Everything Is Broken

Everything About Promoting Independent Music

2013-07-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years I've been focusing a lot of time on how to sell my music online. I truly believe that internet has changed the game for musicians and I want to be one of those musicians that knows how to use the internet to help promote my music. I've been reading articles, watching videos, taking notes and buying different programs to try out. Here are just some points that I've learned along the way. Hopefully these tips will help you with your album promotion, those who want to promote a band, or for those who just want to get your songs heard.

1. Focus on Digital

Ever since Napster started back in the mid-90's people have fallen in love with digital and have never looked back. Physical CDs, while still good to sell at shows, are slowly becoming the least cost efficient way to sell your music. Think about it. You have to send the artwork out, get it printed, get it shipped (which is usually way more than what you expect), and then lug them around at shows trying to get people to buy them. Selling CDs is a traditional way of getting some money from live shows, but to be a successful independent musician you have to move with the trends. Although I am still finding it profitable and that selling CDs will always remain, trends show everything is going digital.

People are getting used to buying online now as well. I remember people were kind of touchy about buying online and how safe they would feel about it. Now everybody is getting into the action of buying online.

2. Use Social Media

If you haven't guessed it yet, the way music is being promoted is completely different a few years ago. The boom of social media changed everything. It first started with sites like livejournal and then MySpace came into existence. You remember MySpace, right? The mass amount of spam and also the profiles that were so super busy it took 3 minutes to load?

Now the world has found a new handful of social media sites to dive into... Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc... The options out there are endless. The best part of social media is that it's all free and if you have a good following, your post about your latest single can get shared around the world with a few clicks of a mouse.

How to Use Social Media

However, social media is more than just starting a profile and starting to send out messages and tweets and shoving your music in everyone's face. You have to know how to use social media so that you don't become a pushy salesperson. You've seen those people on a social media site. Sending out a post every hour...

"Buy my CD"
"I've got a show this weekend"
"Like my Facebook page"

But those people that send out those postings never asked themselves the simple question... why should they?

Really think about that for a second...

Why should somebody who doesn't know you from Tom want to share your information or support your music? You're just going to be considered another spammer because you have a bunch of followers who don't know who you. You failed to establish a relationship with your social media fans. I'm not saying that you shouldn't let people know about what's going on with your music, but you also need to communicate with other people too and have a conversation with people online before selling your music to them.

So how do they get to know more about you?

That's the true power of social media that some musicians don't understand. Social media gives you a chance to really say who you are, what you believe, what kind of music you perform, why you love music, why you do anything at all. It's pretty easy to let people know who you are. Why not be inventive about it. Break the mold as well as using more 'traditional' methods. Join a conversation or reply to a tweet. Or share another musicians music. Start to collaborate with people online. The options are endless.

3.

Collect Emails

A lot of people think that collecting emails is an outdated practice. People think that it doesn't make much sense nowadays because people are on Facebook and Twitter so much that they just think it's best to market on those sites. That is true, but there is an even bigger truth.

Social media is a fad. They come and go.

What happened to all your contacts when everyone left MySpace? Did you have to try and reconnect with many of them or did you just lose them altogether? Think about how easy it would have been to email all your fans and say "I have a new Facebook page, check it out". How many times do people change their email addresses? Another thing is that people still check their email everyday. Your email list is one of the most valuable marketing tools you have.

4. Get Your Own Domain

What is a domain you ask? It's your own real estate in the world of web pages out there. Whenever you see a .com, .net, .biz, or .gov... those are all domains. This means you should have a website that you can direct people to at all times.

Why not use a Facebook page as a website? A lot of people have asked me that and I think that if you do that you're OK, but you also might face some issues in the future.

What if something happens to FB?
What if their server goes down?
What if they don't like what you said in a post and decide to turn your account off?

When you own your own domain, you have complete control of your own site. It doesn't matter if FB goes away. You still have your own server with your own domain. Plus it looks cleaner.

Master How To Market Your Music Online

I hope that you found this article helpful. As musicians we have to move with the trends. The internet and digital age has changed everything for every business and music is no different. As musicians we should be leading the charge on how to get creative using the internet. After all, most of us don't have big budgets behind us so we have to carry most of the load ourselves.

Create Wealth From Broke

2012-09-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

Are you broke? Do you want to find a way to create wealth but feel is impossible? To be honest with you there is a possibility for you to be able to create wealth even if you're broke. But the one thing that you have to make sure you have is desire. The most common trait in successful people is the desire to achieve success.

It doesn't matter what situation you're in now you can make a change by simply having desire. You know there is one thing that you have that everybody has that is even more valuable than money. Do you have an idea of what this is? I'll make it easier for you and tell you, it is time. That's right, time is more valuable than money and everybody has it.

To be specific you have to 24 hours in a day to utilize and everybody uses it in different ways. If you're willing to listen and understand that you can use your time and invest it is something that is going to get you out of the situation that you're in as long as you have the desire and the patience then you will make it happen.

Since you have come across this article I'm assuming that you at least have Internet connection and may just be in a bad situation at the moment and not completely broke. The first thing that you have to do is dedicate time to going on the Internet and getting more familiar with it.

The Internet has many opportunities and possibilities to make an income and many of them only require your time. By simply dedicating the time to getting more familiar with these opportunities you're going to be able to get more comfortable and actually be able to try some. The best advice that I can give you is to look into affiliate programs because these are free to join and all you're going to be responsible for is promoting it. Remember you have time so you can dedicate some time to learning about them in order to get a better understanding.

Then you're going to have to understand and get educated on article marketing. This is a way to promote anything on the Internet and in this case your affiliate program. You're going to have to dedicate time into learning article marketing and you're going to be able to master by continuing to do it. Once you start seeing money from your affiliate programs then you're going to be able to get into a business that you can do from home.

The process is going to take time but remember this is the one thing that you do have and if you're willing to invest it then you can make anything happen as long as you have pure desire to do it.

Broken Credit Card

2012-09-26T03:57:00.000-07:00

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There are many credit card debt solutions but choosing a program that is right for your financial situation can be challenging and have long ranging effects on your life if you choose incorrectly. Further complicated by a depression your choices may seem even fewer but there are answers.

If you have a job but your card debt refuses to go down because of high interest rates and it is not possible to increase your payments then you may be forced to negotiate with the card company to lower your payments and interest rate. Be prepared for their refusal to negotiate. You have been paying and they expect you to keep paying for another 20 years.

