Point Blank Featured in Music Tech Magazine

We were hounored to be one of the schools featured in the 'Education Explained' feature in the March 2011 issue of Music Tech Magazine (click on the image below for a larger version). Go grab a copy to read the full article or if you are a student, pop into the office where you can browse our selection of all the major music industry mags.

800MB of Free Loops and Samples from Original Music

Original Music have approached us with a huge package of free samples and loops for our students.

They are giving away their Offbeats & Accents sample pack worth £19.95! Included in the 800MB pack is 64x Wav Loops, 64x REX2 Loops, 64x SD2 Slices, 64x Aiff Slices, 64x Apple Loops, 64x MIDI files, 64x sets of 6 multi track files & 'Battery Drum Kit'. All 100% royalty free!

This pack has been added to the free content section of our website, already bulging with samples from the likes of Sample Magic and Point Blank's own crack team of pro producers.

You can grab all the samples here: download free samples

Original Music have also offered a special 50% discount to Point Blank students and readers of this post - the discount is open for the first 50 people that purchase something from www.original-music.co.uk entering the code R5VXN49I before September 2011.

How about that for a help hand in beefing up your sample library? Thanks guys!

Island Records Artist Seeking DJ for Live Tour

Fresh from signing with Island Records, the super-talented Josh Osho is looking for someone who can scratch, play an MPC and trigger samples from a laptop as an added element to his live set up which currently consists of him and his guitar plus another guitarist.

The studio producers of the album will be fully available to help put the sounds and samples together and be part of all the rehearsals. Mixes are ready to start the set up including one by Wu Tang's Ghostface Killah.

Gigs are planned for end of March 2011. If all goes well then all the usual TV and radio sessions will be part of the gig (“Later” is an obvious target) and it will be a proper fee paying arrangement. When they go to the next level of the live plot then you could well end up in the full band line up.

If you think you fit the bill please send an email titled “Josh Osho DJ” to work@pointblanklondon.com and remember to include links to examples of your music and scratching skills.

Point Blank is committed to providing you with opportunities such as this in the music industry. To find out more about our connections head to our music industry careers section.

Martin Solveig Remix Competition - Loads More Great Prizes to Win

Continuing on with our series of remix competitions Point Blank have teamed up with Beatportal and Martin Solveig to present this remix competition with a quite frankly ridiculous hoard of prizes to be won, including a Point Blank Online Course!!

The tune up for remix is his infectious electro-pop single ‘Hello’ featuring vocals from Dragonette. You may have seen the brilliant video for the track featuring Martin himself battling it out with fellow DJ Bob Sinclair on the centre court at the tennis French Open (complete with cheeky cameos from pro tennis players, Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils). Check it out below:

With such a catchy vocal and strong riff, there are some great creative possibilities to be explored here and Martin has encouraged any style, saying, “Do your own thing, bring your own colour and universe, break the rules. Surprise us and make us dance.”

Martin and his team will choose 3 winning remixes to be announced April 5th, 2011, and the public will select the fourth winner on Beatportal. The deadline for submissions is March 7^th so the clock is ticking… lets see if you can create a re-work that will ‘smash’ the competition (see what we did there?... ok we’ll stick to the day job!). Here goes with the prize list...

The first place winner will receive a grand prize package of:

1 - Digital release on Mixture
1 - Native Instruments Maschine
1 - Novation SL MKII 61 keys + Novation Launchpad
1 - Arturia Bundle V-Collection + Analog Laboratory
1 - FXpansion Geist and DCAM Synth Squad
1 - Ohmforce ALL ALL bundle
1 - Online Course from the Point Blank Music School
1 - $200 Beatport pre-paid card
1 - Big Beat T-Shirt
1 - 1 year subscription to Future Music Magazine

The second place runner up will receive:
1 - Digital release on Mixture
1 - Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ + Traktor Duo
1 - Novation Launchpad + Novation Dicer
1 - Arturia Analog Laboratory
1 - FXpansion Geist or DCAM Synth Squad
1 - Ohmforce Ohmicide / Quad Frohmage filter bank
1 - Big Beat T-Shirt

The third place runner up will receive:
1 - Digital release on Mixture
1 - Novation Launchpad
1 - Arturia Analog Laboratory
1 - FXpansion Geist or DCAM Synth Squad
1 - Ohmforce Ohmicide
1 - Big Beat T-Shirt

For full details of the completion rules and how to enter head over to the competition page on beatportal.

