Google recently announced the launch of Google+ Pages, pages that allow users to create branded pages for businesses, artists, designers, bands and just about anything on Google+. With almost 50 million members, you should set up your Google+ Page as soon as possible. You can find a comprehensive list of big brands on Google+ in this article on allfacebook.com. You will need a Google+ profile to create a Page.

Insert Audiomind to help with this quick and easy guide on how to create a Google+ Page for your business.

1. Create Your Google+ Brand/Business Page

First thing you need to do is sign in to a Google account and input this link here:

http://www.google.com/+/business/

Click on the “Create your Google+ Page” button as demonstrated in the image above.

2. Pick a Category For Your Google+ Page

Now select a category that your business or brand can be classified as. The list of specific categories is long, so look over the options and select the best category that fits your page.

The categories include:

Local Business or Place

Suitable for: hotels, restaurants, places, stores, services. Hotels,
restaurants, places, services. Requires the primary phone number of the local business, so it can be located on Google Places.

Product or Brand

Suitable for: apparel, cars, electronics and financial services. Requires the selection of a secondary category.

Example secondary categories includes; Appliances, Arts and Entertainment, Auto, Baby and Kids, Public Figure, Fashion and Beauty, Computers and Hardware, Website and Media

Company, Institution or Organization

Suitable for: companies, institutions, organizations or non-profits. Also requires the selection of a secondary category.

Example secondary categories include; Banks and Financial, Education and Schools, Media, News and Publishing and Political Organizations.

Arts, Entertainments or Sports

Suitable for: films, TV, music, books, sports and shows. Also requires the selection of a secondary category.

Example secondary categories include; Album, Award Show, Blog, Book, Band, Concert Tour, Festival, Fictional Character, Radio Station, Record, Label and TV Channel

Other

Suitable if your business doesn’t fit into any other category above.

Once you select your category you will be prompted to fill out your page name and website. Also select who your content will be age appropriate for, agree to page terms and hit ‘Create’.

Age options include: Any Google+ user, Users 18 and older, Users 21 and older and Alcohol related.

3. Add Information to Customize Your Google+ Page

Now you will begin customizing your page’s public profile on Google+. The profile basics include your tagline (Your Page’s “Sales Pitch”) and a base profile image or logo. You have just 10 words to summarize your brand, make it count!

4. Profile Photo/Logo of Your Google+ Page

The image you upload will be square, and can be cropped after you upload it and appears to be about the same dimensions as the personal profile image. Click “Set As Profile Photo”.

5. Spread The Word About Your Google+ Brand Page

You’ve created the foundation of your Google+ page and you will now be prompted to promote your page. I suggest you optimize your page even further and add a few updates before exposing your page to the masses. A blank page won’t convince many folks that your Google+ Page is interesting enough to add to their Circles. Take note that the message you send here will come from your own profile, not from the Google+ Page you just created.

6. Congratulations On Your New Google+ Brand Page

On your welcome page, Google+ will generate a link to your page (sadly not a vanity URL, YET).  You will be given a Google+ Page Link with a string of random characters, much like what I have: https://plus.google.com/116724364506489695335 Optimize your Google+ business page and make it more engaging by “starting the conversation“.  Click “Post On Your Page” and you can begin regularly sharing content and speaking to your fans.

From here you’re ready to go with your brand new Google+ business page.

7. Edit and Add Information To Your New Google+ Page

Edit your Google+ page profile by adding an”introduction“, “contact info” and ” website“, as well as photos. Under your Google+ Page’s name is a drop down menu that has now appeared. You can switch back and forth from your regular Google+ profile to your Google+ Page any time. The same menu will be on your Google+ profile showing the pages you’ve created with that account.

There are some differences between Google+ Pages and Google+ Profiles to remember:

• You cannot add people to circles until that person had added the Page or + mentioned it.
• You cannot +1 posts on Google+ or on the web.
• Defaults to public privacy settings.
• You will not receive notifications.

Your Google+ profile is now also the administrator of your new Google+ Page and unfortunately you cannot currently add more administrators to a page. Direct your mouse on over to the link on the left under your page name and click “manage your pages” and click the blue ‘edit profile’ button.

9. Have Fun!

Hopefully this guide helped you create an awesome Google+ Brand/Business page.