You must get their attention by throwing a wrench into their gears. Do not pay a monthly payment and they will begin to hear the grinding sound that indicates something is wrong. Will they listen now or do you need to skip another payment? The wheel that squeaks loudest gets the oil.

When you miss a payment other card companies will quickly see this on your credit report and a situation called "universal default" will occur. All card interest rates will rise and your credit limits will usually be reduced to the amount owed on that card. This is actually part of your solution strategy.

Keep squeaking loudly and continue to harass the card companies until they understand that you are very serious about not only reducing the interest rate but the amount owed also. When the card companies realize that you are in universal default with all your card companies you can begin to whisper in their ear and they will hear you clearly.

If you do not have a job and have missed payments then look at the bright side of your situation. You are already ahead of the guy who still has a job and your solution is working perfectly! The bank is going to sell your account information to a debt collection company for about three cents on the dollar if you do pay on your account for six months.

Why not offer 10 cents on the dollar to settle your account? This is quite a widely used and successful tactic. That is seven cents more than the collectors' price and it would seem to be a good business decision on the part of the bank. If the bank refuses your credit card debt solution then you will know exactly why the "bail out" was necessary for those considered too big to fail.

In the worst-case scenario your account will be sold to a collections agency but that is the best of all possible solutions because most collectors are actually smarter than a fifth grader. They understand that a little profit is better than no profit. Wonder if collectors evolve to become Ferengi in the 23 century? Anything is possible!

A Broken Mind

2012-08-29T03:47:00.007-07:00

A nervous breakdown is one of the most feared of all diseases. People suffering in this way are described in many ways. Sometimes as people who have who have lost their mind or gone insane. Conventional medical practice is to treat people with therapy, sleeping pills, antidepressants, psychotropic medication or even a stay in a mental hospital.

The whole medical treatment of a "breakdown" reinforces the patient with the idea that they are "ill."

Nervous breakdowns are not an illness, they are the minds natural attempt to sort out historical memories and rebalance itself.

The main problem arises because the mind needs time to go through this evaluation & healing process.

Our society does not allow time for this, so one or several "quick fixes" are used.

When people lose control of their minds they become frightened and resort to short term measures. If they cannot resolve their problems themselves they may resort to drugs or alcohol to get through the day.

It is now assumed that these mental periods of insanity are not actually a nervous breakdown but a person's individual period of mental reassessment.

Sometimes these mental reassessments are triggered by life events which may not even be traumatic in themselves.

Normal mental reassessments are continually going on in the subconscious mind as it approaches every new day. But occasionally the mind is faced with confusion & disorder as it attempts to evaluate an unexpected situation. It will then dig deep into its historical experiences & memories searching for the solution. During this period of self analysis the patient may become irrational, unable to continue with their normal life/work pattern & communicate abnormal thoughts & ideas.

Our inability to isolate ourselves from others also becomes a problem here. A close personal relationship could intrude into the natural healing process as could normal family life.

Also our ongoing natural dependence on the logical assessments made by our conscious mind can turn our brains into a battle field where the conscious & the subconscious mind are actually fighting each other for control.

Alternate therapists allude to the fact that reprogramming the subconscious mind can take 40 days. This is not dissimilar to the period of meditation suggested by Yoga teachers for cleansing the mind or the period of isolation required by Buddhists, Jesus & Reiki philosophers.

So trying to attain a "quick fix" is ultimately self destructive because resorting to drugs or alcohol will actually extend this period indefinitely.

Mental reassessments can be completed in anything from a few days to a month when the patient is given the necessary guidance.

This guidance will probably involve alternate therapies offering counselling, relaxation, massage, and meditation.

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A Home Based Business? Of Course You Can.

2012-08-17T02:10:00.001-07:00

Introduction

Home based businesses are the fastest growing segment of business in the Western World. They are popping up every day and numerous others will start a home based business within the next year. Home based businesses are becoming the norm with unlimited income opportunities. They are cheaper than founding a huge corporation, but often there is a small capital investment involved. Home based businesses are the fastest growing business segment today.

The Internet

Internet home based businesses have become very popular all over the world. Internet Home Business disadvantages; the main disadvantage of running an internet home business is disciplining yourself to get work done, you must not procrastinate. Everyday there are more and more people all over the globe gaining access to the Internet. With the internet constantly growing at a rapid pace, any business owner can find their place and generate a substantial cash flow in the global consumer market.

A lot of people have already made their fortunes by simply realizing the huge demand for informational online products and e-books. This is a great way for the average person to cut their overhead cost by offering digital information that can be instantly downloaded. Many of these e-books cover specific topics on how to do something more effectively in a home based internet business.

The Services

Self employment, including home-based business options, offer flexibility and adaptability to the rural economy and adds diversity not only to employment choices but to the mix of services and products available, catering for absolutely anyone ranging from corporate high-flyers to stay-at-home Mums.

A home business is a great way for individuals to take part in a business that sells both goods and services to consumers. There are a variety of needs that home business marketing services can meet. There are many different goods and services that can be used with a home business.

Marketing

Marketing and advertising are essential to the success of any home based business. Marketing is most often cited as the area home-based business people need information about. For the ones that do make and live a Millionaires lifestyle, one of their secrets is being part of a great online opportunity.

Opportunities

In addition, the change from an industrial based economy to an information and service based economy, and new communication technologies have dramatically increased work-at-home opportunities. Home based businesses can provide many great opportunities for individuals who are interested in becoming their own boss & working from home. With so many Internet business opportunities available you want to be sure you choose a legitimate home based online business opportunity.

There is a wide range of business opportunities to consider, including Internet based businesses, retail sales, import/export, eBay stores, freelancing, affiliate programs, paid surveys, selling your own products, etc.

My Conclusion

The standards for home based businesses are intended to seek a balance between supporting a quiet, safe, and aesthetic residential environment while supporting the aspirations of home based entrepreneurs.

Now small and home based businesses are entering the marketplace. No wonder internet home based businesses are becoming so prevalent. Internet home based businesses are extremely popular job ventures this day in time. The best home based businesses are those that are well-planned right from the start & will allow you the flexibility of a lifestyle without the normal stress of a big business.

