Go To My Website For Updates

You can find my latest weekly blog update here.

Beginning tomorrow, all my blog updates will appear at my main website https://thisbrucesmith.com. There will be no further updates to this site.

What's Happening: Week of December 24, 2018

My weekly blog updates now appear on my regular web site. You can read this week's post here.

Beginning in 2019, all new content will appear on my website https://thisbrucesmith.com.

What's Happening: Week of December 17, 2018

Beginning in January 2019, I will no longer update this blog. You can access my weekly update here.

What's Happening: Week of December 10, 2018

My weekly blog update is now available at my website. You can view it here.

What's Happening: Week of December 3, 2018

My latest weekly update is now available. You can view it here.

What's Happening: Week of November 26, 2018

My weekly update is now online on thisbrucesmith.com. Please click this link to check it out.

What's Happening: Week of November 19, 2018

The Christmas season is almost in full swing, and that's the focus of my weekly blog update, which is available at my consolidated web site and blog. CLICK HERE TO READ THE UPDATE.

What's Happening: Week of November 12, 2018

My consolidated web site and blog are now live. GO HERE FOR MY WEEKLY UPDATE.

What's Happening: Week of November 5, 2018

In the next few weeks I'll be changing over to my new web site. Music will be one section of the site. I'm also going to be talking more there about other things I'm working on. The site is in WordPress and before I switch over I'll be adding plugins to let me integrate Google Analytics and some other stuff. I also want to set up a page outlining privacy policies for the benefit of folks visiting from the EU. When the switchover is complete I'll continue to post links here to updates there until at least the end of the year.

While I'm working on different projects I also need to crank out some more music. Why? Pond5 shared an email update linking to an article by one of their more successful musical artists. I clicked and read. The artist gave some helpful tips to help grow business, many of which I'm already doing. Just out of curiosity, I clicked through to check out his portfolio. It turns out that it's eight or nine times the size of mine! If the quality were comparable, a portfolio that size should be making a pretty good chunk of change. Can it really just be a matter of numbers? I guess I need to get moving.

Meanwhile, my featured stock music item this week is Lifestyle Podcast Intro 3 (30 Second). It's a simple, mellow opener for society/culture, lifestyle and similar content. It's also available in 15-second and bumper versions.

CLICK HERE TO LICENSE THIS TRACK NOW

And with that, I'm finished for today. Thanks so much for stopping by!

What's Happening: Week of October 29, 2018

First, I'd like to use a few words express my sadness and sympathy for the innocent victims and their families in Pittsburgh. May you find comfort in this terrible hour of loss. שלום.

My work on the beta web site continues. I realize now that in order to achieve my goal of having all of my music on the site, I'm going to need a lot of time -- weeks or months working at it as time permits. Therefore, I'm thinking about making it my 'official' web site while I work on it. If I do that, I'll begin doing my weekly blog posts over there, but I'll leave short posts here directing readers there for a month or two before making this the 'archive' blog. I expect to make a decision on this within the week, and will let you know here when I do.

My featured stock music item this week is Realize The Dream, a high-energy motivational track. I hope you'll check it out.

CLICK HERE TO LICENSE THIS TRACK

Finally, here's something I want to throw out in case anyone's interested. CD Baby is kinda scared because Spotify is planning to allow artists to submit directly to them. They recently sent out a survey, and for completing it I got a code for a free single. I'm trying to decide what to do with it. I could use it to put out a short ambient track I have ready to go, or I could use it on a protest song I've written. This is not a typical leftist or rightist song, but sort of something for everybody who is NOT a "super true believer." Another decision I need to make soon.

And with that I thank you for stopping by to read. I hope your week is happy and productive.

What's Happening: Week of October 22, 2018

I'm working on some new stock music... my current project is called "Happy Go Lucky." The title pretty much says it all: it's 90 beats per minute with a double-time feel in E Major. Here's a short preview:



I have the full version (about 2:15) and a 60-second edit put together. I also plan to offer :30, :15 and bumper edits, and I'll be working on those over the next hours or days, depending on my mood. I haven't decided yet whether to offer it to AudioJungle first or go straight to Pond5.

As I mentioned earlier, I have put up a beta for my main web site. If you'd like a sneak peek, go here. Feel free to kick the tires. I've already begun putting up content, starting with my latest stock music. I'm using tags based on those that are most popular at Pond5, plus a few I've added myself. The site seems a bit slow in terms of loading images, so I may need to resort to caching, or try out a more generic WordPrsss theme. We'll see.

My featured stock music item this week is Corporate Podcast Intro 10 (30 Second). This a traditional-sounding business positive opening theme of the kind you might expect to hear used on Saturday or Sunday morning business/investment programs. It has a bit of an 'industrial' vibe. Here's a preview:



It's also available in :15, bumper and loop versions. I hope you'll check it out.

So, I have my work cut out for me. I hope you have a happy and productive week.

Beta Web Site

Just a quick note to advise that, as planned, I have a created a beta web site that I expect will eventually replace my current one-pager.

If you'd like to check it out, follow this link. Comments and suggestions appreciated.

What's Happening: Week of October 15, 2018

Autumn is in the air here in Southwest Ohio, and changes as well.

Having disconnected this blog from Google+ I find that page views for individual items in my portfolio, as well as the blog overall, have declined. I can only conclude that Google+ links were inflating the numbers. With that in mind, I've decided that I will definitely press ahead with redesigning my main web site. I plan to use WordPress, as I alluded to a few weeks ago. That way, I can create pages for all of my stock music items, using tags for different moods that media producers want to convey. Once that site if up and running, I intend to consolidate my blog there as well. I'll keep this blog as an archive. I'll post a link to the beta site as soon as I set it up so you can check my progress if you like.

My newest item in the pipeline is "Cinemetic Podcast Intro 1." Pending approval, it will be available in 30-second, 15-second, and 7-second stinger versions at Pond5. Here's a preview of the 30-second version:



Interested in this intro? Stay tuned to my Twitter feed and I'll let you know when it's available to license.

Finally, my featured stock music item this week is Hard Rock Intro 1 (30 Second). This banger is also available in 15-second, stinger and loop versions.



