I had an opportunity to chat with a wonderful entertainer yesterday, and record it. Narada Michael Walden has produced many hits, and has written soundtracks for such movies as James Bond: License to Kill as well as The Bodyguard.
On May 25th Narada is holding a benefit at the Louise M.Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco for Christopher Rodriguez, a little boy who was shot during a piano lesson. The bullet was not intended for him but his life has been altered as he is now paralyzed.
I hope you'll listen to the podcast and if you're in the area on the 25th, please attend! Tickets are on sale now as a click through link from The Narada Michael Walden Foundation
Some of the performers for this benefit? Sting, Marilynn McCoo and Billy Davis jr., Mary Wilson and many others.
Come and listen to a great entertainer as he sings for me, talks about facebook use and tells me I have a sexy voice! :)
There was a little mixup, and I reported that my song Fade Away would be in the April 7, 2009 episode of Cupid, on ABC. Turns out that I had the episode wrong, and it's actually supposed to be on NEXT week - Tuesday, April 14th. At least, I'm pretty sure that's when it will air. Also, I reported that the episode title was "Live and Let Spy", but I got that wrong, too. When I know the episode name, I'll be sure to pass it along.
Sorry to those who tuned in especially to hear it! I hope you'll try again next week.
I got an email yesterday from my publisher, Tanvi Patel at Crucial Music, that my song Fade Away (alt. title Change your Mind), is going to be on an episode of ABC's new show, Cupid! The episode, entitled "Live and Let Spy", airs in the United States on Tuesday, April 7th, on ABC at 10:00 p.m./9:00 p.m. Central. Excellent!
If you're a creator of broadcast-quality music, be sure to visit Crucial's website, and submit your music. It's free, and before you know it, your songs could be on TV or in films.
Don't forget to add me on myspace: www.myspace.com/freddylitwiniuk
And follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/freddymusic
And check out my website: www.freddynet.com
And loving every moment of life with my wonderful baby.
Music is a hard business, and it's getting harder every day. Very few people will make it in music, and the competition is fierce. So what sets you apart from the competition? Except in rare circumstances, I believe the ultimate deciding factor is persistence: the main difference between successful and failed musicians is that the successful ones did not quit and were able to outlast their competitors. The one thing I've heard repeatedly from music industry people is: If you want to make it in music, don't give up.
I often read Tim Ferriss' blog. Tim is the author of The 4-Hour Workweek, and a guest lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Princeton University. Independent musicians are essentially entrepreneurs, and so much of the same advice applies to both.
Today I read a post on Tim's blog entitled The Prescription for Self-Doubt: Watch This Video. Here's an excerpt from the post, which I recommend reading in full:
Business icons, superstar professional athletes, billionaires — it
doesn’t matter how rich or how accomplished — I’ve had them all tell me
the same thing…
There are moments when you feel the world is too much. Days and even
weeks when you want to (or perhaps do) pull up the covers and
half-sleep in bed until nightfall, avoiding a feeling of hopelessness
that seems insurmountable. Long-awaited deals fall through without
warning, haters attack you without reason or fact, circumstances turn
good decisions into awful realities — sometimes it just feels like the
deck is stacked against you and there is nothing you can do about it.
Have you felt that way? Has the music business provided you with tremendous ups and soul-crushing downs? You are not alone.
But will you quit?
I'm really excited, because I got a really cool email the other day from my publisher Tanvi Patel at Crucial Music. She told me that my song 'Still Believe' is going to be used in a television show called Kyle XY, which airs on the ABC Family network. We don't get that network here in Canada, so I had to look up the show to find out more about it. This is the synopsis from Wikipedia:
Kyle XY is an American drama television series filmed in the Vancouver, British Columbia area. The show centers around a boy named Kyle (Matt Dallas), who wakes up in the forest outside of Seattle, Washington with no memory
of his life up until that point. The series follows Kyle as he tries to
understand the mysteries of who he is and why he has no memory of being
a child. He is sometimes shown with his shirt partially off and no belly button can be seen.
