What’s more, it’s free. The only thing we require from our industry professional users is that you attend to every submission you receive within 30 days of receiving it. If you fall behind and submissions languish unattended in your drop box for 45 days or more, we’ll likely be suspending (shutting down) your account and locking you out.

It doesn’t have to happen. We give you the tools to regulate the pace of submissions. If you’re getting so many that you can’t keep up, you can raise your submission fee. If you’re getting too few, you can decrease it.

We will make exceptions. For example, if you’re going on an extended vacation or if you’re on maternity leave, we’ll work with you. You can also deactivate your drop box without having your account suspended. To do that, just attend to all the pending submissions and then set your drop box to expire on today’s date or any date you desire. That will mean that you will not receive any more submissions until you re-open the drop box (or create a new one) and your account will remain open.

Music Xray’s musician and songwriter users depend on the fact that every submission they make will be heard and attended to by the people to whom they submit their music. If you aren’t keeping up, we must remove you and cut off your access to our A&R tools.

Unattended open drop boxes on Music Xray are not allowed.

So, I want to be clear about this. You should not spend a penny more than the value Music Xray provides to your career.

As you know, each time one of your tracks has been rated by five industry professionals (which requires that you submit the track at least five times) we show you the average of the ratings. We don’t delay showing you the ratings as part of some strategy to get you to submit each song five times. It’s just that the average of any number of ratings below five is not statistically significant and doesn’t provide reliable information.

We can’t show you each individual rating. If we did, the ratings would be less sincere because the professionals who rate the songs would know that their individual ratings are public. As much as we’d like that fact to not influence the scores, it does.

So, here’s the thing: we’ve been collecting song ratings from industry professionals for years and we reflect those results back to the community of professionals. More on how that works here. We simply decided that it might be useful to you if we showed those ratings to you. So, we worked out a way that we could do that without singling out any individual professional who rated a song. We don’t charge you anything additional to see the ratings. Consider it a bit of a bonus.

But then we realized that the ratings themselves are predictive in nature. That is, we can observe that most songs that receive high ratings do end up landing the type of deal they’re pursuing sooner or later. Often, it’s just a matter of persistence and having a good submissions strategy – which most often just means not submitting to opportunities that aren’t a good fit for your music. I don’t think anyone should submit solely for the purpose of acquiring a rating (unless you’re submitting specifically to get some career coaching or a song critique – in which case, getting the feedback is the whole purpose of the submission).

Given that the scores are predictive, we realized that one of the best ways to use Music Xray is to actually submit all the music you have to as many opportunities as it takes to accumulate five ratings for each song. In the process, you may get a deal for a few of those songs right away. It happens all the time. But if not, you can use the ratings you get back to decide which songs you want to continue submitting and which songs are probably not worthy of your continued investment.

Either way, you and your team have to decide how much you should invest in getting your career to the next level. At what point is it not worth it? You also music consider the fact that every deal you don’t land, someone else does. Competition is tough and in order to not be out-competed in the new music business, you have to use tools, like those provided by Music Xray, in a way that increases your chances and gives you an edge.

It’s like a GPS system to tell you if you’re getting closer or further away from getting a deal for your music or your band.

It also changes the most effective way to use Music Xray to advance your music career.

When musicians submit tracks to industry professionals for their consideration, the professionals are asked to rate them. Many of them do. They give the songs one to five stars on each of the following criteria: composition, production, performance, arrangement, and hit potential.

As of today, Music Xray shows you your track’s average ratings once your track has been rated at least five times. Why is that important?

Simply put: high ratings indicate a high probability your song or act will eventually be successful securing the type of deals you’re pursuing. Low scores mean it’s not likely to happen.

By showing you the average of several ratings, we’re not singling out any one of the professionals who rated. Their individual ratings are private. Therefore, they’re sincere. The knowledge you gain from seeing these average ratings, previously, took months or even years to acquire.

You should learn the ratings of all your songs so that you know which ones gain traction for you and which ones may be holding you back.

Additionally, your songs that are receiving high ratings will continue to get pushed to the top of the statistics section, which is seen by dozens of industry professionals each day and it’s where they can hear top rated songs that have not been submitted directly to them but that are getting positive ratings from other industry professionals.

This eco-system that provides you feedback while you execute your submission strategy means the best way to use Music Xray is as follows:

1. Submit all your songs to at least 5 industry professionals (here’s a list of a few who ALWAYS rate the songs they receive.

2. Step one may result in your song getting a deal; in which case, misson accomplished. If not, once you have your 5 ratings for each song, you may regard it as a prediction of your eventual success.