CLICK HERE TO LICENSE THIS TRACK NOW

Please stay tuned for more info and updates on the new web site, and have a great week!

End of the line for Google+

I noted today that, due to a data breach, Google has decided to shut down G+. I'm not waiting for that to happen, so I've decided to set up a blog on Tumblr.  I'll probably continue posting on this blog, but am considering moving it to my main web site now more than ever.

In the meantime I'll begin posting content I was posting to Google+ to my new Tumblr. I hope you'll look me up there.

What' Happening: Week of October 8, 2018

Over the last few years, I've sketched out a number of short electronic music pieces. The problem is, I haven't figured out what to do with them. I've thought about including a couple of them on an eventual release to feature longer pieces, but I'm not sure if I really want to go through the process of releasing the longer form ones.

What I'm thinking about doing, then, is maybe putting out a collection of short pieces. I think this makes a certain amount of economic sense, since attention spans appear to be getting shorter. Also, with streaming now dominant in the music industry, the more individual bits of content you have to stream, the better (it seems).

I uploaded one I did this morning to Soundcloud to give you an idea of what I mean.



Meanwhile, my featured stock music item this week is Happy Simple Intro (30 Second). It's a nice, basic upbeat opener for society/culture, family-oriented, or similar media. This bouncy intro is also available in 15-second, loop and bumper versions.



CLICK THIS LINK TO LICENSE THIS TRACK NOW

I'm also continuing work on a non-music creative project, which I may share soon. In the meantime, be well, and enjoy the upcoming week.

New Item: News Current Events Intro

I have a new item in the portfolio: 'News Current Events Intro.' This track is an intense, driving musical opener for hard news, current events or current affairs programming. Add dramatic flair to your news-oriented podcast or broadcast. To sample this item, check out the video below/

'News Current Events Intro' is available now to license with four versions to suit your needs.

LICENSE THE 30 SECOND VERSION

LICENSE THE 15 SECOND VERSION

LICENSE THE STINGER VERSION

LICENSE THE LOOP VERSION

What's Happening: Week of October 1, 2018

Why do people say "spring has sprung", but they don't say "fall has fallen"?

Autumn is indeed upon us, and that means media producers should be thinking about Christmas. To help out, I have a nice collection of traditional (and not so traditional) Christmas music.

The traditional side includes arrangements of such holiday favorites as:

• Deck The Halls (available in either a brass quintet or string quartet arrangement)
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas (as a brass quintet arrangement)
• Greensleeves (What Child is This), a sort of New Agey arrangement
• O Come O Come Emmanuel
• Joy to the World
• Shchedryk (the music that forms the basis of "Carol of the Bells")
• Jingle Bells

The less traditional includes "Holiday Hustle Bustle" (it's sure to remind boomers of childhood holidays), and a goofy western swing arrangement of Jingle Bells.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE COMPLETE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

Meanwhile, my featured stock music item this week is 'Ambient Tension Builder'. The title is pretty self-explanatory: percussion and weird, drony noise combine to build to a heart stopping finish.

You can license it here.

By the way, you may notice that I'm streaming audio for the preview of this week's item directly from Pond5, as I alluded to last week. I contacted Support and asked whether doing so would violate my Contributor Agreement or Website Terms. They punted my to someone else at P5, who never responded all week. So, I'm moving ahead with it. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, I guess.

And with that, I'm out. Have a great week.

What's Happening: Week of September 24, 2018

I currently have no new music in the pipeline this week, but am considering making changes to my website.

I was poking around on Pond5 and noticed something. It turns out that part of that site's recent makeover included a new wrinkle. I noticed that they now use HTML to embed media in the artist forums, forsaking Flash in the process. This is potentially huge, because browsers now don't particularly like Flash due to security concerns. I myself stopped using Flash to embed files on this site, choosing instead to create and host my own mp3 preview files and then use HTML audio code to embed the previews.

I sent a request to Pond5 asking if it they would have a problem with me using HTML code to embed files in my own site. They provide different ways of integrating content, but most of these involve some combination of PHP/JavaScript/AJAX and I'm not in the mood to do that much coding. However, if I can embed HTML in the pages then it becomes a simple matter to install WordPress and use the built-in audio shortcode. If I can do that, then I'll probably look to migrate my current one-page site to WP and host a lot of audio previews there. That would allow me to use WP categories and tags to create a keyword-rich site environment that would be awesome for SEO. But first, we'll have to see what P5 has to say.

My featured stock music item this week is Dramatic Sorrow. It's a plaintive piece with classical guitar and orchestra. I hope you'll check it out. Maybe next week I'll preview my featured item here with HTML embedding from Pond5. For that matter, if it works out well and I migrate the main site to WordPress, I may just consider migrating this blog there as well.

What's Happening: Week of September 17, 2018

I'm spending more time recently on non-music projects, but I do have some news to share on the stock music front. First . . .

I have a new intro in the Pond5 pipeline. It's another "heroic" intro with big orchestral sounds, cinematic percussion and strings. Here's a sample:



My featured stock music item this week is Blues Rock Intro (30 Second). It's gritty and has a Bo Diddley rhythm cranking out. Consider this one for sports or talk podcasts where you want to impart a gritty, edgy vibe to your audience.

I have a couple of other items that are sort of on the back burner at the moment. They've been sitting since I took my end-or-summer break and I'll probably have a fresh look at them this week. One is an upbeat EDM track that AudioJungle rejected. I'll probably go back and try some fresh tweaks of at that this week. Another is more ambient and a third is more corporate/business oriented. More info when it's available.

And with that, I wish you a happy week!

What's Happening: Week of September 10, 2018

I'm back from seeing my son, daughter and beautiful granddaughter in Utah, and am ready to get back into the swing of things.

New this week is a project I think I mentioned a few weeks back. It's a 60-minute ambient soundscape I created for Danita in the hope of helping out with her tinnitus. It combines white noise with water sounds, bird calls and some sampled synthesized music, plus a few odds and ends thrown in. The working title was "Environs," but I've decided to call it "Sanctuary" instead. It's available now on YouTube.

