Why YouTube is especially important for Musicians

Update: This week we’re going to talk about YouTube, however there have been some important changes in Facebook since the last 2 weeks and I wanted to fill everyone in on those first. First of all, Bing is now using the Facebook API to show what your friends have liked within their searches. What does this mean? Well, Bing has been having a growing in relevance as far as web exposure recently, and this is a huge step towards making it a real competitor to Google. Two weeks ago I talked about how Facebook’s biggest draw is that people are more likely to be interested in what others in their social circle are interested in. By leverage the “Like” data from Facebook, Bing can now theoretically become the most powerful tool for finding searches relevant to your interests. I say theoretically because, despite their pretty video explaining everything, I’ve yet to actually find a search that actually displays Like information. More information on that as it becomes available, but again I absolutely can not stress enough how increasingly important it is to have a Facebook presence.

Additionally: Remember all that stuff I said about setting up an engaging Facebook Page for musicians and using FBML to make a nice custom landing page? Throw that out the window. The new hotness is setting up your landing page using iFrames. Mashable explains it in length better than I could, but to summarize: By using iFrames now for your Facebook Page landing page you can now utilizes languages like PHP, ASP, JavaScript, etc, to give your page some dynamic content. You can still use FBML to make an engaging and effective landing page, but for those who know how to use it the ability to be able to use iFrame to deliver data is incredible.

In just 2 weeks things that I have talked about have changed pretty drastically from a marketing perspective. The internet, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, all change like the wind, and can get difficult to keep up with, and that’s absolutely why I write Just the Tips.

So back on track:

Why YouTube is Especially Important for Muscians

So immediately I’m going to give you a pretty powerful stat: What do you think the 2nd most powerful search engine on the internet is? Bing? Yahoo? Facebook? Well you can probably guess by the context: It’s YouTube. Not only that, but Google now embeds YouTube search right into it’s dynamic search. That’s pretty incredible stuff if you’re looking to get exposure. By why is it especially important to musicians?

  • Videos have sound. GASP! It’s no brainer that you can upload a video with your music in it to YouTube. People do it all the time. This gives fans and fans-to-be a way to listen to your music without having to dedicate any hard drive space or time into download an MP3. Users and listen to it on the go, fans can pull it up on their iPhone and play it for a friend, or stream it at work; the amount of applications are endless.
  • Videos have VISUALS. Well…they should anyway. Your video doesn’t have to be playing guitar, or sequecing a song live (though it could!). You don’t have to do a whole AMV to post your music on YouTube. You can simply just have a static image, or a loop video like OCReMix does. You make something like this pretty simply in iMovie or Windows Movie maker, and it doesn’t have to be all sorts of flashy. My advice to you is to put as much information about yourself as you want people to know, without over doing it. I’ll go over this in much more detail in the upcoming weeks.
  • Talented artists get a A LOT of exposure on YouTube. Have you heard of Justin Bieber? I mean, you probably have, but did you know he got discovered on YouTube? I don’t hate the kid. I don’t care much for his fan base, but he got where he is today by having some degree of talent, and a YouTube account. Be warned: This isn’t the last time I’ll bring him up in my discussions of YouTube, either. So be ready.
  • To combat plagiarism. As I’ve said before in the OCR Plagiarism thread: You absolutely can not control whether or not you or your music will get onto the internet, because it absolutely will. It will not necessarily be what you want to end up on the internet, and it will not necessarily be in the places you want it to be on the internet. You can’t stop it, however you can control it. How? By making sure that all the information you do want to show up shows up first, more often, and more relevant. If you get popular enough, it is certain beyond a reasonable doubt that someone will post your music on YouTube. It may have an innocent omission of information about you, or they may be trying to pass it off as their own. You can search down every iteration of your song on YouTube, and flag all of them as inappropriate, and how YouTube takes action against them eventually or you can post your music yourself, with all your legitimate information, so that there’s absolutely no question what the official source is. I can guarantee you that if you post a video of “Zelda Ocarina of Time/Chrono Trigger: Eponapoch (Guitar Remix)” posted by Willrock07 with a video about you, and links to your Facebook Page, and website, and all kinds of info, it will get more hits on YouTube than some kids “ZELDA KRONO TRIGGR GUITAR MIX” with a picture of a dancing storm trooper by coolkid0009 with 30 videos of the same thing and bad spelling, and hopefully yours will show up in the “Related Videos” sidebar when that DOES happen. Optimizing video titles, tags, and descriptions will be important for this as well, and will also be discussed in the upcoming weeks.
  • People can’t stop watching YouTube. The thing is addicting. I go to watch my own video of Shnababula‘s amazing live Terra remix, end up clicking on the Batman playing Terra in Black Video, then I see Terra in Black in Guitar Hero, then I see You Are Not Alone from Final Fantasy 9 in Guitar Hero, then I find You Are Not Alone on Classical Guitar, then katethegrate’s Roses of May from Final Fantasy 9 (love her, by the way), and then…crap I’m supposed to be writing a column here. SEE WHAT I MEAN? Powerful stuff. You want your video to show up on YouTube, because people will find it, and they will watch it. Hopefully they’ll like it and know where to go to find out more about you and your music!

