I’ve been kind of on a run at the moment of going ahead with idea’s I’ve been playing with for a while, the first was the Music Machines event coming up in November and now the first NZ Soul music Alldayer which is gonna be held next year in Feb.

You can check out the Soul Alldayer website and register to get more information as soon as I’ve got it. I should have the venue sorted next week, once that’s booked then i’ll get everything else put in place. I’ve already got some of NZ’s finest DJ’s lined up and will be announcing all the details over the next few weeks.

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Just a quick post this week to let you all know about some free workshops we’re putting together as part of the Creative People’s Centre. The workshops are funded by APRA and will be held at the end of March and at the Depot sound recording studio over in Devonport. There are 3 workshops to choose from:

• Vocal performance tips for stage and studio with the fabulous Sandy Mill
• NZ identity and songwriting with Tom Healey
• From the bedroom to the studio with Kenny MacDonald, Mark Howden, Kerry Adams and me!

You can check out all the details over at the cpc.org.nz website and make sure you register early because places are limited.

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So after setting up my Twitter account months ago I’ve actually started using it on a regular basis. I’m only following a few people so far but am actually really enjoying connecting with people and sharing the huge amount of information I come across daily. I’m a real info. freak and once I actually stopped to think about the amount of information I digest every day I thought that Twitter would be a great tool to spread some of this in a quick and easy format. I’ll still be blogging because I only blog once a week; I like to write longer articles for this blog plus at the moment I’m talking to different people and focusing on different topics on the blog than I am on Twitter.

As part of my working day I check about 100 RSS feeds every morning and meet with 2 or 3 musicians daily so there’s always something going on, new projects, solving problems for bands, giving advice to artists just getting started with blogging, a huge range of stuff and some of the most interesting bits are worth posting on Twitter. I also spend a few hours in the evening hunting round for new music, checking my music blogs, playing some vinyl and writing tunes and this always provides inspiration for a few Tweets. If your on Twitter then you can follow me over here http://www.twitter.com/bluevibestudio and if your not then you can check out a few quick articles on using Twitter below.

• 10 easy steps for Twitter beginners
• Musicians Twitter roadmap
• Twitter : Use it productively
• Using Twitter for music promotion

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The latest in a series of seminars I’ve arranged through my work with bands at The Depot Artspace is being held on November 28th at the Masonic Tavern in Devonport. This time we’re focusing on funding your latest release and DIY options for funding your music career.

The Depot Artspace presents a one day seminar aimed at independent musicians who want to learn more about funding their next musical project. The morning session will feature presenters from NZ On Air (Emily Upston), Creative New Zealand (Gretchen La Roche) and the New Zealand Music Commission (Alan Holt) who will outline their funding policies. This will be a rare opportunity to "demystify" the funding process and gain an insight in to the support and advice offered by 3 of the major music funding agencies in New Zealand.

The afternoon session will consist of a panel discussion focusing on "DIY funding options" and "music as a career" with discussion topics including "how to fund your first release?"; "how to approach a sponsor?"; "how you can have a long term career as a musician?"; "do I really need a record label?".
The panel members are key local industry figures and artists including Chris Chetland (Kog transmissions), Mark Kneebone (IMNZ, Isaac promotions, Tardus music) and Rebecca Caughey (Funktion music, manager Shapeshifter and Ladi6).

Date – Friday, November 28th – 1030am to 400pm
Seminar cost – $5
Venue – The "Iconic" Masonic tavern, Devonport, Auckland
Seats are limited so please email your details to seminar@depotartspace.co.nz to reserve your place.

For more information
http://www.mypsace.com/cpcnz

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Now that the first stage of the EP launch is over I’ll get back to some of my regular blogging duties. I thought I’d start by letting you all know about a great new site which has just been launched by local electronic artist Module – Pattern Dot Life

Jeremia describes the new site as – "PATTERN DOT LIFE is a project in 3 parts or versions. alot like software releases.

Part one (version 1.0) is the free live album and the remix packs, embracing the open source movement. so you can download the album share it around, and also download the remix packs, and re-upload your remix back to me.

Version 2.0 is produced versions of the live tracks and featured remixes
which you will be able to buy on iTunes mid next year.

Version 3.0 (Final) is going to be a double CD with a DVD which I plan to record overseas somewhere in the future. which I will properly release."

This is a great live electronic album and well worth a listen, the fact that it’s free and you can download stems from each track to remix yourself is even more of a bonus. As you all know I’m a big remix fan so having the full album available "open source" is really exciting for any up and coming remix producer. Jeremia has also stated that any elements of the tracks can be used in of your own productions so you could also build some of your own sample packs out of the available audio, nice. This level of engagement with fans is always admirable and it will be interesting to see how the whole project works out from both a creative and promotional point of view.

Make sure you check out Module’s blog for more info on releases and live shows.

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As part of the promotion for the new EP I’m running a competition to win a Vestax Handytrax turntable and a pack of classic vinyl from my collection. All you need to do is register for the Bluevibe studio newsletter (which you can do in the sidebar of the website, just to your right at the top of the page) between October 15th and November 15th and you’ll go in to the draw. It’s that simple….. *** only available to NZ residents***

When you register for the newsletter you’ll receive updates on Bluevibe studios latest tracks and remixes plus access to free mp3′s and audio stems from the EP.

