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An interview with Kerchoonz co-founder and Scotland-based, singer-songwriter Indiana Gregg (part 1 of 2)

Imagine working for years developing your music career. You’ve released several albums, signed with an indie label, inked licensing deals, and received love from the press and radio, all while you’ve toured the country. An indie artist’s dream! That is until you find out that your latest release has been illegally downloaded over 250,000 times off of major pirate sites like The Pirate Bay.

This is the nightmare Glasgow, Scotland-based, singer-songwriter Indiana Gregg faced about 18 months ago when she released her album “Woman at Work.” The level of piracy was actually threatening the financial viability of her independent label Gr8Pop. So Gregg decided to take matters in her own hands and fight back. She contacted the UK-based Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), as well as contacting the various websites linking to the illegal copies of her album. While nearly all the sites complied with the link removal request, file-sharing website The Pirate Bay responded with a “cyber-bullying” campaign, publicly releasing Indiana’s email that resulted in a malicious deluge from the site’s supporters.

Instead of getting mad, Indiana – with her manager and husband Ian Morrow – decided to get even on behalf of all artists. To accomplish this, she has set out to create a site that would pay artists for every stream of their music; and even pay when the artist would want to offer their music for free download. Slated for beta launch later this month, Kerchoonz.com has already attracted the attention of media outlets like the BBC and Digital Media Wire, as well pirate forums such as TorrentFreak and suprbay.org.

MusicDish e-Journal sat down with Indiana to find out more about Kerchoonz and how it might just tilt the music industry balance in favor of musicians.

[Eric de Fontenay] Where did the idea behind Kerchoonz originate?

[Indiana Gregg] I’ve always believed that art and music should be free and accessible to the people who can perhaps not afford it. However, it shouldn’t be at the expense of the people who create music and film. Since the late 90’s, billions of copyrighted files have been downloaded illegally. Free art is a great concept, but musician’s can’t live on “thin air” and it’s hard to make music without some investment. Music, film and art costs money, time and dedication to produce. We believe that if this continues, nobody will want to invest in new creativity, and we can’t let that happen. Brainstorming took place, and Kerchoonz is what we decided to offer as a solution.

I spoke with my partner/producer Ian Morrow, and we started to put this idea into motion. We began developing the site in late 2006 and in April 2008, we founded a new Scottish-based company, Kerchoonz Ltd. We’ve been working on the site around the clock with developers from all over the world (and every time zone!). You might say we’re workaholics, but it’s actually been terribly creative, fun and exciting despite the long hours we’ve put in. So, Kerchoonz is a site where artistic creators can give their music away for free and still get paid!

[de Fontenay] Obviously, piracy was a driving force behind Kerchoonz’ drive to compensate artists. In what other ways has piracy influenced the site?

[Gregg] To be honest, piracy is only a tiny part of what has influenced the development of Kerchoonz. In the early days, even before social sites like MySpace and YouTube came into the mainstream, we were discussing paying artists for streams and how social networks were using music to draw traffic to their sites. Having millions of people visit my own social networking pages, I thought it would be cool if we were able to pay artists for their streams.

You know, there is a fine line between a band getting “free promotion” on the internet and crossing over to that point where sites are really more or less “freely exploiting” a band’s work. Many sites are making millions in advertising each year from delivering the “goods” (music, film, software, games), however, the creative people whose work is being exploited earn absolutely nothing from these sites.

If a label or musician doesn’t want to give their music away as a free download, they can still be paid for their streams and even provide a link to iTunes or wherever their music is available for sale.

The bottom line is we need to protect the future of art and we hope that people will make the choice to support artists simply by listening or downloading for free.

I believe that on-demand streaming of music will be one of the main ways people access music in the future. Kerchoonz is a site where people can access music and create playlists on-demand at any time they want via the Internet or mobile phones.

So, really, I’d have to say that we’ve developed Kerchoonz primarily to cater to this huge shift in how people are choosing to access music. Was it due to piracy or the birth of social networking? Maybe a bit of both. People are changing the way they access music now and, to be honest, that’s been the strongest influence upon the creation of Kerchoonz.

[de Fontenay] Kerchoonz’ website mentions that Kerchoonz does not use DRM or embedded ads in download files. How does Kerchoonz generate the revenue to compensate artists? Do you feel that DRM and embedded ads will still be around in five years?

