MyÜberLife Avatar

Posts tagged Music

Posted 15 hours ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

Notes

                                         ’A Drum Amongst Drums’

Music as it is known, is a form of expression and a medium to communicate certain messages; sometimes those messages may be an ancient tribal connection to a [drum] beat?  For many, music has another crucial role; music is a cultural device that helps identify and define an era. When embarking in anthropological or archaeological retrospective analysis, music can be used to help understand a people and their lifestyle of a specific era. 

Recently, a fellow ‘culture vulture’ friend of mine, Richie Cruz, pointed out to me a new musical movement.  Like many times in the past, Richie, our friends and myself have respectively pointed out, discussed, analyzed, debated some of the aforementioned musical definitions as well as enjoyed many of these musical genres.  We as a group have seen many music movements, come, evolve, go away or stay.  One recent addition to the critical lens was brought to my attention via Richie: A movement known as ‘Moombahton.’   

Moombahton is a fusion genre of house music and reggaeton that was created by American DJ and producer Dave Nada  (born David Villeagas) in Washington, D.C., in the fall of 2010.[  Musically, moombahton is essentially Dutch house or electro house at the tempo of reggaeton (usually 108- 112 beats per minute) with reggaeton influenced drum and percussion elements.  Other features include “thick basslines, dramatic buildups, a two-step pulse, and quick drum fills.”

Dave Nada agreed to play a “school-skipping party” for his younger cousin in the fall of 2009.  When he arrived he realized the attendees were dancing to reggaeton and bachata, while he was planning on playing house and club music.  He solved this predicament by slowing down the Afrojack remix of the Silvio Ecomo & DJ Chuckie song “Moombah” from 128BPM to 108BPM. The name of the fusion genre itself became the portmanteau of “moombah” and “reggaeton.”

The song above highlights the Afrojack remix of the Silvio Ecomo & DJ Chuckie song “Moombah” slowed down to 108BPM.  Give it a listen!

Please enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts. Posted by Jey Van-Sharp of MyUberLife 

Tags

Posted 1 week ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

2 Notes

The image shown above depicts a value system one might choose to encompass in their everyday life as well as in business. Often people get caught up in the praise and accolades they receive from a project, rather than the actual task at hand, which is to guide the project to successful completion. These words are powerful and capture the essence of doing a good job for the sake of doing just that, a “good job,” without indulging in ulterior motives that may overshadow one’s true intentions.   It is a reminder of the core reasons / values we should embody on our daily journey called life.  Posted by Winston Peters of MyUberLife

The image shown above depicts a value system one might choose to encompass in their everyday life as well as in business. Often people get caught up in the praise and accolades they receive from a project, rather than the actual task at hand, which is to guide the project to successful completion.

These words are powerful and capture the essence of doing a good job for the sake of doing just that, a “good job,” without indulging in ulterior motives that may overshadow one’s true intentions.  

It is a reminder of the core reasons / values we should embody on our daily journey called life. 

Posted by Winston Peters of MyUberLife

Tags

Posted 2 weeks ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

1 Notes

If what you are selling is energy, charisma, and enthusiasm, there is no competition because most others are selling things that are lifeless, loveless, and dull.
Mr. Stuart Wilde shares with us some tips on how to successfully sell products and services.  People purchase products they love and people tell their friends about the product they love [marketing love].  If we create the right atmospheres around our respective product and services, and if we infuse the right spirit around the selling of said products and services, we can offer emotional fulfillment to our customer [branding love].  A satisfied customer is a returning customer. Posted by Jey Van-Sharp of MyUberLife

Tags

Posted 2 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

1 Notes

             SETH GODIN ON THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC

With arguably music and digital media’s most important festival, SXSW, nearly upon us, what better way to lead into the week of music, media, and the newest addition, fashion, than with an insightful discussion from marketing guru and modern day philosopher, Seth Godin.

