Category: Music

There are many ways to learn about music and to practice it! Cool music games are great for that. These are online games that can give you a great experience: Exploring music, while playing a game! Playing cool music games is a great chance to learn more about music and rhythm, to learn more about beats, notes and melodies, while having fun. So get your groove on!

In my opinion, when combining music and playfulness, it could help become more accurate with sound and to improve your ear for sound differences and nuances. It could be helpful for those who want to practice playing any instrument and for those who love singing and want to become better. Of course it’s also for those who just want to have fun and play!

Here are some of the cool music games I really like:

Cytus – A free online game. The music that is played in this game is “feeding” the main creature. The music is being converted from human feelings into music. This game has almost one hundred songs in many different variations. There are many music genres like pop, rock, jazz, drum and bass and much more! You play by following the scan line and by tapping on it when it’s time, which is heard by the beat of the song. In some levels you must drag the line to the direction showed to match the sound! The game has an artistic touch and style that makes the experience even more interesting!

Magic Piano is a really cool music game that is fun and easy. It’s also a great practice to your sense of rhythm and beat. You use your fingers to tap on little bubbly dots that are synchronized with the melody. You hit those ones like you hit the piano keyboard and it feels as if you make the sound yourself. I recommend that for helping your piano skills and sense of rhythm get even better. There are many options of songs you can choose to play – from modern top hits to classical oldies.

My singing monsters – A really cool and funny game features monsters and funny creatures that each has its own sound or special voice. Some of them just sing or utter a voice, some of them hit their heads for a drum-like sound, others play an instrument. Each type is very unique and is a part of the whole “orchestra” that you can create! In order for them to keep making cool music you must feed them, give them rest when needed, and generally, take care of them so they can keep the show on! The sound and look of those monsters is hilarious and you can add or change the assembly in many ways and varieties.

In general cool music games that involve good sound and an option for a freestyle managing, are great opportunities to create, to deepen your music skills and to just chill and have some fun. Enjoy!

I d like to point out that Proof has marked hip hop history. I still miss his absence in the game.

NB: the list of tracks and songs mentioned in this article is non exhaustive…forgive me for the ones I might have omitted.

Deshaun Holton was deeply rooted with the Detroit scene. Eminem and D12 s overwhelming success, Proof always busy schedule never changed the man he was. Down to earth, heartfelt, true to his roots, Proof always kept his underground work with local artists active and worked hard towards getting Detroit hip hop on the map.

Deshaun Holton was the kind of person who would not let fame affect his behavior towards other people. He didn t feel too proud to talk to a former friend nor a fan who d cross his road in Detroit or anywhere else.

Within a decade and despite all his detractors might object against him, Big Proof has done more than many artists during their whole career.

1996:

Big Proof might not be as notorious as Tupac, his underground work resembles the hidden part of an iceberg: there is more to discover than you actually think. In fact, Proof s musical work goes back to 1996.

Working together with DJ Head (D12 s former DJ), the talented artist released a mixtape called the WEGO mixtape. 5ELA s Yester Years EP is also the fruit of a collaboration with Thyme and Mudd, who formed 5 ELA with Proof.

Deshaun Holton also had a special connection with the notorious Trick Trick and his Goon Sqwad group. The same year, another CD entitled From Death came out as the product of a common collaboration.

In 1996, Proof also released a Jay Dee produced song called Da Science.

1997

Proof concentrated on working with his D12 fellows on the D12 Underground EP, a remarkable piece of work that is characterized by a combination of astute, crazy, filthy rhymes and the frequent use of dark instrumentals such as the bass.

1998

In 1998, Proof and his D12 fellows were actively working with Slim Shady on the Slim Shady EP.

On his already busy schedule, Deshaun Holton added some good quality work with hip hop dedicated artists of 5 ELA, Thyme and Mudd (Proof was also a member of the group named above). The trio gave birth to several underground jewels like The Album That Time Forgot and 5E Pt 3.

Proof and Bugz also united their lyrical efforts on deceased artist Bugz underground classic, These Streets EP. These Streets EP is, by the way, very popular in Detroit City.

1999 to 2000

The years that followed kept Proof very occupied. Eminem s overwhelming fame, the constant touring, kept Proof very active on the scene, as Eminem s hype man.

2001

Regarding D12, one could barely think of 2001 without thinking of the Devil s Night album. Major success followed with the release of the album.

During the same period, Detroit s Dirty Dozen released the Detroit What! Mixtape. Glory, fame and acclaim didn’t change Proof, who never ever neglected his local hip hop scene.

In 2001, Proof also combined some intense musical efforts with his long term friend Kevin Bailey, also known as Dogmatic.

Promatic originated from the combination of both artist s names: Proof plus Dogmatic equals Promatic. Both artists released the Promatic LP the same year.

2002

If you were already a Proof fan or listener in 2002, parts of his projects were available and downloadable on his former website, Big Proof Dot Com. One of those projects was the Electric Coolaid Acid EP.

2004

Sometimes, it feels so lonely at the top. Fame can alter the taste of simple pleasure and force you to do things that you like less, but that are requested by the music industry.

