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*Artist List: We would like to welcome our five newest members - Alien Cowboys, Esthetic Pale, Franco, Prospect, and Hugo Flores. Thanks to every one of our TWENTY TWO members!

*Advertising: The ads have been sent out! You can take a look at them on the website and forward any comments to us. Go to http://www.fossilrecords.net, click on NEWS, and then click on the word "Advertising" in the list. One ad has been sent to Guitar World; the other, to Progression Magazine. Each ad cost $175 for a grand total of $350. We had a fantastic 83% of our artists contribute $17.50 to the advertising pool which cut the overhead cost by 75%! We sincerely thank everyone for their contribution!

*CDBaby Discount: One of the benefits to belonging to a union such as ours is cost savings. Derek Sivers, president of CDBaby.com, has most generously granted us a $10 discount (now $25) on the Title Fee for Fossil Members. For more information, direct your emails to Fossil and not CDBaby - we'll handle all questions. Derek asks that each member taking advantage of this discount post a link to CDBaby.com in return. The discount is not retroactive, sorry.

*The Orchard Discount: The Orchard has waived the Title Fee for posting CDs with such sites as Amazon.com, CDNow, etc. For more information, direct your emails to Fossil and not The Orchard - we will handle all questions and prepare the (rather extensive) paperwork.

*UPC Symbols: In an attempt to make the monopolistic and expensive (company codes start at $500) UPC symbols available to all, Fossil Records is issuing symbols to its members at $10 for each title. Non-members may also request a UPC, but the cost is $40 for each title. If you are interested in a UPC symbol for your merchandise, please contact us.

*The End Is Near (end of the year, that is): A few weeks before the end of the year, we will be sending emails to each of our members with their account totals. Before the year ends, we need to have all debts paid (check or money order preferred) and all profit checks cashed by our members. This will allow us to close out the year (tax-wise) with a clean slate. No action is necessary at this time, we just wanted to give everyone a "heads up."

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