In a way, it might be advice for living the good life, if you extrapolate the following idea and apply it to just about anything you want to do. But this is a blog about being a performing songwriter and all that entails.

So, while I think about various ways I still have to explore the new country (Qatar) I am living in (after having just rejuvenated in an off-road experience with my jeep…see my pics on Facebook), and while the following might actually fall along the lines of Julia Cameron’s tip in The Artist’s Way to have an artist’s date with self (exploring the world around you) every week…which is sure to inspire new songs…here goes nothing on the marketing of music…

Do one small thing every week, one large thing every month. That’s a simple, easy idea and probably the very thing that sets apart businesses (and artists) that succeed from those that fail. It is the (ahem) unusual concept of regularly ‘doing’ or taking action in conjunction with mapping out such actions on a calendar. And I know, for me, when life gets to be a bit too much, this is an approach to business (and art) that I can often breathe into…and do.

This reminder and bit of advice comes from TopSpin which delivered a talk at the Los Angeles New Music Seminar…I summarize: Make a lot of art. Tailor your marketing plan to your art.  Make a 12-month calendar (I say: a 3-year calendar, with years 2 and 3 outlining your projections). Copycat and adapt strategies used by other artists/bands. Muse about your own character, music and art – and get creative with one intention: to connect with your fans and their friends.

It’s essentially the way to grow your fan base and sell them something besides a 99 cent download, a point the author stresses, which I found interesting. Of course, let’s not forget to ‘serve’ them and give them lots of goodies but not pester the hell out of them via emails or blogs.

Need some more practical advice on how to release your album? Here’s the best bit from the TopSpin blog and PowerPoint presentation:

People ask us all the time, “How should I be releasing my album? Should I be releasing 12 singles instead of 1 album? How can I get the fan base to build organically?” There isn’t a single answer to this line of questioning. First and foremost, your marketing plan needs to be an extension of your art, it needs to fit the image and brand of your band. What’s good for Miley Cyrus isn’t going to work the same for Danzig (I hope). But I do believe the above bit of advice, “Do Something Small Weekly and Something Big Monthly”, is universal: to put a simple plan together to make sure you have more fans tomorrow than you have yesterday, get out a calendar and start mapping out the next few months or even the year. Look at the next 4-8 weeks on the calendar and start writing down small things you could do each week to share art with your fan base.Share a work in progress. Make a short video. Write a blog post. Do a QA with fans via Twitter. Look at the next 12 months and start mapping out larger things you can do. Release a single. Release an album. Announce a tour. Premiere a music video. Drop a new line of merch. Release a holiday promotion. Do a collaboration with Lionel Ritchie or an EP tribute to Abe Vigoda. Do not email your fan base every time you do a small thing. Do Tweet, post to Facebook, and blog when you do a small thing. Do all of the above and email your fan base every time you do a large thing.”

Ask yourself: when it comes to music marketing, are you doing something small every week, something large every month? If so, keep a notebook or journal of all the things you did this year. You’ll be glad you did.

Also, it would be great to hear how this approach to marketing/business planning is working for you. If not, then it would be great to hear how things change once you do implement such a program.

And, hey, don’t forget to write some new songs, too!

Best wishes,

Lorelei Loveridge, Founder of PSUW

Ariel of Ariel Publicity has come out with this new article on goal-setting for 2011, and I think it’s so good, I’m passing on to anyone who isn’t on her list:

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http://arielpublicity.com/2011/02/03/a-musicians-guide-to-setting-and-achieving-goals-for-2011/
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Good luck with this.

Here are a few added considerations…

GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO THINK AND REFLECT as you map out your goals. Most people balk at goal setting because it takes time – and it does. I like Ariel’s final comment, which is to go easy on you. It takes some reflection to figure out what might make a difference to your career. Most of us on the musical path in any professional sense are easily overwhelmed by the many pieces of the puzzle. Give yourself a night, a weekend, a week to put into writing your goals and action plans.

GET OTHERS TO HELP YOU. To get some free and friendly ‘objective’ feedback, pull in your bandmates and set your respective and/or coordinated goals together. Or get together with a group of artists and do the same.