And for a headstart on the competition check out our online remix course.

Win 5 Pairs of Tickets to Music Jobs & Cult PR Showcase!

We have teamed up with UK Music Jobs to offer all Point Blank students the chance to win 5 pairs of tickets for the UK Music Jobs & The Cult PR Live Showcase event at Water Rats on Monday 28th February. All entrants must be over 18. To enter all you need to do is email - matt@music-jobs.com - by 5.30pm on Friday 18th February. Winners will be drawn at random.

Here's the lineup:

Luke Rathborne – This talented 22 year old’s heavenly but haunting melodies and tales will leave you reawakened to a sound and intimacy that surpasses artists twice his age.

Kelli-Leigh – plays a fusion of rock, pop, soul & funk. She's performed all over the world & more recently with Adele in both the UK & Europe including a stunning performance on Radio 1's Live Lounge.

iVienna - four young lads whose epic soaraway choruses and anthemic tunes have already seen them escape their Bournemouth roots and start to create a real buzz within the music industry. With comparisons to Arcade Fire and Editors and a single (recorded at Abbey Road Studios) on the way in March, it's clear 2011 is going to be the year IVienna leave their mark on the UK Music scene.

If you aren’t lucky enough to win one of the 5 pairs, then tickets are only £4 per person(or £6 on the door). Please email matt@music-jobs.com for request.

Danny Rampling Presents a Music Industry Masterclass

We are hugely excited to announce that legendary DJ Danny Rampling is set to hold a number masterclass sessions via soundcloud on the 23rd February and at Point Blank on 16th March.

Along with the likes of Paul Oakenfold and Nicky Holloway, Danny is credited as one of the group of DJs who brought the Balearic rave scene back to these shores from Ibiza in 1987. Since then his career has gone from strength to strength having promoted his own seminal night ‘Shoom’ before going on to hold down long-running prime time slots on Kiss FM and BBC Radio 1, as well as remix many UK and international artists. Soundcloud meanwhile, has rapidly become the place for muscians to showcase their talents and host their music online; eclipsing the now deminishing popularity of sites such as myspace in the last couple of years. Part of the reason for its success is the intuitive way they have embraced the intertwining nature of social networks.

Danny will also be visiting Point Blank on Wednesday 16^th March to give two masterclasses about succeeding in the music industry followed by a chance to ask him your own questions. One at 1-2pm that will be open to Point Blank students only, and one at 2.30-3.30pm that will be open to anyone.

Places are strictly limited for all the masterclasses and allocated on a first come first serve basis, so please get in touch with david@pointblanklondon.com ASAP to book yours.

We highly reccomend you check out out Danny's great new book ‘Everything you Need to Know About DJing and Success’, which basically does what it says on the tin!

Dirtybird Records' Luke Williams Spills The Beans On The Point Blank Music Business Course

Following on from our much touted Claude VonStroke interview, we caught up with Dirtybird's Label Manager, Luke Williams, to find out about what he thought of our Online Music Business course.

PB>> What were your overall impressions of the course?

LW>> I took the Music Business Course and found it very well put together. The class is comprised of lessons that are well thought out and easy to digest. Topics that can be incredibly complicated and confusing were explained in a way that made sense.

PB>> What course materials were offered to you as an online student?

LW>> There were links to videos, images, and instructional videos as well that made visual sense of the text as well as providing additional information.

PB>> How did you communicate with your tutor and fellow students? Who was your tutor, and how would you rate him?

LW>> I enjoyed meeting with fellow classmates and the instructor in the chat room to discuss the topics in the lessons and homework. I had Steve Hillier as and instructor, who has been in the music industry for 20+ years. If I had to give him a grade, it'd be an A+, because he responded to my homework with a video review and covered all aspects of what I had done with great feedback.

PB>> Which subject areas were of particular interest or most useful to you?

LW> For me the most important subject area was royalties because I'm doing them as we speak, and the world of royalties can be very frustrating and cryptic.

PB>> Did you meet anyone interesting whilst on the course?


LW>> All the other students in my class were interesting and engaged, as well as Mr.Hillier, who really set a great tone for the class.

PB>> Do you think you will you be able to apply this knowledge to practial use, in managing Dirtybird Records?

LW>> All of the information that was taught will help me, because it all applies to the every day work I do in some fashion.

