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<p class="paragraph_style_2">When I first started making music in December 2009, I had 4 original songs and 1 cover song that I had worked on during that month (with NO experience or training WHATSOEVER, I might add) and went as far as I could get with them, then thought... NOW WHAT??? EVERY DAY that month I would come straight home after work during the week and spend a few hours each day over the weekends. Now I was at a point where I had 5 songs and nothing in the idea factory, is there a next step? Were they good? Am I done with this experiment? Should I care if someone thinks it is horrible? Is it okay to think that this was the coolest thing that I have ever done??? Could this be the last question that I ask myself??? All kinds of questions popped into my head, yet I could not answer them myself because my brain hit a dead end after that burst of creative outflow. After hearing the muddy sound, I figured I would mess with the placement of instruments - I spent about an hour mixing those first 4 songs!!! I didn't know I'd end up wasting an extra 15 minutes per song doing something that had nothing to do with making music! How much I've learned since then! I would sacrifice any one of my guitars if I could live in a world where it only took 15 minutes for me to mix a song now! Anyways, I was at a point where I was in need of a listener! I only knew of iTunes and CD's at the time and iTunes was for professionals. I made a 5 song "EP" and called it "BADASS," because that's how good I felt. I happened to have a family picture with me on a zebra/donkey - or a “zonkey” - in Tijuana, so I thought that would make the title a little more humbling and I made about 10 CD’s, to give out to the first 10 people who had showed any interest. I still have about 5 or 6 left. </p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">So, WHO should be the CHOSEN ONE to be granted the privilege to be my first listener? GOT IT! Out of all of the people from the past, present and in the future that will ever be on this (or any other) planet, I decided that my girlfriend would be my choice to have access to this top secret endeavor - after all, she did know me before I was a musician - I knew I could trust her. I played my first song, DROWNING" for her and she talked through the whole song. Then I started the next song for her and she obviously had other things on her mind because she walked out of the room for something and came back in to resume her historic privilege to be my first listener. Her talking continued until the songs were finished playing. Then she got up and said, "Yeah, those were good." FIRST OF ALL, HOW CAN A PERSON WORSHIP THESE SONGS IF THEY DON’T FOCUS ON THEM? YOU NEED TO LET EACH SONG ENTER YOUR MIND IN ITS NATURAL, SPIRITUAL WAY - WORSHIPPERS NEED TO HAVE THE “WORSHIP” COME FROM DEEP WITHIN! I have listened to music before, one needs to pay attention to the lyrics, feeling, musicianship, and technical skills - she didn't do ANY of those, so my music couldn't have been assessed reliably. So, I had to declare the judgement biased. Who could really blame her??? She loves everything I do and was probably overwhelmed due to the fact that she was now officially going out with a musician - her loyalty was forgiven. She calls each of my songs by a personalized descriptor, such as, "that one song that is short where you’re yelling something and then you laugh like a maniac." She would rather say all of those words than just say "OCHO," so, I let her talk the description out since she likes talking about my music. But now I'm back to where I was - I'm back to finding the first listener. </p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">OF COURSE!!! MY BEST FRIEND!!! We know each other’s good and bad sides, and we accept each other for the person we are - he actually has a longer history knowing the real me than my girlfriend, I should have thought of him first! Oh well, we'll be even now that I'll let him be the first to LISTEN to these. He will be impressed and proud to have me as his best friend after hearing my tunes. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will probably lead to him telling all of his other friends that they are cool and everything, but his BEST FRIEND trusts him to experience his music before anyone else gets the chance to, and no matter how many miles are between, they shouldn’t assume that they will be moving in to the “lead friend” position any time soon - because it is already taken. So, since he lives in Washington and I live In California, email was going to have to be the way to present this opportunity to him. He’ll be getting the “straight dope” - as the kids love to say - straight from his "musician buddy down in L.A." After I sent an email with the music attachments, I was feeling good. It’s nice to give special gifts to your friends when they are not expecting them. He was probably so excited to see that in the midst of all of his spam emails. A couple of days later I called to find out which track he loved the most. I was informed that he hadn't had the time yet, so I figured that he wanted to do this “old school” - those kids and their slang, they really crack me up! He probably didn’t want to just listen to the songs right after complaining about viagra emails, he wanted to be relaxed, with a freshly-rolled "cigarette" and