so their first cd sold a reasonable amount of copies & garnered good reviews, like kudos and all that. their next cd was 1/2 & 1/2.

1/2 good and 1/2 what the hell stink.

so i asked about the 1/2 what the hell stink. they said, "we needed filler."

so i said, "when you go to a diner do you order scraps & grease drippings"?

as a musician you don't want to give your audience stinky scraps. give them a tuneup of great playing, wonderful vocals, beats that move their feets, smiles for their brains, sex for their imaginations,  nothing else will do.

remember your music, perfected for the angels and/or devils ears, can take you all over the world and having people talk about you as if your some kind of demi-god.

so please cook it to perfection, there's enough misery in the world, don't add to it.

mr.sivers did a superb job with cdbaby, so good that he sold it for $22,000,000 via the charitable trust he created, that saved $5 million from going to the feds/irs. derek knows biz and when he dies the fortune will go to educate musicians, meanwhile he'll get 5% of whatever it produces (if i'm understanding that correctly). after derek dies he won't get any of the money.

meanwhile...

what bases (3 big opportunities) did derek miss?

first base * derek stood at the plate, not knowing where he was, a fat meaty fastball came right down the middle and he stood there daydreaming that he was riding his bicycle in india. that fastball was the possibility of creating an educational non-profit for educating people about music NOW, making sure that all schools have music, music teachers and instruments. derek did create his charitable trust--please see sivers.org/trust

but what about NOW. what if mr. sivers lives to 125? a possibility, maybe even longer according to some scientists.  ok derek, that's strike one, look alive babe, let's look alive now cause here comes the curve ball.

second base ** what do the majority of musicians need help with? i think it is getting gigs & gigging in new markets. this is something you (derek) could of helped with if only you spent seven minutes or so thinking about it. derek could have easily created non-profit venues/listening rooms without spending much money or allied with nightclubs or restaurants already in existence to form a network of performance spaces  in 6 or more of the top markets on the east coast, ranging from boston to virginia beach. think boston to nyc to philadelphia to washington d.c. to baltimore to norfolk/virginia beach or whatever surburban/other city locations that would work.

the venues could hold community benefits, educational conferences and be a springboard into area colleges & radio & tv. the logistics are potent with great possibilities, an affordable way to make a living with your music. in the lehigh valley we have two good examples of non-profit venues, www.godfreydaniels.org (100 capacity) and coming in late april the musikfest cafe (700 or so capacity), news of via www.bananafactory.org

third base *** "triples" are hard to come by, what do YOU suggest that will give derek somethink to think about????? mine is a non-profit record label & publishing company. YOURS????

thank you for reading...ian bruce, gm, community 2.

one right person in my life was jerry love who i met at the new music seminar in nyc about 20 years ago. he was the moderator for the publisher's panel and the audience was invited to ask questions. i made a statement, "i'm putting out a compilation cd and i don't know what i'm doing. can someone help me?"

mr. love gave me his card. A & R  director for famous music, a publishing unit of PARAMOUNT.

mr. love became my mentor, i could call and ask questions, i could send in demos for mapps members, mr. love hosted my showcases at the cat club & kenny's castaways in nyc.

jerry love signed the band iwas managing, he gave them a good advance of money. a wonderful songwriter i was working for came real close to getting a deal, but the songwriter was "stupid", he wouldn't tweak his songs nor act on great musical advise. his songs were done and he didn't want them changed in anyway. "stupid" cost us a possible huge amount of money.

remember your songs, hopefully, can have magical things happen to them. they can be covered by multiple artists in various genres, your songs can be altered to fit the performer, etc.

back to the right person, jerry love's mentoring gave me respect by people who thought of me as a spacey flake or asshole or whatever. one stuck in my mind, a music biz owner who told people i was a wasted flake, "too spaced out!!!" then a few months later he begged me to help get his band a publishing deal, asked me for feedback on their music which wasn't real good, just ok songs without sense; sense meaning songs that tune your sense of wonder, of dance, of excitement, songs that create a bio-chemical pleasurable experience for your mind & body.

to sum up my ramble, if you don't know just say so, your answer might come from the person who will help change your life.

we are working hard to get this music conference into a tuned organization that will help you with your music journey. the mentors and panelists are all good & helpful music biz people with sound track records of acheivement. the banana factory is a beautiful building, all kinds of art & music happen here, made by children to seniors to skateboarders, etc.

much to do and 30 days to go. please join our email list, it's says JOIN in the top right hand part of the home page. we can send you updates and helpful info.

use the guestbook and say who you are & what you do.

suggestions are welcome. thanks, ian bruce