Broken Beats and BLT's

Top 5 ways to: Utilise social media to boost search rankings

Yesterday I finally got the chance to catch up on reading some physical, yes... non-web based material. At the moment I'm obliged to read Mixmag, DJ Mag, IDJ and my favourite....net magazine. The music ones tend to make me laugh, but really it's just me making sure my media market knowledge is up to date. I'm not going to bang on about anything else, because really... I feel they've got a hard enough job as it is. Circulation figures down, people like me preaching that major advertising isn't the way to go anymore and a general plethora of gratis information circulating the net... how can a monthly magazine for such a niche industry make it in today's world... hard times.

Anyway, I've got more to say about that later. For now I want to focus on a piece in .net mag, 'Expert Advice' by Neil Walker from Just Search. The beauty of this magazine is that when I first picked it up two years ago by recommendation of Stuart Bruce, I understood about 20% of it. Now, (with a proud techie-voice)... I get about 70% of it. I don't reckon that's too shabby for a PR kid?

So, what did Mr Walker have to say? Pretty much exactly what'd I'd say to my clients... maybe not in the same order, but damn close. So for all those new agencies out there needing a little direction, here's a little mini-case study of our clients based on Mr Walker's top five:

1. Use social bookmarking:

Agreed, although I'd have this further down the pecking order. Here's an example based on the Delicious account we recently set up for Steve Angello. The trick with all this stuff is to keep on top of it, be systematic and keep it tidy. We've broken the news tags down into sections like, BLOGS, VIDEOS, NEWS... so that readers get an early steer of what they'll see from external pages. So, for Steve, we set up a Delicious section on his social media newsroom. When people are reading it they'll see his five or so most recent delicious tags, each starting with which category of content is relevant. Each account manager looks after his/her clients and does so using plug-ins to make life easier.

2. Take advantage of blogging:

I'm going through the motions with the blogoshpere at the mo. So many people have begun writing I fear that most of the messages are being heavily diluted. I also used to read blogs because they supplied me with the most up to date information on certain topics... now I just follow the relevant people on Twitter. In the music world, hundreds of bloggers used to and some cases still share tunes illegally. Many who started have now shut them down as they realise they're pretty much destroying the music industry. Those who continue aren't really 'blogging' per say... they're just hosting a site that offers speedyshare and zippy links to their pitiful readers... if you can call them that. I try and blog as much as I can... which at the moment is poor at best. I guess it's a time vs necessity vs relevance debate. If you can balance it all out - great. Our case study on this one would be the Rising Music Blog. Posts from people at the label on the most up coming tunes, rants from head honcho and producer Chris Lake, me pitching in with all things web 2.0 and a few other bits and bops...

3. Get social:

Of course! What the hell are you waiting for? If I hear 'well we've got a facebook group or social media's a waste of time' one more time, I might just explode. Never mind setting up artist profiles... we've now got our clients working on record label pages, branded event sites and everything in between. Our angle is simple... if it's a brand then market it. Everything can be linked up so easily these days... why not enjoy and make use of all the tools!? For this one check out our page for the Swedish House Mafia on Facebook and the Rising Music twitter account.

4. Widen the search:

Yes yes yes! I've been preaching about this for ages! Get those videos and pics up, get tagging and get some exposure. Using only YouTube and our friendly blogger friends, we recently counted more than 25,000 hits on a Swedish House Mafia video... now that's what I call successful viral marketing! But creative with this content. It could be video-diary or it could be using Flickr for album artwork... it doesn't really matter... as long as it's relevant and interesting.

5. Content and links are king:

Subscribe to blogs and sites you think are interesting and set up something like Net News Wire so all your stuff is pulled into one reading space. Don't make life hard.... make it easy.

Anyway.., that's my take on all this. Here's the piece by Neil Walker. Click on the image to see it in full size:

Mixmag? Mix-messages....

Couldn't help but chuckle at this one:

P.120 'Synth houser Kris Menace wants us to turn off the internet'
P.123 'Tech - It's everything a DJ needs - packed into an iPhone'

Kris never stood a chance....

Buzzing the Seeds of Change

I'm a buzz agent again! This time it's not a female razor, it's not washing up detergent, nor is it some serendipitous health product, it's CHOCOLATE! That's right; free and moorish chocolate, delivered right to my door. Now obviously you don't want to end up like that poor sod in Willy Wonker's Chocolate factory, literally bursting with gargantuan greed, but when two bars (one dark orange and fig and one milk apricot and cashew... just to be precise) turns up alongside the usual drone from companies still not savvy with paperless billing you can't help but smile. 