It turns out that the show is rated first or second on ABC Family in terms of viewership; millions of people tune in to watch, not just in the U.S., but around the globe. Sadly, it seems that Canada is one of the few countries that doesn't get the show, so I'll have to watch it online.
About the song: Crucial changes the names of the songs they publish. This ensures that they only get paid for the placements they get for a given song. That means, when the song is used under its original title, be it on radio, on TV, sold on a album or as an mp3, the artist retains full rights and ownership in the song. As you can see, this is good for the artist, so if you are a creator of music, I highly recommend that you go to Crucial's website and submit your brodcast-quality music for consideration. You never know what kind of music will be suitable for television. Crucial has placed my songs multiple times, and I've been very happy with them.
The only problem with changing the names of songs, is that sometimes I forget the original title! This time around, I Twittered about the placement and had it on my Facebook status, so many people were asking me what song was being used, and I couldn't tell them. I had to go back to my publishing contracts and look it up. The original title of the song is 'Thinking It Over', and it's the 10th track on my first album Things You Never Thought I'd Say. I've posted it below so you can listen if you like. If you're in an area where 'Kyle XY' is broadcast, be sure to tune in and watch.
When it's Macworld time, people get excited to hear what Apple's Next Big Thing is going to be, myself included. But every year I'm disappointed when my dream feature for iPod or iPhone is not announced. This year was no different.
There is a revolutionary feature that I've been longing to have in my iPod. I know it's a long-shot, but I'm going to ask politely that the next generation of iPods and iPhones include...
A UPC scanner.
What? Why would anyone want that? Well, UPCs are ubiquitous, at least in North America. They are found on nearly every product, in nearly every store. They are unlikely to be replaced any time soon. So, what would I do with a UPC scanner?
For starters, I would need some killer apps to go with my scanner. For example:
I want a grocery shopping app that would allow me to scan products at my home, as I use them up, so I can make an automatic grocery list. Better yet, when my list is complete, I could email it to my grocer, who would have my groceries ready for pick-up or delivery. Even better yet, my list could be fed to price databases from local stores, and the app could calculate which store provides the overall lowest price for my list, allowing for time and distance from my house.
Maybe the same app would allow me to scan products while I'm at the grocery store for instant wi-fi price comparisons, or easy calculations. If I were to preset a budget, I could scan each item as I put it in my cart until I had reached my limit. At the checkout, my iPod or iPhone would simply communicate with the self-service till, allowing me to pay very quickly, perhaps with my Apple ID.
I would also like to have a general shopping application. When I'm looking for a new TV, I could scan a few different models to compare features. The app would also tell me if the store down the street has the same TVs at a better price, or if I could save by instantly ordering online. It would also allow me to scan and buy anything in a store immediately, using my Apple ID or a credit card. On my way out, the app would communicate some proof of purchase to an employee of the store, indicating that I had pre-paid.
I'm sure advertisers and promoters would get in on the act as well. Imagine standing in line at the supermarket, or waiting for the bus or the train. An advertisement next to you reads, "Doublespeak, the new album from Freddy, available now on iTunes. Scan here to hear samples, and for a free download of the first single, Massive." OK, I used myself in the example, but it could be Coldplay, or Sting, or Toby Keith, Lily Allen, whoever. You might just scan it and check it out. If you liked it, you could buy it immediately. Indie musicians could use it to make it easier for people to pay for UPC-branded music and merch at shows. Or print up stickers or flyers with barcodes and a message about the music and plaster them all over town. On impulse, people could scan and check out your music. The same could be done with books, magazines, video, games, and so on.
I'm sure there could be so many more applications for this technology. Scan anything and: pay with your iPhone or iPod, get instant product and price information, make lists, keep on budget, sample new things, and so much more.
Please, Apple, will you put a UPC scanner in my next iDevice?
