Mp3 music has taken the country by storm. However, it's still in its infancy. Mp3 com gets hundreds of thousands of hits each day as do the other smaller mp3 music sites. However, when talking to people on the street, in my neighborhood, going shopping for music, not even one percent of the people have visited an mp3 music Web Site. Though the market is tremendously big, the surface has not even been scratched, compared to the people who are on the Internet, and those who will someday have computers.

It amazes me that so many musicians do not have computers. Those without computers, and do not have their music on an mp3 site for download are really foolish. A person can easily spend a couple of thousand dollars ($2,000.00) and never sell ten CDs, unless they are a very popular band and sell their CDs at all live performances. Yet one can get on the web with just the music they record at home on their computer, and gain recognition, and have thousands of people listen to their music, and make a few bucks.

I know one person who consistently earns $50.00 a month from the downloads of his mp3 music files. He knows how to work the system and what sites to put his music on to get paid for his downloads.

If you have music already recorded, you should jump into the mp3 music market for it is a good experience. You will discover which of your recorded songs the public likes. And believe me this will surprise you. I almost didn't upload a song called "Cheatin" to mp3 com. I didn't think it was good enough to be up for download. However, the song has always been one of my most downloaded songs, and was a featured song in the Country Blues Genre of www.mp3.com . And I have received many favorable comments on the songs. One song that I consider one of my best compositions, and utilizes some of my greatest Guitar playing skills, is one of the songs that has received the fewest downloads. So you must put your songs up to find out what the public likes.

Even the big record companies who have artists that sell in the millions cannot always judge what the public likes. The last two songs that Country Music Legend Hank Williams wrote and recorded were: "Your Cheating Heart," and "Kaw-Liga." The Record Company execs considered "Your Cheating Heart" as a fill side for the last Hank Williams Single. The powers at being thought that "Kaw-Liga" would be a multi million selling song. "Kaw-Liga" had all the elements in the song that usually make for a hit recording. "Kaw-Liga" was definitely different. It had an unusual beat for a Country Song; it was one of the most imaginative songs Hank Williams ever wrote; the subject material was very good for a country song; the song was well performed. However, "Kaw-Liga" got little attention on the music market.

"Your Cheating Heart" was just a heart breaking song by a man that was pining because the woman he loved cheated on him. "Your Cheating Heart" became the most famous song that Hank Williams ever wrote and recorded, selling in the millions, and becoming the title of the movie made on the life of Hank Williams. So can you figure that one. Music Lovers decide what song is going to be a hit, not the Recording Execs. You need to put up your music so you can discover what songs you perform that the public likes best. What the music lovers like best in your songs, they will download in your mp3 files.

So get on the Net today with your songs.

What you need to get your music on the net with mp3.

A Recording of your songs, that goes without saying. You must have your songs on a Wave File in order to convert it to an MP3 files, so a you need a digital recording program for your computer.

Free downloads of this digital recording program: Cool Edit.

You'll find Cool Edit 2000 here. Download and install "Cool Edit." Then use the program to read your songs in from tape, if that is where you have them.

You also need a MP3 encoding program. This costs money, but not much. $29 to enable the MusicMatch 4 program to encode your songs into the mp3 format for upload.

The initial Music Match 4 program is a free download. To enable this program to encode mp3 files in the 128 k format, you have to pay $29 to get a key to unlock the capability. I know this sounds technical, but it's really easy.

Encode your songs in the 128K mp3 format, then upload them to an mp3 music site like www.mp3.com or www.amp3.com, or www.iuma.com

These are the three most popular mp3 web sites

www.mp3.com is the largest and most popular mp3 Web Site there is. www.mp3.com is organized much better than the other two web sites and mp3.com is easy to use, to upload your songs and get them on the net.

If you don't have your songs on tape, and want to record your songs, you need a multi track Digital Recording program. These programs can costs as little as $49. I use a Voyetra Digital Multi Track Recording program which can be found at : http://www.voyetra-turtle-beach.com/site/default.asp

I use the Voyetra Orchestrator program. The cost of this program is relatively cheap, and this program is very easy to use, probably the easiest of all Digital Multi Track Programs. Voyetra has programs up to $149. The more you pay, the more you get. I use Voyetra and it is a good program for me, I think it is a good one for you. However, you, and only you, must decide on the program you purchase for multi track digital recordings.

If you want to spend some real bucks, look around the Voyetra Web Site. They have inexpensive, and expensive programs and sound cards. However, even the most expensive Voyetra Program and Sound card are relatively inexpensive when compared with some Sound Cards and Multi Track Programs on the Market Today.

Cool Edit has a professional multi Track Program that sells for $399. I'm sure it is a good program for their free "Cool Edit" Recording program is excellent, and very easy to use. The Cool Edit Professional Multi Track Program would be more complex than a two track stereo program. That is just the way it is.

I recommend your recording on your computer, in digital, if you can hack a computer at all. If you are pretty well computer illiterate, you can record on tape and send the tape to some mp3 music Web Sites and they will convert it to mp3 files and put it up for you. If you are computer illiterate and want your music on an mp3 site, just check around on the web, using the search engines for a place that will do this for you. I'm not certain about this, but I think www.mp3.com will do it for you if you send them a tape. Visit the www.mp3.com site and find out for yourself.

Mp3 com enables your power to create great music.

- article by The Guitar Man

My Newest Songs are: "Boogie Woogie Blues" and "Dobro With Guitar," also "Mountain Dew."

One of my most popular songs on www.mp3.com is: "Sweet Baby". "Hillbilly Jive" is getting very big download numbers now, check it out.

Check out these songs "Sunday Blues," and "Resonator Blues."

http://www.mp3.com/artists/54/the_guitar_man.html

Also by Lee "The Guitar Man"

Have you ever played a Resonator Guitar?
http://www.guitarsite.com/newsletters/991129/12.shtml

Check out my latest Resonator Guitar Song, "Resonator Blues," on mp3 com at:
http://www.mp3.com/artists/54/the_guitar_man.html

see also: MP3 info, software, sites
http://www.guitarsite.com/mp3.htm