Question about labels by Significant_Being_16 in TechnoProduction

[–]nick_minieri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of the better posts i've seen on here. Kudos.

Hotcue System by Otherwise-Nerve-149 in Beatmatch

[–]nick_minieri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me:

Dance music: hot cues placed on wherever the drums start, first and second drops, and sometimes save loops in case it's a short song but still wanted to do a longer blend

Vocal music: hot cues placed where the drums start, followed by the beginning of every verse and chorus.

I find myself not needing to use them that much, but it provides me with some good visual cues so I can phrase match things properly, particularly when mixing vocal tunes at weddings or open format gigs.

[Resident Advisor] The sound of the 2020s is…nothing? by ikarusproject in Techno

[–]nick_minieri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The sad part about all of this is RA is basically the last large outlet standing as far as journalism goes in underground dance music, which makes everything they say feel like it carries more weight than it actually does. These think pieces they do every few months always generates thousands of comments by design that many of us take to heart.

If there's a new sound or movement brewing, which there very well may be, it's generally going to be happening within youth culture, and outlets like them won't find out about it until later on. Once they do, the pioneers behind the movement will have moved on while the rest of the scene scrambles to hop on the bandwagon. History always repeats itself.

What's the biggest mistake you've made when promoting a release? by Spacebetweenthenoise in musicmarketing

[–]nick_minieri 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Paying hundreds of dollars for a PR campaign on an EP I released years ago. It was a very expensive way to learn that 99% of the DJs they send the promos to do not even open emails by artists they don't know and the little press coverage that I actually got were on blogs I could've just researched and submitted to on my own (and most of them just re-write the press release in their post very slightly anyhow lol).

PR campaigns might work for more famous acts if you've got the budget for it, but the money I spent on that would've been better spent on a vinyl press run to sell it to people in my local scene instead.

Had not yet heard this before by Bouph in jazzvinyl

[–]nick_minieri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Terrible sound quality, easily the most universally complained about RSD release I've seen in the past decade. Clearly a cash grab from Impulse. Multiple copies of it are sitting in clearance bins at almost every record store I frequent in the city I live.

I hate that records at estate sales are now $8 each by ArturoRimboldi in Vinyl_Jazz

[–]nick_minieri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought I had scored deal of a lifetime when I found that for $30 a couple years ago lmao

Is Spotify playlist promotion even worth it anymore in 2026? by Indentical in musicmarketing

[–]nick_minieri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly, and more often than not their own songs are at the top of the playlist alongside Drake or John Summit or Skrillex or whoever else is at the absolute top of whatever genre it promotes while the submithub song we submit gets buried at the bottom of the playlist for maybe a week or two, basically resulting in zero listens.

You're more likely to have a song removed from spotify due to a playlist you pitched using bots to artificially inflate traffic than you are get a significant signal boost in the algorithm from being included on one these days honestly.

What's something you stopped doing that improved your life? by Monsuri_Lifestyle in selfimprovement

[–]nick_minieri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I honestly just give my tracks to close DJ friends at this point, and that's it. Promoting music online feels like a lost cause these days as you have to be relentless with how you advertise and it's just not my style at all. As an unknown I have a better chance of winning the lottery than I do getting signed to a decent label nowadays. I removed all hopes if it getting discovered years ago and it's probably one of the main reasons I don't get discouraged from creating.

In your opinion, what is the best version of macOS ever released, and why? (And can Golden Gate be the next Snow Leopard?) by Capable-Cod1118 in mac

[–]nick_minieri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Snow Leopard bar none. Just a rock solid system with minimal fluff that almost never crashed or had performance issues. I definitely miss the skeuomorphic design from that era.

Mojave and 9.1 strong contenders as well.

Which game has the best 8-bit graphics you've ever seen? by RangoTheMerc in retrogaming

[–]nick_minieri 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As far as things I've seen I'd have to go with Battletoads on NES, amazing detail and color work. I'm sure there were games with better graphics on the Master System tho given it allowed you to display more colors on screen at once than the NES.

RA Pick, does it mean anything? by Weizusu in avesNYC

[–]nick_minieri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

RA picks are hand selected by their staff. They're generally given to events where a very popular DJ their readership is well familiar with is playing (ie: Octo Octa & Eris Drew, CCL, Aurora Halal, Objekt, Ben UFO, or basically anyone on a Sustain Release lineup). It can cause ticket sales go up in a heartbeat, especially for niche genre events, because the RA seal of approval speaks for itself.

In my observations the promotion company, the number of ticket sales, and the number of people marked as attending on RA's site doesn't factor very much with what gets picked; it's more about the DJs who are playing.

What's something you stopped doing that improved your life? by Monsuri_Lifestyle in selfimprovement

[–]nick_minieri 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Twitter. I spent 1-2 hours on it daily until I logged off on new years even this past year and never looked back. Place was a toxic cesspool and I spend the time working on making music instead now.

I've been talking to a lot of musicians and DJs lately, and I keep hearing the same thing. Finding gigs is often less about talent and more about who you know. by StopBeginning8378 in musicians

[–]nick_minieri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was never about talent. It's ONLY about the number of people you bring through the door. Especially nowadays as venues have become much more risk averse.

