The other night, I was watching the documentary movie "I Need That Record: The death (or possible survival) of the independent record store" and it highlighted how the loss of such stores and the ever-growing commercialism of radio stations has made it hard for new bands and musicians to reach an audience. With this in mind, and with a certain sense of guilt that I now find myself lured by Amazon and its low, low prices, I headed over to PledgeMusic.com to see what new, independent music I could discover.
If you're not familiar with Pledge Music then be sure to check it out. Basically, independent artists raise money to fund their new album, tour, promotion etc. by offering exclusives such as signed CDs, VIP backstage passes, or special "plegders-only" gigs to supporters in return for their donations. In addition, the artist chooses a charity to support and a percentage of money raised goes to help that good cause.
There's a target amount to be raised and a certain time to do it in. Nobody gets charged anything until 100% of the target is met. The down side is that if the time limit expires before 100% is reached then all pledges are void, the artist gets no money, and the World misses out on some great new music. That's what I want to talk about today.
One of the artists who really caught my eye (and ear) over at Pledge Music was Amanda Lee. Amanda has been posting her own songs on her YouTube channel for the last few years and has always got good reviews about both the performance and the songwriting (and over 25000 views on some of them), so it's really great to see that she's finally going to put some of them out as an EP.
So far, Amanda has reached 60% of her total pledge amount and there are still 21 days left until the deadline, so now is a great time to head over to her Pledge Music page and give her your support. In return, you can get a signed copy of the CD, your name in the album credits, even a personal concert by Amanda in your own home, along with lots of other great goodies.
Just in case you need more convincing, here are a couple of Amanda's songs. Remember, these are just recorded in a room in front of a video camera, so imagine how they'll sound professionally recorded on CD and blasting out of your speakers.
Amanda Lee - "Hold On"
Amanda Lee - "Beauty of Failing"
I really, really, really want to see Amanda's record get made, so please head over to Pledge Music and help her do it. Even if her songs aren't particularly your taste, you'll get a warm glow from knowing that you've helped new music be made outside of the corporate stranglehold of the record industry. That's got to be worth something to any true music fan. If I may quote a fact from "I Need That Record", more than 50% of all music written has never made it onto CD. Make sure that this music does.
Thank You
Jason
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