ReverbNation

I am very happy with ReverbNation. The only negative is that sales reports run 2 months behind. I became a member in August, 2009. One month later my 2nd Cd "Like The Freak You Are" was made available for downloads worldwide (iTunes, Cd Baby, Amazon, Napster, Rhapsody and others). Around the last week of December my 1st Cd "Songs From The Gallery" was also made available for downloads. The cool thing about ReverbNation is that they also act as your bank for all the download transactions. They operate like a social networking service, where the artist has direct contacts with fans, labels and other artists. Numbers are then collected, and calculated, and the artist is able to observe their current rankings through various charts. As of this date I am ranked #5 on the local alternative artist chart. I have 496 fans, 1,062 widget hits, 394 visits and 141 plays. My current band equity rating is 124 (5 days ago my rating was 40 and I was ranked #11). Thank you to all my new friends and fans for taking the time to notice me !!!


On 1-23-10, I climbed to #2 on the local alternative chart. 603 fans, 1,183 widget hits, 534 visits, 179 plays, 26 video views and a 234 equity rating (#1 has a 2545 rating). I am #922 on the global alternative chart and #10,998 on the global all genres chart. To assist me in my long climb to the local #1 spot, I have activated my Street Team (7 members). I launched Operation Foxman, which means the members will compete to see who can generate the most music plays for me by placing my tune widgets. The numbers for each will be kept by ReverbNation so I can see who is trying and who isn't. My reward to the top promoter is one autographed Cd. This is the first time I've launched a Street Team mission, so we'll see how it goes.

On 1-29-10, I got my bebo site organized and ready to roll. I linked into bebo with the ReverbNation "My Band" application. I have a tune widget set up there, and my "Shake For Me Now" video is set to autoplay when people visit the site. Just like My Space, all activity on the tune widget will register with ReverbNation. I am excited that I have a another platform for reaching fans !!!

As of 2-4-10 I am still currently #2 on the local alternative chart. I have been steadily climbing the last couple of weeks (12 days). 880 fans (+277), 1493 widget hits (+310), 1138 visits (+604), 320 plays (+141), 50 video views (+24) and a 607 equity rating (+373). I am #395 on the global alternative chart (+527), and #4391 on the global all genres chart (+6,607). I now have 18 people in my Street Team (+11), so I launched my 2nd mission "Operation Foxman 2". Once again, the goal is to spread my tune widgets, the reward to the winner is one autographed Freak Cd.

2-8-10, I opened my ReverbNation Store. How cool is this ? They allow you to design and sell your own clothes (t-shirts, hats, etc.). ReverbNation takes care of everything(creating the item (placing your decals), shipping and all of money transactions). They have a fee for all this that is listed when you design your item. After you have created the item, then you decide what the markup will be. This is the amount you make when that item is sold. They will also make and sell your Cd's. I had to send both of my Cd's in when I joined, so I'm hopeful they will be able to use them to transpose my Cd artwork onto the ones sold through the store. I currently have 12 items for sale which includes men's and women's t-shirts (short sleeve and long sleeve), hats and even a cup ! All the items have "Foxman" and my website written on them. Awesome !!!

2-14-10, Happy Valentine's Day to me !! I just registered my 1,000th fan. My other numbers are 780 band equity, 1633 visits, 1725 widget hits, 394 song plays, 52 video plays. My global rank for all genres is 3428, global alternative is 300 and I'm still #2 locally. My first Street Team mission was a failure and didn't generate any song plays ... Oh well. My 2nd mission is still active until 3-1-10, and it isn't doing well either. In the future instead of offering an autographed Cd, I think I am going to try offering 3-5 downloads of the winners music as a reward. It should give more incentive to the members to try harder.

3-23-10 ... my numbers for March are 1,390 fans, 911 band equity, 2,452 visits, 3,073 widget hits, 539 song plays and 80 video plays. My global rank for all genres is 3,102, global alternative is 273 and I am still #2 locally. The street team missions just don't work very well because all the members are fellow musicians, who quite honestly, would rather promote their own music. I am happy with my numbers ! I did finally add Facebook and Fair Share, so my profile is now 100% finished. I have also sold my first Freak Cd MP3 and a t-shirt, so my bank now shows a $10.95 balance. Fair Share means that I split royalties for adds that are played on my site, with ReverbNation.

