Johnny Six-String asks you what you want out of his new album. He says he wants it to be a mix of songs that he wrote about moving to MB City, but he is unsure of whether to go with a meloncholic folk feel or a more heavy alt-rock singer-songwriter approach. Your engineers are divided on this subject, and they decide to let you make the final suggestion to Johnny.

Hint: Folk will probably strengthen his preexisting tiny fanbase, while the alt-rock route will expand his fanbase but alienate some of his hardcore followers.

Meiser wants to record some new material! They have some dusty demo tapes that they want to turn into some real tracks. Where do you want them to record?

Band #6: The Young Virtuosos
 

The Young Virtuosos is an orchestral collective comprising various students from Music Banter City's public school system. They range in age from 9 to 16 and are currently conducted and managed by an eccentric music teacher from one of the city's high schools, Dr. Dan. Although his influence is strong, due to union issues he is not permitted to commercially release albums or book high-grossing gigs for the group. He is looking for a carriage through which he can pedal the performers, as well as himself, to fame, fortune and noteriety. The group has never released an album but are familiar with a repitoire that consists of over 50 songs. Another unique characteristic of the group is that the older members are encouraged to write compositions for the orchestra to play. These range from stylized period pieces to dissonant modernistic opuses. Every member of the group is extremely musically talented, and Dr. Dan has a PhD in Music Composition and Theory as well as a double major in Philosophy and Classical Piano Performance. The band, due to its size and liability issues with the school, cannot perform in a traditional audition. However, Dr. Dan hinted at arriving at their next concert, which is being held tonight at MBHS (Music Banter High School) to hear them play.

I tell him to stick to his roots and record a folk record.

Interesting - I'll check them out at MBHS.

Meiser go record at Underground City Inc.

[QUOTE=Dayvan Cowboy;954771]I allow them to, but I tell them to record the best album they can. I get them to record at MBU (Music Banter University) Music Wing/QUOTE]

ViZionARY goes into the studio and after 14 hours of recording they show you 5 highly-produced tracks. You realize to your delight that the members of ViZionARY are audio engineers as well, and that they produce and mix their own music. No need to hire another guy! Whoopee!

So, they present you with 5 tracks. Your audio engineers determine the best three and present them to you.

- Eye D/M (3:02): A lightning-fast IDM instrumental which showcases their crazy skills and features unusual drum sequencing.

- Keys and Buttons (5:22): A slightly more traditional dance track, still with some cool sequencing, with no vocals except the repeated phrase "hit the keys and push my buttons".

- Reverse Polarity (4:55): A well-thought-out slow number which has lyrical themes about how "opposites attract" and about the balance of life in everyday relationships

Sweet Georgia Breezes drops off a CD in your studio's PO box. Your audio engineers listen to it. Turns out it's 5 demo tapes. A note is attached which reads:

I listen, and I dig Eye D/M quite a bit, and I get them to release an album. I deem them worthy.

Would you like them to release an album right off the bat or do you want to release one of the three aforementioned tracks as a single first?

What about Meiser? How is their recording going?

Meiser tells you that they are almost done recording an entire 12-track album. They just need a little bit more time. Your audio engineers are bemused but are excited to see what will come next.

I release Keys and Buttons as a single to build interest first.

The audio engineers suggest putting "Reverse Polarity" as a B-Side. They say it will "nicely balance out the overt sexuality of Keys and Buttons with some philosophical musings, and it will also get attention from the crowd who listen to B-Sides in the first place". Your engineers also suggest you release the single as a limited-edition vinyl as well as through the internet.

I agree with my engineers. They seem intelligent so I take their word for it, and it would definitely generate attention.

Meiser presents you with 12 fully recorded tracks on a tiny cassette tape. Your audio engineers listen to it. Most of the tracks are traditional metal-infused speed punk, but there are some stand out tracks, such as a slow thoughtful ballad "When An Idea Dies" and a funky metal track, "Who Do You Think You Are". There is also a track that has a nice pop feel to it (it even has harmonies!) called "Unbottled Water", which is a beautiful poem about a waterfall which quickly morphs into a tirade against commercialized bottled water. Your audio engineers deem "Christmas in a Sweatshop" and "Never Do What You're Told" as the best "meiser-ish" tracks on the album.

How was the concert of The Young Virtuosos?

You go to MBHS and listen to the Young Virtuosos concert. You found them remarkably skilled and you personally enjoyed the music, but you are unsure that their brand of contemporary orchestral music would sell well. It comes down to whether you appreciate their art (in which case you should sign them) or would rather rake in the dough (in which you should leave the project to someone else).

I'm not horribly concerned about raking in the dough if that means that quality musicians are unable to find label representation. Bukowski Fist Records signs The Young Virtuosos.

Keys and Buttons is released as a single with Reverse Polarity as the B-Side. In its first week, it barely made the U.S. Top 40 Electronica charts at #39. It sold fairly well online, and the vinyl was a disaster, selling less than a thousand copies and wasting your valuable cash. Overall though, it was a plus, both economically and for the reputation of ViZionARY

How was it received by the critics?

Do you think you can post the next band soon, too?

Johnny Six-String comes to you with a series of cassettes which he claims have on them about 40 songs. He says that he'd like to record some better takes of some of the tracks, but he wants your audio engineers' input. He wants to be able to release the album "as soon as possible", to quote him exactly.

