Indie Music Works News

Last year really seemed to go quickly! It was another good year for IMW and the folks who make the site their primary home or visit on a regular basis. Many new artists and listeners fill the pages of the site bringing new music and ideas.

The most stressful part of the year for the folks who run the site was the server crash late in 2011 where some artist and listener images were lost. On a positive note the site now resides on its own server and response times are better than ever!

The DJ download feature was changed so that it would be easier to allow music uploads to be available to the DJ's for download. In fact the DJ download feature is so good that other music sites have copied the idea from IMW. You know you are onto something when you are being imitated and imitation is the greatest form of flattery, so they say. IMW is a leader not a follower.

IMW deployed the collaboration feature for the sites artists. Collaborations used to take place in the forum on the site and it's our hope that moving it out to the music pages would encourage more folks to collaborate. The feature allows public and private collaborations as well as searches for skill sets that may be needed in a collaboration. The site still has it's free FTP accounts in order to help with those large file transfers that are associated with collaborating. If you haven't checked it out then please do take a few minutes to do so.

All of the sites radio shows continued through 2011 and there are no plans to change any of the schedules. The IMW DJ's have contributed countless hours to bring you the best Indie Music on the planet each week. Check out the live radio shows in 2012.

The site administrators are always kicking around new ideas to bring to the IMW community. There are several in the works so expect to see some new things in the future. All of the sites changes are made with the best interest of the folks at IMW at the top of the list. We want everyone to have a great experience on the site.

We're excited about 2012, as the site continues to grow at a steady pace new music, artists and listeners find their way here. A big thanks from the IMW Team members to all of you!

Many of you already know this vital information but I have seen many that do not utilize it when it should be a critical aspect in tagging your MP3's properly. One of the first things we all learn in school is that you must put your name and the date on your paper before turning it in. The same should apply to your music.
There are so many times I come across MP3's that only have an identifier such as "Track 01" as the title. Believe it or not, sometimes there is not even that info!

If I were a big Hollywood Exec looking to license your track for my next film, who would I contact? I would have no idea because there is no name listed in the properties of your track. If I do see a name, I am very busy and I do not have time to Google who you are to try and discover your contact info, so what do I do?
"Next please!" is what I will say, tossing your track to the wayside.

So you see how vital this information is. Not only will it provide a quick means to get a hold of you in the event of interest, it will also benefit many players such as Winamp, Windows Media Player, etc., and sites like iTunes and others that can show the title of your song as it plays.

It is common Industry practice to use the "comment" section in your properties to display your contact info. You may also add any other tidbit you want known about the song such as: "it was the third song written in a particular year", or maybe even something more technical such as "played on extended range guitars with kettle drum breaks", whatever the case may be.

You are your own business. Your songs are your calling cards.

To view and add to the properties of your MP3, right click your song in your file and scroll down to "properties", and click. The Property box will pop up. Click on the tab "Details" to see where you can add your info. The title is the title of your song. Just click over to the right of "Title" and you will see a data field open. Type the title and watch for typos! You do not need underscores here or track #'s. It is Okay to do so on the General Page, but not necessary there either. Then you can add a sub title if you have one. Skip the rating, as that should be for the recipient to judge.

The "comment" space is where you will put your contact info. If you have a personal website, it is good to include it here. If you have a phone number dedicated for business, it's good to include that also. Do not forget to include the area code, city code, whatever your case may be. If you don't want to add a phone number, then an email address would suffice. It's a fast moving business though, so the quickest way to contact is always best.

You will always put your name in Contributing artist, as well as Album artist, BUT if the song is a collaboration, you will also list other Contributing artists there as well, (it gives room for additional names). If your song is not part of an album, you still fill in your name at Contributing artist. If your song is part of an album, you put the Album name, the year it was produced, and track number. When putting track number here, just put the number that it is with no zero's. If it is track 1, put l, NOT 01 (but again, it is Okay to put it like that under the General tab, but not necessary).
If your song is not on an album, you would leave Album artist, Album name, and track number blank. But you DO want to put the year the song was produced/recorded.

As much as we all hate classifying our music into a genre, I highly recommend this practice as it will show in searches that Executives do to find a certain style of music. The length is usually auto generated, but double check to be sure. The bit rate is vital info as well. The higher the rate, the better the recording will be. If your songs are 128kbps, try to make them 198, or 320.

