Front Page

MP3's AND QUALITY

By David James

On the face of it, MP3s are, at least partially, the saviour of the global music industry. Digital sales worldwide grew 940 per cent since 2004. In the same period, the overall music market revenues fell by about 30 per cent. In Australia digital sales have grown 10 fold since 2005. The overall music market has declined by close to 30% since 2001.

The effect of on-line piracy on the digital market is well known. In Australia, close to 60% of illegal file-sharers rarely or never purchase legitimate CDs, although the situation is not so problematic for digital downloads because of greater government understanding and some innovative anti-piracy practices from record companies.

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REVIEW

By Gianysh Toolsee

Music Deli Presents Archie Roach – 1988

I remember a lazy afternoon at my grandmother’s after a day at kindergarten, lying in the backyard under the filao trees, slowly tearing apart the green stems and waiting for time to pass. When I heard Archie Roach’s Beautiful Child for the first time, the lyrics touched me and reminded me how lucky I was to have had that small moment of paradise. So I am grateful to Roach, the acclaimed singer and songwriter from Mooroopna Victoria, for finally releasing this song and the accompanying album of his first ever recordings.

The album, Music Deli Presents Archie Roach – 1988, also contains a bonus interview with Roach where he talks about these early recordings and remembers being young, angry, struggling and trying to define his voice as an Indigenous man. Since then he has become the voice of Aboriginal people both through the lyrical weight of his compositions, and the simplicity and beauty of his guitar and compositions.

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RUBY MY LOVE

By Megan Albany

“How do you listen to the birds or see the blessed dawn? What do you say when there are no words, when the reason for words is gone? Never say goodbye, till we meet again.” Your loving husband Archie Roach.

It was with great sadness that we all learnt of the passing of Aunty Ruby Hunter. Not only was she a great songwriter and musician but she was also inseparable in our hearts from her true love and lifetime partner, Archie Roach.

The pair met when they were both homeless teenagers and went on to support and love each other through the tough times and into the good times that followed. They created some truly wonderful and heartfelt music as well as a family of six wonderful children (Amos, Eban, Arthur, Krissy, Terrence and Nathan). They also created history in the Australian music industry.

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RISING STAR GETS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

While our industry is changing by the second, there are certain skills that will always be required by musicians and performers alike and, who better to teach our Rising Stars than those who have learnt the necessary survival skills for life on the road. This month we look at the journey of one Rising Star and the veteran musician who helped him to get there.

The Tamworth Country Music Festival’s Star Maker competition has a reputation for producing well… country music stars. But for those in the know, the first step to star-status in the Aussie country scene, is actually serving your apprenticeship with one of the men who has been the backbone of country music – Brian Young.

This year’s winner of the Star Maker competition, Luke Austen, like so many of those who came before him, learnt the ropes touring with the outback country legend. For longer than he’d care to remember, Young or Youngie as he is more affectionately known, has been touring to the farthest reaches of the outback bringing music to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities who are normally well and truly off the touring itinerary.

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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.
(Uncle Terry is a grumpy old man who lives in a cave in one of the less fashionable corners of the Yarra Valley. He is not a qualified legal practitioner and he does not dispense formal legal advice. Neither he nor the publishers of "The Dues" accept any liability for the results of acting on the opinions, statements or recommendations expressed in his column)

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,

If a gig gets cancelled how much do they have to pay you?

Charles

Dear Charles,

The answer to your question depends on quite a few factors. If an award applies to your employment the minimum standard for a casual engagement is 48 hours notice of cancellation or the full fee must be paid. For ongoing or “Weekly” employment the minimum cancellation period is one week - to see if an award applies to you, and don’t assume that one does not, have a look at “Ask Uncle Terry” in the last issue.
“Uncle Terry - Issue 20”

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CDs and DVDs in review

Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton et al
Futon Madness: The Authorised Story of My First Year in Office
Donkey Vote Music 12345-678
$US42 billion and US8¢

To say drone is not to say monotony; take John Coltrane on A Love Supreme or Miles Davis on In a Silent Way as classic examples. And the current US president is another master of the drone.

