SO YOU WANNA TOUR EUROPE?
(published and printed in Toronto Blues Society Newsletter January 2009)
I’ve had some great European touring adventures. I just returned from my 7th European tour, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, working mostly in jazz clubs. I’ve done tours with Big Rude Jake where we got onto a tour bus and enjoyed the ride through Europe. We played at the Louvre and opened for Ray Charles in France. Boy, I’ve got stories! I’ve also toured in Europe completely on my own stream, putting together bands and finding gigs. In Europe every gig is a concert. People are listening. You have to live up to what they expect from a visiting North American artist. What about blues? Along with having an appreciation for artists in general, Europeans audiences certainly do like North America music, jazz and blues, and swing. Chris Whiteley and Diana Braithwaite, just returning from a tour of Russia, the UK, the Channel Islands and Germany concur, “The blues seem to be going strong internationally, in all countries, and in all languages.” Shakura S’Aida, currently touring all over Europe with the Chicago Blues Festival 2008, says Europeans are “amazing audiences who have a true love and knowledge of blues and appreciation for artists”…”…there is no faking or half way with European audiences.”
The travelling process can be stressful and challenging. So here are some Euro-centric (and a bit guitar-centric) tips for the touring musician of 2008 and beyond. You can find the full blown version of this article with detailed info in all areas at my blog at www.roadstarmusicbiz.blogspot.com.
HOW DO YOU GET GIGS? One way is to work with agents. You can connect with European presenters at events like the upcoming TBS Blues Summit. If agents pass you by, you can plan your own tours. Start working on it a year in advance. Working with European musicians is a good way of developing a network and scene. This is what I do. Myspace is a great tool for doing this. Brian Blain, blues artist and frequenter of European stages, has similar advice. “… your best bet is to hook up with a musician who already lives there or tours there regularly.” Where to play? Look for venues that suit your style and make contact. Tip: Make sure your online presskit/webpage is complete. You only get one shot at having them look at you.
THE AIRLINES AND TRAVELLING WITH GEAR. Travel light. Checked luggage should weight under 20kg (including instruments). Your carry on, less than 12kg. For carry on instruments, policies vary and are unpredicable. Check the baggage restrictions online before buying your flights. Beware of cheap flights with 15kg limits. If you carry on a fullsized guitar, or travel with 2 guitars have one instrument in a hardshell case, just in case. A polyfoam hardshell gigbag is a excellent lightweight option. Don’t tour with your favorite instrument but do have insurance. Tip: Complete global coverage ($50 deductible!) is available to AFM members. I currently tour with a compact travel electric guitar. On his recent tour, Chris Whiteley travelled with a Blue Ridge acoustic guitar as checked luggage, with trumpet and harps as carry on. Chris says “I also purchased an electric over there, which was cheaper than paying to bring an extra guitar on the flight. I left it with a musician friend in England , for our next tour.” Brian Blain says, “I bought a cheap Johnson resonator guitar which served me well and again on two more successive tours.”
How much peripheral gear? Should you take a laptop, pedals, cables, recording gear, practise gear, entertainment devices? Limit yourself to 10lbs. My recent touring arsenal: a Line 6 Pocket Pod, a couple of other pedals, various cables, a 13” laptop, a small recording interface, a Zoom recording device and a video camera. It is common to see amplifiers and even drum sets in the clubs in Europe. Try to arrange for backline. If not, rent or borrow.
How do I take my sound on the road? Chances are you won’t be able to, unless you’re touring in the roadies/tourbus scenario. Find a compromise that works for you.
AIRPORT CHECK IN. The extra load that musicians carry and the inconsistent policies for instruments make the process unpredictable at best. You may have to repack to make them happy. Or maybe not! Tip: show up more than 2 hours before your flight.
GETTING AROUND EUROPE. Chris and Diana, “If it moved we were on it. Planes, trains , ferries , vans, trams , cars and feet!" Lots of options. I fly between cities and use trains and the metro. Shakura is travelling mostly by train and van. Trains connect cities very well in Europe and metro systems will get you anywhere you want to go within cities. Taxis are expensive. Eurorail is expensive but so is flying. Trains take longer but they take you to the centre of town, so you don’t have to get in and out of airports. And you will see more of Europe. I did a whole tour on the eurorail. Despite the increased schlepping (lots of staircases in Europe!), it was an excellent.way to go. That trip down the Rhine was amazing.
Tip: Find out your options for getting in and out of the airports. You’ll be thankful you did. Language doesn’t seem to be a barrier anywhere in western Europe and most signs are also in English.. Have contact info handy including directions to venues and accommodations. Use google maps.
ACCOMMODATION. Accommodation in Europe is expensive but there are affordable options. On craigslist you can find affordable guest rooms and apartments of all sizes easily. They all offer wifi now and some even offer free calls to Canada and the US (a new thing in France). Hostels with private rooms are cheaper than hotels and are just as good. Whenever possible, have access to a kitchen. If you always eat in restaurants, your euros will fly away.
TAKING CDS. If you are in a position to mail boxes of 50 beforehand and have the means to carry them and sell them all, then great. However, if you are carrying your own CDs go with lightweight compact packaging. I discovered a great cheap way to repackage jewel case cds for touring and I’d be glad to share the idea.
DOING BUSINESS. Start planning a year in advance. Make contractual agreements and get confirmations by email. This is binding. A few general things about work permits. Presenters and clubowners deal with foreign artists all the time. So when you are looking for gigs, talk to your employers about how they are used to dealing with foreign artists. Many Europeans countries allow you to work as an artist for a period of time without a work permit. In Germany it’s 6 months, but your employer (the presenter or clubowner) must still remit tax for you (26%). You can do gigs in the Netherlands for 4 weeks without a work permit. [read more here]. You will have to get a work permit every time you work in the UK, however. There are also fees which may come out of your pocket. In Spain, live music venues are encouraged to hire foreign artists. No matter what kind of gigs you’re going, make sure you check with your presenters/clubowners about how they are used to handling foreign artists and give yourself lots of time to work out the details.
