Responses To Fans

Responses To Fan Comments / Questions

What's New?

  • Promote Yourself, Part 2!!!

    February 22, 2009 73 Comments

    I know a lot of you have been anxiously awaiting the follow-up to the "Promote Yourself post." I want to begin by saying how impressed I was by the incredible amount of quality and variety of the stuff submitted. Truly incredible. Since almost all of the submissions were independent or unsigned, it further solidifies my belief that you guys are capable of making amazing music that sounds just as good as anything put out on a major label.

    Many different genres and countries (including Australia, Chile, France, Russia, Canada, Romania, Estonia, Poland, Germany, and others) were represented. I asked the non-music-makers out there to please hold off on making comments (which some of you did, ha)...now, I'm opening it up to everyone to speak their mind. My team helped me put all of your posts up on the following site, where EVERYONE CAN NOW VOTE ON THEIR FAVORITES. There's no prize except knowing how you're doing, so there is no point cheating the votes. Just place a vote for the bands you like best, and let them know they're doing something right. Go here:

    http://mikeshinoda.uservoice.com/

    ALSO, If you didn't post about your music the first time, but you still want to, I'll continue to look, so post at the link above You have to sign in if you want to vote or post, but I think it's worth it.

    In the next few weeks, I'll be highlighting some of the bands I liked. I'm not picking these based on votes or recommendations. These were simply some things that caught my ear. Let's begin.

    mike

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    SELA - Great hip hop, and variety from track to track...check out "Pump Yo Fist" and "Out There." http://www.myspace.com/selahiphop

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    Chris Connor - beautiful soundscapes and guitar textures. I'd love to hear some songs with vocals, but at the very least, this music sounds great so far. http://www.myspace.com/chrisconmusic

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    Panik Music - Killer rap-rock from Germany: Check out "Was Wuerdest Du Tun." I don't know what they're saying, but the overall vibe is pretty solid. http://www.myspace.com/panikmusik

  • Fan Responses: Hard Times vs. Music Sales, Quality

    February 19, 2009 69 Comments

    Posted by Lynnie: How is the credit crunch/current economic downfall going to affect the music industry? I'm curious because, of course, the prices of many things are dropping while prices of other things are soaring, and everyone is suffering. How will you, as a band, and us, as fans, be affected by this? It is something that is affecting so many people so it's bound to be an issue, sooner or later. Some bands are already producing lower quality work to compensate. How do you think this will affect Linkin Park and the quality of future productions?

    M: Although I don't have a crystal ball, I think it's safe to say that the current economic situation will not affect the quality of Linkin Park music in the near future. Although we enjoy going to a recording studio to make use of a more centralized, professional environment to make our albums, I believe we are 100% capable and equipped to make "Linkin Park quality" studio albums at home. We choose to record at a studio because it gives us a focused, scheduled environment to "get serious" in. After all, if we were all making an album at my house every day, we might end up hanging out more than recording :) We would still get the job done, but it would take (even) longer to finish! The bottom line is that our album content and quality are of paramount importance to us, and I can't see us sacrificing them for anything.

    As for the sales of albums or concert tickets, that's a different story. I have to go back to what I've said before, that every dollar you spend on a band (whether it be on their music, concert tickets, or merchandise) is a statement; it says that you want the artist to continue to do what they do. In buying something, you are essentially helping fund the artist's future endeavors. Do you love Marlboro more than your favorite band? Do you love Louis Vuitton or Starbucks more? Some may, but I'll say this: if you steal music from a band that you love, but you spend money on something from a company that you don't care a lot about, I would very politely suggest that you might have some re-prioritizing to do.

    mike

  • "New Brow" Documentary

    February 18, 2009 33 Comments

    I'm enjoying all the great music you guys are putting links to on the last post... I'll be taking a few days to look through and listen to stuff before we open it up for more thoughts and discussion.

    In the meantime, check out this trailer for a new documentary entitled "New Brow." This film does not have a release schedule yet, but looks awesome.


    New Brow Trailer 1 from New Brow on Vimeo.

    mike

  • Promote Yourself

    February 17, 2009 114 Comments

    This post is to help you promote your band. IF YOU ARE A MUSICIAN (in a band / singer / rapper / producer, etc.), post about yourself here. In the comments on this page, write a short description about yourself and your music, and include a link to your home page or wherever your music and bio are.

    HERE ARE THE RULES:

    1 - Don't embed stuff in the comments, or the page will get annoying. Links only. It would be ideal if the page or pages you link to have music. But the fewer links the better--one link to your main home page is best.

    2 - Don't post unless you are the artist. I do not want to see: "Hey, I like your band," "My friend's band is cool," etc.

    Again, this post is for artists only. So...if you don't make music, don't post a comment. Instead, your job here is to listen to it: go through the posts and see which ones you like best, and wait until my next blog post to comment--the next blog post will be for all of you who don't make music.

    Enjoy, mike

  • Birthday

    February 11, 2009 324 Comments

    Taking the day off for my birthday. Thanks for all your b-day wishes. -m

  • MOCA Apprentices

    January 23, 2009 75 Comments

    Last night I visited the Museum Of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in L.A., and had the privilege of speaking with a group of students from their Apprenticeship program. I met for about an hour with twenty exceptionally bright young people about art, music, credibility, commerce, and Lil' Wayne (they seemed intrigued / repulsed by him for some reason, LOL). We looked at my art, and the creation of the art of Minutes To Midnight, including in-progress versions of our logo and and album cover from that album. It was a lot of fun, and I probably learned as much as the "students" did. Thanks to Denise Grey and my friends at JANM for helping put it together. Here are some images...