December 31, 2016 - 3:41pm I must say... I've been crap at updating and posting anything here since the end of summer. This is always a good and a band thing. I've said it before, when you're busy you often neglect your website and socials (to an extent). When things slow down... what better time to update the ol' website! ... and things are not slow!! lol. *tear* I had a few other posts I wanted to do and maybe I'll sneak them in early next year... mainly talking about new music I've found (I listen to other bands aside from Tame Impala *cough*), but I'm anxious to start sharing my experiences working with, playing in, and managing my new band Never Say Die. As far as the managing thing goes... it's been a real eye opener and eaten up a lot of time since we launched in October. Bands/Artists I've worked with over the years are always asking questions and looking for advice... so it's one thing to give my thoughts from the sidelines, and another to get my own hands dirty and be part of doing the work myself. Even though we're only a couple months in, I have a better idea now how long things take, what's doable, and what you really should be outsourcing. Bottomline... things take time, things cost money, get advice from many people, and don't expect results instantly... which is a big one since a lot of people are impatient these days... or drag their heels getting the process going. ... again... just scratching the surface, but in the last 3 months, we've: launched the band, done a couple photoshoots, got the basics of our branding together (for the next 6 months hopefully), booked a US tour (dates up soon!!), launched an album pre-sale, and have our debut album coming out at the end of January... which is sorta quick, but we felt there was too much opportunity lost being on tour in the US without a physical copy for sale... plus it was ready. ... I love it though. I like making records but I feel energized... and partially feel like that 15 year old kid again promoting my band online... except it's on Twitter and Facebook, instead of ICQ and MySpace. ... seriously though... different decade but the fundamentals of *cough*shameless*cough* self promotion remains the same... plant seeds in the fall if you want to eat in the spring... or something like that... you know what I mean... On a sidenote before I go... the old studio.... The Pawnshop. Many people ask about it... a number of people didn't realize I even moved out last year. I'll be honest... I miss the area, I miss the food, I miss opening the door and how quiet it was every morning. ... but like most of us think back on old memories/relationships... I only miss "the good ol' days" of how it was... summer camp style... not that I ever went to summer camp... you know what I mean... For at least a year and a half before I finally gave my notice, I was already mentally set to move onto the next chapter. Once the pieces fell into place to make the move, it was an easy decision at the time... tougher than I thought at the end, but after a year of new experiences, workflow, and meeting new people... I really don't miss it, because I wouldn't want to go back to it... things are good(er) now and have only been getting better. Last thing I'll say is cliche... but I really am looking forward to next year... and I always feel like you've had a good year if you feel like you've spent the year setting things up for the next one. Life is about momentum and I feel the few people I know who are truely unhappy (admittedly or not) feel stuck or lost... everyday try to do what you can to move forward. Think onwards and upwards, everday... it's not about the size of the steps, it's simply about steps. I hope everybody had a great holidays and you're surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones tonight. Party responsibly. Don't drink and drive... and double check those Uber surge prices before you hit accept! See you next year. - Mike :-) P.S That pizza was from my birthday... decided 2 pizzas was too much pizza, so I got both pizzas on 1 pizza. #pizzahack
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TIDAL... the amount of times I've been asked about TIDAL the last couple weeks...
They obviously screwed up the presentation to the public and I'm not sure how they'll recover ... unless they find a way to monopolize their market... but I think the more important thing to take away from the whole event was... these are major label, A-List, household names who've decided to "get their own streaming service". It's official... they see the future and no longer care about album sales! Finally!!! ... hate to say it, but I find musicians are usually the last to figure out or maybe accept what's actually going on and where things are going. They insist on treading the same path as their idols... and not surprising... the same kinda musicians typically bitch about contracts they didn't read and accounting they didn't check up on. So this is a step in the right direction for music delivery... we don't want the medium (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, etc) any more (speaking of the majority at least), we just want to listen to the music... on demand. ... but nobody wants a subscription service you say? ... that's right, we don't want to pay for it... but we will pay for it... they'll just be sneaky about getting us hooked. So when does streaming officially win? Once it's in our cars. We're really close to having the bandwidth/technology to download/stream a lot to our phones... so why not to our vehicles? They're hooked up to a few things already... Remember when iPhone's launched with that crazy 6GB data plan? I think they launched with it at least... anyhoo, that was an insane amount of data back then... now you're lucky to get 2GB and they charge you $50+/month for it! Meanwhile your household internet is 50-100GB/month for almost the same price. ... so what if you consider streaming music at 128 kbps, that's approx 56.25 MB/hr. Easy math... 50MB/hr X 8hrs per day = 400MB 400MB/day X 7 days a week = 2,800MB or 2.8GB 2.8GB X 4 weeks = 11.2GB I think 10GB is around the magic number we're looking for... once we can get 10GB of data, specifically for streaming music in our cars for let's say... $15-$30/month ($0.50-$1/day), I think streaming will officially take off. I predict new cars will eventually come with this "music streaming" feature and the costs will be rolled into the price... for 1-3 years at least... then it's up to you to renew it if you want... which you will because it's the norm... and music on demand is awesome... anything you want to hear! Don't forget podcasts and normal radio stations too! ... radio stations from around the world. - Mike :-) P.S. I realize most people aren't listening to music in their car for 8hrs a day... well, those who aren't driving downtown Toronto. Seriously though, I went a little higher to make a point. P.P.S If my math is all wrong, please correct me. I used the calculator from this site. P.P.P.S 128 kbps is on the low end quality wise (in my opinion)... but it'll be fine for most. Keep in mind, every subscription service needs an entry point! If you want more, you pay more. :-) |
Mike Langford - Official BlogBeing on both sides of the glass, I get the chance to wear many hats in the music industry. This is a place to share my thoughts, views, predictions, rants, stories and news! Categories
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