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Advanced Internet Marketing

2012-07-26T02:55:00.000-07:00

Internet business is souring high and it will never land soon. If you are dealing with online business, you know that it's getting bigger and better, right? There are actually a lot of online business opportunities that opens its doors every day. From article marketing, SEO, website maintenance, domain websites and PPC, these online businesses make thousands each month. For you to stay on the game and earn as much as you want, you need a game plan that would surely work you out of these countless competitors in the World Wide Web. Having knowledge of plain internet marketing would only work its way until you reach success, but how can you stay up on your game? Advanced Internet marketing gives you an edge and guts to stay on top of successful business.

Make your online business grow while utilizing what you already have. Since you already have an ongoing successful online business, what else would matter? This time, you have what it takes to show everyone including your online business competitors what you have successful attained. This is one of advance internet marketing technique that would attract more customers. Make a business profile where you introduce yourself and your business to the public. As much as possible, input the successful things you attained in your company like profit raise and testimonials of your customers.

Another advanced internet marketing technique is customer care. Its how you deal with your customer problem, issues and how you will be able to solve it. Most business issues are solved by great customer service solutions. Be friendly, accommodating and concern with your customer. Open a forum or a communication gateway between you and your customer. It's just not about selling the product and services that you offer online but as well keeping them to maintain their interest with your product and services. Simple as it may sound, some online business failed to do is since they see customer care is not necessary. If you are a customer yourself, would it be great to be accommodated like a person and not just like a virtual person on the other side of the world, right?

Keep in mind of these two simple yet advanced internet marketing. Don't be too confident for the fact these techniques are simple. Remember, in order to be successful and keep your online business success, you need to maintain that relevant and true connection with your market and customers.

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Email Opt-In Lists

2012-07-22T03:26:00.007-07:00

The rule of email marketing is that you send mails to only those people who have already requested to receive them. Since they have chosen to receive your emails, maybe from your daily, weekly or monthly newsletter you can be a lot more assured that they will read your offers and buy from you. Online email marketing is strong instrument used by affiliate guru's to convert visitors who are in your opt- in list to become buyers. The secret is to create strong relationship with those on your mailing list. Make them to believe in you and in your offers.

Do not SPAM! Spam is a serious offense. It will take your business off the market. By sending commercial email to people who haven't requested to receive email from you is spamming. We discourage it in email marketing. I generally send out newsletters anywhere from two-six weeks.

Email marketing is an excellent way to communicate your message to large numbers of people who already have requested for such a message or information. Collect email addresses of people who requested for more information from you and keep in a data base, from where you will start inserting them into your auto responder for massive follow up.

I have built my list and use the most basic Fanbridge form (as seen at the end of this entry) in order to make it easier for people to sign up and easier for me to process. I also like the fact that it has an 'unsubscribe' option on each form. Not only is the 'sign-up' process the responsibility of the individual, the 'opt out' is too. Having said this I have had some people who have written and asked me to remove them from the list. I have no say in who does or doesn't sign-up or opt-out so I can only assume the people involved in writing to me saw my last letter an opportunity to get 15 seconds of fame. Most of us know that it doesn't work that way.

The next big tip about your mailing list is don't buy email addresses from email address merchants. This may not help you because the owners of those emails may not be interested in your product(s). And they will bluff and delete your mails from there inbox because they never requested for such information. Your emails will constitute nuisance to them.

One best way to collect email address is to create a space in your website or blog(s) where you will ask your visitors to type in their names and email addresses. You can ask them to sign up to start receiving free mini- course or free e-book(s) from you. By giving away free e-books or resources to your site visitors after collecting their email addresses and names is the best way to build your email opt- in list that is spam free.

Feel free to sign-up right here. It's easy and FREE!

Broken Communication

2012-07-17T03:17:00.000-07:00

Communication (Photo credit: P Shanks)

It probably goes without saying, but if you want to learn how to improve communication skills, it will take some practice. While this may seem like an insurmountable challenge, many great conversationalists have tried different communication strategies with success.

Here are a few steps to get you started:

• Starting a journal can be instrumental in helping you to improve your communication skills because it will help you begin to organize your thoughts. Write for a short period of time each day until you become comfortable with the process.

• Write down some topics that are of interest to you; then, find and join online discussions or forums on these topics. You will be able to share and respond to ideas on topics that interest you, which will help you improve your communication skills.

• Try writing some short articles on your topics and submitting them to article directories. Articles should be informative and run between 400-750 words. Some article directories will pay you for sharing your opinions, but the main benefit here is to help build confidence in your communication skills. It can be a great confidence boost as well as thrill to see your articles published online.

• Avoid email and texting for a while and communicate with friends, family, and colleagues via phone. This will give you the opportunity to address people more directly and become comfortable with natural dialog.

• Choose a few of your favorite speakers and pay close attention to how they communicate. Some of them may have television shows, radio broadcasts, YouTube videos, or some other recording that you will be able to get ideas and learn from. The suggestion is not to copy their style, but to get ideas that make sense to you that you can adapt to your own style. You can improve your communication skills by picking and choosing what you admire about other methods, and adding your own touches.

•

Focus on being aware of your surroundings when you are out running errands or doing business. Pay attention to others around you, and try to make conversation when it is appropriate. If a topic doesn't seem obvious, a good way to begin a dialog is to pay someone a genuine complement. A favorable response from someone can be a great way to build confidence and improve communication skills.

• Get together with your friends and introduce a current event for debate. Keep the conversation fun and light, realizing that others may have different opinions from yours and that is what makes for interesting discussion. It may be fun to do this over coffee or a meal.

• Become aware of you own speaking style. Listen to yourself as you speak. Pay attention to how others respond to you, and ask questions if the response does not seem clear. It's fine to share with people close to you that you are trying to improve your communication skills. Chances are they will support you and do their best to answer your questions honestly.

These are just a few ideas to get you started and on your way to improving how you communicate with others. Some of these ideas may be new to you, and while it can be intimidating to put yourself out there, that is an essential part of the process of how to improve communication skills. You have to be willing to take some risk. That said, the rewards will be well worth it.

Free Online Games. The Positives

2012-07-12T01:41:00.000-07:00

FUN! Online Games Magazine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most of the websites which have free online games as the major feature, operate in a highly systematic manner. The websites are therefore vested with the qualities of excellent categorization of the games, and also increased levels of performance as well. The number of human beings who play the games on these websites is normally quite a big one, at any point of time and hence the popularity of online games is quite visible.

