More Website Updates

One of the things that we pride ourselves on and Ginny Vee is passionate about is listening to #fan feedback.

Ginny's official website is starting to get significant traffic and that brings a wider variety of fans, friends, followers and people from all over the globe.

OLD SITE

NEW SITE

What is exciting is when we get good and bad feedback on the #site, the #blog, #facebook, #twitter and all of the social platforms that Ginny uses on a daily basis to reach fans and friends.

The #website for Ginny continues to evolve and based on feedback from the fans we have made some recent updates. Here's the feedback and the changes we've made based on that...

"It's not clear it's a music site" - So we have made that much bolder and stronger with a simple "Love music" badge. We've also on the #home page altered the graphics to look much more like a #CD cover. We've tried to give a flavour of the "music" in the artist. Wears added in more of the EP artwork and the name of the EP - front and centre.

"The color is too washed out" - This feedback came in various phrases. People felt the site needed to be much more #pop much more vibrant. So we have added a lot more of a pop element color palate to the site. Ginny is "girly" so we have added some girly colors - young vibrant and fresh. We have added a lot more color badges and color text. But the biggest change is that we have moved from the "washed out" background images to the much more vibrant - natural color images. Great feedback "Ginny has beautiful red hair - let's see it".

"Don't force me to hear the music on every page" - You may imagine that on a #music site - you want to hear the music - right? Well not so. We found a lot of people said that the sudden blaring out of Ginny's #songs was something people wanted to choose. So we respect that. Some people want to dip in and just look at the #socialmedia feed - or the #selfies. So we have limited #autoplay to very specific pages #watch and #listen - and for the rest we have placed some songs with a #soundcloud player where you can play if you want.

"I want bigger navigation" - Making the site it was really intuitive to us that on the home page you had to click the links in the image - well not everyone thought so. So we had several requests for a much bigger bolder #navbar. You wanted it - you got it. 

"Search engines come up with weird pages" - Unfortunately our page naming convention (which we thought would be different than just #music #videos #twitter etc) was more based on what you want to do... But apparently #google didn't quite see it that way. As an example - in the #searchengines Ginny's Home page just came up as "home" - and said nothing about the page. This made it a bit confusing for people doing #organic #search. Well we changed that so now if you go to your favourite search engine and type "Ginny Vee" you should get a real site name and description (let us know if not)

We have also made a lot of minor tweaks and the #code behind the site is better for viewing on mobile devices "Some of the pages don't show well on iPHONE" - we hope we have resolved some of the issues and it should look better - simpler and easier now on #mobile. 

BUT - we are not finished yet. Based upon the exciting new project we have going on for Ginny (we can't say too much yet) - we are playing with a really rich - upgraded site structure which we will release some time in 2015. This will reflect new music - new videos and all important #tour dates.

We love #feedback - so please keep it coming and know that Ginny is listening.

Go check out the site right now at www.ginnyvee.com 

Gone Digital - Heaven n Back

As promised we want to update everyone on the way we are using social media and social networks to grow Ginny Vee as an Online artist.
The last weeks have been very busy and we want to share some key updates.

Digital distribution is one of the foundation blocks of today's music artist. We believe that you cannot make "money" as such from music so we have released all of Ginny's Music for free. You can simply go - click and download straight from these sites:

SOUND CLOUD  -  https://soundcloud.com/ginnyvee/tracks



REVERBNATION http://www.reverbnation.com/rpk/ginnyvee




However we found that many people - even if the songs are available for free - want to download from the iTUNES store or GOOGLE PLAY to android in a higher quality audio format that goes straight to their iPHONE or ANDROID

iTUNES https://itunes.apple.com/it/album/heaven-n-back-single/id935991341?l=en

AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/Heaven-n-Back/dp/B00P4AANTO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415781509&sr=8-2&keywords=Ginny+Vee

GOOGLE PLAY
https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Ginny_Vee_Heaven_n_Back_Single?id=B7rwcmy24fppnjaebzf6a6hdaty&hl=en

But as with everything digital in the music industry - fad come fast and go fast. The digital "Ownership" era seems to be passing fast - so we also want to ensure that Ginny's music is available for everyone that wishes to stream the live music. So we have also made Ginny Vee's music available on as many streaming services as possible: here's a few of the big ones >>

DEEZER
http://www.deezer.com/album/9061041

SPOTIFY
Ginny Vee – Heaven n Back - Single

RDIO
http://www.rdio.com/artist/Ginny_Vee/

In the coming weeks we will ensure that you can get Ginny Vee's Music on as many digital media sources as possible. If you have a favorite then just let us know and we will ensure that you get it.

BUT we need help from you - Ginny needs help from you. 

The music industry is no longer based on record sales - it is based on music as the core - but then social sharing - social media. What we would ask is that you share these sources as many times as you can. Please visit the sites or the links and share as wide as you can. This will get the music of Ginny recognized - spread and known about. Our goal at A Star Made by You has always been to create a social media musician from nowhere - and we are getting there. We have over 40,000 hard core fans now across many of the social media platforms such as GOOGLE PLUS, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, TUMBLR, BLOGGER  and host of social music sites. But now we ant to really promote Ginny's music - so we need YOUR help to make sure that as many people as possible get to hear this song and the other great music by Ginny.

