Pure Energy Music Factory
The Production Department at The Music Factory Entertainment Group serves not only Mastermix, but also all the other divisions within the company: Tidy Trax, Pure Energy, Jive Bunny, Kids Stuff And Things and Music Factory Special Products.
We have 4 fully functioning studios, one with a vocal booth, a mastering suite and a QC (Quality Control) suite.
This blog is designed to give the reader a quick glimpse behind the scenes of this busy department and get an idea of what goes on within the Music Factory…
Wednesday 14th July 2010
9am. After the first coffee of the morning, the Producers make their way into their respective studios to pick up on their ongoing projects. This week Jon Hitchen and Danny Holland are both working on Pure Energy releases for Mastermix’s sister company. As well as being mixed in time and in key, the 60 minute mixes have to be edited into 32 count phrases and in most cases have a rising BPM, known in the industry as the Aerobic Curve, read more about that here.
10.00am. One of our Session Singers, Lauren, pops in to record the vocals for Chipmunk’s ‘Oopsy Daisy’ and to personalise a few ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Lullaby’ songs which are ordered through our website www.kidsstuffandthings.com Producer Nick Wild takes the session; Nick’s been with the Music Factory for a couple of years now, having first joined us on Work Experience from school! On Thursday afternoon MC T Dogg will be joining us to record the rap vocals of ‘Oopsy Daisy’, as well as the rap part of ‘N-N-N-Nothing On You’ (which I’ve been singing to myself all day today…)
10.30am. Senior Producer Richard Wood has been mixing down a batch of cover versions that we’re currently creating; we’ve submitted 10 tracks to an international gaming company for use on the latest edition of a popular Wii game – more details about this to follow in a later blog! The company have accepted 3 of the tracks already, Richard’s just waiting to hear the verdict on the remaining tracks… fingers crossed! In the meantime, Rich is completing an upload to mobile ringtone company Index Multimedia who take looped edits of all our cover versions for sale worldwide.
1.15pm. Chaos descends on the Production office as Bassline DJ Shaun ‘Banger’ Scott and his sidekick Snaggle arrive to update the content on their website www.mastermixbassline.com This is a spin off from the main Mastermix Digital site, supplying the DJ market with Bassline, 4×4, and Old Skool classics. Shaun and Danny Holland have formed the production partnership ‘SBS Goes Dutch’ and are producing a range of mash ups for the Bassline VIP Lounge. Snaggle is in charge of updating the Bassline Facebook Page and YouTube Channel which both have massive followings even though the site is still quite new.
2.00pm. Mastermix Label Manager Richard Lee pops into the Production office to discuss ideas for the next Mastermix release, Issue 291. These chats generally revolve around a lot of scribbling on the office whiteboards which can be changed and updated as the month progresses – the Issue is always a combination of retro and upfront mixes, the latter being left until the final few days to ensure we have the most recent tracks on there. Issue 290 has just gone to press, so ideas are starting to flow for 291. Rich and I (Helen) will decide between us who will do which mixes; which will go out to freelance Producers and which will be kept in house. It’s my job to distribute the work evenly and make sure we hit deadlines, and Rich’s to decide which Producer will do which mix justice. Not forgetting that the Producers themselves tend to have a say in what they want to get their teeth into, and both internal and external Producers are always contributing their own ideas – each Issue is a total team effort!
3.00pm. I’m informed by Sam Townend, Tidy’s Label Manager, that the content for his next release, Tidy Music Library 24, will arrive with us on Friday for mastering. I acknowledge this with a smile – I have never known the Tidy Producers to deliver a mix on time yet! (…these creative types!)
3.30pm. Is it really that time already? Production Assistant Ryan Bailey and I need to start preparing this week’s upload to our digital sites. A company in Holland delivers the audio and video content for all our platforms, and we upload it on a Thursday, ready for them to ‘ingest’ it (their terminology, not ours!) on a Friday, in time for the next week’s sales. This week we’re sending Pure Energy’s July releases, Mastermix Issue 290, Grandmaster Mashed Up 3 and some new lullabies and kids songs. It’s a meticulous process making sure the right content goes to the right site!