Deshaun sometimes felt like his entry into the mainstream sphere had left a sour aftertaste in his mind. In I Miss The Hip Hop Shop, a brilliant mixtape that includes many local Detroit collaborations and productions, Big Proof expressed how much he regretted the golden age of hip hop he experienced at Maurice Malone s Hip Hop Shop.

2005

Maturity comes with age and experience. From there you can look back at your mistakes and try to improve yourself. In Grown Man Shit Proof started squashing a bloody beef with his long term rival, acid rapper Esham. But Proof didn t limit his reconciliation attempt to words on a tape: his reconciliation with Esham actually happened at his last birtday party on October the 2nd, 2006.

In Grown Man Shit, Proof also puts some insignificant local haters in place and astutely ridicules them in a well written song, with loads of humor.

2006

In 2006, Proof released his Searching For Jerry Garcia LP, a CD that he had been working on for at least three years before its release. In Searching For Jerry Garcia, Proof reveals his incessant quest for real artistry, showing how much it is difficult to be a real artist, in all senses of the term.

The same year, Proof s Hand 2 Hand mixtape, a beautiful compilation of numerous Detroit talents also came out.

Before his tragic death, in March 2006, Proof did a last album, within 24 hours that is entitled Time A Tell. The album, that includes some collaborations with underground emcee Intrinzik hasn t been released yet.

During his whole career, Proof has been collaborating with numerous local Detroit talents. Among them, the notorious Trick Trick and his Goon Sqwad, Jay Dilla, Hash, Purple Gang, Woof Pac, 5 ELA, Dogmatic, Royce Da 5.9, Slum Village, Malaki The Most Hi, Twiztid of Psychopatic Records and many more.

On a national scale, Proof has also worked with numerous influent mainstream artists such as B Real of Cypress Hill, 50 Cent, Nate Dogg and Method Man.

Deshaun Holton s short life is the testimony of his true love for hip hop. A love nobody can erase from the face of the earth.

The best wedding entertainment options may not include big bands that play traditional music, but we’ll let you decide that after you see some of our great selections. Making the decision to hire a band shouldn’t end in over the top stress attacks, but if you’re not sure what to do, you may be struggling. That’s why we offer great entertainment solutions for weddings of all sizes.

The bigger the wedding, the bigger the band?

Perhaps not… Let’s consider what your wedding reception style is, before we pick the best wedding entertainment for you.

Formal – Ball room style dancing, formal or black tie attire, evening wedding.

Semi-Formal – Indoor usually, semi-formal attire, may be afternoon or evening reception.

Casual – Indoor/outdoor, semi-formal to casual attire, afternoon reception.

As they imply a variety of dress codes, these wedding styles also imply a variety of band options.

Best options for a Formal Wedding Reception – include a Big Band Era, Swing Band, String Quartet, Classic Ensembles, Latin or Salsa, or Orchestra – specialties might include a theme or musical era with selected music options. One of my favorite options is to hire a Big Band for the music and add lookalikes for some variety in music selections and entertainment options. Not everyone will be dancing, so having a variety of entertainment can make the formal reception more fun for everyone.

Best options for a Semi-Formal Wedding Reception – include Latin or Salsa, String Quartets, Jazz Bands, Swing Bands, or Show Bands featuring themes, more modern music, and specialty tribute artists, or specialty acts.

Best Wedding Entertainment for Casual Receptions – include specialty acts, String Quartets, Specialty Tribute Artists or bands featuring indoor/outdoor option themes, more sing-a-long music, softer music for strolling or dancing on smaller dance floors might be included.

The bigger the wedding, the bigger the band? Feature bands with artists who sing well known covers, a cover band, or a 10 piece ensemble that offers more options might be a better band selection for the big wedding. Or a few string quartets entertaining in different areas of the reception? Hiring an event planner, or music agent to help you plan your wedding reception offers better choices.

One of the more successful wedding receptions I remember was a house party reception where the bride had hired four different bands to play in different areas of the house, gardens, and barn – turned ballroom. The early part of the reception was decidedly casual to semi-formal, but later in the evening when the lights came up in the ball room, the four bands came together as one ensemble and ball room dancing went long into the night.

How exciting your wedding and reception can be, when you hire the right bands for the right job!

Music as we all know, is the act of relating musical notes, in the production of an audible sound. Music has been in existence since the creation of the world, which virtually most of us cannot date. Music in its real sense is the soul of life, because in our everyday life, everybody have a time to sit and actually reason on what it is we want to do at our leisure time. Most leisures are spent listening to music. There have been, different kind of music, some of which will be mentioned in this article. Hip-hop, rap, pop, jazz are examples of music often listened to, in the western world. In Africa where i am from, Highlife, JuJu, Fuji, Afrobeat are the delights of all.

Now, that we have different kinds and types of music, it is necessary to know which one you will choose as a beginner to concentrate on. Listen to all these categories, and try all the time to see which one you know how to do best and from there you are prone to being a star in it. Never look down on yourself, music is a part of you. You will be surprised at the inspiration you get while on the move, sleeping or on any other activity, it comes to you like a twilight.

Musicains like Michael Jackson, Marvin Haye, Westlife, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, JayZ, Missy Elliot, Rihannah, Beyonce were not born with music in their mouth. They learnt it. It is time you started a music limited of your own and you can become the next Grammy award winner do you believe that?

