Online Global Distribution: Demystifying How I Release a Song

This week I was encouraged to start streamlining my processes for everything I do with my music business. I thought I would start with how to distribute your single release, globally with CD Baby for only $15. Here I have outlined my process for using the member side of CD baby, hopefully, to help those of you just venturing into publishing your own music, or for my fans who are interested in the behind the scenes kind of stuff. So here it goes.

1. Record the song. I use Protools and very few studio musicians (primarily my dad and I and multiple takes). My personal studio is portable and I can record vocals anywhere. (This is another topic for a later time)
2. Make sure levels are high but not clipping visually (if they clip visually they WILL clip at a high volume of play back). I always bounce an MP3 and a WAV, but you will need the WAV for CD baby.
3. Register your song with your PRO (ASCAP, BMI, etc).
4. Complete CD baby submission 1-2 weeks ahead of your release date in order to make sure they make it global the day you want it.
5. On CD-Baby choose add new title.
6. Choose the middle of the road option for $10. If you are affiliated with ASCAP or any PRO (which you should be -- another topic) they will collect your royalties, you do not need CD baby to do this to the best of my knowledge and it’s a lot less expensive and you get the same Global Distribution.  You will also have to get a barcode for $5 later on in the process, just FYI.
7. I suggest choosing the option of PAID distribution only (not the non paid streaming sites), but this is personal preference for the artist.
8. Next, fill out all areas carefully and be sure to not make any mistakes. This will result with having to call CD baby and talk to a real human to have them fix your errors and is a time waster.  You will also get to choose your release date at this time as well. If you set it up a week or so in advance, this gives you time to do advertising across social media. If you want more advertising time, obviously plan on a later date for release. The more hype you can create, the better! People love cute announcement videos but that is another discussion for marketing.
9. You will need to upload an album sized JPEG which I always make a free one with Canva.com (This is a free, quick, easy, and asthetically pleasing online program). I then download the JPEG onto my computer and then upload it to CD baby.
10. You will then upload a WAV file of your song. (I do not master right now because it is expensive and CD baby will give you all the ISRC embedded code you need to track your song use and sales and that is the primary purpose of mastering nowadays. However if you still want mastering done for higher volume and better EQ, you can have CD baby do it!)
11. Once you submit your song, CD baby takes about 24 hours to send you a confirmation email in which you will need to log back in and check over the info you put it. Check thoroughly. (I recently submitted a song and spelt my own name wrong!) This is a nice editing feature CD baby allows before publishing your music!
12. Log in and confirm. If there is an error, the fastest way to deal with it is to call and a real person can make the correction within 10 minutes. After you confirm, there is no way to change anything!
13. Once the confirmation is complete, you are ready to go! Now just get busy telling the world so you can at least make up the $15 you just spent to distribute your song globally.

If you have any questions feel free to add comments. Xoxo

-Sara

Thankfulness and Transparency

Thankfulness and Transparency 

I would love to say my life is this glorious rock-star-traveling-adventure that I attempt to portray on facebook, twitter, and instagram, however, when it comes down to it, I am just a 27 year old girl, married with two crazy dogs, trying to make a dream come true. Granted, I do think I have a pretty amazing life, I am #blessed ;) However, I have struggled for years to "get my music out there" and actually make a couple bucks doing so. I always felt like I needed more time to really commit to my love for songwriter, performing, and producing. I believe my dad and I have some great music that can truly touch people's lives.

I have worked on my music part time through high school, my bachelors and masters degrees, and three years of teaching middle and high school English/Reading. So there is it. Nothing crazy fancy, no wild party life. No luck. No being discovered. I have worked really hard to stay alive and help support my family and my husband, while all the while working part time on my music.

I guess I wanted to write this post to just really explain my thankfulness and what is going on in my life. (I am feeling really thankful and happy today). Yesterday, we arrived in Tulsa. You see, my husband, after many years of "climbing the ladder", studying, and working many hours of overtime, got the job he has been working towards; He is a grand opening supervisor for Chick-Fil-A. This job of his, has us moving every 6-8 weeks letting us see the country and letting me share my music outside of my normal circle and online platforms. All of that to say, I am finally at a point on my life where I don't have to work a "job"; I get to work on music FULL time. No longer do I have to teach, or work at a grocery store. Therefore, the THANKFULNESS!

