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*Artist List:  We are now, officially, 17 artists strong in only 4 months!  We have a number of talented musicians that are in the process of joining, and hopefully you will be hearing about them soon.  Our current catalog includes:  Charles Brown, Cerafim, Defyance, Ecstasy In Numbers, Endangered Species, The Franklin-Neumann Project, Goocher, Broderick Gray, Inner Resonance, Rod Laschanzky, The Orion Syndrome, Project Alcazar, Reindel, Singularity, Jeffrey Ryan Smoots, Denis Taaffe, and Third Voice.  We couldn't be more pleased that so many excellent musicians have decided to join our union!

*New Website Design:  Due to problems with software and webhosts (and a desire to improve the look of the site), we have officially posted the new Fossil Records website.  We sincerely thank John Green (of Singularity) and Indra.com for their most appreciated donation of a website host and portal for Fossil! This contribution helps to keep costs down for all of us so that we can concentrate more on producing great music and less on where the money will come from to pay for it.  Once again, the recently acquired url is http://www.fossilrecords.net.

*A&R Reps:  Fossil Records will now be aided by Jerry George in the area of A&R (artist and repetoire) representation.  Jerry, the moderator of ProgRock.com, will be offering Fossil’s services to bands that fall under his pervue.

*Review Delimma:  Several weeks ago we sent out a notice regarding reviews. In that notice, we asked members to select which sites they would like to send their music to.  We didn't receive a single reply.  This is not a problem for us (actually it reduces our workload), but we want to make certain that this is a service
that IS or IS NOT wanted.  Please let us know your preference and we will go from there.

*Advertising:  We will begin a modest advertising campaign this Fall - please let us know of any sites, magazines, etc. that you think we should advertise in. We have received a number of suggestions that we will be moving on.  We don't have the budget to pursue all advertising suggestions and we may be limited to only a
few - we'll have to play it by ear.  As always, we are open to your suggestions.

*Status of Compilation CDs:  With 81% (13 of 16) of the artists responding to our original vote regarding which financing plan to use, 11 chose Plan A, 1 chose Plan B, and 1 chose a combination of A and B.  As such, we will pursue Plan A. Should this endeavor more than pay for itself, we will put forth a plan share profits with the artists.  As a refresher, here was the context of Plan A:

"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."

*Fossil / High Desert Sound Collaboration:  Near the end of this month, Fossil Records and High Desert Sound will be announcing an alliance that will combine the efforts and experiences of both companies.  There should be no noticeable differences on your end, but the labor that goes on "behind the scenes" should be enhanced considerably.

As always, thanks to all!  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.  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
                              Jerry George
MP3.com NMA Rep: Chris Carrington  (Dagba@worldspy.net)
Network Coordinator: John Green

Sincerely,

Gary W. Franklin
Managing Partner
Fossil Records (Madison County, IL)
http://www.fossilrecords.net
gwfran@empowering.com