I’ve been getting all kinds of email asking for permission to use my music in videos, post photos of me online, or for clarification on what my bootleg policies are. Maybe this is a good time to address this…

• If you want to post photos of me at a performance or convention, I strongly encourage it. All I ask is that you let people know who that guy in the photo is.
• If you’re videotaping or recording one of my live shows, I would love to see those recordings spread around. Just do me a favor- try to remind folks that they can get professionally-recorded live music at matthewebel.net. If you want more concerts, I need to keep paying my bills- subscriptions are the best way for me to do that.
• If you want to use my music in your project, just bear in mind whether or not it’s a money-making project. You want to put Everybody Needs A Ninja behind your kids’ martial arts tournament video? Awesome. Want to use it on a site that’s bringing in Google Adwords or affiliate link revenue? Talk to me first. I want to make things easy for you, but again… I have bills to pay. If I’m helping you pay yours, I’d appreciate some assistance.
• For anything you post online, try to tag things with either Matthew Ebel or matthewebel so Google and I can find it. And whenever possible, I always appreciate a link back to matthewebel.com as high up on the page as possible.

So there are some official policies straight from the musician’s mouth. Er, blog. The point is that I’m not some RIAA stooge, I’m not commuting to gigs in a private jet, and I’m not trying to break anyone. I want to see my fans get as excited about the music as I do, so if there’s anything I can do to help (or if you have any questions), just email me!

A while ago I had a young filmmaker ask my permission to use one of my songs as a music video project. He and his friends create films, practice martial arts, and have an incredible sense of humor. I’d say more, but I think the video more than speaks for itself…

My favorite part about all this? I’ve never met these guys. In fact, I’ve never been to the continent they live on. They just found my music and decided to create something awesome to go with it.

Check out more from Dead Star Film at YouTube.com/deadstarfilm or watch the Ninjery at YouTube.com/recklessninjasquad

This also made me realize that I need to start working on my own Ninja Beer recipe. Definitely high-gravity, something that’ll sneak up and kill you.