My featured stock music item this week is Corporate Podcast Intro 9 (15 Second). It's a straightforward, upbeat opener for business friendly podcasts and similar content. I hope you'll check it out.

Finally, a little more rumination. After taking a good long look at the data, I've come to the conclusion that my social media efforts have been, at best, marginally helpful in promoting my work. Therefore, I plan to change my strategy to focus more on promoting collections and my artist pages rather than individual items. I'll continue to plug individual items that sell. I also think I'd like to do more writing (as in essays/non-fiction), so I'll probably start spending less effort on social media to accommodate that. Also, I'm not really sure I want to release any more new music outside of the stock realm. It just doesn't seem worth it, at least not in the near term.

But, I've been known to change my mind . . .

What's Happening: Week of August 27, 2018

First things first: My featured royalty-free stock music item this week is City Shadows. It's a kind of urban feeling track for your version of a contemporary noir video. I hope you'll check it out.

I'm working on a little something different right now. My wife Danita has been having trouble with tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. She was looking at devices that would generate white noise, and asked me about them. I've heard of devices and even phone apps that would generate white noise along with environmental sounds that would relieve tiniitus, help with meditation, and other helpful things. I thought about it, and said to myself, "I can do that!"

So, over the past few days I've been working on a sixty-minute ambient piece with a working title of 'Environs.' Basically what I did to build it was to put down a bed of white noise. Then I sprinkled in sampled environmental sounds: streams, waterfalls, birds and so on. Lastly, I laid down some ambient pads and simple pentatonic melodies. I hope to polish it and upload it to YouTube early next month so Danita can enjoy it. When I do, I'll also make it available in case you would like to check it out too.

In the meantime . . .

There will be no weekly update from me next week. I will be in Utah for several days through Labor Day weekend visiting my son Alex, daughter-in-law Leah and my new granddaughter Ellie. I may post a little on Twitter (hopefully lots of pictures of the little angel), and I'll schedule some tweets to promote my existing portfolios. Look for another post from me around September 10. Until then, take care.

New In The Pipeline - August 22, 2018: Stillness

I have a new stock music item in the pipeline, awaiting curation at AudioJungle. The title of this piece is "Stillness." It runs just under two minutes in length, and is a little different for me because I took a chamber music approach with it. The instrumentation is a harp and string quartet (two violins, viola and cello) playing a quiet to somber background. I could see this working for scenes in your audio or video productions where you want to convey a sort of thoughtful or even dreary sonic atmosphere. Check out the sample below...



As always with AudioJungle, it takes time for them to evaluate submissions, and there's no guarantee they'll accept it. If they don't, I'll be submitting to Pond5 and/or MotionElements, so stay tuned here and on my Twitter feed for updates.

What's Happening: Week of August 20, 2018

First, I want to announce that the prospective podcast I had announced a few weeks back is now on indefinite hold. I'm not holding my breath for it to actually happen at this point. Sometimes things just don't work out, and we move on.

Now for better news.

My featured stock music item this week is Inspiring Podcast Intro (30 Second). It's got a sort of magical feel to it, very light and uplifting. You can also license it in 15 second and six-second bumper versions. I hope you'll check it out.

Finally . . .

I have a new item in the pipeline and there's a story behind this one. A few days back a good friend called and asked if I could put together a game show parody intro with a brief scripted announcer bit up front. I grabbed my item Big Band Swing Intro (Short), channeled my inner Johnny Gilbert, put it all together and sent him two versions about an hour later.

Then I got to thinking. I don't really have anything that would work as a kind of kitschy game show parody. So, inspired by the theme from the long running game show The Price is Right, I put together an intro that might work for podcasters or other media producers looking to take a tongue-in-cheek approach to their material. I purposely used a special VST plugin to try and give the final version a sort of "retro" tape saturated 1960's-70s vibe. I call it "Fun Upbeat Retro Intro." Here's a sample of the thirty-second version.



I also put together a 15-second version, a bumper version, and a loop that doesn't contain the original melody but instead has little accents in the flute and muted trumpet. I'm also experimenting with a new watermark I created that also touts my main website ("thisbrucesmith.com"). If I decide I like it (or I see more traffic at the home page) maybe I'll make the adjustment permanent.

I've got a bunch of stuff currently in the pipeline, so keep tabs here and on my Twitter feed (linked in the top menu) for news of when and if things become available. As always don't be surprised if I get in a mood to write and put out updates or articles in between Sundays. Thanks for reading, and please stop by again soon.

In The Pipeline, August 14, 2018: Two New Items

I'm pleased to announce two new stock music items, one with variations, awaiting approval to go online at Pond5.

The first item is "Lifestyle Podcast Intro 3." This one has three versions: a 30-second full version, a 15-second short version, and a seven-second bumper. Unlike some of the other intros I've described as "lifestyle" intros, this one is very simple and mellow. Check out this preview of the full version.



The other new item is also pretty basic. I call it "Somber Moment." It's a looping underscore featuring strings, piano and marimba for sad, pensive or anxious scenes. Here's a preview of part of the track.



Stay tuned here and to my Twitter feed to be the first to find out when these items go online (or not).

Twenty Years Of The "Cher Effect"

Twenty years ago this summer I was working in my "former life" as an IT contractor. At the site where I was working someone had a radio in the office. Different people had different tastes, and the dial went back and forth between country, rock and pop on a regular basis.

One day, the radio was tuned to the local pop station (which was actually more "adult contemporary") when a dance song came on that I hadn't heard before. The voice sounded really familiar, but it was strange somehow. It didn't sound quite . . . human.

It was Cher, and the song "Believe" marked the first notable use of auto-tune in a hit single. Auto-tune is a digital effect, originally created and released by Antares Audio Technologies in 1997, that automatically corrects the pitch of incoming source material. If you set the effect a certain way, pitches that are very flat or sharp will "snap" to the correct pitch, creating a robotic effect. This was quite striking when applied to Cher's voice, because her singing style has always relied heavily on starting very flat and then sliding up to the correct pitch.

