"This album grew into something I couldn't foresee and didn't intend," Andrew Peterson says of his new music project. "Counting Stars has songs that are so personal I'm a little embarrassed to incude them." A beautiful example is "Dancing in the Minefields," a haunting yet hopeful song about love and marriage.

Andrew Peterson - Dancing in the Minefields from Centricity Music on Vimeo.

In my previous post, I talked about a book I'm reading right now (and loving), "The Gift" by Lewis Hyde.

At International Arts Movement, we talk a lot about radical generosity. This is one of our core values (which include wresting with the deep questions of art, faith and humanity; embodying and fostering aspirational and enterprising spirits in artists; and rehumanizing every aspect of our culture). This is something we want to see more of - artists who "get" that their art is a gift, not a commodity. Where much has been given, much is required.

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Before reading this blog, you should read these two articles first:

 

First one

 

Second one

 

Now, hopefully, this blog will make sense to you.

 

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A lifelong fan of music and the music business, Joe Kirk left his suit and tie behind in 2003 and joined Paste Media Group, best known for Paste Magazine. As the VP of Business Development, he drove Paste's business strategy, raising the funding to significantly grow the distribution of the magazine and extend the Paste brand. As Associate Publisher, he was responsible for magazine production and distribution. He launched and managed an independent label, Paste Records and a retail listening station program, Paste Recommends and also launched and produced the successful weekly Paste Culture Club podcast. He served as executive producer, producer or mastering engineer for Manchester Orchestra, Bill Mallonee, Mark Heard, Brindley Brothers, F/Stop and 21 Paste magazine samplers. After a brief stint at the music download card startup, DiscRevolt, he left Atlanta and moved to Nashville in 2007 and helped develop what is now NoiseTrade.com. Joe and his wife Betsy are passionate about adoption and have raised seven daughters.

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We're pretty stoked to announce that March = Independent Artist Month @ Undiscovered. Here's what this means for you:

MARCH MADNESS CONTEST:
Upload a song, get enough votes to be number 1 on the charts by March 31st, and win our gear, distribution, threads, and merch package sponsored by NoiseTrade, C28, and Extra Mile Merch – over $1,000 in prizes that help YOU go farther in your artistry.

What’s Included:

• Free NoiseTrade Distribution (worth $199): Upload your music and create a custom NoiseTrade widget. Fans can sample then choose to pay any amount for or tell 5 friends about your music to receive an immediate download. You receive names, email addresses, and postal codes from anyone who downloads your music. You keep 90% of what fans choose to pay. This is an indie artist’s dream. Your music gets put in front of the thousands and thousands of people who visit Noisetrade.com every week. In a viral, web driven marketplace, you can’t beat this kind of exposure.
• C28 Artist Sponsorship (worth $150+): Ever want a clothing company to sponsor you? C28 has the threads, stickers, buttons, jewelry, etc so you can play in style. You get $150 to spend on their online store plus a widget to embed on your website (if people come to the store through your website, C28 will give you a commission on the profit).
• 50 Free T- Shirts from Extra Mile Merch (worth $300+) It’s simple. Give Extra Mile your band’s T-shirt design and they’ll give you 100 t-shirts in various sizes for you to sell to your fans. Bands: Call for Free Brand Storm Consultation or Print Quote: 949-429-1000 or scottbrinson@extramilemerch.com
• A Spot on the Next Undiscovered Music Sampler  -  Our quarterly samplers get placed in college bookstores and C28 retail stores all over the nation.  This is another great opportunity to get your music heard by a larger fan base.

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