How To Get Your Music On Spotify – And Earn Money On It!

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When I first started making music back in the 1980’s, I didn’t think I ever could get my music out to a large audience – and getting payed for it never ever crossed my mind.

During the years I created thousands of tunes. Many compositions were created together with friends, and later I started to make demos that we sent out to record labels. Together with a friend, we got signed on a small Swedish label that wanted to release one of our techno/trance tracks. We were of course very happy for this, and had big plans for the future. This is the first time I came across talks about earning money in context of our music.

However, that record label got into economic problems and we never saw our tune get released. Sadly so, because we both thought it was a very good song and we had a strong concept. The band name we choose was Cube, and we created some sort of mix between techno, trance and euro-disco.

The whole disco scene has always interested me, and I started up a large streaming radio channel via an online service back in the late 1990’s. This proved to be successful, especially since I played only Italo Disco and had many very obscure and different songs in the playlist. At one time, the radio station – then called SouthPole Radio – was the largest Italo Disco radio station on the internet.

But it is costly to run a radio station. Not only hosting and bandwidth – it also costs money to make it legal. All this was done by the online service, but I never got anything back. My radio station was free for all to listen to, and even though I recieved many happy emails about how good the station was, I spent more and more money on the music.

The station did inspire me to keep writing my own music, and I started yet again to create own tunes. This lead to buying equipment, and somewhere during 2000-2001, I created songs with an Amiga 1200 as sequencer (and sampler) hooked up to a Novation BassStation keyboard, a Roland TR-505 (a not so good drum machine) and a Roland SC-88 MkII – a very nice synth module with lots of good sounds.

But over the years, different software sollutions proved to be an improvement to the hardware. The equipment was sold and production started with only different sort of software programs, using everything from PC, Mac and even Atari computers.

When I first laid hands on Spotify I was amazed. Spotify is a very good music streaming service that is free in many parts of the world. But even the paid accounts are worth the money. Spotify tries to distribute all music ever published, which I believe is a hard and tough, but very good, goal.

Since Spotify is available all over the world today, and the fact that they have so much different music, there were no more use for an Italo Disco exclusive radio station anymore. SouthPole Radio was therefore turned into a record label, and in November 2009 SouthPole Radio released its first album: Antarctica, by Pingo (spotify:album:7zUqiTY4BmwXXUWhP1kyti).

Before we released any album at all, we made a lot of research on how to actually release music on Spotify. First, we wanted to release for UK and USA charts too, and other media centers as Apple’s AppStore, Amazon and such. However, this proved to be fairly expensive, and without our label and artist name well known, we didn’t want to take that chance.

However, several different online systems (Ditto Music was the one we finally signed with) had very cheap methods for distributing to Spotify. SouthPole Radio therefore decided to exclusivly launch the first album on Spotify via this online system. It was very easy too!

Here is how we did it:
First we saved all the tunes in mp3-format in 320Kbps or higher resolution. After that, we created an account with Ditto Music and payed the 2 up front fee. This is a monthly fee that has to be payed for hosting, accounting and such. It is very cheap, and if you get 100 streams per month, you will break even.

You then upload the tunes together with a 800×800 pixel JPG-picture that is your cover art.

That’s it! After that, it takes about 4-5 weeks, and then your music is live for as long as you pay the 2 monthly fee.

For each stream that people listen to in Spotify you will get 0.02. This is also payed out to you monthly.

This is probably the most easy way – and maybe even the cheapest – to get your music on Spotify – and get payed for it! With a bit of marketing, you will get a lot of listeners, and the more listeners, the more you get payed.

If you then update your account on Ditto Music with downloads and other sales, you can keep selling your music for a profit.

If you want to know more, check out SouthPole Radio’s Official Website (http://www.SouthPoleRadio.com) and read our constantly updated news where we write about our newest releases, how to create your own album, how to get more listeners on Spotify and other interesting and important information that will help your own music career.

