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The Muse's News |
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Issue 2.4 - July 1999
ISSN 1480-6975
[ Back to The Muse's News Index ] [ Home ]
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I n T h i s I s s u e :
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@-- Editor's Musings
@-- Q&A with Nancy A. Reece from Carpe Diem Copyright Management
@-- Music Reviews - by Ben Ohmart
@-- Featured Article - THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS ONLINE
by Jeannie Novak. This informative article explains why you
should definitely consider getting in on the ground floor!
@-- Book Review - by Jodi Krangle
@-- Musical Notes - Songwriting Contests & Market Info.
@-- Songwriter in Profile: Simon Steadman from the UK Indie band
STEADMAN - a group definitely making waves - without the help
of a record company. And they *like* it that way. Read on
to hear why.
@-- On Site Featured Article - An article already online for your
viewing pleasure.
@-- Classifieds & Useful Services
@-- Contact information
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ISSN 1480-6975. Copyright 1998 - Jodi Krangle. For more contact
information, see end of issue.
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E d i t o r ' s M u s i n g s :
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Hi everyone. I'm particularly happy with this edition and I hope
you enjoy it too. This month I had the chance to interview Simon
Steadman from the UK indie band, STEADMAN. I think you'll agree
that the resulting piece is extremely informative and encouraging
to performers trying to "break the mold" everywhere. I really
love the band's music and I have no doubt they'll be extremely
successfull in whatever they choose to do with it.
Thanks to Jeannie Novak from KSpace for providing this month's
extremely informative article. And of course, thanks to both
Nancy Reece and Ben Ohmart for providing us with a taste of what
they do with their columns. You can view Nancy's articles and
ask her a question by dropping by
http://www.musesmuse.com/pubq-a.html & if you'd like to read what
Ben has had to say about other artists and learn how you can get
him to do a review of your own music, you can take a look at
http://www.musesmuse.com/musicreviews.html. Remember also, that
you can ask Mary Dawson a question about radio play and advice
for independent songwriters by viewing her section at
http://www.musesmuse.com/marydawson.html .
Just a note about the site redesign: First of all, a VERY hearty
thank-you goes out to Craig Goldsmith of 1uffakind Design for his
wonderful graphics. Craig's an A1 class graphic designer and a
tour through his web site (also recently updated) is a definite
must. That's at http://www.1uffakind.com/. He most certainly IS
one of a kind. ;-) Secondly... well... I hope you like it. If
you'd like to e-mail me your comments about the redesign, you can
reach me at editor@musesmuse.com. Your thoughts are always
welcome and will aid me with improving the site - something I
constantly aim to do.
Finally, congratulations goes out to our prize winner this month,
Peter Schindelman, a "songwriter and all-around musical hack
living in western Massachusetts". Congratulations, Peter! Peter
won himself a copy of Moses Avalon's CONFESSIONS OF A RECORD
PRODUCER for being the 1750'th subscriber to this newsletter.
Next month's book review and give-away will be David Nevue's HOW
TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC SUCCESSFULLY ON THE INTERNET. David is the
well known host of Rainmusic.com - http://www.rainmusic.com and
has a lot of valuable advice to share on the subject of internet
promotions and how it relates to musicians, especially since he's
a very talented one himself (drop by David's site to hear some of
his piano music! Wonderful stuff!).
As always, if you'd like to contribute to this newsletter or the
web site, or if you find a review, write-up, or other bit of
press on The Muse's Muse or this newsletter, please do let me
know. Tell me about your own successes too. I love hearing
about those. :-)
Thanks very much for your continued support! All the best to you.
Back to Menu
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C o p y r i g h t & P u b l i s h i n g Q & A :
with Nancy A. Reece of Carpe Diem Copyright Management
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QUESTION:
I have read several times that to copyright a song one should
file both Forms SR and PA. However the instructions to Form SR as
well as other Copyright Office publications say you can use just
Form SR to copyright both the sound recording and the underlying
work if the claimant for both is the same person. If one wishes
to copyright a song that one has written and recorded, is there a
reason to file Form PA? Thanks,
-- Steve G.
