Day 459

Post #24 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE: The Importance of COMMUNITY
"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 find me at Facebook.com/AnnieBMusic
THANKS!!!

Today I am so excited - getting a lot accomplished!! Got a drum kit secured for Artbeat In The Heat, secured the Jeanna Salzer Band for the show & the compilation CD, and got some leads on a sound guy. Also, will be checking out a band called I'm Not A Pilot tonight at Linneman's, then it's a going-away party for a friend & loyal Annie B. fan who is moving to China!! Looking forward to a fun-filled night, although I will certainly miss my friend Alon!

Just got off the phone with the Sunset Playhouse, they sound like a fantastic venue for my CD release party, with seating from 80-150 in their studio theater. And they also have a kitchen (but don't serve/sell their own food)... we'd be able to bring in appetizers. It should be lots of fun. Will be checking out more venues soon.

As I was talking with J. Christopher Hughes at the studio yesterday, the point came up about how an artist he used to work with (a hip-hop guy) was able to sell 1000 CDs from "the back of his car" in just a few months. We were talking about how many of the artists who make the most money are actually not very well-known, but underground artists, who are working on creating their own success, NOT relying on labels. Then he also brought up the jam bands, and how they are also very successful on their own, with no label support. This got me to thinking, what's different about the hip-hop world and the jam bands that they have sort of a built-in means to success? What they have is something that some other music communities don't have (except the punk scene, for sure): A real sense of community that seems to go hand-in-hand with that genre. These people hang out with each other and become friends with their fans. It's certainly got to be a huge factor in how successful they are. So it's now got me thinking... I've got this new idea on an artist/fan collective, where there are events that really involve the fans, and it becomes more of a community, and it's also artists who agree to promote each other. They try to play shows together, and they share their mailing lists with the whole group. I would have to put some thought into this, but I want to start up a little group of bands who are like-minded who want to be a part of something like this, and track the success of each band involved. It would be a little experiment, and if it works, how cool would that be?

Wanted to work on the poster today too... those need to go up this weekend but Kevan at Clark Graphics is not back in until Monday.

Tomorrow is Lisa's Lakefront Splash - looking very forward to that! I hope it's not too windy!!!!!!! The wind was not good to me when I played outside at Starbuck's two weeks ago!!!

I have to be up early to take my Mom to the clinic... she needs some antibiotics, and that's at 8am tomorrow morning!!!

Just got off the phone with the Sunset Playhouse, they sound like a fantastic venue for my CD release party, with seating from 80-150 in their studio theater. And they also have a kitchen (but don't serve/sell their own food)... we'd be able to bring in appetizers. It should be lots of fun. Will be checking out more venues soon.

Hope you have a spectacular Memorial Day Weekend!!!!!!!!!
:)
A

Day 454

Post #23 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 find me at Facebook.com/AnnieBMusic
THANKS!!!

Well, these last few weeks have been interesting! For my Linneman's show on May 14th, I was hoping to get more friends out, but I was very happy that morning when VIC THOMAS (yes, Vic Thomas from Summerfest) actually called me, letting me know he's heard good things about me & he'd try to make it out to Linneman's to see me! I was surprised to get a call from him, but I also found out that some friends of mine are friends with him, and they had some very nice things to say to Vic about me the Thursday night before my show. Thanks, guys!!!! It turns out I did not see Vic at my show, but that does not mean he did not make it out (it's a very dark venue inside)!

Anyhoo, my schedule has changed... I am now looking to have my website launch party in July at the Elbo Room, and a CD Release party in Sept., maybe. I am scheduled to get back into the studio to work on the bass track for The Kiwi Cafe (title track) this Thursday. We started tracking bass about 10 days ago, and will hopefully finish editing on Thursday.

