Best Microphone for (Insert Use Here)

The Best Microphone. Ever.

Time and time again, I see forum posts online saying, "What microphone should I use for drums?," or any instrument, vocalist, or random use. Pulling up a list on Guitar Center, you are smacked with hundreds of microphones that have reviews such as "BEST MICROPHONE I'VE USED FOR DRUMS." That used to be what I used to look for when I was buying microphones, but then I realized something.

The Realization

I realized what I am. I am an audio engineer with a degree from one of the best schools in the United States. I realized that this person who used the particular microphone I was looking at for drums may not have been recording my particular genre, or drum, or artist. For instance, my personal preference for toms are Sennheiser MD 421 II, but if you ask some other engineer from a different studio or genre specification they may say they like the Sennheiser e604. Is the person who likes the e604 over the 421 wrong? No. They aren't at all.

What Do You Mean?

I mean they aren't wrong. Would you tell Butch Vig that he shouldn't use an MD 421 over an e604? You most likely wont. Why? Because you respect the work he has done already with his current microphone choice such as his work on Nirvana's Nevermind, Multiple Foo Fighters albums, Garbage, and more. 

What I am getting at is every engineer has his or her own "DNA," so to speak. What happens is when engineers track in the studio, most of the time they use multiple microphones for instruments, vocalists, etc. Many engineers love to use multiple microphones per instrument so they have different tonal qualities to use when mixing a track. I personally have used a mix of multiple microphones to get the "perfect" sound I am looking for. Along with this, many engineers do have their "Go To" microphone due to a positive previous experience with said microphone. Although, a single microphone may or may not be suitable for every recording situation.

Conclusion

Experiment. Take risks. Recording and engineering is an art, and with art you have many takes and interpretations on how a work is done. Whether you are using a Sennheriser MD 421 or an e604, at the end of the day if you are happy with it along with your client, then you did your job. An open mind and a humble heart is something I rarely see in the recording aspect of the industry. Time and time again I see people call each other idiots or morons for using one microphone over another. Let me tell you something, if it sounds good and you're happy, then that is all that matters. Although, always take suggestions that improve your workflow into consideration because saving time is in the end going to allow you to grow as an engineer. Experiment with the angle of the microphone towards the source you are recording or the distance of the source your are recording; let your engineer flag fly! Let us never forget how the experiments and risks taken in the studio are most often the most memorable such as the invention of automatic double tracking by the Abbey Road engineers during the tracking of the Revolver album. Along with this, how much Brian Williams of The Beach Boys used to experiment with his albums. For more techniques, check out Thought Catalog's article.

Experts Views on the Value of Business Plans

The Experts

Two experts caught my attention when discussing views on business plans. The first is Dr. Steven Gedeon. Dr. Gedeon is a highly-regarded entrepreneurship educator and expert who is credited with founding and leading over a dozen private, public, venture capital, and non-profit organizations. He is a much decorated individual with tons of experience with businesses. He does his part by giving back knowledge to the area by publishing books, articles, and blogs. You can see more about Dr. Gedeon here.

Next is Dr. Carl Schramm. Dr. Schramm has founded or co-founded seven companies and served for major companies in crucial roles such as EVP or Fortis. He is the author of several books about business as well as healthcare costs. He has advised major corporations on a national scale about innovation, expanding entrepreneurial activity, and economical growth. He also contributes to the Wall Street Journal and Forbes magazine respectively.

Critical and Key Components

Dr. Gedeon states that critical and key components he looks for in a plan are what is the business doing, and whom is it tailored towards? This can be as simple as selling shoes. Are you selling shoes in general? If so, this may not be something Dr. Gedeon would be interested in. Now if you are selling shoes that are tailored towards runners or even runners with special needs such as runners with heel spurs, turf toe, or anything then it may be more interesting.

This heads to another area he is interested in such as how your business is different from the competitors; which in our example is shoes for those with disabilities or ailments. Lastly, he and any investor is interested in the overall executive summary and the qualifications of the management team. Is John Smith running it with no experience, or is Shawn Myers running it with 20 years experience tailoring shoes towards those with foot ailments? Venture capitalists will also be looking at the overall financials of the business; this section of the plan shows thought and consideration was put into the business.