The latest games which have been launched in almost all the gaming websites which share the common feature of considerable number of hits, are all vested with the features which are the result of inclusion of some of the latest technologies. Science has started to give some highly advanced features in almost all the features of an online game. The time is therefore now a dynamic one and bears the consistent element of change in technologies. The result of this activity is the launch of some of the best games in the market with landmark features.

Most of the technologies which are being used, or have been used have imparted games with the qualities which any gamer encounters while playing an online games. Therefore the features of good sound, great pictures and more detailed backgrounds of game interfaces are the result of using these technologies in the games. A good example of such a technology would be Flash and the world today sees some the latest and free flash games creating business for the websites on which they are featured and also becoming the most preferred resource for entertainment for millions of people who play free online games.

Some of the best online games that are currently being played by large number of users also have another side to themselves. This side consists of the feature of providing many other benefits other than the basic enjoyment derived from playing these games. The facets of the features of an online game in this context usually involve the elements of education and also stress-busting roles. Some of the free Flash games which belong to the category of online role playing games do a great job in making the gamer aware of the different civilizations which have left their mark in this world. The youth gaming community (a community of human beings who play free online games belonging to the age category of teenagers or kids) is usually one that is normally far away from their history books but nevertheless gets to learn history by playing these games.

The world is full of stress due to different factors and hence human beings are always on the edge. Games played on the internet therefore also serve the wonderful role of relieving the anxiety of the person playing the game and hence the overall performance of free online games in this regard is enhanced.

Email Marketing Campaign. The Unobtrusive Way

2012-07-03T04:50:00.053-07:00

You've built your website / blog - great!

You've added a 'free marketing signup' giveaway product to your site...in return for the visitors email address.

You are keen to build a large email marketing list.

So you're ready to implement your email marketing campaign...you can't wait to sell, sell, sell.

You can't wait to get started...but you should just hold on a few minutes...

... you should take time to analyze what factors make a quality email marketing campaign.

In reality:

Fact number one.

A high percentage of your email list will not buy from you. Period. They just want free goodies. That's not a problem.

Fact number two.

Another high percentage of your email list will not buy from you until they get to know you and your reputation.

Fact number three.

That leaves a small percentage...that may buy from you straight away...if they like what you are selling.

No research but gut feel:

Fact one covers 60% of your list.
Fact two covers 35% of your list.
Fact three covers 5% of your list.

You email campaign is aimed at the complete email list but you are mainly trying to sell to the customers who fall into the fact two and three categories.

So what is the overall email marketing campaign strategy?

At a high level:

After your visitor signs-up to your email marketing opt in, you want to send your email list some extra free products, information and advice, interspersed with the odd email to try and sell them something...spread over several weeks.

I would recommend 6 emails a fortnight, one of which is recommending a product or something to buy (make sure you have actually used and benefitted what you are trying to sell).

What if you have several different types of sign-ups?

For instance, one for self-development and one for Camera advice.

You need to target your emails to the right recipients...

Many email marketing campaigns fail because the sender treats every email recipient the same unless, of course, the sender is using the appropriate software which is easy to locate and inexpensive. They pay for themselves within a month or two. The person who signed-up for the self-development list also receives the email with the recommendation to buy the latest Nikon camera!

While the people who like self-development were happy, the rest of the email recipients were not happy and many unsubscribe or even hit that 'SPAM' button.

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If you are using an autoresponder facility make sure you have different autoresponders for different sign-up lists.

Ensure Your Emails Are Personalized

When your visitors sign-up, you will ask for their name (and if you don't I recommend you change it so you do). Nine times out of ten the visitor will put in their correct name rather than a made up name. Use this name in the subject line of the email and to actually start the email.

For instance:

Subject: Name, here's your complimentary report on public speaking

Hi Name,

Welcome.....

You can also use their name, one or two (no more) times throughout the email.

I do have to share this little story with you...

Someone signed up to my email list and when they signed up they added their name as 'Bob'.

So all my emails, started with the subject: Bill,....

...and started with:

Hi Bill,

The name is taken from how they signed up. He signed up with 'Bill'

A few weeks later, Bill wrote to me and asked me to stop sending him emails addressed to 'Bill' and 'as I was someone in business, I should know names always start with a capital letter'.

The cheek!
I thought it was funny.

So, ensure you do personalize the emails you send out. The more personal you can get, the easier it is to build trust. You'll also have a better chance of your emails being opened and read. And even better...the more chance your customers will buy from you.

Keep your emails simple

I do send HTML type emails but not because I add banners, flashy graphics, huge fonts, colors...I don't. I use them so I can add links to certain articles or other information. I also make each line of text up to a maximum of 50 characters. That way there is no formatting problems when received by the receiver. So, keep your emails clean and simple, otherwise your emails will go straight into the email waste bin.

Don't make your emails too long

Is this a personal preference? I hate long emails...paragraph after paragraph after paragraph. We are all busy people and we all get hundreds of email every single day. The last thing I want is an email that just goes on for ever and I believe my email list customers are the same. Use a few small paragraphs and if you have something you want to expand upon, link (using HTML type emails) to the rest of the story via a landing page on your site.

What Is The Point Of The Email?

The purpose of you sending an email is to build rapport, to share something you think your customers would like, to sell something. For every email you send out there must be a purpose. If you are building rapport, you may ask them a question or two about themselves. If you are sharing some extra advice, you may like to get their views on the subject. If you are trying to sell them something, you want them to link to the sales page and buy!

How Do You Get The Email Opened?

One of the biggest problems email marketers have: "How do I get more people to open my email?"

Your subject line.

Your subject line will make or break whether customers open your email or delete it. You need to come up with a compelling, curious subject line that grabs the attention of your customers. Avoid rubbish like "make lots of money!" and "earn cash NOW!". Use subject lines that the receiver finds curious, but tells the truth at the same time.

In Summary...

I cannot say you will have a successful email marketing campaign but by using the above tactics, they will dramatically improve your chances of success and generate more sales.

A former college dropout, Andrew Rondeau transformed himself from a petrol pump attendant earning just $4 an hour, to a highly successful Manager and Internet Marketer.

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Related articles

Online Gaming (Part1)

2012-06-27T02:59:00.000-07:00

Jolt Online Gaming (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Computer games have become a huge part of people's gaming experience recently. With the advent of the internet, people have taken to collaborative gaming in a big way. A lot of good online games have emerged in the past few years. Online gaming is one of the fastest growing industries today, having a growth rate of more than 20 percent every year.

