Post #20: 'THOUGHTS OF AN INDIE ARTIST ON THE RADIO TAX BILL' of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE
"I promise to post blogs here, sharing some daily activities & the work I do to achieve my career goals, and when I do win that Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way! I also hope to give inspiration, information, & advice to indie artists, and I hope you take a little something away with you when you read my posts, whether or not you are yourself an artist!"
If you ever have ANYTHING you'd like to respond to in my blog, PLEASE e-mail me at: RespondToAnniesBlog at gmail dot com
THANKS!!!
Day 362
You've heard the commercial, right? Talking about how everyone wants a new bailout and this is one that's going to only put money into the pockets of "people who don't need it... big record companies, most of which are overseas."
Hopefully you have at least heard about the Radio Performance Tax bill going through Congress right now, and most of your corporate radio stations & conservative groups are saying, "VOTE NO - it will only put more money into the pockets of big record labels, most of which are overseas"
Well, I am here to say "VOTE YES" and I will tell you why I feel that way about it, as an indie artist, and as someone who has worked for an independent radio promoter myself in Los Angeles for 5 years.
First off, let's take a look at the bill.
Here is the summary of the bill:
S.379
Title: A bill to provide fair compensation to artists for use of their sound recordings.
SUMMARY AS OF:
2/4/2009--Introduced.
Performance Rights Act - Amends federal copyright law to: (1) grant performers of sound recordings equal rights to compensation from terrestrial broadcasters; and (2) modify the circumstances under which the public performance of a sound recording is subject to statutory licensing.
Establishes a flat annual fee in lieu of payment of royalties for individual terrestrial broadcast stations with gross revenues of less than $1.25 million and for noncommercial, public broadcast stations. Grants: (1) an exemption from royalty payments for broadcasts of religious services and for incidental uses of musical sound recordings; and (2) terrestrial broadcast stations that make limited feature uses of sound recordings a per program license option.
Prohibits anything in this Act from adversely affecting the public performance rights or royalties payable to songwriters or copyright owners of musical works.
And here is a .PDF file link to the 21-page Text of Legislation:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s379rs.txt.pdf
Well, one of the first comments I got on this is from my fried, Tim, lead singer of a great indie band from Madison called Government Zero, he said:
"The problem is that they won't be exempt. Apparently this threatens to bankrupt small stations. Then again, it might get stations to play more local stuff. But let's not hold our breaths. :)"
If you look at the PDF file, you'll see that the stations making $50K or less a year pay an annual fee of $100, and it goes in increments... the stations who make $500K pay an annual fee of $5,000.
Start reading this thing on page 7 and you'll see the numbers in a few pages... here it is again...
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s379rs.txt.pdf
Well, let's just start by saying: YOU, the listener, won't get taxed. So, I am not so sure it's a bad idea, unless you support the huge radio conglomerates who will get hit the hardest. I am hoping it will be a vehicle for the little radio stations who actually play local artists, to having the playing field leveled a little. Indeed, they will have a small fee to pay, relatively small compared to the royalties the big stations will have to pay. The big stations will probably end up changing formats, becoming even more unpleasant to listen to (playing more of the same 15 songs on the radio, playing more commercials, maybe going down to 10 songs?) losing more & more listeners every day, and eventually having to go off the air. That would be fine with me!
The bad thing is that in the interim, the local businesses will suffer by paying for it (due to higher advertising rates on these big stations), but there are other ways to reach the local public, and hopefully local businesses are ahead of the curve and thinking along those lines right now. Since the internet, marketing can be done for a FRACTION of the price... and I've been doing it for FREE for some time now. Bands started a great trend by showing they could sell out shows by building a huge list of friends on MySpace. Social networking is really the way to go if you are paying attention, people. Now, local businesses are turning to Facebook and other networking sites and I think it's totally cool.
Getting back to the stations: If Clear Channel, Entercom, Bonneville, and all their compadres had to close down or change formats, then that's fine with me. They are in bed with the labels. The labels want this tax. They should have consulted with their bed buddies first, but we all know that big labels are in trouble and that's just fine with me. Looks like they have to take what they can and get a divorce before the radio stations come up with some way to get their money back!
Whatever happened to stories like The Coal Miner's Daughter, who drove around the country with her record and knocked on the doors of the radio stations and once she got them to play it, people loved it? These days, you have a little brother who is cute and can barely play guitar and you have an uncle who works at a big record label and they say, "You two could put out a record and make us millions" and that's exactly what happens... they hire a producer to basically write all the songs and they're off to take over the world. I won't mention what band this is, because you might like them and then get mad at me for dissing them, but do your research on these new bands out there and you'll find out that it's half of them! You should also take a look at the liner notes on the CD and see who recorded the album. I can think of one huge major-label band in particular where the only person who you are listening to on the CD (or on the radio, for that matter,) is the lead singer... all the other musicians were replaced on the CD for hired studio cats. But the band members who are not good enough to be on the record are the ones who go out on tour. And we wonder why some of these major-label bands sound like shit live.
Thank Goodness though, that the whole industry has been changing... since the internet came around and made distribution of records almost completely dispensable... among other things like artists having the ability to record their own music or at least have the ability to pay for it at a good, local studio. Things are changing, and I think it's all moving towards being a better situation for the indies. So, hey, support your local bands! Support them by buying their CDs, going to their shows, buying their Tshirts, hats, and buttons! When you see that sign that says "THINK LOCAL, BUY LOCAL" don't just limit it to the locally-owned restaurant, clothing store, or produce grower.
