There’s little doubt that 60s Songs played a major role in shaping the music we have today. It is rare to find an artist or band that does not cite an artist or band from the 1960s as one of their influences. Musicians of all ages and backgrounds cannot stop raving about this period of music. Even I can’t stop raving about it even though I was born at the end of the 1980s.
The article hopes to explore some of the most memorable 60s Songs that defined this period. The criterion is not the commercial success of the song but the cultural and social impact of the song on 1960s society (and even contemporary society). So without further ado, here we go.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand – The Beatles
This was the song that catapulted the Beatles into worldwide fame. Their performance on the Ed Sullivan show in February 1964 singlehandedly started the British Invasion in America and changed the course of music forever. Before this major event, American music was stuttering and stalling. British music brought a new tune and rhythm that defied musical conventions of the time and it struck a huge chord with the American audience. Music would never be the same ever again.
I Can’t Get No Satisfaction – Rolling Stones
As one of the beneficiaries of the British Invasion, the Rolling Stones released I Can’t Get No Satisfaction in 1965, a very controversial song for the censors, but a song that expressed perfectly the concerns and issues of 60s youth. It was the song that launched the group to fame the world over and as a result, they have continued to be popular for almost 45 years. A killer guitar hook with killer lyrics and a killer singer guaranteed this song’s status.
Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
Between 1965 and 1967, the Beach Boys and the Beatles engaged in a battle for both commercial and innovative supremacy. Experimentation was at its peak during this period and has never again reached such levels. As the story goes, the Beatles album Revolver influenced the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds which in turn influenced Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. All 3 albums are now in the Top 10 most influential albums of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine. One of the songs that resulted from this period was Good Vibrations, which was the brainchild of Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson. Its production became a obsession for Wilson and which led it to becoming the most expensive song produced at the time. At the same time, it contributed to Wilson’s mental deterioration. Arguably, the Beach Boys never reached such peaks. Nevertheless, this song will forever remain the legacy of Brian Wilson from a period where anything was possible.
While these songs may have been commercially very successful, the decision to put them in this article was solely due to the cultural and social impact that these songs made. It is for this reason that these 60s Songs are so memorable today.
Sure, it’s great to see all your favorite music available for “free”. All you have to do is to fire up your P2P or torrent client, key in a few search phrases, set up a download, and come back a few minutes later to play the track.
Most people who do this on a large scale know that they are doing it wrong – that they should be paying for the music they listen to. The reason they don’t stop is simple: there’s nothing better than getting it free.
The problem with free music is simple – the person who makes music needs to make money off it, otherwise the music doesn’t get made. For the industry to continue, music needs to have a price tag attached to it. This takes the music industry into a death-spiral, where the prices keep rising to satisfy the needs of the artist and the industry, while the number of people willing to pay those near-exorbitant prices goes down. Clearly, the business model of the packaged album is nearing its end.
Online music stores, which sell single mp3s at affordable rates, are a much better alternative to CDs or DVDs. There are multiple factors which allow single mp3s to be much cheaper than other forms of dissemination:
There is little to no cost of hardware. A CD or a USB disk costs money even before the music is burned onto it. By contrast, an online music store only needs to pay for the data taken up on a server. This cost is a very small fraction of that incurred while selling music CDs. Cost of transportation and processing etc. is also negligible. A music store requires a developer, someone to take care of the server, some people for customer support and some people to speak to the music production companies. This is a much smaller staff requirement than that of a CD store, which needs to pay rent for the floor space, salaries to the personnel, maintenance costs of the building itself, utility bills and a host of expenses that are nowhere near negligible. Also, let us not forget the fact that music stores can reach people in a very small area, so the required number of stores is very, very large compared to the number of online stores. Single tracks are sold, which means that people do not need to pay for what they do not want. This proves to be a win-win situation for the online store, as cheaper goods also sell better. The total volume of sales goes up Another big advantage of legal and nominally paid downloads is that independent musicians can find a livelihood through these. While the bread and butter of someone like Lady Gaga is assured by now, there are a number of musicians who are just starting out, and who find a lifeline in online stores where they can market their music.
The answer is simple – pay less, but pay all the same. Everyone benefits, including you.
