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This month's newsletter features the listings that were submitted to me in November. The contacts listed are sorted into FIVE sections. 1. Publications that will REVIEW your music |
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2. SITES/PUBLICATIONS WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED Whoopsy Magazine PH: 512-220-7733 Beky Hayes beksabbath@yahoo.com http://www.myspace.com/whoopsy www.whoopsymagazine.com We do all kinds of music reviews, CD reviews, live show reviews, interviews with local and touring acts, etc. The Literary Cafe 60407 M-43 Hwy, Bangor, MI 49009 PH: 269-427-2068 Anita Shari Peterson publicity@literarycafe.org www.literarycafe.org Provides independant and mainstream artists a voice in our online entertainment magazine by conducting interviews and music reviews. Aural Fix Communique PO Box 6054, North Babylon, NY 11703 PH: 631-943-3213 Mike Ferrari Auralmail@aol.com www.auralfix.com We are the ONLY publication that covers the Long Island music scene exclusively!!! Rib Magazine 238 1st Ave. S. Franklin, TN 37064 PH: 615-429-0157 Will Jordan rib@ribmag.com www.ribmag.com A Nashville-based publication with a focus on music and culture related subjects. Rib's objective is simple: to report the truth. The truth will be different with each writer/ artist/ etc., because there is no such thing as unbiased honesty. Kweevak.com PH: 973-556-5400 Richard J. Lynch info@kweevak.com www.Kweevak.com After running the Kweevak site for 5 years as an online magazine we have now transformed the company into a full-service music promotion outlet. We now guarantee CD Reviews and a full 2-month main page artist spotlight feature for all bands and musicians who join the community! Eastside Cherry Hill High School East, 1750 Kresson Rd. Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 Attn: Eastside Sam Katz entertainmenteditors@yahoo.com www.eastside-online.org An opportunity to help out young writers and get your CD reviewed at the same time. Eastside, the newspaper of Cherry Hill High School East in New Jersey, is seeking indie CDs to review and publicize in their paper. The paper has been rated #1 in the country by the American Scholastic Press Association, and has been ranked among the top three in NJ for the past three years.
3. RADIO SHOWS THAT WILL PLAY YOUR MUSIC Kinky Star Radio Vlasmarkt 9 9000 Gent Belgium PH: +32-9-223-48-45 Sebbe d'Hose sebbe@kinkystar.com www.kinkystar.com Features Indie music, news and reviews. ATW1 Online Radio Podcast Greg Johnson gregj013@yahoo.com www.ATW1.tk Alternative Pop Radio. We play music from unknown Rock bands at no cost. Aural Fix Transmission PO Box 6054, North Babylon, NY 11703 PH: 631-943-3213 Mike Ferrari Auralmail@aol.com www.auralfix.com A music magazine webcast of the Aural Fix Communique publication, dedicated to independent music with a focus on the Long Island Region.It features cd cuts, interviews and live in-studio performances. Circle of Souls Pagan Radio 3045 W. Beech Ave. Visalia, CA 93277 Heru Gawen radio@circleofsouls.net www.circleofsouls.net www.myspace.com/paganradio Our focus has become not only a means of networking with other pagan-minded people worldwide, but also a means to promote the efforts of musical artists who put a bit of a Pagan flavor into their music. Boost Digital Radio 36 Emmett St., Crows Nest, NSW 2065 Australia PH: +61-2-9460-1400 FX: +61-2-9460-0044 Graeme Logan graeme@boostdigital.com www.boostdigital.com Dedicated to giving independent music performers, writers and producers a distribution platform to expose their talent to the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Streamed for free on the world wide web. Please send your submission on CD or tape to the above address. Make sure to include a completed copy of our online submission form. Boost Digital Kids 36 Emmett St., Crows Nest, NSW 2065 Australia PH: +61-2-9460-1400 FX: +61-2-9460-0044 Graeme Logan kids@boostdigital.com www.boostdigital.com Online radio totally for