PB>> Are there any other comments you have about the course?

LW>> I was skeptical if this course would be beneficial to me or not, I wondered if the layout of the class online would be easy to get through or if it would just be frustrating. I was pleased to see that not only was it beneficial, but it was also very well laid out, and I looked forward to doing it. I can't wait for more classes of this nature in the future!

Dirtybird Records latest release, 'Munnibrotherz' EP, comes from South African duo The Munnibrotherz and is out now. The EP also features a blistering remix from Zombie Disco Squad.

The Online Music Business course covers subjects ranging from Intellectual Property and Digital Distribution, to the Financial aspects of the industry. It is taught over 4 weeks with 12 months full access to the course materials,
Click here to find out more.

Point Blank Seminars at MusicConnex Conference 2011

Whether you’re a DIY bedroom producer or an industry veteran, MusicConnex will encourage and inspire you to develop your skills and broaden your business awareness.

The conference – April 19th-21st - will showcase over 40 session and seminars exploring every aspect of the modern music industry and boasts some of the leading figures in the business, as well as a host of the newest, most exciting, emerging talent. Some of the companies getting involved with the event include EMI, Youtube, Spotify, MTV, and Soundcloud.

And we are excited to announce two seminars that Point Blank will be directly participating in.

- A live online music production masterclass with head of course development at Point Blank, Danny J Lewis (Defected, Enzyme Black)

- Also Managing Director Jules Brookes will join a panel to discuss the role of music education establishments in the music industry

With other seminar titles including; How to get signed, How to maximise Social Networks, Digital Retail, Production, and New Platforms, this is an event not to be missed if you are serious about a career in the music industry!

And not only this, Point Blank students (and all readers of this blog) can get themselves to the event for a special price of £49!

To get this special discount simply visit musicconnex.co.uk and enter the following code when purchasing: PBLANKDEAL1

Follow MusicConnex on Twitter
visit the MusicConnex Facebook page

SPECIAL OFFER - Save £100 on Weekend DJ Courses

We are offering you a fantastic discount fee for those budding DJs who book a weekend course during the month of February.

The full course is split into two parts, but can be taken individually, and teaches students everything they need to know; from setting up their equipment, to beat matching, and lots more. The first weekend is very much a crash course in DJing. A great way to learn all the basics. Part two is a more intermediate level follow-on and teaches students how to add some creative flair to their mixing abilities, as well as recording and editing your own mixes.

The classes are taught by Pro DJs with over 15 years experience, in small groups that give a more individual learning experience. All students are provided with their own workstation, set-up and have all the best equipment available at their disposal. All musical styles are welcome.

The special offer comprises of £50 off each weekend course that is booked before Feb 28th. If you combine both weekend courses that is a total of £100 off!

For more details check out our DJ courses in London.

PointBlank has been voted 'Best Music Production and DJ College' six years running - T-Scan Awards.

Claude Vonstroke Video Review of Point Blank

We recently told you that Claude VonStroke was taking an online Ableton course with Point Blank. Well his course has now finished and he kindly made a video review of his experience which you can check out below. Cheers Claude!



We are proud to add Mr VonStroke to the list of the many successful artists who have decided to expand their knowledge further at Point Blank. This list includes BBC Radio One and Fabric resident DJ Tayo, prolific bass music producer Detboi, Beyonce and Rhianna remixer Gareth Wyn, the sound designer from 'Lost', and the drummer from Beck.

Please follow the link for more information about our music production courses.

Performing With Ableton Live Free Tutorial Series

Below you can watch 5 exclusive videos from Point Blank Online. These are just a small sample of the 80+ tutorial videos made available to Point Blank students over the 4 week DJ/Performance with Ableton Live course. The course guides you, step-by-step, through the revolutionary software package: Ableton Live, this includes both popular software and hardware that can be used in conjunction with it; Serato, The Bridge and Novation. It is taught by Freddy Cuin, who has worked with Shy FX, BLIM, Above and Beyond and more. Subscribe to the Point Blank youtube channel to make sure you don't miss any future series' of Point Blank's youtube tutorials. There will be topics including 'how to make Minimal', 'how to make Trance', 'how to make Electro House' and 'how to make Deep & Soulful' as well as a series of celebrity masterclasses from the likes of Tommy D, Guy Chambers, Annie Mac, Paul Epworth, and Basement Jaxx.