Adam Tod Leverton

New Places to Buy My Music

2011-11-17T12:16:00.001+01:00

Places where you can now buy my music:

Apple iTunes	11/10/2011
Emusic	11/10/2011
GreatIndieMusic	11/10/2011
Last.fm	11/10/2011
MySpace Music	11/10/2011
MediaNet	11/12/2011
Amazon MP3	11/12/2011
Tradebit	11/13/2011
Zune	11/13/2011
24-7	11/13/2011

First Single Up for Sale

2011-11-11T17:27:00.001+01:00

Hello, I'm pretty excited because my first single, 'F*K You', is now available for purchase on iTunes, and other fine music stores. I thought that it would take a long time, I read it could take up to two months, but I sent it a few days ago and already it's up for sale. I'm not very happy with the art work, it's looks good on the distribution site, but not on itunes. I plan on releasing a lot of singles, so that's something to work on in the future. I gave people on my mailing list a little present today, which is all the more reason you should join my mailing list. Like right now!

Just a Quick Update

2011-11-02T15:05:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone, my first single should be released on itunes and other sites in about a month or so, which is exciting. It's called 'Fuck You', and if you are really eager to get it, you can buy it directly from me to the right, or share it with your friends. It was a strategic choice. I figure it might be one of those tracks which go viral. You know, what with the naught title and everything. If you buy it, I will send you a free track as a token of my appreciation. And if you sign up to my mailing list, I'll give it to you for free! I've also set up my own trust fund, which you can contribute to. If you make a donation, you will recieve all of my artistic output, for the rest of my life, free. That's a pretty good deal, ne c'est pas? Just so you don't think that's a lame way of me trying to get money, I'm also contributing regularly to the fund. I've noticed a spike in traffic lately, why, why, Adam you may be asking? Because I took the plunge and purchased my own domain. Stay tuned to the blog for more exciting updates.

Guerilla Marketing for Musicians

2011-09-28T13:59:00.002+02:00

I've just finished reading the classic book, 'Guerilla Marketing for Musicians', and I realized that I have been doing a lot of stuff wrong in my marketing. I was aiming to reach a lot of people, and not at developing real fans, and real relationships with those fans. The book is packed with many great ideas, and I'm going to be implimenting some immediately, and some gradually. The first thing that I've changed is the name of the blog (this is about the third or fourth name change). This blog is about me, and about korpo. This is why the motto has also changed. Korpo: Where words matter. That tells you more or less all you need to know about Korpo. I've also changed the design a little bit and shut off the autoplay music. That's great to inflate the stats, but I want real listeners and fans. A couple of things that are coming up: my own domain name, and my own newsletter, and online Korpo Radio station, plus something I call Korpofest. I'll be announcing things as they come up, so stay tuned to the blog.

My Descent into Madness Released on Kindle

2011-09-14T14:25:00.002+02:00

Here's the link. It's pretty cheap and you'll feel great about yourself afterwards. When you read the book, you will be shaken and disturbed. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGFKHK

New album-My Descent into Madness Released

2011-09-12T19:44:00.001+02:00

I'm very pleased to announce the release of my 3rd album/poetry collection entitled, 'My Descent into Madness'. It's a delightful romp through insanity, poetic form and expression. You can purchase the album above, and later on, I'll be posting the links for buying the book in paper or e-book format.

Waiting For Class

2011-09-12T19:34:00.002+02:00

Waiting for Class

September Update

2011-09-04T17:33:00.001+02:00

So it's been a busy summer. We went on two trips. One to the lake district of Poland, and the other to a place near Bialorus. The first trip we went some friends of ours, and the second we went with the inlaws. Both were nice and Lena's actually started to talk to other kids and play with them, which is nice. I'm also staring my own business teaching English in October, and I am going to have a lot more classes this month, so that's nice. I started my own revenue sharing site, called The Leverton Group. You can sign up, earn by clicking on ads or promote your products and services by buying advertising.

September Stats

2011-09-04T17:22:00.000+02:00

One million plays/reads: 210, 689 18/21 Benchmarks.

One million reads of one poem And Now: 90, 977 17/21 Benchmarks.

One million fans: 28, 963 15/21 Benchmarks.

One thousand gigs/readings: 1 1/21 Benchmarks.

One million positive comments: 100 7/21 Benchmarks.