kids. Please send your submission on CD or tape to the above address. Make sure to include a completed copy of our online submission form. Wavesystem 1020 9th St., Waupaca, WI 54981 PH: 715-281-4943 Bob Adams vtwinrev@hotmail.com www.wavesystem.blogspot.com A weekly podcast showcasing indie/underground Christian music free of charge to bands/artists. Coastal Jazz Radio 188 Summerlake Dr. SW, Marietta, GA 30060 USA PH: 770-438-7780 Eliott James ej@eliottjames.com www.live365.com/stations/eliottjames Internet Jazz radio station. Submit CDs for consideration. The Latin Train/El Tren Latino CHUO 65 University Pvt. #0038, Ottawa, ON K1N 9A5 PH: 613-562-5967 FX: 613-562-5969 Michael Bongard latintrain@yahoo.com www.chuo.fm Weekly show featuring Latin Jazz, Salsa, Timba and Cuban Son. Stone Cold Country - Yarra Valley FM99.1 85 Rathmullen Rd, Boronia, VIC 3155 Australia PH: 61-0419-346230 Rod Bradey rod@austadhesives.com.au American Country Music program featuring mainly independant Country Music artists. music-islands.com web-radio 2-19-20-603 Mizusawa, Miyamae, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 216-0012 JAPAN PH: 044-979-1124 FX: 044-979-1124 Masayoshi Yamamiya fishthemusic@gmail.com music-islands.com/radio New web radio show playing a variety of styles. Free Radio Jackson 616 N. Pleasent St., Jackson, MI 49202 Aaron Childs aaronchilds@ameritech.net www.live365.com/stations/aaronchilds A mixture of Rock, Blues, Alternative, Jazz and Electronica from both major label, small label, and unsigned artists. We are now accepting material for airplay considration. Insomnia Radio Network insomniaradionetwork.com Our hosts scour the independent music scene discovering unknown Indie & Alternative Rock, Underground Hip Hop & Rap, Hard Rock, Acoustic, Folk, and Electronica artists and introducing audiences to the very best of these artists in syndicated, professionally produced Internet audio broadcasts, which are both streamed online and syndicated as podcasts. We are seeking quality Indie Rock, Metal, Hard Rock, Folk, Folk Rock, Pop/Rock, and Electronica music. Insomnia Radio, the flagship show, made its debut in the podcasting world on October 13, 2004. Since then, the show has gone from an audience of 10 to an audience of over 25,000 monthly. Submissions ongoing.
4. SERVICES/VENDORS/LABELS THAT WILL HELP SELL YOUR MUSIC Bill Wence Promotions PO Box 39, Nolensville, TN 37135 PH: 615-776-2060 FX: 615-776-2181 Bill Wence info@billwencepromotions.com www.billwencepromotions.com Hundreds of singles and albums have been charted for our clients. Boosweet Records PO Box 451594, Los Angeles, CA 90045 PH: 310-613-3535 FX: 909-877-9199 Vernon Neilly VNeillyI@aol.com www.boosweet.com Specializing in the recording and distribution of major acts as well as up and coming artists. We will promote and sell your products worldwide via the Internet. We can get any artist's material into the major digital download stores as well. Ariel Publicity Artist Relations and Cyber Promotions 325 W. 38th St. #505, New York, NY 10018 PH: 212-239-8384 FX: 212-239-8380 Ariel Hyatt ariel@arielpublicity.com www.arielpublicity.com Professional promotional services for Indie artists. PeaceWork Music PO Box 25102, Rochester, NY 14625 Jef Peace info@peacework.com www.peaceworkmusic.net International distribution at a low cost. Dream Relations PH: 347-715-4921 Dawn Michelle Hardy dawnmichelle@dreamrelations.com www.dreamrelations.com Publicity and management in the areas of Hip Hop, R&B, Soul and Gospel. Tenoseven Entertainment #8 - 5901 57th St., Taber, AB T1G 1P7 PH: 403-223-0844 FX: 403-223-0844 Sharla Bauschke sharla@tenoseven.com www.tenoseven.com Artist development & management services including booking, promotions, tracking and more. Adam Knight Music Group PO Box 6122, Kingsport, TN 37663 PH: 423-292-4651 FX: 423-349-4802 Adam Knight adamknightmusic@yahoo.com www.adamknightmusic.com Our company provides radio service to over 1200 radio stations. We have garnered over 20 #1 and 50 Top 20 songs on major charts in the last 5 