So there you have it. As mentioned about, in the weeks following I’ll be explaining how to optimize your videos themselves, your profile, your titles, tags, and descriptions. I’ll also go over some other ways to drive traffic to your profile, and get yourself some more exposure: namely covers. Pretty huge, but that’s for another time!

As always if you have questions about anything discussed, or suggests on what you might hear about in future articles, post a comment!

Setting Up your Facebook Page

So hopefully by now you’ve got a Facebook Page set up. A Facebook Page is not the same as your Facebook user profile and, If don’t have one yet, or you’re unfamiliar with Facebook Pages in general, then you should check out last weeks entry on why you NEED to have a Facebook Page as a musician.

The first thing you need to realize is that your Facebook Page is not just for Facebook users. Granted, you will get the most of out people who are both a Facebook users, and a who have subscribed (or “Liked”) your Page, this is not the only traffic that will pass through your page; You’ll also get people who aren’t even members of Facebook who get there through links posted to them or via Google. This means you have to realize that your Facebook Fanpage is more than a microblog; It’s a whole new mini-site, or a portal, for your users to find more information about you. Some users may land on your Facebook Page before even your website. How will you welcome them?

  • Do not let someone land on your wall. This one is a very easy mistake to make, and it’s one of the most important things to do right away. Would you let visitors land on the guest book of your personal website? Of course not! Why then would you let them land on your Page’s wall? Admittedly, our Facebook Page currently isn’t setup like that (yet), nor is OverClocked ReMix’s, but zircon’s Page is a good start for what you want to go for in a Facebook Page landing page, and many major franchises are great examples. You can make an engaging landing page like this using the Static FBML App. Some things you should consider having on it are: Some information about you, some of your other sites on the web they might be interested in such as your personal site or YouTube profile, and most importantly…
  • Give incentive to follow/like you. The first questions in your head whenever you create something like a landing page are: “What are the long and short term goals of this?” and “How do I achieve these goals?” In this case your long term goal is to convert visistor into fans, and maybe at some point sell them music. You achieve this goal through the short term goal of giving them information about you and, most importantly right now, getting them interested enough to follow your page. You do this by telling them to follow your page, and giving a clear reason why they should. Sounds crazy, no? This is what we “selling the value” and giving a “Call-to-Action.” Everything you do should have some Call-to-Action, and incentive to do so by selling the value of it, and be sure to not give away the value without the action, first. In the case of your Page one value right away is up-to-the-minute updates on you and what you’re doing, but consider that someone who’s landing on your page might not be interested in your updates upon first getting there, and might not even stick around long enough to find the value themselves. Why then, would you stop there with the value? Give your visitors some incentive right away, and try to make it something more than your Facebook spam in their news feed. What kind of incentive? Here is an example of a case study done by “Socially Buzz“, a social media marketing firm, for restaurant. In it they explain how, by giving visitors incentive through value to “Like” the restaurant’s Facebook page (in this case, coupons), they were able to drive over 5,000 new Facebook followers, and create more social awareness of the brand. What kind of incentives can you create? Maybe downloadable and/or stream-able songs available ONLY on your Facebook page? If you charge, maybe it’s a coupon for your music. Maybe you could release an entire exclusive EP available ONLY to people who like your Facebook page. Play with it, and see what you can think of.
  • Make sure to keep engaging your audience. The biggest grace of social media is the ability to engage your audience. Make sure, once you get followers, that you use them! Keep them informed with important, relevant updates about what’s going on with you (subscribers probably don’t need to hear how drunk you are tonight), consider releasing exclusive or world-first items on different social mediums, and make sure whenever possible to end your updates with a question. You’ll notice OverClocked ReMix often does this, as does mashable. You want to engage your audience as often as possible, and encourage them to engage you as well. This gives them a much more personal experience, and gives them a stronger connection and dedication to you, and your brand. Remember: A personal connection could be the difference between a casual fan, and a die-hard fan.

These are just some of the ways you can use your Fanbook Page to help increase your visibility on the web, and hopefully help you convert more users into die-hard fans, but remember: Facebook isn’t the only social medium out there, not is it the only one people are actively using. In the upcoming weeks I’ll explain the important of things like a twitter page and, more importantly, a YouTube profile, before getting into the down and dirty of building and maintaining your own personal site, but for now go make yourself an awesome Facebook Page and start collecting followers.

If there’s any questions about anything discussed this week, have any Facebook Page suggestions of your own, or if you have any other questions relating to marketing yourself on the web that you’d like me to cover, feel free to leave a comment.

“All Your Base” Turns 10? Well, kinda…

Some places on the internet are marking this week as the 10 year anniversary of the infamous “All Your Base” meme. True, it was 10 years ago this week that All Your Base flash video using the Invasion of the Laziest Men of Mars song was released to the internet, and quickly made it’s way into fame, however anyone familiar with OverClocked ReMix’s origins knows that’s not where the real tale begins.

Before OverClocked ReMix became OverClocked ReMix, it was simply just OverClocked; a web comic dedicated to emulation, amongst other things, by djpretzel himself. It was here that All Your Base first made it’s way into the spotlight on June 5, 2000 with the “ZeroWing Dub Project“; nearly a year before it would hit the mainstream. A full timeline of the events leading up to the All Your Base phenomenon can be found here.