How about that cool 3/50 Project? You don't know about it? Well, check out this major coolness: http://www.the350project.net/home.html
Yeah, pick 3 local businesses to spend $50 a month at, instead of Wal-Mart (although I am guessing that anyone who's reading my blog does not shop there), Applebee's, and Kinko's, go to the local clothing/gift store (better yet, the cool second-hand store with amazing vintage styles at a GREAT price!), the locally-owned restaurant around the corner, (I'm a HUGE fan of Cafe Centraal on KK in Bay View) and Clark Graphics on Oakland. You can DO IT! And you feel good about it!!!
OK, here's my 3/50 proposal for music fans: Look at your music collection right now... your iPod, your CD collection, your record collection, For every 50 CDs you own that are from bands that are NOT local, or for every 50 songs you have in your iPod that are not local, buy at least 3 CDs or song downloads from local bands today. Hell, you can buy 3 of the same CDs from your favorite local band and give them away as St. Patty's Day presents for all the Irish drunks (just kidding!), birthday presents, Christmas presents, JUST DO IT! Then, start working towards making the ratio closer to 3/5, instead of 3/50. I know it will be hard to get the radio all the way up to 3/5, but work on it! You'd be surprised how much AMAZING local talent there is out there.
Indeed, I have digressed again.
Hopefully, the locally-owned radio stations will not suffer... THEY will hopefully be the ones to benefit, since they won't have to increase their advertising rates like the Clear Channels will have to. Local businesses will stop buying ads on the Clear Channel stations since they can't afford those rates anymore, and they'll buy their ads on the local stations!!! Let's put that out there! Join me on this, people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOW, the OTHER thing I didn't even mention is that this tax is actually supposed to go to the radio stations to be paid AS ROYALTIES... to who? WHO gets paid royalties??? THE ARTISTS!!! Ok, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT????? Do you realize that music is the ONLY art you can enjoy for FREE because there is a thing called the radio, providing you songs for FREE? How many of us as teenagers recorded the songs we liked on the radio on tapes so we didn't have to go out & buy the record? Can you get a sculpture and enjoy it in your own home for FREE? How about a painting? How about a live theater production... are those usually free??? OK, TV is "free" to a certain extent, but we all know how much those actors on TV make!!!!!!
Honestly, I am not really sure that the artists will be collecting all that money (don't trust record labels unless your mom runs it), but that's why I don't choose that as my reason to VOTE YES for the "RADIO TAX" BILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tell your Congressmen!!!!!!!!! Level the playing field for locally-owned & community stations! My hope is that the result will be: Something will HAVE TO HAPPEN to how you learn about new music. Lots of you people right now out there learn about new bands because you hear them on the "Clear Channels"... The new bands who are supported by big labels. They DON'T need your help. Most of them aren't bona fide artists anyway. They're manufactured by the labels. We've already had that conversation.
Tell your Congressmen to vote YES ON THE PERFORMANCE TAX and help artists get paid the royalties they deserve. (The "artists" on the radio who are manufactured won't see any of that money anyway, trust me on that one. The record contracts they sign are not good for them.)
Tell your Congressmen to vote YES ON THE PERFORMANCE TAX and watch the Clear Channels raise their advertising rates, passing that expense on to the buyers, who will start buying elsewhere.
Tell your Congressmen to vote YES ON THE PERFORMANCE TAX and watch local businesses buy less ads on the Clear Channels and more ads on the locally-owned stations and sponsoring more of the community stations like 88.9
Tell your Congressmen to vote YES ON THE PERFORMANCE TAX and take the first step in changing things around here from a controlling class of the wealthy to more of a democracy. This is ONE AREA where we still have control people... WE STILL GET TO CHOOSE which radio stations we listen to. But because the powerful record labels have been controlling what's ON the stations, they are actually shooting themselves in the foot by taxing the vehicle by which they control us: The radio stations. I AM TELLING YOU, LET THEM DO IT... VOTE YES!!!!!
(Why do you think it's only the big "Clear Channels" airing those commercials that "Say NO to the tax"?????? Do the math, people!!!!!!)
(They want to expose us to only THEIR CRAP on the free radio stations, and then they put their own [yes, they are in bed together, people] radio stations out of business? It's wonderful!!!!!!!!!!! The result will inevitably be more cool music for us, less major-label crap for everyone!)
Tell your Congressmen to vote YES ON THE PERFORMANCE TAX and watch the Clear Channels slowly suffer, few will close down, some will change formats, and yes, lots will survive and SUCK even more. (It's okay if they still exist. Let the stupid people continue to listen.)
Tell your Congressmen to vote YES ON THE PERFORMANCE TAX and join smart listeners as we all stop listening to Clear Channel, moving to the 88.9s of the world, the college stations, and the locally-owned commercial stations, who will soon be playing less music from big major labels (they don't want to be taxed for playing those songs from those bands), and more LOCAL MUSIC.
Tell your Congressmen to vote YES ON THE PERFORMANCE TAX!
THINK LOCAL! BUY LOCAL!
WOO-HOO!