I know one artist in Edmonton, AB, Canada who meets with a group of musical friends monthly, and they help one another with their efforts in marketing their music by simply talking about what they’re doing…in a context that is relaxed and fun.

REGULAR REVIEW OF GOALS IS A CRITICAL STEP THAT IS OFTEN FORGOTTEN. Plan to review your progress at the end of February or March…to see how you’re doing. And good luck! Sometimes all it takes is that one thing.

SEEK INSPIRATION. Go see other bands perform. Go be where other musicians are and where the music is. Support the very industry you are a part of…by actively joining an association, if there is one in your area. Get to know people. It is a people business. That’s how I actually landed a TV synchronization deal once…by being in the right place at the right time, familiar to the decision makers. That’s how a lot of stuff happens.

FINALLY, THERE’S SOMETHING NICE ABOUT MAKING YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH A PRIORITY…A LOT OF OTHER THINGS COME INTO FOCUS, TOO…bad habits, good habits, mental laziness, tricks of logic, the quality of your life and what you want that to be. Don’t dupe yourself. Live the way you want to live. And know what that is.

Best wishes,

Lorelei Loveridge, Founder/Rabble Rouser of PSUW

This is it. We’re here. In 2011. What does one do? Push on through with one’s goals, etc., right? Wrong.

I have intuited and read and given considerable to thought to what this year is going to be about. A lot of us in the business of writing about the music business are predicting more chaos in the industry, no fixes or few fixes, continued experimentation with social media…and to that end, I predict continued frustration with that, and some withdrawal in an attempt to organize and protect privacy.

My overall sense at this time is this: it’s good to take stock of what has happened and, sometimes, take a wider view. For me that means: look backwards, to the past. YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE THIS. Watch some of the greatest music movies of all time.

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TIME OUT’S LIST OF THE GREATEST MUSIC FILMS EVER

http://www.timeout.com/film/features/show-feature/3567/50-greatest-music-films-ever.html

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Sit back and relax a bit. Remind yourself that some of what’s happening has always been happening, and ingenuity is still a large part of this business. So is optimism. So is frustration. Bryan Adams did a show here in Doha, Qatar in December at the Intercontinental Hotel (imagine…in other parts of the world, he does arenas…here it’s to the expat community in the hotel’s backyard). Everyone’s adapting. Bryan’s interview in the local TimeOut magazine, I believe, had him reveal that this is a business that’s always been full of thieves and ripoffs. So, what else is new? We’re hurt because our fans are doing it? Hmmm. I’m a bit more ponderous about that this year.

Maybe it’s time to do the counter-intuitive. Sit back. Relax. Observe for awhile. And, if your living depends upon your action plans, then carry on. But inside…sit back and relax. Plug in some movies and get through this winter of our discontent by trying to feel good again, if you don’t feel good, and by inspiring yourself towards some newness.

I know that’s what I’m doing. Lining up gigs in Qatar, the UK and Canada. But also taking the long view of this. And learning piano, a new thing.

Best wishes,
Lorelei Loveridge, Founder and Rabble Rouser (PSUW)

This week we look at how you handle the microphone. Have you got a ‘microphone technique’ or not? Let’s hope it’s not this:

Utterly disturbing to watch, isn’t it? One can only hope it’s a joke. Looks like it’s a joke someone made on video…after the fact. Bloopers. Gotta love’em. Except when they’re yours. Careful now…what one fan might do to you…one day (publish one of your gaffs online).

Never mind. Here’s something to settle your churning stomach – a sheer act of genius by jazz guitarist Antonio Forcione who is known for his humor. Here, literally playing with the mic for effect, he’s in top form:

So, what’s he doing right?

He’s using the mic. He’s in control of it. He is manipulating it for vocal effect. Okay, so it’s theatrical. But it begs the question: how comfortable do you feel at the mic? I go through my own set of responses when I’m working with the microphone, in every new setting:

1. I set the stand where I want it.
2. I tilt the mic the way I want it.
3. I make sure it’s not pointing at a speaker (uh, feedback? shocking it is to me when a singer doesn’t know that pointing a microphone at a speaker/monitor will cause an ear-splitting screech).
4. I begin to work with the sound engineer to get the right sound (that’s an art all unto its own…see the last link in this article).
5. When I sing in the mic, I sometimes hold it, sometimes don’t, sometimes sing right into it, sometimes pull back from it. I think experience is what teaches you best how to handle a microphone – but it helps to consider the entire concept of vocal dynamics. An audience does not always want to be: whispered at, shouted at, sung at in monotones. Think: dynamics, in range, and variety. Practice at home if you have to.

