Sep 29 2006
In case you haven’t heard, SoundExchange has a TON of revenue just waiting to sent to artists, if they could only find them!!
So if you are one of the 9000 artists owed royalties, haul ass over to http://www.soundexchange.com/ and get your money!!
Sep 28 2006
Book Review: Laurel Canyon – The Inside Story Of Rock And Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood
by MuzikMan, 
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Title: Laurel Canyon–The Inside Story of Rock and Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood
Artist: Michael Walker
Format:Hardcover
Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Faber & Faber (May 16, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0571211496
So you think you know about the history of rock and roll? I would consider myself very knowledgeable with the exception of an entire block of time in the Œ60s that was essential in the development of music.
“Laurel Canyon – The Inside Story of Rock and Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood” fills in the gaps for those of us that think San Francisco and the Haight-Ashbury scene got things started. Granted the SF element was a key factor that was very important, but 396 miles down the coast there was a parallel universe taking shape that was of equal importance.
My interest in this book and the subject matter happened because of my fascination with the story of Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jackson Browne, and The Eagles. All three were a big part of this bubbling counterculture stuck in a canyon just outside one of the world centers for entertainment, Los Angeles.
Author Michael Walker does a nice job of taking you back to when it all began with an in depth look at the stars that made this place so unique and legendary. There was a lot more to Laurel Canyon than Joni Mitchell, Mama Cass Elliot, and CSN; there were the first groupies, producers, moviemakers, and many others that had their own stories to tell. The one all time rock great that was probably the most important piece of this puzzle besides Cass was Frank Zappa. Zappa and his wife hosted one of the first ever rock communes. In this day, a SWAT team would be there burning it down to ashes.
I consumed this book like a child hungry for knowledge. It provided me with an education and enlightenment into the music business, as I never had before. I find it amazing that some of the people that were part of that whole period are still around today to tell the tale. I felt as if I was right there front row and center watching it all unfold before me. Even though there were strange happenings and drugs involved there was innocence about the entire thing.
Of course, that all changed once cocaine made its introduction then people started getting too weird and everything got scary, hence Laurel Canyon was never the same. The rock Œn’ roll nirvana did not last, alas, it never does. There is so much more in between all of that, it all comes together just as a storybook should. The fact that this book is all based on true events and accounts from the people that were there making it happen and witnessing it, makes that much more enthralling of read.
I highly recommend this book for anyone that has an attraction to what goes on behind the music. Michael Walker has written the bible of LA music. From cover to cover, it is an absorbing and fascinating read, unforgettable.
Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 – Republished with Permission
Sep 21 2006
Just wanted to congratulate the team over at On Target Media Group for being awarded a double-platinum plaque for the Steve Vai DVD Live At The Astoria London! As the boss, I can assure you we worked damn hard on that release and had some major successes with the online promotion. It also received good publicity support, and was aired a number of times by VH1. That all adds up to double plat, baby!
Sep 18 2006
What is ‘Podsafe’ Music?
by David Wimble, The Indie Bible,
As you visit the hundreds of music podcast and MP3 blog sites you’ll notice that most them feature something called PODSAFE MUSIC. For this article I have gathered information from various internet sites in order to help clarify what podsafe music is and how it can become another helpful tool to place into your marketing utility belt.
Definition of podsafe music (from Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org)
Podsafe is a term created in the podcasting community to refer to any work which, through its licensing, specifically allows the use of the work in podcasting, regardless of restrictions the same work might have in other realms. For example, a song may be legal to use in podcasts, but may need to be purchased or have royalties paid for over-the-air radio use, television use, and possibly even personal use.
The effective definition of “podsafe” for a given work depends entirely on the contract through which the podcaster licenses the work; there is no single podsafe license. The concept of podsafety, in its true form, greatly favors the artist and the profitability of the artist’s product, in exchange for only very limited concessions to the podcasting community.
While some works such as public domain works or works under some Creative Commons licenses are inherently podsafe, the only actual requirement for a work to be podsafe is that any licensing requirements it has, if applicable, allow for the work’s free use (typical broadcast use in its original form, if in no other form, depending on the specific license) in a podcast or web broadcast. This gives specific favor to podcasts only, allowing the artist to impose more traditional constraints on everyone else. Podsafe licensing can, for example, continue to require non-podcast consumers to pay for the work, require royalties on derivative works, and profit significantly from the work’s use in traditional radio, television, or film.
