testing...

Leeland at Creation West
Originally uploaded by kwatso

Testing this automatic blogging feature on Flicker. Here's a photo of Leeland at creation west '06.

i really like this banner.

It's from this band's web site. You will surely hear more about them soon. Very soon.

It's all about the fans, kids. Make them feel like rockstars and they will think YOU are a rockstar for life.

Word.

Why are indie bands better at understanding what their fans want than most signed bands? Do the labels come in and mess everything up because they want it to be all pristine? Or do the bands think they don't have to care anymore about serving the fans because they have a marketing machine behind them? I've been wrestling with this a lot lately. I'm gonna figure it out. Mark my words.

merry christmas from bebo norman.

I've been waiting for the right moment to post about this crazy Christmas e-card from my pal Bebo Norman (OK, we're not really friends. I met him once a couple years ago and never got to work with him while he was on my label. Oh well.) and I decided today was the day after my bud Christina managed to get a free copy of his new Xmas CD. You have to go through the process of making an e-card to understand why it's worth posting about. It's very fun. Customizable. Goofy. Filled with holiday cheer. Give it a try.

Click here to deck Bebo (and his guitar)

Bebo and his web team also sponsored a video contest, in partnership with GodTube.com, in which the winner, as voted by fans, would get a trip to Nashville to go to the Andrew Peterson Christmas concert (Behold the Lamb of God) at the Ryman and have coffee with Bebo himself before the show.

Click here to watch the finalists' videos and vote for your fave

so sad.

Here's a quote from an article featured in today's DigitalMusicNews.com newsletter that pretty much depressed me.

For the week ending November 25th, which includes Black Friday, album sales (physical and digital) dropped 18 percent compared to the comparable week last year. And year-to-date, cumulative album sales are lagging 14.4 percent, according to figures published by Nielsen Soundscan.

Granted, I didn't buy any CDs during Thanksgiving week this year (and I can't remember if I did last year), but a lot of other industries were UP, making people think the economy wasn't as bad as we thought it was, but of course, CD sales dropped.

And the numbers just keep dropping year after year. Will it ever end? Or level off at least? I just don't know.

In other sad news, my marathon o' concerts is over. 4 non-work-related shows in 5 days. It's gotta be some kind of record. Miss Kelly Clarkson last night was great. We sang our butts off and everyone laughed at my "interpretive dance." Saturday night was fun for all with the triple threat of Gabe Dixon Band, The Wertz, and The Barnes. Friday night with Keith (Urban for those of you who aren't on a first-name basis with him yet like me) was even better than I was expecting. He played past midnight and seemed to be having the time of his life. One of the best Nashville crowds I've ever seen (with the winning show being that crazy Fray crowd at the Ryman over a year ago). And I already wrote a bit about the final Nickel Creek show. Good times.

And holy moly, I spent a lot of money on those 4 shows. Sheesh.

thanks myspace.

OK, who else has noticed that you can now listen through an artist's MySpace songs without having to click on each individual track? LOVES IT!

Currently listening through Keith Urban's songs in preparation for the show tonight (only have one record on my iTunes here at work). Listened to Ingrid Michaelson's playlist a LOT yesterday (haven't made the purchase yet). Thanks, MySpace!

P.S. The Nickel Creek show was fab (last one ever! For now, anyway). Made me sad I'd never seen them before, but I was glad to be a part of that history. Mad props to the Tapdancing Man/bass player. Chris Thile is adorably charming. Sara Watkins has one of the most pure and amazing voices I've ever heard. Sam has an amazing Bermuda Triangle of spikes in his hair. That is all.

artists helping artists.

I love it when artists stop promoting themselves for two seconds and let someone else shine. John Mayer does it a lot. It's pretty cool, in my humble opionion, when an artist of that magnitude can recognize how much that might help someone out. Just recently, he gave a run down of some popular songs he's been digging lately in his blog - and they're NEVER what you would expect: Paramore, Justin Timberlake, Jordin Sparks, Sara Bareilles, and Daughtry. Many months ago, he gave a shoutout to local indie favorite, Dave Barnes, and everyone flipped out. On his MySpace page, he specifically reserves a spot on his music player to showcase an indie band that he handpicks each month. I can't say I've really ever taken time to listen to any of his choices, but he goes the extra mile - links to the band's MySpace, comments about the band/song, etc.

Just today, I was checking out Matt Nathanson's blog and found an entry where he directs his readers to Ingrid Michaelson's MySpace to listen to a particular song. Next thing I know, I'm checking out some of the other tracks and realize I recognize one of the songs that I've heard a few times and liked, but had no idea whose it was (the one that goes "if you are chilly, here take my sweater" - it's called "The Way I Am"). And there's a great song from Grey's Anatomy that I would have never known was hers either!

It's just an all around good thing for artists to lift up other artists. It helps fans get to know the artist who's doing the promoting a little better and may introduce them to some new tunes. It's obviously great for the artist being promoted, because they're basically getting a free endorsement that's undoubtedly more credible than the PR-solicited artist-on-artist quotes we often see. Me likey.

nablopomo.

So, I was doing a little Facebooking today (Don't you think that should be a verb now? Like Googling?) and came across a friend whose page mentioned NaBloPoMo.com. Like many of you, I had no idea what that was, so I had to investigate further. NaBloPoMo is short for "National Blog Posting Month. Who knew November was National Blog Posting Month? Anyway, it's basically a site bringing together a community of bloggers who vowed to blog every day in November (and yes, that includes Saturday and Sunday). Pretty interesting concept. Maybe I will challenge myself to NaBloPoMo in December - though something tells me that would be a really difficult month to make that pledge with Christmas and traveling and all. Maybe January? Maybe I can challenge one of my artists to do the same. Yeah, I like the sound of that...