Travel Ireland, Scotland and Beyond with Celtic Invasion Vacations

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is no longer on Spotify. But it is still coming out each and every week. Spotify announced at the beginning of 2020 that they will no longer host music podcasts like ours. So in February, they pulled it from their app. This stinks, but it is understandable. And it doesn't affect the delivery of the podcast into the future. The podcast still comes out every week. You can subscribe at BestCelticMusic.net. Subscribe on your favorite podcatcher and to our Celtic Music Magazine so you're up-to-date on all of our podcast news. While you're there, you can download our free app and never, ever miss a single episode. Thanks for listening on Spotify while you did. Slainte! Marc Gunn, The Celtfather, show #261 Irish & Celtic Music Podcast

Greetings Gunn Runner

What a crazy March!

Covid19 took over the world. St Patrick’s Day disappeared, along with most musician gigs.

But my Kickstarter for Selcouth was a huge success.

Let’s try and unpack it... on show #260.

0:28 - PODCASTS

The Pub Songs Podcast is my new favorite thing. It accomplishes many of the goals that got me started podcasting in the first place. I wanted a fun, engaging, and interactive way to promote my music and news. The challenge was that podcasting is typically not intuitively interactive. But over the past month, it's become so. I finally figured out how to get responses from the Pub Chat by using the Celtic Geek Facebook group. I also added a live streaming element.  That means the show now broadcasts on YouTube too! And it's more than just an audio podcast on a video platform.

Now the only struggle is do I keep it bi-monthly or should I go weekly? And if the later, COULD I go weekly without adding as much additional work as I'm trying to avoid? I'll try 'n let you know what I decide.

The virus has made some of things more difficult at home. I’m running Daddy Daycare right now.

It’s pretty much sidelined most of what I do. I feel like Stories from the Road is one such sidelined podcast. Tho admittedly, I have a couple episodes I recorded. Just need to upload them.  So I guess I’m not too bad at keeping the show coming. But I feel bad inattentive nonetheless. I have trouble focusing as is. This isn't helping.

I'm happy to say I am on top of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. And now that the holiday is over, I find myself getting back ahead of releasing episodes. I'm actually starting to plan them weeks ahead. I just need to pick songs. But the themes. Those are coming along brilliantly. It also helps that I can a bonus week in April. I'm taking the 9th off so that I can get ahead on OTHER shows... maybe even recording... We'll see...

Mikey Mason and I recorded an episode of In the ‘Verse right before the Coronavirus became a national issue. It was also right around the beginning of March. So I never wrote my song. I started one. But it just wasn't good... And right now, I feel disheartened like I don't have time to write music. That's frustrating.

3:39 - VIDEOS

My live streaming videos are about to go off the deep end.

Coffee with the Celtfather is in its final season. Well, it's the end, in so far as I'm gonna stick with an exact time on an exact day. I love doing these shows. But they aren't growing and they take up most of my Wednesday work time.

So does this mean I'm abandoning them?

Nope. I'm just gonna change it up. My plan is to turn Facebook into a full on busking experience. Meaning I'll pop in now and then. The show will be focused on tips, nothing else.

I might even try to fund raise a busking show... meaning--when I hit a certain financial goal, I will go live. Or something like that... It'll be on days when I feel like I can spare the time.

I do still plan on going live at least once a week... but it's gonna be a bit more random.

As I said earlier, I started to live stream the Pub Songs Podcast on YouTube. I love this. I will try to notify folks in the Celtic Geek community when I'm about to go live. That is also the place to get your thoughts added to the Pub Chat.

While I record the show live, I don't do much interaction with viewers. But that too will change with the next show. The main part of the show will be the recorded podcast. But there will be bonus songs, again fund raised by viewers after the regular show ends. So that's another reason to watch if you're able.

As for pre-recorded videos, I'm slowly dolling some of those out as well. Not nearly as many as I planned.

I just checked. I'm still doing pretty well with my 2020 goals. W00t!

6:48 - MERCH

My free CD offer is still going strong. I don't have nearly as many people taking advantage of it. But I'm happy to say it's still financially worthwhile doing. So SCORE!

Oh! And if you didn't get the free album from the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, follow the link.

The Kickstarter for Selcouth was a rousing success. Over $8800 was raised. That's my second highest Kickstarter. The highest as a soloist.

Interestingly, you'd think... or maybe not you, but I would think I made a KILLER profit on sales. But I actually didn't. I still did well in terms of pre-sales. But I don't think the take home pay will be more than a thousand dollars. I find that fascinating to realize...

That said, I will get new merch, CDs, and I get to hire musicians in need. So that's a big bonus.

Check out The Doubleclicks' latest Kickstarter.

9:07 - TRAVEL

What's the status of the Celtic Invasion of Italy? I wish I knew. I plan to make a decision by mid-April if I'm gonna be able to keep it running or not. It's not looking good. So maybe we will reschedule... or maybe not...

9:50 - WEBSITES

The Irish Song Lyrics website has once again come into its own. I've updated a couple dozen song lyrics over the past month. You can now play many of my most-popular songs as well as a bunch of traditional Irish and Scottish songs. But if there's one that's missing, please let me know. I'll get it added asap.

It's a pretty sweet site. Next I need to start making videos teaching folks to sing and play along.

10:58 - SHOWS PLANNED FOR APRIL

My full schedule is empty, like most musicians. I have a couple of local gigs and some official internet concerts planned though.