So while the rest of the internet reflects back on the memes of the past, us video game remix fans can celebrate that video game remixes aren’t the only thing David is responsible for popularizing. We can all also become extremely depressed at how old we’re getting ;-;

Double Review!! Genuine LP by JH Sounds and Pixel Perfect EP by halc

Well this is a new thing. Behold, the double review! Glorious, isn’t it? I’ve been meaning to review JH Sound’s Genuine LP for a while now, and once halc released his Pixel Perfect EP I knew I’d be reviewing that too. What better time than now than to do so, and why not review both in the same article? I regularly review double-disc albums anyways, so this is basically the same. Except that both discs are standalone albums and only related tangentially through the artist’s connections in the remixing community, and me. So here goes nothing!

JH SOUNDS – GENUINE

1. Genuine     3:00
A pretty mellow track, with the title repeated for a while until about 0:47. At 1:03 it comes back, all chopped up. At this point, it becomes apparent that the word itself is used as an instrument unto itself. Drumwork is nice. At 2:38 the word fades out and JH’s trademark chime comes in to end.
2. Piana     3:08
Fittingly enough, it begins with piano. And synth. A good combo, too! This track has a good melody to it. It switches up at about 1:04 and returns at 1:18 or so. 1:28 brings a breakdown that sounds sweet, and totally gives the song a new feel. Rhythm returns at about 2:20. Fades to end at 3:05
3. Globalization     2:56
Sounds like a broken sound chip on an SNES at first; at 0:18 the beginnings of a pattern form and at 0:26 they come into full effect. A fun melody comes in at about 0:40. 1:25 brings a new instrument in, and like the other songs here, it adds to the ambience of the track. It ends to whistling at 2:30. The whistling itself ends at 2:50.
4. Creepers     3:03
Funky track; sounds like it would work with the Munsters or something similar too, which rocks. The main melody ends for a brief time at 1:04 when a voice clip comes in. The music returns at 1:27 or so. The melody tunes down at 2:13, and returns at 2:22.
5. AOTD     2:52
Interesting vocal clip from injury… the drums are solid again. The music jumps around a tiny bit, but it’s very enjoyable. As the song goes on, injury’s voice clip works as another instrument, like Noah Ludington’s voice clip from track one. It dies at 2:48 in humorous fashion.
6. Flatline feat. bill cakes     3:02
Starts out with a flatline, naturally. Guitar here courtesy of bill cakes, and it’s done beautifully. At 0:49 the main track comes in, and it’s awesome. I really like what the two did here; it’s a beautiful collab. Then again, JH is great at collabs soo… yeah. Anyways, bill breaks down the guitar at about 2:00 in grand fashion. The song winds down at 2:52.
7. Ambush     2:59
This sounds like a menacing track… I like it! Sounds like something big’s about to go down! Drums come in at 0:36 and add to the intensity. Mix-up at 1:26 doesn’t change the feel, and the drums returning keep it as tense as before. I want this song to play before I go to do anything, just to make it that much more dramatic. The sirens in the background starting at about 2:00 or so help too. It winds down starting at 2:30. It ends with a voice clip.
8. Infamy     3:05
This song starts with FDR’s famous address to Congress after Pearl Harbor happened. Fitting, since the song’s name is infamy and FDR says it in said speech. I’m sure when FDR was alive, he never dreamed his voice would be used in a song like this. It’s actually a bit humorous. I like this track; it’s nice, and at 1:45 more of the speech is used a bit. Voice clip is chopped up starting at 2:25 or so. Breakdowns on this CD are quite regular and well… genuine. Voice clip chop to end.
9. Cheeky     2:58
White Stripes sample start the song out, and it’s nice. The drums and melody in the background are calming and fit the song. Trippy voice sample echo effect at 1:45 or so. This continues until 2:12 or so. Echo is used again every time the voice clip is used thereafter. A nice peaceful track.
10. Fishy     3:55
This track starts out quiet and builds up in grand fashion. Fittingly enough, this track contains a sample from the song “Echoes” by Fishy, alias Cain McCormack. The melody is beautiful and the mood is big. The sample comes in at 1:50 or so. It’s a bit strange, but it works. There’s a nice rhythm from about 2:30 until the end that works fantastically. Song starts to end at 3:43 and ends at 3:52.
11. Motorway     3:13
I just want to drive slowly listening to this song, even though I don’t know how to drive. It’s a fun track, with a nice moving rhythm. It’s calm and peaceful too. The melody goes basic at 2:50 and this plays until the end.
12. Prayer     4:04
For the final main track of the album, JH decided to go religious a bit. A voice clip of a prayer begins the track, albeit a bit delayed. The melody plays throughout this voice clip, which plays throughout the entire track. Bass comes in at 1:12. Everything stops at 1:58 and resumes at 2:00. This entire speech is quite hilarious in it’s nonsensicality. There is a very defined rhythm, and the speech ends at 3:30. The melody continues until the end of the track.
13. Piana (RoboRob SpaceShip ReMix)     3:12
Ah yes, a remix… Very groovy and electronica-y. Some orchestral-like instrument comes in at 0:30. 1:01 brings about more of the main melody. 1:30 brings a voice clip, and 1:38 showcases a pretty slick effect. Sounds like the instruments in the source were sampled here for a more electronic sound. It’s a great mix, and fun to listen to. Everything continues as normal until 3:07 when it all suddenly stops.

