Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Articles and Items related to the Music Industry
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DO MY ONLINE SURVEY NOW>> http://musicians.questionpro.com
Subject: Making a Living as a Musician - How we're doing financially and what we're doing to achieve it. Online from June 9 -16, 2009. It takes 20 minutes.
Samples of my Photography (2 min slideshow): [click here]
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Harvard Reference Generator :: Referencing a Chapter of a Book for an Essay, Dissertation or Thesis :: Neil's Toolbox
Monday, May 25, 2009
MAY 2009 - New UK Immigration Requirements for Visiting Musicians
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Dear Mapleposters,
My thanks to Hugh McMillan for passing this on. There seems to be some concern about the new requirements for sponsorship certificates for Canadian (and American) musicians coming to work in the UK. Anyone who regularly works in the UK knows that there has always been a requirement for visiting musicians to obtain a work permit. This new sponsorship certificate replaces that requirement.
Anyone who has previously been coming into the UK to work without a work permit has _always_ risked deportation. This is nothing new.
If you think of the new 'sponsorship certificate' as the equivalent of the old work permit, then that's pretty much all there is to it.
However... In order to apply for sponsorship certificates a person has to be a licensed sponsor - which I am. (Hence it's unlikely that venues will be able to make the application on your behalf as only the biggest venues will go through the process of becoming licensed.) To become a licensed sponsor we have to jump through a few hoops, agree to specific legal requirements, and pay out £400 for a licence, but once we are licensed the applications for certificates are relatively simple - just some online form-filling and a payment.
A sponsorship certificate is not actually a piece of paper, it's a number which you present at immigration upon landing. The immigration officer then checks the number against the computerised system and okays your entry to the UK. It generally takes about 15 minutes and there's no hassle.
I am happy to apply for sponsorship certificates for legitimate Canadian and American musicians who wish to contact me, but though I have pulled rabbits out of hats and got certificates through in less than a week, I'd really prefer a six week lead time if possible. I make a charge of course, but it's actually less than the old work permit costs.
Cheers
Jacey Bedford
agency@jacey-bedford.com
www.jacey-bedford.com
PS, for those of you who remember me as 1/3 of Artisan, we're doing a 5-year reunion visit to Lunenburg Folkharbour Festival in 2010, so we might see some of you on that trip.
Www.artisan-harmony.com
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Gig recently posted on Craigslist
New Toronto Jazz Club Booking Musicians
Reply to: comm-4e4hc-1171729685@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-05-15
Memphis Smoke Jazz and Piano Bar needs to fill out a few spots. Pay range starts from $40-$100 per night depending on experience, improvisational skills, and original material. Applicant should be able to read lead sheets, play with an ensemble, and have a minimum 1 hour of soloing ability. The styles are based on jazz, blues, and pop. We are seeking all instrumentalists, especially; bass, double bass, guitar, vocals (some scat), horns, and electronic Please do not ask us to visit web sites, send attachments, or lengthy bios. The audition process will be to play 1-3 pieces with the house pianist, and a solo. You can choose the Rising Artist Open Stage (Every Wednesday), or The Singer/Songwriter Showcase (Every Thursday) - Original music only please for Thursday. Please do not call the club directly. To audition, you must email your phone number and the date you would like to come in. Only when we call you back will you be confirmed. YOU CANNOT SHOW UP WITHOUT A SPOT. We need musicians immediately, so the first proficient ones that come in will be hired on the spot. This is an idea of the layout and style of the club: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAyVOVPOXDQ
Cabaret@Statler's Artist Contract
You promote to your family, friends, fan club, loyal followers.throughyour Website, MySpace, Facebook, etc.
The following information must be included in all promotional material: Thedate, name of artist, name or theme of cabaret (if there is one), name ofestablishment (Statlers Cabaret) address of venue, time the doors open fordinner/cocktails, 6:30 PM, show time, 8 PM, etc.
In your promotional material, you advise all guests that attendance is by'reservation only'. In order to make CABARET DINNER RESERVATIONS, go toStatlers website and link to the �DINNER CABARET RESERVATIONS� button tomake their reservation for your cabaret show. Guests MUST makereservations, no walk-ins accepted.
There must be at least 20 guests within five days (5) prior to show time orshow is automatically cancelled. You can charge either $12.00 or $15.00 per person cover - (artist receives80% of cover, house receives 20% for administrative expense of handling thereservations and door).
There are no complimentary reservations accepted. If an artist wishes to provide a complimentary entrance to someone, they must pay the door cover and then from their revenue, rebate themselves orthe party they complimented. There are no complimentary seats allotted for artist's family members, camera people, lighting people etc. They too must make reservations and pay the entrance fee, etc. (the number count ofguests must be accurate and reconcile to the door fees received space is limited and both the artist and house are required to extract as great arevenue as possible so the entire event is worthwhile). There is a Food & Drink Minimum of $10.00 per person. This must be advertised on all your promotional material without fail.
You are to either create a poster or we can create one for you for a fee of $25.00 if you provide a picture or graphic detail, etc. All the information above will be contained in the poster and this too should be copied to allyour advertising material and mediums of promoting your cabaret. The house will print three posters, two for the house front window and a hard copy forthe artist. The artist will also have been provided with an electronic version of their poster so they can print additional copies at their choosing.
NOTE: We are averaging guest lists via the VIP Reservation Only system of about 40 people per show. If the show has less than 45 guests, it is held upstairs and if more than 45, it is moved downstairs. We have a Baby Grand,Yamaha G20 downstairs, and a Steinway Antique upstairs, full sound system and stage management administration to assist and support in making the cabaret event, one of the most memorable in an artists career. Please let me know your thoughts and compliance on the above guidelines for Cabaret at Statlers? We are currently booking the next three months at this time. Many seasoned artists have reserved their gig dates.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sonicbids Artist Experiences/Opinions – Links to, at volumeeleven.net
www.volumeeleven.net/product_reviews/sonicbids/
Mar 3, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I know many people are curious whether their monthly fees are worth it. Of all the companies we list, any comments from our users regarding this service would be great!
There is a nice discussion thread on Harmony Central about whether Sonicbids is worth the investment in time and money.
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1864737
The basic gist is that most people think much of it feels like a scam, or as one person says: “They really seem like just another shark in the waters to me. Just like those “record labels” and “Publishers” who are really excited to “sign you” and only need $400 to produce the demo.”
Some more discussion:
http://www.projectopus.com/node/9661 (here someone from Sonicbids responds to concerns)
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum…d.php?t=690269 (here one a musician talks about her negative experience; she paid $45 to submit to CMJ and no one even listened to her songs)