I also wanted to thank those of you who read this blog, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Thank you for finding my life at least slightly interesting enough to click those "follow" and "like" buttons. It means so much to me. I really hope that my music touches you and in a small way changes and/or impacts your life. That is my goal. That is why I HAVE TO SHARE IT! I do believe in the butterfly effect (Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnwddVuhW8c) and I think each little decision we make can impact others in a great way. I believe that about my own existence, actions, and art.

I hope you look forward to more music, posts, updates, music videos, online chats and concerts, doxie adventures of the Suite Life of Lily and Luna, blogs, and more. See you later.

"When You Whisper" Lyric Request Granted

It's here! "When You Whisper" is available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and Cd Baby and possibly more that I am currently unaware of. I am so impressed with the response. I have also had some requests to post the lyrics. I thought I would post them here where every one can read the lyrics and the story below. God Bless you all. Thank you for taking the time to read the story and in doing so investing in me as an artist and writer.

When You Whisper 

Holding me close in our family TV room

With the lights down low and old reruns on 

You told me news I couldn't bear to hear 

You whispered your love until the morning dawned

When you whisper to me

I love you stronger 

While I hate the suffering 

You're over me like jasmine in the spring 

I feel your hands touch my face 

Sweet kisses I taste

It's a ray of hope like the sun rising 

When you whisper to me 

Failing fast and losing your strong voice

To family and friends You had so much to say 

Long nights but you would not give up 

You whispered, and I wrote, while you faded away 

When you whisper to me 

I love you stronger

While I hate the suffering 

You're over me like jasmine in the spring

I feel your hands touch my face 

Sweet kisses I taste 

It's a ray of hope like the sun rising

When you whisper to me 

I long to feel you holding me, Love

You've been gone for such a long time

When I find a dime I know it's a sign 

You’re whispering to me from up above

The Story of "When You Whisper" #BeyondTheBucket

In March 2014 I met Felicia in Nashville. She shared her story. I was moved. My dad was moved. We approached her about a cowrite and the rest it history, or so they say... Or maybe this is just the beginning..... 

This is Felicia's story: 

As fate would have it, Sara, George and I met by chance at the Nashville Songwriters Association International spring training session last year, and in conversation, spoke of having lost  a loved one to ALS, a fatal neuro-generative disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.  I shared my story of how I had assisted my husband, Sid Valo, to transcribe the poems he wrote so eloquently several months before he died.  (He had never written any poetry in his life prior to that.)  By that point, he had almost lost his ability to speak, so he laboriously whispered the words into my ear, as I typed them.  

Rarely did Sid edit his poems; they painstakingly flowed out of him, word by word.  They are beautifully written and capture so much of what he wanted to share with those he loved.  In them, he offered words of comfort, counsel, and gratitude to all those he loved and to those who had helped him on his heartbreaking journey with ALS.  My husband’s whispers are a strong and lasting testament to love and strength in the face of adversity and death.

A month after our meeting, Sara and her father contacted me out “of the blue” and shared that they had been touched by my story.  They suggested we collaborate on a song they were in the process of writing, something I might add I’d never done. Months later, "When You Whisper" was born as a loving tribute to my husband and to all those who long to reconnect with a loved one they have lost.  

The process of conveying Felicia and her husband’s story and writing “When You Whisper” started shortly after we met.  Our commonality of losing a loved one to ALS (my own grandmother passed away from it as well) combined with our passion for music blossomed into a wonderful friendship. Less than a year later, we have had the incredibly opportunity to professionally produce and record in Nashville and create the film version in Central Florida. Our friendship can only be one of fate, divinity, luck (or whatever you would like to call it). There is one thing for certain: it is something bigger than us... much bigger. 

I truly believe we wrote this song for a greater purpose. While it started with Felicia's story, I do not believe that is where it will end. This song was written to speak to and comfort those battling this debilitating disease. 1 out of every 50,000 people suffer from ALS. While the medical community is making scientific advancements, there currently is no cure. This song is for those dear people afflicted with ALS and for their families who are so lovingly taking care of them. I hope and pray this song brings comfort and strength to the wonderful souls on this tragic and heroic journey. Hold onto the little things, even the whispers. They are precious. Savor every moment with those you love. And remember that this life is not the end. 

Please join me in sharing this song on its release day 3.3.15. 

~Sara

Goal Setting

The Importance of Goals and Success in Life. 

(Disclaimer: I am not an expert, I have just read a lot and observed lots of past successes and failures in the lives of friends and family and my own life. I post this to help and pump you up as well as myself for this new year.)

