JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Industry Message Forum Affinity Music aka Don Reed Production

Has anyone heard of this company located in Nashville? I believe its a scam talent agency. Any suggestions would help.

To date there hasn't been any positive feedback on this company here. There has been a lot of negative feedback. So you are doing the right thing to carefully research this company (and any other for that matter).

Brian

It is always a shame when people blame companies like this when they do not "make it" in the industry. The industry is a highly competitive market, and if someone blames a company that provides them with a doorway into the industry, then it must be that persons' talent, drive or attitude that caused them to have negative experiences with this company.
**Ultimately it is up to the individual to succeed**This company provides the contacts, demos, videos, photos and promotion to the industry, it is up to the artist to provide the talent, drive, and positive attitude to succeed.

It's interesting that the only person supporting this company hides behind anonymity and even hides their email address from the general reader? If you support this company, why not put your own name and reputation behind the claim? Without it, how can anyone know if you're just a shill for that same company?

Anonymous attacks and support on a public message board should always be taken lightly with a grain of salt. If people truly support and vouch for someone or have valid complaints against someone, they should be comfortable using their real name and/or at least easy contact info for follow up. After all, if it's the truth, what are you hiding from?

Brian

Hhmmm?

Well, Msfits, good question...Tell ya what I do...Simply go to their website, look for some kind of 'testimonials', write down the name of the artists who testify, then go to Google & see if you can find them & how their careers have progressed with the help of Affinity(or any other company for that matter)...I tried it with Affinity & couldn't find any of the 6 artists on Google...I mean, for Pete's sake, even I , the woefully under-successful Midnite Bob can be Googled.

The whole thing will take 10 minutes & ought to give you a much clearer picture of what any company is worth...

Midnite



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Satchel was right...Something is gaining on me....
www.jackcouldntmakeit.com

[This message has been edited by Midnite Bob (edited 03-23-2005).]

Hi All,
Don Reed did come thru here back in about 1994. Basically they place ads in local Newspaper's seeking talent. I went to find Artists who could possibly record my songs. They Video Tape the tryouts and then select those that they think will possibly make it. I'm not sure if there was a charge to tryout but I talked to one of the participants later and they had to come up with about $500.00 to go to Nashville and showcase before Record Producer's, Labels, etc. In one sense I suppose it is legitimate but in another sense it is just playing on people's hopes and dreams. Since these people pay money to travel to a lot of places in the country seeking talent it isn't all a scam but not the best way for someone to get that record deal. Before one trys out they should be ready to go that next step. I have always advised that someone seeking a record deal begin booking and playing dates and get a track record. There are many that go to Nashville seeking a deal. Some make it. Some don't.

AKA - Sibilant (before blocked!)
Boooo! the moderator "Brian Austin Whitney" Blocked Me! How is that for a SCAM! so basically this forum is BIASED...
So you want to know what I am hiding from??
SPAM! is what I am hiding from. What a ridiculous accusation, you actually expect people to post their email addresses to a public forum?
"Anonymous attacks and support on a public message board should always be taken lightly with a grain of salt."...My thoughts exactly!
And furthemore, you are going to have to be more than a "Just Plain Folk" to have a successful career in the music industry anyway.
I have been working in and around the industry for 5 years, and I can tell you that it is very competitive for the artist, but to blame your failure on a promotion company is pathetic. As in dealing with any business, an artist should be business savy, even with the major lables bad deals exist. Moreover, I agree with Ray, if an artist is set on having a career in the industry, then they should go out, hit the streets and play to the people that will support them, not rely totally on companies to make them famous! These companies are there to help promote, not present your career on a silver platter!
Note
This forum is Biased, and the moderator will block you if you express any opinions not supported by him.

Silenced/Sibilant,

The original question in this thread was "Has anyone heard of this company?"

You come in here and rant and rave, but you have yet to shed any light on the question. Do you think maybe you can be helpful for a change?

Have you heard of this company? What do they do? How much do they cost? Do they deliver what they promise to deliver? Have they had any success stories yet?

And, as Brian asked, Who are you? Do you work for the company (and thus can perhaps speak with some authority, albeit slightly biased)? Were you one of their clients? Have you had other dealings with them?

