Blog 6
Unplugged or raw contents
Unplugged or raw contents
You may have noticed that I've revamped my music website and changed my stage name from George T. G. Lee to G7ee — an idea from Summer Iskandar, who helped create this new website and handles my social media. The first version was quite sterile (sorry, Keefe!) and not really becoming of me. My second website improved, thanks to my son and daughter, Brandon and Michelle, for their efforts but the first one by Brandon, wasn’t completed and therefore never went live and then Michelle tried to sort it out but she became very busy and she is in Scottsdale, Arizona USA whilst I am mostly on Gold Coast Australia and recently much time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia we did not get it going.
The change of my stage name, allowed me a chance to revamp it all so I took this chance to make a site that looks as good as it is. It’s taken 5 months of thinking, planning, then building and with Summer’s help and advice. I had a hard rethink of the whole thing and came up with this new version that I believe it could be a game-changer. It's not that it's technologically unbelievable — we're using what's readily available on the market — but we're taking it to a whole new level of sharing, connecting and rewarding.
Many musicians have sterile websites because their focus is solely on the music, and they don't want to spend money on a site when they need it for marketing and promotion. Most artists are struggling to earn a living, hoping the next song is their breakthrough. They also don't always consider: what's in it for the fans? They assume the songs are enough — which is largely true, as that's why fans come. But the statistics show that the conversion rate of listeners into paid, signed-up fans is only 1—3%. That's not great, and it's a deterrent to spending on websites.
When I decided to change my stage name to G7ee, I was forced to redo my website — and I chose to relaunch everything and build a new one, but this time I looked at it from the fan's point of view: what's in it for you. It took about 5 months to redo practically all of it. I wanted to give you a better visual experience, and to deliver the things that interest you most — or create the things you want. I wanted more interaction with my fans. So I came up with some crazy ideas and made some crazy offers, which I hope are enough to convince you to come along on this incredible journey. We're aiming for a conversion rate of 5—8%, so if you like what you see and want this site to succeed — and possibly be a game-changer for all — please join the G7 Fan club and help grow our numbers. Only through the success of what I've built here will others follow. It's a win-win for everyone.
A key feature came from my listeners, who preferred the “Unplugged” or “Raw” versions of songs — just me and my guitar, no studio work. So we created two separate sections.
The first section has all the songs mastered in a studio, with video attached — just like other artists have. These are the ones you see on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music, done professionally with the help of my co-producer, Mr Keefe West. This is what the record companies want to hear, and what's for the masses.
But you may prefer the raw, live sound — what we call Unplugged. Listening to Unplugged versions is like hearing an artist sing in a pub or bar. However, these are different.
Why? Because I like being different. My ex gf Deborah used to say that I was an Enigma. What’s difference, you say? These songs I have specially recorded on my own playing my guitar, singing the Vocals or as the main singer and I also add on top of it, harmonizing & Ad lib sang by me too. Sometimes, I am not synchronized with myself Lol so please forgive me. So, these songs will never be release in this way and exclusive to G7ee Fans only.
As I've grown as an artist, I've started using GarageBand, the recording software that comes with any Apple device, where I can layer guitar, vocals, harmonies and ad libs on top of one another to build a song. This version will never be released in that format or heard outside that box — it's exclusive access for my fans.. With GarageBand, BandLab or Logic, we can create a whole orchestra to back us up.
So, by special request, I created an “Unplugged Songs” box that holds eight original songs at any time — unplugged meaning just me and my blue Martinez acoustic-electric hybrid guitar. No studio work and it's 100% me, no one else.
I will rotate those songs every month, so over time you may hear most of my 200 songs.
For each song, I'll add some information and description to give it meaning and this is exclusive to G7 Fans, so you'll have to join to get that experience. If you like what we've done, please join the fan club. The success of this site may influence other artists to raise their game and offer more to their fans — and that's to yours and other fans benefit. So please join, and help grow our numbers. Thank you.