Things to consider before buying music instruments

In a perfect world we would all have a steady stream of income so that we would be able to buy anything we want without much thought. But in reality most of us follow a set budget; important purchases such as a instruments necessitates a lot of research and planning. This is why I often emphasize that before you go and buy an instrument you must first determine your budget, the quality of the instrument and your needs as a musician. Remember, the quality of an instrument may either make or break a musician, especially if you’re just starting out. 

Source : http://musiced.about.com/od/beginnersguide/bb/b4inst.htm

Streaming: Music to the ears

 Thanks to the rapid development of technology, music recording has expanded into a massive and flexible digital network. And with that, comes evolving and higher demands from consumers, whose lives now meteorite on the fast lane, heady and high with upbeat hip-hop that came with advances in technology. In recent years, there has been a growing need for on-demand entertainment. Many consumers, particularly the young generation now prefer to have their entertainment “on the go” as and when, and where they want it. Hence, on-demand entertainment or digital streaming is the name of the game, and is taking the world by storm given its affordability and fluid mobility. Eric Harvey of the Chicago-based Pitchfork Media points out that the idea of music streaming has been around for more than a century. He noted, in fact, it can be traced back to 1888 with Edward Bellamy predicting the idea of listening to streamed music via phone lines when he wrote his science fiction novel “Looking Backward”.

 Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/12/13/streaming-music-to-the-ears/ 

Kids Feel the Power of Poetry in Performance

Kids -- 12 and 13 years old -- pour their guts onto paper in verse. They spend weeks furiously writing, revising, and coaching each other, and revising again. When they are done, they stand alone in front of their peers and recite poetry, using voice and gesture to bring their words to life. This may sound like an English teacher's pipe dream, but it is becoming a common experience in classrooms across the country. In lower-income neighborhoods in cities like New York and Chicago, students are competing with words and then settling in for discussions of metaphor, assonance, consonance, and allusion.

Source : http://www.edutopia.org/poetry-slam-global-writes

A poetry slam

Simply put, a poetry slam is a competitive poetry reading in which poets perform their own writing for scores. Slams are open and democratic in nature; anyone who wishes to sign up for the competition can. The scores, which range from 0.0 to 10.0, are assigned by volunteer judges (typically five of them) selected from the audience. The highest and the lowest scores for a poem are dropped and the three remaining scores are added together for a maximum total of 30 points. There is also a time limit of three minutes and ten seconds per performance; poets may and do go over this limit, but a time penalty is assessed and figured into their scores. Poets are also restricted in how they perform; no "props, costumes, or animal acts" are allowed. Musical accompaniment, except for that which poets can make with their own body, is also usually excluded. Beyond that, poets are free to use the microphone and any other items on stage to perform their poems. At stake are titles, small cash prizes, and even gag prizes. From the winners of local and regional slams, representative teams from cities across the US and Canada (and some international teams) are certified to compete at the National Poetry Slam, which takes place annually in August.

Source : http://www.rattle.com/rattle27/somerswillett.htm

How does music benefit the brain?

Sometimes, watching a musician perform live can make us mere listeners feel like they have superpowers. Now, new research suggests brief musical training increases blood flow in the left hemisphere of the brain, but there are other benefits for listeners, too.

Researchers from the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Liverpool in the UK conducted two different studies to investigate how musical training affects the flow of blood to the brain.

They say their findings, which they presented at the British Psychological Society annual conference in Birmingham, UK, suggest the areas in charge of music and language share common pathways in the brain.

In early 2014, Medical News Today reported on a study that revealed brain scans of jazz musicians showed similarities between language and music. Researchers from that study said the brain likely uses its syntactic regions to process all communication - whether spoken or through music.

Source : http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276595.php 

How I increase my business revenues?

