5 of Today’s Most Underrated Musicians

In the highly competitive music industry, even musicians that experience a slight taste of success often seem to go unnoticed by much of the world. These five talents fit into this category, making our list of today’s most underrated musicians.

1. Rationale a.k.a. Tinashe Fazakerley

Even with fans including Elton John and Katy Perry, this Zimbabwe native singer and producer’s powerful and unique vocal prowess and synth-pop sound with hints of African influences has eluded the mainstream. His 2010 release of two EPs and three singles failed to chart well, as did Saved released under the name Tinashe. However, critics and current fans predict he’ll be a household name and radio success very soon.

2. Foxes

Louisa Rose Allen enjoys widespread acclaim in her homeland of England, and goes under the stage name Foxes for her singing and songwriting efforts. Even though she’s prominently featured on ‘Just One Yesterday’ by Fall Out Boy and ‘Clarity’ by Zedd, Foxes has yet to earn a solid global fanbase. We think this young up-and-comer’s incredible range and theatrical vocals can change the electro-pop scene in the near future.

3. Holychild

Consisting of Liz Nistico and Louie Diller, Holychild is an LA based duo of singers, songwriters and musicians whose talents have yet to peak the music scene. You’d think with a record deal with Glassnote and their debut single ‘Running Behind’ being featured in the iWatch commercials, they’d be huge. Yet, it seems that perhaps the world isn’t quite ready for brat pop, but we’re optimistic Holychild will take off soon.

4. Ella Eyre

Born Ella McMahon, this young British singer wows fans with her extensive vocal range and attracted the interest of collaborators such as Tinie Tempah and Wiz Khalifa. She was a top contender for the BBC Sound and Critics’ Choice Award in 2014, but her popularity seemed to fizzle. Rumor has it, she’s taking a brief respite to pen fresh material. Look for this underrated artist to resurface with a bang.

5. Raury

Raury Deshawn Tullis released ‘Indigo Child’ in 2014 and signed a deal with Columbia Records. He placed in the top four on BBC Sound in 2015, but still lacks the success he deserves according to many critics. Many music experts attribute this lack of enthusiasm due to Raury’s style of New Age rap, a niche that has yet to catch on. With the world on the cusp of the unknown, it’s likely more people will soon appreciate his messages.

Which modern artists do you feel are severely underrated and under appreciated in mainstream music today? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Originally published on WilliamNakulski.net

The Logistics of Touring Shows

Live concerts and festivals can be immensely enjoyable events for fans and the musicians involved, but there are many unsung heroes that act behind the scenes who deserve much more credit than they get. I’m speaking, of course, about the stagehands.

Before the lights dim and the musicians make their way to the stage, there are, at times, hundreds of people behind the curtains working tirelessly to ensure that everything goes right, and that every single person in the audience revels in the show’s impressiveness. From instruments, to costumes, to sound equipment, to lights, a stagehand’s plate is often quite full. Combine that with the hassle of touring around the country, and the job itself seems that much more complex.

The first step in preparing for a show is transporting all of the necessary gear to either the main rehearsal spot or venue location. Transportation via local or cross-country trucking, or air freight is typically required depending on how much needs to be moved. Aside from instruments, microphones, and amplifiers, some bands tour with their own lighting systems, video screens, pyrotechnics, and more, making the workload that much larger.

It’s important to note that cutting corners in this line of work can have drastic consequences, as one missing piece of stage equipment could potentially ruin the entire show. For that reason, equipment managers and stagehands should know every single piece of gear required for the show just as, if not better than the band members themselves.

Similarly, experienced equipment managers know to always plan for the unexpected. Bands may add shows to their tour at the last minute, decide to play shorter or longer than originally agreed upon, or improvise in the middle of the set. Regardless of the event, those operating behind the scenes often prepare for this by remaining on their toes, and having more-than-enough equipment to accommodate for any unexpected act.

One of the lesser known aspects of behind-the-scenes operations in the music industry is just how close employees and musicians can become. After all, they are sometimes on the road together for months on end. Equipment managers and stagehands alike work alongside the band members themselves day and night to the point where friendships may begin to blossom. The bottom line is though their jobs might be tedious and exhausting, they are doing what they love to help others do what they love on a daily basis.

Originally published on WilliamNakulski.net

When Music Entered the Digital Age

Certain pieces of technology have a funny way of resurfacing years after being deemed antiquated. Take vinyl records, for example. Once a convenient way to buy and own music for one’s own personal enjoyment now an outdated method that is much more complex than today’s traditional processes. However, record players and vinyls alike have been making a comeback and are once again growing in popularity, perhaps due to their nostalgic nature.

With that said, today’s methods of downloading music is something that will surely live on for decades, and is now seen as the most practical way to enjoy the music you love. When and why did this happen, though? Surprisingly, very recently due to the remarkable accomplishments we’ve seen in terms of technological advancements within the past few decades.

The two most obvious factors that played into music going digital were convenience and price. Unlike vinyl records, CDs, for example (which were much smaller and made with less expensive products), were fairly inexpensive to produce on a mass scale. Combine that with $10 or so per album, and record labels that owned the copyright of said CDs saw enormous profits.

