Comment Archives: stories: Music
Re: “Where Craigslist Sucks, Will Fandalism Succeed?”
If anyone reading this wants an invite to Fandalism, you can use the invite code "peanut" (without the quotes)
Re: “Local Licks”
I've gotta say, I think you all should get more knowledgable and experienced music critics to review Cd's in the Express! At the very least , I would expect the writer to get the genre of music correct for the record that they are reviewing. Howell Devine is far from a "twangy country band" They are a blues band through and through. I think 10 outta 10 elementary school kids would have known that to be the case after one listening of HowellDevine's CD, "Delta Grooves"
Rachel Swan can say anything she wants about the Cd's she reviews, and that is fair enough, for music IS very objective & subjective to each individual listener ( and critic), but girl, you gotta go back to school and learn the basics of musicology, so you will know what kind of music you are actually listening to!
Re: “Action Bronson”
This is album of the year! Go Action, go!
Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
This is just extortion plain and simple. They lost all credibility when they claimed they didn't need any proof that copyrighted material was being played.
Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
As a artist, I have written my PRO, telling them I think they have no right to police the city streets or peoples homes trying to get their "cut". Venues and other businesses are one thing, but they are nearing upon people's civil rights. I'm also quite sure I will leave when my contract is up. Thank you for reporting this East Bay Express!
Re: “Fresh Start for Mornin' Old Sport”
Krol with one "l" oops, messed that up did ya? I feel almost obligated to respond to your obvious message to Zeb. Next time, not so public??? It's funny, I can't remember the last time I read a biography about all the band members who left the band. I guess that's the only reason I'm reading about you. Wonderful PR campaign. Let's make everyone forget who you are and remember who the one member of the group is who intelligently decided to leave the group. I have an idea, let's pretend we're poor, and can't afford even a meal, yet our strangely accommodating parents pay for everything, including our socks. Then, after drugged consideration, let's take out five months to record, and oh yeah, let's not oblige to the our recording company's demands, then, to the surprise of us all, let's degrade our already pitiful self image by smoking weed all day and playing Call of Duty (and Mario Party??????) while jerking off to images of Zebulon Krol. Sounds like a record deal??????????!!!!!!!!!
Oh wait, that's not how it works? I was totally convinced. Whoops.
Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
I think this a great example of local journalism, presenting a local issue that has broad impact and would otherwise be invisible to the public. (It is a perverse world where music cops are shaking down micro venues for local musicians in the name of protecting artistic property rights. Does the Beatles estate really need a nickle everytime some street musician plays 'Hey Jude'? Is this the way our society should support the music 'industry'?) Thanks to East Bay Express for covering stories like these.
Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
It may be an "unpaid service to the community" but it's part of the whole business package that constitutes a farmers' market, and if you're playing ASCAP/BMI material you need to pay the licensing fees. Which are fairly trivial. It's pretty strange that the Express is so hot to support artists but when it comes to getting them paid, it seems to be another story.
Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
ASCAP and BMI are extortion rings. I can understand copyright protection for copy and resale of recorded material where the copier is trying to profit from the work of others. But performance is a personal rendering and interpretation of an existing work. In visual copyright, as long as the source is recognized and work is stated as a copy, a personal rendition is legal. The main point of copyright protection is to protect a creator's ability to make a living from their own work. These BMI ASCAP thugs are nothing but gangsters.
Re: “Oak Ridge Boys and Dukes of Dixieland”
Let There Be NO Confusion!
It is a fact that Frank and Freddie Assunto created and led the #1 Jazz Band in America from the early 1950's thru early 1974 known as The Dukes of Dixieland. They played with and recorded with all the greats of their time and also appeared on numerous TV Shows from the 50's through the 1960's. Their untimely deaths, Freddie in 1966 (36) and Frank in 1974 (42) ended the reign of the Dukes of Dixieland. But instead of their legacy being left to be properly respected others stepped in to profit and mislead the public into believing they represented the Assunto Family and the legacy of the Original Dukes of Dixieland. (This is part of the public record, New Orleans Civil District Court, Division "E", Case # 2000-9440)
So now the fact is very straight forward, after Frank's death in 1974 no one using the Assunto legacy or the name Dukes of Dixieland has ever had any connection to the Assunto Brothers or their original Dukes of Dixieland. (Even though in the past it had been advertised otherwise.)
