The Bergen Record
recently paid a visit to the MRG offices and ran a feature on
us-ironically- in print and online!  read below!

CLIFTON --Composing and performing a crowd-rousing tune is tough enough.

Then
there are booking gigs, managing venue accounts, keeping in touch with
fans and landing a distribution deal. At a time when anybody can string
together a few notes and upload the result to the Web, attracting and
maintaining an audience can challenge a musical artist’s pluck.

It
was to elevate such talented, flying-under-the-radar performers that
Martin and Jude Folkman created the Independent Music Awards nine years
ago. At times, they discover singers and bands with a local or regional
following who just need a nudge to go big.

These aren’t
“American Idol” competitors with a part-time hobby. “The artists we
support are the ones who do it because they can’t imagine not doing
it,” Martin Folkman said.

No cash or prizes are given out. Each
year’s winning songs are sent in CD form to radio and television
stations and made available as downloads through emusic.com.

For the artists, there is also the pride of praise from some of the biggest names in music.

Judges
for the most recent awards included Peter Gabriel, Roger Daltrey of The
Who, country star Clint Black, alternative rocker Suzanne Vega and
blues guitarist Buddy Guy, each of whom selected winners in specific
categories from a pool of five finalists.

Last year the program attracted 8,000 entries from around the world in 56 categories.

Richard
Julian, a pop- and folk-influenced songwriter from New York City, won
the Album of the Year category in 2003 for “Good Life.” He’s since
signed with EMI’s Blue Note Label Group, and is a member – along with
Norah Jones – of the Little Willies.

“Anytime you’re doing
things on your own indie-style, something like this can lend
credibility to it,” he said of the IMA award. “I did well by letting
people know I’d won and persuading them to go back and give it [the CD]
a fresh listen.”

Running the IMA is only part of the Folkman
story. The couple’s company, the Music Resource Group, also publishes
an online and annual print version of The Musician’s Atlas, an
information guide and directory of music industry contacts. And they
send out a monthly electronic newsletter to 89,000 music industry
entrepreneurs.

The first edition of the atlas came out in the
fall of 1998. The Folkmans sought to provide the information often
neglected by larger, pricier guides – the stage size at each venue, the
quality of sound systems and availability of a sound engineer, for
instance.

Big labels use the print guide for talent development.
And at $49.95, artists can afford to keep one in their backpack.
Online, they can find updated contact info for venues around the
country and practical advice on nearby hotels and restaurants.

Managing
Editor Lauren Veteri said the atlas provides answers to the concerns
she hears most often from artists, who often distribute their music on
their own rather than pursue major labels.

“A
lot of bands don’t know how to turn their art into money,” she said.
“Some creative types don’t understand the business side of it or even
just hate that aspect of it.”

Until last month the
Folkmans ran their 11-year-old company out of their Montclair home,
where space was so tight that one employee a week had to work off-site.
They moved into a Clifton warehouse last month.

Everyone at the
company has some sort of musical background; the editor of their club
section, Robert Fontana, is a former winner in the IMA’s pop/rock
category. They plan to hire more staff soon, including at least one Web
designer.

Jude Folkman had entrepreneurship in her blood: her
father, Melvin Cohen, founded Handi-Hut Inc., a manufacturer of bus
shelters, and Dome’l, a door and skylight maker. Both are based in the
same Clifton building the Folkmans now occupy.

Martin first
learned music appreciation while sitting at his mother’s feet as she
played piano and his father sang. He still plays guitar, although
generally not in public.

“We really appreciate the artistry and
chutzpah it takes to put your thoughts and energy into a piece of music
and then put it out there for the world to hear,” he said.

He
and his wife previously ran a public relations and marketing firm, with
many of their clients connected to the music business.

“We decided it was no longer fun to promote other people’s products – we wanted our own,” Martin said.

At
the time, the promise of the Internet was fast becoming clear, as
artists such as Ani DiFranco bypassed the major labels to put out music
independently.

“As we looked around we saw that independent artists in all genres were beginning to strike out on their own,” Jude said.

To further those efforts, the Music Resource Group plans more live events in New York City.

“Artists performing live in front of an audience will always be the best way to make those connections,” Martin Folkman said.

E-mail: crouse@northjersey.com