Please leave a comment, especially if you have any questions!

Instead of writing a feverish long review regarding highlights and disappointments of the Detroit Movement Festival (DEMF) 2011, considering the physical ailments and weather, the music (live and direct) should speak for itself below. If you discover any problems with any of these downloads, please let me know in the comments. Cheers! Pictures of the wild adventures soon!

Martin Buttrich – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival -  Beatport Stage 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/k5Nt0C

Fatboy Slim – Live @ DEMF 2011, Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/j0hJsy

Margaret Dygas – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/mQT6So

Green Velvet – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Beatport Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/lr5ELo

Dubfire – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/lEaLlT

Shlomi Aber – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Torino Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/m7Th1N

Adam Beyer – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Beatport Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/lEspKr

James Zabiela (playing techno. yes, TECHNO!) – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Torino Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/itYfBz

Paul Kalkbrenner – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Torino Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/lWRNmF

Terrence Parker – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/kBR0FT

Loco Dice – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Beatport Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/mEyqFH

Livio & Roby – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Beatport Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/lBBMfP

Visionquest – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Made in Detroit Stage –05-28-2011 – http://bit.ly/kmKBpu

Aril Brikha – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Made in Detroit Stage – 05-28-2011 – http://bit.ly/ivNARC

Felix Da Housecat – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-28-2011 – http://bit.ly/iiU3LY

Ben Klock – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Torino Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/mNwMGp

Steve Rachmad – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Torino Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/jlilB8

Sammy Dee – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/jMUz7K

Mark Flash – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/iBmG8K

Metro Area – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-28-2011 – http://bit.ly/iUL7DK

Pulshar – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Beatport Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/iWZTVe

Guti – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Beatport Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/kLGKfq

Goldie featuring MC Armanni Reign (Metalheadz) – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Red Bull Stage – 05-28-2011 – http://bit.ly/irfN8q

DJ T1000 – Live @ DEMF – Detroit Movement Festival – Made in Detroit Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/mCBB5f

+ini – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Beatport Stage – 05-29-2011 – http://bit.ly/iKcDJj

Boo Williams and Glenn Underground – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Torino Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/isVJv3

Reference – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/l838FD

The Dirtbombs -  Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Vitamin Water Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/lTe9Y7

Claude Young – Live @ DEMF 2011 – Detroit Movement Festival – Made in Detroit Stage – 05-30-2011 – http://bit.ly/jx1poT

That’s all I have right now, but if anyone reading this has any other mix sets (Sven Vath, Beardyman, Venetian Snares, Aux 88, Ricardo Villalobos, Delano Smith, Carl Craig, Art Department, DTM 5×5 -{who blew my ear drums literally}, Three, etc…) from DEMF 2011 please post those links in the comments below. Additionally I’m also trying to find recordings of Dave Clarke, Roni Size and Umek from the Nightsneak Afterparty. Happy downloading.

Below you will find over 5000 free samples, sounds,  loops and one shots. Subscribe to my blog for more music and graphic freebies in the future.

These samples are supplied in labelled kits (with varying bpms), each of which contains bass, beat, synth, piano, jazz, dubstep, percussion, house, drum, hip hop, rock, etc., samples. As well as loops, some of the kits also contain hits and multisamples.

Most of these samples are supplied as 24-bit WAV files and can be imported directly into your DAW(digital audio workstation) or sampler of choice. The samples/loops are royalty-free and you’re welcome to use the samples in your music in any way you like – we only ask that you don’t re-distribute them.

The samples are supplied in a zip file, so you’ll need to extract them before you can see them. Many of these samples originally appeared in Computer Music‘s or Future Music‘s magazine cover DVD’s.

