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It's a Singles World

Heard Frank Ocean’s name recently?


“Blonde” is absent from the Spotify “United States Top 50.” Talk of the town for two weeks, his album is already in the rearview mirror. Which is why exclusives are bad for artists, you’ve got to get them while it’s hot, hit ’em with the Hein, otherwise they’re on to something new.

And that’s the issue, more than albums or exclusives, it’s about mindshare, noise in the channel… You drop your album on one day, and what are you going to do for the rest of the three hundred and sixty four? You’ve shot your wad, it’s done, it’s over, you’re lost in an old paradigm, if you’re about hits, and the business is solely about hits, that’s what you’ve got to deliver, over and over and over again.

Better to release a track every other month. As long as you have the attendant publicity. Forget moribund radio, which moves so slowly, playing the same songs after they took the better part of a year to get added. On streaming services, the game is very fast. Your track goes on the chart and it’s your responsibility to keep it there. Publicity will get you attention, quality will gain you staying power.

Now if you’re building it on the road, which is nearly impossible, because no one will come see you if you don’t have a hit, sure, drop an entire album, work it for a couple of years, try to get inside people’s heads.

But if you’ve already made it…

That album will be scooped up by a small cadre of fans, assuming they’re aware of it, but everybody else will ignore it. They’re inundated with music.

Not that you don’t need a body of work. Assuming someone discovers you, they need to be able to go deeper. So, best to build a presence, a trove of tracks online, but when it comes to new material…

If you’ve got something to say that’s gonna take forty minutes, and it really shouldn’t be longer, only country acts seem to know this, by all means give it a go, record an LP. But if you’re just woodshedding and assembling tracks, don’t. Or just post them on streaming services when they’re ready, with little fanfare, save all the hoopla for the potential hits.

The sales charts don’t fit the modern paradigm. Purchase is nearly irrelevant, listenership is everything. Imagine, for years we judged success by whether you could get newbies to buy your album. That’s insane. What we want to know is whether people are listening to it! That’s the only relevant metric.

And that’s what the streaming charts are based upon. You might be able to influence getting added to a playlist, but you can’t work the top list, no way.

So, change your way of thinking.

Don’t try to come up with twelve tracks, try to come up with one track, which might require twelve attempts, but…

You’re a songwriter, a musician, that’s what you do, keep doing it.

But know we only want the cream of the crop. There’s no use advertising anything but.

Forget the media married to the old ways. Reviewing long players, reprinting the SoundScan chart. That’s for old people inured to old ways. So, you get a review, who cares if no one streams it! And we’ve already determined sales are a bad indicator.

It’s the 1960s all over again. Tracks last a month or two. And then we’re on to something new. The jammed up and jellied tight radio charts have been superseded. It’s a more fluid market, and this is good for you.

And one track streamed a hundred million times is better than twelve tracks streamed one million times each. That’s right, there’s more money in one track, this is the opposite of the CD paradigm, where you get them to overpay for one good track so everybody can make money. Now, the money’s only in the hit that breaks through.

And Frank Ocean’s “Blonde” is not a complete stiff. Three tracks have about ten million streams. A couple are around seven. A bunch are at two or three…

But the Chainsmokers/Halsey cut at number one is getting 1,467, 471 streams A DAY! This cut “Closer” has been streamed on Spotify 388,511,078 times in its history, far in excess of “Blonde” in the aggregate.

Number two, the Weeknd’s “Starboy,” gets 1,327,357 streams a day and has 82,366,575 cumulative streams, and it was only released September 21st!

Then there’s DJ Snake’s album, “Encore,” containing the big hit with Justin Bieber, “Let Me Love You,” which has 797,743 daily streams and is sitting at number four on the chart and has a cume of 280,272,323 streams. Most of the other tracks, other than the single hits on “Encore,” have a few million streams. Proving that most people don’t want to hear the rest of the album, only the hits. So, why not just put out hits?

It’s not easy to record a hit. But today, the great thing is if you fail, you can step right back up to bat. Your core is listening, if you achieve greatness they’ll give you a push, get you going.

As for the rest of you…

The bar has just been raised. Now that everybody can play, most people go unheard, at least in any quantity. You can play by the new rules or bitch about the change, it’s your choice.

But the public has spoken.

By: Bob Lefsetz

NUHBEGINC MULTIMEDIA
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Healthy Relationship

Here are a few of those things that I’ve learned do seem to say something about the strength of your union:

You Speak Your Mind

Relationships thrive when couples can express themselves freely and honestly. That means no topic is off-limits, and you both feel heard. Consistent communication is vital to building a lasting life together.

You Have Your Own Space

Just because you’re in love doesn’t mean you have to spend every moment together. Taking time to pursue your own interests and friendships keeps your relationship fresh and gives you both the opportunity to grow as individuals—even while you’re growing as a couple.  

