"The Pack"

I am proud to announce that Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Katie Thompson is one of the nominees for the 2011 New Zealand Country Music Female Artist of the Year award!

With Katie Thompson’s 2nd album, “Impossible“, it looks like it is everything BUT impossible!  In January, Katie released her first single off  the album, “Good As Gold” and within a couple days, “Good As Gold” climbed the New Zealand iTunes Top 100 Country Songs chart as it shot up to #1 on January 25, 2011…bumping Taylor Swift’s “Mine” and “You Belong With Me” to 2nd and 3rd place.

Katie’s album “Impossible” was officially released in early March and it didn’t take long to climb to the top spot on IndieCharts.com ratings for the Country/Acoustic category and now, Katie Thompson is a nominee for two of the highest awards in New Zealand Country music – the “2011 Country Female Artist of the Year” and the “Horizon” award.

In Week 23 of 2011, IndieCharts.com has Katie Thompson’s position ranked as #1 for the Country Genre with a Position score of 7.404.

IndieCharts.com are the official music charts for Indie/Unsigned artists and bands.  Their charts are where the entertainment industry goes to find the best talent because of their credibility and successful formula.  Every artist and song that makes it on Indie Charts goes through a rigorous and lengthy process.

At Indie Charts, they have a very unique formula that is used to create their
charts.  IndieCharts.com scouts other charts, such as Billboard, Amazon, MySpace, iTunes, etc. and gets the best talent from each site.  Then, every artist and band gets heard by human ears (industry professionals) on their Panel board.

With many of the major charts, positioning is based on how many albums and songs were downloaded and sold.  Sounds like a pretty good indicator, right?  Well, the problems is…all it takes for any artist, agent, publicist, or anyone else is to simply buy thousands of their own CDs, songs, or albums and voilà, they are on the top of the charts!  T hey just bought their way to the top of the charts.  Not only is this unethical and deceptive, it is one of the reasons why mainstream artists, with all their high powered corporate backing are always listed at the top of the charts.  IndieCharts.com will never be bought or sold out, because their credibility is everything to them and they have earned the respect of the industry.  IndieCharts.com is officially licensed with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, all recognized as the leading music societies in the world.

As with every great album, inspiration comes from many sources and this album is no exception.  The title track, “Impossible” was written with some of life’s experiences Katie’s friends have undergone trying to find “Mr. Right” and as of June 12, 2011, “Impossible” is the #4 ranked Indie song for ALL Genres!  There are many ballads…very, very good ballads…that were born out of personal reasons.

In my opinion, “Impossible“, “Good As Gold“, and “Penny Drops” could all top the charts at any given time, and not just one genre, but many.  I can also see any song on this album being used as sound tracks in film and commercials.  Unlike her debut album, “Tall Poppy“, Katie has created a very unique sound with “Impossible“.  You will hear more of a Pop/Country flavor with the up tempo songs and find yourself getting lost in Katie’s silky smooth melodies in the ballads.

I look forward to seeing Katie gain world-wide recognition with this album, because an album of this quality should be played on radio stations in every country.  “Impossible” is definitely one of my all-time favorites and I am quite happy having added it to my music library.

I don’t ask for much, but now…I am asking for everyone to go to http://www.kiwiproamcountrymusic.co.nz/polls.html and cast your vote for this unbelievably amazing artist.  Please share the link with your friends and family and ask them to do the same…it could help bring World Wide recognition to Katie Thompson and who knows…maybe even propel her to the CMA Awards in the United States!

Finally, your “Likes” on Facebook and reviews, not only with Katie’s music, but all Independent artists is very important to their visibility on the World Wide Web and the Music Charts.  Please take a moment and show your appreciation…share your thoughts by leaving comments on CDBaby, iTunes, Facebook, here on our Blog, and elsewhere…it make a much bigger difference than you will ever know.  Thank you so much for supporting Independent Music & Katie Thompson!!!

Wolfman

It’s been a long hard journey for Poland’s Anne Marie Sunshine; but now it’s official…she just became the 61st artist out of thousands to complete a fan funded album project on Sellaband.com.

Anne joined Sellaband on November 28, 2007 and weathered the site’s bankruptcy in 2010 and the many changes affecting the site’s overall performance.  With her accomplishment, Anne becomes the 13th Pack artist to achieve this amazing goal.

The Pack artists now comprise 21.3% of all Sellaband recording artists…quite impressive indeed!

Personally, I think it speaks volumes to the quality of their music and talent as musicians.

As it is our tradition, I now invite you to watch the official congratulatory video celebrating Anne’s incredible achievement.