466 Jazz Club Loops – 460mb

12 Crunk Synth Loops – 21mb

235 Songwriter’s Loops 265mb

50 Loops Kent Loops V.3 – Guitar – 95mb

50 Loops Kent Loops V. 4 – Battery Drum Loops – 51mb

721 Electro House Loops – 263mb

350 Minimal House Loops – 134mb

294 Filthy Hippy Loops – 230mb

303 Hi-NRG Loops – 298mb

500 Free Loungekore Loops – 313mb

38 Dubstep Bass Loops – 30mb

462 Pop Loops – 283mb

426 Nu-Disco Loops – 191mb

301 Free Percussion Loops – 155mb

252 Heavy Metal Drum Loops – 128mb

100 free drum’n’bass atmosphere samples – 528mb

320 Ska Loops – 371mb

437 free chunky guitar and drum samples – 191mb

160 Dubstep Loops – 119mb

300 Twisted Orchestra Loops – 472mb

43 Reggaeton Drum Loops – 49.9mb

212 Dancehall Loops – 123mb

713 Robotic Synthpop Samples – 185mb

21 Ethnic Loops – 12mb

35 Loops – Hip-Hop Experience vol.1 – 60mb

53 Loops – Hip-Hop Experience vol.2 – 83mb

63 Loops – Hip-Hop Experience vol.3 – 84mb

100 + Solid Drum Loops – 48mb

272 Guitar And Bass Loops – 95mb

Dj Pain Hip-hop Loops – 18mb

1500 Free samples & loops – 285mb

Thanks and I hope you enjoy all these great sounds. Subscribe to my blog for more music and graphic freebies in the future.

One of the main, and often reoccurring, questions regarding getting started in the music business is……

“How do I best get myself and my music noticed?”

If there was one ‘golden ticket’ answer to that question then we’d all be millionaires. However, the suggestions that follow do represent a number of pro-active marketing strategies that perhaps will help starving musical artists and industry folk alike.

The advice here is primarily targeted to those who are DJ/Producer types and working in the electronic/pop/dance arena, but the suggestions can easily apply to those working in other music production, recording and performance fields (artists, musicians, engineers, sound design, etc).

Get Your Music Right

Any form of marketing or self-promotion means pretty much nothing if your product doesn’t equal or stand above what is out there already. You’re in a much stronger starting position if your music, it’s production ethic and content are of high quality and you really have put your all into writing, programming, recording and mixing it. Yes, I know it’s obvious, but nonetheless, that’s the one of the most influential parts.

Social Media Influence

Ah, the dreaded Social Media factor – Yep, MySpace is pretty much abound with tumbleweeds blowing through a desert, though it still (nearly) remains one of the best resources to plonk all your material in one easy to listen to place. Facebook of course is a cool place to build up firstly a local friend/fanbase, and via tagging of gig photos, videos and sharing of news links etc, move more to a national then international arena.

Don’t however put all your promo eggs in just the Facebook basket. We’re all aware how disposable and high volume everything that passes through Facebook is, and the promotion shelf life (thanks to ever rotating posts/news feeds) is literally just 12/24 hours. If therefore, you have a special message, link or resource to promote, consider re-dressing it (so as not to appear ‘spammy’) and re-posting it at later, irregular intervals.

Worth considering too is the setting up of a ‘Like’ (what used to be called a ‘Fan’) page (not a ‘group’). Technically, this attaches itself to your personal profile but visibly becomes a stand alone one-stop shop for fans of your music to get news from and visit independently even if none is forthcoming.

Engage in Twitter – period – just do it. This is a valuable, and controllable strategy that gives you ownership of just what and who appear in your information time-line. Within your outgoing tweets, combine your personality as a creative individual and balance that with some out ‘n out self-promotion. Along the way, also share ‘stuff’ that inspires and entertains you and your presence on the radar will be noticed more for sure. Other, and reasonably prominent ‘share’ resources are of course sites such as Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit and StumbleUpon – maybe worth the odd promo punt.

YouTube

Consider setting up a YouTube Channel. View this pretty much as your own, on-demand TV channel. If you’ve made actual music videos, recorded live gig footage or even just rotated a few images around to an audio backdrop of your latest mix, production or original work, here’s the place to put it. Hopefully, you’ll be attracting subscribers in no time, who’ll get notified when you upload fresh content.

YouTube videos are a breeze to share and distribute via Facebook etc and are of tremendous value when embedded into personal ‘Blogs’ (which we’ll come to in part two of this feature) and bear in mind that YouTube itself is the world’s 2nd, most used search engine. It makes sense therefore to ‘tag’ your video output with very specific, and sometimes wide reaching (though still relevant) search words to help new listeners and viewers become aware of your name, brand and ultimately, musical content. It is also possible, once large traffic becomes apparent on your YouTube channel to actually make money with the site’s ‘Partner’ program.

