
Tour Dates with Miriam Jones Just Announced!

These days we have a plethora of choices for digital music proliferation. Many of the biggest being large corporations such as Amazon, Google Play, Apple Music, and Spotify. Whilst I don’t really have an issue with these in general (this is a much wider conversation I’d rather not get into here) and manage distribution to them when a new album comes out – I don’t promote my own music there. 95% of my solo music sales come from Bandcamp, as well as 95% of what I spend a year on other artist’s work. Bandcamp is not covered under my paid digital distro service, and I must spend time uploading and filling in information for each track I want to release. So then, why Bandcamp?
As you may or may not know, I was an early adopter of digital music. In fact, I one of the first artists on the web making money out of digital media. Back in the day, we had mp3.com and a few of us even had sponsorship deals with companies through that platform. It was actually fairly lucrative back then, with VC funding fueling a newly existent digital economy to the tune of millions. It wasn’t long lasting though – and soon we started to see platforms rise and fall fairly quickly and mp3.com went down just as MySpace was getting started. The issue that existed with mp3.com is that I had no way of contacting or keeping my audience there when it went down. Social media wasn’t really a thing yet, and we were beholden to the whims of people who might not have fully understood what we were trying to achieve.
This platform was built on the advice and consultancy of many artists. It keeps getting better and better. Bandcamp responds to the needs of musicians. Users spent $4.3 million in a direct-to-artist sale on a single day in March when Bandcamp waived all artist fees, and they’re doing it again on May 1st.
So, if you haven’t guessed by now, I’m totally on the Bandcamp bandwagon. I hope you’ll give ‘em a try if you haven’t already. Support platforms that support you!
Much love,
Lo. Xx
First things first, why should you care what I have to say on the subject? It’s a fair question, one I’m asking myself right now…
Some backstory: In 2014, before I began my current project Granfalloon, I challenged myself to write a song-a-week every week of that year. It was exciting and it was maddening, it was frustrating and also deeply gratifying. I learned a lot about myself and my creative process. And, on New Year’s Eve 2014 I finished my 52nd song and I was definitely a better writer at the end of it than I was at the start.
This version of the challenge, The Positive Songs Project, arose from a conversation between myself and PSP’s co-founder Lobelia Lawson, when we were speculating the amount of anxious or sad songs about isolation we might end up writing during the Coronavirus Lockdown this year (2020 for anyone reading in the future… how are ya? Are you enjoying earning money and being able to hug another human being? You lucky thing you!) and in response we suggested attempting a song-a-week challenge with a spin: To write a positive song every week.
So as we’re starting this wonderful and insane journey once again I thought I might jot down some thoughts about what I remember from 2014, and some lessons I learned the hard way, to share with anyone embarking on this Odyssey for the first time.
But it taught me two things.
Firstly that I shouldn’t have worried what the others were doing, and secondly (and it’s probably my inability to have properly communicated this to them that was the root cause of my frustration), that this isn’t something that you have to come up with excuses for. This challenge is the tool that you’re using to give yourself time and permission to sit down and work your creative muscles. If you sat down and tried to write for 30 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes that week, you have succeeded! And whatever happened in that time is something you can submit that week!
Hopefully you found something helpful in these scribblings. Best of luck to you with your song this week!
Excelsior…
So it goes…
Be positive, Richard Lomax (AKA Granfalloon)
Join us in an endeavour to try and write a new song each week with a positive twist until the end of May. More info at:
Come and watch us on Twitch.TV as we play our little hearts out for you on Friday 3rd April from 7-9PM. Live from Birmingham and Manchester!
Thanks to those of you who have bought a ticket in advance and didn’t want a refund due to lockdown.
7PM – https://www.twitch.tv/loliveuk
8PM – https://www.twitch.tv/granfalloonmusic