It's been about ten years since I began this music review column. I appreciate the many positive comments that I've received over those years both from musicians whose music I've reviewed and from readers of those reviews. I enjoy the opportunity to hear independent artists' new music as they release it. I learn from being able to listen to the music in some depth and I hope I'm able to pass along to my readers some of what I have learned. For these and other reasons, I'll keep writing reviews for the Sound Bytes website.

I know there is much I could do to improve upon the service I provide to artists, their fans, and my readers. Among other things, I would like to reduce or completely eliminate the backlog of releases to be reviewed and to make the site even easier to navigate. I'd like to incorporate artist interviews, articles relevant to folk and roots related music, clips of songs and recorded artist interviews, more comprehensive links, a regular newsletter to complement or replace the current mailing list, and features that may come from your suggestions.

There is, however, a gap between what I would like to accomplish and what I'm actually able to do. At this point, I am constrained by considerations of both time and finances. For each review I write, between three and six hours is expended. On top of writing the reviews, the manual process of maintaining the website and keeping it up to date is at times quite time consuming. As well, there are several associated costs which I pay out of pocket to host and maintain this independent website.

There are a number of ways you can help me to achieve my goals of improving the services provided by this website.

[1] Continue to visit Sound Bytes and read the reviews.

[2] Tell a friend about the Sound Bytes website and the music reviews to be found here.

[3] Join the Sound Bytes mailing list (see the form below).

[4] Write to me anytime with your suggestions to improve this site.

[5] Continue to send in your new releases for review.

[6] Support Sound Bytes through purchases of logo gear or music as described below.

I have always appreciated and do appreciate the level of support I've gotten from the music community, be you musician, songwriter, fan, or just reader of reviews. Like you, I feel it's important to give exposure to independent artists and this online column is one way that I can help. Because of this, Sound Bytes is and will continue to be a free site.

You can help support the continued publication of Sound Bytes music reviews by purchasing attractive logo gear or original music through the links below. If you prefer, you can make a direct donation through PayPal by clicking on the "donate" button below, or you can send your cheque, money order, or cleverly concealed cash to:

Please make any cheques or money orders payable to R. D. MacKenzie Associates, for deposit to my business account.

Address any further questions or suggestions to me, Bob MacKenzie, at Sound Bytes. And thanks for your support over the years. I look forward to many more years of sharing in this community.

Peace and Love