APR 9: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
APR 24: Tucker Brewing Company, Tucker, GA

MAY 7: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
MAY 9: The Lost Druid, Decatur, GA @ 7:30 PM

Weds Morning: Coffee with The Celtfather, Facebook (Season 5!)

11:44 - STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1028 is down from 1038
Celtic Music Magazine = 3938 is down from 3963

YouTube Subscribers = 4482 is up 41 from 4441
YouTube Watch Time = 26.7K is down from 314.8K
YouTube Views = 12.4K is up from 8.5K

Facebook Likes = 3684 is up from 3667
FB Page Views = 809 is up from 501
FB Reach = 21,234 is up from 9214
FB Video Views = 13298 is up from 9485

Spotify Latest Single Stats: "Molly Malone": 292
Spotify Latest Single Stats: "The Last Jedi Drinking Song": 150
Spotify Latest Album Stats: I Will Not Sing Along: 604 down from 1.4k streams

Spotify followers: 1501 is up 25 from 1476
# Number of listens on Spotify: 3485 is up from 3266
Most-popular songs on Spotify: The Widow and the Devil (1.3K), When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (707), Doctor of Gallifrey (581), Wild Kitty (345), Rattlin' Bog (316), Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (294), Molly Malone (292), Hero of Canton (255)

Spotify seems to have stopped showing subscriber numbers to playlists.

15:46 - PATREON

Patreon Subscribers: 154 is down from 155
Patreon Monthly Income: $1061 is up from $1050

16:05 - The Morbid Irony of the Music Business

Thanks as always for supporting my music. Remember. You can help me create and release more music. Join the Gunn Runners Club to step behind-the-scenes with bonus podcasts, new music, videos, and live concerts.
Slainte!

#CFMonthly

Greetings Gunn Runner

And farewell February. Things might've run a little behind. But I made big progress this month. Especially with the release of my Kickstarter for Selcouth. I conquered my $5000 goal just a few days after it launched. It still has two weeks to go. So I'm feeling pretty good about it so far. But before we talk more about that, let's talk about...

Show #259

0:40 - PODCASTS

The Pub Songs Podcast is back with a vengeance. I am a podcaster at heart. I figured it'd be fairly easy to knock out completely live episodes of the Pub Songs Podcast to my Kickstarter every week. And I was correct. I recorded four new episodes so far. Which is good because in addition to promoting the podcast, it also allows me to keep to my initial schedule of how many episodes I want to release this year.

Plus, I love the format. I'm fine tuning it still. But it starts with a song. I go into some news, add a stories from the road, and a couple more songs. It feels good. Like something I COULD keep up every week. Though I don't plan to at present.

Stories from the Road is not getting ahead. But I have a lot of new content. So I'm staying on top of it. That's good because this is my Patron-only podcast.

I got ahead for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. But I already feel like I'm losing that lead I got. I want to try and knock out a bunch of summer episodes. But I'm stalling for St Patrick's Day. Sooooo we shall see.
 
The In the ‘Verse podcast is coming. I apologize for the delay. But it's been crazy.

Course, that doesn't mean I didn't go ahead and setup the Cat Music Lovers podcast. The first podcast I ever published was the Cat Lovers Podcast. I created it to promote my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. But I ran out of time and had less interest in keeping it going. But I was still proud of that show. I was happy it was still available. Until I realized it was No Longer available. So I did a bunch of maintenance on the show. It should be back up on Apple Podcasts soon.

2:54 - VIDEOS

My voice is back. Which means Coffee with the Celtfather is back as well.  I feel like I've had some good shows. Though the attendance still seems a little lower than I'd like. Maybe I need to promote the show more.

That said, I am posting new videos on YouTube. And I'm working on a new strategy for the site.

My views have dropped dramatically since I deleted all of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast videos. Now each video I post gets about 50 views. That's not too good. But it allows me to start over and decide what this channel will be.

So what will it be?

1. Family videos set to my music. I like doing videos of my family. It's extra cool when I can add in my own music to spice up the video. I haven't figured out how to name the videos yet. But these videos help me learn a lot about shooting and editing videos.

   I have a new one featuring Inara. We went for a hike the other day. It was't too bad a video. My editing still needs work though

2. Travel videos. I recorded a lot of video these past couple o'years going on my Celtic Invasion Vacations. These are a great way to promote my trips. So I'm gonna keep editing these videos.

   The sucky thing is that as I edit them, I realize I should've done this or that... Like in the latest video from The Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye. I did a poor job filming. But there was enough footage that it's not too bad.

3. Song Performance videos. I thought I had recorded a lot of these videos. After reviewing my site, I realize I haven't. So I'm gonna keep recording me singing individual songs.

   This is a great way to attract new followers of my site. So hopefully, you'll see more.

4. Celtic Geek Thoughts. I'm not yet sure how to do these videos or what content to put on them, aside from the Celtic Top 40 videos I wanna do. But I'll have to tell you when I figure that out.

10:26 - MERCH

My free CD offer went over GREAT last month. If you ever want to find out how many of your fans listen to physical CDs. Give one away. LOL. I had over a hundred that went out into the world. And of course, all you have to do is pay the shipping cost. You'll find a link in the shownotes if you want one.

Again the Kickstarter for Selcouth is going great. I'm $700 over my initial goal. Yes. My actual goal is to earn $7500. But at least my base expenses are covered. I CAN create a new CD. And I still have two weeks to go to hit my first stretch goal.

I ran into one interesting problem as the goal has started to stall out. That is, how do I keep up momentum. Seems like every time I post something fun or interesting, I get a spike. But I'm not the best storyteller I think. So that's making it tough.

