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RainMusic Review - Issue #26 - January 2000
Reviews this issue include An Online Christmas
Songbook, Bob Bakers Indie Music Marketing Resources, OddRealm Piano Sheet Music and Guitar Tabs, CDS Graphics
and CD Manufacturing, Piano Passion, NOMA Music, The Romantic Piano, Online Rock, & Rudolph's Free Sheet Music.
RainMusic Review is a monthly newsletter featuring reviews of online music resources of interest to musicians. These sites are reviewed weekly at RainMusic.com and then archived via this newsletter.
For maintenance purposes, this archive does not contain
the entire newsletter. It does however contain the prominant reviews featured each week. Subscribe Here
to get the full content delivered to you each month.
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RainMusic.com Site Info
RAINMUSIC.COM SITE DETAILS
The Music Promotion Academy: http://www.rainmusic.com/promotion/academy.htm
Independent Music Resource Center: http://www.rainmusic.com/promotion/resources.htm
Pianist Resource Center: http://www.rainmusic.com/pianomusic/piano.htm
Free Sheet Music Guide: http://www.rainmusic.com/pianomusic/free.htm
The Sheet Music Addict: http://www.rainmusic.com/sheetmusic
Feedback: email management@rainmusic.com
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Featured Reviews: Pianist Resources & Independent Music Resources
Pianist Resources
Oddrealm Piano Sheet Music and Guitar Tabs
After being recommended to us for review by three different visitors in one week, we decided we'd better take a
look at Oddrealm to see what all the fuss was about. What makes Oddrealm unique is that rather than simply linking
to other sites containing free sheet music the webmaster at oddrealm has gone to the trouble of linking directly
to the sheet music in question, then categorizing and sorting the sheet music alphabetically. This arrangement
makes it super easy to find exactly the sheet music you're looking for quickly without a lot of hassle. Someone's
put a lot of time and effort into tracking these titles down, and based on the recommendations we're seeing Oddrealm
is being rewarded with traffic and some great word of mouth advertising. Highly recommended.
Piano Passion
The Piano Passion site contains two free downloadable *.jpg manuscripts: The first features Schumann's Concerto
in A Minor, Opus 54, and the second contains Chopin's concerto's 1 & 2, Opus 11 & 21. These have been transcribed
specifically for solo pianists.
The Romantic Piano
Fans of modern, romantic piano music might want to stop the Romantic Piano page, a recent and welcome addition
to the world of 'piano music' on the net. The site is dedicated to today's contemporary pianists, and you'll find
album reviews and interviews with such well known figures as Suzanne Ciani, Jeff Bjork, and Robin Spielberg. The
site is just getting off the ground, but even so, any site that puts it's focus on the artist is very much appreciated
by this pianist.
Rudolph's Free Sheet
Music
Rudolph Nemeth, pianist and composer, offers his visitors free sheet music featuring his original Christmas piano
arrangements. Songs can be viewed as *.gif images which can be easily printed from your browser. The site contains
an interesting combination of both common and uncommon Christmas tunes. MIDI examples are also available, as well
as CDs. Titles include Angels from Heaven, O
Faithful Pine, Angels We Have Heard on High,
The First Nowell, Danielis Propheticus and more.
Independent Music Resources
Bob Baker's Indie Music Marketing
Resources
Bob offers a number of low cost resource guides for musicians
looking to get their career off the ground. Most notibly you'll find the Guerilla Music Marketing Power Course
and the Guerilla Marketing Handbook, a collection of reports on marketing and promoting independent music. Bob
Baker, the host, also offers a free bi-monthly email newsletter called The
Buzz Factor which offers some very useful tips for independent
musicians.
Get a Career in the Music Business
Brand new to RainMusic.com is our Job/Career hot list for musicians
looking to work full time in the music industry they love! Opportunities abound, including work for record labels,
independent music sites, PR specialists, production coordinators, and music reviewers. We've just posted four new
opportunities this week, with many more on the way.
CDS Graphics & Replication
While looking for a graphic designer we stumbled across CDS graphics, a company that specializes not only in graphic
and CD packaging design, but also provides complete CD manufacturing services. Not only were we impressed with their design work (they have plenty of examples on their
site) but we were very impressed with their commitment to serving their customers. CDS can design and manufacturer
your entire CD package for you. Admittedly, their prices are not the lowest you'll find, but this certainly is
one case where you'll get exactly what you pay for. If you're searching for a company do put it all together for
you, and work side by side with you in creating a package the represents you and your music, CDS is certainly a
good choice.