HALC – PIXEL PERFECT

1. First Headache     2:16
This sounds like the Game Boy Zelda fairy music at first. It’s very peaceful and relaxed. More chippiness comes in at 0:30, showing the main melody. It is also reminiscent of old Kirby music. It slows down at about 1:10. This is a very catchy track, and doesn’t incite a headache at all. It calms down at 1:58 or so.
2. Floating Away     2:56
Great choppy chips of Cthulhu! This song is more ethereal than a cloud! Was that a Mega Man sound effect I heard? 0:43 brings in some melody aside from the rhythm. 1:24 brings a breakdown, and the music slowly lowers it’s volume. At 1:44 it comes back. Looks like halc learned much from chthonic… err… Ben Briggs, in their time working together! Everything goes quiet at about 2:20 until the end, as it all slowly fades away.
3. 17-bit     2:17
The melody comes in almost immediately. There is a very… not quite victorious or triumphant, but close… there is that sort of feel to this track. Like you’ve just done something monumental, but it’s not really a big deal… It quiets down at about 1:20 and returns at 1:38. Awesome chippiness at 1:54 or so. At 2:08 it begins it’s final descent.
4. White-Out     2:15
Funky, groovy, nice bass. 0:10 brings in some melodious awesomeness. 0:28 shows off some echo-like chimes. This song has created it’s own ambience, and feels like an old cavernous dungeon theme from a game of yesteryear. 1:08 brings in another melody, albeit faint, and 1:28 mixes it up a bit. It returns at 1:45 with new beats. Bass to end.
5. Bad Decisions     3:20
I don’t think this song was a bad decision at all! Sure, it starts out slow, but it is building up to something epic. It keeps going, and by 0:30 there is some rhythm. 0:52 adds more rhythm, and 1:09 kicks off the melody. 1:28 adds some drum effects, with some bass effects. Main melody returns at 2:00, with some mixage of it incorporated. Now this sounds like some sort of infiltration theme for an old game. It fades out starting at 3:00 until the end. And a great end it is!

CONCLUSION
First off, JH’s album. It’s a great freshman effort, and it’s beautful. I would expect to see this on store shelves or something. It’s a highly enjoyable collection of average-sized tracks, perfect for someone on the go!
halc’s album, Pixel Perfect, shows off his champion chiptune skills masterfully, and is a great example of how old sounds can sound fresh and exciting. Each track is bite-sized, and full of nostalgic effects. Highly recommended, and highly advised for download. I hope he releases an LP of this soon; I must have more!
All in all, both albums are fantastic efforts by both artists, and are but the beginning of what they have in store, I’m sure. You can find more from JH at his website, jhsounds.com, and more from halc at his website, halc9bit.com. In our next thrilling installment, we’ll have a new album by that guy who has the perfect gigoquotes. If you know what that means, then I’m surprised you’re reading this. Until next time, game on!!

Christopher Tin’s “Baba Yetu” Becomes First Grammy Award Winning Video Game Music

Christopher Tin has just made history by being the first composer to receive a Grammy for a song composed for a video game. Tin’s Baba Yetu from Civilization IV won the award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) at the 53rd Grammy Awards this evening.

Baba Yetu, while appearing as the first track on Tin’s debut album,”Calling All Dawns,” it was originally composed as the theme song for Civilization IV. Since it has been performed at numerous Video Games Live concerts. In addition, “Calling All Dawns” itself also won the Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album, and includes judge, OC ReMix, and friend (<3) Jillian Aversa on the song “Sukla-Krsne“.

Will we ever see a day where video game soundtracks start making their way into the Grammy’s in full force? Well it might still be some time from now, but this is confirmation that we’re moving in the right direction.

Congratulations to Chris, and may he keep creating excellent scores and songs like this one.

A Melodious Melee! Heroes vs. Villains Review

One of the most anticipated albums in OCR history has finally been released! No, not Threshold of a Dream. I already reviewed that back in December, remember? No, it’s not The Missingno Tracks either; that doesn’t drop until the end of the month. I’m talking about OC ReMix vs. The Bad Dudes: Heroes vs. Villains. First conceived by Mustin, this album is the most collaborative album in OCR’s history, featuring work from the notorious Bad Dudes and several now-veteran OC ReMixers. And it’s a great collaboration indeed; you want to know more than read on! Just be warned, if you’re listening to this album some face-melting may occur. Let’s begin! Let the musical battle between Heroes and Villains begin!

But first, a little note. Due to the character-based nature of this album, the first line will contain track number, artist, title, and duration. The second line will contain character, series, and game the main source is from in italics. Okay, NOW let the battle begin!

