No Song Unsung Blog

When I think about hip-hop, I always think about the hip-hop culture as well. This means fashion, partying, and of course, the liquor. But then again, we’ll probably associate all of that with most music genres — and how can we change that?

On many occasion you’ll hear hip-hop artists give pub to the brands of liquor they love in their songs. So naturally, someone like Sean Combs, a.k.a. “P Diddy”, “Puff Daddy”, or whatever you want to call him - would partner up with Diageo North America and Ciroc Premium Vodka. They held a press conference today at the Time Warner Center with Combs to announce the partnership.

A note to all you youngsters reading this: Just because Diddy is selling this vodka doesn’t mean you have to drink it!!

“Sex and Drugs and Rock n’ Roll” was a song by Ian Dury that was released back in the late 70’s. Somehow the phrase has made its way into our everyday lives. You’ll hear the phrase now and again when people refer to the music industry - and they don’t have to be talking about rock n’ roll either. Sex and drugs seems to have become the way of life for many musicians.

I recently watched the movie, Walk the Line, the story of the romance between Johnny Cash and June Carter. It was a great film and won many awards including a Grammy, Academy Award, and Golden Globe. Cash turned to drugs to cope with the demanding lifestyle of a traveling musician. It’s too bad there aren’t more people in the industry who will say, “Hey, eat this healthy food to get more energy…” instead of recommending some pill or drug to make you feel better.

It’s also sad that we had to lose some of the great artists of all time to drugs - like Elvis Presley, for instance. Some will deny that he passed away because of drugs, but you have to wonder if the heart attack he had was due to the fact that he abused drugs.

Well, let’s just give thanks for drug rehab Malibu style where people can go to get help.

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If you watched America’s Got Talent this past summer, you may be familiar with a man named Paul Potts who was actually the winner of Britain’s Got Talent. I have never paid much attention to opera music and was never really moved by it until I heard Paul Potts sing. I seriously get chills and tears well up whenever I hear him sing…

Paul Potts is a perfect example of someone who overcame his insecurities and just went for the gusto. In an interview with him that I saw on TV (I believe it was Ellen Degeneres’ show), he said that he was hesitant about auditioning for the show, so he ended up just flipping a coin to see whether or not he would go. What an inspiration he is to those of us who don’t think we have the musical talent or we aren’t “good enough”. Just go for it!!

Listen to the mp3 version of “Nessun Dorma” which means ‘None Shall Sleep’ - the song that made Paul Potts a superstar

Buy Paul Potts’ album, One Chance (With Bonus Tracks)

If you’ve spent any amount of time online, you know that social networking websites are all the craze nowadays. Its only natural that we gravitate toward online communities because we are social beings. If you know the power of MySpace, then you know what I’m talking about!

Well, for music lovers there’s a new social networking site where you can connect with other music lovers: IndieMV - Musical Intercourse. There are many ways to connect at IndieMV like video blogging and web-cam messaging, plus you get access to photos, music videos, interviews, and much more. IndieMV is another way for musical artists and bands to connect with people and get the word out about their music.

Right now IndieMV is holding a contest where one band can win a trip to Montreal, Canada to perform at the Unite Against AIDS Concert. This is just the beginning of the many opportunities for artists to get more exposure! Love it!  There’s also a Beta Junkie contest where the first 300 applicants get a chance to win a trip to the concert in Canada, a $500 shopping spree, and all kinds of fun stuff!
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If you ask most children what they want to be when they grow up, most of them will tell you that they want to be a “firefighter”, “police officer”, or even “President”. Then there are kids who say that they just want to be famous. And certainly the music industry is a place where many a star has been born. The music industry is a billion dollar industry. Who wouldn’t want a piece of that action?

Whether you want to be a songwriter, producer, engineer, manager, or agent - if you want to get your foot in the door and be someone who is in it for the long-run, then I think it’s important to have the business and interpersonal skills to face the challenges that this industry will bring. You can get these much-needed skills by attending a music industry school.

Here are some of the things you could learn if you attended a music industry school:

-music preparation, innovation, and entrepreneurial practice
-marketing, distribution, and sale of music products and services
-effective leadership and management in the music industry

Below is a sample of just some of the music industry schools you can attend in the United States:

• Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University has a Music Industry studies program. The school is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.

• Time Magazine named the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business as one of the top 2 music industry schools in the U.S. The faculty consists of songwriters, authors, producers, entrepreneurs, and sound engineers.

• San Francisco State University has a Music/Recording Industry Program where you can take industry-certified training classes

• The USC Thornton School of Music offers a BM or BS in music industry which includes some general education in addition to core music classes, writing, and music technology courses

• If you want to become an audio engineer and traditional academics doesn’t appeal to you, then you may be interested in Music Connection

Of course, there are many ways you can break into the music industry without having to attend a school. With the internet you can create your own website, start a music blog, or simply network with people in the industry (Think MySpace!). It’s a matter of getting your name out there and staying focused on your goals and dreams. There are many music moguls who didn’t attend music industry schools. They simply had the drive to succeed. Do whatever makes you comfortable and makes you happy. That’s what is most important!