4-21-10 ... my numbers for April are 1,528 fans (+138), 1007 band equity (+96), 2,885 visits (+433), 3,946 widget hits (+873), 683 song plays (+144) and 83 video plays (+3). My global rank for all genres is 3,185 (-83), global alternative is 271 (-2) and I am still #2 locally. With a busy month of recording, I am happy that my numbers have maintained. The new band equity rating system at RN is quite challenging.

4-22-10, ReverbNation made an addition to there site. I can now add all the songs lyrics to my profile page. There is a link that says "lyrics" next to the songs, while listeners are checking out the tunes, all they have to do is click there and the lyrics will show up. This will also show up on my tune widgets. Nice job RN !

5-26-10 ... my numbers for May are 1,664 fans (+136), 966 band equity (-41), 3,262 visits (+377), 6,218 widget hits (+2,272), 1,025 song plays (+342) and 83 video plays (even). My global rank for all genres is 3,923 (-738), global alternative is 323 (-52) and I am currently #1 locally. My number of widget hits has risen dramatically, as well as my song plays. I have been placing tune widgets on my friends pages in My Space (set to autoplay). My band equity has fallen because my widget hits and song plays are climbing at a quicker rate than my fans/listeners numbers. This doesn't bother me because the fans will come ! ReverbNation also changed something with the local ranking. The person who was holding the #1 spot was located on the other side of the state. They must have redone the local boundaries, leaving me to be #1 for the area. The difference between a widget hit and a song play has to do with how long the widget is allowed to play. This is something I can't worry about. I am a unique songwriter, and my style is very contagious. Sooner or later, the listeners will find their way back to hear the songs all the way through. It's all good !

5-31-10, Happy Memorial Day !!! I have been working real hard the last few days to get my ReverbNation numbers up to new highs. Here is where I stand today. 1,734 fans (+70), 1007 band equity (+41), 3,297 visits (+35), 7,057 widget hits (+939), 1,198 song plays (+73)and 83 video plays. My global rank for all genres is 3,777 (+146), global alternative is 305 (+18) and #1 locally. Now that's more like it. The numbers should keep going up over the next few days. It is a lot of time consuming work inviting fans, but it is also a lot of fun. It gives me a chance to see what other people are up to. I will check back in about one week with some more numbers. They should all be new highs.

6-2-10, Okay, things are still going up ! 1,760 fans (+26), 1058 band equity (+51), 3,340 visits (+43), 8,287 widget hits (+1,230), 1,501 song plays (+303) and 85 video plays (+2). These numbers are all new highs for me. Check out those widget hits and song play numbers ! I am going to plan on spending at least 2 days per week working on these numbers. I have about 5-6 months until my Cd is released ... the more fans, and notoriety, the better !

6-5-10, I am still climbing to new highs ... 1,765 fans (+5), 1118 band equity (+60), 3,363 visits (+23), 8,543 widget hits (+250), 1,565 song plays (+64) and 85 video plays.

6-12-10, Been a bit busy with recording "Simple Minded" and visits from my birth dad and friends. But here are my numbers: 1,797 fans (+32), 1131 band equity (+13), 3,442 visits (+79), 9,602 widget hits (+1,059), 1,790 song plays (+225) and 85 video plays. Things are still going up. I had an odd occurrence, where despite all my numbers going up, my global ranks (alternative and all genres) dropped dramatically. No idea why this would happen ? Maybe the problem will be corrected and the numbers will be adjusted.

6-19-10, 1,903 fans (+106), 1138 band equity (+7), 3,486 visits (+44), 11,969 widget hits (+2,367), 2,388 song plays (+598) and 85 video plays. My global alternative rank is 319, my global rank for all genres is 4,046. I am still #1 on the local alternative chart. The band equity rating system is really frustrating ! I have been working very hard to add new fans, so hopefully that will balance the numbers out a bit with the widget hits and song plays. We'll see what happens. Pasting tune widgets on friends sites seems to working very well. I haven't received any negative feedback at all. Occasionally, someone will drop me ... but that's alright. You can win them all !!