As for the tasks I am doing this week: I'm adding this to my schedule: Submitting to at least one new venue every day. If it's just an e-mail, or mailing a whole press kit, I promise to submit to a new venue every day, whether it's for a solo/acoustic act, or for Sparklepussy The Midwest Surfing Cat... One A Day!!!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Day 335
Post #19 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE "Annie could be the most hard-working woman on the indie music scene today." - George Radai, Deep End Productions. ANNIE: "I promise to post blogs here, sharing some daily activities & the work I do to achieve my career goals, and when I do win that Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way! I also hope to give inspiration & advice to indie artists, and I hope you take a little something away with you when you read my posts!"
If you ever have ANYTHING you'd like to respond to in my blog, PLEASE e-mail me at: RespondToAnniesBlog at gmail dot com
THANKS!!!
Day 335
Sorry it's been almost 100 days since my last post! I guess I got pretty busy during the holidays, and now I am in WAY deep with Milwaukee Artbeat (www.MilwaukeeArtbeat.org)!!! Also working on getting my new band, Sparklepussy, into the studio for our first 2-song 'single': "Cat Girl" & "Marigold". My solo/duo/trio projects are still going but we don't have lots of gigs... looking to book more of that stuff since it pays $$$. And my cover band, Unnatural Act, is doing well and we were pretty busy last fall and this last month, but at this time we don't have any shows booked. I told the guys last fall that it might be time to start looking for a new lead singer since I was putting together Sparklepussy at that time, and now we have an AMAZINGLY talented female co-lead Aubrey... I'll keep playing with the guys and Aubrey until I just can't do it anymore. In the meantime, I look forward to some hot chick-rock songs with killer harmonies like "Heartbreaker" to sing with Aubrey - the guys LOVE to hear the two of us rocking out together!
Lisa's Birthday Bash & Charity Event is happening on Feb. 5th and I am involved in production for that show and Sparklepussy's Milwaukee debut performance happens at this event! Woo-hoo!!! Totally busy helping promote that event. I helped set up a radio interview on 3 Entercom stations for this event and it was a great interview. Nice job, Lisa & Chuck!!!
I'm FINALLY getting organized in my office and I got me a dry-erase board, a wet-erase calendar, and it's helping me keep my daily tasks organized. Immediate tasks include: Besides Artbeat, Lisa's Bash, and the single, I gotta call a few booking agents/contacts I met over the last month or so, also working on remedial children records page at Facebook.
I just received in my in-box a "GoGirls Music" yahoo-group post on a Billboard article about how CD sales are going down, down down, as well as digital sales. There was this additional comment about the article:
"One thing that all of the major stars in our business know is that the
bulk of the money that you make as an artist will come from performing, not
music sales."
-MAJOR TOM
Well, I have one thing to say about that:
Indeed, that is why we all need to get out there and PLAY, PLAY, PLAY! Plus, indie artists who are out there making it on their own with no support from a record label sell MOST of their CDs at their shows! Something to keep in mind when you are wondering why the CDs you have placed at the one record store left in town aren't selling. Play in your hometown and then make that drive to play in surrounding towns consistently and you WILL sell more CDs. Because you'll be selling them at all your shows. And don't be afraid to GET OUT THERE during your breaks to get people on your mailing list AND bring a couple of your CDs to each table. People will buy if you make your product known to them. I released a CD with my Los Angeles band SHUT UP MARIE in 2005 and sold less than 100 in the first year because we were only playing 1-2 shows per month. I left town to live on the road, started playing 1-4 shows per week, and sold out the rest of my 800+ CDs in about a year. That's $8000 in CD sales in about a year. Not bad!!!!! And it's not hard if you just get yourself out there. All you have to do is book some shows!
OH, and for those of you who, like me, wanted to know the results of the ARTIST X MUSIC MARKETING PROJECT, the official results can be found at: http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/11/indie-artist-x-project-wrap-up.html
The bottom line is: (Quoted from this site): "A solid music marketing plan is certainly helpful but there is no single tool or approach that can guarantee a successful career in music. Building a sustainable career in music these days takes a considerable amount of time, an extraordinary amount of talent and hard work, a “build one fan at a time” mentality and infinite patience."
That's why it's so important that if YOU like the music of an indie artist that you know of (hmmmmmmm... maybe you know of one who is struggling in Milwaukee, WI?), it's VERY important that you SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ARTISTS. Remember, many, many of the great bands and artists you hear on the radio were once little indie artists trying to "Make It", and they simply cannot make it if they do not have your undying support!
What can YOU do to support your favorite unknown/indie artists?
1. Find out when they are playing & go see them.
2. Buy their CDs whenever they release one, & buy their Tshirts & other merch.
3. Tell your friends about them.
4. Burn a few of your favorite songs on a CD and give it to your friends.
5. Brings your friends to go out and see that artist.
6. Be on the artists' Street Team and do what you can to help out: Help post flyers up for their shows around town, invite YOUR Facebook friends to their shows via a Facebook invite, help spread the word!
7. Communicate with the artist - when you get an e-mail from the artist announcing an upcoming show or CD release, write back and ask how you can help get the word out for a specific show/CD release.
8. Follow their blog!
Thanks for reading and PLEASE invite your friends to read this blog!
Hope to see YOU at a show soon!!!
Peace, Love, & Light!!!
:)
Annie
If you ever have ANYTHING you'd like to respond to in my blog, PLEASE e-mail me at: RespondToAnniesBlog at gmail dot com
THANKS!!!
