Industry Knowledge with Akil Esoon: Let's start 2012 off right with better business etiquette!

In my dealings and conversations with successful artists, managers, labels, and other industry workers, it has become abundantly clear that increasing your chance of success can be done by embracing two very simple concepts: create great music, and develop great relationships.

Unfortunately, the second half of that equation is sometimes (mis)labeled as simply ‘who you know,’ which implies that an existing connection is required in order to succeed. Sure, having an uncle that works for a label, or having a friend from high school who is now the guitar tech for Coldplay can help, but that’s rare. Those who have succeeded have done so by working hard at developing, and maintaining, great relationships with those they work with.

Let's start 2012 off right with better business etiquette! Here are some tips for developing contacts with meaning:


Being on time: To me one of, if not thee most important thing is Honoring TIME. One of the common attributes of all successful people is that they view their time as a precious resource. When you are late for appointments with people who value their time, you will have wasted one of their most valuable assets and there is a good chance they will view you as rude, irresponsible and disrespectful. Is this how you want to brand yourself?

Not only should you make every effort to be on time for business-related appointments, but you should also do your utmost to be on time for personal commitments. Valuing your friend’s time and earning their respect is an important part of your individual reputation.


Keeping your word: You can really tarnish a relationship by saying you’re going to do something and then not come through. It’s better to just say no if you can’t do it. Don’t get a reputation for being a flake.

Talking bad about others: Communities can be small, especially music communities. Watch what you say and who you say it to. You could be saying something bad about someone to a friend of that person. You don’t have to make yourself look good by dumping on others, and it may ruin a potential business relationship without you even knowing it.

Be Proactive!: Successful artists actively seek connections with those in the industry, at workshops, conferences, events, shows, as well as on their own time via phone and email.

Stay in contact: The old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”, holds true in the world of business. Don’t just interact with those who can help you when you need something. It can make you come off as an annoying opportunist. Drop and email or give a call, sometimes just to say hello. Find out what the other person is into, if they have a hobby, or do something for them without expecting something in return. Find alternative ways to make a personal connection. Doing this can create a rapport that goes well beyond just a business relationship.


Meet face to face: Sending emails or making phone calls to those people you want to connect with are fine if they’re half way around the world, but there’s still no replacement for meeting someone face to face and looking them in the eye. An email that starts with ‘Dear Sir, My name is..’ is FAR less likely to get a reply than ‘Hi John, My name is Joe and we met at…’ Industry people are out there, constantly. Find out where, meet them, and give them a reason to remember you.

Be social: The music industry is one where personality matters. A LOT. A manager of a major label artist once told me that the personality of an artist was “equally as important as the music.” Everyone in the industry wants to work with social, interesting people, so if you want to develop a relationship with someone you aspire to work with, get to know them on a personal level.

Be nice: This probably goes without saying, but just in case, it’s important to always be nice, friendly, and respectful. Our industry is small, and word spreads quickly, so if you’re a jerk to someone, people will find out. On that same note, don’t ever EVER badmouth someone to anyone else. If you have a negative opinion about someone, either keep it to yourself, or word it in a way that won’t burn a bridge.

Saying thank you: If there was an 8th deadly sin it would be ungratefulness. If someone does something for you, take time out to show that you appreciate it. You’re almost guaranteed not to get a second favor from a person if you don’t show your gratitude for the first one.

Build & Maintain: Just having someone ‘on file’ isn’t good enough. If you want to succeed, you have to turn those first meetings into relationships. Sending them an occasional update, a quick hello, or a relevant compliment on something they’ve done (IE, one of their artists gets nominated for an award) is a great way to keep in touch and keep yourself in the forefront of their minds.


Pay It Forward: At some point (probably earlier than you think), you’ll be in a position to help someone else in the industry out. It may even be someone who had helped you in the past. The industry as a whole can only thrive if everyone supports everyone else, so do your part and give back with your time and energy.


Treat the newbies with respect: I hate it when I see people mistreat those underneath them. I can’t tell you how many times some ambitious youngster that I helped out in the past created or connected me with an opportunity that was hugely beneficial. Your influence could be just the thing to spark the next mogul, and it can be a big pay back for you in the future.


Lastly, but absolutely most importantly….


