PROFESSIONAL BLOG ASSIGNMENT - Slate Digital

PROFESSIONAL BLOG ASSIGNMENT

Slate Digital

  Every few years a company comes along with a new approach on how to do something familiar, Slate Digital was founded in 2008 to do just that with its FG-X, a mastering plugin that increased the loudness of mixes without diminishing the dynamics. A partnership between recording engineer Steven Slate and DSP algorithm designer Fabrice Gabriel, Slate Digital’s products focus on creating exact digital models of vintage EQs, compressors, tape machines, microphone preamps, and microphones.

   In 2014, Slate Digital released the VMS (Virtual Microphone System), a unique combination of hardware & software consisting of a sonically neutral microphone and preamp combined with digital models of vintage preamps and microphones that impart every nuance, imperfection, and characteristics of the actual vintage unit. Steven Slate is not your average pro audio company owner or spokesman. One thing that sets him apart is his sense of humor in some his marketing videos. To develop such cutting edge, think outside the box products and still have enough of a sense of humor to include that as part of the company bSteven Slate

   The following is one of Slate Digital’s April Fool’s promotional videos for the “Dave Pensado Mix Advisor Plugin, one of the funniest things I’ve seen from a pro audio company

   Another unique thing about the Slate Digital Plugins is the way they sell the plugins. The page at http://www.slatedigital.com/online-shop/ shows monthly and annual online subscription bundles that include all the Slate Digital Plugins, as well as options for future plugins and upgrades. It is a new business model of how to sell audio plugins, and Slate Digital is leading the way!!!!!!!!!!!

References

Panelist Biography - Steven Slate. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.imsta.org/panelists/steven_slate.php

Inside The Software That Shapes Your Music: Steven Slate (Part 1). (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmessitte/2014/07/31/inside-the-software-that-shapes-your-music-steven-slate-part-1/ - 4de2909a1727

Link to blog post 

Industry Liabilities Blog

   In the music industry, there have been many court cases and lawsuits recently, and some of them are quite interesting. I chose to write about 3 of these cases:

1. Jerry Heller vs. the producers of the motion picture “Straight Outta Compton”

2. The estate of Marvin Gaye vs. Robin Thicke & Pharell Williams

3. Kesha vs. Dr. Luke

   When the motion picture “Straight Outta Compton” was being developed and shot, Ruthless Records co-founder Jerry Heller was never contacted to be involved in the making of the movie. Heller’s portrayal in the movie “was not accurate” he says, and the actor that played him was told not to contact him during the making of the movie. Heller obtained a screener copy of “Straight Outta Compton” and went over it with a fine-toothed comb……….… and two lawyers!!! Heller found over 20 flaws in the movie’s storyline, and is suing for “the picture that was painted of me” It is a historical story, that of N.W.A., and Jerry Heller is a part of that story, and N.W.A.’s success. To leave him out of it is just plain wrong.

   The song “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke, Pharell Williams, and T.I. was a big hit with “all the kids” when it came out. But for older music lovers, they hated the song when they heard it because it very heavily reminded them of Marvin Gaye’s hit song “Got to Give It Up”. Soon there was a lawsuit from Gaye’s children, next Thicke & Williams fired back with a suit of their own against the Gaye estate. When the dust settled, the estate of Marvin Gaye was awarded $7.3 million dollars. My opinion? The ruling was just, “Blurred Lines” is similar enough to be infringement. Robin Thicke has another song (“Million Dolla Baby”) that is “similar” to Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man”, they should sue the pants off him for that one too!!! (Imagine a 3-strike rule for repeated sampling???)

Hear the 2 songs for yourself!!! http://www.whosampled.com/sample/16230/Robin-Thicke-Million-Dolla-Baby-Marvin-Gaye-Trouble-Man/

   Pop star Kesha has made allegations against her producer and owner of the record label she’s signed to, Dr. Luke. She claims abuse from him of every type, financial discrepancies, and even the use of a date rape drug on her. I think he’s had too much control over all aspects of her life, even her reality show (thought this guy was a record producer). It’s like a new version of Dr. Eugene Landy & Brian Wilson, or Colonel Tom Parker & Elvis Presley, where the star in question has that manager/handler that after some time and increased success, begin to manage and handle way more than they should.

References

Jerry Heller Talks new N.W.A. Movie, His Lawsuit, Eazy E & More. (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnPjhvzMv_k

Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" Copied Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up," Jury Awards 7.3 Million. (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj86CJMQbKE

Kesha's Allegations Against Dr. Luke Rattle the Music Industry. (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zBx15j5xmE

Exclusive: Will Music Infringement Lawsuits Become Rampant? (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULPZW2I3lHk

NDM Interview Blog Post

   For my Interview Blog Post, I chose to interview gospel jazz instrumentalist/recording artist/performer Jeff Majors. He has released 17 studio albums to date, with 6 of them charting on either the Billboard Magazine Gospel Albums chart, the Billboard Magazine R&B Albums chart, or both. He is also the host of “The Gospel of Music” television show on the TV One Network. I am currently working with Jeff, troubleshooting and upgrading his studio’s computer system, as well as mixing the tracks for his next studio album release. This gave me a chance to ask Jeff these 3 questions about business negotiations when making arrangements for stage performances.