I discussed this challenge with Andrew. He suggested that I bring people in on video to chat about it. I'm gonna try and do that the next couple o'weeks. Stay tuned...

12:06 - TRAVEL

The Celtic Invasion of Venice closed up. We have a very small group this year. And I can start planning for Scotland in 2021. But I'm excited to see what happens next...

12:56 - WEBSITES

With St Patrick's Day just around the corner, I started updating my Irish Song Lyrics website. I started this site years ago to promote my Celtic songs. Admittedly, I've done little with it the past few years, Except around St Patrick's Day.

But I decided to update it for two reasons. One, it's that time of year. And two because I want to get back to helping people learn these songs.

You see, the reason I started the site was to offer an incredible resource. How to play songs the way I learn them, by ear. There are just lyrics, chords, and music to listen to on the site. You can play along with me over and over again if you so desire. This makes it a lot easier.

I'm also trying to make it entirely about the user. I removed much of the advertising that was on the website. Now it's just the stuff you really want. It's an amazing, free resource. So go along with me.

14:15 - PROMOTION

I also had a new promotion idea I thought up recently using Facebook groups... Well, actually any online community.

I have two groups that I actively share to on Facebook: Celtic Geeks and Irish & Celtic Music Club. Most everything really goes to the Celtic Geeks group. If I find something I love, unless it's hardcore Celtic, I share it to the Celtic Geeks group.

That makes it easy. I don't use my personal profile. I share to an interactive community. It's awesome.

And that's the tip I came up with.

Instead of trying to share my music to your friends who may or may not share you interests, share to a group, where your interests definitely align.

I haven't seen many Gunn Runners doing that yet, well aside from Sarah, who sort of inspired this idea when she shared Selcouth to a Firefly fan group.

16:04 - SHOWS PLANNED FOR MARCH

I updated the gig calendar on my website. I'm using Google Calendars again. This is going GREAT for listing shows. You can see everywhere I'll be this year. And yes, it is fully up-to-date.

MAR 7: The Lost Druid, Decatur, GA @ 7:30 PM
MAR 12: St Patrick's Day Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
MAR 13: Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co, Alabaster, AL
MAR 14: St Patrick’s Day at 5 Points, Birmingham, AL
MAR 20-22: ConCoction, Cleveland, Ohio
MAR 26: Tucker Brewing Company, Tucker, GA @ 6:30 PM

APR 4-5: Sherwood Forest Faire, Paige, TX
APR 9: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
APR 11-12: Sherwood Forest Faire, Paige, TX
APR 17-19: JordanCon, Atlanta, GA
Weds 10:30 AM EDT: Coffee with The Celtfather, Facebook (Season 5!)

17:24 - STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1038 is up from 1024
Celtic Music Magazine = 3963 is up from 3859 at the beginning of the year

YouTube Subscribers = 4441 is up 53 from 4388
YouTube Watch Time = 314.8K is up from 19.0K and 32.1K min from the month before
YouTube Views = 8.5K is down from 8.8K

Facebook Likes = 3667 is up from 3666
FB Page Views = 501 is up from 392
FB Reach = 9214 is up from 8839
FB Video Views = 9485 is up from 8466

Spotify Latest Single Stats: "Slainte Mhaith Christmas": 3347 is up from 3310 is up from 3238
Spotify Latest Single Stats: "The Last Jedi Drinking Song": 832 is up from 696
Spotify Latest Album Stats: I Will Not Sing Along: 1.4k streams, "One Note Concerto in G" has the most streams

Spotify followers: 1476 is up 31 from 1445
# Number of listens on Spotify: 3266 is up from 2224
Most-popular songs on Spotify: Wild Kitty (1.6K), The Widow and the Devil (1.2K), Doctor of Gallifrey (567), When Kitty Eyes Are Smiling (331), Furagone's Wake (320), Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (289), Reavers, Malcolm Reavers (264), Hero of Canton (224) Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits (162)

Top Irish & Celtic Music: 431 is up from 426
Firefly Drinking Songs: 103 is up from 101

PATREON

Patreon Subscribers: 155 is up from 151
Patreon Monthly Income: $1050 is up from $977

Thanks as always for supporting my music. Remember. You can help me create and release more music. Join the Gunn Runners Club to step behind-the-scenes with bonus podcasts, new music, videos, and live concerts.
Slainte!

#CFMonthly

Greetings Gunn Runner

January was a rough month. I spent a lot of time with bronchitis. It was tough getting stuff done. I've even delayed my Kickstarter release because of this until February 10th. I'll tell you more about it below. But first...

Show #257

0:33 - PODCASTS

The Pub Songs Podcast will be back soon. I had big plans for it this month. I'm considering more live recordings in the show mixed with news... At least that's what I planned for the two episodes I thought I was gonna put out. Alas... it did not happen. My apologies

In the meantime, I have new Stories from the Road episodes already lined up. I had some good brainstorm ideas on the topic. So hopefully, I won't miss any more of those.

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is out. I was barely staying on top of it until this week. Now I have the whole month of February planned including a Celtic Women of St Patrick's Day episode at the end of the month. I also launched the Sainted Celts Collection to show off the podcast shirt design.

There's a new episode of In the ‘Verse. And if all goes well Mikey and I will record the next episode this Thursday. Knock on wood. Hopefully, we can get another done in a couple weeks.