Here’s an excellent article on microphone techniques for vocalists: http://www.vocalist.org.uk/microphone_techniques.html

And a fantastic article that gets into technicalities re. microphone placement, particularly good at the end in breaking down the why’s and wherefore’s for individuals and groups (it’s a downloadable PDF file): http://www.shure.com/idc/groups/public/documents/webcontent/us_pro_mics_for_music_sound_ea.pdf

Knowing how to handle a mic is one thing. Developing a relationship with it that inspires the audience, both visually and in an auditory way – well, that takes talent and gumption. Have fun!

Best,

Lorelei Loveridge

Founder/Rabble Rouser of PSUW

Today is about your approach to doing business through CONNECTING WITH OTHERS, PERSONALLY AND IN MEANINGFUL FASHION and, as part of that, we’re revisiting the good old blog, and how-to do/manage it…because this is such an important way to connect with your fans. Yet it’s so time consuming and it demands a lot of you, doesn’t it? Or does it?

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1. HOW TO BLOG ALMOST EVERY DAY
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/how-to-blog-almost-every-day/

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Considering the process of streamlining the never-ending number of tasks in running a business, and for many artists that includes blogging out to fans, I was impressed by the quality of suggestions in this article. The author gives practical tips on how to keep your blogs fresh AND manage the workload.

One of the best articles I’ve read on blogging in awhile.

But the bigger thing on my mind as of late is HOW TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE WHEN IT COMES TO NETWORKING AND GETTING RESULTS…BOOKINGS, REVIEWS, ETC.

Check this out, an article that should just be called ‘BEING PERSONAL’, outlining a simple but thoughtful method that will get you farther than mass mailing, clicking and spamming.

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BEHIND-THE-SCENES ONLINE MARKETING FOR INDEPENDENT MUSICIANS
http://www.musicdish.com/mag/index.php3?id=12740

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It’s an epiphany that’s been creeping up on me in waves, and as I prepare to attend the UK Folk Music Industry conference in November, with my new label intern (more about that next week!), I’ve been mindful of the results of my last conference forays to MIDEM in Cannes, IN THE CITY in Manchester, UN-CONVENTION in Salford, WOMEX in Copenhagen…and various other experiences that have brought me in and out of touch with fans and music industry folks across the strata, independent to major.

I’ve been mindful and resentful at times of the ways in which people ‘connect’ or don’t connect at conferences. Then I had to look deeply inside myself: how was I connecting? how do I connect?

MATTHEW MORAN, our IT guru at PSUW and author ofhttp://www.TheSongwriterOnline.com/ , penned a blog about this business of ‘connecting…and it fostered further discussion on what connecting is not. It is NOT clicking, spamming, endless adding and ignoring. Read this and join in on the discussion:

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DO YOU REALLY NETWORK? AKA: A CLICK IS NOT A CONNECTION
http://networkedblogs.com/9beHu

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It’s all about REALLY connecting, not spamming. Really being effective, not wasting your valuable time and resources including money…on randomness. It is about quality not quantity, because again and again…it’s about nurturing your fans, and that includes your supportive colleagues/contacts, to ACHIEVE growth at a time when many economies and the music industry as a whole has been retracting.

I challenge you to defy gravity…and the majority…and CONNECT. Okay? Just as you build a band, build a lineage of contacts and real ‘friends’ who can help you grow your business this year.

(Next week: on acquiring a music intern/volunteer…stay tuned.)

Best,

Good day. Do you have your ‘cuppa’ by your side while you read? I do. It’s a homemade brew of roibos tea from South Africa, purchased at Harrod’s in London. Never mind the hoity toity history of Harrod’s. The tea/coffee/candy shop on the main floor looks like something out of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I love trolling through there every time I go to London.