In another area of my life, I visited my Dad today (he has Alzheimer's) and he is not doing the greatest. I can tell he has lost weight but he can still converse with me. I hope to visit him a few times a week these days, rather than once a week or so. I have a picture of him on my dresser from when he was in high school... he was quite the handsome guy. And no, I'm not just saying that because he's my Pop.

Life is short, that's for sure. I know my Pop always wanted to be a famous actor. When I lived in Hollywood, he used to tell me about his trip to Hollywood when he was down there in So Cali (probably training in boot camp)... he went to the Brown Derby and the owner there said my Pop should go back to the Derby after the war to become a famous actor. My Pop used to tell me all the time, "Go find that guy at the Brown Derby (which is how just "The Derby") and tell him you're my daughter.... he'll remember me!" I guess I have always been a lot like my Pop... a person with some big dreams! Although I also think my Pop should have been a drummer... When I was a little girl, my family used to all eat dinner together at the dining room table at least once a week, & he used to do paradiddles at the kitchen table with his utensils... topped off with a couple of tasty drum fills on his milk glass and dinner plate. That's my Pop.... generally a happy guy, often in a sing-songy mood, but with a little Archie Bunker mixed in for good measure.

This should be a busy week. Last week, Sig (from the Hide House) and I met with Alderman Zielinski to get his blessing for ARTBEAT IN THE HEAT happening on July 31st in the Hide House parking lot! Need to get to the Licensing Division this week and talk to the guy about all the permits we'll need. Artbeat Board Meeting tomorrow night, and I need to rehearse with Eroc & meet with Heather Acton (website developer) on Tuesday if possible. Wed. is a day I can hopefully get caught up on e-mail & FB (over 100 friend requests that I am trying to answer, sorry I have been sooooooooo behind)!! Wed. night is our last JustFaith meeting, Thursday is my first "Afterwaterfest" gig in Oshkosh, and then we're already into Memorial Day weekend! The following weekend is the big Unnatural Act: Milwaukee debut at RipTide!!! Totally excited about that! We have to really spread the word - Lisa's List is helping get the word out on that one!!! Thanks, Lisa!!!

Hope you have a fabulous week. Peace & Harmony,
Annie B.

Day 423

Post #22: 'Making it through this week' : 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 find me at Facebook.com/AnnieBMusic
THANKS!!!

Milwaukee Artbeat's One Year Anniversary is Friday. Thanks to all the amazing board members, I did not have to do almost everything by myself this time!!! We'll have a raffle, a silent auction, and a salsa dance lesson! These are all new since the last Artbeat. But I am STILL sick this week (I usually get sick the week of, or the week after Artbeat, due to all the stress of all the extra activity)!!!! But the fact of the matter is that there are almost 11,000 kinds in 30 MPS schools who have NO ART classes in their schools, & I want to change that!!!!

Good news = There will be an article online about Artbeat in the Shepherd Express, and in the Third Coast Digest - YAY!!! Plus I'll be on 91.7 WMSE on Thursday at 2! Totally cool!!!

Anyhoo, I am still working on getting my original music gigs too... I have been trying to get a hold of the Alchemist Theater for my CD release party. Thinking that June might be a good time for the CD release party, hoping I do not conflict with festivals. The website launch will be September maybe?

Too many tasks for one person... do I get an intern? To come to my house? Is that safe? Not sure... I guess I'd have to talk with Mike about that. I could really use one.

How to prioritize & balance everything - that's the big question. I know I am looking for more ORIGINAL music gigs right now, and that's been a nice change in direction. More soliciting for gigs, and less pay at first. But now I might be able to put together a promotional budget. Getting enough work these days to actually have the ability to put something back & start re-investing in my career. I'll totally have to remember to contact the Bay View Compass about my CD release since I want to do it in Bay View. Plus, getting posters up all over town for shows such as the Art Bar, etc., would have been a good idea. Street team... must do!!! But Don (Art Bar owner) estimated I had 80 people to see me at the Art Bar... was that mostly online/Facebook promotion, or what? I wish I knew!!! I guess my Linneman's show on May 14th & Elbo Room show on June 16 will be a good thing to start promoting right now!!!