5.20pm. Peace descends on the Production office… Every Wednesday night all the lads play 5-A-Side football so I get a bit of peace and quiet to finish the day off! I check on our Facebook pages, add a few updates, and inform Marketing of what content will be appearing on the sites next week. July’s Mastermix Xclusive content has now gone live, and Marketing need to know this in order to pass the message on to you guys! I might just pop upstairs for a chat with the girls before we head off home – after a full day being surrounded by the boys, I’m in need of some female company!
Helen x
21st century business review.
If you compare the home of 10 years ago now. .
Electric, it is not difficult to find, in addition to the many many fresh play accident, there is a new household appliances has been ranked among the top three piece of electric current in a noticeable decline in importance, it is sound. About beginning in 1998, the tone.
Downturn began to affect the industry, when color TV, refrigerator and other household penetration of traditional appliances in urban and rural areas increases, so the family has a home theater component systems and the rate of emergence of stagnation or even decline in many. .
Simple production sound enterprise therefore facing severe crisis of survival. This is not because of their technology or product quality problem, but a change of consumer habits in a shrinking market. In the face of the downturn.
Market, most of the domestic brand manufacturer or have to dig their sound stick, or select up to high-end Hi-Fi audio market, or the withdrawal of foreign brands for the OEM business, in order to survive. .
Make.
For the audio industry, who later set up in 1996, Beijing Edifier Co. felt from the beginning of a potential crisis in the industry. From the first “cock” does not seem to enter the time it was in mountain dew. .
Water multimedia Speaker market, with more than 40% of the market share of this market segment has become the undisputed leader, and now into the portable Speakers, car Speakers, headphones and other markets, through the “what people.
Time, what ocCasion requires sound equipment “kept asking questions, and according to the answer to launch the product, Edifier in the audio industry, the traditional home stereo into a downstream channel, but still be able to continually find new high-growth..
Of market segments, inverse of growth industries.
Industrial recession of the entrants. .
In the 1990s, Hi-Fi audio system in the country.
Consumers have a market of sufficient size. Hi-Fi audio to meet at the rise of consumer desire for high-end audio-visual equipment, when the housing and auto not appear in the list of most Chinese consumers in the when. “.
Audio “this form makes it through the little” extra “is going to have a set price expensive audio equipment, which was most low-income Chinese consumers into the Hi-Fi stereo field set.
Set a relatively low consumption threshold. .
The Dürkopp Adler, jianwu, pioneer and Sony and other Japanese audio manufacturing enterprises through compression Speaker enclosure plate thickness, use cheaper wood-residue plate replace homogeneous, HDF, change the Speaker at the back of the stroke length and cigang size integrated cassette, CD, radio, phonograph of desktop features such as price drops $ level and successfully occupied the mass consumer market.
However. .
In the mid-1990s, expensive, complex Hi-Fi audio and low-cost alternative to more market edge. Although Hi-Fi market persists, but towards the direction of increasing minority.
Forward, consumer groups less than the total population of 0. .02%, Most of the market share of the increasingly concentrated in the hands of several major international brands, and domestic Hi-Fi companies have to withdraw as foreign brands OEM business, or forced onward. .
Other areas, alternative.
In 1994, Beijing Institute of Technology Department of Vehicle Engineering also teaches Zhang Wendong, test the water first multimedia Speaker industry. But first he is not recognized by PC Speaker business, but a Chinese market ups and downs in the industry – VCD. .
And. ..
Most of interest and set foot on the road to start as entrepreneurs, Zhang Wendong a letter sound “fans.” Because of unbearable poor quality plastic Speakers, Hi-Fi sound in the hundreds of million of prices will be difficult. .
To bear, he began to make yourself sound and reliable but inexpensive wood Speakers. Zhang wendong, if reasonable choice of materials and mimic the Hi-Fi Speaker system to improve the internal structure, hand-crafted out of wood.
Speaker sound quality can be achieved basic Hi-Fi Speaker sound quality 70% -80%, but the cost is only 10% -20% of the latter. At the same time, “a pair of active Speakers + a VCD machine” as a simple audio-visual combination. .
The structure is simple and the sound during the transfer process will not be mixed with too much noise, but cannot get more than a sound combination of pure sound. Thus, Zhang wendong and companion manual has made the first direct and VCD or even attached to the belt.
