Successful Spotify Experiment

For the past four months I have been releasing singles, one every two weeks, that would ultimately end up as the Heartfelt Solo Piano album. I released ten singles, one directly through Spotify. Today, with the release of “Heartfelt Solo Piano,” I checked my new album release on Spotify through the artist portal, and everything worked out. All of the singles that I had released, showed up on the album with all of the streams intact. This is a good reason to be sure that all ISRC codes are the same when releasing an  album containing previously released singles. Before doing this, I checked with Spotify and Tunecore to see if this was something that was going to work and they both said that it would. It was great to verify that their guidance was correct.

The one thing that I did immediately was to notify Spotify that I needed to pull the one single that I distributed through them. It is not possible to isolate the one single from the album and not have it distributed by Tunecore with the rest of the album. Going directly through Spotify with one of the singles was also an experiment. I thought that by going directly through Spotify, I might get some preferential treatment playlist wise or perhaps payment wise. Unfortunately, my experience with going through Spotify was not what I had hoped for. From calculations that I made through streams and payments on Tunecore, it appeared that I was paid less through Spotify. Also, that particular track didn’t do very well stream wise. It could have been that particular piece of music and there is no way to know for sure why it didn’t do very well. In any case, I am not going to go directly through Spotify again.

I am going to wait a while before pulling the ten singles from Tunecore distribution. There is no hurry really. I already paid for the year for those singles. One thing I am not sure of is whether a single that is on a playlist will stay there once it is pulled. I don’t have any way to verify that because two of the singles that were on Spotify playlists were temporary. One was on a classical playlist that featured new music and the other was on a jazz playlist of the same kind. Both were on and then off. None of the other singles that I had released were currently on a Spotify playlist other than radio, release radar or daily mix. I am going to keep an eye on those stats to see if anything changes as I systematically pull singles.

In two weeks I will begin releasing singles for my next album, Solo Piano Space Traveler.  I will try another experiment by picking up the pace and releasing a single each week. I have no idea if this will help me in any way, but I’m sitting on an album and I don’t want to wait four months to release it. At the same time, I want to maximize the use of Spotify in promoting singles. I don’t know how long I can keep up that up. Releasing a single a week will require a little more busy work. I’ll stay in radio contact.  😉

HEARTFELT SOLO PIANO WAS RELEASED ON MAY 20, 2019. THE CD IS AVAILABLE RIGHT HERE!

It is also available available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora Radio

Available for downloading at iTunes, Amazon, Bandcamp and CDBaby.

 

Recorded at the Peace Palace from November 2018 – January 2019

Music mastering: Joe Bongiorno at Piano Haven Studio, Sedona, AZ
CD Layout and Design: Louis Landon
Cover design: Louis Landon
Cover, disc & back art: Louis Landon

Innocence 3:00
Sweet Honey 2:39
Yin and Yang 4:25
Sweet Sadness 4:10
Foreign Lands 4;02
Have No Fear 2:42
Epic World 3:41
Speak Your Truth 3:09
Resting in Grace 3:49
Remembering 3:18
Play 4:17
Viva 3:25
Day of Reckoning 4:35
Pure Joy- Live at Piano Haven 3:45

New Album – Heartfelt Solo Piano Coming Soon

HEARTFELT SOLO PIANO WILL BE RELEASED ON MAY 20, 2019 – Included in this release are the ten singles that have been released in the past few months as well as four unreleased tracks.

Recorded at the Peace Palace from November 2018 – January 2019

Music mastering: Joe Bongiorno at Piano Haven Studio, Sedona, AZ
CD Layout and Design: Louis Landon
Cover design: Louis Landon
Cover, disc & back art: Louis Landon

Innocence 3:00
Sweet Honey 2:39
Yin and Yang 4:25
Sweet Sadness 4:10
Foreign Lands 4;02
Have No Fear 2:42
Epic World 3:41
Speak Your Truth 3:09
Resting in Grace 3:49
Remembering 3:18
Play 4:17
Viva 3:25
Day of Reckoning 4:35
Pure Joy- Live at Piano Haven 3:45

“Play,” a New Single

“Play” was released on my birthday, May 6, 2019!

“Play” was inspired by my friend’s two year old son. He would grab my hand and pull me towards his room and say, “play” with a question mark in his voice on the word play. I like the idea that that’s what he wanted to do. Usually it was with his cars, of which he has the largest collection I have ever seen.

You can stream this music on SPOTIFY, APPLE MUSIC and PANDORA RADIO.
You can also download on AMAZON , ITUNES AND BANDCAMP.

A New Single for Earth Day

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“Epic World” was released on Earth Day, April 22, 2019.

It was inspired by recent road trips I have taken through the Southwest. From Sabino Canyon saguaros to the slot canyons of Antelope Canyon to the breathtaking Vermillion Cliffs, I was filled with the incredible beauty of the natural world that we live in and made me think about creating a piece of music that could capture the majesty of the world’s dramatic landscapes.

Listen to “Epic World” on Spotify and Apple Music. Download at iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp.

New Single for Heartfelt Solo Piano

“Sweet Sadness”  released 4/11

You can stream this music on SPOTIFY, and APPLE MUSIC.
You can also download on AMAZON , ITUNES and BANDCAMP.

