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Copygone?
Amazon is abreast of unprotected content. Is this the end of copyright as we know it? Is this yet another head slam to the increasingly groggy record industry? Do we care? And will artists be better or worse off? David James doesn't have the answers, but he has a nice line of chat and some scary numbers every musician needs to know...
Eclectic
Photos and text by Daniel Smith
Independent blues album Superior blues excusrion Gavan Andersson By Peter Haydon
Let me establish independence right from the start by saying that the tired pun of the title, and the amatuerish-looking artwork on the cover of the CD, does nothing to inspire confidence in the quality of the music within. Before listening, one gets the impression of a jaded Vietnam vet with delusions of talent. One couldn't be more wrong. Gavan Andersson is a justly famous working guitarist who has played with many of the who's who of Australian rock. He currently tours with Andy Cowan, a blues man's gig to die for. This is his first solo recording, and his reputation alone makes it worth a listen. Acoustic independent album Best Legg forward Alex Legg By Peter Haydon But make no mistake, this musical polish and power is primarily a support for the lyrics. This is a songwriter's album, with the virtue of a far more interesting and musical accompaniment than is common on such albums. The playing is really top notch (especially outstanding and tasteful keyboard work from MD and co-producer Tim Oliver, and the superb drumming from Phil Crabbe) but its best feature is its subtle framing of the vocal and lyric.
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Idea
of North: By Peter Haydon Once upon a time, my friends invited me to come and see an a cappella (unaccompanied) vocal group with them. On the one hand, I thought a cappella sounded pretty boring, but on the other, these particular friends were astute judges of music. The group was The Idea of North, and I fell in love. I have since discovered more and more musicians who share my love for this group of four very talented singers, including the usually crusty, cynical and critical Terry Noone, noted reviewer in these pages, who gave their Gospel Project Tour an unprecendented glowing accolade.
PPCA vs venues: who are the good guys? By Terry Noone Like many controversies involving the music industry, the recent furore over a rise in recorded music licence fees payable by night clubs and commercial dance parties has mostly missed the point. Talk-back callers and online pundits have been asked to pick the "good guys": are they the promoters and venue operators, or the record companies and musicians? Venue operators claim they are only trying to run a business and provide affordable entertainment for the masses. They say record companies are greedy. Record companies claim to be interested only in protecting the musical product of artists. They want operators and promoters to pay a fair price. They say operators and promoters are greedy.
Acoustic country roots By Peter Haydon
Natasha Hurst is a musician who knows what she wants, and has the experience, talent and business skills to go far. I first came across her when a well-presented folder of promotional material landed on my desk, complete with two demo CDs, bio material, photos and even pro forma performance contracts for venues to use! IT was obviously DIY by someone who knew where she was going. I had to know more... PH: Can you give a brief history of your involvement with music? How you got started? NH: I grew up with my Dad always singing and playing the guitar and as a kid I would love singing along with him. I had a few singing lessons when I was in my early 20's but didn't take it any further for lack of self esteem and confidence. PH: Any idea why at that stage you lacked self-esteem and confidence? NH: I had alot of weight related issues...still do... PH: You seem to be bursting with confidence now! NH: I still struggle with self esteem issues. I guess sometimes I just
figure that this is who I am and if no one likes it, too bad! Then other
times, it takes me a couple of hours to get ready - hair, makeup, outfit,
and so on. Send us your email, notes, memos, random thoughts, trenchant complaints. Tell us about your adventures, strugggles, disasters, disappointments and successes as a musician. Assessment of the year Hi Very much enjoyed your article about Gil Askey - what an amazing guy! I've heard him play several times. It is just amazing that sucjh as treasure of the world scene should be hidden away in Melbourne! Dave H (via email) We give preference to letters of 200 words or less, but try your luck anyway. We may edit your letters for reasons of space, or possibly because we're just a bunch of interfering bastards. Despite that, we welcome your feedback, comments and observations. You can use a pseudonym if you wish, but please include your real name, suburb/town and, if you are writing from outside Victoria, your state/country. Email us at musosunion@aol.com.
Got a problem or question relating to the music biz? Ask Uncle Terry. Email Uncle Terry on musosunion@aol.com. Please provide your name and suburb (& state/country, if you're not a local yokel...)
Never mind the skill, feel the creativity! Dear Uncle Terry, I'm 17 and have been playing music for a few years and I really want to make my career in music. Some of my bandmates tell me not to do a music course because it will kill your creativity and that no one knows anything about the stuff we want to play. Caz Dear Caz, Creativity is an essential element in music. So is skill or craft. Musicians
conceive a musical idea and then attempt to express it. If musicians have
a low level of skill then their ability to represent their ideas will
be severely limited. All of their performances will be poor expressions
of their creativity. Rather than restricting creativity, skill leads to
the accurate expression of it.