years. Hammondbeat 11124 NE Halsey #488, Portland, OR 97220 Kahlil Breithaupt hbinfo@hammondbeat.com www.hammondbeat.com Community and record label dedicated to bands and fans of the organ sound. Kinky Star Records Vlasmarkt 9 9000 Gent Belgium PH: +32-9-223-48-45 Sebbe d'Hose sebbe@kinkystar.com www.kinkystar.com Rock, Surf, Hip Hop, Electro and Experimental releases. The label is linked with a music club since 1997. IndependAnt Music.co.uk P. Woodley sales@independantmusic.co.uk www.independantmusic.co.uk Selling your music at IndependantMusic.co.uk is the easiest way to sell your music, and get your name recognised. It costs just £5.00 to open a sellers account, and you earn £2.50 every time one of your albums are sold. You have to do absolutely nothing! Postdawn Nurseries Recordings PO Box 1456, Alamogordo, NM 88311 PH: 505-434-3234 Christopher Maples postdawn@hotmail.com postdawn.atspace.com An internet and mailorder Ambient record label dealing in beautiful and strange, exotic electronics and atmospheric soundscapes. Vision Promotions 22 Upper Grosvenor St., London, W1K 7PE UK PH: 44-0207-499-8024 Alan alanvision@btconnect.com www.vision.co.uk Music promotions company offering services for unsigned/own label indie bands of the jangle guitar Pop/Post Punk/New Wave/ Electro/Synthpop or of the just plain quirky sounding category. No Left Turn Records 633 Renfrew Rd. El Sobrante, CA 94803 PH: 925-768-6994 John Maddox john@noleftturnrecords.com www.noleftturnrecords.com Indie record label based out of the S.F. Bay Area. We search for the best talent in California for record contracts and compilation albums. Mic Master Records PO Box 1671, Clementon, NJ 08021 PH: 732-277-2169 Juan Aponte donjuan@micmasterrecords.com www.micmasterrecords.com Booking agent and independent label. CandySpiteful Productions 2051 East Cedar St. #8, Tempe, AZ 85281 PH: 480-968-7017 FX: 480-968-7017 William Ferraro mandrakerocks@yahoo.com www.candyspiteful.com Forward thinking company on the move. We are accepting promos now. Alt, Rock, Hip Hop and Prog Rock. R.H.R. Real Hip-Hop Records PH: 410-718-5265 Benito Brewer rhr@realhiphoprecords.com www.realhiphoprecords.com Provides Hip-Hop music. R.H.R. has been in business since May 2004. LastJack Management 266 Charlotte St. #335, Peterborough, ON K9J 2V4 PH: 705-748-3596 FX: 705-748-3596 Michael Bates booking@weberbrothers.com www.weberbrothers.com Indie mangement firm looking to add Ontario bands & artists to their current roster. Beacon Records PO Box 1543 Antioch, TN 37011-1543 Jeanne MacFarlane jeannemacfarlane@comcast.net www.beaconrecords.net We are a full service Artist Consulting firm. We help aspiring artists put together the package they need to submit to managerial companies, record labels and booking agents. We help the artist get everything they need from demo production, photography, artist package creation, We provide quality products and services at a reasonable price.
5. SITES WHERE YOU CAN UPLOAD YOUR BAND'S MP3s OR VIDEOS Burnlounge Dean deanschnider@gmail.com www.burnlounge.com/openwater Digital download store for the independent artist. Put your band on BurnLounge and make 50 to 70 cents a download. We offer more songs than iTunes! Entertainment Live UK 11, Ballam Close, Upton, Poole, Dorset, BH16 5QU UK PH: +44 (0)1202-621574 Simon Thomson entertainmentliveuk@eluk.co.uk www.eluk.co.uk Promoting, assisting and encouraging new and used bands. Profile page with graphics, MP3s, news etc. howsmymusic.com 12750 Sharon Hollow Rd. Manchester, MI 48158 Eric Moore talentscout@howsmymusic.com www.howsmymusic.com Online music contest with cash prizes. Winners voted by the public. Also has sales MP3 platform. JukeBoxAlive 311 Montford Ave. Asheville, NC 28801 PH: 828-232-0016 Will Cumberland cumberland@jukeboxalive.com jukeboxalive.com Our Advanced Jukebox Player protects your music from being digitally downloaded, yet allows fans to hear your music online. This creates exciting possibilities for you to present yourself to new audiences without being ripped off.
6. HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR YOUR BAND Overplay 'PLAY & RATE' Competition PO Box 11188, Sutton Coldfield, B76 1WX England PH: 0870-112-1382 Paul service@overplay.com www.overplay.com/pr_about.asp Created to unearth and reward the best unsigned songs that deserve to be heard. Every artist/band that is a Silver or Gold member of Overplay can submit one song into the competition into the genre of their choice. Then sit back, relax while other artists, fans, music lovers, and industry have the chance to listen and more importantly rate your song (read the feedback and scores from your artists admin area). BAR Promotions PO Box 68, Darlington WA 6070 Australia PH: 0011-61-8-9255-3336 FX: 0011-61-8-9255-3395 Melanie DeCull office@bluesandrootspromotions.com www.bluesandrootspromotions.com Promoting Australian Blues and Roots music globally to radio stations and festivals. baymusicscene.com 633 Renfrew Rd. El Sobrante, CA 94803 PH: 925-768-6994 John Maddox john@baymusicscene.com www.baymusicscene.com We provide free resources for musicians including an online store, show listings and club information. We are located in the S.F. Bay Area. Jakprints 1300 W. 78th St., Cleveland, OH 44102 PH: 216-472-1650 FX: 216-472-6349 www.jakprints.com We continually strive to help each and every customer big or small, to expand and promote their passion with the highest quality service and merchandise. MyNewsletterBuilder comments@mynewsletterbuilder.com www.mynewsletterbuilder.com A user-friendly, feature-rich, online newsletter management program for novices and professionals alike. MIDI Classics Box 311, Weatogue, CT 06089-0311 PH: 800-787-6434 FX: 860-651-4373 Phil Sabatine mcsales@midi-classics.com www.midi-classics.com Digital audio hardware and music software. Over 20,000 products listed - sound cards, interfaces, sample CDs, software, cables, keyboards, MIDI controllers and much more! Rock-n-Roll Web Design and Hosting PO Box 1922, Salisbury, MD 21802 PH: 410-835-8895 Audra info@rock-n-roll-design.com www.rock-n-roll-design.com We offer powerful hosting tools that give you complete control over all content on your site. Sounds Atlanta PO Box 49266, Atlanta, GA 30359 PH: 404-329-9438 FX: 404-325-8401 Bill Tullis SoundsAtlanta@aol.com soundsatlanta.com Studio & Remote Recording - Mastering.
7. PRESS RELATIONS: WHO IS SPEAKING FOR YOU? by Jennifer Layton, Indie-Music.com © 2007 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission We hate to do it. And in the six years that I've worked for Indie-Music.com, I've only seen our company do it three times. But if pushed, we will. We have banned some managers, reps, and PR agents from submitting artists to our web site. It's always a last resort. And no, I'm not going to say who they are. My purpose in even bringing it up is to ask you, the independent artist, if you know just how you are being represented. You may not realize it, but the person you've hired to open some doors for you may instead be getting them slammed, locked, and boarded up with enough plywood to hold back a category five. Sounds dramatic, but bear in mind that it takes some pretty annoying behavior to make us tell a manager not to contact us anymore. Sometimes the problem is simply laziness. A rep sends us a CD without filling out our submission form or providing any contact information. We manage to find the rep's email address and ask her to go back and follow our guidelines. She doesn't, but she keeps sending us CDs from all the other bands she's promoting. We keep asking her to follow the guidelines, she keeps ignoring us. Eventually, we put her email address on our "block" list, and every package with her company logo on it goes right into the trash can next to our box at the post office. The message being sent by this rep is very clear: I don't care about these artists or think there's anything special about them. They're just a list of names. I'll just send their CDs out everywhere so I can tell them I'm actually doing something. Occasionally, we get the bullies. We recently had a PR rep leave belligerent messages on our company voice mail, demanding to know why his artists had not yet been reviewed. I called him a couple of times, explaining that we don't guarantee reviews and that we ask for at least a couple of months' lead time. He left more messages over the next several weeks, demanding results for his bands and accusing us of putting his artists on hold because they don't advertise with us. (For the record, advertising is never a factor in who gets reviewed at Indie-Music.com.) We eventually banned him from the site, which was necessary but a shame. I visited the web sites of the bands he represented, and they seem to be hardworking, talented artists. I'm pretty sure they have no idea how they are being marketed. Some artists have found out, often after serious damage has been done to their reputations. I recently interviewed Cincinnati artist Jeff Goins, a studio producer, writer, and member of the Vic Daniels Quartet. Thanks to what he credits as good management early in the band's career, they had established solid and friendly contacts with venue