So the first thing to mention right now is that I’m excited to be entering into another one of my intensive songwriting periods! This will be the most intensive one I’ve done yet. Some of you know I participated in the FAWM (February Album Writing Month) challenge in February and completed the required 14 songs, a couple of which were collaborations.
The same group organizes the 50/90 challenge from July 4 to October 1, where the goal is to write 50 songs in those 90 days. I’m going in well equipped with writing resources, prompts, a fun community, and well over 100 ideas of my own (including some fun concept projects I may announce as they happen). But it will still be a great challenge to actually sit down and finish that many songs in a short period without losing steam, so wish me luck!
Some other news: As a performing musician, these last few months have been financially difficult for me, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get much easier anytime soon. There are a few venues doing live music now which I’ve been reaching out to, so fingers crossed, but still the vast majority of places I used to play are not hosting events, and many won’t be for a very long time. I’ve also just this week lost the last non-music income I was making, and I’ve decided to simply spend as little as possible and try to make do with music income only, for the summer at least.
A few people have indicated that if I had a Patreon, they would be happy to support me. I’m not a fan of Patreon, but I thought that with me trying to write so many songs, this would be a great time to test out a subscription idea for people who are interested both in downloading new demos as soon as they’re written and in helping to keep my dream afloat financially.
I’m calling it a “Dream Team” membership for the latter reason. I priced it at the fairest price possible at $10 a month (and not auto-renewed), but if you can afford and want to pay more, you can always tip me via PayPal. For that price, you will get access to whatever demos I put out, which will be emailed to you in two batches: one in the middle of the month and one at the end of the month. I can’t guarantee the number, but since I’m hoping to complete the full 50/90 challenge, I’m hoping for at least 10-20 per month. The best of these songs will get properly recorded and released on my next album sometime next year, so you’ll be the first to hear them.
Here’s how it works: You can buy a standalone membership for the $10, OR you can buy anything from my store worth more than $10, and that will get you a membership too. For example, you could buy one of my CDs or a USB for $10, a shirt with my face on it for $15, a complete bundle of all my merch (two CDs, a shirt, a USB, and stickers) for $50, or one of my limited personalized songs, also for $50.
I hope this makes sense. I know that not everyone thinks demos are worth paying for and not everyone can afford to support artists right now (or ever!), and that’s fine. This is just something I want to try out. For those who are interested, I hope you will enjoy the window into my songwriting experience during this project. For everyone else, don’t worry, you will hear the most worthy songs on a proper recording on Spotify – or wherever you like to listen – next year! I’ll also probably be sharing a few of the best demos on social media as I go, but obviously they won’t be downloadable.
Thanks for following my journey, and I hope to see everyone at a show again someday before I’m old!