We just completed our "Year of the Groove", where we put out one music release a month for a year, starting July 19, 2014. Let's look back at the last 12 months and see what it all amounted to. We'll tell who did what, what we spent money on, what we spent time on, and what we have to show for it.
EXPENSES...
Here is what we paid out of pocket:
For each individual release:
Paying instrumentalists [$200-$225 per player]
Mixing [on a couple of the tracks, cost was between $250-$300 per]
Mastering [on every single song, cost was usually about $100-$150]
Digital distribution [$59 registration fee with CD Baby]
Distributing press release [anywhere from $20-$100 or more]
Promotion misc. [$50-$150ish]
Other general expenses:
Photo shoots [we did 2, each was around $2,000]
Publicist [total waste of $1,500, don't get me started]
Hootsuite for social media scheduling [can't remember, you pay by the year]
SoundCloud [about $10 a month?]
Website [can't remember, you pay by the year]
If you're curious about how much money we MAKE, scroll all the way to the end of this post.
TIME EQUITY
Here is a list of the time investments made with each release:
Writing the song
Producing the track
Recording vocals
Recording instruments
Editing vocals
Mixing track
Overseeing mastering
Making cover art
Registering songs with BMI & SoundExchange
Uploading all tracks and artwork to at least 7 different websites [CD Baby, Sound Cloud, our website, Reverb Nation etc.]
Updating and developing website [completely redesigned 3 times this year]
Updating various music profiles
Writing track descriptions
Writing press release
Writing blog posts
Contacting email list about newest release
Finding sites to review the tracks
Finding radio stations to play the tracks
Communicating with bloggers and DJs to promote music
Promoting releases and all interviews, reviews, press releases on social media
Finding and scheduling other social media content so not everything we post is about us
There is no way to quantify how many hours this adds up to. It's a lot.
HAVE A LISTEN WHILE YOU READ
YEAR OF THE GROOVE MUSIC STATS
Total number of produced tracks released: 32 [not counting track variations and stems]
Total number of tracks released: 71 [counting track variations and stems]
Number of songs released: 24
Number of original songs released: 14 [others were covers]
Number of new songs released: 13 [others were re-releases]
Number of songs released with stems for remixers: 4
Number of tracks in Year of the Groove on Band Camp: 33 [includes 2 invisible bonus tracks]
Longest track: Angel Eyes [Standard Chill] 6:49
Longest track from new songs: Glitter & Bliss 6:20
Shortest track: When the Holiday Brings You Home 3:31
Total number of minutes of music on all releases: 144 [not counting track variations and stems]
Total number of minutes of never before released music: 95
See the total track list on the Bandcamp release.
EACH RELEASE CHRONOLOGICALLY WITH FULL TRACK LIST AND CREDITS
JULY 2014
[release 15 July 2014]
Release type: SINGLE + STEMS
COME TO ME
Tracks:
1. Come to Me 04:30
2. Come to Me [instrumental track only] 04:27
3. Come to Me - Vocal Stem for Remix 90bpm 04:34
4. Come to Me - Bass Stem for Remix 90bpm 04:08
5. Come to Me - String Stem for Remix 90bpm 04:53
6. Come to Me - Wurlitzer Stem for Remix 90bpm 04:53
Credits: Words by Ellen Tift. Music by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Programming & production by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Vocals by Ellen Tift. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Mastering by Eric Conn.
Release type: SINGLE
SUMMERTIME
Tracks:
1. Summertime 04:28
2. Days of Summer [instrumental track only] 04:29
Credits: Words & Music by George & Ira Gershwin. Programming & production by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Guitar by Kurt Goebel. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Vocals by Ellen Tift. Mastering by Resonance Mastering.
AUGUST 2014
[release 11 August 2014]
Release type: SINGLE + STEMS
KISS ME SLOW
Tracks:
1. Kiss Me Slow [ft. Kareem Bennett] 04:04
2. Kiss Me Slow [instrumental track] 04:04
3. Kiss Me Slow Lead Vocal Stem w/Fx for Remix 72bpm 04:03
4. Kiss Me Slow Lead Vocal Stem no Fx for Remix 72bpm 04:03
5. Kiss Me Slow Synth Bass Stem for Remix 72bpm 03:36
6. Kiss Me Slow Electric Bass Stem for Remix 72bpm 03:36
7. Kiss Me Slow Rhodes Stem for Remix 72bpm 03:36
8. Kiss Me Slow Clav Stem for Remix 72bpm 02:40
9. Kiss Me Slow Wurlitzer Stem for Remix 72bpm 04:13
10. Kiss Me Slow Flute Stem for Remix 72bpm 03:36
11. Kiss Me Slow 1st Electric Guitar Stem for Remix 72bpm 03:36
12. Kiss Me Slow 2nd Electric Guitar Stem for Remix 72 bpm 03:33
13. Kiss Me Slow 3rd Electric Guitar Stem for Remix 72bpm 04:20
Credits: Words by Ellen Tift. Music by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Vocals by Ellen Tift. Guitar by Kurt Goebel. Programming by Kurt Goebel. Production by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Mastering by Vinnie Alibrandi.