There are some people who are increasingly seeing online gaming as a threat to real world games. There is a school of thought which attributes the decreasing popularity of some sports due to the rise of virtual games played on the computer. They believe that online gaming is pulling people away from real sports.

Contrary to popular belief:

Seen in a different light, good online games can actually help real world games become even more popular. If effectively utilized, online games can increase the reach of sports to places where they aren't very popular. When playing online, people have access to whole range of sports that they can choose from, so there is a greater chance of them finding a game of their interest.

Role playing games:

Role playing games or RPG games, as they are called are the best way to use online gaming as a tool to enhance all forms of sports. They provide users with a lot of interactive opportunities and it can be an extremely exciting experience. For this reason, good online games in this format can be leveraged and put to very good use.

Online fantasy games like fantasy baseball league and fantasy soccer league are already very popular with the masses. Fantasy leagues were introduced 40 years ago as an alternative to other games and they had become very popular. With the rise of the internet, online fantasy leagues have caught the imagination of people in a big way.

Most of the good games come with proper instructions which anyone can understand and enjoy the gaming experience. The high scores and real life experiences of other players are also displayed. It increases people's interest in the players and hence the sport. The most popular game in this format is the fantasy football league.

According to a recent survey, a growing number of Moms are playing fantasy soccer leagues as their favorite pastime, which in turn has raised their interest in international soccer games. This is a very good example of how good online games are helping popularize sports.

How it can be enhanced:

A lot of gaming websites have used innovative techniques to increase their popularity in online gaming. They have made rulebooks which are in line with the rules of the real sport, and are constantly updated. Player profiles are updated according to how they play in a particular match. Drafting a team has become as easy as picking players from a given list.

As we can see, good online games which are developed with an effective strategy can actually help sports spread to more people as opposed to eating into their market.

Broken Hands Or Just Stage Fright?

2012-05-22T01:19:00.000-07:00

Stage fright is an extremely common problem for many musicians, even professionals. The symptoms range from getting slight "butterflies" in the stomach to freezing up and being unable to continue a performance. Fortunately, there are techniques you can use to get past these debilitating fears. In this article I will explain some of the ways to alleviate stage fright, as well as how to use it to your advantage.

First, not all stage fright is bad. Channeled properly, it can increase your focus and

result in a better performance. I've been on both ends of the spectrum of stage fright. Years ago, I used to be so afraid of performing in front of a crowd that I would literally have to stop. That is a horrible feeling. Determined to overcome that level of anxiety, I was eventually able to get to the point where I had no stage fright at all. Although this may sound wonderful, I remember these also being some of my worst performances. The reason, I learned, is that when you become too comfortable you get overconfident and lose your edge. This usually results in a less than ideal performance and reinstalls a healthy level of trepidation. So, your goal should be to reduce stage fright to a healthy level rather than totally eliminating it.

Mental Aspects

Remember, your audience is there to be entertained. They are not there to judge you. There is a difference between an audition and a concert. The difference is critical too. Your audience is "on your side". They want you to do well. Most of them also know that they could never get up on stage and do what you're doing. So, most of them have a respect for anyone who can perform in front of a crowd. If you do make a mistake (assuming it's even detected by an audience) crowds are very forgiving and supportive. Most concert goers go into a performance knowing there is a possibility that the performer may make mistakes. It's part of what makes live music so much more exciting and spontaneous than recorded music.

You also have to remember that your own familiarity with your music and performance is much greater than that of your audience. You have practiced your performance for weeks, maybe even months. You know your intentions inside and out. Your audience has no idea. For example, you might flub up a rhythm during a particular phrase. You know immediately that you missed it. Your audience - probably has no idea, especially if they have never heard the piece. Your perspective is critical, but that of your audience is much more passive.

Physical Aspects

Your body and mind are inextricably linked. This is completely obvious when you get nervous. Your palms sweat, your whole body heats up, you shake, you feel nausea, on and on. These are all physical changes responding to mental states. These symptoms worsen the more we focus on the fear. And worse, they can cause our performance to be less than stellar by causing us difficulty in playing our instrument.

The good news is that the mental/physical connection works both ways. Just as mental states can affect physical states, Physical states can alter mental states. Put simply, if you can get your body to act like it isn't nervous your mind will follow obediently! This phenomenon provides us with great techniques for calming ourselves.

One of the most effective techniques is simply to breathe deeply. Right before you go onto stage take 3 full, slow, and deep breathes. Only focus on these breathes. These few seconds make a huge impact. It lowers your heart rate, slows your breathing, and focuses your mind.

Broken Lines, Broken Strings

2010-08-30T02:49:00.000-07:00

Most artists and bands want to achieve success in the music business, for instance earning enough from travelling and playing their beloved instrument to quitting their day job. Good management is almost always necessary to achieve any measure of success in this tough business. Many musicians are intelligent and resourceful, and certainly have the capacity to manage their own affairs, but the artist that can handle all this and progress in his art without losing focus and/or sanity is rare.

The basic question is when do you need a manager?

The simple answer is....when you have something to manage. Sounds pretty obvious, but it is the most accurate answer I can give. Many artists and bands tend to seek management far too early in their careers, but others wait too long. Some artists and bands look for management to take over every aspect of the band's business so they can just "show up and play...". Even if the manager could do it all, bands must understand that the success or failure is solely the band's responsibility. Not the manager's.

The main reason an artist or band tends to seek a manager is because they want to be playing regular gigs as well as get extensive media attention to help promote the artist and their music. From the very first day, a good manager will be driven by an artist or band's achievements, which may be as simple as having a great song written or access to a decent PA or an opportunity to perform for an A&R scout. Any "successful" regional act will tell you that practicing and playing are only a very small part of the job of being in a band; meeting club owners, networking with other bands, and studying the music industry are just a few of many responsibilities. Remember, it's called the music business for a reason.

If you or your band is lucky enough to have a close friend outside the band with respect for the band and music, some computer skills, motivation to succeed, and basic business knowledge, you're in luck!

Most up-and-coming bands aren't in the financial position to pay a manager or even pay their rent for that matter, so be sure to respect the free labour you're receiving for what it is. Once your band is has established itself and written some material to perform live, utilize your resources to record a good demo tape, write a band biography, and have some professional pictures made. Basically, a killer press kit. Then, use those tools to help create some business to manage!

When you know you're ready for a manager and haven't got the full time to focus your attention on playing as well as your administrative duties, its essential to find the perfect manager.

