Live Nation Tries Another Promotion

Despite what you hear from the industry, concert attendance is flagging. While no new attendance numbers have been released, it's pretty apparent that the industry is plenty worried, given some of the promotions they're running.

The best example of this is concert promoter LiveNation (never a company known to give breaks to customers), who has just instituted yet another price concession, offering a one-price, all-inclusive ticket for $29.99, one that includes a lawn ticket, parking, all fees, and even a hot dog and soda on Wednesdays at their amphitheaters around the country. This on the heels of their "No service charge Wednesdays" indicates that maybe that promotion wasn't enough to lure customers to the cheap seats, so some additional enticements were required.

There's a lot of fat cats in the industry, not the least are the artists that command high prices that have gone ever higher every year. But those days may be coming to an end as concert-goers begin to watch their pennies. When the face value of a ticket is no longer the real price of that ticket, and you're overcharged at every turn while you're at the show, it's no wonder that music fans no longer run out to see anyone but their absolute favorite artists anymore.

Let's see if the promotion is extended to beyond Wednesdays or to other house seats as the summer goes along.

Oblique Strategies

Ever run into a creative block (sometimes called "writer's block") and don't know what to do? Sometimes you know a song or a part needs something to go to another level but you just can't come up with a suitable idea. It’s easy enough to leave it for the next day when you're fresh, and chances are that a new idea will indeed spring forth. But in those few times when you and everyone else you're working with runs up against a total creative block, there’s always Oblique Strategies.

Oblique Strategies is a set of published cards created by producer Brian Eno and artist Peter Schmidt used to get any kind of artist beyond creative block or even to find a new direction. First published in 1975 and now in its fifth edition, each Strategy card contains a phrase or cryptic remark which can be used to break a deadlock or dilemma situation.

Here are a few examples (only one phrase per card):
▪ State the problem in words as clearly as possible.
▪ Only one element of each kind.
▪ What would your closest friend do?
▪ What to increase? What to reduce?
▪ Are there sections? Consider transitions.
▪ Try faking it!
▪ Honour the error as a hidden intention.

Oblique Strategies are easy to use. You pick a random card or select on the website and follow its direction no matter how unusual it might seem. Before you know it, your block will be removed.

Try Oblique Strategies online or go the Oblique Strategies website for more info. There's also a handy Oblique Strategies iPhone app available.

Distorted Sound Checklist

It's not uncommon for someone in their home studio to come up against an age-old problem - trying to record something and getting a distorted sound instead of something nice and clean. This sometimes lead to user being baffled and uncertain what to do, but if you think it through you can find the problem in no time.

Here's a checklist to follow the next time this happens. Follow it in this order.

1. Is the cable working correctly? Try a different microphone cable.

2. Is the mic working correctly? Try a different mic as a comparison.

3. Is the mic being overloaded? Try a different mic to see if the signal level from the source is too loud, or move the mic back about 3 feet to see if the distortion goes away.

4. Is the microphone preamp working correctly? Try a different preamp or console channel.

5. Is the microphone preamp being overloaded? Check to see if any overload indicators are lit. Turn the input level of the preamp down or move the mic back 3 feet to see if the distortion goes away. Try a different preamp, console or interface channel to see if the problem is resolved.

6. Is the signal chain after the mic preamp being overloaded? Check to see if any overload indicators are lit on your interface and DAW. Decrease the output control of the preamp or bypass any compressors in the signal chain. Play back the signal from the DAW to make sure it’s clean.

7. Is the monitoring chain working correctly? Is the stereo or control room buss being overloaded? Try a different set of amplifiers and speakers.

These tips and more can be found in the Recording Engineer's Handbook.

A Sales Party Like It's 1999

Michael Jackson has sold over 1 million CDs in the US alone in the last 5 days, and Sony Music has orders for at least 2 million more, according to industry standard Hits magazine. What's more, an unprecedented 2.4 million downloads of MJ tracks have been sold, giving him also an unprecedented 48 places out of the Top 200 Digital Songs chart. There hasn't been a week like this in the music business since it's heyday of the 90's.

To give an example of how unusual and exceptional all this sales activity is, Nirvana sales rose to only 77,000 the week after Kurt Cobain died in 1994 (Nirvana started the last big trend in music), and sales of Notorious B.I.G. Life After Death (which was just about to be released) were 698,000 the first week after his death in 1997.

What MJ's sales success proves is that there are still plenty of potential music purchasers out there. The problem is that there's not a lot of music that's exciting enough for them to want to buy. Granted, this is a special case that may not be repeated for a long time, if ever. But it's also possible that a new artist at the tip of a new trend can duplicate MJ's current numbers. As everyone in the business is brutally aware, we're way past due for something new.

A Recording Checklist

Here's an excerpt from my book The Recording Engineer's Handbook. It's a recording checklist that, if followed, will pretty much keep any engineer, or musician trying to record himself or his band, out of trouble.

1. Does the instrument sound great acoustically? Make sure that you start with a great acoustic sound with the instrument well tuned and minimum of sympathetic vibrations and extraneous noises.

2. Are the mics acoustically in phase? Observe the 3:1 rule and make sure that any underneath mics are at a 90° angle to the top mics.

3. Are the mics electronically in phase? Make sure that all the mic cables are wired the same by doing a phase check.

4. Are the mics at the correct distance from the instrument? If they’re too far away they’ll pick up too much of the room or other instruments. If they’re too close the sound will be unbalanced with either too much attack or ring, and not enough of the body of the instrument. Walk around the player, put your finger in your ear, and find the spot that sounds the best. Remember, most instruments need some space for the sound to develop. The ambience from the surrounding area is a big part of the sound for most instruments.

5. Does it sound the same in the control room as when you’re standing in front of the instrument? This is your reference point and what you should be trying to match. You can embellish the sound after you’ve achieved this.

6. Is there another problem besides the mic placement? A great sound is dependent upon the instrument, the player, the amp and the room. The player has to be able to achieve the tone you're trying to record with his hands first and foremost. The mic itself usually has less to do with the ultimate sound than the placement, room and the player and ultimately, the project itself.

You should always trust your ears and begin by listening to the musician in your studio, find a sweet spot and then begin your microphone placement there. If you don’t like the resultant sound, then move the mic or swap it with another. EQ is the last thing you should touch.

7. Is the problem in your signal chain? Don’t neglect your microphone preamp. The better your preamp, the less trouble you’ll have capturing the sound, but sometimes a certain mic/preamp combination will give you the sound you need. Experiment.

8. Is the problem the players signal chain? A guitarist’s signal chain can be a huge help or a big hindrance. You’ll get a warmer yet aggressive guitar sound by decreasing the amount of distortion from pedals, but turning up the amp’s volume instead to obtain the sustain/distortion from the amp and speaker. Also, smaller amps and speakers tend to sound bigger than large amps/speakers when recording.

REMEMBER: Mics cannot effectively be placed by sight, which is a mistake that is all too easy to make. The best mic position cannot be predicted, it must be found.