What NOT To Do As A Band

I recently attended a wedding rehearsal dinner which featured a live rock band of three young musicians. The event was outdoors (in August), and was located at an exclusive and expensive B&B, with the guests in dressy casual garb, befitting the special occasion.

There were several things I noticed about the band immediately. Their attire was dirty jeans, limp t-shirts, old sneakers. OK, maybe that’s the “image” they desired to project…though certainly nowhere remotely near the attire of the dinner guests.

All three band members made a bee-line for the bar as soon as their setup was complete and started ordering beers. Ummm…well, it was hot…but they continued to do this during their many breaks.

The dinner buffet was brought out, the guests filled their plates and sat at their tables, as did the band members, sitting at a table near the stage, that only had a few guests seated at it. After a bit of time passed, the father of the groom (who was paying for the shindig) got up to the microphone and asked, “Has anyone seen the band?” An uncomfortable intermittent laughter flickered across the tent. He followed that up with, “Can anyone play guitar?” with a muffled mention along the lines of ‘that hasn’t been drinking’.

The band immediately arose and got back to the business of playing. For the remainder of the evening, the band breaks were not as frequent and their path towards the bar, though still included some beer, also included some water and soda. They did redeem their reputation a bit, later as they finally did start “rocking” the tent and got the guests to dancing. They really could play pretty well…but some may say the guests were feeling pretty good by then (I wouldn’t want the father of the groom’s bar bill for this event).

The lead singer did say at one point, close to the microphone, hence most heard it, “I need a @#$%ing beer, is there an open beer?”

I heard since that the band was an acquaintance of the groom, so I do not know the arrangements of how this gig was setup. Ultimately though, out of the 125 or so guests attending the event, plus staff, the overall impression for this young band was their lack of professionalism.

You can only hope that they will see the faux pas of their evening and move forward.

Indie News Beat

INDIE NEWS BEAT

August 16, 2006 Edition

* MusicDish Partners With "Save Our Sounds" To Help Preserve America's Recorded Heritage

* Miko Marks Wins Showdown Competition

* Mashed Buddha Taps MusicDish Network For Saturated Marketing Campaign

* Globally Acclaimed Dj-Producer Paul Van Dyk Will Host New Weekly Sirius Satellite Radio Show

* AirSpun To Launch Music Industry's First Web-Based Radio Airtime Booking System

* Big Fish Media Announces New Content Acquisition Deals

* Web 2.0 Agency, ROKKAN, Breaks Through With BreakThru Radio

* Roots Music Report Announces Recipients Of Its 2006 Radio Stations Of The Year Award

MusicDish Partners With "Save Our Sounds" To Help Preserve America's Recorded Heritage

Just imagine it... thousands of rare and one-of-a-kind recordings of American folklife from around the country... including songs, stories, poems, speeches... from coal miners to ex-slaves, from presidents to gypsies, from Blues to Native American ceremonial songs... all... slowly... deteriorating ...

MusicDish, an Internet music magazine publisher and artist marketing/development firm, is pleased to announce that it is joining forces with the American Folklife Center to support the preservation of America's wonderful musical heritage. MusicDish will feature recordings and other music-related documents, selected by the American Folklife Center, that are threatened by deterioration. The selected recordings and documents will be presented through MusicDish.com as well as its syndication network, representing the breadth of the music community, to raise awareness of their historical value and help raise funds to help preserve the featured recordings and documents.

"America's rich musical heritage is under threat of disappearing right before our eyes, all the while that we possess the technology to save it," noted MusicDish founder Eric de Fontenay. "As a member of the music industry, we fell it is our duty to inform and empower the broader community to safeguard this treasure for future generations of musicians and listeners."

"We know that our readers will want to become partners with MusicDish in helping to preserve the wonderful musical heritage that we all share," commented MusicDish Editor-in-Chief Anne Freeman. "We are very excited about this partnership!"

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Miko Marks Wins Showdown Competition

Mirrome Records recording artist, Miko Marks has won the local level of the Colgate Country Showdown in her home state of California. She goes on to compete at the state level on August 13 at the San Mateo County Fair.

This is the 25th Anniversary of the Colgate Country Showdown, which has grown into the largest country music talent search in America with over 450 local radio stations participating, 50,000 artists competing annually and over $300,000 in cash prizes awarded throughout the 4-level competition. Nearly every major country music entertainer of the past 2 decades has participated in the Showdown.

Just a few weeks later, Marks will perform 2 shows daily at the Black Family Reunion Celebration on the National Mall in Washington, DC., September 9 and 10. The celebration is a two-day cultural event that is recognized as the largest, most significant family event in the nation, attracting more than 500,000 people each year. In the late 1980's, the black family was under attack in the media. In response to significant negative projections of a "disappearing" and "disintegrating" black family, Dorothy I. Height, Chair of the National Council of Negro Women, developed an idea for a positive culturally based event that would celebrate African Americans' historic strengths and traditional values. The festival celebrates the enduring strengths and traditional values of the African American family.

