New Show Motto

I'm adapting this from a comment I saw on YouTube...

to all the plastic manufactured "pop stars" of today...

Here's a lesson for you. Go pick up an instrument, turn off the auto tune, learn how to truly perform. Go to a seedy bar, entertain the few that are there, repeat that for a few years. Do it like the talented musicians you will hear on this show. Real musicians, with real instruments and real talent.

This is my new motto for the show.


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Show notes;

Tomorrow night I'll be joined on the show by our good friend Rob Mazurek, Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show, and possibly Kyle Marney for a round table discussion about the music industry as well as the recent goings on with the now tabled so called anti piracy laws as well as recent developments regarding copyright infringement online. You won't want to miss this one!

Not Set in Stone But.....

I'm thinking that tonight's show might be the last one of 2011. I really haven't had much traffic the last couple of weeks, and we are into the usual holiday slump as far as internet activity goes.

Case in point, last Sunday's show had 13 hits, usually it's in the 40's or 50's.

So, given the hits the show gets tonight, this might be my last hurrah of 2011 as far as the show goes (of course if the hit count is off the charts, well, maybe next week might be my last one but I doubt it). Personally, I'd like to have one or two more shows to do, I love promoting and talking about how the "industry" screws over the independent musicians but if no one is even listening why bother? I always love the audience I get, but if it's only going to be a handful of hits, and only one or two folks in chat why bother? I'm not bitching, we are in a time of year where the traffic online is not going to be all that great to begin with, people have things to deal with that don't include hanging out online, it's just the nature of the beast, it's the way it is.

Right now as far as the show goes, I'm already looking ahead to the New Year, I'm planning on having more musician interviews, more chats with the movers and shakers of the industry, and, as long as I can plan ahead and know they'll be there so I know whether or not to broadcast in Standard as opposed to HQ, live music.

In case I don't get a chance to say it, I'd like to thank everyone for all the support this year. On a personal level, the past 12 months have been the most difficult of my life. I've really had to prioritize things and as much as I hate to admit it, Indie Spotlight has fallen near the bottom. Sometimes I have to wonder if I'm even worthy of the support I've gotten, but then I realize, it's not about me so much as it's about the musicians, and are they worthy of the support? Um, Hell Yeah!!

I know that even in person, but especially online, I haven't been the greatest friend, or host. I'm thinking that taking a break when the online traffic isn't going to be the greatest to begin with, might not be such a bad idea.

Indie Spotlight Live, the possible (on my end I say likely) last show of 2011 will air on blogtv at 9 pm (eastern) tonight. Hope anyone reading this will come by!

Thinking About What If's......

Sitting here listening to Pete Berwicks 2007 album release "Ain't No Train Outta Nashville" has gotten me thinking. Dangerous thing, I know.

First, a little history lesson, this album was originally supposed to be released when Pete was in Nashville back in the early 90's but was hung up in contract disputes for over 15 years when the label he was signed with went under. Pete was able to resolve those issues and released the album under his own label.

The "what if" I'm thinking of is suppose that didn't happen and ain't no train made it onto the record label shelves back in the early 90's when Barf Brooks was starting to make it big?

At that time, country music was in limbo, there was music, just not anything anyone wanted to listen to. Many people were wondering if the genre was going to die. Randy Travis was pretty big at that time, and said he understood why people thought that way. He apparently didn't think much of what his fellow singers were doing saying "it just wasn't good music" in an interview. Garth (Barf) Brooks' song "Friends in Low Places" took off, and to be honest, it does sound like an honest country song. Shame the rest of his really wasn't. I remember from the time that there was a country dance song that took off, "Boot Scootin Boogie" that was big.

So, suppose Pete's album made it to the record store shelves in this time period, especially with the genre in the limbo that it was, I'm thinking the industry wouldn't need saving now. And I'm sure there were 100+ Pete Berwicks out there at that time, the only fatal flaw being was that they were willing to tell the industry to kiss their ass when a record executive wanted to tell them what they thought people wanted to hear (when in actuality they didn't have a clue then, or now) and think of what might have happened is just one asshole decided to leave his ego at the door, and let real music flow?

I wouldn't have to listen to classic rock stations, or talk radio on my ride to work. Just my .02 of course.