Don’t forget your fans! All of the above advice on developing and maintaining relationships can and should be applied to them, through the use of online mediums, opportunities at live shows, and any other way possible.

Making connections is a big part of our industry. If you want to increase your chances of success, it’s important to turn those contacts into colleagues by developing relationships with everyone you meet.

Industry Knowledge with Akil Esoon: How to Make CRAZY Thick, Well-Produced DRUMS!

How to Make CRAZY Thick, Well-Produced DRUMS!


Layering is the key to creating phat Drums, but not everyone who tries this does it successfully. It's essential to make sure that the hits you use don't fall on the exact same frequency – I'll show you how to do this and build a beat that's bold and beefy.


Step 1: We're going to layer up a beat from the ground up, and our first port of call is to establish a tempo and time signature. Then find a kick drum sound – if necessary, we'll layer up more than one sound to create a fat kick. Good hits can come from a wide variety of sources, Vinyl, Cd's, Mp3's & Live drums. just because we're making 'unreal' beats doesn't mean the hits can't come from a 'live' source.


Step 2: Once you've got the kick playing, use a spectrum analyser to determine where it's peaking. (I like izotope and waves plugins myself) If it shows the kick pumping away at 50Hz. Just bear in mind that you don't want the frequency of the kick to clash with that of the bassline. Also remember that you can resample a drum sound and repitch it in a sampler, if needs be.


Step 3: Virtual drum machines are very useful for layering, as you can use the pitch controls to shift sounds into the desired frequency area. To reinforce the sound further, and make it punch, I'm using a fat kick layer from FXpansion's Guru, which also allows for very fine adjustments to the amplitude envelope. Once the kick is sorted, use the same techniques for layering up a snare.


Step 4: Once you've got suitable kick and snare layers on the go, it's time to start sequencing the rest of your percussion. Reason, FL, & Guru is great for this and includes a nice selection of funky groove templates to shuffle your beats. Playing with the different velocity, shift, and swing levels can add character by varying the sound of each hit.


Step 5: So far, we've worked with single hits, but, to really give the drum beat a sense of size, depth and momentum, we're going to layer on an old breakbeat. Guru comes with its own loops, although if you're feeling adventurous, Go DIGGING! You never know whats gems you could find, or you could construct your own rhythm and then use the effects section to make it sound dated, as if it's been recorded from vinyl.


Step 6: Once you're satisfied that you have a nice, fat loop – complete with kicks that punch and snares that kick, and a good sense of separation, depth, and clarity – you'll need to route all the layers to a bus channel. Here, you can apply subtle effects to help gel all the sounds together, to promote the illusion of one big, bad beat. I've used Warm from Antares, a Waves compressor and Izotope. (My secret weapon is: Guitar Rig 5 from Native Instruments. It's CRAZY on drums!)


Step 8: Now that you have everything bussed, you can inspect the overall frequency distribution by using a spectrum analyser on the Group Channel. If you need to make adjustments to the sounds after this point, it's a good idea to refer to the analyser to help you determine what effects your adjustments are having. But remember to prioritise what you hear over what you see – it's only there to identify problems.

That's it Fort Pitt! Try out some of my techqunics and see what works for you. In the mean time I want to wish everyone blessings and and success in 2012!!!
That's all for this year, now go out there,Make CRAZY Thick, Well-Produced DRUMS and win some awards and make some money!

Hit me with any ?'s, Comm's, or Concerns.

Peace!

Industry Knowledge with Akil Esoon: Mixing Vs. Mastering!

Mixing VS Mastering!

From internet forums to music magazines, the term "mastering" is one of somewhat mythical proportions–the final step to end all of your problems and to give you that "BIG, major-label sound (!!!)" Mastering is important and it is the final step, but any respectable mastering engineer will tell you that mastering is not a substitute for a good mix. Mastering can, however, take a mix from good to great! Many musicians may be curious about what the difference is between the two. Since most people refer to both mixing and mastering together, they must basically be the same thing, right?

No! Well, not quite. They are related, though. They are both part of the post-production process of recording an album. They both involve using equipment to tweak the sound of your recording to get it sounding like a professional product. But they’re not exactly the same, and they are never done at the same time. Mixing and mastering are two distinct and separate steps of making an album.The most important thing to understand is this: a mix engineer applies effects and level changes to each individual instrument separately. A mastering engineer can only apply effects to everything in a mix at the same time.

