Letter from the Founder

This is a message to all seeking musicians from the Musicians' Net Founder and master musician TaliasVan.

I wrote my first song when I was about 10 years old and was then singing on street corners, back in my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the Uptown area.

When I was 12 years old, I brought one of my songs to a downtown radio station office and asked for the DJ and said I'd like to sing my song over the air. They of course laughed politely, tapped me on the head lovingly, and said "Come back kid when you get older."

So I kept on coming back, to radio stations all over the country, as I grew from pre-teen to teen, to my mid-twenties, to my thirties and forties, fifties, sixties, and seventies. (I'm tired just thinking about it!) And they kept tapping me on the head, then saying "Take the spiritual lyrics out of your songs, and we most likely will sign you to that contract and get you airplay."

I had to obtain my own radio station, called KVAN.FM to now get airplay of my music and artists that I believe in, to give them airplay.

It's been a lifelong struggle. I had to produce my first album myself at age 39 and spend my own money to do it. I had to start my own Global Change Media company, my own publishing company, my own record label, my own booking agency, my own venue, and my own state-of-the-art recording studio, because everyone else who wanted to help me along the way wanted me to either compromise or they wanted to own me completely.

So I understand what musicians go through, who basically only want to make a living at their art but can't.

Airplay is important. People have to hear you in order to come out and see you at the local concert you're playing at. And if they don't hear you, you have to advertise in newspapers that charge you an arm and a leg to put a decent size ad in.

And some larger city newspapers, like in Los Angeles or San Francisco or New York, it could cost $15,000 to $30,000 to put a decent size ad in about your concert. Major record labels could pay for this, but not the unsigned artist, and that's the majority of us. Particularly if we don't want to compromise our convictions, we don't get signed.

Today you can't be just a musician, you have to be a businessman.

It's been a lifelong struggle to get my music now heard. So I do want to help spiritual artists and any artists who have a message they want to get out to the world.

If you're one of those artists, read the rest of this site, and contact the Musicians-That-Need-To-Be-Heard Network. We can help each other.

Respectfully,

TaliasVan