The Performance Rights Act is up for a vote this week. Speaking as a performer, the premise of this Act is long overdue, that performers deserve to be paid for their work  every time their performance is played on air by terrestrial radio. But from what I’ve seen and heard, I have questions that the execution suggested in this act could be flawed.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is the main proponent against the passage of this Act. I’ve seen articles calling this a ‘performance tax’ implying (and I think I’m being generous here by saying implying) that the money goes to the government, to the argument that it’s free advertisement for the performer. I’m just going to draw a straight comparison to broadcast television. Any performer on television, be it in a commercial, movie or television show, gets paid whenever their performance is broadcast, no matter how much they got paid for the initial performance. It’s called a residual and for that matter, voiceover artists that do commercials on radio get residuals as well. I wonder what SAG or AFTRA would have to say if broadcast TV tried to not pay residuals saying it was free advertising for the performers.

That’s just one part… the next part is the breakdown of payout. Based on the segment of episode 096 of With A Voice Like This at the 06:44 minute mark the payout would be 50% for the master owner (read record label) and 50% split between main performer and session musicians (45% for the main performer and 5% split between the session musicians was quoted in the show). Well, no wonder the RIAA backs this ACT, their cut is 1% shy of controlling interest payout. Not all Master owners are major labels, Alice Peacock is an independent artist and her own record label, so it benefits different people in different ways, but the question then becomes what’s the percentage of indie labels vs. major labels played on terrestrial radio. It does beg the question of what’s fair for the performers. Are performers a disparate group like a child first learning about money and just as likely to take four nickels instead of two quarters because four is more than two? Because afterall, something is better than nothing at all.

Come to think of it, who does handle the royalty payouts? Wouldn’t it seem a natural fit for pre-existing Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) like ASCAP and BMI to expand their current charter and duties to handle that? Maybe, but instead a new single entity, Sound Exchange was created for Digital Royalties, including all performance royalties under this Act. At the 25:59 minute mark of episode 096, Sound Exchange seems to be doing a great job of finding that information and tracking down performers, but unlike ASCAP and BMI and even SESAC, Sound Exchange collects all Digital Royalties regardless of whether or not a performer is registered with or a member of Sound Exchange. In episode 048 with Samantha Murphy at the 08:05 minute mark, Sound Exchange has some strong ties to the RIAA, but despite that, there’s the question of what happens to the collected royalties that aren’t paid out, because the performer isn’t registered or a member of Sound exchange, deceased performers where no heirs can be identified or performers from countries that don’t have reciprocal agreements with Sound Exchange? Does that money just revert back to Sound Exchange and is that the best that can be done? If it’s collected without registration or membership, why isn’t it paid out under the same conditions?

With Technology so far ahead of an dated protection mechanism like the current copyright laws that are so desparately in need of an overhaul, is saying HR 848 is not perfect, but better than it is now enough or should we expect more?  I don’t know, what do you think?
 

Performance Rights Act – my two cents on HR 848 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 13 May 2009.

Recorded 30 December 2008

The end of the year is here and on With A Voice Like This I took a bit of a look back at various stages among them were:

4-AM

• Wrap up of the last Christmas gig of the year
• Quick results from the Oak Park  gigs

News You Can Use

• Started with the RedOrbit article Single-Track Digital Downloads Death Knell To Artists?
• That started the discussion about where music is now and where it needs to go
• It also brought up the Future of Music Coalition and the Chicago Music Commission
• A lot of good discussion points and questions brought up with Comments from the Podcast Gallery, including show host Andrea from Geek is Chic.

Shows that played My Music

• The Second Floor Lounge SFL 042 – Christmas Angel
• The podbook MOREVI by Tee Morris – The Wassail Song

And a special tribute to a friend and fellow musician, Morton Pliskin

[00:41:58]

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

084 – Goodbye 2008 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 30 December 2008.

This Episode of With A Voice Like This:

Hey, I’m not too proud to ask for help. I’m a little stymied trying to help the rest of 4-AM understand what the Internet can do for the group. They seem to see a website as mainly a virtual brochure for the group. I know it’s much more than that but I find myself in the unenviable position of new information not having the same impact when a colleague shares it as it would if it were shared by an outside expert.

