WHY ARE WE SO ADDICTED TO SOCIAL NETWORKING?

// October 16th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog Post

So let’s get down to the real question that everybody wants to know the answer to: WHY ARE WE SO ADDICTED TO SOCIAL NETWORKING? I myself just can’t get away from facebook and twitter, and would even consider calling my use and abuse of these social networking devices an addiction. Yah, I went there- I’m addicted to social networking.

Amidst searching for “self help” groups online to aide my addiction, I came upon an article that not only serves as a big exhale for me, but describes why humans seem to be so stuck on social networking. Peep this summary of Anthropoligist Robin Dunbar’s opinion on gossip and grooming…

Lets go back to a time before internet, before cell phones, and long before facebook and twitter- a time when our ancestors roamed the planet. Even though our ancestors didn’t have the internet, they somehow managed to stay dialed in to the culture that they were apart of- but how In the world…?! Lets turn to primates to answer this question, after all- they are our closest living relative.

The main way that primates come to understand their rank in a group is through the method of grooming. During the 20% of their lives that they spend grooming, primates are able to attain relationship knowledge and information including who gets along, who doesn’t, and who’s gettin’ it on. This behavior is necessary in order to understand their place in a social hierarchy so that one-day they can climb the ranks to the top (Reasons for reaching the top include mating with the best, to produce viable offsping, to keep your gene pool in the running for…becoming Americans next top model? Haha, etc etc, the list goes on and on and anybody who has sat through a lecture of human evolution knows how in depth this can go, so we won’t go there).

Anyways, that’s exactly the point as to why we as humans are interested in social networking. Humans are innately interested in knowing our place in society and how we compare to others around us so that we too can climb the social ladder. This desire may have stemmed from early primates however; the method in which humans have been able to understand hierarchal positions has evolved over time from grooming to tweeting.

And so, I go on facebook to see who’s friendly to each other, who’s mad at each other, and who’s gettin’ in on. You see, we all NEED this information to move on up in the world. It may seem like petty gossip (which most of it is) but its only natural for us to crave this information so that we one day can be on top of the social pyramid.

Thank you to Robin Dunbar’s study for making me feel like my addiction isn’t a huge problem. But I guess I could spend some more time at the beach….

IAmHypeOnline Partners with Spring Valley Community Center to Bring Music Biz Basics to Local Musicians

// October 8th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog Post

“Where we create community through people, parks, and programs.” This is the motto of the Spring Valley Community Center in Spring Valley, California. The SVCC offers a wide variety of activities from ballet classes for children to Investment classes for seniors. Renell, an employed ten-year veteran of the center, gave me some personal insight last week. He stated that the center’s best attribute is that there is such a wide variety of classes offered- including, the new math program, which began in late September and has been their most successful program yet! With over 100 children enrolled in grades 1-6, SVCC’s math program serves as an after school math club where children can work on homework and get math help. Rennel said that UCSD is even involved in conducting a learning study on the new program. This makes the program even more powerful from a community standpoint because it is the first time that UCSD is directly involved with the center. After speaking with Rennel, you can tell he is extremely proud of the new program and he is happy that the Spring Valley community is seeing direct results in their children. A fact about the SVCC that people may not know is that they provide a summer day camp eight weeks out of the summer where the kids just have a blast. According to Rennel, they say the funniest things and are quite a riot! Renell has seen the center grow in his ten years of employment and is very happy with the direction that the center is going in. He would like to see the center move more in the direction of creative cultural Arts and he’s thrilled to have a music seminar offered. He says it will have a “nice impact on the surrounding community” because it brings the SVCC closer to being more well rounded in the arts. Join us 2nd Tuesday of each month for the Music Biz 3.0 seminar series for interactive discussion on modern marketing techniques, fanbase development and professional critique by industry pros. Register now at http://seminars.iamhypeonline.com.

