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* New Album Released To Raise Money For Sudan Crisis
* Waxploitation Set To Release CD To Fight Genocide In Sudan
* Governor Schwarzenegger Prohibits Use Of State Resources For Illegal Downloading Of Copyrighted Material
* Rocktoberfest 2004 - The Offical Florida Hurricane Relief Concert Benefit
* Michael Moore's Songs And Artists That Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11
* Award Winning Guitarists Team On Hot New CD Release
* FCC Proposes Statutory Maximum Fine Of $550,000 Against Viacom-Owned CBS Affiliates For Nipplegate
* MustVote.com Gives Away Music In A Ground-Breaking Voter Registration Campaign
* Booming Market For MP3 Players
* 300 Million US Ringtone Market For 2004
* Sting Bares All For Rainforest Foundation-US In Atlanta
* Music Row Democrats Target Tennesseans With TV Ad
* Ash Street Music Makes Sharp Decision
* ASCAP Announces Strategic Tech Relationship With TransMedia
* Garage Radio Brings In Big Guns To Cover Live Press
* Consumers' Association Refers ITunes To The OFT
* TakeHomeMusic.com Launches With Fare For Fans And Artists

There are bands who focus on production, there are singers and bands who are occupied with finding radio hooks, and there are singer-songwriters who write from the inside and let success fall where it may. Marianne Kesler's new release, Green Room, is the latter (maybe with the pinch of "hooks" thrown in for self-satisfaction).

The premise is acoustic, though she does not stick to the "rules" of folk or acoustic pop, most ably heard in the title track:

Bob Baker, Let's talk about one of my favourite topics: artist empowerment.

Several weeks ago I presented one of my first "Unleash the Artist Within" workshops. While promoting the event, I discovered that different people have different interpretations of what it means to "unleash" themselves as an artist.

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* CatDesigners At Number 2 In The ILR Charts
* Brilliant Digital Entertainment And Altnet File Suit Against RIAA
* EFF: New Induce Act Proposal Is A Bad Idea
* John Kennedy To Succeed Jay Berman As Chairman & CEO Of IFPI
* Founder Of The Ernie Ball Company, Ernie Ball, Passes Away
* Raful Neal: June 6, 1936 -- September 1, 2004
* Noble "Thin Man" Watts: February 17, 1926 - August 24, 2004
* Ray Charles Live: In Concert With The Edmonton Symphony On DVD
* Joe Kelly Joins Infinity Records Nashville As VP National Promotion
* Jeremy Lascelles New Vice-Chairman Of AIM
* Inpop Records Names Rob Poznanski Director Of Marketing
* Americana Music Association Gears Up For Conference
* Developing Nations Copyright License Frees Creativity
* IAR Networks Opens Shared Media Content Program
* "Platinum Divas Live!" Competition Showcase
* Greendale The Book By Neil Young

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By Mark Kirby, The world of R&B, hip hop, and dance music is full of fame-seekers, people who long for the crowd, who can't wait to live the superstar life as depicted in videos. Who wouldn't? But many people see that as the be-all end-all. Ask them what they want to do and why they're in music and they'd likely answer "To go straight to the top!" Sadly, as seen on "American Idol," many of these people bring nothing to the table but ego and desire. In a way, you can't blame them. Many of the top performers of the day have nothing more than cliched, overproduced voices, great abs, and (in females) a nice rack.