As such the Assunto Family regrets that anyone has been misled in any way as we have no control over the unscrupulous actions of others. We can only hope that after the conclusion of our legal actions which ended in October 2011 there should be no further confusion or misrepresentation of the Assunto Brothers or their Dukes of Dixieland. (If by chance after October , 2011 you feel you've been misled in anyway please feel free to contact the Assunto Family so that we can take action to correct the situation, we'll even pay for evidence that proves such a claim.)
God Bless and Thank You for being a fan of the Original Dukes of Dixieland and the Assunto Family.
Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
Jimmy may have been targeted because it appears that he is profiting from his events. Most house concert venues, including ours, only accept donations that go 100% to the artists, and just put on events for the love of the music. In addition, if house concert venues follow the following rules, and are members of Folk Alliance International ("FAI"), they are covered by the FAI agreement with ASCAP and will not be required to pay fees:
House Concert Rules and Regulations:
1. Performance is in a private home
2. Performance is by invitation only*
a. *the intent of the “invitation only” regulation is that a person cannot just come without some connection to the presenter or artist (i.e. a “wide circle of family and friends”) The details of that compliance might include but not be limited to 1) not publicly displaying your address 2) “by invitation only” or “call for invitation” on all information accessible to the public (i.e. website, flyers)
Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
House venues who host musicians and who are not running a for-profit venture can become members of Folk Alliance International. Once members, they can sign on to a PRO agreement in which ASCAP and BMI have agreed to exempt them from licensing fees. There are some requirements regarding the listing of the venue as a private performance, but house concert hosts should have no trouble meeting these requirements. And membership in Folk Alliance International, which costs $75/year currently, has other member benefits. Interested people should contact www.folkalliance.org.
Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
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Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
(We were told that legally, they could collect even if we had artists & bands sign things that said they were not playing ANY songs by their artists)
Re: “ASCAP Targets Farmers' Markets and House Venues”
When I was a volunteer at 924 Gilman in the early 90s, ASCAP came after us. We talked with them once and explained that we were a grassroots venue featuring comparatively small bands, and that what they were asking for (thousands of dollars, mostly retroactively) was insane. They lowered what they were asking for to "just" a few hundred dollars a year (which at that point we still wouldn't have been able to afford), and then we never answered their letters or phone calls again. They sent some really scary-sounding legal letters but nothing ever happened.
Re: “Download This T-Shirt”
I know we have people ask us all the time to print someone elses logo and we always refuse. Company's didn't use to mind but that was a very long time ago. I think there is still a lot of it that goes on in the Custom T-Shirts business.
Re: “Pay to Play”
Mokai, my friend, when an artist registers their recorded songs with BMI and ASCAP, those song plays are tracked off broadcasts and the artist is compensated whether they are an indie or a Gaga for those plays. Establishments with in-house jukeboxes are not tracked from song to song, so they pay a general licensing fee instead. Jukebox play is a small portion of public play, and those payments are dispersed among all the songwriters and not just the Justin Beiber and Michael Jacksons. Your music will never be valued as long as you give it away. If clubs, coffee shops and other venues think a few hundred dollars a year is too much to pay for music, they are free to pull the plug. The fact is people like to hear music when they're out, just as they like good food, beer, wine and other entertainment. Let's see a club owner tell their drink distributor to donate beer for free because, "it's good for promotion."
Re: “Download This T-Shirt”
This is hilarious. Thanks for the great article. I'm currently living in Bangkok and i see this shirt bootlegged all the time. Urban Outfitters was selling it for a while, too, up on Bancroft in Berkeley. Pretty sure a good chunk of people who wear it don't even realize it's their album cover. Ha!
Re: “Pay to Play”
It gets even stranger, because BMI, ASCAP, etc. are only collecting money for the public performance of the recording, so the money should go to the artist who recorded the song. But if it's a cover, in that situation the original writer of the song doesn't get their songwriter's royalties. As josiebee points out, how do they know what was played? They do a sampling of all the public venues, and then have some arcane calculation of who is getting played enough for them to cut a check. Meaning, most of the money goes to Justin Beiber and Michael Jackson's estate. If a cafe features local artists or less well-known bands, they don't necessarily get the money, as they have to build up to a dollar amount before they get sent a check.
Re: “Where Craigslist Sucks, Will Fandalism Succeed?”
Fandalism makes me wish I played an instrument!