Must get started on that Artbeat program... that's always plenty of work. Since I am a perfectionist... UGH!

Have a great evening, and send good vibes so I get better and my health is back to 100% by tomorrow!!!!!
Peace & Harmony!!

Day 416

Post #21: 'COVERS VS. ORIGINALS: LIVING YOUR LIFE TO CREATE YOUR LIFE THE WAY YOU WANT IT' 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 find me at Facebook.com/AnnieBMusic
THANKS!!!

Well, it's a question that all original artists have. Do you play covers, or do you not? Plenty of us have to play cover gigs to pay the bills. We play hits on the radio, learn those songs from other artists, and we play the ones that we do well, since lots of bars that hire bands & musical entertainers cater to people who want to hear their favorite songs.... the radio hits. They can be from Frank Sinatra or from Lady GaGa. Either way, it's not a song written by the artist up there on stage. And I know some venues that will not book you again if you play "too many originals". But let's face it: We are never going to "make it" by playing covers. We need to get out there and push those original songs, we need to get our original music out there consistently and regularly growing a bigger fanbase with every show. In most venues, you can get away with playing one to four original songs in a whole night. You "sneak them in". Or, you just decide that you are not going to play cover gigs, and then you have to find another "day job" (which is what I call cover gigs.... that's my "day job")! Thank goodness I can make a living as a "live music entertainer" (but I am moving towards making my living as an artist, which is someone who plays their own music)! Granted, at this point, it's mostly cover gigs that pay my bills. But I am on a mission to earn my living with my original songs, making money at "original music venues", selling CDs and merch. So, how can that be done???

I guess the first thing we need to do is start looking for those venues, and start booking enough cover gigs to allow us to take a Friday night "off" and play a gig at an original music venue... where we won't make the same kind of money, if we make anything at all! But then, let's NOT PUT THAT OUT THERE! We have to start looking for our target audience at the right venues... it is here that we will find people who WANT to discover new artists, who will buy our CDs & Tshirts, and who will tell their friends about you!

Although, we might be better off just booking original gigs on Sunday/Monday/Tue. nights... since those are the nights that the club does not usually expect to have a big crowd of people who want to hear their favorite radio hits. I just e-mailed the Elbo Room in Chicago - I have played there before with Sparklepussy and am looking for some opening gigs as a solo artist. They should be able to offer me some dates. I also just e-mailed a venue in Madison.

So, the goal is to keep contacting venues until you get a substantial amount of dates lined up with your original music, and hopefully you will be asked back and can start building a regular following as an original artist.

It's hard to find that balance, though. As an original artist, you will not make the same kind of money until you have been doing it and returning to those venues for a year or more. It takes time and patience, which most of us do not have! I was just reading a book about building your audience, and the author recommends the artist hangs out at the venue where they want to play for a month or two, offer to play for free on a weeknight, and then work your ass off for weeks to promote the show to fill the joint and get a great review. Well, that sounds like a great plan on paper, but actually doing it would be frustrating. How can you put so much energy into ONE show, and expect to feel like you are accomplishing your goals? There HAS to be a better way.

We must actively create that perfect situation where we are making enough money playing original music to pay the bills and also have enough to keep getting back into the studio to record new CDs, etc, etc. That requires us to travel. You can't keep playing the same market an expect people to come out to your shows if you are playing every week. You must make your shows a big deal, and they must be sparse enough to compel people to come out when you do have a show, since they might not get a chance to see you again for 2 or 3 months or more.

Well, now at least we have a plan. I'll let you know how it goes with me! Anyone who can suggest a venue in SE Wisconsin or Northern IL, even as far as Dubuque, IA, PLEASE e-mail me at AnnieBBaby at gmail dot com!

Thanks!!!

Day 362

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!!!

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

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