listen to this creation in the dark with some headphones - sorta like when I purchased PINK FLOYD'S "ANIMALS" album and we took turns listening to the songs, with and without headphones, so we could try to find out WHY the album sounded better WITH the headphones (it also sounded better WITH Cocoa Puffs...) you see, guys are on a whole different level when it comes to mixing pleasure with the scientific method! This time I would wait for his call to me - since it was his Sunday to call with the football odds. He would have Friday night to listen to the 5 songs, and then he’d probably invite some friends over to listen again with them on Saturday night... I can show a little patience. Apparently, his company had been working him like a dog that whole week. His damn boss was being some kind of "well-healed, big wheel" telling MY friend, "keep on digging" down in the pig bin! I told him not to worry about listening to my song - I didn't want my song "DROWNING" to be his new fate - it was hard enough to hear that he had ended up living in the "PIGS, THREE DIFFERENT ONES" story... I didn't know he would take the songs all the way like this. Of course, I know it could have been “just a co-incidence” - but, why chance it, he is my best friend. Come to think of it, I don't think he has listened to many of my songs - he has never even mentioned them. His boss must be a real pig-headed, jerk!</p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">NOW WHO???? FAMILY! FIRST REPLIES: ALL GENERIC! "I like your songs." "Those are good." "Nice." "I'm impressed." THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!!!! DO THEY MOVE YOU?? DOES YOUR SKIN HAVE GOOSEBUMPS DURING MY LAUGH IN “OCHO?” IF NOT, WHAT DO YOU THINK MY SONGS ARE LACKING? WHY DO THEY SEEM SO MUCH DIFFERENT FROM PROFESSIONALLY RECORDED MUSIC? I NEED SOME KIND OF DIRECTION FROM SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS WHAT I COULD DO TO IMPROVE MY MUSIC! NOBODY WANTS TO TELL ME! I DON'T KNOW, SO DO THEY EVEN KNOW??? I decided to Google "music critics" and found a music web site that had a forum that allowed a person to ask for reviews. BINGO!!!! The internet comes through again! What a wonderful tool the internet has become!!! How Al Gore invented the internet AND had more votes than George W. Bush in the 2000 election and STILL LOST that election will always be a mystery to me. Maybe it has to do with all of the voting fraud that minorities are committing - damn minorities! They are ruining this country - the commercials with the big waving flags show these people sneaking over the borders to vote!! Those flag waving commercials have me thinking we should send them all back where they came from! Voting fraud will be avoided now with our new voting ID’s that states are trying to pass. Al Gore should have been president for making up the internet - that’s the bottom line! Now he’s into global warming. Who knows? Maybe Bush won by magic. Politics is one of those magical subjects where ANYTHING can happen - IN FACT, CORPORATIONS HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE SAME RIGHTS AS PEOPLE!!! Magical, indeed! I'll let a random individual be the first to listen to my creations. THE PERFECT WAY TO GIVE EACH AND EVERY INDIVIDUAL A CHANCE - or corporation 
- my first attempt ever at using a smiley - I never used a smiley cause i always thought those things were too gay! (due to the happy smile. I wasn't suggesting they are homosexuals, although the Supreme Court has set a precedence with the ruling allowing corporations their first amendment rights, I guess that would seem to suggest that smileys should be allowed to be considered homosexual if they choose to go down that road... what was I talking about before those smileys chose to live lives of sin, yet have their equality??? OH YEAH, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED, A lottery to see who gets the very first taste of my aural expressions - a very democratic process that shows my support for this country and our beliefs... SO, LET'S DO THIS - I will submit a post on the music site requesting reviews for my songs - and let the public go at it - DEMOCRATIC-STYLE! </p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">3 songs can be uploaded for free - so I register and upload. I make my request for review in the forum, now it's just a matter of time. I take a break, do some chores, get a little work out in, grab a snack, then about 15 minutes later I check for all of the replies and NOTHING!! Why am I being ignored. I figured that I was probably being hazed for being the new guy? GOOD ONE!!! After 30 minutes - STILL no reviews! I'm starting to think that the site is some "locals only" site - I'm being shunned. I am using the most fair and democratic approach and these local yokels want to keep all of the action to themselves. Maybe one of them will come through - I'll have to work a double shift on my patience today - I can do amazing things in the mind-over-matter department. By one full hour, STILL NO FANS!!! THAT'S IT!!! I've had enough of this site's mental abuse. Instead of telling them off though, I decided I'd be the grown up, and since I can't smack them each in their heads to get them moving forward on this case, I think I need to set an example to help prod them along. Maybe one of them will read my homemade comment and want to get in on some of that ground-level