3. Continue submitting the tracks that are receiving high ratings. Cease investing in your weaker songs and/or get professional song critiques and/or career coaching. After tweaking your music and/or your submissions strategy, go back to step one.

Good luck. I look forward to hearing how our new feedback loop works for you.

The objective economic data supporting those facts is solid and has been well documented. The graphic below is based on data provided by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. My objective is to explain why this is happening and show how to identify the policies that make this happen so we can do something about it – ultimately at the ballot box.

To download a pdf file of this position paper, please click here.

(To view a video and subtitles of this text, see the video below. Otherwise, keep reading.)

These trends are the result of policies that originate from a “survival-of-the-fittest” philosophy and a system that requires individuals to be increasingly exceptional in order to achieve prosperity. Independently of the current economic climate, the rules of the game have become more difficult over time making it not only harder to win but also costlier to not be in the winning 1% of the population. Increasingly, in America fewer people win but winning means winning big. However, if you don’t win, the consequences are dark. It’s also harder than ever it’s to break the cycle of loss and begin with a clean slate. Losing begets more losing in today’s America.

An economic system rooted in behavioral psychology?
(I know but stick with me).

Psychologists discovered long ago that the most effective way to obtain a desired behavior is to reinforce that behavior with intermittent rewards on a variable schedule.

I’ll explain.

Let’s say you have a monkey in a cage and you want to teach that monkey to press a button (psychologists actually do this to study learned behavior). First, you wait for the monkey to press the button by accident or happenstance and then immediately you reward the monkey with some food. Soon, the monkey learns that by purposefully pressing the button he can avoid hunger. Press the button. Get a peanut.

The problem is that as quickly as the monkey learns the behavior he can unlearn it. Stop rewarding the button-pressing and the monkey will cease pressing the button. However, if you start making the reward intermittent (a peanut only after every 3 presses, for example), the monkey will quickly learn that the reward only comes after a certain interval. If at that point you stop rewarding the behavior, it will take little longer for the monkey to unlearn it than in the continuous reinforcement example. But, the behavior still soon goes away.

However, if you really want that learning to stick, you have to change the rewards to a variable ratio. Sometimes you give the peanut after every three button-presses. Sometimes you give it after every five and sometimes you even increase it to ten presses or more before you give up the food. In fact, over time you can increase the interval to over a hundred button-presses. When the monkey can’t predict how many times he will have to press the button before getting a reward, he will continue to press and it will take a long time to unlearn the behavior. The monkey just keeps working.

Each time you increase the interval, you’ve made the rules more difficult for the monkey. Each time, he has to work harder to achieve the same result. Yet, the monkey willingly works harder. He learns that his hard work isn’t consistently rewarded. He learns that if he keeps at it long enough, doing what he’s learned is supposed to work; eventually he will get his just reward.

These kinds of experiments work with insects, reptiles, rodents, primates and yes, with humans too. This is all well documented in psychology research. You can easily research it yourself.

America’s policy makers know this to be true and even if each individual politician is not consciously aware of this, the big political think tanks (e.g. The Heritage Foundation and the Brookings Institution and scores of others) are keenly tuned into this fact. They know that as long as our rules still make it possible for someone who starts at the bottom to wind up on top, the idea of the American promise is alive.

Going back to our experiment, if you have a limited supply of peanuts and you want the monkey to deliver the maximum number of presses, the smart thing to do would be to find the point of maximum return. You want to optimize the monkey’s output. What is the least number of peanuts you can give to the monkey without discouraging the monkey to the point the behavior slows down? In other words, how do you keep getting the button pressed and avoid making the monkey so frustrated that he stops pressing the button?

“Occupy Wall Street” is not just about Americans who can’t find work. It’s about the fact that even when they can find work, the rules have gotten so difficult; the deck has been so stacked against them that there just aren’t enough rewards in the game to make it seem worthwhile. By trying to optimize the output of our workforce to the breaking point and by keeping too many peanuts for themselves, the 1% has created this situation – with the help of our politicians they support with their political contributions.

It’s not about unions. It’s not about government spending. It’s not about collective bargaining. It’s not even about our nation’s debt. It’s about the erosion, little by little, of the ability of the working person in this country to control their destiny. It is still possible to be very successful in America. Equality of opportunity is still alive. The problem is that it takes more hard work, more good luck and a greater degree of being exceptionally good at what you do to become wealthy or to even do as well as your parents did just a generation ago.

