25 percent of this EP’s sales are being donated to artists working with Brain Grenade Entertainment in the FSRP program.

D.a. Thompson, a Seattle Washington based writer, speaker, and musician is tackling some of the front burner issues of today through a unique and diverse world view. D.a. is expanding restrained horizons by mind, mouth, and music. This is a Freedom Solutions Recording Plan (FSRP) album, meaning it was achieved using organizational recording methods developed by Loren Weisman.

The goal of FSRP recordings is to help artists successfully budget and plan the production process. The FSRP also keeps the artist in control and full ownership of their music and involves giving a percentage of profits to a charity in which the artist believes.

On Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 from 4 p.m. – 10 p.m., Galerias in Seattle, WA will host the D.a. Thompson CD Release Party. An unprecedented 25 percent of Galerias’ sales will be donated to D.a. Thompson’s post production budget allowing him to take the steps to gain self sufficient, realistic success without losing excessive percentages or control of his works. Galerias is located at 611 Broadway East on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington.

More information about D.a. Thompson, the CD and release party is available at http://www.dathompson.com.

More information about Brain Grenade Entertainment LLC: http://www.braingrenademusic.com.

“Most guitar lesson videos are ‘demonstration’ videos. The teacher demonstrates something, then the viewer tries to reproduce it. My lessons use play-along videos. You start the video, and play with it till the end. The videos are easy enough that beginners can play with them in real time.”

“Most people who learn songs from the net learn ‘how’ to play parts on guitar, but they can’t really play those parts up to performance level. I know how to play chess, but I’m not a very good chess player. Play-along videos help you to develop strength, endurance, good timing and overall competence on the guitar. They insure that you’re using your practice time in the most efficient way possible.”

The lesson videos take you through a wide range of techniques like open chords, strumming, power chords, and basic lead guitar. You don’t have to learn to read music. Simple guitar parts are shown in easy-to-understand guitar tablature, or users can just follow the videos.

The response from subscribers has been very positive. With the proliferation of online guitar instruction programs, people are used to the idea of guitar lessons on the net.

Varhaug says, “These are very easy play-alongs for beginners. My object isn’t to compete with other online methods. I’m giving beginners the abilities they need to use advanced lessons more effectively. My program is all about conditioning, and structured practice. It’s probably the most step-by-step you’ll find anywhere.”

“The things I cover are techniques used in real songs. All of my lessons are tested on my students before I make a video lesson. Because of that, I think this is one of the most thoroughly tested lesson programs around.”

Each video exercise uses ‘picture in picture’ to show both hands at once, and includes studio-quality sound.

Careful use of camera angles means users can see the movements of each hand. You can see the fingertips touch the strings. With many video lessons and lesson DVD’s it’s hard to see what the instructor is doing, even with the camera close up.

The videos show both hands playing repetitive parts in time with a drum track. They work the same way as any other exercise video. The object is to keep up with the action for the length of each video.

“The videos don’t just teach you how to play. You learn to play along with music in real time. You also get valuable ear-training because you’re playing with a rhythm track the entire time. That makes it easy to transition to playing with real music, whether it’s live or recorded.”

“I work a lot with people in church music groups. You may have someone who only wants to learn four or five songs, and they don’t have an hour each day to practice. These lessons can really help in situations like that.”

The lessons run straight from your Web browser. The videos use a Flash format, similar to YouTube. The cost for a subscription is $12.95 monthly. The minimum subscription is one month. Subscribers can cancel at any time. All payments are handled through PayPal.

HoustonGuitar.com (originally GregsGuitar.com) has been operating since 2000. Since then, HoustonGuitar has distributed thousands of lesson downloads, including many free downloads. The new steaming lesson series replaces the old series that was distributed on CD-ROM and as downloads.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpF5GBYfSNM&hl&autoplay=1 400 326]

HoustonGuitar.com is a clean, readable site with free articles on topics relevant to guitarists. The site has no outside advertising, spy/adware, uses no cookies, and collects no personal information on visitors. HoustonGuitar does not see or store subscribers’ credit card numbers.

You don’t need an account to access the free content, including over an hour of free video lessons on a variety of beginner’s techniques.

Please visit www.HoustonGuitar.com, watch the video on the home page, and read the detailed lesson descriptions to decide whether a subscription to HoustonGuitar can help you to realize your dream of playing the guitar.