Amp to the market price of 400 yuan, immediately sold out. Wendong Zhang led a huge market demand created in 1996 Rambler, and formally entered into the multimedia Speaker industry. .
New market standards makers.
1997. .
Years later, Hi-Fi Speaker market trend is becoming apparent decline, but for most Hi-Fi audio manufacturers, multimedia Speaker market remains a low profit on single commodities, cost control, demanding the mainstream market.
Field. At that time, the major domestic manufacturer of multimedia Speakers are invariably computer peripherals manufacturer. Its main mouse, keyboard and other basic peripherals than the computer multimedia Speaker, though not necessary peripherals, but. .
Its single commodities profit compared to basic peripherals. Moreover, in these “Speaker manufacturing” layman, produces multimedia Speaker technology thresholds hardly any at all, “get on the Horn with a power amplifier, plug the audio sources can go off.
“That can be a multimedia Speakers to sell..
Relying on the sound quality of Zhang wendong know that this kind of “sound” box will simply not Speakers. In 1996, the start-up of a cruiser in the country.
First to introduce all-wood, all magnetically shielded Speakers, and enhance the original dynamic tweeter circuit to improve the disadvAntage of poor computer audio treble. Today, most of these technologies has become the industry standard, even if some have been eliminated, but in. .
But in the leading position at the time.
In order to further consumer awareness to the “little man” of the multimedia Speaker can produce a similar Hi-Fi sound quality, the design of the Speaker Edifier not use date. .
Faculty Speakers loudSpeakers small cigang “bluffing” design, but retained the Speakers at the back of the large long-stroke, in order to ensure sound cigang Orthodox. On the other hand, the Speaker selection box, Cruiser also most of the Hi-Fi.
Common MDF Speaker. Speaker cabinet design is definitely not an ordinary layman in the eyes of “sound box”, it involves a large number of industrial design expertise with the Speaker. Box size, depth, size, orientation control. .
Length and position, internal circuit design, determine the final quality of the Speakers. In addition, the Speaker cone surface using glue, glue technology exquisite, even line listening, tuning the workers of the water.
Level, but also to a large extent affect the Speaker‘s sound level. Good Speaker sound like the voice of the general, or deep and rich bass, or treble clear, and is highly recognizable. This not only allows consumers to a brand. .
Speaker was an important reason, but also other imitators and competitor critical hard to copy. In the new various multimedia Speaker market movers to launch new products in the industry and not too fast, but each paragraph.
Can be hot for a long time, its most classic and even mimic a R1000TC all have withdraw from the market situation is still selling nearly eight years, precisely because those details of the Office of the heart it does not have a copy imitator go. .
The unique sound quality.
At this point the walker started to reduce the amount of OEM and ODM orders, and the original flagship of 500-1,000 dollars in high-end multi-media market, to Edifier brand in each. .
A price segments (up to $ 1000 to $ 100) launched a brand-new sound quality and cost-effective products. Even in excess of the following Speaker product, Zhang wendong also insisted such as chips, capacitors and other Core components required.
To use imported products. According to his statement, dozens of dollars of Speaker sound quality may be far from effective, but definitely can not pleasant. .
”Why Edifier? (why walk?)” is Zhang wendong’s oratory, this usually means consumers where there is no problem, Zhang wendong, to remind yourself every day at least three times more.
2003. .
Years, the Cruiser launched the second brand “sound”, the main game Meyer sound market. Traditional multimedia Speaker at design time, the main consideration is that the music play consistent with expressiveness and sound do not fit the performance of the game.
Sound, especially in some very particular about the sound speed of the immediate outgoing class or military class adventure computer games. For example, shot after shot, bass must be immediately issued. But with the growing gaming population, keen walker. .
Smell the players to use the traditional Speaker to create game sound effects are not satisfied with the potential market demand. In the sound of series products, they change the inner structure of the subwoofer design with internal air flow design, so that mission.
Bass response significantly faster and better show a sense of momentary outbreak. Moreover, considering that the game in the consumer Speaker market lower age groups, spending power is relatively weak, they can accept the price of multimedia Speakers. .
