Issue 20 Volume 1
November 2009
November 2009Front Page
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Issue 20 Volume 1
November 2009 |
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IS FREE WHERE THE MONEY IS? By David James Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail a book about the supposed “long tail” of small-scale commerce that would be unleashed by the internet, has followed up with a new book Free. It is a useful insight into the worrying business direction that is threatening all forms of business – the expectation by consumers, especially in the digital arena, that they should not pay for most of what they get. Like so many business trends, it was something that musicians had to contend with long before it entered the mainstream. At first glance, it is a breathtaking piece of hypocrisy. Anderson’s book retails for about $A30, leaving us in no doubt that he would not give his own product away for free. But what he is trying to address, albeit in glib and unconvincing fashion, is the contradiction that money can be made by giving things away for nothing.
REVIEW THE REVIEWERBy Peter Piper (pecks of pickled peppers picked while you wait) Reviewer: Kylie
Northover The amazing disappearing review
Is it OK for a reviewer of the reviewer to admit straight up that he has no knowledge of the artist, Aimee Mann, who is the subject of this review from The Age? After all, my subject is the review; not the artist. It is my job to assess the words on the page (or screen) for their efficacy in passing on to me the information they purport to convey, not to be an expert on every musician who may be the subject of such words. Admission impossible? Admission made. What isn’t ok is to be in the same state of “unknowledge” (ignorance is such a harsh, judgmental-sounding word) after reading the review in question. YOUR VERY OWN LIFE COACH This issue we welcome Sally Arnold to the Dues highly unpaid workforce. Sally is a life coach who specialises in working with musicians. Having had a highly successful career as both a musician and a business person, she knows what it takes to get you out of the garage and into paid work. This is the first in a regular column giving you the advice you need to get headed in the right direction (for your love and your kind affection). 
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URSULA YOVICH FROM DARWIN TO CARNEGIE HALL By Megan Albany
She’s trod the boards as a respected actor of both stage and screen (working with the likes of Baz Luhrmann and the Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Queensland and Adelaide Theatre Companies,) but despite winning a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor her first love remains music. A talented vocalist, she recently got to live her dream and perform at Carnegie Hall in New York. She has now returned home to tell her very personal story of growing up in Darwin in her new cabaret, The Magpie Blues – a play inspired in part by the birth of her first child just over a year ago.
Art for Art's Sake By Steve Smith
Send us your email, notes, memos, random thoughts, trenchant complaints. Tell us about your adventures, strugggles, disasters, disappointments and successes as a musician. 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 Victorian yokel...) Dear Uncle Terry, I’ve seen lots of stuff in the media about the government’s changes to industrial relations. Does this affect musicians? Do we even have musicians’ awards? Briony Dear Briony, Yes and yes, but it’s a complicated issue. There have been musicians’ awards for many years and the new system has rolled most of them into just two. This is all explained in an article in this issue. I would also suggest that you look at my column in Issue 3 to get an understanding of when these awards apply. Uncle Terry
The Combi Descending by Ralphie Von Wilhelm
Chapter The Prime: In which a splinter is introduced into the reader’s memory to lodge there as a wooden counterpart in their finger. Vance Splinter looked at his hands as his pale-blue combi van plunged off a cliff at Loch Ard Gorge and sailed like a pale-blue combi van (with the grace of a 3-tonne chunk of metal) onto the rocks below, to be converted into a slightly more compressed 3-tonne chunk of metal with attendant flames and screams.
For What It's Worth Music and money – both are five letter words – but you’d think the latter was a four letter word if you speak to most musicians. If you’re anything like me you’ve lived most of your life trying to get more music in your life but somehow ending up trying to juggle money and bills instead. You’ve probably studied a hell of a lot about music but never even read a book about money. Well I’m here to confess that I’ve recently gone from a lefty to someone who is still a lefty but with a much more developed interest in money. I’m interested in what it can do to help people live a creative life, to help people enjoy that life and more importantly to help people contribute to other people’s lives. I spent years believing that the best way to help poor people was to become one of them, which I suddenly realized was not very useful, so in the past few years I’ve actually started educating myself about money. As a result I’ve managed to help quite a few members of my family and bizarrely have actually started making money from music. There is now a push to have financial literacy in schools and to teach our children about not only saving but investing and I personally believe it’s time that artists, in particular, musicians, started to benefit from a good financial education. It is after all the one thing most musicians complain about – not having enough money or time for their art. So instead of waiting hopefully at the doors of record companies to magically win the musical equivalent of lotto – I think we should say goodbye to the romance of the ‘starving artist’ and invest a little time into empowering ourselves around money. Disclaimer:
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Live Music Pubs Go Down Under Not So
Friendly Fire Melbourne’s pub music scene has been in turmoil since the introduction of the new civilian liquor licence enforcers. The new booze cops are demanding that many music venues now provide security guards. There was lots of wild email traffic about the changes in the law but the real issue has been about a more efficient enforcement of existing licence conditions. The Musos Union got on the case pretty quickly with a press release and talked with the Arts Minister’s office. They also published an information paper on their website explaining what is actually going on (http://www.musicians.asn.au/musicandviolence). It seems that the government’s own research shows that there is no evidence that music is a risk factor in booze violence and that the existing conditions placed on venues were ill considered. Musos and venues have been up in arms and have even set up their own website to focus attention on the issue (www.smallvenues.com.au). The reaction is not surprising given the number of venues who have simply cancelled live music since they cannot cope with the additional costs of security staff. Apparently the whole debacle is a bit of “collateral damage” from the Vic government’s efforts to address inner city violence in venues. Shame this shot is so wide of the mark!! Musos should register support with the MUA (musiciansua@aol.com) and keep an eye on the websites above as the situation unfolds.
Cocktail Shaken But Punters May Not Be
Stirred First it was going to be called “Cocktail” but when finally launched it was shaken into “ITunes LP”. It’s the record labels’ attempt to add extra stuff to a digital album so they can convince punters to buy a whole album (like in the “good’ old days) rather than single tracks. Not surprising since their old business model took such a hammering in the move to digital (particularly the slashing of unit prices). Reaction from punters appears to be mixed… guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Part 15 of a series by Last time we established that promotion requires two things; something that can be promoted and a direction it needs to go in or at least a direction you want it to go in. We also came up with a definition of exactly what it is that we are trying to promote: “The thing we are trying to promote is whatever it is that you have that would make someone want to pay to see you perform” We will dig into this definition a bit further later on but for now let’s try to work out the second requirement.
by Hi again harmony enthusiasts. Your homework from last time was to work out the notes in all 12 of the “thirteenth” chords. Remember from last time that the thirteenth chord’s symbol is the note name of the tonic plus the numeral “13”. The note name indicates, as always, the 1st, 3rd and 5th of the major scale built on the note indicated by the note name. The “13” indicates the 13th degree of that scale (actually 13 is the same as 6) AND all odd numbers below 13. As noted last time when discussing the 11th chord 1, 3 and 5 get indicated twice. Also remember that this chord, being an “extended dominant” chord has a flattened 7th. Here’s the full rule on extended dominants again (if we keep repeating it maybe it will actually sink in!): “Extended dominant chords include ALL of the odd numbered notes in the major scale built on the chord name up to the numeral indicated AND the seventh is flattened.” So the notes in a 13th chord will be the 1st, 3rd, 5th, flat 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th degrees of the major scale. If you are confused, I suggest you go back and re-read the last installment. Let's look at them now in both letter name form and in musical notation. |
