Not only do we have to cultivate the seed of ideas and form the words and musical context in which to frame them, we have to either 1. be able to present (perform) the product (composition) or 2. secure the talents of a performer to adequately get the point of the effort across. Then, we must amass the resources and/or master the skills necessary, and invest the time to capture the performance in a medium in order to be able to present the product easily to members of the public (audience, consumers). After that, we must market, post/upload/distribute either physically or digitally the performance product to potential distribution entities and the general music-purchasing public (if we can find them). And this, all, must be done simultaneously and continually in order to remain vital. I'm not complaining, mind you, but this 'passion' with all of its joy, fulfillment, satisfaction, fun and amusement does involve a substantial amount of 'work'.
(from https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/11/trump-general-motors-subsidies-threat?fbclid=IwAR0uCf7rjN_SK2HIE3OuUgxYvCZKRFAZ9_9cHzTBVSCA_K3r7DyMQdc_WLU)
". . . the president of the United States threatening to punish a private company for making a decision based on market realities that are partially his fault is . . . really something! But the whole thing takes on some extra hilarity when you realize, for the 927th time this year, what this not-at-all-smart guy is unintentionally proposing. As Dan Primack points out, subsidies for G.M.-specific electric vehicles do not exist. Rather, there are industry-wide federal tax credits of up to $7,500 available for purchasers of U.S. electric cars, with “aggregate caps of 200,000 vehicles per manufacturer.” In other words, getting rid of the subsidy in its current form would hurt both American consumers and other auto manufacturers. . ."
(from The First Tycoon; The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles)
". . . The Bank War spun American politics in a centrifuge, concentrating the two impulses of the day into distinct parties. On one side were (Andrew) Jackson's followers, the Democratic Party - or the Democracy, as they called it - the party of individual equality and limited government. Under the slogan "Jackson, Commerce, and Our Country," they celebrated a market economy of real persons and republican simplicity. In opposition arose the Whigs, who were more trusting in the beneficial role of active government. At the time, the division between the two seemed as natural as a canyon. The Democrats had emerged out of the resistance to the eighteenth-century patricians and their culture of deference, out of battles against the limited franchise, aristocratic privileges, and mercantilist monopolies. Though their elected leaders often would make use of government's economic power, the most radical among them . . . championed laissez-faire as their definition of equal rights. . . "
. . . are honestly and truthfully a wonderfully convenient and efficient tool. Not only communication via the internet, phone service and email but all the computing capabilities all at your fingertips any time of day (or night). Magnificent.
But I don't have one. At least not yet. I most certainly have no quarrel with the power and convenience these devices provide.
Back around 2003, when I established my 'Gonzo' brand of independent music, I forced myself to explore marketing possibilities on the web from websites to social media to all the free (and some paid) music promotion and distribution services. More than ten years later, I am still exploring. Not only is there a wealth of potential to explore, new opportunities become available almost hourly.
So, you may be thinking, all the more reason to have a smart phone to enable yourself to access this wealth any and all times. Well . . . yes. But, in truth, I most certainly am not a 'gadget' guy and do not need to own the latest and greatest of all tech things available at any given time. I do, in fact, spend more hours on the laptop than many people with whom I have much in common. And I don't need to resolve questions or uncertainties regarding topics of conversation with others instantaneously. I still am able to research such things at a later time.
I don't intend to discontinue explore web potential to market music. But once I close the laptop, I don't feel the need to have all that capability in my back pocket for instant access. When I need to make a phone call, I simply pull out my ancient Samsung fliptop and make one. No need for a smart phone. . .
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music will be released April 7, 2014 Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
(from http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/the-evil-reign-of-the-red-delicious/379892/)
For at least 70 years, the Red Delicious has dominated apple production in the United States. But since the turn of the 21st century, as the market has filled with competitors—the Gala, the Fuji, the Honeycrisp—its lead has been narrowing. Annual output has plunged. And even still, a gap is growing between supply and demand from American consumers. Earlier this month, Todd Fryhover, the president of the Washington Apple Commission—whose growers produce the majority of apples in the United States—recommended that this harvest, up to two-thirds of the state’s Red Delicious yield be exported.
How did such an unlikeable apple become the most ubiquitous in the country? And as its dominion here ends, where will it invade next?
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
I know. I've misquoted the line from Field of Dreams but purposely so. The members of Oho frequently discuss art, inspiration and commitment in music. And considering the potential to exploit the business aspects pertaining to your music provided by the current technology, it has become even easier to market your music all by yourself. So should you decide that you have a musical statement to make and that your talent is sufficient to do that, why simply make a recording and stop at that? You really have to put that recording in front of every possible set of ears that you can. That is, of course, unless you really don't need to have your statement heard by too many people. . .