This is where you come in. Give a listen, you’ll hear a few of my ideas and I’d really like you to share yours. You can drop me a line at contact@WithAVoiceLikeThis.com, call it into the Comments From the Podcast Gallery voicemail at 206.350.8955 or just leave a comment here. I look forward to your input.

By the way, does anyone know if PodCamp Chicago is still on for June 6-8? the information has run dry and I thought that would be a great venue to perform at and give the rest of the group a taste of what the Internet can do. Let me know.

Listener’s Choice

Well, this episode’s Listener’s choice is a bit of a do over. Kim Fenolio pointed out to me that there were different versions of Laura Clapp’s Not Responsible available and I managed to miss the one that Kim liked best. So to make up for it (since this is Listener’s Choice), I played a Laura Clapp twofer, The accoustic version of Not Responsible and Let It Rain. You can find Laura’s music on the Podsafe Music Network, at myspace.com/lauraclapp and www.lauraclapp.com.

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

052 – Can I Get A Little Help Here? originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 8 May 2008.

Originally this episode was to feature an ASCAP representative, but the timing didn’t quite work out for this show. so the discussion turned to an overview what issues were facing on the Internet with music and content in general.

Topics discussed are:

• ASCAP’s take with the Songwriter’s Bill of Rights using rickrolling as an example.
  
• Music leads the Internet charge in content and how it delivery is being monetized and even moving toward regulation
• Why does the same free content on the web suddenly become worth charging for and being paid for in a different format?
• Content on the web isn’t really free? Someone’s making money on content.
• Protection versus Statements of rights by a subset of people
• The different factions involved in the music on the Internet trying to stake their claims
• Limited past delivery systems versus the Internet’s near limitless capabilities
• Protections versus Control
• Net Neutrality
• Selling your Privacy for convenience
• The double-edged sword of easy access
• Comments from the Podcast Gallery
• What’s Freedom without responsibility?

Links discussed in the show:

ASCAP’s Songwriter’s Bill of Rights

My previous post The Perception of Value

Podcasting Legal Guide wiki and in PDF format

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

049 – Is This the Rights Thing to Do? Part 3 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 18 April 2008.

This episode of With A Voice Like This is the conclusion of the discussion with Independent Singer/Songwriter Samantha Murphy of SMtvMusic.com stemming from the April 10 release of ASCAP‘s Songwriter’s Bill of Rights.

topics in this episode include:

• Government’s role in resolution of these issues
• Sound Exchange, its background and methodology
• What Samantha is doing to put action behind her viewpoints
• The role of Education in music and the Digital Age – meisa.org
• Questions and Comments from the Podcast Gallery
• Creative Commons

Links discussed in this episode:

Samantha Murphy at SMtvMusic.com

Samantha’s e-mail is sm@smtvmusic.com

Performance Rights Organizations: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, Sound Exchange

Samantha Murphy’s article written for a Princeton Symposium

Samantha also works with DigitalFreedom.org/

SaveNetRadio.org

Fading Ways Online

MEISA.org – Music & Entertainment Industry Student Association

Lawrence Lessig article – Commons Misunderstandings: ASCAP on Creative Commons

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

048 – Is This the Rights Thing to Do? Part 2 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 14 April 2008.

Thursday, April 10, just in time for their big ‘I Create Music’ ASCAP Expo in LA, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) released their Songwriter’s Bill of Rights. In this episode and the next, recorded live on April 10, I discuss this with Samantha Murphy, an independent singer/songwriter and outspoken proponent of change for how music is delivered, monetized and protected in the digital age.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Samantha’s unique experience as a professional performing musician since the age of six
• The Songwriter Bill of Rights read
• Transparency of PROs and their methods
• How this affects Net Neutrality
• The effect of the Internet on music delivery
• One PRO’s line in the sand
• Who do we turn to, the Government?

The conclusion of this discussion with Samantha Murphy can be heard in episode 048.

[Additional Note: At the beginning of this episode, I made the statement that ASCAP's Bill of Rights was to benefit performers. As Samantha pointed out, while you can have a performer account with ASCAP, it is a completely separate entity of its own and this Bill of Rights deals only with Songwriters.

Edit: A further clarification from Samantha is that the two types of accounts are Writer and Publisher, not Performer .]