Msfits asked a simple question. If you have any straight answers, we'd all be happy to hear them.

--- Ed


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http://www.edperrone.com/music/

This forum is Biased, and the moderator will block you if you express any opinions not supported by him.[/B][/QUOTE]


Actually, this Forum does tend to be biased against opinions that are not supported by facts...

Midnite


[This message has been edited by Midnite Bob (edited 03-23-2005).]

"This company provides demos, videos, photos and promotion to the industry."

I said this in my first reply...

"I believe its a scam talent agency"

was the "opinion that was not supported by facts" that this whole forum is based upon! And I have given straight answers and suggestions to the original question.

I have been working in and around the industry for 5 years

...and yet you won't post with your real name.

Without a name and only two posts on this entire site, you have zero credibility and authority.

was the "opinion that was not supported by facts" that this whole forum is based upon!

Real professionals would have either A) ignored this thread completely or B) introduced themselves, then calmly explained exactly WHY the company in question was not a scam. You had the chance to set the record straight, but you blew it.

If you're so easily provoked by a one-line message board post, I certainly wouldn't want you working for me or anyone I know. You only get one chance to make a first impression, dude.

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Scott Andrew
Lo-fi acoustic pop superhero!
http://www.scottandrew.com/music

[This message has been edited by scottandrew (edited 03-23-2005).]

Yeah.. people who make up multiple random hotmail accounts and anonymous user names are usually very worried about spam. And of course worrying about spam has no connection to not using your real name.

The fact that your IP matches other "anonymous" posters making other dishonest and unsubstantiated claims doesn't help your cause either.

And finally, whether someone fairly blames or doesn't blame types of services for their lack of success is irrelevant to whether THIS company is honest and does business above board. There's no connection between the two issues. All you've done is cast 10 times more suspicion and distrust to a company that already is getting hammered all over the internet. Even though you're nothing more than a shill, we left your comments on the site. We're still waiting for a legitimate show of support for this company though.

Brian

I remember my first trip to Nashville was
a result of winning a "local" talent show with my band. The talent show was hosted by a cat named " Johnny Eagle". As a result of us winning the 'local" talent show, we were invited to Nashville to appear on a T.V. show
to be broadcast locally in Nashville. This show was to feature regional winners from across the country , rounded up via this Johnny Eagle guy. We did go to Nashville . We
did do the show. Don Reed was in the back room after the show telling some acts ( not mine ) that they had great potential , and should let him produce a demo for them.
The price was way high for that time.
I think that he steered away from my group
at that time for business reasons.i.e.
He could see that we really had talent and
we knew better than to put our money in his pocket.None the less, some did. I don't
normally post negatives about anyone or anything, but I would be curious to know if any other jpf'ers ever met this Johnny Eagle
character , and met in the back room with Mr. Reed after the show, which resulted in this producer pitch.This was around 1989.
Seems like a lifetime ago. But I know someone else around here had to be subject to the same. Please share your story.
Thanks.............

I have heard the many times from many people "Biggest con artist in Nashville" and then some when refering to Don Reed. Last year I did a video shoot for one my songs. The director/producer, Robert Skillen worked for Affinity Music. Though, we went thru Skillen directly, because my co-writer and I trusted him because he previously got us good deals on studio time for song demos. More money was put into this video project that all of our demos put together and no band showed up as promised. The quality was very poor, there was no lighting, and it just turned out to be the worst nightmare ever. Our investor got ripped off worse than anybody can imagine with this project. To top that off we didn't find out how bad it really was till sevral months after the shoot. We were told 7 days, we waited for months for our product. Oh, and where is Mr. Skillen now? Serving a 25 year sentence in prison. Go figure.

An Update:

Apparently we know who Sibilant/Silenced might be. I got this email tonight:
---------------------------------------
Subject: A sickness
Date: 3/25/2005 1:04:40 A.M. US Eastern Standard Time
From: don@affinitymusic.com
To: jpfolkspro@aol.com

Brian you have a sick mind. Go for help
----------------------------------------

My reply was "Do I know You?"

