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THE INDUSTRY STANDARD'S
B E A T S H E E T
A Weekly Report on the Convergence of Music and the Net
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| http://www.thestandard.com |
Tuesday, July 18, 2000
TOP STORY:
* Opposing Courtney: Napster and the Artists Who Hate It
NET NOISE:
* Clean out your ears at KissThisGuy.com
BEATS:
* Senate Highlights
* EMI Rolls Out Digital Music
DOT DOT DOT:
* E-mail floods Hatch, Leahy ... Ulrich is plenty rich, thanks ...
Myplay.com and Yahoo, not ... Wanted: Spinal Tap drummer ...
Epitonic.com correction
SOUND OFF:
* What's the funniest song lyric you've ever misheard?
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TOP STORY
~~~~~~~~~
Opposing Courtney: Napster and the Artists Who Hate It
By Julene Snyder
In the '80s, it was world hunger. In the '90s, Tibet. If recent events
are an indication, artists this decade have found a new cause celebre:
piracy.
As debate about Napster rages on the floor of the U.S. Senate, in the
media and elsewhere, a group of artists have coalesced to fight for a
cause closer to home: getting paid.
Last week, the newly formed Artists Against Piracy made its arrival
with an ad campaign in major newspapers. The list included a diverse
group of artists - such as Alanis Morissette, Hanson and Bon Jovi -
signing on to the ad's message that "If a song means a lot to you,
imagine what it means to us." The timing was deliberate, says founder
Noah Stone. "We wanted to support Lars on the day he was testifying in
front of the Senate, to make the point that Metallica, although they
took the lead, are not alone." Not all of the 67 artists listed are
heavy-hitters, but there are enough recognizable names involved to
lend credence to Artists Against Piracy.
Future plans for the group include recruiting artists for Internet
chats along with "town-hall style events either on MTV or VH1" Stone
says. "In the fall we're going to release a series of TV, Internet and
radio spots that are going to try to bring the artists' voice to the
table."
This all may sound like a bare-bones grassroots effort, but it's not.
The AAP has big bucks coming from - surpise, surprise - the Recording
Industry Association of America, as well as the National Association
of Recording Merchandisers, Disney, Myplay.com, and digital-rights
management firm Reciprocal. In other words, the establishment. While
Stone isn't releasing specific numbers at present, he says that he'll
be filing papers to have his organization be considered as a nonprofit
this week - which will make the finances of AAP an open book.
Noah Stone's father, Ron, is head of the music management company Gold
Mountain Entertainment, whose clients include Bonnie Raitt, Ziggy
Marley and Tracy Chapman. (It's notable that none of those three
artists are listed on the AAP manifesto.) Stone (the elder) is only
peripherally involved in AAP, but he's been a vocal critic of Napster
for at least half a year. He added his voice to an RIAA statement in
December of 1999 that was released the day the lawsuit against Napster
was filed: "It is the single most insidious website I've ever seen,"
he stated. "It's like a burglar's tool."
That sort of incendiary language is lacking in the comments of the
younger Stone. He wants to be sure that those who are paying attention
to the digital music issue know that AAP is not aiming to drive
Napster out of business. "Artists Against Piracy is not an
anti-Napster organization. That's the first thing that everybody
thinks, and I want to make it clear: Napster is a business. They
currently have no revenue source, but they intend to have one. They
want to be compensated for the work that they do, and artists really
want the same thing." But while Stone admits that finding one of his
songs on Napster was "exciting," that hasn't quashed his belief that
Metallica and Dr. Dre are right in suing the company for copyright
infringement.
The AAP isn't the only group to look to artists for wisdom on the
piracy debate. The Coalition for the Future of Music, which was
founded last month with the belief that "creation is valuable and
should be compensated" has as its goal to "draw together the strongest
voices in the technology and independent music communities to address
questions of music in the marketplace with a clear-eyed focus on the
interests of the artists." Co-founder Jenny Toomey, an indie label
owner and musician, says she doesn't see many similarities between the
two organizations, positing that her group is more interested in
dialogue than making a case in the media or on Capitol Hill.
So long as it's out in the open, Toomey has no problem with the RIAA
being involved in AAP's funding, though her coalition's manifesto says
flat-out that the RIAA "cannot be trusted." Says Toomey: "We think
that the RIAA needs to be on record as representing labels and not
representing artists."
For an interview with Noah Stone, please visit:
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,16931,00.html?nl=bts
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NET NOISE
~~~~~~~~~
KissThisGuy.com
We've all got at least one misheard lyric lurking in our past. (I'll
show you mine if you show me yours.) You know that feminist, disco
anthem, "I Will Survive"? Well, I thought I did too. But it turns out
that the actual lyric is, "And you see me, I'm somebody new, I'm not
that tender little person still in love with you," which is a far cry
from "I'm not that chained-up little virgin still in love with you."
Although I haven't added mine to the archive at KissThisGuy.com yet,
lots of other people have. My favorites among the more than a thousand
submissions include these little gems: From "I Can't Live," we have
the actual lyric ("I can't forget this evening or your face as you
were leaving") vs. the wrong-but-oh-so-Cameron-Diazian version ("I
can't forget the semen on your face as you were leaving"). There's a
certain plausibility about this line from Alanis Morissette's "You
Oughta Know" being rewritten from "It's not fair to deny me of the
cross I bear that you gave to me" to the more cuddly "It's not fair to
deny me of the cross-eyed bear that you gave to me." And who can
forget Aretha belting out, "You make me feel like a natural woman"?
