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061 – Hear Us Now, Pay Us Later?

recorded 10 July 2008

In this episode:

4-AM Update (00:00:40)
A brief update this week with special surprise. I talk about video posting and which services I’m looking at top use for the 4-AM website and then I give you a brief taste of our sound with a excerpt of  the Come See About Me arrangement we did as a group the previous week. I also slip it in at the end of the show to close it out for the evening.

At Any Rate (00:06:20)

MyAWOL [UPDATE: site no longer exists] – An upcoming web 2.0 service you might want to know about and watch (it’s an acronym for My Artists WithOut Labels). It’s going to be part Music database (to launch within the next month or so), part online music community for unsigned artists, part indie label, part online venue and more. That’s a tall order to fill, and it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I reference a TechCrunch Article and a Digital Music News Article [UPDATE: Article can no longer be found online] to give as much information as possible.

Last.fm and Merlin – It would seem that Last.fm’s issues aren’t over after the fallout with Warner Music. according to the Hypebot.com Article and The Register Article, The global indie rights organization is stalled in certains aspects of their talks with last.fm and is warning its membership about the agreement currently in place. While this is to be expected when defining and redefining new delivery methods and revenue streams, among other things, there seems to be a of old school issues and mindsets on both sides here. There is a huge opportunity here, let’s see how it’s embraced. There’s probably another post in here somwhere as well.

Comments From the Podcast Gallery
Comments from fellow podcasters KimFenolio of Girls Night In, TVSeriesFinaleFan of The Plug show and SuperMom7000 of TV Talk.

You can always call 630.492.0487 and leave your comments via voicemail as well as send them in e-mail to [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you and play or read your comments on the show.

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-128410.mp3″]

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060 – Come See About Me Or YouTube Or…

recorded 03 July 08

On this episode of With A Voice Like This:

At Any Rate (00:00:54)
I take a look at the Judges’ ruling made Thursday in Viacomm’s suit against Google which instructs Google to turn over approximately 12 terrabytes of YouTube data to Viacomm, including Login IDs and IP addresses of users. People have issue with the case itself, but it’s to be expected that Corporate representatives of traditional media and the Internet go head to head to help definewhat’s allowable and what isn’t. Is the customer’s loss of privacy acceptable collateral damage in the court battle?

4-AM update (00:09:00)
There was a lot to talk about again this episode regarding 4-AM, the group and the website. So I talked about a lot of the work I’ve done on stage.4-am.net before go live. Plugins galore, starting with the Search Engine Optimization plugin in All in One SEO Pack and all that’s gone into that. Then the new tiltviewer Photo Gallery using both the NextGEN Gallery and NextGEN FlashViewer plugins, which are great and you need to see what you can do with them using your own flickr account. Amazing.

Then a quick discussion of what’s happening with the group, a new business direction and of course another new arrangement we did. This week’s was the Supremes’ Come See About Me. And we’re getting closer to a gig where we can do a live video stream so you all can see what 4-AM is all about.

And of course, Comments From the Podcast Gallery.

Speaking of, don’t forget you can always call in your Comments From the Podcast Gallery to the comment line at 630.492.0487. I’m more than happy to have your comments and to put them on the show.

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-127504.mp3″]

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059 – Mama Told Me Not To Go To Spain

recorded 26 Jun 2008

With minor apologies to Three Dog Night for the title, this episode of With A Voice Like This was all about:

4-AM update [00:01:27]
There was a lot to talk about here. Where the website is at, a new way of working up arrangements for the group, starting with the song Mama Told Me Not to Come and some of the fun things that happened with that. We also had a good talk about where we’re heading and what our focus is and I got the opportunity to show them how video streaming works on the web briefly.

Spain’s Digital Canon [00:17:00]
Yes, this is a further discussion about the new anti-piracy tax that Spain is instituting on July 1. It’s more in depth looking at possible reasons for Spain implementing it and what seems to be some of the pitfalls of the tax itself. I also got some feedback regarding Canada’s anti-piracy tariff. There are some interesting thoughts there. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on what was said.

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-124465.mp3″]

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Note: The day after I recorded this show, Gerd Leonhard released a post with video about the future of copyright. It’s very much worth a look and it’s nice to see that there are people out there who see that Copyrights still have their place, in a new form of course, but not throwing out all the protections with new technology. Another thing I think that the Copyrights would be useful for is a transistion framework, at least as they apply here in the U.S. Ah, what I wouldn’t give to have Gerd Leonhard on the show, I’d have a lot of things to ask and say.

Who Do You Want To Pay For Your Music?