Day 335
Sorry it's been almost 100 days since my last post! I guess I got pretty busy during the holidays, and now I am in WAY deep with Milwaukee Artbeat (www.MilwaukeeArtbeat.org)!!! Also working on getting my new band, Sparklepussy, into the studio for our first 2-song 'single': "Cat Girl" & "Marigold". My solo/duo/trio projects are still going but we don't have lots of gigs... looking to book more of that stuff since it pays $$$. And my cover band, Unnatural Act, is doing well and we were pretty busy last fall and this last month, but at this time we don't have any shows booked. I told the guys last fall that it might be time to start looking for a new lead singer since I was putting together Sparklepussy at that time, and now we have an AMAZINGLY talented female co-lead Aubrey... I'll keep playing with the guys and Aubrey until I just can't do it anymore. In the meantime, I look forward to some hot chick-rock songs with killer harmonies like "Heartbreaker" to sing with Aubrey - the guys LOVE to hear the two of us rocking out together!
Lisa's Birthday Bash & Charity Event is happening on Feb. 5th and I am involved in production for that show and Sparklepussy's Milwaukee debut performance happens at this event! Woo-hoo!!! Totally busy helping promote that event. I helped set up a radio interview on 3 Entercom stations for this event and it was a great interview. Nice job, Lisa & Chuck!!!
I'm FINALLY getting organized in my office and I got me a dry-erase board, a wet-erase calendar, and it's helping me keep my daily tasks organized. Immediate tasks include: Besides Artbeat, Lisa's Bash, and the single, I gotta call a few booking agents/contacts I met over the last month or so, also working on remedial children records page at Facebook.
I just received in my in-box a "GoGirls Music" yahoo-group post on a Billboard article about how CD sales are going down, down down, as well as digital sales. There was this additional comment about the article:
"One thing that all of the major stars in our business know is that the
bulk of the money that you make as an artist will come from performing, not
music sales."
-MAJOR TOM
Well, I have one thing to say about that:
Indeed, that is why we all need to get out there and PLAY, PLAY, PLAY! Plus, indie artists who are out there making it on their own with no support from a record label sell MOST of their CDs at their shows! Something to keep in mind when you are wondering why the CDs you have placed at the one record store left in town aren't selling. Play in your hometown and then make that drive to play in surrounding towns consistently and you WILL sell more CDs. Because you'll be selling them at all your shows. And don't be afraid to GET OUT THERE during your breaks to get people on your mailing list AND bring a couple of your CDs to each table. People will buy if you make your product known to them. I released a CD with my Los Angeles band SHUT UP MARIE in 2005 and sold less than 100 in the first year because we were only playing 1-2 shows per month. I left town to live on the road, started playing 1-4 shows per week, and sold out the rest of my 800+ CDs in about a year. That's $8000 in CD sales in about a year. Not bad!!!!! And it's not hard if you just get yourself out there. All you have to do is book some shows!
OH, and for those of you who, like me, wanted to know the results of the ARTIST X MUSIC MARKETING PROJECT, the official results can be found at: http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/11/indie-artist-x-project-wrap-up.html
The bottom line is: (Quoted from this site): "A solid music marketing plan is certainly helpful but there is no single tool or approach that can guarantee a successful career in music. Building a sustainable career in music these days takes a considerable amount of time, an extraordinary amount of talent and hard work, a “build one fan at a time” mentality and infinite patience."
That's why it's so important that if YOU like the music of an indie artist that you know of (hmmmmmmm... maybe you know of one who is struggling in Milwaukee, WI?), it's VERY important that you SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ARTISTS. Remember, many, many of the great bands and artists you hear on the radio were once little indie artists trying to "Make It", and they simply cannot make it if they do not have your undying support!
What can YOU do to support your favorite unknown/indie artists?
1. Find out when they are playing & go see them.
2. Buy their CDs whenever they release one, & buy their Tshirts & other merch.
3. Tell your friends about them.
4. Burn a few of your favorite songs on a CD and give it to your friends.
5. Brings your friends to go out and see that artist.
6. Be on the artists' Street Team and do what you can to help out: Help post flyers up for their shows around town, invite YOUR Facebook friends to their shows via a Facebook invite, help spread the word!
7. Communicate with the artist - when you get an e-mail from the artist announcing an upcoming show or CD release, write back and ask how you can help get the word out for a specific show/CD release.
8. Follow their blog!
Thanks for reading and PLEASE invite your friends to read this blog!
Hope to see YOU at a show soon!!!
Peace, Love, & Light!!!
:)
Annie
Monday, October 19, 2009
Day 236
Day 236
Post #18 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE "Annie could be the most hard-working woman on the indie music scene today." - George Radai, Deep End Productions. ANNIE: "I promise to post blogs here, sharing some daily activities & the work I do to achieve my career goals, and when I do win that Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way!"
Day 236
Well, it has been exactly 4 weeks since my last blog, so I must apologize! I have been to and from Texas, Milwaukee Artbeat came & went, my mom had surgery, my dad is in the hospital, and I FINALLY finished my mom's & dad's taxes for 2008! What more can I say? Can you blame me for not keeping up?
Texas was a blast, but next time I take such a trip, I will have to insist on better guarantees. I am glad I made the trip, but next time it will be different. I am glad I got to Austin to see my friends this time, however, since the last time I was down there, I did not make it to Austin. My boyfriend Mike met me in Dallas so he could experience the drive home with me, which was a lot of fun... we talked almost the whole time. Music was playing only for a few songs from New Maximum Donkey, a band my friend Steve from Sherman, TX told me about... very funny lyrics and groovy 60's kind of songwriting. We stayed with JJ in Tulsa that night, after a nice dinner at her folks' house. The next day was a 12-hour drive which was included a visit to "The Biggest Gift Store in the World" and a huge candy store... somewhere in the middle of MO, I think.