People believe in the glamour of the music business; some even consider this industry as all fun and games. Many think that once you enter the music business you will work with the most creative people, the most effective and best of the best artists. However, plenty of people do not recognize the amount of work that goes into every song.

Everyone desiring to work within the music business must learn how money works; have an eye for selecting talented artists, know how to find the right people for the right jobs, as well as fulfill many other tasks. Most people think that because they went to school and studied music they are going to be automatically employed. Regrettably, the record companies require individuals who bring not only great music and great talent with them; they require individuals who are business minded and have music promotional plan capabilities. They look for individuals who understand that entries must sell because the bills ought to be paid to survive.

You are probably surprised to know that work experience or earlier experience in the actual world is what record companies are looking for. In fact, this is applicable not only to the record companies, because this is a trend in all areas of the world. Major labels in particular do not waste time training those who are fresh out of school or those with talent but without experience. One could argue that it is left for the Indies, who are more equipped to find and develop acts with small budgets. Major labels want someone who has experience in the real world, someone who has actually gone through rounds, with operational knowledge of the industry. This person must know what it takes to produce music, establish strategic promotional plans, someone with an eye for talent, who can tell when a person is best suited to the workplace, a person who can give musical direction, and knows how to facilitate the conclusion of a music promotion plan.

Although these skills are taught in school, they learn the theory. All of us know that things cannot be taught in words or by theory. Practice experience overrides theoretical knowledge! That is why record companies choose to invest in individuals who are widely experienced. Again, here’s the deal; until you have had some actual work experience, you won’t receive a job. For those who desire to have a stake in the music business, finding a place where experience can be gained is of vital importance. Whilst academic knowledge will always add value to someone’s credibility; acquiring useful hands on success within the music business of the 21st century!

Active during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Maurice Ravel was a musical composer whose work was known as groundbreaking on many frontiers, and whose influences can still be felt today. Some of his work remains extremely well known, and most Maurice Ravel trivia will mention that Bolero was his most well known work, but what most won’t mention is that he often referred to it as one of his works least deserving of attention.

A Maurice Ravel quiz needs to examine his education and beginnings, as it is during this period that most musicians become exposed to the formative influences which will directly impact their own development as both a player and a composer. Ravel was raised in Paris, and began taking piano lessons while only seven years old. He showed talent for not only the piano, but also for composition, which led to his parents arranging for him to study piano at the Convervatoire de Paris. He was interestingly enough expelled from the school eventually, despite far outstripping most of the other students currently attending in terms of long term contributions to the musical world.

A Maurice Ravel quiz would also likely mention that he was close friends with Claude Debussy. There is a strong case throughout musical history showing how those who are among the most talented in any generation or in any geographic location become drawn to each other in one way or another, and often the true greats in any artistic disciplines have been close friends with their closest competition, due to the similarity in their pursuits and achievements. These two frequently had their music played for each other, and were seen often together going to concerts and musical performances that they both had interest in . Notably among other famous musical personalities whom Ravel was close with includes George Gershwin, whom Ravel met while traveling in America.

Maurice Ravel trivia will reveal that Bolero was written in later years, and was really his only truly large financial success. He only viewed the piece as a technical experiment and was never really thought to understand why it had become so successful.

Ravel died due to an injury of some kind to the brain. Some anecdotes believe it to have been a brain tumor, but the better evidence points to his death being caused due to long lasting effects which were created as a result of an accident he was involved in while riding in a taxi cab several years earlier.

STEP Analysis

The STEP analysis of the Colorado Creative Music aims at analyzing macro-environmental factors of the music business the company is engaged into. These factors fall into political, economical, social and technological groups (Pearce, Robinson, 2000).

Political factors affecting music business in whole and CCM in particular: strong political stability in the United States; regulatory and legal issues concerning music business including copyright laws for copyright protection of both music writing and recording, copyright-related legislation touching upon the issue of virtual internet promotion and distribution, such as The Audio Home Recording Act (1992), No Electronic Theft (NET) Act (1997), “The Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act (DPRSRA) 1995, The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, “Pending legislation: Music Online Competition Act and the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Protection Act (CBDTPA)” and others. Environmental regulations and employment requirement do not affect business CCM is engaged into. As for the tax policy, in 2000, from total income of $216,614.05 the company had to pay $4,744,97 of taxes, which is not high rate and amounts to nearly 2 percent from the total income. In whole, it should be noticed that political factors are favorable for music recording industry and for CCM particularly.

Economic factors include indexes in the macro economy that can affect music recording industry. Here also, macroeconomic factors, such as economic growth, interest rates and inflation rate are favorable for CCM. Thus, the U.S economy kept growing steadily since 1995. CPI falls down in 1997, 1998. Unemployment rate decreased gradually from 1995 to 2000.

Social factors, covering demographic and cultural aspects of the environment external to music recording industry are rate of population growth, age distribution and carrier attitudes. The population growth in the United States is steady and age distribution also favors the music recording industry. It should be noted that for music industry in whole, teenagers and 20-years-olds are primary customer segment, but CCM aims at attracting people of 40-60 age range. Thus, the considerable share of American population fits this target market.

