Breathe is my fifth single release and my second original song. I distributed it through DistroKid, reaching dozens of online and streaming platforms. I also pitched it through Groover, which landed it on a radio station in Texas, and I did my best to promote it through my social media accounts. Despite my efforts, I didn't see much success, so I decided to hire someone on Fiverr to do some marketing for me. After an exciting rise in listeners and plays on Spotify, I eventually discovered that I had hired the wrong person—someone who used bots to increase my streams. As a result, Spotify removed the song.

After providing all the necessary information, I was given the okay to re-release this song, along with another that had been removed for the same reason. This time, I decided to use Landr as my distributor since I already use their mastering services, and they don’t charge a yearly fee for cover songs—Landr only charges you once. The other song is a cover, or more accurately, a "reimagining" of Wicked Game from an angry, pissed-off point of view. lol.

So, Breathe was set to re-release on Spotify in two weeks, and I made the switch from DistroKid. Another perk was being able to pick the release date, something you have to pay extra for with DistroKid. Two weeks later, the song was released. I went to listen to it, and damn it if I didn’t upload the wrong version. I felt like a dumbass. Okay, so...THE PROJECT!

The plan is to release all my singles together on an album, remastered, along with the mastered version of Breathe—with a better intro I added. That song was written out of pain, and it means a lot to me personally. Additionally, I’ll include a few new songs, and my favorite so far has turned out to be what I’ve done with my first single. I wrote, recorded, and released it out of excitement when I thought it was ready. I had no clue what I was doing as a sound engineer or producer! Listening to it now makes me cringe sometimes. I can’t say I really know what I’m doing now, but I know a hell of a lot more than I did four years ago. lol. That song desperately needed some love and attention, and it’s gone from being a scrappy kid in junior high to being ready to graduate college. lol. My songs are my kids, and I’m excited for its re-release, titled The Joke’s On You.

The projected release date is October 17th. Crosses fingers

I’ve included a link to the original video I made for its first release. I love the video, but it took me a while to realize there’s a timing issue in the song that most people probably won’t notice, but I do.