Recently we also added a bonus video of "Heaven n Back" on YouTube. Although never originally set up as the definitive Heaven n Back video - we shot a series of "glamour" shots of Ginny in the Studio to create a Promo Show Reel. Last week we decided that some of the scenes were actually really good - so we have edited them together into a small video clip 

You can get all of Ginny's videos - music and behind the scenes videos by subscribing to her video channel here: SUBSCRIBE HERE

In the past 12 months we have made huge progress with GINNY VEE becoming a well known sound, face and brand across social media. We would like to thank the thousands of Fans that support her, share her social media, sounds and make sure that everyday she grows. We are committed to making Ginny a huge Digital Star and will bring her music and videos to as may platforms as possible.

All suggestions are welcome and all sharing of her digital content is granted to anyone for FREE. So go ahead - copy - share and download as much as you like - Ginny has gone Digital.

Do you want to know a secret?

Okay - so we have literally been getting hundreds of requests to Ginny that sort of go like this...

"How do you make it in the music world. How do you become a new music artist?"

Now this may seem strange that people are asking a relatively unknown music artist this kind of advice. You'd think they would be asking some of the greats in the music industry - so we asked back "Why are you asking Ginny?"

This is a very telling answer about the way the world has changed in the digital era.

The answer seems to go something like this. The young aspiring music artists no longer feel that the classic #a&R path is valid anymore. They think the record labels like #sonymusic #emi #warnermusic are all heading the way of the dinosaurs. Their huge promotion machines are less powerful in the digital age of #twitter and #facebook #youtube and #vevo. The power as we've been saying for the last year is in the hands of the fans not the companies.

Recording studios and technology were once so far out of reach of the masses that it was unthinkable that an individual could take it upon themselves to record a professional level song. But with the power of #apple and dedicated recording software like #protools - that power is in the hand of the individual.

So those people are not looking to the megastars that have already made it - they are looking to people like #ginny that are right in the eye of the storm - doing this through the power of social media. They want to know the real world experience of how she is managing to get a huge social media following - and getting her sounds out through digital media such as #soundcloud and #reverbnation.

Our initial project #astarmadebyyou was all about encouraging this type of venture - so we have decided to share ALL of the secrets that have been behind Ginny and her rapid rise to fame. Through this blog and one of Ginny's #google+ pages we are going to help people to learn from the lessons we have been learning.

There is no right answer! This industry is now a rapidly moving target - digital distribution like #spotify or #deezer #beats or a host of streaming services are already decimating #itunes.
The movement is that rapid. What we can share is what we know today - what is working and what is not. We have set up a YouTube channel where some of the production team will discuss what we have been doing - and where we are going and more importantly how we are doing it.

We feel we have amazing success with the Ginny Vee brand - but we can always be better. We hope that we will get support from fans and other musicians as we move forward with this project.

As an initial starting place we are sharing this youtube channel. Knowledge is not power any more- acting on the knowledge in the right way is - so we will share everything.

WATCH SOME USEFUL VIDEOS HERE

We have shared some of the videos that helped us to make sense of this ever changing world of musical promotion - demos - digital and the near future of this industry.
If you have a direct question then simply comment - of ask Ginny on her G+ or FB pages.

This will be fun.

Fans really defend their idols !!!

So we recently ran a small test marketing campaign -

We simply placed this picture on FaceBook...

We did not ask "Which is your favorite singer" or "which is your favorite girl" - we simply asked Which color you prefer.

The images are #shakira, #Katyperry and of course our #ginnyvee

The response has been quite interesting in terms of outcomes and the way that fans react. So here are some interesting results.

Over 60,000 people saw the image - and clicked on the photo.

#black got 40% of the vote with #blonde and #red getting 30% each

BUT - that was not the interesting thing about this #poll. What we found is that the majority of people ignored the question and simply named their favorite #musicartist.

#Shakira was by far nominated as the top artist by her fans - and that may be part of the fact that she has so many and on #facebook. But on #goolgeplus #katyperry won hands down.
(We didn't expect Ginny to stack up against these two mega houses of pop)

Yet - in terms of which artist was considered the best looking - #Ginny won by a small amount above #katy - So (of course we agree Ginny is the best looking by far). Yet no one asked "who is the best looking" - but it shows that in the world of pop #image is massive influencer on the following of an artist. #A&R, #recordproducers #musicproducers get a big boost if their artist is a great singer and #sexy.

Now here's some more interesting #facts about the vote. #perry fans were by far and away the most aggressive - with the strongest comments and by far the most #shares to other #katyperry sites across the web. There is such a loyal following to #katy and the #katycats. It was also very telling just how many commenters and likers had a name with #katy in it!!!

Whereas #shakira names and a predominant #fans tag to their names.

On #redheads - you cannot imagine how fiercely they #ginger and #redhead supporting public fought for Ginny. It seems there is a massive demand for more #redheaded singers in the world of pop. Maybe it removes some of the #stigma that #redhaired people feel. Although we want to sat we love #redhair and so does #ginny.