About Greg Varhaug:

Greg Varhaug is a musician, and private music instructor based in Houston, Texas. He has over 15 years of continuous teaching experience. He has operated commercial music instruction Web sites since 2000.

Many of the songwriters in the Golosio company (www.golosio.com) have expressed interest in this form of serial songwriting. “Now that we know this is an enjoyable project for everyone, we’ve decided to create an entire album of songs where there are at least two unique perspectives to each tune,” G added.

Meanwhile, videos were created for each version of the song, entitled “Audio Lab Test One” and “Audio Lab Test Two.” The videos, both of which were directed by the FookMovie artist’s collective, are available on YouTube as well as the FookMovie Web site.

Both videos contain images and film clips from the 1940s and 1950s, intercut with modern images to create a kind of “surrealistic art in motion,” states a spokesperson for FookMovie. There are also satirical titles and many sudden “shock cuts” and subliminal images scattered through the videos.

In addition to John Scott G, James Sotelo, and Doug Colosio, songwriters working with Golosio Publishing include Scott Joss (country, Texas swing), Mel J (hip hop), and DJ Insane (trance), as well as country writers Greg Colosio, Dave Churchill, Dennis Barney, Jim Dyer, and Wayne Dean. Doug Colosio has written with Merle Haggard while Scott Joss has collaborated with both Haggard and Dwight Yoakam.

You have heard Golosio music in commercials for Verizon Wireless, Goodyear, the Auto Club, Micron, General Dynamics, and numerous regional brands. Golosio is affiliated with the three major U.S. performing rights organizations, BMI (Golosio Publishing), ASCAP (Audio Masterworks), and SESAC (Golosio Audio Masterworks).

For more information about song licensing or to commission the creation of a new song, contact John Scott G at 818-223-8486.

Sic*Skinz Drum Wraps are available in over two-hundred current designs as well as one-off totally custom designs submitted by the artist.

Custom Wraps for other instruments and accessories will be available soon. Prices for the drum wraps are conditional based on size of drum to be covered but average between $45.99 and $119.99 each. Manufacturer Discounts are available to Drum Builders who wish to feature Sic*Skinz on their drums.

Company CEO Brian Tomassetti says, “The added advantage of our product is that it can also be used as a protective covering over the drum’s original finish, which so many of our customers tell us they are now doing. All of our customers have expressed a great interest in what we are doing, and feel safe installing our wraps on their drums, we have yet to receive a complaint.”

Beyond protecting the original finish of drums, Sic*Skinz Custom Drum Wraps may also be used to finish a raw shell as the original finish, cutting production costs for drum builders dramatically.

Sic*Skinz Custom Drum Wraps do not discernibly alter the sound of the drum when applied and are resilient enough to last the user years. The wraps are easy to install and easy to change when the user wants to “change their look.”

About Sic Skinz Custom Drum Wraps

The company was pioneered by Brian J Tomassetti who has tested and successfully implemented his wraps on numerous drum sets throughout the U.S. over the past two years.

For more information on the product, or to order online, visit www.sicskinz.com or call 800-768-4518.

“We’re excited to have David join the team,” said Christopher Simmons, CEO of Neotrope, and MIN editorial director. He adds, “David has a unique perspective on the business of music, the indie film scene, and the metrics of how the traditional business models are being supplanted by new and alternative media.”

Music Industry Newswire(TM) (www.musicindustrynewswire.com) is an online magazine covering music entertainment, music instruments and technology, industry news, interviews, and how-to articles. It was founded in 1995.

David Kronemyer started his career in the music business playing 12-string electric guitar in a folk rock band. Lacking sufficient talent to continue as a performer he began to manage bands and promote shows. He formerly was Vice President of Capitol Records and Senior Vice President of Atlantic Records. Segueing to the movie business he became President of Gold Circle Films and then President of Cerberus Films. He currently is producing records and directing independent movies, none of which have much commercial potential.

