Michael Nickolas

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Viewing 15 posts - 301 through 315 (of 523 total)
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  • in reply to: Putting your repertoire online #27810
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Broadjam is a perfect solution for me. I can upload songs and mark them as private, which means they cannot be viewed by the general public. To share them I create a “transmit”. I can add any number of songs to a transmit, I can choose whether the song can be downloaded or stream only. A link to that transmit is created that I can share with anyone of my choice. Here is an example: http://www.broadjam.com/transmit/index.php?id=405bczk

    in reply to: 15, 30 and 60 second edits #27805
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    can only arrive at that point with an unnatural fadeout.

    Fade-outs are frowned upon in library music. You want a button ending, or a final hit that decays naturally, like a crash cymbal. There is an art to creating timing edits from stereo mixes, but the more you do it the better you’ll get at it. You don’t need an exact tempo of 60 or 120. You do need to know your audio editing tools and software very well. And you need your ear to guide you to a musical solution. Many times I’ve fought with an edit for a long time, only to start all over from scratch and find the solution in just minutes!

    in reply to: New ascap website #27803
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Did anyone notice the ASCAP numbers are all out of whack today? They added about 1000 non-existent cue sheets to my total. About had a heart attack… 🙂

    in reply to: Using RF Commercial Sample Loops In Library Productions #27742
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Yeah, loops are great to add an authentic sound to an original composition. Like an instrument difficult to own and learn like a pedal steel guitar, or traditional instruments from another country. The first thing I do after purchasing a loop product is print out the license agreement and store the hard copy in a file so I can find it quickly if I have any question about how they can be used!

    in reply to: Do your alternate mixes match the original mix? #27731
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Probably as close to possible to edit between cleanly. Recently, a library even asked me to leave any blank space up front that may have resulted from creating an alternate.

    in reply to: Fixing old cues…with a technology barrier #27522
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    I also do my timing edits starting from the stereo mix. I use Sound Forge. The more you do, the faster and better you get at it. It can be hard when a melody line or cymbal crash crosses the bar, but it’s pretty rare that it’s impossible. Key is being able to hear how it can work and knowing all the software tools available.

    in reply to: Cue critique request – Heartbeats #27504
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    I intentionally placed that pseudo-gramophone sound effect there

    I remember once in one of my educational songwriting projects for children I used a kazoo. I thought it was a great idea for a song for kids. The client asked me to remove “that buzzy sounding thing”. 🙂

    in reply to: CryptoWall – CryptoLock – Ransom-Ware #27502
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Until recently, I’ve always kept my DAW “internet free”. I disable the motherboards network connector in the BIOS and never plug it in, relying on “sneaker net” to transfer files and make updates. That’s become impossible now. Most modern software requires an internet connection. So I recently bought a USB wireless network adapter. I plug it in only to make a quick software update or program download, and remove it as soon as practical.

    in reply to: Cue critique request – Heartbeats #27501
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Hi Raman, I like your cue. It’s a pleasure to hear some real emotion in a piece of library music (you can’t go wrong tuning down the sixth string to a low D). I was just listening to some recent releases from a big library and was thinking how it all sounds the same, sounds written only to sell. On the other hand, my sentimental/emotional pieces aren’t big sellers. Clients seem to love their uptemo, feelgood inspirational tracks.

    You have some noise in your recording, probably pre-amp hiss from your input device. Something to look into.

    in reply to: Sound on sound magazine advice for library composers. #27491
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Hi everyone the June part 2 read is out now.

    Peppered with quotes from Art and Mark Petrie…

    in reply to: Critques on my first submissions #27456
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    I would suggest they sound too “MIDI”, both in feel and sounds. Branching out into using more live musicians or even loops recorded live will be helpful.

    in reply to: Sound on sound magazine advice for library composers. #27438
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Hi SquarewaveMultimedia. That approach has worked for me with larger PMA libraries.

    And it just worked for me last week with a smaller boutique library. Received a modest but acceptable upfront fee for each track.

    in reply to: How much to charge? #27406
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Thanks for remembering Paolo. That was six years ago and it’s not available anymore. I had a single use internet video listed at $94 back then, but like daveydad says, the question is what about multiple uses.

    in reply to: Making my dream come true #27393
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Yes, it does seem like it would have been much easier. Please ignore my post/advice.

    in reply to: Making my dream come true #27391
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    I wrote “for the love of the art”, where did you get jump starting my career from?

    From your original post:
    “Dreaming of one day working 100% with music so now I’m doing my research.”
    “Haven’t sold any of my songs, but we all have to start somewhere!”

Viewing 15 posts - 301 through 315 (of 523 total)
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