[Gregg] Advertisers want to reach specific numbers of people within a specific demographic. We want Kerchoonz to be fun and informative, and advertising is a way of finding out about new products and services. It’s also the way we plan to help compensate artists. But, we won’t be using pop-up ads or ads attached to the downloadable files.

Kerchoonz advertising is done in a way that’s more attractive and even entertaining for the user. We use a system where video adverts are played during downloads but they are not “attached” to them. There are no annoying force-fed ads. However, advertisers get their message, products and services across to their target demographic on the site, and that’s what’s important for this kind of ad-funded model.

Whether or not DRM or embedded ads will be necessary five years from now (or if they are even necessary now) depends upon the future of downloading. I have a feeling we are moving towards an era of ‘on-demand’ where people won’t want or need to actually “own” the files. So, it’s hard to say.

[de Fontenay] Do you feel that the industry’s approach to tackling piracy has been effective? What would you want to see proposed that would help you in developing a revenue channel for artists?

[Gregg] The music industry has suffered a tsunami of change over the past decade. It’s becoming more and more difficult for bands to compete by selling music alongside the huge popularity of “free.”

Has the industry been effective in tackling piracy? I don’t know. I think this is a difficult one to assess. I can only say that from my personal experiences, some of the pirate sites have been rather antagonistic in their approach towards musicians. They say that the industry is trying to force their old model on people. However, those same sites are the ones who are trying to force musicians into accepting “nothing” as an option.

As a result, the file-sharers have been targeted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). I don’t know how effective that has been. However, recently more ISPs are getting involved and perhaps they will help reduce the problem.

http://www.kerchoonz.com

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Next week, in part 2 of MusicDish e-Journal’s interview with Indiana Gregg, we learn more about Kerchoonz, the site’s multiple features and it’s Choonz origins.

Seattle Tacoma Music artist and band promotion on the internet.

Promoting your music, band or songs in the Seattle Tacoma area is hard these days but, there is help!

Today’s internet is a great place to promote your music and song writing from, with great results if done right.
Washington State produces some great artists and it is getting better every day with new studios and places to play popping up every day.
The Seattle area has many music artists that started there and are still residing there today.
Although it is hard to find FREE places to promote from in the Seattle Tacoma area, there are still ways to do so.
There are local websites that cater to just that in the Washington state area but, some are kind of hard to find if
you are not to good at searching the internet, reading local publications and other things.

I am an old independent music artist that knows a few things about music and music artist promotion on the Internet.
I have been doing music for over 40 years and have had a few music artist and band web sites that were very popular.

I want to tell you about a site that I put up to help music artists, bands, and songwriters promote themselves
at http://www.w3music.com .
This site is a Washington state based site and caters to local music artists, bands, and songwriters, helping them promote
their music, gigs and other internet sites they may have by giving them the tools to do so all in one web site.
The site is totally FREE and requires no membership!
I do this for a hobby, and have always done it for free.
I have just started promoting the site, and am going to be working hard at it from now on.
Google, Yahoo, MSN and others are already spidering the site , and it is getting listings like crazy!
You will only help yourself and the site by visiting frequently!

About the site:
The site offers free ad posting like this site, has tools like banner creators that you can use to make
banners, buttons and logos for sites like, my space, twitter, your own personal site, and what ever else you can think of.
We have a Top list, where you can post a banner and get free traffic to the site of your choice.
The site is always being updated with new features, to help in your promotions.
There is a forum to be used for whatever you want to talk about.
You can advertise your latest gigs, post pictures…
So, like I said, it is FREE and you have nothing to loose, so maybe you should check it out?
Go Here:   http://www.w3music.com
Hope this helps everyone that is traveling the Internet jungle looking for help in promotions.

In the small town of Clydebank, Scotland well-known for its ship building which includes the Queen Elizabeth I and II was born in March of 1970 Alan Greer keyboard and synthesizer man of the  alternative rock band Spotty Dogg.   Alan, not your typical kid, picked up his first keyboard a the age of four a Bontempi organ and later bought his first guitar.  While other kids were out playing football Alan stuck to the house working out tunes and listening to great music that would take him from reality for bits of time.  While only 17 he also worked with the handicapped for two years which he says opened his eyes to the ignorance of the world.  Along with Alan’s passionate interest in music he took a shine to anything with an electrical current, he worked in CCTV, alarms, door access control, a debug technician repairing TV, video, hi-fi etc. and anything to do with computers.  He holds a HNC in Electronics and Computer Technology. 

