FutureHit.DNA

[deankripp]

It's probably not apropos protocol to post this here but Scr#%-it - I like to break rules

After Michael Laskow had twice mentioned the book "FutureHit.DNA" (Jay Frank) I decided to give it a shot.

...now after reading it for myself, all I can say is WOW!!!!

Anyone trying to write, produce or be a "hit-song" artist needs to steep themselves in some of the information that Jay Frank imparts... There are many "ah ha" moments in these pages. The way hit-song making has evolved and is evolving is not - at all - what you think it is (or thought it was).

Once again, Michael "The Oracle" Laskow speaketh the Truth

get the book.... now...

the end


dean k

[Kolstad]

Im reading it too, and while I find the tone quite fresh, Im a bit dissapointed so far.

I just made it through the 'more chords' discussion, and eeh, frankly.. using country music as an example of a genre that should drive a general trend towards more chords?? Maybe if you come from production music, or even pop, but I just didn't get where Jay was coming from in that particular 'trend' spotting..

I still love books like this, though, and surely I'm in for other more interesting sections when I keep reading..

[deankripp]

...one of the many things that I found mind blowing in the book was that with the advent of digital radio tuners - one can now flip though stations at a lightening pace in search of a song that grooves them - and as they land upon each new station and song, the odds are that they will land somewhere in the middle of that song - which begs the need for more "hook" oriented verses and choruses and turns and bridges etc...

...unlike 15 years ago, today, because of that one simple technological change, spawning a big sociological pattern change, one may need to "catch" the listener anywhere and everywhere in the song - not just at the traditional "chorus" or "intros."

...putting that one possible change alone into ones songwriting/production craft arsenal could make the difference between biz success and a song that sits on the shelf forever

... but then again - I could be way wrong


d

[Hookjaw Brown]

I found that the book is on the mark is many cases. I was commenting on it in the thread "Death of the CD". What got me thinking was his comments about the "skip" button, four second intros into the chorus. Hook the listener by seven seconds or the skip button gets used. He also goes on about the 2 minute mark needs to re-energize the listener with some sort of change up.

Marketing will be the single not albums, with long songs, for the extra royalty, in the five minute range. He makes a good point about releasing singles, fairly often, to keep the fans engaged in the artists development and to get the fan to feel invested (and to invest in the artist).

Many of his points can and will be argued to exhaustion but time will tell.

He used artists like Mariah Carie, and other pop artists for most of his points, not so much country. One thing he said got to me. Ms Carie had a #1 hit that had a 40 second intro and 1:08 minute chorus repeat, on a three minute song. This will not work today.

Basically, like Coach Debra says, know your market and know where the money is going to come from. Write songs for that market.

[hazineju]

thanks for the recommendation and discussion - it has been on my amazon wish list since michael mentioned it but now that it's getting forum buzz i may just have to make it the very next book i buy. i still need to get Robin's too. otherwise i have a pretty solid collection

[Brian Curtin]

I've been reading FUTUREHIT.DNA by Jay Franks also. It's really an interesting read and I'm finding much of the information is also applicable to production music composing.

It's fascinating to see how past technologies as well as the current digital technology have and continue to shape consumer listening and buying habits.

I'm really glad Michael Laskow recommended this book at the last Road Rally.

[hazineju]

What got me thinking was his comments about the "skip" button, four second intros into the chorus. Hook the listener by seven seconds or the skip button gets used. He also goes on about the 2 minute mark needs to re-energize the listener with some sort of change up.

I never even thought of this but I do it all the time. Well for me, I will usually give a song about 20-30 seconds. I can almost always tell by listening to an iTunes clip if it's a song I want to buy or not. That's why it bugs me sometimes when the iTunes clip is of the introduction or cuts off just before the hook!

I have this book now and am about half way through. It's been a really interesting read. Why songs became 3 minutes long and stayed 3 minutes long (on average) for such a long time was a really fascinating tidbit for me.

What I like about the book is that there are some very technical details that I normally don't think of while composing. I'm generally a pretty visceral writer. So it will be fun to consciously and deliberately infuse some of his technical suggestions into some songs and test them out on some unsuspecting listeners

[Casey H]

Technology has definitely forever changed our attention spans. Even when I'm in the car shuffling songs on my own iPod, I'm constantly clicking to the next song. And these are the songs I like!

You probably noticed that on television now, when one show ends, they start the next one right away before a commercial break. They hope to hook you before you surf to the next channel.

Casey

[mojobone]

Which ties directly into why TV themes are often five seconds or less, now. (some are no longer than stingers, even) It also has somewhat to do with PRO rules and rates; it pays better if you wrote a short cue and they used it all than if they used only a portion of something longer.

[Hookjaw Brown]

Oh SNAP..it is coming down to a single note song! I saw White Stripes do it one time. Came on stage, set it up, played one loud note, bowed and left.

Five second cues for TV and five minute songs for radio.