I was self-employed for 365 consecutive days in 2007. As a result, I hugged my parents and grandparents more often than I had for the previous two years. I found out I’m going to be an uncle sometime in 2008.

I released a new album in 2007 that paid for itself from the pre-orders alone. Fans in Germany, the Netherlands, China, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England, and the US have already bought copies. My fans released another album on my behalf seven months earlier. They also launched their own website at matthewebel.net and created their own music videos.

I discovered UStream, Second Life, and Twitter in 2007. Half my fan base has never seen me perform in person, and most of that half thinks I’m a bird. UStream.tv put my face and my music in front of viewers around the globe. Twitter has found me beds to sleep in, gathered crowds for badly publicized gigs, solved technological mishaps, and made working alone a lot less lonely.

I visited Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California, Tennessee, New York, and New Jersey all in the name of the music business. More travel than I saw in the previous five years.

Touring has paid my bills in 2007. So has Coca-Cola, the Mommycast, crayon, Porter Novelli, Justin Kownacki, Joseph Jaffe, The US Postal Service, The Podcast & New Media Expo, Jeff Pulver, and a whole lot of music fans.

Chase Home Finance paid my bills for two and a half months in 2007, even though I wasn’t working there anymore.

I got my first mutual fund, my first IRA, my first business bank accounts, my own health insurance, and printed my first business checks with those useless stubs for people’s records.

Or, to summarize, 2008 is going to have a damn difficult time outclassing 2007.

[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, 2007, 2008, Goodbye Planet Earth, Virtual Hot Wings, matthewebel.net, UStream, Twitter, Second Life, Hali Heron, Hali of Firpine, Touring, podcasting, Chase Home Finance[/tags]

Every day Google sends me an update as to which blogs are talking about me. This morning I came across a review that made my day. Here’s a clip:

Ebel accomplishes something far more impressive: the songs, though catchy and great in isolation, are even more strong when listened to as a cohesive album… There are reprises, melody replications (where they makes sense), and the layout of the tracks was undoubtedly intentional.
YouMakeMedia.com

This was also posted on the album’s page in the iTunes Music Store. Very cool!

[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, youmakemedia.com, Goodbye Planet Earth, album, review, iTunes, iTunes Music Store, iTMS[/tags]

If you remember Beer & Coffee‘s release, you’re probably as surprised as I am that Goodbye Planet Earth made it to the Music Store in less than a month.

Well, it’s there! And it’s only $9.99 for the whole album. Granted, if you want high-quality DRM-Free tracks, you’ll need to get it from CD Baby or MySpace, and that’s only $12.99. But if you’re dying to get your copy of the new album from iTunes, it’s there!

And please leave a review on iTunes if you’ve already heard the album! Just CLICK HERE to go straight to the iTunes Music Store.

[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, Goodbye Planet Earth, iTunes, iTMS, iTunes Music Store, DRM, MP3[/tags]

A few quick news flashes for you on a Friday…

First of all, Goodbye Planet Earth is now available for direct purchase via CD Baby. You can grab a copy either as a round piece of plastic or save some packaging and get it as an MP3 album for the same price. No DRM, no trash.

If you’re the MySpacing type, you can also grab DRM-free MP3′s from http://myspace.com/matthewebelmusic as well. It’s all the same price, so just pick your favorite store.

Also, I’ll be giving away one free song to anyone who can get a friend to sign up for the email list. If you can convince someone to sign up and list your email as a referral, I’ll send both of you an exclusive track I’ll be recording in January. If you’re not already signed up for the mailing list, just visit http://matthewebel.com/signup or hit the signup forms all over this blog.

[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, Goodbye Planet Earth, CD Baby, DRM, MP3, free music[/tags]

I was just chatting with someone via IM about the new album, Goodbye Planet Earth, and I realized that most of the album’s production has been paid for by people who haven’t even heard the music yet. They’ve paid a premium up front simply because they have faith that I’ll create something worth buying, and they want it signed.

I am simply amazed at how cool my fans are, and sometimes it doesn’t hit me until I try to explain it to someone else.

[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, Goodbye Planet Earth[/tags]

Okay, so I got a little excited.

I got an email from Discmakers recently with a UPS tracking number. I leaped straight to the conclusion that my CD order for Goodbye Planet Earth was on its way here. In my defense, Discmakers could be a little more specific in their notification emails.

In Discmakers’ defense, I could’ve gone to their project tracking system and seen that all they sent was a box of posters.

So, um, yeah. The CD’s aren’t even scheduled to arrive until Nov. 27, but now I have all my mailing labels and packages ready to go. The posters, however, look fantastic.

[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, discmakers, jumping the gun, UPS, Goodbye Planet Earth[/tags]

Note: This Author Is An Idiot.

According to the UPS tracker, I have 1,000 CD’s on a truck somewhere in Nashville. So if you’ve pre-ordered Goodbye Planet Earth, it’ll be ready to ship out to you either today or tomorrow. No joke.

You can’t imagine how happy I am right now… I’m like a kid waiting by the window for the postman at Christmas time.

[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, Goodbye Planet Earth[/tags]

Note: This Author Is An Idiot.

Just heard from DiscMakers… the new CD’s have been shipped to me via UPS. Prove it, you say? Here’s the UPS tracking number: 1Z180E670392934334

OK, Matt’s excited now.

[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, discmakers, UPS, Goodbye Planet Earth[/tags]