I’m excited to tell you that a project I produced, recorded, and mixed mid-2011 has now been released…

The Kink Ador Three Side Single.

This release also serves as the “soft-launch” of a series I want to continue doing, called the Three Side Single. The idea is to partner up with indie bands to record and release three songs of original music, and distribute this as a $0 download to anyone who signs up to an email list. It’s kinda like The Peel Sessions, Daytrotter, or Third Man Records, but with my own little personal style and musical curation.

While in the future I may run a dedicated email list for this project, this initial release is going through the list of the Nashville indie rock band Kink Ador. The $0 download works through their website/email list – trade your email via the form on the Kink Ador website, and download all three songs.

At the moment, I’m seeing the potential for this idea before I carry forward (hence the “soft-launch” vernacular), but depending on how promising things turn out I may do more of these releases in 2012 with more bands.

Grab the Kink Ador Three Side Single here: http://kinkador.com/3ss

Happy New Year

//Jon

Since I’m in the states I won’t be posting anything today. I’m going to be out by the pool with friends enjoying their company. If I end up listening to any music today, it will be purely as a fan. If you’re a fellow American celebrating Independence Day with me today, or if you’re celebrating another holiday where you are, then you should do the same.

Happy 4th :)

–Jon
Twitter: @stsn

Photo credit: DonkeyHotey. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

It’s been so incredibly long since I last posted anything on Producer Notes. This is the first time I’ve posted anything in 2011, which is such a shame (it’s been almost a full year since my last post-that’s a shame!). Since I started Producer Notes in mid-2007, there have been quite a few stints of extended absences. As I excitedly set out to take part in the many different projects over the last three and a half years (Producer Notes being one of them), I envisioned that these creative schemes would organically loop together to complete my overall vision. But in reality they each ended up needing to be delicately tended to-hence the lack of regularly published content. But through that process I certainly have learned – and continue to learn – a lot, which moving forward is going to be very valuable.

As I was reflecting over the last three or so years of work, and lamenting my lack of consistency in posting, a question popped up in my mind…

Do you know what I do?

If you’ve been reading Producer Notes a while – and if you have, then I have unending gratitude for you – then you’re aware that I’m a record producer and music business entrepreneur. But obviously most people out there don’t read this blog. Over the last two to three years I’ve made an intentional effort to get involved in projects as more than only a record producer, projects in which I functioned as producer, engineer, marketer, and manager. One of my key intentions for making this shift was to build a stronger personal brand and awareness of my work.

But I want to stop short on the “Jon Stinson biography” and get to my real take-away point…

I believe there should always be a certain amount of work you should do for $0. I encourage recording artists to do this all the time. And let me be clear: I didn’t say “free,” I said “$0.” There is a difference.

You should always be very specific about the purpose of this type of work, and what the specific desired outcome is. Set goals and draw up a plan, before you begin, of how you will achieve this desired outcome. Think bigger than the album credit. You’re going to get an album credit for your work whether you charge $0 or or $100,000. Radical Notion (independent media) is an example of one such project that I dreamed up for this purpose.

So just as I took some time to reflect on my work and my projects, I encourage you to periodically set aside time to do the same. Every time you ship an idea ask yourself the question, “Do they know what I do?” What are your weak points? What one key thing can you do differently from this point forward to move significantly closer to your desired outcome? And if you’re working for no pay in exchange for just an album credit, hoping that “clients” will spread your name around-STOP. Think bigger, otherwise you’re selling yourself short.

Cheers to 2011. We’re already at the halfway point, and I hope it’s gone well for your so far. I’m working on pulling it together, weeding out the dead ends, and bringing Producer Notes (slowly) back to life.

I recently received a $15 iTunes gift card, and decided I wanted to do something a bit altruistic with it. Being a part of the team that surrounds indie artists, I know first hand how much work is involved on so many levels to get an artist off the ground. I know how hard it is to get the whole operation to a point where everyone involved can make a living from it.

So I decided that I wanted to use my $15 to support artists and teams just like those I’ve had experience working with-people who are just like me. Because I know what it’s like on the day-to-day level. I know first hand the sacrifices people make for a career in music. And I know exactly how tough the music business is.

So why am I telling you this? Because I want you to help me decide who to support. We’ve all got friends who we want to see make it. That we support by going out to every show they put on, buy every recording they put out, and tell everyone we know to come to their shows and buy their music too. The type of artist I’m describing might even be you, yourself!

Here’s the stipulations for this little contribution:

• I’m only going to purchase one song per artist, so I’m buying 15 songs by 15 different artists.
• The artists have to be indie artists. Either they are signed to a very indie label, have a small team of entrepreneurs helping them in some way, or they are funding their career on their own (or have an entrepreneur helping them with the funding part). The point here is that they are local indie artists that you know, bootstrapping their way. Not Coldplay, making $3 million a nite.
• The people you suggest have to want it. They have to have made real sacrifices, poured their heart and soul into their craft, and shed blood, sweat, and tears along the way. I want to know I’m supporting people who are dedicated. That there is real emotion involved. Not someone who is just a half-way hobbyist, not fully committed, not willing to do what it takes to succeed, squanders their opportunities and/or resources, or otherwise has a since of entitlement, selfishness, or general bad attitude about them.

$1 is a small contribution. But I know from experience that every contribution makes a difference. So let’s do our part to support these artists. Put your suggestions in the comments below, and sometime around May 1st I’ll use my iTunes card to purchase songs by the first 15 artists (as long as they meet the stipulations above) suggested. And if you want to suggest yourself, go right ahead :)

*Update: If you don’t want to make your suggestions in public, send an email to: stinson[AT]producernotes[DOT]com