BRAVE NEW WORLD
Jan 1, 2005 12:00 PM, The Remix Editors, Robert Hanson Erin Hutton Kylee Swenson
It's no lie: We listen to your suggestions, gripes, compliments, rants, wishes and whatever you might have to say about what we're doing at Remix. Sometimes, it makes us feel warm and fuzzy; sometimes, it stings a bit. But because the point of this magazine is to help you learn more about creating and performing music, as well as using the tools that help you do so, we are trying our best to make the most of out of every issue, beyond our own individual tastes and instincts.
And because it's a brand-new year, it's time for a little something new. At last year's Remix Hotel event in New York City, we noticed something interesting. During the Q&As with the various producers and artists, the audience members were asking as many questions about how to succeed in the music industry as they were about making music.
It makes perfect sense. After all, even if you started producing tracks just to enjoy yourself and show to a few friends, creativity has a way of sinking its claws into you. After a while, you start showing more people and thinking of ways to expand. Next thing you know, the idea of making money by making music becomes more and more intriguing — and more realistic. Granted, you might not get out of the red (ever); building your own studio and playing live requires pouring some money into your hobby. And maybe that hobby will only become a part-time job at most (full-time if you're that fortunate). But that doesn't mean you can't be successful at whatever level you find yourself. Consequently, we want to help you avoid the pitfalls of the music industry to ensure that your hard work reaps the most rewards.
So with this issue, we present our first business-related music column, “Band Aid.” (Of course, the column is also aimed at all you solo artists, musicians, DJs, producers and remixers, too.) Each month, we'll have a different expert weigh in about important topics such as publishing, licensing, remixing and much more. Kicking off the column is producer Hank Shocklee, known for his work with Public Enemy, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Ice Cube, LL Cool J and others. He tackles the legal issues of sampling, including the recent federal appeals court ruling that requires producers to license unrecognizable samples.
But that's not all: We've also heard your cry for more CD reviews, so we've added a bunch more for your reading pleasure. And because we're feeling especially giving — this new-year excitement gets us every time — we've added a bonus artist feature this month to offer as many different perspectives on making music as possible.
And last but in no way least, we bring you the Remix Technology Awards. (If you're keeping count, this is the third annual installment.) We scoured every product that we reviewed and discussed during the past year and crowned the best of the best in 26 categories to help you kit out your studio.
We're not going to stop there, though. With each issue, we do whatever it takes — short of tying up producers and torturing them — to get you the production and performance tips and tricks that you so desire. So if you have any suggestions or complaints, we won't stop hearing them. Just please be a bit easy on us; we're sensitive artist types.
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