What’s With All the Hearts? Seven New Solo Piano Singles for 2019

People have been asking me why all of the new singles I am releasing have hearts on the covers. Easy answer: they will all be put out as an album once they are all released as singles. The album will be entitled, “Heartfelt Solo Piano.” Then they ask, “Why are you bothering to put them out as singles when you can just put out an album?” And I tell them that it is because you get much more action on Spotify to release each single separately as Spotify offers to promote each single. They encourage artists to release singles by doing this. If I put an album out, I am only able to promote one song. The rest of the tracks will be overlooked. When I put out singles, I can promote each single separately and hope that they will add the track to a Spotify playlist or will promote it through “Release Radar” or “Spotify Radio.” Also, these days, most people don’t buy albums/CDs, except at concerts. New cars don’t have CD players anymore and most computers no longer have CD drives. Below are singles covers of the tracks that have been released and two that will be released by April 1st.

 

Pure Joy – Live at Piano Haven released 12/18/2018

YOU CAN STREAM THIS MUSIC ON SPOTIFY, PANDORA, and APPLE MUSIC.
YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD ON AMAZON, AND BANDCAMP,

This was an audience participation improvisation that occurred in a concert on November 4, 2018 at Joe Bongiorno‘s Piano Haven Studio. People were asked to pick three notes, from A – G. The notes F, A, C were chosen. Then people were asked to choose a feeling. The feeling chosen was “Joy.” With that, this piece of music was born. Special thanks to Joe Bongiorno at Piano Haven Studio for the fantastic video and audio.

 

“Innocence” was released on January 14, 2019

You can stream this track on SPOTIFY, PANDORA RADIO, and APPLE MUSIC.
You can also download on AMAZON, BANDCAMP and iTUNES.

 

“Sweet Honey” I wrote this for my life partner, Christine. The title sums up my feelings about her and having love in my life. This single was released on Valentine’s Day, 2019.
YOU CAN STREAM THIS MUSIC ON SPOTIFY, PANDORA, AND APPLE MUSIC.
YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD AT AMAZON, BANDCAMP, AND iTUNES.

 

“Yin and Yang” was released on February 25, 2019.

This piece is a jazz waltz. Something a little different.

You can stream this music on SPOTIFY, PANDORA RADIO, and APPLE MUSIC.
You can also download at AMAZON, BANDCAMP, AND iTUNES.

 

“Day of Reckoning” was released on March 4, 2019.

Most of my music is peaceful and positive. Not so much here. Put on your headphones and turn the volume up to “11.” Here my Steinway B roar!

You can stream this music on SPOTIFY, PANDORA RADIO , and APPLE MUSIC.
You can also download on AMAZON , ITUNES AND BANDCAMP.

 

“Foreign Lands” – Release date 3/18/2019

I was taking a spiritual journey to foreign lands while playing piano in the comfort of my home studio. It is about traveling and exploring new territory with eyes wide open. I think it works on the physical level of going to another country and it also works for internal exploration. It’s peaceful, comforting and mysterious as well.

 

“Have No Fear” – release date 4/1/2019

Music is in his Soul

Article by Shea Stanfield – Arts Columnist for the Foothill Focus.

“To create a more lovable and peaceful world by writing, recording, and performing music from the heart.” From all indications, from his concerts, recording schedule, and feedback from fans, Louis is spot-on his mission.

Louis was literally “born” into a life of music in Yonkers, NY; his father Leo de Lyon, played the piano and was an entertainer working with such greats a Rat Pack’s Dean Martin on his television show. The entertainment industry would keeps Louis’s family on the move during his childhood, beginning in New York, on to California and back again. Louis started his piano training at age 4, sticking with the “less than gentle” teaching style of his Russian piano teacher until he was 13. At that point Louis had enough; he quit the piano and set off on the path, a number of young men of the 1960’s were following, picking up the guitar as his preferred instrument. He counts among his guitar teachers Eric Claption, John Mayall, B.B. King, and Jimi Hendrix, rock and roll and the blues were all the rage. Later, as he entered his young adulthood Louis returned to his piano roots paying close attention to the greats Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and John Coltrane to name just a few.

Upon graduating from high school, Louis was back to the piano full time majoring in Arranging and Composition at SUNY at Stony Brooke. He then transferred to Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. Louis claims, “It was at Berklee that I realized that I wanted to play jazz piano.” This decision would take him on the road for the next 20 years. Now, after playing piano for 61 years, 51+ professionally, Louis considers himself fortunate to have made a career in music, everything from running a music production house in NYC for 13 years, to playing in a number of venues of the business. It was a Southwest tour, a few years ago, that brought him to Sedona, Arizona where he met the “love of his life.” Today, Louis, faincé Christine, and his Steinway B piano now call Sedona home.

The move to Arizona has proven to be very productive. In the last four years Louis continues to play and compose every day, and to his astonishment he has recorded ten albums in that amount of time. He continues to play concerts, touring about five times annually for 2-3 week stretches. Louis’s favorite venues are private home concerts where he enjoys getting to know his audience and welcomes the comfort a home venue offers over large concert halls. When asked about the direction his recordings are taking, the answer is very diverse, Soul Healing Piano Music was recorded live during a healing concert that completely improvised. Departure is the material Louis had composed and went in a more classical direction. Classic Pop Rock Solo Piano is a collection of songs that he put his interpretation on Rock classics. Peaceful Solo Piano Christmas 2 (to be released on November 12) is his interpretation of thirteen traditional Christmas songs and two originals. Each album is an inspiring and very individual entity.

The bottom-line is “music is in Louis Landon’s soul.” Louis has a full local concert schedule. To view information on Louis’s concerts, isit https://louislandon.com/tour-dates.html. Contact Louis Landon at https://louislandon.com/connect.html. Louis Landon’s music can be streamed on Spotify and Pandora Radio.