(from http://www.madeforsuccess.com/articles/personal-growth/achievement/seven-steps-to-achieving-your-dream-2/)
1. Dream it
Everything begins in the heart and mind. Every great achievement began in the mind of one person. They dared to dream, to believe that it was possible. Take some time to allow yourself to ask “What if?” Think big. Don’t let negative thinking discourage you. You want to be a “dreamer.” Dream of the possibilities for yourself, your family, and for others. If you had a dream that you let grow cold, re-ignite the dream! Fan the flames. Life is to short to let it go. (Also, check out my article “Dare to Dream Again,” Which has been read by close to a million people in the last 4 months alone. You can see it at the website.)
2. Believe it
Yes, your dream needs to be big. It needs to be something that is seemingly beyond your capabilities. But it also must be believable. You must be able to say that if certain things take place, if others help, if you work hard enough, though it is a big dream, it can still be done. Good example: A person with no college education can dream that he will build a 50 million-dollar a year company. That is big, but believable. Bad example: That a 90 year-old woman with arthritis will someday run a marathon in under 3 hours. It is big alright, but also impossible. She should instead focus on building a 50 million-dollar a year business! And she better get a move on!
3. See it
The great achievers have a habit. They “see” things. They picture themselves walking around their CEO office in their new 25 million-dollar corporate headquarters, even while they are sitting on a folding chair in their garage “headquarters.” Great free-throw shooters in the NBA picture the ball going through the basket. PGA golfers picture the ball going straight down the fairway. World-class speakers picture themselves speaking with energy and emotion. All of this grooms the mind to control the body to carry out the dream.
4. Tell it
One reason many dreams never go anywhere is because the dreamer keeps it all to himself. It is a quiet dream that only lives inside of his mind. The one who wants to achieve their dream must tell that dream to many people. One reason: As we continually say it, we begin to believe it more and more. If we are talking about it then it must be possible. Another reason: It holds us accountable. When we have told others, it spurs us on to actually do it so we don’t look foolish.
5. Plan it
Every dream must take the form of a plan. The old saying that you “get what you plan for” is so true. Your dream won’t just happen. You need to sit down, on a regular basis, and plan out your strategy for achieving the dream. Think through all of the details. Break the whole plan down into small, workable parts. Then set a time frame for accomplishing each task on your “dream plan.”
6. Work it
Boy, wouldn’t life be grand if we could quit before this one! Unfortunately the successful are usually the hardest workers. While the rest of the world is sitting on their couch watching re-runs of Gilligan’s Island, achievers are working on their goal – achieving their dream. I have an equation that I work with: Your short-term tasks, multiplied by time, equal your long-term accomplishments. If you work on it each day, eventually you will achieve your dream. War and Peace was written, in longhand, page by page.
7. Enjoy it
When you have reached your goal and you are living your dream, be sure to enjoy it. In fact, enjoy the trip too. Give yourself some rewards along the way. Give yourself a huge reward when you get there. Help others enjoy it. Be gracious and generous. Use your dream to better others. Then go back to number 1. And dream a little bigger this time!
Brewer’s Alley was located on what is currently South Court Street. Beer Production ceased in 1901 when a large fire consumed the brewery of John Kuhn, who was the last in a long line of brewers to occupy space along the banks of Carroll Creek. For over 153 years, from the very beginning of Frederick County, Brewer’s Alley was a fixture in the social and economic landscape of Frederick. Ninety-five years after leaving Frederick, Brewer’s Alley is back!
Brewer’s Alley’s location at 124 North Market Street is steeped in Frederick history. The first residents of Frederick held a lottery to raise money to build a town hall and market house on this location in 1765, which was completed in 1769. This structure served its purpose for over 100 years and was witness to the birth of Frederick as a city. The Market House spanned the Civil War, including the ransoming of the city by Confederate General Jubal Early.
Brewer's Alley Restaurant & Brewery
124 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701 Telephone: 301-631-0089 Fax: 301-631-1874 http://www.brewers-alley.com/
(take the elevator on the right to the 2nd floor)
and MUSIC Monday November 18, 2013 at
Brewer’s Alley Songwriters’ Showcase
Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano opens the show @ 7:30PM
. . . and truth. . .
. . . from John Kenneth Galbraith
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. "
"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite."
"It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought."
"The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.
as a form of employment for economists."