6-20-10, Boom !!! All my hard work is paying off. Check out this 1 day jump in #'s. 1,903 fans (+0), 1300 band equity (+162), 3,492 visits (+6), 13,331 widget hits (+1,362), 2,582 song plays (+196) and 85 video plays. My global alternative rank is 265 (+54, my highest ever) and my global rank for all genres is 3,400 (+646, also my highest ever). Absolutely awesome !

6-21-10, Still climbing ! 1,960 fans (+57), 1415 band equity (+115), 3,504 visits (+12), 14,635 widget hits (+1,304) and 2,969 song plays (+387). My global alternative rank is 240 (+25) and my global rank for all genres is 3,021 (+379).

6-22-10, Oh Yeah ! 1,990 fans (+30), 1510 band equity (+95), 3,524 visits (+20), 15,868 widget hits (+1,233) and 3,145 song plays (+176). My global alternative rank is 218 (+22). My global rank for all genres is 2,765 (+256).

6-23-10, 1,991 fans (+1), 1618 band equity (+108), 3,528 visits (+24), 17,039 widget hits (+2,171) and 3,330 song plays (+185). My global alternative rank is 205 (+13). My global rank for all genres is 2,536 (+229).

6-24-10, I have 2,030 fans (+39), 1707 band equity (1707 (+89), 3,535 visits (+7), 18,075 widget hits (+1,036) and 3,612 song plays (+467). My global alternative rank is 184 (+21). My global rank for all genres is 2,319 (+225). I think it is safe to say that I have found the formula ! I am going to keep doing what I have been doing and see how far it takes me.

6-25-10, I have 2,054 fans (+24), 1802 band equity (+95), 3,541 visits (+6), 18,952 widget hits (+877) and 3,921 song plays (+309). My global alternative rank is 173 (+11). My global rank for all genres is 2,147 (+172).

6-26-10, I have 2,082 fans (+28), 1944 band equity (+142), 3,552 visits (+11), 20,247 widget hits (+1,295) and 4,307 song plays (+386). My global alternative rank is 160 (+13). My global rank for all genres is 1,930 (+217). In one week, from 6-19 to 6-26, this how much my numbers have climbed. Fans +129, band equity +806, visits +66, widget hits +8,278, song plays +1,919. My global alternative rank climbed 159, and global rank for all genres climbed 2,116. I found a system that is working and I am going to keep it up. If I work this right, my numbers will continue to peak right up until my Cd release. In the music industry this is what would be referred to as a buzz. Maybe I will get lucky and a major distributor will notice me.

6-27-10, I have 2,089 fans (+7), 2022 band equity (+78), 3,555 visits (+3), 21,159 widget hits (+912) and 4,596 song plays (+289). My global alternative rank is 154 (+6). My global rank for all genres is 1,808 (+122).

6-28-10, I have 2,121 fans (+32), 2143 band equity (+221), 3,572 visits (+17), 22,237 widget hits (+1,078) and 5,002 song plays (+404). My global alternative rank is 133 (+21). My global rank for all genres 1,660 (+148).

6-29-10, I have 2,121 fans (even), 2284 band equity (+141), 3,575 visits (+3), 23,549 widget hits (+1,312), and 5,354 song plays (+352). My global alternative rank is 121 (+12). My global rank for all genres is 1,515 (+145). Awesome !!!

6-30-10, I have 2,152 fans (+31), 2434 band equity (+150), 3,589 visits (+11), 24,986 widget hits (+1,437) and 6,050 song plays (+696). My global alternative rank is 102 (+19). My global rank for all genres is 1,366 (+149).

7-1-10, I am officially halfway through the year !!! I have 2,159 fans (+7), 2567 band equity (+133), 3,594 visits (+5), 26,352 widget hits (+1,366) and 6,198 song plays (+148). My global alternative rank is 93 (+9). My global rank for all genres is 1,258 (+108). Hey, hey ! I broke into the top 100 on the global alternative chart. When I was first getting started, I was #2 on the local charts for a very long time. The band I was behind was from Florida's east coast (I am on the west). ReverbNation must have reorganized the local borders, because one day I logged in and found out I was #1 on my local chart. From what I remember , that band had a band equity of around 2,220. Mine at the time was around 300-400. I remember thinking that they were so far ahead of me that I would never catch them. Well, that band is ranked #83 on the global alternative chart, and I am at #93. I am not the competing type, so the matter is insignificant, but it is still kind of cool.

