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Volume 1: Issue 8 | The B# Newsletter | September, 2000
Publisher: N.M.A. (National Music Agency)
http://www.kennylove.net
Editor: Kenny Love
P. O. Box 1404
Crockett, Texas 75835-1404
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Copyright €  © 2000 N.M.A. (National Music Agency)

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"The B# Newsletter" is published exclusively for
unsigned and independent musicians and recording
artists. Its intent is to inform and enlighten artists
through articles, resources, products, and services
that will significantly benefit them in their careers.

We will never rent, sell, or release your private Email
address to any third party. Your discreet privacy in
becoming a subscriber is assured.

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IN THIS ISSUE

1. Editor's Blurb

2. Music Career Stuff

3. "Covering Songs"

By Joy Butler


4. "Branding Your Music"

By Suzanne Glass

5. "The New Millennium & Music Business Changes"

by Christopher Knab

6. "Consignment VS. Distribution"

By Tim Sweeney

7. "Un-Training"

By Mark Baxter

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1. Editor's Blurb:

Welcome to the Sept., 2000 issue of B#. Nice to
see these overheated days of summer winding
down. Summer was once my favorite time of year,
but after living in Europe for several years, I
acquired a preference for the Fall and Winter
seasons. And, it's great to see them just around
the bend once again.

News:

Due to recent developments within my career,
such as becoming Co-Owner and Director of
Marketing for new Houston-based "1st Light Records,"
as well as having recently accepted an appointment as
Music Reviewer for the "Orlando Weekly," I will shortly
cease operation in many of the areas I am currently
involved in. These areas include, but are not limited
to, independent record promotion, publicity, and
booking.

I believe that one of the major causes of people getting
into ruts and becoming stagnated, whether in careers,
or life in general, is their failure to recognize and
evaluate where they stand at certain points in either of
these areas, otherwise becoming complacent.
Therefore, I see that signpost just up ahead, and am
taking the prior exit...in fact, the right blinker is already
on. :-)

Additionally, my web site will be getting a complete
overhaul over the next 30-45 days, as I attempt to
match it with new focuses.

================

I want to thank you who have been sending in your
CDs for review consideration in response to the new
"Orlando Weekly" appointment. You should know that
the reviews also go out worldwide to over 100 music
publications, online as well as in print. So, if you have
not done so, please get your CDs to me for
consideration.

Just make sure that your CDs are recent productions
with a CURRENT Copyright date. I cannot review
recordings that contain Copyright dates of 1997 or
1998. And, I'm also fairly leery of 1999 Copyrights as
well at this point in the year. Copyrights have a way of
presenting a musical product in a negative light if
such dates are considered "too old" by the reviewer.

Such questions arise as, "Is this the latest recording?,"
"Why is this artist seeing a review on such an old
product?," or "Did this get passed over, and the artist
is trying one last time?" So, here's a tip to avoid this
type of rejection:

Tip: If you are currently working on a project during the
months of August, September, or later, always place
the NEXT year of Copyright on it. For example, if you
are currently in the middle of production, or even
manufacturing, of your product at the moment, instead
of 2000, go ahead and place 2001 as your Copyright
date.

By the time your product is read for marketing and
promotion, you will be close enough to the new year
anyway, and it won't make any difference. This also,
dramatically, adds to the perception that your recording
is "new" by as much as an extra year for promotional
purposes.

================

Finally, if you are an Urban or R&B recording artist
who has a completed product up to the point of
mastering, please feel free to submit your recording to
us for review and consideration of label representation
or a possible record deal with "1st Light Records."
Again, our Houston label officially opens its doors in
January and, prospectively, releases our first artist, a
Minneapolis-based female duo called "Full Body."
This first project holds significant promise.

We've also gotten our domain name registered as
http://www.1stlightrecords.com, however, as we are
still building the site, have not uploaded it to the main
server. But, you can get a preview and general idea
of what the site will eventually look like by going to our
temporary location at http://web.wt.net/~lavot. Thanks!