Dr. Schramm seems to be more concerned about the overall management of the business itself. Carl is quoted in many articles such as this one stating, "Rarely it never makes sense to write a business plan." Now he doesn't mean that business plans are useless, but it is never the case that a formal path in a business plan is the plan a business takes to success. Think about that home improvement project you started over summer. Insert peg A into peg B. Simple right? But myself and other men in the country, usually A never gets into B and C usually gets snapped in half trying to force it into A. This is a direct quote from the Steinvox article. Carl stated that he looks for primary characteristics of the Entrepreneur starting the business, not the business plan. The characteristics include:

1. They are an outsider, they ask the hard questions, and press leaders on the “why” around status quo.
2. They think in terms of disruption, and are often thought to be disruptive by the change-averse.
3. They see things differently, considering untraditional forces that others didn’t see.
4. They are often competent in a completely different field than the field they are working in.
5. They are very widely read, and know lots of facts and information that makes thinking richer.
6. They have worked in multiple places in the world.
7. They have worked in a startup.
8. They have worked in a job they didn’t like.
9. They have worked in multiple industries.

These key areas for each individual tell a different story. For Dr. Gedeon, it tells him the path of the business, where it is going, what market is it in, and who is running it with what money. Dr. Schramm's characteristics and key elements really say who is doing it, what makes them qualified to do it, and what is their resume of successful completions. His characteristics also show the test of a person's grit, integrity, and much more especially their thought patterns.

What's in it for me?

The suggestions I took from each person has actually been resonating with me through my tenure at Full Sail. I have made myself into a well rounded person who strives to get myself involved in local business startups such as my new business Just Crab Cakes. Along with this, I have realized the focus on business plans surrounds the executive summary and financials respectively. What do you do, why do you do it, and why is it better than the others? Those are my key questions to any business that approaches me for help. Those three questions give me a quick summary of what a business is doing, why it's doing what it's doing, and how it will fair in a tough market. Combining both Dr. Schramm and Dr. Gedeon into one business plan is really what I am aiming for. The business plan is a great way to say what you are looking to do and how, but a business plan in my eyes is only as good as the person who wrote it.

Piracy - Fight It or Embrace It?

The Fight of Our Four Fathers

Back in the day, there was a string of commercials stating, "Piracy is a crime!" Featuring all of this mumbo jumbo about you wouldn't steal a movie, a purse, a car, a handbag, etc. Don't recall? Check it out to refresh your memory:

Now our four fathers of the Entertainment Industry were concerned piracy is stealing, which is a very logical statement. Back in the day, the thought was if an album, movie, or book was downloaded off our long lost friend Limewire, then the revenue from that media was long gone thus causing economic harm to the entertainment industry. Let's dive into it a little more though, shall we?

Piracy of 2014

2014 has brought a new light onto piracy. The same light shined upon me a few years back as I looked into piracy a little more. The Tribeca Film Festival programmer, Cara Cusumano is quoted in the article on ABC News that: 

"Piracy is less about people not wanting to pay and more about just wanting the immediacy - people saying, 'I want to watch Spiderman right now' and downloading it," she said.

"I think that if companies were willing to put that material out there, moving forward, consumers will follow."

I agree - personally for myself, I HATE going to the movies. I HATE sitting in front of some kid kicking my chair, paying $10 for popcorn and a soda, and potentially seeing a terrible movie that IMDB has ramped up as the "Best film ever!" I would rather download the movie, sit on my nice comfortable couch with my beautiful wife, have a couple drinks, and be safe at home watching a movie that may or may not be terrible. 

Piracy & Me

Now before the FBI kicks my door in, let's expand on my view on piracy. I am a musician, I have created content,  and my content has been downloaded legally and illegally. Am I hurt? No. Was I financially hurt? Yes, but only in the short term. 

The short term?

Yes the short term. Piracy is a wave. Someone downloads a movie, watches it. If it's good, they tell their friends to check it out. If it's not good, they tell their friends to stay away. So let's analyze this in a more elaborated fashion. 

