[Bill Saunders]

Hi all, I’ve not been posting for a while, but an article on the BBC website caught my eye and I had to share some of the highlights with you (link at the foot of this post):

•   Spotify says they paid 52,600 artists more than $10,000 in 2021 (I wasn’t one of them)
•   Of those, 130 were paid more than $5 million in 2021
•   However, 99.3% of artists on Spotify earned less than $10,000 (yep, that’s my category)
•   The number of artists earning more than $10,000 has risen by 10,100 in the past year (hope yet then  )
 
And, if I wasn’t feeling insignificant enough already, get this:

•   Eight million people have uploaded tracks to its service with 60,000 new songs arriving every DAY!

Anyway, hope you are all well – I have to dash as I am in the process of uploading my new album right now – must get my 11 tracks included in Spotify’s 60,000 daily quota!

Cheers all, Bill

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60864619

[MichaelA]

Very interesting stats, Bill. From your 60K new songs a day nugget, I see why it’s often said that there is more new music than any one person would have time to listen to.

I think virality is somehow just down to chance in some ways. So good luck with your new album. Hopefully you will post one or two of those songs on here, as it’s been quite a while since the memorable ‘Man at the Gig’ 👍

[Bill Saunders]

Hi Michael - thanks for remembering "Man at the Gig" 😀. I was so happy that you had, I decided to click on your Amazon link for "Gavin and the Bodysnatchers", smiled and smirked my way through the excerpt and bought a copy. Sounds hugely entertaining, and having had many bosses display variable and somewhat alarming degrees of incompetence over 40 years, highly relatable.

I managed to upload my 11 tracks, so there were only 59,989 others to compete with on Spotify that day, and for any needle in a haystack spotters, here’s a link!

https://billsaunders.hearnow.com/predetermined

[MichaelA]

Hi Bill, thanks so much for buying a copy of my comedy thriller, which I’m pleased to say most people have enjoyed. So good luck with the read! Cheers 👍

Well done on getting the album out - yet another one in fact. I thought ‘Golden Years’ was going to be your last one for posterity, but there seems to be no stopping you now. I’ve had a random listen to a few of these new tracks, but will come back to them properly over the next few days.

You seem to be elongating the instrumental elements to your work, or going completely instrumental. I did like that nifty guitar picking on the opener, then that clever panning effect.

The title track, ‘Predetermined’ sounds like a modern hymn/anthem and sung in a most heartfelt way with nice harmonies too. The guitar break is very confident too, until it surprisingly ends - to be replaced by that amazing Spanish style start to ‘Moon Under Water’, another evocative instrumental. I liked how all the percussion fell away to leave the haunting flute then violin. Very moody stuff.

If you needed the cobwebs blowing away then track 4 is just the ticket with its manic riffing and polished solo. It’s definitely surprising how that one develops into more melodious territory, before going manic again. I think these unexpected twists you are putting into your songs is quite a feature and certainly a strength.

From there, ‘High and Dry’ sounds like it could be a film soundtrack. I wondered if you are doing all the extra instrumental stuff as you are hoping for synch deals. You’ve certainly got some ammo no to explore that territory. The vocal element to it, when it finally arrives is yet another surprise! Nice climactic ending.

I finished off with London, tonight, but will be back for more soon. Short and sweet that one, with non nonsense riffing and some tasty licks. Again quite an anthemic chorus.

All really good stuff, Bill, sounds like you’ve being living a productive time through COVID. Good luck with the streaming.

And yep, cheers for the book purchase once more. 👍

[pompeyjazz]

Just been listening to a few tracks on Spotify to boost your income @Bill Saunders Some interesting stuff. I like the flamenco fusion stuff. I'll listen to some more tomorrow. Well done !!

[Bill Saunders]

Thanks for listening guys, it’s much appreciated.

The stats in my original post brought it home to me why (for most of us at least), if we write music, it’s for zero or almost zero monetary gain. By way of comparison, my brother is a retired journalist who paints portraits for a hobby in his retirement. He’s pretty good, but no better than many on this forum are at their chosen art - the difference is he makes money from it!

And, @MichaelA I hope your chances of making a few quid are better with creative writing too!