MISCELLANEOUS TIPS:
- Take some kind of entertainment device (I load my iPod up with old movies)
- Pack your instrument tools in your luggage, not in your case.
- Try to get a new credit card with a “chip”. European credit cards have chips now and sometimes cards without chips are rejected. Use cash to avoid currency conversion fees. Many shops and restaurants in Europe don’t take credit cards. Keep a record of your spending.
- Cell phone? The cost of a prepaid SIM for your GSM phone varies by country. They often don’t work outside the country. On my last tour I used my Canadian cell phone, roaming and ready to use anytime, for texting and the occassional call. It was cheaper than buying multiple European SIM cards.
- Publicize your gigs and try to get some press.
- Take a camcorder. Get some video!
- Exercise. Touring can actually be an excellent chance to shape up and get fit. You’re going to do a lot of walking, so if you eat well, your body and mind will be in peak condition for the many challenges, and stresses that go hand in hand with the joys of touring in Europe.
Touring Europe (and beyond) is above all else a life enriching experience. Chris and Diana, “Work hard, but don't forget to enjoy the tourist aspect of other countries. It is a great opportunity.” Shakura, writing from Monaco, says “the only negative thing (about touring Europe) is that I don’t spend enough time here!?!?!”.
Ditto to that.
Margaret Stowe
Showing posts with label Samples of My Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samples of My Writing. Show all posts
Is this a JAZZ FESTIVAL?
Ok, I have to express an extreme sadness at once again when I puruse jazz festival website programs only to find the listings populated with blues bands, pop bands, country bands, alt country bands, folk world bands,.....did I mention blues bands! Aren't there enough blues festivals for the blues musicians to play?
I love all incarnations of jazz...nu, nu-nu, new-old, old, electo-nu, nu-other, trad-other, free improv, etc etc but tell me please, why does a country artist have a gig at a jazz festival? Why does a blues band have a gig at a jazz festival? What does that have to do with jazz? What? Blues festivals hire *only* blues bands. I was at a world music site the other day..it said clearly on the contact page "we only book world music acts". What's wrong with jazz festivals?
You will never find a jazz band at a blues festival or a folk festival or a world music festival or a rock festival or any other genre of festival but you find all of these genres proudly represented at all the jazz festivals. I'm not slagging any genre of music, I love it all, but this "syndrome" is like a bad disease. Especially when there are so many under-employed jazz musicians walking the streets. Come on!
What's going on?
Aren't there any jazz musicians who need the work? The truth is, the jazz musicians *are* out there but they're not getting the gigs. Are we not deserving? Don't we pump the culture full of our brands of jazz every time we go to work? Aren't we doing enough? Aren't we working for free enough? Aren't we playing enough blues?
If you say that these "other genre" artists are paying the bills, I would like to know how these artists they are paying the bills, how exactly? I ask you, how does a blues band or a country band playing on a free jazz festival stage or in a club help bring in dollars to the festival? How exactly? Hard evidence please. I think this is a misguided ruse and a culture killer. Does the corporate sponsor say "we have to have bluegrass and country bands and blues bands"? My guess is NO.
Mitch Podolak, long time festival AD in Winnipeg and beyond, commissioned a study to find out who exactly attends a festival. It turns out that 97% of the people are "eventers" and not there because of the genre of music. They are there for the event itself. The folk festivals stuck with there guns and made the public fans of the genre, as community development (the CF factor as he calls it), by giving them folk music in all its permutations and now the folkie's names *are* the household names because they actually see their names in print again and again. Result- the folk community is greatly enriched, and the community at large is greatly enriched. The point here is that festival should make the people come out regardless of "who's on the bill" or how many "names" they know. So jazz festival ADs have no excuse for not hiring only jazz musicians. By not doing so they are giving the message to the public that jazz isn't good enough.
So we get the headliners (John Scofield, Roy Hargrove et al), the "darling bands" (you know them), the out-of-genre artists (you know them too), and a few token others.
Every spot at a jazz festival should be filled with a jazz musician or jazz band.
Someone came up to me at an (unnamed) local jazz festival gig (within the last 2 years) and said to me "you're the only jazz band I've seen here today". Honestly, that happened.
I think to say "that's just the way it is" is a sad commentary. Everybody is just "doing their job", everybody's "hand's are tied". Business is business, just accept it. In almost every aspect of our life we are puppets of the corporations and the "experts" and powers-that-be that dictate to us from on high about the "way it is". But it doesn't have to be "the way it is" in the case of jazz festivals. Festival ADs could do the right thing, the same as Mitch Podolak and his cronies in the folk world. Hire only jazz musicians!!! The sponsors wouldn't even know the difference and jazz musicians *at every level* would have a fighting chance.
Jazz festival ADs, make your jazz festival an annual event people will come to "for its own sake", and hire only jazz musicians. Is it too late to turn back? The least you can do is give it a shot!
I love all incarnations of jazz...nu, nu-nu, new-old, old, electo-nu, nu-other, trad-other, free improv, etc etc but tell me please, why does a country artist have a gig at a jazz festival? Why does a blues band have a gig at a jazz festival? What does that have to do with jazz? What? Blues festivals hire *only* blues bands. I was at a world music site the other day..it said clearly on the contact page "we only book world music acts". What's wrong with jazz festivals?
You will never find a jazz band at a blues festival or a folk festival or a world music festival or a rock festival or any other genre of festival but you find all of these genres proudly represented at all the jazz festivals. I'm not slagging any genre of music, I love it all, but this "syndrome" is like a bad disease. Especially when there are so many under-employed jazz musicians walking the streets. Come on!
What's going on?
Aren't there any jazz musicians who need the work? The truth is, the jazz musicians *are* out there but they're not getting the gigs. Are we not deserving? Don't we pump the culture full of our brands of jazz every time we go to work? Aren't we doing enough? Aren't we working for free enough? Aren't we playing enough blues?