I’m going to start with a quick story. I walked into a music store in a small town and started chatting with the owner while my eyes roamed over the items on the counter. The normal stuff was there… picks, strings, gig postings and local musicians’ cards. Then I saw something that surprised me… a CD of an artist from around my way, almost a thousand miles away. “How did you get this” I asked the owner. He replied, “Oh, one of my customers heard about him from a friend who lives out there and asked me to stock his CDs. I contacted him and purchased a few of his albums. He’s pretty good.”…Believe it or not, a customer’s recommendation, aka, word of mouth advertising, is the most powerful advertising method known. If you want to get known in the music industry, whether you are an alternative rocker indie, rapper or pop singer, you simply must get people talking about you. This kind of advertising is priceless and it all starts in your own hometown. Conquer your hometown and you can move on to commanding national attention and building a fan base one town at a time.
Don’t consider your small town … small stuff. In your hometown… you will experience the “home court advantage”;… people will love you just because you’re one of their own. Being the top dog in your hometown will give you an idea of whether or not to branch out into neighboring towns. In fact, if you can’t establish a solid fan base in your own town, you probably won’t be able to spread out into other towns and the chances of getting national or international attention will be slim.
So, what do you do after you conquer your own turf? … In a word or two, move on… Start playing live gigs in nearby communities, spreading your net and increasing your fan base… Here are a few tips to help you increase your fan base.
Always leave your fans satisfied, yet wanting more. Give away free CDs or T-shirts imprinted with your name, CD title, or promotional message. Create an MP3 recording and tell them where to download it off the Internet for free. If the towns you are playing in are small, focus on high school and college kids, offering to play free gigs to get your foot in the door. Remember you are working on making a name for yourself and your goal is to become successful on a large scale, not just locally. Create a press release kit with professional photos and a bio of your band; send this to media outlets where you will be playing, well in advance of your gig there. Start collecting email addresses of fans in each town where you perform. Keep them informed on where you will be and what’s going on with the band. Don’t ever forget that it’s your fans, starting in your own home town… that are hopefully going to propel you into the limelight. Without them you are nothing.
As you’re building a fan base, one town at a time, you will meet lots of people, some of whom will be your competitors. It is a good idea to make friends with your competitors… and be willing to share your knowledge and talent with them. Treat competitors like members in the same private club, not like an enemy. Remember the golden rule; it’s always appropriate to “do unto others as you want them to do unto you.”
With the escalating progression of music technology in the last decade, mainland CD stores are continuing to decline in popularity, as the trendy demand for digital music downloads continues to crush them further into the archives of history. Claiming more than half of the globes music buying audience, Digital Music Distribution is the predominant method of music marketing the world offers us today.
More and more musicians are appearing on the scene with highly polished albums, mostly produced entirely under their own steam. They have become resourceful singular empires, holding sole rights and authenticity as unconstrained producers and marketing agents of their own products. These musicians are ready to take the world by storm by hooking themselves up with one of the many distribution companies currently available.
But as an independent musician, what are you really signing up to in a distribution deal?
Many digital distributors offer musicians the chance to have their music available on many of the popular and esteemed music selling outfits; Apple iTunes being one of the most popular playgrounds for current music consumers. But whilst they might promise to get your music on the right path, how is it going to be found amongst the billion other artists competing for sales? Consider that most main stream artists have many more dollars poured into their advertising and marketing persona’s than the unsigned musician could ever afford. Major acts are funded by major pockets ensuring the best chance of sales.
One answer to this is that many unsigned musicians feel that by simply having their music made available alongside mainstream artists is a boost to their credibility, affording them and their music a much higher distinction. It is certain that a good deal can grant your music a triumphant victory if you manage to populate vintage music selling sites. Your only subsequent aim is to actually make sales on them. Otherwise what is the purpose after all?
Deals, terms and conditions vary from business to business, so it is worth looking around and researching which type of distribution method is right for you. There are many worthy deals, and probably just as many scams, circulating the information highway.
If you are thinking of accepting a distribution deal, before signing the dotted line it is important to ask questions such as:
o Does the deal include any publicity or promotional advantages to the artist?
o Are there any payments I must make, statutory, collective or otherwise?
o What percentage of royalties will I receive, and how are payments handled?
o Can I be provided with an estimation of how profitable your distributive methods are?
o What are my rights in terminating the contract?
o Am I solely responsible for tax declarations on my net income?
Other things you must check before signing are the ‘exclusivity’ terms. These could greatly inhibit your freedom. Does a deal involve licensing your music digitally (via preferred online formats) or does the deal also include physical sales? Some are highly exclusive in nature whilst others give you rights to proceed with marketing your music via other channels.
