ID: David Wimble
Coordinates: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Title: Editor and Publisher - The Indie Bible
Mission Statement: David Wimble is the Editor and Publisher of the Indie Bible. David lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In 1999 David fulfilled a life- long dream by recording his first CD called "Wild River". He wasn't sure how to go about promoting his music, so he started searching around on the Internet to see what kind of resources were available. After months of research, and wading through thousands of dead and outdated websites, David wondered why he hadn't found a resource that mapped out all of the valuable services that were available online. After a few more months of research, he decided enough was enough and created a directory that would help other artists easily locate the best available services online (publications, radio stations, vendors etc.) He called his resource directory The Indie Bible. The Indie Bible is published once a year, and is now in its 6th Edition.

BA: David, first question - can we call you Dave?
David: Mmmmmmm......okay. Are all of the questions going to be this hard?

BA: Thanks Dave. How did you get involved with the Indie Bible in the first place?
Dave: As is the case with a lot of things in life, the Indie Bible was created totally by accident. In 1999 I was in the process of recording my first CD. During the last months of recording, whenever I was away from the studio, I searched online for places that might help the CD to get some exposure - radio stations that would play my songs, publications that would review the CD etc. I wanted to be prepared so that there would be a lot of places to send the CD as soon as it was pressed. When I started out, I knew almost nothing about the Internet. I began my search hoping that I could find at least a few websites where I could gain some some sort of exposure for my music. I began my research, and it wasn't long before a "massive" new world opened up to me. The number of places online that were willing to help Independent artists was mind-boggling!

I spent hours every day finding places that I could send my CD to in order to get a review or airplay. I was happily surprised to also find a lot of online services that were willing to help sell my music. I stored all the information about the various services I was
finding in a spreadsheet. After a few months of research I had accumulated several hundred contacts.When the recording of the CD was finally finished, the band I was building (and planning on touring with) broke up. I was heavily in debt, so the idea of trying to form another band, and then tour around, was not very practical. I needed to start paying off some of the bills, and selling a few CDs a week wasn't going to cover the expenses. I also knew that if I was to try and put a new band together, there was no guarantee that it would last long enough to get any momentum going.

Then an idea came to me. During the whole time I was researching throughout the Internet, I was wondering why I couldn't find
some sort of directory that lists the addresses of all the helpful services available to Independent artists? There had to be one
somewhere, but I couldn't find anything anywhere? I did purchase a few resources that I found in my research, but when they
arrived in the mail, I was disappointed. The directories I bought looked like they had been thrown together very quickly.
Under the pressure of this financial crunch, I wondered how practical it would be for me to publish a resource that would list all
these places I'd been finding. An ordered, tidy resource that would enable musicians and songwriters to avoid spending the
incredible number of hours it took me to find the resources in the first place. I asked the opinion of a musician I had met from
Boston, and she said it was a great idea and that I would probably sell a lot of them. That's all I needed to confirm my belief that
such a resource was needed. It was at that moment that the "Indie Contact Bible" was officially born. From that point on I began to
consciously research information that would be added into this new resource I was about to create.

I soon realized that if I was to succeed at publishing this resource, I would need to include "all" genres of music, not just resources
for the styles of music that I enjoyed listening to. That took some adjusting, but it turned out to be quite fun because many new
worlds opened up to me.The first edition came into being in October of 1999. It was a very low budget book that was photocopied and had a plain white cover. Fortunately for me, even though the book was as simple as it gets, the value was recognized by those that were trying to get exposure for their music. People that bought it just loved it, and the feedback was incredible!

BA: How many bibles have you sold so far?
Dave: Edition One sold a few hundred, and the number has grown significantly every year. I hope to sell 15,000 softbound versions in 2005. I also have licensing deals set up with certain companies for the electronic version of the book which will probably bring the Indie Bible to an "additional" 20,000 people in 2005.

BA: Has your book ever recieved any feedback in regards to readers making it big as a result of following it?
Dave: Not making it big as in millions of sales, but definitely lots of success stories. The amazing feedback continues to roll in. I have testimonials all over my website of people that the Indie Bible has helped. They are a passionate bunch!