Well, it’s happened. Spain has announced that beginning July 1, it’s instituting a special anti-piracy tax called the Digital Canon [UPDATE: Article referenceing this no longer exists online] , according to an article on Billboard.biz. It puts a tax on gadgets that can copy, record or store sounds and images. Yes, I said store too.

Sounds like a new spin on the old sin tax. Except, with the standard things a sin tax applies to, you actually have to participate in the sin, e.g. gambling, smoking or consuming alcohol. This is more like saying “We’re instituting an anti-stabbing tax on all kitchenware and cutlery” (don’t worry, I’m sure spoons would have the smallest tax in that scenario). The tool has the capability, so you are taxed whether or not you use, or even intend to use it for that illicit purpose.

Now based on the article, all the monies collected are given to Artists’ Rights Organizations for distribution to the creators of the art as compensation for money lost from pirated works. There is no provision for how the money is to be distributed, it’s just given to the Rights Organizations. How would you decide to distribute the money? You’re getting a flat fee based on tools without any tracking what works are being pirated or used or anything. Yeah, let’s just leave it up to the old way of doing things, I’m sure that’s fair. It’s sounds like most of Spain feels that way…Or not.

But don’t worry about it,  that’s Spain and not here. That could never happen here. An under informed government is never forced to take carte blanche on an almost out of control situation based on special interest groups’ input. No, not here.

So, what do you think? Does any of this matter? If we’re going to be charged on the Internet, and all indicators point that way, is this how it should work? Is it important that the creators of the art be protected and compensated for their works?

Who do you want to pay for your music?

Update: It’s been brought to my attention that Canada has an anti-piracy tax on recordable media (e.g. CDs DVDs) and did have a separate tariff on mp3 players (e.g. iPods) that has since been revoked/repealed. I haven’t found creditable sources for this info, are there any Canadians who could shed some extra light on this?

058 – My View – Music And The Internet Part 2: The Implementation

This episode of With A Voice Like This is the conclusion of how I’d like to see things work in regard to music and the Internet and distribution of both responsibilities and money.

  • Some quick clarifications from statements made last show.
  • A brief recap of Episode 057‘s (Part 1) major points

Music and the Internet is a Virtual Venue

  • Performers perform (Streaming)
  • Consumers pay (e.g. cover charge, all inclusive charge)
  • Consumers can also buy recordings and other merchandise above entrance fees
  • Venues (ISPs,  applications) are responsible for reporting and payment

Database

  • With new code, all streams, downloads, etc. are tracked and put in a database (Who holds the DB TBD)
  • No more sampling needed, just a direct pull of tracks from the database

Collecting

  • Performance Rights Organizations (PRO) could still collect, but pay based on actual numbers, not samplings
  • No PRO could collect for non-members and keep money if the performers either don’t join, can’t be found or don’t claim their money
  • Artists, Authors, Lyricists and Publishers responsibility is to secure a code so they are credited and paid for their works or not paid by their choice.
  • Any music without the code is flagged in database and action taken (example of software recognition at EveryZing.com [EDIT: 12-28-12 – EveryZing.com is no longer a valid website])

Comments From The Podcast Gallery

The Down side

This discussion is an overly simplistic layout of a very complex idea. Currently the Orphan Works Act almost passed in Congress and it seems very similar to what I’ve outlined here. You can hear it discussed at great length on Webcomics Weekly #38 from a visual artist’s point of view and its major weaknesses. I feel I’ve taken some of the things into account that were ignored in the Orphan Works Act and although not exactly the same, the pitfalls could be very similar.

On A Lighter Note

Here are examples of some voiceover work I had just recently done.

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-122531.mp3″]

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057 – My View – Music And The Internet Part 1: The Mechanism

A friend asked me in the aftershow of the Is This The Rights Thing To Do? series of episodes (047, 048 & 049) How I would like to see things happen with music rights and the Internet, so here it is, or at least Part 1.

At Any Rate
This week Warner records pulled out of its deal with Last.fm because the money wasn’t good enough. See Gerd Leonhard’s take on the situation.

Music on the Internet is Virtual Inventory

  • The three types of inventory
  • Tracking inventory

Tracking Mechanism (code) for the inventory

  • The 4 (or more) pieces of information the code holds
  • Where the code resides
  • Existing tracking capabilities
  • No more sampling in place of actual tracking
  • Retrofit back to songs with copyright of 1923 or later
  • Must be in place by 2018

Comments From the Podcast Gallery

Next Week
Next week will be the second part of this discussion Music and the Internet Part 2: The Implementation, where I talk about the roles of the Artist, ISPs, PROs and more in implementing this mechanism. Join me Live at 7:00pm CT on Thursday, June 19 or call in your Comments From the Podcast Gallery to 630.492.0487.

Listener’s Choice

This episode’s choice comes from Kim Fenolio, and it’s Summertime by Brother Love.

