Dear indie friends,

This week, before talking about music, I'd like to celebrate someone special.

Happy Birthday, Lisa!

Together with Dave, Lisa is one of the people behind OTAT247, the radio station that has welcomed me and my Salon Indie from the very beginning. Week after week, they open their doors to independent artists from all around the world, creating a space where music matters more than algorithms, trends, or marketing budgets.

So today, let's celebrate.

Not just a birthday, but the countless hours that happen behind the scenes to make independent radio possible. Because a radio show doesn't magically appear.

People often hear the final result: two hours of music, stories, discoveries, and conversations.

What they don't hear is everything that comes before.

Finding new gems hidden somewhere on Bandcamp, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, email inboxes, submissions, recommendations, and word-of-mouth from fellow indie travelers.

Curation remains the heart of everything.

Technology helps. Automation helps. Templates help. But discovering music still begins with human ears. Then comes another challenge: gathering the files.

And here comes one of the biggest beginner mistakes artists make. The MP3 tags.

It may sound boring compared to writing songs, recording guitars, or creating album covers, but properly tagged files save an enormous amount of time and avoid many mistakes.

Every time a file arrives without the correct information, someone on the radio side has to investigate manually.

And every manual correction creates another opportunity for human error.

That's why we have a small favor to ask.

If you're submitting music, please take a few extra minutes to verify that your files contain the correct metadata.

At a minimum:

The more accurate the information, the easier it becomes for independent radios, reviewers, playlist curators, bloggers, and podcasters to support your music properly.

Even better: whenever possible, use the official submission process and fill in the information yourself.

Nobody knows your music better than you do.

By doing so, you reduce errors, save time for volunteers and curators, and help us spend less time fixing metadata and more time discovering the next amazing song.

And honestly? That's where we'd rather spend our time.

Listening. Discovering. Sharing. Supporting. Talking about you and your oeuvre…

So this week, let's raise a cup of coffee, tea, or whatever makes you smile.

To Lisa - Happy B-day big girl 😄

To Dave.

To OTAT247 and all the other hosts in there!

and to everyone working quietly behind the scenes.

And to all the artists who help make this wonderful indie ecosystem a little easier, one properly tagged MP3 at a time.

With gratitude,

Mitxoda

This week’s Top 10 isn’t about winning prizes, it’s about love, support, and staying in it together.

Every Friday at 4:00 PM (Brussels time) a new episode of Le Salon Indie de Mitxoda will take place on salon.mitxoda.be, don’t miss it.

This week, let's celebrate the people behind the music. The artists. The listeners. The curators. The radio hosts. The friends who keep this indie world alive. A special birthday wish to Lisa, and a heartfelt thank you to everyone working behind the scenes. May your week be filled with great music, kind people, and unexpected discoveries.

With love, always,
🖤 Mitxoda

END 😆