I download The Box Trolls today and LOVED IT. I tell a lot of people I know, some young some old, how awesome it was. The older folks, that don't know the first thing about piracy, go to the movies, purchase the ticket along with the $10 popcorn/soda combo and enjoy the film thus creating revenues for both local and industry businesses. The younger folks might download the movie, or they may take a night out with friends or family and check it out, thus creating more revenues. The ripple effect from their reviews can influence more people to do the same. Now, I know in a perfect world all of these people won't get up and go see the movie, but they may rent it on On Demand services from their local cable provider, or hey maybe they will download it illegally. The exposure of the film a pirated movie receives can in turn generate revenues for the industry.

The Long Term

Didn't we just discuss long term? A little, but let's take it from the music side. This info-graphic from 2012 shows how many music release downloads performed in just 6 months in 2012.

Pretty large numbers, right? They are, but let's take some alternative views on the chart. Back in 2006 I bought myself a nice Breaking Benjamin CD, I listened to it so much in my car and house that the CD became unreadable and scratched. Now, why would I go and buy the content again to pay for music I already 'own'? In this case, I remember downloading the album again, burning it to a CD, and probably scratching about four more copies before the CD was retired from my collection. Is this piracy? By an overall definition, yes, but is it piracy in my scenario? I believe a judge would have to rule on this one, but I would say a jury would say no. 

Second Scenario: I pirate the new August Burns Red album (Rescue and Restore). I love the album, tell my friends, and jam to it for months. August Burns Red goes on tour with Vans Warped Tour, I buy a ticket, pick up some merchandise from the band, and go about my merry way. A few months later they release a vinyl version of their album, I buy it and all the variations of colors they offer which totaled to be about $100 to the band. During this time I am listening to the album, my friend hears the album, likes it, and then purchased the album via iTunes because he doesn't know how to pirate albums or simply doesn't like piracy in general. The cycle from that friend ripples towards new listeners and the revenues climb.

Fight It or Embrace It?

My views as you can see are simple. I feel that the entertainment industry should no longer look to spend millions fighting piracy, but spend money towards researching piracy trends. A simple search on Piratebay.org for the new movie If I Stay shows that there are ten torrents with 2659 seeds sharing the movie. Entertainment industry marketing professionals should take this data, process it into ads or promotions, and capitalize on potential revenue streams. 

An article on Forbes.com analyzes if piracy is the new advertising. In this article, he states an experiment that occurred with a book called American Gods. For one full month, they put the book for free to download or read on the publisher's website. Now in the publishing company's mind this would cause a huge drop in sales, but in this case sales of the book increased 300% one month after the free experiment was done. The article also goes on to re-enforce my views on piracy stating, "if people are exposed to your work and enjoy it—even if they originally pirated it—they will eventually buy your work. Perhaps they won’t buy thework (book, music, etc) they pirated, but they’ll soon enough buy something else."

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, the views on piracy should be re-evaluated by media industries and embraced as a way to reach out to their customers. Maybe companies can capitalize by putting movies or music on piracy sites and adding watermarks or ads within them to advertise where and when to buy the works. Use the internet to distribute the works, but make them pay to get the watermarks removed. Another idea would be to offer discount codes to use for movies, music, or other media within the advertisements. Some revenue is better than no revenue!

Vinyl's Role in a Digital Realm

Vinyl as of late has been making an impact again the music industry. Music lovers all over the world have been tracking down their favorite albums on vinyl in the past few years. Events such as Record Store Day have fueled the fire that is hunting down limited release records and running home to put them on your record player. Sounds like something your parents said before, right? I know that my current vinyl collection has some people fairly jealous of what I have to offer, although many people also hate my collection because I haven't played one on a needle yet. I am a visual collector rather than a vinyl audiophile. The picture in this blog is only a snippet of my collection and I have tons more awaiting to be hung on my wall.