owners in Cincinnati and had built a reputation as a talented and reliable band. Then their manager got a divorce and moved to California. So Goins and his bandmates began looking for new management. After some searching, they thought they'd found a winner. (Goins cares enough about professionalism to ask that I not print the manager's name.) "At first glance," he explains, "we thought he was an upstanding professional who knew his way around Cincinnati and could help us out. But things started going wrong pretty quickly. At our biggest gig ever, he didn't show up until the third day of the festival. He brought his assistant along to do most of the work and told us privately that he had thrown her into the mix to see if she would sink or swim. Basically, he was testing a new assistant and using our careers to do it. And we hardly saw her at all." Over the next six months, the new manager only found the band one paying gig. He told the band they just weren't marketable. Despite such alleged unpopularity, Goins was able to book several paying gigs for the band on his own. But he didn't realize how truly damaging the new rep was until the band's invitation to perform at the 2005 Midpoint Music Festival was abruptly withdrawn. Bypassing his manager, Goins made his own phone calls to find out why. He learned that word of his manager's unprofessional tactics had spread like wildfire. "Our management actually went through the offices of venues we were playing and took office supplies like they owned the place," Goins says. "They kept badgering anyone who would listen, just being annoying, and even trying to turn people against each other. Our biggest client in Indianapolis told us that they would not have us back next year if they were still our managers." Needless to say, they weren't the managers for much longer. And Goins is trying to find representation that comes as close as possible to the manager who had helped them so much in the beginning. "I miss him," Goins says. "He got us great gigs, paid us at the gigs, took photos, and made us look great." And there's the key to a good manager: Someone who wants to make the artist look great. Period. That very quality is what's missing from the lazy manager, the bully, and the swaggering backstage loudmouth. They've forgotten that the motivation to get into music management is supposed to be the love of music. They're supposed to be content to be in the background, doing everything they can to give the artist the spotlight and make them look good in it. When they succeed, they should want to give public credit to the artist while taking personal satisfaction in a job well done. Goins still laments over the damage done during his band's six months of bad management. But in many cases, it can be undone. Especially with the press. I have been contacted directly by bands who have apologized for their manager's tactics and asked if they can submit CDs and deal with me directly. My answer is always yes. And while good managers may be hard to find, they are out there. Indie-Music.com may have banned three of them, but we have dealt with literally hundreds of reps, from all over the world, who are professional, courteous, and genuinely excited about the bands they represent. They follow submission guidelines, respond promptly to emails, and send thank-you notes when good reviews are published. When you do take a chance and hire one of them, don't wait six months to find out if they're really working for you. Listen to how they sound on the phone. Find out where they're sending press kits, and contact a couple of the editors and venue owners on your own to find out what kind of impression they are making. (If it's a bad one, don't worry, you'll get an earful.) Look at your schedule. Are they getting you gigs? Are you getting paid? If not, are they telling you that your music just isn't marketable? If they truly feel that way about your music, why in the world are you paying them? A little bit of detective work in the beginning can save your band a damaged career in the long run. If you've found management that gets you results, you can relax and focus on basking in the spotlight they're working hard to make you look good in. Jennifer Layton fell into indie music writing completely by accident. (When first asked to review CDs for Indie-Music.com in 1999, she had no idea what indie music was.) Since then, she has written hundreds of articles and CD reviews for Indie-Music.com, as well as bios for individual artists. She has also contributed articles to IndyMonkey, Shock Value Webzine, The American Reporter Online, The Cary News, Raleigh's Spectator Magazine, GoGirlsMusic.com, and Independent Musician Magazine. She has represented Indie-Music.com as a judge at the Six String Shoot-Out and at the North Carolina Songwriters Competition. Despite repeated listenings, intricate sentence diagramming, and expensive psychotherapy, she still cannot for the life of her understand the plot to the 1973 Vicki Lawrence song "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia." Visit her on the web at www.jenniferlayton.com
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