Why Music?
Some things are easy to understand, and some are not. The taste of ice cream, or the feeling of sunshine on my face, those things are easy to understand. Here is one that, to me, is not. Why does music, even apart from the cognitive content of the lyrics, make me feel good? Indeed, more perplexing, why is it when I play an E major chord on my lovely Gibson C-2 Classic guitar, then move one finger on the fingerboard to change one note, transforming the E major to E minor, why does this new sound make me feel, well, a bit of sadness or melancholy. Let me be clear: [...]
Happy Memorial Day!
Thank you to all of the veterans who have served, and to all of the service men and women serving now.
Social Media – The Fall of Facebook?
Less than a one hour into the second day of trading of Facebook, 88 million shares had changed hands – at a 12% decline in value from the day before. Speculation abounds as to what the future of Facebook will be and if the powerful social platform is declining in its relevance. If Facebook becomes yesterday’s platform, what will be tomorrow’s? Some say Google +. While Facebook currently dominates the online social space, it is first a web-based product. The mobile versions of Facebook have been late to arrive and are only now beginning to incorporate many of the compelling features found online. With the purchase of Instagram, Facebook has [...]
SONGSTUFF by Cary Ginell: The Beginnings of Political Songs in America, Part 2
During the events leading up to the Revolutionary War, the tradition of political songs in American life became firmly established. Much of the focus of this musical expression centered on General George Washington, a heroic figure even during his lifetime. Sheet music, as we now recognize it, was not in great use since most citizens could not read music. Instead, single printed sheets with lyrics printed on them, called “broadsides,” were distributed. The songs were mostly sung to familiar melodies that everyone already knew, such as “Yankee Doodle” or “God Save the King.” After Washington’s inauguration in 1789, many such songs were written to celebrate America’s victory over the British [...]
Whatever Happened to Instrumental Hits?
Dateline: Free Radio Interesting phenomenon – When was the last time there was an instrumental hit song on the radio? Not Pandora or XM, but free radio? Am I missing something? (Please don’t tell me there have been hits recently as I’ll feel really stupid.) Though I am unabashedly a fan of the potential magic between a lyric and a melody, I do remember instrumentals that were played a gazillion times on the air and became huge hits. Yes, they had memorable melodies or instrumentation and stuck in your head – partly due to the fact that they got played so much. A look back at the time machine would [...]
Licensing Notes from Leisa Korn for 5-14-2012: Entitlement Part 2
Last month as we were all beginning to enjoy the beauty that Spring provides, I jumped on my soapbox and tackled the topic of entitlement. I received several notes confirming the perils of this behavior along with a few humorous examples of other people’s experiences with the entitlement generation. And just as I was getting over my righteous indignation, I received a contract request with the following language inserted and I had to build a bigger box… “Licensor hereby assigns in full a 100% share of the publishing rights and all publishing income to Producer resulting only from the public performance of the Compositions in the Infomercial, Production, and Advertising, [...]
Keeping up with Aircast Custom Music
Aircast Custom Music, Megatrax’s custom music division, is constantly creating unique music solutions for a broad range of clients. You can check out a gallery of Aircast work on the Aircast YouTube Channel, YouTube.com/AircastCSD, and here’s a recent montage of their work.
Megatrax and the PMA
Let’s face it- there are lots of different business models in the production music world these days. There are companies that sell music as a buyout, companies that retitle music on a non-exclusive basis, companies that give away music for free on the front end in the hope of gaining on the backend, and companies that give away rights on the backend in the hope of gaining on the front end. For any of these models it is important to ask ourselves two key questions: Does this practice enhance the value of music or detract from it? Is this model sustainable? These questions are part of a larger political battle [...]
Take a video tour of the new Megatrax.com
Have you checked out the new Megatrax.com & its innovative search features? Here is a handy video tour to introduce you to the new site! Visit our YouTube channel at YouTube.com/MegatraxMusic for more videos & tours!
