My last two Guitar Sessions articles in this series have focused on my alternative marketing efforts as an independent musician in New York. I'm continuing on this thread with many thoughts I've had over the last month regarding not only creative marketing, but just the pure idea of what I'm offering as a creative person and, specifically for this webzine, as a guitarist.

Two of the most complimentary critiques I've received have characterized my music as "stream of consciousness" and "a backdrop for life", yet I'm trying to appeal to an audience that has been conditioned to think that a piece of music should not last longer than 3 minutes, and that it ought to contain vocals and grab or "hook" the listener within 10 seconds; This audience finds comfort in knowing that it can click on the scroll slider in Windows Media Player to find what it responds to, and be done with it. These days I'm asking myself, "How can I get this audience to listen patiently or on a more intimate level?" as well as, "Am I doing this for my ego or for the audience?"

We're driven to perform by our muse, but what is that about? To coin my parents' early thoughts about one pursuing music professionally with the potential risks of chasing musical "fame and fortune" - "Can't you just do it for a hobby?" That line of thinking has always made my blood boil and I'm not sure I can tell you why. Perhaps you as a fellow performer understand this. What I'm asking myself these days, however, is how to best reach my market or "fan base".

During most performances I tend to second guess and ask myself- Did they hear this, did they notice that mistake, did they like it, or did they not? After one recent show at a downtown (NYC) Bowery club I walked away with full confidence that it was one of my best sets and I didn't care what others thought. Is it about confidence, vanity or giving in to what you can't control that elicits that euphoria?

To take this to a deeper level, how do I get outside myself and my conception of this muse and discover what Mr. or Ms. John Q. Public wants to hear? Though I believe this is the quest in the final analysis, it's perhaps pure magic and nothing more as to what works or doesn't work. We as guitarists, composers, musicians should always follow our "heart". If in the end it's accepted, then maybe it is "magic" and we should consider ourselves very lucky when this happens.

With all this philosophical meandering I would now like to switch gears to a more pragmatic line of thought by telling you about a marketing format that particularly excites me. It's called podcasting.

I returned from a very successful tour of southern California in January, and have spent recent weeks pitching for shows in NY as well as the Northeast and other select areas. After sending out several promo kits the other day, I thought of a way of performing while waiting for prospective venues to respond or while pitching to venues that will either take time to get to, or be very difficult to enter. Then it hit me: Living in NY and traveling by subway almost daily, I noticed the bazillion pairs of white wires like mouse tails leading up passengers' coats to their earlobes and thought, "Therein lies an untapped audience."

Considering the success of Apple's iPod as well as the amazing algorhythm development done years ago by forward-thinking Internet mavens, i.e., the MP3 format, it's obvious we're living in a time when it has become quite possible to send good quality audio over the Internet, or store audio files in portable devices that can play them in wonderful fidelity. One thing to point out is that an iPod or portable MP3 player is not required to enjoy these programs; they can be downloaded and played back via your computer with Windows Media Player, QuickTime or a similar software-based program.

Podcasts are 20-30 minute audio (and sometimes video) programs that have become popular as a means of producing your own personal broadcast and making it available to the world. The content ranges from "soap-box" grandstanding, musical performance, instructional material, and comedy to the boundaries of your imagination. In brief, the process first involves recording your content, which if not done on digital media in the first place must be converted to digital- usually by means of a computer. Finally, the file must be converted to MP3 format by one of many MP3 software conversion products such is CDex. Then to publish it for the Internet an RSS/XML script must be written for it to be available for download. The other alternative at this stage is to use a podcasting host server such as Liberated Syndication which will (for a minimal fee) host and publish your podcast and even help with its promotion.

In the last couple of weeks I have recorded two performances, one a 30-minute "live to tape" solo concert targeting a market interested in house concerts, and the second, a session with my duo project partner, percussionist Will Romano, in a work that I will edit down to another 30-minute show, this one targeting a more experimental audience. These programs are going to be posted over the next few weeks on Libsyn.com at http://jimgoodinmusic.libsyn.com. If you are interested in sampling either of my programs, please visit the Libsyn site. My plan is to produce more ongoing shows similar to these.

Podcasting could prove to be a wonderful stage for places and people you have not yet had an opportunity to play.

Until next time,
Jim

For comments and further information visit:
http://www.jimgoodin.com
http://jimgoodinmusic.libsyn.com
http://www.myspace.com/jimgoodinmusic