SEPTEMBER 2014
[release 9 September 2014]
Release type: SINGLE + STEMS
THE LEGEND OF THE FALL
Tracks:
The Legend of the Fall
1. The Legend of the Fall 04:26
2. The Legend of the Fall [instrumental] 04:26
3. The Legend of the Fall [Vocal w/fx Stem for Remix 66bpm] 04:29
4. The Legend of the Fall [Bass Stem for Remix 66bpm] 04:29
5. The Legend of the Fall [Synth Pads Stem for Remix 66bpm] 04:29
6. The Legend of the Fall [Reverse Vocal Stem for Remix 66bpm] 00:10
7. The Legend of the Fall [Synth Solo Stem for Remix 66bpm] 04:10
8. The Legend of the Fall [Synth Accent Stem for Remix 66bpm] 04:29
9. The Legend of the Fall [Synth Pulse Stem for Remix 66bpm] 02:54
10. The Legend of the Fall [Vocal Chop Stem for Remix 66bpm] 04:43
11. The Legend of the Fall [Moog Arp Stem for Remix 66bpm] 04:29
Credits: Words & Music by Ellen Tift. Programming & guitar by Kurt Goebel. Production by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Vocals by Ellen Tift. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Mastering by Resonance Mastering.
OCTOBER 2014
[release 14 October 2014]
Release type: EP
SUPERMODEL ASTRONAUT
Tracks:
1. Supermodel Astronaut 03:32
2. Freak the Beat [ft. Skye Reedy] 02:27
3. Supermodel Astronaut [Karaoke Track] 03:32
4. Freak the Beat [Karaoke Track] 02:27
Credits: Words & Music by Ellen Tift. Programming by Kurt Goebel. Produced by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Vocals by Ellen Tift on Supermodel Astronaut. Vocals by Skye Reedy on Freak the Beat. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Mastering by Resonance Mastering.
NOVEMBER 2014
[release 11 November 2014]
Release type: EP
FLOW
Tracks:
1. Flow 04:22
2. Daydream 05:18
3. Mr. Exotica 04:39
4. Mr. Exotica [instrumental] 04:42
Credits: Music by Kurt Goebel. Words by Ellen Tift. Vocals by Ellen Tift. Programmed & produced by Kurt Goebel. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Mastered by Jim Falzone.
DECEMBER 2014
[release 2 December 2014]
Release type: SINGLE
WHEN THE HOLIDAY BRINGS YOU HOME
Tracks:
1. When the Holiday Brings You Home 03:31
2. When the Holiday Brings You Home [piano/vocal version] 03:12
Credits: Words & Music by Ellen Tift. Programmed & produced by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Vocals by Ellen Tift. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Mastered by Jim Falzone.
JANUARY 2015
[release 27 January 2015]
Release type: SINGLE + STEMS
GLITTER & BLISS
Tracks:
1. Glitter & Bliss 06:19
2. Glitter & Bliss [radio edit] 05:37
3. Glitter & Bliss [Instrumental Track Only] 06:19
4. Glitter & Bliss [Vocal Stem for Remix 84.5bpm] 06:18
5. Glitter & Bliss [Bass Stem for Remix 84.5bpm] 05:37
6. Glitter & Bliss [Guitar Stem for Remix 84.5bpm] 05:37
7. Glitter & Bliss [Wurlitzer Stem for Remix 84.5bpm] 05:37
8. Glitter & Bliss [Synth Stem for Remix 84.5bpm] 05:37
9. Glitter & Bliss [Strings Stem for Remix 84.5bpm] 05:37
Credits: Words by Ellen Tift. Music by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Guitar by Mike Payne. Bass by Victor Broden. Programmed & produced by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Vocals by Ellen Tift. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Mastered by Resonance Mastering.
FEBRUARY 2015
[release 3 February 2015]
Release type: ALBUM
STANDARD CHILL
Tracks:
1. Our Love Is Here To Stay [ft. Daniella Mason] 04:33
2. Summertime 04:28
3. When I Fall In Love [ft. Ingrid DuMosch] 05:08
4. Tangerine [ft. Fleming McWilliams] 05:01
5. Besame Mucho 05:30
6. Angel Eyes [ft. Ingrid DuMosch] 06:48
7. My Funny Valentine 05:58
8. Fever [ft. Missi Hale, Venste] 05:08
9. Mas Que Nada [ft. Kenya Evelyn, Missi Hale, Melinda Doolittle] 04:53
Credits: Words & Music by various songwriters. Vocals as noted in track name. All other vocals by Ellen Tift. Programmed & produced by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Accordion on "Besame Mucho" by Jeff Lisenby. Nylon guitar on "Tangerine" By Michael Ripoll. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and "Summertime" mastered by Resonance Mastering. All other tracks mastered by Jim Falzone.