Blogging Isn’t Just for Nerds

Linking with the theme of online promotional activity, one of the next most important tools available to music industry hopefuls is the Blog. Setting up a blog can be as easy and cheap, or as complex and expensive as you want it to be. Free blogging software is available to seek out and use, and solutions like WordPress are free too but can be customized (via purchasable or free templates and more) to fit a users brand identity, and their creative vision. But how does a Blog actually benefit those in the music industry?

First and foremost, ‘Content is King!’ – the behemoth that is Google loves, adores and rewards original Blog content, and either ignores or downright punishes ‘copy/paste’, rip off’ and ‘plagiarism’. But what of ‘your’ content?

What To Talk About and Organization

A typical Blog/web presence would have it’s Blog section, where you would maybe talk about certain things like gigs played, studio sessions worked or just thoughts and opinions (and maybe reviews) of some new software or hardware you’ve purchased (or would like to). Even open and honest writings on the pleasures and pains, trials and tribulations of your musical journey. You can choose to be as open as a book or as mysterious as you feel, ultimately be true to yourself and your music.

Fine Tuning Your Goals

The above website can also be a shop front for your work, holding video content, links to your Facebook and Twitter profiles, image galleries, gig diaries and so forth. Don’t however make the mistake of thinking you can lace your Blog/site landing page with hundreds of tag/keywords to aid anyone searching such terms to stumble upon your page. Google will see this kind of thing as a big ‘no-no’ and its search spiders will again bypass ranking your site highly. If you’d like to optimize your music web presence and have a budget to use accordingly, consider tracking down a specialist in S.E.O. (search engine optimization) to provide their expert services.

Perform, Gig and Expose Yourself To The Masses

Ok, these online shenanigans are all well and good, but before this digital world plonked itself squarely in our sight, the best way to interact with your target audience was and still is of course to get out of the house and perform. Whether that’s DJ’n, a solo performance or a full on band gig, it doesn’t matter. Playing your music (recorded or otherwise) to a live audience builds firstly a local following, then hopefully that builds to regional, national and beyond.

The DJ Stuff

For DJ’s, seek out local promoters or club/bar managers – take mixtapes (CDs), business cards and a friendly, though confident attitude. Perhaps offer to play initially for free and try and get a warm up gig for a local hero or, if your lucky, maybe an early slot supporting a big name US, UK or international artist/DJ. By appearing on fliers and posters (whether physical or digital) this adds kudos to your ‘new’ name and presence and enables you to legitimately add these bigger names artists to your ‘appeared with’ section on any future biog.

Whilst playing your first gigs, hand out the aforementioned mixtape stylee, promo CDs to those punters you feel are worthwhile and show genuine interest in your set (don’t forget to include printed info with your contact information and websites on these CD’s). Again, have business cards at the ready to hand to prospective clients, be it the general public interested in booking you for their parties/events, or competitor club owners/promoters paying the odd visit (it happens!).

The Band Stuff

A similar approach applies as above for artists, vocalists, musicians and bands – it’s really a case of plugging yourself into the local live music scene, networking with promoters and venue owners, and seeking out specialist radio jocks that support live music passionately. The latter, with their connections on the ‘festival’ circuit, could also be a route into that arena if he/she gets behind you and your music.

Whilst bands and artists may not have a DJ flavoured ‘mixtape’ CD to throw around, there’s nothing stopping musicians in having either a giveaway sampler of their work to hand to the audience, or perhaps set up a small merchandising area for CDs, T-Shirts and posters, etc. Continuing the businesslike angle here, another option is to raise the cash to perhaps hire a small venue and run and promote your own gig where you will either reap the financial rewards, cover costs or lose money – choose any of these options as a quite probable outcome, but this still remains a possible and viable way to perform/promote.

It goes without saying that early gigs for any artist(s) tend to be hard work, financially unrewarding and sometimes spiritually disheartening. But without this focus, commitment and sometimes sacrifice, neither artist, band or the above DJ’s will grow in profile, experience or maturity.

Record Labels

Record Labels are still approachable. Whether major or independent, they still need product to release. The days of the pro-active A&R man do however seem to be long gone, most these days expect a fully recorded, mixed, mastered and already promoted/buzzing track to land in their lap. It figures though, especially for the DJ/Producer fraternity, that targeting a label dealing with ‘like’ product as their own makes sense.

