It’s about time! We’ve finally started offering 30-second clips of all the new tunes for All-Access and VIP Pass holders. Now you can hear samples right here on the site whether you’re a subscriber or not! Of course, to download the complete songs, you’ll still need to sign up.

There are a few ways to grab the new samples as they’re released:

• Read The Blog, samples are posted next to the full tracks.
• Scan the Sample category.
• Subscribe to the free Everything feed via RSS or Email. Samples won’t be posted to other feeds since those subscribers are getting the full tracks anyway.
• Follow our updates on Twitter (when it works).

We hope you enjoy the freebies. Consider them an appetizer for the main course that subscribers get every month!

For those following the Ex-closure posts, you may have noticed we’re still getting used to this system. So far, the only real damage that’s being done is we’re making some iTunes users have to download a couple of tunes manually from the website.

For those poor souls, we’ve found a solution courtesy of one of our VIP subscribers (Frosty, you are full of awesome).

If iTunes downloads the wrong file [because we put the wrong enclosure in the feed], you can force iTunes to re-download a podcast episode this way:

1. Delete the offending podcast episode (the wrong file that you downloaded).
2. In iTunes’ Podcast list, close the little triangle next to the podcast title (they call it a “turnbuckle”).
3. Mac users hold down the option key, Windows users hold down control and shift.
4. Re-open the triangle. You should now see the complete list of available downloads for the feed.
5. Click “get” next to the file you want to re-download.

Hopefully that will help make up for our lack of feed knowledge. We’re going to add this to the FAQ page since it’s obviously hit a few people. We’ll try to keep this from happening again!

A little spoken introduction to Matthew’s latest song. Had to be moved to its own post since it was apparently confusing both Wordpress and Feedburner.

Sometimes WordPress and Feedburner seem to conspire against us. If you just tried to download “They Got The Money” via RSS or iTunes, you may have actually received nothing more than the spoken intro instead. Apparently the feed only runs with the first audio link in the blog post, even if we set a specific enclosure tag.

It should be fixed now. If not, PLEASE let us know in the comments!

If you can’t get it through iTunes because you already downloaded the wrong track with the right name, try downloading directly from the website. Once again, sorry for the inconvenience!

That’s right, the first song available through this new service is now available for podcasters across the world. The song that launched this revolutionary new club can be found at the Podsafe Music Network for immediate release.

Normally Matthew asks that people link back to his website when they play one of his tunes, but for this song we’re asking podcasters and bloggers to link right back to Matthew Ebel dot net. After all, if any podcasters want to sign up for free as an affiliate, they can use their affiliate links to earn some cash in the process! If you’re not signed up yet, you can do so Right Here!

Some of you might wonder if we’re just giving away music that’s supposed to be exclusive. While we wish there was a way to keep every song just for the members, we still need to spread the word somehow and the best way is through the music itself! Just like any album, there has to be a few songs that are passed around as free samples… otherwise, nobody will know there’s anything there worth listening to!

If you just tried to download “It’s Raining Bankers” via RSS or iTunes, you may have actually received “Lost on Block Island” instead. That was our fault, sorry. We set the wrong enclosure info on that one.

It should be fixed now.

If you can’t get it through iTunes because you already downloaded the wrong track with the right name, try downloading directly from the website. That, at least, we got right!

You can now get exclusive members-only shirts at the new Matthew Ebel dot net Store! Since the store is actually hosted off-site, you’ll need a separate username and password to get in. Fortunately, that’s visible to members only right at the top of the store page. Check it out at:
matthewebel.net/store

As of this post date, there’s a Members-Only store being set up. Matthew’s test-ordering some of the items and won’t make the store available until he receives them and is satisfied with the quality and service. Keep watching this blog or your subscription feed for news… we’ll let you know as soon as the store’s open!

The Store is now open!

Right now there’s really nothing to see here, but that’s changing soon. As soon as he got back from Block Island Matthew hit the studio and has been working on new material every single day. Starting on October 1, 2008, you’ll see regular updates with new music, live music, remixes, and more.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to Contact MatthewEbel.net and ask!