From Producer Greg Hansen to Fellow Musicians

Fellow Musicians,

After my 30 years in the music business, we FINALLY have something that is EXACTLY what songwriters and singers need, to be heard and get opportunities.

YourLDSneighborhood.com has sponsored an idea fostered in the FCMA (Faith Centered Music Association) by Jeannine Lasky and Staci Peters, -it’s called the Neighborhood Jukebox. It’s just that-a free online jukebox player. (http://www.theneighborhoodjukebox.com.)

Singers and songwriters can upload demos and songs, and get them heard by producers and voted on by the public. Established artists can get more exposure for their albums. By encouraging your family and friends to go listen to your songs on the Jukebox, everyone benefits from the traffic. It’s free to listen and vote. It’s the go-to place for producers to find new songs and singers for upcoming albums. It even links to your site or your album for purchase. The Jukebox is heavily advertised on BYUTV, billboards and radio.

To contribute songs to the Jukebox, you must be a member of the yourLDSneighborhood Music Directory-the yellow pages of LDS musicians. A $75 a year fee gives you the benefits of basic advertising, as well as making it possible to upload your songs to the Jukebox for $5 a tune.

Professionals such as Jason Deere, Jon Schmidt, Jessie Clark Funk, Michael Dowdle, Alex Boye, Dallyn Vail Bayles, Dan Beck, Sam Payne and Steven Kapp Perry have all joined the Jukebox and Directory. After only two months of operation, two new people are already negotiating record deals as a result of being on the Jukebox.

But it gets better! At the end of the year, the songs and singers with the highest views and votes will be considered by a committee of professionals, to have their songs produced at no cost to them on the Best of the Neighborhood Cd.

This is such a no-brainer great deal for every musician, I have gotten completely behind it. It's a total, everybody-wins, and everyone-can-be-included thing with no downside.

Please go to the Jukebox and sign up. You can push the Contribute to the Jukebox button to pay your $75 fee and upload your songs. Instructions are on the Help button.

If you want to just listen, push the category button, then the song button, and listen. To vote and comment on songs, follow the directions given on the Join the Jukebox button.

If this all just sounds too hard, simply email me and I'll get you signed up and all set.

Remember: the greatest song ever written does no good without an audience.

Sincerely,
Greg Hansen

Performing Opportunities Abound for Musicians

by Greg Hansen, Visiting Blogger
yourLDSNeighborhood -- Music Block // Jukebox

Many singers and musicians wonder how to get opportunities to perform, but a little effort and research will turn up more possibilities than ever before.

As an example, a simple look at PositiveMusicandArts.com magazine reveals a host of events, contests, classes, venues and locations with chances to perfom for those with a good act or presentation.

The In the News column of the magazine lists five recent music and dance contests that had open auditions, resulting in national exposure or cash prizes, and those who won them.

Check your local paper: for example, The Utah Valley Event Calendar has four pages of activities going on, many that include open audition performances, and even some paying gigs.

There have been four open calls for songs in the last two months found on PositiveMusicandArts. Last week, a BYU student won $1000 for his song about the march of the Mormon Battalion.

By using a little initiative, musicians will realize that every city has their festival week and needs performers, there are artists who sing but don’t write songs themselves, and there are more performing contests than ever before, due to the spread of reality tv.

Look for city festivals, fund-raising dinners for charity, and the educational performances, dance concerts, non-profit venues and arts festivals in your area. Just by entering, and having a good presentation, you can get as many gigs as you want.

Summer events, winterfests, Christmas events, and holidays all provide occasions needing entertainment.

Those who are willing to do a little homework can go as far as their talent will take them.



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