================

Check out the B# RoundTable for various opinions
and assistance regarding your music career. To join,
simply send a blank Email to
mailto:BSharpRoundTable-subscribe@egroups.com.

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2. Music Career Stuff

* What's so unique about "CDSTREET.COM?"
- No need to give up a HUGE chunk of each sale
- CDStreet.com collects ONLY 15% in service fees
- NO set-up fees
- NO waiting for 3 months to collect your sales
royalties
- You are paid monthly for your CD sales
Check them out at http://www.cdstreet.com and tell
them you learned about them in "The B# Newsletter."

* Promote your own Music-Related Product, Service,
or Information in this space for only $5 for a whole
month! Deadline is the 25th of each month. We also
reserve the right to reject ads we deem inappropriate
for this publication.

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3. "Covering Songs"

By Joy Butler


Part One -

Is the Song in the Public Domain?

This is Part One of a 3-part article about covering songs.
In this part, we€  '²ll talk about determining whether the song
to be covered is in the public domain. In Part Two, we€  '²ll
address what licensing rights you€  '²ll need if the song
isn€  '²t in the public domain, and in Part Three, we€  '²ll talk
about special copyright registration considerations for
your cover song.

When you cover a song, you are making a recording
of a song written by or owned by someone else. If the
copyright in the song has expired, the song is in the
public domain and you do not need a license or
authorization to record it. Determining the copyright
status of a song can be tricky. The most reliable
method is having a copyright attorney or professional
music clearance agency make the determination for you.

If you decide to do the research yourself, there are
resources available to you. If you can verify through a
reliable source that the song was published prior to
1923, you can conclude that the song is in the public
domain. The reliable source might be records
maintained by the United States Copyright Office, or
original sheet music or a music book that includes the
publication date of the song.

The copyright in a song published between 1923 and
1977 can potentially last up to 95 years from the date
of publication. Copyrights in songs written after 1977
last for the life of the author plus 70 years. However, a
song from 1923 or later, can still be in the public
domain if its owner failed to comply with certain
copyright formalities, such as renewal or copyright
notice.

Current law has removed most of these formalities so
the songs that are in the public domain as a result of
the copyright owner€  '²s omission are primarily songs
published between 1923 and 1977, and to a lesser
extent, songs published between 1978 and
March 1, 1989. Unfortunately, there is no "official" list
of songs in the public domain.

There are unofficial lists such as the Mini-Encyclopedia
of Public Domain Songs, published by BZ/Rights &
Permissions, Inc., a clearance service (Contact BZ at
121 West 27th Street, Suite 901, New York, NY, 10001,
212-924-3000/Fax: 212-924-2525). Not all
compilations are created equally so exercise caution in
selecting the lists on which you rely.

The Copyright Office located in Washington, D.C.
maintains records dating back to 1891. Records from
1978 through the present can be accessed through the
Copyright Office€  '²s website
(http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/rb.html). The Copyright
Office does not maintain a list of public domain works.
Instead, you can use their records to determine the
song€  '²s publication date and whether the song€  '²s owner
adhered to the formalities required for maintenance of
the copyright.

You can conduct the search yourself, or the Copyright
Office will conduct the search for you for a fee of $65
per hour. If you can€  '²t get to Washington, D.C., libraries
throughout the country have copies of the Copyright
Office€  '²s records catalog. The Copyright Office€  '²s
Information Circular No. 22 provides information on
searching Copyright Office records. The
(http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/) information
circulars are available online.

Other databases and sites on the Internet may also be
helpful. Public Domain Info (http://www.pdinfo.com) is
a good site from which to start. It contains helpful
articles, a listing of public domain songs, and links to
other resources.

Each of the performing rights societies ASCAP
(http://www.ascap.com), BMI ( http://www.bmi.com ),
and SESAC (http://www.sesac.com), as well as the
Harry Fox Agency (http://songfile.snap.com), maintains
an online catalog of songs which you can search for free.
Although these databases won€  '²t tell you whether a song
is in the public domain, they will give you general
copyright information on the song such as the identity of
the writer and music publisher.

