul. However, since it is half done, it is not a wise choice to give up halfway, because Lan Li knows that once he gives up, then it is estimated that he will really give up on this matter, and he will not bother to do it again afterwards. Therefore, this gift still has to be done in a hurry.
I poured the second cup of coffee and thought about it. After all, there was no sugar or milk, and I returned to the computer with the coffee, recalling the website that Neil introduced before, the song cast.
A few years ago, it was very difficult for a musician to release his own singles or albums, because the distribution channels were in the hands of large record companies and large distribution companies, not to mention the rare resources of publicity and promotion. Up.
To cite the simplest example, the United States is a country on wheels, and car radios are the most efficient in promoting music. However, the music played by major radio stations every day has signed an agreement, and even the details are up to 25 songs this week. There are detailed regulations on all the playlists and broadcast frequency requirements. More than 90% of the radio music playlists are in the hands of large companies.
This is also an important reason why indie musicians can hardly get ahead.
But now, thanks to the new model of online music, YouTube and Facebook are one way, iTunes and Spotify are another way, but the two ways have the same goal, mainly providing a platform for independent musicians to show themselves. . Although the limitations of publicity and promotion resources still limit their development, at least it opens a window for them. Idol singers like Justin-Bieber who have achieved counterattack are just after the changes in the music form of the new era. The remarkable results.
Lan Li’s knowledge of music is very limited, but after reading the songcast’s website agreement, he suddenly felt clear.
Although independent musicians can now skip the link of the distribution company and directly publish their own music on online sites such as iTunes or Spotify to provide purchase and download, but the procedure is very cumbersome and not only has details on the music format, music duration, recording quality and other details. There are all-round requirements, and there are also hard requirements for the number of music. For example, Apple stipulates that an artist must have at least 50 registered songs before being uploaded to iTunes. Such restrictions have scared off countless independent musicians.
Not to mention, iTunes is also a veritable large company, and the cumbersome legal provisions are enough to make people headache. Even if Lan Li is not in the law department, he also knows that when independent individuals confront large companies, there is almost no room for survival. Their interests will be compressed to the lowest bottom line, and there are many hidden clauses in the contracts of large companies. Further exploit the interests of independent individuals. Of course, the good thing is that they are big companies, so there is nothing tricky, everything is open and honest!
Under such circumstances, the song cast provides another platform for independent musicians, or, to be more precise, it is a possibility.
For most indie musicians, they may just want to try the water to see if their music can be successful; or they may just want to find a platform to sell their own music and find more music The company’s attention.
In the Internet age, the traditional self-promotion methods before are no longer applicable. For example, send tapes to record companies, for example, participate in the warm-up performances of big-name singers, or participate in the “American Idol” audition. Instead, YouTube’s video, iTunes’ digital audio source, this type of network method.
Of course, compared to YouTube’s free videos, online music sales can earn some income, which is undoubtedly more attractive.
Song Cast is such a website that came into being.
It is actually an online music seller, a bit similar to a traditional distribution company. Independent singers upload their music to the website and publish it. Then the website will make file format conversion, illustration formatting and other systematic work, and then Complete the work of distributing to various online music sales websites, including all mainstream websites such as Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, etc., and it can be done easily with a one-time upload.
Not only that, but the song cast is also an important display platform. Many big-name producers or record companies will use such a platform to find potential singers and cast nets to find newcomers. Although the decline in the music industry has been obvious after entering the 21st century, the industry’s demand for newcomers has never declined.
Song Cast is not the only company that provides music distribution services, but it is currently one of the most mature and successful companies.
This does save Lan Li a lot of tedious procedures. No wonder Neil said before that everything has become simpler now.
Creating an account, uploading music, writing down the song name and description… Then, Lan Li discovered that he had to put on the cover of the flyer song—this also meant that he needed to make a cover for himself temporarily, which really made Lan Li feel extremely troublesome.
The whole person fell directly on the bed, the soft quilt was extremely comfortable, and the sleepiness swept over again, Lan Li almost wanted to give up, sure enough, he is still suitable for sleeping in the quilt, recording music, designing a cover, uploading audio, etc. Yes, it’s too long-winded. He would rather spend five hours watching an off-Broadway rehearsal than sitting in front of a computer and tossing about recording.
Breathing out a long breath, Lan Li told himself: This is only a one-off thing, this is just a special gift, so it is better for him to grit his teeth.
Even if Lan Li is not reborn, he clearly understands that the modern music industry is very sluggish, and it is the same all over the world, not to mention the golden age of the 70s and 80s, and the most commercialized 90s. , The music market is still flourishing. But now, not only has album sales plummeted, but the current year-end sales champion may not even be able to make it into the top ten of the year-end charts ten years ago. The entire market has transitioned from being the king of albums to the era of singles—everyone is selling singles; And the quality of music has also declined significantly.
Once upon a time, jazz, blues, soul, pop, rock, rap, country, folk… all kinds of music are dazzling. In every specific era, a specific music genre will rise strongly, such as those in the 1960s. Folk songs, rock and roll in the 70s, and disco in the 80s, but besides them, the splendor of other music genres also delights the listeners. Almost everyone can find music with their own characteristics.
But now, the music industry is getting narrower and narrower. It has completely become a world of pop and rap. The quality of music is obviously declining for colleagues, and other music types have almost no room for survival. This is the case with folk songs.
In the 1960s, folk songs were once popular all over the world, and they were even enough to change politics/governance and culture, such as Bob Dylan (Bob-), David Bowie, and Joan-Baez (Joan-Baez) that set off the civil rights movement and changed Folk singers in the course of history have truly changed the world with their music.
In 2016, Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature, awakening people’s curiosity and attention to folk songs. But in fact, in the past twenty or thirty years, the living space of folk songs has been compressed to the extreme, although it has not been eliminated by the times like disco, but it is not far away. In the singles and album charts of the Billboard, it is difficult to see folk songs even in the top fifty, let alone the top ten.
Lan Li is a rebirth person. He also knows that the future will be the world of electronic dance music. The situation of folk songs has not improved, and it has slipped further into the abyss.
Therefore, the recording of the music “Cleopatra” is purely a gift to Stanley-the reason why the pioneer village can survive in the golden Manhattan, even Woody Allen and “New York “Ke” magazines are highly praised by it, relying on Stanley’s sincerity and persistence. Jazz, rock, folk songs, bluegrass and other music types that can hardly survive, Stanley has exhausted his life’s efforts. Keep a trace of blood.
Lan Li doesn’t think there will be another time. This is also the status quo of indie music, cruel and indifferent, but it is true.
Thinking of this, Lan Li sat up straight again, thought about it, searched through the album on the computer, and finally found a special picture—the gate of Pioneer Village, which is primitive to a little shabby gate. Low-key and quiet, the afternoon sun is sparsely and cleanly shed, and it has a clean and clear after washing, but it is full of historical footprints.
posted a “Cleopatra” banner on the right side of the window, and on the left side a signature of “Ren Li-Hall”, without deliberately highlighting it, as if it were originally part of the window.
In this way, the single cover is complete.
went back to the song card division, after filling in all the information, click upload, watching the progress bar reached 100%, Lan Li turned off the computer, rolled directly onto the bed, and was finally able to rest.