Category: music

New music video

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In my long career in the music business, I have only been physically involved in 3 “official” music videos for a single. The first one was for “Lucky Stars,” the duet I sang with Dean Friedman. We went to the CBS / Columbia Studios in New York to record the “live” video. I sat on a stool and Dean sat on a piano bench and played the song. We lip-synced. I enjoyed it, the link to watch the video is here.

The second was for my debut single “The Land Had a Dream,” from my debut solo album “SELF.” We went into my uncle’s movie studio in Los Angeles, he was a successful filmmaker and lent me his studio for a day. We spent a full day making the video. It was great fun and everyone worked very hard on the project. Editing was so much work! The link is here.

The third is about to be released, my new video for the track “FLOAT.” The video is an animated adventure that came to me, as I was mixing the first demo of the song. I worked with a wonderfully talented video graphics designer Karolina Tyszkowska and it was so much fun to work on. I am very proud of this video. I will share the link when we go live.

Mom, New Song & Millions of Dollars

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Yesterday I had a chat with my “publisher” (my contact) at BMG. They as of this day administer my Marsa Music catalog. We spoke about the CBS Sunday Morning News piece a few weeks ago about Primary Wave the trends in music publishing and she gave me some insider insight about the president of that company. She also asked me what I thought of the piece. I told her what I told her several times before, as these huge wars for older artists’ catalogs and bodies of work become the obsession of these music publishers that are now being funding in part by hedge funds. I cannot imagine how they will ever get their ROI.

How will they make their money back, especially on the older artists, (ha) that may only tour for a few more years yet alone keep up their artistry, writing new songs as important or popular as their earlier ones? Or maybe that does not matter? We hear about artists making no money on streaming royalties and consumers (music lovers) not buying music any longer due to streaming, though the recent rise on mechanical royalties has just gone up from 9 cents to a bit over 12 cents.

Another question is, what does it say to new artists reading about all these deals, it’s like the music business isn’t tough enough with gold rings beyond most people’s reach, now new artists hear about a classic catalog being sold for 500 million dollars. Talk about the competition. Just so one big company can say to another big company, he stays or comes with us. They negotiate numbers that are hard to believe. It seems to me to be the quintessential definition of CORPORATION EGO. That’s the long and short of it for me. Unless I am missing something?

I have never been a big fan of the music business, (love making music) with its sexism and ageism blatantly displayed for decades. And the money that was once spent on production budgets, especially back in the 80s. These years very wealthy people are investing in catalogs and even artists through music publishers. I saw today, again on CBS Sunday Morning News, that a very wealthy man gave Bob Dylan millions for his archives, his memorabilia, his lyrics typed out and coffee-stained, and they have built him a museum where he lives, in Tulsa, so they can bring in tourism. Not where he was born, where he lives now. Dylan must be tripping about what one might call, his eternal fame. He started off with his acoustic guitar in the West Village, not wanting to be put in a box, singing from his heart & soul about what was going on in this world. Will there be a new era of young artists spreading their thoughts through songs, or is there no money left for labels to promote them to express themselves about today’s wars and injustices?

What would Beethoven or Chopin say, (whose compositions are now public domain and who were the popular musicians of their times) about all this money for music? And what about the public domain? How many years until you won’t have to get permission or pay an estate for a Springsteen song? Well, the key is buying up all the Master recordings of these artists, that is where I imagine they believe the golden dragon lies.

Today I am working on a new song, in honor of my mom. I woke up thinking about an idea to write a song inspired by her as it is Mother’s Day 2022. “Don’t Count Yourself Out Yet.” Ahhh, show biz!

My 1st lighting designer relationship

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lighting

I am pretty open to new “types” of relationships…this is certainly a new one for me!

Today marks the first & only NYC run through with our lighting designer#KenWills for #THEPASS Thrilled to have his vision on board and on stage!

The Playground Theatre David Burns PR here we go! Please LIKE our FB page https://www.facebook.com/ThePassMusical/

Beyond excited…

Great Britain: The Sum of Our Parts

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flag UKWith the up coming premiere of THE PASS in London at The Playground Theatre, and work at KMPR, my life is pretty full and time has become a bit precious. However today as I look back at my time in London and all the amazing people I have known and worked with over the years that are British, I realize the impact Britain has had on my life. Aside from it providing my first big success with  Lucky Stars, there have been so many talented and supportive people both while living in London and while living in West Hollywood and NYC that have helped me with my music career. They have also influenced me personally. They are  the sum of all my parts. You know who you are. Forever grateful.