Make one million dollars writing poetry $81.93 7/21 Benchmarks

The Quest for a Millon: August Stats

2011-08-02T16:38:00.000+02:00

Here are my stats for the past month, I've come up with a new system for collecting the data, one which is a little less labour intensive. Instead of meticulously counting every thing, I'm going to collect a general amount of data, and use the following benchmark system to track my progress.

Benchmark 1:    1
Benchmark 2:    2
Benchmark 3:    4
Benchmark 4:    8
Benchmark 5:    16
Benchmark 6:    32
Benchmark 7:    64
Benchmark 8:    128
Benchmark 9:    256
Benchmark 10: 512
Benchmark 11: 1024
Benchmark 12: 2048
Benchmark 13: 4096
Benchmark 14: 8112
Benchmark 15: 16 224
Benchmark 16: 32 448
Benchmark 17: 64 896
Benchmark 18: 129 102
Benchmark 19: 250 204
Benchmark 20: 500 408
Benchmark 21: 1 000 516

One million plays/reads: 258, 238 19/21 Benchmarks.

One million reads of one poem And Now: 90, 977 17/21 Benchmarks.

One million fans: 28, 963 15/21 Benchmarks.

One thousand gigs/readings: 1 1/21 Benchmarks.

One million positive comments: 100 7/21 Benchmarks.

Make one million dollars writing poetry $81.93 7/21 Benchmarks

When I reach my goals, I'll post visual proof, such as screen shots and make the data publically available.

2011-07-01T21:51:00.001+02:00

July news, stats and a new poem: http://ping.fm/Pbn1E

To a Friend Trapped on a Movie Set

2011-07-01T21:44:00.000+02:00

To a Friend Trapped on a Movie Set

Money, Must be the Music and Beck

2011-07-01T21:20:00.000+02:00

I have to say that I haven't had such an artistically successful month in a long time. I've made (assuming I get paid) around eighty dollars this month just connected to my work. The idea to start accepting advertising was mocked by some, but it has turned out to be lucrative. As I reach my goals, it will become even more lucrative. The second amazing thing that happened, was that I went to audition for a talent show, called 'Must be the Music: Tyko Muzyka', which is kind of like American Idol, except for all kinds of muscians, not just singers. It was an interesting experience, being interviewed for television, and talking to other people auditioning. I think it went well, but they might not call me back for the regular casting. They said they would call me back before July 10th if they were going to. It's funny how some of the more pathetic auditioners thought this meant a definite yes, although everyone was told the same thing. Keep your fingers crossed. Another nice thing that happened this month is that I was offered to work on a collorabation with someone who told me they liked my voice. Pretty nice, I won't go into more details, because I'm not sure the collorabation will come to fruition and I don't want to spoil it for that artist. That makes it sound like Beck called me. He didn't. I'm still waiting Beck, damn you.

The Quest for a Million: July

2011-07-01T21:06:00.002+02:00

July 2011

1. One million reads: 242, 694
2. One million reads of one poem 'And Now': 82, 888

3. One million fans: 29, 026

4. One thousand gigs/readings:                                                    1
5.   One million positive comments on the wall of fame:                 100
6.    Make one million dollars writing poetry.                                $81.76

A Guest Post from Chen

2011-06-13T20:13:00.000+02:00

Kid Koala Third Album

The article features basic biographical facts, bright creative events of Kid Koala, as well as draws more focus on Kid Koala third album.

Kid Koala (born Eric San, Vancouver, 1974) is a famous Canadian DJ, turntablist, illustrator – and still it is not all about areas of Kid’s creative interests. He studied in Vancouver, BC, and Maryland, US. He is an extraordinary person of the present-day show business and pop culture. Many experts and fans claim Kid has a versatile musical talent. As an active and creative person Kid regularly visits different continents where he performs his musical mixes astounding the public – be it Europe, Asia, America (both North and South), Australia, or Russia. Kid can easily be seen touring or on stage with other famous musicians, and bands of different nations, styles, and genres. Still Kid always reserves his own style be it approach, interpretation or presentation of his creative works. And although he works in many various genres and with old well known compositions - he interprets the music familiar to our ear in his own unique manner.

