Well...hello again, my lil' music0philics Classical Music..."why so serious?" :O) You might ask yourselves my dear blog readers. But it's not (well...not all the time)! I thought I'd make today's musical post; entertaining, amusing and funny...so why not present to you, the comic and sometimes, hysterically funny parts of Classical Music and it's entertainers. I always found that there's a misconception going on about the comical entertainment aspect between; Classical Music performers vs. Mainstream Music artists. That the classical music performers are not that funny as the Mainstream music artists, that their sense of humor is; dull, antique and BORING...etc. But that's not all true. As a matter of fact, classical music artists can have a; refined, smooth, sparkling sense of humor and Classical Music can be trèsFUN.
But what better way to show you some classical music humor than through the fallowing video clips...so enjoy them folks!
Let me introduce you the crazy guys, Igudesman & Joo and their neoclassical "Gravity" music clip.
Meet Victor Borge , he was also know as "The Great Dane" or as the "Clown Prince of Denmark". Bellow you can see him in the mini comic clip "Hands off!".
The next extraordinary and funny performance comes from the talented opera soprano, Natalie Dessay . Lets enjoy her interpretation in the video below, of the famous Aria; "Les Oiseaux dans la Charmille" from the Opera "The Tales of Hoffmann" written by Jacques Offenbach.
If you thought that an orchestra couldn't pull a prank on you...well then think again! Just watch the next video clip with the "Orchestra Hidden Camera Prank".
And at last but not least, check out the guys from, Epic Rap Battles of History on their YouTube channel and in the below shown clip "Mozart vs. Skrillex - Epic Rap Battle".
I hope this musical post did put a smile on your face and if you liked it, don't forget to leave a message in the "comment box below" or share the love on Facebook and Twitter. You can also go ahead and share with me clips with your favorite Classical Music Comedians.
My beloved blog readers let me refresh your memory, in my previous posts I wrote about the "five steps in becoming a professional singer" and about the importance of considering yourself a "music artist and a music entrepreneur" altogether. So it seems only natural that today's musical post approaches the needs of opera singers. That's why I've put together (from my personal experience as a singer with classical background) "5 Music Marketing tips to kick-start your Opera Singer Career". I hope you will find these 5 music marketing tipsbeneficial as they where very helpful to me, in the starting point of my career as an opera singer.
And without further ado here are the "5 Music Marketing tips to kick-start your Opera Singer Career":
Tip nr. 1) - In the music world, be it on "mainstream music scenes" or on the "classical music scenes" the first important thing is to; create musical connections and relations as in any industry or business domain. You have to establish, preserve and harvest beneficial relations that can be fruitful in the near future for your opera singing career. From my experience the most helpful and favorable relations that I've made where those build with my vocal coaches/teachers. University Canto Teachers in general are well-known opera singers, with a fulfilled opera career at its end or retired. I strongly advise you if you are working with a canto teacher/vocal coach, be it in your study years or off, try to work with teachers that are beneficial to your vocal technique development but who also have relations and connections, so that they may refer you toan; opera manager, music director or a trustworthy music agent.
Tip nr. 2) -Gather as much stage experience as you can. No Opera Theater will ever accept your Musical C.V.(Curriculum Vitae) if you don't have a minimum of stage experience (performances).
If you are a canto singer in your study years (high school/college/university) try to participate at as many musical productions offered by your school as well as; concerts, recitals, vocal competitions. Keep an eye open for summer vocal camps in foreign country's or student exchange programs, these are also great possibility's to accumulate "stage experience". If you've already finished your study years, try to participate at as many opera auditions as possible and for any musical projects you might be interested in. The contemporary classical music scene is a diverse one and you will find many promising musical projects you can be part of, and from there on you can work your way up, on the "acclaimed operatic career ladder".
Tip nr. 3) - Gain respect and make a name for yourself by competing atlocal and international vocal competitions. The more you get to showcase your talent the better. Strive to take part at those competitions which reword your participation with; opera roles and remuneration and that also build up your reputation as a first class opera singer. These international opera singer competitions can open up doors for you that otherwise are hard to open on your own, without any well put connections in the opera music industry. Besides the previous mentioned benefits, these renowned opera competitions consist a propitious environment where you can meet all the right people that can help develop your operatic career; musical agents, opera managers and music directors, etc.
