Greetings Gunn Runner
New, more effective way to promote Pub Songs & Stories. Livestreaming concerts on Bandcamp. Romulan Ale video. Irish & Celtic music back on YouTube. Selcouth CD moves a step closer. As Long As I'm Flyin' released on 12″ vinyl. Virtual Public House CD released.
It's all on my monthly update.
– PODCASTS
I feel confident about officially changing the name of the Pub Songs Podcast to Pub Songs & Stories. The show themes felt good. The stories from Barleyjuice, Heather Dale and Jesse Ferguson were fantastic. And the marketing was the bomb!
I haven't checked this stat at all, but I had net 15 people sign to my mailing list over the last 30 days. That's pretty darn good IMHO.
Miranda and I changed how we promote the show. I want more people discovering the artists in the show. That requires better engagement on social.
I learned a few social media promotion tips recently on my drive to Texas. As much as I despise Facebook, I figure if I can improve the organic reach of my posts, perhaps I don't have to waste as much money attracting new people to my page
I'd love your feedback about the new show. Drop me a line if you have any thoughts about what's working and isn't working.
In other news, I officially released the Virtual Public House CD. We shall see if this idea is worth continuing.
There were three special episodes of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast this month. There was a Celtic Woman special, an instrumental show, and an Easter special.
Andrew and I talked about Sherwood Forest Faire in the Brobdingnagian Bards Podcast.
I continued the audio blog series on Celtfather Music & Travel. Catherine Tully is writing articles for me on various topics. I'm turning those into podcasts. The latest was in honor of Earth Day and Arbor Day
– VIDEOS
Bandcamp announced livestreaming on their platform at the beginning of April. I got REALLY excited. I ran a test video concert. It was a tremendous success as was my Celtfather Live show was on April 15. It too was a smashing success. I published my review of Bandcamp for livestreaming in my blog. I highly recommend it for every musician.
Coffee with The Celtfather is still going strong. I think May will be the end of Season 8. But I might run the show into June. We shall see.
I figured out a new way to re-launch the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast YouTube channel. I stopped publishing episodes of the podcast on YouTube because there was too much published music in each show. They couldn't monetize it.
So instead of publishing full episodes, I trim them down to the first 20 minutes of the show. I've had no further problems. People are listening once again to them. Even if it's a condensed show. At least some artists will earn a few pennies from episodes. With any luck, some of those shows might even gain popularity.
I published a recording of “Romulan Ale” from AnachroCon 2019. Should have another single coming soon.
I'm keeping Spotify Canvases on my brain. I uploaded several new ones this month.
The next Celtfather Live is a FREE SHOW. It's scheduled for Thursday, May 13 at 7 pm ET as part of the Dragon Con Filk Music Track.
– IN THE STUDIO
I took a step back this month with worrying about releasing Selcouth in a timely fashion. I'm still working with Mitchell to get some great mixes of songs that I'm proud of.
I have all the tracks for “Bright Side of Everything” with Screeched Inn. Just need to finish mixing
“Favor of a Dance” with Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer is close to being done.
I hope to finish up “By Amazing Grace” with Andrew McKee later this week.
The Muckers were fantastic on “Kilty Pleasure”. I just need a final mix.
“Breathing” with Nathan Deese sounds fantastic. But need a better mix.
Sam Gillogly and I recorded a new tune called “Hobbit Polka”. It is super fun. I seriously can't wait for Dancing With Hobbits to be released. We have some mighty fine tunes to share.
I pulled Name On My Soul by Kilted Kings from online in April and started re-releasing singles. “Slainte Mhaith” is not doing nearly as well as I had hoped. “Cloghden More” comes out on April 30. Name On My Soul will be officially re-released 28 days later. I'm still hopeful that this re-release will do a better job of linking me with the band. Because the music is so fantastic! It's a shame not to have it associated with me.
– MERCH
Virtual Public House was released at the end of April. It's available as a digital download or as a physical CD. We shall see how well this test CD project works.
I brought copies out to Sherwood Forest Faire. But CD sales are poor so far. I can't tell if that's because people don't want CDs or because I'm doing a crap job of promoting the new album.