1)   Q. How do you separate the people from the problem when you are negotiating? What tips do you have for new negotiators who are trying to do this?

      A. A very common salary negotiation error is focusing on what you feel you need or deserve rather than on your skill and the value you bring to the prospective employer. Employers don’t care that your salary won’t cover your mortgage or student loan payments or even your living expenses. If you plan to negotiate a job offer, do it based on solid research and a clear demonstration of your value to the organization. Don’t ever tell the employer that you need a certain salary.

2)   Q. How do you handle positional bargaining tactics?

      A. Settling for a lower salary than you are worth has some major negative financial consequences. Probably the biggest mistake you can make is simply deciding to settle and accept whatever offer you receive. You must be firm with the terms that you want included in the contract.

3)   Q. Can you give me an example of how you worked toward mutual benefit when you were negotiating a deal?

      A. Some employers will also ask what salary you’re looking for. In all these situations, you need to carefully decide how you’ll handle the situation. The earlier you give up this kind of information, the less room you’ll have for negotiating a better offer when the time arrives. Always try to remain as noncommittal as possible when asked about your salary requirements too early in the interview process.

http://brianirvingengineer.blogspot.com/2015/12/ndm-interview-blog-post.html 

The

Akai MPC Touch

Drum programmer/sampler

Brian Irving 10/31/15

http://brianirvingengineer.blogspot.com/

   Over the years, sampling and beatmaking has gotten easier for producers of Hip-Hop and EDM. No longer having to use dedicated hardware, the computer becomes the weapon of choice to make beats, paired with a software/drum pad controller solution. Producers now have choices like the Arturia SparkLE, at $250, the easiest way into beatmaking with your laptop.

 Arturia Spark LE

The most popular choice, and the originator of the drum pad controller/software concept is Native Instruments MASCHINE, whose flagship MASCHINE Studio 2.0 at $999, may be a bit pricey for some, but its features like emulating the sound of older 12 bit samplers, and its swing time functionality, makes it easy for the “old heads” using dedicated hardware drum machine/samplers to convert.

 Native Instruments MASCHINE Studio 2.0

Maybe a bit too late after the launch of MASCHINE, drum machine/sampler pioneer Akai debuts the MPC Studio at $399,

 Akai MPC Studio

and the MPC Renaissance at $699,

 Akai MPC Renaissance

aimed to get Akai users, as well as those who thought MASCHINE to be a bit confusing, onboard. When the new Akai products first reached the hands of consumers, right away there were complaints of system crashes and bugs in the software. Akai did what it could with updates to the MPC Studio and MPC Renaissance, but when the dust settled, it was the Native Instruments MASCHINE that won the fight…………………. Until now!!!!!!!!!!!!

   Akai has waited for everyone to work the bugs out, waited to see what the other manufacturers’ offerings would be, and took feedback from numerous producers & beatmakers. The result: what could possible win the war in beatmaking today, the new Akai MPC Touch.

 Akai MPC Touch

All the familiar controls are there for all past Akai MPC users, and then some. Features Akai MPC Studio owners may have asked for like a touchscreen, on board audio interface, and on board MIDI jacks have been added to the MPC Touch. It’s a new concept, a controller with a touchscreen that keeps you off the computer screen. At $799, it’s priced in the mid range of the drum pad controller/software market. The MPC Touch’s launch in November 2015 is perfect timing for Christmas and gift giving. Give your favorite beatmaker/producer an MPC Touch for Christmas!!!!

References

ARTURIA SPARK Creative Drum Machine. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vla5N6PUpRI

Native Instruments Maschine Studio Demo - Sweetwater Sound. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2015, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuAxO_aeb6Q

Akai MPC Studio Demo - Sweetwater Sound. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g_OTCbO2eU

Akai MPC Renaissance Groove Production Workstation Demo - Sweetwater Sound. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14oZDVLqefM

J.J. Abrams: The mystery box

  J.J. Abrams talked about his grandfather, and how it was a simpler time in his day. His box that he did not want to open during his talk was in honor of his grandfather’s era of mystery, when you may not have known exactly how something was done, but the end result would have you to think it was magic!!!

 A great example J.J. Abrams used was the clip he played to the audience from the “Mission Impossible” movie series, where the actor that portrays the villain in the scene is shoving a gun up the nose of Tom Cruise’s character.

 After repeated takes, the actor portraying the villain was making Tom Cruise’s nose hurt. After J.J. Abrams tells the audience the story of how Tom Cruise’s hand was tinted to look like the hand of the villain, and that it is Tom Cruise shoving a gun up his own nose, you watch the clip again with different eyes. It is a simple example of some early Hollywood “Movie Magic”. In J.J. Abram’s grandfather’s time, it was simple things like this that would get the job done, something simple done behind the scenes that would be “movie magic” in front of the camera.

  This TED speaker inspires me because like myself, he comes from humble beginnings, did not have much to work with, but had vision and imagination. He also has a good sense of humor, which is needed in the face of adversity sometimes. He spoke about the tight schedule during the filming of the hit TV series “Lost”. There was no time to do anything a second or third time, decisions had to be made on the spot, on location, and it gave an edge to the overall look of the final product.

http://www.ted.com/talks/j_j_abrams_mystery_box