Recorded 30 December 2008

The end of the year is here and on With A Voice Like This I took a bit of a look back at various stages among them were:

4-AM

• Wrap up of the last Christmas gig of the year
• Quick results from the Oak Park  gigs

News You Can Use

• Started with the RedOrbit article Single-Track Digital Downloads Death Knell To Artists?
• That started the discussion about where music is now and where it needs to go
• It also brought up the Future of Music Coalition and the Chicago Music Commission
• A lot of good discussion points and questions brought up with Comments from the Podcast Gallery, including show host Andrea from Geek is Chic.

Shows that played My Music

• The Second Floor Lounge SFL 042 – Christmas Angel
• The podbook MOREVI by Tee Morris – The Wassail Song

And a special tribute to a friend and fellow musician, Morton Pliskin

[00:41:58]

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084 – Goodbye 2008 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 30 December 2008. Tweet This

Recorded 13 November 2008

The time, she is a-flying, just the second full week of November and these are the topics on With A Voice Like This:

• My first caroling gig of the year this weekend
• A new addition to the website (in the upper right corner)
• A question to you about what type of calendar you like to see (Take the poll below)
• Contest update (and a huge hint how you could be the next entrant)
• A very vague hint at next week’s show

I played A Round for the Holidays from my Christmas EP found at CD Baby. Take a listen and see what you think. It’s a nice gift for the Holidays as well.

Links from the Show

• Come and see me at my first caroling gig of the year
• EventCalendar WordPress Plugin by Alex Tingle seen at www.WithAVoiceLikeThis.com
• Gigs Calendar WordPress Plugin by Dan Coulter seen at www.4-AM.net/calendar
• All the information about the Contest
• Cyber PR newsletter sign up page

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077 – Announcements, a Question & an Addition originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 13 November 2008. Tweet This

Recorded 6 November 2008

This is the first anniversary show of With A Voice Like This, it’s been a full year since I started this show and this show comes full circle. Back to where I started with the Christmas EP With A Voice Like This Christmas.The topics on this episode include:

• What’s happening with the CD Baby listing of my CD both physical and digital download
• The pricing structure for the CD
• CD Baby’s e-mail about how to improve your CD sales for the holidays
• Update of the digital distribution of my Christmas CD
• All about the Contest running through December 15
• A nod to the Podsafe Music Network for making my music available
• A brief look at what’s up for this show going forward

I play We Three Kings from my CD

And the return of the I have list as well.
I Have:

• A Holiday CD available on CD Baby in both CD and Digital Download
• The CD sent out to 10 digital retailers
• My first Sale through CD Baby
• Good ideas for the future shows

Links from the show

• The CD Baby listing for With A Voice Like This Christmas
• The Spreadsheet for all the digital retail stores that will carry the CD (Important for the Contest)
• My listing on the Podsafe Music Network
• The details about the contest to win my Holiday CD

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076 – An Anniversary, a CD and a Contest originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 7 November 2008. Tweet This

Recorded 23 October 2008

Well, it’s that time to be thinking about getting the Christmas CD out there for public consumption and I needed a new home for it. imagine my surprise when looking at CD Baby again and finding that they’re really into digital distribution. Maybe I didn’t look closely enough or maybe they’re doing more than they used to, but it’s there and the full range of offerings is the topic of this episode.

Topics included:

• Why I went with CD Baby instead of a pre-order through my own site
• What CD Baby offers with Digital Distribution and its payout
• The comparison of selling the physical CD
• The list of the digital partners with CD Baby
• Turnaround for the digital partners
• Bar codes and ISRC codes for digital distribution
• Great customer service turnaround

Comments From The Podcast Gallery
instead of comments, this is an assignment for you, the Podcast Gallery. Since the digital partners don’t notify CD Baby when they have released my music, I’m asking the Podcast Gallery to let me know if they see my music on a download site. Write me here or call me on the Podcast Gallery voicemail line at 630.492.0487.

And while you’re checking out iTunes for my music, go ahead and subscribe to the show and leave a review.

