Celtic CD Release Party, Breathing

Eamonn Flynn shares a story about what he missed from home during the pandemic. Is streaming music good or bad? What does "buy local" mean anyway? How treating people with loyalty, kindness, and respect can heal open wounds. We'll talk about two new CDs. It's a CD Release Party on the today's Pub Songs & Stories #249. WHO'S PLAYING IN THE PUB TODAY Welcome to Pub Songs & Stories. This is the Virtual Public House to share stories and inspiration behind music with your host Marc Gunn. Subscribe to the podcast and download free music at PubSong.com.

0:34 - WHAT'S NEW?

• Today's show is brought to you by my Gunn Runners on Patreon. I want to thank my Superheroes on Patreon: Not Higgins, C.J. Taylor, Sarah Crockett, Bill Mandeville, William McKissack, Carol Baril, Kathleen & Luke Miller, LauraMay Sorkin, Eric Ray.

• Selcouth is now on sale! This is my 24th solo studio album. I am so excited to share it with you. In fact, I did a livestreaming listening party on Friday on Facebook. I'm doing another one at 1 PM EST today. Then on Wednesday, I'm gonna play songs from the album live on YouTube.Then on Thursday is my official online CD Release Party for Selcouth. It's happening on Bandcamp. It's free! And there will be a giveaway. So please plan on joining me on Thursday, February 17.If you have the album or you streamed already, I would LOVE to know what YOU think of Selcouth or what's your favorite track on the album. Make sure you hashtag it with #selcouth when you post on Social Media. And tag me!
• What are you doing while listening to Pub Songs & Stories? I'd love your thoughts and feedback. So take a picture of yourself or where you are or what one of these stories reminds you of. Post it on social media. Use the hashtag #pubstories so I can find it and share your story.

2:54 - We Banjo 3 "Wynne's" from Roots to Rise

6:47 - NEW TO IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC: BEST OF 2022 PLAYLIST

There's new music on the Best of 2022 playlist. I added Gerry O'Connor, The Canny Brothers Band, The McDades, yours truly and We Banjo 3. These are from episodes #540 and #541.

Listen Best Irish & Celtic Music of 2022 on Spotify or Listen on Amazon Music.

7:19 - WHAT'S UP WITH STREAMING MUSIC?

The Gothard Sisters responded to a question in their mailing list about streaming music sites. The question was basically, is streaming music good or bad?

I answered that question back in 2018 on my Celtfather podcast episode "Yes! Please Listen on Spotify". But that was four years ago. So I thought I'd address it for 2022. Let's start by looking behind the streams.

First, does Spotify pay artists?

Technically, yes. They do. But it is a pittance. We get paid about ½ a cent for every stream that lasts at least 30 seconds. I've heard. Personally, I get about 2500 listens per month. That's about $12. During Christmas, that goes might climb to about 11,000 streams or a whopping $55. It's not much.

Does it upset me that I get paid so little?

No. I LOVE streaming.

I love it because it's a brilliant music discovery tool. If I hear about a new band, I will go there and listen to their top tracks. I'll check to see if they have music that would work for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast.

I listen because it's quick and easy. I don't always have my computer on hand. So this lets me find and enjoy new music with minimal effort. As long as I realize I'm not gonna get paid, I'm all good.

Plus, there's always the hope that you will add my music to one of your playlists. Perhaps that playlist will be followed by others. Next thing you know, a song gets more popular. Thus far, it's only happened with my Christmas music. But it's a start.

So how do I and other musicians make money?

There's the big question. For me, it starts with education. That's the reason I tell you in every episode of both this and the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast to support the artists. If you find an artist you really love then, buy their stuff. CDs are still great mementos, even if you don't listen. Shirts are great for showing others how much you love the artist's music. I'm starting to offer lapel pins to go with various albums as a small artistic alternative to show your colors.

You can support the artists by tipping them. Spotify added a tipping function on their website. All of the money you tip goes straight to me. I've heard of a few bands who are killing it through this method.

Bandcamp makes tipping extra easy. I have a Livestreaming CD Release Party scheduled for this Thursday, February 17. Since it's a CD Release, the show will be free. But you can choose to pay any amount for the show. You can also buy a CD or lapel pin while you're watching the show.

And of course, I am also a member of a few Patreon pages, like The Gothard Sisters. Because I want to help them keep making new music.

The last thing I wanted to say was the third item in The Gothard Sisters newsletter, titled "What We're Doing: A Rising Tide".

"One of the things I love about creating playlists on streaming services is that we can include some of our other favorite