Than traditional mainstream consumer groups, the average selling price of sound than the primary brand movers to slightly lower, on the other hand also to avoid the main brands in sales terminals may produce a positive impact.
The next high-growth markets. .
In..
A multimedia Speakers market leader soon after, Rambler soon found that the limited size of the market itself and its possibilities will soon fall into decline. According to the Ministry of Industry statistics released in early 2009 data, the pen. .
Remember this computer has far exceeded the growth rate of nearly 13% compared with the desktop, and as early as in previous years, more and more consumers began to bring voice system to replace the desktop of Notebook computer, have begun to allow Speakers to lose.
Some useless. .
In 2004, Zhang wendong, painter of light cruiser Xie as Chief Designer of, and commitment to him: “you just safely design, energy production problems I..
Solution. “Xie Xiaoguang found that while the desktop replacement Notebook is a general trend, but the Notebook itself toward more and more thin, more light in the direction of development, but also to become the voice system manufacturers will sooner or later compression components. But. .
Good quality must have sufficient space for the Speaker sound is not possible to do the imaging macbook.
Air so thin, but also is stunned by the sound issue. Meanwhile, ipod and other popular music players, but also to offer similar products matched the Speaker become the corporate design department needs to overcome a new party. .
To.
Consumer constant demand for good quality, and changing the application of sound equipment with the ocCasion and time to promote Edifier launched in 2006, “Edifier..
Mobile “(Mobile cruiser) family of products. It is based on the consumer may use different sound environment and ocCasions only Palm-size M1 for carry-on, volume and power larger M2.
Sound quality is more consistent with higher demands on the needs of consumers, while the shape of the M3 is for people to use the laptop at home is designed. Industrial design to create help for consumers to buy second, third or even fourth set. .
Multimedia Speaker set, as well as the depth of digging a cruiser appear to have solid recession trend of multimedia Speaker market. In 2009, an improved version of the M3 M3.
Plus another e20 with the same access to the German “red dot design award”, even has a “fashion Julius Caesar,” said the two brands Chanel and Fendi designer Karl chief. . 拉格费尔德 also Edifier Paris. .
Shop in the M500 impress, a cruiser of the user.
In addition to portable music players, Speakers and external Speakers, Edifier will next target the growth trend is quite similar with the multimedia Speaker market. .
As car audio. Early in 2006, the Cruiser “lossless facelift” car audio concept, and will target the market accurately positioned over 20 million economic car. Because most car factory in order to pressure.
Such models of the vehicle with low prices, usually the first choice under the cost of sound as compression, “cutter” by the use of low-power hosts and cheap, low quality of the Speakers. On the other hand, the popularity of household economic cars, so more and more. .
More people will have the opportunity in the car listening to the music and radio. These consumers want to be able to enjoy better sound quality, but not as expensive as enthusiasts in over 10 million new cars on revealing the hole, converted audio.
”No..
Undermine the concept of “facelift is based on the original design of the appropriate size of the targeted trumpet dimensions of sound, so that the installation is not required on a perforated plate and the door opening, disassembling, glue, direct use of the original car lines and aperture, Plug and play.
With the type of car audio. This not only greatly reduces the time required to dress up on the Speakers are more debug standardized, easy to operate, while its price has only 1000-2000 yuan. .
Currently,.
Edifier provide non-destructive use of models, including dress up more than 30 brands in more than 100 models. While doing so, dress up in the early stages of the implementation of non-destructive need to put a lot of money to open mold, but as the popularity of cars. .
10 years ago the popularization of computers, a huge car audio conversion market is gradually forming without compromising the retooling as on the degree of modification of the first stage, will become the first choice for most consumers.
Original. .
In layman’s eyes narrow single audio fields, Zhang wendong seem very broad. Ruershi “headset, headphones, even in the medical field, from hearing aids are the Core field of audio technology.
Are the Speaker design and manufacturing. In order to do fine in these areas do indeed have too much stress has. “Professional sound that is walker equipment manufacturers such opportunities where, despite the audio industry is in a downward phase..
But it does not reduce the demand for voice, really focused on this industry enterprises to continuously find new markets for growth. (This party Yongjia also contribute).
Downstream increase in channel dingjia music industry