Bear in mind that many reputable and authorised distributors, such as CDBaby for one, will not allow an artist to exploit other distribution channels, as the two parties run the risk of putting your music on the exact same sites. A hassle major retailers and distributors can do without, and an understandable clause too.
You must read the terms of an agreement in full. It is absolutely essential that you fully understand what is expected from you as well as what is being offered!
Here is a cautionary example:
A music distribution site currently offers a deal for both digital and physical music sales, (the terms of agreement are publicly available for download on the site).
The site appears to charge $99.99 as a one off payment. Upon checking their terms of agreement however, it states:
“After one year of promotion, we may archive, remove and/or suspend your Works from the Service without terminating this Agreement.”
What then if the agreement is still in place but your work is no longer made available on their site?
“You may pay an annual fee, which is to be determined, to insure that your Materials are not archived, but displayed and offered for sale after the first year of Service.”
So if you refuse to pay this annual fee, the site still holds all rights to license and sell your music as expressed in the agreement you already signed!
This is not necessarily wrong but is it what you want? Always check the small print and read any agreement thoroughly. As a general rule be wary of sites that ask you to pay for distributing your music. On the basis that a site’s marketing strategies were fruitful, and they believed that your music is good enough to reap a profit, why would they be asking you to pay them in advance? Suffice to say that not all sites that request payment from an artist deliver an unsatisfactory service. Speak to other artists whose music is being distributed and see how the deal is working for them. If something doesn’t sound quite right in any deal, double check with the distributor. If you still receive an insufficient response, you can always seek a legal opinion. But if you are really in doubt, perhaps you’re better off without!
If you are marketing your music through a label they should be sufficiently taking care of your interests. A reputable label with ensure that all terms in a distribution setting are clear and fair to all parties involved. Being part of an honest label is often a good way to relieve yourself from some of the finer pressures attached to direct schemes. They will of course also expect a cut of the profits but will often have a good degree of interest in maintaining their own artists’ affairs in an appropriate manner. If the artist is happy the label thrives upon its good reputation, and its integrity towards its artists.
Despite the odds, sales margins have increased for thousands of unsigned musicians, simply because of the greater variety of marketing mediums available. You can not only market your music yourself, but allow others to do it for you. The more places your music is available the higher your chances are of achieving sales. But as with any enterprise, money and profit is the primary goal, and therefore you should proceed with caution before handing your personal work over to anyone.
There are many reputable distributors, who promise to do the job and actually deliver what they stated. But, as with everything in life, there are those that you would rather not be involved with. So research as many as possible, and ask as many questions as you see fit. After all, a year is a long time to get stuck in a deal you later realised doesn’t quite work for you! Not only would a bad deal cause you much frustration in its limitations, but could also undermine your confidence in participating in future marketing opportunities.
Berry Gordy’s renowned Motown Records emerged in the 1960s as an overwhelming force of social and cultural change making its mark not only on the music industry, but on society at large. Featuring a distinctive soul sound, full of energy and emotion, Motown has become one of the most important musical undertakings and spectacular success stories of the 20th century.
Explaining the Motown Sound like any musical phenomenon is an intricate task, for the most part, because it can hardly be taken as accidental. Motown emerged at the heart of American industry, where, for the first time, a generation of young black people were prosperous enough and had the leisure time to go along with it. Besides, it emerged at a time when the mass struggle for civil rights and social and racial equality had a profound impact on youth.
Besides, Motown was the product of the glory days of independent record labels. In the 1950s, Capitol Records and Columbia Records almost disregarded the emerging sounds of rock & roll. But Motown focused on R&B, blues and rock & roll and produced a blend of upbeat music that seemed to eliminate color lines with its colorless culture.
Motown’s historical value stands for more than its outstanding music. The label and its incredible legacy is a manifestation of the hard work of dedicated individuals overcoming implausible obstacles to achieve great success. On January 12, 1959, Berry Gordy Jr., an African-American songwriter, former professional boxer, Korean War veteran and automobile worker, founded Tamla Records with a family loan of $800 marking the birth of the Motown Records Corporation. A visionary and talented individual, an insightful leader and a determined entrepreneur, Berry Gordy assembled a group of remarkable African-American artists, musicians, composers and songwriters and gave to the world a brand new sound.