action - PLUS, I don't think getting kicked out of ANOTHER forum for inappropriate language will solve anything and I didn't want to move on after investing so much time already at the site, although the victims have a rough time dealing with their lives after such an assault on their mortal mind... I'll be the bigger man and lead by example, so I gave myself a nice review of what I tried to accomplish. I waited and still nothing. About 20 minutes later, I lobbed in my next verbal smoke bomb to get some feedback! Nothing. Then the third V.B. (I sometimes like to use abbreviations to save time with these blogs) STILL NOTHING. I give up... I'll figure out a new plan after I get a good night's sleep. Next day there's a HUGE BOOM in the email right after the “SALES ON CANADIAN VIAGRA” email that sounded like a pretty tempting deal!!!! THERE WAS FINALLY A REVIEW!!! Smoked out... just liked planned!</p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">I was so relieved to finally get to my first comment... "WE DON'T COMMENT ON OUR OWN TRACKS AT THIS SITE, PLEASE STOP."</p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">Okay, the pressure is finally off on getting that first comment!! WHEW!!! Now I wonder what they thought of my music. I asked again. THEN I GOT MY FIRST REAL RESPONSE!!!</p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">"This doesn't have the right structure, sound, levels, it sounds bad." The first thing I thought is that I was experiencing the same exact feeling as if I had jumped into an unfamiliar shower. I get in thinking it will be the right temperature and find out how shockingly cold the water feels -(thanks for your comments friends and family!) Then try to make a spontaneous, calculated adjustment to the knobs, which always seems like way too much time fumbling around for the proper knob. I turn the knobs only to scald myself the very next second, feeling the same intense shock, but on the opposite end of the pain spectrum. (Thanks for your review music site locals!) I know no person or thing could logically be blamed - after all, it's my personal thing to deal with. I still end up thinking "OUCH, THAT WAS WAY COLD AND THEN YOU BURNED ME. YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF FUKCERS!!!" </p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">Then, a day or so later, SOMEONE COMES THROUGH!!! </p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">With both the right combination of hard cold truth mixed with warm understanding of what I was attempting to create AND adding some suggestions since he realized I was an obvious beginner, I GOT EXACTLY WHAT I WAS HOPING FOR!!!!! My very next upload sounded SO MUCH better and I felt good about what I was doing and comfortable with where I was considering my experience. I didn't know what I needed at the time, but when I got it everything changed for me. I know it can't happen every time, but I now TRY to post comments in that same spirit that fixed me for that moment in time. The more complex and difficult we seem to be behaving or feeling seems to be fixed when it feels like somebody gets your intentions, needs, desires, whatever... MAGIC!!! It shouldn't be expected - when it happens, it is a privilege. Thanks to all of you who do this. It doesn't even matter if I'm not involved - I see it going on and I feel the sense of community. You complete me. Okay, that was uncalled for - I admit it. But I will say that music completes me. I make it for myself - FIRST! And if somebody happens to like a song, that’s also a great feeling. </p><p class="paragraph_style_2"> </p><p class="paragraph_style_2">I'm changing my statement about government being a magical place where anything can happen to MUSIC being such a magical place where anything can happen. That leaves government with no convenient, optimistic explanation - as if it makes no sense at all... hmm, who would have guessed that?</p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">We're recording new songs for our 4th album! Meanwhile you can check out our new website.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.ahoora-band.com/</span></p>
<p>Mike Lynn & Richard John have really pulled together a sweet Country song here with Last Train. We wondered if one of our Mix Country singers would like to put their mark on this demo for us? If you are interested please do contact Mike or myself - Please have a listen, she's a cutie. Melsi x</p>
<p>Hello</p><p> </p><p> I just wanted to say that some may know that i like to try and get round to review and listen to both new and old work here at Mix. The past few weeks i have been a little slow. Being in and out of work, looking again now and other family related things aswell as being bogged down with loads of new music and vocal tracks that ive yet to start mixing.... there just never seems to be enough time and i miss it... i enjoy the music here and i like to leave my thoughts and spend time listening to others work..</p><p> </p><p> I would like to thank all the guys and girls who have taken time to listen to my work in my time here .. its always appreciated and im pleased if you enjoy my work and take a D/L to enjoy it more..</p><p> </p><p> I will be back soon to my reviews</p><p> </p><p> Thanks for reading!</p><p> </p><p> Dave</p>