So here I am, actively working as a slave to the word of mouth marketing trade. Here are the facts about the Seeds of Change brand:

1. It's yummy
2. It's organic
3. It's donates 1% of sales to projects promoting biodiversity 
4. It's Bourbon vanilla pods are sourced from Madagascar 
5. It's available from Waitrose, Sainsbury's and some other specialist organic / health shops like Whole Foods.   

Give it a go guys, my work here is done. 

Deadmau5: RESPECT YOUR HEARING!

It's rare that I'll go for something down this line of thinking, but in this case I love it. Joel's hit the nail on the head and I couldn't help but laugh. Enter Deadmau5:

"Hello all!  I'd like to get on a topic that been bothering for a couple years now that i think should be brought to light... mp3... the digital age, the download generation.

First and foremost, We live in exciting times indeed. Although, I'll have to say it's been nothing less than a struggle to surprise people these days. By that i mean, running out to different venues all over the world and playing for people sure has changed in the past 3 or 4 years. Before this YouTube / streaming media explosion... people were more in for surprises and one off's from an artist due to the exclusivity and intimacy that only attending an event could provide.... so attending events, purchasing albums, and scouring the shops was the only means of obtaining the latest and greatest from your favorite artists.

Now, im sure im not telling you anything you didnt already know here... but i somehow feel the need to reiterate some of the finer points regarding the matter of this streaming media blitz...

Quite frankly, I kinda feel a bit bummed out that i would create something exclusive for my audiences to be "ripped" from some streaming media stie as is... moreso when the poster of the media would advertise or title it as "HD" or "High Quality" before it's release date.

In fact, Nothing makes me vomit in my mouth more than listening to anything short of a 16bit 44.1kHz Wav / Aiff file... perhaps it's just the audiophile in me... but i am actually witnessing and realizing for the first time in my life something that i have created that has been reduced to some regurgetated re-re-re-re-recording of a set and dubbed "high quality"... quite frankly im a little embarassed.

This isnt a rant about leaked tracks, piracy, copyright viloation, or severe lack of imagination, far from it. I am just trickling out a few little factoids that will hopefully point you towards being a more passionate listener.

for example, recently, as im sure you've noticed by now, i've churned out a few new songs to keep my shows a tad more interesting and evolving. FML, i think would be a suitable example.

in fact, here in front of me i have "deadmau5 - FML.wav" in all it's glory. WAV, 32bit float, 192kHz 

deadmau5 - FML
8m:09.889s
Wave IEEE float signed 32 bit, 
192000Hz 
12288Kbps, Stereo.
717 MB (752,472,064 bytes)

Funnily enough,  not even a 16bit 44.1 quality version of FML has left my hard drive... so unless you broke into my house and snagged it out of my cold dead hands, theres no "HQ" version floating about as far as im concerned....

that's about as good as its goping to get in terms of "quality"... unfortunatley... 717 meg is a bit much when it comes to transferring for purposes other than mastering / remixing.

NOW HERE COMES THE SCIENCE.

alas, the file is then dithered (not resampled) down to 16bits and 44.1kHz (standard CD quality) for the masses / distribution. (with the exception that I dither to 24 bits / 48kHz for performances)...

so, situation happens... some guy records the set @ 16 bit 44.1kHz (usually the case)  you've got my 24 bit version coming out of my DAC (Digital to Analog Converter)  then in to someone elses ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) which is only as good as the quality of the ADC.. so already the quality of the music has been compromised, and you havent even gotten it yet.

Then, whoever records a direct line from the set then encodes that to 320kpbs MAX or 128 kbps mp3 for media streaming ease. this part is a MAAASSSIIIVEEE degradation of the original signal... and has been mulched to all bloody hell. So.... then what typically happens is yet ANOTHER DAC / ADC conversion.... wheres someone rips the audio from said streaming media outlet only to puke it back onto youtube... which is 128Kbps max in "HD" mode (which is a VERY far cry from HD if you ask me... total abuse of terminology there)  shoulda jujst called it ABBDBNR...."A Bit Better Definition But Not Really".  fun times!  so... to break it down... lets take a quick look again...

