Tim Martin

Collecting music is a serious business – Stories from a CD shop

September 4, 2023 Tim Martin 3

In summer 2020, like a lot of people I was scratching around looking for a way to make a living. A socially distanced conversation on Clevedon sea front led to me becoming the proud owner of […]

Nic Clark “Everybody’s Buddy”

September 1, 2023 Tim Martin 0

Highly personal, intimate songs played with sensitivity and swing, with near-perfect warmth in the production. One name stood out when the email for this release popped up recently. Charlie Hunter is best known in the jazz […]

Paperback Riders: Will Birch – “Cruel To Be Kind – The Life & Music Of Nick Lowe”

August 30, 2023 Tim Martin 1

When it came out in 2019, our books editor, Rick Bayles, reviewed ‘Cruel to be Kind’ . So why talk about it again? Mostly because it is a very good book about an important figure in […]

How using Bandcamp supports artists and their music

August 16, 2023 Tim Martin 6

That Spotify and other streaming services pay artists badly is hardly news anymore. Many groups and labels direct you towards Bandcamp, which offers a vastly better payday, as well as giving them control of their music […]

Drastic Plastic: Why CDs are still the best listening format for music

August 11, 2023 Tim Martin 11

Asking a music fan what format they favour can be tricky. We have so much invested in our chosen music medium (emotionally and financially) that we must believe that we have made the ‘right’ choice. For […]