Then I realized who it was. It's the guy behind Affinitymusic.com. Since I've never had any direct contact with him before, he could only be referring to this post. I guess he thinks people who allow others to expose the truth about companies on the net to be sick. He's been welcome to come here under his actual name to say whatever he wants in defense of his company. Instead, he uses aliases. But he did at least email me with his real name and site this time. If the best defense of his company is to say I have a sick mind, then I think we know how legit he really must be.

Ironically, I haven't made any claims for or against against him to date. Our members and lots of others around the net regularly have claimed he's a scam artist though. I offered an open call to anyone who could supply positive feedback (and use their real name) but none have. Since over 4000 people have viewed this post since it was put on line, you'd think 1 legit person would have something positive to say right?

Still waiting. But thanks for the concern Don. Nice to meet you too.

By the way, he is correct about one thing: People shouldn't blame legitimate companies who provide legitimate services for legitimate fees for their lack of success. On the other hand, it doesn't matter what level of talent you have, you should never let a scam artist get your money for any reason. Folks here and on the internet in general are good at exposing the latter while promoting the former.

Brian

Midnight Bob: I did exactly what you said. I took 10 minutes and did a google search for the first 8 people listed in their testimonials. Na-da, no-one, nothing (other than obviously non-musically-inclined people like State Senators and college professors, etc). Even I come up on a google search (try "larry williams studio" to save time) and I'm sure not famous.

"Don Reed Productions/Affinity Music, Inc., in business for over forty years, has an unbeatable track record for placing new talent in the music business."

If either (the same?) of the defenders of this company would like to provide some verifiable testimonials, that might help dig them out of the hole they've dug for themselves.

Personal attacks or emotional outbursts sure won't help. Just simply provide some substantiation for the claim above. Very simple...



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Larry
www.audibleresponse.com

OK. Here goes...Almost three years ago I went to Nashville with a young country boy singer I was managing. I had written and co-written six songs with him that we recorded in our hometown.

I got us in to see the head of A&R at Capitol and Sony Nashville. Not bad for our first shot! We also wound up in the Affinity offices on Music Row.

Now, we'd always heard those horror stories of a label guy zipping through your heart- felt songs, not even listening to the whole song and then handing them back and saying, "no thanks". Well our experience was quite different. The guys at Sony and Capitol spent an hour with us, listening to all or most all of every song. At Affinity it was a little different...

We found the building where Affinity's offices are located. As we went up to the sixth floor, each time the elevator door opened, the floors looked worse and worse. OK. I don't want to "judge a book by its cover", so we went in...

After some quick introductions where we were told to please excuse the shabby office, because they had just been broken into or some such story. Anyway, they put our new demo CD on a crummy little boom box! After the first two lines, a woman there started talking to us and asking where we were from! I mean really! At Capitol and Sony the professionals had their backs to us the whole time and LISTENED. Really listened. Not so at Affinity.

Now the killer! This is still one of my favorite Nashville stories. The woman told us that Affinity would, for a fee, place some of our songs on a COPULATION CD! Now read this carefully. She said COPULATION CD NOT COMPILATION! I tried not to laugh and got us out of there as quickly as possible. Funny story, huh?

But there's more... fast forward to just yesterday. A local singer wanted me to work with her on some new songs. She had gone to Nashville last year and recorded two tracks, but wasn't happy with the experience or the outcome. You guessed it, she had worked with Affinity. Cost? Two tracks for $5200! That's some pricey demo work, I'd say. She told me that they put the recording schedule "off" until late at night and around midnight the engineer just wanted to wrap it up and go home. She wasn’t' happy with the material they provided, either. They sent it to her, just a week before her scheduled session.

Oh yeah, there was the promise of placement on that copulation, I mean compilation CD. I don't put much stock in that whole thing. Hold on, the story gets worse...

So now, she didn't know what else to do... so she got into a contract again with Affinity for 8 tracks. The price... $10,000. Now that's a better price per track, but the production and mix is certainly minimal, and the vocal session uses only comp vocals, not line-by-line punches, when necessary.

I was upset that she came to me AFTER she had put down a non-fundable deposit!

I called a friend in Nashville to ask him what he knew. In general he said, “If they ask you for money, look out...”


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Michael Nattter

[This message has been edited by Michael Natter (edited 05-08-2005).]