Regular columnists include Loren Weisman, John Scott G (aka recording artist “The G-Man”), and Christopher Laird Simmons. Loren is an accomplished music producer with over 300 albums under his belt, and author of the forthcoming book, “The Artist’s Guide for Success in the Music Business.” Scott G is a voting member of NARAS, has nearly a dozen albums out, and his marketing firm in Los Angeles provides voiceover and music for radio/TV; and he manages both a music publishing company and music video production firm. Simmons has been writing about the music business since 1984, is an award-winning marketing guru, is frequently interviewed by tech and entertainment publications, has composed music for two cable TV series, and he is a member of ASCAP and PRSA. He is also the author of “fractopia,” a book of digital artwork (ISBN 978-0-9710555-0-6 hardcover).

For more information, visit: http://musicindustrynewswire.com/staff

Music Industry Newswire(TM) is part of the Neotrope(R) News Network (www.neotrope.net) which includes eNewsChannels.com, PublishersNewswire.com, Send2Press.com, CaliforniaNewswire.com, FloridaNewswire.com, and over 100 other content portals.

This year NARIP’s poll generated nearly five times as many votes as last year. Several individuals stand out because they won by such wide margins in their respective categories and deserve additional applause for this: Alexandra Patsavas, Best Music Supervisor; Creighton Burke, Best Concert Promoter Executive; Jim Urie, Best Traditional Record Distribution Executive; Josh Rabinowitz, Top Music-Ad Agency Executive; Rick Rubin, Best Music Producer.

NARIP congratulates all the nominees and winners. A toast to excellence!

The National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP) promotes education, career advancement and good will among record executives. With an emphasis on becoming better informed and more effective executives, NARIP offers professional development opportunities, educational programs and seminars, the opportunity to meet and interact with peers, a job bank, a member resume database for employers, a mentor network, a newsletter and other services.

NARIP was created specifically for – and is restricted to – record industry professionals. To qualify for membership, you must work at a major or independent label, record distributor, record marketing or personal management firm. Lawyers, publicists and consultants whose main client base is the record business are also welcome.

A toast to excellence! And the awards go to:

Top Artist Manager (6 nominees)
Ian Montone (34.6-percent of the vote)
Irving Azoff
Jim Guerinot

Best Source for Music Business News (6 nominees)
Billboard (50.6-percent of the vote)
Digital Music News
Allaccess .com

Best Concert Promotion Company (6 nominees)
Live Nation (49-percent of the vote)
Goldenvoice
AEG

Best Concert Promoter Executive (7 nominees)
Creighton Burke of Live Nation (30.7-percent of the vote)
Bill Silva, Bill Silva Presents
Paul Tollett, Goldenvoice

Top Consultant / Strategist (5 nominees)
Ann Jones, Music Today (40.5-percent of the vote)
Eugene Foley, Foley Entertainment
Thomas A. White

Best Digital Distribution Company (6 nominees)
iTunes (51.2-percent of the vote)
IRIS Distribution
Independent Distribution Collective

Best Traditional Distribution Executive (6 nominees)
Jim Urie, Universal Music & Video Distribution (37.3-percent of the vote)
Bob Frank, KOCH Distribution
Steffen Franz, Independent Distribution Collective

Best Traditional Distribution Company (5 nominees)
Universal Music & Video Distribution (48.3-percent of the vote)
KOCH Distribution
Fontana Distribution

Top Marketing Professional, Online or Traditional (8 nominees)
Liz Heller, Buzztone (16.8-percent of the vote)
Jackie Wilgar, Live Nation
Allison McGregor, CAA

Top Music Business Attorney (6 nominees)
Don Passman (28.4-percent of the vote)
Dina LaPolt
Jeffrey T. Light

Top Music Business Writer / Journalist (7 nominees)
Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna, RollingStone .com / Suicide Girls (20.8-percent of the vote)
Jon Pareles, New York Times
Susan Butler, Billboard

Top Music Producer (6 nominees)
Rick Rubin (39.7-percent of the vote)
Mark Ronson
Timbaland

Top Music Publishing Company (6 nominees)
EMI Music Publishing (29.4-percent of the vote)
Cherry Lane Music Publishing
Bug Music

Top Music Publishing Executive (7 nominees)
Big John Platt, EMI Music Publishing 28-percent of the vote)
Martin Bandier, Sony/ATV
Richard Stumpf, Cherry Lane

Top Music Supervisor (9 nominees)
Alexandra Pastavas (30.4-percent of the vote)
P.J. Bloom, Neophonic
Gary Calamar

