You may not know this, but a film’s “star” rating on the IMDB database is an important factor for streaming video services like Netflix and Hulu, who use it to decide what films to license and for how long.

The process is simple and you don’t even need to have an IMDB account to do it. Simply go to the film’s IMDB page and click where it says “rate this film. Here’s a screen shot to help you.

Mine is definitely the one with the longest title:

The Man with the Blue Post-Modern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar — Blue Guitar, for short.

I was with Peter the other night in Carrboro, NC, when he played, back-to-back, two of the 10 classic songs on that album — which has been in and out of print for a long time; I included the link to Amazon.com because they list used copies available. The lighting was just right, the sound was good and the crowd was small but appreciative.

MVD Visual, a division of MVD Entertainment Group of Oaks, PA, has picked up North American distribution rights for Troubadour Blues on home video, download and streaming platforms. MVD is a family-owned company that got its start in the heyday of MTV, distributing music videos on VHS to the burgeoning video rental market — they are music people and will help get this documentary into appreciative hands.

Here’s a cool map that I made using the free version of BatchGeo, showing all the places I’ve been since October 2011 screening Troubadour Blues in theaters, bars, coffee shops, libraries, community centers and music festivals.

View Troubadour Blues Screenings 2012 in a full screen map

Ashland Coffee and Tea, the listening room near the railroad tracks in
downtown Ashland, VA, feels like a second home to filmmaker Tom Weber,
whose documentary Troubadour Blues screens there Wednesday, Dec. 5.

“So many important scenes in the movie happened in that room,” says
Weber, a Pennsylvanian who spent 10 years collecting material for the feature-length
film. “I filmed Peter Case there on my very first weekend of shooting, back
in October 2002. I got the film’s title from a song that Mark Erelli had just written
when he opened for Chris Smither that following spring.”