1. Big Giant Circles – Bounty of a Brain 3:55
Samus Aran (Metroid) – Super Metroid
It starts out classic BGC style; Mr. Hinson hasn’t lost his touch at all. Everything builds and builds continually… intensity rises clear past the minute mark… 1:12 brings in some awesome guitar to really kick the album, and the battle, off. 1:29 or so gets the melody rockin’ right on. 1:47 gets Samus’ theme in the mix. 2:09 isolates the theme from the rest, only to reacquaint it with everything else bit by bit starting at 2:25. By 2:55 it’s all back together, with more than it started with. A finale for the track seems imminent, as everything slows down at 3:20. Ambience kicks in shortly after, and carries the track through to the end.2. Mazedude – Dieselbrainage 4:20
Mother Brain (Metroid) – Super Metroid
Ambience continues, picked up by the first of the Bad Dudes, Mazedude. Infamous for his quirky tracks, Mr. Getman really keeps the mood eerie right off the bat. 0:52 brings in some rhythm. The drums ‘n bass genre works well for this track. Creepy sounds punctuate the soundscape like bats in a cave, only intensifying and amplifying the spooky atmosphere of the track. 1:59 brings in Samus’ theme, but it’s quickly silenced. After a brief breakdown at about 2:25, it all returns at about 2:58. Massive breakdowns much like the breaking of the glass around Mother Brain’s dome are plentiful in the later seconds of the track. By 3:46 the speed has slowed down considerably. 3:56 starts off a very basic rhythm. One dude down, many more to go. On to the next battle!3. audio fidelity feat. Eric Griffin, Derek Meler, Marcus Affeldt – Pirate Shout 3:32
Guybrush Threepwood (Monkey Island) – The Secret of Monkey Island
Ooh! Tropical! I like it already. And epic guitar at 0:13. audio fidelity didn’t waste any time. Screams of YO and HO add to the piratey feel. There’s awesome guitar and awesome chanting here. A flute comes in at about 2:20, only to be usurped by guitar again at 2:39. A PIRATE’S LIFE WAS MEANT FOR ME, TRIM THE SAILS AND ROAM THE SEA!! Think that’s the lyrics… they work. Awesome guitar to end.

4. Diggi Dis feat. Alex Jones – Voodoo, Roots ‘n Grog 3:45
LeChuck (Monkey Island) – The Secret of Monkey Island
Acoustic guitar now? And drums too? Awesome! This song has a nice rhythm… enjoyable. Some funky styling comes in at 1:03 or so, and the feel permeates the entire track. It’s quite groovy as well. Oh damn, chiptunes at 1:55 or so. This song has everything! More traditional instruments return at 2:24, with some awesome piano. A very fun track to listen to, only for all the funk and groove and general awesomeness… To the next battle!

5. Brandon Strader – Born of Ashes, Baptized in Blood 5:25
Kratos (God of War) – God of War
Starts out very dramatically, worthy of the character this battle is for. The question is, is the battle for the music or for Kratos’ very soul? Guitar comes in at 0:34 or so. Intensity builds at 1:05. Very nice guitar work done here by Mr. Strader. A bit of a mix comes about at about 2:20. Awesome bass at 2:44 or so. This song is more metal than the liquid metallic hydrogen seas of Jupiter. Yes, I mean the planet, not the Roman god, since this is Greek mythology-inspired. 4:35 brings in more melody, and it carries through to the end.

6. Kunal Majmudar – Wrath Industrial 3:01
Zeus (God of War) – God of War
Well the title’s not far off… this does sound very industrial. And bagpipey too; how that’s industrial I don’t know but it works. A very ambient piece… some electronica sounds come in at about 0:50. Guitar at 1:05 or so, and strings at 1:20 or so. Also a very unique track. More guitar at 1:46. Charging at 2:20 for awesome guitar at 2:25 or so. Song ends with a descent at 2:55. To the next battle!

7. WillRock – Bare Knuckle Blitz 4:00
Axel (Streets of Rage) – Streets of Rage
Whoa! I thought this was from Streets of Rage, not Dance Clubs of Passion. Regardless, Mr. Harby comes through, and rocks this track from the start. Signature WillRock sounds permeate the track like Febreze in a small dorm, and it’s a very good thing. 1:46 is an example of great guitar work by Will. This little bit continues until 2:14, when the main rhythm takes center stage. Everything breaks down for a bit unti 2:45 or so when it restarts in grand fashion. The song sort of takes a life of its own until 3:51 when the end begins.

8. zyko – Mr. Z 5:57
Mr. X (Streets of Rage) – Streets of Rage
Ah yes, zyko. A more versatile musician is hard to find, but we already have zyko so why bother looking? We’ve got some guitar, tense drumbeat, and electronic sound effects. Yep, it’s zyko. Laughing at 1:48 breaks the music down, but it slowly builds back up. By 2:24 or so, it’s back. Organ comes in at about 2:50. A solo of sorts busts out at about 3:05, with organ backing it up. Another sudden stop occurs at about 3:36… At 3:55 it all explodes back onto the scene. An awesome guitar solo picks up not long after, and continues more or less until 4:36. The end of the track is definitely building up. Sound clips from the game work well… after 4:45 or so weird effects and guitar go back and forth until the 5:25, when guitar comes back. It quickly vanishes and the main rhythm takes over and the end really does begin. To the next battle!