Links
CD Baby.com – the website to sell your indie music CD the buyer’s side
CD Baby.net – Musician member site

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074 – CD Baby is your digital friend originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 30 October 2008. Tweet This

recorded 10 July 2008

In this episode:

4-AM Update (00:00:40)
A brief update this week with special surprise. I talk about video posting and which services I’m looking at top use for the 4-AM website and then I give you a brief taste of our sound with a excerpt of  the Come See About Me arrangement we did as a group the previous week. I also slip it in at the end of the show to close it out for the evening.

At Any Rate (00:06:20)

MyAWOL – An upcoming web 2.0 service you might want to know about and watch (it’s an acronym for My Artists WithOut Labels). It’s going to be part Music database (to launch within the next month or so), part online music community for unsigned artists, part indie label, part online venue and more. That’s a tall order to fill, and it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I reference a TechCrunch Article and a Digital Music News Article to give as much information as possible.

Last.fm and Merlin – It would seem that Last.fm’s issues aren’t over after the fallout with Warner Music. according to the Hypebot.com Article and The Register Article, The global indie rights organization is stalled in certains aspects of their talks with last.fm and is warning its membership about the agreement currently in place. While this is to be expected when defining and redefining new delivery methods and revenue streams, among other things, there seems to be a of old school issues and mindsets on both sides here. There is a huge opportunity here, let’s see how it’s embraced. There’s probably another post in here somwhere as well.

Comments From the Podcast Gallery
Comments from fellow podcasters KimFenolio of Girls Night In, TVSeriesFinaleFan of The Plug show and SuperMom7000 of TV Talk.

You can always call 630.492.0487 and leave your comments via voicemail as well as send them in e-mail to contact@WithAVoiceLikeThis.com. I’d love to hear from you and play or read your comments on the show.

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061 – Hear Us Now, Pay Us Later? originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 12 July 2008. Tweet This

recorded 03 July 08

On this episode of With A Voice Like This:

At Any Rate (00:00:54)
I take a look at the Judges’ ruling made Thursday in Viacomm’s suit against Google which instructs Google to turn over approximately 12 terrabytes of YouTube data to Viacomm, including Login IDs and IP addresses of users. People have issue with the case itself, but it’s to be expected that Corporate representatives of traditional media and the Internet go head to head to help definewhat’s allowable and what isn’t. Is the customer’s loss of privacy acceptable collateral damage in the court battle?

4-AM update (00:09:00)
There was a lot to talk about again this episode regarding 4-AM, the group and the website. So I talked about a lot of the work I’ve done on stage.4-am.net before go live. Plugins galore, starting with the Search Engine Optimization plugin in All in One SEO Pack and all that’s gone into that. Then the new tiltviewer Photo Gallery using both the NextGEN Gallery and NextGEN FlashViewer plugins, which are great and you need to see what you can do with them using your own flickr account. Amazing.

Then a quick discussion of what’s happening with the group, a new business direction and of course another new arrangement we did. This week’s was the Supremes’ Come See About Me. And we’re getting closer to a gig where we can do a live video stream so you all can see what 4-AM is all about.

And of course, Comments From the Podcast Gallery.

Speaking of, don’t forget you can always call in your Comments From the Podcast Gallery to the comment line at 630.492.0487. I’m more than happy to have your comments and to put them on the show.

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060 – Come See About Me Or YouTube Or… originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 4 July 2008. Tweet This

recorded 26 Jun 2008

With minor apologies to Three Dog Night for the title, this episode of With A Voice Like This was all about:

4-AM update [00:01:27]
There was a lot to talk about here. Where the website is at, a new way of working up arrangements for the group, starting with the song Mama Told Me Not to Come and some of the fun things that happened with that. We also had a good talk about where we’re heading and what our focus is and I got the opportunity to show them how video streaming works on the web briefly.

Spain’s Digital Canon [00:17:00]
Yes, this is a further discussion about the new anti-piracy tax that Spain is instituting on July 1. It’s more in depth looking at possible reasons for Spain implementing it and what seems to be some of the pitfalls of the tax itself. I also got some feedback regarding Canada’s anti-piracy tariff. There are some interesting thoughts there. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on what was said.