Platinum Recording Artist Goes Back to His Roots for Hype Music Business Seminar

// September 24th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog Post

Platinum selling artist TON3X brings his experience as an artist and producer to San Diego area musicians at the Music Business 3.0 Seminar Series, Tuesday, October 13 at the Spring Valley Recreation Center. With a repertoire of several hundred songs under his belt, including soundtracks for HBO Films, Sony Pictures and the hit TV Show “One on One”, TON3X will share his insight on what works and what doesn’t for the independent artist. TON3X collaborates with San Diego based music marketing firm IAmHypeOnline, in this grassroots initiative to help emerging artists make their way through the tumultuous terrain of the music industry. Topics of discussion will include branding your band, alternatives in publishing and licensing, how to make social media work for you and merchandising. Artists and bands, with recorded music, are encouraged to bring samples of their work for professional critique. TON3X’s artist development firm, Nureux Ink and IAmHypeOnline have come together to promote the ethical development of artists. At one point in time, the coveted major label record deal was the ideal way to launch a would-be rockstar. With a handful of cash and a bankrolled mass media promotional campaign, an emerging artist had all but made it to the big time. Or so they thought. Nevermind it was all a loan and the label could stop a band cold if the first release didn’t perform to expectations. Now the major label record deal is all but history. The road to stardom for the aspiring artists is one of diligent hard work and smart business decisions. With new technologies in production, promotion and distribution, today’s artists has all the tools they need to rise to the spotlight. They just need to learn how to use them. Don’t miss this music business series, held the 2nd Tuesday of each month, featuring guest speakers and interactive discussion. For more information go to http://seminars.iamhypeonline.com.

San Diego Music Awards Honor both Emerging & Veteran Talent

// September 8th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog Post

Back for its nineteenth annual event, The San Diego Music Awards return to honor the best and brightest of the San Diego music scene and raise money for the San Diego Music Foundation.

This year’s event will be held Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at Viejas Concerts in the Park. Award categories and nominees — spanning across a wide range of genres — are determined in advance by the San Diego Music Academy, which is comprised of key members of the San Diego music community.

Live performances from some of San Diego’s best emerging and established artists including Players Inc. – featuring members of Slightly Stoopid, Scarlet Symphony, Get Back Loretta, Steph Johnson, The Burning of Rome, the San Diego Blues Allstars, and The Silent Comdey – will be featured throughout the awards program. San Diego natives The Zeros will be honored with the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award.

“We’re excited to present another artistically diverse San Diego Music Awards show,” said Kevin Hellman, founder of the San Diego Music Foundation. “In addition to honoring some of our area’s most talented musicians, this year’s San Diego Music Awards will help support the next generation of musicians by providing acoustic guitars for San Diego elementary school music programs in need.”

Proceeds from San Diego Music Awards will be donated to the San Diego Music Foundation’s Taylor Guitars for Schools, which has provided more than 1,000 guitars to 59 elementary schools in San Diego County, which include guitar in their music curriculum. The San Diego Music Foundation seeks to enrich the San Diego music community by providing professional development opportunities and assistance to local musicians. The Foundation also organizes the annual North Park Music Thing Music and Media Conference, providing a weekend of demo review sessions, panel discussions and live showcases for local musicians.

Contributing sponsors for this year’s event include Bud Light, San Diego CityBeat, Svedka Vodka, Viejas, Taylor Guitars, ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI.

For more information on The San Diego Music Awards, including a full list of nominees, voting and ticket information, please visit sandiegomusicawards.com.

Guest Speaker, Recording Artist Tonex, Gives Tips on Making it in the Music Industry

// September 6th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog Post

Come hear guest speaker, recording artists Tonex, talk about his journey to success in the music industry and offer tips on staying independent, promoting your music and growing your fanbase. Tonex is a singer, songwriter, producer, actor, preacher and artist development coach. Learn the inside story of perservance and the value of thinking outside the box, including cross genre production and negotiating creative record deals. Other topics will include, what is A&R?, artist branding online, starting your own label and internet music distribution. Artists or band with recorded music are invited to bring it to the seminar. Tonex will be randomly selecting a handful of recordings brought by you and lending his years of industry experience to give a few lucky attendees honest critique.