But this weekend, I'm gonna try something new. I'm gonna focus on promoting stickers. “You have steekers?” Does that work? Hmmm. One way to find out.
Yes. I sold a few CDs and a USB drive. But it all still needs work.
What I am NOT bringing out, and what will only be available for sale online, is the new 12″ vinyl of As Long As I'm Flyin'. I honestly don't expect to sell many. That's because I have to price them at $60. But I want one. So you can now get one.
Subscribe to my mailing list, you get a discount code to save 15%. And yes, it works for that Firefly CD.
I also removed a LOT of merch from my store. You gotta stay on top of things if you want something in particular.
– CELTIC TRAVEL
Want to join me on Celtic Invasion of Scotland? Sign up to the mailing list at CelticInvasion.com if you want to be one of the first on the list.
– WEBSITES
I updated lyrics for the Irish Song Lyrics website, including:
- “Haul Away Joe”
- “Mingulay Boat Song”
- “Bonnie Ship the Diamond”
- “Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster”
- “Jock Stuart (A Man Who Wears A Kilt Every Day)”
- “I’m A Rover, Seldom Sober“
– SHOWS PLANNED FOR MAY
THURS: Coffee with The Celtfather, YouTube (Season 8) @ 12:00 PM EST
MAY 1-2: Sherwood Forest Faire, Paige, TX
MAY 8: Pepper Place Farmer's Market, Birmingham, AL @ 8:00 AM – 12 PM CT. Details.
MAY 8: Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co., Alabaster, AL @ 7-10 PM
MAY 13: Dragon Con Filk Music Concert @ 7 PM
MAY 15: Freedom Farmer's Market, Atlanta, GA @ 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM
– STATS
Mailing list subscribers = 1129 is edited down from 1228
Celtic Music Magazine = 4064 is up from 4062
YouTube Subscribers = 5380 is up from 5337
Facebook Likes = 3771 is up from 3763
Instagram = 1872 is up from 1869
Spotify followers: 1771 is up from 1751
# Number of listens on Spotify: 2857 is down from 4962
Latest Spotify Single Stats:
“Slainte Mhaith” released on April 18: 23
“Proudfoot Shuffle” released on Mar 18: 127 is down from 147
“Hobbit Hornpipe” released Aug 26: 521 is down from 569
“The Hero of Christmas” released on Nov 17: 107 is down from 111
Latest Spotify Album Stats:
St Patrick's Day: 601 is down from 2.2K
Most-popular songs on Spotify: “The Widow and the Devil” (1.8K), “Hobbit Hornpipe” (521), “Doctor of Gallifrey” (503), “A Working in the Garden” (360), “Reavers Malcolm Reavers” (191)
Most-popular songs on Amazon Music: “Hero of Canton” (796), “Doctor of Gallifrey” (496), “Finnegan's Wake” (107), “The Widow and the Devil” (104), “Sail the Sky” (60)
Top albums: As Long As I'm Flyin (1106), Sci Fi Drinking Songs (828), Scottish Songs of Drinking & Rebellion (401), Kilted For Her Pleasure (281), Going for Brogue (168)
Last year's playlists from this time last year:
Top Irish & Celtic Music: 582 is up from 575
Sci F'Irish Music: 12 (same)
Nagians Only: 21 (same)
Celtfather Experience: 29 is down 30
Hobbit Drinking Songs: 5 is down from 6
Firefly Drinking Songs: 127 is up from 126
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers: 71 is up from 62
Jedi Drinking Songs: 31 is down from 32
– PATREON
Patreon Subscribers: 157 is down from 159
Patreon Monthly Income: $1206 is down from $1215
Thanks as always for supporting my music. Streaming music gives you a quick and easy way to sample all of my music. Digital sales keep my business running. Tips and CD sales allow me to tour. Kickstarter funds physical products like CDs, shirts ,and other merch. And Patreon funds my songwriting!
Join the Gunn Runners Club on Patreon to support my songwriting. You will step behind-the-scenes with new music, bonus podcasts, videos, and live concerts.
Thank you for supporting Sci F'Irish music at Celtfather.com!
#CFMonthly