#1. You need to start off knowing that you and you alone control your destiny. As Mr. Walt Elias Disney once said "If you can dream it, you can do it." What a profound statement and it rings true with any successful person you look at. From the outside you may think that the successful and famous had it handed to them, but that is because you weren't there through sweat, tears, rejection, heartache, and the tiny glimpses of hope and little successes along the way! Trust me, these people we idolize did not have it handed to them on a silver platter (ok maybe a few did because of the hard work of their parents, but that is extremely RARE). For the most part, they all worked their asses off! And NEVER gave up, no matter what. 

         So why isn't everyone hugely successful if truly anyone can be? Well the thing is most people aren't willing to do the work for the long haul or don't "keep moving forward" when times are tough; they don't seen any gains in achieving their goals and decide to quit too soon. Which reminds me of another quote by Thomas Edison, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." WOW! 

I am the same as everyone else, it is hard to be disciplined and keep going at times. For example, on the first of the new year I ate a huge Chick-FIl-A Spicy Sandwich and Large Fry and a COKE when one of my resolutions was to eat CLEAN! (We are all weak, but the difference is who chooses to keep succumbing to their weakness versus those who get up and start over day after day, fail after fail.)...I want to give you a few pointers that I have found help me be more successful and productive in achieving my goals. 

#1. Again, you have to realize you are in charge of you. Every decision and word you speak has a consequence either good or bad. Don't blame others. If something is going wrong in your life it's your fault. Once you own that it is empowering and you can take action and responsibility for changing your life.  You only get one, (unless reincarnation is real, but I'm not betting on that) so make it count!!! Now obviously you can't control if you get hit by a car, but you could have looked before you crossed the street and you can control the decisions you can make about your attitude later and how you use negative incidents in your life. Shit happens. It happens to everyone. But you have to find a way to deal with it and keep moving forward.  

#2. Set specific achievable goals. Don't say, "I am going to get skinny."  Instead say, "I am going to lose 10 lbs by March 25th." Don't say, "I am going to make money this year." Instead say, "I am going to make $20 k in my small business venture no matter what it takes." AND write it down!!!! That's the next step... 

#3. You must have a written plan of action. If you want to lose 10 lbs you need to research and study best weight loss and exercise practices. You need to make or use a routine and keep track of your data. Make a big poster board chart and put it in your bathroom or next to your mirror. If you want to make $20k more this year, you better figure out your marketing plan and outline your daily marketing along with month and week plans for that small start up business. You have to design it with foresight, implement it, and own it. And it's ok to make a few mistakes here and there, but learn from your mistakes, and make corrections as needed. 

#4. This is huge. You must have a partner in "crime." Two heads are better than one. And "a three fold cord is not easily broken"( Ecclesiastes 4:12). If you can have more than one person on your team even better! You need to speak with this person at a designated time every week. Don't reschedule, make it happen. In your meetings you first need to recap the good and achievements you made since the last meeting. Always focus on the positive. Next spend time mapping out goals and tasks for the following week or day(s). If your person is working on the same goals as you, you can delegate tasks. If not use this person as your cheerleader and accountability partner. 

NOTE: When choosing your team: Don't choose someone who is complacent and a pushover and tells you what you want to hear. Choose an honest soul. You need a strong positive personality that can tell it like it is, but also help keep you stay pumped in achieving your goals. Choose someone who cares about you and your ambitions. 

#5. Keep your goal calendar/plan where you can see it everyday so it can HAUNT you. I keep my business calendar and paper work on my coffee table where it drives the entire family nuts! That way I never forget it! It's in the center of my house calling to me when I am running around doing laundry, vacuuming, etc.  And before you go to bed at night write down what you accomplished that day and what u have to accomplish tomorrow in a journal or notebook. Paper is better than electronic files. You can hide files on your computer. You can't hide paper and clutter in the middle of your home!  

In closing, no one ever got the six pack by dieting for three weeks and doing a few crunches. T-Swift didn't become a super star by singing once in awhile and recording an album or two. Making HUGE successes and achievements takes HUGE work!!! Are you the person that will make huge success and stay disciplined to do so? Or are you a quitter who we will find eating chips on the couch a pile of debt up to your eye balls in a few months? 

Make the best of every situation. Love others. And work your ass off with a specific set of goals and a plan. That will make you successful, not just dreaming and hoping one day you will be famous, have a six pack, and be a millionaire. It's all on you kiddo. 

