…so I’m told. To make up for my lack of self promotion here are a few words from people who have bought my first album, Time Stands Still and reviewed it on Amazon and Itunes…
“Time Stands Still is British guitarist Mike Howe’s debut album and contains just under an hour of some of the most soothing acoustic guitar music I’ve heard”, Kathy Parsons
“This is one of the most beautiful CD’s I have ever listened to. You will play this over and over. I could listen to this all day. If you love acoustic guitar you will really enjoy this CD. I hope to hear more from this artist. Just beautiful”, E. DeCamp
“This is the most calming and beautiful CD I have ever owned. I could listen to it all day and never tire of it”, Kathy Meyer
“One of the major distractions for contemplation and reading is music that has words, even if it is an instrumental as the past memory of the words will intrude. Howe has combined good rythmns with abstract melody – done beautifully”, Bette Inman
“A very relaxing sound with a hint of Chet Atkins. Hope to hear more from Mike Howe. This is great music that is timeless and always appropriate”, Technogeezer
Mike Howe 
Reblogged this on Jerry Rockwell's Dulcimer Blog and commented:
It sounds to me like Mike Howe has found a sustainable balance for getting the word out about his music. It is inspiring to find another artist who does not seem to be pulled into the “never enough” hassle-world of marketing! I have to admit that I have a much more existential, “world-weary” take on this whole thing, but then, what do you expect from an old dog like me? 🙂
Thanks Jerry, self promotion is absolutely the worst thing about making music I think. You spend all that time getting to know your lovely instruments and getting lost in a lovely world of musical make believe and (hopefully) beauty creation, only then to have to go “out there” and tell everyone how amazing it is and how they should buy it and not download it illegally or worse, ignore it! But these days, unless you have an expensive PR firm or big record label at your back, if you want peole to know about it you have to do it yourself and, at times, it can be cringe worthy, especially when there are far far more important things going on in the world and far far more people worthy of attention than oneself 🙂
It’s very refreshing to meet somebody who is chided for not doing enough self-promotion 😉 Probably I am too idealistic or naive but I had always felt (and was able to confirm, by anecdotal evidence though) that people like this ‘win in the long run’ 🙂
That is very nice of you to say so Elke and it’s nice to know that the evidence supports my position 🙂 The world is full of people who are much less fortunate than me so finding the right balance between promoting yourself and realising that there are many more important things in life is the key I think. Thank you for always being nice 🙂
So glad you listened to those who say you need to do more self-promoting. I am off to listen to some of your music. 🙂
Oh thank you LuAnn I am very flattered, hope you enjoy it 🙂
Pretty certain I will. 🙂
Well done on a little self promotion….this is nice and has actually prompted me to go and buy the CD…..so you see it works 🙂
Oh wow thank you! I hope you are not disappointed 🙂
Chet Atkins! I used to love him. Will re-listen to some of your music to see if I hear him.
I’m not overly familiar with Chet Atkins but if you hear him in there I’d be very flattered! 🙂
Go, Mike, go!
People can only find you if you are visible for them. Self-promotion is a good start. And you deserve to be seen. Apart from that it will bring joy to even more people. Your music has a beautiful, heart-filled quality. 😀
The mentioned reviews above give evidence of that.
Sending much love!
Oh thanks so much Steffi, I really appreciate your support. Have a great weekend, love Mike x
All true 🙂
Thank you again! You are (much) too kind 🙂
By the way, what do those who tell you that you don’t do enough self-promotion suggest that you do? Just curious. The whole business of promotion interests me.
Well it’s a multifunctional area these days, with endless internet based avenues, such as this. I suppose that people also go hussling and hassling tv, radio, newspapers, marketing companies, film production companies, music libraries, the list is endless. I’m not a hussly hassly kinda guy, and I have found it extremely difficult to go tell these people that what they really need, more than anything, is my music, it’s all nonsense and I won’t do it anymore – I’ve only tried it very briefly and very half heartedly. I did manage to get a record deal though, but I didn’t do an awful lot to get that, I was just very lucky. Bottom line is, it’s a very big world with lots of choice and opportunity. On the other hand, I feel that what I’m doing, whilst nice and everything, is trivial and there are literally millions of people suffering for reasons that are extremely profound, so I don’t worry about whether or not enough people are hearing my music, I’ve got enough already 🙂
It sounds like you have the balance right for you which is great. Nice if you sell more ,or people listen more ,but it’s not the end of the world if they don’t. I am no good at hassle either, so I am glad I don’t have to promote any music or art or whatever of mine. However, I still find it interesting to see the different ways people find/have found to market themselves. Happy music making or walking or whatever you are doing this weekend.