Technological advancements in music recording, promotion and distribution have several effects on the recording industry. One aspect of the issue is that musicians are no longer dependent on major recording labels to create or distribute their products. (Viljoen & Dann, 2000) The MP3 software alternative to the CD becomes more popular since 1998. In the space traditional audio can fit 12 to 15 audio tracks; MP3 software can store approximately 150 music tracks. “The move towards MP3 as the new format to replace CD just as the CD replaced vinyl albums have been accelerated by the rush of new portable MP3 players on the market – some for less than conventional Sony Discmans.” (Viljoen & Dann 2000, p. 173). On the other hand, new digital technologies which appeared in late 20 century not only facilitate the process of music recording, but make it considerably cheaper, providing the possibility for multiple firms with limited resources to enter the market. Thus, if in 1980s, professional recording studio with all recording equipment, working on vinyl or tape carriers, cost several million dollars and therefore was a domain of 5 or 6 major recording companies, in 2000, assembling professional recording studio could be carried out at cost of only $5,000. All the equipment and hardware, due to the global advancements in technology, are much more affordable for an average artist or businessman.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

* Cost advantages with new technology arising from the digital revolution. Not only assembly of studio with all necessary equipment and hardware is cheaper, but duplication of CDs, storage and shipping are less expensive as well. Low cost of production, duplication (duplication of 500 CDs ranges from $1.90 to $3.63, duplication of 2000 CDs costs about one dollar per CD), shipping and storage makes the final product less expensive and more affordable for the customers, thus widening the range and scope of the target market.

* Positioning of CCM in a distinctive market niche. CCM is microlabel recording company which specializes on classic and traditional instrumental music.

* Growing customer base and customer loyalty within target group. Customer base growth due to expansion of product lines (4 already, each year 2 new product lines emerge), and geographical coverage of listeners.

* Good customer service shown through the direct contact between Darren and his fans.

Weaknesses

* No clear strategic vision: CCM needs a long term vision which includes all areas of the business, from marketing and management to distribution and human resources. At the moment the company faces a dilemma of further strategic development, which will be focused on either enhancing or developing the recording company or more active promotion and distribution of the products through the possibilities of other companies (the company is currently regarded by its management as potential object of acquisition or investment)

* Competitive disadvantages: CCM are not able to enter the retail market due to its current level of sales. Competitors such as major labels have advantage because they have major market power and influence. Such firms can specify when their music should be played on radio and negotiate large contracts with distributors and retail outlets, hence giving themselves broader appeal.

* Limited channels of distribution: at present moment the company heavily relies on such distribution sources as direct sales, which include sales at the gig, shopping mall distribution and sales in the back end (800 number order, website order processing and mail orders). These channels are major sources of profit for the company. Nevertheless, to expand its consumer base, the company needs to acquire formal distribution channels, such as sales through traditional music distribution networks and others.

* CCM is short in financial resources to pursue new opportunities. Profits are thin, meaning new opportunities may be unobtainable and long term improvements may not be afforded due to initial costs. To conclude a contract with major labels, which would provide the company with the access to traditional product distribution, the firm needs to sale at least 15,000 copies of its products per year. From the other hand, high sales numbers are impossible to obtain without good traditional distribution channels.

* CCM is losing ground to larger firms because of limited exposure. CCM at present does not reach global or national audience like independents and major labels. CCM needs to broaden its reach and widen its customer base.

Opportunities

* Serving additional customer groups by expanding co-operation with other artists and enlarging the Acoustictherapy and other product lines with new marketing strategies.

* Internet through expanding e-commerce and releasing MP3s.

* Expanding sales nation wide.

* Acquiring channels of traditional distribution to reach wider customer base exposure

* Developing new technologies to cope with the driving forces of the industry.

* Releasing compilations with other artists has proven popular. One strategy could be to assembly the songs (such as Accoustictherapy) at the studio, and sell the completed disks at a discounted rate back to the performing artists in their hometowns. This method would cover the costs up front and give the players a financial incentive to push the product.

* Pushing sales into non-traditional areas such as weddings, shopping center music etc.

Threats

* High number of new entrants and growth of other smaller labels due to the digital revolution. In addition, major labels or independent labels could decide to enter into CCM’s domestic markets and try to drive the smaller labels out of the market.

* Lose sales to substitute products like mp3s or internet downloads

* Vulnerability to industry’s driving forces because of CCM’s weak position in its industry, taking into consideration the fact that the company occupies microlabel segment of the market and is profitable primarily due to the low costs of digital recording.

Five Forces Model of Competition

Michael Porter’s model of competition (Porter, 1980), if applied to music recoding industry, comprises the following components: Rivalry among sellers of recorded music (competition for better market position and competitive advantage); artists and other suppliers of music to producers or sellers of recorded music; distributors, retailers and individual customers of the music; competitive pressure coming from substitutes of recorded music towards winning customers; and threat of new entrants to the industry of recorded music.

Perhaps, the strongest competitive force belongs to such factor as Rivalry among producers and sellers of music products. The music recording industry has 4 clearly identifiable segments: major recording studios, independent labels, microlabels and vanity labels.

Major, or first-tier, companies have large quantities of artists under contracts, reaching the number of 100, specialize on multiple types of music – rock, country, jazz, classical, traditional and other, and have formal and reliable national and international channels of distribution. The examples of such companies are Columbia, Sony Music, EMI, GMG, Warner Brothers, Atlantic Records and some others. As the mater of fact, such companies are not numerous and their recording equipment is rather expensive, amounting to no less that couple million dollars, since these studios record music with analogue and not digital equipment, thus receiving three-dimensional, saturated, rich sound, instead of correct but plain digital sound.