And don’t forget to come and join us down at Rakinos in Auckland on October 15th for the launch party. Everybody who attends also gets a free digital copy of the EP and the chance to hear the amazing Lisa Preston drop some vocal jams on the crowd, nice.

We’ll also be recording the launch party so all you international heads can download a few mixes from the night.

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This week I’m starting a series of podcasts recorded at a recent seminar I presented in conjunction with The Depot Artspace and The Creative Peoples Center. The seminar took place last month and focused on the subject of promotions for independent musicians. I decided to break the rather large topic of promotions up in to 3 specific areas; tour promotion; album promotion and digital promotion.

This first podcast features Rebecca Caughey covering the topic of tour promotion and marketing. Rebecca is the Managing Director of Funktion Music Media . She currently manages Shapeshifter and Ladi6 and is a tour publicist for artists such as Bic Runga and Brooke Fraser .

I’d like to thank Bec’s for her contribution to the day and the depth of information and advice shared. The full podcast is 85mins long and well worth listening to as it covers topics from the changing role of the artist; writing press releases and bio’s plus a step by step guide covering how to put together a marketing plan for a tour.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the next podcast by either signing up for the Bluevibe studio newsletter or subscribing to the RSS feed. The next podcast features Lauren Clough from Maiden New Zealand Entertainment taking us through a detailed plan of how to launch an album in to the New Zealand market. The final installment focuses on digital promotion and features Matt Turner from Kurb promotions .

***** Update: you can check out all the recordings from the seminar over at the new Creative People’s Centre website. *****

You can also listen to this seminar online over at the excellent online radio station Jam radio . This series of podcasts will feature in a new monthly show I’m putting together for Jam radio focusing on the music industry with advice for musicians covering a range of industry topics and a few interviews with local musicians and industry figures.

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Things are pretty busy down at the studio at the moment with the new EP and a few other projects I’ve got on the go. One of those new projects is a seminar for musicians who want to learn more about promotion and publicity. I’ve got some amazing speakers onboard for the day so if your in Auckland on July 22nd then come over to Devonport and check it out. I’ll be recording the seminar and will be making it available as a podcast for all those who can’t make it along on the day.

“Promotions and publicity for independent musicians – The Depot Artspace presents a one day seminar aimed at independent musicians who want to learn how to promote their music in New Zealand. Speaking at the seminar will be a selected number of key local music industry figures who will share their experiences and answer your questions on topics including tour promotion; publicising your next album release and how to promote your music online effectively.”

Rebeca Caughey – Funktion Music Media
Rebecca is the Managing Director of Funktion Music Media. She currently manages Shapeshifter and Ladi6 and is a tour publicist for artists such as Bic Runga and Brooke Fraser.

Lauren Clough – Maiden New Zealand Entertainment
Maiden New Zealand is a music marketing & promotion company set-up in May 2007 by former EMI Label Manager Lauren Clough.  Lauren mainly works alongside independent NZ artists to promote their music through radio & video play, marketing, publicity, album releases and touring.  Artists currently on the roster include The Black Seeds, Sola Rosa, Iva Lamkum, Cornerstone Roots, Tahuna Breaks, The Midnights, Andy Lovegrove & Flip Grater.  As well as working with artists, Lauren also does publicity for music festivals, NZ Music Awards, APRA Silver Scrolls & NZ Music Month and will shortly be moving into artist management.

Matt Turner - Kurb promotions
Kurb is an online promotion company specialising in digital music marketing and artist management.

Date – Tuesday, July 22nd – 915am to 400pm
Seminar cost – $5
Venue – Kerr street Artspace, Devonport, Auckland
Seats are limited so please email your details to seminar@depotartspace.co.nz to reserve your place.

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As part of NZ music month voeveo.com ran a competition to win a $15k promotional package on their website. All you had to do was upload some content to sell on their site and you went in the draw. The good news is (as you probably got from the headline) that I won one of the 5 promotional packages which includes a featured artist page, promotion on the homepage and a google adwords campaign to drive traffic to my page on the voeveo.com website.

Voeveo.com sells content for your mobile phone including audio, video, games and images. I uploaded 4 ring tones to the site which only took me about 20mins to register, complete my profile, and upload and categories the 4 ring tones. You can head over to the Bluevibe studio page on the voeveo website to check out the ring tones. Whats even better is that if you register as a buyer on the site you get $9 prepay on your account which you could use to buy all 4 of the Bluevibe studio ring tones, nice.

Mike from voeveo.com got in touch to let me know I had won the package and has also agreed to hold off on the promotion until the release of the new EP which is now finished and will be out in July. It’ll be great to have the EP available through voeveo.com for all you mobile music consumers and everybody else will be able to grab it through an online music store near you! I’ll keep you informed of the release details in a few weeks time once we’ve got our plan together. This will be the first official Bluevibe studio EP so we’re still working on the best options for the release. I’ll be doing a few posts on independent distribution and promotion over the next few weeks and welcome any thoughts you might have on getting the EP out to the masses.

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