Where is MY hit single?

In the early 2020's, Big Tech companies unleashed AI on the world. One of the things you can get AI to do, is write and produce music. You just tell the software what type of music you want it to create, and it does it with the click of a button. Surely this will change the music industry completely! Well….yes…it probably will. But in the opinion of music producer Luke Jones, it's not likely to be...

When Luke receives some constructive criticism via an email from a fan, he finds himself pondering a dilemma that has plagued artists and entertainers since the dawn of time......Should you give the audience what it wants? In this journey, he contemplates the clever market positioning achieved by the lyrical content of songs by Kanye West, Nirvana and LMFAO, the live performances of Bob Dylan, Wee...

There are an infinite number of possible chord progressions, but most of them probably suck. The recorded music industry is now well over a hundred years old! What happens when all the best chord progressions, have already been used? How many hit singles are left? Join Luke, as he meditates on the issue of song plagurism claims, copyright infringement, recurring drum beats and the threat of AI.   ...

In 1996, Luke bought a grunge album called "Juice". It was one of the greatest rock albums of all time. He had found out about the album, after it was given a great review in KERRANG magazine.  That was the last time Luke ever heard anything about the band.  Almost 30 years later, Luke tracks down the band members to ask them....What happen to SEND NO FLOWERS? Join Luke as he once again, discusses...

Having spent the last few episodes discussing the bleak realities of music streaming rates, the benefits of music synchronization and the value of sound recording rights, Music producer Luke Jones finishes up his thoughts on the alternatives to releasing music via record labels.  Featuring the "Music used in this podcast OFFICIAL CHART COUNTDOWN", a brief apperance from a shady music industry insi...

Having made the comment that he doesn't think that music streaming platforms represent a particularly lucrative opportunity for composers and songwriters, music producer Luke Jones, begins to lay out his opinions on alternative ways to monetise music.  This involves him remembering a phone call from the year 2000 and explaining the awkward financial realities surrounding the cost of releasing musi...

Almost 18 months into making this documentary podcast series, music producer Luke Jones was approached by a journalist, who wanted a comment from a music industry professional for an article. Secretly overjoyed that FINALLY people were considering him a valuable industry commentator, he was quickly dissappointed to learn, that the article was yet another piece about the poor financial returns arti...

One thing you rarely hear in the music business, is an honest account of how a band ACTUALLY got signed.  Loads of acts are happy to talk about themselves and their music, but often their biography cuts from "we met in high school and started jamming"....to "....and then Sony released our album". I don't know about you...but it's the bit inbetween that interests me! So when I met a young musician...

When it comes to your music, everyone has an opinion! Your dentist, your taxi driver and even the writers of your local music magazine!  Join music producer Luke Jones, and hear his thoughts on critics in all their shapes and forms. Featuring references to Pitbull, Bono, Radiohead, Bjork, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and that rubbish 80's band, The Jimothys. If you want to check out any of the things Luk...

One again, Luke is discussing the issue of new guitar bands not getting into the UK chart as frequently as they used to. In an attempt to make sense of the phenomenon, he recounts a memory from his time spent working with an Indie record label and then repeats a converstion he once had at a posh music industry networking event. Join music producer Luke Jones, and hear his thoughts on the current m...

Guitar bands used to be everywhere, you couldn't swing a cat without hitting one! They were on the music video stations, mainstream radio stations but most importantly, they were in the UK Top 40! ....then, they weren't. Join music producer Luke Jones, as he bravely addresses this issue in an attempt to understand what happened to guitar bands.  Are guitars less popular than they used to be? If yo...

Have you ever noticed, music videos nearly always feature people under the age of 30? It's almost as if record labels are obsessed with youth! Well, young people ARE funky and cool...so it makes sense that labels want to get them to buy their records.....My question is...what about the rest of us? Has the music industry given up on anyone over the age of 30? Join music producer Luke Jones, as he d...