€  © Copyright 2000 Joy R. Butler, Esq.
________________________________________

Editor's Note: Joy R. Butler, Esq., is a principal and
the general counsel of Sashay Communications, LLC,
a publishing and media production company located
in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She is
also author of "The Musician's Guide Through the
Legal Jungle," a 3-hour audiobook offering a faster,
easier way to understand music law. Visit
<http://www.legaljungleguide.com/musician.htm> for
audio excerpts and a detailed outline of "The
Musician's Guide," and for free music law resources.

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4. "Branding Your Music"

By Suzanne Glass


Branding" has been one of the past year's buzz words.
It means the act of making sure everyone knows your
brand name. Companies like Coca-Cola and
McDonalds spend millions of dollars every year making
sure they get their brand name mentioned whenever
possible. There are TV commercials, coupons,
contests, radio jingles, and more - all designed to
make you remember the name of the product and,
hopefully, influence your buying when you're hungry or
thirsty.

And the truth is, if you want a soda, you'll probably buy
the Coca-Cola instead of a brand you've never heard of.
We trust Coke to give us a decent product, and we've
bought their product plenty of times in the past with good
results. We know they've been around and will likely
continue to be around if we need a soda.

So how does all this relate to your music career?

Marketing a musical act is, in many ways, just like
marketing any other product, such as Coca-Cola or
Kleenex. Did you know that research shows it takes the
average person 7 times of seeing an ad to actually buy?
Repetition is key. The more we hear the name, the
more tangible that product becomes to us. We attach a
higher value to a known product than an unknown one.

In the music business, there is stiff competition. We
work hard to make our band stand out above the den
of other musicians. We want to get our name up in
lights and on the lips of the movers and shakers, right?
The key is repetition. Repetition of your band's name.

Whether it's by you, or someone else, each time your
name is spoken or printed, it extends the reach - and
the "brand name" value of your group. To do this, in
its simplest form, means to tell as many people about
your band as possible. It also means sending your
news out to the press regularly.

Even if your shows don't get listed for the first six
months you send it to your local weekly paper - and you
feel snubbed - the power of branding is still working for
you. Eventually, you gain greater credibility just through
repetition and the paper will start to print your calendar.
More people will hear of your shows and come out to
watch. The paper will write about you even more, and
so on.

But if you stop sending this paper your news, you won't
get covered at all, and you will have lost a huge
opportunity to reach many people all at once. This is
why the media is so valuable to you. By reaching
thousands of people, you are working much more
efficiently.

Advertising is also a form of branding, it just costs
money instead of being free like a review or calendar
listing in the paper. Sometimes, it is a wise investment.

Another thing you'll notice about branding is that
products have a carefully designed logo and image,
which they maintain across all of their promotional efforts.
Think about the Golden Arches at McDonalds or the
NBC TV Peacock. Adding the visual element increases
peoples' recognition of the product.

With your music, this means having a legible logo and
"look" to all your printed materials and your website.
You want your logo on your band photo, letterhead,
business cards, CD cover, stickers, everything.

Definitely don't overlook good old word-of-mouth
branding, either. Music fans do tell each other about
great music they've heard. And, industry folks do talk
to each other about bands. So, make it your goal to
tell as many people about your music as possible.

You'd be surprised how often you can bring it up in
everyday life, for instance, to the clerk at the grocery
store, or to people partying at a club.

Summing up, "branding" is just a new-fangled buzz
word for the old job of constantly promoting your music.
You can learn some great tricks from the sales and
marketing industries that have studied people's buying
habits extensively. Make it memorable and make it
repetitive. Eventually, they will listen.

Happy branding.
________________________________________

Editor's Note: Suzanne Glass is Pres./CEO of Indie-
Music.com, where you can save time & promote your
music free! 1000's of contacts for musicians, no cost,
no hassles. Download a FREE College Radio
E-Guide at http://Indie-Music.com/radioguide/.