However, are 12 CDs of Barack “Yes, We Can” Obama delivering speeches too many? Well, yes; in this reviewer’s humble opinion they could have stopped at six and this collection would have been a humdinger as well as a filibuster.

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Change

This edition, we pay a special tribute to Aunty Ruby Hunter who sadly passed away in ??? She was one of the many inspiring musicians that paved the way for the growth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music in this country. In a time where being ‘black and proud’ could potentially mean your children were taken away from you, musicians such as Ruby took to the stage to face not only their fans but critics and racists alike.

Much has changed both in Australia and globally since then and certainly this little editor did not ever expect to see many of these advancements in her lifetime. In Australia there are Indigenous leaders in every area of life from medicine to law and politics. Globally we have seen Nelson Mandela go from a political prisoner to president of a once apartheid nation and in America of course we witnessed the election of the first ever black president.

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Disclaimer:
Articles express the opinion of authors and not necessarily that of theMusicians Union of Australia. No responsibility is accepted for unsolicited material. The Dues makes every effort to use reliable, comprehensive information, but we make no representation that it is accurate or complete.

March, but not for justice

Thousands took to the streets in Melbourne recently to protest onerous requirements imposed on venues by the liquor licensing authority. The protest followed a long campaign, (see last instalment of “Intelligence” which received a recent boost following the closure of the iconic venue “The Tote’.

Prior to the protest the government had already offered changes to the requirements however these don’t appear significantly different to those offered afterwards! Venues and promoters have been extremely vocal about this issue. They clearly don’t like the idea of increased costs.

We notice that while they keep saying that they are acting to preserve the “vital Melbourne music scene” they are silent on any guarantees of decent payment for the musicians who actually make this scene happen.

MySpace swallows Immeem but musos still not paid

The hopes of Musos who used Immeem’s “Snocap” to sell their music online were briefly raised and then dashed. When MySpace bought Imeem, the multitude of musos who were never paid for their sales from Snocap were hopeful that Murdoch’s monster might cough up their dough. MySpace has, it appears, refused any liability as part of their purchase deal. Another warning to be “careful out there” when you use online service providers - no matter how high profile!

...more Intelligence

Part 16 of a series 

by
Bellaire Hillock

Last instalment I said that we would look at the internet and how it has changed, and not changed, the process of promoting a band.

Many people become confused about what the internet is because they imagine that it is simply a new method of doing what old media used to do. This is actually a reasonable approach if you choose the appropriate old media to compare the internet with, and thereby hangs the problem - most people don’t.

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HARMONY FOR THE COMPLEAT IDIOT
Part 19 in a series 

by
Holden Fairlane

Welcome back harmonophiles! Last issue’s homework was to work out the notes in some “WYSIWYG” chord symbols. Remember WYSIWYG stands for What You See Is What You Get. “Harmony - Chapter 18” To work these out we use the knowledge we now have about the chord symbol system plus whatever additional instructions are included in the symbol. OK, here we go!

C7(b5)
Firstly there is the letter “C”, the letter indicates that we need the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of a major scale and the fact that it is a “C” tells us that it is from the C major scale that these notes are taken.

Secondly we have a numeral seven. We all remember that 7 means flattened 7!! So we will add one of those. So far we have 1, 3, 5 and b7 of the C major scale. Now for the bit that’s left.

We see “b5” in brackets. This is the WYSIWIG part. These extra bits always add something, remove something or alter something from the notes that the rest of the symbols indicate. We know that a 5 is already indicated (see above) so, in this case, the extra bit is telling us to alter it. 5 becomes b5.
This gives us: 1, 3, b5, b7 of the C major scale.
Or:
C E Gb Bb

Too easy! Let’s try the next one.

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