May 2010
3 posts
10 tags
Updated IMU Summation
Independent Music United is a Cleveland-based nonprofit that focuses on creating a more sustainable independent music community by providing free seminars, workshops, and other resources to musicians, while aiding the redevelopment of Greater Cleveland as a whole. Our unique platform provides these sought after resources in exchange for community service hours that are both manageable and...
5 tags
Cleveland Compilation Project
While there are a great many compilation efforts being organized at all times, we are excited to bring to the table an idea that we haven’t seen yet in any community on an independent level. The Cleveland Compilation Project is a very specific and very simple concept that will provide great local musicians with a cross-promotional opportunity that is managed and produced by THEIR hands!
We...
5 tags
The Greater Cleveland Musicians Meetup
Hello Friends! It’s been a minute since we’ve connected with you via the blogosphere, but we come bearing great news!
Independent Music United will be hosting the First Greater Cleveland Musicians Meetup on Saturday, May 22nd @ Harland’s Pub off of E. 185th St in Cleveland! The party starts at 7pm and is FREE to attend; it ends whenever we want it to.
CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE...
April 2010
1 post
4 tags
Back Online
Hey Everyone! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks for us here at IMU; we moved back to Cleveland, sat down with our legal team, and are about to embark on a journey to Detroit to sit down with the amazing staff of the Detroit Music Awards to talk shop!
Next week is a full one as well! We’re sitting down for our very first official Board of Directors meeting, taking part in a Civic...
March 2010
19 posts
9 tags
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live...”
– George Bernard Shaw
4 tags
Get to Know Us: Jack Storey
From time to time we like to showcase our staff, volunteers, consultants, and so forth. Today’s ‘Get to Know Us’ portion is about our fearless founder…
John Michael ‘Jack’ Storey, Managing Director, holds his Masters Degree in Entertainment Business; is a former national touring musician; a past CEO at Next in Line Records; and a frequent guest lecturer on the topics of...
5 tags
How We Got Started
The idea for IMU began in late 2008 when two driven, independent musicians began searching for a way to give back to the independent music community, which had given them so much. During the formation and crystallization of the organization, IMU had a broad, positive impact on those in and around the independent music community. Up to this point IMU has educated independent artists by producing...
6 tags
The Most Miserable City in the US →
You’ve gotta take the Bad with the Good sometimes, and it often makes you stronger. Cleveland is hurting right now, there’s no two ways around that fact, but we’re optimistic that by opening up some dialog and talking about what we can do to get back on track, we can reclaim our beautiful and amazing home! Who’s with us?
6 tags
ClevelandIndependents.com →
We love Cleveland and so do these amazing local-owned establishments! You should always support your local-owned businesses and we pledge to do so more frequently. This website lists a ton of the best dining options in town.
What are your favorite local owned eateries in the Cleve?
7 tags
Did You Know?!
the City of Cleveland is known across the globe as the birthplace of Rock n’ Roll, a term coined by Alan ‘Moondog’ Freed, a Cleveland radio personality, in 1951. Cleveland has also long been known for hosting the first ever Rock n’ Roll concert in March of 1952, which was called the Moondog Coronation Ball, hosted by Mr. Freed.
Just one of the many, many reasons we LOVE our hometown!
5 tags
A Wee Bit More About Us
The goals of IMU are to educate independent artists about the music industry, assist independent artists in building sustainable careers, and to advocate for independent artists both by introducing independent artists to important social issues that affect the independent music community and by educating the general public about independent music by promoting the work of independent musicians and...
8 tags
“In leadership writ large, mutually agreed upon purposes help people achieve...”
– Joseph Rost
6 tags
“One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.”
– Chinese Proverb
9 tags
IMU Buttons have Arrived!
Our very first order of 1” IMU buttons have arrived! They are very rad and we can’t wait to start handing them out once we get back to the Cleve on April 5th. We want to take a minute to thank the always-helpful Kyle over at www.cheapestbuttons.net for being so gracious and helping us with this project. He and his company have always been supportive of IMU since before we even had a...
9 tags
“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re...”
– Woody Allen
6 tags
“Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the...”
– Margaret Mead
10 tags
18 tags
Home from Home
We’re back in Florida after our 10 day journey through Cleveland, and we’re already pining for the Forest City. It was an amazing time full of really great sit downs with some of the Cleve’s finest nonprofit directors, music businesses, and rock n’ roll elite. The overall reception that we received was truly stunning; so warm, welcoming, and supportive!