Last but not least is Publisher. You are all basically Publishers of your own music, but for me, as an aspiring Music Supervisor, I choose to leave this field blank for those I work for as it indicates the song is available for licensing.

I think that about covers it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me here.
Thanks, and as always, keep rockin'!

Great big hugz from,

~teva

Many artists have helped out by sending us CD's for contests and radio show give away. We appreciate all the support from many of the great talents out there.

It's a great way to get your music out there and also help the site out as well. If you've heard the radio shows then you know the CD's are mentioned several times during the show.

If you would like to send some CD's for give away then please send them to the address below. Please make sure to include the full zip code.

indiemusicworks
P.O. Box 320573
Tampa, Florida 33679-2573

You've heard some of the great promos that some of the artists on Indie Music Works have made right?

If you have some time and the ability to record a mp3 promo we're looking for some new ones to add to what we have so far. Generic promos that any of the DJ's could use would be greatly appreciated.

If you have one that you have made or have questions about making one then contact one of the IMW Team members here: IMW Team

In yet another episode of "That never ending quest for the tone" I thought I'd share my latest insanity, well maybe not so insane, read on.......

I was reading around the net about tone and old timers (of which I am (officially one) and the sound they were able to achieve. Now remember, most guitarists had no way the choice of gear we have today. They had a guitar and an amp.
Sometimes a fuzz box but usually a Fender or Gibson into a tube amp.

In the very early days players didn't change strings much because of cost and would even boil old strings to get some life back into them. I remember an interview with the late Roy Buchanan, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDOIL5OqvYs
He was asked "How often do you change your strings?" His reply was "when they break"

Did you ever notice old strings sound soft and mellow?
Did you ever change strings and they just sound bright and sometimes harsh?

I have always had an issue with brightness. Especially on my bolt strat style guitars which is why I prefer the more mellow sound of a set neck. Now I'm talking a clean pure sound. This is where the real tone of a guitar is found. I could never figure it out but in reading and listening and remembering the old days, 50"s and 60's, guitars had a certain sweet mellow sound. A few guys had an opinion and it sounded logical.

So I decided to try something that never occurred to me. Premium 100% Pure Nickel Strings on a round-core.
Now these babies are expensive but hey, I've probably spent more on gear than I have on cars in my lifetime. What's a few more bucks. I tried em' and I love em'.

First, let’s examine the difference in the old school 100% pure nickel and the new nickel plated modern ones. How strings are made is they are round wound onto a solid core wire. Strings these days are machine wound onto a hexagonal shape solid core. The hex core was adopted because it could be accurately machine wound. Advantage of round core? A nice smooth wrap. Drawback of hex? the points of the hex make sharp indents on the inside of the windings.

Ok let's look at the differences and advantages of pure nickel.
Well first the obvious - Pure nickel strings are just that, 100% pure nickel and the new ones are nickel plated wrap onto steel core wire. This part is very important, as I said before. Modern strings are machine wound onto a hex-core wire. Pure nickel strings are hand wrapped onto a round-core wire.

The first thing you will hear with pure nickel, is a noticeable warmer tone. Very nice. Some settings that would be way too harsh with the strings I was using seem to mellow out and warm up. They are also extremely responsive Not only to pick attack but to your fret hand. They are more sensitive to harmonics, vibrato and don‘t squeak as much on finger slides.
The feel of them is soft and sleek. They tune up under less tension so you bend strings with much less effort. To my feel, a set of 10’s is as easy to bend as 9’s.

I guess what I’m saying is They are MUCH more flexible, which means more sustain and easier bends. I bet I could go to pure nickel 12’s and have the same bend tension as I had on modern 10’s. An added benefit is because they are a softer metal you get less fret wear. They intonate extremely well. Now this may be because they are 100% nickel or because they are hand wound premium strings, I’m not sure.

Now these things cost more but they should last much longer. At least 2 or 3 times longer than the nickel plated modern strings. All things considered I’ll spend less. A set of regular strings may be about $3.50. Brands to consider Pyramid Nickel Classics about $10, Thomisik Blues Sliders about $12 and DR Pure Blues about $6.

I am currently using the Pyramid which are terrific. I ordered some DR sets but as much as I like these I think I’ll stick with them.

I hope this was helpful
Tony aka KOR