ANSWER:
Hello Steve -
Lets look at this from two view points:
As a composer you do want to register your copyrights. For full
legal protection, each composition would require a separate PA.
As an owner of sound recordings you would want to register your
copyrights. For full legal protection, each sound recording
would require a separate SR.
Yes, if the claimant is the same person (company) you can go
with the SR only, as you mentioned. For full legal protection,
you would want a separate SR for each master. If you have a
ten-song master, you would want to register it as a complete
work, but you can also register each individual master as well.
You can give all kinds of money to the US Copyright Office for
full and complete registration!
My advice, and it is NOT legal advice, mind you, is this;
Register the entire project with a single SR. This establishes a
date of existence and you can be comfortable with that. As soon
as you release a single, (separate from the sound recording) file
that master as a separate SR. If at any time you pitch the
compositions outside of the sound recording, file a SR or PA (as
is applicable) to establish further protection. Also, placing
your compositions with your PRO affiliate give further
documentation that is helpful should a disagreement be filed.
*****
Carpe Diem's owner and president, Nancy A. Reece has been
involved in the music business since 1983. She was the president
of an independent advertising agency for eight years as well as a
successful personal artist manager for nine years. She
represented the careers of several recording artists and
songwriters including those with EMI, Zomba and Liberty Records
as well as Benson, Starsong, WoodBridge, Temple Hall and N'Soul
Records. She also represented, for a number of years, a Grammy
and Dove nominated record producer. Reece has won awards of
excellence in print magazine advertising and has been named as
one of 2,000 Notable American Women (1995) as well as being
listed in the International Who's Who of Professional and
Business Women (1993). She was also named Cashbox Magazine's
Promoter of the Year (1989).
**If you would like to ask Nancy a copyright or publishing
question for our continuing Q&A section, please send your e-mail
to nreece@musesmuse.com. She can't guarantee she'll get to all of
the questions, but she'll certainly try.**
Back to Menu
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M u s i c R e v i e w s : by Ben Ohmart
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Freed - Until Daylight
'I need your memories / I need to remember you' from 'I Need Your
Memories' is powerful like a tree. Gritty, romantic, soft,
outspoken, Freed touches upon everything eventually, often all
within the same song.
Some powerful folk rock, maybe even rock/pop, plus pretty ballads
like 'You Help Me Carry On' which sounds nearly like a standard
right now.
'Tattoo' is fun and funny. 'He Said, She Said' is raunchy music
with a message. 'Everyone's an artist / it just takes practice /
everyone's an artist / it just takes a canvas' I like that mood.
Good solid vocals, strong fingers at the guitars. And good
songwriting at the root of the plant.
'Floating Free' reminds me of when I first found The White Album.
Yep, that Beatles thing that made me drive for hours and hours on
the sunny streets of Albany, GA, drinking in my childhood, when I
used to go to grade school, without a care. 'Floating Free' sort
of takes me back, when I had that blue Mazda, slowly scooting
around neighborhoods I hadn't visited in 20 years. Love it.
It's a feel good album, quite nicely recorded. There's hardly any
better reason to listen than to feel good, is there?
Freed
P O Box 1904
Wimberley, TX 78676
bfreed1@aol.com
Steve Bardsley - Just Want To Go / River Falls
A 10 minute cd single with great production and performing
values. 1st up is 'Just Want To Go', with a catchy chorus of 'I
just want to go to say I've been there'. Reminds me of Neil Young
(with a better voice) and Michael Nesmith (for song
construction).
'River Falls' is especially Neil Youngy, a slow, steady, tired
trudge of a man above the falls. Good use of stereo. I can see
Steve cleaning up if he had a full cd to sell after shows. He's
good.
508-695-0482
riverfalls@webtv.net
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OTHER NEW MUSIC REVIEWS SINCE LAST MONTH INCLUDE:
Elbo Finn - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-elbofinn.html
Bethany Reynolds - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-bethany.html
Clara Landau - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-landau.html
Brown Derby Junction - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-bdj.html
Susan Court - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-court.html
Andy & Denise - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-a&d.html
Leah-Carla Gordone - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-gordone.html
Pam de Jong & Roughshot -
http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-pdj&r.html
Elisa Peimer - http://www.musesmuse.com/mrev-peimer.html
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******
Ben Ohmart has had 100s of stories and poems in zines and
journals, and had 4 plays produced last year. His lyrics will be
on 2 CDs this year, 1 a gothic album, the other a rock album.
