Finding a surfboard in the ceiling, working as a gallery administrator, and a mission of discovery. Scott Montoya (Soft Palms, Happy Sundays, Studios For Studios) "Soft Palms, the brainchild of wife-and-husband duo Julia Kugel (The Coathangers, White Woods) and Scott Montoya (formerly of The Growlers), have announced the impending release of their self-titled debut album on July 31st via Everloving Records. The album is a feast of rich sounds and simple, comforting melodies threading together sock hop rock n’ roll, scrappy dream pop, and ethereal torch songs into a sultry, spacey, and sublime journey towards brighter horizons. The entire album gives off an aura of intimacy while also creating a broader, pastel colored world—a duality achieved through Montoya’s unique and meticulous recording process at the couple’s home studio the Centre Of Mental Arts (COMA), and the magisterial mastering job by longtime friend and collaborator Mick Boggis (Pogues, Mötorhead, 12 Monkeys, Joe Strummer, etc.) who has served as a mentor throughout Montoya’s recording career.” Excerpt from https://www.softpalmsmusic.com/about/ Scott’s Metadata Links: Music streaming services don't pay much, which is a problem, but there's a good chance you're not collecting the (insulting amount of) money that they ARE paying you. Majority of the music that I've released has been released in the US, and I've signed up for the following PRO's (Performing Rights Organization) and CMO's (Collective Management Organization). Each collect different types of royalties and are not in conflict with each other. If you live outside the US, check out this list of CISAC Members and ASCAP's list of Affiliated Foreign Societies. If you live in the US, register for these accounts: Ascap or BMI (Not both) as a songwriter AND a publisher, two separate accounts. These are PRO's SoundExchange - CMO that collects performance royalties TheMLC.com - CMO that collects publishing royalties from DSP's or Digital Service Provider. Spotify, YouTube, etc There's a chance this list is incomplete so if you have any more info on types of royalties that are still out there let me know please. CODES TO KNOW: ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) every track should have an ISRC ISWC (International Standard Music Work Code) every track should have an ISWC BOWI (Musical Works Code) every track should have a BOWI ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier) - Each band member AND band/artist should have an ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier) - ISNI's are available for 10 euros at Quansic.com. Quansic also has a Data Explorer where you can see if you already have an ISNI, and search for your music to get your ISRC's, ISWC's, and BOWI numbers. IPI (Interested Party Information) IPI's are given when you sign up for ASCAP or BMI. You should have a songwriter IPI and a publisher IPI. METADATA: When an album gets mastered, the mastering engineer should embed the metadata. Metadata consists of attributes that describe the audio contents. Title, artist name, date of recording, ISRC, website, album art are all examples of metadata. This is where things get a bit hazy for me. I've been doing research on the xml file that accompanies an album and found Apple's Basic Album Metadata Example, which has the ISNI of each performer and their role in creating the album (credits). I don't know how Apple generates this xml sheet. Please help if you have any info. I made a spreadsheet that contains the metadata that would go on this Apple XML file. It has the current (as of 8/8/2024) roles and genre codes. Here's a link to the template, feel free to copy it. Soft Palms: Bandcamp: https://softpalms.bandcamp.com/album/... Instagram: @softpalmsmusic Website: https://www.softpalmsmusic.com Records: https://everloving.com/products/soft-... Merch: https://softpalms.bandcamp.com/merch Twitch: / softpalmsmusic Happy Sundays: Instagram: @happysundaysfest Website: https://happysundaysfest.com Studios For Schools: Instagram: @studiosforschools Website: https://studiosforschools.org The Mouth TV: Instagram: @themouth.tv Website: https://themouth.tv Coma Studio: Instagram: @coma_studio The Vineyard: Instagram: @thevineyardpodcast Website: https://www.thevineyardpodcast.com Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thevineyardpodcast