Such established and respected labels like ‘Defected’ in the UK tend to attract a certain style of music, as would a specialist Techno label in Europe too for example. It’s good for DJ’s to establish relationships with these labels by buying and supporting their product anyway and if said DJ makes a track the label may be interested in, there is a dialogue already open and present.

DIY(Do It Yourself)

Of course, one of the main advantages of this digital world is the possibility that a DJ/Producer, band or artist can [and relatively] easily set up their own label. If you have product that you feel is worthy of release, smaller and higher profile download sites can either be approached direct to form a release agreement, or as is the case with the mighty iTunes, ‘aggregators’ (who act as sort of digital middle-men) can place your music onto the platform on your behalf. 

Strength in Networking

If you haven’t already done so, consider adding ‘collaboration’ to your musical life. Working with other creatively like minded people not only expands musical production, song writing and live performance boundaries but (even temporary) teaming up can provide live and studio alter-ego’s, AKA’s, etc., and lead to gigs, deals and again, other bountiful networking opportunities.

Target The Big Names

Many ‘A’ list DJs are on Twitter and Facebook. Their Facebook presence tends to be generic and often run by someone ‘on staff’, but Twitter does tend to offer a direct plug-in to many a previously unattainable superstar . Established icons such as the UK’s, Judge Jules also tend to invite communication from fans and other DJs, so take advantage of this. If you have a hot digi-promo, send him and others in your target musical area a link to your Dropbox, Soundcloud or whatever storage space and let ‘em have it!

Use Down Time Productively

Going back, the first point made is that your product, fundamentally needs to be ‘right’ and of good quality, content and production ethic. An efficient use of time for anyone engaged in music production, recording, writing and performing is to get to know their gear inside out. When gigs are quiet, rehearsals non-existent, paid studio sessions dry, then apart from the above mentioned collaboration advice, it makes sense to adopt a geek style mentality and engage in R&D (research and development) auditory sessions.

Just as the amount of music available out there stands at over-saturation level, so too is the huge amount of software, hardware and music-tech options we can invest in. But go limited – really. Don’t fall into the trap of blindly acquiring every plug-in, DAW, controller and other such hardware – be a master of a few well chosen tools. When engaged in the producing, programming and writing process, visiting and efficiently using your sonic armory will have nothing but positive effects on any finished product.

When you know that you can launch (open) a VST/DXI plug-in instrument, and use it to its maximum capability without breaking a sweat, pausing to check the manual or blindly pressing buttons and switches, you know you’ve got it right. And while you’re engaged in this down-time R&D, consider using your audio doodling to print some original sounds you’ve created in the process and add to your auditory reserve library. Once you’re at this stage, then it’s quite probably time to confidently invest in new gear.

Some of the most common questions I get regarding Facebook are how to unlike Facebook pages or delete Facebook applications. What seems fairly easy for me has become unnecessarily complicated to many because of the several profile changes Facebook has undergone in recent years.

So say you’ve already liked and added a bunch of pages and applications. How do you get them off your profile? Go to your Profile -> Info -> and then scroll down to “Activities and Interests”. Here’s what mine looks like:

All you have to do now is click on any of the pages that you want to unlike and it’ll take you to their Facebook Page. Let’s go with Ron Paul’s page. Once there, scroll down until you see the bottom of the left-hand sidebar. There you’ll find a link that says “Unlike.” Click it and that’s it! You now no longer like the Facebook page and it won’t show up in your news feed or on your profile. Not that you would ever ‘unlike’ Ron Paul. Blasphemy!

However, there is a faster way if you wish to unlike multiple Facebook pages at once. Instead of visiting all these facebook pages and “unliking” them one by one, you may follow these really simple steps below to achieve the same goal. First you’ll need to click “edit profile” on your profile page.

On the left navigation, click “Activities and Interests”.

Scroll down and select “Show Other Pages” once the page is loaded.

A popup window will now appear showing the Facebook Pages you have “liked”. Click “Remove Page” on any of the boxes and repeat this step until you have removed all pages you have changed your mind about.

Now what about those applications that want to access your Facebook information, private life, friends and just about every conceivable ‘secret’ you hold dear? To delete them, go to the top right of any page and click Account -> Privacy Settings.