Links from this episode:

Samantha Murphy at SMtvMusic.com

Performance Rights Organizations:ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, Sound Exchange

ASCAP Songwriter’s Bill of Rights

Portfolio.com article about the ASCAP Bill of Rights by Sam Gustin

Portfolio.com article Paying the Piper by Sam Gustin

Samantha Murphy’s article written for a Princeton Symposium

Samantha also works with DigitalFreedom.org/

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

047 – Is This the Rights Thing to Do? Part 1 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 10 April 2008.

This Episode of With A Voice Like This is a bit different than past episodes in that I’m straight forward on a mission. A lot of static is floating around the Internet on various topics and so it was my turn to state my feelings on a few things. Among them were:

• Gary Vaynerchuk’s two minute videoblog from March 25 (If you haven’t seen this, you really should)
• Web 2.0 as the savior of Good
• Using the internet as a tool
• Free music and content on the Internet
• Copyrights and Creative Commons (and my basic understanding)

As always Comments From the Podcast Gallery rounds out the show.

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

045 – You’re A Tool originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 27 March 2008.

12:45pm Well, as promised, I’m making this entry from the road on my way to Luxemburg, WI to play at the Northbrook Country Club tonight.

I’m starting to see the results of some of timing of the project and how some of my choices are working out. 2:27 pm Out of the six songs I’ve recorded, three are getting ‘airplay’ on podcasts, with Deck the Halls being the most played, followed by both We Three Kings and The Coventry Carol. 3:05 pm I thought that We Three Kings would have been the one to be played the most, but it really doesn’t make much difference which song is being played the most as long as they’re being played, right? And the fact that half of the songs that are available are being played means that the songs are appealing to a wide variety of tastes, which is a great thing. And I get feedback, like Molly’s comment on the podcast. you just can’t beat good planning.

Podcasts that played my music this week:

CaffiNation – Dec 13, CaffiNation 189 – Deck the Halls
Ikthuscast – Dec 13, Ikthuscast 39 – The Coventry Carol

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Episode 034 – Day 43 – The Amazing Growing Blog Entry originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 13 December 2007.

The funny thing about brainstorming for me, is that I usually get insights in other areas as a side effect to the brainstorming I did. There are many ways you can limit yourself and one of those ways kept me from doing what I knew I could when recording Christmas Angel. hear the difference between last night’s tracks and the first one today and then again between that one and the final recording tonight prior to any post production. You’ll hear the difference, for sure. and of course, Comments from the Podcast Gallery.

I have

• An edit ready recording of Christmas Angel

There will be no podcast tomorrow, Friday November 23 or Saturday November 24… as I will be appearing in A White Christmas Holiday Revue at 7:30 pm (both nights) at:

Stone Harbor Resort (links to Resort’s website)

107 N. 1st Ave

Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 (links to map of Resort location)

Tel. 877-746-0700

Come on out and see the show and look for me afterwards. I’ll be the one with the Goatee.

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Episode 017 – Day 22 – Look Deep Inside Yourself Luke, There’s Music originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 22 November 2007.

This episode is a personal brainstorming session. As part of this session I play three different recordings of Christmas Angel and discuss the differences in the recordings as well as what lead to those differences and rate them. Also: Art on a schedule?, Redefining the project? or shelving it?, relieving pressure, having fun with the music, giving myself a break and Catharsis and getting back into the groove. comments from the Podcast Gallery

I have

• Relieved some of the pressure I’ve put on myself

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Episode 016 – Day 21 – ‘This is my Brain’…storm originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 21 November 2007.

This update pays the latest version of Christmas Angel and I talk about what I do and don’t like and play it a second time after discussing it. Other topics: What I do when my voice gets tired, The Vocal Fry, A Stanley technique, Sports drinks vs. energy gel packs, my old friend water, taking a break and coming back, thoughts about Bobby McFerrin and Comments from the Podcast Gallery.
I have

• An almost completed song that once done, It will be Tweeted that it’s out!
• A homemade Lemon meringue pie waiting for after the show.

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Episode 015 – Day 20 – Self-critique originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 20 November 2007.

When I’m in the middle of a project like this or I’m singing a lot, like the Christmas caroling work, sometimes I forget to listen to music. I’m not one of those people who can have music playing in the background when I’m doing other things, there are some exceptions to that rule, but not many. And a part of me sometimes wishes I could, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, if I had the choice.