9. Mattias Häggström Gerdt – Screw Wily, I’m Taking a Vacation 4:08
Mega Man (Mega Man) – Mega Man 2
Piano and electronica. Typical of Mr. I-have-too-many-umlauts Gerdt. A very happy track worthy of a vacation. Some nice guitar comes in at about 0:53. The guitar comes back in at about 1:40 or so. I hear some Mega Man 9 title theme at 2:05 or so. This continues until 2:56 when a basic breakdown occurs. Everything returns back to the main source at 3:08 or so. The guitar takes prominence at about 3:18. More MM9 title at 3:40 or so. Heads up, last time Rock tried taking a vacation we got GUTSMAN’S ASS soo… yeah…

10. Joshua Morse – Screw Mega Man, I’m Taking Over The World 3:19
Dr. Wily (Mega Man) – Mega Man 4
Basic Morse style, and it’s never been more beautiful. Many parts working in harmony to create beauty. 0:45 isolates the main rhythm, punctuates with some bass and horns, and returns it to normal at about 1:00. At 1:28 we have some Wily Stage 1 from MM2. 1:52 brings the main rhythm back. The instrumentation is magnificent in this track, not surprisingly. A quick simplification occurs at about 2:45 or so and continues until the end. To the next battle!

11. bLiNd – Go Ninja, Go 4:13
T.M.N.T. (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Go bLiNd go! We’re halfway there! What a very mystical sounding track… it’s beautiful and awesome. Everything starts to come in at 0:44 with epic guitar. A very fast-paced track, worthy of them heroes in a half-shell. Breakdown at 1:40 or so. Everything comes back at 2:11 with a solo of sorts. Breakdown again at 3:00 or so. I guess the turtles learned how to shred… suppose that cancels out Shredder’s shredding or something… This very basic part continues until the end.

12. Danimal Cannon – Enter the Shredder 4:09
Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) – TMNT IV: Turtles in Time
Now can Shredder outshred the turtle’s track? Let’s see what Dan can do. Fast-paced guitar and drums starting at 0:03? Very epic. Forgive any future typos; my face might melt over my eyes blocking my vision. Super-fast stop at 0:54 and restart a second later. Another breakdown at about 1:40 or so. Chiptunish sound effects take over… guitar returns at 1:58 or so. More basic rhythm at 2:25. 2:49 brings a feminine voice clip saying Enter the Shredder, only to bring in one of Dan’s signature solos immediately afterward. This solo continues on until the end of the track, only to start breaking down near the end much like the Technodrome does ALL THE TIME. Ends with laughing. To the next battle.

13. José the Bronx Rican feat. zyko – He Ain’t a G 4:22
Link (Legend of Zelda) – The Legend of Zelda
José starts off rapping immediately. Good instrumentation. YOU MUST BE HIGH IF YOU WANT TO RULE. Okay, this song wins already. The lyrics are good, as is the rapping. I heard Treecko… I love all the double entendrés here. zyko takes over rapping at 2:14 or so. The echo effect on his voice works well. José takes over at 2:48. The only tracks on the entire disc to be worked on by all involved in the particular battle, and it’s better for it. The track is passed on at 4:04 with instrumentation and the line, “Take this.”

14. zyko feat. José the Bronx Rican – Bladewalker 7:19
Ganon (Legend of Zelda) – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
A basic retelling of A Link to the Past? Wouldn’t surprise me, but that’s why I like me some zyko. Randomness in music is his forte. And I mean that in the best way possible. Voiceovers like ones from a movie are played, and they’re as well-written as the lyrics in the Link track before this one. A very basic rhythm plays throughout this part. The final battle theme takes over at about 2:00… 2:49 brings in some lyrics. They’re as well-written as the previous vocal parts, and the instrumentation is good. 3:50 brings in some guitar. Each time the verse seems about to end, it continues. Very well-done. I AM ERROR. Okay, now the Link track has some competition. The guitar sounds very raw, and that fits Ganon’s pure unbridled hate. Probably the reason it’s so raw sounding. More spoken word at about 5:40. And then, José at 5:50 or so. I think. Organs at 6:33 or so. Laughter at 6:40 or so. From here everything slows down to the end. To the next battle!

15. zircon, Joshua Morse – Satsui no Koto 2:57
Ryu (Street Fighter) – Street Fighter II
Wait? JM is on both sides? Okay, guess that works. Very Japanese sounding. Nice instrumentation. A bit of a solo at 0:45. Chiptunes at 1:15 or so. More strings at 1:39. Electronica at 1:56… this sounds like Morse’s part of the song. Piano at 2:08. Signature JM sound at 2:28 or so. Calmness through to the end.

16. posu yan, Joshua Morse feat. Stacy Morse – Coconut Milk 3:40
Sagat (Street Fighter) – Street Fighter II
After the introductory rhythm, main instruments come in at about 0:25. Another tropical track, moreso than the previous though. A very happy track too. A bit of an acoustic guitar solo at 1:34. More solo afterwards. Everything calms down at about 2:30. At 2:53 it picks back up. A finale is definitely imminent. Sure enough, it begins at 3:13. And it ends at 3:36. To the penultimate battle!

