That was a clickbait title to try and get you to read my November newsletter. If you don't know who I am or what I do, you can probably skip it! However, if you are following me, it may be interesting for you!

Anywho, you can check it out here if you are curious about new music resources or about what I've been up to for the last month!

I LOVE YOU CYA!!!!!!!

Hello everyone! This is for anyone who's following or anyone who is interested in free music resources!! (EX. Game Devs, content creators, etc.)

Short note to my NG followers: If you would like to keep up with me & see what I'm working on, consider checking out my Newsletter! I write them every month! (I'm gonna start announcing each new edition here monthly)

Since I began my Ko-Fi page, I've been stocking it up with tons of free music every month! The main thing I wanted to talk about though is my monthly newsletters, which I started writing in May 2023. I've been doing my best to make them as fun and readable as possible, as well as intuitive and informative for readers wanting to keep up with me and the resources I create for you!

Here's my issue!! I want to continue making my page + newsletters better. My ultimate goal with Ko-Fi is to provide a valuable resource for everyone, as well as provide as many extra goodies for my supporters as possible and make them feel like their subscriptions are worth every penny. I don't get a whole lot of feedback on my page though. Not many folks read my newsletters (which is pretty much the only place I ask for feedback). So I wanted to turn to Newgrounds for some extra opinions!!

SO! To anyone who reads this, I would like to ask you your thoughts! If you are following my Ko-Fi, what would you like to see more of? If you aren't following, what might make you want to follow me? Does being supporter seem worth it? What do I do well? What I do poorly? You can answer any of those questions or comment about anything else too.

It would mean a lot to me to hear from you! Ultimately, I'm doing all this to ensure what I provide is of the utmost bestest amazingest quality, and to make a hell of a good free music resource for everyone who needs it!

I LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU!!!!

Hey guys how are you?

I recently discovered it's really fun to read through the news feed. All sorts of nonsense, but also discovering a lot of cool artists and users!

HELP IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!

ATTENTION:

DIGITAL FUSION IS REAL, AND IT IS HAPPENING.

For the last year or so, I've been curating a SoundCloud playlist of my favorite Digital Fusion tracks from a variety of incredibly talented, awesome creators. What I've learned about Digital Fusion since I started is that it's a genre that a lot of people know about, but don't know the name of. I was in that boat before I learned the name of the genre. I just thought it was 'video game music' or 'vgm jazz' or something like that. Searching for those things rarely got me exactly what I wanted to hear though, and for a long time, I just wrote it off as niche and that I could only find it if I stumbled upon it.

That is not the case now though! Digital Fusion is real, it is happening, and it must be known! Songs that sound like video games, employ retro synths and soundfonts, and blend them with modern production techniques and/or recorded instruments to create a sound that feel so video game, so vintage, yet so modern. Not to mention the amount of musicians with fierce skills and knowledge of music theory and jazz technique in the space creating music that almost condescends you with its expertise and flashy complexities, even if in a simple package. Digital Fusion is what happens when people who grew up playing tons of video games get a music making software. For those who grew up playing tons of video games and have no music software, the music fills that void in the heart that they never knew existed.

SO, EVERYONE!! Very important!!!! You must know Digital Fusion music. The genre is still a wee baby and knowing about it now will make you COOL when it inevitably blows up. It will blow up. It is real and it's happening. Digital Fusion makes sense.

Read up with your ears. Fill your head with the stylings of today's trailblazers. Check out this playlist and ENJOY IT. Share the music with the folks in your life who you know will appreciate it. If someone you know has a Discord account, they will like Digital Fusion. If someone you know has ever played Animal Crossing, they will like Digital Fusion. If someone you know is under the age of 30 and owned a game console, they will like Digital Fusion.

Preaching over. Enjoy!

Listen to: DIGITAL FUSION IS REAL AND IT IS HAPPENING

Hey guys I'm making some more cool music for you

HEY YOU BETTER WATCH OUT BUDDY

Hey guys! I usually write a big fat novel on here about what I've been up to, but I'm DONE. I QUIT. I quit with the big newsletter-style posts on here anyways. Moved 'em to my Ko-fi and I'm gonna be posting them every month there! For any folks here who read those, I'll still be announcing them here and making smaller posts from time to time.

I'm turning 'em up to 11 though with a bunch of art and fancy stuff, so if you're interested in hearing about royalty-free music and free stuff to look forward to in the future, please take a look!

https://ko-fi.com/post/ZLM-Newsletter-1-May-2023-J3J5KOEJ0

I appreciate all of you and I think you're fantastic!!!!

Hello again! I have some news! I'll keep this post short.

Another Bag of Chips is releasing on April 25th!