COFFEE HOUSES

I want to ruminate for a bit on the beauty of America, and Canada. North America. The N. American coffee house, and the gigging culture that goes with it. It’s unmatched in the world, I think, though perhaps the best espresso is to be found in the Italian cafes. That is my experience, regardless of where those cafes happen to be. Though I could say that Varanasi, India has a small hole-in-the-wall haunt I forget the name of that brewed up a killer Nescafe that could rival gourmet coffee anywhere. Just goes to show you, the coffee shop has a place in our hearts. And, if you’re in North America, music and coffee go together nicely. Just check out these sites:

COFFEE HOUSE TOUR: http://www.coffeehousetour.com/ which has great links to more coffee-based venues, etc. such as this next hottie…

INDIE COFFEE SHOPS: http://www.indiecoffeeshops.com/

…which lists venues across America that may very serve up live music with coffee. How about plotting your next tour along those lines? And how about adding to the list, internationally? Copenhagen has a stupendous coffee bar culture, as does England, if you dig deep. My last coffee house gig was at The Eighth Day Cafe in Manchester which serves a killer vegetarian fare and coffee that rivals the best I’ve had anywhere http://www.eighth-day.co.uk/ . What sets it apart from the pub gigs is the quality of audience. A listening audience. Relaxed. And like one funky venue in Edinburgh (and the name slips me), it’s a ‘community’. Hail to community. We all can use that in this increasingly homogenized, globalized world we live in! I’m sure we all could think of at least ONE place in our respective hometowns that serve up great coffee and live music.

YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND NAME OF CITY/VENUE AND TYPE OF MUSIC…POST HERE (ie. ‘talk back’ on great cafes/fine dining venues, etc. that serve up live music, too):

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=15290&uid=110532175707

I’ll start with where I launched my CD in Canada to a full house last May: Edmonton’s Blue Chair Cafe http://www.bluechair.ca/ , a proper fine dining venue that prides itself on quality food (at a price, I might add, but not unaffordable, because people do leave raving). And that doesn’t include the artist’s ticket price. I made more money there as an artist than I’ve made in three years of gigging pubs in the UK. What made the experience was working with the owner of the venue, the promoter, who was very committed to everyone having a totally successful evening of it…the artist, the patrons, himself and his staff. I can say, he raised the bar in my mind as to how to think of live music in combination with, uh, fine dining. A venue in Canmore, AB, Canada that does the same, and which I’ll be talking to for next year’s tour is this wonderful establishment: The Communitea Cafe (great name, huh?): http://www.thecommunitea.com/communitea_cafe/home.html I mean, essentially, what these two venues do, is ‘something’ (well, not really, but…) along the lines of this…

SUPPER CLUBS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supper_club

On a slightly different angle, read this Wikipedia def’n of ‘Supper Clubs’ that apparently are rooted in America, with differing approaches in the UK and Latin America (and surely elsewhere in the world): “A supper club, in general, refers to a dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselves as having a high-class image, even if the price is affordable to all.”

WHAT I’M DRIVING AT IS…

Perhaps there is value in nurturing this old and new movement, this marriage of food and music…because it essentially reaches deeply into the guts of fans and new listeners to satisfy them on all levels. And perhaps we could do more as artists to strike up some unions with local cafes and dining establishments (the key is to focus on cooperation, collaboration, and suitable ambiance). So, uh, MAYBE POINT THEM AT WEBSITES OF VENUES THAT DO VERY WELL AT PROVIDING LIVE MUSIC AND FINE DINING EXPERIENCES, neither alienating the patrons or the artists while simply serving up a potentially great opportunity for growth for the venue and everyone else. I dunno. Call me naive. I’m a believer.

THEN, THERE’S WHAT YOU COULD BE DOING AT HOME…OR AT SOMEONE’S HOME

I have a friend who is always looking for the next excuse to cook a great meal (mind you, she’s a Canadian in Kuwait, but…we do meet almost annually). I do expect we’ll get around to being in the same country with enough time to organize a private concert/supper club. How about you?! What do you think about this idea of nurturing a new (old?) relationship with live music and…food? I can vouch for the fact that a house concert I did in Canada last year, the same week as my cafe gig, in the same town, and that was dodgy, but…because I am NOT living there, and these were exclusive shows…they both sold out…that house concert gig was really a treat because a few guests and the host made a point of ensuring that the wine and h’orderves/finger foods were…yum…delicious.