An example of important opera competitions are; "Placido Domingo's Operalia" and "BBC Cardiff Singer of the World".
Tip nr. 4) - So you are a Opera Singer and not a Rock Star?! So what...the rules of social media apply to you too. You have to start building an online music artist portfolio. Create an online buzz and rest assured that offline all the right people will pay attention. Online music marketing is the most efficient marketing strategy of all. Start getting noticed on the social media platforms like; YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,etc. Start making professional recordings of yourself singing arias or record concert performances and upload them on YouTube. Create an Artist profile on Facebook, sharetweets about your upcoming concerts or stage performances on Twitter. Composeoutreach emails and attache musical samples of your recordings, send them to; Opera Studios, Classical Music Labels, music agents and Opera Theaters, you never know who might be interested in you and answer back. You'll be surprised how efficient the online platform is even in finding out about opera auditions.
I hope you found my music marketing tips helpful and I wish you "Good luck" in becoming a world renowned Opera Singer!
If you liked my musical post you can leave me a message in the "comment box" below or you can share the love on your Facebook wall or tweet about it on Twitter. You can also tell me about your music marketing tips, which from your experience where the most efficient.
How have you guys been doing? I hope y'all are fine... meanwhile you guys where having fun and enjoying your summer vacations, I've just been a good little duteous blogger :"> and cooked up a fresh new blog post for you folks to nibble on ;) . Today's blog title is "Music Artist and/or Music Entrepreneur?!" and I thought of tackling a pretty "eyebrow raising matter" for me... and I think for other newbie or young struggling musicians out there as well.
Now what do I mean by "music artist and music entrepreneur", you are probably asking yourselves? Well my fellow young struggling musicians, it's easy might I say! Let me elaborate... in today's Music Industry in order to get your: musical material promoted and have a kick-start in the early stage of you musical career, you have to be both; a creativemusic artist and an ingeniousmusic entrepreneur, at first. This, until you make it big on the musical scenes and after that you can hire your own team of minions, who will take care of the; managerial, entrepreneurial, marketing and publicity aspects of your music busyness. But until then, get ready to develop multiple personalities that represent a; musician, agent, manager, publicist and sometimes your (own) personal stylist. :P :)
But first things first, let's start with the music artist notion. You have to start creating valuable music material. Start writing original, buzz-sound worthy songs, weather it's you as a solo artist or alongside your band members. Get to brainstorming for; songs, lyrics, instrumental harmonics, vocals and finally create a complete album. Be imaginative, authentic, innovative and sharp in the creative process of your musical album. Record a music album that does not only represent your identity as an artist, but that also has a fresh sound, pushing the musical boundaries and last but not least "le pièce de résistance", compose one "commercial song" (either you want to or not), a chart breaker. If we can learn something from the nowadays famous artists is this; "the one commercial song" recorded on their debut album. Eminem did it with his first single "My Name Is", Macklemore with "Thrift Shop" and the best example, Lady Gaga with "Just dance". That particular song has to connect with the masses, get them engaged, seduced... becoming the key-point in your musical marketing strategy. And afterwords, when you made an entry in the music industry with a number one chart topper song, then you can later on unfold your musical potential as a musician.
Now moving on to explaining the music industry entrepreneur notion. As I mentioned before, giving the situation that, you find yourself in the early stages of building your musical career and you still don't have the financial means to hire a: agent, manager and publicist, you might start developing some entrepreneurial skills. For example, start thinking about your branding as an artist. You have to consider yourself as a whole musical marketing product. Try to express your complex artistic image in the best way possible. Primarily through your music materialcontent and next through your; artist name, artist image, stage presence, etc. It's best advised to create yourself a dot com artist website. That way you can manage your artistic image exactly the way you want. You can interact with your fan base and find out exactly what they like in you as an artist, nourishing their appetite for your music and cultivating their interest for as long as possible. Promote your musical material on the social media platforms. Distributeyour music through iTunes or Spotify or any other music service. Start sending emails with a sample of your compositions to; radios, record labels, etc. Also start writing online press releases. Try getting as much stage exposure as you can get, build a fan base, that way you get a "word of the mouth" advertisement and a professional manager is bound to notice you.
