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Sunday, July 28, 2013

ArtistSignal.com Contest-a few days left-Please vote!-And some rambling thoughts/advice

As some of you may know by now, maybe having seen all of my recent posts online everywhere lately...
I currently have a  profile on an awesome, somewhat new, website called ArtistSignal ....
I signed up a bit late in the month..and I am not usually a huge fan of the "Voting" thing and bothering everyone all the time....but I thought we could still make a run at it and give it a shot...seeing as you have all always been so awesome and supportive with this kind of thing in the past...

Please stop by to vote when you get a chance...there's only a few days left for this month...
All you do is click the green vote button...accept through Facebook..click "Vote" again for it to count...it takes a sec...and after the first time voting...then you can simply click the vote button every hour on the hour if you'd like and/or may remember and have the time...

i want to thank you all so much for your votes and for taking the time...and to those of you that have continued to vote, hourly and daily etc.... and for your love, kindness,  loyalty and  support!!! I really appreciate it very much!!!! :)



Here's the deal from the website...
ArtistSignal is a free social music platform allowing listeners to vote for a Top Artist each month. We give the Top Artist at the end of the month $10,000. This allows listeners to propel talented artists to the top of our platform and gives artists an entirely new avenue to grow their fan base.

Another $5,000 is split between all remaining artists based on the amount of votes they receive during the month (excluding the #1 artist). Voters can also earn rewards directly from artists just by voting!
Simple to do...
As opposed to some of the other so called "Contests" all over the place now...which sometimes involve signing up and all kinds of stuff before you are allowed to vote....
This ArtistSignal website "Contest" is  very simple to do as a music fan/supporter...
You just go the artist's page...click the green vote button on the right...accept through your Facebook...and then click the green vote button again to vote and for it to count......that's it...takes a sec...you will see a timed counter then showing your time until the next time you can vote...and there is also a way to tip the artist under that...if you'd like to contribute funds as well...
If you are unsure if it worked or not you can look under and click "Voters" on the page to see if you are listed there...
And you can also leave a comment for the artist as well if you like telling them you stopped by to vote....
And...now there is a phone app to download too!

Voters can cast their votes every hour!!! 
Which I think is very cool....even though I know it's somewhat impossible to do or ask anyone to do really...lol...but at least the option is there....and you can vote as many times as you want throughout a day...and so on...each vote goes towards the final total and winner...but also...importantly...each click to vote goes toward your monthly income generated...so really...everybody wins here...so never give up or quit voting! :) You don't have to take the Top Spot to be a winner....

I've happily come across a few of my longtime musician friends on the site....and I have to say that I also have met some great new people that are very supportive...other artists and their friends, fans and family members...with a "We're all in the same boat" same goal, mentality...helping each other to achieve success....while helping yourself as well...and I've made some great new connections and heard some awesome new music too! :)

For my musician friends...
Up and coming artists...Indie, signed, unsigned, famous, not so famous, once famous, in the garage...it doesn't matter :)

This is really a no brainer...you should definitely sign up....First of all it's free...You get a great page to promote your music and bio etc...add your songs and albums etc...with the option to sell them as well...AND...even if not becoming the Top Artist...or running the contest and promoting it to your following every month at all...you have a chance to still make some much needed income....it's all in how much time you have  and the effort you'd like to put into it on any given month...

And now...for something completely different...LOL
Some musical biz thoughts and advice for my fellow musical artists...

We're all online all the time anyway...lol...or too much anyway...lol....and how many of you have put a zillion hours into promoting yourselves and your other sites... for next to nothing coming back...and although it is much needed and awesome...we can't pay the bills and take care of our loved ones on compliments and "Likes"... lol...but hmmm.... these website can....

Let's take  Reverbnation for example...an excellent website for what it does and offers....I've been a longtime user and promoter/cheerleader for this website...I love it....but,  let's face it...where every month you're lucky to get a few pennies for your time and efforts and spreading their widgets all over the place and for song plays etc....no matter how much you put into it....they just want you to buy their upgraded services and tell you that doing so will help you get somewhere if you do...period...which is BS...are you listening? BS....it doesn't help at all....and makes them tons of money feeding off of the dreams of people...don't do it...lol You can do it all yourself without paying for anything...And watch out for anything they say is FREE...like the phone app...or so called Music biz..."Opportunities" nothing in life is truly FREE.... LOL....read the fine print....
Unless of course you have a certain budget for this kind of thing and want to try it out to see if it helps...or simply have some money to blow....which is great....then don't bother....