So…here’s your invitation for the fall…for the sake of community connection and music and foodie experiences and fun…do something along these lines. Talk to a promoter, find a cafe already doing this, create a supper club night, host a house concert with FOOD at the epicenter of the experience (along with your fine music, of course). Then tell us about it.

JUST A REMINDER, THIS…PSUW…IS A COMMUNITY, AND AS SUCH RELIES UPON YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO HELP US ALL GIG AND TOUR BETTER/MORE. PLEASE SHARE YOUR IDEAS, AGAIN, RE. GREAT CAFES AND VENUES. The talkback link is here, easily found in the Discussions tab on the FBook page, okay? Cheers.

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TALKBACK ON GREAT CAFES/FINE DINING VENUES, ETC. THAT SERVE UP LIVE MUSIC, TOO:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=15290&uid=110532175707

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And now, back to my tea, and ruminations of the coffee houses (otherwise known as shisha cafes…or more likely the compound cafes, or the homes of expats I’m looking forward to meeting) in Qatar that might be approached with temptations of live music.

Best,

Lorelei Loveridge

Founder/Rabble Rouser of PSUW

Get in touch: http://www.loreleiloveridge.com

Or connect on FBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lorelei-Loveridge-World-Travelling-Songwriter/142530793312

Lorelei here.

I have some fantastic links/references with ideas for you if you’re looking to raise $$$$ for your next album. If you wish to get to the ‘tips’ on fundraising – and they are spectacular – scroll on.

But first a question (with lots of tips inside these articles, too) and some PSUW housekeeping…plus an update on the 180 artist music/CD fundraiser campaign that some PSUW members have been involved with, and what’s to be learned re. fundraising from that music/charity endeavor.

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Q. WOULD YOU CREATE A FAN-FUNDED RECORD LABEL LIKE THIS KID?

http://realbusiness.co.uk/finance_and_banking/a_fanfunded_record_label__the_new_alternative_investment

https://www.talktalk.co.uk/money/guardian/features/2007/12/1/funding-a-record-label-an-unsound-proposition-.html?page=2

Would you give away shares of your future earnings? And what do you think the articles are NOT telling you about how he did this? ie. what team did he have, how long did this take, what six degrees of separation did he overcome, etc., to find the right partners? TALKBACK LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE.

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PSUW HOUSEKEEPING:

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW…

I am moving to Doha, Qatar in late August to accept a job at an institution in Education City http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNOPWjKrSpM . This will better finance MY musical activities and give me a creative ‘time out’ but also impose some new challenges. My annual ticket is back to Canada through the UK. Funny how that’ll lend itself to touring two continents during my four months of paid annual leave. Woo hoo! And, that…dear friends…is how I’M raising money for my next album and book of memoirs about my travels.

So, I’ve cashed in the last of my shares in Saudi Arabia (where I last lived and worked), borrowed money and I’m taking the rest of the summer off from the ol’ day job, effective immediately…to pre-pay my bills, pack, sit in cafes and shoot photography while writing a book about my time in Manchester, England (it’s got a saucy little title, I tell you). Finally, I plan to finish up performing in the UK with as many pop-ins to open-mics and other venues, even house parties, as I feel like it.

So, invite me! I’m already going to London to deliver a free business planning workshop/coaching session for the price of the ticket down and the day or night hanging out with an artist there who sponsored my last house concert in that city. I’m going to be a right bohemian for…three months…because I’m tired, and because I can.

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PLEASE NOTE: MY VERY LAST GIG IN THE UK WITH THE BAND (FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE) IS JUNE 25 – LIVERPOOL ACOUSTIC LIVE – DETAILS HERE IF YOU’RE INCLINED TO ATTEND: http://spotlight.liverpoolacoustic.co.uk/2010/06/june-2010-liverpool-acoustic-live.html
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With all this going on, I’m scaling back on my weekly tips for PSUW (you’ve no doubt noticed, anyway)…and will only be blogging once per month for the summer.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR PSUW?