1:50 - VIDEOS

Coffee with the Celtfather is back tomorrow. I might get a little hoarse. But I'm gonna try and pull through as usual at 10:30 AM Eastern on Facebook.

I'm starting to think of new video ideas. But nothing lined up yet. So stay tuned.

2:20 - MERCH

With any luck, you got an email from me this week about a Free CD offer. This is something I've tried to make happen for a while. I finally set it up on my Square store. Basically, I will send you a free copy of my CD Happy Songs of Death or Songs of Ireland from the Brobdingnagian Bards. All you have to do is pay for the shipping.

Well, I sent out a couple emails to fans, and the offers were super well-received. This was my first step. Next, I have to see I can advertise with this offer. My hope is to make fans with these free CDs. But I thought I'd first see if I could convince fans to take advantage of the same offer. And it worked!

The timeline for Selcouth has changed. The Kickstarter will launch on Monday, February 10th. It'll close on Friday, March 6, 2020.

My apologies for the delay. But getting sick has really put a damper on my ability to talk and make a video, record podcasts, and even record songs for the album. It just sucks. So I have to try and catch up now... Sigh...

Meanwhile the Brobdingnagian Bards album I Will Not Sing Along, is still planned February 2, 2020--GROUNDHOG DAY!

In fact, we have some SUPER FUN VIDEOS planned for the release. Yes. Groundhog Day videos. You will want to follow the Brobdingnagian Bards on Facebook and maybe also on my YouTube channel so you don't miss 'em!

4:45 - TRAVEL

I still have space for my Celtic Invasion of Venice. You can listen to the Celtic Invasion Vacations itinerary. To find out how amazing this trip will be. Email me if you have questions. The deadline to sign up is February 15.

4:58 - SHOWS PLANNED FOR FEBRUARY

FEB 1: Tucker Brewing Company @ 6:30 - 9:30
FEB 13: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
FEB 15: The Lost Druid, Decatur, GA @ 7:30 PM

MAR 7: The Lost Druid, Decatur, GA @ 7:30 PM
MAR 12: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
MAR 20-22: ConCoction, Cleveland, Ohio

Weds 10:30 AM EDT: Coffee with The Celtfather, Facebook (Season 5!)

5:22 - STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1024 is down from 1030

YouTube Subscribers = 4388 is up from 4355
YouTube Watch Time = 19.0K is down from 32.1K min
YouTube Views = 8.8K is down from 12.2K

Facebook Likes = 3666 is up from 3653
FB Page Views = 392 is down from 447
FB Reach = 8839 is down from 10942
FB Video Views = 8466 is up from 6419

Spotify Latest Single Stats: "Slainte Mhaith Christmas": 3310 is up from 3238
Spotify Latest Single Stats: "The Last Jedi Drinking Song": 696 is up from 539
Spotify followers: 1445 is up from 1428
# Number of listens on Spotify: 2224 is down from 10184
Most-popular songs on Spotify: The Widow and the Devil (1.2K), Doctor of Gallifrey (463), Reavers, Malcolm Reavers (213), Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits (152)

Top Irish & Celtic Music: 431 is up from 426
Firefly Drinking Songs: 103 is up from 101

7:36 - PATREON

Patreon Subscribers: 151 is down from 152
Patreon Monthly Income: $977 is up from $946

Thanks as always for supporting my music. Remember. You can help me create and release more music. Join the Gunn Runners Club to step behind-the-scenes with bonus podcasts, new music, videos, and live concerts.
Slainte!

#CFMonthly

It's a brand new year. Compiling stats to watch my growth each month is a little time consuming. But it is also pretty fantastic for plotting statistical growth. I know exactly where I was this time last year.

I’m gonna start the show with the usual updates. Then I’ll go into stats and finish up with goals for 2020.

1:53 - PODCASTS

I published a bonus episode of the Pub Songs Podcast to 2019. I shared my love of the new Frozen 2 movie. The next couple of episodes I’m gonna share thoughts about my next album, Selcouth, as well as talk about individual songs on the album. I think February will move towards promoting St Patrick's Day featuring some top 5 and 10s.

I don’t have any specific Stories from the Road episodes planned. But I hope to get ahead when I get a full work day next week.

The first episode of the 2020 season of the  Irish & Celtic Music Podcast kicks off next week. I took a much needed break. You can still expect more features of women in the upcoming year. I also want to draw attention to our environment, something close to the heart of the Celts.

The Celtic Christmas Podcast released three episodes last year. I'm already planning to launch an early fundraiser for the show in 2020.

Mikey Mason and I recorded an episode of In the ‘Verse back in December. We did not release it because with the holiday, I think we both had trouble making time to write a song. But I finally sat down with my song.

The episode we wrote songs for was "War Stories". It's one of my favorites. I had trouble writing a song for the episode though. But right before we left for Christmas vacation, I wrote "My Man". It's from the perspective of Zoe, and wow, I love it. It kinda helped me understand Wash better than ever. Hopefully, we'll release it soon.

I'll see Andrew McKee at Georgia Filk next weekend. I suspect we will record a Brobdingnagian Bards podcast while we're together. We also have some videos we need to record together to complete our Kickstarter rewards.

4:20 - VIDEOS

Season 5 of Coffee with the Celtfather begins on January 8. The show will continue at 10:30 AM Eastern on Wednesday. However, It will be exclusively available on Facebook.

I made quite a few updates to my YouTube channel. In particular, I deleted many of my most-successful videos. That's because they were episodes of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast... and they were blocked by Facebook. It seems Facebook will only keep podcasts up if it's not primarily a music show.

