What music is on your Christmas list this year?

Are you hoping for a favorite CD in your stocking or under the tree this year? Are you giving the gift of music to anyone on your list?

I've been pondering these questions as several of my musical friends and co-conspirators are presently recording albums or have just released albums. I'm watching with great interest as they market their albums, and wonder how they are doing at breaking through the competitive market noise. It's challenging enough to get your tracks down. Then the marketing begins.

The last time I recorded and marketed an album, cassette tapes were the preferred medium, falling bang in between the vinyl album and the CD eras (writing that down makes me feel REALLY old). There was no online presence for one's musical art back then. Me and my fellow band members sold albums strictly at performances and on the strength of recommendation. We had no distribution deal and no retailers - but also no middlemen. A reasonable per-unit price point was around a 1,000 units, so you had to ante up for significant inventory if you circulated in a small market. Still, we sold about a combined 3,000 units of two albums in max size market of about 600,000 people - and we all had full time occupations outside of music, which meant we performed only about 6-12 times a year. We were incredibly lucky to have a strong network of families and friends who sold for us commission free, and that meant we had virtually no marketing costs. We kept all of the profit margin (split five ways, mind you), and our audience was hungry for music in a way that to me, is greatly diminished today.

Fast forward: With online marketing tools like CD Baby and iTunes, do family and friends still buy blocks of albums and sell them for you? Do they want to be bothered when it's so convenient to send them online? Today, an indie artist with limited DIY skills can rack up marketing costs that never existed before: web site hosting, web site design, commissions on various distribution methods, time spent thinking up creative ads and incentives, maintaining an online presence with social media, and more.

On the other hand, the world is your market. But access to a global-sized market creates the new challenge of breaking through the clutter. And even if your market focus is regional, there is a ton of talented people doing the same thing you are, which means there is more great music to choose from than ever before. Those fantastic jam sessions shared by a few friends 25 years ago that rarely made it out of the basement are now all over cyberspace. Digital technology has done a terrific job of enabling and empowering the indie artist. There's an incredible richness of talent and variety, making the music fan's job of sourcing and sorting their favorite musical genres and preferences a huge project.

But one thing that has not changed much is word of mouth. Perhaps more than ever, music fans rely on and trust recommendations from friends. Which brings me back to your Christmas list. What indie artist whom you absolutely love will you recommend by way of a gift of music this Christmas?

On that note,I want to say a big thank you to all the readers of this little blog project. Since I began this blog in September, there have been nearly 800 page views in this little corner of my musical life, and that's a fair bit more than I ever expected. Thank you, and I wish you all a profoundly peaceful Christmas where ever you are.

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BTW: A friend of mine shared this story about the recent passing of Captain Beefheart, an artist with an uncompromising standard for his art, regardless of what the market said. R.I.P. Don Van Vliet.

Your iPod: It's for more than music

MP3 players are awesome for musicians, but if you're using yours to listen only to music, you might be missing out. There are some fine podcasts out there that can inform and inspire any musician looking to get to another level (spoiler alert: if you're already making a living off your music, this may not be for you).

Here's what I've discovered to be the cream of the crop so far (disclaimer: I have no relationship with anyone related to these programs; I've simply discovered them and found them interesting and helpful):

Music Business Radio: This podcast comes out of music city USA - Nashville - but don't go thinking its focus is only popular country music. Host David Hooper interviews guests that range from artists to label execs to publicists to... you get the picture. Each guest offers practical tips on a wide range of topics. Hooper is an excellent interviewer, and despite its plain-Jane name - Music Business Radio - its moniker makes clear what the show is about, while offering breadth and depth.

A recent episode featured great online marketing advice from exec John Clore of Sony Music The show is rich in other ways too: I discovered Hannah Miller during Dave's Demo Derby portion of the show, where the guest offers feedback on music submissions from less established artists. Periodically Hooper offers bonus content in separate, shorter podcasts that feature an artist and his/her music.

Overall, a fine blend of music, information, and inspiration.

Music Career Juice: Presented by experienced music biz guy Peter Spellman, this podcast can be a bit dry on the presentation side, but it's rich in content, and covers a lot of ground in different episodes.

Pandora Presents... the Musicology Show: This podcast is purely about the music. Host Kevin Seal brings in guests who are experts at very specific skills. What to know about song structures? The difference between a xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and more? Want an education in percussion? Rhythm styles? Recording tips? Mixing vocals? Seal and his various guests take music apart layer by layer for listeners. If you've ever asked, "How do they do that?" about anything musical, then this is the show for you.

A Musician's Life: If you'd prefer something in smaller bites, try this five-ish minute podcast from WXPN radio hosted by Tracy Tannenbaum out of Philadelphia. I recently heard that Philly is home of the second ever folk festival after Newport in the 1960s; it's where styles of the northern and southern USA meet, blend, and fuse. A good listen in the car if your commute is short.

PRI Selected Shorts Podcast: Reading fine literature should be part of any songwriter's healthy diet, but some lifestyles have us so steadily on the move that literary indulgence is a rare treat. Reading a book while driving should never be attempted, and going for a run or a walk while trying to read can be a challenge. At once a week, this short story podcast from Public Radio International is high quality stuff read by actors who know how to tell a story to a live audience. This is a podcast I await with eager anticipation.

My astute Canadian readers will have by now observed that all of the above are American offerings. While Canada has a lot of good podcast stuff, I've found little that provides the kind of specialized content available from the above sources. I'd like to hear from you about how you nurture your musicality. Send me your favorite way to get inspiration and information - and I'll share it here - or simply add it in a comment below.

PS: Since I started this blog just a few short months ago, it has already totaled about 600 page views. A big THANK YOU to all the readers who show up here for a skim through. I hope you're finding it helpful.

Banjo Update

Giving a bit of new life to an older banjo turned out to be just around $35 so far, which bought a new set of strings and tuners. The local shop didn't have machine tuners for a banjo, but these Grover-like guitar tuners fit and work just fine.

Removing the set screw from the old friction fit tuners was easy enough, and liberated the tuner shaft and knob. A few gentle taps with a mallet on a screw driver aimed at the edge of the steel inserts slipped those out easily. One note of caution: knocking out one of the inserts unfortunately took out a little splinter of wood from the finished headstock (see bottom photo). I was able to glue it back in, but it's still visible. Sigh. Next time I'd score the finish of the headstock around the insert with an X-acto knife to ensure nothing is stuck together.

To fit the new tuners, a little hole cleansing was needed - achieved with a bit of sandpaper wrapped around a pencil.

The new tuners may affect the sound some, since there is less direct mechanical contact between string and headstock--but for learning on, this will be just fine.

Tuning will be much less frustrating than with the old friction fit tuners, which seemed to go out of tune easily and take a lot of tuning time--time I'd rather spend playing!