Thanks Michael. Nothing too surprising in your story though. After the ridiculously lame response and reaction from Don at Affinity, what else would anyone expect? This post now shows up on every major search engine. We're still waiting for someone willing to endorse them positively by name. Or anyone else who has had a bad experience as well.

Brian

Your attempt to slander Affinity Music/ Don Reed productions of Nashville, will not work. The company has been in business since 1957 and has a proud record second to none. It's artist have performed at the White House during the Regan, Bush Sr and Clinton administrations. In the decade of the 90's several thousand of his Artist's have appeared on the stage of the Grand Old Opry House and the Ryman Auditorium. Not to mention all the people that he has worked with that are now employed as profesional back up and demo singers in studios across the nation.

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Musicmadnessman

Music (or is this just Don again under yet another name like before?),

So what does that prove? Even if everything you say is 100% correct, that doesn't mean the way he treats his customers is okay. I've gotten nearly 100 emails from people about Don Reed Productions, and every one of to date has been negative. I just got another horror story today from another person saying they were scammed, given sub par recordings and treated terribly. So where are the first hand reports of people who are REAL (i.e. not just Don@affinitymusic.com using false names/aliases) who are vouching for him with their own name? We've made the offer. Bring them on! Don knows about this post since he's posted here himself. He can't even muster a few friends to vouch for him with their reputations on the line? Even most lame scam artists can muster that.

By the way, slander can't be written, it's a verbal action.. at least get your threats straight. And the truth is never slanderous (when spoken) or libelous (when written). No one here has made any comments without them being stated as opinion (which is protected by law) or first hand facts (which is also protected).

Nice try again though Don (or perhaps Don's flunky). Either come here in the open and state your case by name, or go away and accept that you have a terrible reputation from many former customers who feel you've ripped them off.

Brian

I have been with Don Reed for about 6 mo's now and He seems to have his head on straight, I did do a music video in May of this year. He went crazy over my music. But I just don’t have the money to Record an album, Why cant he invest in me, If he is so nuts over my music and performance?
I much rather have a sponsor!

www.barbaraandrewsforever.com

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Forever and a Day

So he's nuts about your music, and wants you to pay him to do something? That's not how it works. If someone wants to sign an artist to a deal, they pay the costs and often offer advances to the artists.

On the other hand, what it sounds like he's doing is simply pumping you up so you'll buy his services. We have no problem with someone providing a service for an upfront fee (if the fee is reasonable in the context of the quality of the recording and services versus what you can get the same level of quality and service from others in your marketplace). To date, we haven't found one happy paid customer, but Don and his minions (or perhaps Don himself posing as others) have come here and made fools of themselves.

Once again, we offer them the chance to come here, in their own names, and offer their defense of the overwhelming amount of negative complaints they have received. They should be professional, rather than childish (i.e. sending notes to us saying we have a sick mind because people are posting their bad experiences on our site).

This page gets a lot of web traffic. And the more people who see it, the higher it climbs on page ranks. Don (if "Don" is even a real person, frankly I have no idea) has done nothing but confirm the complaints against Affinity Music and Don Reed Productions so far.

Anyone considering using them should do a LOT of research, both on line (just do a search.. lots of stuff comes up all over the internet) and also with people they trust in Nashville who will back up their opinion/experience with their own reputation and their real names.

Brian

I wanna be on a copulation CD. I could become famous...

Joe
www.soundclick.com/bands/7/joewrabekmusic.htm

P.S. No, I wouldn't want to give somebody money to do it. If it's going to cost money, *I* will spend the money, thank you; I think I can find a better deal. Now, if somebody's impressed enough with my stuff that they'll promote it for free (or for a percentage), that's different. But I ain't met up with one of those yet, and I'm not holding my [traditional country] breath.

Yes, I have heard of Affinity Music/Don Reed. I want to tell you that last May I showcased a song I wrote with Mr. Reed's Audio/Visual Showcase Productions and was very pleased with my experience. Mr. Reed arranged for a new singer for me since the original demo singer was not available; naturally I wanted to be sure he chose a good artist and he assured me he did. I flew to Nashville for the showcase and sure enough, the singer who showcased my song was wonderful and the event went off very well. It was broadcast in the Nashville area on Comcast; industry officials and record label people were advised of the air date and time. Since Mr. Reed recommended Shelby Roberts, she recorded my song, Trophy Wife, on a single and it has been played on several hundred radio stations across the U.S.A. and some in Canada. Shelby has also appeared on Midnight Jamboree three times - we continue to work together to promote her career and my song. My decision to showcase my song with Affinity Music/Don Reed Audio/Visual Productions was a positive one and has inspired me to pursue my career as a songwriter.

