I know there's a lot of distribution services to choose from, but if you spend a few days or a week googling and/or searching u-tube for the best one, I suspect you'll conclude that Distrokid (DK) is the most popular distributor for mid-to-nobody-level artists like me.

I didn't start with DK. I went with CDBaby for my first album because the pay-once-and-you're-done model really appealed to me. Just google "CDBaby", and you'll see in the first result that they are advertising "No recurring fees" because they know musicians don't want to have to continue paying distributors for distribution that has already occurred.

So, I logged into CDBaby in order to start entering all the data that would support album #2. However, things weren't the same as they were with album #1. CDBaby, like every successful company wanting to increase earnings, had added to its offerings as well as its conditions. I get it; you're doing well, and you want to do better.

Maybe some of y'all are strong with industry terms like "mechanical distribution", "publishing", and whatever the term is for songs that are made available for TV, movies, or commercials, but I'm not. I certainly tried to learn what these terms mean, but these expressions don't find a long-term home in my brain without a special effort, a multi-day effort I decided I didn't want to make. Maybe that was a mistake. Either way, all the legal talk motivated me to give up CDBaby and go with DK since so many people seemed to really like it.

Of course, I checked out Tunecore and some other slick services. They all seem to be enthusiastically seeking ways to increase satisfaction for their investors. I am not against capitalism, but I am sensing opportunism at work here - an effort to increase income by hook or crook.

I REPEAT: I'm aware it's on me to learn about it all. I'm just disgusted that I have to protect myself from companies acting like "We're awesome! Source: Trust us". That's why I watched many videos and read a number of comments on Reddot and u-turb about distribution services, and that's when I decided to say, "Bleep it; I'm going with DK cuz they're so easy." So, album #2 went out via DK.

However, DK seems a little sneaky in their approach. Just this week I got a charge to my credit card in the amount of $11 for "DISTROKID EXTRAS". I googled that very expression, and found a website that really jumps into the issue. (FYI: I have not vetted this website; looks safe, but could be a hacker site for all I know.) For example, they have a product called "Store Maximizer", which takes note of the fact that new streaming providers come to exist. Pay for "Store Maximizer", and your songs get pushed to the new providers. I also found a DK support article that kind-of addresses the issue.. I guess the conclusion I should make is that the internet is a very dynamic and changing thing and that these charges keep my songs relevant to the internet as it becomes and not as it was.

I realize that CDBaby doesn't give artists 100% like DK, but I'm starting to wonder which is truly the better deal.

I know about "Leave A Legacy", which keeps songs online after our credit cards stop working. I certainly would like to leave the door open to releasing more music in the future, but I just don't understand why anybody would remain a DK member for that purpose.

Anyway, I don't think I'm the only DK customer here. Please let me know why you keep paying DK's ongoing fees. Thanks.

If you're in this sublemmy, imo you have already disqualified yourself as mainstream. The mainstream has a casual relationship with music; it's basically like my relationship with a napkin; I use it, but don't care to know too much how it came to be. I know that napkin production is a complicated affair from tree to final product, but I have no motivation to learn how things happen in that world. There are probably people who dream of making the ultimate 21st century napkin, and I bet they have some wild ideas, but that's a discussion I'm not really interested in joining. IMO, this is how the mainstream deals with music; for the most part, they seem ready to discard songs they liked once they no longer provide the buzz they once provided. Once the novelty is gone, the artist and the song s/he made is forgotten.

I suppose you already realize that as far as my analogy goes, you and I are napkin engineers in the eyes of the mainstream. You're here because you have felt the magic that happens upon hearing something truly new, and you'd like to educate yourself further in this regard so you can engineer some of that magic for yourself.

That's why the band I present today is an amazing enigma IMO.

Circles Around the Sun (aka CATS) was never intended to become a band. If you read accounts of their origin here or there, you'll see they came together to make filler music for the last Grateful Dead concerts. They weren't trying to form a new band, but the feedback they received was so positive that they began contemplating what this new ensemble could do.

So, they began composing in earnest, and imo some of these songs are just amazing. For example, plz check out the first song in this performance called "On My Mind". I recommend you expand the video to fill your screen so that you can take note of the interactions between musicians.

IMO it's excessively simplistic to just say, "Well, CATS is just a jam band; staying on a single chord is what jam bands do". However, when they realized they are viable as a group, they made bona-fide compositions with a structure everybody can notice - with long stretches of sticking to a simple chord or progression - just like a "jam band".

Please behold what I consider to be a masterpiece, a song they call "Outer Boroughs". I read somewhere that the title originally was "Ouroboros", which you probably already know is a creature involved in the consumption of itself.

So, in conclusion, I present this band, CATS, as an example of a group that said, "Yes" when asked "Do you wish to be a progressive band with cool chord progressions, OR do you wish to be like a jam band that stays on a chord for as long as you can milk it?" IMO they represent an amazing blending of the two compositional strategies, and for me, they demonstrate that chord changes are not always necessary... until they are, which is when they deliver in that regard as well.

