IFS Readers I have a few questions for you Concerning IFS.

Would you prefer to receive less frequent longer IFS issues?
(like IFS usually is)
or
Would you rather receive more frequent shorter IFS issues?
Or
A little of both?


Recently I found two great articles (that are in this IFS)
I think if you applied the information,
it could help you be more successful.

My dream is for each of you to become more successful with your
songwriting and music careers.

Can you imagine the day where you totally support yourself from
music?

Many IFS readers already do.

Usually I'll send IFS article ideas to myself then when
1) I feel like I have enough material for a longer issue or
2) i have the time to assemble an IFS issue or
3) there's some sort of deadline I'm trying to beat
I'll launch the latest IFS.

Today, I'm just excited about this info because I know it can help
someone.

Do you want information as soon as I find it?
Or
Would you rather just wait till I put it together?

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Many IFS readers are artists and singer songwriters who have done
their own CDs, or are doing their own CDs or will do their own CDs.

One of the many choices you'll need to make is
"What songs should I put on my CD?"

The biggest issues you'll face once your CD is done is
How am I going to recoup my investment?
How am I going to market my CD and songs?
How am I going to market me?

Unfortunately most artists blow their budget on creating their CD and
little is left to promote it. That's why many artists who've made
CD's have hundreds if not thousands of unsold CDs in a box hoping for
the day they are sold and heard.

When you're thinking about which songs to put on your next CD,
you may want to include a few cover tunes.
Here's an eye opening article by Derek Sivers at CDBaby
From http://cdbaby.org/
He's sharp. Enjoy

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COVER SONGS in Digital Distribution:

It's been almost two years since we launched our Digital Distribution
program, to get your music sold on Apple iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster,
AOL, BuyMusic, MusicMatch, MSN, Yahoo, etc. (More info at
http://cdbaby.net/dd )

Once the sales reports started coming in, I thought it was funny that
I didn't recognize the top-selling artists in digital sales. They
definitely weren't the top-selling CDs. Some had hardly sold a single
CD, yet they were earning $10,000 in digital downloads.

Here's the top-selling albums list:
http://cdbaby.org/stories/05/05/14/6650893.html

I was a little stumped why it was so different from CD sales, until I
asked my database a different question : "Show me the top-selling
SONGS (not albums)" - and got this:
http://cdbaby.org/stories/05/05/14/8975448.html

Aha! It's cover songs! The artists who have a cover song on their
album are selling the best, all-around. Of course! Most of these
programs have a SONG-BASED SEARCH, so people go to iTunes or Rhapsody
or Napster and search for their favorite SONG - and in the search
results, they probably see their favorite artist on top, but then
they see a few below it that they've never seen before! They click
into the song, like this new version, and then click into the
artist's full album, to see what else this artist has to offer.

EXAMPLE:
Someone using iTunes remembers the song "Wonderwall" by Oasis from
1996. They go to search for it. Oasis comes up as the 1st result, but
right below that is a version of the song from an artist named
Melissa Rebronja. Who's Melissa Rebronja? They click and listen.
Pretty cool! They click her name to find out more about her, and they
start to browse around her whole album, like what they hear, and buy
the whole album. Now they're a fan of her music. All because she did
her own version of a popular song. (To hear for yourself, go to
http://cdbaby.com/cd/melissar )

So now,

I'm advising musicians to do a creative cover song on their next
album.

Find something that hasn't been done TOO much. (Example: CD Baby has
762 versions of "Amazing Grace". Really!) Find something that you can
add your unique twist to. Then make sure to include it on a full-
length album, so that people who discover you by that song can get
turned on to your own music, and buy the whole collection.

(Also, make sure to get your permissions and pay your license at
Harry Fox, first! Bookmark this:
http://www.songfile.com/limited_license_search.html and this:
http://cdbaby.net/dd/?f=8 )

Personally, I think cover songs are best when they sound nothing like
the original - it's more creative that way. My old music teacher said
people are imperfect mirrors. By even trying to imitate, they show
their true shape. You can help define who you are as an artist, by
how you re-create a well-known song.

http://cdbaby.org/stories/05/05/14/1931484.html

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Next here's a great interview with CDBaby.com's Derek Sivers over at
PureMusic. A full transcription of a 90-minute conversation that gets
quite in-depth into the philosophy behind CD Baby, and what the
future holds in store

http://www.puremusic.com/derek1.html
http://www.puremusic.com/pdf/derek.pdf

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