TECH HACKZ WITH PHAT B

Graphix by Phat B GFX... click pic to visit the webpage

This week I had the opportunity to interview Phat B to ask him a few questions regarding tools and apps that he utilizes to help create his music and promotion campaigns to see what he's got in his to toolbox that could enlighten us in new ways. He also delves into some extra recommendations that can help save you money in the long run so check out the interview below and make sure you leave a comment if it provided you with some value in any way possible. Also, Feel free to share with anyone you think can use this information, Peace!

Oskep: I wanted to start off by asking you what apps or programs you use currently use that helps you in creating music such as writing lyrics?

Phat B: Yeah for writing lyrics I use an app called Color Notes... I actually fuse my lyric writing while recording but when I do write i use this app to jot down my lines. Recently, I came across a new App called Audio Evolution Mobile for Android and that helps you record and create music on the go.. It has multitracks capabilities and alot of cool features . For instance I can plug in a USB mic using an adapter for my phone which makes it really sound good and I even connected a MIDI keyboard which I was impressed on how it sounded. I really recommend this app to those starting out in recording music, I don't suggest however to use this app if you are looking to master or complete a final product such as your album or mixtape. Its really to get your ideas out and lets you do it on the go.

Oskep: Interesting.. interesting... that leads me to my next question.. for creating your music projects in full what programs do you prefer to use . Is Cubase one of your favorites? or do you use others that you prefer?

Phat B: Cubase is my program of choice, but Pro tools, Logic is also good and that Is Really a matter of preference, even Pro tools has been the industry standard for years now.

Oskep: Cool, I noticed that your website has alot of promotinal videos and such. What programs or apps do you use to best edit and create these videos?

Phat B: For promotional videos the program I have is called "Power Director" and there is an app version for it which is really good, I wouldnt recommend it to sync vocals for an official music video but it does the job if you want to create some promo content on the go.

Oskep: Dope....dope.. Now once you are done with creating your content, what tools or apps do you utilize to promote your content on the internet? DO you use any apps that can maybe post on all your social media platforms at once?

PhatB: I used to do that and as you know Im a big fan of getting free stuff! ZOHO campaigns is one where you can create campaigns and send content simulataneously from facebook, twitter and emails It’s a really good platform to run your business on. The website that offers ZOHO campaigns wich is called zoho.com has many other services such as ZOHO mail which provides you with up to 10 free branded email addresses you can use that incorporate your website url to, for example, our website therealiumg.com. You can have for example oskeptical@therealiumg.com, phatb@therealiumg.com, etc and storage capacity can store up to 5gigs.

Oskep: That’s real dope, so what other tools do you use for promotion purposes?

Phat B: for promotion, well an autoresponder for your email campaigns is something that’s important like lets say, mail chimp, aweber, Fanbridge and others you can choose from. It really helps build your mailing list and establish your online presence. Im sure you heard a lot of online marketers say “ The money is on the list!” so for example in our case @ therealiumg.com, we have people that subscribe to our site and people that also submit their music, so the people who submit their music are potential subscribers. We then of course ask them if they want to join our mailing list for updates and such and with their permission we sign them up.

Oskep: interesting, so you get their emails first when they want to submit their music and then you go ahead and follow up to ask if they want to join your list?

Phat B: Yeah, yeah, you have too or else you can get in trouble if you do not ask for permission to sign them up to your list. You just send them a message such as “ Do you want to be part of our mailing list for any updates or offers and shit? and once they say yes, you can add them to your list using any of the programs mentioned above and everytime you have an email campaign now you can send them emails. And whats cool about these programs such as ZOHO is that it tracks how many people opened your emails and who checked them out, etc..

Oskep: that’s whats up! now have you found that most of the people who submit their music end up subscribing to your list?