There are far too many policies to enumerate that have created this situation to fit into this short position piece. Both parties have contributed to this. But in all fairness, one has and continues to far more then the other. When you take a debate with someone on the right to the underlying philosophy behind their policy proposals; I mean, when you break through the surface issues about them being against Welfare, Medicaid, Medicare, Obamacare, Social Security, higher taxes for the wealthy, diminished workers’ rights etc. It boils down to a basic belief that it’s about survival of the fittest with a “winner-take-most” strategy and that that’s the best way to create a competitive and prosperous society. They believe in giving workers just enough to keep them producing in what they believe is a completely optimized economy. They want to get the maximum economic return not only from workers but also from our crumbling infrastructure and even from the money that was earned by workers and set aside in corporate pension funds – which was given to Wall Street to invest, thereby optimizing that money.

Is there anything wrong with believing in maximum optimization? It’s really just a fundamental belief they have about where we should take the country. You may agree. That’s OK. You just have to know fundamentally what you’re agreeing with. If you are not in the top 1%, you are among those being optimized. And you need to understand that when you vote.

Look, I’m an entrepreneur. I believe that the one of the roles of business is indeed to get the maximum return on investments. But I also believe that when you extrapolate that to try to run a country as if it were a business and you treat humans as a resource that should be squeezed to extract its maximum output, you disregard inherent but non-measurable values like quality of life, fulfillment and dignity. When you deprive people of those things they actually are less productive, less creative and actually less optimized. Life for the individual becomes more about the pursuit and less about the happiness and when the pursuit isn’t getting us closer to our hopes and dreams for our children, and ourselves we get frustrated, angry and filled with resentment. And I just can’t get on board with that, despite the fact that I aspire to and work hard toward my own prosperity. And I make no apology for that.

I believe in the American principle of higher advancement to those willing to leverage their natural talents, educate themselves, work hard and create value. But I do not believe in a winner-take-all system where if you’re not contributing the most, you receive next to nothing.

I believe in a system in which everyone can avoid poverty and even achieve the American dream by simply working hard and being honest. If you want more than that, I think you should work harder, be more and yes, it should be competitive. I do not believe in a system, like the one we have created, where politicians tell you that if you’re not making ends meet you’re simply not working hard enough.

It shouldn’t take more than a hard day’s honest work to make more than peanuts.

And that’s what the “Occupy Wall Street” movement means to me.

Please reflect on this. Please vote.

You can watch the video transcript of it by clicking the video below. I look forward to your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page.

Collective A&R Statistics

You probably didn’t know that every time an industry professional receives one of your songs, they rate it. They give it a score for its composition, arrangement, production, performance and hit potential.

Songs that are submitted a number of times to various professionals on the site begin accumulating multiple ratings, all from professionals who make their living with their ears.

Each day, professionals can log into their account and view the collective ratings. They can view songs that have received high ratings across the board from multiple professionals. They can also choose to view songs that have been rated highly on composition but that maybe did not score well on production or performance. The songwriting might be excellent and while the rough demo recording might not turn any heads at radio it could easily get the attention of the manager of a celebrity act. Alternatively, “hit potential” may not be important to a music supervisor seeking a quality Jazz song. So, that supervisor can adjust his or her search to highlight songs that are consistently getting good ratings on other criteria but that may have scored low as a potential hit song.

This tool enables Music Xray to display your music to professionals to whom you never even submitted a song. Some Music Xray artists have been contacted by industry professionals they never would have thought would have an interest in their music. The key to making this tool work for you is to submit your best songs to more professionals so that it can accumulate ratings.

We currently do not reflect the ratings back to you, the musicians however, we are working on a way to do this in the near future.

At Music Xray, we are committed to creating the best environment for musicians and industry professionals to interact in ways that are rewarding for both parties and to generating the greatest number of potential paths to success for each song.

As a bit of an anecdote, these are today’s highest trending songs at industry A&R (with consistently high ratings across all measured criteria). In other words, these are a few of the songs getting the most attention on the platform right at this red hot moment:

Currently trending at Industry A&R

See You Tonight by Kotadama

 

First Move by The Branded

 

Impossible by Diamante

 

Oh No by Derrty Zo

 

Call Me Crazy by Gliffics

 

When You Come Home by Lynx ft Mystery Lady

What if you could be a fly on the wall in hundreds of A&R offices and hear which songs repeatedly get passed over after a few bars or see which songs tend to grab the attention of music professionals? That’d be pretty cool.

As long as there are commercial and professional opportunities for songs, there will be decision-makers and gatekeepers making the decisions about which songs and acts get chosen. If they themselves could get a quick bead on which songs and acts are grabbing the attention of their peers and counterparts, they collectively would be able to churn through a lot more music, pull the needles from they haystack and offer a lot more deals to independent musicians and songwriters everywhere.

Well, that’s EXACTLY the insight that Music Xray already gives to 1300 of the industry’s top song and talent seekers. The results speak for themselves: over 3500 songs and acts selected for opportunities just in the past 6 months and professional users ranging from Columbia Records to MTV.