It reminds me of a guy who was getting a similar effect years earlier. Roger Troutman was active in the soul/R&B scene in Dayton when I was growing up. He experimented with an early version of what would become known as a vocoder. The vocoder (or "voice encoder") could modulate a signal, say a synthesizer, to make the sound of words. It was Roger's "thing" and he used it to great effect on what may be his best-known single, with Zapp.

"I Want To Be Your Man" combined the synthesized vocals with human voices to a degree that I still find stunning even today. By 1998 though, with the advent of auto-tune (or the "Cher effect" as it was long known) anyone could sound like a vocoder.

For a while, it seemed, everyone did.

There was a period of several years going into the 2000s where it seemed every new single that came out featured heavy-handed use of auto-tune. I've heard some singers try to imitate the effect in live performance. Auto-tune has become so common in pop music that Progressive Insurance made fun of it in one of their commercials a couple of years ago.

Of course, like many things that are overused, it eventually got old. Auto-tune is now so maligned, producers have dialed back somewhat on its use. They no longer generally go for that "Cher effect" so much. If you listen carefully though, you'll still occasionally hear very subtle pitch shifts in song vocals that tell you auto-tune is still alive and well.

Which, really, is sad. After all, "to err is human." To err with deep feeling can be divine.

What's Happening: Week of August 13, 2018

First, the usual stuff...

My featured stock music item this week is Positive Perspective. It's another one of those simple, pleasant background tracks for presentations, explainer videos and the like.

The podcasting project I was talking about over the last couple of weeks is temporarily stalled. I hope we can get it off the ground and start production this week. (Fingers crossed.)

I think I may have mentioned at some point in the past an idea to take some of the stuff I never released and put it out someplace under the banner of "Lost Decades." I've been going through some of the stuff I had from the 2000s and punched them up a little bit. So I plan this week into getting ASCAP clearance to exempt Bandcamp from publishing royalties so I can put them out there. Assuming all goes well. I also envision doing the same for stuff from this decade and the 1980s. I'll give further updates as I go.

I also intend to work on some new podcast intros, this time in the "lifestyle" or society/culture category, and maybe some other things as well.

Now I want to give a quick mention to the new video I uploaded to YouTube for my recent stock music item Realize The Dream. If you haven't seen it, please check out this blog post. It features a looped animation of my logo spinning on a 3D globe. I like it, but it was quite a hassle to put together. Let me explain...

I saw a bit of information about Microsoft Paint 3D having a new feature. It now allows you to save your projects as simple animations. Sounded great! So I spent some time figuring out how to create one. First, I was able to import a copy of my logo and make it a sticker. That was actually pretty easy.

Where it got tricky was getting the animation right. First I had to fix it so the canvas would not appear in the animation. Making the canvas transparent was not enough; I had to hide the thing entirely. I would have thought making the canvas transparent would have done the job, but no. Not very intuitive.Then there was a lot of playing to get the globe centered correctly. How did I know it wasn't centered? My logo wobbled! After some work, I got that resolved.

Saving it turned out to be a hassle too. The first time I tried to save it to MP4, Paint 3D crashed! I restarted Paint 3D and was able to save it successfully. However, it changed the dimensions of the video to something different than the original dimensions of the canvas (why? beats me!) so that when I tried to import it into Mixcraft 8 Pro to to add the music and text, it was very slow. When I tried to drag it across the timeline to loop it, Mixcraft crashed.

After having that happen a few times (Grrrr....), I remembered that I have some video software that I rarely use. I imported the MP4 file into that and exported it back out to Windows Media (WMV) with 1280-by-720 resolution. I was then able to import that into Mixcraft and it worked like a champ. I hope Microsoft will continue working on the animation to improve, because I do think the results were pretty neat in the end. It beats just looking at a static logo for three minutes.

And that's all I have for now. I hope you have a terrific week, and thank you for stopping by.

Realize The Dream: Royalty-free Stock Music

Here's the video for my new stock music item "Realize The Dream." I plan to go into detail later about how I came up with the animation, so please stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy.

If you like it, it's available to license now at MotionElements.

Rejection And, Maybe, Redemption

I woke this morning to an email from Envato informing me that my recent submission, 'Realize The Dream', was hard rejected. This means that I can't make changes and resubmit it for reconsideration. Sometimes, they'll do a "soft" rejection, where they'll tell you there's a specific problem that you can fix and then resubmit. Once, I got a response saying they liked what I'd done but thought it should be louder. I pumped up the volume, resubmitted the item, and it was quickly accepted. Occasionally, the rejections will include some reason that it doesn't work for them.

Mostly, though, you get a form response:

"This item does not meet the general commercial quality standard required to be accepted on AudioJungle."

Maybe there's something they don't like in the mix, or they think they've already got too much of "that", or something or some other unfathomable issue.

There was a time when I would get very upset about rejections. I tend to emotionally invest myself
in my work, and that may not be the best thing to do. When it's rejected, my first reaction is to take it personally. The same thing can happen if something is accepted but doesn't sell.

Recently, though, I've started to take a different approach. I started going back to items that were rejected by AudioJungle and asking "what can I do to improve them, and maybe submit them elsewhere?" There have been a couple of occasions where I've made some relatively small changes in an item that was rejected, upload it to Pond5 or MotionElements, and it ends up doing pretty well (or at least selling a license or two).

So I went back and made a few tweaks to the mix.

First, there's a synth mallet part, a key element of the track. I was a little concerned even before I submitted the track for consideration that it might be to dated or otherwise out of place. After the rejection, I decided to replace it with a more bell-type tone and set it back a little in the mix. I also wrote a new line for it that I thought would clash a little less rhythmically with the strings.

Second, I reduced the volume on the electric guitars overall, and then pushed the volume of one syncopated line near the end. I also increased the high end in that section.

I made a couple of other small changes, backing off the bass a little and rerecording a bit nearer the end to give it a little more interest leading into the climax. I also punched the strings up a little in spots. Finally, I decided that the tempo at 120 bpm (beats per minute) was maybe a little too frenetic for this track. So I slowed it down by about 5 bpm. I think that gives it a little more 'oomph', especially at the end.