For example, a mastering engineer can't add echo to the vocal without adding echo to all the other instruments in the song too. So what's the point of mastering, anyway? Mastering serves as a 'glue' to your mix by making overall changes. The main goal of mastering is to match the overall loudness and frequency balance (bass, treble and mid range) to A) your favorite professional (or amateur!) recordings and B) the other songs on your album, EP, etc.

Here's an example of what mastering can and can't do: Let's say a kick drum sounds weak. A mastering engineer may try boosting the low-end with a specialized mastering EQ to add impact, but if the instruments are poorly separated in the mix, the bass line will also be boosted by this EQ–in a way that causes the mix to become muddy. Both mixing and mastering are essential.Understanding both the power and limitations of each process is crucial to your success and your art.

Mixing and mastering go hand-in-hand.

Mixing always comes first. After recording your tracks, they go to the mix engineer, who listens to the song and adjusts each track individually—every guitar track, every vocal, even individual drum microphone tracks. He makes sure each one’s volume is at a good level and in the right proportion to the others. He puts effects on each track individually—like reverbs, delays, and compression—plus he puts effects on the overall mix as well. He also pans everything left or right, and sets up automation to make sure all volumes, effects, and pans are adjusted exactly right for every part of the song, every time he plays it back. Finally, the mix engineer bounces the mix to a stereo audio file, usually in full-quality WAV or AIFF format.

Next is when the mastering happens. Mastering serves a similar purpose to mixing, but instead of being applied to each individual instrument, mastering is applied to the completed mix, (two-channel stereo audio track). It is the final step of the process, the cherry on top of the recording. Mastering gets the finished product to sound sonically full and balanced, plus it brings the volume up so the recording can compete with other professionally made albums.

So although mixing and mastering similar, they are not one and the same. A good general rule to remember: if your song is mixed and not mastered, it’s not finished!

Hit me up with any ?'s, Comments, Or Concerns! Until next time, Go Mix a Hit Record! (then do it again!)

Industry Knowledge with Akil Esoon: Hip Hop-Rap Beatmakers/Producers and Representation

Hip Hop-Rap Beatmakers/Producers and Representation

This week on Its all about Producer Representation.

I Feel that I have to share everything that I either deal with currently or have gone thru on my long journey as a music producer. That way, I can give you a very clear account on what works and what doesn't work because I have used myself as a test dummy. (it may be funny, but it's real!) A lot of producers I know act like they would chop off their right hand to get into the business of selling and placing tracks with prominent recording artists. Well, keep your limbs because their is a much more practical way to get you music where it need to be in order of "at least", getting heard.

Representation, such as a manager or a lawyer, is an essential asset to any recording artist trying to succeed in the music industry. But for hip hop beatmakers/producers, representation takes on a whole new meaning. For one thing, the role of a hip hop-rap beatmaker/producer is different than that of a typical recording artist. Hip hop-rap beatmakers/producers provide beats for other recording artists to write and perform to. Moreover, unlike other recording artists, who sell their persona and image to the public just as much as they do their music, beatmakers/producers sell their music to other recording artists, and they usually do not have to worry about their persona or image being in the public eye. Instead, their primary concern is pairing their beats with recording artists who need new music. Thus this precarious music-matching process is one reason why beatmakers/producers need to have representation. They must have someone who can flush out opportunities for music placements; they need someone who can find recording artists and other comparable parties who are seeking new beats.

The other reason why a beatmaker/producer needs a representative, especially early on in their career, deals with the compositional method of hip hop-rap beatmaking/production itself. Hip hop beatmaking/production is a very meticulous and often arduous craft that is usually orchestrated in a solitary environment. It is this solitary dimension to beatmaking/production that prompts the need for representation. Beatmakers/producers need a representative, someone to pitch and/or broker the sale of their beats. So just as with the music-matching process of the beat-selling world, here, it’s easy to see why a representative—or better yet a “beat broker”—is absolutely critical to the chances of beatmaker/producer landing the much sought after placement on a commercial release.