On the heels of her debut album, Freeway Bound, Miko has appeared at CMA MusicFest, opened for Warner Records artist, Ray Scott and has toured nationally as a featured performer with the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo. With the release of her 3rd single, "Mama", Marks has released her first music video, featuring R & B songstress, Erykah Badu, in the title role.

The video is being promoted by Visual Image Marketing of Nashville, TN and may be viewed at several online video sources including cmt.com, vh1.com, bet.com, mtv.com and on Miko's site at www.mikomarks.com

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Mashed Buddha Taps MusicDish Network For Saturated Marketing Campaign

MusicDish, an Internet music magazine publisher and artist marketing/development firm, announced the addition of Massachussets-based electronica act Mashed Buddha to the MusicDish Network roster. A mixture of downtempo grooves, hypnotic electronica melodies, and jungle beats, Mashed Buddha's drum&bass debut "Subdue Your Mind" () is an unexpected foray for creator & keyboard player John Corda who has performed jazz, funk, and rock for the last decade.

"John Corda set about to craft jungle and drum&bass beats and rhythms as the backdrop to an electrifying ambient and symphonic journey," noted Smother.net. "The result is a compelling and inspiring joint that works its way into your head analyzing your Zen status and applying a bit of a karmic good rub on your soul."

Mashed Buddha joins an eclectic roster of artists on MusicDish Network's marketing/artist development program, including Jazz chanteuse Mellani Day, African American Country artist Miko Marks and Astrella Celeste, daughter of the 'British Bob Dylan' Donovan. MusicDish Network will conduct an extensive saturated marketing campaign in support of "Subdue Your Mind", combining PR/brand development, syndicated marketing and online street teaming. In addition, Mashed Buddha will be aggressively pushed on social networking sites such as MySpace, YouTube and TagWorld (to name a few), while conducting a viral distribution campaign of selected tracks and videos on major file sharing networks such as eDonkey.

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Globally Acclaimed Dj-Producer Paul Van Dyk Will Host New Weekly Sirius Satellite Radio Show

One of the world's premiere DJs and a GRAMMY nominated producer, Paul van Dyk, will launch his own weekly show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, called Paul van Dyk's Vonyc Sessions, on August 31. On August 25, SIRIUS will also broadcast concerts by van Dyk from New York's Central Park.

Paul van Dyk, a native of Germany, is currently ranked the world's No. 1 DJ by DJ Magazine. His new SIRIUS show, Paul van Dyk's Vonyc Sessions, will launch on August 31 and will be heard each Thursday from 6 pm to 8 pm ET on SIRIUS' commercial-free trance and progressive house music channel, Area 33 (channel 33). Each week's program will be re-broadcast on Saturdays from 8 to 10 pm ET, and Tuesdays from 12 midnight to 2 am ET.

On August 25, SIRIUS will broadcast van Dyk's concerts taking place August 18 and 19 in Central Park, New York City, as part of a special ten-hour broadcast on Area 33, Paul van Dyk Live at Central Park NYC. van Dyk's Central Park shows will be special live performances using laptop computers, studio software and real-time remixing, enhanced with additional keyboards, sequencers and a drummer.

Said van Dyk, "I am thrilled to be joining SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Area 33. Broadcasting my live appearance at Central Park is the perfect way to kick off this new endeavor and I'm excited to have the SIRIUS listeners enjoy such an exciting event."

Paul van Dyk received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album for his 2003 original album Reflections. Top-charting singles van Dyk has produced include "Nothing But You," "Crush," "Connected" and "The Other Side." Earlier this year, he won four International Dance Music Awards (IDMAs) for his latest compilation The Politics of Dancing 2 at the Winter Music Conference in Miami.

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AirSpun To Launch Music Industry's First Web-Based Radio Airtime Booking System

AirSpun, Inc., a Silicon Valley start-up with an e-commerce approach to marketing digital music through commercial radio promotion, announced plans to launch www.airspun.com in an effort to democratize the music hitmaking process and provide independent artists with unprecedented power over their creative futures. AirSpun.com features a patent-pending online airtime booking system for affordable commercial radio exposure along with promotional opportunities that give independent recording artists a chance to sell their music directly to a global fan base. At launch, the company is offering commercial airtime in Nashville, San Jose/San Francisco, Seattle, and Austin on select Clear Channel Communications and Entercom network radio stations.

AirSpun proposes to rock the foundations of the music business by allowing every original recording artist?with or without a record deal?an affordable way to be heard on commercial radio.

"The internet has done a great job of leveling the distribution playing field for bands and artists, but so far, no one has used the power of the internet to democratize music marketing and promotion," explains AirSpun Founder Heidi Elgaard. "AirSpun is well-positioned to fill a void for a new generation of digitally-savvy independent recording artists, as well as radio stations seeking financially viable ways to support them."

AirSpun is currently working with its radio station affiliates to offer reasonably-priced 60-second spots for AirSpun's Artist Showcases. Each spot features a brief announcement of the song and band/artist name, followed by about 45 seconds of the showcased song, and a required AirSpun end-tag asking listeners to visit the airspun.com site to find the featured artist and vote or provide feedback on the music.