Top 10 Yoga Dvds Of All Time

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Yoga is the way to relax the body, mind and soul. It helps to relieve the stress and soothe the mind with its healing power. Yoga enhances the restraint power in human mind and body with which one can easily combat all the tensions and worries of the modern life style. Here music plays a very important role as adding some music into yoga practices can do the magical trick. Yoga music with its calm and serene sounds fills up the air with pristine tranquility ensuring better result.

Play the favorite Meditation music while doing Yoga or meditation and experience the difference. It can be spiritual music, instrumental tunes or holy chants that build the different forms of Yoga music. Spirit Voyage.com, offers you the list of top 10 Yoga DVDs of all time.

1. Yoga Shakti by Shiva Rea-A great gift from the internationally praised Yoga instructor Shiva Rea for the Yoga practitioners. It is an instructional yoga video exploring Movement Meditation, Prana Yoga, Kriyas & Namaskars, Cooling Down and Closing Meditation. Filmed on the serene lands of India and Maldives, it is the most favorite DVD for its awesome soundtrack of traditional Indian music and contemporary tunes.

2. Kundalini Yoga by Gurmukh-This DVD delivers superb instruction on Kundalini Yoga, the ancient practice of awakening the spiritual sense lying within, by the renowned Yoga instructor Gurmukh. This DVD has energizing series of exercises for awakening the spirit or breath in the beginning and meditative relaxation exercises at the end. Aerobics exercises are also included to compliment Yoga.

3. Ashtanga Yoga the practice 2nd & 3rd Series by David Swenson-It is for those who are already skilled in the First series by David Swenson, the renowned Yoga teacher. But without taking proper guidance from a Yoga instructor, this DVD should not be used as the self-help tool of learning. These 2 series have a complete finishing sequence following the First one and the way of pure meditative deep relaxation.

4. Ashtanga Yoga Beginners Practice by Nicki Doane-This DVD is truly made for the Ashtanga Yoga beginners. This introductory series offers admirable presentation of standing postures by famous Yoga instructor Nicki Doane. The vigorous postures of Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskar, clear instructions on breathing techniques and yoga poses make it one of the most favorite Yoga DVDs of all time.

5. Fluid Power Vinyasa Yoga by Shiva Rea-Another superb Yoga DVD from the inspiring Yoga instructor Shiva Rea. This is a brilliant introduction to Vinyasa Yoga or Flow yoga, one of the most helpful and appreciated form of yoga. Her original style of ‘Yoga Matrix’ will be helpful for customized yoga practicing. This high definition DVD has been filmed at White Sands National Park.

6. AM PM Yoga with Rodney Yee-A simple and concise introduction to gentle and energizing workout by internationally acclaimed Yoga teacher Rodney Yee for the beginners. From sunrise to sunset combat daily stresses of life with this Yoga DVD.

7. Kundalini Yoga for Balanced Chakras by Guru Tej-Stimulate the crucial chakras of your body’s energy centers by practicing Kundalini Yoga with this DVD. It is a vigorous and dynamic class to learn sixteen asanas with famous instructor, Gurutej Kaur. The pure spiritual chants and moving exercises will help you to energize the Kundalini power flowing evenly in the whole body.

8. Ashtanga Yoga the Primary Series with Richard Freeman-Richard Freeman, the eminent yoga instructor, will teach you the primary poses of Ashtanga Yoga in this series suitable for practitioners of all levels. The Ashatanga styles and postures harmonized with breathing techniques is demonstrated by this famous teacher. This DVD can be termed as the foundation for Ashtanga practice.

9. Awakening Intuition for Women with Kundalini Yoga by Guru Tej-Guru Tej Kaur teaches all women the Kundalini yoga techniques to redefine the power of intuitive living by yogi bhajans. You can acquire the knowledge and strength by practicing the yoga poses demonstrated in this DVD.

