Interestingly, the law of unintended consequences seems to be in play here. Ever since this whirling dervish has racheted up his hate campaign (which -- unbelievably -- has been going on for over 16 years, reflecting his true state of mental instability!), the sales for my products have actually GONE UP.
Be that as it may I wanted to offer for the first time a bit of insight into what I do.
It may surprise Peter and even you to learn that Amazon only accounts for about 3% of my sales. That's because the products I create are marketed across multiple platforms.
For example, for 23 years, Julie and I have published a glossy regional magazine. Even though its editorial focus is the American heartland, we also have subscribers from around the world. Along with this, at Christmas our weekly radio show, that is based on the contents of our issues, will have been on the air for 17 years! That's 884 broadcasts I have produced!
It is heard on 52 stations across 10 states, reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners!
We also have an "exact replica" Digital Edition and a mobile app to further expand our outreach. Needless to say, I promote my CDs and book through these venues, which are free to me.
From Day One more than 12 years ago, we have also kept track of every customer, and so we have both a physical mailing list and an email one. This does not even include fans who have signed up for mailing lists for my book, or The Jim Reeves Way website, or several other sites which we operate. This constitutes thousands and thousands of names.
Unbeknownst to most fans, I don't just do Jim Reeves products. I've also produced CDs for foreign labels on a variety of stars but have deliberately not mentioned their names here, (nor in Amazon product descriptions), because I don't want them targeted by the crazies. But you may well open up a CD to find my name listed in the credits and/or liner notes.
The reason I have been able to build up a team of such talented musicians -- which now number over 40 very skilled players, in addition to background singers, orchestrators, and some of the world's top engineers (and I am not exaggerating about that) -- is because of my work on these various music projects.
I "did lunch" this summer at a Beverly Hills hotel with a man who handles the estates of major artists, and he was most encouraging and full of praise for my overdub projects, which have included (and will again in 2015), some of the artists whose estates he represents. Just last night I received an overseas call from a big supporter of mine in the music business, who pointed out "Larry, you are the only one in the world who is doing what you're doing -- taking these old artists and making their music fresh and relevant again." My work has drawn attention from worldwide media.
And I'm proud to have gotten Jim Reeves two Top Ten songs this summer in Europe -- including a Number One (based on an important survey of EU radio stations). A few weeks ago we mailed out to fans of this website a list of 100 stations worldwide who have provided feedback on "The Great Jim Reeves" 8 CD set -- the best project I have ever produced. This list included their station call letters, the names of the deejays, and the feedback they provided (to establish its authenticity).
Besides all this, my partners and I have had a multi-media ad campaign running for months that includes TV commercials, radio spots and print media -- both paid and free. As the Christmas season nears, this is about to increase exponentially. I think that's one of the things that drives Peter and the others crazy, as he often lambastes me for making money!
Again I emphasize that Reeves is only a small portion of my business endeavors and other artists actually generate more revenue for my company.
I also have a partnership with the Good Music Store, an online entity based in Canada, though I do not personally own any business in that country (contrary to Psycho Peter's latest emphatic but unfounded speculation to the contrary. He accuses me of having a tax dodge! How laughable).
So you see, this carpet bombing campaign that this crazy guy has been doing has had very little impact other than to serve as a minor annoyance. Nobody likes to be falsely accused and to the extent that I read stuff online that is so BIZARRE and absurd and I know to be untrue, naturally it draws my attention. But I think "how pathetic and sad this individual is, that his life is so empty he has to spend his days and nights trying to destroy mine." Despite the vigorous defense of him as the "victim", Arie, Frank, David, Eimbert et al just look more craven every day by supporting this obviously disturbed individual. And that's okay with me.
However, I would encourage fans who see the off-topic personal attacks on me to continue to report them to Amazon because they obviously DO violate their Terms of Service. Just click REPORT ABUSE underneath the crap you find in the Comments section of Amazon, or any "reviews" you see that are off-topic.
And I'm sure Frank could attest to what happens when people cross the line, as two FBI agents came to call on him and told us that he had violated at least two federal statutes with his cyber stalking and bullying. There are tough new laws in place and just as I had the old trash site shut down, none of these crazies can be sure the steel trap won't slam shut unexpectedly on them when they least expect it. (Isn't that a cheery thought?) These individuals are bullies just like the ones you find on a school playground. They're so insecure about themselves they pick on others, and then when somebody gives them a bloody nose they go running to the teacher and cry "he's picking on me!" You should have seen the repulsively deceitful and hypocritical email Frank sent complaining that I have been abusing fans around the world. Tsk tsk. Such a gentleman he is, a man of refinement, who would never stoop so low, would he? (Actually, he would, and we have scores of screen captures of his off-the-wall hate campaign against us for the past 16 years, and especially his invasions of privacy -- where he writes about my health, claims to know what meds I take, all about my finances, business affairs, my late mother, my friends, my legal history, and how Julie and i supposedly posted on swinger's sex sites and were indoctrinating our teenage daughter with the "occult" etc. HOW WOULD ONE EVEN PRESUME TO KNOW THIS UNLESS HE WAS CYBER STALKING ME -- which is very much against the law? It makes for interesting reading and does not reflect well on him or his professional qualifications. He is careful to post this on foreign sites in the vain hope the wrong people won't see his rantings and ragings, but he can never be sure of that).
By Christmas there will be some more exciting Jim Reeves product coming out (for a foreign label) and I know fans will enjoy it.
And Julie plans some big changes soon to her website and this forum, but we aren't going to announce this just now.
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