Top New Media Executive (5 nominees)
Tie between Bryn Boughton, IRIS Distribution/BlinkerActive and Heather Luttrell, IndieClick, both (28.8-percent of the vote)
Ethan Kaplan, Warner Bros. Records
Richard Conlon, BMI

Top Publicist (7 nominees)
Christopher Buttner, PRThatRocks.com (21.7-percent of the vote)
Alexandra Greenberg, Mitch Schneider Organization
Angelica Cob-Baehler, Virgin Records

Top Radio Promotion Executive (6 nominees)
Howard Rosen, Howard Rosen Promotion (33.2-percent of the vote)
Chris Lopes, Interscope Records
Bill Burrs, RCA Records

Top Record Company President or CEO (7 nominees)
Jimmy Iovine, Interscope Records (33.5-percent of the vote)
Doug Morris, Universal Music Group
Ken Cmar, Wonderdrug Records

Top Retailer (7 nominees)
ITunes (44-percent of the vote)
Amazon
Amoeba

Top Sales Executive (6 nominees)
Amy Zaret, Warner Bros. Records (25.9-percent of the vote)
Ron Spaulding, Fontana
Dave Stein

Top Auditor / CPA (6 nominees)
Fred Wolinsky (22.6-percent of the vote)
Matt Jones
Matt Hurewitz

Top Royalty Tracker / Collector (5 nominees)
Jon R. Hichborn, Records On The Wall (38.8-percent of the vote)
Eric Palmquist, Walt Disney Music Company
Julia Burzan, AMRA

Best music business conference or event (9 nominees)
SXSW (41.3-percent of the vote)
MIDEM
Tie between CMJ and Billboard Film & TV

Best music or record industry association(s) (3 nominees)
Association of Independent Music Publishers (49.6-percent of the vote)
California Copyright Conference
Recording Academy

Top Music-Brand Executive (7 nominees)
Steffan Franz & Greg Gordon, epiphyterecords .com (21.7-percent of the vote)
Del Bryant, BMI
Bryn Boughton, BlinkerActive

Top Brand-Music Executive (6 nominees)
Chad Vogelsong, JVC (24.7-percent of the vote)
Dante Piacenta, Elias Arts
Ember Harker, Creative Metaphor Design

Top Music-Ad Agency Executive (5 nominees)
Josh Rabinowitz, Grey (34.1-percent of the vote)
Ryan Fitch, Saatchi & Saatchi
Paul Greco, Young & Rubicam

Top Music-Friendly Brand (6 nominees)
Apple (66.8-percent of the vote – wow!)
Volkswagen
Target

Top Music-Brand Firm (8 nominees)
Cornerstone (30-percent of the vote)
Rock River Music
ACME

For more information, visit: www.narip.com .

Send2Press® is the originating wire service for this story.

[tags]NARIP, Tess Taylor, Best in the Biz awards[/tags]

“A lot of companies come through my office trying to sell me on their latest distribution technology and websites,” remarked Kevin Lyman, President of 4Fini Inc., Founder Vans Warped Tour. “But Audiolife clearly offers the best, most comprehensive solution for unsigned artists and bands that need a means to monetize and distribute their music and merchandise.”

The Audiolife platform allows artists to:

* Create their own virtual store with an unlimited number of downloads, ringtones, CDs and merchandise items.

* Sell directly to fans on any website, blog or social network on the web.

* Have one central place to design custom products and manage all e-commerce.

* Easily buy high quality, affordable CDs and merchandise with no minimums for live shows and events.

* Focus on making music while Audiolife handles all on-demand manufacturing, distribution, customer service and accounting.

“Audiolife was built around the specific needs of artists,” remarked Brandon Hance, Founder and CEO of Audiolife. “We have spent over three years identifying the challenges artists have when trying to build their careers, and we have created a solution that integrates all of their needs into a single website that completely eliminates the need for start-up capital. Our goal is to create a middle class in the music industry by empowering artists and record labels with the necessary tools to make money in the new music business.”

After using Audiolife’s platform during private beta, Indie Band The Harm noted: “I don’t know why it took so long for music companies to leverage the internet. Before, it was such a hassle directing my fans to several different companies to purchase all our music and merchandise. Now we only go through Audiolife – and it’s so easy to use and cost-efficient, for both our band and our fans! Glad to see there’s finally a company catching on.”

