A site a follow for all things photography just published a list of 10 Tips to Make Your Phone Photos Amazing. I knew several of these already but a few sound pretty awesome and I’ll be trying them soon.
Give the article a look and let us know what you think.
Welcome to a big bad new year. 2012 seems like it could be rather interesting over here and for Sphere of Hip-Hop.
Blogging here has taken a back seat to getting our ducks in order with the site. I promise to do better… hopefully… maybe… we’ll see. Haha! At any rate… I’ll continue to post stuff I think is interesting, useful and challenging.
Here are some bullet points of things you shouldn’t be doing. Surely I’ve missed a few but here goes…
1. Email a press release or other submission with no proper introduction or even a greeting. Don’t hit the “forward” button on your email to send your press release.
Why? It looks like spam to people like me and gets treated as such. Deleted.
2. Posting your links or advertisements on peoples Facebook profiles and pages.
Why? It’s called social media for a reason. Nothing social about bombing up a bunch of pages trying to get noticed. You’ll get ingored far more than you’ll get noticed. The last thing you want to do in marketing/promotion is be annoying to people.
3. Make it difficult to figure out how to cover your stuff…
Why? If it’s easy, you’re going to have far more success. Following our submission instructions makes it easy for us to help you. Not doing so, well…
4. Don’t look for beat production on Craigslist. Are you for real Josh? Yup. I’ve seen it.
5. Twitter http://ht.ly/4XKZr
6. Don’t add your connections to invitation email lists for stuff like Linkedin without their permission. Even worse, don’t add people you have no relationship with.
7. Don’t automatically add people to your email list service like Reverbnation without some sort of relationship and/or permission. I get added to about 20 of these every week and 19 of these people have zero relationship with me. Think us media/radio people like that?
8. Tweet at people who run websites or radio programs to go buy your record.
9. Don’t hit someone up to tell them to hit you up. What? Spill the beans son! Being direct is helpful. I don’t have time to do the work you should have done yourself.
I’ve been slacking on the blogging only for lack of time. This entry is an email I wrote to an artist who sent me a random email about his album. No personal introduction… no relationship… sent to an email that is definitely not appropriate for content submissions… and… the email was in ALL CAPS. Most recipients of email will usually delete it, block them or both. Definitely not good form.
Their response to my email removal request was good but I haven’t heard back from this email. Here goes…
Hey [name removed],
It’s all love here… don’t cry 
Do NOT just add people to an email list. It ain’t cool nor is it effective… at all. You’re emailing the customer service line for our online shop. Not our website.
Learn how to properly contact and connect with media/radio etc. We’re all usually very busy and when I see random stuff like this, more often than not I delete it or otherwise ignore it. An email in all CAPS probably isn’t your best move. I’ve heard of you but we have no sort of professional relationship. Don’t assume that someone receiving communication like you sent will do anything other than delete it.
Find out the proper way to submit information and carefully follow their instructions. Everyone has different requirements and a different process. Respect that and do what they need if you want to have any hope of coverage.
It’s cool to be casual but only after you’ve built the relationship. Even then, I wouldn’t have done any coverage for you. All I got were two YouTube links.
A good resource is my blog. You’ll learn some do’s and don’ts when it comes to marketing/promoting yourself.
http://www.enjoyhiphopresponsibly.com
Good luck and God bless,
Josh
Do you want unity? Only if it fits into what you’re doing and meets your business goals right? Quit talking about it and please do something. People by nature are followers. But only if they have leaders. Unity? What do you want? What will make you “feel” like we’re all together? Really? Will some strategic musical collaborations “fix” things? Doing shows together? Face it… people have agendas and nothing is gonna change that unless people really want it.
Alright Josh, how you you fix it?
I’d force everyone to drop their preconceived notions about one another. I’d make sure everyone is able to properly communicate their goals in doing music (all the while being able to be honest with themselves and their true audience). Then I’d have everyone be okay with one another and find ways to serve each other.
Looking back over the past decade… any time I’ve just decided to lower my guard and give someone a chance… my “idea” of them in my head was just about all wrong. I’d love to see more of that going around.
Real unity comes without an agenda.
Sometimes I wonder if the unity some artists and message forum users proclaim that we need is really even feasible anyway. I think the unity we ought to be seeking is in the obvious and in the basics. We’ve all got so much in common already anyway. But we’d rather argue about the argument or rap about how we rap about the Gospel or… you get it. Enough of the rhetoric and hollow talk. Do something for the benefit of everyone and maybe some things will change.
Your thoughts?
Recently I had an interaction with someone who took something personal. The unfortunate part of this is the comment I made was not directed at them or referencing them in any way. This made me think… if you think something applies to you and you get defensive about it, maybe there is some credence to it… even if unintentional.
This junk is funny! Oh and… follow Sphere of Hip-Hop on Twitter:
@sphereofhiphop
@sohhdailydl
@sohhpodcast
Birmingham, AL – Fox Sports has rejected a proposed Super Bowl commercial featuring “John 3:16“, a reference to a Bible verse that has been part of the culture of football in America for decades. Fans see it on signs in end zones after field goal and extra point attempts; on players’ tape and tattoos; and Tim Tebow was famous for writing it in his eye black. And yet, many fans don’t know what it means.
In producing this commercial, Fixed Point Foundation hopes to encourage fans to look up John 3:16 and consider its meaning. The spot ends by directing viewers to a website (lookup316.com) where the verse appears along with a simple explanation. Neither the website nor the commercial sell a product, ask for money, or promote a political agenda. It doesn’t even promote the sponsoring organization. The idea is to encourage viewers to consider their source of ultimate hope and purpose.
Fox Sports rejected the commercial on the basis that it contained “religious doctrine.” Of course, it seems one can advertise just about anything else. Few movie trailers are deemed too violent or commercials too sexual for prime time. But religious messages, even ones that are part of the sport and encourage viewers to decide for themselves if the message is a worthy one, are unacceptable.
In spite of Fox Sports’ rejection, the ad will air in some regional markets, starting with the state of Alabama. It is part of an initiative called “LookUp 316.”
Below are the details:
WHEN: February 6, 2011; 5:30 PM Kickoff; Lookup 316 commercial will air twice locally in Birmingham during the game.
Website is www.lookup316.com. Visit there to watch the commercial spot. Reactions?
I wrote two feature articles for Sphereofhiphop.com a few weeks ago. Each article centered around various resolutions that artists and also music fans could make.
Check them out…
2011 New Year Resolutions for Christian Hip-Hop Artists
2011 New Year Resolutions for Christian Hip-Hop Fans
These were funny to reflect on after a few days. It was easy to see which artists haven’t read them yet. Hah!
Christmas is around the corner. Here’s one of my favorite holiday tracks. If you dig this one, check out the full album “An Illect Recordings Christmas Recording“. Available at iTunes, Amazon and SphereofhiphopStore.com.