7-2-10, I have 2,161 fans (+2), 2672 band equity (+1050), 3,602 visits (+8), 27,420 widget hits (+1,068) and 6,449 song plays (+251). My global alternative rank is 87 (+6). My global rank for all genres is 1,184 (+74).

7-4-10, Happy 4th of July !!! (2 day totals) Well I went up yesterday, and down today. I had to have a lull at some point. I have 2,214 fans (+53), 2681 band equity (+9), 3,620 visits (+18), 28,939 widget hits (+1,519) and 6,940 song plays (+491). My global alternative rank is 86 (+1). My global rank for all genres is 1,174 (+10).

7-7-10 (3:30 a.m.) Well, I had everything going in the right direction. Then ... ReverbNation shuts down for site maintenance for one night. Next thing I know, my numbers start falling ? I tried on multiple occasions today, to paste my tune widgets onto fans pages and this "error" message kept popping up. I have never had troubles like this before. I sent a message to ReverbNation explaining the problem. We'll see what their response is. It basically saws me off at the knees if I can't paste my widgets into MySpace. It's always something .....

7-9-10, I have sent out some emails to ReverbNation and MySpace to get some answers. What I have learned from RN is that MySpace has changed its format so that we can't post our tune widgets in our fans comments section. This is a totally arrogant thing for MySpace to do, and it figures that Rupert Murdoch (News Corp.) is the owner. If the fans don't want the widgets on their site, all they have to do is delete them, not accept them or change their settings to block them. People like me rely on this service to promote our small business. Why would MySpace make such a radical change without even notifying their customers ? This is just another small example of how these greedy billionaires operate. They use their power to buy out businesses, like MySpace, then they attack their customers ... just like Countrywide, the banks, etc. We'll see what MySpace's response is to my recent email. If I have to, I will climb the complaint ladder all the way up to Mr. Murdoch.

7-14-10, Yes my dear friends at MySpace really screwed me over. I have 2,327 fans (+113), 2425 band equity (-256), 3,690 visits (+70), 33,391 widget hits (4,452), 8,204 song plays (+1,264) and 88 video plays (+3). My global alternative rank is 101 (-15). My global rank for all genres is 1,360 (-186). It's the loss of unique listeners that has affected my numbers the most. Being able to post the widgets gave random people the opportunity to check out my music. The band equity is just a novelty # that the mathematical geniuses at ReverbNation concoct. Oh well, as long as I keep the other numbers going up, everything else will work out.

7-18-10, Yes !!! I'm back in the game. MySpace is no longer blocking 3rd party widgets. I must not have been the only one complaining. All in all, my equity rating didn't drop that much. It won't take me very long at all to get things turned around again.

7-20-10, Still waiting for the #'s from some of the widgets I posted, over the last couple days, to start registering. At the moment, I have 2,378 fans (+51), 2283 band equity (-142), 3,743 visits ((+53), 35,015 widget hits (+1,624), 8,698 song plays (+494) and 90 video plays (+2). My global alternative rank is 112 (-11). My global rank for all genres is 1,499 (-139).

8-31-10, I have 2,469 fans (+91), 1513 band equity (-770), 3,919 visits (+176), 39,215 widget hits (+4,200), 10,240 song plays (+1,542), and 91 video plays(+1). Everything continues to climb, except for my band equity rating. I am not going to complain because my widget hits and song plays are doing very well !!! All I need is one little break and the fans will come.

 UPDATE (2-16-14): ReverbNation has become one of my most important and successful music websites. I am currently in the top 10 on the USA Folk Charts and in the top 500 out of 2.5 million bands from all genres and all around the whole entire planet. If you would like to help me continue to climb the charts, then all you have to do is play some songs in the tune widget below. Make sure to spread the word to others. Thanks :)

Sell music on Amazon at ReverbNation.com