MARCH 2015
[release 27 March 2015]
Release type: SINGLE
IT'S YOU I LOVE
Tracks:
1. It's You I Love [feat. Nathan Barlowe] 03:38
2. It's You I Love [instrumental] 03:38
Credits: Words by Ellen Tift. Music by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Vocals by Nathan Barlowe & Ellen Tift. Programmed & produced by Kurt Goebel. Guitar by Kurt Goebel. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Mastering by Resonance Mastering.
APRIL 2015
[release 28 April 2015]
Release type: SINGLE
UNTIL I HAVE YOU
Tracks:
1. Until I Have You 03:38
Credits: Words by Ellen Tift. Music by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Vocals by Ellen Tift. Programming & production by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Guitar by Kurt Goebel. Mixed by Kurt Goebel. Mastering by Dan Shike.
MAY 2015
[release 29 May 2015]
Release type: SINGLE
HUMAN
Tracks:
1. Human 05:16
2. Human [Radio Edit] 04:52
Credits: Words & music by Ellen Tift. Programming & production by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift. Violin by Ben Kauffman. Guitar by Kurt Goebel. Lead vocals by Ellen Tift. Background vocals by Charis Snyder, Jackson Snyder, Liliana Snyder, Aviva Snyder, Angel Snyder, Noah Snyder, Amber Snyder, Catherine Tift, and Robert Tift. Mixed by Jonathan Roye. Mastering by Bradley Prakope.
JUNE 2015
[release 30 June 2015]
Release type: MAXI-SINGLE
MAKE ME FREE
Tracks:
1. Make Me Free [WGC Water Lily Chillout Mix] 04:41
2. Make Me Free [WGC Black Orchid Deep House Mix] 05:24
3. Make Me Free [Portarius Melodic Dubstep Mix] 05:28
4. Make Me Free [WGC Hot Azalea Electro Mix] 03:55
5. Make Me Free [WGC Sweet Jasmine Acoustic Mix] 04:18
6. Make Me Free [WGC Wild Iris House Mix] (bonus) 05:08
Credits: Words & Music by Ellen Tift. Programming & production by Kurt Goebel & Ellen Tift, except for Portarius melodic dubstep mix, programmed and produced by Portarius. Vocals by Ellen Tift. Cello on Sweet Jasmine Acoustic Mix by Anthony LaMarchina. Mixed by Kurt Goebel, except Sweet Jasmine Acoustic Mix by Jeff Pitzer, and Portarius Melodic Dubstep Mix by Travis Ball. Mastering by Mike Cervantes with Master Disk.
More juicy details...
R.O.I.
Besides actual income, there are other returns on investment. Publicity, social media, staying on people's radar, building up our catalog etc.
Number of Twitter Followers July 2014: 1,300
Number of Twitter Followers July 2015: 12,800
Number of Instagram Followers July 2014: 1,100
Number of Instagram Followers July 2015: 5,300
Number of Facebook Likes July 2014: 1,200
Number of Facebook Likes July 2015: 4,700
Mailing list enrollment on ReverbNation has quadrupled.
Also, more followers on SoundCloud & YouTube, though I don't know how many we gained during the year. Growth was likely proportional to the other social media profiles.
Also, there's no way to tally the number of mentions we've gotten from other people on Twitter, Facebook, G+ etc, but that has significantly increased.
Reviews, interviews, and press.
Number of published interviews with WGC: 16
Number of published music reviews: 25
Number of published Press Releases: 14
And we got onto Huffington Post!
RADIO AIRPLAY
Several new radio stations picked us up, but unfortunately there were so many other things on my to do list that I could not keep track of this. After all... this whole entire thing was a SIDE PROJECT for both of us.
OTHER COMPILATIONS
We licensed several tracks for a couple of compilations out of Europe.
"Underground Mystery Land - Berlin Dub Techno and Ibiza Del Mar Club House"
"Deep Space Night Vol. 3" by Lucidflow Records
HOW MUCH MONEY WE'VE MADE...
I've debated how much to even address this here. But I feel compelled to at least share this... we do not expect to make very much money selling this music directly to consumers because, as we all know, hardly anyone buys music anymore. And I've posted several times about the miniscule amount per stream we get paid for our songs. So that is not a viable income source. At this point, we've made less than $100 from all of these releases combined in a direct to consumer sale type of context. This is why we plan to pursue licensing for film and television since that's is one of the few remaining ways to make any significant money from creating our own music as artists. We are so grateful for the kind souls who have supported us by purchasing our music.
Here is what we get from each digital music distributor as artists:
BandCamp - the full amount [we love Band Camp!]
iTunes & Amazon - $.59 for each download of a song
SoundCloud - nothing
YouTube - see below via Rumblefish
Spotify & other streaming... see below.
You get the idea. So... in conclusion, I'll just say that we never did the "Year of the Groove" with the expectation to bring in the ki$h-ka$h hand over fist. The ROI comes in other forms. But we are extremely grateful for the people who do support us by purchasing our music. We love you guys. Thank you!
