“It’s better to have tried and failed than to live life wondering what would’ve happened if I had tried”
Alfred Lord Tennyson

My first task was to finish my album “Hanging Up My Cape.” This was months of intensive work and a very steep leaning curve but ultimately I was very pleased with the results. Once the joy of creating was over I was left with touring the album and working out how the hell I could make a living from being a solo singer-songwriter…. No easy task. In fact to this day I still don’t really know. Looking at it as a business model I can see no obvious revenue streams*…. at least not the kind that would pay the rent. Music sales are down and even majors with their marketing clout are struggling. Sync and perfromance royalties are the obvious way but that’s easier said than done.

So I decided to expand my horizons and put my eggs in as many musical baskets as possible. So I decided to try my hand as a guitar teacher. Helping others learn the trade and get as much joy from playing as I have seemed an obvious choice and how rewarding it was. So Guitar Lessons North London was born (catchy I know). I also decided to get involved in producing music for TV and Media which has turned out to be one of the most incredible things I have ever done. I realize at heart I am a composer rather than a performer and my first piece of scoring work goes live next week….. more to follow.

*when I say no obvious revenue streams I’m talking about earning a living, at my level, from performing writing and recording as a solo artist.

It’s worth stressing that everything you see is performed live using a loop pedal. Time is taken from the debut album ‘Hanging Up My Cape.’ Click here to watch the incredible animated music video

Have a listen to the album here Acoustic Jim – ‘Hanging Up My Cape’

The song ‘Prejudice‘ is excellent but Storm is my favourite not least because it is animated (I like moving pictures) and I love the way in which he addresses issues with which I too take issue. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

It’s not secret that the best acoustics in most people’s homes is the bathroom, so I thought I’d make a series of videos performing my back catalogue and a few cheeky covers from the comfort of my bathroom. The first in this series is ‘Losing, Lost, Found’ which is take from my debut album ‘Hanging Up My Cape’

Lydian Label‘s Laszlo (AKA Aaron Wheeler) produced my debut EP ‘Life Two Point Oh‘ for me way back when and had a hand in ‘Hanging Up My Cape‘ too. He is an inspirational musician/composer and has become a good friend. Todd Baker is a phenominal guitarist and featured on my debut album. Have a listen to the guitar in ‘She’s The One.’

The theme is based on the ‘Bucket List’ concept of two elderly gents who having found out they they don’t have long to live, embark on an adventure to do all the things they never made time for. The theme of the track Time, is that despite always saying that we ‘don’t have time,’ we do actually have time. It’s just a question of what we choose to do with it.

Chob’s 2D animation pays hommage to the greats like Tex Avery and Warner Bros and is filled with pathos as well as the tongue in cheek comedy that was typical of the era. Look out for a similar video for Superhero – coming soon.

The internet is saturated with millions of songs by millions of bands. Each one hoping to be heard by the ever-elusive A&R guys or major label management. Peer to peer file sharing means that in the same way as back in the 80s when I used to copy friend’s cassettes, (what else would you use a double cassette deck for?) people are sharing music but with unprecedented speed and ease. I don’t need to go round to my mates house now and record in real time. It was a given that this was going to happen so why all the furore? The major labels have the most to lose as their dwindling revenue shows but forgive me if I don’t shed a tear for them. It’s the artist that loses out.

Because of marginalised revenue from sales, record labels, management companies and publishers are all extremely risk averse. Gone are the days of taking a punt on a band, giving them an advance and hoping that 1 in 10 come good and earn them some money. Now record labels are more like venture capitalists. You have to have a product, have proven that it works and have a business plan proving that investment will yield a certain level of return. You have to have the finished product. So the musician is now not only the musical brains but also the marketing and business development brains too. Welcome to the dragons den.

I understand this and having run my own business for 3 years and worked as a marketing and business development manager, hopefully I understand what is required. I’d rather leave the commerce side of things to someone else but that isn’t an option – yet. I saved up for 3 years and recently quit my job to focus on my debut album. I invested a large chunk of money in producing an album in a top end studio, am making a music video and looking at distribution and promotion for the album. When you do everything yourself, all this takes time and money. Lots of time and lots of money. I could have done it cheaper but my mum always taught me that, “if you are going to do a job then do it properly.” I could have happily spent more time on the album but you have to know when to quit. As most artists will testify, you could carry on working on any given track forever!

Now I haven’t made the album in order to make money. I have done it because I love making music. Nothing gives me greater pleasure and I can’t wait to get back in the studio and start work on the next project. Herein lies the rub. If I can’t make any money from my album then it will be a long time before I can afford to make another album. I will be looking at licensing opportunities and arguably there is more money to be made from that but for the purposes of this post that is the reason that people should buy music. If you like and artist and want them to continue making music for your listening pleasure, then buying their music rather than downloading it for free, goes a long way to helping them.

After months of hard work and a very steep learning curve in producing an album the fruits of my labour are now available for one and all!

Please have a listen and enjoy! please also drop me line on Facebook and let me know what you think!

The album will be launched at the same time as a fully animated music video for Time – watch this space for a teaser!

In the meantime, by way of celebration, I’m giving away my back catalogue for free. Feel free to TELL THE WORLD!!!!