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Big Fish Media Announces New Content Acquisition Deals

Big Fish Media, a leading digital distributor of independent music labels, today announces the acquisition of several strategic content distribution agreements. Under the terms of these agreements, Big Fish Media will distribute these labels to all major online music stores and mobile services.

Highlighting these recent deals are:

1) Laughing Hyena Records: Laughing Hyena Records is the home for dozens of great, blue-collar comedy from such great performers such as Ron White (featured in the Blue Collar Comedy tour), Larry Reeb ("Uncle Lar'"), The Unknown Comic ("The Gong Show") and Ollie Joe Prater.

2) Valentino Production Music: In addition to being one of the leading production music and sound effects providers for hundreds of feature film and television shows, Valentino also has the entire catalog of famed, disco-era star, Walter Murphy. He is perhaps most famous for his hit song "A Fifth of Beethoven" which was featured in the eponymous film "Saturday Night Fever" is one of three albums represented by Big Fish Media.

3) Spirit Voyage Records: One of the most successful Yoga, Healing and New Age labels, Spirit Voyage has a worldwide iimpact in the Yoga community. With hundreds of albums in its catalog, Big Fish Media has just released the first group of nearly 50 CDs.

4) Hip-Hop/R&B Artist "Ahmir" - His new single, "Welcome To My Party" is climbing the charts at Billboard. BFM has this release along with two other EPs.

5) Imperativa Records' new release "Epicon" by Globus represents a breakthrough in pop music. Currently in the top 20 of iTunes UK pop albums, "Epicon" is a ground breaking album.

6) Caravan Records: This is a new label from well-known indie label Hollywood Music Center/PEKO Records. Their first two releases "Essential Bellydance" and "Naked Rhythm" are critical hits and making the circuits on both the world and dance genres.

"Here at Big Fish Media, we strive to bring only the best labels and the finest music to our digital music services. We feel that these new labels are consistent with that philosophy and we are extremely proud to be associated with such top-notch content providers, " co-founder Steven Weber says. He adds, ""we consider ourselves to be an extension of the traditional A&R function to ensure that only marketable content ends up in our catalog."

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Web 2.0 Agency, ROKKAN, Breaks Through With BreakThru Radio

Leading independent interactive agency ROKKAN has collaborated with BreakThru Radio to create a revolutionary Web 2.0 website, using technologies such as AJAX (XHTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, XMLHttpRequest) and Flash, that offers a feature rich and enhanced interactive experience.

The term Web 2.0 refers to the ongoing transition of the Web from a collection of Websites with static content and endless page loads to Websites with richness and responsiveness typically associated with desktop applications. Web 2.0 technologies are one of the primary factors in the recent surge of sites offering blogs, podcasts, wikis, and social networking. These sites have created a more dynamic Web that encourages flexibility for users, eliminates static content, and offers increased support of multimedia functions.

As part of the new Web 2.0 trend, ROKKAN has created a ground-breaking multimedia Website for BreakThru Radio, a company that is committed to providing an outlet for talented independent artists to be heard.

"People come to our Website for a real radio experience without repetitive playlists and for DJs who are musicologists offering independent music that they can't get anywhere else," says Cal Rifkin, President of BreakThru Radio, "working with ROKKAN to create a new site using Web 2.0 technologies has given us the ability to offer features to our users that can't be found anywhere else."

The innovative new Website, www.breakthruradio.com, allows users to watch videos, listen to music, and search the Website without missing a beat, literally. "We used AJAX technologies to develop functionality that wasn't possible before," says Jim Blackwelder, Director of Technology at ROKKAN. "Now, no matter where you click, the site's most important feature - streaming media - isn't interrupted. We are able to offer a continuous audio / video stream while users browse the site without using HTML frames or an annoying pop-up window." Web 2.0 Rich Internet Applications and AJAX technologies allows the browser to continuously request content from the server without the traditional HTTP server request and page reload. The Website also features Yahoo! Maps Web Services and Action Script Flash API allowing users to track concerts and bands around the globe.

"It's encouraging to see businesses and production quality sites starting to request feature rich Web 2.0 applications - and there's no reason not to - the technology is sound, the cost is minimal, and the opportunities are abundant," says Blackwelder.

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Roots Music Report Announces Recipients Of Its 2006 Radio Stations Of The Year Award

Roots Music Report is pleased to announce its selections for radio stations of the year. Recipients were selected by staff of RMR after carefully listening to the programming first hand and were selected based on their format and variety of music played. This year's list of honors signifies the first acknowledgements in what is planned to be an annual event.

The award serves to recognize the stations commitment to and support of its roots based genre. "These stations seem to give all artist a chance to be heard," says RMR owner/operator Robert Bartosh."They are all consistent reporting stations to our charts and contribute immensely to the roots music movement."