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Show notes;

I somehow managed to keep the regular broadcast going, only missing one show in September this Halloween season, although the shows were shorter. How? I have no idea. I even did a show the day before Halloween which hasn't happened in years. Were those shows my best, no, I was reusing old playlists, and was almost a zombie myself at the computer running them. I plan to get back to my fighting form in the coming weeks, I'm hoping that I might be able to try (note the try) and schedule some musician interviews in the next couple of weeks.

If you are finding this blog for the first time, please follow the link on the about me segment of the blogger site (just mouse over my picture) and check it out, we're on every Sunday at 9 pm (eastern time).

RIAA Radar -- Another Great Site

As we talk about often during the show, there are "indie" labels that are actually RIAA labels.

Want to know who they are? Check out http://riaaradar.com/

Musicians Together

Recently I found out about a website called Musicians Together. It's a really cool site for independent musicians to upload videos, and get to meet other musicians and fans as well. It's free, very well run, and there are alot of really great people over there, so I hope you guys will check it out.

Here is why, in my opinion, great sites like MT are important. As regular visitors to this blog (as well as the weekly show on blogtv) know, the major music industry has been steadily getting it's hooks into the websites that independents have traditionally used to self promote, network and get their music out. One great example is Myspace. Once upon a time that was THE site to be on if you were a musician. Since 4 of the major record labels bought into it, this is no longer the case, the site has completely turned it's back to the musicians that help build it. Now, it's just a big advertisement for the artists the major labels think we should be listening to, and the indies are shoved in the back somewhere. In fact they've become such a narcissistic, self important piece of crap website that myspace isn't even useful as a social networking site anymore. I was on there recently and can plainly see why people are leaving in droves, the site is almost impossible to navigate. Not only that, user generated content (such as bulletins and updates) are even pushed aside for whatever the majors flavor of the week is. In fact I still haven't figured out where they moved the bulletins to!

YouTube is another great example of a site that has, at least in my opinion, turned it's back to the musicians that helped build it. Since they downgraded the "music" category making it harder to find independent musicians and the music. Because the content on YT is more diversified I don't expect them to have the same downfall Myspam (oops I mean myspace) did, however from talking to some of the musicians I've found out that the view counts on their videos are way down from what they used to be.

This is whats great about Musicians Together, it's a site created by a musician, for musicians. There isn't a bunch of "white noise", it's picking up where other sites have left off. You don't have to look for the latest video from your favorite musician, it's right there.

Musicians Together is a young site, they are just starting out, but if the history of how some of these other sites is any indicator, I think they will be huge.

And I don't expect that they'll go the route of the other sites mentioned here and sell out.

Check them out, create an account, make a few friends and be a part of something pretty awesome, you won't regret it!


http://musicianstogether.com/

For Independent Musicians, How to Get Airplay on Internet Radio Shows...(reposted)

In case it got missed the last time, haven't posted this in a while.....


Here is the scenario....

While conducting her show on blogtv, Deb will get a request from a musician asking if they'll play their music on her show................

I'll get an email from a musician asking to come onto the show.............

What is the criteria for us to play your music on our shows?

Lately, given the music industry's current model of lawsuits and intimidation for copyright infringement, and the fact that they could easily shake us down like they do public music venues that is a really good question.

Honestly, in many cases we would really like to, we really would. Unfortunately there are things as online radio hosts we need to consider, the main one being that we need to cover our own ass.

Many unsigned, independent musicians who play in bars, coffeehouses, nightclubs, and open mic nights know that the venues they play in have to pay licensing fees to the Performance Rights agencies, the big ones being BMI, or Ascap. Others could tell stories about some of their favorite venues not being able to play music anymore because they didn't have a license from one of the PRO's (Performance Rights Organizations) (also known as the music mafia) and those same venues have had to pay a sizable fine. Those fines could run into the thousands of dollars.

That's nothing compared to what internet broadcasters are supposed to pay if we play music. Ever heard of Sound Exchange? How about the RIAA? Oh, you've heard of the RIAA, well, Sound Exchange is basically the RIAA.

Ok, now that I've mentioned the RIAA, does the word lawsuit come to mind? Who filed the lawsuits on the file sharers? Who sued many of the wrong people including 12 year old girls, a homeless guy, and a dead woman among others?

The RIAA.

SoundExchange is the RIAA.

