Hey all,
After being down sick for the last week, I came to the realization of just how important it is to make sure your health is a priority.
How many of us, as Indies, hold health insurance on ourselves? Do you set aside a portion of your earnings to cover yourself and the other members of your band? Do you just wing it? Leave it chance?
I know there are many Indies (probably more than not actually) that hold a day job to "pay the bills" and "cover insurance", but there are a large number of us that are out here on our own without the safety net to make sure we don't fall, and health insurance is expensive.
The good news is that there are people looking after us.
As a member of ASCAP I have access to their insurance pool, a great pool of other working musicians and songwriters and publishers that band together to get decent pricing on health insurance. I'm sure the other PROs have similar deals.
All I'm saying is, that when you depend on yourself to stay afloat, don't take yourself for granted.
Take care of yourselves and stay healthy.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Doom, Despair, and Agony on me..........
It's been pretty Doom and Gloom in the media recently. Hell, even the music news outlets are talking about economic recession and the failing economy, and by the way Wall St. is acting, the $700 Billion Bailout didn't ease any of the panic.
People want an escape. They want to be able to run away from the negativity and just get out and have a beer.
I'm not sure how, but gasoline has actually dropped in price. $2.99 a gallon here in Kansas City this morning. Now, I may be way off, but I would think that this might actually be a grand time for enterprising young touring bands. Load up the old van and hit some regional clubs. Play up on the escapism branding in your marketing and draw out the people who want to run away from the hype for a while.
The thing is, no matter how hard things have been for me in the past, I've always felt that a cover charge, a CD, or a beer or two with the guys are luxuries I couldn't live without. I'm willing to bet that I'm not the only guy in America that feels this way.
If you play it right, you may just be able to make a bit of money, and you'll be doing your part to pump money back into the economy. Win/win, and you're a true American Hero.
People want an escape. They want to be able to run away from the negativity and just get out and have a beer.
I'm not sure how, but gasoline has actually dropped in price. $2.99 a gallon here in Kansas City this morning. Now, I may be way off, but I would think that this might actually be a grand time for enterprising young touring bands. Load up the old van and hit some regional clubs. Play up on the escapism branding in your marketing and draw out the people who want to run away from the hype for a while.
The thing is, no matter how hard things have been for me in the past, I've always felt that a cover charge, a CD, or a beer or two with the guys are luxuries I couldn't live without. I'm willing to bet that I'm not the only guy in America that feels this way.
If you play it right, you may just be able to make a bit of money, and you'll be doing your part to pump money back into the economy. Win/win, and you're a true American Hero.
Monday, October 6, 2008
More on the CD Baby buyout front.
Linked below is an article from Moses Avalon's website. For anyone who doesn't know who Moses Avalon is, he's the author of such books as "Confessions of a Record Producer" and a long time critic of Derek Sivers and CD Baby.
I won't even begin to go into his credibility, mainly because I don't put a lot of faith in people who hide behind a pseudonym, but his math in this is pretty intriguing. I do find it funny though, that for someone who has made it one of his missions to cast doubt on Derek Sivers, he sure does stroke him there toward the end.
It does seem that Discmakers are going to have their hands full doing damage control for some time to come.
Again, if any of this is true, which I'm sure it would be pretty easy to verify, then I truly hope that Discmakers does the things that they are promising and lends a little of their credibility to the situation.
http://www.mosesavalon.com/mosesblog/
I won't even begin to go into his credibility, mainly because I don't put a lot of faith in people who hide behind a pseudonym, but his math in this is pretty intriguing. I do find it funny though, that for someone who has made it one of his missions to cast doubt on Derek Sivers, he sure does stroke him there toward the end.
It does seem that Discmakers are going to have their hands full doing damage control for some time to come.
Again, if any of this is true, which I'm sure it would be pretty easy to verify, then I truly hope that Discmakers does the things that they are promising and lends a little of their credibility to the situation.
http://www.mosesavalon.com/mosesblog/
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