{ "version": "https:\/\/jsonfeed.org\/version\/1.1", "title": "Блоги: заметки с тегом Music industry", "_rss_description": "Автоматически собираемая лента заметок, написанных в блогах на Эгее", "_rss_language": "ru", "_itunes_email": "", "_itunes_categories_xml": "", "_itunes_image": false, "_itunes_explicit": "no", "home_page_url": "https:\/\/blogengine.ru\/blogs\/tags\/music-industry\/", "feed_url": "https:\/\/blogengine.ru\/blogs\/tags\/music-industry\/json\/", "icon": false, "authors": [ { "name": "Илья Бирман", "url": "https:\/\/blogengine.ru\/blogs\/", "avatar": false } ], "items": [ { "id": "120664", "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/can-we-drop-social-media\/", "title": "Can we drop social media?", "content_html": "

Back in the late 90s and early-mid 00s, there were websites, emails, and blogs that you could read directly on the site or by using RSS. That’s basically how content distribution worked. You’ve put something on the web, and people read it if and when they want.<\/p>\n

Today, the majority of content seems to be in social media, and no surprise since Facebook alone has almost 3 billion active monthly users. So it seems natural that many of public figures, music producers and DJs included, focus their energy and post everything here.<\/p>\n

But, to be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of social media. The fact that the content you work hard for is owned and controlled by some companies and algorithms is worrying, to say the least. I’m fortunate to have certain skills allowing me to run my own blog where all my content is safe from those corporates, but still, there are just too many things I don’t like in social media: from censorship to selling users’ data. Frankly, to me, social media seems to be less and less ethical to use.<\/p>\n

That makes me think about whether I should use social media for my public communication at all. I mean, I don’t like doing so, but do I have to? For music producers and DJs, the audience is the most valuable asset, any marketer can tell you that. But should we really rely on social media to gather people to let them know about our work?<\/p>\n

I wonder what you guys think about a sort of ”web 1.0” with plain and simple RSS feeds and emails instead of Facebook, Instagram etc.? Would you still follow the artists you like in such a way? Or is there no way to get around without social media for artists?<\/p>\n

I totally get that other people might have different opinions on that, so I’m curious to hear yours.<\/p>\n

P.S. Added a few hours later.<\/h3>\n

Ironically, this post I’ve put on Facebook<\/a> got more engagement than any of my typical posts. I’ll just add a link here for archiving purpose.<\/p>\n", "date_published": "2021-03-10T16:51:18+05:00", "date_modified": "2023-06-18T18:51:05+05:00", "tags": [ "Music industry", "Question", "Social media" ], "author": { "name": "Daniel Sokolovskiy", "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/", "avatar": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic@2x.jpg?1732048793" }, "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 10 Mar 2021 16:51:18 +0500", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "120664", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": null, "og_images": [] } }, { "id": "120692", "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/anything-is-possible-but\/", "title": "Anything is possible", "content_html": "

Sometimes I get questions in the advice series<\/a> that boil down to, “Can I do this or that?” or “Can I not do that?”.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\n

Can I send a demo track to a few dozen labels at once?
\nCan a DJ not post anything on social media?
\nCan I not use equalizer?
\nCan I come to the club ten minutes before the start of my set?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That is, a person has probably heard that something should be done<\/i>, but is looking for a way to refute it: “Are you sure it should be done? Maybe it’s not necessary? Can we do it differently?” And that’s okay because it’s good to ask questions.<\/p>\n

And the answer is very simple: anything is possible. Anything at all. But every choice has consequences that are worth bearing in mind.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\n

Can I send a demo track to a few dozen labels at once?
Yes, you can, but<\/b> be prepared that your demo will either be ignored or signed to some third-rate label. Here’s the best way to send a demo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Can a DJ not post anything on social media?
Yes, you can, but<\/b> then it will be harder for people to hear about you, and your audience will grow slower. Because social media is important<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Can I not use equalizer?
Yes, you can, but<\/b> then don’t be surprised if the bass in your track is sluggish and dull. If you at least check and cut the extra low end<\/a>, it will be cleaner already.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Can you come to the club ten minutes before the start of your set?
Yes, you can, but<\/b> then you won’t have much time left for “plan B” if something goes wrong – and a lot of things can go wrong. I recommend arriving early<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Anything is possible, but it’s worth bearing in mind the consequences of the choice<\/p>\n

Note that in the examples above, I didn’t call any of the outcomes bad. Maybe you write music purely for fun, so you don’t care about releases on credible labels, audience growth, or performances? Well, that’s fine, because those things are neither good nor bad in and of themselves.<\/p>\n

But if you have certain career goals in mind, then you have to consider the possible consequences of any of such “yes, you can”.<\/p>\n", "date_published": "2021-02-16T01:23:56+05:00", "date_modified": "2023-06-19T02:01:06+05:00", "tags": [ "Advice", "Music industry" ], "author": { "name": "Daniel Sokolovskiy", "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/", "avatar": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic@2x.jpg?1732048793" }, "_date_published_rfc2822": "Tue, 16 Feb 2021 01:23:56 +0500", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "120692", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": null, "og_images": [] } }, { "id": "120703", "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/hire-photographers-for-your-gigs\/", "title": "DJs: hire photographers for your gigs", "content_html": "