To mention few names Kid has cooperated with so far are: Lovage, Peeping Tom, The Slew (of Deltron), and of course Gorillaz, and a band of other famous DJs, namely Jester the Filipino Fist, P-Love, and others. This Canadian DJ leads an active cultural social life. He is a member of different hip hop groups, jam bands, such as Deltron 3030, Bullfrog, etc. Being in close professional cooperation with Ninja Tune – an independent record label based in London, UK he has released a number of albums. Besides, Kid himself makes illustrations for the albums. He draws in his own specific manner. By the way, Kid Koala’s first album named Carpal Tunnel Syndrome includes a book of his illustrations. Also he is an author of a soundtrack and illustrations of a novel - Nufonia Must Fall. These facts prove how many-sided his talents are.

As concerns Kid Koala third full length album (labeled Ninja Tune), namely Your Mom's Favorite DJ – it came into the world in September 2006. Kid himself is a producer. The album mainly consists of music of turntable and hip hop genres, but also has bits of blues, jazz, and funk mixed in. Here and there you hear guitar or piano tunes. The album CD includes two brief track mixes and one brief sound effect. If it is a vinyl release album you will find the one mix of tracks per side. The musical content unwinds in stories of autobiographical character.

The album includes over fifteen tracks, namely: Start Heeeeears Koala, Stoppin' Traffic, Tracks etc., Slew Test 1, Lunch with Pavlov, Robo-cookie Factory, Things'll Be Good Again, Dinner at 1:00 a.m., Party at Eric's!, Slew Test 2, Gimme a K!, Mosquito vs. Waterbuffalo, Slew Test 3, Paper Route Days, Nufonia Noise Consultation Committee, The Denouement, and short Bonus Cricket. The CD takes 33 minutes and 32 seconds, the left side (14:15), and the right - (19:17).

More details you can always find on Kid Koala’s official website.

Poems for Sale! Get your hot steaming poems!

2011-06-03T16:15:00.000+02:00

I was going to wait to roll this out when I reached the stat of one million readers or listeners, but events have kind of overtaken me. I have my first sponsor, the site 'Wordpress Gallery Theme', which you can visit by clicking on the link to the right. I have come to the conclusion that poetry, in itself, is no longer a profitable venture. If you want to make an impact as a poet, get people to read your work, and make some money doing it, you have to do things which are un-orthodox. The first un-orthodox thing I decided to do was Korpo, and so far, it has been a modest success. The whole idea of poetry as commerce is never going to work. No one is going to pay for your book of poems, or at least not enough people for you to make any money. That's the reality now, and really, that's been the reality since the begining of the age of printing. High-brow literature has never sold well. It has always relied on patronage. Rich people who wanted to make themselves look good are responsible for most of what we have today. I don't think poetry can survive without some modern version of patronage. This modern version is what I wanted to unveil when I reached my goal of a million readers, but as I floated the idea and have already recieved some interest, I will unveil it now, but promote it heavily when I reach that goal. The idea is sell advertising on my poems. Advertising has in many ways replaced the patronage of the wealthy in the arts. It has not made much impact on poetry, until now. Advertisers support certain festivals because it gives them a nice image. I'm thinking of the jazz festivals sponsored by cigarette companies. Advertisers also want to be sure that their investment isn't wasted on something that no one will see. This is why poetry has not yet benefited from advertising. But that's about to change, and I'm just the crazy ass poet to make it happen. I'm going to start accept advertising on my poems (not in them, of course), and my plan is to have a majority of my income come from this source. When I reach my goal of one million readers, it will be much easier to promote this idea, but if you want to advertise with me now here are the conditions and rates.

