Page 32 - ION Indie Magazine MarchApril 2021

CM: Not to single out any one place, but I def enjoyed our last show at Baltimore Soundstage. For me, it is
less about the venue and more about the different promoters we are fortunate to work with. As is with most
artists, COVID-19 has impacted our ability to perform, however we are using the time to work on some new
material.

MH: How do you feel the internet has impacted the music business? And if you could change anything about
the industry, what would it be?

RM: It's a double-edged sword. It's so easy to get your music out there on multiple platforms, streaming
services where you can get hundreds of streams a day on several playlists around the world, which is great
to reach a wide audience. But that also means there's that much more material out there to choose from—a
glut of it, really—which makes it really easy to get lost in the shuffle. You can do all this stuff without the
backing of a record label, but that means all the marketing and promotion (and the costs associated with it
all) is completely up to the bands. Fortunately for us, Jon is a marketing guru.

JM: All these streaming platforms have really hurt artists as far as income. I try to explain to people that
buying one CD from us is the equivalent to about 100,000 streams. When you think about that, it is just crazy.
We continue to create new merchandise and other ways to keep fans connected with what we are doing. You
have to adapt to different methods to keep your art relevant, and to be able to produce your art, it all costs
money.

MH: What's next for VEER? Tell us about VEER's music journey for 2021. Any new music coming up?

RM: We recently released our latest single, "Red Tide," along with a music video to promote the title that
we're all really proud of. It was shot by horror film director Kevin Kangas and it has a really cinematic
sensibility. We've got a couple more tunes that are nearly in the can, and then it's back to the studio at some
point to complete our sophomore album. Sitting home for a year, we've accumulated so much material that
we now have to regroup, go through the music, see what we want to work on, and start laying tracks.

Ryan Fowler Ronald Malfi