English · Interviews

Interview with Music2Deal Member Wito Rodriguez

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Wito Rodriguez is a Chicago born Puerto Rican and a musician since childhood. Despite his tour of military service in Europe, he pursued his musical career by playing in several orchestras as a singer and taking singing lessons. With Orchestra Conexion Latina, Wito recorded two records, “Carlorcito” and “Un Poco Loco”.

You started off playing in a Rock’n Roll band. How did you discover your love for latin music?

In 1968 my dad decided to move back to Puerto Rico.  There I had to go to Spanish school and start learning how to speak Spanish language correctly.  I started listening to Spanish radio and really liked the music.  At the age of 16 and a half I got into a Salsa group and started to sing Salsa music.

For those of us who don’t speak Spanish, what are your songs about?

I have different types of songs and beats in my recordings.  Some are talking about love, about the world, about a certain style of music like “Bomba Puertorriquen” in my CD “Calorcito” and about something funny.

Tell us a little bit about the Latin Music scene. Is there a lot going on at the moment?

Right now the way I see it. Salsa hasn’t died and it’s getting powerful again.  Hard part about it all is that the promoters are not buying a big band like they used to, because of the amount of musicians they need to move from point A to B and return.  Normally a Salsa Ochestra has from 9-13 musicians.

You lived in the US, Puerto Rico and Europe.  What are the differences between the different music communities?

There is not really much difference!! Here in the USA you are able to hear every style of music the same as Puerto Rico.  Germany and Europe are now doing the same. When I started singing in Germany Salsa music back in the 70’s, there was not much Latin Music being played.  But through the years I started going to many places in Germany where the music was being liked and Germans wanted to know how to dance it.

Do you like contemporary music that is a mixture of Latin and Pop?

I love all kinds of music just as long it’s played right and sounds good.

Your biography shows you are an international person and artist. What do you think, how important are international presence and networking in the music business today?

It is very important!!!  I have been around all of Europe, Puerto Rico and USA.  This gave me more experience in how to present my music to people that did not understand it or have never heard the music.  This was great doing it.

What are your plans for 2013 and the future?

Well I want to be able to play in more venues.  I plan to record my next CD in August 2013 in Puerto Rico. I am appearing this August in one of the biggest Musikfest in the country.  It’s called Musikfest Bethlehem, PA musikfest.org. Also I have been sending my promo packet all around.  I believe that 2014 will be better than this year.

Interviewed by Lorena Campbell

Find Wito Rodriguez on Music2Deal: www.music2deal.com/us/vv8gzg_tflZpj2AWIVjUfbFHPaM_

 

English · Tips

Tips and Tricks: How To Make A Music Video

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Many people are really hooked on visual content, so it can be a great idea to make a music video for your song. This is something that most people can do, even though it is quite challenging. But the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

  1. The first thing you have to do is to record the track. Make sure to record it as professional as you can.
  2. Use the best camera you can find. If you don’t want to buy one, you can also ask someone to borrow you his/her camera.
  3. Create a storyboard. This is very helpful to plan your video. It can be simple (like the positions of things in certain scenes) or detailed (face expressions, angles, cutaways).
  4. Find a location. Look for scenes that match your vision and the theme of your song. Make sure to ask the owners of the place you want to use for the video shoot ;)
  5. You will need a good crew for the video shoot: If you only want to direct the video, you will need a videographer and a sound man. Depending on how much money or effort you want to spend on the shoot, you can also hire a makeup artist and someone who is responsible for the wardrobe.
  6. Shoot plenty of angles and try to cover the entire song with most of them. It gives the video some variety when it is finished.
  7. Keep it simple. Don’t shoot (too many) setups that only cover a small part of your song. This is very time consuming and not very effective.
  8. As a little extra, you can add a dance routine part to your video to make it rich in variety.
  9. Another effect that works nicely in music videos is the cutaway. This can be some kind of random shot in which the singer is not singing or a beautiful landscape for example. Just make sure that the cutaway is relevant to the theme of the song.
  10. Review all your takes and choose your favorite ones. You can add your cutaways between two clips from different takes. Good editors are Final Cut Pro or iMovie.

by Sara Shirazi

German · Tips

YouTube – Über Nacht zum Star?

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YouTube-expandiert-50-neue-Channels-fuer-100-Millionen-Dollar_image_660Via: http://bit.ly/14twkiF

Justin Bieber macht es vor – und tausende Musiker ziehen nach. Die Selbstvermarktung auf YouTube scheint unaufhaltsam, denn gerade viele junge Menschen suchen auf der Internetplattform nach dem großen Erfolg. Doch wie wahrscheinlich ist es wirklich, durch selbstgedrehte Videos den Absprung zu schaffen und den begehrten Plattenvertrag angeboten zu bekommen? 

Esmée Denters, ein junges Mädchen aus den Niederlanden, ist eines der Paradebeispiele dafür, dass die Videoplattform YouTube als Absprungbrett dienen kann. Ihre Gesangsvideos erfreuten sich rasch hoher Klickzahlen und fanden großen Anklang bei den Zuschauern. Schon nach kurzer Zeit erhielt sie Angebote von Plattenfirmen und traf sich mit Produzenten und Musikgrößen aus dem Business.

Und sie hatte Glück: Justin Timberlakes Plattenfirma Tennman Records nahm sie unter Vertrag. Seit 2009 hat Denters bereits zwei Alben rausgebracht und erfreut sich noch immer großer Beliebtheit bei ihren Fans.

Obwohl es auf YouTube natürlich viel Konkurrenz gibt, ist die mediale Reichweite nicht zu unterschätzen, wenn man ein besonderes Talent hat. Videos verbreiten sich blitzschnell in der ganzen Welt und geraten –wenn man Glück hat- an die richtigen Leute.

Wer sein Glück versuchen möchte, sollte einige Dinge beachten:

  1. Sei dir bewusst darüber, dass die Sache mit den Videos auch nach hinten losgehen kann. Falls Du ein schrecklicher Sänger bist und deine Gitarre auch erst seit drei Tagen spielst, kannst du schnell zum Spott der Internetgemeinde werden. Drehe solche Videos also lieber nur dann, wenn du auch wirklich ein besonderes Talent und eine ernste Absicht hast.
  2. Quäle deine Zuschauer nicht mit einem unscharfen Bild und schlechter Audioqualität. Wenn du den ernsten Wunsch danach hast, die Menschen mit deinen Videos zu erreichen und viele Klicks zu bekommen, solltest du etwas mehr Geld in eine gute Kamera investieren.
  3. Videobearbeitung lohnt sich, denn so kannst du die Filme nicht nur schneiden, sondern auch mit einigen netten Effekten und einer persönlichen Note versehen.
  4. Spanne die Zuschauer nicht mit langen Reden auf die Folter. Nichts ist nerviger, als ein Video ansehen zu wollen – doch zuerst muss man sich noch durch eine 10 minütige Rede quälen.
  5. Verbreite deine Videos auch auf anderen Kanälen, wie z.B. Facebook und Twitter. Vielleicht helfen dir deine Freunde und deine Familie auch dabei und sorgen dafür, dass deine Videos von möglichst vielen Menschen gesehen werden.
  6. Viel Erfolg!

Übrigens, das hier sind meine persönlichen Top 3 YouTube Sänger:

miaarose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPE6g83mW08

Daniel de Bourg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLMAer78mS8

VanJess24: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7m_i_5DK-o

Kennt ihr noch andere YouTuber, die es verdient hätten, ganz groß rauszukommen?

Bis dann,
Eure Sara Shirazi