Whilst I was in Memphis I became a reporter for The Daily Helmsman newspaper for one semester. The University print newspaper had daily editions in both digital and print formats distributed across the city.
The Daily Helmsman
The Daily Helmsman
BBC Introducing weekend: Tips, tricks, and why you need to meme
By Luke Chapman
Other showcases included chats with some of the words biggest songwriters. Jamie Scott is a writer who has penned 39 of One Direction’s songs (believe it or not though, Jamie does possess talent). Giorgio Tuinfort was the other feature of the songwriting workshop. His accolades include writing copious songs for Akon, “Titanium” by David Guetta, “Sweet escape” by Gwen Stefani and SO. MANY. MORE. These two conveyed the experience of being an unknown songwriter, writing some of the biggest chart toppers to have ever graced music. They explained how you should never force songs out, and never push too hard to make something work. If you’re working on a project which after a few hours isn’t proving fruitful, scrap it and move on, nothing quality will come out of it. They also highlighted how dedication was key in a field with such competition, and to never bend to the whim of the industry, be yourself. Jamie (Who writes for Simon Cowell) also said how the X-Factor is shit and pointless. Couldn’t agree more Jamie.
The final talk of the day was with Jonathan Dickens (Adele’s manager), and essentially was a workshop for any wannabe managers, and why Adele is so amazingly super incredible. His highlighted tips were that networking is crucial, always being out there and making personal relationships can bring so many more contacts and useful advantages you could have never planned for. One interesting point he also raised was that it is a good idea to have a personal relationship with your manager. This could be for example someone you already knew before your strides as a musician, or a friend you’ve always known, these types of people could prove to have a more beneficial role as a manager.
The following day was more tailored towards rock and dance music. The first talk was with You Me At Six. Although I’m not the most familiar with their work, they raised a really interesting point about todays music industry, more specifically, Bradley Cooper. With two of the biggest selling albums of 2018 being from films and featuring actors on the soundtracks, should Bradley Cooper be taking a key chart spot from a musician who has worked their entire life to benefit their music career. Yes, if an actor records a song, and people like it, it has the right to reach the number 1 spot. But should it be a detriment to hard working musicians who have put in the years to achieve the same accolade?
Aside form Deadmau5 being a bit of a prick, the other talks were both featuring Example, and I believe he brought the freshest and newest ideas out of all the workshops I visited. It might be more of a biased opinion as I’m a huge fan of his, however he genuinely brought forward ideas which were looking ahead into the future, and was combatting specific issues in the industry, as well as todays society in such an honest and true fashion. His first talk was about marketing and promotion in the new social media era. He recently made strides and reached out to a huge audience when he bought a fan a new car because his album wasn’t being released on CD, and the fan didn’t have an aux or bluetooth. He went over how this stunt caused huge interaction on all social medias, went viral, gained him airtime on various radio stations and reached the national press such as the metro. The maths: Car= £3,000, the same reach for an Instagram advertisement would have cost about £9,000, without the press and radio time. The ingenuity shown saved him so much more money, gained more advertisement, and a fan got a car. Example also explained how important it was to gain interactions with your social media following, not just posting to the fans. Example has 500,000 followers on Instagram, he gave examples of him simply posting pictures or videos of his new singles and gaining very little interactions, however posting a video of a dog dancing to the same music, or him in the studio dancing would gain much more interaction. People want to relate, and to laugh, people will get involved if they find something funny or think their friends want to see it, he also works on the premise of playing “the down to earth” card (he really is, but said how important it was for people to see that), as people want to show more support to these kind of celebrities.
Both days of the weekend were really influential and featured such huge artists who truly wanted to inspire the next generation. So many great tips came about, and in a go to cheat sheet, they are:
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Having context and a story to your songs really adds to the relatability and life of a single
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Don’t force songwriting upon yourself, take some time, and scrap an idea if it isn’t working
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DEDICATION
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Networking is crucial, make as many personal relationships as possible, you never know when they could pay off
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Having a manager with a personal connection can prove to be fruitful
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Why is Bradley Cooper Number 1?
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Take a new approach to promotion and social media, gauge your audience and create a relationship. Make content funny and much easier to share, and be down to earth so people can relate. Also buy people cars, they will like you for this
Finally and most importantly:
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YOU CAN MAKE IT. Anyone truly can make it in the industry, work your ass off and you really can achieve whatever you want
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This weekend I had the pleasure of attending BBC Introducing’s live weekend at the Tobacco Dock. The days I attended featured talks with Adele’s manager, Deadmau5, Example, Nile Rodgers and loads more. The experience taught some invaluable lessons and I’m here to pass on this worldly wisdom. The Thursday was focussed more towards the Indie and pop crowd.
We began with the living legend Nile Rodgers and his manager. The key lesson to be learned was that longevity is possible, icons can be made, be true to yourself and thats the best way to win hearts. Rodgers also took a focus on the story behind a single, and why a song needs a backstory or context to attain real success. The hits in his back catalogue such as his work with sister sledge prove music is more relatable to any listener with context, so putting meaning and depth into your songs really can allow someone to buy into your work.