Marietta Wilk.
I noticed you joined on 5-30 . You have 4 posts listed to date. And they all concern the
topic of Don Reed Productions. Where can we hear your song samples ? How much (if any) did you pay
to have your song recorded, & distributed to the several hundred stations that you mentioned? Best of luck with your songwriting
career.Welcome to the best boards in the
business of music.

Hi Accoustic Soul:
In answer to your question about hearing my song, you may go to Be Discovered TV Series.com. A montage will come up and you should see a picture of Shelby Roberts and/or see her name. You can click in to a portion of Trophy Wife. As for the question about the cost of any of this, I prefer not to discuss my financial affairs on the internet - I'm sure you can understand that. These are private matters. I thank you for your good wishes; if you want a copy of the single I would be happy to send it to you for the cost of $5.00. Hopefully, I will be able to post more information about Shelby's career as we progress.
Again, thanks for your good wishes.
Marietta

Marietta,
I am sure that your song is a good song but I couldn't the whole sample off the web site. Just the sample clip didn't do much for the song either. Neither did Shelby Roberts. I have been checking out Affinity myself and the clips that they are showing on "Be Discovered TV" haven't changed since I went to see Mr. Reed and his Staff last month. Yes, I've been there and sat through their seminar so I know what I am talking about. But hey, keep trying. That's what we're doing and eventually we'll get there and hopefully won't get ate up by the "SHARKS" in the process.

I watched that video clip and have to say that both the song and the artist performing it were, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being rank amateur and 10 being a pro) were about a 2-3 (and that's being generous). The video was cheesy and looked like something little kids do at shopping malls in those Karaoke Booths for 20 dollars. If anyone paid MORE than 20 dollars for that, they were ripped off. It's that bad.

Sorry.. but it's clear from the behaviour of Don Reed and his minions here that he's no a professional quality service and from the complaints we've received both on line and off line, he's got more unhappy customers than just about any company we've ever heard of. With 40+ years of supposed service, he's only been able to scrape up 1 single recent customer who said they were happy, but if anyone was happy with the amateur quality of that video, then they've mislead into thinking they got their money's worth.

Brian

don reed is awsome

to whom it may concern, i was under contract with don reed, and i must say that it was a wonderful experience.i did not get a recording contract under don, but however, i did do a major recording project produced buy don and a member of the grand ole opry, who shall remain nameless, and still to this day i still do showcases in nashville supported buy don reed and eventhough im not under contract with don any more, he still calls me whenever he runs across a deal that he thinks will be benificial to my music career. to all how doubt don, i can assure you, don goes above and beyond for his clients, affinity music is wonderful a opportunity for anyone trying to live the dream of music stardom. if you signed with don and was not secuessful all i can say is it just was not your time or you just couldent cut the mustard in nashville. lets face it guys, its not dons decision, if you get a contract or not, its up to the big guys at the labels. don can only do so much. to those of you who still want to bad mouth don and affinity music all i can say is, dont burn a bridge that you might need in the future. and dont forget, its all about the music! thank you, Chris Daley

If ever a bridge should be burned, it would be a bridge that connects anyone to one of the most loathed and disliked music related companies on the web. Don, aside from being unprofessional on this board with his ridiculous comments, has received more negative feedback and complaints against him than any other company we've ever come across. In addition, the quality of his video production is so amateur it's hard to imagine they even post it for people to see.. it's very amateur hour quality.

I am glad you had a good experience with him. It's obvious he is reaching out to folks and it's nice to know 100% of his customers don't have complaints. But the song quality and video quality of the samples we've heard are not worth ANY money, let alone thousands of dollars some people feel they've been cheated out of.

But we will leave your testimonial here in good faith that you're not just another shill for Don. Some people apparently just have different sets of quality standards and are happy with sub par services.

And if you had a major success, why would anyone need to "un-named?" Nobody hides from success unless there's "more" to the story that isn't being told, or the story is an exaggeration.

