In case you haven’t heard, Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest daughter was killed yesterday in a traffic accident involving one her teenaged brothers. I don’t know them that well, but I have met Steven and his two sons and I’m sure this is an incredibly difficult day for them. It’s one thing to lose a daughter, but to have it be a top story on all the news channels and major papers is another.
Keep them in your prayers.
I’m thinking it’s a little late. Napster would have been revolutionary with this had it come out five years ago. Now, they are just another in a series of stores like this and this isn’t really big news. I’d still sell on there, of course, but it’s not that big of a deal in music biz news. It’s good that they are branching out and away from the subscription model, which I loath. If all the download or subscription stores started offering eMusic-type subscriptions (where you pay $x for so many songs per month), then I think they’d make even more money, but apparently no one is that creative or daring just yet.
In case you’re not a big Apple nerd, like me, the new 3G version of the iPhone is rumored to be launched in the next few weeks (June 9th last I read). Along with it, Apple would like to have more content available for it’s iTunes Mobile store that allow users to download music over the cell network directly to their iPhone. Ideally, users would also be able to use these tracks for ringtones. As usual, the major labels are scraping the bottom of the barrel for more profits and demanding that these wireless purchases be more expensive.
I’m with John Gruber on this one, they want more money for files that cost nearly nothing to produce, are hosted on someone else’s servers, using someone else’s network? That’s plain greed, pure and simple. They should take whatever money they can get from recorded music and quit trying to screw everyone like they have for the past 50 years. Get over it. Your time is through. You will not win, we will not let you. The power has been given back to the people and you need to find a way to make money again. Start by giving fans what they want at a price they can afford and you’ll make more money than you can dream. But you need to follow your consumers, not dictate.
I just updated my bio. Let me tell you, that’s one of the hardest things to write! A good bio gets across alot of information, but in a way that helps you understand and connect to the artist at the same time. It sets the tone for how people see you. It’s a rather intimidating thing.
I had a bio on the site (and everywhere else), but I didn’t feel like it really worked. A good bio also grabs you and keeps your interest. If it’s only a bunch of dates and events strung together, it’s not very interesting. But if you have a story or an angle, it makes it readable and interesting. It makes people want to find out more about you.
So, I had a fit of inspiration a few nights ago and updated my bio. My wife and I sat down and hammered the rough parts, so I’ve posted it everywhere. Hopefully it does all those things I mentioned above, if not, let me know so I don’t flounder out here on the internet like an idiot! 
Mike Estok and I got together Tuesday night at his Vibe Dial Studios to start working on the record. It’s going to be 6 songs, so technically an EP, and I’m calling it Fantasy World. I had another title in mind, but I might that one later, so I won’t spoil it here.
We were just getting the basics down for now, rough acoustic work tracks and laying out the structure of each song so we know what to record and all that. He’ll be tracking drums Monday and hopefully I’ll be able to drop by and give a listen.
I’ll be adding pictures to the Fantasy World EP Sessions gallery, so check back for more pics as we keep recording. I’ll try to get someone to get some of me next time. Being the photographer too makes it a little difficult to get pics of yourself, ya know?
OK, I just looked and it’s been nearly a month since my last post. It’s not like there isn’t more music news or even things going on with my career, I’m just a bum and forget to blog. Does anyone else have that bad habit of starting something and being really hot on it, doing it everyday, then completely forgetting it exists and revving things back up again later? I have two other blogs that I’ve done exactly the same way. Sheesh.
I have plenty to blog about, so I’ll try to get it all on here before I forget again.
Most Commented