Why vinyl? An article on TechGeek puts a little light on why vinyl has become so popular as of late. The article shows that the sales of vinyl are the highest they have been in 15 years. The article, written in August 2013, states that at the time of the article vinyl sales was up 33.5% since 2012. This increase is more admirable than the CD sales decline of 14%. A lot of the blame of CD sales of late is pinned on the rise of Spotify and Pandora streaming services.

Many audiophiles state that they love the sound of vinyl recordings over normal CD quality. As a music engineer myself, I can say that there are tons of differences in CD and Vinyl recordings to ensure that a vinyl record can actually be made. It takes special attention to ensure a vinyl sounds like it does. Along with sound, engineers must make extra special attention to vinyl mixes to ensure the bass in tracks (like dubstep) don't make the needle skip all over on the record. While I do not agree that vinyl's audio quality surpasses that of a CD, I can respect one's opinion that a preference of sound is very unique and enjoyable.

Along with the awesome, sometimes multicolored, piece of wax there usually contains a complimentary iTunes download code to download the digital version as well. So, what you get is a (sometimes) limited edition vinyl record and a digital copy to take with you on your iPhone or Android. This package mostly comes for the small fee of just $15, or in some cases $30 if the release is a limited edition version or a high profile artist. Personally, in my collection I have releases limited to 100, 500, 5000, and even 50. The numbers are very appealing to me and I see the records as a long-term investment as well as an audio showcase.

Along with the above comes the hunt. The hunt for limited releases or 'mistakes' on records has become a very popular thing as of late. Many people tend to always mention the very rare first pressing of Sgt. Peppers by The Beatles that shows the Capitol Records employees in the collage rather than the celebrities that we all know of today being on the cover. It is believe that only 40-50 copies of this press exist and are extremely valuable. These mistakes or rarities still occur today; a vinyl in my record collection called "The Alchemy Index" by Thrice is #5 of 2000 and contains a misprinted disc. After the release, a new cut of this record was sent to me to replace the erroneous disc.

How about on a band's perspective? Why vinyl? A band, with a pretty decent fan base, can press 500 7" vinyls for a limited release for the small cost of $2,995. The vinyls include a color of their choice and labels. This breaks down to only $4.59 per vinyl. If a band were to sell the press for only $10 then they can make $2,005 profit. This can go towards expenses the band incurs. The band can also
release this album via a social media page or their self managed website to take the middleman out of the picture as well for more profit margins. Great marketing and a little though can sell out these 500 copies in no time. Along with the vinyl why not print some download codes on pieces of paper and offer the digital download as well as an added incentive?

I do see vinyl staying around and growing in the next couple years. There are also some hints at cassette tapes making their way back into record stores alongside of the vinyl records. I fully support the comeback of this form of media so we can spark more revenue streams within the industry.

References:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Music/Pix/pictures/2009/10/27/1256644978035/Capitol-Records-edition-o-001.jpg

http://techgeek.com.au/2013/08/15/why-is-vinyl-becoming-popular/

http://mrbass.id.au/LPs/small/thrice_ai_1.jpg

Copyright or Wrong?

Legal issues can plague any company, but they can be easily avoidable with proper paperwork and permission. The first article I want to bring up is a recent lawsuit against the website MP3Tunes. MP3Tunes was an online music distributer that sold MP3s of many songs without permission from the publishers. The case, found here, stated “More than 2,100 copyrights were at issue in the liability phase” (Reuters, 2014). The case centered on the infringement of rights for sound recordings, compositions, and cover art. The copyright infringements based around the copyrights owned by recording companies along with the publishers that were part of EMI Group Ltd.

The main issue that was centered on this lawsuit was that MP3Tunes selling these works without the permission from these companies for their own financial gain and not paying any royalties to the content owners. This could have been avoided if the proper steps would have been taken by MP3Tunes to secure partnerships to sell this music, then the lawsuit may have been avoided. For example, iTunes secured deals with the publishing companies to pay royalties and secure profits for themselves. If MP3Tunes took the time to strike deals with these companies and split the profits, then they could have avoided the shutdown of their site.