BA: Has The Indie Bible ever received praise from any big names in the music industry?
Dave: I sold a copy to Chuck D. in NYC a few years back. A friend selling the Indie Bible for me at a show in Las Vegas sold a copy to Mick Fleetwood. Lester Chambers of the Chambers Brothers (Time Has Come Today) purchased a copy in Austin from me and folk singer Melanie's (Brand New Key) husband/manager bought her a copy when I was in Jacksonville. None of them sent me a letter saying how great it was, but just the fact that artists with some notoriety were using the book was kind of cool.
As far as the Independent music industry goes, there are tons of icons that have supported the book. Many are authors (most of
whom have submitted articles for the book and my monthly newsletter).

BA: What is your personal favorite genre of music if you don't mind us prying into your life too much?
Dave: It really depends on my mood. In the day I like to listen to Mozart when I'm sitting and working at the computer. When I'm in the car I like music from any genre....as long as it's good. When I'm driving on a long trip to a conference, and I feel drowsy, I'll put in my special adrenalin inducing tape which has really upbeat toe tapping finger snapping stuff. That CD has everything from AC/DC to The Bobby Fuller Four (I Fought the Law). I do a lot of work at night, and that's when I put on my mediation music in the
background. I especially like Japanese Koto and East Indian flute music. A lot of ambient stuff too.

BA: Were you always a fan of independent music? Or did you have that secret stash of pop tapes under your mattress as a kid?
Dave: I was never a fan until I created my own CD and realized there was even such a movement. I'd always been pretty mainstream, although I did listen to quite a bit of college radio. I knew there was good music out there that rarely got heard, I just didn't realize that there was this whole movement going on below the surface, and that it had a name.

BA: In your opinion, how has the music industry evolved in the past decade or so?
Dave: The biggest changes are due to the rapidly expanding technology. A technology that is allowing infinitely more people to record songs and CDs than was ever the case in the days of vinyl. Another major change is the role of the major label. They are no longer "star makers". They are now "star finders", meaning that it is the artist's responsibility to record their music, get a buzz going, and "then" the labels will step in. It cuts their risk and costs down an enormous amount. In most cases, the major labels have become distributors of talent rather than developers of talent. The last, and most obvious change these days is that digital download/file sharing boom. Who would have thought 10 years ago that McDonalds, Burger King and Wal-Mart would be offering songs to their customers as perk... or that you could download and listen to any song that your heart desired within minutes...for free!

BA: Do you see the same trend in the independent music scene? How much does the mainstream world affect the indie world if at all?
Dave: They are very interlaced. These new technologies affect the mainstream and Independent artists, but for different reasons. A mainstream artist is always concerned with whether or not a new technology is affecting their overall income. The average
Independent Artist is scraping by, so they are not going to be in a position where they are going to start losing thousands of dollars due to illegal downloads or any other new technology that comes into play.

With the file sharing, it's possible for an Independent artist to have their music heard by thousands of people that would have never heard them before. I think it's safe to say that anyone who happens to download one of my tunes, it is someone that would have probably never bought my CD, or ever heard of me. Because of theavailabilityy of file sharing, if someone downloads one of my songs and like it, there is a chance that they will check out my website to find out a bit more about me, and may even purchase a copy of my CD. Another new trend that favors Independent artists is the growing popularity of Internet and Satellite radio. I think one of the main reasons that people turn to these two mediums is to get away from the mainstream sound of commercial radio.

BA: Independent music as an industry, where do you think it is headed? (Further underground or breaking through)
Dave: Definitely breaking through more. I think that the rise in popularity of Internet and Satellite Radio is going to be one of the most powerful marketing tools for artists that are currently not getting a lot of exposure. Also, it will continue to gain credibility as more and more artists leave the major labels to go Independent.

BA: You edit The Indie Bible, which is stuffed, front to back with thousands and thousands of ways to get your music heard. If you had to pick just ONE way to recommend getting a band's music out to the world, what would it be?
Dave: That's a tough one because there's still no single way. The Independent way is all about creating a multi streamed, but concentrated promotional effort. What you are trying to do is touch your potential customers in every way possible. You are attempting to invoke emotion by stirring as many of the senses as you can. What we're really talking about here is "branding". That's the key to success. There is no substitute for a great live show to stir up emotion and make your presence felt. However, to be truly successful, you have to have other promotional streams that can reach out and touch people. There has to be a concentrated effort that is made up of a variety of marketing tools.