Designated honors for 2006 were presented to the following stations:

Bluegrass - WTCR - Huntington, West Virginia

Roots/Americana - KRVL - Kerville, Texas

Roots/Rock - XCountry - Satellite

True Country - KMCO - McAlester, Oklahoma

Western Swing - KBEC - Waxahachie, Texas

Folk - KCLC - St. Charles, Missouri

Blues - Blues Deluxe - Arlington, Texas

Jazz - WFDU - Teaneck, New Jersey

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Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission

Cool Gizmo Alert: Genz-Benz G-Flex 2x12

Cool Gizmo Alert: Genz-Benz G-Flex 2x12

by Lou Lomnardi,

We're proud to launch a new product review series sponsored by YourGuitarist. YourGuitarist.com is a web site offering Internet based development of custom guitar tracks for artists worldwide. YourGuitarist.com allows musicians to avoid the high studio fees usually associated with producing guitar tracks for their songs.

For many years I have been wrestling with the problem of being able to hear myself the way that I wanted to and still get a good(full) guitar tone. I have always preferred the sound of my cabinets on the floor, without the speaker pointing directly at me. The problem with this set up is that I don¹t hear myself very well unless I really crank the amp. Cranking up is cool if you are in a big enough room to get away with it, but for most clubs you end up pissing off the sound man, and/or the rest of the band. The answer has always been to angle the cabinet toward your head, by either tilting it or putting it on some kind of stand.

The problem with this is that high frequencies always project farther and faster than the middle and lower frequencies. You perceive this as a lot of piercing treble, no bass and few mids. When the speaker is on the floor or angled away from your ear the highs are deflected and you will hear more lows and mids. I have tried many things to correct this problem. For years I put cardboard over the speaker usually attaching it to the grille cloth. It did get me a lot closer to what I wanted hear until the cardboard started rattling against speaker or grille.

About a year ago I started hearing about the Genz-Benz G-Flex 2x12, and my hopes were raised. I¹d been looking for a smaller cab (was using a couple of different 4x12s) that would sound good off of the floor and this sounded like just what I needed. I read several reviews and played as many 2x12¹s as I could in music stores, but nothing really impressed me. Unfortunately I was not able to try out the Benz.

Finally I decided to take a chance and order one from Musician¹s Friend. I had read a lot about this cabinet, some good and some not so good. However, I found the negative reviews to be just as informative as the positive. From the descriptions by other players I had an strong feeling that I would like this box. Although I did have some reservations about buying it unheard from the net, I rationalized that I could return it if I really hated it.

The G-Flex is an interesting design., a little different from the garden variety guitar speaker cab. There are two primary features that set this cabinet apart. First of all the baffle board (the piece of wood that the speakers are physically bolted into) is ³flexed². The causes each speaker to face slightly away from the other. This feature helps to reduce standing waves within the cabinet and provides better sound dispersion, reducing some of the ³beaming² of high frequencies that is common with the usual closed back design.

The other feature that sets the G-Flex apart is the ported design. There are 4 round ports evenly spaced just below the baffle board. The ports allow more lows and mids to escape the cabinet. The effect is similar to having a semi-open back design, but with the opening being on the front. The G-Flex also features some other conveniences that are more common to other guitar cabs including separate input jacks for mono/stereo operation and 4, 8 & 16 ohm connections (8ohm connections are for stereo operation only)

I¹ve been playing the G-Flex using my 3 primary amps, Budda Superdirve 30, Dr Z Maz 18, Marshall 1987x, and the cabinet has enhanced the sound of all three. The First thing that I noticed was that the mids are accentuated yielding a vocal quality to the sound. This is very useful for leads and definitely contributes to the overall tightness of the sound. It can also be easily dialed out with the amps tone controls if desired. This cabinet also produces more low end than any cabinet that I have ever played. Even with it about 3 feet off of the floor(used an old keyboard stand for this) I could still feel the thump of the low strings in my chest. I have been gigging with this cabinet for a few weeks now, and I am hearing myself better than ever. Even my band mates have commented on my improved tone.

The G-Flex weighs in at little over 60 pounds, and even with the recessed corner handles is a bit awkward to carry solo. It seems sturdy enough but only time will tell. The speakers are 75 watt British made (Made my Celestion?...not sure) , but I am wondering what the G-Flex would sound like with a nice set of alnico speakers or hemp cones, but for the time being I think that I¹ll leave it as it is.

For more information visit http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=1409&sid=419&cid=93

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission

To Tour Or Not To Tour...That Is The Question!

To Tour Or Not To Tour...That Is The Question!

by Sheena Metal,

MusicDish Network Sponsor

It's every musician's fantasy: The tour bus rolls up to the arena (full of groupies, beer and pizza). Fans are crowded out front hoping to catch a glimpse of America's hottest band. The group is escorted to their dressing room (full of more groupies, beer and pizza). They enjoy the various pleasures of stardom while roadies set up the stage. It's show time. The artists take the stage. The crowd is screaming. The lights are glaring. The amps are humming. The drummer clicks off the first song and...

You wake up in the back of your PT Cruiser. Your bass player's elbow is in your ear and the drummer's asleep on your foot. You've eaten nothing for the last week but corn dogs and frozen burritos. This is not the tour you imagined. This is not your Lilith Faire. This is not your Lollapalooza. This is not your Warped Tour. This...sucks.

Every musician dreams of touring. Getting out of their same boring town. Trying their tunes out on new crowds, in new areas, for fresh faces. Bonding on road, writing new tunes in the motel room, free food, free drinks, getting paid, getting laid...living the life.