I'm still debating whether I want to keep episodes of the Pub Songs Podcast up there. I talk in a lot of those so many of those aren't getting blocked. But I think I might just rework the entire channel into a Marc Gunn music channel.

It's wild looking at the most-popular videos now that all the Celtic podcast videos are gone. Bizarre!

My top video is a review of my portable amp. Then comes a "Whiskey in the Jar" video featuring the Bedlam Bards. "Danny Boy for Cat Lovers" is after that. Then just a recording of my version of "Whiskey in the Jar" with just the album cover. And #5 is Funny Irish Pub Songs, a live video I made.

Wild! The channel will see a big change in the days to come.

7:07 - MERCH

I posted a Gunn Runners Card on Patreon. This card gives Heroic Gunn Runners on Patreon a 25% discount on all merch in my store and at shows.

Seems like a lot of Gunn Runners are happy to pay full price to support my music. I am very grateful to all of you. But if you need or want the discount. It's there for you.

Selcouth is the name of my next album. The Kickstarter officially launches on January 27 and goes through February 14. I still have a TON of videos and text to write for this Kickstarter. Heck! I still don't have an album cover. So stay tuned.

Oh! And make sure you subscribe to my mailing list if you're not already. I will let you know when it goes live.

In the middle of that, the Brobdingnagian Bards officially release I Will Not Sing Along, our 10th studio album on February 2, 2020--GROUNDHOG DAY!

9:00 - TRAVEL

I still have space for my Celtic Invasion of Venice. You can listen to the Celtic Invasion Vacations itinerary. To find out how amazing this trip will be. Email me if you have questions. The deadline to sign up is February 15.

9:51 - SHOWS PLANNED FOR JANUARY

JAN 10-12: GaFilk in Atlanta, GA
JAN 16: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
JAN 18: The Lost Druid, Decatur, GA @ 7:30 PM
JAN 24: Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co, Alabaster, AL @ 7:30 PM
JAN 25: Maggie McGuinnes Pub, Huntsville, AL @ 7:00 PM

FEB 1: Tucker Brewing Company @ 6:30 - 9:30
FEB 13: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
FEB 15: The Lost Druid, Decatur, GA @ 7:30 PM

MAR 7: The Lost Druid, Decatur, GA @ 7:30 PM
MAR 12: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM
MAR 20-22: ConCoction, Cleveland, Ohio

Jan 8 and on, Weds 10:30 AM EDT: Coffee with The Celtfather, Facebook (Season 5!)

I will continue to provide audio versions of most shows for Heroic Patrons.

12:45 - STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1030 is down from 1077

YouTube Subscribers = 4355 is up from 4324
YouTube Watch Time = 32.1K min (535.0 hours) is up from 27.1
YouTube Views = 12.2K is up from 11.6K

Facebook Likes = 3653 is up from 3646
FB Page Views = 447 is up from 434
FB Reach = 10942 is up from 5684
FB Video Views = 6419 is up from 1883

Spotify Latest Single Stats: "Slainte Mhaith Christmas": 3238 up from 0
Spotify Latest Single Stats: "The Last Jedi Drinking Song": 539 up from 0
Spotify followers: 1428 is up from 1400
# Number of listens on Spotify: 10184 is up from 4237
Most-popular songs on Spotify: Christmas in the Shire (4.9K), Frosty the Irish Snowman (14.6K), Slainte Mhaith Christmas (3.2K), Celtic Christmas Elf (2.3K), Jingle Bells (2.3K),

Top Irish & Celtic Music: 426 is up from 416
Fun Christmas Songs for Kids & Families: 1858 is up from 1573
Firefly Drinking Songs: 101 is up from 99
Joyful Celtic Christmas Music: 83 is up from 58
Christmas Drinking Songs: 29 is up from 24

18:31 - PATREON

Patreon Subscribers: 152 is down from 158
Patreon Monthly Income: $946 is down from $968

Tier Changes in 2020:

GUNN RUNNERS: Behind-the-Scenes. $5 or more per month. Includes:

• DOWNLOAD new MP3s that are recorded and mixed before they are released. Plus get rough mixes of new songs
• EARLY ACCESS to some publicly available content
• GO BEHIND-THE-SCENES with the Stories from the Road podcast. I share my adventures, thoughts and news exclusively with you.

HERO. $10 or more per month. You'll get everything above, plus

• BOOTLEG audio recordings of coffee shows and some concerts.
• LEARN how to play my songs with PDF sheet music. Make a request for a song you'd like to learn.
• SAVE 25% off everything in my MageRecords.com store!
• ACCESS to over 40 Bootleg Concerts, both audio and video and 7 Full-Length Albums.

SUPERHERO. $25 or more per month. Includes:

• SPECIAL THANKS to you in each new single that is released.
• One-time Physical Copy of "Heroes" CD, autographed at your request, after 3 months of membership at this level

24:17 - GOALS FOR 2020

My success is ultimately defined by how I inspire you. So if you are sharing, enjoying, And creating, then I am successful.  And if all that happens, then I should see an increase in everything I do in online.

So many people focus on metrics. But that distracts from the point of what we are trying to do.

Hopefully, this will inspire you to create your own goals for 2020.

I spent a lot of time in December trying to plan my next year. I haven't even thought about that five, ten or twenty year plan. I just needed to get in control of THIS YEAR'S plan. But I feel I did.