If you say that these "other genre" artists are paying the bills, I would like to know how these artists they are paying the bills, how exactly? I ask you, how does a blues band or a country band playing on a free jazz festival stage or in a club help bring in dollars to the festival? How exactly? Hard evidence please. I think this is a misguided ruse and a culture killer. Does the corporate sponsor say "we have to have bluegrass and country bands and blues bands"? My guess is NO.
Mitch Podolak, long time festival AD in Winnipeg and beyond, commissioned a study to find out who exactly attends a festival. It turns out that 97% of the people are "eventers" and not there because of the genre of music. They are there for the event itself. The folk festivals stuck with there guns and made the public fans of the genre, as community development (the CF factor as he calls it), by giving them folk music in all its permutations and now the folkie's names *are* the household names because they actually see their names in print again and again. Result- the folk community is greatly enriched, and the community at large is greatly enriched. The point here is that festival should make the people come out regardless of "who's on the bill" or how many "names" they know. So jazz festival ADs have no excuse for not hiring only jazz musicians. By not doing so they are giving the message to the public that jazz isn't good enough.
So we get the headliners (John Scofield, Roy Hargrove et al), the "darling bands" (you know them), the out-of-genre artists (you know them too), and a few token others.
Every spot at a jazz festival should be filled with a jazz musician or jazz band.
Someone came up to me at an (unnamed) local jazz festival gig (within the last 2 years) and said to me "you're the only jazz band I've seen here today". Honestly, that happened.
I think to say "that's just the way it is" is a sad commentary. Everybody is just "doing their job", everybody's "hand's are tied". Business is business, just accept it. In almost every aspect of our life we are puppets of the corporations and the "experts" and powers-that-be that dictate to us from on high about the "way it is". But it doesn't have to be "the way it is" in the case of jazz festivals. Festival ADs could do the right thing, the same as Mitch Podolak and his cronies in the folk world. Hire only jazz musicians!!! The sponsors wouldn't even know the difference and jazz musicians *at every level* would have a fighting chance.
Jazz festival ADs, make your jazz festival an annual event people will come to "for its own sake", and hire only jazz musicians. Is it too late to turn back? The least you can do is give it a shot!
SONICBIDS - THOUGHTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Response to Folk Alliance post:
It was stated that regarding Sonicbids "anyone can apply", that Sonicbids is a "level playing field" and that Sonicbids fees are free when you submit. My response and suggestion for a solution below.
Regarding Sonicbids: a big irg.... from me on this issue..... I finally cancelled my Sonicbids account after it cost me $70 to make one submission. While I was waiting for my submission to be reviewed, my credit card was (automatically) dinged twice with $30 semi-annual fees. Festival ADs are lead to believe that the musician pays only the submission fee. Wrong!
Note: I do provide a possible solution for overworked festival and event committees at the end.
Sonicbids costs $30US *twice* a year as a basic fee. One doesn't just submit to one event and get their annual fees free, as suggested. This gives the wrong impression of the way it works. They have been offering 6 months free with your *first* submission, but after you submit once you are hooked in forever. When I signed up, around 5 years ago, I had to pay the fee up front, and ever since then Sonicbids has been billing my credit card $30US every 6 months. You can't just cancel your account after you make one submission, then get another free one the next time you make a submission, as this is extremely impractical on more than one level:
1) What are you going to do, build a new EPK every time you submit to something? Ongoing submissions requiring ongoing annual fees.
2) Also, it often takes several months before your one submission is even looked at. I have a personal situation like that right now. I submitted to a summer event back in Oct 2007. Now in April 2008 my submission still has not been looked at. Since then my credit card has been dinged *once again* with the semi annual fee of $30US. Now it is about to be dinged a *second time*, and I asked Sonicbids to extend my account one month. I just can't afford all of this. If you make ongoing submissions, you keep paying the fees...over and over again.
3) Plus if you don't have an ongoing account you don't get email notices about the gigs in the first place! Again, you can't just cancel and recreate your account every time you submit to something....it just doesn't make sense.
POINT: For your $60/yr you get 3 tunes and a text page on which you cannot even make a word bold or underlined and it COSTS EXTRA to have just ONE video!! I refuse to give them more money!! I have videos coming out my $*&$^*^ and they are all available for FREE on my other sites. Maintaining a Sonicbids EPK is a royal pain in the butt and it is simply another thing on the growing heap of stuff I have to do for myself, for precious little return.
POINT: For CANADIAN ARTISTS it is even more of a money sucker. Most of the gigs offered on Sonicbids are US gigs, and given the state of our visa situation, who's looking for US gigs anyway? PLUS, you get the notice of the submission deadline only weeks at most from the deadline which makes it impossible to even consider a visa. There just aren't that many Canadian gigs to submit to on Sonicbids, to justify the fees.
POINT: You notice that the deadline for a submission is, for example, May 31, for an festival that's happening on June 24 (for example). Give me a break...there is no way this event/festival is still considering submissions on May 31 for an event on June 24. They are simply sucking out as many submissions as possible, knowing that they will never book any of these artists. It just becomes so obvious that it is meant to grab as many dollars as possible from artists, artists they have no intention of booking. It seems that as soon as you give people the opportunity for exploitiation, they will take it. Doesn't say much for human nature, but it sure is reality.
So, back to the CANADIANS....we maintain a Sonicbids account in order to submit to a few events a year maximum that even apply to us, because it's the only way we can submit to them, being exclusive. And if you're not a young rocker...the number of submission options dwindles even more, as honestly, most of the submission opportunities are directed at them. Sonicbids is not an even playing field. I hate it when I notice the charges on my credit card...for something I only use once or twice a year and which is totally redundant in terms of the already great promo I offer on my myspace and website. My myspace has everything you need is there on one page, and my website is layed out the same way. You don't even have to leave my front page to listen/watch/read etc.