The Company We Keep –My Blog Inspired by a Tweet

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self

Audio CD
from £41.80 1 Used from £41.80 2 New from £52.57 

Thinking about my career one summer, an e-mail came in– a new compilation & there I was — among great company — I stay steadfast gently carving my name into the trunk of the tree.dmfeetfirst

young-girl.jpg As a young girl this song was it 4 me! and there it was 4. Dionne Warwick – Walk On By & my eyes continue down the track listing… 23. Dean Friedman feat. Denise Marsa – Lucky Stars — a sign? Keep going? Remembering how I pretended to be sick to stay home from school just so I could hear Walk on By.

 a few others in the crowd

  10. Nat ‘King’ Cole – Mona Lisa
  11. Katie Melua – The Closest Thing To Crazy
  12. Eva Cassidy – Fields Of Gold
  13. Billy Joel – She’s Always A Woman
  14. Gene Pitney – Something¹s Gotten Hold Of My Heart
  15. Louis Armstrong – We Have All The Time In The World
  16. Frank Sinatra – I’ve Got The World On A String

 And maybe next time — let’s discuss Amazon selling my used CD’s SELF for what I consider a baffling amount…and how are they still getting and selling New ones? An early indie artist in 1997 we made maybe 500 to sell and they sold out within a year? That really baffles me…New Self CD’s.

I Dreamt About Taylor Swift Last Night

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So I woke up this morning having had a very long dream that I wrote six songs with Taylor Swift for her new album–which of course I didn’t. What was so interesting was that within the dream while I was working with her, I was making sure I was mentally recording the ideas; I was putting them on my iPhone in my dream. As soon as I woke up I was able to record them on my iPhone for real! In the dream everyone loved these songs!!! What does the dream mean?

lucid-dreaming-music

The psychological meaning of dreaming about music is that it’s the opposite of chaos. Music stands for harmony and order. Musical dreams almost always have a positive connotation. Ironically, one song I wrote in my dream is called “Crisis”!  Another one is called “Wonder”. An old legend says that angels can send you messages in your dreams…hmmmm that feels nice and warm. I welcome all angels. 

I wonder if Taylor Swift also dreamt of me last night?

Racing Through The Snow

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snowWinter is often seen as down-time, a season to lie low and rejuvenate while waiting for warm weather to return. But as the cold comes and the year turns, I am feeling invigorated and living for new challenges.

One thing I’m concentrating on is the promotion of my one-woman musical production THE PASS. As 2018 is the 40th anniversary of the release of my and Dean Friedman’s hit song, “Lucky Stars”, I’m especially eager to bring THE PASS to London next fall. So I’m actively seeking a theater and professional representation. Can’t wait to cross The Pond again–I lived in the UK for four years and have nothing but stellar memories.

I’m also planning on how to feature songs in my music catalog, administered by BMG, on film and TV. We all know how just the right song adds spice to a drama or enhances the best moment in a love story. So I’m eager to lend my voice, and the voice of artists I represent such as Nicole Berke, to exciting new productions.

Another endeavor I’m undertaking is the formation of a special book marketing division for my PR company, KeyMedia Public Relations. I’m designing a very affordable package with first-time struggling writers in mind, to get their manuscripts into agents’ hands and READ and PUBLISHED in the quickest, most efficient way possible. In mulling over names, I’m leaning towards “Push The Book”–reflecting the fun, no-frills but high-quality aspect of this project.

So bears may hibernate and geese may fly south, but there’s no rest for this weary but inspired businesswoman/singer/songwriter and all-around “athlete” this December!

DO IT MYSELF (DIM) The Music Business & Streaming Music

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I went indie in 1997. After two hit records as a vocalist and two publishing deals that went south because both times my publisher left the company mid-contract, it was time to DIM. (Do It Myself) dim3 It was a big learning process. And now indie artists are flourishing! They get themselves started and then a major comes along and snaps them up.  And that also means other creatives are doing well too. We can’t do it ourselves. We need CD designs, PR, marketing, etc., indie small creative businesses are depending on one another. I recently hired someone to help with my YouTube channel for THE PASS.  I hired a small film company to film the first run through of the project. We are all supporting one another.