Brian

Just gotta laugh here -

Barbara Andrews forever and a day

"This domain has expired"

Guess forever is a lot shorter than I thought.

Like the dollar, some things just don't go as far as they used to!

[This message has been edited by RobertK (edited 06-06-2005).]

Well, I'm gonna jump in here on this. I don't know diddley about Don Reed except what I read here. But a few weeks ago, as this topic was heating up, Barbara Andrews called me up, and we spent a little while chatting on the phone.

She seemed like a perfectly nice young lady, and I went to that website (barbaraandrewsforever.com) and listened to some perfectly fine songs -- good vocals, good music, good production quality, as good as any songs I've heard anywhere (and better than some "professional" material I've heard). Some of the songs were more to my taste than others, but strictly in terms of production quality, they were first-rate.

I don't know where she had them recorded, or whether Don Reed had anything to do with them. And apparently now that domain is, indeed, gone. (According to the WHOIS record, it was first registered in 2002.)

Anyway, I just want to say that, as far as I can tell at least, Barbara Andrews is indeed a real artist with real material. And the material was none too shabby.

--- Ed


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http://www.edperrone.com/music/

Ed -

You've been around here and participating enough that I'll take your word on that. Hope Barbara can get her hosting issue straightened out and the work back on line quickly. My apologies to Barbara if any offense was taken, but it was funny to click on something that said "forever" to be find "its expired." I hope the mismanagement of the domain registration is nothing more than a misfiled renewal and can be straightened out quickly.

I did find her on song planet - Barbara Andrews forever

She might want to edit the link in the post above until the hosting is straightened out.


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Marty my new home

If you look at the glass and see it as half full, drink up!

Well, I can definitely see the humor there, Marty...

--- Ed


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http://www.edperrone.com/music/

brian, the reason the name of my co producer shall remain nameless, is at his request. no offense, but,i dont know if you know how things work in nashville, but, its not the quality of your demo or video. its how your voice and look comes across to the label. you can have the best looking demo pack that you can produce, but the bottom line is, the labels are looking for talent, not how impressive your demo pack is. dont get me wrong, i mean no dis-resperct to you, but like i said don can only do so much. but, don can do a lot for you and anyone who is willing to give there dream a shot. please dont burn this bridge while you still have a chance. please check my wed site out at www.chrisdaleymusic.com. this site has nothing to do with don, but i like to pass my music on to anyone i can. hope we can talk soon.thank you, chris

Firefighter911
You ain't talking to people that are clueless about the "Nashville" scene and the way things work. You've only posted three times so it's obvious you have no idea about the wealth of knowledge that can be found within the threads. If Don Reed and his staff are so "GREAT" then why haven't we heard you on CMT, MTV, Radio...etc. A little bit of insight for you, I have been to Affinity Music/Don Reed Productions. They were not that impressive. Also, they wanted me to e-mail my lyrics to them so they could "review them". I was there for 4 1/2 hours on a Saturday and had all my work with me (35 songs). They should have looked at them while I was there. SORRY BUBBA, YOUR DOG WONT HUNT. And by the way, I've got the talent and the voice and the balls to fight the sharks. Browse the pages of knowledge grasshopper before you get a bad case of foot in mouth disease.

[This message has been edited by ric4music (edited 06-10-2005).]

Whoa, let's not go overboard here. I know LOTS of very successful career artists who've never been on CMT, MTV or the radio.

If we start measuring success that way, believing that success = MTV, we're playing right into the hands of the scam artists who'll be glad to take our money in exchange for a promise of "exposure."

That said, I can't comment on Don/Affinity whoever.

------------------
Scott Andrew
Lo-fi acoustic pop superhero!
http://www.scottandrew.com/music

I agree with Scott, there's no direct link to the qualithy of a companies work and whether they produce hits. Great recording studios can produce amazing recordings that few people ever hear. Top notch artists can put out music that get's no where. So I have no concerns about the lack of mainstream success in conjunction with Don Reed's company. BUT.. (and it is a HUGE but..) the quality of the samples they post of their work is TERRIBLE. It's no better than taking a cheap camera in front of a blue screen and having someone sing Karaoke in front of it at the shopping mall. I agree that you can't make a bad song a great song, but the quality of the video work is completely under his control.