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5. "The New Millennium & Music Business Changes"

by Christopher Knab


Note: In late 1998, I wrote a column about the changes
facing the independent musician in the late 1990€  '²s.
Well, things are evolving and changing rapidly these
days, so I felt it was time once again to update some
of the significant changes going on in the music
industry.

This month€  '²s column, then, is a revamped version of
my earlier column. But, as I write this introduction, what
is happening today that could be added to my list of
developments? That is, for you to keep up on. I
suggest subscribing to the daily free email newsletters
available from www.mi2n.com and www.webnoize.com.

Introduction:

As the new millennium begins, there are many changes
facing musicians when it come to marketing their music.
Even more daunting, perhaps, is how difficult it can be
for musicians to keep on top of all the changes and
challenges taking place in today€  '²s music industry. But,
for any musician wishing to grow their career from the
start, or gain a wider acceptance from their existing
fanbase, keeping up on new technologies and changes
in music business practices is a necessity for one and
all.

Beginning in the latter half of the 1970's, a trend began
which has slowly evolved over the last twenty years,
and has proven to be the most effective way to attract
Major Label attention. Releasing your own record
simply is the most realistic method of establishing your
music career, or getting a label deal, as well as the
best way to prepare for any contract negotiations. The
more successful an act becomes, the more 'say' they
can have in any contract negotiations.

A surprising number of artists and bands are enjoying
the benefits of owning their own label these days. Ani
DeFranco, for example, would not have it any other way.
Once the economics of the Major Label contracts are
studied, a homegrown independent label is more
appealing every day to many musicians. The artist who
is €  '±shopping€  '² a bunch of songs to a label without any
experience of making and selling their own independent
releases, is an artist waiting to be exploited.

Let's take a look at some examples of artists and
bands who developed their own careers over the last
decade, got signed, and see if they have something in
common with each other.

Before signing to RCA, "The Verve Pipe" released 2
independent records that sold over 40,000 copies,
and they spent over four years touring and securing a
strong fanbase who bought those CDs.

Mojo Records recording artists "Reel Big Fish," built
their solid fanbase on playing only all-ages venues,
and working up to securing better gigs with bigger
name ska bands in Southern California.

"Ben Folds Five" worked the live gig scene, as well as
courting the underground press, and then releasing
their first record on Caroline Records, before signing
with Sony.

From 1986 to 1995, Country artist Michael Peterson
traveled the U.S. singing 200 nights a year at clubs
and schools, playing any kind of venue that would pay
him to perform. He didn't choose to sign with Reprise
Records until he felt his songwriting was strong enough.

That meant he had some work to do if he was going to
impress a publishing company, and impress them he
did by making and selling his own CD, and selling them
at all his live gigs. His reputation as a songwriter grew
so, that he eventually got an offer for a deal with Warner
Chappel Publishing, which eventually led to the Reprise
deal.

After releasing their own Indie record, 'Fush You Mang',
San Francisco Bay Area-based "Smashmouth" got
lucky when the song, "Walking On The Sun," got to the
ears of an L.A. radio station programmer, and the rest
is history, as Interscope Records turned that record into
a mega hit.

The list goes on and on. Whether or not all these artists
remain in the public eye, is beside the point. What
matters is that these acts got a shot at success by taking
command of their careers.

Rewards For Developing Your Own Career:

Once an artist has the attention of the record labels,
there are other benefits to controlling your own destiny.
According to many entertainment law attorneys, the
deals once given as 'standard' deals to new artists,
can change significantly when a band is being
sought-out by a label.

The following recording contract issues are more
negotiable than ever if an artist has done some
development of their own.

Better royalty rates:

Artists are paid for the records they record from a
percentage of the sales of that record, based on a
percentage of the list price of their records. A high rate
just a few years ago for a new act was 14-16 points,
whereas 'Buzz Acts' (the name given to acts that are in
demand by labels), can get up to several points higher,
if they are in demand.