POINT: If Sonicbids is to be a gig submission depot, then make it a free service, NO YEARLY CHARGES to musicians. Instead, charge the festivals and event promoters the fees to use the service, or charge the musician a submission fee and charge the event promoters...but currently it is simply another money sucking pit that musicians are constantly filling so that yet another online service can get rich from their labours while they pay to play and submit to gigs which may not even pay them for their work (that's right, a great % of Sonicbids gigs are non-paying). And event promoters are also profiting from their submissions by taking a cut. All this does is create bad blood and leaves everyone, except the young rockers and those lining their pockets, with a bad taste in their mouth. Everyone making money but us, those upon which the whole system is driven. irg....
POINT: I think festivals and event promoters taking a cut from artist submissions is immoral and unethical and I can't stress that enough.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION for overworked festivals and event committees: Simply make it a submission requirement that a one page *only* submission will be considered by the booking committees. The granting systems are strict about page limits etc...what's the difference? Then it is on the shoulders of the artists to make provide a clear one page submission presskit...as a link, whether it's a myspace or a website. "What you see is what you get". Only one page will be looked at. THAT would level the playing field, and help to solve your problem. There is no need to even even have a Sonicbids EPK. I intend to cancel my Sonicbids account as soon as my current submission is looked at....I've been paying them for 5 years now...enough is enough. Again, it's just another thing on my already heaping plate. When I did my taxes this year I was shocked at the amount I listed under "Professional Fees", which included Sonicbids submissions. And I refuse to pay Sonicbids more money just to show a video!!
Please consider these things, from an artist's point of view, and please consider the one-page submission as a possible solution. We're doing our job 10 times over already, don't make us do more.
The current state of the music business, the desperation of musicians to make a living, the "buzz" driven industry, elitist attitudes, schools flooding the market with new musicians and bands, and the globalization of the market have all *encouraged* the glut of submissions and maybe we should all take a look at the way in which we each, in our respective positions, contribute to "the way things are". That's a whole other discussion, but I want to strongly encourage NON-Sonicbids-exclusivity, and the refusal of festivals and events to profit from artist submissions.
roadstar
It was stated that regarding Sonicbids "anyone can apply", that Sonicbids is a "level playing field" and that Sonicbids fees are free when you submit. My response and suggestion for a solution below.
Regarding Sonicbids: a big irg.... from me on this issue..... I finally cancelled my Sonicbids account after it cost me $70 to make one submission. While I was waiting for my submission to be reviewed, my credit card was (automatically) dinged twice with $30 semi-annual fees. Festival ADs are lead to believe that the musician pays only the submission fee. Wrong!
Note: I do provide a possible solution for overworked festival and event committees at the end.
Sonicbids costs $30US *twice* a year as a basic fee. One doesn't just submit to one event and get their annual fees free, as suggested. This gives the wrong impression of the way it works. They have been offering 6 months free with your *first* submission, but after you submit once you are hooked in forever. When I signed up, around 5 years ago, I had to pay the fee up front, and ever since then Sonicbids has been billing my credit card $30US every 6 months. You can't just cancel your account after you make one submission, then get another free one the next time you make a submission, as this is extremely impractical on more than one level:
1) What are you going to do, build a new EPK every time you submit to something? Ongoing submissions requiring ongoing annual fees.
2) Also, it often takes several months before your one submission is even looked at. I have a personal situation like that right now. I submitted to a summer event back in Oct 2007. Now in April 2008 my submission still has not been looked at. Since then my credit card has been dinged *once again* with the semi annual fee of $30US. Now it is about to be dinged a *second time*, and I asked Sonicbids to extend my account one month. I just can't afford all of this. If you make ongoing submissions, you keep paying the fees...over and over again.
3) Plus if you don't have an ongoing account you don't get email notices about the gigs in the first place! Again, you can't just cancel and recreate your account every time you submit to something....it just doesn't make sense.
POINT: For your $60/yr you get 3 tunes and a text page on which you cannot even make a word bold or underlined and it COSTS EXTRA to have just ONE video!! I refuse to give them more money!! I have videos coming out my $*&$^*^ and they are all available for FREE on my other sites. Maintaining a Sonicbids EPK is a royal pain in the butt and it is simply another thing on the growing heap of stuff I have to do for myself, for precious little return.
POINT: For CANADIAN ARTISTS it is even more of a money sucker. Most of the gigs offered on Sonicbids are US gigs, and given the state of our visa situation, who's looking for US gigs anyway? PLUS, you get the notice of the submission deadline only weeks at most from the deadline which makes it impossible to even consider a visa. There just aren't that many Canadian gigs to submit to on Sonicbids, to justify the fees.
POINT: You notice that the deadline for a submission is, for example, May 31, for an festival that's happening on June 24 (for example). Give me a break...there is no way this event/festival is still considering submissions on May 31 for an event on June 24. They are simply sucking out as many submissions as possible, knowing that they will never book any of these artists. It just becomes so obvious that it is meant to grab as many dollars as possible from artists, artists they have no intention of booking. It seems that as soon as you give people the opportunity for exploitiation, they will take it. Doesn't say much for human nature, but it sure is reality.
So, back to the CANADIANS....we maintain a Sonicbids account in order to submit to a few events a year maximum that even apply to us, because it's the only way we can submit to them, being exclusive. And if you're not a young rocker...the number of submission options dwindles even more, as honestly, most of the submission opportunities are directed at them. Sonicbids is not an even playing field. I hate it when I notice the charges on my credit card...for something I only use once or twice a year and which is totally redundant in terms of the already great promo I offer on my myspace and website. My myspace has everything you need is there on one page, and my website is layed out the same way. You don't even have to leave my front page to listen/watch/read etc.
POINT: If Sonicbids is to be a gig submission depot, then make it a free service, NO YEARLY CHARGES to musicians. Instead, charge the festivals and event promoters the fees to use the service, or charge the musician a submission fee and charge the event promoters...but currently it is simply another money sucking pit that musicians are constantly filling so that yet another online service can get rich from their labours while they pay to play and submit to gigs which may not even pay them for their work (that's right, a great % of Sonicbids gigs are non-paying). And event promoters are also profiting from their submissions by taking a cut. All this does is create bad blood and leaves everyone, except the young rockers and those lining their pockets, with a bad taste in their mouth. Everyone making money but us, those upon which the whole system is driven. irg....
