f.a.q.s
what are "seeds", "listeners", and "Listener Events"? 
"seeds" are anyone or anything that nht is currently promoting. in today's independent marketing and promotions world, many "promoters" and "marketing agents" have earned the not-so-distinguished reputation of people who take up to nearly half of your event earnings while doing little more than distributing A-cards and colorful flyers, a bulk of which end up on sidewalks and in trashcans. we want to separate ourselves from such a reputation. like a gardener plants an appleseed, we plant the artistic seeds of talented individuals and cultivate that seed through various hands-on efforts.
"seed teams" have one mission: plant and cultivate the seed. to reach as many people, in as many places, for as long as is possible.
"listeners" are anyone and everyone who is listening to our voice, to who and what we are seeding. recording artists call them "fans."
a "Listener Event" is an organized engagement where nht supplies a private venue, a private audience, private performances, and networking opportunities for all involved, with the sole aim of furthering the exposure of our seeds and our company. these events provide a more intimate setting for seeds to grow in and the listener experience. we provide basic food & drink (and in our own private venue, accomodations), participating seeds and players, and assist with the planning and execution of the event. these events can be hosted by anyone with a sufficiently accomodating private space.
note: an artist or entertainer "seeded" by nht is one who has signed a plain language, non-exclusive Seeding Agreement with us, making them an official nht seed and giving them exclusive access to all nht related services and support. some events listed on our calendar do not represent those of official seeds. they represent those of whose talents we feel you might be interested to know about. we call them "watch" artists & entertainers and may perhaps someday officially seed them. the discontinued inclusion or express exclusion of anyone or anything on our calendar does not necessarily reflect a discontinued partnership or non-interest, or a rejection of one's work -- we simply can't seed everyone and everything that we'd like to at this time.
how do you select seeds?
primarily, we like to go with gut feelings, but we've been convinced before that raw talent can overcome first impressions. basically, we observe seeds in-person, get to know them behind the scenes (to understand who they are, where they see themselves headed, and what separates them from a sea of other artists), then decide whether or not it is on our best interest -- and theirs -- to put time and money behind them. after all, again, most of nht's services are provided for free -- we want to invest wisely.
how can i be considered for seeding by nht?
submit your work via our connect page.
what services do you provide for free, and how? what services are fee-based?
nht provides all seeding services for free. that is, we help generate creative promotional materials such as flyers, artwork and journalistic content and commentary. assitance with the dissemination of these materials is also provided, via digital means and direct efforts via Seed Teams. nht provides these services for free with the financial contributions of sponsors and adverstisers. (become a sponsor/advertiser)
fee-based services include technical assistance and consulting services. technical assistance may include the building or rebuilding of a website or a MySpace page, or the design and launch of similar digital media tools. consulting services primarily consist of private consultations with artists seeking unbiased, honest constructive critism and observational feedback that helps the artist to fine tune creative development and promotional reach.
fees for all services are reduced-rate, and can vary from seed to seed.
do you only seed entertainers, and only those that are local?
yes and no, and no. at this time, nht has narrowed its focus to performance artists to better manage our resources at this the early stages of our growth. that focus is primarily on local talent, again for resource management purposes, but we are currently in the process of reaching out nationally to artists and motivated individuals interested in becoming a part of seed team activities. we are currently working with two private parties on non-entertainment related ventures with hopes of bringing them into the fold within the next year.
in the future, nht hopes to provide a voice for anyone hoping to reach the masses with whatever it is that moves them.
“.org”? are you a non-profit organization?
no. one of the biggest misconceptions of the Internet is that the “.org” website extension is reserved exclusively for non-profit or otherwise not-for-profit businesses. nht is indeed a for-profit business, though the primary purpose of this status is to create a positive cash-flow for the company from which to finance our fee-free services. we chose the “.org” extension because we felt that it more appropriately highlighted the altruistic nature of the work we do, and the support structure of our listener base. we see what we and our listeners do as the result of many people coming together for the common good of helping emerging talent achieve higher plateaus, as many do to feed the poor, shelter the homeless or win justice for the wrongfully accused. we felt that our website address should reflect this willful nature of banding together. are you hiring?
we're always looking for people interested in joining our efforts at every level. we will soon be adding a more appropriate job board, meanwhile, the nht news section of our website will contain announcements regarding our staff needs.
artists are always welcomed to submit their work for seed consideration via our connect page. listeners can also suggest seeds via this page.
your question(s) not answered here? email us at: info@hearitnow.org