Artists, writers and whores work for anyone with the cash. It’s the nature of the beast. Anyone who says otherwise is a hobbyist. Or delusional.

Independent artists need to seek a diverse array of income streams as a constant imperative. Put simply, we have to finance our recordings and releases somehow.

This includes punting for a variety of projects, ranging from writing bespoke tracks for TV and radio ads; themes for possible TV shows; writing music for library use; submitting tracks for business and corporate use; writing for film, games, and so on.

Generally, the briefs are time sensitive, meaning completed tracks have to be turned around very quickly. And, they’re all punts – in other words, you’re doing it in the hope of it getting paid, should the client decide to choose your music. It’s a thankless task, but one that any self-respecting, self-financed artist must embrace. The fees are usually small, but occasionally it can prove lucrative. For example, The Darkness was funded by money generated by a Coco Pops advert for which singer Justin Hawkins provided the music.

I have lost count of the ‘punt’ tracks I have produced. Recently, I was asked by a library company to send them tracks of a certain type. It led me to uncover a cornucopia of half-mixed material lying on my hard drives. Tracks submitted for the types of project listed above, covering a wide variety of musical styles. Some song-based tracks, and many instrumental pieces.

I decided to complete a random selection of forty tracks and release them for sale. The project will consist of two downloadable albums: 1. A Bunch of Punts. 2. Another Bunch of Punts. And there’ll also be a compilation of both albums that will be made available at a discounted price. The complete collection will be entitled A Total Bunch of Punts.

These brand new albums will be available very soon from Miromart.