In the fourteen minute long interview, Seth and Ariel Hyatt, contributor on Hypebot.com and founder of Ariel Publicity (Cyber PR), a digital PR agency focused on the music market, discuss the modern day artist, or, in this case, the musician, and their unique opportunity to capitalize on the paradigm shift in the music industry.  To Seth, the new dynamics of the music industry allow for what he believes should be the ultimate goal for any musician or artist:  “[To] make a dent in the universe [and] that you are trying to touch people[…]” 

Below are some additional highlights from the interview:

Being Weird

  • Mass vs. weird - Seth begins the discussion by focusing on the benefit of catering to niche markets (filled with the “weird”) versus mass markets (supposedly filled with “normal”).
  • Find the inner weird - As society moves further into the 21st century, finding your inner “weird” and connecting to others who share the same inner “weird” by means of the internet has become more socially acceptable - slowly disintegrating the idea of “normal.”
  • Weird clusters - The Internet has allowed “weird” people to connect more easily.  In other words, formerly isolated niches can easily gather together and form a tribe or community.
  • Make your brand of weird - As an artists you need to tap into your brand of “weird” and make things representative of said “weird” for an audience of people who can understand it.  And according to Seth, that aforementioned audience usually sits outside the confines of what is considered “normal.” 
  • Can’t please everyone - Don’t worry about disappointing the people who don’t like your brand of “weird” - which leads to the next important section…

Musician’s & Fear

Seth insists that one fear is usually greater than another, and in the case of musicians, the fear of:

  • being obscure
  • being ignored
  • no one every hearing you 

should outweigh the fear of disappointing the people who ultimately don’t “get” your artistic offering to the world (i.e. your brand of “weird”).

And if you, the musician, still have a fear of “disappointment,” Seth recommends the following:

  1. Don’t read reviews
  2. Don’t let people post comments on your website

Personally, I believe constructive criticism is great for the artist and the creative process.  However, I do agree that not all criticism is constructive, and, at times, opening yourself to the proverbial “flood gates” of the Internet can leave you with criticism that bares a closer resemblance to “hate.”  And if you are an artist that is already sensitive to critique, reading reviews and “hate” posts on your website could potentially derail your enthusiasm and overall creativity. 

Musicians & Marketing

According to Seth, “you can not be a musician, and you can not be an artist until you acknowledge one [of] the things you are trying to do is make a dent in the universe [and] that you are trying to touch people…Marketing is finding out the best way to touch people and touch them in a way that resonates well enough that they tell their friends.”

As a musician with 21st century tools at your disposal, you are capable of amplifying your story to reach more places in a shorter amount of time.  Take your story and your brand of “weird” and use social media and other forms of technology to amplify your message so that it reaches all the potential followers of your brand of “weird.” 

How to Monetize (Making Money)

According to Seth, the best way to make money as a musician today is to “Lead a group of fans who want you to take them somewhere and be with other fans.”  In other words, provide a place where your fans can connect with, or experience, you, with the company of other fans (i.e. concerts).

Critical Points to Remember:

  1. Find your inner artistic offering (your inner brand of “weird”)
  2. Make things, or, in this case, music, representative of your brand of “weird”
  3. Find and connect to people who share an appreciation for your brand of “weird”
  4. Build a community or tribe around them
  5. Then do business with them

Happy Watching!

posted by Kwasi Gyasi of MyUberLife

Tags

Posted 2 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

Notes

Music is a powerful medium that can bring the emotional qualities of products to life and help activate a Brand promise. The true marketing potential of music is that without any other stimulus, it can access a mood, emotion, and deeply move specific demographics within a target market in just a few seconds. In addition, the heritage of music, through the artist, genre and etcetera, can reflect a culture, a time period and lifestyle without even playing a note.

Poignant quote forced from Sophie Doran article; writer at Luxury Society. Ms. Doran highlights the rationale why implementing music into a brand’s marketing mix is essential to gain attention, which can ultimately drive revenue.

Please click here to delve into some of Ms. Doran’s finer points on music marketing and its positive effects on business.

Posted by Jey Van-Sharp of MyUberLife

Tags

Posted 3 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

4 Notes

Made's New Mobile App | A Sweet Sound For Fashion Week Attendees

We recently came across this article describing a new technology set to streamline the fashion market - just in time for New York’s Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2012.  Made Fashion Week, one of two major fashion week venues, and a favorite of ours, has developed a new mobile phone app compatible with iPhones, iPads, and Android phones.