He's currently writing films, with hopes of having one done in
Malaysia soon, and is also trying to break into the prison of
television. He's white, 26, single and loves British comedy. He
lives in Boalsburg, PA, and enjoys watching rabbits eat his
garbage. Contact him at: findline@mindspring.com .
**Ben has kindly consented to do music reviews for this
publication and also for The Muse's Muse itself. If you have an
independently released CD or tape that you'd like to get
reviewed, send it off to: Ben Ohmart, P O Box 750, Boalsburg, PA
16827 or drop by his Music Reviews web section at
http://www.musesmuse.com/musicreviews.html for more details.**
Back to Menu
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F e a t u r e d A r t i c l e :
THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS ONLINE by Jeannie Novak
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You've heard about it. (You may even be doing it yourself!) . . .
Independent musicians have been successfully selling their
products online. Emerging artists have developed an Internet fan
base through Internet promotion. But we're now heading toward a
whole new era in Internet music that is single-handedly
injecting a lot of fear into the traditional offline music
industry.
Within the next few years, digital delivery will probably become
the primary way of promoting and selling music -- particularly so
for independents. (It follows that the primary place for
promoting and selling music will be on the Internet.) The first
stage of this process has been reached with the advent of the MP3
file format (see http://mp3.com and http://mp3-space.com for more
info). Would-be fans roam the web looking for fresh new sounds to
download onto their hard drives or Rio players (see
http://diamondmultimedia.com). "Digital delivery" means
delivering music over a digital network (e.g., the Internet).
Earlier music technologies allowed web surfers to download short
clips of music with a quality well below that of a CD. In
contrast, MP3 downloads are almost identical in quality to a CD.
The secret is compression: a typical MP3 file downloads 12 times
faster that an uncompressed CD track would.
You might be wondering why this is good for the artist - when
people have the capacity to download entire tracks (often for
free) and pass them around. The secret? This is a great
promotional strategy that allows independents to get their
material heard. I've heard artists boast to each other about how
many downloads they've received - not sales! Other artists see a
tradeoff between the loss of potential sales and marketing; by
allowing their listening audience to pass around clips, they are
in effect utilizing a free music promotion service!
Eventually, artists will tire of discussing downloads while they
are still supporting themselves with day gigs. The ultimate goal
still remains: steady revenue for independent artists and
songwriters - allowing us to be truly independent. I believe that
this goal can be met in two ways:
1) displaying only a few tracks in MP3 format (on Kspace, I've
limited artists to only one MP3 track each) so that prospective
customers must purchase the entire product to hear the rest of
the CD
2) developing a fan base that will pay an annual subscription fee
[e.g., fan club dues) to download whatever you have to offer them
- whether they are works-in-progress, demo versions, remixes, or
polished tracks
But what happened to the product? The notion of a finished
product will ultimately disappear. This is ideal for songwriters
who are more interested in marketing songs than complete products
- and it's great for artists who don't want to wait to finish an
album because the CD format demands it! Have you experienced the
low-quality musical"filler" freqently inserted between the good
stuff (some released as singles) on an album? Most of the time,
these duds were quickly recorded to fill up space between the
"real music" and make a full-length CD. This strategy (which
alienates the buying public) will no longer be necessary.
In addition to developing new customers and fans, the Internet
can help independent songwriters get their music to professionals
in other industries. For example, film and television production
companies, advertising agencies, and other web sites are scouring
the web for great tracks that can be licensed for their projects.
I started a licensing and supervision department over a year ago
to take advantage of this demand. Many of the artists on Kspace
are better known in places like Denmark and Lithuania than they
are in the US.
Since the Internet is like one big database, it's a natural
matchmaking service for musicians and songwriters seeking
collaborators. The first step for any songwriter who is looking
for performers is to use classifieds online to find their
"match." Once this step is taken care of, a track can be recorded
and uploaded for promotional downloading or purchase.