Independent labels have 10-100 artists under contract, focus on recording of one or two major music styles and have either national or most often regional distribution channels. Examples of independents are: Higher Octave, Metal Blade Records, Rhino Records, WAR, Windhan Hill, Soundings of the Planet. Such companies are more numerous than first-rank companies and can use analogue equipment as well as digital. Generally, independent labels strive to grow into major ones, but for that they need to invest large amount of money into amelioration of their equipment.

Microlabels have less then 10 artists under contract and are tightly focused on definite style of music. They are characterized by small staff and manager performing as the leading artist of the studio. Microlabels have rarely formal distribution system and heavily rely on direct sales to fans and wholesale to clubs and specialty retailers. On American market, microlabels are presented with Etherian, Evol Egg Nart, Cuneiform Records, CCM and a large number of others. Generally, such companies survive competition due to low cost of digital recording.

Vanity labels are the fourth, the last and the most specialized segment of the music recording industry. They are founded by independent artists for recording and selling their products. Examples of vanity labels are Bob Culbertson, Watson and Company, Lao Tizer, Esteban Ramirez and many others. (Darren & Winn , 2003). At present, CCM is the microlabel that strives to convert into independent label.

In the first place, the competition among rivals is carried out on the basis of popularity of the performer and songs recorded by their companies. Recording studios intensively compete to attract popular of promising artists to sign contracts with them. If the songs or artists are highly popular, price is secondary factor which may influence the competition. However, if the artist is lesser-known or songs recorded are not very popular, price does play role as the competition and strategy factor. In the distribution process of the rivals, the particular importance is attached to getting access to traditional channels of music distribution, such as retail musical stores, major chain record stores, independent record stores and Internet distributors such as Amazon.com. These means are very important for selling CDs of the artists apart from direct sales on their performances. Also, another factor that greatly influences CD sales is advertising of songs and radio promotion and transmission.

For CCM, rivalry is by far the most important competitive pressure source. The strong competition from rival producers and sellers of music can be explained by the fact that the performers of CCM are not known to the wide public in comparison with the artists of the first-tier and independent labels.

The competitive threat of new entry, is, to the opposite, by far the weakest competitive force, ranked between weak and moderate. Barriers for entry are not high for the new producers of recorded music, especially those targeting limited segment of the market and employing cheap digital technology of recording. CCM can serve the brightest example of such entry. Such cheap digital recording technology can be assembled nowadays for no more than $5,000. Still, expensive analogue technologies keep costing hundreds thousand or even millions. The technology employed by the firm automatically determines its resources and rank in the music recording industry. Besides cost of the equipment, the main subject of the competition for new entrants will be distinct market share and sales volume. Considerable sales volume, in its turn, depends on the ability of new entrants to attract famous, popular or widely known performers and singers whose songs are able to get to the top of the popularity charts. Given the fact that virtually all popular artists have already signed contracts with major recording studios, this is significant barrier for new entrants. Another important barrier is gaining considerable channel of distribution. Generally, large distribution centers and music CD retailers are interested in selling the music of famous performers and unwilling to accept the products of relatively unknown artists. For the CCM, the threat of new entry is not very strong, since the company targets rather narrow market segment. Though, if the new entrant uses the same recording technologies, distribution channels and targets the same niche in the market, the fact may become an issue of major importance.

Competition from substitute products can be considered moderate competitive force in the music industry. Such substitute products are be presented in the form of providing consumers with possibility to listen music with other that CD means such as radio, cable TV music channels, live concerts, local bars or night clubs with live performances or recorded music, and internet. Internet has become by far the most important and strong substitute to traditional buying CD, since music provided on the web is most often cheaper or completely free and is not much inferior in quality than .wma format of CDs. Therefore, for certain amount of people these means serve as effective substitutes, but for music fan, buying official CD is obligatory. In the case of Colorado Creative Music, people can enjoy the performance on live concerts of these artists and decide not to buy their CD. Therefore, from CCM’s viewpoint, this may be regarded as fairly significant competitive force.

The forces left are bargaining power of suppliers and bargaining power of buyers and collaborative buyer seller relations, which are both strong competitive force.

The first, bargaining power of suppliers depends on the popularity and reputation of artists. Those who are popular and whose recordings sell well, have strong bargaining power, they can chose among numerous recording studios. CCM specializes on recordings of infamous artists, and therefore it enjoys weak bargaining power, since artists involved with CCM do not have many alternatives for studio record and CD distribution.

Bargaining power of buyers and collaborative buyer-seller relations is very strong competitive force. The major distributors of recorded music supply CDs to the leading music stores and other retailers of music, these leading distributors stock about 40,000 copies of a CD and work on 60-90 working schedule retaining the privilege of full return of investments for the unsold copies. So called “one-stops” are distributors which provide products for the independent music stores in smaller quantities and very often with limited range of music types. Generally such distributors prefer to handle stock CDs of the very popular artists or at least well-known artists and often they are not interested in going into distribution of CDs of unknown performers. Therefore, CCM faces great difficulty in acquiring decent and formal distribution, especially in getting its products sold by such music stores as Sam Goody, Tower Records, Borders Books and Music, and Barnes and Noble.