Here are a couple of excerpts to give you a sense of the "before and after." First, a little of the track I submitted to AudioJungle.



Now, roughly the same segment of the track after I tweaked it.



I know the tweaks I described may sound like a lot, but once I had a good sense of what I wanted to do, it didn't take very long at all. "Realize The Dream" is already live at MotionElements; you can check out the complete track here. I plan to submit it to Pond5 later today.

And that is how I try to take lemons and make lemonade. Sometimes, one person's trash can become another's treasure. I hope that will be the case with this track. I still get upset at rejection, but now it stings a lot less.

Changing My Social Media Strategy

Starting today, I've made some changes in my social media strategy.

Effective immediately, I've deleted my Buffer account. I'd started out on the free Buffer plan and found the interface useful. I liked the idea of having a queue where I could arrange my scheduled posts in a certain order at consistent times. So I took the next step and went to their Pro plan.

The Pro plan offered a couple of things that looked attractive. First, the ability to schedule up to 100 posts a day rather than 10 (although I never intended to do more than 20). Second, the analytics. I liked the idea of being able to see, without having to log on to Twitter, what impacts my tweets were having. After a while, I also discovered the content buffer, which offered something similar to what I've been getting from Feedly. (I'm still using their entry-level offering, and will probably continue to do so.) Although there were occasional failures to post, on the whole I thought that Buffer was much more reliable than Hootsuite.

So why did I leave? The short answer is that at the moment I have more time than money. One thing that's hurt all of these services with respect to Twitter is that Twitter now does not allow multiple posts. Looking at my Twitter followers through Followerwonk has revealed that the plurality of my followers are located on the east and west coasts of the U. S. A lot of them are on at the noon hour Eastern Time and at the noon hour Pacific Time.

One of the things scheduling used to allow was to post duplicate tweets at different times of the day. so I would get impressions from West Coast followers who might not otherwise see tweets the East Coast folks would see (unless they hunted for it). Under Twitter's new rules that's now impossible without changing the tweet so it isn't identical. (Of course, that defeats the time-saving purpose of being able to click a repost button that schedules the same tweet for a later time.)

The other problem was a flaw in the analytics. I would post an article, then look back at it and find it had received 30-40 clicks. Stunned, I would find my Twitter analytics and find that it had been clicked once, or not at all. It finally dawned on me that it was aggregating clicks based on the shortened URL across all users' tweets, not just mine. If I wanted to see the reactions my own tweets of the article generated, I ended up having to go back to Twitter anyway. That's something that Buffer may be able to easily fix, and some point they may do so. In the end, I felt that I was spending as much time on the "automated" process than just scheduling tweets in TweetDeck. And Twitter makes up the vast majority of my social media effort.

Don't misunderstand. I like Buffer. I like the interface. It just didn't work out for me. It could be that those who have more money and less time would find their team management and sharing capabilities very valuable (I am literally a one-man band, so I did not try out those capabilities myself.) I suspect the folks at Buffer will continue to improve their offerings, and I wish them well.

So, for me it's back to TweetDeck and live posting on Google Plus, at least for now.

What's Happening: Week of August 6, 2018

To be honest, it looks like a pretty boring week coming up music-wise.

As I write this, I have nothing in the pipeline since I submitted the track "Realize The Dream" to AudioJungle earlier in the week.  Based on their tracking of average curation times I'd say I have 8-9 days left until they accept or reject it. (More on that here.) I have some ideas rolling around in my head, but nothing concrete for now.

I've mentioned the podcast project I'm working on with a close friend. That is stalled for the moment, but I hope we can move ahead on it next week.

My featured stock music item this week is Corporate Podcast Intro 8 (30 Second). This is another bright, upbeat opener for business positive podcasts, presentations and other media. It's also available in 15 second and bumper/stinger versions (no loop on this one, sorry). If this sounds like what you need for your program, I hope you'll check it out.

Meanwhile, I think I'd like to post more frequently here. I'm not sure how long I can keep it up, but there are topics related to what I do (like promotion and so on, plus updates on projects) that may interest you. One thing I plan to address this week is changing my social media strategy (again). Until next time, be well and take care.

In The Pipeline, August 2, 2018: Realize The Dream

I've got a new stock music item in the pipeline. I submitted this one to AudioJungle. It's been almost a year since I uploaded anything for consideration there, and I think both the content and sound quality are good enough to fly there.

The item is a motivational track called "Realize The Dream." In most respects, it's pretty standard as corporate/motivational music goes. However, I've been listening to so much stuff that using the same IV-V-vi-I chord progressions with variations that I'm sick of it. So I decided to spice it up by adding the VII into the mix. Also, I just took advantage of an IK Multimedia deal to get the CE version of Miroslav Philharmonik 2 for less than $40 (US) -- less than $30 after I applied available credits -- and really wanted to use the new string samples on this track. As you can hear from the preview below, they are much more lively and realistic than the ones in the original Miroslav or Sample Tank 3, especially the ensemble staccato strings that I used heavily on the track. Here's that 30-second preview from the 2:48 full track.



The package also includes a couple of loops for background bed use. As I mentioned, I submitted this one to AudioJungle, where the average wait time for approval or rejection is 14 days. In about two weeks I should know whether it's gong there, or if I'll submit it to Pond5 and/or MotionElements.

What's Happening: Week of July 30, 2018

If you read my last weekly update, you know I've been working on creating a podcast with a long-time friend. I'm not ready to provide a lot of details just yet, but I can say that it combines elements of the true crime with the occult and I think fans of those genres will find it fascinating. Also, we plan to start recording episodes next week! I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile . . .

I have a new item in the pipeline. This one is another addition to my corporate podcast intros, and has a more "industrial" feeling for businesses and business journalists who want to set a more traditional tone in their presentation. Like many of my podcast intros, this one will be available in :30, :15, bumper and loop versions. Here's a preview of the 30-second version.



As always, when it goes live, you'll hear about it first on my Twitter feed (available as a link in the top menu). Until next time, thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

P. S. I forgot to mention my featured stock music item this week. It's Making The Difference. I hope you'll check it out!