There's also the scam of giving someone unrealistic expectations if you use their product. That is a scam artists biggest tool. Prey on the dreams of their victims. Tell them exactly what they want to hear and keep milking money from them. If Don's approach was simple: We do videos and recordings etc. for people. Here's our rates, here's samples of our work. You decided, that would be much different than implying that these amateurs are going to get a deal if they spend thousands of dollars or that anyone would take these videos or recordings seriously.

Keep in mind, Don isn't simply agreeing to work with an artist with a finished product. He's the one creating the recordings, matching the weak writers with weak artists and then adding bad video production for a high fee. For anyone in doubt, go watch the video samples on the site. Do you really think that's going to make a label exec suddenly decide that their next project should be THOSE songs and THAT artist over Shania Twain and Faith Hill (or insert anyone you want on a label today)?

I am still getting email from unhappy Don Reed customers. We still haven't had a professional reply from anyone at their site/company (though someone else DID register here using their domain name email address.. but they haven't posted).

In general terms for those surfing in and reading all this for the first time:

1. If you are considering using Don's services, make sure you understand EXACTLY what you are getting for your money.

2. If he is going to record your songs using another artist (i.e. making a demo for you) make sure you listen to many examples of his work. Next, get a written price quote on that work. Then, go to 4-5 competitors (who are recommended by indepedent sources like NSAI, ASCAP, BMI etc.. ) in Nashville and get THEIR quotes for THEIR rates and listen to samples of THEIR work. Compare it all side by side. THEN you'll know if the amounts you're being asked to pay is fair. And you'll know if the quality of the work is comparable to that of other professional services.

3. Use the same approach to any "video" services offered.

4. Get sound feedback about your songs (if you aren't the artist) BEFORE you pay ANYONE to demo them. If the song is deeply flawed, making a professional sounding demo is a waste of money. Get feedback from people like the NSAI, or meet with an ASCAP/BMI/SESAC rep or post a link here on our boards or elswhere and find out if your song is even good enough or ready to spend ANY money on. Same goes if you are an artist, make sure that your ability to sing, perform and entertain are legitimately on par with the professionals you want to compete with. Don't take a friends word for it. Don't take your mom's word for it. Don't take your grandkids word for it. Find professionals who back that up. Go to a local venue and perform a gig and ask the booking agent if they will book you again to play. If you're pro quality, most will tell you.

Before you write a check to "buy" your dream, realize that no one, not even billion dollar corporations, can BUY a hit song (though they all TRY a lot). David Geffen was quoted as saying if it was simply about money, power and industry fame, that every song his label released would ALWAYS be a hit because he has no shortage of all those things to put in gear for his label artists. But the truth is even his failure rate is VERY high. So why would Don Reed be able to do what David Geffen and billion dollar corporations can't do even with millions of dollars at their fingertips?

Do due dilligence for your career. If it is important enough for you to write a check, it is important to take a step back and ask yourself if "this sounds too good to be true.. maybe it is?" and go out and get the truth from unbiased sources.

Brian

Enough is enough!



My son performed at the White House in Washington D.C. for the Independence Day celebration. Years later, he performed in the circle at the Grand Ole Opry House. Several months after that, he performed at the Ryman Auditorium. This was accomplished through the promotions and contacts of Don Reed.



Don Reed held eight shows a year for several years on the most prestigious stages worldwide. Major label executives were invited and attended to watch these performers in Nashville. There are not many talented individuals who have that kind of opportunity to perform on these Nashville stages.



My son is currently a full-time professional performer and doing well. I don’t know what this forum has against Don Reed, but the majority of the people do not share your derogatory comments.



Performers can be submitted to the major labels. But, you cannot blame the producer who submitted them if they are not accepted.



