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INDIE NEWS BEAT
October 5, 2004 Edition
*
Nationwide Search For Musical Performers Who Are Owed Royalties
* Psychedelic Pop Phenomenon Releases New CD
* House Approves Copyright Legislation
* George Thorogood And The Destroyers - 30th Anniversary Tour
* Warner/Chappell Music Names John Reston VP, Global Administration
* Susan Barth Performance At The Gig - Takes Us On A Tour Of "Wonderland"
* Larry Mattera Promoted To Snr. VP, New Media, Island Def Jam Music
Group
* U.S. Announces Major New Initiative To Fight Global Trade In Fakes
* IFPI Releases World Recorded Music Sales Figures
* Michigan Attorney General Begins CD Distribution
* Ward Leaves VEG Post, Remains As NARM Chair
* TMBG LLaunch First Artist Operated Download Site
* Ohio Musician Offers Florida Relief With Funds From New Live CD
SoundExchange:
Digital Rights Organization Announces Nationwide Search For Musical
Performers Who Are Owed Royalties
 SoundExchange,
the first performance rights organization designated by the U.S.
government to collect royalties on behalf of recording artists and
record labels, is conducting a nationwide search for featured recording
artists in order to disburse royalties owed. For the first time,
performers stand to gain from non-interactive digital airplayÜsatellite
radio, Internet radio and cable/direct TV radioÜin the United States.
If artists or their heirs do not come forward and register with
SoundExchange by December 31, 2004, they will lose their share of
the first royalties collected during the newly established organizations
first distribution cycle- between 1996 and 2000.
Unlike
ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, SoundExchange is the first institution to pay
the actual featured performers for the public performance of sound
recordings on which they appear, rather than songwriters, including
many recording artists who have previously not been compensated.
SoundExchange has already paid out almost $16 million covering over
200 million digital plays for approximately 6,000 members since
its establishment in 2000. Based in Washington, D.C., SoundExchange
is a nonprofit organization governed by a board of artist and label
representatives.
Among
the 38,000 artists who have not yet claimed their funds are such
diverse acts as The Shangri-Las (1960's girl group who sang the
hit "Leader of the Pack"), Black Sheep (1990's rap duo best know
for "The Choice is Yours") and The Count Five (garage rock band
who influenced many with "Psychotic Reaction").
Source:
Psychedelic
Pop Phenomenon Releases New CD
 Ella
Blame, a Psychedelic Pop, Psychedelic Dance and Ethereal/Ambient
duo has released its debut CD "Ella
Blame - Ineffable Desire" on September 22. Described as 'the
best of Bjork and Kate Bush mixed with Cleo Laine', singer Ella
Blame has a continuous vocal range of four (!) octaves as well as
an advanced and complex singing style. "Ella Blame is a strangely
hypnotic listen. Vocals are soothing, and the composition is enticing.
A kind of Fiona Apple type sound, but better, check it out!", MediaKinesis.com
writes.
Ella
Blame comes from a family of musicians - classic and jazz. Each
and every day during her childhood and youth, Ella heard music almost
around the clock: symphonic, operatic, chamber and twelve-tone music,
jazz of all styles, R&B, soul, funk, rock and pop. With a sonic
childhood as eclectic as that, Ella has found several talented composers
and musicians with whom she has produced around 60 songs of genres
Progressive Dance, Psychedelic Dance, Ethereal/Ambient and Extraterrestrial.
In late 2002, Ella has formed the "Ella Blame" duo with highly gifted
composer and multi-instrumentalist, Michael D. Temple from the Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, area.
With
her vocal cords, Ella can produce sounds that most music experts
consider having been generated by a synthesizer or by post-processing
equipment. However, Ella can produce these "strange" sounds without
using a microphone. "Ella Blame is ahead of her time. She's also
ahead in the production dept. ... Blame's vocals are what you notice
most. She's a mezzo-soprano who leaps the bounds of baritone, tenor,
alto and soprano," MusicDish. com writes.
