Blogs & Articles

Legendary guitarist and songwriter Martin Simpson will release his new album Some Kind of Jubilee on Topic Records, his musical home for more than two decades. The record marks a remarkable milestone—50 years since the release of Simpson’s debut album, Golden Vanity (1976)—and, in his own words, captures “my best work to date.” For this landmark recording, Martin has gathered an extraordinary ensemble of collaborators he has met along… Read more: “Some kind of jubilee” Martin Simpson

Common misconceptions In this internet, talent show era there are lots of misconceptions about how to promote music to reach a wider audience. The idea that great music will automatically attract an audience is a great idea, but not reality. The reality is that any artist is going to need external support to break out of a small circle of… Read more: Music promotion myth v reality

Towse from California I first came across Towse a number of years ago when they posted a video on my Original Ukulele Songs platform. These are truly exceptional artists and last year I released “All is fine ’til the world goes pop” featuring Towse. I’m currently working on the first of a number of mini LPs with Towse which will… Read more: Towse interview

BOOK HERE Jon Gomm, is an acoustic singer-songwriter with a revolutionary virtuoso guitar style, where he uses one acoustic guitar to create drum sounds, bass lines and twisting melodies all at the same time. The emphasis is still on the soulful vocals and song writing, and his original material is influenced by everything from Robert Johnson to Radiohead. His live… Read more: GER Live Oct 7th with Jon Gomm – “Music for Head & Heart”

Hat Tracks/Unsigned Radio – working in collaboration Intro “Hat Tracks” is a well established Internet music show presented by West Yorkshire’s Darrel Hull   AKA “Daz in the Hat”. Until recently, the show was exclusively available on Daz’s own website www.dazinthehat.com & mixcloud.com. Last month it was also featured on internet radio station www.unsignedradio.co.uk run by Sheffield based Mike Evans. Now Daz has created a… Read more: Co-operation rather than Competition?

I just finished watching “Otway, the movie” after it was recommended to me by a good friend and professional colleague. Its a fascinating tale for a variety of reasons, hence penning some thoughts here. Getting attention Otway fell on his feet in getting featured on “The Old Grey Whistle Test” in 1977, as at that time his performance of “Really… Read more: John Otway, the perfect maverick

I’ve always been a massive album fan of albums and remember back in 1970s, before cassette tapes, this was the only way to consume music. You could go into a record store and listen to an album before buying it, but unless you heard the music on the radio or borrowed a friend’s copy, that’s the only way you could… Read more: Is it still worth recording albums?

Interviewer: Mr. Cody, tell me, what does Green Eyed Records actually mean to your musician, your average musician? What does Green Eyed Records mean to you? Nick Cody: Right. Well, Green Eyed Records came from a lot of soul searching and discussions with a whole variety of different musicians, most of whom lamented the launch of being an independent musician,… Read more: Nick Cody on GER

By Rick Simmonds In my various radio management roles, I’ve been asked numerous times, “what is the future of radio?”. I’ve always responded with “just focus on content – content is the future”. Radio has surrounded us for all of our lives, and we’ve often heard the supposed death knell of the medium… “cinema will kill radio, television will kill… Read more: What’s the future of radio for musicians?

Many artists imagine that “getting signed” is the dream ticket in the music business. Yes, of course many artists receive great benefits from being signed to labels, but its useful to remember that any “signed contract” needs close attention to ensure that its a good deal for both parties involved. Here Rick Beato talks about how things don’t always go… Read more: A cautionary tale in signing a record deal?