The bottom line is that, if you want to make it in the music industry you have to become a versatile character, namely a talented artist with music entrepreneurial skills.
If you liked this musical blog post, please leave a message in "comment box" below and if you feel like it than share it on, Facebook, Twitter... Also tell me your thoughts on the idea of the, "contemporary newbie artist being a music entrepreneur" as well.
In today's musical post I want to share with you (my dearmusicophilics) my thoughts on let's say, a touchy subject...the "musical prostitution" of our time and implicitly it's "musical prostitutes".
Why did I choose this topic, you might ask yourselves?! Well, let me elaborate...one day I was listening to "Wait (The Whisper Song)" by the Ying Yang Twins and while I was listening to the lyrics, it just dawned one me and I said to myself; - "My God...just fascinating how today's (so called) artists transformed themselves into musical prostitutes (or in the Ying Yang Twins case, musical man-whores)!" Just listening to the song made me feel "dirty" (in a nasty way) inside and out. I don't want to be misunderstood or considered a prude and don't get me wrong, I do love a great song that boosts your sexual ego! The kind of music that is: sensual, seductive, lascivious and is expressed throughout; enticing musical harmonies and stirring lyrics. I'm talking about songs that bring out in you the; Glamazon and make you feel like a Love Goddess, or as the words go "lady on the streets but a freak in the sheets". But make no mistake, there's a thin line between sensual music and slutty music. And in today's music industry where everything abides by the motto "sex seals" things are getting quiet erotically vulgar and cheep, without any sexual finesse. And this argumentation leads me to quote the famous artist Freddie Mercury who said in an interview; - "I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear" (below you can watch the video with Freddie Mercury giving a interview and stating that he is a "musical prostitute", from exactly 2:51-3:05 'til min).
"- Oh, Freddie! I would call you a mistress of music but never a musical prostitute" ;) .
Yes! You "read me right". I feel that he was a truelover of music. If you interpret the word prostitute used by Freddie Mercury as a noun it means; - a person who sells own abilities, talent, or name for inferior purpose. But that's just the paradox in Freddie Mercuries case. He didn't sell his abilities to the music industry but rather but his; talent, voice, writing and musical skills in the soul aim of creating extraordinary music, thus generating a higher musical purpose. In the case of nowadays artists if you use the term prostitute as a verb, the meaning would be; - to put one's talent to an unworthy use. And these contemporary performers are unworthy of being called real artists. Yes, they are the legitimate "Musical Prostitutes". I am talking about so called "musicians" that are in the music scene for all the wrong reasons; money, fame, power, sex, etc. "Artists" that try to manipulate us into buying their; albums, music tracks, etc, buy bombarding us with multimedia full of exaggerated sexuality. I feel that Music as an Art Form, reflects our contemporary society in its emotional and psychical core. But seeing a bunch of musicians on stage and in music videos acting like a bunch of "apes in heat" (no offence to the apes =)) ) doesn't represent me and you at all. Wanting to convince us of being a bunch of "apes like them in heat", through an aggressive erotic marketing strategy is another thing.
The best example for my argument is: Major Lazer - Bubble Butt (feat. Bruno Mars, 2 Chainz, Tyga & Mystic) video, that you can click and watch below.
So to conclude today's musical post I would like to end with these words, let's all...
And let's get some real "SATISFACTION" and eargasms from Artists and their music that represent, the state of the art in sexy music finesse league ;) .
If you found this post entertaining then please leave a comment in the "comment box" below and also, I would like to know your thoughts on this blog theme. You can tell me witch one of today's singers in your opinion is a "musical prostitute", or even send me a video with the targeted singer as a comment! :))
XOXO '0philia ;)