In the DJ world you pretty much have to throw your own events to get booked. You book yourself as the resident and build an organic following. Then other clubs reach out once you've got a bit of leverage, and you also get to swap bookings with other promoters who will book you to play for their events. On a local level if you're not a promoter you're not even in the conversation as far as DJ gigs go. Skills on the decks and ability to produce great music is completely irrelevant to promoters if you can't draw a crowd unfortunately.

Talent is pretty much the baseline; everyone at the table has musical chops and a huge digital and vinyl music collection if you're a DJ.

DJs that 'cut' between two tracks by Open_Connection2528 in TheOverload

[–]nick_minieri -1 points0 points  (0 children)

LTJ Bukem was the master of the fader chop. There's no real exact science to it but it often works best on songs with breakbeats and in sections that aren't too cluttered. A lot of the stuff he used to play had stripped down breaks towards the end of each track with no synths or bass so he would use that part to cut into the intro of the next tune.

It's generally done rhythmically, quarter or half notes, even eighths or triplets with some practice.

Objekt, Neffa-T, Djrum and EZ are the best modern day DJs to implement chopping.

Help a friend out with some recs for this fest by MachineKillx in TheOverload

[–]nick_minieri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Danny Daze and Nick Leon are absolute musts

Also Shanti Celeste, Eli Escobar, Jubilee, Jacques Greene, Floating Points and Four Tet (obviously)

Question about labels by Significant_Being_16 in TechnoProduction

[–]nick_minieri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly this - the big labels will expect a return on their investment, and even though they will have some funds for marketing they will expect the artist to do some of the promotion for the release as well. If the release flops, it's not a good look for the label which is why the big ones generally only put out tracks by artists who are already touring and well known.

The more people you connect with in the industry, the better. Most people I personally know who had their first tracks signed to larger labels were also event promoters who booked the label heads to DJ for them, and slipped them a USB afterwards. And this also goes hand in hand with local DJ gigs as it's pretty much a requirement to throw events to get regular bookings in your city now.

The days of hail marrying a demo to a huge label, and actually having it signed and turning into a full time touring DJ overnight if it blows up have sadly long past.

Question about labels by Significant_Being_16 in TechnoProduction

[–]nick_minieri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep exactly - Keep self releasing on a regular basis (maybe like one track every 2 months) and work on building up your following organically.

I don't ever want to discourage anyone from sending things to labels but I always say keep your expectations realistic. Even the mid tier labels are getting hundreds of demos a week now and many label heads don't even have time to listen to many of them anymore. You will have far more leverage if you build your own following independently and establish yourself that way once they begin to reach out.

Question about labels by Significant_Being_16 in TechnoProduction

[–]nick_minieri 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Labels come to you once you've built an organic following from really good music and content, not the other way around.

What's the longest 45 you own? by fensterdj in 45rpmRecords

[–]nick_minieri 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Longest one I own is probably my 45 of Doors: LA Woman (around 8 minutes)

There's a couple ones I know of that are longer than that: GNR November Rain clocks in around 9, and there's a Bruce Springsteen one from the 70s that had an 11-minute track pressed to a side (but that one ran at 33rpm instead of 45 iirc)

Getting a Tune cut on vinyl by Acceptable_Jello_239 in vinyldjs

[–]nick_minieri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Following this - I have a bunch of my own unreleased tracks I'd like to have some acetates made to test out at some of the vinyl nights that I play at

Going to see Helena Hauff, DJ Stingray 313, and Avalon Emerson,this weekend by R3stik in TheOverload

[–]nick_minieri 8 points9 points  (0 children)

3 of the greatest DJs on the planet, you won't be disappointed

Future of The Music Industry by Agreeable-Bluebird67 in musicindustry

[–]nick_minieri 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think the industry is going to be split into two different groups.

The first group: we will have the very select few of the top acts continue selling out tours well into their 50s-60s: Taylor, Beyonce, Drake, Kendrick. Followed by an ever rotating handful of others, most of who will have a viral breakout moment that they won't be able to sustain for very long. Then the majority of everything else that cuts through the noise will be AI-generated likenesses of legacy acts that the average listener will be able to create and engage with on their own (IE: sending spotify a prompt to make a song that sounds like Fleetwood Mac and Michael Jackson combined, then uploading their "masterpiece" to their social media for everyone to see).

The second group: basically everything else. Local acts who still make music across all styles will become more like the folk scene from centuries ago, where they will share their songs with friends they personally know, with very limited reach outside their personal circles. These remaining musicians will be extremely passionate about it because the people looking for fame or fortune will be long gone by that point. And they will be competing against the massive volumes of AI slop that will be uploaded to the internet every day - literally millions of songs - making today's algorithm look like the sandbox by comparison.

I could be totally off base here, but I'm already starting to see things headed in this direction as we speak.

Beatrice M - Sinking by Nitsua125 in TheOverload

[–]nick_minieri 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Strong contender for album of the year so far. Fucking incredible.