POINT: I think festivals and event promoters taking a cut from artist submissions is immoral and unethical and I can't stress that enough.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION for overworked festivals and event committees: Simply make it a submission requirement that a one page *only* submission will be considered by the booking committees. The granting systems are strict about page limits etc...what's the difference? Then it is on the shoulders of the artists to make provide a clear one page submission presskit...as a link, whether it's a myspace or a website. "What you see is what you get". Only one page will be looked at. THAT would level the playing field, and help to solve your problem. There is no need to even even have a Sonicbids EPK. I intend to cancel my Sonicbids account as soon as my current submission is looked at....I've been paying them for 5 years now...enough is enough. Again, it's just another thing on my already heaping plate. When I did my taxes this year I was shocked at the amount I listed under "Professional Fees", which included Sonicbids submissions. And I refuse to pay Sonicbids more money just to show a video!!
Please consider these things, from an artist's point of view, and please consider the one-page submission as a possible solution. We're doing our job 10 times over already, don't make us do more.
The current state of the music business, the desperation of musicians to make a living, the "buzz" driven industry, elitist attitudes, schools flooding the market with new musicians and bands, and the globalization of the market have all *encouraged* the glut of submissions and maybe we should all take a look at the way in which we each, in our respective positions, contribute to "the way things are". That's a whole other discussion, but I want to strongly encourage NON-Sonicbids-exclusivity, and the refusal of festivals and events to profit from artist submissions.
roadstar
Internet Royalties/Tariffs plus Response to Billy Bragg article New York Times
Aricle referred to in this post
The Royalty Scam
By BILLY BRAGG
Published: March 22, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/opinion/22bragg.html?_r=1&ex=1206849600&en=da03&oref=slogin
Response to post regarding tariffs for internet uses of music
(original email)
Can someone please tell me just what is SO wrong with successful musicians being paid what they are legally entitled to? And if there is resentment to Brian Adams or Celine Dion collecting royalties then where is the cut off point? Don't get me wrong. I am not an unbridled capitalist and I DO believe in limits to profits, but until society decides to change how we reward the successful among us what is wrong with paying their due?Wouldn't you be pleased with a multi-million selling album?
Roadstar replies, and further comments on the Billy Bragg aritcle
I think that an important point here is that things are stacked in favor of Bryan Adams and Celine Dion. They have the marketing machine to create the million sellers (the major radio stations etc etc...), and the legal infrastructures to make sure they get every red cent. So it's a rich get richer picture. In a purely theoretical sense, no it's not wrong for them to be cashing in (unless you want to get into moral issues), but in terms of the cultural big picture, we have to focus on ways to make the small fish, the working career artist, their 2 cents. The tariffs are a start at an idea, but questions about the distribution of royalties from the tariffs still continues to be unanswered. We can't even get it together to make sure that we get our few cents per play for internet and non-commercial radio, and yet we have a pie in the sky dream about internet download royalties. If we directed our attention towards things we *can* control...like "pay per play" radio tracking and royalty distribution for internet radio and all non-commercial radio, we would be way way ahead. Given the state of tracking technology there isn't a single reason in the world why this airplay should not be tracked and compensated, just like it is with the majors. Despite all of the "new deals", NOTHING has changed for us in this area.
This is one thing Billy Bragg misses in this article:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/opinion/22bragg.html?_r=1&ex=1206849600&en=da03&oref=slogin
He cites that radio does pay..well the fact is that the majority of radio does NOT pay. We all get some CBC airplay but most of us are getting non-commercial, college and internet radio airplay which does not pay. Stations pay tariffs knowing that little to none of the money they are paying goes to any of the artists that they are playing. The steep proposed internet radio tariff were prohibitive and counter productive, but we have to work harder in this area. It has to become a new income for all of us! The majors are doing fine, and hence Celine and Bryan, but for us, nothing has changed.Braggs' article points to the "new uses" of our music and the need for compensation. All the industry dudes are telling us to stop fighting and "give our music away", showing us graphs with dollar signs above "licensing" "royalties"...etc...all of these apparent benefits that we'll get. This only leads to more of what Braggs talks about...the only ones getting rich are them...and the internet companies like Bebo Myspace etc. These $$ signs are not happening! If it's happening for a few, great, but for the rest of the cultural fabric, *us*, it just ain't working. But we continue to believe in the myth because at this point we don't have options. I have 6 tunes being played on myspace the same as everyone else, and I love myspace for other reasons.
New uses of music have been cited as the things we should give away, but in reality, they are the ONLY uses of our music these days (exaggeration for emphasis) and hence the ones that have to start paying 2 cents into our paypal accounts. It all adds up, and if the technology is there to get the banks 2 cent 100 zillion times, the technology exists to get us our 2 cents, to help with our measly musician incomes.
More interesting reading for y'all: http://www.mediafuturist.com/blog.html
A "new use" of our music worth discussing: http://www.fliptech.com/ (a cdbaby opt-in digital service)
The Royalty Scam
By BILLY BRAGG
Published: March 22, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/opinion/22bragg.html?_r=1&ex=1206849600&en=da03&oref=slogin
Response to post regarding tariffs for internet uses of music
(original email)
Can someone please tell me just what is SO wrong with successful musicians being paid what they are legally entitled to? And if there is resentment to Brian Adams or Celine Dion collecting royalties then where is the cut off point? Don't get me wrong. I am not an unbridled capitalist and I DO believe in limits to profits, but until society decides to change how we reward the successful among us what is wrong with paying their due?Wouldn't you be pleased with a multi-million selling album?