In fact…

Here are some of this afternoon’s top trending songs:

See You Tonight by Kotadama

Carry The Weight by Krystale

Impossible by Diamante

Magical Night by Linda Basso

Nowhere Land by James Hampton

Still at 210 today. Not 209 like I intended. OK. It’s going to be a rough day because I’m so frickin’ hungry. I have a lot to do and a lot of people to talk to today so I need to hold it together. A beer sounds really good and it’s not even noon. I think if my iPhone were rich in carbohydrates I’d have to leave it at home today.

My 4 mile time was significantly better today. I did it in about 37 minutes as compared to 43 yesterday. At any rate, both times are pathetic.

Catch you tomorrow with better news if not a better mood.

Blue has launched the careers of artists from Linkin Park to Macy Gray, worked with Limp Bizkit, Korn, Hoobastank, Better Than Ezra, Alliyah (Queen of the Damned ST), Daniel Powter, and The Last Goodnight.

As you can see, his accomplishments speak for themselves and those aren’t even all of them. Jeff Blue is also a hit songwriter. He’s currently signed as a songwriter to Universal Music Publishing where he co-wrote the 2009 hit single “So Close, So Far” for Hoobastank. He additionally co-wrote, produced, and performed on the platinum 2009 BMI pop award winner and 2008 Australian #1 song of the year, “Pictures of You”, and “Stay Beautiful” for The Last Goodnight.

As an A&R man these are the positions he’s held:

Atlantic Records 2009-Present
Senior A&R Consultant

Rock Shop Music Group 2009-Present
President

Universal Music Publishing 2003-Present
Writer/ Producer
-BMI Songwriter Award Winner 2009
-APRA Songwriter Award Winner 2009

Jive Records/ Sony BMG 2008-2009
Senior A&R Consultant/ Producer

Virgin Records 2006-2008
Senior A&R Consultant/ Producer

J Records/ RCA Records 2004-2006
Senior Vice President, A&R Staff Producer

Interscope Records 2003-2004
Senior Vice President, A&R Staff Producer

Warner Bros. Records 1999-2003
Vice President, A&R

Warner/Chappell Music Publishing 2001-2003
Writing/ Publishing

Zomba Music Publishing/ Jive Records 1995-1999
Vice President, Creative Development/ A&R

Journalist/Editor 1992-1995
Billboard, HITS, Entertainment Weekly, BAM,
& Crossroads

Did I mention he’s also an attorney?

So yeah, I’m sure he has an ego but he comes across as a genuinely nice guy. He also comes across as a guy who doesn’t have time to waste so if you have the raw materials of talent and skill, Jeff can and probably will develop you into a finished product but if you lack the raw materials, Jeff will give it to you straight. Think of him as a Simon Cowell who isn’t in it to make good TV, rather he’s still in it to make good music.

He’s a catalyst in that he can make things happen a lot more quickly than you can make them happen on your own. He can also make things happen that weren’t necessarily going to happen without him.

I’ve met a lot of coaches who will prepare you for the moment you get a deal – but getting a deal is still on you. Jeff, on the other hand, has the ability to walk you right into an A&R’s or label president’s office, cut a deal, negotiate it, and execute it. His track record is phenomenal. The list of clients who have not gotten deals is far, far shorter than the list of those who have.

If he believes in you and if you pay him his fees (which are very reasonable for what he can deliver) he will have you and your bandmates out to LA. You’ll hang out at his house and write and play and really take giant leaps forward. He’ll even go into the studio with you and record what you’ve done together and you can end up with radio ready tracks – with a good chance of them being hits.

As an inside track for Music Xray musicians, Jeff agreed to offer a couple deals. They aren’t the least expensive submission opportunities on the site but they are ones I think will deliver real value. If you think his services are what your band needs, I can’t guarantee you success but I can tell you that Jeff is the real deal.

Check them out here and please let me know if you submit music to him. I’d love to follow your progress as you work with him.

OK. One day and one pound down. I know these first pounds are the easiest so I’m not planning on getting cocky.

Yesterday, I did polish off a few carbs that were laying around the house so I wasn’t as strict as I will be from here on out. For protein though, I couldn’t ask for better food. I’m placing monthly orders to cetaks.com and if you don’t know them, they put Omaha Steaks to shame. I recommend the hot dogs/wieners. You can just pop them out of the fridge and into your mouth and they are so tasty. No bun needed.

My 4 mile time is my old 6 mile time, no not too good on that front but I’ll improve over the next week or so. I love my route which is just down the west side of lower Manhattan, right passed the Statue of Liberty. I’m a lucky guy.

Catch you tomorrow at 209 pounds!