Meet Wendy
V!
She's
been called "the Florence Nightingale of coffeehouse musicians", a
"fan's fan" and "local folk angel". Now based in
Nashville, TN, "Wendy V”
has a rewarding history of encouragement to musicians as a music journalist, promotion
consultant, life coach and speaker. Her audiobook CD, "Treasures In the Tip Jar:
the Art of Awesome Fan Support", and e-booklet "Promoting and Marketing
Your Musical Talent" offer
practical, common sense marketing support for beginning and professional
musicians and their fans. They were well received by artists ranging from those starting out to
long time
Wendy also offers a wide range of promotional services for artists. She has successfully marketed CDs to non-commercial/public radio stations in the U.S. and internationally for emerging folk, bluegrass, country, Americana and Christian/gospel artists and established artists such as Buddy Greene. A diverse and skillful writer, her recent articles on fan support and encouragement were featured on several music industry related websites. She is a regular contributor to the SoGospelNews.com website, writing monthly articles on life as a Southern Gospel fan.
Wendy
has shared her “Promote and Market Your Musical Talent” advice for
organizations such as Open U Inc./Learning Annex in
Wendy's other venture is Embrace Encouragement, where she supports those who want to take their gifts to higher levels and new audiences by being their "biggest fan" and giving much-needed encouragement and inspiration through a regular newsletter "Wendy V's Encouraging Words."
So What Does Wendy Do?.... FAQ
Are you the well-known Christian songwriter and recording artist Wendy Vickers?
No, that's not me, but thanks to the Internet, we've actually "met"! As for me...those who can't write music, encourage those who do.
Are you an agent, manager or booking agent?
NO..sorry.
Do you still do
individual promotion for musicians?
Yes! Go
here for all the information!
How would you
suggest I go about getting my music heard?
Start researching
for contacts. My links
page may be a good starting place.
Any other
suggestions?
Well.. let me suggest surfing
this website's features !
by Wendy Vickers
My name is Wendy, and I am not a musician (aside from the fact that I took flute lessons for a few months in sixth grade). I work a day job, and also am a promotional writer, music journalist, blogger and podcaster. Most of all, I am a fan who has been lucky enough to carve out a niche as a proactive encourager of local musicians in early stages of their careers. It all started in St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN, a major metropolitan music market, where I lived for 18 years. In 2007 I realized a long time dream and moved to Nashville, TN where I am blessed to be able to offer the same sort of support to Music City's richly talented singer/songwriter and gospel music community.
I got into this because I wanted to work as a writer. Over time, I found the best way to achieve this goal was to create my own opportunities. I spent five years as writer/editor/publisher of "Radio Regulars", a moderately successful grassroots newsletter promoting artists who appeared regularly on public radio (read more of that story here.) One day, I was drawn to a local Twin Cities bar with a music performance space to hear a singer/songwriter who was also launching a career as a radio personality. Since a bar was not my natural habitat, I went in the guise of a journalist with thoughts of perhaps having a feature for the Radio Regulars newsletter. The gig ended up being one of those which rocks your world and impacts your life forever. I realized there had to be many more artists around here with such great talent that the local world needed to be aware of. And indeed, as I discovered, there were. So with that, the "Local Folk" newsletter (to later be named "Wendy V's Local Blend") was born.
Aside from this, I also hoped to use my writing skills to assist musicians in more specific ways such as writing bios, cover letters and personal newsletters. I attempted one other mode of assistance--through the Internet, I met a community of folk/acoustic radio djs who responded "yes" to my question of "would you be willing to listen to new, independent artist CD's out of Minnesota if we sent them to you?" Some great things began to happen. The djs kept their word, familiar names turned up on their posted playlists, and in local reviews and national magazines like Dirty Linen and SingOut. Musicians began to get more gigs in town and neighboring areas. Some gained more confidence in themselves to move from playing open stages to making their first recording.
In order to better serve those I was working with, I began to educate myself on several issues regarding promotion and performing. I've also attended (and participated in) several workshops and conferences. My first concrete attempt to bring together some of what I have learned resulted in the 1997 audiotape "Dreams Don't Live In A Jar", and I began giving talks based on the tape and the companion booklet "Promoting and Marketing Your Musical Talent.". That tape eventually evolved to an updated audiobook CD called "Out of the Jar...and Into the World, and last year the booklet became an e-book. Over the past decade or so I have been humbled and grateful to be regarded and utilized as a significant resource for the music community. I have also written another audiobook sharing experiences and ideas covering my over 40 years as a supportive fan, called "Treasures In the Tip Jar: The Art of Awesome Fan Support".
You might have noticed in reading this that radio played a big part in this work. I love radio. I was lucky enough to grow up in the Connecticut/New York/Long Island listening area so I got the benefit of being in earshot of some of the most famous classic radio personalities of the Beatle era of the 60s. I also worked in college radio, set up a news department for my college radio station and interned at Yale University affiliate station WYBC in the mid 70s. My affinity for radio led me here as well. Being a fan of A Prairie Home Companion and Minnesota Public Radio opened the door to my work in supporting acoustic musicians, and it was a radio talk show personality and his musical sidekick who led the way to many talented locals who have become dear friends.
In the past few years or so I became involved in Southern Gospel music through the Gaither Homecoming videos and the Gaither.com web site. It changed my life in a big way ...see the trip reports on the Spiritual section of this site.
I also began a venture called "Embrace Encouragement" in which I hope to inspire musicians even further to help them meet their goals in sharing their gifts. The greatest reward is seeing the successes from which a fraction of my assistance has played a part. You can't put a price on what it means to hear people say they found it within themselves to take a bigger step in their plans based on a simple word of encouragement.
I hope you will find this helpful and that you find something in the features or resources which inspires and lifts you in even a small way. There's a world that needs your gifts and is waiting to hear you......
Wendy