Also, a great role in the distribution process is played by getting the music heard by people so that they would be more willing to buy the CDs. This includes playing the music on the radio stations, on TV music channels and including soundtracks into movies. Until the performers and artists of CCM become so famous that they are asked for in retail music stores, the company has little chances to receive considerable representation by major CD distributors. The manager of the company, Darren Skanson, has contacted some retailers on his own and found out that it is very time-consuming and onerous task to get his CDs distributed by retailers in his own local area. The people he hired to tackle the problem had little luck either. CCM has had some experience of selling the CDs through one-stop distributor, but it was not very successful due to high markup imposed by the distributor on the CDs of CCM. In the long run, Darren plans to make his product lines such as Darren Curtis Skanson, Music for Candles and other artists, popular enough to have their CD distributed through major music stores. But at the present moment, predominant part of CCM sales volume stems from direct sales such as sales at the gig, shopping mall distribution and internet, mail and telephone orders of the musicians’ CDs.

Music downloads are the “in” thing in today’s time. You either download music to your computer or you download music to your phone or you just swap with your friends. There are tons of different websites that you can download from. There are sites that charge fees and some do not. You might want to check into a lot of different sites to see who offers the best deals.

There are different stores that offer 100% legal downloads like Napster and I tunes. You can run into some songs that cannot be downloaded. Some artists own the rights to the songs and so not want their records sales to suffer by people downloading their songs on their computers. There are over 500 online places that are in over 40 different countries that represent a percentage of the music market today alone. That is huge! Most of the time you can listen on different websites to a 30 second track that plays and just gives a sample of the song you want to download.

Song downloading is one of the largest money makers out there. It has been said that it generates over 2 billion in sales each year. So far an estimated 5 billion songs have been downloaded. Sometimes the artist will offer downloads of their songs from their websites. You can also purchase their albums when downloading some of their songs from their websites. Usually when they offer downloading from their sites it usually a lower quality song than the original one you may hear on the radio. The price for downloading songs can range from just a couple of cent to over .99. Most places that you will see offer monthly packages. Napster offers unlimited downloading for 14.99 a month. There are some songs that require you to purchase them for .99. They are displayed when looking up the artist on Napster and only give you a thirty second preview.

You can also download songs in MP3 form. There are tons of different sites that offer downloading MP3s to your cell phones which is mostly what cell phones will play now days. They usually run about the same as regular songs to be downloaded. If you want to choose the perfect site to download from, you may to try visiting www.downloads.com. They can help you pick the best site and the best place to download your music by your preferences.

In conclusion there are tons and tons of places on the Internet to look into before settling with just one company. You will want to check and see if they are legitimate and you will not be caught for downloading illegal music. Downloading music is one of the biggest things to do now days. It has become of the best money making schemes out there. Just make sure you download legally and you have picked the best site for the best price.

It is hard to believe that anyone could possibly be unfamiliar with the checkered pattern. It is commonly known as the checks for example, the black and white graphic that resembles a checkerboard. There are many items around us that we find like this. For instance a pianoforte, adjacent to a piano bench or piano benches along with a music sheet cabinet displays this pattern in its keys.

Whether they are the articles of clothing such as; footwear, handbags or other smaller accessories such as wrist bands wallets etc., a checkered pattern is not hard to find. It has dominated the fashion scene since the last three decades. Moreover, it has also been popularly adopted by different kinds of music. Besides, you will find an everlasting presence of this pattern in different forms of art, literature and other items found in popular cultures.

This pattern left a deep impression in the late 1970’s when a music genre arose from England. This form of music was basically a blend of punk, ska and pop music. The blend was famously known as ‘2 Tone’. This was the term that was coined by a musician by the name of Jerry Dammers. It was Dammers who established the checkered pattern image as a representation for the 2 tone movement. This was known as the Walt Jabsco logo.

Apart from this, the black and white checkered pattern perfectly symbolized racial unity and equality. With the advent of 1980’s, a new fashion overtook the decade, in which checks were fit in with bold graphics and bright colors. This time it spread wide across to decorate everything from skateboards to socks and suspenders.

In the late 80’s and early 90’s, the checkered pattern was replaced by the bold graphic prints. However, it was just a matter of time when popular bands such as “No Doubt” brought music back into the new millennium. So the checks became a talk of the town once again.

This is not all, as the musicians of the new millennium, such as Avril Lavigne, are responsible for bringing the checkered fashion back into the mainstream. Their fashion line boasts a checkered print through shorts, hoodies, ties and shirts. Moreover, a retail franchise, Hot Topic, sells several checkered items including earrings, sunglasses, etc.

Talking about the art world, you will find that checkered images are associated with the works of graphic artist MC Escher. He was the one who illustrated checkered pieces in his work. One of his famous work of art is Day and Night. Furthermore, even literature is not spared from this checkered design. It has symbolized Lewis Carrol’s most popular book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in which chess pieces have played a central role in the story.

You can also find this pattern in popular cultures. For instance, New York City cabs have the checkered patterns and not to forget the race car flags are also checkered. This pattern still remains to be an important trend of our lives which seems hard to forgo.