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And on the Fifth Day…

I finally got around to writing about last Thursday’s Tweetup in Geneva, IL. We were less than a quarter of a mile away from a section of town that they used to film part of the movie Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks.

Now this was my first Tweetup, so I only knew one person prior to the meetup. I wouldn’t have even known about it if it weren’t for Wendy setting it up and going the extra step of finding me through TwitterLocal and inviting me, among others. Anyway, Kim told me I was very high energy (I think that’s a kind way of saying I was talking the whole time). So I’m going to just give you a quick sentence or two about everyone that was there from my perspective so you see how much fun these things are.

(l - r) Wendy, Derek, Brad, Barbara and Jerome

(l – r) Wendy, Derek, Brad, Barbara and Jerome

Wendy is a great host and one of those people who is comfortable in any situation, whether it’s a business suit or jeans. She also wrote about the tweetup and has great pictures in this post [NOTE: this blog has since changed hands and although the article is the same, the authorship is attributed to Kelly McCausey, who was not in attendance that night].

Derek has three blogs, two of which update daily and the third weekly. We talked about consistency with the blogs and its hurdles and I have to I was impressed with his.

I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Brad, but I did find out that we live near each other, so there’s a good chance that we’ll run into each other at future tweetups so I’ll have another chance or two.

Barbara and I have a mutual friend, which lead us to discuss a lot of music and performance and its role in our lives and the mountains of Montana. She also does some work with (through? at?) the College of DuPage.

No matter what else, I’ll remember that Jerome rode his bicycle to the Tweetup from his job in Elmhurst. For those not familiar with the area, that’s about a 20-25 mile (32-40 kilometer) ride in traffic during rush hour. Wow, that’s all I can say.

I’ll try to keep Kim‘s short since I already know her and there’s too much to say here. A podcaster extraordinaire and unsung New/Social Media maven and Graphic Artist. Oh and my ride too.

Katie and Jeff
Katie and Jeff

Katie was the sole civilian (Non-Twitterer) at the Tweetup that night.

Jeff, among other things, has a startup called Edmodo and a really great camera that had me drooling as well.

Unfortunately, there were two people I never got the chance to say more than hello to:

Carolyn and Karen, who wrote and has pictures about the Tweetup on her blog in this post. I hope I get the chance to change that at the next Tweetup.

So I learned more than I thought in a short amount of time about people I knew nothing of previously and that’s what’s great about the Tweetups. People with a wide vareity of interests and a common tool for communicating those interests. Putting faces on Twitter names and finding out what’s behind them. If you have the chance, catch a Tweetup in your area or the next one in this area. Sounds like we’ll be doing them at least on a quarterly basis.

Thank you Wendy for organizing and inviting and making it all happen, I had a great time.

056 – Gone to that Big Tweetup?

This is a prerecording, please leave your name and number at the list of topics for this show:

  • The Fox River Tweetup
  • Update of 4-am and where we’re at
  • My fan mail to Dan Coulter at Blogs for Bands

There is no Listener’s Choice tonight, instead a tribute to Bo Diddley, one of the Fathers of Rock and Roll and capping it off, the song Bo Diddley Groove by Pierre Journel, found on the Podsafe Music Network.

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-118901.mp3″]

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055 – Forward Momentum

With A Voice Like This Episode 055 Topics:

4-AM rehearsal

  • First run through of my arrangement of Drift Away
  • Set for a possible gig Monday June 2nd
  • Review of the 4-AM website development
  • Discussion of Live Streaming Video

Testing Streaming Video

  • Running some tests of Streaming video delivery
  • Invites and info at my Facebook Group and Twitter Account
  • Test using music from my Christmas EP

The must have WordPress plugin for gigging bands

  • Gig Calendar plugin by Dan Coulter
  • How it works
  • What makes it great
  • The lone drawback and its workaround

A brief word about a Talkshoe announcement

Listener’s Choice

Teach Me by Ben Parsons comes from Lynn, host of Lynn in the PM and Living in a Chemical Soup

Links from this episode:

Blogs for Bands site of the Gigs Calendar Plugin for WordPress

With A Voice Like This Facebook Group

My Twitter account

Talkshoe blog entry about cash program suspension

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-118900.mp3″]

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Show and Tell Me What You Think

Well, I’ve gone and done it. I installed the Seesmic WordPress plugin that allows you to leave a video comment in response to my blog entries. I may even do a video entry or two along the way. Now I’m looking for a green screen so I can Chroma Key out everything but my eyes. Or maybe I’ll have a Mime do an entry for me. You never know.