It took me several months to successfully generated RM 1 million as my business capital. Now it is time to maintaining my profits and brainstorms ideas and ways on how I can increase my business revenues from RM 1 million to RM5 million. Before that I would like to tell you the meaning of these two terms which is majorly mistaken as the same meaning. The words “revenue” and “income” have different meanings, and become confusing if used as synonyms. “Sales” refers to the number of units of your product you sell, and “revenues” refers to the total amount money your sales generates. Below are ways on how I will increase my business revenues from RM1 million to RM5 million :

1. Make my customers buy more from my musical instrument stores and make them come to my stores and buy again.

Firstly, I need to get my database of previous customers up to date and organized. Then I need to design three or four tempting offers I could approach them with.  (It may be a new product or service, a discount on your usual products, or an expensive version of what I have traditionally offered). Then I will either call them direct, email them or send a direct mail piece about the offer, stating why it is so good and how they can buy it. Generally speaking, if I present more buying opportunities to my customers, they will buy more. As long as I don’t endlessly bother them, the more I ask them to spend money with me ,the more they will do so. Besides that, I need to work on getting more of my existing customers to come back to the cash register again. There are multiple ways to create multiple purchases. First, I need to begin looking immediately at how I can multiply my offerings. Most businesses cannot survive on just one product or service forever. The money I spend acquiring each customer can be a losing proposition if I only get one shot at one sale. So I will start by adding more products and services. Next, I need to do a better job nurturing my customers. This is because marketing is not just about leading prospects to the buying stage but it is also about keeping buyers engaged with us for years to come so you that sales can be generated.

2. Accept credit/debit cards.

Accepting credit cards for payment is a benefit to potential customers and is a proven method to quickly spur sales. Firstly, I need to go to the bank or local financial institution and create a merchant account. The best place to begin when trying to get merchant status is by approaching the bank that already holds my business accounts. There are several reasons why I chose to accept credit/debit cards in my business. Firstly, it is so accessible and so easy to add point of sales equipment to my business. Secondly, there are various studies show that when people are given more payment options (beyond cash); they are more likely to make impulse purchases, join loyalty programs, and spend more per purchase – and that can only help my business to grow. Thirdly,many people prefer not to carry cash, especially when traveling. Others prefer to pay with credit cards because they know that it will be easier to return or exchange the merchandise. Fourth, it gives me the chance to increase sales by enabling customers to make impulse buys even when they do not have cash in their wallets or sufficient funds in their checking accounts. Moreover, accepting credit cards can improve cash flow because in most cases when receive the money within a few days instead of waiting for a check to clear or an invoice to come due. Finally, credit cards provide a guarantee that we will be paid, without the risks involved in accepting personal checks.

3. Add complementary services to existing products.

Adding complementary services or products may help you gain new clients, as well as maintain existing ones. In addition to selling musical instruments, I can increase revenues my business revenues and profits by providing instrument repairs, classes, music instrument rentals, and sales of related products such as sheet music. Firstly, I need to look for individuals who can handle instrument service and repair, music education as well as sales. In the meantime, I also need to ensure that I choose people who are dedicated in their work and willing to help my the growth of my business. I will provide top quality repairs that last using the best tools, supplies, and parts. I will do first class repairs on guitars and ukuleles and about any other type of acoustic instrument. My customers can be assured that their repair will be made using the finest materials, quality workmanship and extreme attention to detail.

4. Crowdfunding

The use of small amounts of capital from a large number of people to finance a new business venture. Crowdfunding makes use of the easy accessibility of huge networks of friends, family and colleagues through social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get the word out about a new business and attract investors. Crowdfunding has the possible ability to increase entrepreneurship by expanding the pool of investors from whom money can be raised beyond the usual circle of owners, relatives and venture capitalists. In other words, crowdfunding is a new way of raising money whether for business or for charity purpose. In the early days, the only sources of money was bankloans, angel, loans from family and friends or donations. There are three popular sites for crowdfunding in Malaysia namely: Pitchin.my , SocialSharity.com and Mystartr.com.

5. Increase social media marketing strategies

Quantity does not necessarily mean quality, so careful planning, test-marketing and monitoring results maximizes sales. So, I should conduct marketplace research to learn which messages speak to my target audience. Besides that, I need to run ads and promotions in limited locations and check the results before spending my entire budget. Furthermore, I need to incorporate some way to monitor marketing communications, such as using coupons, electronic codes or website traffic statistics. Apart from that, I need to create my own business website, blog, twitter and Facebook page to reach out to my customers.