Despite all this rapid progress, the Internet will not carry the
majority of music produced and distributed in the US for several
years to come. Is it essential, therefore, to get involved at an
early stage in Internet music? The answer is yes - if you're an
independent musician. High-profile musicians will continue to
dominate traditional radio and retail -- and the barriers to
entry are becoming higher every year. In contrast, the Internet
is wide open. Getting involved now is an investment in the future
- and a chance to get in on the ground floor of the hottest thing
in music since the advent of sound recording.
******
Jeannie Novak is President & CEO of Kspace (www.kspace.com),
which has provided promotion, online sales, and industry
contacts to over 500 independent artists and musicians since
January 1994. Novak is primary author of the nationally
distributed books Creating Internet Entertainment and Web
Developer.com Guide to Producing Live Webcasts (Wiley). She was
chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in high-tech by
MicroTimes., and her success at marketing music online was
profiled in Billboard. An independent musician herself, Novak
has released her album, Reign of Fire, on Kspace Recordings. She
has also launched Kspace Music Licensing & Supervision, which
provides licensing, scoring, and supervision services to the
film, television, advertising, and web industries.
Back to Menu
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B o o k R e v i e w : by Jodi Krangle
CONFESSIONS OF A RECORD PRODUCER by Moses Avalon
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0879306602/themusesmuseA/-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moses Avalon's intention here seems to have been to provide easy
answers to tough questions. Without a doubt, he shows his readers
just what they're up against if they want to "make it". It isn't
an easy lesson to swallow but it's a lesson worth learning - and
one he's quite good at teaching.
He starts the book with a section called "The Game" where he
describes "The Players" - who fits in where and what their job
description usually looks like. There's a section on songwriters
here too - with some very interesting insights. He then moves on
to talk a great deal about the process of getting signed, who
you'll meet along the way and what you should watch out for. He
talks about publishing and distribution and most of all, he talks
about POINT OF VIEW. Moses helps his readers understand where the
various factions are coming from, believing that once you know
what everyone wants, you can more easily fit into their plans and
make them and yourself more satisified with the deal. Talking
about complicated stuff like this in easy-to-understand and
down-to-earth language, isn't a simple task, but Moses manages
it. Not only is his language easy to understand, there's also an
underlying ironic and perhaps dark humour to the whole thing. His
gray-boxed anecdotes are sometimes really sad little sketches of
humanity and are sometimes hilariously funny. (For instance - Do
you know when songwriters and doctors are a lot alike? According
to the law of the United States (and Moses doesn't pretend to
speak for other countries in this regard), both doctors and
songwriters are guaranteed a specific payment for services
rendered. It's the law.)
Much of the book reads almost like a web site. There are little
notes referring you to various other parts of the book throughout
the entire text. But he doesn't only tell you the realities of
the business. The second part of the book, called "Scams and
Shams" also tells you about the underhanded dealings to watch out
for and the myths associationed with the whole package.
This is not a book for the faint-hearted. Nor is it only a
"how-to" instructional. The content of the book goes much deeper
into the state of the business than that. The difference here is
that Moses probably never intended for it to be easy to accept.
But by writing under a pseudonym, he's given himself the
annonymity to tell the truth. To tell it like it is. His book
doesn't discourage those already involved in the business.
Rather, it gives them an insight into the reality of things that
15 years of frustration has taught him. And it empowers his
readers to take control of their own careers in a way that only
talking in dark rooms with good friends who have been through the
crap, can do.
The music business can be glorious and fulfilling work. In any
capacity. But it can also foster the worst the entertainment
industry has to offer. It's a good idea to know about both
before venturing into a business that will eat you alive if you
let it. Reading Moses' book will give you at least some of the
amunition you need to be prepared for what lies ahead.
And besides - it's an excellent read.
******
Moses Avalon's CONFESSIONS OF A RECORD PRODUCER was our book
give-away for this issue of The Muse's News. Next month's review
and give-away will be David Nevue's HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC
SUCCESSFULLY ON THE INTERNET - a publication jam-packed with
information and constantly updated. More information can be
found on David's web site at http://www.rainmusic.com/ . And as
Jeannie Novak notes in her article above, the internet is the
"place to be" these days!