10. An Introduction to Kundalini Yoga and Chanting with Mantra Girl-Filmed in the serene lands of Malibu and California, this comprehensive Kundalini yoga class video by Mantra Girl is the best option for all beginners. It helps to increase the strength and flexibility of your body. The meditation music from her own album will help to stay relaxed and more focussed.

The undeniable magical combination of yoga and music is once again established by Spirit Voyage by its huge collection of yoga music CDs and DVDs. Music and songs by famous singers like Snatam Kaur, Deva Premal, Wah!, Donna De Lory and Gurmukh purify the soul with divine peace.

Podcast Safe Music

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Podcasting is the new thing in broadcasting nowadays. Practically anyone can create his own podcast and make himself known to the world. Perhaps the best thing about podcasting is that it is meant to be free. In addition to that, podcasts transcend the boundaries of traditional broadcasting. You may be from the US but anyone with access to the internet can listen to your podcast. A person may be in Timbuktu and yet have access to your podcast.

Music is inherent to the success of any podcast. It adds spice and flavor to an otherwise bland broadcast. That is why a large pool of resources has been developed by people in the podcasting community. Beginners and veterans a like search for the perfect background music or filler sounds for every podcast they make. So how do you go about looking for that spice?

Despite the freedom provided by podcasting, there are some issues you must address before jumping into the bandwagon and creating your own podcast. Copyright and intellectual property rights have been a main concern in all aspects of broadcasting for some time now and podcasting is not exempt from that. As a result, the term podsafe has come into existence. What exactly is podsafe? This term encompasses any material that may be used for podcasts without violating any copyright or license. A special thing about podsafe material is that the very same material might require some sort of license in other media but totally safe for podcasting. Due to the open community nature of podcasting, many songs, music, and other type of materials are allowed to be used for free exclusively for podcasts. While you might have to acquire the permission of the copyright holder for other broadcasting media, with podsafe material, you can use it freely in podcasts.

Some specific kinds of work are inherently podsafe. Works that fall under the public domain or some works with Creative Commons licenses can be used in podcasts without any issues. They are meant to be used, and used freely.

There are some entities on the web that license music especially for podcasts. Their podcast safe music is generally available to anyone for downloading and for use in free broadcasts over the internet. The only restriction they have is for the user to duly acknowledge the source. Anyone may also post music on their sites as long as the piece of work is totally original.

Some sites make their music available for no fee at all. On the other hand there are sites which promote artists particularly independent ones and charge a small fee for downloading their songs. Notably, these sites also offer labeled artists and are supposed to split the downloading fees with them.

The important thing to bear in mind when looking for podcast safe music is that most of the groups offering materials make them available to the general public for free. The caveat is that your podcast must not be used for commercial purposes. If that is the case, then you will have no problems finding the right track for your podcast.

Music Licensing Is A Great Way To Promote Brands

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Can you think of every way individuals use music in the course of a day. The most common are MP3s, CDs, radio. But we also hear a steady stream of music in different commercials, in the background of radio commercials, when we are on hold during a call to bank, from music while relaxing in any restaurant or when the local band plays songs on Friday night at our favorite club. In every case, the lyrics writer is earning a music licensing fees. In addition to the income which these deals bring in, they extend and strengthen the musical brand with the cool music for brands and expose it to more number of individuals. The cool music for brands create a connection between the music and the service or product being promoted.

It is always advisable to hire a well known music licensing company, efficient in this job of promoting cool music for brands rather than promoting you. But for an unknown lyricist or one just starting to enjoy their success, a smaller music licensing company can offer better service regarding licensing their music.

Individuals must bear in mind that there is a difference between a music library and a licensing company. A music library merely adds-up the music of any artist to a large catalog database for potential users to peruse. A music licensing firm pro actively goes out and pitches their music specifically. This music licensing company charges a larger fee but it is worth paying.