The App

”[…] designed to listen for specific sound waves that will be played over the speakers during runway shows throughout the week. These sound waves, inaudible to the human ear, are synched to the shows themselves and tell the app which outfit is on display at any time. The app will then automatically pull up a photograph of the outfit — taken by a photographer on the scene — as well as the designer’s name, biography and contact information. Users can share the photographs through various forms of social media and save looks to their phones. The app also works for people watching Webcasts of the shows.

Target Audience

  • Editors
  • Buyers
  • Bloggers
  • The greater fashion community

Why Is It Important?

“[Because it could potentially bring more order to the] frantic note-taking that editors, [bloggers], and buyers engage in as they shoot through various shows and presentations within Milk Studios.”

The technology behind the app also has more far-reaching implications than just fashion week.  Many marketers are already developing different ways to incorporate the app into the everyday shopping experience; essentially, leveraging the technology to create new iterations of real-time ‘near field’ advertising.  While the full scale adoption and integration of this type of technology is still a ways out, I think it’s safe to say this week’s fashion goers will be thankful for the runway assist.

posted by Kwasi Gyasi of MyUberLife

Tags

Posted 3 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

4 Notes

This morning we were delighted to discover the Spring Summer 2012 Lanvin of Paris Ad Campaign.  This campaign, under the creative direction of House and Holmes and camera work by the [genius] Steven Mesiel, made for compelling viewing.  Lanvin’s head designer Alber Elbaz spring collection was the focus, a masterpiece within its own right, with the creative ‘toolage’ of H & H x Mesiel plus leathery snakes and the “Cookieman” musical [genius] of Pharrell Williams and his artist Maxine Ashley all summed up video-freshness for us.  It worked!

The goal of every great designer is to construct quality clothes, and the goal of every creative team is to showcase said clothes visually and sonically; when all the creative components intersect correctly, it can make for a powerful marketing effort. 

Please enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts.  Posted by Jey Van-Sharp of MyUberLife


Tags

Posted 5 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

6 Notes

Can Music Shops be saved?

In the past 13 years we have witnessed dynamic changes in all facets of the music industry due to the Internet and various advances in technology.  The birth of Napster, iTunes, the shift from CD’s to mp3’s, and the increased volume of online shopping have all personified the music industry’s monumental shift from ‘old’ to ‘new.’  However, from production to retail, the question that still remains to be seen is whether these drastic changes have affected the music industry for better or for worse.  The consumer might agree that the advances in music have been for the better, but with record labels scrabbling for new means of generating revenue, its likely labels feel like these “advances” have been for the worse.  Regardless of the varying interpretations of the positive or negative effects of the changes to the music industry, I think both consumers and labels would agree that the 2 biggest shifts in the last 13 years were a result of Napster and iTunes.  During the Napster Era, which occurred in the late 1990’s - early 2,000’s, there was an explosion in online music that was downloaded for free and shared amongst users at a high frequency.  Then, from the early 2,000’s up until now, Apple’s iTune era took over, spurring many consumers to begin purchasing music online as either fragmented or whole bodies of work.  

However, after the departure of Napster, a slew of other free music sites began popping up, picking up where the fallen Napster had left off and ultimately proving to music labels that piracy was more resilient than they had expected.  It was no surprise that being able to obtain free music of ‘your favorite artist’ seemed wonderful from the perspective of the music consumer.  But from the point of view of the major labels and the RIAA, free music meant the demise of their industry, as their revenues, previously in the upper hundreds of millions of dollars, was on the decline at an exceedingly rapid rate.  They had to act - and act fast.  With that said, the major record labels, the RIAA, and even some artists went on a blitzkrieg campaign to shut down users downloading free music, in addition to the sites that enabled the illegal downloading activities.  In the years to follow, numerous litigation battles ensued and the labels and the RIAA were partially successful in shutting down music piracy.  It would seem that the inception of Apple’s iTunes was the record labels’ answer, or, at the very least, remedy to online music piracy.  Giving the consumer the option to buy various songs or whole albums of an artist seemed to stop the financial ‘bleeding’ caused by the piracy of music.  Apple’s virtual ‘tourniquet’ appeared to help the music business get back on track - or at least it appeared that way?  As we know, with all major battles, whether won or lost, there is collateral damage. 