But the music biz is full of touring horror stories. Bands stuck on the road with no money to come home. Musicians not eating for days. Clubs canceling gigs the night of with no warning. Negative reactions from bar patrons and local bands. The list goes on.

So, how do you make sure that your touring experience is a positive one? What can you, as musicians do, to eliminate potentially negative experiences and create positive ones.

The following are a few tips that add success to your touring experience:

1.) Don't Plan A Tour Because You're Unhappy At Home---Just as an affair will not fix the problems in a marriage, a tour is not the cure for: problems within the band, problems in the band members' lives, or a general malaise for your local scene. A tour is strain and stress and loads of work. You should be excited, and enthusiastic and positive when planning.

2.) Over Prepare Before You Leave -- You can never plan too much or take too many precautions. At home is the time to rethink ever scenario and arrange accordingly. Get the van tuned up. Pack extra emergency money. Bring a list of additional clubs in the area in case your gigs fall through. Pack extra strings and sticks. Bring a backup guitar. Pack extra merchandise. Bring emergency food/water. Pack extra batteries and power cords. Bring cell phones.

3.) Be Humble And Thankful -- You're in a strange town and a new club, act like a guest. Nothing ticks off a club owner/promoter who's taken a chance on an unknown band more than out-of-towners swaggering into a club like Paris Hilton in an episode of "The Simple Life." No matter how cool you are in your own town, this is unproven ground and your first impression is important. Ask, don't demand. Set up quickly. Play at an appropriate volume. Clean up after yourselves. Be friendly and courteous. Say "please" and "thank you". Unless you're booking in Jerkville USA, this positive attitude could set you well on your way to a repeat booking with better perks and more local support.

4.) Seize Every Opportunity---If you're going to take the time away from work, family, and the buzz you've built in your own music community to head out into the great beyond and conquer unknown lands...you might as well come back with something other than lovely memories and an out-of-state parking ticket. You're in a new place and the possibilities are endless. Sell CDs. Sell T-shirts. Get new names on your mailing list. Solicit local reviews, interviews, and radio. Introduce yourself to other club owners for future bookings. Find out who books local festivals. Play an impromptu house party after your gig. Make new friends that can street team for you next time. Think of something I haven't even written here and do it!

Don't Expect To Conquer The World In One Tour---Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your touring empire be. Have fun. Enjoy each trip and using it as a building block to make each tour to that particular place better and more elaborate. Play your cards right, and after a few trips you may be making terrific money, have secured lodging (either new friends let you crash or a club pays for a motel), get food and drinks comped, and guaranteed press and radio coverage.

In short, touring can be the best thing that ever happened to your band if you work hard, play it smart, and follow through correctly. But no matter how much you love to tour, always remember to keep your foot in the door locally. It's the great work that you do at home that makes other clubs excited about you bringing your show to their town.

Sheena Metal is a radio host, producer, promoter, music supervisor, consultant, columnist, journalist and musician. Her syndicated radio program, Music Highway Radio, airs on over 700 affiliates to more than 126 million listeners. Her musicians' assistance program, Music Highway, boasts over 10,000 members. She currently promotes numerous live shows weekly in the Los Angeles Area, where she resides. For more info: http://www.sheena-metal.com.

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission

7 Rules of Successful Myspace Music Promotion

7 Rules of Successful Myspace Music Promotion by Jerome Ford

In a very short time, Myspace.com has become the hottest music promotional tool available to anyone. Here are the 7 rules of successful myspace music promotion.

1. Get a myspace.com music page. Getting a myspace.com music page is free so there is no reason not to have one.

2. Make sure your page is user friendly.
There are many would-be music business professionals who have myspace pages take too long to load. If your myspace page loads too slow, you could be losing potential fans. Mega bandwidth graphics and images will prevent your page from loading quickly. Your myspace page should take no longer than 20 – 30 seconds to load.

Many artists on myspace use layouts that emphasize their creativity but are a nightmare to navigate. Refrain from using dancing cursor’s, raining text, and distracting images on your myspace music pages.

Other myspace artists have about me blurbs that go on forever. Keep about me blurbs short (no more than 1000 words), if people want to know more about you, they will ask.

3. Have your music on your myspace page.
Don’t put someone else’s music on your myspace page unless you were involved in the creation of the music. How can you be discovered if your music isn’t on your page?

4. Reach out for friends.
Networking on myspace is one of the most powerful tools you can use to build your fan-base. Take advantage of the opportunity to reach people with like interests. Never ignore or decline a friend request. You never know who can help your career.

5. Treat your friends like friends.
Common courtesy applies on myspace just as in real life. Be willing to thank your friends for adding you as a friend. Respond to friend’s emails (if appropriate). Never post your ad as a comment on someone’s myspace page without acknowledging them. Limit the size of your “ad comments”.

6. Promote yourself in appropriate ways.
Noteworthy career benchmarks, or new music added to your page are good reasons to promote yourself on myspace. List your performance dates on your page and use bulletins to let people know where you are performing. Limit the number of bulletins you post. Posting irrelevant bulletins, or posting bulletins too often, will force your friends to ignore you.

