Greetings Gunn Runner

April was a pretty good month for me overall. Looking back, I feel like I was fairly productive. But I'm not sure about May yet…

Let’s try and unpack it… on show #262.

0:26 – PODCASTS

The Pub Songs Podcast is going strong with two episodes in April, as planned. One based around my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD and the other Celtic Music for Arbor Day. Both were streamed live. And I feel like both will be good evergreen podcasts for the future.

I'm trying to share old content that is just as relevant today. That's what evergreen podcasts means. I've been doing it with podcasts and videos. And I feel like it helps. I have created SO MUCH stuff over the years. It's crazy that I'm not resharing it. And so I am…

Stories from the Road is also back strong. I wrote down some notes to remind me what I can share there. And I have a lot of options. So I'm being pretty consistent with new stuff. Plus, I wrote a couple new songs in April. The quarantine has been good for that at least.

I got ahead on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Let's see if I can stay ahead of it.

I released five episodes in April, including two two-hour long episodes. I decided to put out a bonus episode because of all the people staying at home. It stressed me out a bit. But I got through it. Check out the two-hour instrumental show especially.

The song I wrote for the In the ‘Verse podcast is a new favorite. It's called “Bright Side of Everything”. And even with the dark twist ending, I feel like it's a very positive upbeat song for this stay-at-home time of the pandemic.

3:24 – VIDEOS

I released a couple of travel videos at the end of March and one in April. The first two were from some weekend travel in Northern Georgia. We visited some parks before they were shut down. I was able to capture some video of the trip. I'm learning a lot about video making from these excursions.

In April, I released another video from our visit to Ballincollig Castle outside of Cork from the 2019 Celtic Invasion of Ireland. I'm pushing myself to edit more of these videos. I like how that one came out. I also started recording Stories from the Road to promote those videos.

Coffee with the Celtfather is still going. Live streaming is definitely the thing right now. So I'm not giving up on them.

I'm also running a test. I created a Facebook event page and added a ticket link a few weeks back. And that event showed up on a live stream before my show started. That was amazing and potentially life changing… except, I've been unable to duplicate it. I'm not sure why.

So more tests will come. But again, at some point, I might step back from the regularly scheduled coffee show.

5:55 – MERCH

I finally created a whole bunch of new Celtic Heartstring necklaces… and no one has bought them. LOL. That's okay. I have plans to do a big promo for them soon.

I am looking at other merch ideas. Someone suggested Celtfather masks. There are companies creating those. But I'm not sure I want to commit to buying a whole bunch.

I realized Selcouth won't be released until 2021. And I have a couple other projects. But I have no CDs planned. So I'm debating making short run, just me and the autoharp, CD release performing songs. I'm not sure.

I think about the last album I did like this–St Patrick's Day Songs for Kids. On the one hand, the physical CD doesn't sell well. Except during St Patrick's Day, of course. But I thought it was a fun album… I feel like this could be a good way to supplement my income when I finally have shows or even before then. I'm not sure though.

I'd love your thoughts.

8:37 – TRAVEL

The Celtic Invasion of Italy was officially canceled. On the bright side, I only had four people signed up. But I was REALLY looking forward to that trip. Oh well…

At some point, I'll start working on the itinerary for the 2021 Celtic Invasion of Scotland.

I did update that website a little. I removed all of the Google Ad links.

9:43 – WEBSITES

I'm staying on top of my lyrics for both the Irish Song Lyrics website as well as on my website. My goal is to make it easier for you to play along.

One of these days, I'll make videos to teach how to play… In the meantime, I'm making them as straightforward as possible.

10:38 – SHOWS PLANNED FOR MAY

BOG OFF????
MAY 7: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
MAY 9: The Lost Druid, Decatur, GA @ 7:30 PM

Weds Morning: Coffee with The Celtfather, Facebook (Season 5!) @ 10:30 AM EST

11:33 – STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1037 is up from 1028
Celtic Music Magazine = 3992 is up from 3938

YouTube Subscribers = 4550 is up 68 from 4482
YouTube Watch Time = 25.8K is down from 26.7K
YouTube Views = 9.4K is down from 12.4K

Facebook Likes = 3711 is up 27 from 3684
FB Page Views = 568 is down 809
FB Reach = 15.3K is down from 21,234
FB Video Views = 10383 is down from 13298

Spotify Latest Single Stats: “Molly Malone”: 48 is down from 389
Spotify Latest Single Stats: “The Last Jedi Drinking Song”: 79 is down from from 150
Spotify Latest Album Stats: I Will Not Sing Along: 306 is down from 604 streams

Spotify followers: 1533 is up 32 from 1501
# Number of listens on Spotify: 2027 is down from 3485
Most-popular songs on Spotify: The Widow and the Devil (1.1K), Doctor of Gallifrey (452), Reavers, Malcolm, Reavers (199), Hero of Canton (181), Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (173)

15:42 – PATREON

Patreon Subscribers: 153 is down from 154
Patreon Monthly Income: $1059 is down from $1061

Thanks as always for supporting my music. Remember. You can help me create and release more music. Join the Gunn Runners Club to step behind-the-scenes with bonus podcasts, new music, videos, and live concerts.
Slainte!

#CFMonthly

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