Calling All Musicians and Songwriters

    Are you ready to get your original music in the hands of new fans? Ready to break out of the local market? Do you need someone to help get the word out and spread your sound around? Look no further! FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME is coming and it’s ready to rock! All it needs is you!

What is FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME? 

FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME is a novel by me, Julie Young set for release in April 2014 by Rocking Horse Publishing (www.rockinghorsepublishing.com). It tells the story of  Megan Tayor, a young musician who was plucked from obscurity at the age of 15 and molded into music icon MonAmi with a new recording contract, a new name and a mysterious image conceived by a demanding record label known for cranking out flash-in-the-pan-hit-makers. When MonAmi defies the odds and lasts longer than the requisite “fifteen minutes of fame” the label reaps the benefits from the bona fide super star until on the night of her farewell tour, burned out and angry, MonAmi goes on the run, leaving everything behind.

     She returns to her hometown of Kentwood, Indiana where she goes into seclusion and is forced to make peace with the person that she is and the persona she has become. Like it or not, she has to face the music. Who said living a double life was “the best of both worlds?”

What does this have to do with me? 

In order to launch FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME, I am giving musicians the opportunity to donate copies of their CD’s for reader giveaways, which I will promote on my website, blogs, social media outlets in exchange for your support of the book. There is no catch. This is ABSOLUTELY FREE and completely legitimate. All you have to pay for is the postage to get the CDs to me or avoid money altogether and donate your music in the form of MP3 files which will be burned (an agreed upon number of times) or, if you only have a single or two may be selected for a FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME compilation CD.

So, do I keep the rights to my songs? Is this for real? 

     YES!!! This is merely my way of developing a symbiotic relationship with the music community that I love and cherish more than anything in the world! Help me help you by getting your music into new hands, help you reach new fans and build a bigger buzz than you have right now. The FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME  Facebook page will be promoting musicians who participate throughout the winter and spring of 2014 and there will be tons of new opportunities beyond.

What kind of music are you looking for? 

As a general rule…everything. I am open to pop, rock, R&B, country, rap, Christian…whatever. I am NOT and WILL NOT accept CDs or files that are blatantly explicit and I am not looking for death metal. I would like a good honest mix of genres from hard working bands who “get” the opportunity I am providing and are excited to be part of it.

Do you have to be a certain age? 

Nope…High School garage bands…working musicians,…women…all are welcome…if you have ORIGINAL material…I’m willing to consider it. I do request that your band be “verifiable” (I don’t want to find out later that you are the 21st Century’s answer to Milli Vanilli) so that I can operate in the most honest way possible.   

Why are you doing this? 

   My character got her big break because someone was willing to give her a chance. Musicians know that it is important to get their music out there any way possible just as authors like to find readers anywhere and everywhere. My book is about music…I’m a musician…why wouldn’t I use that platform to promote the book and do something good at the same time?

I don’t have any originals, but I would still like to get my band promoted. 

I am happy to accept merch from bands who do not play originals, (i.e. promotional guitar picks, drum sticks, t-shirts) whatever…just contact me and we can talk about it.

     Have I answered all of your questions? Probably not, but that’s OK…the first step is getting the word out FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME will not be as successful without musicians and their dreams. If you are ready to kick this book and your music into high gear….then let’s get ready to rock! Contact me to find out how you can get involved!

Like Julie Young on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjulieyoung

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Follow Julie Young on Twitter @Julieyoung14

E-mail: Julie@Julieyoungfreelance.com

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Behind the Scenes: Fifteen Minutes of Fame Pt. 3

   When I wrote FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME, I knew that I wanted to create a project that would marry my two passions: music and prose. There was no way I would ever allow FMOF to be “merely” a book. It had to be more and that is what I have been working on in the past few weeks, creating a multi-media vehicle for the story that would bring FMOF to life in different ways and help other young artists realize their dreams!

     Starting in January 2014 readers will be able to check out MonAmi’s Tour Diary. This diary is the companion blog to FMOF and contains a number of deleted scenes, insights and a “peek into MonAmi’s brain” on a variety of subjects. This is the spot to connect DIRECTLY with the character. Ask MonAmi a question and chances are, she’ll answer it.

I am also accepting demo CDs, MP3 files (sent through Yousendit.com), t-shirts, guitar picks, and other swag from bands who want to get their name out to a wider audience and get their music into some new hands. These will be used as giveaways at book signings and on my blog tour in exchange for your helping to promote FMOF! You don’t have to send a ton of stuff, but whatever you can afford to part with would be awesome! I will do my best to promote it and pass it along so that we can all enjoy our “fifteen minutes of fame” a little longer.  E-mail me at Julie@Julieyoungfreelance.com for more information.

    In addition, I will be announcing some upcoming song writing contests as my 4/1/14 publication date draws near. This will be your opportunity to WRITE one of MonAmi’s songs and have it promoted on YouTube, on the Fifteen Minutes of Fame Web site, blog….you name it! Who knows? If it’s good enough, MonAmi herself may actually record your version of it for download! (and cut you in for part of the profits!)

There will be more to come, but this will give you the idea of how far we’re taking FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME. So the question is…

Are you ready to rock?

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Behind-the-scenes: Fifteen Minutes of Fame Pt. 1

      As most of you know, my first novel-FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME is coming out in the spring of 2014 by Rocking Horse Publishing. As excited as I am about the book, I have posted very little about it. Oh, people know the basics…”It’s a story about a rock star”…but few know where the idea came from, how LONG I’ve been playing around with it and what I planned to do with it.

Until now.

       The idea for FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME came to me 24 years ago this month. I was a young mother of a five-month-old, living in North Carolina and because I had nothing to do one day…I decided to write a rock opera. Suffice to say, it was not Jesus Christ Superstar, but I do remember the basic premise being there right from the start: A young, rocker being pushed to the breaking point and fleeing at the pinnacle of her career.

Over the years, the story evolved and changed. I drew bits and pieces from rock biographies, bands I admired and my own imagination. As the story moved from rock opera to screen play to God-only-knows-what, I had to revise with the times and more than once I wondered if anyone would believe a story about a mysterious, manufactured rock star living a double life. A few years later, Hannah Montana hit the Disney Channel and I was torn between feeling pleased that my concept was a winner…and PO’d that Disney had beaten me to the punch! LOL

However, despite the family-friendly spin on rock and roll superstardom, I knew there was a side of this not being told. Music history is littered with the carcasses of young performers who were molded into a carefully crafted image, given no creative freedom, and who were ran into the ground by the same people who promised to protect them. Through FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME, I strove to create a story that would show the good, bad and ugly side of the music business told by the girl who lived the dream:

I don’t know the statistics on the subject, but the list of rock stars that cracked under the pressure could read like a Who’s Who list of the industry if it were actually compiled. If I had the inside track on which performers would adjust well to the madness and which are train wrecks waiting to happen, I would go find another singer somewhere and become her manager…After years of trying to ignore it, I decided that the time had come to tell everyone the truth, to lift the veil and let everyone see what really happened. My career is not without its controversies, but I survived in a world where some fall by the wayside and others think they are one hit song away from a comeback. For better or for worse, this is my story: the behind the scenes reality about manufactured fame and all of the trappings that come with it from the girl who sold her soul to rock and roll. 

                       -MonAmi, Fifteen Minutes of Fame

 Up Next: Who is MonAmi?

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