The following week was an interesting, as I woke up with a sore throat on Tuesday, and then found out on Wed. that our permit to serve/sell beer & wine was not sufficient. All day Wed. & Thurs. I was on the phone trying to figure out how to get the correct permit, but we ended up not having alcohol at the event. I was in bed for a good part of the week as well, which made for a crazy Friday, the day of Artbeat. I woke up early to color my hair, programs were designed and printed, cue cards for all 5 artists were written and printed, (which would explain all the typos, including the question asked by Nick Ramsey, "What's your most embarrassing sex story?" for Jeremy Scott, the SAX player!!!! This was a very funny moment in the show!!!), items for giftbags were gathered and some wonderful Artbeaters including Tally Hayden & Shelly Bird (among others) helped to stuff all 200 of them, the set was designed by the M.U.T.E.S. and and thank Goodness Theo Q was available to bring the water & soda from the house, (plus buy more,) Mike ended up dealing with the coupons for Cafe Centraal at the last minute... it all seems like a big blur to me now, but it was a great show and we all had a great time!
Dad ended up in the hospital on Sunday morning, and visits are happening on a regular basis. Not sure the plan for what happens next, but please say a few prayers, also for: My uncle, who is also now receiving a higher level of care and I'll be taking my mom to visit on Tuesday for his birthday.
Taxes were the next item on my To Do list, and those got finished, which is a HUGE burden off my shoulders, Yay! I am now trying to get caught up with rehearsals (we had 3 weeks off, right?) and other Shut Up Marie & promotional issues. I just realized that some people actually post their e-mail addresses on Facebook, so I'm now working on getting those of my friends and adding them to my list. There is a HUGE list of suggestions for promoting your show at the Elbo Room, and now I can start that. If you wish to see it, I can post it. You would FREAK.
Facebook promotions for the BBC is moving along, but there is more work to do with swapping mp3s from the other bands on the bill to cross-promote. Fortunately, these two bands are just as hard-working as S.U.M., so I believe we are all pulling our weight. I send an mp3 from the other bands to my fans, and they send a S.U.M. mp3 to their fans. Hopefully people bother to download the song. Terry from Ian and the Dream suggested just sending links, but I think there is something about sending an actual mp3... it's a free song, like a gift. Most websites don't offer the song as a free download.
It's 6:20am! OMG I have been up all night! Better get some sleep!
Peace, Love, & Light!
Annie
Post #18 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE "Annie could be the most hard-working woman on the indie music scene today." - George Radai, Deep End Productions. ANNIE: "I promise to post blogs here, sharing some daily activities & the work I do to achieve my career goals, and when I do win that Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way!"
Day 236
Well, it has been exactly 4 weeks since my last blog, so I must apologize! I have been to and from Texas, Milwaukee Artbeat came & went, my mom had surgery, my dad is in the hospital, and I FINALLY finished my mom's & dad's taxes for 2008! What more can I say? Can you blame me for not keeping up?
Texas was a blast, but next time I take such a trip, I will have to insist on better guarantees. I am glad I made the trip, but next time it will be different. I am glad I got to Austin to see my friends this time, however, since the last time I was down there, I did not make it to Austin. My boyfriend Mike met me in Dallas so he could experience the drive home with me, which was a lot of fun... we talked almost the whole time. Music was playing only for a few songs from New Maximum Donkey, a band my friend Steve from Sherman, TX told me about... very funny lyrics and groovy 60's kind of songwriting. We stayed with JJ in Tulsa that night, after a nice dinner at her folks' house. The next day was a 12-hour drive which was included a visit to "The Biggest Gift Store in the World" and a huge candy store... somewhere in the middle of MO, I think.
The following week was an interesting, as I woke up with a sore throat on Tuesday, and then found out on Wed. that our permit to serve/sell beer & wine was not sufficient. All day Wed. & Thurs. I was on the phone trying to figure out how to get the correct permit, but we ended up not having alcohol at the event. I was in bed for a good part of the week as well, which made for a crazy Friday, the day of Artbeat. I woke up early to color my hair, programs were designed and printed, cue cards for all 5 artists were written and printed, (which would explain all the typos, including the question asked by Nick Ramsey, "What's your most embarrassing sex story?" for Jeremy Scott, the SAX player!!!! This was a very funny moment in the show!!!), items for giftbags were gathered and some wonderful Artbeaters including Tally Hayden & Shelly Bird (among others) helped to stuff all 200 of them, the set was designed by the M.U.T.E.S. and and thank Goodness Theo Q was available to bring the water & soda from the house, (plus buy more,) Mike ended up dealing with the coupons for Cafe Centraal at the last minute... it all seems like a big blur to me now, but it was a great show and we all had a great time!
Dad ended up in the hospital on Sunday morning, and visits are happening on a regular basis. Not sure the plan for what happens next, but please say a few prayers, also for: My uncle, who is also now receiving a higher level of care and I'll be taking my mom to visit on Tuesday for his birthday.
