Monday, May 23, 2011

Final Call: Spread the Word!

With just one week left, the project's donation page has quieted down quite a bit. News outlets are reporting less about the disaster in Japan as other environmental disasters occur globally. While everyone cares deeply about the ongoing efforts to provide relief to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, most people have already donated their time and money to various charities - and few people have enough of either to donate constantly.

I say this because, based on the donations, it might seem like interest is waning. That couldn't be further from the truth; as of this post, we have hit 900 downloads of the compilation. People continue to discover this compilation, and though they may not be able to donate financially, they are helping to spread awareness of its cause.

But with just one week left, it seems wrong to simply be pleased with what we have already accomplished - we should be excited to see how far we can take this. This is the final call that I am putting out for The Sun Will Rise: 


Spread the word!


Sorry for the sudden font enlargement and bolding, but I have to emphasize this as best I can. We have done well in getting the word out, but we can do better! Contact your local radio stations; tell your friends, family, and coworkers; burn copies of the compilation to CD, write the URL to the Bandcamp/Archive.org page on them, and hand them out wherever is most appropriate. Everyone's work in promoting this compilation is what has already made this a success. If you are able to invest a little time and effort during this week to getting the word out, you can help take this project to its limits. I'm very interested in hearing about what you are planning on doing or have already done to help promote this, so post in the comments all of your creative and generous efforts!

Only one week left - let's make it one to remember.

Kevin Stephens
internetlabelrelief@gmail.com

Week of Downtime

My apologies for the lack of a post last week. Sick+work+home life... the usual. Post about the project coming up in a moment.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Increasing Pace

Today's post will be short. I am unaware of any additional netlabels or media outlets that have mentioned the project in the past week, and the donation count has plateaued for the moment. But...

Downloads are doing exceptionally! We have hit over 600 downloads total for the project - more than doubling our two week count in just one. I hope that we can keep the pace up over the rest of the month and break the 1000 download barrier soon.

Keep spreading the word and the charity. Three weeks left!

Kevin Stephens
internetlabelrelief@gmail.com

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Post-Release Euphoria

It is honestly hard to believe that only two weeks have passed since this album was released. In just that much time, we have raised $306 and have received over 300 downloads.

At an average of $1 per download and $21.85 per day (that number just blew my mind!) since release, this has been an unequivocal success - particularly considering that donations are completely optional! For a free, netlabel-style release, this has received a huge amount of attention and an exceptional amount of money for charity. Through everyone's contributions, we have sent emergency relief supplies to Japanese citizens, provided special help to the elderly and disabled, and rescued animals and reunited them with their families.

Every last one of you should feel proud - whether you contributed your music, your time and effort with promoting or working on this project, your money by donating, or even if you just so much as listened to it. All of it has been invaluable in promoting this project and its cause - and we've done a great job of it.

There are a few things about this project that I would like to note. First, the participating netlabels and press page has been updated to include many more names of labels, blogs, radio shows, and the like that have put forth the effort to distribute and promote this compilation and its cause. I can't thank each of them enough for the help that their work provides to this effort.

Second, my updates will now become weekly - the rate of changes to the project itself has slowed down immensely after the release, so while every day I am excited to see how many more downloads and donations we receive, I think that it would be wise to provide condensed updates at the end of each week.

The third - and probably most important - thing is that the fundraising portion of the project will close on May 31st at 11:59PM PDT. The compilation will continue to be distributed for as long as the internet exists, and links will still be provided on ways to donate to the effort for those who wish to show their appreciation by donating to Japanese relief charities. The only thing that will be closing down will be the donation page at GlobalGiving. I am planning on throwing a party with all of my friends on the evening of the 31st where we listen to the whole compilation, and of course, where donating will be encouraged. I can't think of a better way to bring this project to a close than with a celebration of what we have accomplished while supporting the Japanese relief charities.

I hope that everyone is having a good May Day. After running the numbers on what we've accomplished here, I certainly am.

Kevin Stephens
internetlabelrelief@gmail.com