Crimes against humanity? Let Oops, Sorry! hide you out in a Latin American republic. Oops, Sorry! has branches in most countries and comes highly commended. Send for our brochure and read what notorious scoundrels like Dr Mengele, Martin Bohrman and Bertolt Brecht think of our service. Oops, Sorry!, 48 Warble Drive, Kathmandu FL 45834 *** For lease. Delightful two-storey shoebox in middle o’ road, Yambuck. All mod cons. DH, DLUG, en-suite to main BR, BIR in other two BRs, sprinkler system, roof, dirt floor. Close to shops and extremely close to transport. $1530 pcm. References required. 5954 6584 *** Slightly used lab rats. $100 the lot. Also human ears. Will separate. Call Igor AH 5956 8738
Are you ignorant, credulous, cynical or righteous? We are being bombarded with advertising (funded by major studios and record companies) about the illegality, sleaziness, meanness and just plain naughtiness of copyright violation, mainly focusing on illegal downloading or copying of movies and music. Industry people talk about how piracy hinders their ability to develop new artists (without of course acknowledging that only a tiny proportion of royalties goes to artists anyway). There has been a predictable comic backlash to this heavy-handed and hypocritical finger-wagging from the industrial heavies. The funny chaps from South Park leapt on this trend some time ago and produced a clever episode which showed, among other things, a devastated Britney Spears weeping over the cruel fact that, because of illegal downloading, she could only afford a Gulfstream 4 personal jet rather than the latest Gulfstream 5. I find that people I talk to about this issue have four levels of response, depending on their degree of knowledge of the area. The first level is the ignorant. "Copyright? What's that?" This mainly younger group downloads freely without a thought for copyright, royalties or any other abstract concept. This group of the happily ignorant is shrinking slowly under the relentless barrage of industry advertising about copyright. The second level (the credulous) is simply to believe what the record and movie companies are saying. This group is older, and also shrinking. A third level is that of the cynical: the pragmatic pirates. These people are cynical about Big Music (as they are about Big Movie and Big Software) and will happily pirate music for their personal use, especially if some peer-sharing network gives a sense of community and therefore legitimacy to their actions. This is a very large group of mostly younger people. The fourth and last group is very small, because the level of knowledge
required is quite high. This group (which I call righteous, but in a good,
jazz-gospel kind of way) has a qualified cynicism - they reject the Big
Music line, but recognise that musicians, especially those not in the
top echelon, make some part of their living from the tiny pittance allowed
them after the record companies take their huge slice. They try to do
the right thing by buying music instead of simply helping themselves to
it. They also often support local grassroots artists by buying their CDs
and merchandise direct from gigs and artist websites. If we agree that copyright is a concept worth protecting, then we need to foster and grow this latter group. This means educating the community. Spreading the truth about the working conditions and employment prospects for musicians, as well as the importance of music sales for those increasingly self-published recording artists amongst us, is one way we can protect one of the few income streams left to the composers, song-writers and lyricists (not to mention the players) who provide the soundtrack to our lives. Disclaimer:
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Elton John - straight to the heart By Paul Gray
Elton John spoke to me, in my teenage years, about the meaning of these strange companions through life. I was an ignorant country boy who’d barely discerned the facts of life when the classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album began dispensing its largesse of hits on to Top 40 radio. Candle In The Wind, Bennie and the Jets, Saturday
Night’s Alright For Fighting, the title track itself: these
songs fixed the album in its perpetual firmament of fame. Walk me through your takeover By Theo Schulsospekz
Refugees deserve better than bland Reviewer: By Anita Kurle
Harmony Part 12 in
a series by Hi y'all from the Harmony ranch! , If you are a first-timer, check out previous “Harmony for the Compleat Idiot” columns, as we are building on these. Last time we asked you to work out the notes in all 12 of the sixth chords.
Let's look at them in both letter name form and in musical notation. How to get a properly-paid gig Part
9 in a series by If you haven't seen this column before, you might want to glance at the last eight issues of The Dues, because we do build on previous knowledge. We have now dealt with the demo recording, the band biography and the band poster. Of the essential elements of a promotional package the only one left is the contact card. This can range from a simple black and white home printed card to a flashy, multi coloured job on thick, glossy high quality stock incorporating a custom designed logo.
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Does
copyright stand a chance of surviving the digital age?
Take
two producers from the dance floors and nightclubs of Paris, mix in an
Argentinian guitarist, steeped in the tango traditions. This brooding,
heady cocktail is Gotan Project; a collision of the acoustic and the electronic.
First
let me declare an interest. The slow hand that plays some of these tasty
blues licks also co-signs my paychecks. That being said, I'll try to live
up to my usual snide and dismissive standards in reviewing Gavan Andersson's
2007 EP Youth in Asia. 
Alex
Legg's album Healesville is a polished production. Well recorded
in London with an accomplished band, the driving sound nicely sets off
Legg's husky yearning voice (a little reminiscent of Van Morrison, at
times uncannily evocative of Peter Gabriel, sometimes hinting at Springsteen).
Love and longing
follow us through our lives, dogs that they are. Perhaps they begin following
us in childhood. Certainly by the teenage years, they’re well and
truly on our scent.
The
EU has announced an anti-trust suit against Apple and the major
record labels over inconsistent pricing of tracks on iTunes sites
in various European countries. This follows on the heels of the EU’s
reconsideration of its approval of the EMI/BMG merger. It said the original
approval was given after an “extremely cursory examination”.
The re-examination continues despite delays caused by the parties’
failure to supply required material on time.
Life has not
been easy for the subjects of this article; as one of them puts it, “to
achieve something, you must suffer first”. Perhaps taking that insight
into the deeper nature of the human condition as a challenge, Jane Cornwell,
the writer of the piece, entitled Music to heal the scars of war,
takes until the 327-word mark of the article’s 1285 words to make
any specific mention of the type of music the Refugee All Stars play.