Other PSUW members will be submitting articles. Or I’ll be submitting tips and articles on their behalf. Stay tuned! The once weekly tips/articles will continue to be archived on the PSUW Blog here: http://psongwritersuw.wordpress.com/

• IT expert and songwriter Matthew Moran will be providing more in-depth tips re. tech tools to help you (and me…I’ll be reading!) notch your career up from where you are.

• Robert Gillies will continue to explore creative issues faced by a songwriter.

• Others like Joe Wrabec will be weighing in on a myriad of issues, also.

IF YOU WISH TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE…

If you wish to be on the roster of researchers/writers for PSUW at any time, or if you have a question you want researched or idea explored, please get in touch.

I’m delighted to encourage more sharing…from the perspective of short blogposts…written from your experience…with tips links.

DON’T FORGET THE WALL…

Of course, the PSUW wall is a good place to share ideas, and ‘regulars’ to this group do talk it up there and swap advice. Go for it: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110532175707&ref=share

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OUTCOMES RE. 180 ARTISTS DONATING MUSIC FOR BRAIN CANCER PATIENT KENT PANKOW…

The music/CD cancer fundraiser for Kent Pankow, which I dove into back in March (before thinking, really, about the ramifications on my life) is over. A number of PSUW artists participated in it. Thank you!!!

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More info here in the FINAL REPORT WITH PICTURES: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=397038292908&id=814838885&ref=mf .

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We had in 3 months over 180 artists participate including a 35 time Grammy award winner, Dick Wagner, and many, many others. With the donation of a beautiful guitar by Carparelli Guitars – http://www.carparelliguitars.com – and artist donations, the final amount raised for this cancer patient was over $1700. I am grateful to Jodi Seven and Bill Marples of Edmonton band Quiet Evolution and ‘Nashville girl in a Liverpool world’ Donna Marie for their support especially in making this happen.

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LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS CHARITABLE FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN INVOLVING INTERNATIONAL MUSICAL ARTISTS:

These are some lessons learned, applicable to artists preparing to undertake a fundraising campaign – whether for your next album or a cause you believe in, or both.

1. There is no choice but to do things on conviction; there will always be critics, some of them silent and some nasty. Know why you’re doing what you’re doing, and communicate it clearly to others. They’ll opt in or out.

2. Be flexible. Your efforts will ebb and flow, with your energy levels and input (or lack of it) from others. Be okay with that when things are not going according to plan. Persist and adjust expectations to get the best results.

3. Get people involved fast and early on, and make sure they keep their commitments.

4. Thank them and credit them for everything they do. Few things of great magnitude are ever achieved alone.

5. Keep your message simple and consistent.

6. Ask, ask and ask again, but try to give news ‘updates’ or information with each attempt to connect, so that people have a reason to keep following ‘the story’.

7. Prepare to do a lot of writing, but be prepared to pick up the phone and talk to people in the flesh, too. It holds them more accountable and you find out why they won’t give – an important bit of information to guide you.

8. Use social media, but not as your only tool. Email was very effective for this campaign. READ THIS ON ‘ROUNDING WITH YOUR DONORS’: http://fundraisingcoach.com/2009/08/25/fundraising-secret-41-round-with-your-donors/

9. Actually ‘prospect’ by reaching out to new people through trade magazines and by scratching your brain for lists of possible donors.

10. Keep track of incoming income, donations in kind and messages.

11. Finish what you started, and don’t let things drag on too long. Set your timeline, and try to adhere to it.

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TIPS OF THE WEEK:

1. HOW TO RAISE $25,000 FOR YOUR NEXT ALBUM – BY BOB BOSSIN OF CANADA

http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/25thou.htm

2. CROWDFUNDING

http://www.insidermusicbusiness.com/blog/crowdfunding-as-a-way-to-raise-money-for-your-next-release/

3. OTHER IDEAS FOR FUNDRAISING FROM SPECTACULAR FUNDRAISERS…WHAT CAN WE LEARN?

Fundraising in tough times: award-winning fundraisers are locking in more dollars than ever–even in a recession. How do they do it?

