house concerts and 21st century touring

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Message from Fran:

We’ve done a lot this month to make the site easier to navigate and read. Almost everything you need you’ll find on the “Host Resources” page or the “Artist Log In” page. We’ve also created several nice membership options for talent agencies and booking agents.

We’ve had great feedback and a nice number of requests for the Compilation CD. It’s free to any presenter who’s interested, we just ask $3 to cover the mailing. Click the CD to order your copy. We’ve even had a few folk radio DJ’s pick up a copy as well.

On Tuesday, April 8th, I’ll be doing a tele-seminar/interview with PerformingBiz.com - the discussion will focus on tips for artists, but anyone is welcome to phone in and listen for free. Read for details.

CIYH stats and developments:

CiYH stats as of March 31, 2008:
329 Hosts
452 Artists
22,000 Monthly Visitors

In March we added 19 new hosts, and 21 new artists. We also deleted 5 inactive hosts from our listings.

New CIYH Hosts: (artist/agency members receive these by email)

New Hosts: Grubbs’, Amy & Cindy’s, Any House, Triad Acoustic Stage, Americana Unplugged, Select Real Estate, Sharon, Cobblestone Creek, Feed My Soul Series, Dancing Beagle, Rose Arbor, Harmony, ArtMusic Coffeehouse, Un-Named, Mama Bird, Music in the Sandbox, 313 Presents, Global Spirit

New CIYH Artists: (A big thank you for your support.)

New Artists: Aaron Jacobson,Chris Carder, Compass Rose, D.C. Anderson, Dan Ennis, Darren Raleigh, Davis Jones, Electric Diamond, Eve Goldberg, Gates & Goodell, Jenn Adams, Jeremy Weinglass, John Young, Juni Fisher, Mars or the Moon, Peter Cooper, Reggie Miles, Stacey Knights, Stephanie Smith, Tamara Hey

Renewed Artists: (A HUGE thank you for your continued support!)

Annie and Rod Capps, Dan Vaillancourt, Montgomery Spafford, Kenny Edwards, Rachel Sedacca, Del Rey, Rod MacDonald, Flip Peters & Larry Maltz, Drew Womack, David Milam, Rachel McGoye, Brett Ryan Stewart, Cole Mitchell, Swift Years

Merch of the Month:

The “Ask Me About My Next House Concert” shirt makes a comeback. Each shirt or item sold buys Bryan (web-guy) a cappucino, so thanks for keeping him awake for all the improvements we’re making to the site.

Legal Developments:

The Ching’s
have finally resolved their legal battle to continue their house concerts, and were 99% victorious. Here’s an article that sums up their recent results.

Also, for those of you concerned about ASCAP and BMI, an agreement is being finalized with them to make house concerts (with some restrictions) exempt from licensing fees in the United States. We’ll have more details soon…

Artist of the Month:

Freebo

If you see some old photos of Bonnie Raitt on stage, you’re likely to see Freebo holding down a 4-stringed hunk-a-wood. In recent years, he’s been doing his own thing, and doing it well. Very well indeed. Read More…

Host of the Month:

Americana Unplugged

Larry Lyon made quite a splash online recently when he wrote in his advice for making the words “benefit” and “house concert” work together. It’s trickier than you might think… but his approach is genius. Continue to his story…

Tip for Artists: Can a Simple Banner on Your Site Lead to Gigs?

Can it? Just ask Wayne Gratz! Not even a few weeks after joining CIYH, a fan saw the banner on Wayne’s site and emailed. Wayne picked up a house concert booking, a story in the paper… I can’t wait to find out what else happens…

Oh, and Wayne plays instrumental piano.

Tip for Hosts: Reaching out to nearby hosts - you are not alone!

Get out of the house! There’s nothing like meeting other people with similar interests and learning from each other…read on.

This website is sponsored by: Artists, D’addario, and AirPlay Direct.

Your feedback is always appreciated.

Thanks for all the kind comments this month! I appreciate the encouragement. — fran
.