Taxes were the next item on my To Do list, and those got finished, which is a HUGE burden off my shoulders, Yay! I am now trying to get caught up with rehearsals (we had 3 weeks off, right?) and other Shut Up Marie & promotional issues. I just realized that some people actually post their e-mail addresses on Facebook, so I'm now working on getting those of my friends and adding them to my list. There is a HUGE list of suggestions for promoting your show at the Elbo Room, and now I can start that. If you wish to see it, I can post it. You would FREAK.
Facebook promotions for the BBC is moving along, but there is more work to do with swapping mp3s from the other bands on the bill to cross-promote. Fortunately, these two bands are just as hard-working as S.U.M., so I believe we are all pulling our weight. I send an mp3 from the other bands to my fans, and they send a S.U.M. mp3 to their fans. Hopefully people bother to download the song. Terry from Ian and the Dream suggested just sending links, but I think there is something about sending an actual mp3... it's a free song, like a gift. Most websites don't offer the song as a free download.
It's 6:20am! OMG I have been up all night! Better get some sleep!
Peace, Love, & Light!
Annie
Monday, September 21, 2009
Day 208
Post #17 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE "Annie could be the most hard-working woman on the indie music scene today." - George Radai, Deep End Productions. ANNIE: "I promise to post blogs here, sharing some daily activities & the work I do to achieve my career goals, and when I do win that Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way!"
Day 208
I am packing & arranging everything I can for this trip to TX - I was planning on leaving this morning, but too much work (especially for ArtBeat) had me thinking one more day would be good to finish stuff... Promote for these shows this week, pay some bills, lock in the gallery artists for ArtBeat (and I did!!! Two more artists locked in today and we might just be done with our search - I will have them posted at MilwaukeeArtBeat.org by the end of this week!)
Also got a GREAT idea from another post from the amazing Derek Sivers: http://sivers.org/livecd
This would require that I have lots more CDs available to sell, which also means that I need to burn more CDs before I hit the road... might not happen, but I might have a little free time before my show on Wed. night. Staying with a good friend and her beautiful daughter Teylor in Tulsa tomorrow night... I met this girl when I was looking for venues in Tulsa way back in 2006 and I stayed on her couch the night of that first gig and we have been friends ever since! Yay!!!
Wed. night I play at Rendezvous in Sherman, TX - that gig was set up by my friend Oliver White, who is also kind enough to have me on his couch Wed. night! Oliver is an AMAZING artist I met in TX a few years ago. MySpace has it's good points, even though there is a LOT of crap on there - Oliver got a hold of me there and we hooked up this gig! Thanks, Oliver! http://www.myspace.com/oliverwhitegroup
Just sent a bulletin on MySpace about my shows.
Spent a bit of my day on Facebook - promoting ArtBeat. I still have 30 friend requests I have to deal with, but I should be able to do that Wed. & Thurs during the day. I have some free time before the gig Wed. night... the drive from Tulsa is only 3hrs, 10 min. I also have to create flyers for Break Time and the Field Office... should get those e-mailed out tonight.
Mostly been working on promoting these shows coming up, including the Shut Up Marie shows in Nov. (5th in Chicago, and 6th in Milwaukee). Locked in the closing band for Nov. 6th at the BBC - Government Zero will be playing that show with us!!!!!!!
Also found out that a friend of mine used to work at a radio station in Chicago and might be able to hook up a connection at Q101... I am working on that also this week... will have to try and mail a CD to this guy so he can get it to the right person!!!
So much work to do, so little time!!!!!!!!!! I need to start packing now!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a killer night, and keep loading your gun!!!
Day 208
I am packing & arranging everything I can for this trip to TX - I was planning on leaving this morning, but too much work (especially for ArtBeat) had me thinking one more day would be good to finish stuff... Promote for these shows this week, pay some bills, lock in the gallery artists for ArtBeat (and I did!!! Two more artists locked in today and we might just be done with our search - I will have them posted at MilwaukeeArtBeat.org by the end of this week!)
Also got a GREAT idea from another post from the amazing Derek Sivers: http://sivers.org/livecd
This would require that I have lots more CDs available to sell, which also means that I need to burn more CDs before I hit the road... might not happen, but I might have a little free time before my show on Wed. night. Staying with a good friend and her beautiful daughter Teylor in Tulsa tomorrow night... I met this girl when I was looking for venues in Tulsa way back in 2006 and I stayed on her couch the night of that first gig and we have been friends ever since! Yay!!!
Wed. night I play at Rendezvous in Sherman, TX - that gig was set up by my friend Oliver White, who is also kind enough to have me on his couch Wed. night! Oliver is an AMAZING artist I met in TX a few years ago. MySpace has it's good points, even though there is a LOT of crap on there - Oliver got a hold of me there and we hooked up this gig! Thanks, Oliver! http://www.myspace.com/oliverwhitegroup
Just sent a bulletin on MySpace about my shows.
Spent a bit of my day on Facebook - promoting ArtBeat. I still have 30 friend requests I have to deal with, but I should be able to do that Wed. & Thurs during the day. I have some free time before the gig Wed. night... the drive from Tulsa is only 3hrs, 10 min. I also have to create flyers for Break Time and the Field Office... should get those e-mailed out tonight.
Mostly been working on promoting these shows coming up, including the Shut Up Marie shows in Nov. (5th in Chicago, and 6th in Milwaukee). Locked in the closing band for Nov. 6th at the BBC - Government Zero will be playing that show with us!!!!!!!
