New In The Pipeline: February 28, 2018

I have new production music items now waiting in curation at Pond5.

The first new item is yet another intro for my collection of podcast music intros. This one is called "Retro Horn Band Intro." I created and uploaded four versions: a full (30-second), shorter (14--second), outro (4-second), and a looped version. This would be a great high-energy music choice to intro your comedy or topical podcast, broadcast or vlog. Check it out:



The second item in the pipeline is a plaintive music background I call "Wistful Reverie." It's very sad and mournful, but also has a warmth and sweetness to it.



Check back here and on my Twitter feed for updates as to if and when both these items are available to license.

What's Happening: Week of February 26, 2018

This week, I have a new landing page for my podcast intro music collection, and a tweak to my home page.

This weekend, I created and uploaded a 90 second YouTube video that includes brief excerpts from my podcast intro music collection.

I also put together a fairly simple web page: http://thisbrucesmith.com/podcast-intro-music.html (careful, it opens in a new tab). The page embeds the YouTube video with a brief description and a call to action (CTA) button. The button takes you to my collection page on Pond5, where podcasters (and/or their producers) can browse to their heart's content and maybe find something they like.

I also created a custom short link through my bit.ly account and use that to link both from the low bar on the YouTube page and from the CTA button. It's http://bit.ly/podintromusic. If all goes well, I'll be able to see what sites (my website, YouTube, or someplace else) refers hits to my collection. I hope this all works out, and if it does I'll let you know.

Now to the tweak of my home page. If you've observed me at any length (and that might be a little creepy so maybe it's best you didn't), you know I have a very set routine for doing my updates (almost always on Sunday nights). Usually I update my home page (http://thisbrucesmith.com) first with my featured royalty-free item of the week. Then I tweet the clip and update my Twitter profile. Since it's almost always from Pond5, I've been using Pond5's Flash-based audio player to make things simple. However, I've suddenly noticed that Google Chrome's new security no longer loves the embedded Flash player.

Furthermore, just in the last few days I noticed that the sites I run (my music site and some others) have been seeing secure (SSL) traffic. I went to https://thisbrucesmith.com and sure enough Chrome said it was secure, which floored me. The only thing that came across as not secure was -- you guessed it -- the Pond5 Flash player.

Now, I don't know if the fact that all of the sudden my site can handle encrypted traffic is a snafu. If it's not, though, I don't want anything on there that a browser might see as unsafe if I can help it. So, I've decided to try updating my Twitter account first, then embedding my Tweet on my web site.

Unfortunately, that doesn't work here, since Blogger doesn't seem to love the Twitter script. So, I'll just keep tweaking.

That's what I know for this week. For those who didn't resort to "TL;DR" thanks for sticking around

What's Happening: Week of February 19, 2018

Here in the States it's Presidents' Day weekend. This means that students, government employees, bankers and some other folks get Monday off. For the rest of us, it's business as usual.

The big news for me is that the Aquarian Eyes EP is now available.

As I've described elsewhere, Aquarian Eyes is an EP with four tracks. Most of it is electronic/downtempo/chill. However, one track ("Soaring Spirit") is more of a mellow instrumental pop tune that features some live in the studio classical guitar by yours truly. Check my home page http://thisbrucesmith.com for an embedded preview video, plus links to download or stream the EP from iTunes, Google Play or Amazon. I hope you'll check it out.

My featured royalty-free stock music item this week is Corporate Podcast Intro 7 (Full). This is a terrific choice to set a professional tone for business, news or current events podcasts. This bright, uplifting :30 opener is great for other kinds of productions or presentations as well. It's also available in a shorter :14 version, a looped version and a :06 logo/ident version.

I have one item in the stock music pipeline at the moment. I call it "Wonder of Discovery." Think of the kinds of cinematic/symphonic music you hear behind science or nature documentaries and you'll have a good idea where I'm going with this one. I hope to be able to share this one with you soon.

I hope your week, whether short or not, is a happy and productive one.

What's Happening: Week of February 12, 2018

An eventful week coming up, so let's get right to it.

First, Valentine's Day is Wednesday. If you're still looking for music for that romantic video project, check out some of the options in my my romantic music collection. From sultry to silly, there's something in there for you.

Friday, I'll be releasing my Aquarian Eyes EP. You can preview it on YouTube.

My featured stock music this week is Epic Intro 1. It's pretty much self-explanatory. Big and attention-getting.

Meanwhile, I have two more items in the stock music pipeline. One is a simple, bright and uplifting corporate background. The other is a drone piece with overtones and washes.

That's it for now. I hope your week is happy and productive. Thanks for stopping by and for any other support you provide for my work. I'm very grateful. Take care and be well.

Aquarian Eyes Preview

I've just uploaded the preview video for the Aquarian Eyes EP. You can check it out now on YouTube.