Earvolution Records, which spawned from this very music blog, has teamed with two leading independent distribution companies to put the label's first release into the hands of fans worldwide. Pawnshop Roses is now available in select U.S. music stores thanks to Home Grown Distribution and now in all digital retail outlets around the world via TuneCore.

Even in the new era of "DIY" marketing, these types of flexible partnerships are key to getting indie labels and bands a wider audience to move to the next level without compromising artist integrity and getting into the somewhat oppressive relationships that other large labels and distribution companies have subject both indie bands and labels to in the past. Today's market is changing at an amazing rapid rate and you have to adapt in real time. Some industry types are still stuck in the old model, but now with blogs, podcasts, social networks and video sharing sites indie artists and labels can come together to work more in partnership to reach fans and help the artists grow musically and from a business standpoint. But, you still need help to reach the next level. Smaller, more flexible, yet effective, companies like Home Grown and TuneCore are prime examples.

Teaming with Home Grown has helped the Pawnshop Roses step from a regional to a national stage. Home Grown works with top labels and bands, primarily those playing the booming festival circuit and is willing to take a chance to introduce new bands to the larger audiences it serves. For example, in June, the Pawnshop Roses jumped into Home Grown's top 25 sellers along side big names like Phish, Spearhead, Derek Trucks, moe and Xavier Rudd. Seeing a band from your label next to those names on a music chart - even a small specialty one - is quite validating.

Now, with interest growing overseas in the band, thanks to TuneCore, the Pawnshop Roses can reach fans in all parts of the globe via iTunes, MTV's URGE, Sony Connect, Virgin Digital and Yahoo Music without giving up a huge chunk of song royalties. The flexibility in the arrangement is perfect for a growing label like Earvolution and a rising band like the Pawnshop Roses.

You will recognize the band from winning the YouTube Underground Contest for Best Live Video and appearing on Good Morning America, where they will always be known as the band that got Diane Sawyer to say "It Gets So Hard" on live tv .

Since then, Earvolution Records put them in the studio for their first full length record "Let it Roll", produced by Pete Donnelly of the Figgs (Amos Lee/GLove), with a couple song co-arrangements by noted alt-country artist Tom Gillam. Jonn Savannah (Van Morrison, Joe Cocker, Squeeze) sits in for a couple tracks, including the Jayhawks' influenced (free mp3) "Here We Go".