Greer’s musical career started when he played bass guitar in a band called 55 Days down a Well and also in a bad called A Touch of Klass in venues all over Glasgow, Scotland.  In 2000 he embarked on a solo career and set up his first recording studio.  He released two singles in his hometown of Clyde bank.  His first release Who Has To Pay sold over 800 copies.   His main musical influences are Midge Ure, Pink Floyd and Jean Michel Jarre.   He continued to work in his studio creating his music when he met Jamie Frazer (lead singer for the Doggs) and he formed the band Spotty Doggs which includes Greer and Fraser along with   Gary Lee McKinney – Guitar, Fraser Craig – Drums, and Rikki MaClaren – Bass.  They produce their own original music in Greer’s studio based in the Scottish Highlands.

Alan Greer is a self – confessed perfectionist as witnessed through his music and song writing along with his computer skills seen in the official Spotty Dogg website www.spottydogg.com and their MYSPACE http://myspace.com/spottydoggmusic as well as in the Dogg’s CDs, the latest being Push To Perfection. 

Independent artists and other players in the music industry must have somewhere to go to, not just to gain information about the world that they belong but also to be heard. Belonging to an organization that would cater to their interests will help them keep track on the field where they belong.

Fortunately, there is Music Biz, a community site that concerns itself with the music industry in general. It is distinct from other music sites because it is not necessarily all news, gossips, reviews and promotions although it also has that composition. Rather it is mainly a community site where independent artists can learn from0 insider’s opinions and analysis about certain issues and situation going on in the music business. Independent artists learn from them through their written articles presented in the editorials which are the main component of Music Biz. In the same way, independent artists can also contribute articles with the same theme. Article contribution should follow certain standards set by Music Biz so that all articles are reliable and impose certain credibility.

Aside from editorials, Music Biz does have news and feature articles. The news is basically taken as a link to the original site where the news came from. Independent artists can get the news by clicking the title and new window will open from where the news originated. The news in Music Biz is up to date and comes from different sources. Feature articles, on the other hand, are articles contributed to the members of the Music Biz. Feature articles are another interesting piece that independent artists can get from Music Biz.

Articles in Music Biz readily are seen and can be read immediately. But what’s more interesting is that independent artists and other music enthusiasts can interact within the site. The interaction can be in a form of forum or reviews. Once a member, they can participate in a forum that are categorized into five topics namely Welcome Mat or forums for beginners; The Block, forums for general discussions; Producer Central, area where producers do their interaction and exchange of ideas; Musician’s Corner, where all independent artists and other musicians had their forums; and Legal Briefs, where topics on contracts, business and law are discussed in particular. Visitors can manage which forums will capture their interest best because of the categories for the subjects. Aside from forums, independent artists, or visitors for that matter, can read reviews on certain subjects like albums, artists, movies and other related topics.

Music Biz is also an affiliate of Amazon.com by selling CDs and DVDs. Music Biz offers these items with the specified price so that visitors can readily shop on these items while in Music Biz.

Independent artists, music enthusiast and mere internet surfers can get information about the music industry in Music Biz. Music Biz is not a mere social community site but is rather informative, creative, and innovative for the independent artists and musicians who want to make it right and well in the music industry.

If you are a “Music Artist” desiring to have “Major Exposure” for your Band and Songs, but you only have little Promotions and Marketing funds as a budget to promote yourself and your music, Internet (the super highway) Promotion is the way to go.

There was a time India Bands had to have Major Money from Major Sources to get Major Exposure for your music… not anymore! Independent Artists can now promote and market your own music through many Internet Outlets such as; Radio, Social Sites, Blogs, Communities, Web Directories, Digital Distribution and more. But if you as a band don’t have the time to promote yourself, or perhaps you just don’t know how to, then consult with a reputable company that can help you achieve your “Major Marketing Goals” at affordable India prices.