You Fight

Disagreements are normal, so if you aren’t fighting, chances are you’re holding back. But when people in healthy relationships fight, they fight productively and fairly. That means avoiding name-calling or put-downs. It also means striving to understand your partner instead of trying to score points. And when you’re wrong? You apologize.

You Like Yourself And Your Partner

Chances are your relationship won’t suddenly get better if you win the lottery, have a baby, or move into your dream house. So don’t base your partnership on the hope that it will change. You recognize that neither of you is perfect, and you accept and value each other for who you are right now—not who you might become.

You Make Decisions Jointly

You don’t call all the shots. Neither does your partner. From what movie to see to how many children to have, you make decisions together and listen to each other’s concerns and desires. Sure, this may mean you see Transformers on Saturday night. But on Sunday night, it’s your turn.

You Find Joy

Healthy relationships are full of laughter and fun. This doesn’t mean you’re giddy every hour of the day—or that she doesn’t drive you up the wall sometimes—but it does mean that your life together is mostly happy in sometimes simple ways. (Making dinner, laughing at the same things, finishing each others’ sentences…)

You Find Balance

Sometimes your partner needs to work longer hours while you play chauffeur and chief cook. Or you must devote time to an elderly parent while your spouse tackles the chores. That’s life. What matters is that, in the long run, your trade-offs seem fair.

You Treat Each Other With Kindness

Nothing is more important than treating the person you love with care, consideration, empathy, and appreciation. If you find yourself showing more respect to people you hardly know than you show your partner, take a step back and revisit your priorities.

You Trust Each Other

Healthy relationships are built on trust and a commitment to communication without reservations or secrets. Want to know how much you trust each other now? Take this quiz  

You Let Things Go

Your partner will annoy you. You will annoy him or her, too. You will say things you don’t mean. You will behave inconsiderately. The important thing is how you deal with all this. So he forgot to pick up milk for the second time? Tell him you’re disappointed, of course—then let it go.

You Are Intimate

Sex is an important part of healthy relationships, but it’s only one part, and it’s different than intimacy, which is less about physical satisfaction than about bonding, friendship, and familiarity. If you’re in a healthy relationship, you’ll feel connected—in and out of bed.

Your Relationship Is Your Safe Place

Your relationship should be a safety net—a stable place to come home to at the end of the day. That doesn’t mean you don’t fight—it just means that when things are hard, you’d rather see your partner than commiserate with coworkers at Happy Hour.

You Talk To Your Partner, Not To Other People

When you have issues and concerns, you share them with your partner, not your Facebook friends. You can use pals as a sounding board, of course, but not as a crutch to avoid hard conversations with your significant other.

You Say The Magic Words

 “I love you”, “Thank you,” and “I’m sorry.” 

By: Devon Corneal

NUHBEGINC MULTIMEDIA
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10 Reasons Why Some People Will Never Succeed

In O.G Mandino’s The greatest salesman in the world, a very important fact was made which said that:

“two amongst a thousand wise men, will define success in the same words, yet failure is always described in one way. Failure is man’s inability to reach his goals in life whatever they may be.”

While success is relative, subjective, holds monetary and non- monetary value, failure is more a “one size fits all” recipe. Below are ten things people do to fail on purpose.

1. They don’t understand the value of time.

“Any successful entrepreneur knows that time is more valuable than money itself.” – Richard Branson

Unsuccessful people don’t value their time. They are everywhere, anywhere, anytime because they lack the ability to dedicate their time towards their goals. And year after year they make new promises which never come to fruition simply because they couldn’t be bothered to put in the time required towards their goals. Time management skills, learning how to say no and knowing what commitments to undertake, is a step towards great success in any area of our lives.


2. They don’t do things that are in alignment with their goals

“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” – Roy Disney.

The more important a goal is, the higher it will be on your hierarchy of values and the more discipline and order you will have associated with it. The less important a goal is, the lower it will be on your hierarchy of values and the less discipline and more disorder you’ll have associated with it. Unsuccessful people have mistaken busyness with productivity. They are a part of everything but nothing which they do is in alignment to their values and their goals. Writing down in a journal what your gaols are and implementing strategies which can get you there will help you identify things that are not on par with where you are going.

3. They never step up to the plate

“People seem to think that success in one area can compensate for failure in other areas, but can it really? True effectiveness requires balance” – Stephen Covey

So your boss sucks and you really hate your job but this is no reason to slack and produce mediocre work. You’re getting paid to be there so do it right, life has this universal law of giving you what you put in. It’s just maturity and wisdom to pursuit excellence no matter the circumstances. Unsuccessful people are the ones who are okay with getting bad grades and won’t bother finding an effective studying method that will help their learning ability, because after all, being a student of distinction is less about how smart you are but more about how well you can plan and prepare, and that makes you feel smarter and that in itself produces great results.