The next article I would like to discuss in the article about Pandora possibly losing recorded music that was released before 1972. In this article, “major music companies are suing online radio service Pandora for what they claim is a major case of copyright infringement” (Venturebeat, 2014). As of today, and with any online streaming service, every time a song is played that is copyrighted the music service pays out licensing fees to the copyright owners. Federal law for pre-1972 recordings was not available for musical recordings. As of now, pre-1972 recordings are protected via state/common law; which as we know are not at a federal level and do not qualify for many benefits of a federal level registration.(Plagiarism Today, 2014).  In my opinion, it’s hard to say how this case will pan out. There is possibility that Pandora may be able to settle with the major music companies to pay them the money owed for songs played, or be safe and pay the royalties to the company regardless of their protections. Although, the claim by the company is filed as a violation of New York law, and is a case of common law copyright infringement. The case can go one of two ways, either Pandora must remove these recordings from their library, or that Pandora agrees to pay royalties from now going forward and possibly back pay for royalties.

Lastly, a very recent event in the copyright realm is the now trending “Monkey Selfie.” It all stems from a photographer named David Slater who in 2011 “Traveled to Indonesia to take pictures of the crested black macaque, a snouty primate with reddish, somewhat possessed-looking eyes” (Slate, 2014). The website Wikimedia has posted his famous Selfie picture from the primate, but not only on the website but in its public domain collection. The website refuses to take it down due to Slater’s demands claiming that Slater doesn’t own the copyright because he didn’t actually take the picture; the monkey took the picture. To get an opinion outside of the knowledge of copyright I asked my wife her opinion on who would own the copyright. She stated “Well, even if he didn’t take the picture it’s still his camera, equipment, software, and everything so he should own it” (Lauren Myers, 2014).

I would have to agree with her statement, and it was Slater’s equipment that took the photo then he should own the copyright. Although, the argument can come up that if I took a picture with a friend’s camera that sold for 1 Million dollars, then does he own it or me? Chris Sprigman, a law professor at New York University stated, “The photographer doesn’t own it. And the monkey doesn’t, either. It’s in the public domain”(Slate, 2014). I think this situation may end up with a redefinition of what constitutes as conceptual art work that can be copyrighted. Although, in my opinion I believe Slater will be awarded the copyright if this were to go to trial due to the public opinions I have read and heard from people around me.

References:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-mp3tunes-infringement-idUSBREA2I29J20140319

http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/18/pandora-might-lose-all-music-recorded-before-1972-due-to-copyright-infringement/

http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2013/08/29/whats-the-deal-with-pre-1972-sound-recordings/

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/08/06/monkey_selfie_who_owns_the_copyright.html

Artist Management - An Ever Evolving Field

An article posted on TuneCore goes over Artist Manager’s roles, and how they relate to Business Development. Just as everything from your life to your job, you are in an ever-changing living breathing product. This applies to artist managers also, they went from concerning themselves with helping the artists get record deals, and then post deal acting as a liaison between the label and the band (TuneCore, 2011.) The role has changed, now artist managers must take on the role as a teacher and developer. In TuneCore’s words, they should concern themselves with developing and unlocking value for their bands.

If you think about it, would you like to get a lump sum of money up front, or a continuous stream of income over a period of time? That is how the new artist management works. One must take a band or artist and develop them in to a stream of exposure, not just a one and done one hit wonder. The main problem pointed out in the article on TuneCore is that most managers are unprepared to do business development. Few have business training and may fail in a market that requires this particular skillset. One should take the time to learn these skillsets to better fair in a thriving job market such as artist management.

The article has many points to consider by anyone entering the artist management business. I believe that someone should consider taking a few business classes to have a better shot in turning their career into a steady stream of revenue. Now, what one must not do is be caught up in the dollars, and always keep in mind the artists core concerns. If an auto sales person that came straight out and said I want you to buy this car because I want commission approached you, would you buy it? Not particularly, now if they state they want to sell you the car because it meets your needs, and can provide a safe ride for your family, does that sound better? The way to consider how to manage artists is would you like to have three thousand dollars now, or would you like to have three thousand dollars per month for x amount of years?

