Broadjam is excited to be among the sponsors for this year’s Forecastle Festival, the largest gathering of musicians, artists and activists in the Midwest, which takes place in Louisville, Kentucky, July 27-28. The festival’s goal is to provide an all-encompassing experience for those interested in music, arts and environmental issues.

Headlining this year’s festival are hip-hop pioneers De La Soul, Girl Talk and Particle. Other artists include The Chicago Afrobeat Project, Mucca Pazza, Wax Fang, The Features and many more! Almost 50 environmental organizations will be partipating as well, including Heartwood and the The Sierra Club. The festival includes panels, speakers, an eco-business expo, eco-film showcase and outdoor extreme sports park.

For complete line-ups, visit the Forecastle Festival.

We would also like to extend an invitation to any of our members to head down to Louisville this summer and take part in this spectacular experience. We hope to see you there!

Do you have a song you’d like to feature as a free download on your Broadjam website? Today in Tips & Tricks, we’re giving you the lowdown on adding free downloads to your hosted site. Give your fans a taste and keep them coming back for more!

Have a question about adding free downloads? Email customer service or call (608)-271-3633.

Do you have any news? Tell us about upcoming shows, CD releases, new websites or anything else you have going on.

Hey everyone,

A few weeks ago at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Vegas, we successfully launched our first annual “Date With A Publisher”. This event rewarded five contest-winning songwriters with the opportunity to pitch their music face to face to five publishers and was held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas the day before Academy of Country Music Awards. Each of the five writers spent approximately 20 minutes with each of the five industry pros, and both writers and publishers said meeting each other was a great experience.

The winning entrants were Tom Stipe, Bonnie Warren, Marc Kuchner, Will Hopkins and Drew Rice—five strong writers who are each prolific and unique. Their music rose to the top of the hundreds of other entries, and I can’t say enough about their talent. Be sure to check out their music on their Broadjam profile pages.

Also a big thanks to our industry pros, Autumn House – Capitol Records, Dale Bobo – Warner Chappell, Martha Irwin – Elevation Music, Rex Benson – Independent Publisher and Rick Giles – Songwriter/Publisher. Each of these folks generously donated their time and provided great feedback to our members. Some of them are still in contact with the winners and already working on projects!

As guests of Broadjam and the Academy of Country Music, the group of winning songwriters attended several ACM-hosted events. The Party For A Cause (New Artist Showcase), Songwriters in the Round, Academy of Country Music Awards and the All Star Jam were all part of the prize package, which the winners didn’t find out about until they got to Las Vegas. The winners and their guests found themselves watching the biggest country stars up close and personal at invite-only shows, and everyone had a blast.

Thanks also to the Academy of Country Music for organizing this event with us. It is truly a forward-thinking organization and we’re glad to be part of it. And congrats and thanks to our top members who made the trek to Vegas! (Bonnie had to cut a trip to Rome short to make it. Her first trip ever out of the country!)

The talent on the site continues to amaze us, and we thank you all for letting us be a part of your music.

All the best,

Roy Elkins
Broadjam Founder and CEO