BACKGROUND HISTORY: The first musical bands originated in New Orleans among black musicians who have traditionally been the innovators. The first jazz record ever recorded was by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917, and of course they were white because racism always rears its ugly head to hold black people back. But during the Roaring 20’s, young white people couldn’t resist the dance beat laid down by the black jazz bands. Fletcher Henderson, a black man, became the first band leader to achieve national fame possibly because he featured Louis Armstrong on trumpet. Duke Ellington, a classicly trained musician, brought a level of style and sophistication to jazz that hadn’t been seen before. But it wasn’t until 1935 that jazz bands with a “swing beat” achieved national attention due to Benny Goodman who I think was the best clarinet player ever to blow air into that instrument. Benny also had the good sense and taste to bring the first great drummer, Gene Krupa, into his band.

When rock and roll exploded into human consciousness during the early 1950’s, black musicians like Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Smokey Robinson pioneered the way, but a white DJ named Alan Freed is believed to have coined the term “rock and roll”. The first real rock and roll record was “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, written by Jesse Stone who was black and recorded by Big Joe Turner who was also black but it wasn’t a hit. The first big hit rock and roll record was “Rock Around the Clock” written by James Meyers and Max Freeman of obvious ancestry, and that one catapulted Bill Haley and his Caucasian Comets to stardom. During the 1950’s and early 60’s, there were countless “do wop” groups, rock groups, singers and songwriters but until The Beatles hit the charts, there had been very few bands which contained talented songwriters. The vast majority of jazz and rock bands recorded songs written by songwriters who were not performers, with occasional exceptions like Duke Ellington and Buddy Holly. As time goes on, it’s increasingly clear that Lennon/McCartney songs are brilliant classics which will never be forgotten. Now here’s why The Beatles are the most creative band of all time:

1. BEST EXAMPLE OF FORM = CONTENT

As I sit here writing this at the keyboard of my computer facing the unique and colorful Beatles poster in my bedroom, I’m aware that I have been directly and indirectly inspired by John Lennon’s music as well as by the way he lived his life offstage. Squarely in front of me is a full color poster of all four Beatles standing in a heavenly-like flower garden at about the time of the Abbey Road album. Paul is angelic in his pink suit with a white laced shirt. John is enigmatic peering out from the background. George is charismatic staring directly into the camera from the lower right. Ringo is on the left with a stylish blue suit and his pink ruffled shirt. I always wished I could dress like those guys but obviously there’s a bit of a problem with a money differential there. Surrounding this gorgeous poster which I have never seen elsewhere are my 45 speed original Beatles hit records, including I Want to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, Please Please Me, Twist and Shout, Can’t Buy Me Love, She’s A Woman, Yesterday, and of course, Hey Jude. And surrounding all that is a chain of 1-1/2″ long orange flicker flame lights which are the most beautiful and unique Christmas lights I’ve ever seen. I chose to decorate the wall directly in front of my work station this way because, as I’ve written elsewhere on this site several times, the Beatles were my major musical influence and having them on the wall in front of me inspires me to write web pages like this one. I was also among the millions of people who were inspired by how The Beatles were actually living their off stage lives. The Beatles’ music creatively stimulated millions of people to change the way they were living, and The Beatles behavior encouraged people to have fun by trying new life style experiences. That’s what I call a perfect example of FORM = CONTENT. In this case it means that the creatively and masterfully varied music The Beatles were producing (form) embodied the real life styles which each of the four Beatles were living (content), together as a band as well as separately as unique individuals.

2. BEST SONGWRITERS

This should be self-evident, but just because Paul McCartney has the title of the most popular songwriter in history doesn’t necessarily make him the best songwriter in history. The qualities which do make both Paul and John the best songwriters in history go beyond writing the greatest number of catchy classic songs. “Catchy” means that their melodies and lyrics are instantly memorable. “Classic” means that they stand the test of time. But both Paul and John wrote very sophisticated melodies that moved beyond the simple groups of 2, 4 and 8 patterned phrases used by almost all other songwriters. John and Paul’s melodies soared, floated, cascaded, dived and peaked with true dynamics, naturally following the syllabic lyric patterns – but not always. Sometimes the melodic and lyric patterns were independent of each other, almost counterpoint in nature, and as a songwriter, they never ceased to astonish me with their brilliance and originality. In the beginning, their lyrics were simple and their songs were simple love songs. But they soon began exploring new territory by writing about subjects that hadn’t been covered before. Inspired by Bob Dylan, they wrote true poetry with feeling and depth, using evocative and unusual words. Rubber Soul marked the beginning of their evolution as mature songwriters, Revolver was a break-out album, and Sergeant Pepper was an historic landmark album in terms of new and innovative songwriting as well as production. Every song they wrote was significantly different from the last one even though each song had their unmistakable sound.

Most songwriters are only average players on their instruments, but John and Paul are both sophisticated guitarists who were able to integrate their playing into their songs and even into their song structure so that the “licks” they played became as catchy a part of their songs as the choruses and verses. Blackbird and Dear Prudence are only two examples of songs which couldn’t possibly be written by any other songwriter because of the guitar playing which forms an integral part of the song structure. In similar fashion, Lady Madonna is the best example of a great song which derives from the unique and beautiful bass part which only Paul could possibly have created.