Continue reading…

Tags

Posted 5 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

9 Notes

Music, Money & Managment

Money, Music & Management

The importance of project management in the music industry to produce an album and the financial impacts.

 Amongst many circles, it is widely accepted that humans beings are creatures of habit. Creatures of habit in work and in play.  Human beings, everywhere they inhabit, create culture with positive and negative attributes.  These positive and negative attributives make themselves known at work and within industry.  Often, these negative and positive attributes manifest in the guise of popular accepted-trends regardless of there specific benefit. In cases of positive attributes, benefits such as a free-form-creative habit can add value to a business objective; and in the cases of negative attributes such as procrastination or the lack of urgency, a poor habit can demolish business value.
 
The music industry provides a frame of reference with examples of both widely accepted positive and negative business habits.  The music industry, as a whole, has gone through many changes within the last decade.  In the last 10 years we have seen the advent of the Internet, music pirating companies like Napster and devices like the Ipod, change the music industry drastically, adding new business and monetary constraints.  These new constraints have exponentially made once widely accepted negative habits become unacceptable.  With the introduction of these new constraints, it has never been as important and financially essential, as it is today, to proactively manage business efficiencies.  Pro-activeness requires many businesses to bring into account, when managing efficiencies, the traits and habits of the human being within a business context, and consider their negative attributes relative to the business’ ‘bottom line.’

Continue reading…

Tags

Posted 5 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

3 Notes

As I sit here reflecting on this beautiful American Airline 7 ‘something’ 7 jet, and reflect on the magical moments that my friends, associates, colleagues and myself have experienced in a time compressed week known as Miami Art Basel, intense images blow through me.  Imagery of ‘mediums’ filled with art movements, attendees in full frontal fashions, disco dancing dandies, sandy finger filled writings, picture people ‘snappings,’ beings emotionally-charged on open bars of Kannon vodka & Moët-Chandon, souls saved by Perrier, Iphones tweeting tales and victorious velvet rope meeting-ups blow through my mind at the same time. These memories crawl through my thankfully fatigued body to my abstracted sanity. Yet, if I were asked to sum up everything my eyes saw at this year’s Art Basel Miami, my experience through song would be defined through the song above.

 
We discovered Ogyatanaa Show Band - Disco Africa, at Andre Saraiva’s Le Baron Basel ‘pop-up’ (Florida Room).  Sinclair Bolden of Falling Whistles and myself, at 4:30 am, walked into these syncopating drums pulsating out of speakers driven by DJs Noemi Sunshine Ferst, Natasha Le Jeune of Oh La La and many more. That Miami moment, where I had a enough phone reception to Shazam this song, set the tone and provided the theme music we needed for the rest of the trip.
 
At this very moment I am reminded of Ludwig van Beethoven words: “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.”
Miami Art Basel is a place where one must play hard, work harder, and love the hardest, and in the process enjoy art, music, fashion & culture.
 
We would like to thank the Le Baron family for annually providing an atmosphere of musical inspiration. Please enjoy the music and feel free to share your thoughts…Posted by Jey Van-Sharp of MyUberLife
 
Ogyatanaa Show Band:
The Ogyatanaa Show Band was established in Ghana in 1971 representing the genre now known as Afro-Beat.  In 1972, in the groups infancy, the band took second position in the Ghana National Dance Bands competition, taking the whole of Ghana by storm with it’s unique and yet to be surpassed arrangement of the highlife classic “Yaa Amponsah.”  Yaa Amponsah was gratefully served on the band’s first album.  In 1973 it turned the Afro-Beat world topsy-turvy again with hit tunes “Mmobrowa,” “Ebe Yie Nie” and others.


Tags

Posted 6 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

8 Notes

How Can Fashion Editors Take A Bite Into Apple Inc.

         How Can Fashion Editors Take A Bite Into Apple Inc.

