Carolyn Malachi blends Jazz, Hip Hop, Spoken Word and lots of imagination into a style Giant Step calls “delicate, refreshing [and] smoothâ€. She champions global access to education with e-textbook provider Chegg and The School Fund. In 2013, the artist whom MTV calls “one of five R&B artists to obsess over†released a full-length album, GOLD.
Read her tips here for recording artists to keep everything in order and current.
1. Defy reality. Remember everything.
Short-term memory overload is real. Blame the internet
, then break in a new app: Evernote. Use Evernote products to retain and manage your inspiration. Organize text, photos and audio notes. Collaborate with creative partners by sharing notebooks. Synchronize notes across devices. Never forget another song, lyric or melody.2. Show and Sell
Google wants you to share your passion with people around the world through Helpouts. Teach anyone, virtually anywhere. Charge a fixed price per Helpout, or set a per-minute rate. Helpouts’ live video chats work on desktop and mobile devices. Request an invitation code
to get started.RELATED: Carolyn Malachi Talks Blerd Appeal
3. Swim With the Cryptocurrent
Someone bought a Tesla with the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency – Bitcoin. Bitcoins are transferred from person to person through the internet. Without a middleman, the transactions are relatively fee-free and without limits. Set up a wallet through Coinbase or BitPay. When fans or clients offer to pay you with it – they will, because Bitcoin is for cool people, and fans are cool people – be ready.
4. Enroll at YouTube U
For an education beyond what trial, error and manuals can offer (Honestly, who reads the manual?), consult YouTube’s thriving population of recording engineers. Marcus Marshall, for example, shares product tutorials after bonding with studio equipment.
5. Make A Choice
Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton, Presonus Studio One, FL Studio and their respective mobile apps top the music industry’s list of popular digital audio workstations. Before the options overwhelm you, heed the advice
of Grammy-garnished record producers and engineers. Maximize the technology that complements your creative skillset.6. Automate or nah?
Berklee Online professor John Kellogg’s Introduction to the Music Business course proposes a collaborative alternative to the Do It Yourself (DIY) mentality: Do It Ourselves (DIO). While navigating a tech-driven creative economy, how do independent recording artists decide when to automate and when to collaborate?