Sincerely,





Stan Weber

listen,ive had many years in this business,i think your a person who has no idea how things work in nashville. please take no offense to this, but you really need to talk to me one on one or stop burning your bridges while you have time. im not saying everything i say is wright, but you need to think before you open your mouth. lets arrange to talk one on one before this goes any further. remember, its all about the music. hope to talk to you soon. c daley

p.s. brian, dont forget im noy trying to "show you up" on this web site. im just trying to show you the positive side of don reed and nashville. please leave me the info on how to get in touch with you. im sure we will have a great conversation. thank you , chris

Stan,

So what were the dates of these events? What did Don do to secure them? How many albums has your son sold as a direct result? How much was he paid for these shows? How much did he pay to Don for his services? If you want to promote Don as a great resource, give us the facts. Otherwise it all has very little meaning. I've gotten over 15,000 artists performance slots at nearly 1000 different venues in 48 states. That's a fact. But without all the details you wouldn't know that was in context with running this organization and putting on networking events across North America. You could interpret those true facts to mean many things they don't. So give us the facts and figures. If you want to brag, give us a reason to care. How much was made. How much was sold. How much was paid. How much was charged and what specific actions occurred to to make these things happen that your son couldn't have done for himself?

Brian

Brian

You are naling these people to the wall!! I commend the heck out of you for that!! Why in the world can't these folkes come up with an actual "name" of somebody who's out there because of affinity music?? I don't understand it either. I wonder if that's the same DonReed that used to be in Gatlinburg, TN???

46 yrs of experience but he can'tproduce just "1" name or somebody that can vouch for this guy!! This goes to show people (artists) you can go everything youeself.

I read one story on here about a girl spending 5200.00 for 2 tracks!! That freakin ridiculous!! Take that same $5200.00
and let's get:

1. 5000 color postcards - $200.00
2. 1000 bw glossy's - $120.00
3. 1000 Singles (1 or 2 songs) - $1080.00
4. Mechanical License (to do covers)
if you don't have originals
09 cents per disk pressed - $180.00
5. 1000 3x5 Stickers - $70.00
6. Website (yourname.com)
@ hosting ($11.95 mo) - $144.00(yr)

That's only 1794.00 instead of 5200.00

This doesn't even include studio time and music (this varies between different artists)

Take the other 3400.00 invest in your tracks and music and get off of your bottom, & promote, open mics, karaoke, or to put back in your pocket!! Invest in yourself (Not Donnie!!) Stay active and start a regional "buzz" get a track record!! Record Companies %80 of the time approach "you" when it looks like you don't need them........or let's give all our money to Don Reed!!

Now what are we going to do???

Holla!!

(he already took one of my boys for at least 2700.00...and we warned him but those stars were in his eyes and it felt so good for "affintiy music" to tell him how many mags he was going to be in and all that sh--
some people have to fall on there face first before listening & comparing!!)

Great post. Sounds like your friend should have come to you first for some advice. If only folks would bother to do a tiny amount of research you can find a lot of folks who can offer facts and reasonable alternatives to scams and rip offs that others waste their life savings on.

Fortunately, about 50K people have seen this post by now. That's 50K that at least have something to think about before wasting their money. If they still choose to, then they have no one to blame but themselves.

Brian

Hahahahaha, Dang I'm lovin' this!!!

JPFolks Rocks!!!

Orlando Luckey
www.orlandoluckey.com

Why doesn't this Don Reed fellow speak up for himself? Maybe he thinks JPF is not commercial enough for him to honour us with a response to these allegations against him and his services. Does he even care?
I've recently received harassing threats from an individual to whom I inadvertently named on the forums looking for info on her and her group. I've removed her name from all my posts. I was duped and misled by 'a stale drop looking to profit off the backs of others' and when I went looking for answers I was bullied and warned to keep quiet. A very unpleasant experience.
Thanks for being who you are JPF and
VIVA LA LIBERT/E!!!

Dawn
www.cdbaby.com/dawnmusic
www.soundclick.com/bands/1/dawnarts.htm

[This message has been edited by Heradia (edited 08-02-2005).]

Don Reed HAS been here. He posted as Sibilant and Silenced and likely as a couple of the other people who supposedly "supported" him. (The IP's all matched and we got a direct email from him using his real email account). All indications from his own actions here are that he's being exposed for what he really is.

Well, I got a buddy who has been contacted by Don Reed/affinity. $3500 approx for one song. Scam and a half. Glad I found the board. Ill keep my money in my pocket. Hopefully my buddy will take my advice and RESEARCH TESTMONIALS Before he burns money. Some dudes just gotta learn the hard way.
Peace out.