Esperanza Spalding Holding her Grammy

Independent Music got a huge boost with this year’s Grammy award for Best New Artist as unsigned artist Esperanza Spalding beat out the well-know artist Justin Bieber, as well as the high-profile artists Drake and Florence & the Machine.  Living in Los Angeles, the home of the Grammy’s, I caught a story on one of our local television stations about Esperanza Spalding.  As it turns out, this lady is quite talented and has taught herself to play many instruments; but ultimately settled on playing the double bass at the age of 16.

Winning a Grammy is a remarkable accomplishment and one that few artists ever experience, let alone an independent 26-year-old jazz bassist and singer.  In fact, according to the report I watched on ABC News, Esperanza Spalding’s Grammy for Best New Artist was the first time ANY Jazz artist has won the Best New Artist category.

As a huge supporter of a collection of Independent artists known as “The Pack”, I was quite impressed and excited with Esperanza’s Grammy.  Why?  Because her success proves that an artist DOES NOT necessarily need to be signed with a big label or have corporate ties to succeed.  What I did learn, however, is there were a few key ingredients that may have helped her win.  You see, Esperanza is a musical prodigy and through the years, she has acquired some famous fans and many critics have applauded her music.

“Esperanza first started playing when she was just 4 years of age and within on year, at the age of 5, she joined the Chamber Music Society of Oregon, in the United States. At the age of 20, she became the youngest faculty member at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.

While she won the best new artist award this year, she’s been around for a while. “Esperanza,” her 2008 album, spent more than 70 weeks on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart and was the most successful internationally selling debut that year. She recorded her first album, “Junjo,” in 2006. ” (ABC News, February 14, 2011)

50K Music Magazine is all about supporting independent music and since I have the same passion, 50K Music Magazine and I thought it would be a natural fit to team up and help promote the  indie artists we support. Personally, I am looking forward to this new collaborative effort.  It’s a win/win for everyone and with a little creativity and a lot of hard work…who knows, one of the artists we support may be on that stage one day…holding a Grammy.

Anyone who knows me understands the passion I have for “The Pack”.  I am proud of these artists; but completely devoted to them as well.  They are all exceptionally talented, intelligent, and super hard-working artists who all deserve out support.

Beginning in November of 2010, Radio Enkhuizen out of the Netherlands started playing music by “The Pack” on a regular basis and just last week, another radio station, Vixen FM, The Fox’s Den Radio ProgrammeVixen 101 FM out of England welcomed their music, as they played songs by 9 of the artists.  Next week, they will play music by the other artists. Additionally, I’ve submitted a couple of CDs to NPR radio from the United States…the world’s largest radio station and a HUGE supporter of ALL music.  Next, I’ll be shooting for Los Angeles radio stations…which would be the ultimate prize!  People in Los Angeles spend a great deal of time in their cars and because of this…radio is a major part of the LA lifestyle.

It’s all about reaching out to as many people as possible; because if the music is good, people will not only request it…they will buy it.

To everyone who supports independent music…thank you!  Collectively, we can all make a difference…it’s our choice.

-Wolfman

Yesterday, Apryl Evans‘ rapid accent towards her first professionally produced Album made BIG strides as she surpassed the first milestone of raising $1,000 towards her budget of $25,000.

Apryl is the newest member of “The Pack” and brings a World-class R&B Soulful sound to this impressive collection of International Independent musicians. Her song, “I Shouldn’t” is up for nomination on USA4Real.com for the 2009 Indie Hip-Hop/R&B Single of the Year. As of this writing, Apryl is leading the competition with a 7-vote margin.

For me, “I Shouldn’t” is one of the most incredible songs I have ever heard! Apryl sings about what she once had, while drowning her heartfelt sorrows.    I could feel her pain and this is something that cannot be taught…it’s a gift!

I loved the way she held the notes throughout the song.  Instrumentally, the organ and the guitar were just right!  Her vocals were perfect and I loved the soft touches; in fact, I can’t imagine anyone else singing this song as she did…in a nutshell, she nailed it!  Her backing vocals were spot on…the tempo was perfect…I simply can’t find anything but positive things to say about “I Shouldn’t“. Apryl should win a GRAMMY for this piece…it’s that good! Thank God, USA4Real.com recognized this!

I think most people can relate to her message…we’ve all been there. She did something incredibly remarkable with this composition and she was able to touch me in the deepest way possible and I thank her for that. This song has platinum written all over it!

Apryl has a lot of thank you’s to everyone who supported her, as well as some other insight into her musical style and plans for her next CD.    I hope you enjoy her video!

Wolfman