Production / Final Master
↓
degraded to 24 bits for live use
↓
degraded to 16 bits for commerical release / distribution
↓
degraded to 16 bits (less accurately) when recorded off a live feed from mixer via DAC / ADC
↓
degraded to 128kbps / 320kbps when published for streaming media outlets
↓
degraded to 128kbps / 320kbps when ripped from streaming media outlet 
↓
degraded to 64kbps / 128kbps
=
a very crappy 6th generation copy that magically gets called "HIGH QUALITY VERSION!!!111ONE!!" on youtube.... you figure it out.

Or as mr. Duda says: 

"yeah more like Rendered from Ableton -> converted to Mp3 -> uploaded to myspace -> reconverted to worse mp3 -> ripped from your myspace -> converted to wav -> edited in Ableton again to run for 6 minutes -> converted to mp3 ->uploaded to Youtube -> reconverted with shiteaudio.dll" - nice one steve. :D

I just think it's time for us listeners to listen smarter, to educate eachother a little more, give the audiable world out there a bit of a quality control attitude,  LISTEN UP folks... our hearing is really a fucking complicated and beautiful thing!!!  Why not use it well?  It's like owning the most amazing sportscar and not a drop of gasoline on the planet.... Sometimes when i stick my ears out there, im really starting to fear that even the terminologic use of the words "high quality" is slowing substandardizing itself into an inaudiable heap of nonsense. If my message reaches at least one person, and benefits them in any way, i will die a happy mouse."

Just in case you're not familiar with this artist, here's a recent video from his last trip to the UK:

Pizza con fungi e rucola

A few months ago I wiped the cobwebs off a Jamie Oliver book in the hope of finding some inspiration ahead of a weekend of entertaining. As per usual, I went random. The pizza recipe looked simple enough and I'm proud to say I've been successfully making this Italian treat ever since. Check this out for basic. Get a massive mixing bowl, and add about 1kg of strong bread flour. Create a kind of hole in the middle and add a sprinkle of salt. Next up you need just under a pint of tepid water with 3 x 7g sachets of dried yeast stirred in. Pour the solution into the hole and using your hand, begin to mix the contents. Basically that's it. As you grind and squelch and fight with the dough, before you know it you've got yourself a big lump which is ready for action. Pop some cling film over the top and place it somewhere warm and dry and leave for about two hours. When you return you'll see the thing has probably trebled in size, just poke it a few times to release the air.

Now for the fun bit. Cover your kitchen top with flour and take a hand-full of dough. Slap it down, kneed it up a little, and then get rolling. The beauty of making your own pizzas, is that you're 100% in control of shape, layout etc etc. So that's it. Throw it in a hot as hell oven for about 4mins, pull it out, add your toppings etc give it another 4mins and you're good to go. In a word... YUM! 

Thoughts from the road...

Right, I'm almost three weeks into being one of the shittest 'tour managers' to walk the earth. My watch died on day two of the Winter Music Conference, I have an amazing ability to fall so deep into conversation on a night out, I often forget why I'm actually there, and so far Chris has had to give me a morning wake up call from reception twice, both times resulting in close calls with our new arched enemy American Airlines.

Nevertheless I do consider my mate and new business partner an exceptionally lucky man. Round the clock banter, entertainment and constant communications and marketing support/consulting, what more could you want? "Business partner?" Yep, as of last month my dream of building the empire became a reality. Chris and I are now officially directors of a little set-up called Rising Digital, a spin off name taken from his wonderfully pure record label Rising Music. Our mission is pretty simple; a public relations consultancy to the music industry specializing in social media and word of mouth marketing. So far there's about six of us in the team, but if you're fresh out of uni with any kind of marketing/comms background, and fancy selling your soul to music get in touch.

Back to touring.

My head is fried on most days; be it due to Grey Goose Vodka, getting my head pecked about social media or missing my amazing lady back home. “Whatever” as they say over here... get over it. This is an experience of a life time and possibly even something to tell the grand kids one day. Some of the personal experiences I've encountered have taken me far beyond what I ever thought possible five years ago when I was merely a pro-Hogarden pint lifter at uni up in Newcastle.  

To try and encapsulate all my emotions in one post is totally impossible, and if anything disrespectful to the blogoshpere - after all that's why we all love Twitter so much.... "Right?" And whilst I'm on Twitter...what a corker....we advised our client Steve Angello to get involved a few months ago, and after something of a spat with Paris Hilton at conference, he used the social networking tool to do a bit of 'issues management' shall we call it - resulting in more free PR than I ever seen a DJ get...plus the kudos of standing up to a fairly unpopular personality has gained him the credibility of the cross-over marketing (i.e. outside of the dance music industry). Well done Steve - good start!