Ownership of masters:

When an artist can buy back the master recordings
they made for a label after their contract has expired,
or after the label drops them, they are more in control
of their destinies than artists who cannot do this. It can
be easier to negotiate a speedier reversion of master
ownership if a label wants the artist.

Creative control issues:

Many artists are concerned about labels deciding key
issues regarding selection of material, producer,
graphic images etc. If these issues are important to
you, take the time to develop your career.

Non-recoupable issues:

'Buzz Bands' have more say in what a label can claim
as €  '±automatic€  '² recoupable expenses (promotion costs,
videos, % of touring budgets etc.)

Controlled Composition Clauses:

In a nutshell, this is a clause that labels insert into their
contracts with most new artists that reduces, up to 75%,
the amount of money due to the songwriter and
publishers for the songs on the record from product sales.
The standard rate, (currently 7.5 cents per song, per
record or €  '±unit€  '² sold) is more negotiable with €  '±Buzz
acts€  '².

These issues are more than enough reasons for artists
to examine their methods of securing recording
contracts. The more time an act takes to build a
modicum of success on their own without a label€  '²s help,
the more they secure a position of power when dealing
with recording and publishing contracts when they
present themselves.

Challenges and Changes For Developing Artists:

Artists and bands getting into the recording industry
today have many new tools to help them on their way
to recognition. At the same time, the music industry is
a state of flux unlike any other time in history. Change
is everywhere...from the choices available to record
music, to marketing and promoting it.

Some of those changes are challenges to the old
traditions that help create the music business we know
today. Others are new opportunities that await the
enterprising artist/entrepreneur. Check out some of the
most important developments that are going on:

Like a bullet out of a 38 Special, the era of
downloadable music has exploded on the scene.
Compressed audio files in the form of the MP3
phenomenon arrived on the scene in the late 90€  '²s, and
with file sharing technologies like Napster, Gnutella,
Freenet and others now available, the business of
music will never be the same.

Any musician with the goals of making money with their
music will have the new challenge of deciding how to
survive in an era when the value of music in the eyes of
the consumer is changing. Why pay for a CD when you
can now download almost anything ever recorded, and
either store it on your computer, or €  '±burn€  '² your own CD
in the privacy of your own home.

In early 1999, a meeting of the Major Label minds in
the form of the SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative)
was born. The initiative was concerned with finding
ways to challenge the threats to copyright ownership
by using what is called €  '±encryption€  '² and €
  '±watermarking€  '²
of downloadable music (so that musicians and labels
can prohibit unauthorized usage of the music, as well
as trace where an illegally distributed song file came
from), and developing realistic policies that protect the
record labels, the artists, and the distributors and
sellers/traders of music.

However, while the bigshots were huddled in meetings
for months on end, enterprising computer nerds and
music fans were ahead of the game, writing the
software that became the file-sharing technology
known as Napster.

There are multi-millions of downloads of unprotected
songs being traded and exchanged over the Internet
every day now. For all practical purposes if you do not
care about owning a plastic box with some paper
containing artwork on it, and just want to build a
collection of past, present, and future music, there is no
reason to buy a record anymore.

All you need is a computer with a good sound card,
speakers, an MP3 player, and a large hard drive...and
preferably, a broadband connection to the internet.
Let€  '²s face it, these days you can have a free collection
of music without having paid a dime for any of it (I will
not be your conscience when it comes to the morality
and/or ethical issues involved in copying copyrighted
material. That dilemma is for each and every one of us
to wrestle with).

In addition to MP3 and Napster phenomenons, other
downloadable music technologies have established
themselves over the Internet. Liquid Audio is the most
successful of these. Their system, unlike MP3, includes
protective devices for controlling the copying of
copyrighted music. For a while, it seemed like AT&T€  '²s
"a2b system" would contend with Liquid Audio, but they
seem to have vanished from the scene rather quickly.
Microsoft€  '²s Media Player and Real Networks Real
Jukebox have also found favor with many downloadable
music lovers.