The RIAA, via SoundExchange want internet broadcasters who play music that belongs to their members in excess of $20,000 (U.S. dollars) to play that music. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of cash laying around to play music for a once a week show.

For that matter, while Deb primarily plays music on her shows, from what she's said, she doesn't have that kind of cash either.

Independent musicians, if you are with one of the members of the music mafia which include but not limited to the RIAA, BMI, The Harry Fox Agency or Ascap, your membership with one of these Performance Rights Societies will limit your airplay on internet radio because we can't afford the licensing fees, and don't want to run the risk of losing our homes, and everything we've worked for in our personal lives just because we played a song, never mind that you sent us the file and asked us to play it. I'm sorry, but even though you asked us to play it, if the music mafia were to come after us it wouldn't matter.

So since I mentioned all that, let me tell you independent guys and gals, who want your music played on independent music shows on the internet, the best possible ways to get airplay on internet radio.

1) If you are a member of one of the Performance Right Organizations, forget it, most of us who play music on the internet aren't willing, or able to pay for the licensing fees. I know that Deb would love to play your music on her show, and get you some exposure, and honestly I would too. We know, better than most people, how the industry totally screws over the independent artists. One of the ways that they got ya by the balls? Well, you are a member of one of the licensing agencies that have you by the balls, and broadcasters as well. We would love to give you exposure, we would love to give you airplay, but because we are 9 to 5 workday people, and while we are independent broadcasters, unfortunately we are not also independently wealthy. I can't be any more plain then that.

2) So, if you are a member of the Music Mob? Did you also license your music under Creative Commons? Well, guess what? Because you signed with them, even if you also license your music under Creative Commons, the agreement you signed with BMI, ASCAP, Harry Fox or whichever agency you signed with takes precedence over your Creative Commons license. In fact, according to the Creative Commons website, you can't use a Creative License at all.

I got this right off of the the Creative Commons Website so I know it's legit.

Oops, did that link take you somewhere else? Oh yeah I'm sorry, the link I posted is some of the crap those of us who broadcast on the internet have to deal with.

I wanted to give some of you folks who want your music on the internet, who thought this blog post was a bit long, something longer to read. Just a taste of the hell that responsible internet broadcasters have to deal with.

Since you have made it this far, I'll be nice and keep it simple.

As a result of the warranty disclaimer, before using a Creative Commons licensed work, you should satisfy yourself that the person has all the necessary rights to make the work available under a Creative Commons license. You should know that if you are wrong, you could be liable for copyright infringement based on your use of the work.

So, even if you license your music under Creative Commons, your original agreement under your licensing agency applies. In fact, if you have already signed your rights away with a member of the M.O.B. (Muthas of Broadcasting) you can't even license your music under Creative Commons.

Click the link and do your own homework, because responsible internet broadcasters are gonna do ours. Even if you license your music under Creative Commons, if you also are with one of the major licensing agencies, guess what? Your agreement with BMI, Ascap, ect will supersede your Creative Commons license, like I said before, Creative Commons doesn't even apply at all. You shouldn't even try to license your music under Creative Commons, it will only make legit internet broadcasters think that is O.K. to play your music. It might be O.K. with you, but it is not gonna be O.K. with the "music mafia", that I promise you.

So, simply put, if you feel that you have to be a member of one of the Performance Rights Organizations, or the Music Mafia, or the PRO's, you are going to have a problem getting played on internet radio shows that would like to play your music. If you skipped the above post hoping to see why, then you are gonna have to just scroll back up.

Sorry. You signed your name to the paperwork long before you knew of me.

3) If you really and truly want Deb to play your music on her show, then you are going to have to sign a waiver. The waiver basically states what she is going to do with your music (play it, nothing else) what her rights are (which is to play it on her show, again, nothing else)

If ya got this far, then I know what you are thinking, which is Holy Shit, what am I signing my name to? Well, I know that Deb understands that the Music Industry is so screwed up that you guys are afraid to sign your name to anything. All Deb is asking is your permission to play your music on her show. She's trying to cover her ass, and can you say you blame her?

They have found ways to screw you indie guys, well guess what, they've found way's to bend us over and get us too.

So, in short, well I can't make it short and sweet, you really have to do your homework, just like we need to need to do ours.