Let's assume you do have great songs, and a small following in your local community. How do you grow beyond that?
I think the best way to start out is by looking at what works for the major superstar artists, and then tone it down to fit your budget.
When a major artist puts out a new CD, they have press conferences, get radio airplay, have posters, do interviews, have reviews
done of their CD, make a video and tour. All these options are available to Independent Artists....it's just on a smaller scale. It
doesn't matter if you're The Rolling Stones or Toby McGribbs, to succeed at any level, a variety of promotional streams are
required in order to create any possibility of success.

BA: In your opinion, what is the most important quality a band or artist can posess if they want to be successful?
Dave: You have to be persistent...tenacious in fact. If you think that you are going totreadd this path without hitting any rough spots, you are in total denial, and are simply not going to make it. You have to put an incredible amount of work in, and you will have to make many sacrifices. That doesn't mean it won't be fun, but in order to survive, you have to treat the process with a lot of respect.

BA: Do you personally consider bands with indie roots that make it to the top of the pop charts to be "sell outs" in any way?
Dave: I don't consider anyone to be sell outs until their writing is affected by their success. If an Indie artists's song somehow makes it high on the charts, good for them. I feel that the selling out comes when they attempt to relive that moment with another song that is written with the sole intent to try and reach that same pinnacle. It's kind of like the same situation that often occurs with really successful movies. There's often a magic to them. But, what frequently happens is that the studio creates a sequel to cash in on the success of the first movie. The sequel usually sucks, feels hollow, and the audience feels cheated.

BA: Are you involved in any other projects currently going on or happening soon in the industry?
Dave: I have started to pick up the guitar again. My dream is to eventually find a place where I can sit on a stool and play some tunes in a local club one night a week. It would be fun to do now that I've basically put all my dreams aside as far as my music goes. There's a big difference in playing when you couldn't care less if you were discovered or not. I like the idea of playing without any pressure. I've also been working on a book (fiction) off and on for the last 10 years. I'm at a point now that it's time to start doing something with it. I have to find an agent, publisher etc. The book is a humorous look at metaphysics. If anyone reading this knows an agent or publisher that might be interested in this kind of book, please contact me.

BA: What is in store for The Indie Bible? Any future plans of expansion, etc?
Dave: There will always be some tweaking, but I really like where it is now. What makes the Indie Bible unique is its precise targetness. My demographic has always been the artist that is carrying their box of CDs home from the duplicator and wondering "Now What?"

At this point for the artist, the emotion has started to die down, and the reality is beginning to creep in a bit. It's not going to be as
easy as they thought to sell their CDs. That's where the Indie Bible comes in. It lists thousands of places that will help the artist sell
their CD and get exposure. The artist can flip open the Indie Bible to any page and find valuable info. I don't want to sway away
from that precisness. I like the idea of an artist flipping open any page in the whole book and being astounded. I don't want to add in a bunch of new sections just to make the book thicker.

The 6th Edition includes physicall addresses, fax and phone numbers for the first time. So, all the contact information (along with the usual web and e-mail addresses) is available to readers. The reason I didn't include this info in an earlier edition is because I
couldn't figure out a way to include it without making the Indie Bible the size of a phone book. I did some major editing of the site
descriptions, and that helped to create some room for all of the new information.

The Indie Bible taps into is the world of people that like to help artists gain exposure. As an artist, my passion is writing and playing music. But, there are tons of people whose passion is helping other people. I've met many of them, and corresponded with many others. Most of the time they are making peanuts, if anything. They just do it because they like to help musicians. I think that's why I get so much great feedback. I'm sure most of the artists that purchase a copy of the Indie Bible didn't realize that there was this whole sector of society that would like to have an opportunity to help them.

BA: David, thank you very much for your time, we wish you great succes in your endeavors. Your book will forever be the envy of BandAttack as we have such a common goal.
Dave: Thank you

Please visit http://www.indiebible.com/ and get your copy of The Indie Bible right now!