Enjoying and Producing Music

The gifted students of our favorite vocal coach, Claire Yarrington, held a showcase at the California Theatre Arts Crossroads Theatre this evening. The packed house was treated to some very entertaining performances. Of course, one of Claire’s standout students is AlsTunes recording artist Rachel Shapiro, and I was privileged to share the stage with her on one song, playing acoustic guitar while she sang her terrific original tune “Tell Me You Love Me”. That’s track 5 on the CD. (If you have the CD you know that, and if you don’t have the CD, WTF?)

Congratulations to Claire and all her students, and thanks to the many audience members who bought a copy of Rachel’s CD.

The out-of-stock situation at CD Baby only lasted about a day. We knew the first batch would sell out quickly so we sent the second batch on May 9; the first batch sold out on May 11, and the second batch arrived on May 12. So after the one-day pause, sales resumed. In addition to the good news from CD Baby sales, we hear good news from Rachel’s mom on direct sales.

AlsTunes is still recovering from an awesome CD kickoff party held last night at the house of Rachel. It was pretty amazing; lots of friends and family; mainly human, although there were dogs, one snail, a big fly, and rumors of a turkey. The highlight of course was Rachel’s performance of her song “Tell Me You Love Me” which brought the house down. That and the cinnamon cookies. Stay tuned for updates, photos, and possible videos. And thanks to Rachel’s mom for organizing a truly memorable evening.

Since the CD was released a few days ago, your support has been really gratifying, and the first batch of CD’s is now sold out on CD Baby. But that’s only temporary; I’ve already sent a restock batch to our friends at CD Baby, so sit tight. You should be able to resume buying CD’s when they receive it in a few days.

You can now buy Rachel’s CD at the Internet’s favorite CD retailer, CD Baby! Check it out! Write a review!

Today is the targeted release date for “I Get It!”, and although CD Baby confirms that they have received the first batch of CD’s, they still have some processing to do before the link goes live. Watch for updates here; it won’t be long!

It’s surprising how many steps there are to get a CD recorded and distributed:

Done:

• Record √
• Negotiate contracts for musicians, vocalist, graphic artist √
• Mix √
• Obtain ISRC codes √
• Obtain UPC code √
• Obtain mechanical licenses for cover songs √
• Outsource mastering √
• Approve art √
• Check with legal √
• Manufacture CD’s √
• Prepare CD Baby descriptive data √
• Ship CD’s to CD Baby √
• Register songs with performing rights organization (ASCAP)
• Register songs with Gracenote / CDDB √
• Send Sound Recording copyright form √
• Attend CD kickoff party. This is the primary reason to produce a CD! √
• Set up digital distribution
• Publicity:
• Set up artist web site √
• Update label web site, blog  √
• Email everyone √
• Advertise

The manufacturing task is finished; I now have boxes and boxes of CD’s! It’s pretty cool; there they are. They need to be heard!

The CD’s, with jewel case, 4-page insert, tray card, and CD label art, were replicated by the local firm New Cyberian. This company did a first-rate job, quickly, and at a great price. I highly recommend them. I expect to use them again.

I’ve been advised by Rachel’s mom that people are already buying the CD in advance. Cool! The manufacturing is due to be finished in a day or two, and since they’re local I’ll just drive over and pick them up. Then I’ll play a few to make sure they sound OK, and send a batch to CD Baby, and another batch to Amazon, and another batch to Rachel’s mom so she can deliver the CD to her customers.

In February of 2006 I released my first CD, “Find My Own Way”, with Bay Area vocalist Amy Holloway. This full-length CD features 11 of my compositions, which I wrote specifically for Amy’s sweet pop voice. It’s selling on iTunes, cdbaby.com, and amazon.com.

I started working with Amy in 2001, when one of the local rappers that I was recording brought her over to what would become AlsTunes studio to sing a few hooks. After I heard that wonderful voice, I started writing songs for her. By late 2005, we had 15 tracks, and we picked the best 11 for the CD.

I hope the publicity push for the May 2008 release of Rachel’s CD also brings attention to Amy’s CD. They are both gifted artists who deserve a lot of success,