If you want your music played, you have to jump through 50 hoops. If you are listed with one of the major licensing agency's, then I hope you are in really good shape, because you are gonna have to jump through a million hoops to even get us to play your music. We want to, we just can't without some paper to cover us.

As an internet broadcaster, we have to cover our ass as well, because of the industries current business model, we really are left with no choice.

We'd love to play ya, really we want to.


Make it possible for us. Don't sign it away to an industry that wants it for themselves.

Don't sign your music away to the music mafia.

Take a look at the Creative Commons website, and read the whole agreement.

The majority of us won't play ya otherwise. I'm sorry, but the industry won't let us play your music otherwise.

Show Recap, and Other Stuff

Wow a recap? Yeah haven't done one of these in a while. Coming off the lull that typically happens at the show (and pretty much everywhere online) during the holidays now seems as good a time as any to get back into blogging about the show a little more.

I had originally planned last nights show to be primarily music, but over the course of the conversation in the chat Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show and myself decided to take some time to talk about some of the he said/she said bs that goes on behind the scenes on blogtv sometimes. It had come up in the chat that there was someone who had hung out with our regular crowd on blogtv that was found out to be not as they presented themselves to be and rather than do a bunch of typing in the chat about it I decided that it would be better to just cut the music for a bit and bring Deb on so we could talk about some of the things this person had said about us, herself (or himself...lol) and how she/he had destroyed some friendships as well as tried to kill our viewer stats at our respective shows because we didn't fall for her "whoa is me" line.

It was a lot of fun, we really had a great conversation with the folks in the chat. After we were done talking about that particular situation Deb gave everyone a how-to on how to figure out if someone was a "tranny" by looking at a picture of them.

Yeah it was one of those nights....lol Deb was even kind enough to do her "Fresh and Easy" voice for the folks who had never heard it. From reading this blog you might not be able to tell it but we really had a fun chat!

Hey maybe it's another reason to drop by the show sometime, we're on every Sunday night at 9 pm (eastern time). If you're looking for a link, just click the logo at the upper right hand corner of this blog!

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Show notes;

Deb will be making another guest appearance within the next couple of weeks as we do another show about how the music industry REALLY works. It's come to my attention that some of the folks that have recently started coming to the show don't know how the politics of the music industry really play out, and why we don't get to hear more of these awesome independent musicians on regular radio. This show would be a bit of a refresher for the regular listeners that have been coming to the show for a while but I'm willing to bet that it'll be an eye opener for folks who haven't been previously exposed to this information.

Deb and I are also planning another music event show. The only big difference between this one and the last couple that we've done is that instead of billing and planning it as a 12 or 24 hour event, we're just going to plan an event style show without time constraints. What this means is that if we are only able to book enough musicians to cover 10 live hours then it'll be a 10 hour event. The opposite is also true, if we find enough folks to do longer then it'll be a longer show. The idea behind this change is to take away some of the stress of planning the show. Trying to find enough musicians to cover a set amount of hours is challenging. While Deb and I are more than up to such a challenge, we've always had the concern that we might compromise the quality of the show by trying to fill time in between live music with mp3's which isn't what people come out to these shows for, they come for live music. This way we can just book the musicians and let the show flow where it may and give the listeners more of what you guys want as opposed to trying to spread out the live music to fill a time block. If anything it's worth a shot we'll see how it goes. No, we haven't set a date for this yet.

It's come to my attention that some of the musicians that have come on to the show for interviews in the past would like to come back. I'll be reaching out to these folks over the course of the next couple of weeks and get back (finally!) into booking musicians interviews (although I'd rather think of them as chats, it's more fun that way) so stay tuned for that.

Said quite a mouthful here, guess it makes up for my lack of blogging over the last couple of weeks...lol

Catcha folks later!

Pete Berwick, Live and Uncensored

I created a playlist on youtube with the entire Pete Berwick interview, give it a listen! Had a great time with Pete on the show this week, and it's a fun interview so check it out!

More RIAA (insert colorful metaphor here)

Reading this article on p2pnet this morning (thank you Ray Beckerman).

The thugs at the RIAA went after a 16 year old cheerleader.

Article here; http://www.p2pnet.net/story/44096

Whitney Harper, left, a 16-year-old cheerleader when she was attacked by the Big 4 organised music cartel’s RIAA, was the first victim in a copyright infringement suit to use the ‘innocent infringer’ defense.