The licensor of any podsafe work must be legally capable of making it so. An artist cannot distribute his or her own work through a podsafe license if doing so would break any laws or breach any standing agreements (e.g. with the RIAA). The creator of a derivative work may also not claim this work podsafe without express permission from the original copyright holders. (PMN has more specific and stringent terms to this effect in its agreement.) Another point of contention is that not all podcasts are non-commercial works; in fact, an increasing number of podcasts are taking on sponsors and looking to make a profit. In general, no significant distinction is yet made between podsafe for non-commercial use and podsafe for commercial use, but it could easily arise at any moment.
Motives for the podcaster to use podsafe music (from Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org)
As podcasting grows more and more popular, illegal use of heavily licensed music (as through the RIAA) becomes increasingly difficult to hide. This is in general of greater concern to podcasters than to the typical sharer of music, because podcasters usually produce their shows for and promote them to the public-a far more overt and traceable action.
Including such licensed music legally has its own set of caveats. Indeed, under many jurisdictions it’s currently impossible, but the message from those in the know is that many licensing agencies, if they do intend to allow the use of their music on podcasts, will require not only the payment of royalties but also the use of DRM on the shows. (DRM, because of its proprietary, system-specific nature, would be destructive to the general openness and system independence of podcasts.)
Use of podsafe music instead of more stringently licensed material allows a podcaster to continue to produce an inexpensive, legal program with little hassle. Not least important for an independent podcaster is the promise of being able to avoid the confusing maze of licensing organisations.
Motives for the artist to use podsafe music (from Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org)
Conventional radio (and television) can present a difficult, and not always logical, barrier of entry for a musician or other media artist involving large sums of money and often a great deal of surrender in both ownership and creative freedom.
In contrast, podcasting, an increasingly popular medium for audio programs, is as a whole very receptive, indeed thirsty for artists and input. This is due in part to the creative and economic nature of the largely independent podcasting community and further fueled by its need to avoid repetition. While a conventional radio show may be able to risk replaying a large part of its music selection from day to day, there would be little point in downloading a music podcast whose selection did not vary significantly from a previous show. Podcasting is thus a voracious medium. With a growing and international audience podcasting is now becoming an effective means for inexpensive artist promotion often aimed squarely at the people most like to be interested in that type of music.
What is The Podsafe Music Network?
The Podsafe Music Network (music.podshow.com) is a comprehensive source for podsafe music. It was founded in 2005 by ex MTV VJ and current podcaster Adam Curry (Daily Source Code). PMN brings a large group of podcasters together with a wide variety of all-podsafe music and the artists who produce it.
According to PMN, podsafe music is music that meets all of the following conditions:
1. Works submitted to the Podsafe Music Network are the property of the artist, and all rights to these works, including lyrics and music, are the property of the artist.
2. All works contain no recordings, lyrics, copyrights, or other elements that are the copyright of any other artist, except under the limited provisions of the Creative Commons License Agreement www.creativecommons.org
3. Despite any recording contracts with RIAA, ASCA, BMI or other recording industry entity, the artist retains ownership of the works and is free to distribute, broadcast, license or sell these works at the artist’s discretion.
The licensing agreement between the artist and PMN: music.podshow.com/music/artistTerms.htm
What are Creative Commons Licenses? (from www.creativecommons.org)
Creative Commons Licenses help you publish your work online while letting others know exactly what they can and can’t do with your work. When you choose a licence, we provide you with tools and tutorials that let you add licence information to our own site or to one of several free hosting services that have incorporated Creative Commons.
1. Standard License License your song under your terms. Our set of standard licenses will let you share music with fans while protecting your song from limits you put in place. Or, choose a prepared license for audio works.
2. Sampling License People can take and transform pieces of your work for any purpose other than advertising, which is prohibited. Copying and distribution of the entire work is also prohibited.
