What's New?

Newsletter#1

Hello my friends, here is the first newsletter since the launch of this site on February 1st 😊.

Over the past month, I have spent a lot of time building this site. Technically the solution I use is very easy, there is no need to know programming, it's a bit like a game of Lego: you just have to assemble small bricks and give them content and color (text block, image, link to video or website, etc...). If you spot any malfunction, please inform me so that I can correct it.

I remind you of the purpose of this site: to provide everyone, in one place, with lasting information about musicians and singers encountered on various music platforms or on social networks. For each of the people introduced on this site we therefore find information which is usually scattered all over the internet: their Facebook page, their website, their YouTube page, their pages on different music sites (including sometimes streaming sites), favorites, news, photos. The added value that touches me the most is when the artist provided us with a small biography, written by himself, allowing us to meet the person behind the artist. This makes the site more endearing, I believe.

Those of you who have not yet shared your biography, you can still do so, of course. All you have to do is send me your bio by email, or simply by using the Contact form on this site. Same if you wish any change on your page.

To date, more than 40 artists are introduced on the site, I thank them for their active support. As I announced when the site was launched, I do not follow up with those who have not responded to my invitation. Social networks work by extreme solicitations, sometimes close to harassment or by confirmation loops (locked into what we "liked") but there is no question that this site works in the same way. However, if you want some artists you like to appear on this site, then take over and invite them to join our emerging community. You can help me build an even larger community, based on kindness, respect and sharing.

I know that websites that don't evolve over time die little by little. It will be necessary to bring new things over time. The newsletters that I will send around once a month (less during holidays probably) will allow you to stay up to date with what's new. Also, I am counting on you to let me know your news, so this site can be an additional window on your activities and those who do not necessarily follow you on Facebook (or who do not receive notifications due to lousy algorithms) will be informed.

Some information regarding how the site works:

1) I noticed that pages load faster with Chrome (for example Safari is much slower);

2) sometimes the videos (which are still on YouTube) do not appear the first time, you just have to refresh the page to correct this problem; 

3) artists are listed in alphabetical order (which I based on first name) on the HOME page, but there is no specific order when they appear on the PARTNERS, AMITY and FRIENDS pages;

4) this site is designed to work on mobile phones and on desktop;

5) the FRIENDS page is not about us - amateur musicians - it introduces people who supported our music and/or this website. The list is not complete, of course. If you wish to add more people, web radios, organizations please send me their data.

FRIEND OF THE MONTH: Deborah Henriksson, please discover this great artist which music is enchanting.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH: Carol Forsloff, most of Fandalism users know all that she gave us, please visit the page dedicated to her and her late husband Delbert.

BIO OF THE MONTH: Mark Fussel, a great musican and supporter of others, please check his bio and the links to his music.

It is time for me to end this first newsletter by reminding you that if social networks push us to consume our time while giving us the impression that we do not have time, we can not give in to these injunctions, we can take back control of our time. A musical work should not be consumed like a meme or an image of a kitten, it deserves better, if social networks (which are useful despite everything) do not see the difference, we musicians see it, and this site serves that purpose.

Yvalain, Feb. 24th, 2024

January 24 thru 31/2024:

Website creation! 😊

"The algorithms implemented on sites like Facebook and YouTube mainly serve commercial interests or those of music bigwigs. I realized that due to the choices of these platforms, my publications could only reach a random portion of you (friends and loved ones who like my work). No matter how hard I tried, a large portion of you weren't notified when I released a new song or video.

So I decided to launch my own website to present my work and the one of my music partners. Contrary to the commercial logic that predominates on social networks (often without our knowledge), here I only share my passion with everyone who wishes.

Here you can view videos without being solicited by advertisements, you can consult our discography, see some photos, find links to audio streaming sites where my music is available (if you use one of these services do not hesitate to "like" or "subscribe" to my artist page to be informed of everything that will be published in the future).

All you have to do is save this website: https://yvalain.online among your favorites and then please visit it from time to time.

Thank you so much. 🤝

Your support matters!”

This website is created by Yvalain with hostinger.com

February 1st/2024:

Website officially launched! 🤗

Extract of the announcement:

"As a creator, I thought I would find a solution on these networks to reach a wider audience. And frankly I am very happy to have met many friends with whom we had common passions. Fandalism, thanks to generous people like Carol Forsloff and a few others, was a very warm community of musicians in its beginnings. I had experienced this with the European platform Jamendo, until financiers destroyed all the functions allowing exchanges between musicians and listeners, in favor of paid programs. As noted previously, this treasure of relationships built over the years is gradually crumbling on the social media, due to their own logics.

In real life I may not have interacted with my best friend for a month but when we meet again nothing has changed. On social media (SM) it’s totally different. If you have been absent or sick or busy elsewhere FB and YT decide that your contacts will receive fewer notifications from you. After a while it's like you've lost all your friends. The solution that these SM want to force you to adopt is the "click machine", not to regain the esteem of your friends, but to go up in their algorithms and ultimately allow your posts to be seen again.

The question that was raised by one of you is this: are you ready to spend 80% of your time communicating on SM, obviously to the detriment of your other occupations, notably your creative activity? Like many of you here I played the game, but it’s endless and hopeless.

Another concern that I'm sure I share with other creators is the volatility and fragmentation of information on these SM. These applications generate pressure, which has a lot of similarities with the race for profit. Everything has to go quickly. One novelty chases the other. So if I share a link to a new work, this information will pass at full speed, it will quickly be overtaken by other information coming from elsewhere. Quickly buried under tons of other information. Barely created it is already obsolete!

However, if the SM does not differentiate between a meme, a photo of kittens or an original creation, it is quite different for the musician (or other artists). For a long time I adapted to the tools as they exist. But over time I realize that their superficial aspect does not serve my need which is to establish a stable link with the people that I chose myself over the SM and who also chose me. Like all of you, I couldn't go on without the SM, in the world as it is today. But it seems necessary to me to establish a direct relationship with you, which is not hostage to the algorithms and whims of the SM (without trying to replace them).

For this I created a website, that meets these needs, which I have now clearly identified. This site offers those who go there the possibility of having stable, simple and sufficiently complete information concerning not only my activities as a musician but also those of all my music partners. My goal is to offer, aside the existing social media, a quiet zone, with no pressure, no commercials, no hidden business intentions, no race for stats, where the information is non-fragmentary and non-volatile. One of its main features is to allow a direct and respectful communication with you, that is not subjected to being formatted by FB or YT own needs)

So here is what I imagined: https://yvalain.online

Whenever you want, go ahead and make up your mind. I did some tests with some of you and the feedback was generally very positive. I also hope that this site will serve as an example and that other creators, musicians or others, will want to follow in my footsteps. In such a case I am at their disposal to give them all useful information. They can contact me by private message."