She was accused by Warner Music’s Maverick Records of downloading music through Sharman Network’s Kazaa, the disgraced P2P file sharing app that’s been front and centre in the bulk of RIAA Sue ‘Em All lawsuits.

The RIAA was, and is, fronted by Holme Roberts & Owen’s Eve Burton (right).

Several years ago a federal court in Texas ordered the RIAA to either accept $200 per infringed work, or to go to trial over the innocent infringement issue, said Ray Beckerman in Recording Industry vs The People.

Then last month an amicus brief prepared by a group of professors led by Harvard’s Charles Nesson in support of Harper was submitted to the US Supreme Court, said p2pnet.

Now, says the BLT, the court’s unusual action in asking for Big Music input “is a sign of the Court’s interest in the case”.

A “recent study indicated that the Court’s request for a response significantly increases the chances the Court will ultimately grant review — which could turn into a major contest for the music industry”, says the story.

Definitely stay tuned.

Should be interesting, Ray makes the point at his blog recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com that "The 5th Circuit's ruling was ludicrous, and deserves to be unceremoniously reversed. The Supreme Court's request for a response from the RIAA at this juncture suggests that the high court has picked up on the 5th Circuit's flagrant mistake"

This one is worth watching. I can't help but wonder if the high court is starting to question the constitutionality of the money often awarded in these lawsuits.

The RIAA Circus, Part 2

Recently the RIAA tried to justify paying over $17M (US) in legal fees to recover $391,000 stating that it's money well spent.

Sorry, still having a hard time wrapping my brain around this one.

$17M for Legal Fees Is Money Well Spent, RIAA Says

Make sure you're sitting down, I really have to wonder how the RIAA's artists, the ones who are so frequently crying about piracy honestly feel about this.

Show Notes and Updates

Last Sunday Deb from Unsigned Musicians and our good friend Rob Mazurek (known on blogtv as the Dasperminator) had a very interesting round table discussion about ASCAP's letter to their musicians telling them to not license their music under Creative Commons because that lets people steal it.

As we pointed out during the show nothing could be further from the truth. If anything CC provides the musicians a way to license their music without having to either go all out and put it in the public domain, or have to direct license the music. They do not lose their rights under copyright. CC protects them because depending on which CC license they use there are at least some rights reserved.

Good show, I've been uploading a couple of clips a day onto the IndieSpotlightLive youtube channel, and the show in it's entirety is still available on my blogtv page and will be so until tomorrow evening.


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Updates;

Unless Kyron Horman is found (and that would be some freaking awesome news) my friend Jude who runs the childseeknetwork site and the Missing Kyron Horman Facebook page will be on the show to talk about the case. I do believe we'll have another guest who is working on this case with her as well but as of yet they are unconfirmed.

Deb and I are putting together another music event, this one will be a 12 hour all original, all indie show hosted over on the UnleashedAgain channel on blogtv starting at 12 noon eastern time on August 21st.

Have a great weekend everyone!

ASCAP Declares War on Creative Commons

I knew it might happen one day.

Check out this article;

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/89494/ascap-declares-war-on-free-culture/

We will be discussing this on Sunday's show. I will be joined by Deb from Unsigned Musicians as well as our good friend Rob Mazurek.

Join us this Sunday starting at 9 pm (eastern) on blogtv.

And if I don't see ya happy 4th of July!

Fonda Feingold on Indie Spotlight this Sunday

A phenomenal musician will be joining us this Sunday. The music of Fonda Feingold is awesome, and that is only half the story.

We will be talking with someone who fought the music industry and won.

As with many other musicians who sign to a major label believing the big promises and expecting big things, she had signed on the dotted line only to have her album shelved.


After a long battle she finally went indie and produced the awesome "Before and After".

Check out her website http://www.fondafeingold.com and check her out!

Joining also this Sunday as co-host will be Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show. The show starts at 9 (eastern) this Sunday and I look forward to seeing you there!

Show Notes and Updates

Haven't done one of these in a while, guess we're overdue for an update.

Hmm, where to start?

