🎙️The Most Interesting Come Up Story

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PressPlay brings you the latest news covering the audio industry and music news all in one quick 5 minute read!

Quote Of The Day:

Charts Weekly

Well if you were here last week you'll know that the charts are hardly any different! Bad Bunny remains the main character as Harry Styles' other tracks are slipping away but remaining #1 with "As It Was."

Oftentimes we see weeks go by and charts remain stagnant but that just means the artists are doing something right, right? :P

The Most Interesting Come Up Story Of All Time

It's not often that an artist randomly catches the attention of someone of stature such as Kanye West, only to be signed immediately. Today we will talk about Big Sean's quick rise to fame, earning a top spot on the G.O.O.D usic label!

Just a regular Friday: During the start of Big Sean's career he joined a smalltime group consisting of a few of his friends called S.O.S. Every Friday they would run a radio show which built some notoriety in the community, landing them trust with a larger radio show called hot 102.7.

As Sean spent time with some of the DJs in the back it was mentioned to him that Kanye West was just down the hall with his entourage. Sean peered over and sure enough, there Kanye was. Apprehensively, Big Sean walked up to the group and let Kanye know that he was a huge fan and insisted that he show him a quick freestyle. At first, Kanye denied him, claiming he was short on time, but finally allowed it.

"Alright, go ahead you got 16," 16 meaning 16 bars to rap and hopefully make a good first impression! Sean jumped on the opportunity and absolutely wowed the entire group including Kanye West. At the end of the performance, Kanye even mentioned to Sean the words; "I'm gonna sign you.

Shortly after, Kanye West called Big Sean's phone, and the rest was history! He was officially signed in August 2007, shortly after signing to Def Jam.

A story like this really shows what tenacity and persistence could do for you as an artist or any other facet of life! Take risks!

Want to know something funny? Now Kanye absolutely hates Big Sean mentioning a few months ago the following: "The worst thing I ever done was sign Big Sean." The feud started when Sean and John Legend refused to support his failed 2020 presidency.

What are your thoughts on this success story? Was this too bold of an approach? Let us know by replying to this email!

Artist of the week: Arden Jones

Arden Jones is quickly taking over the indie spotlight creating multiple hit singles which have flourished on Tik Tok lately. Reaching his fourth EP this year, Arden Jones claims that he will be releasing a new "Age Tape" on the first of every Thursday. "Age Tape" is the current name of the EP series that he is creating each month.

Last month Arden was just breaking 150k followers on TikTok only to catapult himself well above 200k followers while only posting his song "La Di Da" the entire time. What makes this artist even more unique is the simplicity of his content style. He simply finds a location and performs his song live with no recording or visual effects, just a kid and his ukulele turning into an internet sensation!

Someone like Arden is a prime example of what's truly possible. You don't need a ton of money to achieve your dreams, just passion mixed with effort and you're good to go!

Know of any upcoming artists? Reply to this email and let us know who you think we should cover next!

Audio Engineering Guide

…Advice for an aspiring audio engineer

Reach out to any artists you know and others you don't know and offer to mix a song for free

• Mixing for free is the best way to get consistent practice and become a better engineer, and cut your teeth.

• Be patient with yourself and give all songs a shot.

Build relationships and try to mix as many artists as possible

• This will allow you to pop into their mind when they have a song they need mixed

• Be open to all genres, it will only make you a better engineer and improve your ears.

• Save all mixes on a external hard-drive, if you don't have one, get one…or two.

Make a folder with songs you have mixed to send to artists if they ask

• Make it clear that you offer mixing services on all your social media, this will get you mixes out of the blue.

• This is your portfolio, as you gain more mixes you can make a website to host your services.

• Make a playlist on Spotify and add all of the songs you have mixed.

Try to get familiar with every DAW you can get your hands on, it will make you versatile in any session

• Not everyone uses your preferred DAW.

• Some would prefer to send you the project file which can be easier than stems.

Constantly be learning more about engineering from youtube tutorials, interviews, books, and blogs

• Absorb all tips and tricks that you can, the ones that stick will start to mold your mixing style.

Create vocal chains (presets) and send them out to artists for free

• This proves to the artist that you have skills and you will come to mind when they need that last 10% to make their song great.

• Here's an example of free vocal chains.

This Freestyle will go down in history forever. For how short the video is, this freestyle is definitely top 10 in our book! Cole comes with the perfect flow matched with incredibly complex lines that only someone who has mastered the craft could cultivate.

Power 106 hosts DJ SourMilk and Justin Credible waited 12 years for an opportunity to have Cole on the show and it was well worth it. Both hosts were absolutely blown away by the vernacular talent of Cole, left speechless.

Notable Lyrics:

PressPlay Quick Links

• Jack Harlow & Drake drop the "Churchill Downs" music video.

• Jada Pinkett speaks on the Will Smith x Chris Rock incident.

• Why Big Sean is an absolute Goat.

• Soulja Boy speaks up against gatekeepers in the industry.

• Kendrick Lamar announces a world tour.

• The top Rap albums this year (So Far.)

Together With

Baywood: A Free Tool For Artists

Baywood Audio creates vocal presets that work as a drag and drop system, similar to an Instagram filter, but for your voice. Using Stock & Waves plugins they have created a seamless system that puts the artist in control removing the financial restraints of studio time and overpriced audio engineers.

The greatest part is this company strives themselves on putting the customer before financial gain. Here's a link to their FREE vocal presets and templates which I'm surprised are the quality they are. I myself have used this free template to start every song I've ever made, so I can say with full confidence that this WILL change the way you make music forever. Whether you're a pro or a beginner, you can easily use the recording template as a start, and tweak the settings as you go.

Give it a try, what's there to lose?

New To Music? Here's what you need!

If you speak to any recording artist they most likely have recorded on a Focusrite interface before. These bad boys are some of the most high-quality, affordable interfaces on the market. The Focusrite Solo is perfect for any artist just looking to record alone in their bedroom, recommended for any beginner!

What is an interface? Think of an interface as the middleman between your microphone and computer. An interface is used to translate your vocals and/or instrument into digital sound. From here you're able to manipulate that audio inside of your music software.

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Reply with a link with one of your best songs for a chance to be featured as artist of the week!

Signing off for now!

- PressPlay