Coen van der Horst, the singer/songwriter behind Sidewalk, never really saw any sense in selling EP's and demos. Or, as he says himself: "I've been to countless gigs of unknown bands and saw them selling their EP's for 10 bucks. And I always thought: why would you do that? No one besides family and friends will buy it. Certainly not someone in the business. Give it away already. Spread your music!"

Certainly not a foolproof-tested approach, but then again, in this new downloading-age of music, is there such a thing as a foolproof approach anymore? Coen: "I think that the best way to get your music to as many people as possible is to simply give it away. Send a link and let everyone download it. The moment I realized that making money as an artist is years away, everything fell into place."

This idea fueled the marketing behind Sidewalk's upcoming releases. Coen: "What I plan to do is to record three EP's, each containing four songs. All three will be available for free, which will hopefully generate word of mouth and get me gigs. After all three EP's, people will have downloaded 12 songs, which constitutes as one album. All I have to do then is upload a cover and a track list, so people can arrange their iTunes accordingly and have my debut album at their disposal."

That sounds great, but also expensive. Coen: "I know it won't be cheap. I have to fund all three EP's and all surrounding stuff, but I hope it'll pay back in the long term. I think, in this day and age, that making money on CD's is already wishful thinking, certainly for new artists. So I just accept it and hope that I can make a living playing shows and selling stuff to fans who really want it. Like merchandise, or special editions of the EP's."

A special edition of an EP? Isn't that a bit, you know, much? Coen: "These special editions are a way of thanking fans, who in turn can support me as an up and coming artist. The 'normal' EP is free, just to spread the word and let people enjoy the music. What I want to do with the special editions is to offer a premium package. Such as the songs in highest quality mp3's for audiophiles out there. But also a short documentary of the recording process and the origins of every song. Plus all sorts of small stuff, such as a different cover, wallpapers, demos of all the songs, as well as being added to the official Sidewalk mailing lis. The people on that list will always be the first to know everything, now and in the future."

To kick this entire project off is the release of the first EP: Have Heart, Will Travel. So, a daring marketing project, no less than three EP's and a free debut album. Fantasy, or a good way to let be yourself heard? Coen: "Time will tell. But I'm hoping on that last one, of course!"