If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that Christmas songs are brilliant! And they can also be extremely lucrative.  Pen a half decent crimbo song and it will keep you in egg nog and gingerbread for the rest of your days! ....or will it? Once again, music producer Luke Jones puts on his investigative journalist hat and delves into the music industry, thirsty for answers. Featuring traumat...

Music videos are great! You get to see your favourite artists racing around in gold Lamborghinis, writhing around on the floor in fur coats and throwing fist fulls of dollars in the faces of bikini-clad models. Bemused by the endless displays of ostentatious wealth depicted in the majority of music videos, music producer Luke Jones takes a wry look at the ongoing issue of music and money. When a r...

Listening to music, is listening to music....right?  Well...yes and no.... Some people sit down with an album and focus entirely on it, enjoying every single track in great detail.  Other people, just put music on in the background while they do the dishes....This is what is known as "The Passive Listener problem". Should the music industry be worried? Join music producer, Luke Jones as he time tr...

As the music industry continues to drift away from physical sales and into the world of digital streaming, we need to ask ourselves.....Do we trust everything we see? Platforms like Youtube and Spotify clearly state how many times a piece of music has been streamed, but what does that ACTUALLY tell us about the songs popularity? How do we know whether the people who streamed the song liked it or n...

In the music business, there's a well known hack that you can use, if you want to increase your chances of having a hit single.  Instead of reinventing the wheel, just borrow someone else's and release a version of an already popular song.  When you record yourself singing a version of a song that has already been a hit, it's called a cover version.  Surely this is a quick and easy way to success,...

Why am I seeing sleek images of an Italian mansion in a music video? How could a High School gym setting possibly be better than a glossy world tour? What do bottles of perfume, The Fonz and the music of the late 1940s have in common? Join Music producer, Luke Jones as he time travels to previous decades, in pursuit of the very essence of 'cool'! ***** Hi, I'm your podcast host Luke Jones. I'm a m...

What is an Alligator drum? What is drum re-triggering? How do I know if the drums I am listening to are even real? Does it really matter? Do my favourite bands use drum samples? In this episode, music producer Luke Jones quickly recaps the history of drums as he asks himself, when did we stop using real drum kits and why?  ***** Hi, I'm your podcast host Luke Jones. I'm a music and podcast produce...

What makes a piece of music 'authentic'? What does that even mean? Why is authenticity in music important to the listener? How does this issue affect the actions and decisions of record labels? In this episode, music producer Luke Jones delves into a bit of amateur psychoanalysis, in an attempt to understand why certain songs appeal to certain people. What is it about a song or the recording of a...

Why are most songs 3 minutes long and not 10 minutes? Is there a common structure used in all pop music? What's the 'Golden Structure' in songwriting and why is it important? In this episode, music producer Luke Jones takes a deep dive into the 'Golden Structure', the most commonly used song structure in popular music. He also discusses the reasons why songwriters use this structure and how it aff...

What sounds should you use in your song, if you want it to be a hit single? How do the sounds used on a record affect the way it's marketed? Join music producer Luke Jones, as he discusses the importance of instrumentation in songwriting. He takes a look at classic 1980's drum machine the Roland 808 and the ever popular Korg M1 organ sound. Whilst using these sounds to try and write a hit, he find...

How many people does it take to write a hit single? Just one…right? Well maybe. Or perhaps there is more going on behind the scenes in the music industry than we realise? On this episode, learn more about how the technology we use to record music changed the way songs are written and how more people are involved in the song writing process than ever before.  Join music producer Luke Jones, as he t...

How do you write a hit single in the current music industry? Surely it can't be that hard? In an attempt to understand the realities facing songwriters in the current music industry, music producer Luke Jones enters the recording studio to try and create a hit single from scratch.  With his hit single recorded and ready to hit the airwaves, he realises, he actually has no idea what comes next?  Af...

How do you write a hit single in the current music industry? Surely it can't be that hard? In an attempt to understand the realities facing songwriters in the current music industry, music producer Luke Jones enters the recording studio to try and create a hit single from scratch.  With his hit single recorded and ready to hit the airwaves, he realises, he actually has no idea what comes next?  Af...