Motown’s phenomenal success is a tribute to all that Berry Gordy symbolizes and all the talent that he brought out in others. His efficiency in the mass-production of smash hits is often compared to Ford Wayne’s Assembly Plant production methods. As the plant cars started out as frames and transformed into sparkling, brand new cars, unknown kids walked in the Motown’s door and came out as recording artists. Under his leadership and guidance, and through willpower and support of the Motown family of artists, Gordy shaped new grounds for minorities and made the “Motown Sound” a global phenomenon dearly-loved by millions.
Diana Ross & the Supremes, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Commodores, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, their music communicated and united a racially divided nation and isolated society, around the world, having a huge appeal on all people of all ages and race. No other record label in the history of music has put forth such a massive influence on both the style and essence of popular music and culture. Besides, with more than 180 number one hits worldwide, Motown’s influence is still being felt today around the globe.
Motown became a state of mind, a lifestyle, the ‘Sound of Young America’. The unique, upbeat music, a blend of soul and pop, black and white, old and young, ignored any racial or social background and became the heartbeat of American pop music. Gordy broke down barriers by having pop radio promote Motown artists, booking his artists on popular TV shows and fascinating national audiences with repeat performances. Besides, Diana Ross & The Supremes was the first R&B group to play on ‘Copacabana’, New York’s most prestigious night club, an event that opened the way for other R&B groups into the top cabaret circuits worldwide.
Today, Motown remains a symbol of unity for the black communities. Gordy bridged the gap of racial discrimination and integrated the black culture into white society by producing music that touched all people, regardless of the color of their skin, making Motown a vehicle of black pride and self-expression. After Motown, black music has never been regarded as a minority taste. Instead, it has been unequaled and relentless. And this is, admittedly, Motown’s greatest legacy for the black people and for our world.
With the major labels focusing on quick returns rather than artist development and the advent of downloading music online, the traditional record company/artist relationship has become blurred to the point of being obsolete.
Nowadays, being independent has real advantages.
How many times have you heard or read somewhere that the internet has changed the face of the music industry forever? I would love a dollar for everytime I heard it.
However, it’s true and there are a number of reasons for this. Two that spring into mind are that:
1. A traditional record company/artist relationship is optional and not a necessity. You can do your all music sales and band promotion online cutting out all of the ‘middle people’.
2. Websites can turn an artist with a local audience into an artist with an international audience. As the internet is not ‘owned’ by any one entity the playing field is a lot more even.
To me, being an independent artist means that you are the one driving the bus and being in control over your own affairs.
A lot of talented artists and performing songwriters around the world are at this very moment waiting for that knock at the door, the opportunity to ‘get discovered’. What is likely to happen is that they will spend their creative lives being very disappointed.
If you are reading this and feel that this is you, consider this…
Where do you think you would be if you managed your career yourself rather than wait for someone (or some company) to do it for you?
There are many sites out in cyberspace that are there to help you take control over your career by spreading practical information about band promotion and the indie music industry as a whole, take advantage of these websites and go to as many as you can
Embrace independence today and gain control over your own musical affairs.
When you’re looking for great music for your video production, you have a few options. First, you can pick your favorite songs off the radio, then pay thousands of dollars to license them, and pay more in royalties every time you post your video somewhere new. Second, you can hire some studio musicians for thousands of dollars, but first you’ll want to look up studio production so you know how to guide them to create the sort of music you want, and then you’ll still be paying for royalties for each new post of the video. Lastly, you can buy library production music for a fraction of what those other sources of music would cost you.
Well, there’s also the matter of music that’s fallen into the public domain, but first of all, the five or ten blues and soul songs that actually are in the public domain only work in so many contexts, and secondly, the copyright issues there are a little murky. For example, many people think that blues legend Robert Johnson is in the public domain, and many people have been sued by the actual copyright holders for thinking that. When the Levee Breaks is a famous example of this sort of issue. When Led Zeppelin recorded the song, they thought the original blues number was in the public domain… Not the case. They had to fight that one out in a highly public lawsuit.
Here’s how to find good library production music:
Google it
And follow the leads to a library music provider or two. There are thousands of talented musicians out there looking to provide cheap music for your project for nothing but a small fee up front. No royalties, no nothing. Just buy the song, and you’re in the clear to use it wherever you want, however you want, however many times you want.