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Note: The day after I recorded this show, Gerd Leonhard released a post with video about the future of copyright. It’s very much worth a look and it’s nice to see that there are people out there who see that Copyrights still have their place, in a new form of course, but not throwing out all the protections with new technology. Another thing I think that the Copyrights would be useful for is a transistion framework, at least as they apply here in the U.S. Ah, what I wouldn’t give to have Gerd Leonhard on the show, I’d have a lot of things to ask and say.

059 – Mama Told Me Not To Go To Spain originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 28 June 2008. Tweet This

With A Voice Like This Episode 055 Topics:

4-AM rehearsal

• First run through of my arrangement of Drift Away
• Set for a possible gig Monday June 2nd
• Review of the 4-AM website development
• Discussion of Live Streaming Video

Testing Streaming Video

• Running some tests of Streaming video delivery
• Invites and info at my Facebook Group and Twitter Account
• Test using music from my Christmas EP

The must have WordPress plugin for gigging bands

• Gig Calendar plugin by Dan Coulter
• How it works
• What makes it great
• The lone drawback and its workaround

A brief word about a Talkshoe announcement

Listener’s Choice

Teach Me by Ben Parsons comes from Lynn, host of Lynn in the PM and Living in a Chemical Soup

Links from this episode:

Blogs for Bands site of the Gigs Calendar Plugin for WordPress

With A Voice Like This Facebook Group

My Twitter account

Talkshoe blog entry about cash program suspension

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055 – Forward Momentum originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 30 May 2008. Tweet This

This episode is about building the band’s website and some input form its’ intended audience…you, including the polls at the last blog entry titled Poll Dancing – Bleeding Edge Style and a discussion of the results to this point. Also discussed:

• Some of the decisions about why the website incorporates a blog
• Where that blog belongs
• Some of the plugins used in the blog
• Some that are still being sought
• The tone of the website

And of course Comments from the Podcast Gallery. Podcasters giving feedback included Kim Fenolio, one of the hosts from Girls Night In.

This episode’s Listener’s Choice is one of my own, The Truth by an Austrian a cappella trio named Mauf via the Podsafe Music Network.

Links from this episode:

My Polls about the 4-AM website hosted by PollDaddy.com

The staging site for 4-AM

Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin

Live365 Internet Radio

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053 – Where’s That Website At? originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 19 May 2008. Tweet This

While working on the 4-AM website, I had a couple (okay, more than a couple, but I’ll start there) decisions to make about what goes on the website and what will work best for my target audience which is bleeding edge, New Media early adopter types like you. Yes, you are, you’re reading this, aren’t you? Anyway, that’s why I’m asking you. It’s always best to go straight to the source and there you are. Let me know what you think, I have no doubt that you will come up with some things I’ve never even thought of, you’re good like that. The other choice works even if you choose one of the choices in the list, so don’t hesitate to add it, if you think of something.

Thank you for letting me know what you think.

Poll Dancing – Bleeding Edge Style originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 15 May 2008. Tweet This

This Episode of With A Voice Like This:

Hey, I’m not too proud to ask for help. I’m a little stymied trying to help the rest of 4-AM understand what the Internet can do for the group. They seem to see a website as mainly a virtual brochure for the group. I know it’s much more than that but I find myself in the unenviable position of new information not having the same impact when a colleague shares it as it would if it were shared by an outside expert.

This is where you come in. Give a listen, you’ll hear a few of my ideas and I’d really like you to share yours. You can drop me a line at contact@WithAVoiceLikeThis.com, call it into the Comments From the Podcast Gallery voicemail at 630.492.0487 or just leave a comment here. I look forward to your input.

By the way, does anyone know if PodCamp Chicago is still on for June 6-8? the information has run dry and I thought that would be a great venue to perform at and give the rest of the group a taste of what the Internet can do. Let me know.

