Pandora.com!!!!

Oh my goodness, everyone! After an extended runaround having to do with UPC codes and ASIN numbers, etc., my music is FINALLY able to be submitted to Pandora.com for possible streaming!!

You see, in order to do this, you had to have your music being sold in MP3 form AND physical form on Amazon.com. Now, my CD is being sold in MP3 form on Amazon, courtesy of Reverb Nation's distribution package, but I found out later that CD Baby was putting the physical CD up for sale on Amazon as well. The only issue? CD Baby didn't have the UPC listed, and without the UPC, Pandora wouldn't believe I had it being sold both ways on Amazon. Then CD Baby didn't want to add my UPC so I could submit it unless I did both hardcopy AND digital distribution through them.

Now, since I haven't yet received payment from my digital sales, I didn't want to switch distributors midstream and risk delaying payment further (oh, the plight of the independent artist!). So I stuck it out and looked for loopholes in the system.

One loophole was Jango.

Jango is the new kid in the streaming market. It's very similar to Pandora, only their rating system is a bit different and I don't think their algorithms for music you might like are quite as sophisticated as those used by Pandora.

BUT, what was AWESOME about Jango is that they were completely open to new artists submitting their work to Jango for possible airtime. In fact, you didn't have to be selling your music ANYWHERE yet. You could just be putting it on Jango to see if you got fans, etc. Jango made it easy to put your music up so people could then find your profile and become a fan. By the way, feel free to search "Kat Webb" on Jango and become a fan, if you haven't already. ;)

Their system was the very simple, "pay for play" method. You pay a certain amount and get a certain amount of plays, which you can target to an audience who might like you.

And that was great...but, for now at least, PANDORA is the leader in streaming internet radio. And I needed to get on there.

So the next loophole was going to ARTISTCENTRAL.AMAZON.COM and creating an artist profile for my Amazon store. If you visit Amazon and search Kat Webb, you'll find it. :)

You go there, claim an artist (I claimed myself), and complete a profile. Then I contacted them to let them know that I, the artist, wanted to add my UPC code.

Strangely enough, THAT was complicated too! Even though I owned the artist profile, they first had to link the physical CD being sold with the MP3, and then I had to fill out a form to add the extra info.

But still no UPC code! The MANDATORY UPC code that Pandora required STILL wasn't there.

One more email to Artist Central and FINALLY it's all there. I FINALLY can submit my music to Pandora, and I have.

Three things, though.

First, the title for the hardcopy is incorrect. They have it as "Old Soul", and it's really "An Old Soul". Being that my producer and I spent about an HOUR discussing this differentiation, lol, it's now crucial that the title be correct as I intended. So I submitted the request to have that corrected and that should happen in 5-7 BUSINESS DAYS.

Second, there's another artist by the name of Kat Webb on Amazon, and unfortunately for me, her music is not the kind of music with which I'd like to be associated. I won't make a value statement on it, but I will say it's not the content material that I strive for. So if you go to Amazon, just know that the only music by ME is contained in the album, "An Old Soul".

Third, I'm selling it through Amazon Advantage as well (ADVANTAGE.AMAZON.COM). This way I can more easily make changes to any hardcopy info because I'm one of the vendors.

So yeah, wish me luck, and I'll DEFINITELY let everyone know when my stuff is streaming on Pandora.com!

P.S. Thanks for all your well wishes but I did NOT get selected as Jill Scott's opening act. :( It stinks, but I think it's just a sign that if I come to work with Jill Scott (when I work with her), it'll be as an established artist and collaborator. ;)

Kat.

P.S. Meow.