Also found out that a friend of mine used to work at a radio station in Chicago and might be able to hook up a connection at Q101... I am working on that also this week... will have to try and mail a CD to this guy so he can get it to the right person!!!
So much work to do, so little time!!!!!!!!!! I need to start packing now!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a killer night, and keep loading your gun!!!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Day 203
Day 203 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #16) "Annie could be the most hard-working woman on the indie music scene today." - George Radai, Deep End Productions. I promise to post blogs here, sharing some daily activities of all the work I do to get there until I win, and when I do, YOU can say you followed me all the way!
Yep, I DID get that iMix done - it's called GREAT GRRL MUSIC! Please look it up in the list of iMixes! Planning on making more when I have more free time.....................????????????????? So, I noticed on that Artist X thingy that Artist X is not really doing any better when it comes to improving his success. With all the marketing stuff there is out there that artists need to be doing, how can anyone get it all done??? I can totally understand how he's not doing any better. There's not time to get all the stuff done that any one artist has to get done.
Anyhoo, so I am finishing up those press kits tonight, making posters for the TX gigs, and also have to start burning more CDs for Plein Air on Friday. My fabulous boyfriend is helping me sell CDs and getting info to people... having a person to do your merch is crucial. I need Tshirts!!!!!!! I guess I should have some made, but I can't decide on a design. Maybe the Kiwi Cafe artwork would work well if Jesse Engelbrecht would get the stuff to me!
Anyhoo, Artbeat and TX is creeping up on me real quick-like! Better get back to work!!!!!!!
Yep, I DID get that iMix done - it's called GREAT GRRL MUSIC! Please look it up in the list of iMixes! Planning on making more when I have more free time.....................????????????????? So, I noticed on that Artist X thingy that Artist X is not really doing any better when it comes to improving his success. With all the marketing stuff there is out there that artists need to be doing, how can anyone get it all done??? I can totally understand how he's not doing any better. There's not time to get all the stuff done that any one artist has to get done.
Anyhoo, so I am finishing up those press kits tonight, making posters for the TX gigs, and also have to start burning more CDs for Plein Air on Friday. My fabulous boyfriend is helping me sell CDs and getting info to people... having a person to do your merch is crucial. I need Tshirts!!!!!!! I guess I should have some made, but I can't decide on a design. Maybe the Kiwi Cafe artwork would work well if Jesse Engelbrecht would get the stuff to me!
Anyhoo, Artbeat and TX is creeping up on me real quick-like! Better get back to work!!!!!!!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Day 200
Day 200 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #15)
I was up til 5am after discovering a new music site: www.thesixtyone.com... just over 12 hours later I already have 22 listeners for the Shut Up Marie stuff I posted, and I can't keep up with all the "hearting"! I am not one to miss any sleep, though. I slept happily until 11:30am when I took my 3rd phone call today... Don't people know that musicians rarely get up before noon????
Anyhoo, so other activities today - making 20 press kits for Theo to mail out, including creating the cover, re-vamping my bio, and other press kit stuff (like updating the listing of venues played,) all the Artbeat Thank You letters (FINALLY - what a slacker!!!) Getting these killer pamphlets printed, although that happened last night/this morning. I think I kept Theo awake.... I know I woke him up a few times. He's still crashing on my futon and I am not sure when he'll be able to get a place of his own, but he's a great guy and he can stay as long as he needs to if it were up to me!
Working on bookings for Shut Up Marie & for my solo & duo projects too... might have something for the duo in Nov., and working on an opening bill for Shut Up Marie (opening for my cover band Unnatural Act!) at the Penny Road Pub in South Barrington, IL. Good thing I have no problem singing all night long thanks to my amazing vocal coach Kelli Ann of Who Knew!!! Woo-hoo!!! The Musician's Atlas is what we're using to find venues and we'll be using it to find all the other stuff we need when the album is done.
Also studying this Artist X Music Marketing Project... trying to see how a guy who has a full-time job and is married would have the time to do all the stuff they recommend for him to do! Should be interesting to find out how the whole thing ends! My goal by the end of my workday today is to create one iMix for iTunes... a strategy recommended by one of the chapters in the project. I might be able to figure out how to get that done before I have to leave for the meeting with Artbeater Steve Daubs at 7:30 tonight!!!!!!!
Wish me luck!!!!!!!
Keeping loading your gun!!!!
:)
Annie
I was up til 5am after discovering a new music site: www.thesixtyone.com... just over 12 hours later I already have 22 listeners for the Shut Up Marie stuff I posted, and I can't keep up with all the "hearting"! I am not one to miss any sleep, though. I slept happily until 11:30am when I took my 3rd phone call today... Don't people know that musicians rarely get up before noon????
Anyhoo, so other activities today - making 20 press kits for Theo to mail out, including creating the cover, re-vamping my bio, and other press kit stuff (like updating the listing of venues played,) all the Artbeat Thank You letters (FINALLY - what a slacker!!!) Getting these killer pamphlets printed, although that happened last night/this morning. I think I kept Theo awake.... I know I woke him up a few times. He's still crashing on my futon and I am not sure when he'll be able to get a place of his own, but he's a great guy and he can stay as long as he needs to if it were up to me!
