"Inward" released today

Indie Radio Indie Music Spotlight
#1

I’m sorry I don’t come here too often, can’t be everywhere, but I wanted to tell you that today I’m releasing a new album called “inward” (actually my 3rd) that’s been done thanks to the help of some of the members here (and in the old RR forum), and I think it’s pretty good thanks to everyone.
One of the vocals on this one even have your favorite Emma! She’s been a huge help over the years and has been graceful enough to sing on one of the songs, and her voice is awesome as usual! :smiley:

You can hear the album here:


Or on Bandcamp:

Hope you’ll like it!

On another note, I’m also launching (with the help of artists friends and partners - radios, blogs, etc. involved in the unsigned world) a new platform/website that I invite you to have a look at:
https://unsignedco.org/

Let me know if you have questions about this, I’d be happy to tell you all about it.

  • GB
6 Likes
#2

Hey Patrick!! Great to hear from you, and really happy for you with how things seemed to have taken off. Miss you around here, but of course totally get the needed priorities. May the odds be ever in your favo(u)r. :wink:

#3

It is interesting though that you are taking on the streaming companies. After all i have supported some bands that i would have never known about but found them on spotify. I wonder if there is a solution that can involve both? I want to see a fair distribution but i hate the nitpicking over licensing, the nickle and dimeing so to speak. and then on top we have things like unfair distribution of food supplies, the lack of medical care in places in the world, around 56 billion sentient beings being killed because people like how they taste, etc. I guess it all about fighting the power systems that be. Anyway just thinking out loud.

Well done on your album.

#4

Ah ah! Thanks Dave! I’ll die of hunger with music that’s for sure! :wink:

#5

Thanks Red! TBH I can’t take away all the issues of the world by myself :wink:
So I chose to concentrate on something that is a bit closer to home, and this is coming from countless exchanges with artists and partners.
Spotify might be convenient, but in my view it’s not much more than legalized piracy, so I believe artists and partners should stand up against what is becoming a dangerous monopoly. As usual, YMMV :smiley:

#6

Hi Patrick,
Good to see you’ve been busy! Congrats on the album. I’ve been listening to a couple of songs and I must say I like them a lot.

Keep us informed on your new initiative “Unsigned Coalition”. I certainly support the cause, even if I’m not very hopeful for your chances. As a consumer I find it’s pretty convenient to have any song by almost any artist at your fingertips. But… I remember the days when buying a new album was a huge thing. My most prized possessions (well, after my guitar of course). Now there’s so much choice, how do you find music that excites you as much as in the 70’s? I don’t know where to start.

#7

not only convenient but also makes it possible to hear bands i never would have heard of in the time when big business decided what was heard. mostly using the radio. do you have a solution in mind that allows for us to be able to get connected with our fans, or new bands from the listeners side that would not be legalized piracy?

#8

I don’t have all the answers, Red.
However I don’t see how Spotify helps any artist to get connected to their fans.
There’s no interaction on that platform.

When artists say this helps their visibility, I see most of them linking to it, and bringing their own fans to the platform, not the other way around. The search algorithms are rigged to benefit the bigger artists and especially the big labels who have contracts and shares on the platform.

I’m not even talking about the amount of money they have diverted from artists, 5% of the songs are earning 99% of the royalties. The rest is collateral damage. I’m not even talking about the many ways they avoid paying royalties (see the way they file NOI when they supposedly can’t find The Beatles for example), how much settlements for non paying royalties they have paid, and how much money they are still sued for, nor the fact that they are pushing freemium, thus effectively perpetuating the idea that music should be free. To me there is a big ethical issue with these platforms (and Spotify is just one of them, but they all have the same rotten core, and Google is leading the way, with Youtube being the #1 copyrights infringements site).

You talk about the time when big business decided what was heard. I don’t see a difference. Big streaming corporations are deciding what is heard. Meet the new boss, the same as the old boss.

There are countless indie radios nowadays who are operated by individuals who are doing it for the love of it, they have more and more listeners, and these are the true new platforms that unsigned artists should support. Bandcamp is also a place where you can discover lots of music. But all these platforms and radios are as endangered as the unsigned artists they support, blogs are the same, podcasts too. The whole music economy is in the hands of Silicon Valley corporations nowadays, so I wonder how better this is, because what’s for sure, they don’t put any value in the music. And if artists put their music there, it means they don’t put much value in it either.

I suppose what is needed is a way to aggregate all the music from unsigned artists in a platform that respect their rights and redistribute the earnings fairly. This is not the case right now, and as much convenient as it is, it’s unsustainable long term. I think streaming needs to evolve and the people who need to drive the changes are the people who are being screwed right now. Artists, and radios, and blogs, and podcasts, and venues, should group into a movement for a change.

1 Like
#9

Ok that is something I could buy into.

#10

First of all Pat, congratulations on your new album! I know you do quality work and I look forward to hearing more of it.

I notice that you have mastered it yourself. Did you find that difficult, if not technically, from an artistic standpoint? I know others have struggled with being “too close” to the material to be objective; just interested in your take on that if you have a minute.

I agree with you on the plight of the indie musician vs Spotify and I applaud your efforts to organize and improve our place in the grand scheme of things. In spite of the obvious oppression by the big platforms I fear our greatest enemy here is the law of supply and demand. Technology allows too many talented artists now to compete on a level playing field for the attention of a public that is already swamped with entertainment options.

Never-the-less, carry on!

#11

This reminds me of the old “pirate radio” scheme, where stations broadcast on the fringes (offshore boats in the UK, or based just over the border into Mexico for the US) and played stuff that was “real”, dedicated to the DJs’ own preferences. Radio X was a major one in the southern California music scene in the early 70s. (There was a ZZ Top tune called “I Heard It On the X” that refers to this station.)

Point being, these stations, although on the “fringe”, were very infuential in their time… no reason Patrick’s effort couldn’t be as influential now. Good luck!

#12

Yes, it’s a but like that with indie stations. There is a niche that they are filling, and some of these shows are quite successful. I’ve been on a radio regularly that was doing an indie show every Wednesday evenings, and according to their stats they had an average of 45k listeners from all over the world…

So they might not be boasting the same numbers as the big streaming platforms, but they are independent and do it because of their love for music and not for the good of their shareholders. I think some people realize that and find that pretty cool too, the listeners are much more involved and more supportive of unsigned music, that’s for sure.

As I said it’s not because there are millions of people on streaming platforms that indie music stands a chance… it’s a rigged game.