It’s a big help in promoting “Music Online” when you can find Internet & College Radio Stations that will play your songs on the Radio. For the “Independent Musicians and Singers”, Internet Radio is definitely a savior!  Your “Original Songs” can now be heard throughout the Whole Wide World.  But remember, radio is only one portion of many other outlets for the Music Artists to use, especially if their plans are to have a successful Promotions Campaign that gets Major results.

Placing yourself and your music on every site possible may sound like a tab bit too much, and for many it is. But if you really want to see Major results with only having low budget money, then you need to write articles, upload your music to social sites, to communities, submit to web directories, blogs…find digital distribution that will place your music in Major Online Retail Stores etc… There is no excuse! The Internet has made Major Resources a lot more accessible for Music Indie Artists to grasp, and the playing field has become more of a common ground for both the Indie and the Major labels alike.  The internet is the stepping stone used now to reach Millions of possible fans, friends and music industry contacts!

For example, Independent Record Label “Bell Time Records” released Rnb Artist “Tamalaneh”, and took her new Cd “I Know You’re Gonna Like This” and promoted it on just about every music related website, blog, social site, community site web directory on the internet. Anybody can do it if you’re willing to do the time consuming work it takes to get the job done. Here are a couple of free music outlets you can submit your articles and songs to for starters:  Current.com has now The Indie Music Show, another outlet!! Thank you current. L.L Cool J. has BoomDizzle etc… these music sites are free!

Music is something that is beyond human characteristic likings and dislikings. It is liked by every one though its genre can be different. Some may like the classical music style or to some hip hop and rock style would be worth making a choice. Besides these there are several genres available with the music like the Indie music, band stars, jazz etc. Several Music Artists have been involved with the music who have been rocking the earth with their talent.

There always remains a desire in every mind to be a rock star or a renowned Music Artist. But its not that easy to the heart throb. There is a long way ahead that needs to be covered before one can claim to be an established Music Artist. Several obstacles come in the way to be a Rock Star. A great music artist is never created, he is born. The genes of music are present there in his blood right from the beginning that guides him over the musical path. In this context family background plays a major role. Then it takes years of learning to know music from deep insight. Every body around the world can sing, a few of them can sing better but it’s the learned Music Artists alone who can sing and play music in rhythm.

A Music Artist may have learned all the lessons but when he enters the world of reality, the actual verve begins then. It may be easy to learn music but its not that easy to establish your self as a Music Artist. Circumstances and the prevalence of tough competition in the market keeps on pulling you back. Usually people are attracted to a particular personality and it becomes very difficult for the new Music Artist to grab their attention towards himself. Shortage of money is usually seen as a major cause that pulls an artist behind. If some are able to survive it takes years of struggle to manage the hype worth being noticed. And by some bad luck if the performance doesn’t remains up to the mark, the journey comes to an end before its beginning. Usually it is seen that the emerging Music Artists are often misguided or mislead that diverts them from the right track rather than bringing them close to their destination. So this stage requires a great attention and disciplined life style so that you remain aimed at what you are exactly made for.

For all such young hearts who want to be the Music Artists of tomorrow, there is a company named “A Fight For Fame.” It is a group of musicians, artists, entrepreneurs; business persons who have been striving to bring out the local talent from the streets of America and are guiding them to be the stars of tomorrow. It’s a move to reclaim the lost generosity of the American musical culture. AFFF is guiding the talented youth to form their own Music Bands and is arranging Live Concerts for them so that they are able to present their talent before masses. So if you are the one who thinks that he can shake the world with his music then come on join AFFF. For more information you can visit us at: http://www.AFightForFame.com

Hi,
My name is Steve Morgan, and I have been a Music Artist and in the Business since 1967,
have been in verios bands of different genres like, rock, blues, jazz/swing, country…
I have had a small recording studio for the past 12 years, and have been active in it, since about a year ago.

I have been working on this free website, MusicPlaces.com, dedicated to helping independent music artists
promote them selfs, and sell their music on the internet, with a Music
Artist and Listener Community.
The site offers FREE accounts to all Music Artists and Listeners.

Artist
accounts feature a Main Artist Profile Page with a portable flash player that each artist and fans can
use to post music on other sites getting even more exposure than most other sites give, also other site features
like mp3 song hosting, video hosting, guest book, photo gallery, digitel music store,
an artist promo kit in pdf format, Internet radio stations,and so much more!!
There are so many ways to promote your music on the internet for free, and this is one of the
best resources for independent music artists and listeners that love Indie Music!

