Canadian hip-hop artist L.I.R.I.X has announced that the first single from his upcoming mixtape will be Lady Luck. The mixtape, Against All Odds, is expected to be available in November 2010. L.I.R.I.X describes Lady Luck as having an up-tempo beat and predicts that the song will be an “instant” club success. L.I.R.I.X says the song was inspired by the notion of spending one last night with someone special and says that his fans will relate to the sentiment. The song is currently available on L.I.R.I.X’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/lirixiznice and can also be purchased using the link on the page.

Mixtapes Are A Typical Entré Into The Hip-Hop Music Scene

Many hip hop and rap artists choose to enter the music scene by producing and releasing mix tapes, rather than traditional albums. Many new artists have been signed based upon their mixtape releases, and it’s not unusual for a new artist to release several mixtapes before being signed to a recording contract. L.I.R.I.X’s first single, “Second Renaissance” was released in 2009 and sold 125,000 copies. Several other singles have also enjoyed good commercial success. L.I.R.I.X is currently working with Shady Records, who have artists such as Young Buck, Obie Trice and Cashis under contract.

If you’re ready to start producing your own mixtapes, the only recording software you’ll need is Sonic Producer. Sonic Producer is one of the most complete music production software packages and is designed with rap and hip-hop artists in mind. Within Sonic Producer, you’ll find thousands of royalty-free samples that will enable you to create your own unique sound without running into copyright issues later on.

Sonic Producer shows you how to produce your own music but also provides video coaching on how to put together the beats that today’s fans want to hear. You’ll learn a lot by working with Sonic Producer, and you can put what you learn to work right away.

Sonic Producer will help you self-produce professional quality digital recordings which you can export to MP3. Share your music with friends, use it to back you up in the clubs or put together your own mixtapes. With Sonic Producer, you’re completely in charge of your musical future. Make your songs available for free download, or put them on iTunes and make a name for yourself. Regardless of your plan, Sonic Producer will help you get started on your musical future today!

Photo Credit: D.avellee, via Flickr

There’s no big surprise here, but CD sales are down in a big way. According to Digital Music News, CD sales dropped by 11% in the first half of 2010, while digital album sales increased by 14% over the same period in 2009. One bright spot in album sales is Eminem’s rap music collection, Recovery. Recovery’s first week sales topped 740,000 and became the first album to chart that many sales since 2008′s Black Ice by AC/DC.

Recovery, along with Drake’s Thank Me Later and L’il Wayne’s Rebirth albums have all reached gold status in 2010.

The Future of Music Is Digital

The same survey showed that vinyl sales are increasing slightly, but still accounted for less than 10% of new music sales in the first half of the year. Vinyl albums are largely considered to have only niche appeal and will not make up a major portion of new music sales.

What is the appeal of digital music? Distribution of digital music is easy, and the sound quality is better. Digital music doesn’t suffer from the same age-related problems that vinyl- and CD-based music does, and can be replaced easily if the digital music file gets damaged. Digital music also gives the listener the choice of purchasing just the songs they want to hear, without having to pay for tracks they don’t want. Aside from all of that, music lovers prefer digital music because they can take their music with them wherever they go on portable, high-capacity MP3 players.

With an MP3 player, you can create playlists of the songs you want to hear from the artists you love, and you can change up your list any time you want to. Portability, flexibility and customization are the reasons more music buyers are switching to digital music.

This switch in consumer preferences opens the door for other possibilities, like self-publication of music. Music producers of any experience level can self-produce their own music, especially if they have access to a professional music production software package like Sonic Producer. Sonic Producer comes complete with hundreds of royalty-free samples, and can easily export music to MP3 format. Self-produced music and beats can be uploaded to music-sharing sites, or can even be sold as mixtapes, singles or albums. With Sonic Producer, you can make your own music and share it with the world! It’s a great way to break into today’s rap music business.

Photo Credit: LondonBrad, via Flickr