Ain't No Use Jivin,' Ain't No Use Jokin'

2010-06-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

If you're a 'techno-luddite' like myself, then prepare for a grim future in the music department.

Now that music has become so easy to access it's difficult to take in. One certainly can't take in all of it and even taking in what you like would be more than a full-time occupation. Irrespective, record companies, internet sites, companies producing sound devices and a string of other interested parties are doing their darndest to force-feed their 'products' upon us. By 'products' I refer to anything to do with you listening to a song. The band, the individual artist, the record label, the merchandise, the sound device, the box-set DVD, the speakers, the earpieces and so forth.

I still have no idea what 'mp3' actually stands for. I know that it's a type of sound file and the type of sound file that my music is stored in. I know that an iPod plays mp3 files. I have only a vague idea of what a 'Blackberry' is. I assume that it's a 'fifty-billion-devices-in-one' affair with another ninety-billion apps. I know that an app is an application and in the computer world it's something that's added on which makes something do more.

Recently, however, I did stumble across a site that not only clarified my confusion but made the multitude of options' make sense,' if you will. Mini Systems has a vast array of sound devices to cater for all of your sound needs. Mini Systems only deal in quality merchandise which makes their prices much more than competitive and this quality of their is never compromised.

"People Sleeping, On Broken Beds...."

2009-12-02T18:30:00.000-08:00

As is the case with digital music, the vast majority of people who continue to enjoy live music don't really know what goes into the production and transmission of it....and why should they?

The beauty of digital music for ones' iPod is that once it is created and uploaded, the process is over for the musician. Yes, they may have spent countless hours deliberating over this issue and that issue, lost a few hours sleep and sacked a few drummers, but this nowhere near accounts for how much work goes into one live performance, let alone a tour.

I am hoping to share, from, experience, exactly how much goes into touring as a musician. There will be areas that vary or not apply.

I'm taking it as a 'given' that all venues, dates, times and accommodation have been arranged well in advance by your manager. The availability of band members, road crew and so forth should also be established. It is during this pre-tour phase that, while the manager is doing their promotional and organisational work, the band has their routine down pat. The band should allow a little flexibility re. times but only a little. Once a set list, or lists, is settled it should be firmly entrenched in your head. Any suggestions of deviations in the midst of a tour should be met with firm "No!"

On the day of heading off on tour everyone is abuzz. You should be abuzz. It's exciting stuff. This is a critical point for you and a point where things can go pear-shaped fast. Allowing more than enough time for getting to each venue may be all well and good as you to sit there reading tis and nodding your head in agreement but the hours spent hanging around to hit the stage is an easy time for one to be led astray. I don't need to elaborate. If, like me, you found hanging around tedious, go have a lie down. It's much safer and it's legal.

Sound-checks should be done as early as is considered reasonable by the venue. If your sound engineer is worth his salt they shouldn't take long. They may vary in length dependent on the acoustics of a venue. I found that after the soundcheck was a good time to try to sleep.

Ideally, instruments should be left on the stage and tuned-up. Your road crew will keep a close eye on them. If guitars are kept in their cases I guarantee that come show-time they won't be in tune and there's nothing worse than waiting for someone to tune-up during a gig.

I found that approximately an hour pre-gig was a good time to wake up. It was plenty of time to get organised and meet with the other band members but not long enough to start getting fed-up. The bands that I played in only did on long set but if your band do shorter sets I'd suggest breaks between sets of ten minutes and certainly no longer than fifteen minutes. Go backstage during these breaks. Again, your road crew will keep an eye on the stage.

After each gig is over, spend some time together as a band. Again, ten or fifteen minutes. Crowd members are inevitably going to want to meet you. This is something that I struggled with basically because I never knew what all the fuss was about. I am very much the same. Insults, I can retaliate to with a barrage of one-liners. Compliments are different. Irrespective, if logistics and time allow it is worth spending time with those who have gone out of their way and paid money to see you.

The majority of the time you will find that it's drunk people but it's worth putting up with as you never know who may be listening in. Be ever-vigilant that sober people are legit and any band-related matters should be redirected to your manager. Any comments not pertaining to music should be dealt with like hot coal; either not at all or carefully at best. Invitations to post-gig parties should be avoided.

After your post-gig socialising your next focus should be your next tour-date. Take this, distance and time into consideration and work your sleeping pattern around that. It takes a

little bit of adjusting-to but not as much adjusting-to as a constant hangover, lethargy, amnesia and insomnia.

Unless you're on Bob Dylans' "Never Ending Tour" it isn't going to last forever. It's a small sacrifice in time for a lifetimes' worth of experience and stories that you can actually remember and live to tell the tale.

"Streets Are Filled, With Broken Hearts...."

2009-11-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I was reading a local brochure through abject boredom and headed straight to the page advertising what used to be called stereos. Nowadays they're called players, which is fair enough.

I was immediately struck by two factors. The first was the visual factor that 'black is the new black.' Every player was sleek, shiny and black. The second factor that visually blared out at me was in small print below every single player. 'iPod not included.'

My initial response was my typical and self-confessed cynical one. "What a scam!" I shouted, leaving my children wondering if I'd perhaps forgotten to take my Lithium. Three seconds later I'd returned to my normal calm and objective self, weighing up the pros and cons of such a manouvre from a business perspective and it's a good move.

Trends have been showing for quite some time that the consumer is now opting for three devices to play songs on. Not a record player and a record, not a CD player and a CD, but a 'player,' an iPod and songs that are 'iPod compatible' and are downloaded from the internet. Three things that bring the business money instead of two. It's so simple it's brilliant.

From the consumers perspective this option is blasted at them in such a manner that, despite a 15% swing back to physical CDs purchases in recent months, these devices are small and slick, they look cool, they hold an unbelievable amount of songs, the sound quality is second to none and entire albums do not have to be downloaded. Additionally, the hassle of going to a record store is gone (even though one does have to leave ones' house to purchase download cards if purchasing via iTunes).

Does all of this sound too good to be true? Well, it is true but I'm not so sure that it's too good for all parties concerned.

Firstly, the younger generation are drawn to the flashy gadgets and easily accessible music of their favourite artists, be they The Jonas Brothers, Metallica, Robbie Williams and so forth but how on earth are they able to afford these ridiculously small but highly priced players? They are also given the impression that they are locked into the prices set by the likes of iTunes.

There is then the plight of independent musician who cannot afford the relentless siege-like advertising campaigns because they're not making massive amounts of money for the major players in the distribution caper. This is where I see big things ahead for Nimbit if they play their cards right.