Now, I would like to help artists get the most out of internet self promotion by giving you some sound
advice about how to get started.

First, there are many free music artist sites that you can get free artist accounts on.

Join as many of these as you can, still being able to moniter each of your accounts at least 2 times a month,
keeping active and puting fresh content up as much as possable.
I would think that 5 or 6 of these would be some work, especialy if you are giging and work a day jab too!

Try to choose sites that have been around for more than 2 or 3 years, as they are probably more established
on the internet and have more traffic and listeners giving free exposure to your page.

Try keeping your user names (artist name) on all of these sites the same, as this will only help with search engine results
when searching for your name or band name in a search engine.

Try being as active on all sites as you have time for, as this will get your name out there, and people on the internet will soon
know who you and your music are!

Choose one of these sites to be your home site, and link to it from all of your other sites.
Usualy when selecting a home site for your music, select the site with the most features for free first!
Making sure that the site you choose is the fastest loading and works the best.

Most of these music sites that you sign up with have forums these days.
Be as active in as many of them that you can, make a link to your home page as your forum signature, if they let you.
Search engine spiders spider forums every day and the more posts you post, the more links you will have in google.
The more links you have, kinking to your home page in google, the higher google will rank your home page.

Sites with portable players that you can put on other sites that play your songs are a great resource for getting exposure
on places in the internet that wont host your mp3 songs.

MusicPlaces.com has a great portable player that will play your songs on sites that let you past code into them
like myspace, tagworld, and other places that let you use html, including forums, blogs, guest books…

If you sell your music, most sites these days have a Digital
Store.
Put your music for sale on as many of these places that you can.
Even if you dont sell anything, your songs and merchandise will be spidered by the search
engines and you will get more exposure!

Have a good email address that works, and check it often, answering any enquiries and fan messages.

It takes some time to get real popular as far as google is concerned
but, time will pay you with good results!

Sweden is a place where more indie music artists could be found per square mile than any other place in the world. The Swedish music scene has gradually and steadily infiltrated the music world through performers like Jens Lekman, The Cardigans, The Hives, and Peter Bjorn and John.

In addition, there is also Emil Svanängen, one-man home-recording wonder and a known multi-instrumentalist. In his tiny Stockholm apartment, he works and records his pieces just like cooking precious pop gems. With that, he has sold numerous copies of his first three albums on his website, on CD-R and other mp3 blogs. The artist shows business using the enigmatic nom de plume which is Loney, Dear. He is an adorable geek whose folk jazz sound is difficult to get enough of.

The American indie tag Sub-Pop Records in 2007 released Svanängen’s first studio album entitled “Loney, Noir”. His cracked, captivatingly longing, and almost squirmy high-pitched voice is infatuating. He sings whole heartedly covering about relationships, love found, and love lost with intense tenderness.

The disc opens with the delicate and fragile, “Sinister in the State of Hope”. The song is followed by a more cheerful, the catchier “I am John”, which is perhaps the best song for Svanängen starters. It is considered a beautiful piece that starts sincerely and builds up only in the third part where all the thrilling happens. The speed quickens with the reverb of the clarinet and drums coupled with inspiring fantastic tenor vocals. Before it fades with the soft clacking of the drumsticks, it swirls for a good bit.

The song, “Carrying a Stone”, is considered as a hidden masterwork. Solemn yet promising, the song seems like the sound of daylight breaking. Just like the light that slowly streaks the sky, the sound starts on a stable yet brisk note that gains musical drive as Svanängen hums to a crescendo in the backdrop until it explodes and fades with the reverberation of drums, organs,  horns, and lively woodwinds. Other songs that are captivating are “I’m the Odd One” and “Saturday Waits”, which is accepted as wide-eyed and innocent in style of presentation.

Loney, Noir is a lifting and exhilarating album to listen to. Consider it as it tugs at your heartstrings. Loney, Dear shares with you all the kindness of love, joy , and even heartache with a track album that starts calmly using just the guitar and voice until it swells pleasantly with the synchronization of hand claps, pump organs , and melodies that are at once sparkling and melancholy. Loney, Dear as well known is an indie music artist that breath fresh air and his album is as stylish and appealing as a wonderful summer day blast with Lomo.