Let people know about your myspace.com page. Putting your unique myspace.com address on your website and business cards will make it convenient for you to build your network and fan base faster.

7. Provide ways for people to purchase your music from your myspace page.
If you sell your music anywhere online make sure there is a direct link from your myspace page to the location where people can buy your music.

Follow our rules and you will have fun and make many friends on Myspace.

This article is free for republishing

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com
Jerome Ford is a 20 year radio veteran, music marketing expert and Vice President of www.simbiz.info. Jerome has worked directly with national major and indie label artists.

Jerome Ford specializes in helping artist and musicians discover how to succeed in the music biz.
http://www.articlealley.com/article_70577_48.html

Six Acoustic Guitar Tips

Six Acoustic Guitar Tips

by WorkshopLive,

MusicDish Network Sponsor

Here are a few free acoustic guitar tips every beginner will probably learn sooner or later. Some are harder to learn than others; forewarned is forearmed.

Acoustic guitar tip #1: You will never hear anybody say, "Gee, I wish we had more acoustic guitarists." It's not that no one likes us; it's just that half the world tries to learn it at some point, so there are usually a lot of them around in any musical situation. This is the primary reason the folk music boom eventually collapsed of its own weight ­ too many people who only knew three chords and five songs.

Acoustic (also electric) guitar tip #2: Learn to sing. You're going to have to, eventually, so you might as well do it right. Singing makes you more versatile/valuable as a player (see lesson #1), plus it's very satisfying once you get the hang of it. You'll have more fun and get more work and more dates. Bad voice? Doesn't matter. Listen to a Grateful Dead record and you'll feel better right away. Learn to sing.

Acoustic guitar tip #3: Give picks a chance. Fingernails are great if you play by yourself. If you play with anyone else, you'll have to play louder; you'll break a nail every time, and then you won't be able to play right until it grows back. So consider picks for when you have company. This may mean two different techniques, since fingerpicks, flatpicks, and no picks all require different picking hand positions. It's worth it, though, because there's nothing like playing music with other people.

Acoustic guitar tip #4: Buy a capo. Capos help if you've learned a song in G but you need to sing it in B flat. They also let you sparkle up a set list or an arrangement by playing a different section of the neck. You can play G, C and D in first position all night, or you can capo at 5 and play D, G and A for a while. Sounding different is good; remember lesson #1. (Sounding good is good, too; pick up a tuner when you buy your capo)

Acoustic guitar tip #5: Tops crack. Your acoustic guitar is more sensitive to temperature and humidity changes than almost anything else you own. It may give you some warning that it's unhappy, and then, again, it may just warp or crack. All those warnings you hear about hot dry heated air, car trucks and direct sunlight are for real. (Add a humidifier to your shopping list)

Acoustic guitar tip #6: Don't buy a dreadnaught if you're 5' 2". There are good-sounding instruments of all sizes. If your guitar is too big, your fingers won't be able to reach across the fingerboard with any strength; your right shoulder will get sore from reaching your arm across the body; you'll be wrestling the wood box instead of playing it. And don't be fooled by classical guitars with small bodies but wide necks. Be comfortable; this is fun!

You may never catch Tony Rice, but it won't hurt to chase him. Like just about everything, except watching TV, guitar playing has an upward spiral of fun and work: The more (and better) you work, the more (and better) fun you have, and the more (and better) fun you want, the more (and better) work you have to do to get there (and 'better' is better than 'more'.) It's not a race you have to be in ­ you may be happy with three chords and five songs ­ but it's a great ride.

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission

August 2006 - Top 100 Song Charts At Artistopia

Today's current Top 100 Songs Chart at Artistopia - The Ultimate Music Artist Resource, by up and coming indie and unsigned artists. Listen in at Radio Artistopia! or browse artist profiles at Indie Music Artists by Last Active, Music Genres, A - Z, Top Ranked, Most Viewed and Rank Movers. Join Artistopia and be seen and heard today!