Happy 2015. 

 www.SaraCrabtreeMusic.com    #SCMJourney    #NeverGiveUp

More pointers and places to learn how to be successful in general: 

http://www.andyandrews.com/ 

https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

More pointers and places to learn how to be successful in a music career: 

http://www.musicindustryblueprint.com/ 

http://daredevilmusicproduction.com/blog/

More pointers and places to learn how to be successful in health:

http://www.drfuhrman.com/ 

http://www.spartan.com/# 

Maine: An Enlightening Insight to the Music

I just returned from a trip from Maine. For those of you who don't know me well, I grew up there until I was 13. My husband also grew up there in a nearby town. We didn't meet each other until later in life. Needless to say, we try to take a trip there every year or so to visit with his huge family- six brothers and sisters, most with their own families and children. Being an only child, I have always loved big families. In a way they fascinate me. My dad had a big family, with three sisters and a brother. Growing up, I loved having my cousins around and right down the street no matter how crazy they were. Again, I was envious of all the siblings and the big family (However, now, I absolutely love being an only child! I was always the center of attention and got all the toys and at 26, I still do to a certain extent!). Mom and dad, I know we all "hate" Maine, but it does hold a certain nostalgia of times past, the rural country, and of quieter times. BUT this post is not intended to rile anyone up about MAINE, in fact it's not about Maine at all, ok it is a little.... But it's more about a music that was born from a location not many people know of and a man that was born from this place so far north my students in Florida (no joke!) were under the impression I was OUT OF THE COUNTRY! They thought Maine was in England! But boy, oh boy. That is another tangent entirely!

Upon my return from our family trip, I settled in at home after two days with a lot of thoughts running through my head. Deep thoughts that I usually don't have– what is most important to me in life, what do I really want out of life, my marriage, my career. I guess at some point we have to think about these things in order to really make our life what we want it. If we didn't we would just let other people's choices make us something we may or my not want to be.– Maybe it was the quiet slow way of the country that actually allowed me to think for a change, maybe it was just coming after all no matter the location. After a couple of days of being back I determined to pick up my guitar which glares at me every time I walk past it on my way to the kitchen or bed room. It says, "Why have you not played me? What are you waiting for? There is always another excuse." And it is true, I have neglected to pick up that black EC180 for at least a month with an array of excuses: "I am busy, tired, don't have time, not motivated, I have to focus on school." But yesterday after a conversation with my dad and a cowriter of ours and having some time to myself, I picked up that black beauty and opened my song book.

Song number one that hit home: "Cherryfield"

A little background before you read: Cherryfield is a town in Maine, about 30 miles from Ellsworth if you know where that is. It is full of blueberry fields thus the lyrics "the field turn blue about this time of year." However, the "folks are all kind of old around here" and migrant workers come in to rake the blue berries every summer. This song is a beautiful story about this intriguing place and a love story that could have and probably did happen at some point in someone's life, although it was written as a hypothetical situation, there is no doubt in my mind that this has happened. It's about a man reminiscing of his young love that summer. I always envision the man much older and in a rocking chair looking out over the blueberry fields while thinking about her and about that perfect summer so many years ago until "the summer turned to cold [winter] wind" and she was gone. Now looking back he wonders if she still thinks of him in Cherryfield.

Originally written for a man to sing, I tweaked it for myself, however, the best lyrics are for a male vocalist and are the ones presented here.

I’m in Cherryfield, I’m in Cherryfield remembering

Rolling into town every summer

There’s fathers, sons, mothers and daughters

I don’t know where they’re from or where they go

Dad said they’re from somewhere down in Mexico

They’re here long enough to get it done

The fields turn blue about this time of year

And the folks are all kind of old around here

Anyway they can’t take the sun

I’m in Cherryfield remembering when we were young

You’re dark brown hair really caught my eye 

It was flowing in the wind when I walked by

I held my breath when you looked my way

There wasn’t much to say that we could understand

But we didn’t need words if I could just hold your hand

And we’d run through the fields and roll in the tall hay

I’m in Cherryfield remembering when we were young

Tender hearts would lead us on

I’m in Cherryfield surrendering to our love

We wondered how could this be wrong?

We’d meet by the apple tree in the pasture past the quarry

While the birds would sing the bees made honey

I’m in Cherryfield remembering when we were young. 