Average songwriters achieve the catchy quality by repeating a phrase endlessly or by beating a chorus to death. John and Paul found countless ways to be memorable without ever overly repeating something. The only time they repeated something over and over again for a long time was in Hey Jude, and what they chose to repeat is so gorgeous that one can only wish they had never ended the song. The Beatles were my biggest musical influence and I used to think, “If I could write just one song that’s as good as John and Paul’s worst song, I’d be happy.” People tell me I accomplished that goal and they say one good example is John is Alive, which is my sincere tribute to Sir Lennon.

3. BEST SINGERS

Even Ringo could sing when he got a little help from his friends who lived in the yellow submarine. But to say that Paul and John are two of the best singers in rock and roll is to state the obvious. Combining John, Paul and George created the best harmony vocals the world has ever experienced. Even their two part harmonies were unusual, catching us all by surprise on their first hit record with the fast harmony melisma in the chorus of I Want to Hold Your Hand. John had a knack of placing a unique low harmony line underneath Paul’s high melody line so as to form a second melody which created unusual harmony effects. He did that right from the beginning in the verses of She Loves You. Both Paul and John could blast out screaming rock and roll (i.e. Long Tall Sally and Twist and Shout), and both could break our hearts with touching, deep feeling ballads (i.e. Yesterday and Julia). There seems to be no end to their emotional vocal range, and John even explored the heights of vocal psychedelia in songs like She Said (Revolver) and Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.

4. MOST CREATIVE PLAYERS

Paul brought a new style of melodic playing to the bass guitar, reaching a new high of creativity on Sergeant Pepper with a level of sophistication never heard before. Many other musicians besides me recognize Paul as being one of the best bass guitar players ever. George is underrated as a lead guitarist by people with average or below average musical knowledge or ability, but most guitarists (including Eric Clapton) know better. George’s strength is in melody, pure and simple. It would be difficult to find a George Harrison lead which is not melodic, and each of his leads has a strong beginning, a stronger middle and a well defined ending. In fact, that’s Eric’s definition of what makes a good guitar lead. George continually developed new guitar sounds for each Beatles song. John and Paul are also excellent guitarists and both recorded great leads as well as innovative rhythm tracks. All three of the Beatles guitarists may lack showy technical fireworks but they make that definition of guitar mastery irrelevant by overwhelming the senses with creativity, style, and pure melody. The exact same thing can be said about John and Paul’s keyboard playing. Ringo may be underrated as a drummer by the public but he is not underrated by other professional drummers. Ringo mastered the art of drum sounds. No drummer has ever recorded so many different sounds on so many different sounding records. Ringo invented a new style of slow drum playing, epitomized on A Day in the Life and Strawberry Fields Forever. John said many times, “Ringo has the best back beat in the business” and the successful studio drummers understand why John was correct.

5. TOTAL CHARISMA

A good definition of charisma needs to include “an unusual ability to influence people and arouse devotion” and “a personal attractiveness which enables a person to influence others”. No musical group prior to or after The Beatles features true charisma emanating strongly from the entire group as well as separately from each member. The Beatles stunned the world with their photogenic quality, their charm, their bubbling and lovable personalities, their cuteness and their unique style. Even before The Beatles achieved fame, people in Liverpool were imitating their haircuts, the way they dressed, the way they behaved, and the way they lived. Such a simple subliminal message about smoking marijuana got communicated to all the hippies who were waiting to happen without actual words ever being spoken. The Beatles had a lot to lose by being explicit on that subject, but they successfully avoided trouble by keeping it very subtle while at the same time clear enough so that we all got it. The Fab Four kept changing their styles rapidly, almost with each album cover, and soon the message became one of explicit spiritualism. After visiting India, The Beatles introduced eastern mysticism and meditation to the Western world for the first time through the mass media. John’s long saga with internal angst, drugs, spiritualism, politics, personal battles, and ultimately his marriage to Yoko played out like a movie the whole world got to watch in fascination. Paul’s happy life with Linda, George’s great focus on meditation, and Ringo’s equanimity throughout were all perfect examples of the power, the truth, and the effectiveness of true charisma.

6. SEXUAL AURA

Need I say it? Ask the millions of girls who were screaming and fainting at the very sight of them. “The Boys” didn’t move like Elvis or dance like Mick, they just stood there shaking their “mop top” heads around, smiling, laughing, and looking gorgeous as they performed great music and that was it. On their first visit to America, some enterprising weirdo from New York City managed to cut up the hotel bed sheets The Beatles had slept on into 1″ square pieces, and these things were actually sold to girls over the public airwaves by adult DJ’s on the AM radio stations who should have known better. The Beatles phenomenon went way beyond the rock and roll sex star status that had been seen before. Teenage girls in uncountable numbers fell in love, their hearts to be trapped, their heart strings to be continually plucked, and ultimately, their hearts to be broken by the unobtainable object of their love. Worshiping a star from afar? Infatuation? Obsession? Not real love? For many of them, it was their first experience feeling love for a man/boy. Whatever it was, it was very real to all of them, and we all soon understood that The Beatles were The Real Thing.

That’s why I call The Beatles the Most Creative Band of All Time. They were The Real Thing. The Creative Zenith. The high point on the bell curve of musical history.