Happy Birthday, Hedgerow!
Last summer, I toyed with the idea of publishing some music that I had composed. I scratched at that itch for a bit, did some reading, did some learning, and ultimately decided to create my own company and publish those pieces myself. I’m very glad that I did; one year later, Hedgerow has become a fun hobby and a satisfying adventure. I’ve already published more music than I thought I would, and I’ve sold more music than I expected (although not necessarily the pieces I expected!). Self-publishing can be quite irksome at times, and I still have plenty to learn as a composer, editor, and engraver. However, I remain undaunted, and I am looking forward to wherever this excursion takes me next.
Some highlights from the past year:
Hedgerow published twelve pieces in its first year. Five of those pieces were things I had written previously, and the rest were things that I wrote this year. I’m not sure I can keep up with a one-piece-a-month pace that I had this past year, but I’ll do my best!
Although I had intended to just distribute my music exclusively through J.W. Pepper, I expanded to include Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus. Most of my music can be found in all three of those locations, but there are a few pieces that are exclusive to J.W. Pepper or the other two. This is largely due to the practicalities of how those sites operate, specifically with page formatting and such. I’m disinclined to take the time to retrofit my earlier pieces so that they conform to what Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus require, but moving forward, I hope to have new pieces available in all three places.
I was hesitant to use Facebook at first, but I’m so glad I did. Facebook amounts to the vast majority of traffic to my website. Last month I branched out to include Soundcloud, and I’ll continue uploading new recordings there as well.
I accepted my first commission (Blessing of Light)
My best-selling pieces this year were:
My most watched video on YouTube (by a mile) was my virtual octet recording of Jesus Loves Me.
What to expect this coming year:
I am working on a large-scale project called Festival Hymns for Worship. I have backlog of hymn arrangements that I have written over the past few years specifically for congregational use (if you worship at Christ Church, you’ve no doubt heard a few). I am currently editing those arrangements and plan on publishing them in sets grouped according to liturgical function. My goal is to have the first of those sets available by the end of the summer. I’m hoping that church musicians will find them both creative and accessible.
I have a few piano pieces that I am working on, most of which are hymn arrangements.
Susan has challenged me to try my hand at some children’s choir music, so I’m noodling on a few ideas.
In theory, I have a mailing list. Some of you kind people have even signed up for it, which is lovely, and I am grateful. I have done absolutely nothing with it to date, but I will try and push that up the priority list this year.
To those of you who have purchased music through Hedgerow, thank you. It is an enormous thrill for me every time a piece is sold. Thank you also for every video you’ve viewed, link you’ve clicked, post you’ve shared, and “subscribe” button you’ve pressed. As I have learned, each and every one of those actions is a gift that increases the company’s profile and puts my music in front of more people. Finally, thanks for the encouragement to keep going. As the saying goes, “everything you want in life is on the other side of fear.” You help me push through those fearful moments when this all feels so ludicrous and it is tempting to give up. I am humbled and very grateful.
Happy birthday, Hedgerow! Looking forward to the next adventure,
Dan