Now...Don't get me wrong...All of these music websites are and can be,  great tools, and are necessary and serve a purpose and you should be on all of them....everywhere...mainly to get your music out there...so people can find you...for people to listen....you never know where you might reach someone with your music/message etc....and where your next biggest fan may come from...so don't limit yourself....but..... be careful listening to their promo and marketing and promises....they just want your money...bottom line...and your fans money to... indirectly....by them going there to use the site and clicking on everything....they really do not care about you or your success...they are using us as we are using them..that's it....as the saaying goes....all is fair in love and war...and music! :) LOL

For example....I have achieved pretty good standing on Reverbnation for a long time now...according to their charts and rankings and score anyway....I have  hovered on the New York City charts from anywhere from #1 to about #29 or so for YEARS...I have a very high "Equity score" high play count....and 1000's of Reverbnation "FANS" on my list there...etc, etc....but as soon as I stopped paying my 9.95 a month for their services...I immediately dropped down in the charts! :)LOL 
And...also lost all of my contacts that found me there and became a fan...it's now at 500...LOL....and they hold the others "hostage" so to speak...until you pay monthly to get them back or any one new that happens to join your mailing list! I've seen other musician friends be very angry about this and how things have changed on the site lately...but..really....NEVER depend on anybody else to get your contacts, fans, friends and connections for you....do it yourself....take the time....make your own mailing list....gather your own information... from your own website...and well...let's see...Gmail is free with an unlimited number mailing list!! :) And yahoo is around 5000 I think for their free service....and if you do have the bucks..there are many great mailing list services out there that for very little will give you unlimited contacts and services to stay connected to your fan base/following....

I was recently told that I am currently #66 on the ArtistSignal Chart for this month...which in all things considered is not so bad when you look at the number of artists in the running...but it's not really about "Charts"... is it? They mean nothing really....it's about reaching people with your music...whether it be your hardcore fan base...to get them involved in something fun to support you...or exposing your music to more listeners and potential NEW fans of what you do....meeting fellow artists and networking....and making a few bucks after all the hard work we all do anyway is always a good thing and a huge plus...no matter what amount it may be or what number you are on the charts...isn't it? We 're all trying to survive and make a living doing what we love and what we are supposed to be doing....and with today's music world and listener mindset of everything is free, no one stands a chance of doing that...so websites like these can be a bit of a help...
Excuse my rambling....no sleep can do that sometimes...and I could go on and on about this subject! :) lol 

Back to why I wrote this post :)
Like I mentioned above...before I went off on a tangent...lol...I signed up and got into this ArtistSignal thing a bit late for the month of July...two weeks or so into the month...but thought we could still give it a go.....so again Thank you all for voting and for your ongoing support....and of course for reading this! :)
If you'd like to...please vote here... http://www.artistsignal.com/joegande

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend!!!
Love,
Joe

Agree? Disagree? Please comment here with your thoughts, and your own experiences and advice pertaining to this topic, ideas, rants and raves...recommendations, etc...etc...

Would you guys like to see more music biz type posts from me here? Please let me know! :)




Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Saturday's Paella...and some family history

The weekend's Saturday night feast! 
I made some Paella...
This meal idea came about from me looking through some old things & I found a photo of my great great grandfather. He was from Naples, Italy, via Florence...
I found out that he had 18 children with the same woman!!! 
I also found out that they moved to Spain where he lived in Valencia and became the Premier Ballet Dancer for the Royal court!! 
Which ties in to why I had the idea to make this meal that night...because it originates in Valencia, Spain! LOL Yeah...I love history a little!! LOL 
Anyway...I hope you all had a great Tuesday & have an awesome night!! 

Buon Martedi a tutti!! 
Love, 
Joe

Click to enlarge photo...