The view from here: Turning a corner?

Something has changed and things seem to be getting better. The attendance seems to be solid, and even at night I’m seeing a marked improvement.

MP3 downloads have really moved to the next level. I no longer bother to count the individual downloads, but rather, tabulate the amount of bandwidth used. If the trend continues, I’ll have over one Gig of downloads in the first month of the year. The release of “The Sound of RED” almost guarantees it.

Unique visits on the web site have always been an indicator of growth to me. In the first 15 days of the month, the web site found 91 new visitors. While this is notable, the over all traffic to the site is up as well. Way up. As normal, the most visited section of the site is the calendar page, and that is a very good thing indeed.

Another good sign is the freebie download MP3 at the site is getting a good deal of attention. While some might see that as a bad thing (because I’m not making any money on a fee download), I see it as quite an accomplishment. There are millions of free downloads at MySpace that never get downloaded. People equate free with worthless. However, if say… Metalica were to host a free download, millions would be grabbing a fistful o’ files. People are not downloading because it’s free; they are downloading because they are interested.

If I had to point to one factor in the forward movement, I would only need three letters to mark it down. N-Y-X. While I do supply the music, Nyx is for the most part the wind beneath my wings. She does all the things Moody’s pod people use to do, but does it about ten fold better. Why? Because when all is said and done, she is a fan of the music. She knows the lyrics, what songs are on what collection, what is going on at the web site, and the events to mention during the show. She is a virtual Swiss army knife of music promotion. I’ve offered many times to pay her, but she refuses. She is just supporting the music she loves.

Booyah Nyx, you full on RAWK!!!

Of course I can’t mention Nyx without mentioning Nya. While she is far less vocal, her support is very real indeed. I’ve booked a few shows simply because she gave me a recommendation, and when things go horribly wrong, Nya has Plan “B” covered.

While I have been removed from the “Mars Need Puppies” (or whatever MNP really stands for) roster, things are going very well indeed. The biggest reason for this, is the many Venue operators that have been long standing supporters. Harrie, Jackie, Lucincia, Bubbles, Sternchen, Cerowain, Shilow, Kalita, Hempgrl, Ab, Lundy, and Drusilla. The list goes on and I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anybody. But these good people are the people that allow me to do my job, no fuss no muss, just plug in and play.

And while I’m handing out “Mad Props”, I would be quite remiss if I didn’t mention the good citizens of the Zorch Nation. With out them I would be playing to empty venues, and Nyx and Nya would just be chatting back and forth. You good people make the wheels on the bus go round and round. Thanks you all for your support.

I’ve just come to a realization, and permit me to share it with you.

Many of the self-proclaimed experts insist you must immerse yourself in the “Second Life Music community” to get ahead. Say everybody that fires up a stream is brilliant, and praise even the most suspect venue. But this is a load of shit and I’ll tell you why. Whatever comes from this paradigm is an artificial by product of community first thinking. This is why the music community is so freaking stagnant. Nobody outside of the community cares about the community.

I have developed a community of core supporters, venues and listeners that support my music because they like my music. Of course this community does reach out to embrace other artist that present good original music, and this makes sense because good music is good music and if community is music oriented it’s going to encompass artist of worth.. Almost everybody likes music of some sort. When things revolve around music, there is room to grow.

Things seem to be growing.