Back to Menu
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M u s i c a l N o t e s : Songwriting Contests & Market Info.
In the interest of conserving space, I will only be including
changes to this listing in this newsletter. All other contests
and market information that have already been listed here, are
displayed at http://www.musesmuse.com/contests.html &
http://www.musesmuse.com/markets.html . Please check there
regularly for updates!
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THE CONTEMPORARY SONGWRITER MAGAZINE LYRIC CONTEST IS UNDERWAY!
The first place winner will receive $50, second place $30, third
place $20. The three winning lyrics will be printed in next
month's issue of Songwriter Magazine along with the winners'
names and addresses. Winners will also receive a one-year
subscription to Songwriter Magazine. At the end of the year, we
will choose a lyric of the year from each month's winning lyrics.
The winner will receive $100. If you would also like to have your
song critiqued, the total cost for both critique and contest
entry is $20. Be sure to mention that you are requesting both.
For further information, drop by the website at:
http://www.angelfire.com/co2/contempo .
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Saturday July 17th
SONGWRITER EXPEDITION ON THE CONNECTICUT RIVER in Hadley,MA
8:30 departure from Sportman's Marina
If you don't already have a canoe, kayak or rowboat and need to
rent you can make reservations:
Sportman's Marina Boat Rental Company
Rte 9 Hadley 413.586.2426
Canoe rentals $30 for 8 hours
Fishing boat with motor (5 adults per boat) $90 for 8
hours
Bring your lunch, plenty of drinking water, suntan lotion and
beach blanket along with your songwriting materials. Write alone
or get into co-writing on a rustic Island in the middle of the
Connecticut River. Swim, relax, write and talk about songwriting
in a writers' community. I will lead the flatwater trip in my
Seacret Kayak (that's the brand name of the kayak). It's an easy
trip to a quiet Island shadowed by Skinner Mountain in beautiful
rural Hadley, Massachusetts. Feel free to join with whatever
watercraft you prefer but be mindful of no wakes for non-motored
watercraft. R.S.V.P by July 10th.
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SACHJA PRODUCTIONS IS A NEW NATIONAL RECORD PROMOTIONS AND PRESS
publicity firm focusing on promoting recordings for independent
record labels and independent recording artists.
Sachja Productions accepts unsolicited recordings for review in
all music genres except Classical, Opera, and Folk.
If you are interested in retaining the services of a professional
promotion company that combines radio promotion and press
publicity under one roof, feel free to submit your recording to
the company at P. O. Box 701231, Dallas, Texas 75370. Or, call
them at (972)390-0529, Fax to (209)755-8329, or Email them at
sachja@yahoo.com.
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ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS:
MainStreet CD, A NEW RECORD COMPANY & SUBSIDIARY OF THE GUTHRIE
THOMAS COMPANY, is currently accepting submissions from artists,
and artist representatives, for possible release consideration on
MainStreet CD. All styles of music are being considered. Any
interested artists may submit their material in Cassette or CD
format, along with a short biography and one photograph to:
MainStreet CD
The Guthrie Thomas Company
P.O. Box 80434
Las Vegas, Nevada 89180 USA
Or, visit our website at:
http://www.mainstreetcd.com/mainstreetrecords.htm . Please note,
we do not return submiited materials. So, if you need it
back..please, don't send it.
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SEEKING NEW ARTISTS:
Derek "DJ" Anderson, the host of WRFW's award-winning "120-Minute
Power Hour" is actively seeking new artists for his show. "The
120-Minute Power Hour" is two full hours of eclectic music,
ranging from folk to blues to alternative pop, just about
anything DJ thinks his listeners would want to hear! Promo CD's
and press kits are always welcome, and can be sent to:
Derek J Anderson
62 E Cascade Ave
River Falls, WI 54022
Email: derek.j.anderson@uwrf.edu
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SEEKING ACTS THIS FALL (& BEYOND) AT A NEW PERFORMING FACILITY:
Located in Cambridge, MN. (Cambridge is located approximately 45
miles north of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro Area.), this new
facility needs performers to make it truly come alive. The
Cambridge Performing Arts Center facility itself is brand new,
and features 700 seats, GREAT acoustics and amazing lighting.
