By Mark Kirby, Many people take the textural, musical landscape approach to ambient/New Age Jazz/whatever and turn the possibilities of mood and meditative introspection and turn them into awful realities of musical wallpaper; music so mellow you want sleep, so down-tempo you want to die.
New York City's Blow Up Hollywood, whose name is a backlash to the excesses of glitter marketing in media, will play a set for the renowned Echoes radio program which reaches across the US on over 150 radio stations. The band will perform a customized set for Echoes out of Indre Studios in Philadelphia on August 27 to be broadcast during the week of September 15. Information on where the show airs can be found at www.echoes.org. The band is planning on recording the set for later release.
For The Swift - the critically-acclaimed pop/rock foursome that brought the words "original" and "piano-driven" back to Christian music - the amazing race of the past two years has certainly made a definitive point. And it is this: Whatever happened yesterday is history. Today is where everything begins, so open your eyes and live it 100%. This is the point of Today, The Swift's infectiously profound, passion-driven second release on Flicker Records, a sonic '"kick in the pants" that you'll remember long after the CD stops spinning.
Next to your instrument, your network will be one of the most important things in your career as a musician. Whether you're signed, or an indie artist, it's not just who you know that's important, but who knows you. Having a working network can make the difference between playing an empty club and opening for a platinum-selling band.
A Marketing Plan Outline for Independent Record Releases
Plan your record release as if you were an actual record label, taking on the role of both the Product Manager and the Director of Promotions/Marketing. Imagine that your label will be releasing a CD in three months. (This plan presumes the project is currently wrapping things up in the studio and should be ready for mastering.).
Marcus Williams: Rising in the East 
Many people take the textural, musical landscape approach to ambient/New Age Jazz/whatever and turn the possibilities of mood and meditative introspection and turn them into awful realities of musical wallpaper; music so mellow you want sleep, so down-tempo you want to die.