Regarding the convenience of digital downloads, online music libraries like iTunes, Spotify, and Pandora allowed users to listen to any song they wanted to for either a monthly subscription or one-time payment. Additionally, fans could purchase just a song or two for little more than a dollar rather than buying an entire album. This, however, opened the door for illegal activity and new types of theft.

Music piracy has been a hot-button issue ever since going digital. Since the emergence of digital music in the early 2000s, sales have plummeted, largely due to piracy. This also brings forth the argument that streaming services like Spotify and Pandora effectively render album sales useless. If you have every single song ever recorded at your disposal 24/7, what would be the point of paying for each album? Is iTunes the next vinyl record?

Many musicians and artists today have expressed support for downloading music as opposed to streaming it, seeing as the former actually results in profits. Even if artists as big as Metallica or Taylor Swift take this stance however, even their efforts don’t seem to be enough to end music streaming altogether. While there will always be devoted fans willing to give their favorite artists the money they deserve, there’s no denying that streaming has led to a decrease in these numbers.

The future of music sales and methods of obtainment are uncertain seeing as streaming has taken the throne, but the industry itself will almost undoubtedly continue to thrive. It’ll be interesting to see just how much technology changes how we purchase (or do not purchase) our favorite albums in the future, but for now, online streaming remains the dominant force.

Originally published on WilliamNakulski.net

Business Skills Learned From Playing With a Band

While most major rock stars and their bands have managers to handle the business side, members of smaller bands must market themselves. This can get hectic for the small-band members as they also have to write their songs, and perfect their playing. On the bright side however, you have probably acquired a number of marketable business skills having played in a band — those which you can use to get a career in a field of your choice.

Planning and Organization

It takes planning and organization skills to schedule practices, book events, and keep the pipeline full of future gigs. You also have to arrange for your equipment to be transported to each venue in advance of your events, assuming you don’t do so yourself.. These are some of the most important skills you need to keep an operation running.

Discipline

Showing up and being present many say is success in itself.  A band would likely not take kindly to members who don’t attend practice or disrespect the rest of the group or even their fans.  Such behavior would make it sure to not last for long and damage your reputation.  The same would prove true in business.  It also takes practice and determination to master any skill, and focus on practicing with your instrument is essential.

Marketing

Any action that you’ve taken to promote your band involves marketing, whether you’ve distributed flyers, run ads, or tried to pitch a song or your recorded music to producers. Marketing entails how you package and present your band to the public. Besides product and promotion, other key facets of marketing are price and distribution — both of which you work with as a devoted musician.

Research

When you’re in a band, you must search for and study the potential venues where you can play, or locate press sources you can use to promote yourself. You must also inquire whom to contact in various cities to pitch to them and set up gigs. All of this entails research (most of which can be done online today), which translates directly to business skills, whether you are in an entry-level position or management.

Negotiating

By definition, negotiating is finding your way through a difficult path. This can include contacting or visiting venue owners, convincing them to let you play, setting your fees, or arranging for help to get set up. Negotiating skills are essential for getting things done in nearly every type of business today.

Writing

People use a lot of writing skills in the business world, whether they’re typing emails, putting together proposals, writing reports, or creating presentations for management. You spend a lot of time writing as a musician as well. Perhaps you’ve written words to a song that inspired people, or created a promotional piece or press release that gets people to act or buy your music. Writing and communicating are two of the most important business skills, according to Quint Careers.

From WilliamNakulski.net

When to Outsource Your Efforts as a Band

Starting a band and maintaining traction once you’ve hit the ground running can be incredibly time consuming and overwhelming. Aside from writing music, musicians must dedicate a considerable amount of time to the business side of things. This can include marketing, graphic design, digital content (i.e. music videos), and much more. Though many of these can be done by the band members themselves, some may lack expertise and require a professional’s help in different areas.

Take a step back and outline your band’s goals, experience, and resources. This is a great way to tell if you as a group possess the skills necessary to do almost everything yourselves, as completing every single task you wish is nearly impossible without outside assistance. For example, recording songs and compiling an EP can be done by musicians themselves, but having thousands of CDs or vinyl records printed will almost always require a company’s help.

Photography and visual content in general can be done at an amateur level, but highly professional work is typically what gets bands the most exposure. Unless a certain member of the band is skilled in this area, professional photographers and videographers can be extremely useful in this aspect. High quality photos and videos are perceived on a much more positive note by fans and experts within the industry. It also shows that you as musicians are dedicated to your craft and are willing to put the time and resources into becoming successful.

Promotion is often one of the more difficult components of musicianship that many often take for granted. Sharing a download link through your band’s social media profiles will hardly make an impact, nor will mailing a radio station copies of your albums without the professional connections to back it up. Working closely with a PR team is a great way to promote your work, though it can be a bit pricey. However, this is usually money well spent. PR firms have the connections, contacts, and credibility needed to tap into well known radio stations, magazines, websites, and more.

It all comes down to what you as a band want to achieve. Outsourcing work and operating alongside professionals skilled in other relevant areas can be expensive, and may not be the best route for bands that have just begun. However, it is absolutely something that must be considered if you hope to one day reach a certain level of fame. Remember, almost every single band that has found success in the past started from nothing. Should you have no money at all to throw at outsourced work, do not fret. Continued effort, dedication, and passion are keys to your success.