NOMA Music
NOMA (Network of Musicians and Actors) is dedicated to getting
the music of talented artists and musicians into the hands of people that count: A&R managers, publishers,
and Indie Labels. While we are fairly sceptical of these kinds of businesses one thing that always speaks to the
quality of an operation is good word of mouth from their clientele. And, based upon the testimonials listed here,
NOMA knows their business. Another thing that really impressed us about NOMA's site is that their current listings
are available for all to see. That's right, you can visit NOMA right now and see what kind of music their clients
are looking for listed by genre. Certainly, they've got us curious, and so we'll probably call next week. Why not?
NOMA provides an aggressive program to get music into the right hands. They also help musicians license music in
Europe, provide professional critiques, and provide a toll-free number for easy and cost free communication. Very
much worth a visit.
Online Rock
Online Rock surely ranks as one of the top online musician communities
we've reviewed here. As a member, you not only have
access to their email and marketing services, but you can create your own web site (you have complete control over
the content), with up to 25 MB of space, for FREE. Online Rock provides musicians not only the capability of selling
their music online, but the option of selling entire CD's or single track electronic downloads. In addition to
these fine services, Online rock has quite a library of music business related articles written by experienced
musicians as well as guest columnists. You'll find chat rooms, tools, and links to equipment, software and books
as well. Very nicely done.
Featured News...
Turner Classic Movies Film
Composer Competition
The Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable network today announced a partnership with Film Music magazine to host the
Young Film Composers Competition, a competition that will give young composers the rare opportunity to compose
and record a musical score for a silent film in the TCM library. MP3.com, the premier on-line digital music destination,
will be the exclusive point for contest entries. To be eligible for this contest, composers must upload their score
to MP3.com. Composers wanting to enter should visit the official contest site at the above URL for an entry form
that allows them to submit a demo score for a 90-second silent movie clip. 20 finalists will be selected from all
entries received. The grand prize winner, who will be selected in May 2000, will have the opportunity to compose
and record the score for a to-be-announced silent film.
Music Business Workshops set for year 2000
West Coast music industry consultant and expert Christopher Knab, President of FourFront Media and Music, today
announced two ways for musicians to learn how to take charge of their careers: an eight-week course titled, "Making
Money With Your Music," beginning Tuesday, January 25th , 2000 from 6:30pm-9:30pm, and a series of 11 monthly
workshops beginning Thursday, February 10th, 2000, from 6:30- 9:30 p.m., and continuing throughout the year on
the second Thursday of every month. For details, email Chris
Knab
New York Music and Internet
Expo
Friday, Mar. 03 - Sunday, Mar. 05, 2000
Bringing new music and new media together for two days under one roof, The New York Music & Internet Expo synergistically
focuses on promotional productivity for the music industry as well as securing customer loyalty to existing music
industry websites and companies in a fun, exciting and grass roots fashion, while keeping a fine balance between
artistic integrity and commercial success for all involved parties.
Indie Music Week coming to Nashville
Organizers of Indie Music Week have announced that the event will be held March 9-11,2000 in Nashville. The event
which started off as an annual event has been so popular that organizers have had to add additional events to accommodate
everyone. And, while the event is held in Nashville, it is open to all kinds of music. The last event had showcases
from heavy metal to dance!
Online Music Sales Hit
a Sour Note
While other Internet businesses, from selling books to booking tickets, are ringing up billions of dollars in sales,
Web music is still largely confined to the tech-savvy crowd despite early predictions of a blockbuster holiday
season. Companies like MP3.com Inc. (Nasdaq: MPPP) and EMusic.com Inc. (Nasdaq: EMUS) that let users download music
to their computers have generated a lot of buzz and attracted the attention of Wall Street. But complicated software,
pricey portable music devices and a battle over how easy it should be to copy songs means it will be some time
before the PC replaces the stereo system.
MUSINC - New Music Industry Discussion List
Announcing the new Music Industry e-mail discussion list dedicated to the discussion of the culture, politics,
quirks, peculiarities and specifics of the Music Industry.
Featured Articles...
How to Create
Your Own MP3 Files
With this easy-to-follow guide, you'll be creating your own MP3 files in just four simple steps! MusicMatch Jukebox
required for this tutorial!
Understanding the Music Business
You cannot succeed in the music business unless you truly understand it. Are your expectations based in reality?
Find out here. Article by Tim
Sweeney.