Do you know of bands like CATS? I found them by going to KEXP's u-tube channel and choosing the concert they gave there. What group(s) do you think achieve the perfect balance between simplicity and complexity in regards to their compositions? If any of you know of remarkable standout bands, t'would be nice of you to share.

Best, TD

The temptation to think about songs academically can be a real impediment in my opinion (imo), a real obstacle to making great songs. Isn't knowledge essential? Aren't we all about the business of creating songs that appeal because they have something other songs don't? Isn't it true that we want the credit of making something truly original? If you're subscribed to this sublemmy, it seems reasonable to conclude that you're here to learn ways to add this novelty to your own songs like me.

Thus, we start down the path that imo eventually leads to Dream Theater (DT). I know some people love DT; so, I must choose my words carefully. Let's just say DT doesn't connect with me. I hear 10 million notes in a short period of time, and I am compelled to honor and respect the accomplishment that it represents.... but it does NOTHING for me. Simply put, I just don't feel it.

Now, there is a group called "Arena" that has a DT-sounding album called "Pepper's Ghost" that really got my octane-a-burning, but I think it's because there isn't a whole tidal wave of unnecessary notes on it. I liked that collection of songs so much that when I bought the CD off Amazon (It was like 10 years ago), I bought a 2nd CD to give away because I was convinced the recipient would dig it. Anyway, while I dig Arena, I just haven't been able to get into DT... yet.

My point is that a composer who thinks that complexity is the key to connecting to the feeling part his/her audience is a composer who imo will fail to make that connection... unless the target audience is a bunch of other musicians. I simply have the impression that as artists, sometimes we have the obligation to honor the feel instead of the academia in our brains, which means having the courage to make simple things when we realize that they work. Who will want to hear our music years down the road when we're all dead?

This is why I suggest directing your attention to the album linked to this post because it DOES connect with me, and suspect it might connect with you too. It's an album by young-ish Canadian artist, Munya. Munya doesn't seem to have any crafty chordal tricks up her sleeve, but before you discount her, I recommend taking note of all the things she does have going on that seem to work very well. There's lots of well-implemented effects, vocal harmonies, charming guitar, dancing bass, and imo it all sounds great. Speakers placed far apart and a subwoofer greatly improve the experience, which is why I don't think that a phone's built-in speaker(s) will convey all these impressions. If you're subscribed to this sublemmy, I sure hope you are playing your streams over a real stereo. You can use the headphone jack to connect with a stereo, and if that isn't good enough for you, you can get a DAC off Amazon for under $50. If you don't have a stereo, you might want to do like me and head to the thrift stores. If you go about it patiently and systematically (in other words, NOT making a purchase during your first visit), I think you'll be very pleased at the amazing values you can bring home.

I'm also starting to think that a huge part of her accomplishment lies in her choice of melody. She obviously isn't scared to fly straight towards the Stratosphere. After all, a chord progression alone is not a sign that composing is finished. Another thing is that she does apply key changes, but they are so subtle that I notice them only when I pay close attention. Maybe there's a lot of chordal progression complexity there that I just haven't noticed!

Her chords strike me as uninteresting, but on the other hand, I got this album on repeat with no plans to stop it. The logical side of my brain is in conflict with the feeling side, and right now the feeling side is winning. What do you expect when it's late at night? That's a time of day ain't nobody trying to impress others. My academic side is protesting, but my a-- and my heart just want to sway and groove with it. Houston, we have a disconnect, and I'm trying to reconcile the two. I cannot deny that I indeed feel this music. It connects to me, and I love it. No fancy chord progressions here THAT I HAVE NOTICED. I can say these appear to be peaceful blissout tunes. IMO, this music WORKS. Why would I be interested in cerebral ideas about songs when sometimes the simple stuff gives me the hit that my soul craves?

Maybe I dig Munya's music because of all the effort applied to the song AFTER the chords were set in place. There is amazing value in reverbs configured just right.... panning tastefully applied... lovely guitar sounds, and, of course, that melody and key changes applied in a way that doesn't distract. It seems to me that sometimes THAT'S WHERE THE MAGIC IS. Maybe we shouldn't be scared to get simple - provided we tweak our knobs to get it to sound in some way that allows US to feel it. After all, if we aren't feelin' our own tunes, why would we hope that others would? I recommend listening to this lady's albums. If you think all of this is an advertisement for Munya, then my recommendation is to simply check out artists who are similar like Le Couleur or Paradis if you like dreampop or whatever they call this. Everybody has $0.02, but if you share a link that demonstrates your point, your contribution increases in value. In your opinion, what songs produce MAGIC? What songs make you want to stop thinking so that you can FEEL? What songs/artists do you play on repeat?

Hello, My Favorite Song of the Day is Loquat's Shaky Like The Flu. It's main progression is G, EbMAJ7, Bb, D7. I have been trying to understand this from the perspective of the Circle of Fourths and Fifths. After the initial G, I'd expect a C or a D, but they go to a EbMAJ7, which I think sounds lovely especially because of how the bassist emphasizes it; however, I don't understand theoretically why these chords work. Are all of these chords in a particular key? Perhaps someone strong in music theory can offer insight. Thanks.