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Belleville Fans far and wide, we need your help more than
ever.
Now that the dust has settled from nearly eight straight months
of touring, we’ve all had time to let the next HUGE item on our plate come into
focus – our next record.
As you may know, the music industry is changing rapidly. We’ve
entered into an era in which technology allows artists to eschew traditional
methods of releasing, marketing, and distributing records. Most of us just
don't think it’s worth $20 per CD, when only 12%-15% will be seen by the artist
– only after they pay back the entire amount spent upfront by the label. These
days, the recording industry and the labels have an overdeveloped sense of both
how necessary and how valuable they are.
But it should be known that these aren’t bad people bent on
taking money from the artist, they are simply trapped in a business model that
is becoming outdated and useless for many artists.
Now you’re asking yourself, why are they telling me this?
Here it is. Surviving in the music industry today, especially
for bands like us, depends on developing a loyal following through live
performance. But the fact is, early on in your career, sometimes that can’t
sustain you either, especially when there are six of you. We released our first
record, Wanderin’, entirely
independently, without a record label and with investments from some early fans,
and we couldn’t have survived 2008 without the income generated from those
sales. And now, we’ve written and arranged an impressive collection of new Belleville
Outfit songs that many of you may have heard live, and we cannot wait to get
them on tape and in your hands.
So we’ve decided to try something new. We’re asking our fans
to take ownership of a project that will be 100% home-grown, and to our
knowledge, never done before. The campaign is called “Adopt a Song.”
Here’s how it works…
The way we’ve figured it out, it costs roughly $2,000 per song to record a full length
professional record, and we’re asking folks to adopt a song of their choice
from our list of potential songs to be recorded.
Now what do I get in return, you’re asking…
1. We’ll come play a private house concert for you
and your family and friends on a mutually agreeable date. (For those of you in
the Texas area, that will be
easy, but if you’re not in Texas
please do not be discouraged. We are on the road all the time, and we will make it work for you all as well)
2. The liner notes will list the song title, along
with a line next to it naming those that have adopted it. Ex. 1. Nothing’s Too
Good For My Baby – Adopted by the Smith
family and the Williams family. You’ll also receive ten free signed copies
of the album when it is released.
If you liked our first album and want to make sure there is
another one in 2009, we need to hear from you. If you are interested in
adopting a song or two I urge you to contact me at rob@bellevilleoutfit.com to discuss
it.
In fact, anyone can contribute any amount they’d like from
the link below. If you don’t have $2,000, we understand and welcome your
participation anyway. If you want to consider getting together with other
friends and family that may be fans as well, and collectively adopting a song,
that works too.
We’d like to thank you all for being there for us regardless
of whether you are equipped to donate. Thanks for taking the time to read this
rather long note as well. Music is a fan-centered industry, not a money-centered
one and should remain that way wherever possible. This is both our and your
chance to take ownership in a totally home-grown, game-changing way to navigate
the music business.
Our best to all of you – thanks for all of your
heart-warming support and hopefully we’ll have a new record for you early next
year!
Rob and The Belleville
Outfit.
To make your safe, secure donation, please follow the link below.
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Americana Music Association - #23 out of 100 for most spins nationally in 2008!