Source:
House
Approves Copyright Legislation
 The
House today by voice vote approved legislation bolstering intellectual
property protection. H.R. 3632, renamed the "Intellectual Property
Protection and Courts Improvements Act of 2004," incorporates the
originally introduced H.R. 3632, H.R. 3754, H.R. 112, and H.R. 4646.
House
Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.),
stated, "Efforts to ensure that consumers are able to know whether
they are buying legitimate software, music, movies, and other forms
of intellectual property are being subverted by those who counterfeit
authentication labels and steal legitimate ones. These counterfeited
and illicit labels are then attached to counterfeit products defrauding
consumers into thinking that they have purchased a legitimate copy
of the product, when they have not. The middleman who traffics in
illicit and counterfeit labels can walk away from his crime with
no penalties. H.R. 3632 would close this loophole and ensure that
everyone who undertakes a scheme to defraud consumers faces criminal
penalties."
"In
addition, this legislation provides for additional penalties for
those who use false domain name contact information to commit crimes.
As Internet-based crimes continue to increase in number, updated
laws are needed to stop this growth," continued Chairman Sensenbrenner.
Source:
George
Thorogood And The Destroyers - 30th Anniversary Tour - Live In Europe
 Eagle
Rock Entertainment is pleased to celebrate 30 years of high octane,
hard rocking blues with the release of George
Thorogood And The Destroyers- 30th Anniversary Tour; Live In Europe
on DVD October 19, 2004. The performance will also be available
separately in the CD format on the same date.
Recorded
during the British leg of their European Tour in 2003, 30th Anniversary
Tour; Live In Europe shows blues-rock guitarist Thorogood showcasing
tracks from his recent 'Ride 'Till I Die' (Eagle Records 2003) album
together with favorites such as 'One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,'
'I Drink Alone,' 'Bad To The Bone,' 'Who Do You Love' and many more.
Concert footage is interspersed with behind the scenes footage and
interviews and bonus features include the promo film American Made
as well as acoustic versions of 'Ride 'Till I Die' and 'Merry Christmas
Baby.'
Drawing
inspiration from the likes of Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor and
Chuck Berry, George Thorogood never earned much respect from blues
purists, but his popularity couldn't be denied in the early 80's.
Thorogood's simple and direct approach to the blues allowed him
to open for his idols like Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters early in
his career. Taking riffs straight from 50's Chicago blues and adding
volume and intensity, George's approach eventually led to larger
audiences and repeated Gold records.
Source:
Warner/Chappell
Music Names John Reston VP, Global Administration
Warner/Chappell
Music, Warner Music Group's award winning music publishing company,
today announced the appointment of John Reston as Vice President,
Global Administration. Reston, who will be based in London and will
report to Nick Thomas, Senior Vice President & CFO, had previously
worked for Universal Music Publishing and its predecessor company,
MCA Music Publishing in a variety of senior administrative roles
in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe.
Commenting
on the appointment, Thomas said, "We have recently finished upgrades
in technology as well as the deployment of our industry-leading
rights management software and are now structured better than ever
to protect and exploit our copyrights on a worldwide basis. John
has invaluable global experience and will, I believe, maximize the
benefits of these state-of-the-art tools as well as aggressively
manage our continuing mission to be the best global administrators
of music publishing rights."
Source:
Susan
Barth Performance At The Gig - Takes Us On A Tour Of "Wonderland"
 Singer/Songwriter
Susan Barth
kicks off the evening of Saturday, November 6th, with a set at The
Gig, 8 PM. Featuring songs from her recently released CD "Wonderland",
Susan will be backed by her regular players including Jinsoo Lim
(lead guitar); Bill Cody (bass); Dan Carlson (guitar); Matt Starr
(drums); Emma Barton (harmonies).... and she happily welcomes Guest
Artists, Barrie Berg (percussion), Adrienne Woods (cello), Beth
Thornley (accordian) and Terry Spears (keyboards).
Susan
will take the chill off the night with her colorful voice and cleverly
crafted songs; songs comprised of an intelligent blend of modern
sounds and sixties sensibilities. Her material has appeared on the
WB's SMALLVILLE and TARZAN; she's had spins on KLOS, NPR's ALL THINGS
CONSIDERED as well as on College Radio;and she has won 4 ASCAP Songwriting
Merit Awards. She was recently named "Artist of the Week" and "Best
of the Batch on MusicDish.com" and was the "Track of the Day" on
Garageband.com.