Link on 'Confessions from the Killer Mime Cult'. This blog has gone through many changes, but has been around since 2004 and will always be my home on the internet. A link will cost you $5. Just click on the donate button below, send me your site information, and as long as the content of the site is not illegal, I will add it to the 'our sponsors' section'.
Post on the Reverbnation network. My account at Reverbnation is linked to my Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter networks. My network current has 28, 943 members and my aim is to grow it to one million members. A sponsored post to this audience will also cost $5. This is different from other sponsored tweet services in that I will be telling my audience that you are one of my sponsors. It won't be check out Gucci sportswear, I think they're hot or some crap like that. My audience will appreciate your support of literature.
I can publish a more detailed post, with copy you provide on certain networks, such as blogger, wordpress, for $10.
I am a member of several sites which provide audiences for poetry and other forms of writing. These include Scribd, Everypoet, Redgage, among others. I have already recieved hundreds of thousands of documented reads. The undocumented number is probably much higher. I will republish my poem on these networks, and to my audience of social media followers with a link or short descripition of your product or service. (At the moment I reserve this space for links connected with self-promotion). This service will cost $50. That may seem steep, but it isn't when you consider that your advertisement will always be associated with that poem, for as long as the poem remains online. A further advantage of this price will be that half of the money will be used to promote the poem you have advertised on. You will receive both natural and directed traffic to your link. The other half will be placed into a high interest savings account, which eventually will provide me and my family with a stable income. You will also recieve a post on my blog with your ad copy preceeded by my thanks and appreciation, a post to my social media audience, and a permanent link on my blog.
Over the past few years, I have released two books of poetry, and two albums of poetry based music. For $100 I will put your ad on the front page of one of my books, or you can record an audio advertisement which can be placed on one of my albums before the music starts. Every year I release a poetry collection and a album of poetry-music.
For the price of $333, 333 you can own my soul. Not really, but pretty close. I mentioned the high-interest savings account before. I live in Poland so $333 333 translates to one million zlotych which would make it possible for me to live a comfortable life just off of the interest. Of course, there would be benefits for the potential advertiser as well. I would sign an exclusive advertising contract with you to promote only your product or service using the methods I mentioned. Links on the blog, messages to my social media audience, posts on my blog, ads under my poems (all of them, 300+ so far), and ads at the front of my poetry collections, and albums.

Why advertise with me? My poems will be around a long time. I have been doing a lot of promotion of them over the past year, and will be doing a lot more. My short term goal is to get a million people to read my poems. That means potentially a million people seeing your ad. After I have reached a million, then the next goal will be ten million, then a hundred million, then a billion. It is possible, and I will do it. Even after I have finished this intensive promotion, my work, and your advertising will remain online. It help to ensure my legacy, and attract your future customers.

One last thing. Maybe you love my poetry and want to help me out, but don't have anything to advertise. If you donate to me, I will give you ten percent of the next donation I recieve. For exampe, if you send me ten bucks, and the next donation I get is for $100, you will get your ten dollars back. If you know someone who wants to buy advertising from me, and they buy it, I will give you ten percent of their purchase for sending them my way, just tell me who they are and what they bought.

Thanks.

The Quest for a Million: June 2011

2011-06-03T14:51:00.000+02:00

June 2011

1. One million reads: 203, 895
2. One million reads of one poem 'And Now': 53, 623

3. One million fans: 28, 943

4. One thousand gigs/readings:                                      1
5.   One million positive comments on the wall of fame:             100
6.    Make one million dollars writing poetry.                            $48.22

News for May

2011-05-08T16:44:00.000+02:00

Hello, I haven't really been writing much about myself and my poetry lately, because I've been thinking about the direction my (poetic) career is going. The two problems, maybe not problems, but challenges I see are interaction with my audience and monetization of my content. The first challenge is how to get a large audience and yet at the same time how to develop a real relationship with my audience. I've come up with a few ideas and I hope to implement them in the future. The first thing that I'm going to do, is to make my primary blog, 'Confessions from the Killer Mime Cult' more behind the scenes of what I am doing. The second thing is that I've started a blog 'The Emperor of Poetry' which will post my poems and give you the ability to comment, and learn more about the poems. I will also try to post new content on a daily basis on Facebook. As to the next challenge, I've made more money this month than any other, because of the peak in reads. Though I'm still not exactly raking it in. Some of you may have noticed that when you clicked on a link that I posted during the past month, there is now advertsing. This is a way for me to make some money, so if you click on one of my links expect to get advertising. Don't worry, I get a share and it will help me invest more into my work. The last thing that I've done is that I've signed up for Jamendo. It's a French site, and you can download my music there for free. I get a percentage of their advertising revenue. And of course, my primary site for posting new music is Reverbnation, if you listen to my stuff there, I also get a percentage of their advertising revenue.

