(Entertainment-NewsWire.com, September 18, 2013 ) Beaverton, OR -- Success stories about amateur artists and musicians suddenly hitting the big time with their own home recordings are more and more common these days. Look at the rags-to-riches story of Justin Bieber or the DIY viral videos from Walk Off the Earth, who managed to get over 50 million Youtube views for their innovative cover of "Somebody That I Used to Know."
The DIY media movement isn't relegated to the music industry. Consider self-publishing, an upstart movement that is rocking the print industry. During the period from 2006 to 2011, self-publishing increased 287 percent to over 280,000 titles, some of which are reaching the New York Times Best Seller list.
It's no secret that the Internet and the power of computers have placed the tools to media success in the hands of anybody with a wireless signal. The tools for realizing creativity and sharing people's brilliant creations are more scalable and powerful than ever.
Unfortunately, the idea is over-hyped, cheapened by the legends of overnight successes which minimize the behind-the-scenes toil and years of obscurity artists often endure. Anybody could get big, but not everybody is ready to devote themselves to their craft. Walk Off the Earth didn't wake up one morning and make their hugely successful video. They've been working hard for years, and put a lot of planning and effort into their videos. They had a following long before the mainstream noticed them.
They also have a good measure of talent, are well practiced at their craft, and have professional production values. Take a look at their videos. The sound and video are of high quality. When five people are playing the guitar, you hear everybody's playing and singing clearly. It's a professional recording, pleasing to the ear.
Professional production doesn't guarantee virality. In fact, there is no telling what makes a video or blog post go viral. But terrible production values are certainly a hindrance. To get noticed, an artist needs to make a palatable product.
The powerful tools of modern art expose the weight of artists' ideas and the depth of their skills to the world. DIY music artists and need to invest in good quality gear. Whatever they are making needs to look, sound, or feel professional to compete with the nearly infinite sea of creative voices in the virtual art community.
So they should get the best gear their budget allows and then learn how to use it to the greatest effect. It's pretty amazing what can be done with some very humble equipment these days, even simple devices like pop filters. The real limiter is the creativity and skill of the artist.
About Zanshin Marketing
Zanshin Marketing, under its Auphonix brand, retails quality microphone pop filters to the burgeoning home recording market. As well as retailing a pop filter, the company also has a strong focus on the education of its customers in the dark arts of great audio and video production.