The committee recently had great success bringing Natalie
MacMaster in to do a sold-out concert.
Roger Anderson and his committee are very excited to bring new
entertainment to Cambridge, in a variety of genres and styles.
Any interested parties can contact Roger for more information at:
rogerand@mn.uswest.net
"Snail-mail" promo packets, CD's, etc. can be sent to:
Roger Wm. Anderson
1100 323rd Ave NW
Cambridge, MN 55008
Back to Menu
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S o n g w r i t e r I n P r o f i l e :
Simon Steadman of the UK Indie Band, STEADMAN
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There are bands doing quite well without record companies. There
really are. It's not some myth that we hear about in whispered
tones but never really *see*. Simon and his band are proving that
and are slowly but surely building quite a name for themselves
both in the local gig scene in the UK and online with the release
of two of their songs in MP3 format for free download (check
their site for more details). Not only is their new album "Loser
Friendly" great music, it's music they produced the way THEY
WANTED IT. That's key here. No one told them what to do. They are
entirely happy with the end product. And that, to my way of
thinking, makes them more successful than a lot of bands with a
record contract under their belt. These guys have been there,
done that. And talking with Simon was quite an eye-opener. I
think you'll get a lot from reading this interview too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Q * : Can you tell me a little bit about how you got involved
in music and specifically in writing songs? What got you started
with it? And what made you think you wanted to make a living
from it?
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* A * : All my creative tendencies are my mother's influence.
Dad just watches TV. She has sung as long as I can remember and
I have always been part of the audience. I think my first stage
appearance was at a small festival. My Mum (Maggie) was singing
a song called "Black Crow" in front of a few hundred people and I
was watching from the wings. I happened to spot a huge basket
labelled "Props", inside wierdly enough was a crow costume. I
slipped it on and ran on stage flapping about behind her. The
audience were laughing, she couldn't figure out why and I made my
debut aged 10.
Maggie also used to run various Folk Clubs around London and she
would always hassle me to sing a song with her, I finally gave
in, realised, "Hey this isn't so bad after all, in fact I kinda
like it!" and the next week I was singing Prince songs and met a
girl, "Wow the Music biz is great" I thought!
Aged 16 I moved to Hastings, a seaside town on the South of
England, where my musical education really began. I didn't know
anybody so I just sat in my room,played guitar, and wrote songs
about how I'd just moved to this town and didn't know anybody.
I then started college and came in contact with other musicians.
My first band "Bluestone Mor" was a Pink Floydalike rock outfit
formally known as "The Flaming Duvet's (In the States that would
read "The Flaming Quilts") Don't ask! It was all part of my
education. I shared the song-writing with the guitarist and soon
realised I didn't want to share the song-writing with anyone.
Selfish maybe but Steadman and Cutmore doesn't have quite the
same ring as Lennon and Mcartney. besides I didn't need any
help. After Various failed stabs at getting a band together ("Si
and the Family Stoned, Henry and The Cereal Killers, The Sons of
Scrimm" to name but a few). I finally settled with a bunch of
musicians I could rely on and so began The Dharmas (details of
which can be found at www.steadman.co.uk under History.) I
really found my song-writing feet with this band. it was our
life for 5 years and we lived with eachother and talked about
little else. A major record label came along and made life
difficult for a few years but that hasn't stopped me.
I never really thought about making money from it as it's not an
issue when you're a songwriter, it's more of a plus.
Songwriting is something I've always done and will always do. I
don't do anything else other than watch the odd movie, take the
odd walk, write the odd song, Love an odd girl and I swim on
Saturdays. I'm hoping to live in the States one day When the
States lets me.