BEST WAYS TO GROW MY FANBASE

• Live Shows
• Promote hit songs
• Give away free music
• Irish & Celtic Music Podcast
• Music videos. Covers, keywords or popular songs.
• One evening video concert per month. Second Thursday of the month at 8:30 pm.
• Coffee. At least one newbie concert a month. Create an event. Last

BEST WAY TO SUPPORT EXISTING FANS

• Live Shows
• Marc’s Musings. Should I go monthly? or bi-monthly?
• Irish & Celtic Music Podcast
• Pub Songs Podcast
• Stories from the Road
• In the Verse
• Teach fans to play/sing along. Monthly tutorial.
• Video Singles
• New music
• Build Community
• One evening video concert per month. Second Thursday of the month at 8:30 pm.
• Coffee. At least one newbie concert a month. Create an event. Last

30:35 - BEST STRATEGIES

1. Perform live
2. Increase mailing list. With free Lead generator.
3. Promote top videos and songs

33:40 - MUSIC

• Release Selcouth
• Release 3 singles with other musicians
  • Hero of Christmas
  • Hobbit tune with Samantha Gillogly
  • Molly Malone with Jesse Ferguson
• Write 10 new songs
• Hit #1 on reverbnation in March.
• Teach online how to sing and play 10 songs. Also videos.
• Release 10 sheet music pieces

38:35 - GIGGING

• Play 6 new venues
• Play 8 monthly internet concerts
• Play 24 coffee shows. 12 episodes over two seasons.
• Play 2 house concerts
• Contact 20 conventions

40:18 - PODCASTS

• Pub Songs Podcast. 2 podcasts per month. 20.
  • Commit to one more year of the pub Songs Podcast. And I see if it has done me any good. Or should I do just monthly? What if I plan each episode in advance to do about songs? For new album? Or classic song?
  • 12 about a song episodes. 2nd episode of the month.
  • 10 episodes custom to promote stories
• Stories from the Road. Weekly. 45
• Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Weekly. 48
• Brobdingnagian Bards Podcast. Monthly. 11
• In the 'Verse. Monthly. 10

43:03 - VIDEO

• 1 Official music video for a CD.
• 3 travel videos to promote Celtic invasion vacations
• 8 videos of me singing live some of my most-popular songs
• 1 videos of me singing along with myself on a song
• 1 official off-the-wall music video. Fun and silly. Unrelated to the music played.
• update YouTube channel to reflect Celtic Geek

46:26 - SALES

• Bandcamp sales. $300 per month. $3600 for the year.
• Social = 10000 followers on YouTube, Spotify, Facebook, mailing list

Thanks as always for supporting my music. Remember. You can help me create and release more music. Join the Gunn Runners Club to step behind-the-scenes with bonus podcasts, new music, videos, and live concerts.
Slainte!

#CFMonthly

Greetings Gunn Runner

It’s hard to believe we’re entering the final month of the year. Where has the time gone? What will next year bring?

I suppose it is time to start planning for 2020. It’s time to settle on the next CDs. Time to review all that I have accomplished this year. And it’s time to decide what changes to make.

I don’t ever remember doing that when I was younger. I focused on creating. I never understood how important it was to truly review my successes and failures. I’ve been doing it for a decade or so. But I still felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants.

I am nearly done with the audiobook, Getting Things Done. I am trying to unlock all of the ideas and thoughts that are in my brain, get them down on paper, and figure out what I will do next.

What about you. What kind of future planning rituals do you do each year?

All right, let’s get on with the monthly news, starting with...

PODCASTS

The Pub Songs Podcast is doing pretty well staying on schedule. The new simplified format works for me. Hopefully, it works for you too.

I announced my new CD in November. I shared a cool way to vote, be it for the Celtic Top 20 or in general. And I encouraged listeners to remember success is best measured by how much you help others.

I have two episodes planned for December. Both have Christmas names. But I haven’t solidified the themes yet.

Stories from the Road is successfully coming out twice a week. I feel eventually I’m gonna get behind. That seems like a LOT of content. But so far, I’m ahead. And I have lots to talk about in the run up to the Selcouth Kickstarter.

Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is doing fantastic as usual. I have so much feedback. I did a two hour special to highlight all the feedback I missed over the past couple years.

I’m ending the Year of the Celtic Woman on that show. However, I decided I will not stop my quarterly Celtic women episodes. I feel that’s important. So it will be a regular part of the content that I release into the future.

The first episode of the Celtic Christmas Podcast is now online. And I put it into the hands of listeners as to whether there will be more than one.

That’s because I started a Patreon page for the podcast. You see, I’ve been losing money with the Celtic Christmas podcast for as long as it’s been running. And I was OK with that. It was sort of like my gift for the holiday.

The trouble is I spend a lot of time and mental effort to create and release episodes, especially in December. That takes me away from things that I should be doing. Ultimately, it was not a smart marketing move to run that podcast, even if it made me happy.

And so in comes patreon once again. I started a new fundraiser for the show to help pay for the production and my time producing the show. Patrons sponsored the first episode of the season. If we hit our next goal, then we will get either one or two more episodes this year. Depends on when or if the next milestone is hit.

There is a new episode of In the ‘Verse with Mikey Mason. We discuss themes from the episode, "Out of Gas". It has one of my new favorite songs to sing. That's a song called "Breathing".

The next one will tackle the episode "Ariel". We are also going to try to get back onto a monthly schedule. So this episode will come out on December 1.

8:04 - VIDEOS

Season 4 of Coffee with the Celtfather comes to close on December 11. The show did does not have a huge number of viewers. But it seems a favorite nevertheless. There's a steady stream of 15-20 people watching each week. So I’m going to run it for at least one more season, restarting in January.