The
Gig is located at 7302 Melrose Avenue; 323 936-4440.Ê
Source:
Larry
Mattera Promoted To Snr. VP, New Media, Island Def Jam Music Group
Larry
Mattera has been promoted to Senior Vice President, New Media, Island
Def Jam Music Group, it was announced today by Steve Bartels, president,
Island Records.
In
his new post, Mr. Mattera will be responsible for all aspects of
IDJ's new media strategy including: content development, online
marketing, digital commerce, wireless initiatives, and the use of
new technologies to maximize sales and break new artists. Mr. Mattera,
who is based in New York, will report directly to Mr. Bartels.
Mr.
Mattera has served as Vice President, New Media, Island Def Jam
Music Group, since January 1999, when he created and established
the department. Since then, he has been involved in every facet
of its business, including development of online marketing strategies,
consumer database and reporting systems, direct to consumer marketing
campaigns, and management of artist and label web sites. Under his
direction, the department also pioneered pre-release strategies
for digital commercial singles, developed an online demo submission
site for unsigned artists, and negotiated various cost-saving and
incremental income agreements.
Source:
U.S.
Announces Major New Initiative To Fight Global Trade In Fakes
U.S.
Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick joined colleagues from the
Departments of Commerce, Justice, and Homeland Security today to
announce a major new government-wide initiative, the Strategy Targeting
Organized Piracy (STOP!), to fight billions dollars in global trade
in pirated and counterfeit goods that cheat American innovators
and manufacturers, hurt the U.S. economy and endanger consumers
worldwide.
"Trade
in fake goods is growing, cheating American innovators and producers
out of billions of dollars and threatening consumers all over the
world with low quality and often unsafe products. This problem crosses
many different jurisdictions, laws and countries, and the STOP initiative
provides a coordinated and effective answer," said Zoellick. "The
message to the IPR pirates and counterfeiters is simple - we will
do everything we can to make their life miserable. We will stop
their products at our border; we will name and shame your company;
we will ratchet up the penalties; and we will coordinate with our
trading partners to prevent third-country trafficking."
From
familiar products such as CDs and DVDs to clothing, brake pads and
even automobiles, trade in fakes has been growing not only with
the United States but also between other countries, thereby escaping
the reach of U.S. law enforcement efforts. STOP! is broad in scope
and brings a new approach, new tools and new pressure to bear through
a coordinated effort from the federal government, the private sector
and America's international trading partners. The STOP! initiative
is the culmination of efforts over the last year to build on the
Administration's successful efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting
around the world.
Source:
IFPI
Releases World Recorded Music Sales Figures For First Half Of 2004
Global
sales of recorded music - audio and music video - grew by 1.7% in
units and fell 1.3% in value in the first half of 2004, compared
to the same period in 2003.
Audio
sales fell by 2.7% in value, while the music video sector grew by
20.2% driven by DVD music video, which increased by 26.6%.
Interim
sales of all audio and music video formats totalled $US13.9 billion,
compared to $US14.1 billion in 2003.
The
figures reflect a slowing of the rate of decline in music sales
of the past four years. This is the best first-half year result
achieved since 2000.
Sales
in regional and individual territories varied widely, with the effects
of unauthorised file-sharing on the internet and commercial piracy,
among other factors, still affecting many of the world's markets.
The
US music market is leading the recovery, while markets such as Canada,
Germany and Japan are showing a substantial reduction in their rate
of decline. But other markets including Spain, Italy and the Netherlands
are still weak, and more recent reversals have hit sales in France
and Australia.
Two
bright spots are DVD music video, which continues to show strong
growth and has helped offset the decline in audio formats. Meanwhile,
the growth of legitimate digital music downloads which suggests
a strong future for the online music market. These are not currently
included in official industry figures.