Next up, I have to mention Awdio. What a great team. Vigo, Thomas, Lucia...all working so hard behind the scenes back in Europe allowing us to stream live sets on the net for all to hear in real time. Excuse my French, but what a fucking genius idea! It's blog is pretty damn awesome too - check it out.

So to wrap up this little re-introductory post here’s a video of me and my man mincing about Texas. There are some funny bits... I swear.

In a bit y’all.

Alex Fain - Aurora Borealis

Rising Music presents an awesome EP from Italy's Alex Fain. Not much is known about Fain, in the words of the legend himself: "Born in the 
1973 in Italy where he is currently living.................etc,etc,etc. He made a lot of rmx for a lot of artists, and a lot of productions for a lot of labels."

Aurora Borealis is a beautifully melodic piece of electronic music. With it's dreamy hook and tight rhythm the track is set to be a club smash. Real electro house!

If you like - head to Beatport.

La Roux: In for the Kill

Carl Cox at 16:10 on a Friday? Hell Yeh!

So it's been a long week. It's raining outside. Spring is close, but not close enough. Fancy cheering up or just getting a good vibe before the weekend starts - check out this puppy on Dance Trippin TV. I've been smiling for the whole episode and thought I'd share for all those not used to the site. If you're at home, plug it into your amp and crack open a beer. If you're in the office, try your hardest not to look like you've developed a twitch!

50 Tracks to get you through a Monday.

Last Friday my old mate Chris Norton forwarded me a musical challenge after being tagged by journalist and blogger Sally Whittle. I love this kind of thing and last night, along with a nice glass of Shiraz, set about my TOP 25. Seeing as I knew it'd be the start of the week, I went for a moody Monday collection, but at some point the vino must have kicked in. At 1am I found myself with an additional list... I'd say about 95% of the general public won't be able to stomach it, but I absolutely love it! Some of the greatest house and techno known to mankind! ...in my humble opinion. So here they are: Monday AM and Monday PM.

Monday AM:

1. The Road to Hell, Chris Rea
2. The Road to Hell Part 2, Chris Rea
3. Don’t Cry, Guns ‘n’ Roses
4. Something in the way, Nirvana
5. Cold Water Music, Aim
6. What goes around, Justin Timberlake
7. Teardrop, Massive Attack
8. Desert Rose, Sting
9. 6 Underground, Sneaker Pimps
10. Civil War, Guns ‘n’ Roses
11. The man who sold the world, Nirvana
12. The Force, Aim
13. When I come around, Green Day
14. Sinnerman, Nina Simone
15. Concrete Schoolyard, Jurassic 5
16. What I got, Sublime
17. Organ Donor (extended overhaul), DJ Shadow
18. What else is there? Royksopp
19. Walk a mile in my shoes (Henrik Schwarz edit), Coldcut, Robert Owens
20. Smooth Criminal, MJ
21. Time after time, Cyndi Lauper
22. L.S.F (feat. Kasabian), Mark Ronson
23. La Femme d’argent, Air
24. Face to Face, Daft Punk
25. Unfinished sympathy, Massive Attack

Monday PM:

1. Paper planes, MIA
2. Ottos Journey, Mylo
3. Sing it back, Moloko
4. 3 Weeks, Tiga
5. Intro, Stanton Warriors
6. Precinct, Stanton Warriors
7. What else is there? (Trentmoller Remix), Royksopp
8. Paris Four Hundred, Mylo
9. Requiem for a hit (Glove Radio Edit), Miss Kitten, Laurence Williams
10. Poney Part 1, Vitalic
11. Kofea, Agoria
12. Rocker (Dub), Alter Ego
13. Work (M&S Remix), Masters at Work
14. Changes (Dirty South remix), Chris Lake
15. Zdarlight, Digitalism
16. Don’t hid it, Alexkid
17. Something good, Utah Saints
18. You gonna want me, Tiga
19. Why not? (Tim Deluxe remix), Alter Ego
20. Diabla (Heavenly mix), Funk D’void
21. La Rock 01, Vitalic
22. La 11eme March (Phil Kieran remix), Agoria
23. Lifetimes, Slam
24. The bells, Jeff Mills
25. Man with the red face (LIVE!!!), Laurent Garnier

In the interest of keeping this going, I'm putting Benny, Zoran, Alex and Toby up to this one - look forward to seeing what they can bring to the table.