<p><span style="font-family: courier new,courier; font-size: large;">I appreciate the response the Ep is getting, much thanks to those of you who wrote reviews.I have a second Ep waiting in the wings and I am really looking forward to releasing it later this Summer. Until then, please enjoy Another Summer In The Suburbs. The more you listen, the more you will enjoy it. Please share the music and feel free to share your comments!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier new,courier; font-size: large;">Peace.</span></p>
<p><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmNoYWJhbmVzcmVjb3Jkcy5jLmxh" target="_blank">Chabane's Records</a> new release : </strong> <strong>AFTER TRACK - PIECES <br /><br /></strong><a href="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=84385284&albumID=1177284&imageID=55591864" target="_blank"><img src="http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/8065/flyaftertrack.jpg" alt="flyer after track - pieces" /></a> <br /> <strong><br />3 POST-PUNK TRACKS from France</strong>. <strong> <br />Available on CD through </strong><strong><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmNoYWJhbmVzcmVjb3Jkcy5jLmxh" target="_blank">Chabane's Records </a> And as <strong>FREE DOWNLOAD</strong><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmFyY2hpdmUub3JnL2Rvd25sb2FkL0FmdGVyVHJhY2stUGllY2VzL0FmdGVyVHJhY2stUGllY2VzLnppcA==" target="_blank"> click <strong> HERE</strong>.</a> <br /><br />AFTER TRACK : <a href="http://www.myspace.com/aftertrackofficial" target="_blank">http://www.myspace.com/aftertrackofficial</a> </strong></span></p>
<p><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmNoYWJhbmVzcmVjb3Jkcy5jLmxh" target="_blank">Chabane's Records</a> new release : </strong> <strong>AGONY SOUL TRADER - EP <br /><br /></strong><a href="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=84385284&albumID=1177284&imageID=55591864" target="_blank"><img src="http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/15/71/15/84/ast-fl10.jpg" alt="flyer agony soul trader - ep" /></a><br /> <strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>5 ALTERNATIVE ROCK / POST-GRUNGE TRACKS from England</strong>. <strong> <br />Available on CD through </strong><strong><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmNoYWJhbmVzcmVjb3Jkcy5jLmxh" target="_blank">Chabane's Records</a> and as FREE DownLoad : <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmFyY2hpdmUub3JnL2Rvd25sb2FkL0Fnb255U291bFRyYWRlci1FcC9BZ29ueV9Tb3VsX1RyYWRlci1FUF8yMDExLnppcA==" target="_blank">please click HERE</a></strong></span></p><p><br /><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Agony Soul Trader:</span> <a href="http://www.agonysoultrader.co.uk" target="_blank">http://www.agonysoultrader.co.uk</a></strong></p>
<div style="padding: 0px 0px 10px; width: 85%; float: left;"><p>A friend of mine sent me a link to this blog and I thought I would share. I think many of us used Columbia House or BMG at one time or another. Obviously this was a brilliant marketing strategy.</p><p> </p><p><span class="blog_title"><a href="http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/91126">It’s a Steal! How Columbia House Made Money Giving Away Music</a></span><br /><span class="posted_by">by <span class="author"><a title="Posts by Ethan Trex" href="http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/author/ethan/">Ethan Trex</a></span> - June 21, 2011 - 1:32 PM</span></p></div><div class="blog_frontentry"><p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-91337" title="columbia-house" src="http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/columbia-house.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="160" />If you grew up in the pre-MP3 era, chances are you had at least one go-round as a member of Columbia House’s mail-order music club. Who could turn down the allure of eight compact discs (or 11 record albums or cassette tapes) for just a penny? It would be stupid not to join up! <strong>A few months of automatic shipments later, you probably ended up like a lot of members did: as a no-income 14-year-old who owed Columbia House $47 for unwanted Sir Mix-a-Lot CDs.</strong> Let’s take a look at a few lingering questions about the music club.</p>How did the Columbia House business model work?<p>The underlying model for Columbia House was a pretty simple setup known as negative option billing. Basically, once you sign up for a membership in a club or service, you start getting monthly shipments unless you expressly tell the club you don’t want them. Of course, you also get the bill.</p><p>Negative option billing has actually been illegal in Ontario since 2005, but it’s still legal in the United States. There are a few caveats, though. The Federal Trade Commission requires that any club or service offering a negative option plan must clearly and conspicuously indicate minimum purchase obligations, cancellation procedures, the frequency with which members must reject shipments, and how to eventually cancel a membership when they enroll new members.</p><p>The FTC really drops the hammer on any company that doesn’t comply with these regulations. In 2009 it reached a $1 million settlement with the online company Commerce Planet, which had been offering a “free” online auction kit while also signing customers up for a recurring $59.95 “online supplier” program.</p>How did Columbia House make any money while giving away so much music?