Resources

Here is a list of resources that I use. Hopefully they will be as helpful to you as they are for me.

Building Your Website

  • WordPress – The best platform to use when creating websites. It’s free and extremely easy to use. No coding is needed everything you need coding wise is done for you with just the click of a button via plugins (most being free).
  • Elegant Themes – Over 70 themes, 1 cheap price. Great, for those who want to get a site up and running quickly.
  • Justhost – This is the host I’m using for Diy Music Biz as well various other sites that I own. Justhost is reliable as well as affordable and their customer service is great you can reach them 24/7 via live chat or phone.

 

Getting Paid (Payment Processors)

  • Paypal – Trust worthy company that has been around for more than 10 years. They are free to use and connect directly with your bank account making sending and receiving payments from your clients easy.
  • Square – Turn your smartphone into a credit card reader and accept payments from everywhere. Much cheaper than using Paypal

 

Email Marketing ( Subscription Services)

  • Aweber – Cheap monthly plans and stability, the customer support is amazing and will walk you through anything and everything you need to know step by step. Great integration with other social media mediums. Awesome spam protection – meaning your message will land in your clients inbox!

 

Productivity Tools

  • Dropbox – My favorite file sharing service. I use it for transferring project files back and forth between clients and business partners alike. Free accounts have access to 2 gigs of space.
  • Evernote – It’s like bookmarking, but a little more powerful. It’s availiable for Mac/PC, IOS and Android
  • FreeMind – I use this application for organizing my ideas. All my thoughts, sticknotes and Evernote clips all get combined and organized into a neatly organized MindMap

 

Logos Graphic Design

  • 99 Designs – I love this company, you submit an idea and description of what you want and graphic designers battle it out, you pick the winner.

 

Video Production

(What I’m using now)

  • Canon t3i – Great DSLR camera, this is currently what I’m using for my youtube an video tutorials
  • 50mm Lens – This should have been the stock lens offered with the T3i. It’s very sharp and gives a nice burred background and last, doesn’t break the bank.
  • SoftBox – Just one of these can light a small room and provide enough light for shooting videos. Make sure you’re using CFLs and not standard lightbulbs. CFLs run much cooler and have a longer lifespan
  • H1 Zoom – Portable audio recorder that also doubles as a Usb microphone. 1 of the best in it’s price range

(What I was using)

  • Vado 3rd Gen – I used for my early YouTube Videos – Great in low light situations, 1 mic input
  • Bloggie Touch – Video quality is very good, crystal clear in good light and has autofocus
  • Kodak Zi10 – Good video camera, especially in well lit environments –  1080p, mic input
  • Work Lights – These work wonders, especially if you’re on a budget. 3-4 of these and some Cfls and you’re in business

 

Video Editing Tools

Screenflow – (Mac Users) This is the application I use for both screen recording and doing simple editing tasks. I do have Final Cut Pro, but that’s overkill for what I’m doing, especially when I need something quick and simple.

 

Music Production Tutorials

(Still building, links will change)

  • WinkSound – Largest tutorial resource I know of online. They have tips on every piece of software on the market and they listen to their fans
  • Maschine Tutorials – The original Maschine Tutorial hub. They’ve been a head of the pack since day 1
  • Maschine Masters – Fast growing resource for maschine users. Great community, great tutorials

 

Disc Makers – Disc Manufacturing

Disc Makers is the nation’s leading independent CD & DVD manufacturer, offering a wide variety of products and services, including CD & DVD duplication, CD & DVD replication and custom disc packaging for independent musicians, filmmakers, and businesses.

The company’s state-of-the-art facilities are outfitted with the latest graphic, printing, and CD & DVD replication equipment and products, as well as in-house studios for mastering and post production, DVD and CD-ROM multimedia authoring, and award-winning graphic design.

Disc Makers also offers a variety of additional services including download cards, posters, custom USB Flash drives, music distribution, and their Disc Makers’ Echoes Blog, which offers free tools, professional advice, and insight for independent artists.