4. They have self-imposed limitations

“You are what you are by what you believe” – Oprah Winfrey

Unsuccessful people tend to say things like “I’m just not good with numbers”, “I just really hate studying”, and “I just don’t think I can run a successful business”. They put limits on themselves and excuse their behaviour but it’s really just a way of underachieving and aiming low enough to not miss. Get rid of the idea that you only have a specific set of skills and talents for specific tasks, stop thinking that you’re not as intelligent as the next person. What life requires of you is to make the most of yourself, for yourself, and for others.

5. They are good at making excuses

“If you can’t make it good, at least make it look good” – Bill Gates

These are the people who will find reasons and logic as to why they can’t and why they shouldn’t. They sometimes mistake this abhorrent tendency for “just being realistic”. They lack imagination and always find ways to justify why something shouldn’t be but they never really try. The best remedy for this is to stop your mind when it’s about to start making the excuses and re-ignite the engine that has started it all.

6. They lack class

“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Unsuccessful people usually tend to have no social IQ. They say things like “well at least I’m being honest” or “this is how I am, deal with it”. They don’t know how to treat other people and tend to be arrogant, for no apparent reasons most of the time. Nobody likes a big mouth, a show off, a humble boaster, or people who don’t know how to just say thank you when given a compliment. These traits are unbecoming and are not what true class acts are made of. Being nice and polite to people you like is easy, being nice and polite to someone you cannot tolerate or who you are in constant disagreement with – that is character. Learning how to speak to people is a skill only few have mastered. It has been said the best way to test a man’s character is by watching how he acts when standing in a very long queue and is met with bad service, how he handles Christmas lights and his reaction when you ruin their expensive items.

7. They are procrastinators

“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone” ― Pablo Picasso

The funny thing about this one is that they are usually self-proclaimed procrastinators. They see no shame in it. This goes back to them never understanding the value of time. They are okay with living a life that keeps up with yesterday. They live life as though they just have another one in the bank. Let’s just see how round one goes and if all else fails we press next or rewind or pause. Understanding that you start dying the moment you are born and wisdom to realize that every day is a gift and you owe it to yourself to do everything you can do in those twenty four hours because nothing’s ever promised today tomorrow.

8. They don’t’ take action

“Do something today, your future self will thank you for” – Les Brown

The simplicity of this rule of life may be why they disregard the magnitude of its effects. Unsuccessful people tend to ponder and leave footprints in the sands of time. They can talk a great game and they dream really big but they lack the courage to just go forth. Stop dreaming about what will be, dreams in themselves are not bad but get up, show up and DO something. Stop with the coffee shop meetings and go do something.

9. They can’t face adversity

“All sunshine and no rain makes a dessert” – Arabian Proverb

There was a shepherd boy, he was not a warrior and he was small in size. He looked at a giant and said “I will strike you down and cut off your head” and that is exactly what he did. The thing with challenges is, they’re only as big as we make them seem and as strong as our weakness will allow. Unsuccessful people have not understood this and they give up all too quickly because things got uncomfortable, things got a little bit rough, they want roses without the thorns, babies without labour and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow without bearing the storm. Overcoming challenges not only bring us closer to our goals but they turn us into someone we never imagined existed. Don’t be afraid to conquer fears and to enter new territory, step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. In the midst of adversity courage is born. You’ll never know how strong you are if you’ve never had to fight and sometimes you might fail but at least you failed and proved to Goliath that he wasn’t quite the Giant he thought he was.


10. They are apathetic

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” -Revelation 3:16

Yes there are natural fence sitters. They never have an opinion about anything, they can’t make decisions and are over the border plain ignorant. They can’t hold smart conversations and are not open minded if it isn’t directly in relation to what they know. They think everyone should view life the way they view it. They are indifferent about everything and stand for nothing. They don’t read, they don’t educate themselves past “formal education” and they put no effort into how they present themselves. Even if they never achieve their highest potential this is okay with them because in a world so full of wonder and curiosity they have managed to find a way to be bored. Apathy is a silent killer. Find something that you are passionate about, even if you don’t get paid for it. Put your gift to use.

The people who are out there making things happen are not as extraordinary as we make them ought to be. They’re pretty plain and most of  the time after a second glance they’re not all that exceptional in any way but they’ve managed to get to where they are and stay there because they mastered the art of discipline and being the right person at the right time. Maybe you have so many things you want to complete and sometimes you feel so overwhelmed because, there’s just not enough time. Put the cell phone down, log off once in a while and stop minding everybody’s business and you’ll be amazed at the potential you’ll unlock.

By: Kayiba Mpoyi

NUHBEGINC MULTIMEDIA