The biggest support for #redhair came out of the #twitter traffic with a massive support for #red.

We plan on running this campaign again across the networks with a slightly different theme - so watch out and keep voting.

Feedback always welcome

We get a lot of compliments for Ginny's Music - and a lot of great reviews.
But sometimes we need to know what song is the "best"

So if you use #google+ then it would help a lot of you could spend just 2 minutes to #vote on which is your favorite song (we hope you have one ;)

VOTE HERE 


This type of feedback helps a lot, especially as Ginny is getting back into the studio and your votes help us to know where we should concentrate. It's great for a #music #artist to make songs they like - but even better to make songs #you like.

Thanks for the help

#astarmadebyyou

Ginny Vee Heaven n Back EP part2

Ginny Vee Heaven n Back EP- Part 1

Did Ginny Just sing a new DISNEY song ?

One of things we do a lot of with Ginny Vee's #music is to get as many reviews and #crowdreviews as possible.
Many of these are not true #industry music #pundits - but that is not why we do it.

With Ginny we are trying to create songs that polarize the listeners...

why?

Well with songs you cannot please everyone all of the time. Some people that love #thebeatles may really not like #katyperry no matter how good each of them may be respectively.
So with the songs we are writing we are trying to hit a specific audience that LOVES the song.
What is a disaster is a song that everyone thinks is "okay". And scores a 5 out of 10 for Everyone.

With the song GRAVITY we seem to have hit that on the head. In our latest crowd review through #reverbnation we managed to totally polarize the review crowd.

The song either got a resounding 10 out of 10 or a resounding "I hate it".

Here are some of the negative reviews first to show how when people don't like a song they don't like it.

"Country, apple pie american. The easy listening quality almost makes it preachy. I don't like it. Too heavily enunciated, I don't care for the lyrics. This song could be a churchy, choirish tune, good for Sundays."

"the intro of the song wasn't the best and i didnt care too much for it. the artsit lacks her personality on the song and comes off a bit lame. i think the lyrics of the song don't have any character to them and are just as plain and lame as the artist. i think the beat of the song isn't composed enough to save the artist and the lyrics. the beat of the song is great and has a lot of different sounds to it that mix well with one another. the lyrics of the song have some structure t them and formation, but i think since that actual words and the artist isn't the best then the song doesn't work . i think the idea of the lyrics and message of the song was there."

"The echoing electronic background is distracting from the stronger vocals and other instruments. The singer is good, but she seems to dip lower in pitch than suits the song at times, and stretches her notes a bit longer than she can hold them. The song is trying to be upbeat and peppy, but lacks any sort of real energy. The backing echo and wail are both annoying in comparison to the rest."

"The beat was cool but did not really match the singer. That said its more or just the singer, she has to high pitched of a voice ... at the start. Once the guitar comes in she has a deeper voice and just sounds better. The lyrics do make sense just are kind of boring. This song gets a 6."

 We love to read the negative reviews as they help us to understand if we really made a big mistake in any of the songs or we just didn't appeal to the audience (you cannot please everyone. This feedback is taken by the #astarmadebyyou team very seriously -and is discussed in our weekly briefings with Ginny.

Many artists don't like the negative feedback - they find it hard to take Criticism - but that is what sets Ginny above many other #musicartists - she is a professional and takes a professional approach to her music. (How many other music artists would put up the negative reviews on their own blog?)

But what we also focus on is the positives. And this is where we get the most pleasure. The latest crowd reviews were exactly what we wanted for Gravity. They were totally polarized. Compare the above negative reviews with the following positive reviews.

The initial instrumentals within the introduction were distinctly rhythmic fast paced and artificially created. The vocals emerged relatively quickly and were female led and sat on top of the instrumentals which continued the same tune as what had been laid down during the introduction. The lead female vocalist had a smooth, rich and warm vocal performance. Full of shapely, round tones, she sung with a high level of lyrical clarity and displayed an impressive vocal range. Her accomplished vocal ability added to her passionate, emotion-filled and convicted performance. Initially, the rhythms and beats of the instrumentals in the introduction did not engage me personally, but the song did grow on me. This track is quite clearly professionally produced and displays a high level of talent. I feel it has the potential to do quite well.

This track is fascinating. This song makes me feel like I am in the jungle. Although this artist music is not for me but for people that enjoy life. I like how she talks about gravity in her song. this track is brilliant.

I really love the voice singing the meaningful lyrics! It is a relaxing song and very catchy. The singing is at very high quality throughout the whole song which is amazing. The melody in the background could be a tiny bit louder in the verses but otherwise the song is almost perfect! WELL DONE! i could listen to it all day!

I think that you have a little work to do ... JOKES!!!!!!!!!!!! this is amazing , and i definitely think that this absolutely great. Clearly a lot of time and wok has gone into this , "LET me dream the dream "I think that you are really good and should keep working hard so that you make it!The best elements are the vocals and the instruments

What is interesting about these crowd reviews is that when people LOVE the song they really love it - and that causes engagement with the artist and their music. We also like these reviews as they are "real" potential fans - not #musiccritics  - and they give a raw insight as a potential listener. They also show that many of the reviewers are not native English (which is important when we write #lyrics) In todays global market many of the expanding markets are in #latinAmerica or #asia. And most people are not first language English speakers. So although Ginny's Lyrics may to the #UK or #USA market appear to be "simple" or "Naive" or the meaning of the song - very "basic". We have done this on purpose to reach out to the emerging markets - so they can engage with an "english" lyric song and sing along.

