INDIE MUSIC PROMOTION TIP

Here’s a little Indie music promotion tip for singers, songwriters & musicians who are looking to get more exposure. Go to http://www.soundclick.com and sign up for a free band page account.  Then upload your original songs  into your band account and promote them over the internet on Soundclick for free.

If you wish, you can also pay for ”high profile” advertising at a very reasonable cost.   This will feature your music on specific pages of SoundClick and give you more chances of being heard. 

You can create your own radio station too! This will allow you to promote your indie-music and as many other artists as you like. I just created my own station called: Indie-Mix Radio and I’m aiming to feature the best original music I can find.

Currently there are only 10 songs on my station, but more are on the way; perhaps you’ll be one of  them!  The following songs are currently being offered as free downloads:

SHILOH – this song is being featured on Soundclick today (Christmas Eve). To see an example of paid advertising simply click the link for: Acoustic General on SoundClicks home page. The ad will appear on the far right of this genre and any sub-genre.

ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH – a beautiful solo classical guitar rendition of this very popular Christmas song.

RIVERS IN THE SAND – Christian Rock. Very nice arrangement. Good guitar and vocals.

GABRIELS BIG DAY – An Acoustic Rock instrumental guitar piece that is very well done. The artist’s inspiration came from his little boy.

There are other great songs that are not being offered as free downloads, but you can still listen to them for free. One of my personal favorites is “BELIEVE” by Star 74.

To hear these songs go to: Indie-Mix Radio

There is a menu bar at the top of the page which says:

 station radio: all songs in one go

Click the arrow for lo-fi or hi-fi according to your internet connection speed and all the songs will begin playing in sequential order. You can play the songs in a different order by selecting the shuffle feature. Clicking the green arrow next to the song title lets you hear the selected song by itself.

Hope you enjoy the music!

Till next time…

Keep practicing!
guitarcoach

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Sell Your Music Online

Would you like to sell your music online? Did you know that 16% or more of all music sold in Europe and North America will be sold online in the coming  year? And that number is bound to grow as more and more people get comfortable using the internet to make their purchases.

This trend is very beneficial if you happen to be an indie artist like myself. Using the internet to promote your music career can save you a bucket load of money. Gone are the days when you needed a record company to build your fan base. Now you can literally have millions of people buying your CDs and listening to your music without struggling to get a recording contract.

Shortly after building my website, I decided to put several of my original songs up to see what would happen. After that I also joined SoundClick, frequented a songwriting forum, wrote a few articles and made some blog posts to gain a little exposure.

Then one day I received an email from a tv producer. He said he was interested in using one of my songs for a tv documentary he was working on. My first reaction was to think it was a spoof email. Why would he pick my song out of all the other indie music online? But it was a legitimate offer and he used not just one, but two of my original songs in a tv special about Hurricane Katrina!

Thus, the proof of how the internet can be used to get your music heard by the right people; even if you know nothing about the internet. So, in order to be successful as an indie artist in today’s world,  it’s imperitive that you learn how to promote and sell your music online. With the right resources and information,  you’ll find that it’s really not as difficult as you might think. 

Explore, Create and Grow!

Until next time…

Keep practicing!
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CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC

The genre commonly referred to as Contemporary Christian Music has grown increasingly popular among music lovers  over the past decade or so and, as a result, has made it’s way onto public radio stations, tv commercials and even major motion pictures. This trend can be seen in the current fame of an alternative rock band known as Switchfoot, who had four of their songs used in the 2002 movie called “A Walk to Remember”.  In addition to this, one of their most successful albums, “Learning to Breathe”, received a grammy nomination for “Best Rock Gospel Album” and achieved gold record status.

All I can say is, Contemporary Christian Music sure has come a long way since it’s birth in the late ’60s/early ’70s when many disillusioned hippies turned-on to Jesus. These so-called “Jesus Freaks” began writing songs about their life changing experience and singing them on street corners, in bars, and wherever else they could find people who were willing to listen to their message.

My first encounter with Contemporary Christian Music was back in 1970. I was in Victoria, British Columbia, with my parents, under “house arrest” due to some bad behavior, and was facing juvenille hall if I didn’t reform. Regardless of this, my folks let me go out for a walk one night, by myself, around the bay. This was really quite amazing because during that period of my life I was an incorrigible runaway!

As I wandered around that night I noticed many venders and artists pitching their wares. But I was drawn toward a small gathering of people who were listening to 3 guys playing guitar and singing songs. Their words were strange, but the music was good. After the crowd dispersed I hung around because I was hungry for some conversation with people close to my own age.

It wasn’t long before they began talking about Jesus, but I just laughed at them and said something rude and sarcastic. To me, they seemed to have old-fashioned ideas and were still living in the dark ages. But that night, unbeknown to me, a seed was planted in my heart  that would bear fruit five years later, when I would finally come to know Jesus myself.

Now, I am aware that some people don’t like the fact that I write Contemporary Christian music and freely talk about my faith. They feel threatened and angry by it, which I completely understand, because I’ve been there and done that too. But the reason I do it, is because my own heart and mind were softened as a result of hearing the Christian message through song, and the life I once knew as an angry, rebellious teenager was changed. So I am compelled to carry the torch and do the same. Who knows? Perhaps I too can plant a seed that will someday bear fruit by changing the life of another.

Until next time…

Keep practicing!
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HAPPY CHRISTMAS (War Is Over)

Happy Christmas (War Is Over), may sound a bit overly optimistic, but it’s a nice thought to contemplate this time of year.  The first time I heard this song was in December of 1971. I had received the 45 record in the mail as a Christmas gift from John and Yoko because I was following their campaign for peace. They also sent me a calendar with various pictures from their highly publicized protest movement against the Viet Nam War. I wish I still had these items, but alas, they’ve been lost in the fray- very typical of my life during that period of time.

John & Yoko 1969

I’ve always found it ironic that John Lennon was shot by a fan who, for a  time anyway, claimed to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  Apparently, Mark David Chapman became disenchanted with Lennon after the former Beatle made an indiscreet comment about his famous band being more popular than Jesus.  The press printed the statement out of context so, consequently, it was blown way out of proportion. Chaos errupted as a result, and large masses of people began burning their Beatle albums. Many record stores and radio stations banned Beatle music altogether.

Now granted, it was a stupid thing to say. John, realizing his mistake, did the right thing, and made a public apology. Afterwords one reporter said John was almost in tears as he lamented “Why couldn’t I keep my big mouth shut?” If only he had…

But years later Lennon, a devoted “Peacenik” had  his life cut short by a madman who thought he was doing Jesus, the true  ”Prince of Peace”,  a favor. How weird is that?  When Jesus  lived on earth  people often said things about him that were slanderous and untrue. But he didn’t respond with anger and hatred. Instead,  he told his disciples, “Love your enemies” and  “pray for those who dispitefully use you and persecute you.”

I have a picture of John Lennon wearing a cross. That’s not unusual in itself, as many people wear a cross yet don’t believe in the Truth it represents.  However, John was a person who had long been searching  for Truth.  You can hear it in the songs he sings, “all I want is the truth, just give me some truth.”

There is something written on the cross that John is wearing in the photo I have, but I can’t read it. Just two simple words, could they be- Jesus Saves …?

On December 8, 2007,  it will be 27 years since John Lennon’s murder. Though his music lives on,  I sometimes wonder what might have happened if he had been given  more time to search, and perhaps discover, the real Truth and meaning of Christmas for himself.

Learn more about John Lennon here…

Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

Until Next Time,

Keep practicing!
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