What's Happening: Week of July 23, 2018

Most of my news this week is only a little related to music, but it could prove very interesting if things come together. . .

I've been working on music for podcasters for over a year now, including developing intros and loops for various formats. A lot of what I've worked on in the non-intro vein later has been with podcasting in mind too. For example, I've envisioned my more ambient recent work as underscores for dramatic and documentary podcasts.

Now, I'm in talks with a close friend about producing and providing music for a podcast he wants to launch. It's related to the occult and paranormal and would feature a true crime angle in much of the content. I spent some time over this past weekend familiarizing myself with the use of sidechain compression to "duck" music beneath voiceover material to simplify the task of editing audio. My would-be partner, an expert on the occult and occult crimes, is in the process of organizing his materials into 15-20 minute episodes.

We're looking at distribution options, but I want to have 3-4 episodes ready before we start distribution. Monetization is a little further down the road, but hopefully we'll get there sooner rather than later. I'll provide more details if and when all of this comes together.

My featured stock music item this week is Highly Dramatic Intro (15 Second), a short intro that's great for news, current events, politics, and other content where you want convey a sense of urgency and importance to your listeners.

Finally, I'm forced to admit that there seems to be basically no interest in my commercial releases. I think that in the future I will limit my release activities to the more ambient, meditative side of my musical palette. Also, I will probably discontinue my use of DistroKid and stick to CDBaby. Going that way means I just pay a flat fee for each release without having to pay $20 a year forever, with no guarantee I'll ever be able to generate interest in my work. It hasn't worked out, but I don't regret the attempt.

That's all I have for now. I hope you week is happy and productive, and thank you for stopping to read.

What's Happening: Week of July 16, 2018

Lots to talk about this week, so let's get straight to it . . .

If you stopped by the blog earlier in the week, you saw that I was busy. And there's more where that came from. I have a new intro online, it's happy and simple. So I called it "Happy Simple Intro." It's part of my podcast intro collection and is available in 30 second, 15 second, bumper and loop variations. Here's a preview based on the looped version.



Get more info and license at Pond5: 30 Second --15 Second -- Bumper -- Loop

But wait: there's more! (Am I starting to sound like a cheezy 1970s TV commercial yet?)

I have another intro that I've just uploaded in the past hour. "Hard Rock Intro 1" is much edgier and is great for sports, current events, and similar hard-hitting content. Here's a preview based on the loop version.



Like my other intros, this one is available in :30, :15, loop and bumper/stinger versions. Stay tuned to Twitter and here for more information when (and if) this goes online.

Finally, my featured stock music item this week is Big Idea. It's a great electronic piece for high-tech presentations. I hope you'll check it out.

And that is that for now. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you'll keep coming back (unless you're a certain bot that flooded the blog with over 5000 hits earlier this week).

New Items Online: July 12, 2018

I've added three items to my Pond5 portfolio, and this is the first place I'm announcing it.

The first item is titled "Dramatic Sorrow". It features a plaintive classical guitar with lush strings, woodwinds and percussion accents. It's great for conveying sadness in dramas or documentaries. Here's an excerpt.

CLICK HERE TO LICENSE "DRAMATIC SORROW"

Also new is "Ambient Tension Builder". This one features reverb-drenched percussion, synth noises and dissonant strings for ratcheting up suspense and anxiety. It builds to a sudden stop cliffhanger, which is available separately as a stinger. Check out this excerpt:

CLICK HERE TO LICENSE THE FULL VERSION

CLICK HERE TO LICENSE THE STINGER

I normally post these items as "pipeline" items, but the curation process was so fast I didn't have time. Nevertheless, please keep an eye on this blog, as I'm likely to put news out here before anyplace else.

What's Happening: Week of July 9, 2018

It's been a pretty quiet week for me, with the Independence Day holiday here in the States. There's generally a lull in activity in the stock music biz around this time, before the holidays. I've been spending more time promoting my existing work than developing new stuff.

I haven't been completely away from doing music, though. I spent some time this week working on some more drone type soundscapes. I sketched out four of them with the idea that I might put them on an album for meditation and relaxation, or maybe add them to my Dronescapes collection on Pond5. I haven't decided whether to do either of those things yet, but experimenting is an important part of the creative process. Here's a sample of one of them:



Keep an eye on this blog and I'll let you know what I'm going to do with this, if and when I figure it out myself.

Meanwhile, please check out Critical Seconds, my featured stock music item this week. It's a 60-second track with strings, synths and percussion for tense fight/flight scenes.

If you haven't yet checked out my EP Excelsior: Volume Two on your favorite downloading or streaming site, please click the "Excelsior: Volume Two" link up at the top and find your site. Thanks! Enjoy this week!

What's Happening: Week of July 2, 2018

If you stopped by in the past few days, you're probably aware of this already, but Excelsior: Volume Two is now out via DistroKid. I've added a page to the blog for the new release, and added it to the top menu for the blog. It includes links to every marketplace where I know the EP is live now, and I'll be adding others if and when they come online. Please click the link up top to check it out.

My featured stock music item this week is "Cause For Optimism (Full)." This is a nice, friendly little track that's great for presentations and training videos.

Check out "Cause For Optimism (Full)" now

With U. S. Independence Day falling this week, I don't anticipate working heavily on any new music. However, I can never tell when I'll surprise myself. I do intend to keep a regular schedule of social media posting, except perhaps for the 4th itself. Please keep an eye on my Twitter (also linked in the top menu above) for updates throughout the week.

In the meantime, enjoy the World Cup, the start of the Tour de France and lots of hot weather. Or if you're like me, stay in the air conditioning. Either way. Cheers until my next post.

Excelsior: Volume Two On YouTube Now

I've uploaded the full EP version of Excelsior: Volume Two to my YouTube channel. I hope you'll support me by downloading or streaming from the following sites.

Google Play

Tidal

Deezer

Spotify (Pre-save)

More coming soon.

Excelsior: Volume Two On The Way

Just released!