Listener’s Choice

Well, this episode’s Listener’s choice is a bit of a do over. Kim Fenolio pointed out to me that there were different versions of Laura Clapp’s Not Responsible available and I managed to miss the one that Kim liked best. So to make up for it (since this is Listener’s Choice), I played a Laura Clapp twofer, The accoustic version of Not Responsible and Let It Rain. You can find Laura’s music on the Podsafe Music Network, at myspace.com/lauraclapp and www.lauraclapp.com.

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052 – Can I Get A Little Help Here? originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 8 May 2008. Tweet This

Originally this episode was to feature an ASCAP representative, but the timing didn’t quite work out for this show. so the discussion turned to an overview what issues were facing on the Internet with music and content in general.

Topics discussed are:

• ASCAP’s take with the Songwriter’s Bill of Rights using rickrolling as an example.
  
• Music leads the Internet charge in content and how it delivery is being monetized and even moving toward regulation
• Why does the same free content on the web suddenly become worth charging for and being paid for in a different format?
• Content on the web isn’t really free? Someone’s making money on content.
• Protection versus Statements of rights by a subset of people
• The different factions involved in the music on the Internet trying to stake their claims
• Limited past delivery systems versus the Internet’s near limitless capabilities
• Protections versus Control
• Net Neutrality
• Selling your Privacy for convenience
• The double-edged sword of easy access
• Comments from the Podcast Gallery
• What’s Freedom without responsibility?

Links discussed in the show:

ASCAP’s Songwriter’s Bill of Rights

My previous post The Perception of Value

Podcasting Legal Guide wiki and in PDF format

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049 – Is This the Rights Thing to Do? Part 3 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 18 April 2008. Tweet This

This episode of With A Voice Like This is the conclusion of the discussion with Independent Singer/Songwriter Samantha Murphy of SMtvMusic.com stemming from the April 10 release of ASCAP‘s Songwriter’s Bill of Rights.

topics in this episode include:

• Government’s role in resolution of these issues
• Sound Exchange, its background and methodology
• What Samantha is doing to put action behind her viewpoints
• The role of Education in music and the Digital Age – meisa.org
• Questions and Comments from the Podcast Gallery
• Creative Commons

Links discussed in this episode:

Samantha Murphy at SMtvMusic.com

Samantha’s e-mail is sm@smtvmusic.com

Performance Rights Organizations: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, Sound Exchange

Samantha Murphy’s article written for a Princeton Symposium

Samantha also works with DigitalFreedom.org/

SaveNetRadio.org

Fading Ways Online

MEISA.org – Music & Entertainment Industry Student Association

Lawrence Lessig article – Commons Misunderstandings: ASCAP on Creative Commons

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048 – Is This the Rights Thing to Do? Part 2 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 14 April 2008. Tweet This

Thursday, April 10, just in time for their big ‘I Create Music’ ASCAP Expo in LA, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) released their Songwriter’s Bill of Rights. In this episode and the next, recorded live on April 10, I discuss this with Samantha Murphy, an independent singer/songwriter and outspoken proponent of change for how music is delivered, monetized and protected in the digital age.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Samantha’s unique experience as a professional performing musician since the age of six
• The Songwriter Bill of Rights read
• Transparency of PROs and their methods
• How this affects Net Neutrality
• The effect of the Internet on music delivery
• One PRO’s line in the sand
• Who do we turn to, the Government?

The conclusion of this discussion with Samantha Murphy can be heard in episode 048.

[Additional Note: At the beginning of this episode, I made the statement that ASCAP's Bill of Rights was to benefit performers. As Samantha pointed out, while you can have a performer account with ASCAP, it is a completely separate entity of its own and this Bill of Rights deals only with Songwriters.

Edit: A further clarification from Samantha is that the two types of accounts are Writer and Publisher, not Performer .]

Links from this episode:

Samantha Murphy at SMtvMusic.com

Performance Rights Organizations:ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, Sound Exchange

ASCAP Songwriter’s Bill of Rights

Portfolio.com article about the ASCAP Bill of Rights by Sam Gustin

Portfolio.com article Paying the Piper by Sam Gustin

Samantha Murphy’s article written for a Princeton Symposium

Samantha also works with DigitalFreedom.org/

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047 – Is This the Rights Thing to Do? Part 1 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 10 April 2008. Tweet This

A tribute to Gene Puerling (March 31, 1929 – March 25, 2008)

In this episode: I have three question when it comes to a band’s website

1. What do you need to see?
2. What do you want to see?
3. What do you wish you could see that you’ve never seen before?

Discussing the website for 4-AM and the groups it needs to speak to, Booking Agents, Clients and Fans. What belongs, what is the best use of New/Social Media and some of the resources I use to help me with the ideas.