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Fundraising+in+tough+times:+award-winning+fundraisers+are+locking+in…-a095447561

4. DOWN-TO EARTH PERSPECTIVES ON FUNDRAISING…FUNDRAISING WITHOUT FEAR

http://fearfreefilmfundraising.blogspot.com/

5. MORE TIPS FROM THE FUNDRAISING COACH: CREATIVE WAYS TO PUBLICLY THANK DONORS

http://fundraisingcoach.com/2010/04/20/are-there-creative-ways-to-publicly-thank-donors/

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Best wishes and talk to you in about a month – or hook up on Facebook if you miss me.  I’m giving away my mother’s rhubarb and blueberry cake recipe!

TALKBACK ON FUNDRAISING FOR YOUR ALBUM OR LABEL HERE: http://psongwritersuw.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/fundraising-for-your-next-album-or-record-label/

Lorelei Loveridge Founder/Rabble Rouser of PSUW

http://www.loreleiloveridge.com/

http://www.facebook.com/loreleiloveridge

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lorelei-Loveridge-World-Travelling-Songwriter/142530793312

PS. I wish you continued success as you work to keep the balance in your lives, in the summer, wherever you are.

WHAT’S IN A MUSIC BLOG?

Facts? Opinions? Lies? Truths? Gossip? Hype? Pearls of wisdom? Random acts of kindness/violence? Uh, music things? You be the judge. Here’s a blog that has caught my eye again today, for its attractiveness, simplicity and content. What strikes me is how good Brits are at Brevity and Humour (spelled the British/Canadian way, which I keep forgetting…I am now officially confused re. spelling, after 11 years of teaching at an American int’l school in Saudi Arabia). And in the case of Boo, intrigue. He’s inspired me to want to know more.

BOO HEWERDINE’S BLOG THING

http://boohewerdinesblogthing.blogspot.com/2010/03/hello.html

And………… Here is one that I like for musicians re. ‘business’:

ARIEL PUBLICITY BLOG (fantastic)

http://arielpublicity.com/category/blog/

Just a wee bit of ‘art’ and business inspiration for the songwriter in you.

ADVICE ON HOW TO WRITE A BLOG BY SETH GODIN

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/11/how_to_write_a_.html

He says:

“Do it like this…

An appropriate illustration

A useful topic, easily broadened to be useful to a large number of readers

Simple language with no useless jargon

Not too long

Focusing on something that people have previously taken for granted

That initially creates emotional resistance

Then causes a light bulb go go off and finally

Causes the reader to look at the world differently all day long.”

I wake to the sound of rain, thrown by the wind against my windowpane in the dark early morning that is Manchester, England. There are merits to sleeping next to a parking lot (in a room next to a parking lot, thankfully, not IN the lot itself). It’s quiet. That quiet gives space for the ears to HEAR.

Bear with me. This update is stream of consciousness-ish, a bit, in the spirit of the writer within all of us. But there are important practical tools and considerations here.

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A LISTENING EXERCISE from The Listening Book: http://www.amazon.com/Listening-Book-Discovering-Your-Music/dp/0877736103

I used to engage in a practice in my twenties as a songwriter, and this went well into my thirties. I’m not sure why I ever stopped. I used to LISTEN to music, deliberately, for a few reasons.

1. It gave me pleasure.

2. It was a meditation, and I was sure that this was good for me as a person and as a songwriter. I never studied music formally long enough to apply my rudimentary skills in reading music to the writing of music, consciously anyway. This remains, for me, a source of frustration. I’d rather be composing like Rufus Wainwright, but it all starts with ‘baby steps’, right, and musical contemplation? a real curiosity?

3. The Listening Book (link above) outlined for me the value of deliberate listening in these terms, and I summarize: listening to music deliberately, daily, can help you identify arrangements and hear dynamics that you wouldn’t otherwise notice in the music; it educates you as a listener and songwriter/musician. It’s also a wholesome act/practice.

I’ll add to the reasons why you should deliberately listen to music: producers get up to this all the time, and you do, too, when you’re mixing your songs/albums, if not earlier in the process.

Try this:

- Find a song you love.

- Listen to it with your eyes closed in a quiet, isolated space (in bed or in a chair with your headphones on, if that’s best)

- Listen to it twice a day.