1. Mr Imagination - Claudia
2. Kiss from a rose - Claudia
3. Dance with my father again - Claudia
4. I'm Wishing On A Star - Claudia
5. Silent Night Acappella - Claudia
6. My Sweet Love - Claudia
7. Fever Acappella - Claudia
8. I Love You - Claudia
9. Fever D&B Remix - Claudia
10. Rock A Bye Baby - Claudia
11. Danza e ridanza - Antonio Bruno & Bellitamburi
12. Sneak Preview - Claudia
13. Running With Scissors - Cindy Nelson
14. so blue, i'm feeling red - Bohannon
15. Walking Alone - Claudia
16. i sing the perfect stroke Antonio Bruno & Bellitamburi
17. Never Let Go Claudia
18. Non dirmi mai - Antonio Bruno & Bellitamburi
19. Fever remix by 'Jesse the mind' - Claudia
20. Libre de ti - N.o Subject
21. 8 Mins of Death Hip Hop/Rap - Missiles
22. the legend of bohannon Pop & Rock - Bohannon
23. But I Do Blues - Allen Talbott
24. Out of your mind Country - Chris Vaughn
25. storia della terra mia Alternative - Antonio Bruno & Bellitamburi
26. e dai e vai remix Undetermined - Antonio Bruno & Bellitamburi
27. Friend or foe clip Gospel - N.o Subject
28. No matter , rain or shine Alternative - N.o Subject
29. She's Opaque Alternative - Frank Lordi
30. Unbreak My Arms Urban/R&B - Flynt Marco
31. VICTORY DANCE Gospel - Yvonne Perkins
32. Did you ever really care Urban/R&B - Claudia
33. I Could Be There For You Alternative - Cindy Nelson
34. Art of War Metal - Losing Another Battle
35. SCREAM LIKE CRAZY Metal - Rainsweep
36. Without You Pop & Rock - Loz
37. alcohol Undetermined - Bohannon
38. Some Summer Morning Country - Markler
39. Hush Urban/R&B - Julia
40. Shootin' From the Hip Jazz - Allen Talbott
41. Intimate Undetermined - Julia
42. Crackhead Blues Blues - Allen Talbott
43. Requiem Gospel - Cindy Nelson
44. Materia World - Antonio Bruno & Bellitamburi
45. You Be You Jazz - Claudia
46. Absolution Metal - Losing Another Battle
47. Lull Jazz - Ben Bowen Project
48. He's Still On My Mind Country - Ernie Redquest
49. annie Undetermined - Bohannon
50. true Alternative - Bohannon
51. The Wind Country - Chris Vaughn
52. Thinking Of you Hip Hop/Rap - Legitimate Generalz
53. What You Ridin Hip Hop/Rap - Moe-D
54. FOR YOU, MY TIME IS GRANTED Electronic - Rainsweep
55. A Mothers Touch Country - Markler
56. The Peacock Jazz - Marco Lopomo
57. il fattore di potenza Alternative - Antonio Bruno & Bellitamburi
58. Remember - [Instrumental] Arct... Christian - Rainsweep
59. Worst of Days Urban/R&B - Muhammad Abdul Jami
60. Sincere Dedication Alternative - Cindy Nelson
61. As we go on through the night Country - Bob Richard's
62. [O.O.M.P.] Occupational Overri... Electronic - Rainsweep
63. I LEARNED TO REST Christian - Yvonne Perkins
64. Last Fair Deal Blues - Allen Talbott
65. Love Is The Key Country - Chris Balatgek
66. Hello Alternative - Cindy Nelson
67. GOOD GIRLS ARE BAD GIRLS Country - Shane & Blane
68. huggy bear Alternative - Bohannon
69. cheeze machine Alternative - Bohannon
70. Street Life Hip Hop/Rap - 2007 WorldWide
71. 'Walk Away' shortened edit Pop & Rock - Jamie
72. OVERTURE IMAGE INFINITE Undetermined - Rainsweep
73. I'm Threw Urban/R&B - Katrise
74. In The Nazarene Church Pop & Rock - Mike Visaggio
75. Remember Gospel - Rainsweep
76. FRONT'N Urban/R&B - David G.
77. The Vicarage Jazz - Ben Bowen Project
78. bitter sweet lovely Alternative - Bohannon
79. Create not to Destruct Hip Hop/Rap - 2007 WorldWide
80. my turn now Country - Milinda Baird
81. Knockin Heads Off Hip Hop/Rap - Moe-D
82. VOCAL FX Undetermined - Rainsweep
83. This is not my war double ya Alternative - Randy Hartley
84. Sugar Daddy Alternative - Jackie Barnett
85. Under The Mountain Country - Ernie Redquest
86. Music's Coming To Us Pop & Rock - Mike Visaggio
87. Count Your Blessings Country - Chris Balatgek
88. hey bohannon Alternative - Bohannon
89. pretty things Alternative - Bohannon
90. the long goodbye Pop & Rock - max meazza
91. Another Joy Blues - VJ King Jr | HeartBeat Australia
92. Under Pressure Christian - Skylla
93. The Last Whale Classical - Ken Mahren
94. musica mai, musica vai Electronic - Antonio Bruno & Bellitamburi
95. Hung Up Pop & Rock - Christy Jones
96. For Always Latin - Cool Garden
97. God Rest Ye Merry Gentelmen Jazz - J. Golden
98. Swing Down Marchin' World - Allen Talbott
99. I Like It, I Love It Country - Bob Richard's
100. devoted Country - Milinda Baird

The Virgins and ASCAP: Did A Performance Rights Organization Do Anything For Us?

The Virgins and ASCAP: Did A Performance Rights Organization Do Anything For Us?

by Brian Kopec-Farrell,

MusicDish Network Sponsor

In 1995 I moved back to my hometown of Milwaukee with a group of college friends to start a band. We called ourselves The Virgins. Over the next five years this name would prove to be somewhat prescient. We played hundreds of shows throughout the Midwest, recorded one six-song cassette and two CDs, and made a lot of naive assumptions.

One of these assumptions was that we needed to be members of a performance rights organization (PRO). After a lengthy debate over which organization to join, a debate focused primarily on which PRO counted our favorite songwriters as members, we settled on ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers). The logic of this decision was based on one belief: we were going to be big, or if not big, then at least as popular as Elvis Costello. Being big meant that eventually our music would be performed everywhere and we needed to have a system in place to collect all those royalties. We were wrong on two counts: we were not going to be huge and we didn't need to join a PRO.

