Whats the deal guys? If you have been keeping up with the blog then you know that I put out 12 albums last year. Because I was so busy with music, travel, work and being a full time dad to a newborn baby I didn't have time to put music videos together. I believe I made 3 maybe 4 videos all year. One of them was "Going to" of Project Moon.

So let get to it. Your a rapper and you want to get 1 million plays or more on your song, well you need to invest in a platform. YouTube no longer counts ad videos when it comes to promoting a song on their platform so that is out. Not to say that Facebook is any better, the object is just to reach as many people as you can with your budget because your a unknown artist. If your not willing to put a budget behind your songs and you would like to go fully organic then share to groups. You might not get as many views unless your video has a lot of moving parts, but I have seen very cool videos not go far because they used the full budget on the shoot. So figure out what is most important to you.
I got my plays using both ads and groups by Facebook. The one thing that you would like to know is that once the song gets so many plays lost of people will play the video just to see what all the hype is about. Also be consistent because that will help people get to know you better keep in mind I also put out 12 albums in 2019 and this video did not reach 1 million views until December.

This song like most of my songs from 2019 was made on the Spire Studio by iZotope. This super small mobile studio goes every place with me and I love it. I can get some beats sent to my Dropbox by a homie and Just go in! With the Spire Studio I have put out over 100 songs and with the Master features that it has I can take my sounds to the next level without going through a lot of hoops which I like. IF you are looking for a good home studio set up check out the Spire Studio by iZotope.

Whats up guys??
So the homie posted a status the other day and it got me thinking. The status said "How you gon ask for studio time prices and then not text me back BROKEASS MTF" For me its been a while since I paid for studio time and that is only because I have my own, however I do try to book time when I am in other cities but I haven't been as successful. I believe the real reason that artist are not paying for studio time or beats is because they do not think they are good enough. Just think about it, If you had something that you knew was great you would do anything to get it out. Well its my belief that most people are just trying to have fun and are not looking to do any real investing in themselves. I have read sites that say its a scam that the artist use in order to get free songs, and hey in a world where the music game is so dang dirty I don't see why not but I don't think this is it in most cases. Another reason people do not pay for studio time is because the home studio has killed the idea of studio time. People who can not mix and master do not know what all goes into getting a great sounding song. They look at the bed in the room on walk by the kitchen and the vibe does not scream PAY, which is stupid because if it was easy and cheap then they should just do it themselves right? Often times people forget that music is an art and even tho they would like to get rich off of their art they are not willing to invest in paint or brushes.

If your an artist what you need to do is realize that you need to be willing to invest if you want to go far. If not, learn how to work a home setup so you don’t fall into this category. As an artist you do not expect to do what you love for free you hope to be paid for it so thick about that when you ask for studio time.
There are so many videos on YouTube that will show you how to work a home setup or even a large one so sit back and learn.
​iIf your the type of person that needs something more traditional then I would say look into Full Sail University. Along side learning online I also went to Full Sail. I would have to say though the one thing that scared me the most was that a lot of people that went to the school didn’t work in the music industry after. MAKE SURE THATS NOT YOU FOO!!!!

Should you try to run a studio in 2020? I would say yes, if you make music I see noting wrong with earning some extra income from your studio. Also keep in mind that most people know someone that they think is good enough to record them and even if it sounds like crap they will go with that because it’s free. Music is not going anywhere and most things in a major studio can’t be replaced but in this new day and age if you are creative you can find a way to do anything with plug ins.
Keep in mind that most people don’t want to bother with the ends and outs of making the recording the music they just want to be an artist so your space it still there.

Like I said if your not willing to invest every time you want to record and you don’t have a deal worked out I want to list some things you can buy once to get you going.
1. Get a Spire Studio comes with build in mic and recording software $300+ works on iOS and updates all the time. I have made many videos about this product and it’s something I use often

2. Get Pro Tools. $500 rent for $25-$35 a month. Let’s assume you have a computer already. Then do like I said before and get on YouTube and learn how to work this software or any other DAW.

3. Use GarageBand. $100 if not free on Mac. I don’t recommend this but I have seen people make songs with next to nothing and pull more streams then me so If you can make it work make it work.

That is a few things you can do to try and cut down or recording cost but at the end of the day you still need to know your software and sound. If you don’t you will still have your work cut out for you.

Have you ever felt like you could be doing so much more for yourself? Well I did, and I was sick of making up all these reasons up in my head of why I did not have more music out. On Feb 8th 2019Billboard.com posted a blog named "Ariana Grande & More Artists Who Put Out Two (Or More) Albums in a Year.'
If I was not beating myself up then I would say man I cant wait until I have this many songs or my catalog reaches a set number. This is why I made my mind up at then end of 2018 to put out all new songs with a few old ones over 12 album over the course of 2019.
At the time I did all my releases through CDbaby but to cut the cost down for the year I went with Distrokid. ( https://distrokid.com/vip/seven/1128816 ) I also made the choice to use my Spire Studio as my main work tool. For me this gave me no excuse when it come to recording and I also didn't have to worry about if I didn't have any money for a release. If you released music on these two platforms then you know that CDbaby chargers per album or single and Distrokid charges by the year. This took a lot of stress off of me and I was able to focus more on the music.
Another reason why I did this is because I just wanted to rap. Everyone is a Artist or rockstar or something now days but when I watched interviews and spoke with most of them say they wish they put out more music. I knew that was something I did not want to regret when I get older. Not to mention that I read a CDbaby DIY blog and it stated that they know of an artist that put out songs years before they became popular, this gave me confidence to just drop. Also I run a label calledSuccess Needs Active People Productions and in the long run its all about how much music you own in this day of streaming.