About Audiolife

Audiolife (http://www.Audiolife.com) a division of Inhance Media, is an Artist Services Company founded in 2005 by USC graduates Brandon Hance, Aaron Wiener, and Nishit Rathod. Based in Los Angeles, California, the company is currently in public beta and continues their dedication to empowering artists through new technology solutions.

Send2Press(R) is the originating wire service for this story, Copr. 2009.

[tags]Audiolife, Brandon Hance[/tags]

Music from Black Market Corp., Patrick Leonard, Nathan Morris, Kevin Lint, Avowed, Nothing Ever Stays, Not An Airplane, Jacqueline Rose and Astronauts of Antiquity will be available throughout the month of January on board all domestic and international flights.

The playlists will also be listed in various publications, such as AA’s On, and will also be featured in locations such as Landmark Theaters, Diesel and Urban Outfitters retail stores. HMG artists will share airtime alongside groups such as Cold War Kids, Oasis, The Cure, Lucinda Williams and The Verve.

Hitt Music Group is a music placement and development service located in the heart of the entertainment industry in Hollywood, CA. For more information, please contact David Hitt at (323) 230-5647.

Send2Press(R) is the originating wire service for this story, Copr. 2009.

[tags]Hitt Music Group, Beat Marketing[/tags]

Music Industry Newswire (www.musicindustrynewswire.com) is an online magazine covering music entertainment, music instruments and technology, industry news, interviews, and how-to articles. MIN was founded in 1995.

Loren Weisman is an accomplished music producer based in Seattle, Washington. Having worked on over three hundred albums, Loren has also worked on numerous television, film, video game and radio productions, from New York to Los Angeles, Boston to Seattle. Loren is also the founder of Brain Grenade Entertainment LLC, and the author of the Freedom Solutions Recording Plan. Loren has also written a forthcoming book, “The Artists Guide for Success in the Music Business” (2009), to help independent musicians achieve self sufficient and sustainable success.

Regular MIN columnists include Scott G (aka recording artist “The G-Man”), and Christopher Laird Simmons. Scott G is a voting member of NARAS, has nearly a dozen albums out, and his marketing firm in Los Angeles provides voiceover and music for radio/TV; and he manages both a music publishing company and music video production firm. Scott’s music can be found on iTunes and Delvian Records. Simmons has been writing about the music business since 1984, is frequently interviewed by tech and entertainment pubs, has composed music for two cable TV series, and he is a member of the PRSA and ASCAP. Simmons’ music can be found on Amazon, CDbaby, Napster, and iTunes.

For more information, visit: http://www.musicindustrynewswire.com/staff .

Music Industry Newswire(TM) is part of the Neotrope(R) News Network, which includes Advertising Industry Newswire(TM), California Newswire(R), CitizenWire(TM), Publishers Newswire(TM), eMediaKit(TM), eNewsChannels(TM), Send2Press(R), and many other online and traditional print publishing ventures.

[tags]Neotrope, Loren Weisman, Christopher Simmons, music industry news[/tags]

Why the offer? “Our goal is simple,” says Duncan. “We want to make agencies everywhere aware of our studio’s unique and award-winning approach to music production and sound design and ultimately earn a spot on their short list of music vendors.” Duncan also revealed that he’s on a mission to introduce creative executives around the world to GameBeat’s “uncommon creativity.”

Since 1998, GameBeat Studios has produced music and sound for the ads of globally recognized brands including Wal-Mart, Sears, McDonalds, Kraft, Miller Beer, Motorola and dozens more.

In just the past two years the Chicago-based company earned 13 top industry awards including 8 Tellys, 3 Addys and 2 Millennium awards.

“Our versatility is one of our biggest assets,” said Duncan, whose team has produced spots featuring all musical genres. “We’re not just urban music, we do it all,” he added.

To take advantage of the custom demo offer, advertising and marketing agencies can contact GameBeat at 708-283-8860.

More information: http://www.gamebeatstudios.com/

Send2Press(R) is the originating wire service for this story, Copr. 2009.
[tags]GameBeat Studios, CEO Darryl Duncan, custom music demos, television spots[/tags]