About this project

I am an independent recording artist. An independent recording artist is one who operates without the support or resources that come from a major record label or recording contract. Thanks to the technology currently available to musicians, artists like myself can record, produce, release and even distribute their own music without being signed to a major record label. So why do the record companies still have a hold on the music industry? Mass marketing. Record companies still have huge budgets for mass marketing of their artists and music. They have access to large sums of money that is used for ads, including television, internet, posters, radio spots etc. They are also able to support their artists on tour and for other special live events. Not to mention exclusive relationships with traditional radio outlets.

Now, in the past, this was fine, because the competition that used to drive the music industry produced great creative music. However, something happened along the way. Over time, most major record labels became far more interested in profit and quick product turn around then they did in producing great music. The result? Year after year of disposable product. Music that is designed for quick profit and not much else. Artists are encouraged to produce inferior music in order to keep their record deals and stay on the high priority list of their label. It's not that these artists can not produce music that is better and more valuable in terms of content, it's that in order to compete and to maintain any sort of profit, they have to conform to the new music model.

There is hope, however. We the consumers and music fans can take the music industry back, one album at a time. We can prove that an artist can maintain their musical integrity and still create a great music product that can achieve commercial success without selling out to forces of the recording industry. I have created a project that will do just that.

The Acid Jazz Project is a trilogy of CD's that will prove that independent artists can make viable music products independently. This first trilogy will focus on a single genre of music and will serve 2 purposes. To prove and to educate. First, the product will be done completely independently. I will personally produce, compose, record, release and distribute this trilogy of CDs. Then, with the money raised through Kick Starter, I will market the project to the masses. Using ads, internet, radio, video, live performances and every other platform available. The first CD is already complete (www.cdbaby.com/cd/mano5). Pre-production of the next CD has begun. The second CD in the trilogy will focus on educating listeners on the basic's of funk music from a historical and contemporary perspective.

You can be a part of it. I will make it known that the contributors to this project are now officially a part of this long overdue music revolution. You will not just be a contributor, but a partner. Via liner notes, blogs, website and even video, we will let the world know that we are no longer satisfied with the music choices offered by conventional sources. You will be credited as a member of this project. We will let the world know that we want our music back. We decide what type of music we want to hear, not some executive on the board of some record company.

The next CD in the project is due to be released in December 2010.