Holiday music from our listeners, our favorite tips from past episodes, a follow up with Robert on the Album In a Month challenge, and reflections on our interview with rock god Duff McKagan.

Join us in good spirits! Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa, and Yuletide tidings!

Songs in order of appearance :
Auld Lang Syne Mike Strickland With Greta Matassa
O Come, O Come Emmanuel Mike Strickland With Greta Matassa
Hope Breaks in Kevin Breuner
O Little Town Of Bethlehem Mike Strickland With Greta Matassa
Closing Songs
Silent Night Chris Robley
Making Angels Adrienne Pierce
Christmas Eve Chris Cruz
All I Want For Christmas Martin Blasick
Sam the Sleigh Phil Coley

What does Duff McKagan, bass player for Guns N Roses and Velvet Revolver, know about indie music? More than you might think. All musicians–famous, infamous, or unknown–begin from the same basic place. A place where desire, vision, and ambition move their hands to fret, hit, pluck, or punish an instrument to a perhaps obsessive degree. Duff is no exception. Just like the rest of us, he has struggled to find success in his musical journey.

In today’s episode we get two stories: the story of how Kevin, our host, comes to interview one of his musical heroes, and also how that hero has built a successful career based on some of the same DIY and indie values that we speak so much about on the show. Join us for this special interview as Duff reveals how one of the greatest rock records (ever) came together, but even more importantly, how a successful musician was made along the way.

Songwriting, record labels and music seminars, oh boy! Robert fearlessly signs up to write and record an album in one month (gulp), Kevin visits Seattle Music Tech 2007 (and shares his experience) and the Podcasters all discuss the ever changing relationship between artists, record labels and that green stuff called MONEY. Tune your click-wheels to the DIY Musician Podcast and listen to the best (and silliest) music business show on the planet!

Here is a link to the NATIONAL SOLO ALBUM MONTH website

Here is a link to the MUSIC TECH 2007 website (while it lasts)

Our closing song is by CD Baby Artist LIQUID ECLIPSE

In a time when worldwide distribution is available through companies like CD Baby for less then a pack of new bass strings, what is the use of a record label for an indie musician? These days even “major label” artists are striking out on their own for more lucrative careers as independents. So do you need a label? Are labels good or evil? How valuable are record companies to the indie music scene in this day and age?

Before you sign on the dotted line, Join Kevin in this truly valuable investigation into the pros and cons of having a label behind you. You may be surprised at what you learn.

Dylan Magierek runs Badman Recording Co. and has put out records for prestigious artists such as My Morning Jacket, The Posies and Mark Kozelek and compilations including Low and the Red House Painters.

Famed British rock group Radiohead gives away their album for free. The RIAA strikes again. Led Zeppelin goes digital. And a dog named Bucky interrupts Jourdan’s news report. Join Kevin and the Podcasters as they take a bite out of an exciting week it digital music history and discuss last week’s episode with recording engineer, Jeff Saltzman.

The closing tune is by CD Baby artist Kelly Pettit

Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” free download is Here(dead)

We mentioned this website on the show: New Music Strategies

Recording Engineer, Jeff Saltzman, well known for his work with many of the North West’s top indie artists, lets us in on some of the methods and madness that goes into engineering and recording music. Jeff has worked with Sleater Kinney, The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, Stars of Track and Field as well as many first time musicians and bands. In fact you can hardly throw a rock in Portland without hitting a musician who’s either worked with him or who is at least familiar with his work. In our interview, Jeff shares with us his humor, philosophy, and technical approach to capturing spectacular sounds and creating memorable albums.

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Clubs, bars and coffee houses aren’t the only gigs in town! In this action packed episode of the DIY Music Podcast, Kevin, Jourdan, Chris and Robert discuss Fran Snyder’s interview in Episode 08, and then share their own thoughts and stories regarding non-traditional venues. Kevin tells us how his band played the men’s department in Wal Mart. Robert shares how all his favorite bands played in a secret basement. Chris recommends the divine acoustics of playing a house of worship and Jourdan discusses how being a classical flautist can land you some pretty interesting gigs. Sometimes thinking “outside the box” can reap big rewards and bigger laughs. Join in the fun!