Working on bookings for Shut Up Marie & for my solo & duo projects too... might have something for the duo in Nov., and working on an opening bill for Shut Up Marie (opening for my cover band Unnatural Act!) at the Penny Road Pub in South Barrington, IL. Good thing I have no problem singing all night long thanks to my amazing vocal coach Kelli Ann of Who Knew!!! Woo-hoo!!! The Musician's Atlas is what we're using to find venues and we'll be using it to find all the other stuff we need when the album is done.
Also studying this Artist X Music Marketing Project... trying to see how a guy who has a full-time job and is married would have the time to do all the stuff they recommend for him to do! Should be interesting to find out how the whole thing ends! My goal by the end of my workday today is to create one iMix for iTunes... a strategy recommended by one of the chapters in the project. I might be able to figure out how to get that done before I have to leave for the meeting with Artbeater Steve Daubs at 7:30 tonight!!!!!!!
Wish me luck!!!!!!!
Keeping loading your gun!!!!
:)
Annie
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Day 199
Day 199 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #14)
Wow, lots has happened since my last blog only 20 days ago - the biggest thing is I am sick and tired of not having a bass player for my band, so I am learning how to play bass! Yep, Paul McCartney did it when the Beatles (or the Quarrymen?) needed a bassist! Why can't I? So far so good, we've had at least 3 rehearsals with me on the bass, and things are starting to sound pretty good. I keep saying to myself, "If only I had learned the bass years ago when I first thought of it... think of where I'd be now." But the fact of the matter is: Yes, I thought of picking up the bass years ago, and my singing suffered. I think it was that lifetime decision I made to give everything up 3 years ago to live out on the road - it got me singing 3, 4, 5 nights a week... my vocal chops HAD to improve. Now I can kind of let the vocal part go and concentrate on the bass. Lots of these songs I have sung hundreds (thousands?) of times and they are kind of in my blood... especially those early songs from when I first started writing like the "Kiwi Cafe" and "Girl of Secrets." This new instrument has been keeping me pretty busy, so my activity level when it comes to all the biz stuff is a little low right now. But I am enjoying all the stuff CDBaby founder Derek Sivers has to say! He wrote about a very cool project all indie musicians should know about: The Indie Artist X Music Marketing Plan. You can actually follow this plan YOURSELF if you are a musician/starving artist (LIKE ME!)!!!!!!!! Here's a summary of the project: http://gigdoggy.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/the-indie-artist-x-music-marketing-plan-on-the-go/
I can only hope I have the inclination to follow these steps put forth by the experts involved.
Also these past few weeks, I found 2 local recording studios for the new album. Need to visit & get some demos, but they both come highly recommended. I'll keep you posted!
Still waiting on the Kiwi Cafe artwork from Jesse Engelbrecht, I would have loved to have that ready to rock for this Friday's Plein Air show, but it looks like that's not going to happen. UGH!!!
Totally excited about Shelby Keefe in the Artbeat show for October. She's a trip and a half! I have to get on the appetizers for that show... I have been slacking a little since my Pop moved... There's always something going on there that I have to deal with.
So, that's my story for today. Oh, I FINALLY saw the Jersey Boys in Chicago this weekend! What I great show and now I need to buy all the Four Seasons records I can get my hands on!!!!!!!
Peace, Love & Light!!!!!!!
Annie
Wow, lots has happened since my last blog only 20 days ago - the biggest thing is I am sick and tired of not having a bass player for my band, so I am learning how to play bass! Yep, Paul McCartney did it when the Beatles (or the Quarrymen?) needed a bassist! Why can't I? So far so good, we've had at least 3 rehearsals with me on the bass, and things are starting to sound pretty good. I keep saying to myself, "If only I had learned the bass years ago when I first thought of it... think of where I'd be now." But the fact of the matter is: Yes, I thought of picking up the bass years ago, and my singing suffered. I think it was that lifetime decision I made to give everything up 3 years ago to live out on the road - it got me singing 3, 4, 5 nights a week... my vocal chops HAD to improve. Now I can kind of let the vocal part go and concentrate on the bass. Lots of these songs I have sung hundreds (thousands?) of times and they are kind of in my blood... especially those early songs from when I first started writing like the "Kiwi Cafe" and "Girl of Secrets." This new instrument has been keeping me pretty busy, so my activity level when it comes to all the biz stuff is a little low right now. But I am enjoying all the stuff CDBaby founder Derek Sivers has to say! He wrote about a very cool project all indie musicians should know about: The Indie Artist X Music Marketing Plan. You can actually follow this plan YOURSELF if you are a musician/starving artist (LIKE ME!)!!!!!!!! Here's a summary of the project: http://gigdoggy.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/the-indie-artist-x-music-marketing-plan-on-the-go/
I can only hope I have the inclination to follow these steps put forth by the experts involved.
Also these past few weeks, I found 2 local recording studios for the new album. Need to visit & get some demos, but they both come highly recommended. I'll keep you posted!
Still waiting on the Kiwi Cafe artwork from Jesse Engelbrecht, I would have loved to have that ready to rock for this Friday's Plein Air show, but it looks like that's not going to happen. UGH!!!
Totally excited about Shelby Keefe in the Artbeat show for October. She's a trip and a half! I have to get on the appetizers for that show... I have been slacking a little since my Pop moved... There's always something going on there that I have to deal with.
So, that's my story for today. Oh, I FINALLY saw the Jersey Boys in Chicago this weekend! What I great show and now I need to buy all the Four Seasons records I can get my hands on!!!!!!!
Peace, Love & Light!!!!!!!
Annie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