San Diego born, Tonex recorded his first album at the age of 10 and hired his first personal manager, producer Bejamin Jimerson-Phillips, at age 16. A versatile artist, Tonex released several hundred songs on 24 albums over a span of 14 years, while producing several others for both gospel and secular artists alike. He has won six Stellar Awards, a GMA Award, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Soul Gospel Album for his 2004 gold album, Out The Box. He has worked with the likes of Kirk Franklin and former Prince percussionist Sheila E, and toured with contemporary gospel artists Trin-i-Tee 5:7 and Men of Standard . He has produced numerous songs for TV and film, and has acting credits both on Broadway and off. Tonex will be releasing “Out The Box 2″ sometime in 2010, under his indie label Nureau Ink. Tonex is also the pastor at Truth Apostolic Community Church in suburban Spring Valley, CA.

To pre-register or for more information go to http://seminars.iamhypeonline.com

The Artist Home Page – Make it Count

// September 2nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog Post

Your home page is where 90% of your visitors will land when looking for your band, making this the most important page on your site. Make sure it includes current news on the band, a music sampling and link to album info and sales, links to social networks and dynamic multi-media content. Make sure presentation is clean and organized. Have clear links to other important sections to the band website, such as band bio, photo gallery, video gallery, fan capture, management and booking contact info, discography, and very important – your band’s store. Merchandising is your bread and butter and can be the means to funding your music. Don’t forget to include sharable, promotional content, such as wallpapers, graphics and ringtones – this is your viral marketing material. Link your social media community profiles back to your home page so you can unclutter your profile pages, making the page load faster and more viewer friendly. A presence on social network communities are essential, but not as a stand alone. With over 70 million unique visitors per year each, Myspace and Facebook are vital to your web presence. If a potential fan looks for you on Myspace and can’t find you, you’ve lost a fan. But, with more than 8 million bands and artists with Myspace profiles, you have to distinguish yourself with a dedicated website. Producers, venue owners and media will opt fora professional, invested, self-promoting band over one that is not. If you don’t take your music seriously, neither will they.

Is this the “Hype Online Video of the month”? You be the judge.

// August 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog Post

Once upon a time I could spit a mad rhyme and beat on the desk with enough tim – ing and rhythm to do a pretty good impression of a rap artist and hit em’ with something cool….But not like this. 2 pens for the treble, desk in detention for the base, now that’s Hype Online! It’s also a lot harder than it looks, but don’t take my word for it. Rate this video yourself using the 5 star rating system above and let us know if you think that this could just be the “Hype Online Video of the Month”.

P.S. Violins in the background…with that beat, would be bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

Check back each week to place your vote for a new candidate, as we scour the net to find the coolest music related video’s to possibly become the “Hype Online Video of the Month”.

Real Reasons to use Twitter

// August 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog Post

Introduction

Let’s face it – the majority of the population doesn’t understand twitter. They don’t get its true value – all they see is an obnoxious social network full of exhibitionists tweeting about millions of mundane things of every minute of their lives.
Continue Reading

Success and the Recording Artist – How is it Defined and How Do They Get There

// August 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog Post

Ask a dozen recording artists how they define success, and you’ll get a dozen different answers. From rockstar status to changing the world, the motivational forces vary. But for most musicians, a measure of success is achieved simply with the ability to make a living from making music. Musicians have tools available to them now, more than ever before, to pro-actively make this a reality, especially through social media marketing and distribution. If they want to make a living at making music, the have to treat it like a business. That means branding their band and wooing their fans. It means knowing their fans lifestyle and go where they are. It means creating a two-way dialogue, listening to what their fans have to say, and making a personal connection. Musicians can learn these strategies, get the scoop on emerging technologies and the changing landscape of the music industry with the Music Biz 3.0 Seminar Series. IAmHypeOnline is hosting this music business series for musicians and industry professionals that want to learn how to use social media platforms and multi-media content to create powerful branding, promote live performances, generate revenue, creating interactive dialogue with fans and the media, and more. The Music Biz 3.0 Seminar Series will be held the second Tuesday of each month, starting Septmeber 8, 2009, at 7pm at the County of San Diego Spring Valley Community Center, 8735 Jamacha Blvd, Spring Valley, CA 91977. The seminar will consist of a 45 minute interactive discussion, followed by a 15 minutes Q&A. Seminar cost is $10. For more information and to pre-register, go to http://seminars.iamhypeonline.com or email info@iamhypeonline.com. IAmHypeonline helps recording artists market themselves using social media.

The Wrecking

// August 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // New Artist Review