3. Share Music License This license is aimed at the musician that wants to spread their music on web and filesharing networks legally for fans to download and share, while protecting the music from commercial use or remixing of any kind.
How does a Creative Commons license operate?
Creative Commons license are based on copyright. So it applies to all works that are protected by copyright law. The kinds of works that are protected by copyright law are books, websites, blogs, photographs, films, videos, songs and other audio & visual recordings, for example. Software programs are also protected by copyright but, as explained below, we do not recommend that you apply a Creative Commons license to software code or documentation.
Creative Commons licenses give you the ability to dictate how others may exercise your copyright rights-such as the right of others to copy your work, make derivative works or adaptations of your work, to distribute your work and/or make money from your work. They do not give you the ability to restrict anything that is otherwise permitted by exceptions or limitations to copyright-including, importantly, fair use or fair dealing-nor do they give you the ability to control anything that is not protected by copyright law, such as facts and ideas. Creative Commons licenses attach to the work and authorize everyone who comes in contact with the work to use it consistent with the license. This means that if Bob has a copy of your Creative Commons-licensed work, Bob can give a copy to Carol and Carol will be authorized to use the work consistent with the Creative Commons license. You then have a license agreement separately with both Bob and Carol.
Where are the forms that I have to fill out?
Creative Commons licenses are expressed in three different formats: the Commons Deed (human-readable code), the Legal Code (lawyer- readable code) and the metadata (machine readable code). You don’t need to sign anything to get a CCL. Just select your license here: www.creativecommons.org/license
Hmmm …what if I change my mind?
This is an extremely important point for you to consider. Creative Commons licenses are non-revocable. This means that you cannot stop someone, who has obtained your work under a Creative Commons license, from using the work according to that license. You can stop offering your work under a Creative Commons license at any time you wish; but this will not affect the rights with any copies of your work already in circulation under a Creative Commons license. So you need to think carefully when choosing a Creative Commons license to make sure that you are happy for people to be using your work consistent with the terms of the license, even if you later stop distributing your work.
Before you do anything, make sure you have the rights!
Before applying a Creative Commons license to a work, you need to make sure you have the authority to do so. This means that you need to make sure that the person who owns the copyright in the work is happy to have the work made available under a Creative Commons license.
Where do podcasters find podsafe music? (from Dave’s Imaginary Sound Space soundblog.spaces.live.com)
Discovering new music and the ability to use it fairly without fear of copyright infringement is a key issue for podcasters and listeners alike. Artists, composers, producers and consumers can all benefit from clear, fair and flexible copyright licenses that embrace new technologies. ‘Podsafe’ means non-RIAA audio and video that can be used legally in podcast productions and freely distributed online for downloading. Podsafe music can be found in many locations on the web including: artists websites, MP3 blogs, open source music communities, podcast directories, netlabels, P2P networks and BitTorrent hosts. A quick search for “podsafe” in a podcast directory like PodcastAlley.com reveals a rich and diverse array of productions featuring podsafe music. Unfortunately it becomes extremely time consuming for podcasters to source available music and listen to it. Recommendations by listeners and fans play an important part in the podcast production process.
The definitive list of podcasting safe music sites can be found at http://soundblog.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!1pXOS7l93k8mqeQ7FlEEmOSQ907.entry
It’s always about the music
For an artist just entering into the podcast/MP3 blog universe, the amount of information to take in can be overwhelming. It’s not unlike a lifelong typist being plopped in front of a computer and asked to create a spreadsheet with colored charts.
As you watch the internet continue to explode with new technologies, it may feel like life has passed you by and left you lying in the dust. However, the truth is we’re all still tightly bundled together. No one is ever left behind. The opportunity to move towards the cutting edge is available to anyone (my father-in-law has just learned how to use a computer at the age of 81). Don’t let fear (and the excuses it can conjure up) lessen your attempts to succeed.
Remember, it has always been, and always will be about the music – that unique expression that you have to offer to the world. Podcasts, podsafe music, MP3 blogs, Creative Commons licenses and all that other bounce-off-the-head stuff is simply a collection of new and useful tools to help you get your music heard by more people.
