Message
News for Songwriters & Samplers
2005-01-16 by GAmoore@aol.com
There are also some new songwriting sites you should be aware of:
SONGWRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA (SGA) www.songwritersguild.com
The U.S’s oldest songwriters organization has established a new members website and two new tiers of membership: a Gold Membership $60 per year (or $5 per month) for those just starting out or on limited budgets; Platinum Membership with additional benefits for unpublished writers who are more advanced. Diamond membership is for published writers at $84 ($7 month). Published writers pay $108 ($9 month) and get the long established (SGA) services including contract reviews and royalty collection, low-cost copyright administration in addition to all the recently added services of the other two categories. The site also lists Nashville, L.A. and New York SGA events, chat room and forum.
SONG JOURNEY http://www.songjourney.com
Hit songwriters Kye Fleming and Mark Cawley have launched their new site offering a fresh suite of services for serious writers. Here’s how they describe it: “Our goal is to build an international community of songwriters that can interact and share music through the various web-based tools provided by songjourney.com. Kye and Mark will be communicating daily with fellow songwriters about their craft and share their wisdom in working as "hit" songwriters. They will also give advice on how to protect, demo and pitch your songs. The "Expert Guides" will provide additional advice, through frequent interviews and articles, ranging from legal and management to production and music publishing. Our experts and staff cover the globe from London to Los Angeles.”
We are also going to use a lot of video to share the songwriting craft with you. You will be a "fly on the wall" at actual songwriting sessions. Mark and Kye will also provide "how to" lessons through the lens of Kye's video camera.” Join now for $49.95 year (or $4.95 mo.)
SONGWRITER 101 http://www.songwriter101.com
Describe themselves as: “Everything about the business side of the songwriter's profession - information, education, and the accumulated experience of music business professionals.” Their “faculty” includes legendary industry attorneys, music business consultants, artist managers, record producers (Russ Titelman, Arif Mardin, Mark Wright) hit songwriters (Lamont Dozier, Jason Blume, Tom Shapiro) and a stellar assortment of other music business professionals. Articles cover contract negotiating, demo recording, and other business topics. Includes discussion forums. Membership is free.
BOOK
Chronicles, Volume 1 by Bob Dylan is his autobiography. It was particularly interesting for me to read several references to Len Chandler, my friend and business partner in the Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase for 25 of them. Len had told me a lot of Dylan stories through the years and I even got to meet Dylan at Len’s 50th birthday party here in L.A.
DVDs
STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN - DVD
As a Motown fan I was blown away by seeing the film on PBS, Standing In The Shadows of Motown by Jack Asford. I recently got the DVD and, of course, it’s even better with more behind the scenes extras. This story of the “Funk Brothers,” the incredible group of musicians that were responsible for the sound of Motown and ‘played on more Number One hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles combined.’ It’s sad that, because they weren’t credited on those Motown hits they were virtually unknown to the public. (My guess is that Berry Gordy didn’t want anybody to offer them more money and hire them away.) This long overdue portrait only begins to make up for it.
TOM DOWD AND THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC - DVD
Another great documentary I first saw on PBS is now available on DVD. I’d been aware of Dowd’s production/engineering work (Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Otis Redding, John Coltrane, The Allman Brothers Band, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Cream, Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Booker T. & the MG's) just because I’ve always noted who produced my favorite albums. In this DVD, Mark Moormann focuses on Dowd’s remarkable career and audio innovations. It’s also a chronicle of the rise of Atlantic Records where Dowd spent most of his time. If you’re looking for inside recording tips on how he produced certain records, this isn’t a “how to” by any means but it’s an inspiration nonetheless.
THE CHANGING MUSIC BUSINESS
The following is an excerpt from a longer but very astute article by Ritch Esra & Stephen Trumbul the entrepreneur-publishers of the Music Registry guides, the best professional resource guides in the business. I highly recommend that you read the whole article. These guys are in constant contact (since they update their A&R Registry every two months) with the record industry.
“In looking back over 2004, we're reminded of the many conversations we had with various Music Business Professionals on both sides of the Atlantic concerning the current state of today's Music Industry. Without exception, there seems to be a very sobering sense that the Record Business we have known for the last 25 years is now gone. This is extremely troubling for many, sad for some, and terribly exciting for others. I see these times as an incredible opportunity for a total re-invention not just for Record Label A&R Depts., but for the entire spectrum of the Music Industry. If you as an Artist, Band, Agent, Manager or any other Music Business professional cannot see that the old paradigm of artist development (the actual long-term process of building a career from the ground up) has been completely re-invented over the last few years, then you need to get out of this business. The old methods of doing things no longer apply. This may sound obvious to most of you, but you wouldn't believe how many fairly well known Music Business Professionals within the Industry today that we speak with still believe that the only way an act can have a viable career today is to get that act signed to a major label.
What's so sad is that these people who believe this (and there are many) can't even see that the very system they feel can & will accomplish this for their artist - no longer even exists! We've said this before, but it bears repeating - though no one will actually come out and say it (truth is, they may not even be consciously aware of it) -- Major Labels today, with very rare exception, are no longer willing to be in the business they have built over the last forty years. The train of thought today is that the 'old' process of signing, recording and developing talent takes far too long and is way too costly to achieve the results they desire in the time they have allotted. As a consequence, whether intended or not, (and this is the part many simply can not see) is the Major Labels are now in the Promotion and Marketing business, but of course, only for those experienced artists who have already been developed that they feel can be turned into Multi-Platinum sellers.”
Continued at http://www.musicregistry.com.
COURT RULING ON MUSIC SAMPLING
The following item is from Wired magazine, 9/04, but since I get a lot of questions about sampling, I think it’s worth posting. While it’s a great way to follow the progress of technological innovation, Wired magazine and Wired.com have occasionally offered opinions and stories contrary to the interests of songwriters in the “should music be free” debate but like anything else, use the following old adage – “follow the money,” and look at the number of media and technology ads while you’re sorting it out. It’s always a good idea, though, to be aware of the arguments and rationale of the opposition.
Appeals Court Says "Unrecognizable" Sample is
Copyright Infringement
Cincinnati -- The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has ruled that any "sample," or piece of one song that is used in a new work -- even if the sample is unrecognizable -- should be licensed, and if not amounts to copyright infringement, the Associated Press reported.
"If you cannot pirate the whole sound recording, can you 'lift' or 'sample' something less than the whole? Our answer to that question is in the negative," the court said. "Get a license or do not sample. We do not see this as stifling creativity in any significant way."
The case involved a sample of a guitar riff from Funkadelic's "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" that was sampled in the NWA song "100 Miles and Runnin," and eventually appeared in the 1998 movie "I Got the
Hook Up" from rapper Master P. The two-second guitar sample was lowered in pitch and looped for the NWA version, to the point that it was not recognizable, according to the court, which still likened the unlicensed sample to copyright infringement. The 6th Circuit remanded the case back to the lower court.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,64884,00.html