If you aren't familiar with this project, it is a follow-up album to the original, royalty-free chiptune album 'A Bag of Chips'. This new album is packed with all sorts of extra goodies that the original didn't have, such as some bonus tracks, looping versions of every track, and more variety in moods for more use cases! It's also more of a retro-modern hybrid. It's focused less on 8-bit chips and more 16-bit sounds, and contains that cool blend of modern synths as well. I'm really excited to share this with you all and I hope you're able to get lots of use out of it!

The album will be available on Bandcamp and Ko-Fi to download in HQ for free!

More about Ko-Fi!

Also, I've started on my monthly songs for the supporters on Ko-Fi! These monthly tracks are just as jam-packed as the stuff I release normally, but are exclusively available to supporters. They are also all, of course, totally royalty-free! I'm excited about these. I'm also always thinking of more ways to provide some extra goodies to my supporters because you guys make my world go 'round!!

Anywho, thank you all for tuning in again! I love you all and I can't wait to make some more music for you!!!

Have a wonderful day!

I finally did it. I caved. I made a Ko-fi.

I've always been hesitant to make something like a Ko-fi or Patreon or anything of the sort. Some of it is that I've been waiting to find an audience for a long time, and that's why I'm only sharing this on Newgrounds for now, but more of it has to to with self worth and the value I place on the stuff I make. Gonna vent for a moment but I will try to be short, and I've got a message in there too for anyone who needs to hear it!

My vent + message:

As a creator, you will always have 'competition'. Or, peers who do the same thing as you. Personally, while I know my fellow musicians are not competing with me, I've always had that sort of headspace and a desire to be really good at what I do. I don't think there's anything wrong with a competitive bone, it's gotta be handled right. For some that means to refrain from dishing punches at other creators, and for some, like myself, it means you gotta appreciate what you do a little more. With creativity, how good someone is at something is entirely subjective. Personally, I feel outshined by so many of my talented peers. This has caused me to devalue my own work a lot. The way I see it, if there are people doing exactly what I do, but better, why do I deserve any more than what I have? Obviously that's some toxic thinking.

Here's the thing. If you are a creator of any kind (or really anyone for that matter), there is going to be someone out there doing exactly what you do, but better. You will not likely ever be the *best* at what you do. The message sounds discouraging, but if you think about things a little differently, this is incredibly motivating, and is the reason I haven't given up on my goals, among other things.

Think about it like this. Think of any famous or successful person you can. They are likely very talented and skilled at what they do, but they are not the best. Especially in the case of musicians (where marketing is everything), there are even some pretty bad ones (in my opinion) that have had some great success. I won't name names, but I'm sure you can think of some. Point is, none of them had to be the best at anything to get where they are. They rose up alongside plenty of other talented peers, and plenty of those peers were doing something very similar, and maybe even better than them. But they still grew, and they grew because people found value in what they did. Likely, they valued what they did too. Maybe they even thought they were the best. The great thing about taste and its subjective nature is that no matter what you are doing, there is going to be millions of people out there who like it. It's just a matter of finding out how to reach them.

I'm not concerned with being the best, or even being wildly successful. I want to support myself by making free music for game developers and music-enjoyers. When I'm not comparing myself to others, I like the music I make, and I have been shown by many of you guys that you like it too! If you like what you do, there is a 100% chance that someone else does too. Do not hold yourself back because you do not feel like what you are making is not good enough. What you make has merit and value, so long as it is genuine and it is your own. If you are proud of your work, if you are happy with it, so do other people. While ultimately being creative should be an individual experience at its core, sharing your work is a big part of it too. Especially if it's how you plan to make your living. Don't give up, and always keep sharing.

Final words:

I made a Ko-fi because I want to make music forever. I support myself primarily off of commissions and client work, but ultimately, my greatest desire is to make good music for you and for free. I want to make something useful and enjoyable, and I don't want to hold myself back because I don't think I'm good enough. I like what I do, and I hope you do too. Your support brings me closer to my dream of being self sustained while making free music. Copyrights and royalties make the world go 'round for musicians and labels. While I don't think there's any issue with that, it does make things harder for the many people who need music for their small projects.

About my Ko-fi:

Ko-fi is the first official way you can support me aside from Bandcamp. I plan to add some more to it, because it's brand new right now and barren and sad. But there's still some perks!

For anyone who makes a monthly donation, I'll be making you guys a song every month! There's 2 tiers right now, and I'm still figuring out the logistics. But for now,

For the 'Supporter' tier, you and your fellow supporters will all get a mystery song! I wanna make this more robust eventually.

For the 'Supporter+' tier, you get the supporter mystery song, PLUS an extra song made just for you! It can be another mystery, or you can request whatever you like!

Alright, that's all. I love you guys.

• "Another Bag of Chips" is coming to Bandcamp for free very soon. Maybe next month?
• "New Peach Radio" is also coming to Bandcamp for free soon. This album will be released in two 5-6 track parts separately.
• I will be making a personal EP afterwards. High-effort, wacky, and meaningful to me. It will all still be completely free-to-use.