Ginny is not going to appeal to mush to the UK or #American market - we know that from the #twitter and #facebook profiles that follow here and engage with her. So we need to take reviews that see if our #targetaudience is actually able to understand the meaning of the songs - engage and love them.

Our advice to all upcoming #music #artists - is that the music audience is changing rapidly - it is moving East and South - where the emerging economies are. If you want to compete in the next 10 years then you need to think beyond the classic USA and UK markets -- they are full of amazing talent and the fans have a very specific taste that is hard for non UK / USA artists to break into. This type of global crowd review can give amazing insights into the fan base and the way they think.

Over the next days we will be sharing some insights we have discovered for the various songs.
The most interesting for Gravity is that more than 50% of the reviews thought it was the next #disney song.

This sounds like a very interesting Disney song, the soft melody at first coaxes the listener into an amazing feeling, then picks up pace at just the right time, making the listener feel a strange sense of emotion due to the songs lyrics adding into the beat. Perhaps there can be a bit of a vocal clean up, but other than that, its an awesome song, that could be used in a film to show an inspirational moment take effect, the songs tune has a catchy ring to it as it speeds up and slows down, and still maintains a secure feeling.

Would love to know what you think about the sound of Gravity -- all feedback is great feedback.

Reverbnation - Playlist right here

We were asked if we could make the playlist simple and accessible in this BLOG.

So here it is. We found #reverbnation to be one of the best ways to get fans, interaction and get the message out to world. Ginny is currently ranking NUMBER 1 in POP. So please enjoy her music.

Free Electronic Press Kits from ReverbNation.com






#music #freemusic #freedownloads #freepopmusic #latestpopnews #latestsong #newalbum  #emi #sony #warnermusic #a&r #sounds #musicartist #artist #website #newwebsite #socialmedia #interscope #records #mp3 #mp4 

Ginny Hits first Top Chart Position

As promised over 1 year ago - we were going to use the amazing talent of #ginnyvee combined with the stunning power of #socialmedia to propel an unknown to the top of the Global music #charts.

It is a small victory today but with over 20,000 Twitter followers and close to 16,000 Facebook fans- plus nearly 40,000 fans across social media platforms - we have had out first major success.

Ginny today hit the #number1 spot of the #reverbnation charts in #Rome and the #number5 spot in #italy.

These are small but important victories as social media music sites such as Reverbnation and S#soundcloud become more important indicators for an artists success than traditional charts (especially in the early phase of their launch)

Congratulations to Ginny and a big thank you to the 40,000 plus supporters that are making this project a reality.

Ginny Vee with Dodi Battaglia

We really enjoy publishing this blog post today.

Sometimes people do see their dreams come true. When Ginny was a small girl she used to sit and listen to one of her favorite bands - #pooh

Huge in the 70's and 80's in Italy - with Dodi Battaglia.
Ginny would sing along at home to songs such as "Uomini Soli" - songs that inspired her to sing and be a singer.

Roll forwards nearly 20 years and a few weeks ago Ginny got to live a small but important dream. With her growing success she was asked to sing in a trio with one of her stars and music legends.

As you can imagine it was a hugely emotional night for Ginny, to be live - singing next to one of her childhood #idols
Few of us get to realize those dreams - but Ginny has made it happen through hard work and dedication.

A Star Made By You productions would like to personally thank Dodi for making this dream come true.

#dreamscometrue #pooh #uominisoli #ginnyvee #dodibattalgia #live #live performance

Ginny now available on ANDROID for Google

Today Ginny launched her very own mobile App for #android #google phones

If you have an Android smart phone then you can simply click HERE and download the app.
It will give you #free access to all of Ginny's music and updates - Live links and shows.

Enjoy

Fan Video

Ginny wants to say thanks to the Fan that made the first #fan #video -

Ginny uploaded it to #youtube yesterday.

It's very gratifying for a #music artist to get anything from #fans. It shows that she is connecting with them and producing material they enjoy.

"It is so kind," said Ginny. "Someone took the time to download material from my #soundcloud account. Then find images from my different websites, social media sites and press. It's a very kind and special gift and I'd like to say a huge thank you."

The video contains four of Ginny's #tracks. "Honey" a pre-release demo version, "Forever" the official album version, "Heaven n Back" Album version and "I wonder".

For more #official information on Ginny go to Official Website
To talk direct with Ginny use her Twitter account
Or follow her on Google Plus or Facebook


Keep the Fan support coming.

Ginny Vee in the press

Ginny is coming back from a hectic summer. She has been finishing up new songs for the album and has been on  tour of Germany and right across Italy.

In the meantime she has been given a feature article at the webzine Your Legacy.

http://yourlegacy.co/blog/how-they-hustle-ginny-vee

Go read this informative inside #article on how Ginny discovered her #musical talents and embarked upon a career in the #musicindustry. 