Band #7: Purple Sky
 

Purple Sky is a psychedelic band from rural Pennsylvania that are best known for their spacious sound and poetic lyrics. Their incredibly artsy tendencies both in manner and in musical style have resulted in them being marginalized by the mainstream. However, they have a small, devoted fanbase that spans the country. Although they have only released 1 album and 1 EP, their 2008 tour across California brought fans from all over the world into backyards and backwater pubs to hear them perform. Their musical technicality, combined with their taste for tonal complexity, has led to some intensely fascinating musical compositions over the past few years. They are looking for a studio that will provide them with new opportunities and "give us a chance to expand in wild and exciting directions".

The critics scoffed at "Keys and Buttons" as "a tasteless and overtly sexual tune that serves no other purpose than clogging up the air waves until another similarly unoriginal track comes along to take its place". However, "Reverse Polarity" has become a cult classic of sorts, and has received a lot of love from those both in and out of IDM circles. The songwriting in that work seems to be the aspect catching people's attention, not so much the musicality.

I audition them. They sound awesomely interesting.

Evil Monkey
 

Evil Monkey is an indie band from New York City whose dry and satirical lyrics have won them a large fan base as well as a sizeable wall of enemies and critics. Founded in 1994, the band released 4 albums in the 90's before taking a "forced hiatus" in 2001 for an unnamed cause. They temporarily disbanded and not much was heard of them until their reunion in 2008, when they released an EP and toured the east coast of the United States. They are looking for an up-and-coming record company to "support". They say they "can pretty much pull it all off on their own", but that they want to "help a new independent record company to fame and fortune". Whether this statement is ignorant altruism or arrogant bravado is your call.

Evil Monkey's songwriting is deeply rooted in the 90's college rock scene of New York. Although not all incredibly talented, their drummer is very well known in alt-rock circles and was listed as #32 on IndieScene's "Top 50 Alternative Rock Drummers". Their lead singer has a shrill, whiny voice that many describe as "a monotone squeak". One particularly nasty critic remarked that it sounded "halfway between Geddy Lee and Kurt Cobain". However, their fans will tell you otherwise. They have a huge fan base that continues to grow by the year, and their old records are still big sellers online.

I sign them immediately. This is just what String Dance Studios needs :laughing:

Also, I have my engineers pick the 12 best songs from Johnny's tape.

Little Miss Prissy
 

Little Miss Prissy is an aspiring pop star who has big dreams for her future. At 14, she has already managed to record 40 tapes worth of superficial love songs and laments over the downsides of being famous. She is considered by her peers to be "hot" and she has an okay voice, which she assures you could be made perfect with a little auto tune. She is willing to give 90% of the profits from her first album to whichever record company decides to sign her.

I would like to ask The Young Virtuosos to practice at my (crappy) studio, just so I can get a feel for the group and see about their schedules and whether or not they can do any studio work in the near future - ideally cutting a demo with some of the original compositions made by the older members.

I send them to record the album. I decide that Unbottled Water as a single, with Christmas In A Sweatshop as a b-side is the best choice for singles.

Purple Sky happens to be in California right now but have agreed to audition with you as soon as they return.

Where do you want them to record?

Performing Venues: Bars
 

BARS:

• The Bloody Dog (A dingy basement bar
• Bottom's Up Pub (An inner-city booze joint where retired laborers and teenaged gangsters sit side by side as they get drunk)
• Fat Belly's (A sleazy pub with an upstairs room that is used for small music/theatre events)
• The Three Toothed: Bar & Grill (Slightly more up-class, with wooden tables and a somewhat less roudy atmosphere)
• Wild Willy's Burgers & Beer (More of a restaurant than a bar, they offer cheap food and drink and have a small stage)
• Wellington's Pub (Traditional Irish-style pub with food and drinks of all sorts and a manifesto for allowing new acoustic acts to perform there)
• Sohi Sushi & ****tails (An upscale oriental themed bar with a sushi chef and a new-age feel)
• Mills' Tavern (The fanciest possible place to buy a beer; entrepreneurs, politicians, stock brokers and trust fund kids with nothing better to do dine and drink here)

Performing Venues: Clubs
 

Wait. Have they already recorded? I'm confused!

Well your audio engineers suggest they re-record the tracks for the singles to crisp them up a little, but otherwise the album is fine.

They agree to practice a bit, but Dr. Dan is anxious about telling the parents of the younger members about the record deal. He asks if only the 16-18-year-olds can come and play for you for now.

Shiloch Shamoon
 

Shiloch Shamoo is a skilled percussionist who is best known for his crazy skills on the Marimba. Born and raised in French Guyana, he learned how to play the xylophone as a young child. He studied jazz and classical piano in his twenties, but realized that his passion was percussion. Although most skilled at the music of his native Africa, he is also noted as a skilled vibes man. He has worked with several small jazz combos over the years. Now at 45, he is looking for someone to sponsor him in a solo record. Says Shamoon, "I love playing with a band, but I want to try out being something other than an expendable studio musician for once in my life."

Ok. I ask them to record the singles at MB university.

The singles are complete! Now, when do you want the single and the album to be released?