With a background in engineering, I can’t help but fix my eyes on the latest trends happening in the technology world.  However, as an active member of the MÜL team, my focal lens is skewed to the particular influence technology has on the fashion, music, and art markets.  So, needless to say, when I heard about Apple’s iCloud solution, my first inclination was:  “how will this heavily anticipated Apple product win the hearts and minds of the creative community - specifically those individuals active in the fashion industry?” 

In the creative community, when most people hear “Apple” they tend to think of

Continue reading…

Tags

Posted 6 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

14 Notes

Browsing today, we found these images with powerful references. Upon further investigation we discovered it was the simple brillance of Napoleon Hill.  These words are excerpts from Napoleon Hill’s book ‘Think and Grow Rich.’  We recommend this classic read to all of you fashionistas, artist, musicians, creative types of all sorts and future business moguls.  This book, by far, is the most powerful book I have read on success. 

Who was Napoleon Hill: Napoleon Hill (1883 –1970) was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature.  He is widely considered to be one of the great writers on success.  His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich (1937), is one of the best-selling books of all time (at the time of Hill’s death in 1970, Think and Grow Rich had sold 20 million copies).  Hill’s works examined the power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success.  He became an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933-36.

Hill considered the turning point in his life to have occurred in the year 1908 with his assignment, as part of a series of articles about famous and successful men, to interview the industrialist Andrew Carnegie.  At the time, Carnegie was one of the most powerful men in the world.  Hill discovered that Carnegie believed that the process of success could be outlined in a simple formula that anyone would be able to understand and achieve.  Impressed with Hill, Carnegie asked him if he was up to the task of putting together this information, to interview or analyze over 500 successful men and women, many of them millionaires, in order to discover and publish this formula for success.

As part of his research, Hill interviewed many of the most famous people of the time, including Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell,George Eastman, Henry Ford, Elmer Gates, John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Charles M. Schwab, F.W. Woolworth, William Wrigley Jr., John Wanamaker, William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft and Jennings Randolph.  Hill was also an advisor to two presidents of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin 

please click through these images, Posted by Jey Van-Sharp of MyUberLife

Tags

Posted 6 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc
via williamyan

Short URL

2151 Notes

33 Indeed, ‘Creativity x Organization = Impact’ -Scott Belsky | reposted by Jey Van-Sharp of MyUberLife

33 Indeed, ‘Creativity x Organization = Impact’ -Scott Belsky | reposted by Jey Van-Sharp of MyUberLife

Tags

Posted 6 months ago
by myuberlife-nyc

Short URL

4 Notes

It is quite lovely to see companies engaging their audiences with insightful content.  We came across this new release from the  Ericsson Company this Saturday afternoon.  This documentary highlights the shift in our world as society is entering a new era.  An era where technology has enabled us to interact, innovate and share knowledge in whole new ways – creating a dynamic shift in mindset.  Some may say that today people are more empowered, businesses are much more liberated and society is more connected than ever.  I think it is fair to say that knowledge is power. We know information leads to knowledge, which leads to better understanding of our being in relation to that knowledge, which then leads to wisdom.  This wisdom allows us to foresee the opportunities and drive us to create new paradigms which shift the way ‘we’ do things.  We have seen this wisdom manifest itself in all industries more specifically in fashion and music.  Companies like Net-A-Porter  and their ’disruptive’ business model which has in many ways changed the organizational structure of the entire fashion industry.  We also seen similar ’disruption’ in the music industry as well, where within a 10 year period, the way music is enjoyed and consumed has completely changed a 100 year old  business practice (Napster & Itunes).  New paradigms are introduced daily affecting the way we look and enjoy reality.  

The internet and technology, as a whole, will scale-up this ‘disruptive’ phenomenon. With further access, society will interact with information on a ‘comprehensible incomprehensible’ level.  We now can connect to the highest levels of human knowledge and creativity in a way that was inconceivable 15 years ago via a mobile device the size of child’s palm. But can we even begin to concieve what 15 years from now will look like?  It seems what we imagine and beyond is possible and everything and anything is open to change as we walk deeper into the 21st century.  This documentary brings serenity around this topic and attempts to inspire the viewer ( I am inspired as I write this).

Please enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts. Posted by Jey Van-Sharp of MyUberLife

Tags

Comments

Likes

Following