And the summer turned to cold wind and you were gone

You were all my mind could hold

You’re still with me when I’m old and I wonder do you have these memories

I’m in Cherryfield remembering when we were young

I’m in Cherryfield surrendering to our love

I’m in Cherryfield, Cherryfield, Cherryfield, remembering 

Driving through Franklin, Maine I saw a sign for Cherryfield and this song took on a whole new meaning to me. Maybe it will never be a commercial hit, but it is so much deeper than I realized, and so well crafted. I do not care what "critics" may say, this song is a gem, and anyone who does not understand it, is just simply not thinking enough, or did not really listen for the back story. Yes it is deeper than Country Music today, but that is the beauty of it. It is not cleaning and driving music. It is thought and emotion provoking music that requires someone to use their brain and maybe even do some research.

The second song that hit home: "Holding On"

Yet, another song that is a little too deep and maybe a little depressing for some. But I love the passion and the rawness of the lyrics. I love that it portrays the struggles of most Americans and does not sugar coat the hard work and disappointment that many working families go through.  Furthermore, it addresses the cookie cutter answers that most people face in struggles of their own when they seek advice. However, at the end there is a little bit of hope, and that hope lies in family and love–the things that are really the most important in life. Again, on my visit to Maine, you see the hard working men, women and family, and how relatable this song is to those of that life style. I am starting to see dad's music in a new light.

On and on and on it goes 

Another week and I don’t know

How to make ends meet 

When the money’s gone by mid-week

The lights, the phone, the cigarettes

The kids are sick. The dog needs a vet

The gas, the food, the credit cards

The mortgage payoff seems so far away

I’ll never see the end

Every God damn dime I’ve ever made gets eaten up by life

Can’t save a cent to save my soul

I’m tired of this fight

If I failed to plan I must have planned to fail 

Said the preacher man after I prayed

His words of wisdom don’t help me know

I’m holding on til I get paid

Who makes the rules? Who says they’re fair?

They charge me more and no one cares

The tax man and insurance guy jack their rates through the sky

They cut my hours they cut my pay

They’re losing money so they say

The benefits dried up and gone 

Seems like everyone has got a legal right to steal a piece of me

Every God damn dime I’ve ever made gets eaten up by life

Can’t save a cent to save my soul

I’m tired of this fight

If I failed to plan I must have planned to fail 

Said the preacher man after I prayed

His words of wisdom don’t help me know

I’m holding on til I get paid

Female Lyric Response: I know you’re holding on, things will be better some day

If we can hang onto our love, we’ll be ok

The Third song that made me think: "Here I Go"
I don't know if my parents have ever been in a fight to this extreme, and if they ever were, they resolved it and have continued to be married for 36 years! However, this song just screams who they are. My dad is quiet at times, "the door to the depth of me is often locked." He did have a guitar that was bought at a pawn shop, they have a ton of photos from their life and they have always collected shells from the beach. And I love the theme of humility and doing what the other person wants because you do love them so much; "I'd rather be staying, but you said leave" so I guess I will go now, but I am still holding onto hope that you will change your mind when you remember the past and life that we have shared. All of that to say this is why I love it so much.

I’ve been packing all day

And I’ve had time to think

My life don’t fit into just any box

I know what you said

Some things you were right

The door to the depth of me is often locked

Here I go

I’ve got everything I came with

I’ve got boxes of things and memories

Seems I’ve kept my lonely heart

Here I go

I know now what a shame it is

Oh I’d rather be staying 

But you said leave and

It’s tearing me apart

What about all these photos and that TV we bought

What about all these shells we found on the beach

There’s my old guitar that you got out of hawk

And you convincing me that my dreams were in reach 

I’ve been down this road before

More than a time or two

This time it’s different girl

This time I love you

As I’m writing this note I hope you find

I’ll be praying these memories will be changing your mind

I’d rather be staying, but here I go

In conclusion, the other songs hit home as well, but only in certain places where I know where my dad was coming from when he wrote specific lines of the lyrics. These songs are the ones that are really full of my parents' lives and history. I said it before, but this music is poetry. It really does make you think a little more, and you may need to know the backstory or just do a little research. That is why I love it. I do not want to settle for songs about trucks, beer, and girls and superficial things that the world deems as important. The reason we create and write is because it is an outlet for life; an expression of who we are. If you are a writer, never let that go. Success doesn't always mean you are on the radio, success in writing means that you accurately portray what you want to portray.