I've uploaded Excelsior: Volume Two. It's now officially making its way through the release process via DistroKid. I'm planning to put together a YouTube album cover video shortly. In the meantime, if you'd like to be the first on your block to hear it on Spotify, go to this link:

PRE-SAVE Exclesior: Volume Two ON SPOTIFY

You can also access the pre-save link now from my home page.

What's Happening: Week of June 25, 2018

After a lot of consideration, I've decided to limit my upcoming EP release Excelsior: Volume Two to just three tracks, and these will be:

Ascending
Hyper Efficient
For The Win

My planned release date is this Friday, June 29, 2018. Don't be surprised, though, if I debut some sort of preview on YouTube before then.

Meanwhile, I'm also beginning to plan for the release of my second full-length album, Extasis, near the end of the year (probably sometime in November). The style of this release will be more like my first album Circadia. If anything it will be more ambient and less rhythmic in its approach. I'm still mulling over track lists for the album and I may create new tracks in the run-up to the release. I also plan to release Extasis through CDBaby rather than Distrokid. Please stay tuned.

Meanwhile, there's nothing new in the stock music pipeline, but my featured item this week is Heroic Intro (30 Second). This is a stirring 30 second piece for full orchestra with percussion that's perfect for dramatic or patriotic podcasts (especially in the US with Independence Day upon us). I hope you'll check it out.

And that's it for now. I may decide to drop some music from EV2 before the "official" release date, so stay sharp for a chance to be the first on your block (or country or planet) to hear it. Take care.

B~)

What's Happening: Week of June 18, 2018

Happy Father's Day to all dads (including me)!

I'm "officially" rolling out my two new podcast intro music collections tomorrow, but you can get a sneak peek at them right now.

CHECK OUT CORPORATE PODCAST INTROS

CHECK OUT ROCK PODCAST INTRO MUSIC

As I mentioned last week, these are subsets of my larger podcast intro music collection, focused on these specific styles so you don't have to hunt through the bigger collection (which now has dozens of items with different lengths and loop options).

Meanwhile, I think I'll be releasing Excelsior: Volume Two a week from Friday, June 29, 2018. I still haven't decided whether it will be three or four tracks, but it will definitely be at least three. Keep an eye on the blog, as I may decide to announce the track list mid-week.

Finally, look for me to up my social media presence, especially on Twitter, starting next week. I'm going to pony up some of my hard earned funds to get a paid plan with Buffer, so I can schedule more posts and try to manage my social media presence better. By the way, if you have suggestions for the kind of content you would like me to share, please leave a comment or contact me through the form on this blog. You can also send me a line if you just want me to shut up (but I won't).

Until next week then . . .B~)

In The Pipeline, June 13, 2018: New Intros and Collections

I have two new items (with variations) in my Pond5 pipeline as of today.The first is another corporate podcast intro. This one is a little more uptempo and has a higher energy level than the others (in my opinion, anyway), and can be a terrific opener for your motivational projects, too. It has four versions: a :30, :15. bumper/stinger and loop. Here's a preview of the 30-second version:



The second candidate is a blues rock intro (really just a riff) that's down and dirty and based on the old Bo Diddley beat. It has three versions -- a :30, a :15 and a bumper/stinger (no loop for this one). Here's a sample:



That's not all . . .

Assuming all goes well and these items are approved, I plan to include them in two new collections I'm rolling out. I now have so many items in my podcast intro music collection (over 200 now) that it's probably unwieldy for prospective clients (like you, I hope!) to browse through them all. So, I'm planning to group similar intros into their own collections to make it easier, starting with rock podcast intros,

and corporate podcast intros.

I plan to support the rollout with YouTube video samplers of both collections. Keep an eye here and on my Twitter for updates as we go.

What's Happening: Week of June 11, 2018

I've been enjoying seeing pictures of my new granddaughter. I hope you've had a great week and are getting psyched for the one to come.

I'm thinking about a new "Excelsior series" EP. I know I had written earlier that I was going to let my DistroKid account go, but I think I want to give DistroKid one more year to see if I can generate any interest. I've even come up with cover art.

I'm thinking this will be another EP with four tracks. I'm pretty settled on three of them, but still thinking about the fourth. As with the first one, "Volume Two" will feature some of my upbeat motivational music tracks from my production music portfolio. I'll provide more information as I finalize my plans. I'm thinking of a release date in the very near future, maybe a couple weeks.

My featured stock music item this week is Hybrid Action. The title is pretty self-explanatory: pounding drums, orchestral and electronic elements make a great background for your frenetic chase and fight scenes. Please check it out.

And that's pretty much it. Thanks for stopping by, and keep an eye on my Twitter feed and here in case I put some new material in the pipeline.

In The Pipeline: June 6, 2018 - City Shadows

I'm pleased to announce a new stock music item in the pipeline at Pond5. It's a blend of smooth jazz/R&B with a noir atmosphere I call "City Shadows." Here's a 30-second sample:



This track will (pending approval) become part of a new curated collection I've created at Pond5. I call the collection "Subdued," and it includes music with atmospheric vibes suitable to sit behind subdued moods in your videos or podcasts. You can access the collection from this link.

Meanwhile, several items that were in the pipeline are now online at Pond5. You can sample them all, plus other recent stock music items, at this Pond5 collection.

Check back here and on my Twitter feed for the latest updates, and don't forget my weekly updates every Sunday evening (US Eastern Time).

What's Happening: Week of June 4, 2018

I'm running very late on my updates today, and here's the reason why:

That is Eleanor Grace Smith, my first grandchild. She was born this morning. Ellie was 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and 20 inches long. Both she and her mom, my daughter-in-law Leah, are doing fine. My son, Alex, is out of country on military service, but was able to witness the delivery via Skype. Obviously, I'm over the moon, and I decided to spend the day working on something musical for Ellie. And here's that, via YouTube:

If you happen to watch (and listen) to the video, you'll see that I poke a little fun at Alex. I felt a sense of entitlement in this regard, since he sent an email this morning to tell me Ellie was born (which I already knew), opening it thus:

"Dad,

Your journey to oldness is complete."

Thanks, son.