The Quest for a Million: May

2011-05-06T16:41:00.000+02:00

1. One million reads: 161,996
2. One million reads of one poem 'And Now':19200

3. One million fans: 28, 022

4. One thousand gigs/readings:1
5. One million positive comments on the wall of fame: 100
6. Make one million dollars writing poetry.$31.08

The Quest for a Million: April

2011-04-13T20:29:00.002+02:00

April 2011

1. One million reads: 144, 428
2. One million reads of one poem 'And Now': 8953

3. One million fans: 26, 912

4. One thousand gigs/readings:1
5. One million positive comments on the wall of fame: 100
6. Make one million dollars writing poetry.$3.00

The Blacksmith's New Boots

2011-03-21T21:52:00.000+01:00

Bombs are falling on Libya as I write these words, but that's not the war I'd like to talk about today. The war I'm thinking of started in this region of Europe on a bright September afternoon, 1939. It seems like a long time ago, now, but the wounds of the war are still, if not fresh, festering.

A team of workers has been renovating our apartment building for the past six months. They are installing new insulation and windows, putting on fresh paint. The wall in the stairwell outside our door was free from graffiti for a week. After, a girl wrote what appears to be a declaration of love for Daniel, even if it is full of spelling mistakes and curse words. A few days ago, she came back, unnoticed by me or anyone who lives on our floor and drew a star of David.

Yesterday, myself, my wife and my daughter were having lunch at my in-law's. My wife's grandmother was there, too. The conversation turned to fruit and the grandmother brought up how now you can buy anything, but oranges were something you could only get during Christmas time. I mentioned how my mum told me the same thing. My mum and my mother-in-law are roughly the same age. These are the words of an old lady who was a girl the night the Germans came. I'm writing them down almost exactly as she said them.

"There was an airbase there after the war, and the pilots were really nice to us. They gave us a kind of orange juice. They had it all the time, but we never had any. The Germans built it."

"How old were you when the war started?"

"I was seven. I remember the night they came to Ujazd. They went from house to house burning them down. Ours was the only one that survived on the square."

"Do you remember running away?"

"Yes, I was scared of fire for a long time afterwords. Sometimes, even now when I can't sleep and I close my eyes I see that cap, that SS cap with the death's head. Yeah, so we had to live all together. They burnt the neighbour's houses on both sides. The rabbi's house and the other one. The rabbi knew the war was coming, my grandfather told me...after."

'What happened to him? Did he run away?'

'How could he run away? Didn't want to leave his people. No, he didn't get away. They took him to the ghetto.'

'In Lodz?' No, there was a ghetto in Ujazd, too. A small one. They were taken there in the middle of the day. I saw it. My neighbour, and his wife, the one who gave me my first glass of wine. By Polish policemen. I never saw them again. I don't know what happened to them, or how they lived, we couldn't go near there. Those were horrible things to see. For a girl to see. (There are tears in her eyes, and she strikes the table much harder than an lady of her years should be able to). My friend and I went skating on the pond one day. We saw across the pond, a group of people. A family, the same Polish policemen and the blacksmith. It was a father and a mother and a girl, about my age. They shot the father first, then the mother, then the girl. The blacksmith stole the man's shoes. How could he? Did he really need shoes that badly?

'Did the blacksmith and the Polish policeman survive the war?'

'Yeah, and lived a long time in Ujazd afterwards. That and the traitor who kept reporting members of the AK (Home Army, the Polish Resistance) to the Gestapo. Her letters never arrived, she also lived a long time afterwards. My father used to say that he would get the Germans when the war ended. When the Germans began to retreat, my mother baked a loaf of bread to celebrate. You don't know what it's like, you can have bread any time, but then that bread was all we had. And my father saw a group of scared German soldiers retreating and he gave them that bread.'

My mother-in-law was quiet. Her mother had never told her any of things. I said that Ola's grandmother should write them down so people wouldn't forget. She told me, 'Why remember what you can't understand?' But I keep thinking of that family who were murdered for a pair of boots. Their murder, their lives are now only remembered by two old, frail ladies.

2011-03-13T09:56:00.001+01:00

I'm working on a concept album. It's going to be called, 'My Descent into Madness'. It should be finished in September.

2011-03-11T17:27:00.001+01:00

My second book, 'The Hermit Kingdom' is also available for e-readers, and if you buy it, send me the title of the last poem and I'll send you the album for free! http://ping.fm/Kav6r

18

2011-02-20T16:21:00.000+01:00

Leverton on Poetry

2011-01-27T10:59:00.001+01:00

The poet's audience must be as intelligent and as cultured as the poet. That's why the audience for a good poet is usually quite small.