Source:
Michigan
Attorney General Begins CD Distribution
Michigan
Attorney General Mike Cox announced today the distribution of more
than 180,000 music CDs to statewide public schools, libraries, domestic
violence shelters, and a local early childhood development charity,
Partnership for Learning. The CDs were awarded to Michigan as part
of a national antitrust settlement involving several music distributors
and retailers. The CDs are valued at more than $2 million. Michigan
was one of 45 states that were awarded CDs to distribute to state
residents via governmental and charitable organizations.
"I
am glad that my office can bring the gift of music directly to so
many consumers across this state," Cox said. "All segments of Michigan's
population, from infants to the elderly, will benefit from this
distribution."
In
2003, Cox and 45 other state Attorneys General settled a national
antitrust lawsuit brought against several music distributors and
retailers for conspiring to fix CD prices. The $143 million settlement
included refunds for consumers as well as actual CDs for states
to give to those affected by the alleged price fixing. Cox requested
that Michigan's portion of the settlement be distributed to non-profit
groups, public schools, libraries, and the US military. The US military
received their 11,000 music CDs earlier this summer. This distribution
will be of 181,009 CDs to a total of 87 recipient groups. The value
of the distribution is $2,455,778.16.
Source:
Ward
Leaves VEG Post, Remains As NARM Chair
 2004-2005
NARM Board Chairman Glen Ward left his position as President and
CEO of Virgin Entertainment Group, effective Friday, September 17.
"During
a conference call today, the NARM Board affirmed its strong support
for Ward to remain as the Association's Chairman," said Acting President
Jim Donio. "Glen has already contributed so much to the organization,
and we are looking forward to continuing our work with him and focusing
on the goals we've established."
"Obviously
I am disappointed to be leaving such a great company as Virgin and
the incredible team that I have been so privileged to work with,"
Ward stated. "That said, I leave with the comforting thought that
during my six years in North AmericaÜthe last four as President
and CEO of the companyÜwe implemented some revolutionary initiatives.
These have benefited not only the company but also the retail and
entertainment community as a whole. It is my intention to seek out
a new challenge in this industry that I am so passionate about,
and in the meantime to focus my attention on continuing to fulfill
my duties as this year's Chairman of NARM."
Source:
TMBG
LLaunch First Artist Operated Download Site
In
a move currently uncharted in the electronic downloading game, Brooklyn
alt. rock legends They Might Be Giants have created their own artist
owned and operated downloading site. TheyMightBeGiants.com offers
99 cent downloads, and exclusive bundles of TMBG albums prorated
for $10, along with exclusive songs only available online. TMBG
enjoy a unique spot as one of the most downloaded bands online,
often popping into top ten download lists on Soundscan thanks to
heavy traffic through iTunes and other corporate download sites.
In
another move breaking away from industry practice, TMBG's MP3s are
free of encoding gimmicks and electronic watermarks. They can be
transferred from computer to computer effortlessly. The MP3s on
the TMBG download site are mastered in extraordinary fidelity (far
superior to even last year's technology).
Source:
Ohio
Musician Returns To Florida And Teams With The Red Cross To Offer
Relief With Funds From New Live CD
A
veteran solo acoustic entertainer from northern Ohio is returning
to Florida for his second winter season this October, bringing relief
from the recent hurricane disasters there by contributing music
to generate funds for hurricane disaster relief. Paul Rader, who
performs at Bear Bottom Beach Club in Key West every year, is donating
five hundred ($500) dollars cash and fifty percent (50%) of the
profits of his latest CD, Land of the Cover Band Live - Vol. I,
to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. For the remainder
of 2004 Rader will make weekly contributions to the fund that a
RedCross source says is already "strapped for cash."
The
Red Cross estimates damages in excess of $63 million dollars but
that does not include potential costs of Hurricane Ivan making landfall.
So far, they have only been able to raise $35 million dollars to
help families effected by the storms. When you look at the staggering
numbers, it would take to return everybody's life back to normal,
it seems completely overwhelming. "What I'm offering seems insignificant
by comparison but I'm hoping that it will inspire other independent
performers to do the same," says Rader.
Source:
 Provided
by the MusicDish
Network. Copyright © Tag
It 2004 - Republished with Permission
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