The show will continue at 10:30 AM Eastern on Wednesday. However, It will be exclusively available on Facebook.

I tried a web service that allowed me to broadcast on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. I was hoping that would increase my reach, which would also mean more tips or more patrons signing up in the Gunn Runners Club. It didn't make an impact sadly, at least not enough to really justify paying $20 a month.

It was a good test nevertheless. I learned that Facebook is a good busking platform. And YouTube is probably better for video singles. So next season, I might try release one video every week or two and make them line up with the coffee show.

Oh! And Patreon Heroes get the full audio recordings of the coffee show. I also record a couple extra songs for that audio. I will continue to do that next season. But I’m not sure if anyone enjoys that. The feedback has been limited. So if you like it or if you don't bother listening, especially if you don't listen, let me know. That will help decide if I should keep it going.

10:05 - MERCH

Selcouth is the name of my next album. I’m planning a kickstarter for January.  The CD features my uniquely strange yet marvelous mode of music. You will enjoy many of the songs that I have played but not released over the past year.

There will be several Firefly songs, some traditional Irish songs and tunes, some comedic songs, some sci-fi and fantasy and cats, and some uniquely Marc Gunn songs. This is the mixed bag that I promised myself for a long time.

I will have more details coming on future podcasts and definitely in January.

I skipped the Black Friday sales this year. Even though I have a bunch of new products in my store at magerecords.com. I also have some great special offers. Visit my home page for details.

I also have THREE NEW SINGLES that you can look for in the days to come.

The first is the Brobdingnagian Bards' "The Last Jedi Drinking Song". That comes out on December 13. Just in time for the release of the last Star Wars episode.

The second is "Slainte Mhaith Christmas". Basically, I re-recorded my song "Slainte Mhaith" and gave it a Christmas twist when I realized it could easily work for that. I don't have a release date yet. But it'll be ASAP.

The last one was an even more last minute Christmas release. That is "Hero of Christmas". This is one of the songs that Mikey Mason and I wrote last year for our Blue Sun Holiday Tour. It's a parody of "Hero of Canton" all about Santa Claus. Again, I don't have a release date for that. I'm gonna aim for December 15th. But I should've released these two songs sooner. Oh well...

TRAVEL

I still have space for my Celtic Invasion of Venice. You can listen to the Celtic Invasion Vacations itinerary. To find out how amazing this trip will be. Email me if you have questions.

13:00 - SHOWS PLANNED FOR NOVEMBER

Dec 12: Public YouTube Show
Dec 14: Tucker Brewing Company, Tucker GA

Jan 10-12: GaFilk, Atlanta, GA (not a guest)
Jan 24: Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co, Alabaster, AL
Jan 25: Maggie McGuinness Pub, Huntsville, AL
Mar 20-22: Cleveland ConCoction, Cleveland, OH
May 14-17: California Autoharp Gathering, Dunlap, CA
Sep 30-Oct 4: ALEP 5, Shakerstown, KY

Dec 4 & 11, Weds 10:30 AM EDT: Coffee with The Celtfather, Facebook, YouTube

14:20 - STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1077 is up from 1015

YouTube Subscribers = 4324 is up 39 from 4285
YouTube Watch Time = 27.1 is up from 26.3
YouTube Views = 11.6K is up from 9.4K

Facebook Likes = 3646 is up from 3642
FB Page Views = 434 is down from 481
FB Reach = 5684 is down from 5808
FB Video Views = 1883 is down from 3386

Spotify Latest Single Stats: "When She Held Me in Her Arms": 661 is up from 647
Spotify followers: 1400 is up from 1375
# Number of listens on Spotify: 4237 is up from 2053
Most-popular songs on Spotify: Christmas in the Shire (1.4K), The Widow and the Devil (1.3K), Frosty the Irish Snowman (1.2K), Jingle Bells (707), Celtic Christmas Elf (451), Scottish King of Christmas (400)

Top Irish & Celtic Music: 416 is up from 398
Fun Christmas Songs for Kids & Families: 1573 is up from 1433 (already more than 1539 in February)
Firefly Drinking Songs: 99
Joyful Celtic Christmas Music: 58
Christmas Drinking Songs: 24

Patreon Subscribers: 158 is the same
Patreon Monthly Income: $968 is up from $962

Thanks as always for supporting my music. Remember. You can help me create and release more music. Join the Gunn Runners Club to step behind-the-scenes with bonus podcasts, new music, videos, and live concerts.
Slainte!

#CFMonthly

Greetings Gunn Runner

Life in Atlanta is finally settling down, at least a little bit. I'm starting to get ahead on podcasts, book local gigs, and I have news about my next album. I'll even tell you the name...

First, my blog is becoming packed. I always considered blogs to be very important for any entrepreneur, especially musicians. Once upon a time, when Google was trying not to be evil, it was a great source of traffic. That's no longer the case. But it is still important.

That's why I'm keeping the blog updated. I post most of my podcasts there. I'm starting to share my newsletter there. But I'm also getting back to just blogging to share new interesting things in my career.

So if you haven't check it out in a while, please head on over.

PODCASTS

Andrew and I are trying to release a monthly Brobdingnagian Bard Podcast. We've been mostly successful. But we've also been trying to come up with fun and unique and regular content for our Nagians Only Club. We finally have that. Members of the Bards Patreon page now get to hear us talk about individual songs from our CDs. And more. We recorded two last week. The first is online. So if you're a fan of the Bards, I think you'll enjoy these short bits.