Phat B: well it all depends, sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t…

Oskep: right, right.. me personally if someone gives me the opportunity to submit my music to be potentially heard by numerous website followers, I would sign up to their list. I mean why not? They are giving me an opportunity to get heard. I will choose to sign up and stay in touch with them

Phat B: Exactly, but you get those people sometimes that just spam and send you the music but don’t sign up.. they basically just submit to send and don’t even care if you play their tracks or not..Those who are really serious about it, I found that they subscribe to our list and we just send them updates of things that we offer and projects we release and so forth.

Oskep: Dope! dope! And I know we are on the topic of music and promotion right now, but what tools or apps can you share with us that you maybe use on your everyday life that makes things easier for you? For example..a life hack or tool when you go shopping for things you need. Any apps you can recommend to see whats on sale or helps you locate where they are having any bargains?

Phat B: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah! I save a ton of money shopping online for things that are priced lets say under $100.00 or anything I am having trouble finding in a regular store. Like Ill go on Amazon.com for example and purchase things such as wires, Pop filters for your mic, you can get that shit for as low as $5 sometimes. You gotta be careful though, you need to check out the reviews and the comments.. especially how many stars are given for the product. If you don’t see many 1-2 star ratings and the number of buyers is hi, then you found a real good item. So basically I save a lot of money by going on Amazon.

Oskep: That’s what's up! So Amazon.com is important if you want to save money? Got it! Now what apps do you use to make your commute around your city easier? Google maps?

Phat B: yeah.. Google maps I definitely use that.

Oskep: Have you used one called Waze? Man...that one helps you cut so much traffic and it also tells you if any police are nearby, etc.

Phat B: yeah I have it but I haven't really used it to the fullest. I will definitely look into that one more. That’s funny it tells you where the cops are! Yo I'm learning something new. (Chuckles)So one app I recommend that I personally have used, but is not related to music or promotion, is called Goal tracker. It really helps you break habits like drinking soda for example.. I used it to reinforce a 30 day challenge that I've started applying to my life. It really helps you acquire some strength when targeting a new goal or habits and get rid of some undesired ones if you know what I mean. It also gives you a visual of where you are in the process of achieving that specific goal you set for yourself. So basically it’s a really good self improvement tool. Another one I use a lot with Fic, is called send anywhere… they have a website and an app that comes with it. Its function is to send and transfer big files from phone to phone, computer to phone , and vice versa. And Finally, another cool one is Google Drive!.. its fucking awesome!... The files can be accessed anywhere, anytime and has a lot of storage available up to 15gb

Oskep: Yeah That’s a dope one! now are these apps free?

Phat B: Yes! most of these are free but the one I mentioned earlier … Audio Evolution mobile I paid for and is like 10$ The last one but not least that I recommend is called LogoPit Plus which creates Logos that you can use for online marketing purposes. Banners can be made and it has templates that are already sized for each social media platform such as Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Its really cool! Oh and I can’t forget Facebook messenger and Ill tell you why I like it so much with that app you can create group chats and group conference calls and the calls can be long distance. I mean look how we are able to communicate, you are in Miami Florida and Im in Montreal, Canada Thousands of miles appart and we have been able to communicate and work through this APP. Before Facebook messenger we had to get a calling card! (chuckles. Laughs)

Oskep: Indeed I'm glad you brought this up because when Facebook messenger came about.. there were some negative reviews about it. Poeple were saying it spies on you or it didn’t work for them etc. But you saw some value in it because it helped you connect with people worldwide in which you probably couldn’t have if it this app was not available.

Phat B: Yeah no doubt! its just some people focus to much on the negative side of things. you have to look at the positive side of things you know.

Oskep: indeed.. awesome man.. so thank you Phat B for breaking down and sharing all these really cool apps and tools that can make things easier for all of us..any last recommendations before I let you go.

PhatB: I think thats about it for today. I'm pretty sure well have other blogs about this as time goes on. I'm always looking for new tools to help me run my business as efficient and low coast as possible.

So that sums it for this blog, I hope you have found this blog enlightening. Please let us know what you think in the comments below and share with your friends and family if you see some jewels to share in this Blog.

Till next time my peoples, Bless!