I looked online to see if anyone had done this before and even though I think it might have happened I could find any thing to support the calm so the idea that I might be the first boosted my head a lot. You can read more about all the small things that made me want to do this in my book on the homepage  "Passion Needs Commitment" by Timothy Westbrook II if you would like to get more details.
But I can tell you right now that my main driving factor was all the artist that I know in my life. Some of them work really hard on the things that they love but they refuse to put the music out as if one day the everything will be in their favor and they will just have hit after hit. This could be possible but the odds as slim if nobody know who you are and you don't have but 3 songs out with 4k in plays. You do not have to think mainstream you can just put music out and see what sticks or whatever but I think holding onto music is a big mistake so I went in.
I had a few times out of the year when I thought I was not going to make it but I did and it felt great. I ended that year with 108 new songs out which put me at a total of 170 in all making me feel like the hardest working Underground Recording Artist Alive. Might just be a me thing but hey if its never been done that is awesome. I was watching the Evolution of Hiphop on Netflix and they said that Lil Wayne was the hardest working artist of all time putting out 70 songs in one year. We all love Weezy F so this would feel like aLeBron James Passing Kobe Bryant's Record even though I am not as lit as Wayne.
Like I said If you need more info check out my book and you can get the full full story over 6 chapters and if you are looking to be the best you that you can be, get out and WORK HARD!!!!

Starting out in music I thought like most people who want to make music. I thought you need to go into a big studio and have all this fancy stuff to make great music. In a lot of ways this is true but don't forget we are in the future. In the future we have home studios and we would be crazy to think that things cant get better right? Well things are way better with the Spire Studio. The Spire was made by iZotope which you might know of if you use plug ins. This all in one tool is updated more then once a year and I have owned mine since 2017. Mind you in 2017 when I got the Spire Studio byiZotope I was looking for a more streamline way to record my music. I grew tired of pulling out my Laptop and mic as well as the stand and all the other crap I needed, so I fell in love when I came across this product.
When I got the Spire all it could do was record but because iZotope updates this product it now now master, its better at sound check and can pick out instruments from vocals and much more to come.
With the use of this tool I was able to get the passion back for making my music and I found I had less excuses when it was time to record. I'm not going to lie and say that I started using my Spire Studio fresh out the box, it still took me one year to stat using the Spire every time I recorded and I still found myself not trusting the built-in Mic. I was silly enough to pull my mic in the back because I felt like i was getting a better sound. What I found out was that I was just not using the tool as best is I could, I was ding things like getting to close or not using the soundcheck the right way. Sometimes I used the soundcheck right but got too exited or was not as hype as I was before. These things matter when it come to the big picture no matter what you are recording on, trust me I know because I went to Full Sail University for Recording Arts. 
It blows my mind what this thing can do because I might just drop my beats in that my producers send me but I have seen people like Kato make some sick stuff that is way more complex then and very good. 

I'm not saying that the Spire Studio will replace all this top of the line gear, because once you get the the point where you are trying to be the best at what you do you just add tools you never replace. Making music to me is like working on a house or a car, why would you rent a tool that you might need again. Now for me the Spire Studio has replaced everything I use but that is only because I know how to use some of the best studio equipment out there and the sound that I am looking for. Also I am running a test to see how much music I can make directly inside of the Spire with little to Zero outside help.
Using this device in 2019 I was able to put out 108 songs over 9 albums in just 12 months. During this time I worked with Dizzy Wright, Demrick and Maino which was a dream come true for sure, so I am only going forward. Its kinda like if I fall I'm going to land in the clouds or something lol.

Some of you are still on the fence about the Spire Studio and some of you might not know what it is just yet.
Just to keep it simple this device will help you get some pretty good recordings if you are looking to cut some recording cost. The price of a Spire Studio when I got mine in 2017 set me back 350 bucks and I got free delivery from Sweetwater.com. The price of recording at a studio is about 30-160 bucks an hour based on the set up of the room. For most artist that are independent and not in the trap this is difficult.
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The other way to get around the cost of recording is to have your own home studio but the price of Pro Tools alone will set you back 500 bucks. Also you will have to know how to work the software and learn how to mix and master which is a skill of its own. From my experience with all the things that are stacked up against an independent artist having to do all of this will drain you and discourage you, more then likely you will quit just like the rest. The Spire Studio on the other hand has touch mixing. Also this past year released a one touch and slide mastering feature (which I was lucky enough to demo) and it works very well depending on how creative you can get. The most important thing is get a good recording first!! Then it will not matter if you send the stems to your mixing software or mix and master inside of the Spire Studio using your phone or tablet.
Having this device has opened me up to a whole different type of work ethic that’s fore sure. This year alone (2019) I put out over 60 song last and 7 albums using multiple techniques for mixing but ONLY ONE FOR RECORDING that’s the Spire Studio. I’m not getting paid to write this or promo there product, I’m just trying to help the artist out there who need to get there music out there but can’t afford to go in the studio or maybe your like me and you travel way too much and you can’t find a studio in time. One of the things that sucked was traveling with my home studio, now the Spire Studio is all in one bag with my headphones.
So I guess you can say that the Spire Studio is worth the money! Just save up 350 and order it just remember it will help a lot if you know what your doing or are willing to learn AND I’m not sure if they operate outside of IOS. Just be willing to work hard and remember you still need to invest in some way.