I’m certainly not alone in understanding that independent music of all stripes and shades is a huge part of the overall music business economy. One of the biggest reasons this blog exists is because of my passion for independent music. I may occasionally get cranky about this particular chunk of the long tail [see Coldplay rant] but my overall mood is positive about the future of independent artists and musicians, hopefully aided and abetted for a long time by all the amazing music blogs that are out there.
That brings me to A2IM, the American Association of Independent Music, an indie trade organization that has finalized the lineup of the digital-only compilation album they are releasing as part of Independents Day, an international celebration of independent music occurring around Fourth of July weekend, 2008. A2IM is a non-profit operation that seeks to help independent labels gain equal access to market share – read their mission statement here.
In the spirit of helping independent music I have offered myself up for auction! See below – the lucky (?) winner of the auction gets to spend a day with me in Portland as I show them our clubs, bars, restaurants and coffee shops that form the underbelly of Portland’s amazing indie rock scene.
“A2IM has also added more once-in-a-lifetime experiences to its 10-day online auction, beginning July 4th. Activities include:
Play Guitar Hero with Roadrunnner artists Dragonforce! Dragonforce is the band behind the track widely considered to be the most challenging in the game’s history, “Through The Fire and The Flames.”
Be a music CEO for a day! One winner will get to shadow Beggars Group US CEO Lesley Bleakley for a day, operating one of the biggest indie labels in the country.
Spend “A Day with Dave!” One winner gets a personally guided noon – midnight adventure through the artistic spots of Portland, OR with Dave Allen, founding member of legendary punk icons Gang of Four. Dave is an enthusiastic Portland resident, and will share his favorite haunts with the lucky winner.
See Ani DiFranco! One winner gets a pair of tickets to see Ani DiFranco in concert July 16th at New York City’s United Palace, as well as a special opportunity to attend sound check before the show.
Proceeds raised by the event will be split between A2IM, WIN (the Worldwide Independent Network), the Recording Academy’s charity MusiCares, and a special fund that supports those working to create their own independent label groups in regions like the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. A2IM is a non-profit organization of independent music labels dedicated to protecting and advancing the place of independent labels in the national marketplace.”
To see the album track listings and for more information follow the read more link.
Final A2IM Independents Day ’08 Compilation track listing
Artist - Track – Label
Ani DiFranco – “Alla This” - Righteous Babe
Atmosphere – “You” (Live Acoustic Version) - Rhymesayers Entertainment
Black Milk featuring Fat Ray – “Take Control” – Fat Beats
Busy Signal – “Unknown Number” - Greensleeves Records Ltd.
Charlatans UK – “Murder” – Cooking Vinyl
Christian Scott -”Rewind That” (DJ Logic Remix) – Concord Jazz
Dave Barnes - “On A Night Like This” – Razor & Tie
Devendra Banhart – “Don’t Look Back in Anger” – XL Records/Beggars
Dr. Dog - “The Ark” – Cornerstone RAS
Elizabeth Cook - “El Camino” – Thirty Tigers
Feeder - “Public Image” – The Echo Label
Frank Black - “The Seus” (Charles Norman Remix) - Cooking Vinyl
Hamell On Trial - “Halfway” – Righteous Babe
Hanson – “Your Illusion” (Live) – 3CG Records
James Hunter - “Don’t Do Me No Favours” – Hear Music/Concord
Jeff Hanson - “Your Only Son” – Kill Rock Stars
Jim Lauderdale – “You Loved me Too” – Yep Roc Records
Khia - “Geeked Up” – TommyBoy Entertainment
Living Legends – “That Looks Good” (Jones Remix) – Cornerstone RAS
Pacifika – “Me Cai” (The Da Cruz Ragga Mix Radio Edit) – Six Degrees Records
Slipknot - “Purity” – Roadrunner Records
The Donnas - “Wasted” – Purple Feather Records
The Mighty Underdogs (Feat. Gift of Gab and Chali 2na) – “War Walk” - Definitive Jux
Tift Merrill - “Tell Me Something True” – Fantasy Records/Concord
Tokyo Police Club - “In a Cave” (Great Lenin’s Ghost vs. Octopus Rex Remix) - Saddle Creek Records
The album will be available for a very limited 72-hour window (July 4-6) at Amazon, eMusic, ZUNE, A2IM.org, www.independentsday08.com , and participating member websites. Anyone interested in hosting an album purchase link can do so by contacting Chris Farrell at A2IM at Chris.Farrell@A2IM.org or 212.937.8975 x 202.
In addition to our label members and associate members that have contributed to The Independents Day album and auction, A2IM wants to thank for their participation in the project:
Our retail partners at emusic, Amazon and Zune
TuneCore which is providing the digital distribution for the Independents Day album as well as the back-end royalty administration.
Echospin, which is providing the direct-to-consumer solution including member site links to purchase the album.
We thank all of these partners additionally for their marketing and promotional support to the Independents Day effort, including Guitar Center and DMDS/Yangaroo for announcing the album to radio programmers and on-air talent.
Very special thanks to Elliot Resnik and Alicia Tuckfelt of the Law Offices of Elliot A. Resnik for the process of track clearances.
For more information on Independent’s Day, please visit http://www.independentsday08.com
Do you have a winner? Who gets to go on the grand Portland pub crawl? I picture some kind of Blow Up style evening of deranged excess, but without the Yardbirds. :-)
July 5th, 2008 at 7:39 am