Nimbit was only brought to my attention by my manager Haych Storm© and I couldn't believe my luck....or was it luck? Not only does Nimbit allow the artist set the price of albums and singles, the artist can choose the exact date and time of release, unlike iTunes. Additionally, liner notes are presented as submitted and material can be 'featured' and rotated as desired. Additionally, their store tracking is second to none and the sound sampling is equal to that of other major distributors.

I have been advised by satisfied supporters that downloading is a simple affair and that they found the PayPal option a real bonus.

The real clincher for me with Nimbit is that downloaded tracks are iPod compatible.' My only minor criticism is that I think Nimbit could benefit from highlighting this fact. Independent musicians can do likewise....as I have just done.

"Broken Words, Never Meant To Be Spoken...."

2009-11-11T14:21:00.000-08:00

When the new ReverbNation webstore finally arrived I couldn't believe what I was looking at. They have partnered with Audiolife to make the store possible, but not in the for people were led to believe. Admittedly ReverbNation did not directly state that artists would be able to sell directly from the site but they came as close as legally possible to it. I also noted with bemusement that ReverbNation has joined forces with Audiolife is to make this possible.

On the Audiolife site the musicians' material is accepted at 128kbs whereas at Reverbnation it is 256kbs. Why this is, I have no idea. ReverbNation has also added store widgets and banners with no mention of Audiolife on them. One could only assume that Audiolife are benefiting from the increase in sales as ReverbNation has much higher online visibility. The pricing options are the same as on the Audiolife site.

I was rather looking forward to the opening of the ReverbNation store and selling directly from there to my fans as it is one of my favourite sites but I won't be bothering. I sent a letter to my fans there when I started with Audiolife several weeks ago. I see no point in sending them a message offering the same material. Very disappointing.

It seems that of late iTunes seem to be getting left out of the picture. The recent announcement by Google that they would be making artists searchable directly from their toolbar has, from what I've read, been doing rather well. I noticed in the message received from iLike that iTunes was excluded from the partnership. ReverbNations' recent partnering with Audiolife also mentioned in their F.A.Q. that iTunes ringtones were not available at this time.

Apple has been conspicuous in its' silence on the music front. It has, however, been equally conspicuous in its' increase in emails promoting this gadget or that gadget all in very eye-catching colours. Has Apple conceded defeat as far as actual music is concerned and now focussing even more on flashy gizzmos?

This would't be as silly a move as it initially sounds. The younger generation devour these new gimmics as quickly as they are produced and they are produced at an astonishing rate. A teenager buying the latest mp3 player almost has to turn back before leaving the shop as a newer one has become available.

Planned obsolescence is a brilliant business strategy but it's parasitic and unfortunately people fall for it in droves. Perhaps Apple have realised that they're more suited to catering for musical devices. They certainly don't show any concern for musicians or any interest in artists input.

It may be well worth paying attention to Apples' future direction as far as music goes. There is too much money to be made for them to totally abandon it but if they intend to compete with genuine music sites such as ReverbNation, Nimbit and Audiolife then they need to be more pro-active, open and genuine with regard to the work that musicians put into their work.

"Broken Idols, Broken Heads...."

2009-11-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

Sooner than I expected, iLike and "other partners" are enabling Google to make it easier for music listeners to find, listen to and buy music. Sounds great, eh? It is great for listeners. For the independent artist it's not quite so great. By having ones' music on iLike doesn't necessarily mean that its' available for sale. To make ones' music for sale there the artist must pay to make it available for download by a major distributor.

For this musician it has been the cause of much gnashing of false teeth and heavy-duty decision making. The cost of putting out an album via the major distributors in partnership may not seem much to most, but to me it's not an option at the moment. Even if it were an option I would still not go down this avenue on principal.

After months of research on statistics I discovered that, unless you are a major act, you enter the realms of major distributors you basically vanish. I have, however, maintained my visibility on iLike by placing a full length track, "I'm Money" as a tongue-in-cheek free download. All other tracks are 30-second song-clips. I have posted a bulletin to iLike to this effect. I shall also be sharing the song-clips on Facebook and elsewhere.

I also noted in the press release with my usual cynicism that MySpace are involved in this "seamless integration." I also noted that The Kings Of Leon were used as the example of how simple this new search which can be done directly from the Google search box. My pet wolverine could find The Kings Of Leon. They're hardly 'obscure.' To add insult to injury, the alleged "seamless integration" currently seems to have come apart at the seams as I attempted to load my song-clips from GarageBand to then have transfered to iLike in order to share with my supporters elsewhere. Seamless indeed. I'm sure they'll have some outstanding yet paltry excuse shortly.

I also noted that there are problems accessing adsense. All within 24 hours of this major amalgamation......I don't believe in coincidences. Once these problems are ironed out, which I suspect will be very soon, people will have access to pretty-well every artist who has put some time & effort into marketing themselves. The downside, and statistics show this, that a big name act is light years more likely to have their material purchased purely because of who they are. Us independent artists will have our commercially available material streamed day in, day out.

So where does this leave the 'small fish' like me and so many other independent artists?

It leaves us having to make ourselves as searchable and visible on Google by maintaining a consistent profile, fresh and relevant updates and spreading the word amongst fellow musicians such as I am attempting to do. Google is the worlds search engine of choice. By combining this with Facebook, which holds the largest slice of the sharing market despite the bleating of other sharing sites. Make no mistake, it's time-consuming and despite the speed of the internet at transferring information it does take time to generate. Be patient and remain focussed and true to yourself. If any of these two factors go, then things go pear-shaped really quickly. It is time well spent.

It took me months of late nights, reading information that turned out to be hopeless but, as I do with my music, I work on the law of averages. Keep doing enough and someone somewhere will dig your work enough to buy it.

I was also looking for the most viable option to distribute my music. With the assistance of my manager, Haych Storm©, we finally settled on two distributors that I would HIGHLY recommend....something that I rarely do. Firstly there's Nimbit. They have a free account where digital downloads are sold and managed by them. It is somewhat time-consuming to set up but if you want to be professional, these things are a must. Their widhest & store tracing are second to none. There are no up-front costs but they charge 20% of the price of the album or single download which I think is more than fair. In addition it is you who determines the price.