The Pub Songs Podcast is now on its every other week schedule. I'm starting to plan ahead for that show. I'm also planning episodes of its sister podcast Stories from the Road.

This one is exclusive to $5+ members of the Gunn Runners Club. Twice a week, I am chatting about songs or travels or thoughts in my head. And I share them in podcast form on Monday and Friday. And yes, this is now a part of that schedule. But most of them are private. Just for my generous supporters like you!

The latest Pub Songs Podcast tackles the new Celtic Invasion Vacations itinerary. I finally published it online. But it's short. So I go into more detail to try and help you better understand what kind of fun we will have in Italy next year. Because that's where we're going...

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is gearing up for the holidays. I did a Celtic Halloween episode. I shared a couple years of feedback that I hadn't before published. And I answer the question "Why do I use the term Celtic music" for the podcast.

I also hope to have the first of two Celtic Christmas Podcast episodes coming out in a couple weeks. I kinda wonder why I do this podcast. But a couple new episodes a year is not too bad a thing for the good will it provides.

Hunting Dragons is a new podcast. Actually, it is the old Pirates vs Dragons podcast I released a few years back to promote the CD. The feed had issues and was killed by iTunes. I fixed all that and renamed it. You can now listen to the true story of how I was shanghaied by air pirates to hunt dragons.

SHOWS PLANNED FOR NOVEMBER

Nov 15: Brennan's Irish Pub, Birmingham, AL
Nov 16: Pepper Place Farmer's Market, Birmingham, AL
Nov 29-31: Starbase Indy, Indianapolis, IN

Jan 10-12: GaFilk, Atlanta, GA (not a guest)
Jan 24: Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co, Alabaster, AL
Jan 25: Maggie McGuinness Pub, Huntsville, AL
Mar 20-22: Cleveland ConCoction, Cleveland, OH
May 14-17: California Autoharp Gathering, Dunlap, CA
Sep 30-Oct 4: ALEP 5, Shakerstown, KY

Weds 10:30 AM EDT: Coffee with The Celtfather, Facebook, YouTube
Restream. Venmo. Tips.

The Celtic Halloween concert was a big attendance success and fun show. But tips and sales were not so great.

STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1015 is up from 1006

YouTube Subscribers = 4285 is up 22 from 4263
YouTube Watch Time = 26.3 is down from 30.0K and I figured out why
YouTube Views = 9.4K is down from 11.6K

Facebook Likes = 3642 is up from 3630
FB Page Views = 481 is slightly down from 486
FB Reach = 5808 is up from 4357
FB Video Views = 3386 is up from 2325

Spotify Latest Single Stats: "When She Held Me in Her Arms": 647 is up from 578
Spotify followers: 1375 is up 22 from 1353
# Number of listens on Spotify: 2053 is down from 2061
Most-popular songs on Spotify: The Widow and the Devil (1.3K), Doctor of Gallifrey (469), Reavers, Malcolm Reavers (251)

Top Irish & Celtic Music: 398 is up from 394
Fun Christmas Songs for Kids & Families: 1433 is down from 1539 in February

Patreon Subscribers: 158 is up 2
Patreon Monthly Income: $962 is up from $961

CD News

I have a new CD in the works. It's called SELCOUTH which means "When everything feels strange and different yet you find it marvelous anyway."

My plan is to record my parts these next couple o'months. I'll launch a Kickstarter in January. If you want more details now, listen to the Stories from the Road podcast on Patreon.

If you'd like to be included in the feedback section of the Pub Songs Podcast, use the hashtag #pubsongs. I would love to make the show more interactive. Look for questions on Facebook. I'm using those too.

Thanks as always for supporting my music. Remember. You can help me create and release more music. Join the Gunn Runners Club to step behind-the-scenes with bonus podcasts, new music, video, and live concerts.

Slainte!

#CFMonthly

There’s a lot of great Celtic music that you can enjoy for St. Patrick’s Day in 2019. I’m going to share with you for awesome resources to get you in the mood for your St. Paddy’s Day celebrations.

You can subscribe to 

• Pub Songs Podcast
• Irish & Celtic Music Podcast
• Coffee with The Celtfather on YouTube
• Celtic Music Magazine

This show is brought to you by Marc's Gunn Runners Club on Patreon. Sign up and support my music, podcasts, and videos. Follow the links at Celtfather.net

• Blue Sun Holiday Spectacular Tour
• Firefly and Christmas music

• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Kilted Kings
• Jingle Bards by Brobdingnagian Bards

• Winter Lore: Songs of Celtic Christmas by The Selkie Girls
• A Christmas Minding by The Wee Heavies
• Port Isaac Christmas Album by The Grenaways
• On Christmas Day in the Morning by Spencer & Beane
• Winter by Peat in the Creel
• Kudzu for Christmas by A Shamrock in Kudzu
• In the Moon of Wintertime by Sarah Marie Mullen
• Wintertide Ep by David Pedrick

• Let's Have a Celtic Christmas
• Frosty the Irish Snowman
• Little Drummer Bard
• The Gothard Sisters Videos
• Celtic Christmas Radio on YouTube

• Celtic Christmas Playlists
• Celtic Christmas Greetings Podcast
• Celtic Christmas Podcast 

• Celtic Heartstring "Christmas Cross" Ornament
• Celtic Christmas Greetings CD
• Monahan's Mudder's Milk Shirt
• Irish & Celtic Music Podcast Shirt