There has been moaning about how bad the music business has been, there’s no money being made, the internet has ruined the value of music and  I say -music has huge value – even more now than ever before. It is everywhere. That is why there are so many music videos on YouTube and Vimeo and why Google, Apple and Amazon have made millions from music streaming! There are more and more streaming options too.  So many other new streaming apps are hitting the market all the time. Dozens. And the big labels are catching up too.

Billboard headline: Sony Music Posts Nearly $1 Billion in Quarterly Revenue as Streaming Booms

The internet is still kind of new (1994  in my world”worldwide web”) and things –  just had to settle in. Change can be upsetting and/or uplifting.  Skeptics, pessimists, optimists, all out shouting one another in today’s media driven world.

Music is music. Here’s my newest release, both my CD”s on one CD! TWO

cropped-denisemarsatwo.png

Pinpointing My Dream

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Dream

After basking in the afterglow of my first performance of THE PASS, my one woman show including original songs, I now say: What’s Next? A dream is a pure thing, beautiful and nebulous as a cloud, filled with light. But to successfully mount a show a dream is unfortunately not enough. I have a vision; I need a plan. To an artist, making the vision concrete can be the hardest part. Luckily, over the years I have formed and developed my own production company, and have handled the careers of indie musicians (and other artists) whose work I respect. Now is the time to apply the same concentration to my own show that I’ve applied to dozens of other careers.

So, today, I have been starting the submission for a new musical festival, here in NYC.  If we get it, it will help with the funding needed to take THE PASS to the next level and around the country, hopefully even around the world. Oh dare I dream that big? Why not!! So this type of working on a dream,  involves dealing with all the tedious parts of an application such as finding documents and filling out information fields–the exact opposite of bursting into song. Setting my sights on the goal, the end results of entertaining people for a 90 minutes of songs and stories,  I am doing it, while running my PR/Production company as well! That is also a part of me, helping others! www.keymediapublicreations.com

I can break through into a life that is better and where I can be my best self–the expressive songstress me. I can see myself traveling to cities and sharing THE PASS.

It’s right there…

AFTER GLOW

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DeniseMarsaThePassWorkshop_9_28_17

On Thursday 9/28 at 7 pm I unleashed for the first time The Pass, to an audience of 20 privately invited guests. It was held in the home of my director Gretchen Cryer. The performance was an extremely rewarding experience for me on many levels as I had worked so very hard to prepare for this event. I’d been working with a vocal coach, (Tania Travers) rehearsing long hours with my accompanist, Marta Sanchez, and with my director, as well as tweaking the script a lot before the show. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

Gretchen Cryer intro The Pass 9_28_17

I had told myself before I started the show that after I was done with my last final word of the script and had sung my last note if I asked myself “why did I do this?” I wouldn’t perform again. My first visceral response, I can’t wait to do it again!, was my Geiger counter–I WILL keep on performing the Pass, hopefully, many times. Once it was completed I was 100% ready to do it again. Now I am fine tuning all details, making the show even more special and full of impact.

The Pass coincided with the solemn time of Yom Kippur; I didn’t want to do any social media until Monday, after the High Holidays. Monday morning I was confronted with the dire news about the Las Vegas shooting. This tragedy did eclipse a lot of my inner triumph. What really affected me was that it was during a music event–and music to me is about what saves us, what gets us through the tough times. Here this 64-year-old man murders, destroys, at a music event–this stopped me cold in my tracks. It brings up the art of promotion; when is it appropriate to promote yourself or when should you concentrate on the tone brought about by a devastating interruption?

It’s Tuesday now, as we all try to swallow the facts about the Las Vegas shootings. Then more bad news…As a great performer, Tom Petty, leaves us, we realize how important every minute is.  Friends attended his Hollywood Bowl performance last week; they said he was amazing.  My song In a Matter of Moments is playing in my head.  Still we must face that life just keeps going on, no matter what. You’ve gotta find the strength, the reasons to do what you do, to love what you do, to love the people you love and support and find a purpose even when things seem so insane. So my afterglow was dimmed; but there will be more afterglows to follow.

DeniseMarsaThePassWorkshop_9_28_17_2