I used to explain away with my music education, always having to analyze and critique but it’s really more than that and part of the reason I got involved in music at all. Music grabs my full attention… it doesn’t wait for me to listen and pay attention, it takes it. And that’s what appeals to me about it. And it works for listening to or making music.

The reaction is different for different pieces. Sometimes it’s being moved to laughter, sometimes to tears and sometimes to that slight smile of something remembered. Sometimes to dancing, sometimes to silence and sometimes to awe. And sometimes…To everyone and everything around you disappearing.

It’s not always dramatic, but it’s always something…It’s always there. And that’s why, especially when all the music is flowing out from me, that I have to stop and remember to listen to music, to get some of that back.

Day 18 – Sometimes I forget… originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 18 November 2007.

The conclusion of My Guest stint on The Indigo Room: Creating Our Reality

What I’ve learned to This point, Talking to the virtual world, Susan Reynolds, “Jim’s 17 seconds on steroids”, The Podcast Gallery, More than 60% Mouth, Self promotion and honesty, looking forward to the rest of the project, Q&A, Rights to songs, an impromptu singing of ‘A Round for the Holidays” and Comments from The Podcast Gallery.

I have

• Two new Shockmounts for my condenser microphones
• My first experience as an interviewee – on The Indigo Room: Creating Our Reality

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Episode 012 – Day 16 – Interview Part 2 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 16 November 2007.

The first part of my Guest stint on The Indigo Room: Creating Our Reality with Sydney Chase and Diana Kessler. Original air date November 16, 2007.

My background and experience, My Holiday performances and other shows, Common Time: The Aural Report, My education in music, publicity, The first verse of Christmas Angel (at approx. 14:50), Overview of the “With A Voice Like This” and the Christmas project, an abbreviated daily update, motivation and inspiration, How this interview came about.

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Episode 011 – Day 16 – Interview part 1 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 16 November 2007.

Well, I got my memory issue resolved… Yay! Now to tackle the sound quality issue that developed as well. I talk about the frustrations of that and everything I tried to resolve it. If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations for things I either didn’t try, didn’t think of or just didn’t know after listening to the podcast, drop me a line at either contact@withavoicelikethis.com, leave a comment in this blog or a voicemail at 206.350.8955, I’d appreciate it. I use analogies galore in explaining the quality (or lack thereof) in the recorded sound, what I’ve done and what I’m going to do. Comments from the Podcast Gallery that are helpful and bring some new insight and more excitement about tomorrow’s appearance on The Indigo Room: Creating Our Reality with Sydney Chase And Diana Kessler and their exciting news about streaming their show in Second Life.

I have

• Resolved the memory issue with my computer from yesterday
• An interview tomorrow night on the Indigo Room: Creating Our Reality

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Episode 010 – Day 15 – Recording Underwater originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 15 November 2007.

This update goes deeper into my views of sound overall, Acoustic vs. Electric vs. Electronic, and how my understanding of it helped me help myself when laying down tracks and making it easier for myself when it comes to post production editing. The things that made it past just a general knowledge into an understanding I didn’t have before. then a word about personal appearances, reviewing With A Voice Like This on iTunes, playing a new version of Christmas Angel and, of course, comments from the Podcast Gallery.

I have

• A much better way to lay down tracks that makes it easier for me to sing
• A way of being able to do post production that makes sense to me
• A way to remix the song A Round for the Holidays
• A goal of finishing Christmas Angel and playing the finished product tomorrow night

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Episode 008 – Day 13 – A Touch of Sound originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 13 November 2007.

Topics covered:

1. Implementing changes in my scheduling
2. Changes Christmas Angel
3. Succumbing to urges
4. Business Branding items?
5. A Recap of the entire project
6. Comments from the Podcast Gallery
7. Personal appearances
8. iTunes Review! You write them, I’ll accept them. (c;
9. More shameless self-promotion

I have

• A better guide for the song Christmas Angel
• Two shock mounts for my condenser microphones purchased and on their way to me.
• A new e-mail address contact@withavoicelikethis.com

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Episode 007 – Day 12 – Changing the Same Changes originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 12 November 2007.