Links:

Hot Hits, Cheap Demos by Nadine Condon

Promoting Your Podcast by Jason Van Orden

Musician’s Cooler Podcast with Jammin’ Dave Jackson

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046 – What’s In It For You? originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 4 April 2008. Tweet This

This Episode of With A Voice Like This is a bit different than past episodes in that I’m straight forward on a mission. A lot of static is floating around the Internet on various topics and so it was my turn to state my feelings on a few things. Among them were:

• Gary Vaynerchuk’s two minute videoblog from March 25 (If you haven’t seen this, you really should)
• Web 2.0 as the savior of Good
• Using the internet as a tool
• Free music and content on the Internet
• Copyrights and Creative Commons (and my basic understanding)

As always Comments From the Podcast Gallery rounds out the show.

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045 – You’re A Tool originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 27 March 2008. Tweet This

So what’s it worth to you?

How do you quantify a service to someone who has no frame of reference? I have a Masters Degree in Vocal Pedagogy, which is part performance and part teaching voice, and I’ve spent tens of thousand of dollars on training my voice. If I don’t have name recognition does any of that mean anything to someone who’s looking for some music for their event or venue? What if I’m part of a group, where my name doesn’t come up as much if at all?

I deal with it all the time as a musician. A rule of thumb on how to deal with it is how much you charge, but even that can vary widely. I have an “I won’t step outside the door for less than…” figure. Now that figure for me as a solo singer is 66% higher than that same figure for me as a part of an established group currently. What do I base that on? It’s not like I have production costs to base that figure on to show someone. I have talent, knowledge and experience, but if you’re working with someone who has no frame of reference, those things don’t mean anything to them. And the money itself? I’ve had people not bat an eye at that money and I’ve had people politely (and sometimes not so politely) brush me off. So what’s the answer?

I learned the answer I use through singing weddings for friends. I was reminded of it because I did a wedding not too long ago, for friends. It’s the perception of value. I used to sing weddings for friends for free because I thought of it as my gift to them. And you know what happened? Nothing. Not even a thank you. It didn’t take me long to feel under appreciated and frustrated by that. Didn’t they know how much that was worth?

And that was it. No, they didn’t know. At least not in a way they easily understood. They had no frame of reference. After all, if I was giving it away, it must be worthless, right?

Flash forward to this wedding I just sang for friends. They knew they wanted to use me in the wedding, but they were looking at additional musicians as well. They did their research and saw what the market was around the Chicago area. When we finally discussed money, they said they’ll pay me whatever I wanted. I quoted them a price of 20% of my solo figure I talked about earlier. The phone went silent for a few moments, then I heard “Are you sure?” I told them this is my friends’ discount and the rest was my wedding gift to them. I got the now standard reaction which was many, many thank you’s and other people coming up and almost falling all over me to talk to me about it. I had given my friends a good frame of reference, a perception of value that they understood and everyone was happy, even ecstatic to the point that they shared it and so on and so on and so on…

That’s the biggest benefit to me. People were excited enough to talk about me and to me. That means:

1. I’m more likely to be handing out business cards
2. I’m more likely to be remembered
3. I’m more likely to get that next gig

Even though I’m doing a friend a favor, I’m still getting a lot out of it. All because I was able to communicate the value of what I was doing. That’s the answer I needed.

I was reminded of that because I’m working on the website for 4-AM, the a cappella quartet I sing with. How do I communicate the value to three different groups; Booking Agents, Clients and Fans to the point that they share it willingly? With all the social media tools, I don’t have that answer yet. But I know the value. What’s your take?

The Perception of Value originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 24 March 2008. Tweet This