Guide to the Artist Press Kit

 

 

 

Intro -

Continuing with our recent guides on promotion, this week we're going to discuss the Artist Press Kit. Because every artist represents its own "brand", it becomes necessary to package your brand in such a way that it is attractive to fans as well as potential investors from within the music industry, while showcasing your marketability and strengths. For successful artists, having a press kit available at any time is a must.

But what exactly is a press kit and why is it so important to have one?

Essentially a press kit is exactly what it sounds like:  A group of documents which present the artist's background, past shows, publishing achievements, current and future shows, as well as contact information. (Sounds kind of like a resume to me!)

Your image is your brand - you in a package - and is the key to selling venues and A&R representatives on the fact that you can make them money. Though this may all sound like a headache to put together, I assure you that you already have the majority of what you need!  It won't take long to format and compile, and like I always say, "you get out what you put in."

Basics of the Press Kit -

1. EPK - Electronic Press Kit
2. Traditional physical Press Kit

First and foremost are the types of press kits:  The online Electronic Press Kit, and the more traditional Physical Press Kit. While there are many options for EPKs, the traditional physical press kit is a must! Using a physical press kit leaves room for personal touches, and increases the likelihood it will be received and viewed by your recipients.

As with most things, there are both right and wrong ways of creating a press kit.  With the superabundance of artists creating press kits in the scene today, it becomes critical to have a press kit that stands out and has a higher chance of getting recognized by the important people. There are many things which can be added to your kit, as well as certain techniques that can be used to make your press kit stand above the crowd.

But before you can stand out, let's make sure you have the right information about yourself first.

(Remember: This is what writers and journalists will use to base review or article information on!)

Guitar Effects Pedals - Part One - Introduction and the Evolution of the Effects Pedal

Phosphene Productions -
Introduction and Evolution of the Effects Pedal -

In this blog my intention is to shed a light on guitar effects pedals.  I have broken this blog into three sections which will break down the evolution of the effects pedal into modern-day music:  The creation of the pedals and their early implications; the effects themselves and how they work; and finally some tone tricks and how to maximize your tone with effects pedals.
Please also understand that I am neither an electronics engineer nor a historian and that this article is based partially on fact and partially on opinion. I hope you will enjoy it either way.

Lets start from the beginning:

Phosphene Productions Studio Tour Video

Greetings and Salutations!

Not too long ago now we had the idea of making a video to share with everyone that could somewhat 'show-off' our studio in which we record out of. We instantly got to work on filming, music, effects, scripts and managed to put together a really great Studio Tour Video.
Our idea was to be able to share this video with those who maybe can't make it up to the studio to have a personal tour, or maybe whom live too far away.
It's also a great way for our fans to get a closer look at where we work and how its all done.
We hope you enjoy, feel free to leave comments, and of course, give her a thumbs up!

Cheers!~

Filming and Music by: Jakob Mantei
Production, Effects and Scripts by: Carter Greeves

Online Copyright Guide - Phosphene Productions

Phosphene Productions: Online Copyright Crash Course.

1. Right off the bat I'd like to start by saying You can register as many songs as you want to at one time. So it might be a good idea to wait until you have a few songs piled up (that way you can squeeze as much as possible out of that $35 copyright fee!)
   
2. To start off It’s usually a good idea to create separate word documents with lyrics, chords if possible, and date of writing for each song.
3. After your lyrics are written down the next thing you need to do is create audio recordings of each piece either with music or sung a-Capella. Doing so will assures that both the melody and music of the song are included under the copyright along with the lyrics.
4. Next up its time to submit your copy-write claim, head on over to the U.S. Copyright Electronic Copyright office (https://eco.copyright.gov/eService_enu/start.swe?SWECmd=Start&SWEHo=eco.copyright.gov)
5. When you log in, select "Register a New Claim." Click "Start a Registration." Select "Work of the Performing Arts" and click "Next."
6. On the next page, select "New" and then select "Title of work being registered" next to "Title Type." Type the title of your first song and click "Save." Click "New" again and continue this process until you have entered all the titles of the songs you are registering for copyright.
7. After paying the $35 registration fee, Allow several months for your request to be processed. The current processing time for an online registration is three months after which you receive a document in the mail certifying that your song or songs are registered with the Library of Congress, and you will be able to look up the records at the U.S. Copyright Office website.
   
   Before copy writing your work I highly recommend scrolling through the eCO tutorial pdf here: http://www.copyright.gov/eco/eco-tutorial.pdf

Why Does 'Your Band' Need an Audio Engineer and/or Producer?

So you're an artist. You've got a band, maybe a few songs written, and have started playing gigs, but what you really need is a good EP (or album). Maybe you're looking for a recording studio with an engineer to record your songs, maybe you’d like a producer to help polish your songs, or maybe you've been recording and producing your own band and wonder why anyone would even want to hire an audio engineer or producer.

Once upon a time, recording your own band in your rehearsal space was a timely and very costly matter, and was generally unsuccessful until the era of digital recording mediums. With today's technology, creating a high-quality recording at home (or any other space of your likeness) has become effective and cheap. Even you can go to your local music shop and get your hands on a brand-new digital recording device capable of competing with the big studio downtown.

Studio Success Guide Pt. 4 - Vocals

Welcome to another edition of Phosphene Productions Studio Success Guide! This week we're going to discuss what it takes to achieve a killer sounding vocal take when recording in the studio. But before we get to the studio we have some things to prepare for... let's take a look.

Vocalists are generally classified as the “front-man (or woman)” of the band and usually have the biggest spotlight glaring on them. The singer carries the music along, tells a story of some fashion and keeps the audience interested. Though there are many different styles of singing (opera projection, screaming, whispering, etc...), generally the recording process is pretty straight-forward.

(*Just sing in the microphone right?!*)

Studio Success Guide P3. Guitar

In this section of the Phosphene Productions Studio Success Guide, we will discuss what it takes to achieve a great sounding guitar take, be it rhythm or lead, when in the recording studio. But before we begin, let's take a look at what you'll need to bring along to the studio and what you should do to prepare.

I'm going to assume that everyone understands that being well-rehearsed is a large part of getting that 'great' sounding take. Showing up unrehearsed can lead to a train-wreck and cause major setbacks and waste a lot of valuable time. So practice, practice and practice some more!