Article: http://www.tunecore.com/blog/2011/02/artist-managers-must-understand-their-role-is-now-business-development.html 

Negotiation and Deal-Making Interview - Jorge Quinones

Jorge Quinones – Owner | CEO
www.izonorlando.com

iZon Networks, LLC

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Background

Jorge Quinones has been an entertainment business owner,

producer, manager, consultant, and production assistant for more than 15 years.

After studying the Entertainment Industry, and getting his Bachelor of Science degree in Entertainment Business, from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL, he immediately began working for, and now owns, the nation’s first hyper-local

Independent Internet TV network, while developing and producing broadcast quality TV shows, promotional and marketing videos, commercials, and assisted on many projects in the Central Florida area.

Jorge has also worked as a model, stage technician and provided voiceovers for promotional videos.

Recently he has been producing video content for My iZonOrlando - eNews Show, as well as producing promotional videos for businesses and charitable organizations.

Jorge has written and published articles, taken photos and shot video for major entertainment event organizations, and is published online, social media and other media outlets.

Interview Questions

How do you personally separate the person for the problem? 

Every situation is different. I like to enter any situation well informed. Once I have all the facts, I can use this to my advantage when negotiating a deal. I try not to allow emotions on a deal but can use ones emotions when negotiating.

Is there any time where you felt that separation was near impossible? 

Yes, of course.

Did you overcome that and how? 

Yes, I was able to over come it. By listening to the person and knowing the situation I was able to overcome it by giving a little bit on my end by still making an offer that would benefit us both.

What are some ways you try to identify the underlying interests during a negotiation? 

Like I stated before, I always like going in any negotiation well informed. Knowing exactly what it is I need to make a good enough deal that I can live with whether for myself or for a client I represent and by listening during our conversations leading up to an offer I can use options to close on a deal. Listening is definitely a very important if not the most important part of any conversation and negotiation.

What are some probing questions you use to find out these interests? 

There are many ways in getting the answer you seek when negotiating a deal. Honesty in my opinion is the best policy. I always ask true questions in what it is I need to make my end work, and I ask questions that of what my client needs and that of all parties included in the negotiation process. Finding the underlying cause of it is what is working for me.

How do you weigh out the mutual benefits in a negotiation? 

I like to do my part in making the project a go. I enjoy on working on many different projects so by allowing my self to be flexible and by truly finding out what the client needs or wants I can begin weighing out our mutual benefits to get the project green light.

Can you describe a time where finding a mutual benefit was difficult? 

Just about in most cases when it comes to money this comes up in any or all negotiations. 

How did you overcome it? 

I can say that even with a contract and the job/service rendered collecting the money also can present itself with difficulties. In fact, I am currently going through this very thing. Where I was under contract to get a project completed and our part was to edit a wedding video, that was shoot by another contractor almost a year ago and my job was to re-connect with the wedding client, and allow my service to do. I had to get to know the wedding client, get the original video shot from the wedding, and make this process seamlessly for the wedding client. I used my contacts to even get the wedding client to an Orlando event free of charge which made her very happy, then I worked with her along the way to getting her wedding video finally completed for the original contractor make everyone extremely happy. The issue came when it was time to collect and my contractor all of a sudden didn’t want to pay what I was contracted to do. I had to work out a deal on payment options so I could collect and make payment to my editor and team members. 

Do you have any negotiation tips or tricks you use to make a negotiation go smoothly? 

No tricks but my tip would be, be honest to yourself first and that of your team members. Research your customer/client and have a conversation/meeting and listen. They will tell you everything they want. You have to listen and do your best to work within their budget. Allow your experience or expertise help guide you through the process keeping professional along the way. Allow yourself some flexibility but also be firm in what it is you need to make the project a go. Work with the client as best as you can and be ready to say no if it does not work for you as well.

In regards to a BATNA (Best alternative to a negotiated agreement), have you ever been in a situation where a BATNA occurred? 

Yes, I allowed myself to withdraw from a deal but my team, which I use a sub got the gig, hiring me on their team, which in the end I ended up making out a bit more. 

Can you describe the time this happened and what are some learning experiences from this?

Actually, this just happened on my latest gig, which I just got back in town from and now I’m answering these interview questions.