<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-91350" title="columbia-ads" src="http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/columbia-ads.jpg" alt="" width="185" height="408" />Columbia House and competitor BMG brought in a tons of gross revenue — as late as 2000, the two companies were grossing $1.5 billion a year. But even with negative option billing bringing in cash from club members who forgot to return their rejection forms, Columbia House operated on a seemingly tight margin.<br /><br />Columbia House and BMG had some fairly clever ways to save cash, though. Until 2006, the record companies had never actually secured written licenses to distribute the records it sent to club members. Instead, the clubs saved the hassle (and the expense) by paying most publishers 75% of the standard royalties set by copyright law. The clubs argued that since the publishers were cashing their discounted checks, they were submitting to “implied” licenses.<br /><br />Music publishers didn’t love this arrangement, but for decades it was pretty tough to fight back against the mail-order clubs. As some of the biggest pre-Internet retailers, the clubs held enormous power over the music market. According to a 2006 <em>Billboard</em> article, if a publisher complained, the clubs would simply stop carrying their records.<br /><br />On top of that, the clubs generally weren’t buying their records from labels and then selling them. Instead, the clubs would acquire the master tapes of records and press their own copies on the cheap. Moreover, remember those “bonus” or “free” records you got for signing up for the clubs? The clubs generally didn’t pay any royalties at all on those, which further slashed their costs.</p><p>In the end, all these little factors saved a ton of money. In his 2004 book <em>The Recording Industry</em>, Geoffrey P. Hull took a look at the economics of the clubs. He estimated that the cost to the clubs of a “free” disc was only around $1.50, while a disc sold at full price cost the club anywhere from $3.20 to $5.50. Hull did the math and realized that even if only one of every three discs a club distributed sold at the $16 list price, the club would still end up making a margin of around $7.20 on each sold disc. Hull explains that retail stores were hard pressed to make a margin of even $6.50 per sold disc, so it’s easy to see how the clubs stayed afloat even with their massive marketing and advertising costs.</p>Did anyone really, really take advantage of those introductory offers?<p>Joseph Parvin of Lawrenceville, NJ, was undoubtedly the patron saint of anyone who ever wanted to stick it to a music club for receiving an unwanted record.</p><h2>In March 2000, the 60-year-old Parvin admitted that he had used 16 post office boxes and his own home address to fleece Columbia House and BMG out of 26,554 discs during a five-year span in the ’90s. He pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud.</h2><p>Oddly, the <em>New York Times</em> story on Parvin’s plea included a story of another scammer who was nearly as prolific. Just five months earlier, David Russo pleaded guilty to stockpiling 22,000 CDs using a similar scheme. He then sold the booty at flea markets.</p>What about Columbia House’s old rival, BMG?<p>This may come as a shock to your circa-1994 self, but Columbia House and BMG are part of the same company now. In 2002 Columbia House’s then-owners, Sony and AOL Time Warner, sold a majority stake of the company to the Blackstone Group. (Sony and AOL maintained a 15 percent share between them.)</p><p>In 2005, Blackstone again flipped Columbia House to the German media giant Bertelsmann, the owner of BMG, for a reported $400 million. After a series of further transactions, Columbia House is now situated in the portfolio of Direct Brands, Inc., a direct marketer whose other holdings include the Book-of-the-Month Club.</p>Can I still order music from Columbia House?<p>You’re about two years too late. The merged version of Columbia House and BMG, the BMG Music Group, quit selling music on June 30, 2009. (Apparently digital music wasn’t just some silly fad.) Direct Brands still operates a business under the Columbia House name, but don’t expect the latest music to show up at your door. The revamped company sells DVDs and Blu-Ray discs.</p></div>
<p><span style="font-size: large;">HELLO GUYS! SO IVE BEEN AWAY FROM THIS BOARD FOR A WHILE NOW.. ITS GOOD TO SEE EVERYONE STILL MAKING MUSIC AND LOVING WHAT THEY DO. IM 22 NOW, IVE GROWN UP SO MUCH AND SO HAS THE MUSIC , IVE UPLOADED NEW MUSIC THAT I WOULD LOVE YOU GUYS TO CHECK OUT AND REVIEW. ALSO FILL ME IN ON WHAT IVE MISSED! </span></p><p> </p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I have decided to upload my entire new EP "Another Summer In The Suburbs" . I have only been able to upload 4 of the 5 songs on the EP. When I get enough reviews I'll add the last song of the EP which is important to me because it ends the project as I envisioned it.</span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: large;">This EP strongly evokes visions of Summertime for me when I listen to it. It came together on it's own as my EPs often do. I am really happy with the final outcome and I am hoping that you guys enjoy it as well. </span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: large;"> I have really appreciated the reviews, please keep them coming! Peace.</span></strong></p>