Apart from use in TV commercials, TV episodes, movie trailers, and on films, music are also used greatly in video games also. Video games provide a great opportunity for placement of music. But it is essential to match the music with the commodity. For instance, a fusion jazz may work perfectly for any dinner club radio advertisement. While choosing any music licensing company do a good homework. Check to make sure whether they have any pending lawsuits or not for non-payment. Try to talk to other artists who have worked with this company involved in promoting cool music for brands. The artists must ensure they know exactly what they are signing while entering into the contract. Another essential thing to bear in mind is that individuals must never pay any kind of upfront fees. Reputable companies that provide assistance in licensing music never charge any upfront fees. These licensing music firms work on commission. These firms do not make profit until the artists do. Therefore if any licensing music firm asks money from any individual, it will be better not to go in any kind of deal with such company.

Web is the best place to find out several reputable music licensing companies. Selecting any company carefully will help you to avoid any future trouble. The utmost benefit of music licensing is that individuals can control use of their music. Once individuals opt for licensing music, they can have a legal right on their compositions. Anyone interested in using their symphony need to take their permission to use it. Artists can get a good amount of money by providing others the right to use it.

Mp3 Download Site mp3 Musiq Boasts Speed Over Kazaa

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When youre looking for top quality, high speed music and movie MP3 download sites, you dont want to be hanging around waiting for them. Which is where MP3 Musiq, or iMP3Download, as it calls itself on the home page, wins over so many of its rivals. The site boasts that it is 250 times faster than Kazaa, just as well when you have over 14 million MP3s to choose from, and access to 15 billion files.

MP3 Musiq is not a free service, and all the better for it; with free MP3 download sites, you often get your moneys worth i.e. nada! For one very reasonable subscription, MP3 Musiq allows you to download as many movies, games, music tracks and software as you like. Whats more, MP3 Musiqs fast download speeds also ensures theres no tedious hanging about for downloads to appear, so you can get on with enjoying your MP3 downloads faster.

Subscriptions with MP3 Musiq come in three types:

1. Unlimited Access at $34.95. This gives you unlimited access – forever!

2. 2 Years Access at just $1.37 a month, a total of $32.95

3. 1 Years Access at $2.49 a month, a total of $29.95

You can also top up your subscription with the Unlimited DVD Movie offer, a snip at just $14.95.

However, be aware that all three subscriptions will be debited from your card or account in one go, so there is no opportunity to spread the cost or pay as you go. Get real though, because at these prices, who cares! Unlimited lifetime downloads for just $34.95 is an amazing value; youd get just 44 music tracks from iTunes for that price!

One of the great features of MP3 Musiq is that all the software you need is provided in your subscription price, and whats more, the download software is both Mac and PC compatible. Using the MP3 Musiq cd burning software, you can burn as many cds as you like from your downloads for listening in the car, as well as burning your movies on cd to watch in a DVD player. Technical support is offered 24/7.

The web site interface is clear and uncluttered, and you wont get any annoying adware springing unwanted pop-ups all over your screen. The folks at MP3 Musiq obviously want to eliminate any risks of viruses etc from downloading, as your subscription includes $250 of bundled software, including a virus scanner, adware remover, pop-up blocker and a personal firewall. Just in case you need them, MP3 Musiq also provide MP3 and DVD movie players, although most modern PCs have this kind of software pre-installed.

The biggest draw of MP3 Musiq must be the range of downloads on offer. As well as music tracks ranging from pop to hip-hop, theres plenty to choose from for jazz fans, Latino lovers and country cousins, as well as classical and Christian music. Then you can start on the list of movies, including documentaries, Manga and trailers for the latest blockbusters. There are plenty of games to keep you battling, puzzling and role-playing long into the night, and software to make your life easier. Finally, there is a small selection of road maps and mobile software to keep you on track.

MP3 Musiq offers a great service with great sound at an amazing price, so what are you waiting for?

Get to this top mp3 download site today, before your next mp3 download!

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