Listen to it
These sites typically provide samples of their music, and of course, with so many musicians out there offering their skills, you don’t want to buy one sight unseen… Er, sound unheard. Listen to some samples and make sure that the music is good, well produced, and that it works for your project.
Keep an Open Mind
You might find exactly the kind of music you had in mind, like a hard rock song for an action scene, or just some nice background noise for a commercial, but you should keep an open mind. Watch a Quentin Tarantino movie and note how the director uses music. He often uses a song that seems like it wouldn’t fit, but it winds up really improving the scene. So try watching a clip from your video while playing each of the songs available and see which one achieves the best effect.
With the advent of internet technology, there are many changes in several industries. There are many indie musicians are on the knife edge of changes in the music industry, the first to benefit and the first to get cut. Over the last, musicians have struggled to get paid fairly and seen great venues close down. And of course the recording industry continues to decline, with annual revenues dropping 4.5 billions from 1999 to 2008. On the other hand, bands now have the means to develop an audience or release a record without corporate control. A storm of promotion, distribution and communication tools are available to them, many of which were unimaginable 15-year age. Last, musicians and fans alike enjoy at your fingertip access to practically every recording that exists on the planet.
Putting musicians aside for a moment, clearly certain corporations have benefited in the last decade. Most of the music companies make money serious money off music players like the iPod. The changes in media consolidation rules allowed every channel to strengthen its hold on commercial radio to dominate the live music business. Even some of the major record companies are recovering somewhat, by pushing and slowing adoption online strategies that have already proven as successful for Indie musicians.
However, as a result, it is not clear whether musicians themselves will be able to improve on their previous, already precarious, position. Many talented, hard working indie artists are finding it harder than ever to make a living. All the time and financial costs of band development, booking, promotion, fan outreach and recording are taken on by the Indie Musicians.
If you are making significant money from recording is difficult and revenue from touring is down, where does that leave working musicians? Finally, there are some well established and experienced websites in internet are providing indie music from the best professional musicians to their clients. For more information and details, please do not hesitate to visit their valuable website.
OK, Listen up guys, here’s the deal. Pay close attention, soak up every word, and share this with your peers and friends. The reason that the majority of you will never succeed is simply because you do not take a proactive approach towards your career. In today’s market more than ever, artists and musicians MUST take a proactive approach towards their career.
Publishers, and Indie Labels are looking for artists that are also strong marketers,self promoters, and business men. Gone are the days of little Johnny getting noticed buy some fat cat record producer that brings him fame and fortune. Wise up guys, it’s now a business, and to succeed, you must be a proactive businessman.
Heavy hitters are no longer searching for that elusive diamond in the rough; they are mostly targeting developed self promoting artists to joint venture or partner with. You MUST acquire skills in Music Promotion, Publishing, and even possibly establishing yourself as a small indie label. You must begin to approach Major Labels, Indie Labels, and or Music Publishers from a potential partnership approach as opposed to just saying hey check out my demo, give me a contract to sign, and bring me fame and fortune.
You must be able to show anyone in the industry that you are pro actively climbing to the top of the music business with or without their help. Your approach when meeting with any major Label, Indie label, and or Music Publisher should be hey I’m going up, I could
Here are 10 ways to promote your music. Hopefully these tips will help you to promote your music further than just uploading them to your own website as these tips will help spread the word about you and your music.
1. Hand out CD’s of your music to anyone who asks for one, friends, family and have some handy at your gigs to hand to fans.
2. Get your music onto one of the independent internet radio stations. You never know who might be listening.
3. Join up with social networking sites that allow you to upload your music. Such as Soundclick, MySpace, Bebo and YouTube for videos.
4. Upload Videos to YouTube, YouTube videos can be added to bebo. Remember and give a long description as this will give the video keywords.
5. Submit your music to local press, they love to promote local upcoming talent.
6. Send your CD’s the Readers Music sections in music making magazines such as Computer Music.
7. Have business cards and CD’s at the ready for industry contacts and hand them out. Ya never know, it just might get you a gig, record deal or anything else.
8. Become a DJ and play your own music to the masses. Most DJ’s promote their own music this way, and the great thing about it is you don’t have to wait for that test promo anymore as CD players are in ever nightclub.
9. You can then upload your own mixes containing your music only to DJ Mix sites along with your playlist.
10. Give away some of your mp3’s on the web, put your details such as website address etc into file so people know where to go to find more of your music.