The second distributor that we decided on was AudioLife. As well as offering mp3 downloads, it also lets the artist create 'on demand' CDs which you design yourself. They charge $5.45 for this on-demand service. Like Nimbit, you get to set the price. This also applies to merchandise, mainly assorted styles of T-shirts. They also provide the option of selling ringtones which serve 45 countries. They have had to set the price of $2.45 due to the variatios between phone servers (I checked the stats).

This leads me to my closing point in this entry. Fess-up, guys! You want to make a few dollars. All of those rehearsals, money spent on equipment, arguments amongst band members, travel and so forth don't have a set price but they DO have a price. Your music is worth something to more people than you realise. Getting people to reach into their wallet is akin to pulling teeth....unless you happen to be The Kings Of Leon.

As I mentioned previously, these things take time to generate. Hold that thought.

"Ain't No Use Jivin,' Ain't No Use Jokin'...."

2009-11-01T22:15:00.001-08:00

No sooner had I written about the analogy made between the internet and a pieces of wire which will inevitably become so intertwined by Stuart Reeman and I that they wold soon end up as one single (ideally) slicl piece of steel than Twitter has gone and made the unbelievably irrational move of disabling FutureTweets and RSS feeds.

I haven't read the whys and wherefores. I have neither the need nor interest. I do, however, suspect that many people who used these services as were intended will be a touch more than annoyed. I'm more bemused as I suspected that Twitter would go belly-up as quickly as it rose to near internet domination.

The likes of Google, MySpace, iLike and other sites clambering desperately for more pie must be breathing a sigh of relief. How long this will last is unknown as my cynicism tells me that the must be more afoot from the folks at Twitter.

I was hoping not to be writing this entry so soon but felt compelled to let folks know about it. I, for one, don't have time to sit at a computer day in, day out and wouldn't know the first thing about these miniscule phones that do a billion things in a nano second. I know for a fact that I'm not alone in this area.

So, as a musician, al that will be seen of me on Twitter will be very few status updates. The best chance of seeing them will be in blogs as the odds of catching me in real-time are practically nil.

For a site that prides itself on the sharing of information rapidly, this recent moves certainly seems a wee bit more than odd which is why, as mentioned before, I suspect they have some new gizzmo up their sleeve. Time will tell but for this writer, it won't make one jot of a difference to my music. I shall continue to put my song-clips there when I remember to and hope that somebody somewhere might hear them on Twitter.

If not there are more folks hear my material on my website & on ReverbNation.

"Broken Voices, On Broken Phones...."

2009-10-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

A few months ago Stuart Reeman and I were discussing the speed at which the internet was developing and how it would affect the music game. We were both left wondering how much 'further' it can develop. Speaking as one with very limited internet skills the word 'developing' when used in relation to the internet generally means condensing whilst making music sharing easier.

We began with the analogy of every site being a length of wire. As time progressed a certain length of wire would develop a branch, this branch being a new & improved piece of technology. The other pieces of wire predictably followed suit with their own branches. Each new branch became the focal point of each site leading to the starting point, the reason why the site was created, becoming obsolete.

We took this analogy further with each piece of wire becoming so intricate & difficult to distinguish from the next that they began merging with each other. This has been blatantly obvious over the past 12 months as sites are finally realising that they have become so bent out of shape that they are becoming paradoxically less popular due to overload. The converation between Stuart and I ended with, not a single piece of wire, but a small metallic dot that catered for everything. Time will prove us right or wrong.

Having read a few articles over the past week from various major players I detect a definite sense of panic as one organisation attempts to compete with another. As a musician I obviously focussed my attention on this area.

It has been announced that Google and Bing will soon be indexing Twitter. This seems to me to be a rather drastic course of action, particularly by Google who are by far the most popular of search engines, when one considers that Twitter is merely two or so years old.

Twitter has quite obviously given the major players quite a scare. The rapidity with which major pieces of information can be transfered with minimal effort in real-time hasn't been seen before. When Michael Jackson passed away, A.I.M. almost ground to a halt as it was unable to cope with the influx of information being transferred.

Twitter have also made it possible for musicians to share their music. Google are soon to respond by launching a music service which allows users to stream music from a vast collection of songs directly from their search window. Google is also partnering with the purely music-based organisations iLike and Lala .

For those who really enjoy their music this is a fantastic innovation but how does this affect the independent musicians who, like myself, are attempting to make a few dollars from what we enjoy?

In recent weeks I have received an annoyingly noticeable amount of emails from music sites asking for input. Until the past few weeks such emails were a rarity. The emails are similar in nature all saying how much us independent artists mean to them and how they will respond to every single piece of input. Were they not so irritating, I'd find them sad. Not only are we promised (yet again) the world but profile pages need updating as sites move along with 'our requests.' I don't know who made these requests but I certainly wasn't informed.

Then there are the 'bonus features,' the main one being able to put more songs onto a particular site. THIS, to my mind, is where the system is upside-down. The site draws listeners so it's gaining revenue. Listeners are getting to listen to free music. At the end of the day, the musician is getting little more than a 'virtual' thank you.

What solution is there? Plenty, but people would be leaving sites that had anything remotely to do with music in droves, which is paradoxical to what is happening now. Music is becoming more sought after than ever. This trend will continue as long as people can just happily listen to whoever they choose, as opposed to what the D.J. decides.

The control over what music one chooses to listen to is now taken for granted, as is the ability to listen to it free of charge. Take away either of these factors and the music caper would be more of a shambles than it currently is. The big guns know this and are in panic mode as they clamber for a bigger slice of the action.

The effect of this continued greed will obviously have a direct effect on musicians. How musicians react to this is obviously their own choice. Do they make their music so available to these major organisations that the need for people to actually purchase their music is nullified or do they take a risk and make their music scarce? Robert Plant, only this week, at the British Music Awards said of the industry when asked, "There is no music industry. It's all merchandise."

There are more ways of promoting ones' music than simply placing every song on every site possible. I have removed the vast majority of my music from most sites with still some to go but am maintaining my 'visibility.' The notion that people are streaming entire songs is akin to the notion that a band is playing my songs. It's a paradoxical notion; a compliment and an irritant at the same time.

Some folks may call this arrogant but I suspect any car saleseman who was asked by the same customer to take out a different car for a test-drive on a daily basis for a few years would agree with me.

This musician is for taking a risk. My material can be previewed in the Nimbit store (below) and also on my website, www.scotsbob.com where CDs can now be purchased. I have nothing to lose. Hopefully my supporters agree.