If you've been thinking about starting up a band and making your way as an independent artist, there has never been a better time. Giant companies are opening doors on the Internet and beyond for indie, unsigned, and DIY musicians, growing the independent music audience by millions. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/crickets-muve-music-strikes-deal-040000182.html
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
twitter, school, time
My twitter usage will be limited due to school and work, but I will try to respond to messages as often as possible. I have found that I really enjoy making the IAR podcast and creating blog posts so that is where I will focus my energy when not doing school work.
Will
Sunday, May 6, 2012
About Indie Artist Resources postings
With the exception of contest support tweets, I encourage artists NOT to tweet or RT items from this blog. Indie Artist Resources content is intended for artists and industry insiders.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Giving yourself away - adventures in writing music
Writing music is a great way to express thoughts and emotions that are not easily spoken or understood in conversation. The music that backs our lyrics in most cases is the key that opens a pathway to the soul that allows better understanding and backup for what is actually being said. Good music can make words seem to have deeper meaning, or at least allow the listener to open up and let the words inside. Give yourself away in an honest song and you will touch many people with your words, blanket your words with music that flows from your heart through your hands and into your instrument and the satisfaction that comes with this process is life changing. I have followed many great artists in my indie adventures and I look forward to discovering many more that have this inside of them.
Will
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The purpose of this blog
I should have been more specific about what the purpose of this blog is before launching it. Here is the scoop, and it's from the heart.
1. I am 43 years old, I do not play in a band and I have no intention of making it big as a performing artist. I have only played in a garage with friends, and that is what sparked my interest in writing and recording music. I have been involved in the indie music community for over 20 years now so it is pretty safe to say that it is not a passing phase for me.
2. Although my recordings are not of studio quality, I offer them for FREE to anyone that would like to use them in indie films or on youtube. I also submit my songs to jango radio, the feedback you get from listeners is the most honest feedback you can get. I am however interested in exploring music licensing further for some of my future work.
3. I started the IAR podcast after taking an audio editing class that my college offers. My first podcast project was about coffee and the social circle that it is the center of. I then came up with an artist format that not only highlights their music, but also gives the listener a view of the person behind the artist. The downfall of taking on the huge job of creating these podcasts, is that it has taken my focus away from actual blog content.
4. My field of study is web design, programming and digital media, so I began posting articles like this one http://www.indieartistresources.com/2011/12/using-html-e-mail-signature-file.html to help those that want to use HTML to spice up their e mail with twitter buttons and graphics.
My original intention for blog content was and still is: 1. posting links to articles and stories I find on the web that pertain to OUR community. 2. Posting news about indie artists as it happens. 3. Create articles of my own as often as possible.
A long time ago (way before Indie Artist Resources), I created a website called "bandseed.net". There are now hundreds of band seed pages up. The purpose of this type of page is to encourage fans to share which also increases the bands reverbnation plays. I got this idea after reading a book called "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. I would also like to incorporate the idea of mailing list sign up on the band seed page as well. See example here on Sara's page http://bandseed.net/saragroban.php
A major part of "resources" in the name "Indie Artist Resources" is me. Whether the blog content is up to date or not, I am still hard at work promoting your music. I am constantly telling my friends about bands, posting twitter messages promoting them, and asking what listeners thought of the music. I have tons of indie music in my mp3 player and listen to my favs on my long long drive to work each day.
The focus is art and I consider everyone I promote equal to one another. If Steven Tyler walked in my front door he would receive the same greeting and courtesy that I would give to you. If I have taken interest in your music, it is because I enjoy listening to it and I am truly excited to watch you succeed.
I have included one of my songs on the Rhapsody Indie Artist Resources playlist volume one, because my work is also part of the indie DIY community.
In addition to all of the above, I spend a lot of time searching for radio stations that play indie and unsigned artists and send them links to your music. There are a few stations that I was lucky enough to get my music on many years ago, so I occasionally contact them about new bands. If I find a station that is interested in your music, I will e mail you to let you know so you can e mail them an mp3.
Thanks for listening to my rambling, I hope it helps blog viewers understand my intentions.
Will
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