Representation is varied, but the three kinds of representatives that hip hop-rap beatmakers/producers should look for are:

• Beat brokers
• Managers
• Lawyers

Beat Brokers:

A beat broker is someone who simply shops (promotes) the beats of a beatmaker/producer. A beat broker can be a friend, a music insider, or anyone that has access to a network of recording artists, in particular, recording artists who are likely to be in the market for new music material. A beat broker’s only responsibility is to shop the beats of the beatmaker/producer that they represent. They need not be skilled in negotiating the terms and sale of the beats that they’re shopping. (An entertainment lawyer privy to beat/instrumental placements can handle that). Because of this limited (but critical) scope, an agreement between a beat broker and beatmaker/producer can be rather simple, straightforward, and short in duration. In fact, a beat broker can be commissioned for a 10% finder’s fee, worked out over a per beat or per situation agreement.

Producer Managers:

A producer manager is perhaps the most ubiquitous (and undefined) kind of representative that a beatmaker/producer can have. Normally, a manager is someone who manages the entire career of a client. But as noted earlier, a beatmaker’s/producer’s career is based primarily on their ability to sell beats; beatmakers/producers are not expected to perform, make public appearances, and/or maintain a public image. And thus a producer manager’s responsibilities can fall anywhere from simply shopping beats to negotiating the terms of beat sales, to arranging pivotal meetings with prospective beat buyers, to setting up beat showcase meetings with key decision makers at record labels. But because of the scope of a manager’s role, it is likely that a beatmaker/producer will have to enter into a more lengthy and more detailed agreement than they would with a beat broker. A typical producer’s management agreement will stipulate that a manager receives 15-20% of all music-related revenue that a beatmaker/producer earns. It also maintains the representation usually for 2-4 years.

Entertainment Lawyers:

The role that a lawyer usually plays in the career of a beatmaker/producer is very different from both that of a manager and beat broker. Shopping the beats of a beatmaker/producer is not the primary role of a lawyer; though in some limited cases, lawyers do indeed pass on the music of their clients. (This practice is much more common and accepted in other pop music genres). Lawyers are mostly responsible for drafting or reviewing the legal agreements that their clients enter. It is in this capacity that lawyers can ultimately be more important than beat brokers and managers.

So What Kind of Representation is Right for You?:

Though the kind of representation that you choose depends on your individual situation, I contend that most beatmakers/producers only need a lawyer, and at times a beat broker, but NOT a producer manager. Beatmakers/producers are already self-contained and usually very organized. We are not like other recording artists; that is, our careers depend primarily on servicing the musical needs of other recording artists rather than performing ourselves. Furthermore, given the nature of the general openness of the beat shopping process itself, it’s not terribly important who gets your beats into the hands of decision makers. In fact, increasingly, recording artists are accepting beat/instrumental submissions through other outlets, namely email, social networking sites, and national contests.

Moreover, it’s important to keep in mind that once you sign with a producer manager, they are entitled to a 20% cut of all the music-related revenue you earn. And typically, the representation period will last for two years or more. All this for essentially doing exactly what a beat broker could do for a much cheaper rate and a less restrictive representation period? That being said however, I think that as your career grows, and as you become a more sizeable figure in the recording industry, then it may indeed be not only advantageous but necessary for you to get a manager, mainly because you will be eligible for opportunities outside of selling beats to other recording artists.

But in regards to just starting out, well, the decision to get a manager can go both ways. Here, it’s important to point out that hip hop-rap beatmaking/production is a relatively new and rather unique phenomenon in the recording industry. And as such, many recording artists are still trying to navigate their way through the current model of obtaining beats. Moreover, because of the aforementioned solitary factor of the hip hop-rap beatmaking/production craft itself, beatmakers/producers do not typically need the guidance of a producer manager. Though a producer manager can help a beatmaker/producer gain exposure early on, it’s important to remember that once a beatmaker/producer is established on any significant level, the task of successfully shopping their beats themselves actually becomes rather easy. In fact, should you reach a point of acclaim, people interested in your brand of beats will often reach out to you. As beatmaker/producer DJ Premier told me, “Christina Aguilera was the one to reach out.” So if you’re a beatmaker/producer just starting out, the question of whether or not to go with a producer manager is really a question of exposure. If you feel that the exposure a producer manger can get you is above and beyond what a beat broker can provide, then getting a producer manager might be the way to go. Just make sure that the producer manager’s responsibilities and obligations are well-defined in writing. It’s also a good idea to include benchmarks (set goals) within the language of any agreement that you enter into with a producer manager. But before you actually commit to an agreement with a producer manager, remember this: savvy beat brokers are more likely to go to better industry parties than producer managers.