Once this page loads, you’ll want to look at the bottom left for “Applications and Websites”. Click the “Edit your settings” link there.

Here’s my Applications page. There are a bunch of options here, but all you’ll want to do is click the very first “Edit Settings” button.

This will pull up every Facebook application you’ve added to your profile. To delete  just click the gray X on the far right next to any application that you want to delete. Confirm that you want to remove the app and you’re all set. The application now can no longer access any of your information and is deleted.

That’s all there is to it. Hopefully these simple steps will help you tidy up your Facebook account and further protect your privacy in the process.

Here is a list of music production sites where you can get tons of free VST’s(Virtual Studio Technology). Even though it may take some time to sort through and choose what you want from these websites, the free sounds and instruments are well worth the effort.

Vst’s are virtual instruments the generally ‘plugin’ to other more powerful music creation software. For example: Synthesizer, drum machine, piano, sequencer, etc. They can be used with and inside production/sequencing software such as Cubase, FL Studio, Pro Tools, Ableton, Sonar, Propellerheads Reason, Logic, and more. For information about Vst’s, visit What is a Vst Instrument on Sound on Sound Magazine.

May I suggest that you come up with a plan right NOW regarding how you will organize these vst’s. So that the best ones don’t get lost in a folder of hundreds of .dll files.

vstplanet.com – Clean site with a good pick of vst’s.
gersic.com – Over 1806 plugins listed.
kvraudio.com – This is probably the best and most well known directory with listings of free and paid vst’s.
gtgsynths.com – Small site, but some great synth vst’s.
amvst.com – Freeware synth.
vst-plugins.homemusician.net/ – Great site with good details.
free-plugin-list.com – Nice searchable directory.
sadglad.com – 670 entries.
freemusicsoftware.org – Select a category on the right.
audiomastermind.com – Clean searchable directory.
rekkerd.org – Small collection, but still nice.
vst4free.com – Get brass, guitar, piano and free synth vst’s.
users.tpg.com.au - Nice synth vst’s.
tweakbench.com – Synthesizer sounds.
delamancha.co.uk – Paid and free vst’s.
shuttlebugrecords.com - Instruments and effects

Enjoy!

The Winter Music Conference 2011 and the Ultra Music Festival dates have been a point of controversy for several days now and many of us have serious questions, as well as decisions to make, regarding this yearly electronic music pilgrimage to Miami. The Winter Music Conference dates are set for March 8-12 and Ultra Music Festival’s is now a 3-day event, happening the weekend of March 25-27.

According to MTV, “Controversy has swirled around the electronic dance music community over…..the Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival’s misaligned 2011 schedules.

WMC owner and co-founder Bill Kelly spoke exclusively to MTV News and further corroborated the points in Puig’s manifesto, exclaiming, “Louis nailed it on the head!” Kelly, however, does admit that the departure of UMF from WMC week will absolutely affect his longstanding operation negatively. “We’re going to be hurt a little bit,” he says, noting that more than 25 percent of those who buy the official WMC registration pass — which currently costs $275 — do so to take advantage of the complimentary UMF ticket (now selling at $179 for the three-day pass). However, Kelly goes on to speculate that the separation of the two entities might actually open up new doors for both parties, including one scenario that might even entail the creation of WMC’s own exclusive “festival style” performance centerpiece.”

Further, according to a statement posted on the WMC official website responding to the divergence in dates, “WMC remains committed to the artists, delegates and fans that have made the program what it has become over the last 25 years. The festivals, Ultra and many others, are amazing experiences for the fans and artists alike. By contrast the quintessential WMC experience is really about the camaraderie between pioneering artists and industry legends….”

Personally I’m inclined to side with Louis Puig on the subject. UMF organizers are now trying to capitalize on the 25 yr long success of WMC in the electronic dance music industry. Ironically, WMC spawned UMF, basically making it possible. Now that its monstrous tentacles have exclusively hijacked many well known mainstream electronic music ‘artists’, it appears ready to set out on its own. The Ultra Music Festival, now in its 13 yr, complimented WMC, alongside the many other week long festivities that occur each year in March. In the end, the separation of the two will most certainly negatively affect both. Unnecessarily. UMF organizers undoubtedly believe that by doing this they may very well increase attendance, but at $179 a ticket, you can count on many who will not attend based on that price point alone. Especially when there will be many FREE and prestigious events during the entire week of WMC. This battle simply shouldn’t take place though.

