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Difference between DJ vs. DJ/Producer

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Every electronic music artist has an entry point and it’s either starting off as a DJ or beginning their journey as a producer. Some may find the DJing part to be more fun and interesting while others may find music production as more fun and creative. Not everyone who gets into this craft wants to be a DJ/Producer depending on personal preference and choice of lifestyle one is pursuing. The journey of each may start the same but each of them leads different paths and take different approaches to get to a professional level. Let’s take a look at the two types of electronic music artists more extensively to give you a clear breakdown on the journey ahead for each. Read more

Get Ready for a Trip, Furtive Drops “Scofflaw”

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Washington DC-based producer, DJ, and event organizer, Furtive releases “Scofflaw,” a resonant psychedelic roller.  It’s a trippy, dissociated track with sharp, frothy percussive accents that pulls listeners through oil-slicked whirlpool wetness. A low-slung, gooey, and steadily progressing synth pattern delivers a sure case of lost-in-the-fog stumbling.

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The Basics: How To Get Started With Producing Music

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Creating music and beats can be a lot of fun, but it also can be a very difficult process to get into. The people who have gotten famous and made a career out of it did not start producing music for that reason, but for their passion for the music itself. They began making music because of the fun they had. Making music isn’t easy either. Many people think that they can just get into the studio, go up to a keyboard, hit a bunch of notes, and then make millions of dollars. Producing music takes years of practice and development and there is no shortcut or way around this.

Here are some tips to get you started in producing music:

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10 Principles of the Electronic Music Industry

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Taken since the inception of 6AM in 2008, we have been able to develop and follow key principles that have helped us knock down barriers, break through troubled times and reach our goals in the electronic music industry while continuing to hit key milestones every step of the way.

The information contained herein has helped shape who we are today and represents what we stand for in the global electronic music industry. We are far from perfect, we are constantly learning and always working to improve. More importantly, we need a constant reminder of these guidelines ourselves, which is also part of the reason we are publishing this article. We want to hold ourselves accountable while sharing something we hope can help others, or at least can spark a conversation on subjects we feel are important.

We not only hope you find this useful but more importantly we hope you find the strength to apply the guidelines within this article into your own journey and discover the things you didn’t think would be possible by peeling away the layers of negativity and self-sabotaging behavior that are stopping the progress you wish to attain. We are all in this together, you are never alone.

Thank you in advance for hearing us out and we’ll see you on the dancefloor soon.

Much Love & Respect,

6AM

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Quality & Traits of a Successful Music Producer and DJ

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With today’s technology advancements, it’s easy for almost anyone to translate their passion for electronic music into a career.

The myth of the bedroom producer is no longer a myth, and we often hear stories of discovered artists who broke through in the industry after putting in countless hours in the studio, honing their craft and grinding until their hard work paid off. We recently gave some tips on how to increase productivity in your home studio, tackling important subjects such as ergonomic studio set-ups, removing distractions, labeling samples, learning shortcuts and more.

But what makes someone a successful music artist? What traits must one possess to really get the most out of one’s passion for music production and/or DJing? While there are a lot of factors that come into play to make it in the music world, in order to turn passion into a career you must truly want it.

Here are some qualities most successful music artists possess, compiled after tens of hours of interviews with successful international DJs and electronic music producers.

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7 Things Artists Should Consider Before Outsourcing Social Media Work

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You’re a producer and/or DJ and your career is gaining traction. Releases are coming out on record labels and you’re getting tour playing time beyond your local scene. At one point or another you consider what to do with your social media strategy and how to take it to the next level, and naturally part of that consideration is whether to outsource the work to a professional agency or social media specialist.

If you’re ever at that point, there are some key things you should consider before outsourcing that work to a paid professional:
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9 Ways To Get New Track Ideas

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You’ve likely had that lazy weekend-long feeling or the Sunday-post-hangover feels — the kind that lets you go to work but in autopilot mode as you face your tasks, completely spacing out as you stare blankly at your synthesizer thinking of what kind of music to produce now or how to finish that mix you’ve been working on. No matter how much you love music production and writing song lyrics, there can always come a time where you will just feel stuck. So what do you do? The wrong thing to do is to sit on your ass and watch the clock go “tick-tock, tick-tock”— you have to find inspiration.

Finding inspiration will make you more motivated, making it easier for you to get new track ideas. No matter what field of job you are in, inspiration is a must. It is the stimulus that results in efficient work. If music pays for your living, you cannot afford to waste time. Push yourself and let inspiration find you.

Here are 9 ways that you might finding inspiration to get new ideas for the tracks you are working on:

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Ten Fantastic DJ Quotes: Dixon, Marco Carola, Sven VĂ€th, Maceo Plex and more

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ricardo villalobos

It’s not easy to talk about electronic music, and especially so when the genres in question are house and techno, mostly instrumental and oftentimes devoid of lyrics.

The lack of vocals make it easy to get lost in a sea of technical adjectives and meaningless explanations. We should let the music do the talking, sure, but what about the producers and DJs… what do they think?

We have collected ten of our favorite DJ quotes from some of the best producers, DJs, record label owners and promoters in the game:

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How to Know When The Right Time to Outsource Is In The Electronic Music Industry

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If you’ve ever started a business or large-scale project it is likely that you have experienced the inevitable feeling of overwhelm. At some point or another, after trying to do everything yourself, it becomes hard to keep up with all the tasks on your to-do list, and especially so when strict timelines are involved.

It has happened to almost all of that at some point in our life: we come up with a great idea, big or small, and need to convince others to believe in it and come on board for the idea to really take off. Think about it, it applies to music producers in search for a label for their latest work, or event promoters looking to launch a new event series.

This can be a dangerous situation because with every idea there are many risks involved. If you can’t get your close friends and acquaintances interested in the idea then how can you convince the rest of the world to? You can get stuck between trying to push it through yourself without the help and input of others, and outsourcing the necessary work in order for your idea to become reality.

No matter your approach, it is often recommended that creatives in both business and the arts focus not on one but on multiple ideas. If you want to grow a plant you must begin with many seeds, rather than plant just one and hope it grows into something.

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