ALSO

This summer has been "The Summer of Love" for Ginny with her shows featuring some great 60's music and next week she will be singing with stars of the 70's live in concert.

There will be a ton of new updates coming and don't forget to visit the official site www.ginnyvee.com (Go to the Listen page) there is a great early demo version of Honey available for a short time.

Keep listening !!

Summer is over - Back to the studio

Ginny has been out and about - with some local tours and one summer performance in Germany.
But now she is heading back to the Studio - with "Gravity" & "Honey" ready to be mixed at Revolver Studios in Rome.

In the mean time keep listening to the released album tracks from "Heaven n Back" - here on Soundcloud.

LISTEN HERE

Lots more exciting news coming soon.

New Website - image and branding

The last week the team has spent hours analyzing the feedback we got back from our SurveyMonkey questionnaire (Thanks to the hundreds that answered).
The main questions were around the website and the current Image of Ginny Vee.

A Star Made By You is all about YOU helping Ginny to present herself musically and visually how you want. From all the feedback - we were thrilled - because the suggestion that came from the fans is EXACTLY how Ginny Vee is as a persona and as a Musician.

What people said was that the old website was far too dark - far too serious. The people that know Ginny personally, and the fans and followers that interact with her on FaceBook and Twitter said that Ginny is light - bright - fun - young and happy - and that site was the polar opposite.

So we engaged with an amazing photographer Edmondo Angellini of Studio Octopus to capture the true spirit of Ginny Vee. Throughout the site you will be able to see the real Ginny - the Ginny that the fans voted for and asked for.

So we are thrilled to announce the new website of Ginny - www.ginnyvee.com 

The site is packed with tons of new features and special content, new exclusive images, photos and exclusive links to album tracks that you can now download. 

Ginny's website will be the exclusive portal for new content - so visit and bookmark and make sure you keep coming back. She will be showing behind the scenes video clips, tour dates and single releases - all from the site. Today you can see 10 new exclusive photos of Ginny. You can also contact Ginny directly through the site or get the latest social media feeds and blog feeds all in one place. Check out the #selfie section and send your own selfies to be on the official site.

Through the site Ginny will be announcing some new competitions to win collectors edition songs, merchandise and more.

The team has worked hard to capture the "spirit" of Ginny. Young, independent, happy, fun, positive and a pleasure to be around. We hope the site reflects that image and is in line with what the friends, fans and followers have been asking for - check it our now and give us as much feedback as you can.

The A Star Made By You team.

Social is gaining Momentum

Well it's been a pretty good last few months and our #social presence with Ginny Vee is starting to take off.

We knew it would be a long path and that's been part of our delaying the launch of her first #musicvideo - we wanted to make sure we had a lot of #followers before we release it.

here's some stats as of the 16th June 2014

#facebook over 16K followers

#twitter over 18.7K followers

#reverbnation over 35K followers

Thanks for all the support !!

Why were you mentioned??

Today we just wanted to make some random shout outs across the +google platform as part of our social media experiment.

You are one of a tiny % of people that could have been randomly chosen !!


We are just testing today the "interaction" elements of social media and seeing if you get people to "randomly" visit your page - how much click through interaction you get. We also want to see if people will "share" or "like" or "forward" or nominate others ---

Please feel free to leave a comment... (see below what to do)

(Notes on how we chose your name: We typed in + - then a name and then clicked at absolute random and if the pointer fell on you - you got named :)

Hope you feel special as you were pulled out of over 3 million G+ accounts.

Why not comment by doing this -- in the comments just type + and then start a random name - then select someone and click them - repeat and see how many random people you bring here!!

Have fun



Shout out to:

+Jennifer Klein +Brianna Wynne +David Bowick +diana macau +Steve Bell +anna karita +ELISA Official Google+ Page +Apple iFans +Karl Weber +Harry Goulding +Frank Doorhof +Helene Regozini +Carlo Marchione +carolayne safada +Lidia Tomagra +Davide Antico +Ginny Carter +MusicReviewUkraine +Penelope White +rob mark +Lindoneide Rocha +vitoria vivizinha +Steve Wilson +Holly Sisson +Alanah Rae +Trudy Zufelt +Steve Tupper +Sean Bagshaw +Sean Carroll +rob mark +Ryan Doco Connors +Betty De +paula miller +Wendy Michelle +Iana G.C +Gabriela Ianculescu +Denissa Loredana Iancu +Rali Ivanova +Brian Rose +Coral Rose +carol safada +Debby Edwards +Edward Fisher +Fletcher Walters +Josh Schott +Colin Walker +Colin Udoh +Anthony Bendele +benoit arthus +Marcella CDzinha +Huan Vu Le +Leslyann Williams +Harvey Shepard +Ronald Knox +Rachel James +Cloud Wu +Jimbo Grey +vitoria vivizinha +VICKY GONZÁLEZ +Yvonne Valtierra +Cairenn MMOUI +Harry Sufehmi +Michelle Roxelle +Lisa S +paula paulinha +Paula Pimenta +Serena Jane +Kimberly-Jane Holdern

Independent or Record Label?