For me, the many individual parties around Miami Beach and Downtown have always been more exciting than going to the overcrowded and overpriced UMF. Again, many events that are FREE. Locally, the change probably will not make that big a difference, but UMF organizers are discouraging many electronic music fans who travel to Miami from various places around the globe. Fracturing an already heavily cliquey genre of (largely unpopular in the US) music will only lead to attendees to choose one over the other. The US is still in a recession afterall.

Louis Puig (DJ and Owner of Club Space Miami) offered the first parting shot a couple days ago, blasting the event organizers of the Ultra Music Festival, by creating the following post on his personal blog.

Hello Electronic Music lovers,

With WMC comes WMC Drama, the two just seem to go hand in hand. This year the big D is all about the two different Dates (WMC and Ultra) which are confusing the fcuk out of everyone and raising all sorts of questions… What is up with the 2 dates? What is really happening? What is the inside scoop? What is Club Space doing? When should we come to Miami? My father always had one answer for every question, when in doubt always chase the money and sure enough this is no exception so pay close attention because I am only explaining this once…

This year and once again, Ultra is trying to monopolize WMC by engaging exclusive contracts with all major DJs which will not allow them to perform at your favorite dance clubs. Last year they got Tiesto, Dead Mau, Guetta, Carl Cox, Armin…) to sign Ultra exclusives and this year they are going after everyone else. What this means to the consumer is that you will no longer be able to enjoy your favorite DJ for extended sets after midnight at your favorite clubs, instead you will be forced to listen to them for a one hour set before midnight in a crowded field of dust, mud and ravers. You can also forget about seeing them at your favorite pool parties. You either pay the overpriced Ultra admission or you don’t get to see and dance to your favorite DJ at all, so much for democracy and your rights as a consumer. Now, I love Ultra and what they bring to the game but I do not agree with their greedy strategy to manipulate and monopolize Music Conference. This is just not good for anyone.

WMC used to be about free parties with DJs and industry folks sharing and enjoying new music. Now, it is about greed and money with Ultra and all the clubs fighting over talent, hotels charging 4 times what they are used to and agents and DJs banking on the demand. As the owner of Space, I like all the demand and the high prices as it allows us to raise our prices and make more money and Space will be packed regardless of what DJ is performing and what decision you make. In fact, the better Ultra does, the better we do as we are right across the street and at midnight everyone comes our way. However, as a 35 year supporter of Electronic Music I cannot consciously stand back and see this shit take place. This is not what EM is about and it surely is not what I want to see WMC turn into. In fact, for the past 5 years I have made it a point to stop the door cover at a certain price knowing that we could easily charge double the cover. Our presales discount tickets even start at half of the door cover charged on the day of the event. This Industry has been very good to me and I for this I am eternally grateful. Thanks and thanks again.

Now what does this mean to you? Well, unfortunately the consumer is the one that ends up paying for everything. As long as there is just one music festival and one weekend as long as you keep supporting and feeding the greed you will keep suffering the high prices. This year you have a chance to make a difference and bring back what Music Conference and Electronic Music used to be about. You can either come to Miami on the last week of March, support the greedy monopoly, keep taking it up the ass and lose your right to seeing your favorite DJ at your favorite club or you can come the second week of March, claim back your wallet and your nightlife. It is really all up to you… your life, your music, your choice. The good folks at WMC have taken a brave step towards bringing saneness and normality to this over populated and overpriced chaos by choosing a separate week from Ultra for you to hold their parties and events. Now, if we could just get someone to start another music festival during WMC week things would really stabilize. Gordon Gekko once said, “greed is good” but I truly believe competition is even better. Humm… if I were you I would not book your tickets just yet.

Finally, a good friend pointed out something which we are all overlooking and that is that “without WMC there would not be an Ultra Music Festival.”

See you the second week in March….

Are organizers deliberately attempting to separate the UMF ‘ravers’ from the ‘hardcore edm old schoolers’ who attend WMC? By now UMF organizers have been asked “why” by many in the industry. Hopefully soon they will have an answer concerning their true intentions for purposefully separating the dates like this.

You will also see me the second week of March!