Four days of intensive training has resulted in a major win for MusicTT. The recently concluded Songwriting, Production, Mixing and Mastering Workshop is getting rave reviews form long-time supporters and new advocates alike.
This was MusicTT’s fourth instalment in a series of capacity development workshops and was held at the Trinidad & Tobago Chamber of Industry & Commerce from August 3rd-6th, 2016. At least 100 local musicians, artists, sound engineers and producers attended and are now better equipped to improve their talent and businesses.
Singer-songwriter and record producer Michelle Bell kicked off the workshop with her presentation on the creation of lyrics, melody and demos while also giving sound advice on how to get your songs heard and get more airplay. She took time to listen to songs by local singers and gave them advice to improve.
The Production workshop featured two facilitators with two different approaches that were equally impactful. First, 88-Keys, record producer and partner in Kanye West’s production company, Very Good Beats, Inc. played some of the beats that inspired him and that he has sampled in his work. He even played one of the more popular songs he has produced, Jay Z and Frank Ocean's "No Church in the Wild" much to the enjoyment of his audience.88-Keys continued his presentation with advice on the legality of sampling, appropriate equipment and studio set up for production sprinkled with personal anecdotes to drive his points home.
Up next was Dana Shayegan, Vice President of Music at Studio71 who used a very engaging slideshow with statistics and real-life examples on how to monetize your music. Dana spoke about his role managing various artists on YouTube and the revenue that can be earned from such streaming services.
At the Mixing Workshop, multi-platinum award winning audio engineer, IRKO entertained and educated the audience with captivating video clips documenting his daily routine in the studio. Attendees were exposed to his interaction with clients and the type of equipment and set up he uses to produce the best mixes.
The final workshop on Mastering featured accomplished DJ, musician, producer, engineer and artist manager Jeremy Harding who gave detailed insights into the mechanics of the art form. Jeremy spoke on the technicality of the process in great depth as well as intriguing stories on his experiences working with top tier musicians in the industry.
The SPMM workshop will definitely not be the last of MusicTT’s endeavours to improve the quality and advancement of local music. Jeanelle Frontin, General Manager of MusicTT shared, “Our music practitioners have the potential to leave an indelible mark on the global music industry. We hope to shed more light on key areas of music business and technology, as we have done in the past year with our workshops on Songwriting and Production, as well as on Intellectual Property and Music Publishing. This Songwriting, Production, Mixing and Mastering Workshop will allow local practitioners like our songwriters, producers, artists and audio engineers to interact with and learn from some of the very best in the global industry.”
MusicTT continues to be committed to facilitating and stimulating the business development and export activities of the local music industry, and placing significant emphasis on the educating our stakeholders on world class tools and techniques and the music business holistically is the only way to make our talents artists ready for the global music industry. This will not only pave the way for young practitioners to produce better quality music but also give them a competitive advantage to go head-to-head with other international musical acts.