One of things we've been wrestling with (besides +Google ) is how a Music Artist Like +Ginny Vee should get out there when she goes full steam with her single releases. 

If you look at the "old school" music industry it just seems to be in free fall. The digital era seems to have taken the legs right from under it. Our independent record label "A Star Made by You" was set up to try and take advantage of the current shift to "digital", "streaming"  and "crowd".

What do we mean by that?

Apple changed the paradigm with iTUNES - (however it really stood on the shoulders of companies like Napster) but what it managed to do was use its huge muscle and hardware integration to create a legit way to download "digital media". From then on people wanted iPODS full of songs not shelves full of CDs.

What the record industry probably didn't realize at that time was that the shift in power moved to the Digital distribution providers like iTUNES. It also meant that in an already diminishing revenue industry, the profit was starting to be shared by these new behemoths of the industry.

In just the last 18 months there has been yet another shift - as technology, bandwidth and data plan allow something that is changing the face of all entertainment- streaming. It's not about owning sounds any more +Spotify +Deezer and other streaming services are changing the industry once again. No wonder Apple just bought +Beats by Dre for $3 billion.

Add in to this whole mix a large level of MP3 piracy and you can see a vast crash in the revenue potential of music. (the revenue has shifted to merchandising, branding and accessories) just look at the revenue stream for +Beyonce 

The digital era also ushered in a second change (the perfect storm) with artists no longer being discovered through traditional talent channels ( +Justin Bieber ) being one of them that was discovered through the power of YouTube. 

Yes - the digital era has opened up a second channel that is out of the control of the record giants -  record and music production costs have crashed through the advent of home digital recording. Digital video has opened up a hole new opportunity at low cost and high production - so new bands and artists can self produce and bring quality products to virtually millions of fans overnight.

The number of "internet" bands and artists has burgeoned. And that has created even more issues for the record industry - as again their control on revenue slips, their products get diluted and in the end they are left relying on a group of A Listers such as +Katy Perry +Lady Gaga +Shakira and a host of other artists +One Direction +5 Seconds of Summer to name a few.

Add in to that the +xfactor and more and more channels start to get exclusive access to upcoming talent - but it has a difference. That new talent (voted for by the public) and exposed for weeks on end with "heart warming stories" ensures and immediate fan base for the initial digital release.

All of this leaves "B" listers with a major dilemma within the music industry. Do they try and go the traditional route to the music industry -via the big labels such as +Sony Music Entertainment +warner music +universal music and the others or to strike out as one of the ever growing independents. Using lower level - less cost production o get to market (to get discovered by other internet based means). It leaves artists trying to weigh up the pros and cons of the big labels.

PROS: of the big labels are: instant credibility, large scale global marketing, having available resources, instant distribution in all formats and the marketing machine professionals behind you

CONS: I you don't explode only one - you're done, most bands that sign never get released - they get shelved, loss of artistic control

At the minute +Ginny Vee has her complete control, and luckily has the choice to do either. But via the "A Star Made by You" label she already has access to studios, video makers, photographers and a huge team of web experts who joined the project that are behind her social media and web presence. She has been asked to be part of  a major international project that is aimed at going to the major labels - but to be honest, the team thinks they want that independent artistic control for some time yet.

Already Ginny's Facebook is over 15K followers, her Twitter approaching 20K followers, she has a surge in Instagram, Blogger and her own website traffic. She recently (as she decided) allowed a few of her album tracks to be released on +SoundCloud (check out the button at the top of the page) so that loyal fans that have been supporting her on Facebook have been able to listen to some of her great music ahead of a full global launch (a major would never allow that!!). But Ginny is determined  to run her project for her fans and followers - not the label - so in the short term she is happy to stay independent and gain a major groundswell of support - taking advice and requests from fans and followers alike.

It's always a hard decision - but the advent of the digital era has certainly made both paths equally valid.

You can catch up on Ginny's MUSIC here.

Bewildering Google Plus (+google)

One of the most important things for Ginny's Social media project is "Social Media".
Well the production team has nailed Twitter (with nearly 20,000 followers) and Facebook (with over 15,000 followers)

But Google Plus remains a mystery to us.

There are two pages for Ginny

google.com/+Ginnyveeofficial

This is the "Official Google Plus page"

and then there is

plus.google.com/+GinnyVee

The "Ginny Vee Page"

We cannot seem to work out how to engage people and get them in our "circles". So we are appealing to you all -

a) If you are on Google Plus - please add these pages to your circles.

b) If you have any great suggestions to grow audience then we are all ears.

Please comment - or mail us with your suggestions for getting more engagement on Google Plus

Thanks

The A Star Made By You Team

Exclusive Pre-view of 3 of the tracks from Heaven n Back

We are just gonna keep this up for a few days. Please comment and like.




Ginny Vee is an exciting new #music #artist under the A Star Made By You Independent record label.
Ginny will be releasing her first official singles in August - but you get an exclusive sneak peek at some of the tracks from the upcoming EP.

We cannot say of these are the definitive tracks that will be released - but Ginny wanted her most loyal fans to get a  first listen to some of her ongoing work.