For a couple of decades now the major labels, once
known as the Big Six, have had control of about 80%
of all the records sold in America. But we live in the era
of corporate buyouts, and the Big Six became 'The Fat
Cat Five', when the Seagrams Co. purchased Polygram
Records land all it's affiliated labels in late 1998, adding
to Seagram's existing ownership of Universal Music.
The deal gave them the largest share of the record pie,
once dominated by Time Warner€  '²s WEA.

In 2000, Universal/Seagrams was sold to a European
company Vivendi. To complicate matters, Time/Warner
recently made a bid for EMD, the distribution arm of
Capitol and EMI, and the other members of the cartel,
BMG, and SONY are vulnerable to similar consolidation
moves.

The €  '±Big Four€  '² are now with us, but for how long?
Artists wanting to sell or promote their CDs over the
Internet have many choices these days. One of the
most innovative and effective methods is the
www.amazon.com/advantage program mentioned
above. Artists can have a strong presence on this
leading e-commerce site by joining up for the free
program and creating their own selling page with
graphics and CD information on it, plus sound
samples from the record.

In addition there are over 50 other e-music retailers
online who will help musicians sell their music over the
Internet. This does not mean that an artist should not
consider selling their music from their own websites
through a secure service. That is a very valid
alternative. ( For a deeper discussion on e-music
distribution, read my August Indi 2000 column).

While it is getting harder for independent artists and
bands to get commercial airplay for the reasons already
mentioned, the Internet has hundreds of new Internet
radio stations playing a wide variety of music.
Streaming audio software has made it possible for
anyone and everyone interested in being a DJ to
broadcast their favorite music as a web radio station.

This is great news for developing acts that have a
strong niche following of one kind or another. Stations
like www.live365.com and www.broadcast.com are just
two of the many websites that host Internet stations.

The disturbing trend of major corporations buying out
other major companies is not relegated only to the
record labels. Radio station ownership continues to
narrow, as more and more big media companies
continue to buy up more radio properties.

In Seattle, Washington for example, in the mid 90€  '²s,
there were around 25 commercial radio station general
managers in town representing 25 different owners.
Today there are only 6. Companies like Entercom and
Infinity own several stations each in that market and in
most radio markets in the U.S.

This affects the aspiring musician because one
company now owns the stations that once were in
competition with each other, and the music and program
directors at these stations work together to decide which
artists or songs are right for their stations as a whole.
Prior to the mid-90€  '²s, a label could play one competing
station off another. That is no longer true.

€  '±Pay For Play€  '² is here, and the chances of getting your
music on commercial radio are getting slimmer by the
hour. €  '±Pay For Play€  '² is the ultimate Radio Station
General Manager's dream-come-true. The Sales
Department can now play a significant role in
determining what gets played on some commercial
stations because now, record labels can legally buy
the airtime to have a song played for a certain number
of times, or pay for announcements right after the
airplay of a song.

With the revenues available to radio ownership groups,
like Chancellor, they can sign €  '±Pay For Play€  '² contracts
with labels for over $25,000,000 a year. Break into
your piggybanks aspiring musicians!

The corporate merger syndrome has also infected the
live performance industry. SFX Entertainment sold its
radio station holdings in the mid-90€  '²s to get into the
concert venue ownership business. They now have
control of over 60% of the largest regional concert
promotion companies (PACE, Delsner/Slater, Bill
Graham Presents etc.). As one industry pundit put it,
"We are now dealing with the Wal-Mart of the concert
business."

So, want to open up for some touring major act in your
hometown? Sit back and take a deep breath. Or, how
about getting a tour once you are signed to a label? Will
your booking agent and manager be walking arm in arm
with SFX? If not, what could happen to that national tour
you were hoping to get?

When it comes to music marketing issues, there are a
lot of €  '±dots€  '² finally being connected regarding who buys
music and how to reach them. It took the better part of
100 years for the industry to realize that a person who
reads a book might also enjoy music, and visa versa.