Roadstar replies, and further comments on the Billy Bragg aritcle
I think that an important point here is that things are stacked in favor of Bryan Adams and Celine Dion. They have the marketing machine to create the million sellers (the major radio stations etc etc...), and the legal infrastructures to make sure they get every red cent. So it's a rich get richer picture. In a purely theoretical sense, no it's not wrong for them to be cashing in (unless you want to get into moral issues), but in terms of the cultural big picture, we have to focus on ways to make the small fish, the working career artist, their 2 cents. The tariffs are a start at an idea, but questions about the distribution of royalties from the tariffs still continues to be unanswered. We can't even get it together to make sure that we get our few cents per play for internet and non-commercial radio, and yet we have a pie in the sky dream about internet download royalties. If we directed our attention towards things we *can* control...like "pay per play" radio tracking and royalty distribution for internet radio and all non-commercial radio, we would be way way ahead. Given the state of tracking technology there isn't a single reason in the world why this airplay should not be tracked and compensated, just like it is with the majors. Despite all of the "new deals", NOTHING has changed for us in this area.
This is one thing Billy Bragg misses in this article:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/opinion/22bragg.html?_r=1&ex=1206849600&en=da03&oref=slogin
He cites that radio does pay..well the fact is that the majority of radio does NOT pay. We all get some CBC airplay but most of us are getting non-commercial, college and internet radio airplay which does not pay. Stations pay tariffs knowing that little to none of the money they are paying goes to any of the artists that they are playing. The steep proposed internet radio tariff were prohibitive and counter productive, but we have to work harder in this area. It has to become a new income for all of us! The majors are doing fine, and hence Celine and Bryan, but for us, nothing has changed.Braggs' article points to the "new uses" of our music and the need for compensation. All the industry dudes are telling us to stop fighting and "give our music away", showing us graphs with dollar signs above "licensing" "royalties"...etc...all of these apparent benefits that we'll get. This only leads to more of what Braggs talks about...the only ones getting rich are them...and the internet companies like Bebo Myspace etc. These $$ signs are not happening! If it's happening for a few, great, but for the rest of the cultural fabric, *us*, it just ain't working. But we continue to believe in the myth because at this point we don't have options. I have 6 tunes being played on myspace the same as everyone else, and I love myspace for other reasons.
New uses of music have been cited as the things we should give away, but in reality, they are the ONLY uses of our music these days (exaggeration for emphasis) and hence the ones that have to start paying 2 cents into our paypal accounts. It all adds up, and if the technology is there to get the banks 2 cent 100 zillion times, the technology exists to get us our 2 cents, to help with our measly musician incomes.
More interesting reading for y'all: http://www.mediafuturist.com/blog.html
A "new use" of our music worth discussing: http://www.fliptech.com/ (a cdbaby opt-in digital service)
Response to article: WE LOVE JAZZ MUSICIANS
(Published in the Toronto Musicians' Association's Crescendo Spring 2008)
Here is my take on the article titled "We Love Jazz Musicians" (because they play for free and subsidize our businesses) signed Anonymous in the recent TMA Crescendo (AFM local 149 newsletter). Published in TMA Crescendo Spring 2008.
First, no truer words were spoken. Every bit of this is 100% true and if anyone thinks that the facts stated in this article are not true or that this article should not have been published then they are sticking their heads deeply in the sand. I applaud the TMA for actually publishing this article. Topics like these have become a constant source of conversation between my peers and me although nowadays we have to walk on eggshells when bringing these things up. No one wants to be seen as being negative about things, and everyone is so focused on "trying to be positive" that we are starting to avoid these discussions altogether.
Before I moved to Toronto I had never even heard of the word "guarantee" and when someone asked "are you getting a guarantee" I didn't know what they were talking about. I had always been paid for what I did, jazz or otherwise. I used to play 6 nights (and days) a week playing jazz and we always got paid. I’m not talking “old fart” here, I’m talking about just 10 years ago. Up until a couple of years ago, you could at least count on going into the "905" or other area codes to make some money but now, club owners everywhere have clued into this the play for free thing, and (with some exceptions) you can't make money anywhere any more (exaggeration for emphasis). The reason is that musicians are exporting this thinking. Festivals are our last hope, but even they know what scale is now, and offer us only scale. So when the writer of the article cites that musicians think scale is MAXIMUM, I say, scale IS maximum. I was recently involved in a situation where the musicians, only after an arduous ordeal by one or two, were able to get paid scale, at one of Toronto major concerts halls! Before, the "arduous ordeal" the musicians were NOT even getting paid scale, and none of the musicians said a word about it! You just shut up and keep smiling or you’ll loose your gig. This thinking pervades every aspect of our working lives. Jazz musicians are afraid to ask for scale, or anything above, because one's job is always in jeopardy. You can't say anything about anything. If musicians speak up, even to their peers, they are often perceived as "troublemakers". It's the old "freedom fighter" versus "terrorist" perceptual problem.
The writer is totally correct in noting that no other business is like this. In what other business do "professionals" fight so desperately hard to keep themselves down! The club owners and others are obviously hip to this, but we're not! Everyone is making money but us! The liquor salesman doesn't get paid if club "likes the booze". Musicians are more than willing to subsidize clubs, to help their business grow, while going deeper and deeper in the hole themselves. When the club owner says "what can you guarantee me", I say we should say "what can *you* guarantee *me*?" How many people can *you*, the club owner, guarantee *me* who will come in, listen, spend money, give me tips, and buy cds..if this is to be my pay? We are always expected to pack the place, and we've given the club owners the impression that we're responsible if their business fails! Even if a club in in a terrible location, has bad ambience, and bad food, they expect US to save their asses and fill their seats. And we go along with it! And even when they're doing well, they still complain! Recently a (successful) club owner cried the blues to me because there were only 150 people in the club. Give me a break!