Small taste of what's coming on the new Album

Thought you might like a small preview of one of the songs on the upcoming album.
let us know if you want this in other formats ---

Planning the new Big Video

In March 2014 Ginny Vee planned to release her first single and first music Video - Heaven n Back. An initial release date was set for May 1st. But in April she was approached by an important music industry production team to be part of a major international music project: "Project Star" as it is being called.

As part of the change for the project, the Heaven n Back Video was postponed - for very good reasons related to the order in which Project Star wants to launch the singles. Their vast experience identified Gravity as the first single - and well - we agree.
BIG BIG changes are happening for Ginny Vee and part of that is a different line up of songs and videos, different music industry insight into launch schedules and marketing.

Today Ginny was involved in the first official pre-production meting with Video Director Edmondo Angelelli to discuss storyboards for the first video - GRAVITY.

Obviously we can't reveal any details yet, but lots of Back Stage will be coming this month - and the project aims to be ready for shooting in early July. Edmondo is a highly skilled director and has been associated with X-Factor Italy for the past two seasons, he has been involved in commercials and a host of music videos. You can check out more of his work at www.studiooctopus.com 

"This is going to be a really fun shoot", said Ginny after the meeting. "One of the great things about my job is that I get to do this kind of cool stuff, and work with these creative people. I love the singing but I also love to shoot videos. This one is going to be a lot of fun."

Next steps are to create the full storyboards - and we will bring you a glimpse in the coming weeks as work progresses.

Long Week - Working on Brand Image

It's been a long week for the entire team working on the Ginny Vee #brand. We've been refining in the studio to try and ensure we really get the right sound into the songs that defines the "sound brand" we want with Ginny Vee.

There's a certain set of sounds the musicians have been working hard on to ensure that the Ginny Sound is consistent across the entire range of #songs that she is working on. With this "guide" under the music we are adding the incredible #vocals of Ginny to give a unique  and stunning sound.

We've been asked many time is: How is the sound of Ginny Vee?

Well it's very much a modern pop sound - but we've been using some classic synths to generate rich deep layers in the tracks. Using a #midi input to capture the synth generated sounds into #protools where the tracks are meticulously built, layered and rendered. (we've been asked what we are using by some #techheads)

The sound engineers have been taking cues from the 80's and 90's to blend in with modern progressive beats, ambient sounds and some incredible new tools that give amazing effects with filters, fades and add vast space to the music.

Each track has a unique Ginny Vee Brand - but each and every one is a stand apart work - from up-beat almost dance tracks, to deep pop, to ballads, to funk. We've been working with talented session musicians that have added amazingly funky #guitar riffs, and rich #piano tracks. This blend of synths, loops, and real instruments is creating a very rich sound structure indeed.

Ginny has been laying down the vocals as we move to the final versions of the tracks - and we've been giving sneak peeks and Radio Press Kits out to gain feedback.

What has come out as a very constant theme is that Ginny Vee has a sound that is reminiscent of the early work of #madonna - yes a big claim but it's the critics that are telling us. And really - that is not a bad role model for vocals??

But don't be fooled this is not a copy of "Madonna" - it's a new sound, new vocals that have hints of one of the greatest pop stars ever. 

So as the "music brand" comes to life - the team has been recruiting image consultants, photographers and image experts. A huge part of the brand is in the image of Ginny Vee. But what is clear - she has a natural beauty and without doubt the #pictures that get the most comments and votes on #facebook (www.facebook.com/ginnyveeofficial) are Ginny's #selfies. (We've got a ton of requests of what camera Ginny is using for the latest #selfies - and we can say that we use exclusively #APPLE and the #iPhone 5s is used in the latest images).

To celebrate the success of the #selfies we have added a cool new feature to the #official Ginny Vee website (www.ginnyvee.com). It's what we call the #selfie page - a page where you can find #selfies by Ginny and by many of her #fans that have been sending us their #selfies. If you want your #selfie on the page - then simply mail one to info@ginnyvee.com 

For Ginny one of the most important things is #fan interaction - and Ginny and the team have been working hard to make sure we have regular updates on #facebook, #twitter and #instagram and #+google - our first four main social media pages for Ginny. And already she has over 40K followers across the various social networks. Ginny is first and foremost a #socialnetwork user - and you can interact with her on any of these channels - just look for @ginnyveemusic on any of the social media networks or directly from #google

It has been a huge amount of work - and well - it's only just started. The aim is to get the #fans incredible content in the form of exclusive #backstage, #interviews, #photos and ultimately amazing #music and #pophits. 

Already Ginny has some #videoclips online on #youtube but we are working hard on lots more - with some exclusive #backstage clips and #vlogs to come very soon. Stay with us as the #number1 priority is the #music and we are working on that night and day - getting all the other stuff as we can.

But we still need your help - and any of you that can help spread the word on any social media networks will be so helpful. This project was born as an innovative social experiment #astarmadebyyou and we still believe that #socialmedia will be the key driver for Ginny Vee and the "Ginny Vee project" - and that means we need your #help

Next week we will have some key updates from the #recordingstudio 

Keep watching.