First I have pulled the plug on my recently restarted blogtalkradio show. While BTR has fixed all the issues that had driven me away from there, the listener stats weren't there. While I might consider launching a new channel over there sometime in the future to get a fresh start with them right now that idea isn't only on the back burner, it's not even on the stove but I thought that I would mention it since I haven't as of yet totally abandoned it. The other reason I decided to scuttle the show is because to be quite honest I really don't have the time to put into planning two shows a week right now, instead having just the Sunday show on blogtv and focusing my energy on that. Things on blogtv are going really well right now (had almost one hundred hits according to my stat tracker during last Sunday's show). One thing I am going to do is keep the most recent blogtalkradio show's player here on the blog, I figure it gives you folks something nice to listen to while you read my miscellaneous ramblings over here....lol

If I decide to launch a totally new show over there I'll be sure to blog about it here. As I mentioned before, it's just an idea that I haven't completely put out of my mind.

So with all that being said, what is going on with the show, what is coming up, what kind of programming can you guys expect?

Well all I can say is that while it is still in the planning stages I do believe that my awesome friend Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show will be back on to help out with a few interviews that we might have lined up. I can't wait, those shows are always loads of fun.

Call it a teaser if you will, but stay tuned, and have a great weekend everyone!

Don't forget that we are on every Sunday night at 9 pm (eastern time) on blogtv.

Click here for a direct link to the show

Last Sunday's Show -- Neilson Does Kinda Lie

Hi everyone, happy Tuesday to ya. Last Sunday we talked about how Nielsen ratings don't accurately show the correct amount of musical releases. According to Tunecore Tommy Boy's assessment of 108,000 new releases isn't accurate due to the fact that last year Tunecore alone had over 90,000 new musical releases.

The numbers don't add up do they? I would think that if an indie site like Tunecore had the majority of new music last year most of us would be able to turn on the radio without cringing wouldn't we?

One can dream right?

Apparently if a CD doesn't have a UPC code that the online stores can use to track, and have registered with Nielsen, they don't count the album sale. The same goes for online sales, the same UPC code is still used to track the sale, but unless it's with a major label chances are the sale isn't counted as a sale because according the Nielsen it doesn't exist.

Another way to screw the indie artists, how many nails did it take to put this hoop together so they can try to jump through it?

During the show we did also discuss how virtually impossible it would be to truly track online sales anyway with all the outlets out there, coupled with the fact that most if not all independent musicians also direct sell their music from their own websites, at gigs, ect.

In other words there is no way "officially reported sales numbers" can be in any way even in the same realm as accurate.


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Show notes;

The Blogtv show is going strong, join us every Sunday at 9 pm Eastern time for great music, awesome folks in the chat, and an awesome time.

I decided a couple of weeks ago to pull the plug (again) on the blogtalkradio Saturday night show. They've fixed all the technical problems over there, and we had fun doing the show, the listener stats weren't there and right now I just don't have the time it takes to do show planning for 2 shows. I'm sure if I focused on it I could easily bring the listener stats back up on blogtalkradio, but I've decided to focus on the blogtv show instead. With that being said, please subscribe to my blogtv channel, I do have some surprise shows coming up.

Have a great week everyone!

Booking Interviews for 2010!

I've planned out my final shows for 2009 and am looking forward to 2010. I would love to get back to doing musician interviews so if you (or someone you know) is an independent musician, who would love the exposure, please shoot me an email. Please keep in mind that this interview would have to be done over Skype, or I would need a number to call via Skype to bring you on. If I need to call you, I have no problem footing the bill, as it only costs me something like 2 cents a minute and for a great musician interview, it's well worth it to me.

Also, anyone who was on the show over the course of the last year, is also invited back to the show, we had some awesome interviews with you guys and would love to see what you've been up to since we last talked and introduce you to our larger audience on blogtv.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be doing what might be called a "best of" format. This coming Sunday I'll be replaying my interview with Rob Mazurek, who is known on blogtv as Desperminator.

We've had a phenomenal year doing Indie Spotlight Live and I'd like to take the time to thank the musicians, my listeners/viewers, and Deb from Unsigned Musicians (if it wasn't for you the show wouldn't even exist) I've had a ton of fun doing the show, and I'm really looking forward to what the next year brings.

Take care everyone, and if I don't get a chance to talk to ya beforehand, happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, happy non-denominational holiday and Happy New Year!

Indie Spotlight Live Updates!

Having a blast at the show, thought I'd drop in here and toss out a few updates....