I harbor no illusions about our efforts. We worked hard on our music. But by joining a PRO we made a mistake that a lot of young bands make. There is no reason for a young band or songwriter to rush into a PRO. Membership for a developing songwriter provides little, if any, benefit. It would be reasonable to think small artists would have the most need for a collective rights organization to help amplify their voice, but small artist empowerment is not something a PRO provides. The services a PRO offers do not help the development of the small artist.

While every artist holds out some hope that they will make it big, there is a spectrum of ambition along which every artist falls. At one end there is the artist who creates just to create, for whom the financial benefit is outweighed by the aesthetic ideal. At the other end is the artist who views artistic creations as commodity.

The Virgins fell closer to the aesthetic side of the spectrum, but not too far. While my own motivation for writing was rooted in the experience of collectively writing with a group of close friends, I was never above making money from our compositions. My position along the spectrum, like most artists, was not static, but it did fall closer to the aesthetic side. This side of the spectrum contains a large segment of artists whose endeavors do not warrant the need for PRO membership.

The Virgins assumed that ASCAP would collect royalties for any airplay our recorded songs were lucky enough to get. This proved not to be the case. A PRO provides what is known as a clearing function. They negotiate a blanket license with radio broadcasters. The fee for this license is based on adjusted gross receipts of the station, approximating 2%. In exchange for this fee, the radio broadcaster is granted a non-exclusive license to render an unlimited number of performances of one or more of any of the hundreds of thousands of songs in the PRO's catalog. These fees are collected and distributed as royalties by the PRO.

While this is definitely a benefit for the larger copyright holders in the PRO's fold, it really does little for a small regional songwriter. Because the PROs use statistical sampling when determining the amount of airplay, it is questionable whether a small, unsigned writer member will every see a royalty from a blanket license. No effort is made to determine exactly the actual number of times each selection is performed during the year.

Songwriter members who are not signed to a label, either a small affiliate or a major, are very unlikely to get any airplay and will not register even a tiny blip on the PRO airplay analysis. This is not to say that at some point in the career of a songwriter that these royalty payments may not become important, but for the small local songwriter the PRO collection of performance royalties through blanket licensing provides no real benefit.

The other form of royalty collection was one The Virgins didn't even know existed: general licensing. This is an annual fee paid by any licensee other than radio and television broadcasters, such as nightclubs, restaurants, sports arenas, and the like. The PRO in many cases, sends representatives to ³scout² the venue and see if any performing artist is covering any of the songs in its catalog. If they find that songs from the catalog are being performed, they contact the owner and demand a general license calculated on the basis of various business factors including venue capacity, live music frequency and yearly revenue. Again, these royalties are distributed on the basis of statistical calculation so it is rare that a small, local band will see any revenue from the general license.

Throughout the country there are examples of clubs that have chosen to stop hosting live music rather than pay a licensing fee to the PROs. These venues often choose one of two routes. They either cease hosting live performances altogether or choose to only host live music with an assurance that the performer is not registered with a PRO and performs no cover songs. Many club owners find the licensing fees to be too much of an economic hassle.

While this sentiment may or may not be an honest one (club owners are notorious for claiming that live music is always a loss leader despite the alcohol sales that usually accompany a live show) it doesn't really matter in the face of the result. If the actions of the PROs are contributing to the closing of a regular venue for small, local acts, these groups and the community in which they operate are actually being hurt by their PRO affiliation.

To be clear, PROs are not a terrible idea. There are performance royalties to be collected and they collect them. Additionally, The Virgins did benefit from one ASCAP program designed to help unsigned bands that perform and record independently and make a legitimate effort throughout the year. By listing our efforts, performances and studio time, and sending them to ASCAP we were able to collect $250 one year. It was divided five ways and we were happy. Money was most often going out. It was rare to see some actually coming in.

But exposure was what we really wanted and was more valuable to us than anything we ever received from our PRO affiliation. At shows we could sell product, expand our fan base, and book more shows where we always received a cut of the door. Ultimately, we had no real need for ASCAP. Unfortunately, this was a fact we did not learn until later. Overall, our affiliation with ASCAP did not benefit The Virgins in any way, and young bands should consider that there is a different path to take.

Joining a PRO should not be a foregone conclusion of a local or even regional band. The smaller artist should consider that there is no real benefit in the affiliation. The PROs will always be there and if a band does start to have some airplay on major stations, then membership could be considered. Performance royalties can be a very large source of income for artists who have reached a large audience, but until that audience materializes the benefit of PRO membership is negligible.

The Virgins would have been better off not joining a PRO, but we were naive when it came to the music industry. We probably received about $300 in total from our ASCAP affiliation. We broke up in 2000 and went our separate ways, somewhat amicably. Yes, one of the reasons we disbanded was because of the name. There are still some of The Virgins' original CDs floating around, but be forewarned: the songs may still be registered with ASCAP so be careful where you play it.

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission