Recording Sweet Spot: KMA Music

Facility Name: KMA Music

Website: www.kmamusic.com

Location: The Brill Building, Midtown, Manhattan

Neighborhood Advantages: There are amazing views of Times Square here, a great selection of food, and our studio is located in a landmark building.

Date of Birth: 2007

Facility Focus: Tracking and mixing!

Mission Statement: “Bringing the music back to the Brill.”

Clients/Credits: 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Birdman, Black Thought, Bow Wow, Bravo TV, Britney Spears, Cash Money Records, Claude Kelly, Clipse, DJ Clue, DJ Khaled, DJ Swivel, David Cook, David Foster, Demi Lovato, Duro, Eric Hudson, Estelle, Eve, Fabolous, Fantasia, Flo Rida, G-Unit, G-Unit Records, Geffen Records, George Clinton, Ghostface Killah, Gloria Gaynor, Gym Class Heroes, Honor Society, Ice Cube, Interscope Geffen A&M, Island Def Jam Music Group, J Records, J-Cole, J-Lo, Jamie Foxx, Jay Sean, Jay-Z, Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, Jeremih, John Legend, Jonas Brothers, Jordin Sparks, Joss Stone, Justin Bieber, Kelly Rowland, Kristin Chenoweth, LMFAO, Little Steven, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson, Mos Def, Nas, Nelly, Nick Cannon, Paul Simon, Phil Ramone, Rihanna, Roc Nation, Sean Paul, Sesame Street, Shaggy, Snoop Dogg, Sony Music, Sting, Swizz Beatz, T.I., The Neptunes, Tiesto, Twista, Universal Motown, Universal Republic Records, Warner Bros. Records, Whitney Houston, Wyclef Jean, Yung Joc

Some of our recent credits include: Mixed: “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys from The Blueprint 3, “Do You Remember” by Jay Sean ft. Sean Paul & Lil Jon from All or Nothing,  “Throw It In The Bag” & “My Time” by Fabolous from Loso’s Way,”Baby” by Ghostface Killah from Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, “Bittersweet” by Fantasia, “Work Hard Play Hard” by DJ Tiesto, “Who Dat” by J. Cole, 12 out of 16 tracks on Fabolous’ Loso’s Ways, 11 out of 14 tracks on Jay Sean’s All or Nothing. Recorded and Produced “Worth It” by Whitney Houston from I Look To You.

Key Personnel: David “Roz” Rosner – Studio Manager , James M. Spano – Asst. Studio Manager, Casey R. Flynn – Chief of Operations

System Highlights: We have a lot on hand, including AKG C12 VR, API 3124, Avalon 737, Digidesign Control 24, Digidesign Icon, Focusrite Red 7, Griffin G 1.5, Griffin LFE 18”, Lexicon 960L, Logic Pro 9, Neumann U87, Pro Tools HD 8.0, SSL XLogic E Signature Channel, SSL XLogic SuperAnalogue, Sony C-800G, Tube-Tech MP-1A, Teletronix LA-2A,, Universal Audio 1176, Yamaha Disclavier 6 Grand Piano

Distinguishing Characteristics: We are a boutique studio with a vibe like no other.  Our entire facility has panoramic views of Times Square.  KMA was designed by famed studio designer, Fran Manzella (The Palms Studio, The Barber Shop Studios, Sterling Sound) who built our flagship A room around his very own Griffin monitors.  This is why clients such as Duro and DJ Swivel (Jay-Z, Jay Sean, Nas, Mariah Carey, Fabolous, Mary J. Blige, T.I., Britney Spears, The Neptunes, Ludacris, The Beastie Boys, Diddy, Ashanti and Will Smith, etc.) choose to record and mix their projects in our extremely quiet and sonically accurate rooms.

The building is on fire, you only have time to grab ONE thing to save, what is it? Our tech, Casey R Flynn haha… and the hard drives!

Rave Reviews: Our sound, our service, our staff, the views of Times Square, the vibe and the stripper pole (always a conversation piece!).

Most Memorable Session Ever: We’ve had many memorable sessions at KMA, but probably the most notable session was with the legendary Paul Simon and Phil Ramone while recording Paul’s single “Questions for the Angels.”

Session You’d Like to Forget: N/A!

Dream Session: We can’t narrow it down, so pick one for us: The Rat Pack, Michael Jackson,
Van Halen, U2, Johnny Cash. [SonicScoop selects ALL OF THE ABOVE laying down a slammin’ version of “We Want the Funk”.]

– David “Roz” Rosner, Studio Manager KMA Studios

The New Music Seminar 2010: “Advertising, Marketing and Media Need to Co-Exist”

In a world already teeming with new (often free) music options, where artists are struggling to make a living and where so many names get lost in the throngs of new artists each year, how does a new artist break through?

Earlier this week, the New Music Seminar convened to answer this multifaceted question through seminars and interviews with music marketing, technology, business and production professionals. The Seminar, overall, lived up to its name in its focus on fresh, unknown artists and bands that still have not gotten their ‘break,’ the “new music” we have yet to hear. What are the emerging tools, techniques and channels for getting this music out there? And what can we learn from past success stories and are these examples even relevant anymore?

New Music Seminar was spread over three days, between July 19th-21st, and a program which included Meet the Author sessions, 18-minute intensive presentations and panel discussions, or “Movements” that featured big personalities squaring off on these big-picture topics.

