mandy
TD Member
Hey guys,
So I've had a few of you ask me what's going on with my album/music/etc...
Well instead of repeating myself over and over, I thought I'd take the time to let you all know the full story.
Q: MANDY!!! ARE YOU STILL WRITING MUSIC?!?!?!
A: Yes... lol. i write daily, especially now since I'm studying music for post-secondary. i enjoy writing; it's like my musical therapy. As far as writing for my current album goes, the last two songs that were being added were completed about half a year ago... more details on that below.
Q: MANDY!!! WHEN IS YOUR ALBUM COMING OUT?!?! IT'S BEEN LIKE, 500 YEARS!!!!
A: I know, I know... This is what's been going on:
When I first signed to record an EP with my producer, Michael Hanson, we agreed to 5 songs which would then be mastered at Metal Works studios in Mississauga. We completed the EP in the winter of 2009 for a showcase I performed at in February. A few months after the showcase, Michael had offered to complete another two songs to turn the EP into a full-length LP at no cost. At this point, once everything was finalized, a full year had passed since the EP was completed, and my musical tastes had changed.
(Personally, instead of writing two new songs, I wanted to revamp my existing songs to fit the new genre of music I preferred, but apparently that took too much time and work and I would've had to pay to get them mastered again...)
More months went by waiting to start on these new songs, so since it was impossible to contact him, I continued to shop around the songs that were already completed. During that time, I've been approached by several labels who were willing to look into me as an artist, but at the time, I was expecting to finish my LP before I agreed to anything. On the side, my producer had also offered to sign me to the label he was associated with, along with Alan Frew. Afraid to make any concrete decisions, I made the choice to wait until the LP was completely finished.
While all this was going on, I was in the process of auditioning for several arts schools around North America for post secondary. Around the beginning of 2011, we completed the first of the two songs promised. At this point, the record labels that were interested earlier kept hounding me for a response so we took the discussion to my producer as well as my manager.
I still don't fully understand why my producer was so against accepting the offer the record label was giving me... but I have a hunch it had something to do with jealousy. We finished the second song and then things got serious. My family and I sat down with my producer and my manager again and we discussed what was to happen now. Again, they promised to have me looked at by their label, which was an ongoing promise from the beginning, and the old tricks were beginning to wear out.
We decided we wanted to go ahead and sign with the other record label but my producer refused to release the songs if that was our decision (He owned 50% of my songs).
So here I am now, in a contract limbo. I have 5 completed songs, and 2 unmastered songs, both of which I can't really do anything with other than performing them live.
But now you may ask:
Q: MANDY!!! WHY DON'T YOU JUST WRITE NEW SONGS WITH THIS RECORD LABEL?!!??!
A: Simply because I'm not made of money
These songs took a lot of time, they are still great songs, but most importantly, they were paid for. I'm not about to throw away 7 songs for nothing even though I would like to write new material.
Q: SO WHAT DO YOU DO NOW, MANDY?!?!?!
A: Legal action is being taken. We're getting lawyers involved to retrive some kind of rights over my songs. I don't really know how it's going to end, but I've chosen not to stress about it and concentrate on my schooling. I'm very proud about attending Humber's Jazz program and I plan on taking full advantage of it. It's a 4-5 year degree program that guides you out the door with a full EP that you write and engineer yourself in your final year. I see this a my opportunity to grow as a musician, to meet other musicians, and to get my foot in the door. Besides, now I can look forward to writing a whole new EP the way I want to all by myself.
Q: MANDY!!!! ARE YOU SAD?!?!?!
A: Fuck. No. :)
I hope this answered any of your questions. I'm constantly performing around Toronto, so if any of you are interested in seeing a show, just ask! I plan on posting some new videos on youtube eventually and hopefully things will work out before I finish University.
Ever to Excel.
So I've had a few of you ask me what's going on with my album/music/etc...
Well instead of repeating myself over and over, I thought I'd take the time to let you all know the full story.
Q: MANDY!!! ARE YOU STILL WRITING MUSIC?!?!?!
A: Yes... lol. i write daily, especially now since I'm studying music for post-secondary. i enjoy writing; it's like my musical therapy. As far as writing for my current album goes, the last two songs that were being added were completed about half a year ago... more details on that below.
Q: MANDY!!! WHEN IS YOUR ALBUM COMING OUT?!?! IT'S BEEN LIKE, 500 YEARS!!!!
A: I know, I know... This is what's been going on:
When I first signed to record an EP with my producer, Michael Hanson, we agreed to 5 songs which would then be mastered at Metal Works studios in Mississauga. We completed the EP in the winter of 2009 for a showcase I performed at in February. A few months after the showcase, Michael had offered to complete another two songs to turn the EP into a full-length LP at no cost. At this point, once everything was finalized, a full year had passed since the EP was completed, and my musical tastes had changed.
(Personally, instead of writing two new songs, I wanted to revamp my existing songs to fit the new genre of music I preferred, but apparently that took too much time and work and I would've had to pay to get them mastered again...)
More months went by waiting to start on these new songs, so since it was impossible to contact him, I continued to shop around the songs that were already completed. During that time, I've been approached by several labels who were willing to look into me as an artist, but at the time, I was expecting to finish my LP before I agreed to anything. On the side, my producer had also offered to sign me to the label he was associated with, along with Alan Frew. Afraid to make any concrete decisions, I made the choice to wait until the LP was completely finished.
While all this was going on, I was in the process of auditioning for several arts schools around North America for post secondary. Around the beginning of 2011, we completed the first of the two songs promised. At this point, the record labels that were interested earlier kept hounding me for a response so we took the discussion to my producer as well as my manager.
I still don't fully understand why my producer was so against accepting the offer the record label was giving me... but I have a hunch it had something to do with jealousy. We finished the second song and then things got serious. My family and I sat down with my producer and my manager again and we discussed what was to happen now. Again, they promised to have me looked at by their label, which was an ongoing promise from the beginning, and the old tricks were beginning to wear out.
We decided we wanted to go ahead and sign with the other record label but my producer refused to release the songs if that was our decision (He owned 50% of my songs).
So here I am now, in a contract limbo. I have 5 completed songs, and 2 unmastered songs, both of which I can't really do anything with other than performing them live.
But now you may ask:
Q: MANDY!!! WHY DON'T YOU JUST WRITE NEW SONGS WITH THIS RECORD LABEL?!!??!
A: Simply because I'm not made of money
These songs took a lot of time, they are still great songs, but most importantly, they were paid for. I'm not about to throw away 7 songs for nothing even though I would like to write new material.
Q: SO WHAT DO YOU DO NOW, MANDY?!?!?!
A: Legal action is being taken. We're getting lawyers involved to retrive some kind of rights over my songs. I don't really know how it's going to end, but I've chosen not to stress about it and concentrate on my schooling. I'm very proud about attending Humber's Jazz program and I plan on taking full advantage of it. It's a 4-5 year degree program that guides you out the door with a full EP that you write and engineer yourself in your final year. I see this a my opportunity to grow as a musician, to meet other musicians, and to get my foot in the door. Besides, now I can look forward to writing a whole new EP the way I want to all by myself.
Q: MANDY!!!! ARE YOU SAD?!?!?!
A: Fuck. No. :)
I hope this answered any of your questions. I'm constantly performing around Toronto, so if any of you are interested in seeing a show, just ask! I plan on posting some new videos on youtube eventually and hopefully things will work out before I finish University.
Ever to Excel.