Lately on Saturday nights I've been doing an unscheduled show, usually at 11 pm which was the time slot for Deb's Unleashed show, which is on hiatus.

I don't do it every Saturday night, so your best bet would be to subscribe and you'll (or at least you should) get a notification when the show airs.

The Sunday show is still running full speed ahead at 9 pm (eastern US) every Sunday night, and here is what's going to be happening the next couple of weeks. This coming Sunday I'm planning on doing a "normal" show, and the Sunday after that, through the end of the year will be a "Best Of" format where I'll be replaying clips from some of the shows that aired when we were on blogtalkradio.

After the new year I plan to get back to doing musician interviews, talking about the industry, and going full steam ahead with promoting some awesome independent artists, two of which that I know will be releasing CD's in 2010.

So there are some exciting days ahead, I want to thank everyone for the support and if I don't get the opportunity again I also want to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season!

~Jack

Indie Spotlight Live Returned to the Airwaves Last Sunday

Really had fun at the show this week.

If I had to define the last couple of shows, the words meandering, lost, poorly planned would come to mind.

Fortunately this week we were able to get back on track.

We had the honor of having Australian musician Lisa J. Aston in our chatroom this week. Phenomenal musician, and one classy lady. We had a candid discussion about the music industry, it's interesting how different things are outside of the U.S. with the industry, and sadly, many things are the same.

As Lisa pointed out, when she was tied to a label she really wasn't going anywhere, when she went Indie, the sky was the limit.

Here is a link to her myspace page check out her music, you won't be disappointed, that I promise you.

We also talked about the case in Scotland about the clerk who was almost fined by a performance rights agency for copyright infringement because they were singing a song to them self while working.

I'm not kidding, the article is here and the word overkill comes to mind. I agree that songwriters should be paid for commercial uses of their music, but at the same time I think that common sense should prevail.

Special thanks to my friend Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show for sending me that article, as well as one of Lisa J. Aston's songs to play on the show.

Also, as I mentioned on the show, I am running out of room on my blogtv account for videos so over the next couple of days I will be moving them to my youtube channel, and deleting them off of my blogtv page to make room so I can record more videos.

We're back in action, every Sunday night at 9 p.m. (eastern U.S. time) and hope you folks will join us!

p.s. I almost forgot, happy 2nd birthday to the Unsigned Musicians show, on the internet that's almost an eternity ;)

Been a while, time to catch up....

Between getting the show set up the way I like it on blogtv, and some other stuff going on I guess I should post some updates.

The new show is going well, I don't miss blogtalkradio at all. I think we've worked out most of the bugs on blogtv and I'm ready to quit goofing off and start getting back to doing some real shows again.

Yeah I said that a few weeks ago, I know I know.

We've already had our first guest, it was kind of a surprise when Pete Berwick popped into my chat. I have to tip my hat off to Deb from Unsigned Musicians who often helps me out as a co-host for coming up with a quick solution. When we co-host on blogtv, we use Skype to keep in real time, and Pete does not have Skype. Deb called in on Skype, and put Pete on a speakerphone. It came out good considering how last minute it was and I have to tip my hat to Deb for thinking it up.

I'm starting to see some familiar faces in my chat during the show, people who had to deal with the technical problems on btr and said fuck it, are starting to show up on blogtv. It's a nice feeling to see some old friends that I haven't seen on the internet in a while.

Now we need to start talking music, the industry, and I would really like to start having musician interviews again. Pete was last minute, the interview was really good as it always is when he's on. I did record some segments, you can find them on my showpage over on blogtv and as you can hear we had a ton of fun on that show.

Overall I have to say that the switch to blogtv is going well. Like I said before we've worked most of the bugs out, it's coming together really well. If there are any Indie musicians out there who would like to come on the show and talk about their music, and anything in between hit me up. Right now I know I can have you on via Skype, but I am working on having people on the phone as well. I would love to have some fresh talent on the show.

I'm also going to be working on having some of our past guests back on, I'd like to catch up with some of these folks and I think the crowd on our new show would really enjoy getting to know them. I know I'd enjoy it.

Finally, here's the skinny with the latest myspace bullshit. Pete Berwick had this picture as his profile pic on his myspace page. It's the cover off of his latest album.



Myspace took it down because they said it was offensive and violated their Terms of Use. He sent them a very pointed, and yet professional letter asking why, and never got an answer.