17. Insert Rupee (Benjamin Briggs, halc) – The Life and Death of Kirby 3:54
Kirby (Kirby) – Super Smash Bros.
It slowly builds… some nice bass and sound effects kick this off. Rhythm comes in at about 0:38, and melody at about 0:46. Chiptune champions Briggs and Wheeler take on this track with style and aplomb. It’s a great rendition too; happy, fun, chippy… what else needs to be said? Still think the band name should’ve been halchthonic, though. Solo of sorts at 2:00 or so. 2:40 or so brings a bit of breakdown. It works magnificently, especially at 3:00 when it takes on a unique feel with removed notes; a wondrous sound it makes though. Everything slowly tapers to the end at 3:45.

18. Mazedude – Hot Air Penguin 3:37
King Dedede (Kirby) – Kirby Super Star
He’s back for revenge!! Mr. Getman takes on Dedede’s theme wonderfully. Everything kicks in at 0:27. Chiptunes are present here; guess it’s a battle of the retro sound chips. At 1:11 the chippiness is really evident. Horns come in at 1:24. At 2:00 the horns and chips cohabitate the soundscape of the song. Piano is also used a lot here. 3:02 brings all instruments back for one final push. 3:15 signals the beginning of the end in piano chords. To the final battle! Who shall win? Let’s see!

19. Mustin – The Prodigal Son Returns 3:49
Simon Belmont (Castlevania) – Super Castlevania IV
Mustin’s not playing for the Bad Dudes here? Intriguing… just like the start of the track. Funky track for sure right here. 0:50 or so brings in some main source usage. 1:10 or so has piano for source usage. There’s also a whip sound effect throughout the track. Fitting. 1:42 brings in some of Mustin’s signature funk, probably borrowed from his own OneUp Studios hardware and/or software. Very mellow and calm. 2:17 signals a return of source usage… and whip. 3:08 brings in a solo, perfect for the end of the track.

20. Ailsean – A Walk with Death 4:16
Dracula (Castlevania) – Castlevania
And now, for the final song. Bad Dude vs. Bad Dude… who shall prevail? It’s tough, for this track starts out slow and calm, with ahh-ing and stuff. 0:33 brings in some simple guitar. 0:49 brings in more complicated guitar, still acoustic though. 1:04 makes it electric to great effect. 1:36 brings in more source usage. 1:51 has some laughter in the background, and again at 1:59. 2:08 returns to a very basic rhythm, and the ahh-ing returns. 2:39 brings back the awesome guitar. I’m expecting some epic guitar soon, Ailsean. Please don’t let me down. 3:11 returns the simplistic style of earlier in the track. 3:29 brings in what I was hoping for, epic guitar solo. Thanks for not letting me down man. Even though it stops at 3:45, it was still awesome. Acoustic returns at the four minute mark, only to stop at 4:10 to the end.

CONCLUSION
Well… it’s a bit hard to tell who came out on top here. If it was Heroes vs. Villains, then both sides battled bravely and built a balanced bout. If it was Bad Dudes vs. OverClocked ReMix, then each side masterfully manipulated music to manhandle the melee they momentarily met with. All alliteration aside though, this was a phenomenal album, worked on with love for the music and camraderie for the mixers.
The warning in the included readme file isn’t far off, either. “And if you’re reading this while listening to the album and still have a face, congratulations. But don’t freak out when your face starts melting. We warned you.” They most certainly did. Great work from all involved; I think this battle’s a stalemate. Until next time, game on!

Why You NEED a Facebook Page!

Every Thursday, I find myself incredibly bored while starla heads off the One Hour Compo. I’ve worked in web marketing for a year, and every day I see a video game remix artist or some other musician who’s trying to promote their music, but just doesn’t know how. Just the Tips is weekly-to-bi-weekly article on how to take control of your web presence and promote your brand. I say brand because that’s what you are: A brand that you are trying to sell. Maybe you’re selling it for free, maybe you’re collecting digital downloads, but you are selling your name above all all else. If you are serious about your music, and serious about getting it heard by everyone out there who might want to hear it, these will be some helpful hints to getting the most out of your web presence.

If you’re an artist these days, there’s 2 things that are absolutely required: A YouTube profile, and a Facebook Page. Even more so than a website, these 2 things are going to get you the exposure you want. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t have a personal music website, because you should, but a Facebook Page and a YouTube profile are 2 simple, free, things you can set up quickly and easily. As you can probably tell by the title of the article, today I’m going to focus on Facebook Pages, but in the upcoming weeks expect more tips for setting up a YouTube account. Be prepared to get yelled at if you don’t own a custom domain name for your website at the very least, but again, that’s for another time.

Today, Facebook released it’s new Pages layout, so thought it’d be a good topic to talk about. When I say Facebook Page, I don’t mean your personal Facebook profile. Facebook Pages, previously “Facebook Fan Pages,” are Facebook Pages for your brand. Why is it important to have a Facebook Page? Well consider that over 500,000,000 people were using Facebook by late last year. That’s 7% of the population of the entire planet, and over 25% of the people using the internet. Quite literally everyone, and their mother, is using Facebook these days. So how does this help you as an artist?

