Sunday, July 29, 2018

What's Happening: Week of July 30, 2018

If you read my last weekly update, you know I've been working on creating a podcast with a long-time friend. I'm not ready to provide a lot of details just yet, but I can say that it combines elements of the true crime with the occult and I think fans of those genres will find it fascinating. Also, we plan to start recording episodes next week! I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile . . .
I have a new item in the pipeline. This one is another addition to my corporate podcast intros, and has a more "industrial" feeling for businesses and business journalists who want to set a more traditional tone in their presentation. Like many of my podcast intros, this one will be available in :30, :15, bumper and loop versions. Here's a preview of the 30-second version.



As always, when it goes live, you'll hear about it first on my Twitter feed (available as a link in the top menu). Until next time, thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

P. S. I forgot to mention my featured stock music item this week. It's Making The Difference. I hope you'll check it out!

Sunday, July 22, 2018

What's Happening: Week of July 23, 2018

Most of my news this week is only a little related to music, but it could prove very interesting if things come together. . .

I've been working on music for podcasters for over a year now, including developing intros and loops for various formats. A lot of what I've worked on in the non-intro vein later has been with podcasting in mind too. For example, I've envisioned my more ambient recent work as underscores for dramatic and documentary podcasts.

Now, I'm in talks with a close friend about producing and providing music for a podcast he wants to launch. It's related to the occult and paranormal and would feature a true crime angle in much of the content. I spent some time over this past weekend familiarizing myself with the use of sidechain compression to "duck" music beneath voiceover material to simplify the task of editing audio. My would-be partner, an expert on the occult and occult crimes, is in the process of organizing his materials into 15-20 minute episodes.

We're looking at distribution options, but I want to have 3-4 episodes ready before we start distribution. Monetization is a little further down the road, but hopefully we'll get there sooner rather than later. I'll provide more details if and when all of this comes together.

My featured stock music item this week is Highly Dramatic Intro (15 Second), a short intro that's great for news, current events, politics, and other content where you want convey a sense of urgency and importance to your listeners.

Finally, I'm forced to admit that there seems to be basically no interest in my commercial releases. I think that in the future I will limit my release activities to the more ambient, meditative side of my musical palette. Also, I will probably discontinue my use of DistroKid and stick to CDBaby. Going that way means I just pay a flat fee for each release without having to pay $20 a year forever, with no guarantee I'll ever be able to generate interest in my work. It hasn't worked out, but I don't regret the attempt.

That's all I have for now. I hope you week is happy and productive, and thank you for stopping to read.

Sunday, July 15, 2018

What's Happening: Week of July 16, 2018

Lots to talk about this week, so let's get straight to it . . .
If you stopped by the blog earlier in the week, you saw that I was busy. And there's more where that came from. I have a new intro online, it's happy and simple. So I called it "Happy Simple Intro." It's part of my podcast intro collection and is available in 30 second, 15 second, bumper and loop variations. Here's a preview based on the looped version.



Get more info and license at Pond5: 30 Second --15 Second -- Bumper -- Loop

But wait: there's more! (Am I starting to sound like a cheezy 1970s TV commercial yet?)
I have another intro that I've just uploaded in the past hour. "Hard Rock Intro 1" is much edgier and is great for sports, current events, and similar hard-hitting content. Here's a preview based on the loop version.



Like my other intros, this one is available in :30, :15, loop and bumper/stinger versions. Stay tuned to Twitter and here for more information when (and if) this goes online.

Finally, my featured stock music item this week is Big Idea. It's a great electronic piece for high-tech presentations. I hope you'll check it out.

And that is that for now. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you'll keep coming back (unless you're a certain bot that flooded the blog with over 5000 hits earlier this week).

Thursday, July 12, 2018

New Items Online: July 12, 2018

I've added three items to my Pond5 portfolio, and this is the first place I'm announcing it.

The first item is titled "Dramatic Sorrow". It features a plaintive classical guitar with lush strings, woodwinds and percussion accents. It's great for conveying sadness in dramas or documentaries. Here's an excerpt.




Also new is "Ambient Tension Builder". This one features reverb-drenched percussion, synth noises and dissonant strings for ratcheting up suspense and anxiety. It builds to a sudden stop cliffhanger, which is available separately as a stinger. Check out this excerpt:




I normally post these items as "pipeline" items, but the curation process was so fast I didn't have time. Nevertheless, please keep an eye on this blog, as I'm likely to put news out here before anyplace else.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

What's Happening: Week of July 9, 2018

It's been a pretty quiet week for me, with the Independence Day holiday here in the States. There's generally a lull in activity in the stock music biz around this time, before the holidays. I've been spending more time promoting my existing work than developing new stuff.

I haven't been completely away from doing music, though. I spent some time this week working on some more drone type soundscapes. I sketched out four of them with the idea that I might put them on an album for meditation and relaxation, or maybe add them to my Dronescapes collection on Pond5. I haven't decided whether to do either of those things yet, but experimenting is an important part of the creative process. Here's a sample of one of them:



Keep an eye on this blog and I'll let you know what I'm going to do with this, if and when I figure it out myself.

Meanwhile, please check out Critical Seconds, my featured stock music item this week. It's a 60-second track with strings, synths and percussion for tense fight/flight scenes.

If you haven't yet checked out my EP Excelsior: Volume Two on your favorite downloading or streaming site, please click the "Excelsior: Volume Two" link up at the top and find your site. Thanks! Enjoy this week!

Sunday, July 1, 2018

What's Happening: Week of July 2, 2018

If you stopped by in the past few days, you're probably aware of this already, but Excelsior: Volume Two is now out via DistroKid. I've added a page to the blog for the new release, and added it to the top menu for the blog. It includes links to every marketplace where I know the EP is live now, and I'll be adding others if and when they come online. Please click the link up top to check it out.

My featured stock music item this week is "Cause For Optimism (Full)." This is a nice, friendly little track that's great for presentations and training videos.


With U. S. Independence Day falling this week, I don't anticipate working heavily on any new music. However, I can never tell when I'll surprise myself. I do intend to keep a regular schedule of social media posting, except perhaps for the 4th itself. Please keep an eye on my Twitter (also linked in the top menu above) for updates throughout the week.

In the meantime, enjoy the World Cup, the start of the Tour de France and lots of hot weather. Or if you're like me, stay in the air conditioning. Either way. Cheers until my next post.