Anyway, between being unable to contain my joy and pouring it into "Ellie Bean," I got out of my usual weekly update routine.

That's O. K., I guess, since the only real update I have at the moment is a new featured stock music item for the week. That is Simply Business Positive (Full Version). It's a nice, simple straight-forward background track for explainers and other corporate media content. It's available in multiple versions, including 60 second, 30 second, 15 second, 6 second bumper-stinger, and a loop. Please check it out.

And with that, I'm beat. Thanks for stopping by and sharing my joy.

In The Pipeline, May 29, 2018: Inspiring Podcast Intro

I'm pleased to introduce a new candidate for my Podcast Intro Music collection. "Inspiring Podcast Intro" is a bright yet stately track in :30 and :15 lengths, plus a six-second bumper for YouTube and similar bumper ad content. This is a great choice for public service or society/culture formats, and you could consider it for business positive content as well. Here's a preview:



I usually update on Twitter when my items go live. If you don't follow me there, just click the link in the top bar of this page to access my profile. Thanks for listening.

What's Happening: Week of May 28, 2018

It's another light week for me, with Memorial Day weekend here in the States, but I did want to briefly discuss something I had mentioned in a recent post and give an update on some changes since last week.

I had recently blogged about creating a video to commemorate my dad and my son for their military service on Memorial Day. I started work on the video, but found that the music I wanted to use was just too sad for what I wanted to convey. So I abandoned that project for this year, but I may take another look at it, perhaps with different, more uplifting music. I may yet use the "Memorial Day" music I had in mind, but maybe on a video with a more somber tone.

Also, after some review this week, I decided to remove some of my corporate/motivational tracks from AudioJungle. I think they're good, but they simply weren't going anywhere on AudioJungle. So, I've removed them, re-titled two of the tracks and am making them available elsewhere. The three items -- Ascending, For The Win (formerly "Inspiring and Uplifting Corporate"), and Hyper Efficient (formerly "Ambient Efficiency") are now available to license at MotionElements, and I hope will be available soon at Pond5.

Meanwhile, I made a couple of changes here on the blog to make it easier for me to comply with the new data protection regulations being instituted by the European Union. Specifically, I removed some third party widgets to ensure that I didn't have anything on the blog that Google (as host of Blogspot) wouldn't take responsibility for. I'll be looking at this again in the next few weeks to see if I can put any of it back. In the meantime, you can find a link to my Twitter feed at the top of the page if you want to follow me. Please do, if you haven't already.

And with that, I'll bid you a fond adieu until next time.

In The Pipeline May 23, 2018: Positive Perspective

My latest stock music item in the pipeline is "Positive Perspective." This is a bright, medium tempo track to help promote good feelings in your explainer videos and similar corporate media content. There are two versions, a 3+ minute full version and a 38-second looped excerpt, which I used for the preview below.



For updates on availability, keep an eye on my Twitter feed.

What's Happening: Week of May 21, 2018

Nothing new to report.

That might be an exaggeration, but I am in sort of a lull. If you kept track of my Twitter feed, you saw that several items I had in the pipeline are now online. I'm planning to work on some new ideas this week, but sometimes those pan out and sometimes they don't.

I was more active than usual on the Pond5 forums this week, and commented on a question from a fellow composer wondering how many tracks were needed to get sales. I was curious, so I checked my own portfolio. I found that I'm up to over 600 separate items. The bad news, though is that just ten of those make up more than one-third of my total downloads.

It got me to thinking: how much quantity is too much?

A lot of that output dates from times when my production skills were very raw. I've thought about trying to remix some of those older tracks, but am not sure if it would be worth my time.

In the meantime, my featured stock music item this week is Dark Tense Interlude. When I wrote this I was thinking of "dark secrets, tense waiting and other chilling scenes." I hope you'll check it out.

Sorry to be brief, but my dear Windows wants to run an update that it says is going to take awhile. That's also why this post and my other regular updates are appearing relatively early. Now, I'm going to go find something else to do.

Until next time, be well.

Don't Panic Over Laurel And Yanny

I woke up this morning, hopped on Twitter, and was confronted by the Laurel-Yanny debate. I happened to have my headphones on and took a listen. I clearly heard "Laurel." Show's over. Move on.

I was doing something else later, and ran across it again. This time I played the audio through my laptop speakers . . . I clearly heard "Yanny."

What gives?

I did some research and found where the New York Times had tracked it down to a high school student in Georgia (USA). In the course of his studies the other day, he used his computer mic to record the audio of the word "Laurel" being pronounced at vocabulary,com. When he played it back, it sounded like "Yanny." He posted the audio on Reddit with a poll asking what others heard, and it took off from there.

More than just a huge time waster (it's that too) this was in interesting exercise in psyhoacoustics. The mic used, in addition to the ambient background noise at the moment of recording, added certain frequencies to the original content. Those additional frequencies create the "yanny" effect. Depending on what you use to play back the audio, it might either emphasize those frequencies so it sounds like "yanny" or emphasize the lower frequencies that dominated the original recording.

There's also the matter of the age of the listener. As we age our sensitivity to higher frequencies decreases, so younger people would find it easier to hear "yanny" when the listen to the audio.

Out of curiosity, I used my own base mic to make some recordings. First, I recorded my own voice saying "Laurel." A spectrum plot of that looked like this.

My "baseline" recording

Then I used the mic to record the controversial Laurel-Yanny audio at different distances from my speakers. The first one was sort of middle of the road.

Notice the spikes in the 1500-2000 Hz range. My guess is this is what got picked up and causes the "yanny" effect. On the next one I held the mic closer to the speaker.

This one I heard as closer to sounding like "Laurel." The spikes are still there, but the lower frequencies where "Laurel" comes across most strongly are very full.

Finally, there's this one.

It was recorded with the mic at the greatest distance from the speaker, and the lower frequencies are less dominant, allowing the higher transient frequencies to shine through, making it more likely that you'd hear "Yanny."

If you go to the Times you can find where their staff has created a little app that lets you adjust the pitches and frequencies to hear more "Laurel" or more "Yanny." It's a pretty cool little effect.