Billy Darnells Blog

Hello Everyone,

Well it’s been too long since I did this blog again. I apoligize for not keeping you all better informed, but up to this point, to be very honest with you, given the complications of a new recording program, new hardware, the addition of a new mixer in the studio, and recruiting studio musicians, there were times I wondered if it all was worth the time or trouble, and if we would ever get back on track. The good news is we have managed to survive and conquer the learning curve, and we are back on track.

The improvements we made in the studio have enabled us to record in a more efficient and speedy way, and I think has improved the quality of what we are now bringing to market. The addition of studio musicians will most certainly improve the overall production  of our product.

On the 13 th of March we released a new single to the public called ” They Dont Make Country Like They Use To “. It’s an upbeat tune about the current state of country music, and how us traditonal music lovers feel about it. Not only do I believe this may be one of the best productions we have ever released, but I also feel it is the right song at the right time. Every once in a while a song comes along that musically or lyrically isnt all that much, but it makes a statement that listeners can embrace and get behind and I believe this is one of those songs. We are expecting great things for this single release.

The DJ’s, who had the song almost a week before it’s release, have all raved about the song, and their listeners reaction to it. Dj’s who never before have shown any interest in my music are jumping on the bandwagon and playing this tune, and we sure do appreciate their support. More DJ’s will add this song to their playlists than any other song we have ever released.

We are also changing the promotional aspect a little for this next CD. Instead of releasing a full CD, we will be releasing 2 or 3 singles prior to the finished product. Part of  the merchandising plan will be to allow everyone to get a Free download of the new single. If you haven’t got yours yet , you can get one at  this website by going to www.billydarnell.com/announcements.html , scroll down to the announcement box, find the small gray box that says “Click here for your free download” and click on the text in the box. The reason we are litterally giving away this song is that we want people to see the improved quality, and to be able to really listen and hear this production, along with the fact we wanted to give something back to the fans. I would be remiss not to include the fact that it is a loss leader of sorts. We are hoping that country music lovers will start to look forward to the next CD with an anticipation of the best is yet to come, and believe me when I tell you , it is.

One other thing you might be wandering about is the paypal issue. For sometime we have talked about improving CD sales by adding a paypal option for payment at the site. After spending several hundred dollars on programs that would not load on our website, I believe we now have an option that is viable. Hopefully we will get the back end preperation work done this month to finally get it on the albums page as an option.

 Another thing we talked bout at the beggining of the year was a one hour weekly live show either on paltalk or some other venue. So far we have the camera and sound set up, but we are still working through what format or platform to use in the presentation. I love the paltalk community like they were my family, but as someone pointed out it does limit the access to the show, so we are looking at .Tv formats that should open us up to a whole world wide community. Hopefully we can find the right answer shortly.

I will leave you with a promise that the next CD will be the very best CD we have released to date from every aspect. Hopefully the changes in the merchandising platform will result in a much improved performance sales wise. Folks the best way to support an artist is to purchase his music, thats the only way you can insure that you will get to enjoy it in the future. In my mind their are great fans, they talk about how good the music is but never purchase any of it, and their are great supporters, they not only tell everyone about your music, but they go out of their way to purchase a single, a CD, or T-shirt anytime its available. I appreciate all my fans but the supporters I have a special affection for, they make it possible for me, and all artists, to keep making the music. Even when your an indie artist, and you do all your own recording and production to cut costs, you still have expenses. The equipment that has to be purchased and maintained to produce a quality product ( The recording software we just purchased cost us $699 ). The cost of the musicians  ( average $75 a track per musician ) , and the cost in distributing that product can run into thousands of dollars. So if you really like listening to an artist, be a great supporter, as well as a great fan. It’s the only way to say thank you in a manner that means something, and that something, is that you and others will continue to hear the artists that bring you hours of listening enjoyment for quite sometime.

 Thank you all for your continuing support.

Billy Darnell