- Each time you listen, attune your ears/attention to one instrument or sound at a time to the end. ie. voice, bass, lead guitar, percussion, horn, added effects, synth

- Listen to the song as a whole and in parts. Let your awareness shift in and out, much as a photographer zooms in and out with the lens.

- Write down what you’ve discovered about the song at the end of each listen (or just hold that in your heart and do it at the end of a week of listening).

- Do this daily with the same song for a week = 14 deliberate listens with your eyes closed in an uninterrupted space.

- Additional task: Note how that QUALITY of listening makes YOU feel inside, about yourself and about music.

Comment back on this archived update here: http://www.psongwritersuw.wordpress.com

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POETRY – ALL POETRY AND THE MUSE’S MUSE

One of our members, Craig Castledine of Derby, UK, posted a poem put to music on the PSUW wall here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110532175707&ref=share and if you click into his name and find his wall and look at a video, you can see him reciting poetry to music, which is such a great example of one of the finest traditions in the UK that I am not sure North Americans really get up to in the same way. Poetry is foundational to songwriting.

So, that led me to explore the online poetry forum site ALL POETRY further for those who would like to sharpen their poetic skills online (forums are such grand past-times and time wasters and inspirational sources for friends and art…careful, now):

ALL POETRY: http://allpoetry.com

Similarly, a favorite online songwriting website that I like, THE MUSE’S MUSE has forums and a poetry section here with very thoughtful contributors: http://www.musesmuse.com/forums/index.php?s=da11ad6cb205f3869a53bf8b0992b3dc&showforum=34

ON RHYMING DICTIONARIES

I was reminded of my need for a rhyming dictionary the other day, and I have one on my bookshelf, but truthfully, I rarely crack it open. It’s a Collins Rhyming Dictionary and I have one by Penguin. The one I really miss is an American rhyming dictionary by a publisher I can’t recall. My copy of it is buried in a room full of boxes in my parents’ basement in Canada. An online search proved fruitful. There is at least one person out there talking up a storm about rhyming dictionaries, and LEST YOU THINK THEY’RE ALL EQUAL, check this out:

Songwriter John Cowell’s TREATISE ON RHYMING DICTIONARIES INCL. SLANG RHYMES, URBAN RHYMES, STANDARD AND NON-STANDARD DICTIONARIES, etc.: http://www.greatsongwriting.com/rhyming-dictionary.html

His site, too, is a good – if jarring – example of how a songwriter has built up his page to ‘monetize’ in this day and age when it is a question as to how artists should get paid.

Here’s another, by a music producer/songwriter who reiterates the relationship between poetry and music/poet and songwriter in his own blog in a simple, clear and thoughtful manner. He ‘adds value’ to fans, without ‘monetizing’ the living daylights out of them.

POETRY AND SONGWRITING by Rob Seals http://www.siteground145.com/~robseals/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=59

Rob has a string of production credits that impresses, and he currently teaches songwriting at The SongWriting School of Los Angeles. His blog looks worth the read. I’ve had a listen to his music. Might be worth talking production with a man like him one day.

This little ‘thing’ dropped into my emailbox this week, and I vowed to save it. It’s a touring guide to Australia and New Zealand, and I’m sure our members here will be able to comment on the value of it, and all that is missing from it. But for an outsider, it seemed a good place to start.

THE SOUTHERN COMPASS: A HOW-TO GUIDE TO TOURING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/pdf.jsp?did=102206&fn=102206-eng.pdf

ON THE ROAD: TOURING HANDBOOK (FOR CANADA)http://canadacouncil.ca/development/ontheroad/touringhandbook

TOURING THE UK: http://www.visitingarts.org.uk/info_resources/index.html

and if you’re a solo songwriter, look into my blog here and keep in touch: http://www.gigintheuk.wordpress.com

and look at the listings on the Folk and Roots site here: http://www.folkandroots.co.uk

HOW TO PLAN, BOOK & ORGANIZE A SUCCESSFUL MUSIC TOUR: VIDEO SERIES by artist Athena Reich (US):
http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_2540_plan_-organize-successful-music-tour.html