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* Q * : Can you tell me a little bit about Steadman? How did you
guys end up getting together?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* A * : Steadman contain remaining members of The Dharmas (Check
out History at Steadman site). The Dharmas were six happy,
positive, determined musicians who came around at the time when
happy and positive were words deemed uncool in the British music
press. Fortunately for us thousands of people didn't agree and
came to see us at all the major festivals, Universities and
Venues nationwide. We were doing very well for ourselves until
we signed that fateful record deal. To cut a long story short,
our record company was a lame duck.........(and we were baby
ducks swimming behind the wrong Mother)
The four remaining members of The Dharmas (Russ, Ellie, Wal and
me) carried on to fight another day under the name Steadman (Dom
became a monk and Chris is now Mel Gibson's personal stunt
double). we chose to use my surname as we felt that, after the
multi personalities of The Dharmas, we should create more of a
focal point for our audience.
Without the complacency and insecurity of a deal we decided we'd
better take things into our own hands. We made friends with a
Bay City Roller (Eric) and managed to sneak out his entire studio
one night, when he wasn't looking to record our debut album. We
rented a barn out in the backwoods of Hastings and began
recording "Loser Friendly".
Every night was bean stew night, so after a month, the place
stank. We eventually had to call it a day, blamed the smell on
the cows and came away with 13 songs sounding exactly the way we
wanted with no concern for "singles" and "shifting units". We'd
got the job done.
Now we relax here in "the Beverley Hills of Britain's South
Coast", Drinking fine wines, eating freshly caught oysters and
making rubber band balls to pass the time. Life is sweet!
Could you pass me another chocolate covered supermodel?
Come join the Paradise!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Q * : How has your songwriting changed from when you first
started? Do different things inspire you now as apposed to then
or do you see some similar themes?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
For the answer to this and other questions, please drop by
http://www.musesmuse.com/steadman.html#newsletter .
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===============================================================
" O N S I T E " F E A T U R E D A R T I C L E :
THE REALITIES OF RADIO (PART 1) -
WRITING FROM THE LISTENER'S POINT OF VIEW
by Mary Dawson
http://www.musesmuse.com/mary-radio1.html
Hints on how to get your song ready for radio play - remember
your audience! Find a hook and reel 'em in.
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=================================================================
C l a s s i f i e d s & U s e f u l S e r v i c e s :
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players, head to http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/?muse
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ALAN PUBLISHING GROUP -
NEW MUSIC PUBLISHER/MUSICIAN SERVICES/ SONGCASTING
http://www.alanpublishing.com - Premiere site for music, musician
services and a host of services for the serious songwriter. Check
out our new SongPitch division. You may contact us through email,
mail, or fax.
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CHECK OUT THE NASHVILLE MUSIC & SPORTS DIRECTORY, the book that
has up-to-date information of businesses and people you must know
to make things happen for your career in the Music Business.
Price is $19.95. For more information visit our website:
http://www.nashvilleconnection.com or call us at 615-826-9604
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NEW MUSICIANS' NETWORK ON THE WEB:
Musicians can sell their music worldwide, get exposure to many
top web sites who we've partnered with, allow us to link them to
the music pros (labels, clubs, films, radio and more), plus many
other perks for just being a part of the network. Consumers can
come purchase some of the best indie music from around the world.
The site is located at http://www.degyshop.com.
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R&B, POP, JAZZ, FUNK, BALLAD SINGER IN NEED OF SONGS!
I am in dire need of finished studio ready songs. I am currently
representing an up and coming male vocalist who sings like an
angel and has an obvious god given gift...but that doesn't extend
to songwriting skills. If you believe you have anything that may
help me, please contact me at nkc22@aol.com, or by mail at Nicole
Cardinal, 1330 W. Broadway Rd # B214, Tempe, AZ 85282. This could
be the break we are both looking for!
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All contracts must be prepaid. Write to: editor@musesmuse.com
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C o n t a c t I n f o & C r e d i t s :
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jodi Krangle editor@musesmuse.com..................... EDITOR
Kathryn Obenshain kobensha@runet.edu.....GRACIOUS PROOFREADER
Bryan Fullerton bryanf@samurai.com.......SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Muse's News is a free monthly newsletter for and about
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Back issues and other information will be available at:
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The Muse's News is part of The Muse's Muse, a web resource for
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