So, I put that evil, satanic pic as my main profile picture on myspace. Mostly because I want to support Pete but I also just felt like being an asshole and what better place than one that is run by a bunch of 'em. Lets face facts, since Tom Anderson sold out Myspace has been ruled by the media whores that bought into it, which includes the music industry majors. It does not surprise me that they might find a reason to stifle the little guy for coming up with some great music, and oh yeah he might have an album cover that might be a great idea that they should have thought of but didn't because they were too busy looking at TITS!

It's bullshit. Offensive my ass, you know what I find offensive? How about Miley Cyrus, Miss Hannah Montana herself showing some skin on the front page of Myspace? She's under 18, could that be considered child porn? Yeah I like to look at a young piece of ass but shouldn't it be a legal piece of ass? Beside that do I really want to look at a no talent wannabe musician when I log in?

But I digress.....

So Pete's crotch shot wearing handcuffs is offensive, 13 year olds might see it, but Miley, or whoever the blonde flavor of the week might be, is not offensive? Give me a fucking break.

So, it's been a week, the Myspace police hasn't caught it on my profile yet (although they might after I post this blog over there) and not one person has told me why that album cover might be offensive. So, I'm leaving it up until myspambullshit, oops I mean Myspace pulls it down. I don't see how Pete's picture can be considered offensive.

Sorry about the rant, well, not really....lol

Anyway, the blogtv show is going well, we're on every Sunday night at 9 p.m. (eastern) and I hope to be scheduling some musician interviews soon!

Well except for no talent big titty Barbie wanna-be's you won't be hearing them on the show.

Ever.

Comment on Yesterday's Post Regarding Pete Berwick

I had copied and pasted yesterdays blog on Myspace. My good friend Rob Mazurek made a very good comment on it, and I wanted to share it as well as my response for the benefit of those who read my blogs on here.

Nothing offence about Pete's picture that I can see here Jack,pair of handcuffs..-so what ? . I've seen women on myspace post almost completely nude shots of themselves and never get them yanked from their pages (then again who would complain... I guess thats a bad example...lol) Seriously though, Pete's picture here is completely harmless- I think you may be onto somthing Jack, it's not the pictures at all-but the music that the major labels find to be a threat to their existance-so yeah,they nit-pick away at the indie guys for creating music just as good (and in some cases better-then some of their major artists)

What I find sad and pathetic is...the world of music is digitalized now,downloads are the norm as opposed to buying CD's- the market is huge for everyone to make a buck, there's no need for childlike greed on anyones part. I wont mention any major label artists names here but if certain female artists can make half-naked videos and sell music based on "Sex" and have their videos freely posted on myspace for the world to see (including impressionable 13 year old girls) , than Pete's pic is very harmless compared to that !! , Ive also seen womens websites with pics depicting/suggesting bondage- so the handcuffs obviously cannot be the "Real issue" here.

- Just my Two Cents people.

Posted by Rob Mazurek on Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 6:13 AM

I think he hit the nail right on the head. Reposting my response here for the benefit of my blogger readers.

Rob I think you make a very good point. We've all seen some pretty suggestive pictures here on Myspace, generally from legit users of the site. As the world of music has become more digitized social networking sites like Myspace are the perfect tool for independent musicians to promote themselves, get their work heard and do all this without being with a major label. The majors meanwhile want to promote THEIR people, and the music that THEY think people should be listening to, never mind that there are a lot of people who have gotten tired of the cookie-cutter crap that the majors keep churning out. Keeping in mind that the major recording studios (or the companies that own THEM) have bought up the majority of the radio stations here in the states, they control who gets heard, its not like it was before where a locally owned station would give the "little guy" airplay.

So, with all this in mind, the only real avenues that the independents have are live shows, and the internet. The internet is a powerful tool as we all know. Independents have used and embraced Myspace because of the potential to promote yourself to thousands (some cases tens of thousands) of people, and create a fan base. All this being done without any help from the majors whatsoever and I really think that this is where the problem lies. The major labels continue to insist that musicians NEED THEM. Well, no, you don't. I really think that because of this the majors feel threatened, and pull below the belt crap like this.

When you consider that the 4 major labels all have bought stakes into Myspace, it's easy to read between the lines and see what's really going on.

Just thought I'd share the conversation for the benefit of my blogger readers.