20. January 2012 by Andy | Melodylab.

I recently had the pleasure to collaborate with Monster Taxi on his latest single titled “Funky Valentine.” What started out as a fist-pumping club anthem turned into a cool, breezy, deep soul remix by yours truly. What you hear on this remix has been re-done from scratch, with the exception of the vocals by Ny’Lani. Beautiful sax provided by Frixos Psiloyenis and recorded at Monster Taxi’s studio. Many thanks for additional keys recorded at Melodylab provided by Monster Taxi himself

http://soundcloud.com/monstertaxi/monster-taxi-ft-nylani-funky

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15. September 2011 by Andy | Melodylab.

Folks - a new music video and a free music download! Treat yourself to a visual journey to accompany “Arcadia’s Lullaby” - a brand new music video now available at my website. AND - download the song for free -just click on the download button. Click here to view it.

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13. September 2011 by Andy | Melodylab.

Hi - just posted a new piece I wrote for a self-promotional video by Branding Mumbojumbo from RV. As always - interesting new lessons learned. NEVER assume - always check your assumptions with the client, and if you have the opportunity, reference even rough drafts with the client whenever you have an opportunity. Shoot me a note if you wish to find out how our visions differed on the project. Check it out here.

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9. September 2011 by Andy | Melodylab.

There is an engaging and a very timely post on CD Baby regarding the fair wage for musicians. Be sure to read the audience comments. Beware of consequences of playing/working for free… Read on here…

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26. June 2011 by Andy | Melodylab.

Folks - here is probably the best deal for getting your hands on a complete metering suite. Getting your mixes to sound great takes not just a great ear. Peaks, average loudness, low frequencies that your speakers cannot reproduce, and of course mono compatibility - in every case, having a plugin that shows you what you’re hearing is indispensable.

IK Multimedia is offering a GREAT promo - for only $15, you can get the metering suite and the classic equalizer until JULY 4th. Check it out here: http://www.ikmultimedia.com/Main.html?15/surprises.php

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19. June 2011 by Andy | Melodylab.

The Strange Tale of Billy Barker - Preview from Jana Johnson on Vimeo.

This score features all symphonic music score for Jana’s short film. For more information, visit http://www.thestrangetale.com/

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18. June 2011 by Andy | Melodylab.

According to Forbes, here is the list of the 25 richest artists of 2011. I hope this will help you put things in perspective…

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11. June 2011 by Andy | Melodylab.

Hi - I have used just about every EastWest’s instrument in the past in my productions. These instruments are well programmed, come with a lot of useful articulations to make realistic music comps. They ARE memory hungry though - and their core libraries vary from 30Gigs to 150 Gigs. So make sure you have plenty of memory and disk space, as well as patience, available.

And they’ve been running their “Buy One - Get One Free” sale for a while - but they extended it again ’til 6/30/11- the best East West deal ever! Check them out at soundsonline.com

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29. May 2011 by Andy | Melodylab.

Now that your release is ready, and you found a distributor, the work is not over yet. There are a few and important items that you should check off your list to make sure that you get paid and your release info appears correct. I will be updating this list periodically, and feel free to contribute your own findings to the blog:

•  ALLMUSIC.COM -  the defacto go-to site used by many digital retailers and vendors to pull and verify release information from. Amazon.com and the Grammy Recording Academy are just a few that reference this site for credits and music information. You need to make sure that you send them your release first! For product submission info, click here.
• SoundExchange.com - an independent and non-profit performance rights organization that collects statutory royalties from satellite radio (such as SIRIUS XM), internet radio, cable TV music channels and similar platforms for streaming sound recordings. Why is it important to be a member? Because they are the sole entity in the United States to collect and distribute these digital performance royalties on behalf of featured recording artists, master rights owners (like record labels), and independent artists who record and own their masters.
• Performance rights organizations, such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. They will collect money owed to songwriters for the public performance of their songs. Some examples would be radio airplay, placements in movies or TV shows, concerts, “elevator music,” and even music on hold for phone systems.
• If you are a non-featured performer, such as a session player, backup singer, or other creative contributor, see the Recording Artist Royalties organization here.

Image credits: Guitar Neck by J Fry

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29. May 2011 by Andy | Melodylab.

Waves.com has a pretty good deal for a REALLY nice tape emu plugin. It’s called MPX Master Tape and they have it on sale for $99. Go ahead and download the demo - try it on both new and old mixes. I think you will be very pleased. It sounds different than the DaD Tape, and different than the UAD Stutter plugin. I will try to post some sound samples, but it’s best that you try it out on your mixes.

It tends to open up and brighten the sound, and brings forward the midrange. In some settings, it can tighten up the bass. So far, it ROCKS on brass, acoustic and electric guitars, vocals, and strings. I tried it on the 2buss, and yes, it works sometimes, but for the most part it has a bit TOO MUCH coloration for my taste, so I’d rather use it on individual plugins or busses than on the master buss.

Check out the current discussion at GEARSLUTZ.COM.

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