Hit me up with questions, comments, or concerns! One!

Industry Knowledge with Akil Esoon "Working With Musicians."

This week: it's all about "Working With Musicians."

Whats Good Drum Snobs & Melody Monsters! Its been a while! I'm sorry guys, I had to step off last month to meet more song placement deadlines, Expand my sound, and of course start work on the new Formula412 project! Which I am proud to say we just filmed a new music video with...well you'll see! Anyway, I wanted to share some of what I have to deal with in PGH, ATL, and NYC in the studio and also what I have to do to make Formula412 beats come to life. I have to, collaborate with musicians!

Some of the greatest music ever created would never have seen the day of light if artists, producers and musicians didn't collaborate. Some times it only takes a small but important contribution from another musician to turn a good song into a great song. But how do you find the right collaborators? In that respect I got an interesting question I would like to share with you guys along with my answer.

Hey, I was wondering how I would get musicians to come record at my home studio. Do you have any tips or tricks that would make it easier for me to get people to record?

Actually there are several options for you to try. First of all, you can simply pay them to play to your tracks. Quite often getting a great guitarist to play on your beat can lift the beat to new heights and attract more established writers to work with the beat. In the end you could be getting that great song you need to get a break and being offered a publishing deal. Don’t be afraid to pay for quality to get that extra edge.

If you can’t afford to pay musicians to play on your tracks, try offering them a share of the song for their contributions. After all they do contribute to the finished song with their music parts and deserves a share if they are not getting paid a buy out fee. Of course they do need to believe in you or the song for that to happen.

Finally another good option which I have used quite often is to offer them a favor in return. Offer to record a demo in exchange for guitar parts. Artists (Emcees, Singers, and Bands) always needs good demos to help them get gigs and so on. Also artists needs demos to help them shopping a deal and will often record a demo free of charge if they can use it in their show reel.

There are much to be gained using this method. Learning good collaboration skills is very important if you want to get far in the music industry. Even the best songwriters and artists collaborate every day. One of the most important skills a music producer can have is good people skills. Learning how to get the best out of musicians and artists are essential. A great example is Dr Dre who is one the best producers in the world. He is famous for being able to get sensational performances out of Emcees, Musicians, even other Producers that no one else could do thanks to the way he interact with the Artists.

This Week on Industry Knowledge With Akil Esoon:How to deal with criticism well and 25 ways to embrace it.

This Week on Industry Knowledge With Akil Esoon:How to deal with criticism well and 25 ways to embrace it.

Criticism is something you can easily avoid by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” ~Aristotle

As a Hip Hop Artist / Producer I live in a world of extreme Hate and Love from everybody! From catz I grew up with to facebook friends I have never met. Just like me, if your not already, you will be hated on or criticized at some point. At the end of the day, when I feel completely exhausted, oftentimes it has nothing to do with all the things I’ve done.

It’s not a consequence of juggling multiple responsibilities and projects, plus I know that everything is not for everybody however, sometimes I get exhausted with people and what they have to say.

When I’m exhausted, you can be sure I’ve bent over backwards trying to win everyone’s approval. I’ve obsessed over what people think of me, I’ve assigned speculative and usually inaccurate meanings to feedback I’ve received, and I’ve lost myself in negative thoughts about criticism and its merit.

I work at minimizing this type of behavior—and I’ve had success for the most part—but admittedly it’s not easy.

I realize criticism doesn't always come gently from someone legitimately trying to help. A lot of the feedback we receive is unsolicited and doesn't come from teachers—or maybe all of it does.

We can’t control what other people will say to us, whether they’ll approve or form opinions and share them. But we can control how we internalize it, respond to it, and learn from it, and when we release it and move on.

If you’ve been having a hard time dealing with criticism lately, it may help to remember the following:

The Benefits of Criticism:

Personal Growth

1. Looking for seeds of truth in criticism encourages humility. It’s not easy to take an honest look at yourself and your weaknesses, but you can only grow if you’re willing to try.

2. Learning from criticism allows you to improve. Almost every critique gives you a tool to more effectively create the tomorrow you visualize.

3. Criticism opens you up to new perspectives and new ideas you may not have considered. Whenever someone challenges you, they help expand your thinking.