When Borders Books and Music connected that dot
several years ago, it unleashed a waterfall of creative
thinking about where to sell music. Today, you can buy
music at sporting good stores, coffee/espresso shops,
grocery stores, clothing stores, airports, hospital gift
shops, alternative health care provider locations, shoe
stores, and just about any other retail type store you can
imagine€  '¥in fact an artist has to, if they really want to
saturate the marketplace with their music.

Conclusion:

Challenges and change are here to stay for the
independent musician, however, any dedicated
musician can benefit from the bevy of ideas and new
opportunities being introduced almost every day. No
one ever said being a successful musician would be
easy.

With all bad news that comes along regarding the
control of the media and the exposure of music, there
is some good news for those curious enough to explore
where few have gone before. So, what unique ideas
can you think of to get your music in front of a potential
fan?

Open up your imagination...there are countless ways to
expose, promote, play, and sell independently produced
music.
________________________________________

Editor's Note: Chris Knab is one of the most influential
individuals in the commercial music industry. His
company, FourFront Media & Music, provides a unique
consultation and education service for independent
musicians and record labels that combines advice with
instructions on how to establish a music related career.
See his web site at http://www.knab.com.

************************************************************

6. "Consignment VS. Distribution"

By Tim Sweeney


Why and when is consignment better than distribution?

Almost every time I pick up the phone, or do a free
workshop these days, the inevitable question is, "How
do I get national distribution?"

My first response is, "Why do you need it?"

With that glassy look in their eyes, most artists
respond, "Because I want to get my CDs in all the
stores across the country."

Then, I frustrate them by asking, "What if I could do that
for you...what are you going to do to make them sell?"

Again, inevitably, the response is, "I'm going to play
shows, and tell my mailing list and, then, probably mail
out to college radio across the country."

I respond, "So if you are only going to do that, why do
you need your CDs in various record stores across the
country?"

The usual response is, "Because once they are in the
store, people will buy them."

Guess what? As much as you would like him to, God
doesn't watch over people shopping for CDs and
spiritually guide them, or smack them on the head, to
your CD in the rack out of thousands of choices.
People buy CDs they have HEARD of. Most
importantly, they are more likely to buy them on impulse.

What does this have to do with you? Everything! We
are entering into the fourth quarter of the year...the
quarter when most CDs are sold and the stores have
no credit available with distributors. Why is this
important? Because when the stores have little or no
credit available, they only want to order what will sell
fast. Not CDs that will, hopefully, sell 2 or 3 copies per
month.

So with the stores coming into the time of the year
when they ignore independent CDs, what do you do?

Consignment!

The simplest, oldest, and fastest way to get paid form
of distribution in our industry. How does it work?

Simple. A store takes 5 of your CDs and places them
on the shelves. When they sell, they pay you your
percentage. If they don't sell, the store doesn't have to
pay you.

In a distribution relationship, the store has to pay the
distributor in 60 days for the CD they have ordered. In
most cases, they are paying for the CD before it sells!

With consignment, there's no waiting for 6 months for
your distributor to send you a check for 20% of what
they owe you. You stop by the store, check how many
they have in the bins, and most stores will pay you cash
right then and there for what you have sold.

In a time when the stores are betting their money or
credit on already successful "boy bands," and not on
you, use consignment for your and the stores advantage.

By the way...you don't need your CDs in all stores
across the country. Live shows and the word of mouth
generated by the promotion of the shows are 75% of all
your sales (and aren't you going to sell your CDs at your
shows?). Commercial radio airplay for an independent
artist is only 9% and college radio airplay is less than
1% of your sales.

The big question is, are you really going to tour the
country every month to play shows for 20 people in
clubs 3,000 miles away, just because a college station
in a corn field is playing it? Especially, for no money?

Then, use consignment first and become successful in
your home market, home state and the neighboring
markets you can reach on a monthly basis. After you
have sold 10,000 copies in each market, consider
expanding outward.
________________________________________

Editor's Note: Tim Sweeney is author of "The Guide
to Succeeding at Music Conventions," as well as the
best-selling author of "The Guide to Releasing
Independent Records." Contact him directly at
909-303-9506, as well as paying a visit to his web site
at http://www.tsamusic.com.