"The salary of the chief executive of a large corporation is not a market award for achievement. It is frequently in the nature of a warm personal gesture by the individual to himself."
"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof."
"We all agree that pessimism is a mark of superior intellect. "
"Politics is the art of choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. "
"Liberalism is, I think, resurgent. One reason is that more and more people are so painfully aware of the alternative."
"The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking."
"More die in the United States of too much food than of too little. "
"In economics, the majority is always wrong. "
"Few can believe that suffering, especially by others, is in vain. Anything that is disagreeable must surely have beneficial economic effects."
"In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong."
"Wealth, in even the most improbable cases, manages to convey the aspect of intelligence. "
(from huffingtonpost.com, by Bernard-Henri Levy)
". . . Could we be living in an era of such madness, one that has lost its compass and its points of reference to such an extent that this affair of one of the three major rating agencies' withdrawal of America's and then France's triple "A" has taken on such importance?
Let's go over the facts.
Here is a firm, Standard and Poor's, which fulfills its company's mission, earns its shares on the market, augments and consolidates its profits, and benefits its shareholders by offering -- as it is entitled to -- a specific product called a rating.
Here is a firm that -- and it remains within its rights, but this should at least raise some suspicions -- has never stopped making mistakes, failing to foresee any of the crises that have led the world to the edge of the abyss, from Enron to the subprimes, from Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy to that of the Greek debt.
And here is a firm, still Standard and Poor's, whose criteria of appreciation are marked by subjectivity, as is the case for every human endeavor, one whose methodologies are not only vague, but opaque and, from the little we know of them, stamped with the seal of a singular amateurism. For, if we believe what we read in Le Monde (15-16 January), this withdrawal of France's triple-A rating was the work of a German analyst who, seconded by a Slovene assistant, spent "a few months" gathering "public data", blending them with the results of "some interviews" with "ministers, members of the opposition, and bankers", and then, finally, being "bombarded with questions" during a "visioconference" by a group of "five to fifteen people", none of whom were particularly familiar with the dossier.
Yet, when the verdict falls, when, ending the mounting suspense cleverly orchestrated by its communications service, the agency renders its decree, when it publicly announces the result of the little reflection concocted by these two analysts, goaded on (once again, Le Monde's investigation) by the five to fifteen other individuals who are "more or less experts", it's a thunderbolt, a tsunami of comments and contrition, a national and global earthquake. It's as though Jupiter had roared, as though God had spoken, it's as if truth itself had just fallen from the sky -- and the few voices that attempt to qualify things with, "Yes, it's an interesting point of view, but it's only one point of view and perhaps we would do well to compare these uncertain conclusions with others" are promptly swept away by the tidal wave. . . "
What
do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html
Download
your
very own copy of
ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray
Jozwiak
For anyone who wants to accomplish anything in the music business, the name 'CD Baby' is one you show get to know, if you don't already. CDBaby.com is the easy, simple, thorough, professional, inexpensive way to market your recordings. You pay one, reasonable, upfront fee, send your music, provide all the album/artist details and they do the rest.
This is NOT a commercial. I do NOT work for CD Baby. I receive no compensation, discount or promotion for saying any of these things. This IS my blog though. And my intent is to discuss music and many of the other things that I perceive as related to music. So I am just stating what I have found to be, through my experience, FACTS.
From Wikipedia, "CD Baby began with its founder, Derek Sivers in Woodstock, New York.[when?] Sivers was a musician and scion of a wealthy real estate family, who created the website to sell his own music. As a hobby, he also began to sell the CDs of local bands and friends. He chose to make CD Baby a "utopian" online store for independent musicians. To do this, Sivers followed four main principles based on his personal preferences: **The musician will be paid every week **The musician will get the full name and address of everyone who purchases their music (unless they opt out) **The musician will never be removed from the system for not selling enough **The site will never accept advertising or paid-placement In addition, Sivers made sure to listen to every CD he sold (currently several people are employed to do this). The operation was run mainly in Sivers' bedroom.
Sivers, eventually hired John Steup as his vice president and first employee. In an interview, Sivers recalls saying to Steup: "This thing might get huge one day. I mean, we might have 100 artists here." Steadily, CD Baby grew as more artists wanted to sell their music through the website. Sivers and his employees always dealt with the artists directly.
In August 2008 it was announced that Disc Makers, a CD and DVD manufacturer, bought CD Baby (and Host Baby) for 22 million dollars following a 7-year partnership between the two companies, according to Sivers."
This is the guy who started it. I'd like to be just like him when I grow up. (He's actually quite a bit younger than me.)
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