4. Your critics give you an opportunity to practice active listening. This means you resist the urge to analyze in your head, planning your rebuttal, and simply consider what the other person is saying.

5. You have the chance to practice forgiveness when you come up against harsh critics or straight up haters. Most of us carry around stress and frustration that we unintentionally misdirect from time to time.

Emotional Benefits

6. It’s helpful to learn how to sit with the discomfort of an initial emotional reaction instead of immediately acting or retaliating. All too often we want to do something with our feelings—generally not a great idea!

7. Criticism gives you the chance to foster problem solving skills, which isn’t always easy when you’re feeling sensitive, self-critical, or annoyed with your critic.

8. Receiving criticism that hits a sensitive spot helps you explore unresolved issues.Maybe you’re sensitive about your intelligence because you’re holding onto something someone said to you years ago—something you need to release.

9. Interpreting someone else’s feedback is an opportunity for rational thinking—sometimes, despite a negative tone, criticism is incredibly useful.

10. Criticism encourages you to question your instinctive associations and feelings; praise is good, criticism is bad. If we recondition ourselves to see things in less black and white terms, there’s no stop to how far we can go! Real rap!

Improved Relationships

11. Criticism presents an opportunity to choose peace over conflict. Oftentimes, when criticized our instinct is to fight, creating unnecessary drama. The people around us generally want to help us, not judge us.

12. Fielding criticism well helps you mitigate the need to be right. Nothing closes an open mind like ego—bad for your personal growth, and damaging for relationships. (Keeping your ego in check in Hip Hop is a whole other topic we shall explore later.)

13. Your critics give you an opportunity to challenge any people-pleasing tendencies.Relationships based on a constant need for approval can be draining for everyone involved. It’s liberating to let people think whatever they want—they’re going to do it anyway.

14. Criticism gives you the chance to teach people how to treat you. If someone delivers it poorly, you can take this opportunity to tell them, “I think you make some valid points, but I would receive them better if you didn’t raise your voice.”

15. Certain pieces of criticism teach you not to sweat the small stuff. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter that your boyfriend thinks you load the dishwasher “wrong.”

Time Efficiency

16. The more time you spend dwelling about what someone said, the less time you have to do something with it.

17. If you improve how you operate after receiving criticism, this will save time and energy in the future. When you think about from that perspective—criticism as a time saver—it’s hard not to appreciate it!

18. Fostering the ability to let go of your feelings and thoughts about being critiqued can help you let go in other areas of your life. Letting go of worries, regrets, stresses, fears, and even positive feelings helps you root yourself in the present moment. Mindfulness is always the most efficient use of time.

19. Criticism reinforces the power of personal space. Taking 10 minutes to process your emotions, perhaps by writing in a journal, will ensure you respond well. And responding the well the first time prevents one critical comment from dominating your day.

20. In some cases, criticism teaches you how to interact with a person, if they’re negative or hostile, for example. Knowing this can save you a lot of time and stress in the future.

Self Confidence

21. Learning to receive false criticism—feedback that has no constructive value—without losing your confidence is a must if you want to do big things in life. The more attention your work receives, the more criticism you’ll have to field.

22. When someone criticizes you, it shines a light on your own insecurities. If you secretly agree that you’re lazy, you should get to the root of that. Why do you believe that—and what can you do about it?

23. Learning to move forward after criticism, even if you don’t feel incredibly confident, ensures no isolated comment prevents you from seizing your dreams.Think of it as separating the wheat from the chaff; takes what’s useful, leave the rest, and keep going!

24. When someone else appraises your harshly, you have an opportunity to monitor your internal self-talk. Research indicates up to 80% of our thoughts are negative. Take this opportunity to monitor and change your thought processes so you don’t drain and sabotage yourself!

25. Receiving feedback well reminds you it’s OK to have flaws—imperfection is part of being human. If you can admit weakness and work on them without getting down on yourself, you’ll experience far more happiness, peace, enjoyment, and success.

We are all perfectly imperfect, and other people may notice that from time to time. We may even notice in it each other. For a produce or artist, dealing with human flaws is a major topic. Only thru self mastery can we grow as humans and as artists

Somehow accepting that is a huge weight off my mind.

Hit me up with questions, comments, or concerns! PEACE!