Final thoughts
For the newbie, my suggestion would be to take it slow. Open one small door at a time and get a feel for it all. You’ll eventually discover that bloggers and podcasters are simply human beings with a passion for music – a collection of music lovers that are ready and willing to help you get your songs heard by a new stream of potential fans.
Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 – Republished with Permission
Sep 14 2006
There is little doubt to those of us on the frontlines of Internet-based music commerce that the unending well of online music content from the bottom to the top has had, amongst other effects, a declining effect on the perceived value of music to the younger demographic. What once was (and still is to the older demo) a product where the mystery and untouchable aspect was a selling point, now fans are significantly closer to artists than ever before.
What does this mean? Well, speaking from the types of records we market and where our successes stem from, the older demographic is still a viable target of music marketing that can result in a financial transaction. Many of the older Internet users are not as entrenched in online content as the younger ones are, so the perceived value of music, even digitally, hasn’t diminished as fast or significantly as it has to the youth.
A lot of our clients are what I consider Adult-Facing music. Not just for adults, and certainly not outdated, but not geared specifically to the 12 – 24 market. This is where a lot of our business comes from, and where I see the best financial results.
Sep 08 2006
Not really music business related, but it’s my blog, so deal with it.
If you’ve never heard of Anton Maiden your life is missing something. He is (errr.. was – he’s now deceased by his own hand) the greatest Iron Maiden cover artist of all time. Now, the term greatest is certainly opinionated, and many people will disagree, but see the thing is, they’re all wrong.
Nothing I can type will do this dude justice, so just go check it out yourself. He never officially released anything, and the MP3s that were on his site were taken down by legal action from Iron Maiden, but you can still find his stuff. The “official bootleg” put out by Nihilism Records is out of print (I have one!) but you can probably just find the MP3s by searching or hitting the filesharing networks.
From AllMusic.com:
Anton Maiden CD
Once every decade or so, there’ll be an album that will slip underneath the radar of mainstream audiences and submerge itself deep into obscurity. A few years will pass by and it will remerge on the underground cult circuit, waiting to be deemed a “classic” by those who truly know what the word means. Such an event is Anton Maiden. He’s not just a musician and he’s not just an institution — he is an event. An event that many performance artists could only imagine emulating at the finest points of their career. Armed with an Atari ST computer and deft knowledge of world capitals, Maiden fearlessly takes on 11 of Iron Maiden’s classic songs and MIDIs the instrumentation to bold new territories, similar to the soundtrack of a Nintendo eight-bit video game. And his vocals? There are truly no words in any language that could possibly serve justice as to aptly describing the sheer dexterity and potency of his voice. It’s almost as if he has invented new notes to be sung and has totally reinterpreted many of the more flaccid Iron Maiden tunes into bona fide powerhouse singalongs. Fans of the band complained of Maiden’s abstract take on the tracks, but a more sincere example of the power of music may not exist. These songs are tributes to a band who is hopelessly unhip, lovingly (and probably inadvertently) shaped into hipster anthems by a passionate Swedish teenager. But Anton Maiden is much more than an in-joke for the irony crowd. Anton Maiden is a creature built from old Nintendo components and Circus magazine pull-out posters, a primitive slice of avant-garde thought applied to source material that can appeal to listeners who would never give John Zorn the time of day. This is one of the few examples of a novelty item transcending its own intent and becoming art. And hilarious art at that.
UPDATE! – Here’s a link to ALL of Anton’s music – http://antonmaiden.com/downloads.html
Sep 05 2006
I hate clichés. I really hate them. But sometimes they are true.
For example, Actions Speak Louder Than Words.
Something that’s been on my mind lately.. How people in this business talk so damn much. How so much of our industry is based on just that – people talking, networking.
However, it’s not always the case that these words turn into actions.
When I was younger, I was very shy and quiet. As I’ve gotten older and more confident, the shyness has dissolved, but I still remain quiet. It comes from a few sources, but one of the primary ones is that I would much rather be known and evaluated on my actions, not an endless stream of words.
If you read just about any book by executives at leading companies, you’ll come across the concept of only speaking when you have something relevant to say. That’s not 100% practical, but it’s a good concept. See if you can reduce your vocal output by 25% and increase your actions by 25%. I bet the results will be significant.