After you listen, share with us your experiences playing alternative venues. Leave a comment on the page or email us at:

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Fran Snyder is a musician who’s hit on something that can truly breathe life into your musical career. In fact, his website (ConcertsInYourHome.com) receives thousands of visits each month from artists and audiences looking for a more intimate, fulfilling, and profitable alternative to the club, coffeehouse and bar gigs that most musicians are used to. The fact is, what music fan wouldn’t be tickled to death to have one of his or her favorite musicians perform live in their very own home? Music fans across the country have been coming together to provide an alternative to the loud, distracting and impersonal venues where patrons often treat performers as a fixture or backdrop to their social life. In an age of instant everything and a million distractions, Fran Snyder is doing his best to change the way we think about performers and performances. So make your self comfortable, pour a glass of wine, and give Fran and the CD Baby team a seat in your home as we share with you another special DIY Music episode.

Music for this Episode is from Nathan Dalton and his band, The Dying Californian

Fran’s website, “Concert’s in Your Home” is HERE

P.S. Join Us Next Week when We discuss Fran’s interview and share some of our own experiences playing alternative venues!

CD Baby artist Jonathan Coultan, a self proclaimed “codemonkey,” blogger, and musician, hit upon a simple idea that would gain him international attention. In 2005 he began what he aptly named, “Thing a Week” an exhausting songwriting feat which involved, writing, recording, and publishing a new song every week for a year. During this endeavor, Jonathan found widespread interest in his ambitious project. Jonathan’s dedicated personal interactions with his audience, won him an adoring (if not bordering on obsessive) fan base. Listen, as Jonathan tells us of how a struggling CD BABY musician and computer programer found himself in the pages of The New York Times.

Music for this episode was by Jonathan Coulton

NY TIMES Article and video interview HERE

Jonathan wrote an article about how to sell downloads on your own music website
(Just for Us! Thanks JC!) HERE

Robert’s hair-raising blog tutorial in-progress for the blogging-impaired HERE

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Kevin, Robert, and Chris welcome Jourdan to the podcasting ranks for a special roundtable discussion. They’ve assembled to discuss the copyright issues covered by our interview with Jeff Brown in episode 5, as well as other topics related to the indie artist experience. If you haven’t already listened to episode 5, that’s a good place to start. Warning! Warning! Warning! Kevin, Robert, Chris and Jourdan are not lawyers, nor do they play one on TV. This is just an exchange of ideas and thoughts on copyright. Enjoy the show!

Check out our new Artist Forum

Learn more about music law on our Legal Resources page

“Good Copy Bad Copy” is a movie mentioned on the podcast. Watch the trailer Here

“A Fair(y) Use Tail” (a short cartoon on fair use) can be seen Here

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Copyright Law – It’s what gives a copyright owner their power. Established by the framers of the US Constitution, it was designed to strike a balance between the interests of authors, and the interests of the public. We’re surrounded by copyrights. They penetrate our lives on a daily basis. They’re what hold the music industry together. Entertainment lawyer, Jeff Brown, joins us to discuss the ways of copyright and copyright law. Mind what you learn, because you’re taking your first step into a larger world!

The featured music in episode 5 is by Craig Pilo

Errata: Jeff Brown references the “Freedom” of Music Coalition, meaning The Future Of Music Coalition: HERE

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Music promotion. Everyone from the first time songwriter to the seasoned pro, ponders the question of promoting his or her musical career. There are books, 10 step programs, and even charts and graphs that claim to have solved these weighty issues for us. All we need to do is shell out a few bucks, do the steps and be on our way to success. If only it were that simple! Is it possible that these methods and programs have been trying to attack the music promotion question from the wrong angle? That’s where Lisa Lepine comes in. She was given the nickname, The Promotion Queen, so it was a good assumption that she would be able to offer some perspective on the matter. So, before you staple another concert poster to another telephone pole in your city, take a listen to what Lisa has to say. It might be time to rethink what will really move your career forward.

The intro theme song is by our very own Chris Robley

The featured music in episode 2 is by Oh Darling