Ginny Vee participates in upcoming health publicity

Today Music Artist Ginny Vee was filming for an upcoming "Healthcare Campaign" in her home country of Italy.
Part of an upcoming  TV spot to raise awareness about a major health issue, an issue that could impact us all.

Images and information are under embargo until the release of the campaign; sometime in the next few weeks. Ginny will be part of this important national awareness campaign.

"I'm thrilled I can be part of such an important national campaign," said Ginny. "I will give more details once the campaign is released in the coming weeks. But I will be asking all my friends and fans in Italy to serious;y think about what I'm supporting."

More information coming soon.

Planning and moving on

Today is a big day for Ginny with an incredibly important meeting with the #music production team.
Theme for today is #song selection and plan for the coming 3 months. Plus selecting from the #demos the strongest songs for the upcoming #album.

Wish Ginny Luck...

It's #selfie time

YES - you too can now be immortalized on the Ginny Vee website...

All you need to do is shoot a #selfie -- add a personal message to Ginny (if you want) and simply email it to info@ginnyvee.com and we will do the rest.

We want funny selfies, cool selfies (but not nude selfies), single selfies or group selfies, selfies with pets, selfies of pets, selfies indoors or selfies outdoors, selfies in a car, selfies on a car, selfies near and selfies far. We want colored selfies of selfies in black & white, iPhone selfies, android selfies, nokia selfies or even BB selfies (if anyone has one). We want hi res selfies and low res selfies, selfies at home, selfies abroad, big selfies and small selfies

I think you get the message... so send us one...

EXCLUSIVE- VIDEO CLIP

Here is a very exclusive SNEAK PEAK at Ginny Vee's promo Video Clip

link: http://youtu.be/KutZrlhIhJ8


Ginny is a stunning new music artist that is taking her influences from Katy Perry, Rihanna, Beyoncé and with a retro touch of Madonna.
Ginny is hard at work in the studio completing her debut single, and EP ready to launch in August 2014. She is working on an entire set of images, videos, sounds and songs to bring something fresh and exciting for 2014. Here is a very sneak peek - teaser.

Her music is a stunning mix of strong melodies, deeply layered tracks that hark back to the work of Trevor Horne, combined with modern beats and influences - to bring a rich pop sound. Her vocals have been described in the music press as "Madonna singing Katy Perry"- which is a huge compliment.

Keep following Ginny  at www.ginnyvee.com
Instagram: @ginnyveemusic
Facebook: Facebook.com/ginnyveeofficial
Twitter: @ginnyveemusic

and more social media platforms.

Social Media

Don't forget you can all Ginny's social media feeds in one single place here Social Media



Visit and bookmark.

Few Updates

Been an incredibly hectic week with the adjustment of "Heaven n Back" at the studio. Roberto Cola the musician has done an amazing Job and it is sounding amazing.

In the meantime we have been developing more singles for the EP and the Album, and one of them has jumped out as the possible next single -- can't say anymore but we think people are gonna be dancing out of their seats when they hear it. Deep 80's melodies, up to date pop sound with a rocking dance rhythm that is just mind bendingly funky.

We have a new guitarist that has joined the team and WOW -- more details to follow very soon.

It's a small update as Ginny is running (as we type) to the Studio to lay down a first vocal track of this amazing new song. Then we have a dinner meeting with the producer and -- it's all go!!!

The challenge of sound

Today we wanted to highlight one of the more interesting aspects the sound engineers for Ginny Vee need to think about as the "Ginny Vee Project" gets underway.

Over the past few years there has been a major shift in not only where music is bought - but how music is listened to. And the Ginny Vee team is acutely aware of this as they engineer the sound layers into the songs.

It's one thing to build a song that will only be listened to by sound engineers #soundengineers or Music Producers #musicproducers that have access to studio grade music systems. Systems that are inside acoustically tuned studios. It is another to have someone with Apple Earbuds in, on a busy underground train.

The dynamic range of each system is so completely different. One of the key inputs from the sound design team has come from the new production company. they want to create the sort of sound that will be powerful and clear on the full spectrum of sound devices, compression formats and music players.

A source at Billboard in late 2013 stated that physical sales of music by CD (or the rebirth of Vinyl) accounted for about $13 Billion (down 50%) - while sales of digital versions of music were at about $10B and Apple's iTUNES owned a whopping 41% of that market.

Extremely interesting was the release of Beyoncé's new album BRAVE which was given a pre-release on iTunes only. This was shown to anger many "bricks and mortar" stores which had previously been the main distribution point for such artistic works.
( Article on release here)

With this shifting trend it is not only important to have different #masters of the song - that will help when various compression systems are used such as VEVO, YOUTUBE and iTUNES - but what Ginny wants to incorporate are sounds that are "compression" friendly. The bass lines, the drums, the synths and guitars are all being highly selected in meeting after meeting to ensure that when layered and mixed they will be as rich as possible on digital media in small earbuds, as they are on classic media. This is challenging as it must not detract from the artists brand and sound. Over the coming weeks the Entire Ginny Vee Project team will be focused on trying to achieve that delicate balance.