We are intensely...
9 tags
“The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward...”
– Robert F. Kennedy
12 tags
Books for Bands 1st Annual Drive
One of the comforts that I found most helpful while living in a van with four other guys for weeks and months at a time, was reading. Nothing could kill time, ease stress, or help me escape quite like a good book. It is with that in mind that we here at IMU have decided to collect any and all fiction and nonfiction books that are in passable condition so that we can donate them to bands on tour...
20 tags
FREE ONLINE MUSIC RESOURCE GUIDE →
The link above will take you a site that simply lists a good amount of our favorite music business resources for independent musicians. The list was compiled by our very own Director of Optimism, Jack Storey, and Brandy Price, Course Director of Music Distribution at Full Sail University.
Just a little starter for you before we launch our first annual Independent Music Business Resource Guide in...
10 tags
Everyone wants to flee to the Cleve
We’re extremely proud to be Cleveland natives, but its been a while since we’ve been able to sit down and enjoy the awesome sights and sounds of the city. We’ve been busy working on the development of the organization while finishing our graduate studies, law studies, and more. It’s been a rough couple years outside of our home.
Next week we finally get to come home...
13 tags
Indie on the Move →
We firmly believe that the above-linked site is one of the finest and friendly independent music sites on the World Wide Web. Indie on the Move is owned and operated by a group of amazing international, independent touring musicians and boasts an impressive array of FREE touring resources! We could talk for hours about their awesomeness, but we think you should just see it for yourself!
Tell Dave...
February 2010
13 posts
10 tags
IMU @ FTF Music Conference
Independent Music United (IMU) is an official sponsor of the FTF Music Conference taking place April 22 thru the 25th at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. Our fearless Director of Music Optimism, Jack Storey, will be an active panelist throughout the event and will be on campus all 4 days preaching the gospel of IMU! Come hang out with us and get some great, cheap fun! Details of the event are...
8 tags
2010 Business Plan Complete!
So, we’ve spent the entire beginning to 2010 working tirelessly on the IMU Business Plan. It is an in-depth, heavily researched analysis of who we are, what we plan to accomplish in the next three years, and how we plan on accomplishing them. We are excited to announce that as of 3:00pm EST on February 23rd, that plan is now complete!
We would like to thank Michael Koch, Steve Burhoe,...
9 tags
IMU Survey →
Above is a link to our start up survey. We will absolutely love you even more than we already do if you’d take a moment to share your thoughts with us! Every person who fills out this survey, musician and music lover alike, help IMU to better prepare ourselves to make the biggest impact possible on the music community. Thanks in advance for being a critical part of our vision and...
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in...”
– George Bernard Shaw
7 tags
Fun Fact of the Day #1
Did you know that you can guarantee your music gets placed on iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody, and a slew of other critical music distribution sites for as little as $9.99? We were pretty excited to hear about it too!
Tunecore.com provides this amazing service to all of us in the independent music community, and we just wanted to take a second to point out their awesomeness to you, just in case you...
7 tags
Anticipation
Coming in the next week or so is our very first official IMU Musician’s Field Guide eBook that will be completely FREE for all you wonderfully independent musicians. The topic: Practice. Yes, an in-depth field guide to making the most out of your rehearsals! To make sure you’re one of the first people to grab your copy, visit us over at independentmusicunited.org and sign up for our...
Hey there, enjoy some quality independent music...
5 tags
Facebook too?! We're all over it! →
First Twitter, now Facebook…it’s almost like we own the internet!
4 tags
The Imperative C's
Here at Independent Music United (IMU) we operate under a three tier value system that we refer to as the Imperative C’s. What are they? We’re glad you asked!
CREATIVITY. COMMUNITY. COLLABORATION.
For more information about the Imperative C’s and how they define our mission at IMU, please visit us at independentmusicunited.org and sign up for our newsletter!
IMU on Twitter →
Yup, just like everyone else in the world: we’re on Twitter. Follow us, we’ll follow you, it’ll be a beautiful thing!
6 tags
So it begins...
Welcome to the ‘official’ blog of Independent Music United! We’re excited to see you here and hope that you subscribe to our feed to keep up with our progress as we strive to change the independent music landscape for the better.
How do we aim to do this, you ask? Well, here’s a brief description of who we are and what we do. Hopefully it will make it a bit clearer for...