Everyone has their hand out to musicians, Sonicbids etc etc etc. And we keep paying, because we have no choice. The "carrots" held out in front of our faces are NON EXISTENT. We're not all going to make it big, it just ain't going to happen. Cd sales are down, not up. Getting airplay is almost meaningless because 1)cd sales are down 2)you’re only tracked if you’re played by the majors (a big problem…despite all of the negotiations and “new deals”, NOTHING has changed to get the rest of us money for airplay, a perfectly valid “use” of our music). So playing for free has NO rewards, except for “face time” (see below). Top groups, or "darling" groups will argue against much of this but it's easy to spout from their vantage point. In this "fame mad world" (copyright - a phrase from one of my songs) you're either at the top, spouting off about how great things are, or you're at the bottom, with everyone else. There doesn’t seem to be any in between. Those who are working love to spout off. "Just go out and get some corporate gigs" I heard one of them say recently. That's a whole other topic, but I will tell you that 1)corporate gigs aren't as plentiful as in the past and they don't pay as much. 2)corporate gigs seem to be sewn up by a few who seem to do them all. I personally have made regular efforts at this to no avail. I, along with 3 other top Toronto musicians/groups, pooled our resources to do a major corporate campaign. We made 3 attempts, including a hard copy mailout. None of us got ONE SINGLE LEAD or GIG out of our efforts. And it’s not because this groups of artists isn’t good…as I said, some of the top “jazz musicians”. Just go out and get a corporate gig"...ya piece of cake! The lesson from this is that 1) the rich are getting greedier and 2)"live" music has become irrelevant, 3) musicians are offering more for less, 4)there are now hundreds (thousands) of musicians competing for the same gigs and there is always someone ahead of you who will work for cheaper (as the writer points out "we don't give a rat's ass about your art"..they just don't want to pay you). This seems to be part of the growing number of side effects created by the syndrome that is discussed in the Crescendo article. (jazz) Musicians are their own worst enemies.
Face time: Musicians need to be "seen". If you're not seen, you quickly become history. If you've got a lineup of gigs at all of those places where you play for free (I won't name them because we all know where they are), then you're perceived as someone who's "happening". So only those who are willing to play for free get a shot at trying to build anything. And there is such a lineup of musicians to play at these places that unless you can guarantee the club that you'll bring in all your friends, you can't even get a gig there. I recently tried to get a gig at one of them and the first question was “can you guarantee me 100 people through the door?” I said NO, and the conversation was OVER. I couldn’t get any further. So where does that leave me? I already spend 12 hours a day trying to promote myself. How much more can I give? Continual diminishing returns. "Youthful enthusiasm" does play a role in all of this too. When you're young you just can't foresee the consequences of your actions, and the world of playing “jazz” is your oyster. For some it is, but the topic of this discussion is realizing the consequences of our actions. It concerns us all, all of the jazz musicians (and other genres too!), young and old, who should be "all" allowed to participate in the culture which is their livelihood, and survive without fear, creating a healthier society for everyone! A utopian idea maybe, as it has become obvious that doing anything for sake of itself (as in playing jazz) is anti-capitalist and anti-business. Club owners and others are not doing anything “out of the goodness of their heart”, they’re doing it for one reason ONLY, to make money. I have no doubt that (jazz) musicians will continue to keep doing the same things. And for what?... As I mentioned, the "carrots" just don't exist. If you're a "darling", you're doing fine, if you're not, you're just part of the floundering masses of musicians. The colleges are cranking out hundreds and hundreds more each year, graciously given rights of passage by their teachers (many of whom are unemployed jazz musicians), making it even more of a young people’s game. I'm not slagging these teachers, you gotta survive!!...however it is a snowball rolling down a hill. Where are 4th year Humber students going to get their hundreds of hours of required "field experience"?....you guessed it. Say no more.
The problems are complex and require much discussion. The cause of the problem is shared between musicians themselves and society as a whole (including the club owners) The “idol”, “go big or gohome” mentality that has infused every aspect of our life, may seem like fun in the beginning but it is unhealthy for society as a whole, and we are paying the price already! I don’t blame club owner x, the writer of the article, for thinking we’re all a bunch of idiots, no wonder they "love jazz musicians" because the facts speak for themselves, and given that no one does anything out of the goodness of their hearts (except jazz musicians of course), club owners will continue to take advantage of us and get our product for free. Plus we’ll continue do all the work for them! I want to thank club owner x for his/her insights. I hope some people wake up as a result. ….and all those old and young industry white guys will keep telling us that’s there’s “no better time to be in the music business” and we’ll keep eating up their crap and making them millionaires ($39.95 times 10 million= “how much?”). …and we don’t even DEMAND our 25 cents per airplay!!! What a bunch of idiots we are.
Sincerely, anonymous jazz musician :)
Here is my take on the article titled "We Love Jazz Musicians" (because they play for free and subsidize our businesses) signed Anonymous in the recent TMA Crescendo (AFM local 149 newsletter). Published in TMA Crescendo Spring 2008.
First, no truer words were spoken. Every bit of this is 100% true and if anyone thinks that the facts stated in this article are not true or that this article should not have been published then they are sticking their heads deeply in the sand. I applaud the TMA for actually publishing this article. Topics like these have become a constant source of conversation between my peers and me although nowadays we have to walk on eggshells when bringing these things up. No one wants to be seen as being negative about things, and everyone is so focused on "trying to be positive" that we are starting to avoid these discussions altogether.
Before I moved to Toronto I had never even heard of the word "guarantee" and when someone asked "are you getting a guarantee" I didn't know what they were talking about. I had always been paid for what I did, jazz or otherwise. I used to play 6 nights (and days) a week playing jazz and we always got paid. I’m not talking “old fart” here, I’m talking about just 10 years ago. Up until a couple of years ago, you could at least count on going into the "905" or other area codes to make some money but now, club owners everywhere have clued into this the play for free thing, and (with some exceptions) you can't make money anywhere any more (exaggeration for emphasis). The reason is that musicians are exporting this thinking. Festivals are our last hope, but even they know what scale is now, and offer us only scale. So when the writer of the article cites that musicians think scale is MAXIMUM, I say, scale IS maximum. I was recently involved in a situation where the musicians, only after an arduous ordeal by one or two, were able to get paid scale, at one of Toronto major concerts halls! Before, the "arduous ordeal" the musicians were NOT even getting paid scale, and none of the musicians said a word about it! You just shut up and keep smiling or you’ll loose your gig. This thinking pervades every aspect of our working lives. Jazz musicians are afraid to ask for scale, or anything above, because one's job is always in jeopardy. You can't say anything about anything. If musicians speak up, even to their peers, they are often perceived as "troublemakers". It's the old "freedom fighter" versus "terrorist" perceptual problem.