A few thoughts on the pictures from DJs’ gigs and advice based on my own failure<\/p>\n

First of all, the most obvious:<\/b> photos are a good thing. They’re personal memories that feel good to revisit and share with others. Who doesn’t love pictures?<\/p>\n

Now the slightly less obvious:<\/b> Pictures of DJs’ gigs are your work assets. If a DJ has good pictures from his gigs, it’s easier for promoters to work with him: to run an advertising campaign for the upcoming event, to sell tickets. Also, photos from performances help to remove fears of potential promoters: when you see a DJ behind the club gear in front of live people, you know that at least he has such experience, which means less chance that he will screw up (remember that decent DJs<\/a> are pretty rare). And, of course, photos are great content for visual communication for your blogs and social media. <\/p>\n

Read what about social media John Fleming<\/a> and Ace Ventura<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, something that would seem unobvious<\/b> or even wrong to many at first glance: making sure that a DJ gets photos of the gigs is the DJ’s own job. I’m not talking about how to get those gigs (that’s a big separate topic), but about the photos from them.<\/p>\n

It’s the DJ’s job to get pictures of his gigs<\/p>\n

When I was young and inexperienced, I used to think something like this: “Since the organizer is doing the event, he most likely hires a photographer. And since there’s going to be a photographer at the event, that means I, as the DJ, will have some great shots from there, especially when I’m an international artist in the lineup. Right?”.<\/p>\n

With these thoughts in mind, I flew to my first international gigs in Switzerland in 2014, then to Hungary in 2015, then to Switzerland again in 2017, and soon to Greece. Events in different countries with big lineups of international artists; big clubs and festivals. Guess how many pictures of me are from there? The answer is zero. None. At least I’ve kept the posters, or else it was like there were none. Wonder how that’s possible?<\/p>\n

See all my posts about the shows<\/a>: posters, photos, mixes and other snippets from the tour<\/p>\n

Well, the thing is, when organizers hire photographers, they do this for a very different reason. For the organizer, the main goal of the photos is to make people want to come to their next events. To do that, they usually try to show a good mood, people, vibe, location, deco, and all that that typically catches people’s eyes. And that’s not necessarily DJs at all.<\/p>\n

For example, this is what one of such shots can look like:<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n
Shankra Festival<\/a>, Lostallo, Switzerland, 2017. The photo is cool, but not about me<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I ended up having great gigs, but there’s not a single shot of me from there to use as my asset. Don’t be like me.<\/p>\n

After realizing it was a complete failure, I’ve since made it a rule to hire photographers myself — not for the entire events, but specifically for my sets.<\/p>\n

When you hire a photographer, you can explain to him what angles to shoot and from what not to; he certainly will not be late for your set; you probably won’t have to wait for the photos for weeks; the files will be in high resolution and thus they can be used even for posters, or anywhere. With this approach, I now have several hundred good pictures that I use for promotional needs, social media, podcast covers, and other uses.<\/p>\n

I add the best shots in high resolution to a special page for promoters and press<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, I’m not the first to think of this. I remember in 2018 noticing that Boris Brejcha is touring the world, yet almost all the photos on his Instagram are signed by only a few photographers. In other words, Brejcha doesn’t rely on local photographers from the organizers (who, of course, are certainly present and take photos of Brejcha anyway), but he flies with his own, trusted guys.<\/p>\n

Boris Brejcha on Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n
Boris Brejcha in Moscow, 2018. Photo: Ruben Schmitz. The pictures like this “sell” well very<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

At the time, I thought it was a great idea and started doing the same thing. As an artist, I don’t gather stadiums of people like Brejcha, but even if there are only a hundred people on the dance floor, you can still ask the photographer to take at least a few close-up shots of the DJ — shots like that are useful and important too.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n
Me at a gig at Gorod Club, Moscow, 2018. Photo: Pavel Tzimisce. A nice, working shot even without the stadium of people<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

All in all, DJs, a word of advice: don’t rely on the luck of the draw, but hire photographers yourself. These investments are worth it.<\/p>\n", "date_published": "2021-01-20T15:48:04+05:00", "date_modified": "2023-06-19T02:06:13+05:00", "tags": [ "Advice", "Gigs", "Marketing", "Music industry" ], "author": { "name": "Daniel Sokolovskiy", "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/", "avatar": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic@2x.jpg?1732048793" }, "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 20 Jan 2021 15:48:04 +0500", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "120703", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": null, "og_images": [] } }, { "id": "128758", "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/insta-dj\/", "title": "Insta DJ", "content_html": "

A good documentary from Pioneers about the impact of social media on DJs and the industry. I liked the fact that the view is not one-sided, but both pros and cons are expressed.<\/p>\n

\n