[EDIT: I think a couple of you have tried to leave video comments and I didn’t realize it. They were held up in my comments and the text entry that shows is linking and as such I didn’t recognize it for what it was. I have that issue fixed by changing some of my settings. so if you left a video comment and you don’t see it, I more than likely deleted it. Don’t kill the messenger and if you’d like, give it another shot.

EDIT 2: It seems I have an naming issue that prevents the video comments from completing, put in a help request and I’ll update when these things are done.]

054 – City of Chicago vs. Live Music?

This episode of With A Voice Like This focuses on the draft of the Promoter Licensing Ordinance sent back to the Licensing committee for review due to a rapid response of the Music Community. The issue isn’t resolved, just put on hold for a bit longer. The topics include:

  • Background of the E2 tragedy which lead to this proposed ordinance
  • Point by point review of the draft’s exclusionary language defining Promoter
  • The 4 classes of licenses and their costs
  • What licensure requires and includes
  • Impact on the Chicago music scene as individual musician and from an economic standpoint
  • What you can do to be heard on the issue

And Comments from the Podcast Gallery

Listener’s Choice

This episode’s Listener’s Choice comes from Podcaster Rachel Ziese-Lecy, host of the Sims2 Challenges and co-host of Girl’s Night In. Her choice is from a band named Everyday Jones and the live version of ‘Here I am’ found on podsafeaudio.com.

Links used in tonight’s show:

Background on the E2 Tragedy:

Wikipedia

Chicago Tribune

Sites about the proposed Chicago Promoter Ordinance:

Chicago Music Commission

Draft of the proposal in PDF format

Chicago Artist’s Resource

CMC’s Ordinance Opinion Survey (result to be turned into mayor Daley’s office at 5:00 Friday, May 23)

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-115757.mp3?dl=1]

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053 – Where’s That Website At?

This episode is about building the band’s website and some input form its’ intended audience…you, including the polls at the last blog entry titled Poll Dancing – Bleeding Edge Style and a discussion of the results to this point. Also discussed:

  • Some of the decisions about why the website incorporates a blog
  • Where that blog belongs
  • Some of the plugins used in the blog
  • Some that are still being sought
  • The tone of the website

And of course Comments from the Podcast Gallery. Podcasters giving feedback included Kim Fenolio, one of the hosts from Girls Night In.

This episode’s Listener’s Choice is one of my own, The Truth by an Austrian a cappella trio named Mauf via the Podsafe Music Network.

Links from this episode:

My Polls about the 4-AM website hosted by PollDaddy.com

The staging site for 4-AM [EDIT: 12-28-12 staging site no longer exists]

Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin

Live365 Internet Radio

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-114872.mp3?dl=1]

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Poll Dancing – Bleeding Edge Style

While working on the 4-AM website, I had a couple (okay, more than a couple, but I’ll start there) decisions to make about what goes on the website and what will work best for my target audience which is bleeding edge, New Media early adopter types like you. Yes, you are, you’re reading this, aren’t you? Anyway, that’s why I’m asking you. It’s always best to go straight to the source and there you are. Let me know what you think, I have no doubt that you will come up with some things I’ve never even thought of, you’re good like that. The other choice works even if you choose one of the choices in the list, so don’t hesitate to add it, if you think of something.

 

 

Thank you for letting me know what you think.

052 – Can I Get A Little Help Here?

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 [email protected], call it into the Comments From the Podcast Gallery voicemail at 630.492.0487 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 [Edit: Site no longer exists], at myspace.com/lauraclapp and www.lauraclapp.com.

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-111970.mp3?dl=1]

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051 – A ca What?

This episode of With A Voice Like This was prompted by the arranging I am doing for 4-AM and an announcement of a new contest for original a cappella pieces. There is a lot of confusion about a cappella music and what it is and so I thought I’d spend an episode exploring some good places to find out more information about it and give you access to a couple of podcasts featuring a cappella music. So here’s the list of links from this episode:

First, the A cappella originals songwriting contest submissions accepted through June 15 at:
[NOTE: page no longer exists]

The sponsors of the competition:

Vocality – A Colorado Vocal Ensemble

Virtual Voices [Edit: while the site still exists, it is not the same services as discussed in this podcast] – A company that helps sell your products on the Internet

Vocomotion – Recording studio and Labs producing products for A cappella singers

A cappella Organization

CASA.org – The Contemporary A cappella Society

A cappella Podcasts

A cappella Originals from casa.org

The Acapodcast with Chad Bergeron

And Finally, Listener’s Choice

This episode’s choice came from Kim Fenolio of Kimfenolio.com and the Girls Night In Podcast.

Kim sent in an introduction for Not Responsible by Podsafe Music Network artist Laura Clapp

[audioplayer file=”http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-52008/TS-109028.mp3?dl=1]

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