The writer is totally correct in noting that no other business is like this. In what other business do "professionals" fight so desperately hard to keep themselves down! The club owners and others are obviously hip to this, but we're not! Everyone is making money but us! The liquor salesman doesn't get paid if club "likes the booze". Musicians are more than willing to subsidize clubs, to help their business grow, while going deeper and deeper in the hole themselves. When the club owner says "what can you guarantee me", I say we should say "what can *you* guarantee *me*?" How many people can *you*, the club owner, guarantee *me* who will come in, listen, spend money, give me tips, and buy cds..if this is to be my pay? We are always expected to pack the place, and we've given the club owners the impression that we're responsible if their business fails! Even if a club in in a terrible location, has bad ambience, and bad food, they expect US to save their asses and fill their seats. And we go along with it! And even when they're doing well, they still complain! Recently a (successful) club owner cried the blues to me because there were only 150 people in the club. Give me a break!
Everyone has their hand out to musicians, Sonicbids etc etc etc. And we keep paying, because we have no choice. The "carrots" held out in front of our faces are NON EXISTENT. We're not all going to make it big, it just ain't going to happen. Cd sales are down, not up. Getting airplay is almost meaningless because 1)cd sales are down 2)you’re only tracked if you’re played by the majors (a big problem…despite all of the negotiations and “new deals”, NOTHING has changed to get the rest of us money for airplay, a perfectly valid “use” of our music). So playing for free has NO rewards, except for “face time” (see below). Top groups, or "darling" groups will argue against much of this but it's easy to spout from their vantage point. In this "fame mad world" (copyright - a phrase from one of my songs) you're either at the top, spouting off about how great things are, or you're at the bottom, with everyone else. There doesn’t seem to be any in between. Those who are working love to spout off. "Just go out and get some corporate gigs" I heard one of them say recently. That's a whole other topic, but I will tell you that 1)corporate gigs aren't as plentiful as in the past and they don't pay as much. 2)corporate gigs seem to be sewn up by a few who seem to do them all. I personally have made regular efforts at this to no avail. I, along with 3 other top Toronto musicians/groups, pooled our resources to do a major corporate campaign. We made 3 attempts, including a hard copy mailout. None of us got ONE SINGLE LEAD or GIG out of our efforts. And it’s not because this groups of artists isn’t good…as I said, some of the top “jazz musicians”. Just go out and get a corporate gig"...ya piece of cake! The lesson from this is that 1) the rich are getting greedier and 2)"live" music has become irrelevant, 3) musicians are offering more for less, 4)there are now hundreds (thousands) of musicians competing for the same gigs and there is always someone ahead of you who will work for cheaper (as the writer points out "we don't give a rat's ass about your art"..they just don't want to pay you). This seems to be part of the growing number of side effects created by the syndrome that is discussed in the Crescendo article. (jazz) Musicians are their own worst enemies.
Face time: Musicians need to be "seen". If you're not seen, you quickly become history. If you've got a lineup of gigs at all of those places where you play for free (I won't name them because we all know where they are), then you're perceived as someone who's "happening". So only those who are willing to play for free get a shot at trying to build anything. And there is such a lineup of musicians to play at these places that unless you can guarantee the club that you'll bring in all your friends, you can't even get a gig there. I recently tried to get a gig at one of them and the first question was “can you guarantee me 100 people through the door?” I said NO, and the conversation was OVER. I couldn’t get any further. So where does that leave me? I already spend 12 hours a day trying to promote myself. How much more can I give? Continual diminishing returns. "Youthful enthusiasm" does play a role in all of this too. When you're young you just can't foresee the consequences of your actions, and the world of playing “jazz” is your oyster. For some it is, but the topic of this discussion is realizing the consequences of our actions. It concerns us all, all of the jazz musicians (and other genres too!), young and old, who should be "all" allowed to participate in the culture which is their livelihood, and survive without fear, creating a healthier society for everyone! A utopian idea maybe, as it has become obvious that doing anything for sake of itself (as in playing jazz) is anti-capitalist and anti-business. Club owners and others are not doing anything “out of the goodness of their heart”, they’re doing it for one reason ONLY, to make money. I have no doubt that (jazz) musicians will continue to keep doing the same things. And for what?... As I mentioned, the "carrots" just don't exist. If you're a "darling", you're doing fine, if you're not, you're just part of the floundering masses of musicians. The colleges are cranking out hundreds and hundreds more each year, graciously given rights of passage by their teachers (many of whom are unemployed jazz musicians), making it even more of a young people’s game. I'm not slagging these teachers, you gotta survive!!...however it is a snowball rolling down a hill. Where are 4th year Humber students going to get their hundreds of hours of required "field experience"?....you guessed it. Say no more.
The problems are complex and require much discussion. The cause of the problem is shared between musicians themselves and society as a whole (including the club owners) The “idol”, “go big or gohome” mentality that has infused every aspect of our life, may seem like fun in the beginning but it is unhealthy for society as a whole, and we are paying the price already! I don’t blame club owner x, the writer of the article, for thinking we’re all a bunch of idiots, no wonder they "love jazz musicians" because the facts speak for themselves, and given that no one does anything out of the goodness of their hearts (except jazz musicians of course), club owners will continue to take advantage of us and get our product for free. Plus we’ll continue do all the work for them! I want to thank club owner x for his/her insights. I hope some people wake up as a result. ….and all those old and young industry white guys will keep telling us that’s there’s “no better time to be in the music business” and we’ll keep eating up their crap and making them millionaires ($39.95 times 10 million= “how much?”). …and we don’t even DEMAND our 25 cents per airplay!!! What a bunch of idiots we are.
Sincerely, anonymous jazz musician :)