  • It’s additional web real-estate. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: There isn’t much legitimate real-estate on the web that can’t be turned into good real-estate. When someone searches your name on Google, you want to have as much relevant information available for them as possible; Facebook pages, personal websites, blogs, twitter, heck even MySpace is bouncing back now a days. So long as you curate your web presence, it can only help.
  • It’s much simpler, and professional, than having people add your personal Facebook profile. You’ll see all the time pseudo-celebrities with thousands of Facebook friends, but what if you don’t want your entire network to know you and your fiancé just broke it off? Or that you’re in the hospital for some embarrassing injury? Or even those photos your friends took when you passed out last night? These things aren’t just embarrassing, but they could be damaging. Sure you can set up lists and privacy filters, and you should regardless. If you do it right, it is much easier, and much more effective to let your Page handle this.
  • It’s very easy to collect followers. Facebook is probably the easiest way for you to get people to follow you, and your music. A simple “Like” and suddenly they’re getting up-to-the minute updates from you when ever they’re on Facebook and, let’s face it, they’re on Facebook all the time. While at work, while at school, on their phone, while driving. ITZ SO EZ. (Note: I’m PRETTY sure you can’t be held legally responsible for someone reading your Facebook updates on their phone while driving, but I’m not a lawyer so this is not legal advice.) You can even embed your Fanbox on your website and collect followers that way. This is infinitely easier than expecting people to follow an RSS feed, or have a twitter account, or even worse, have to continually check your website for updates manually.
  • Social Proof. It’s a proven fact that people are more likely to trust the opinions of someone else they know. Social proof is one of Facebook’s biggest draws when it comes to marketing. Chances are if 6 of your friends are a fan of a certain artist, and you know and trust their tastes, then you may consider listening to that artist yourself. The same goes for your followers and you.
  • Facebook advertising is THE BEST out there. Now you might not be considering advertising yet, which is your own decision. I personally find it acceptable to put away a few extra dollars a month to help promote my brand. I understand it’s not in everyone’s budget, but consider this: Facebook allows you to target the audiences you’re looking for, specifically, and you only pay per conversion. You heard that right, you only pay if someone likes your page, thusly becoming a new follower, and becoming a subscriber to your content. How specific can you get? You can target people who are between the ages of 14 and 30, male and female, in the United States, the UK, Australia, and Japan, who are fans of OverClocked ReMix or ThaSauce Network or deadmau5 or zircon or whatever else your sound is, that aren’t already fans of you. Depending on what you’re looking for your price-per-click will vary, but it will likely be less than a dollar per conversion, you can set a max amount of budget that you have for ads, and they can be started or stopped at any time. Did I mention that every click is a real life new follower who sees all your updates? Yea.
  • Analytics. Analytics. Analytics. What are analytics? Analytics are something VERY important for managing your brand. They are essentially stats that tell you whether or not what you’re doing is working, and how well. Facebook analytics  tell you how many impressions your posts got each day, and also how many actions (likes/comments) each post got per impression. For those who don’t know what an impression is, it’s basically when ever a page loads and your content is on it. So basically how many times your updates have shown up in other peoples feeds. You’ll probably be surprised when you see how much exposure you’re getting through Facebook.

So that’s all I have for you this week. If you haven’t already, hopefully you will go out and make a Facebook Page for yourself right now. Set it up, have fun with it, dip your toe into the waters a bit, and see how it goes. Next week I’ll be telling you how can get the most out of your Facebook page, how to post engaging content, and what engaging content actually is, how to keep people coming back and, most importantly, how to turn this all into ROI.

If you have any questions at all, be sure to post a comment. (and please excuse the forum theme, it’s a work-in-progress.)

Flexstyle releases Eye of the Storm Original Album

Video game remixer Flexstyle has recently an original electronic album titled “Eye of the Storm.” The album is available via Bandcamp and is currently price at $0, but you are free to pay whatever you want for it via Bandcamp’s system.

From the Bandcamp page:

Eye of the Storm chronicles–in audible and written form–the journey of a brave group of travelers through a mighty tempest. This is the fourth album from Glendale, AZ-based solo electronic artist Flexstyle, featuring a collaboration with up-and-coming Boulder, CO-based house musician Hollidayrain and a spectacular remix by Norman, OK-based electro producer PrototypeRaptor, winner of the Weeping Clouds remix competition. Included as bonus tracks (in the album download) are contest runners-up Moar and The Loopkitchen with their excellent Weeping Clouds remixes, along with a Flexstyle remix of Danish trance producer Airdrift’s song “Phoenix,” the original of which is available from Dangerbox Recordings.

As someone who’s a bit over saturated by electronic music, I approached this album with a grain of sand, but was very pleasantly surprised. The album features 17 high-quality tracks available in 320kbps MP3, FLAC, Apple Lossless, and more and is thoroughly recommended for anyone who’s a fan of Flexstyle’s remixes.

Album discussion on OverClocked ReMix
Flexstyle on OverClocked ReMix
Flexstyle on Bandcamp
Flexstyle’s Homepage
Eye of the Storm on Bandcamp