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7. "Un-Training"

By Mark Baxter


"I would love to be able to sing better but I'm not sure if
training would be worth the effort." People often toss
me this statement to see if I'll throw back a sales pitch
about voice lessons. I never do. I figure, if someone
refers to improving skills as effort, then they have no
passion. What good is any artistic adventure if there
is no passion?

What I do offer, is a different perspective on the voice
lesson issue. We all know of someone who has an
incredible voice and never had a bit of instruction.
These people just open their mouths and it comes out
great. Lucky for them.

However, the common belief that some people are
born to sing doesn't mean that the rest of us have to sit
on the sidelines. Anyone can improve the sound of
their voice. My advice is to think of it as un-training.

Pay a visit to a maternity ward and it's obvious that we
are born with the ability to produce sound. Crying is
reflex behavior. Singing is crying -- minus the tears.
Within a short time after birth, our personalities emerge
and influence this basic instinct. Some babies cry
louder and more often. As toddlers, we begin to
experiment with different vocal tones and the responses
they provoke.

When two year-olds whine enough, they will either get
another cookie, or be sent to their room.. By the time we
reach six, the results of these experiments have heavily
influenced our personalities. We establish core traits
which stay with us a lifetime. If you doubt this, visit a
senior center and notice how much a bingo game looks
like a kindergarten class. It's not that the seniors are
acting childish, it's that they are being themselves, again.

What this means to potential singers is that, from a
very early age, we have trained our muscles to produce
sound in a particular way. Your particular way may, or
may not, interfere with singing. If it does, then you've
got some un-training to do.

Most vocal problems can be traced back to speech. As
kids, we're taught the meanings of words and how to
pronounce them, but not how to efficiently use our
muscles when speaking. This is expected to happen
naturally, however, it usually doesn't. Normally, emotions
dominate our motor reflexes and shape the way we talk.

Speech becomes an extension of our personality. You
can tell a lot about someone by the way they talk, not what
they say. There is a difference, though, between normal
and natural. Natural is efficient; normal is what we are
used to. Unfortunately, we are so accustomed to the
way we speak, that our trained-in tensions go unnoticed
until we start to sing.

Sit at a piano, or pick up a guitar, and the instrument is
ready to play. Musicians tend to take this for granted,
but starting with a pre-balanced, consistent, instrument
is a huge advantage when learning to play. Open your
mouth to sing and any number of obstacles can
compromise range, tone, volume and flexibility.

In other words, in order to learn to sing, you must build
an instrument first. Most instruments we play today are
the result of many years of refinement. As techniques
for making pianos and guitars improve, their sound and
ease of play improves as well.

Instruments, basically, stay the same from day to day.
This provides a great foundation for developing the
skills needed to play. We don't have that advantage
with our voices. Many things can interfere with the
"playability" of our voices, from talking all day, to tension
held in the jaw. Since most of these are not genetic or
"natural" limitations, they are removable.

Building an instrument requires nothing more than
clearing a path from inspiration to phonation. Whatever
is blocking the flow, needs to be un-done. I'm not
suggesting it's easy. We worked hard to achieve these
rigid states, and the body is not going to be happy to let
them go. What I am suggesting, is that you don't have to
except your voice "as is."

The laws of sound are the same for everyone. Release
your throat, and you'll have a great tone. Allow your vocal
folds to stretch freely, and you'll have great range and
accuracy. Return your breathing back to a reflexive,
natural state, and you'll have dynamic control. Think of it
as un-training, and you'll have a big head start on the
process.
______________

Editor's Note: Mark Baxter is one of America's
leading professional Voice Coaches to Grammy
Award-winning recording artists. See his
instructional web site at http://www.voicelesson.com.

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Publisher: N.M.A. (National Music Agency)
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