The first day’s Movements got off to a rough start as the mics were not working properly and the musicians in the room were yelling out advice instead of the other way round. However, talks finally got under way for The First Movement — ‘The New Music Business Unveiled’ — with players Michael Doernberg, co-founder of ReverbNation, Jay Frank, Sr. Vice President of Music Strategy at Country Music Television, Eric Garland, Founder and CEO of BigChampagne, and Gwen Lipsky, Chief Strategist at SoundThinking NY. The discussion was led by Ariel Hyatt, founder of Ariel Publicity and Cyber PR.

A number of different topics were raised but the discussion always seemed to wrap around the the theory of ‘1000 true fans.’ As Hyatt explained if an artist can accumulate 1,000 true fans, fans that not only buy music but also concert tickets and merchandise, and if each fan paid at least $100 a year then the artist or band should theoretically be able to support itself for that year. The conversation continued along the lines of obtaining “true fans” as Lipsky put it, although in the 20/80 marketing rule, where 20% of the consumers provide 80% of the revenue, she pointed out, “in music it’s less, it’s more like the 10/90 rule.”

Social media became a hot topic as Hyatt explained that Facebook, Twitter and MySpace were not enough. According to her pie chart (yes there were pie charts), e-mail (30%) and Google (14%) were in fact the best money-makers in terms of getting your name out there and selling music. The players preached regular communication with fans via newsletters or e-mail blasts to nurture a relationship with fans so that they became more than just a fan but rather a “true fan” or even a “superfan.”

Doernberg elaborated, mentioning artists who most of the room had never heard of yet who have been quite successful in financial terms due to their ability to “go deeper than a ‘friend’ relationship.” He said, “you don’t have to have tremendous reach to have high engagement.”

The seminar went on to discuss ‘Click to Content,’ and how artists should not only make their music available but also reduce the number of clicks it takes for a fan to download their music. Frank said, “People will give about 10 seconds to listen to a song,” therefore artists should find the fastest path to their fans even if that means going through different means of reaching different fans.”

Hyatt ended the discussion by answering a few questions from the audience. She added to her previous statement about reaching fans via e-mails saying “personalize the e-mails by splitting them into groups of fans,” but to only include “one call to action in each e-mail” because if there are too many, the fan is most likely to do nothing at all.

The Second Movement ‘The Future of Media’ led by Senior Editor of All Things Digital, Peter Kafka, included Alex Cameron, Senior VP of Market Manager Emmis NY, Courtney Holt, President of MySpace, Richard Yaffa, CEO and President of N. America Group M Entertainment, David Goodman, President of CBS Interactive Music Group, and Joe Kennedy CEO of Pandora.

Although this discussion was meant to focus on how the Internet changes who breaks and how, it seemed to veer into a debate between radio and Internet and which actually breaks artists and which leaves them lingering. When Cameron confessed that, “every medium has its place” and that, “new music is a major risk on radio,” the audience started to rustle and whispering filled the room. Kennedy came to her rescue claiming, “Radio is so essential to the discovery of music.”

The talk hit on some other points such as artist branding, bringing up names like Lady Gaga and her new venture with Polaroid and The Veronicas and their association with Yaz. Goodman explained that a lot of brands now want to affiliate themselves with new music as they earn credit for discovering new artists. In turn, this helps to build the brand’s reputation in the eyes of their consumers.

Cameron went on to say that “originally the currency was money and then time, but today’s currency is trust.” Trust amongst artists, labels and brands as well as fans. Goodman ended the talk on a positive note for all the new musicians in the audience, “stay true to the vision.”

On Day Two of the Seminar, a lively discussion broke out in the Movement titled, “The Creative Conundrum: Increasing Your Odds With Radical Differentiation.” Moderated by Bill Werde, with publicist/personality Kelly Cutrone, Little Steven, Just Blaze and Tom Jackson of OnStageSuccess.com, this panel spoke to the importance of finding one’s self as an artist, finding “your lane,” as Just Blaze put it, and putting 100% into being the best and brightest at that thing, whatever it is.

They all stressed the importance of the artist’s team, the production, presentation and management in honing and executing the artist’s vision. To the artists, producers and other creatives in the audience, Cutrone emphasized, “The team is really important but you have to believe in yourself. You have to live and breathe your brand.”

Swizz Beatz, Nile Rodgers, Little Steven & More Participate in This Week’s New Music Seminar

The New Music Seminar kicks off tonight with an opening night party and concert at conference HQ, Webster Hall.

Over the next two days, music and technology industry leaders will converge to speak out and share ideas during the conference, which will be presented in five “movements,” or focused discussions, 18-minute intensive talks, and mentoring sessions.

For the full New Music Seminar schedule, visit http://www.newmusicseminar.com/blog/event-details/schedule/.

Highlights include: Wednesday’s discussions on “The Breaks,” where artists will discuss the “mentors and miracles” involved in them first breaking through. Panelists will include Nile Rodgers, Swizz Beatz, Vinnie Brown (Naughty By Nature) and Alex Suarez (Cobra Starship). And “The Creative Conundrum — increasing your odds with radical differentiation” featuring Little Steven, Tom Jackson (OnStageSuccess.com) and Kelly Cutrone (People’s Revolution).

Tomorrow night will see the OurStage-powered “Artist on the Verge” Finals take place at Santo’s Party House, hosted by Matt Pinfield and Leslie Fram of 101.9 WRXP and John Clarke of Q104 FM. Performing finalists include Comic Book Heroes, Hotspur and Yonas. The Grand Prize Winner will receive the NMS Reflection Award Presented by Mountain Dew and Doritos, an award worth over $50,000 in prizes, at NMS on Wednesday, July 21.

For more information, visit www.newmusicseminar.com.