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Well, June was a BUSY month! Contacting more artists, agents, and business associates has taking a big chunk of our time (not to mention a computer rebuild and a career transfer). So here is the rundown of the what's been going on. Make sure you look this over carefully and please provide us with your opinion as it is VITAL to our continued success! 

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*Band Additions: The following bands have been added to the catalog: Rod Laschanzky and Goocher! Also, in various stages of joining, are Broderick Gray, Charles Brown, Orion Syndrome, Wayde Cooper, and Vince Vrbancic! We couldn’t be more pleased about the interest and enthusiasm that all of the bands have offered! (If I've left your name off the list, please get with me and I will promptly correct my error)

*A&R Reps: Fossil Records will now be aided by Keith Langerman in the area of A&R (artist and repetoire) representation. Keith, an experienced reviewer for Metal And Hard Rock Area Webzine(Germany), Guitar 2001 Magazine (U.S.) and U.S. editor of Rock It! Magazine, will be offering Fossil’s services to bands that fall under his pervue.

*UPC Company Code: Well, we did it! We finally bit the bullet and purchased a UPC company code from the UCC. We have a tentative plan on how to use the code and we would greatly appreciate your opinion on this plan (even if you're NOT a member).

            The plan - Participation in the UPC plan will be completely voluntary. A one time fee of $25 will be deducted from participating members' accounts. This one time fee will cover all merchandise sold through Fossil Records. Example: The Band has one CD finished and another on the way. They pay $25 to Fossil. Fossil assigns a UPC code to their first CD. The Band then completes their second CD. Fossil assigns a UPC code to their second CD (at no charge). This may also be applied to non-CD merchandise.

*Compilation CDs: The layout for the first Progressive compilation CD "UnEarthed" is nearing completion. Artists will be contacted shortly about participation. We are having a difficult time deciding how to operate the Compilation CD costs. We have two options below, please look them over carefully and let us know which one you would prefer (even if you do not plan on participating in the compilations).

            Plan A - Participation is voluntary. One to two songs from each artist is selected for addition. Fossil Records pays for the manufacture of X number of CDs. These CDs will be sent to radio stations, etc. In addition, Fossil Records will sell the compilations at its website and retain all profits to offset the cost of manufacture and distribution.

            Plan B - Participation is voluntary. One to two songs from each artist is selected for addition. The artists pay for the manufacture of X number of CDs. Their cost will be equal to the extent of their participation (e.g. 2 songs on a 20 song CD is 10% participation; therefore, 10% of cost). CDs will be sent to radio stations, etc. In addition, Fossil Records will sell the compilations at its website and retain 20% of the profits. The artists will then obtain a profit equal to the extent of their participation (e.g. 2 songs on a 20 song CD is 10% participation; therefore, 10% of the remaining 80% profit).

We have looked at both of these options for over two months now and we cannot decide on which is better for the artists. So you let us know which you would prefer. 

*Reviews: We will be sending out material for reviews in the near future. We have a tentative list of review sites selected and would appreciate your input in adding to this list. Naturally, submission of material is voluntary and may be done by having us submit your material for you or providing you with the mailing addresses so that you may send it yourself. On the website, under Resources, are a number of review sites, online radio sites, etc. Check these out and be thinking about which ones you would like to send material to. Please help us to increase the size of this list with quality sites that will really get our names out there (especially in the area of instrumental artists).

*Miscellaneous: As always, I thank everyone for their interest and patience as we get Fossil up to speed. If you ever feel that there is a problem that needs to be addressed, don’t hesitate to contact me directly. If you have any suggestions that will make Fossil a better organization, please let us know. If I fail to get to your email messages within a couple of days please send them again. I always try to wade through them every day (and there are a lot of them) and you can never know when my mail server will collapse from exhaustion. Recent members need to send in their CDs as we will be sending material out for review soon. If you are still only a “prospective” member and would like to become a member (and you are on this mailing list) then please go to the Join page on the website, follow the directions, and… welcome aboard!!

A&R Associates: Jim Reindel (jimreindel@aol.com), Jon Yarger, Keith Langerman
MP3.com NMA Rep: Chris Carrington (Dagba@worldspy.net)
Internet Coordinator: John Green

Sincerely,

Gary W. Franklin
Managing Partner
Fossil Records (Madison County, IL)

http://www.fossilrecords.net
gwfran@empowering.com