Well, at least one (drug-addled?) listener heard it as, "You make me
feel like a man, sure, or woman."
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BEATS
~~~~~
Senate Highlights
A few words from the long table under the big lights.
Although the hearings in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee might
seem like moldy news by now, we can't resist commenting on a few pithy
quotes from the players involved. Among our favorites is this
startling image from Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.: "Let's not strangle
the baby in the cradle." (He was commenting on how new technologies
offer "new opportunities for artists and more choices for consumers.")
The garbled tenses award goes to EMusic.com's Gene Hoffman for saying,
"The reason my stock declined 70 percent is because Napster will
invalidate the concept of paying for music." Metallica's Lars Ulrich
wants legislation, dammit: "I think we're dreaming if you think we can
work this out ourselves. The differences are too deep on too many
levels." The coy semantics prize goes to Napster's Hank Barry for
insisting that "Napster simply facilitates communication among people
interested in music." And finally, the unintentionally hilarious award
goes to Sony's Fred Erlich who told the suddenly groovy Sen. Orrin
Hatch, R-Utah, that the company really does plan to distribute its
catalog digitally one of these days, "As soon as we stop defending
(our copyrights), we look forward to doing it." And that would be ...
oh, right around the dawn of the next millennium?
EMI Rolls Out Digital Music
Major label dips big toe into the murky waters.
Today EMI rolled out its "digital download trial," which lets the
consumer make purchases from among 100 albums and 200 singles in the
company's catalog. Retailers ranging from Amazon.com to CDPlus.com to
Virgin JamCast are among those who'll be offering the music, which is
available in Liquid Audio and Windows Media formats. Those who opt for
Liquid Audio have the option to use Liquid Player software, letting
them stream, download, playback and burn custom CDs. If you're looking
to add to your collection, albums include a plethora of David Bowie
records, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," NWA's "Straight Outta
Compton" (both dirty and clean versions), Blondie's "Parallel Lines"
and the ever-relevant Grand Funk Railroad's "We're An American Band."
As far as pricing goes, albums cost about the same as they are in the
record stores, and singles go from $1.99 to $3.99. The service,
originally scheduled to go live July 1, was rescheduled for launch
today, July 18. At press time, content had just gone live at "selected
Liquid Store affiliates."
DOT DOT DOT
~~~~~~~~~~~
E-mail floods Hatch, Leahy ... Ulrich is plenty rich, thanks ...
Myplay.com and Yahoo, not ... Wanted: Spinal Tap drummer ...
Epitonic.com correction
Turns out Napster users don't just like to listen; they enjoy sending
e-mail too. Reuters is reporting that more than 70,000 messages in
support of the file-swapping software have been received by Senators
Orrin Hatch and Patrick Leahy since the Senate Judiciary Committee
hearings were held last week. No doubt the letter from Napster CEO
Hank Barry on the company's Web site urging users to "get this message
to Congress as soon as possible" contributed to the deluge. ...
Metallica's Lars Ulrich just doesn't know when to stop talking and go
bang on a drum sometimes. He offered up this glimpse into his
lifestyle to Launch Media's Launch.com last Wednesday: "I think it's
sad and pathetic that the only counterarguments people can come up
with is, 'Like, don't they have enough money?' Yeah, we actually do
have enough money. I have more money than I know what to do with for
the rest of my fucking life, thank you very much for asking. The pool
is 88 degrees 24 hours a day, the kid's going to college ... I'm
fucking set!" ... There won't be a huge chunk of change coming
Myplay.com's way after all. It turns out that negotiations with Yahoo
came to an end without an acquisition or investment deal, according to
CNET's News.com. ... If you've always dreamed of being a drummer
yourself, enter Listen.com's contest for the next Spinal Tap drummer.
The winner gets a drum kit and a meeting with the band, but no actual
time on stage, which is probably just as well. ... Last week's item
about Epitonic.com's Blackbox intimated that Myplay.com wasn't
affiliated with Epitonic, but an Epitonic spokesperson assures us that
"they've been on our site for months and we aren't taking it away from
our users." Sorry about that.
SOUND OFF
~~~~~~~~~
This week's question: What's the funniest song lyric you've ever
misheard?
E-mail your opinions to julene@well.com with "sound off" in the
subject line, and we'll print a selection of the responses in next
week's newsletter. Letters may be edited for clarity and length, so
keep them short and include your name and affiliation, if any.
FEEDBACK
Last week's question: What rights would you sign away to possibly
catch the ear of a major label?
None.
- Bill O'Neil
To be a rock star? I would sell my soul to the man.
- Randy Jensen
Having been an ATCO recording artist in a former life, the notion of
exchanging any rights whatsoever for the off-chance of a listen is
preposterous. It has no precedent in the analog world (except,
perhaps, under the table) so why are we talking about it on the Web?
All you young hopefuls, send ME the money, and I promise to listen,
too.
- John Dodge
Let's see ... I can sign away my rights (in perpetuity) in exchange
for a fat advance (if I'm lucky) that the label will recoup before I
start to receive a pathetic 8- to 12-percent royalty. Out of that
advance money, my management and lawyers will take 30 percent (only 30
percent because they're related to me), plus I'll have to pay the
band, buy gear, get stage clothes and get ready to bust my hump on the
road so the label can see if I'm worthy of "support." Then my champion
at the label decides there's greener grass over there, splits, leaves
me in the lurch with no backing at the label, which cuts me loose.
Then I'll get bills from the label to recoup the money I spent already
to be worthy of the label's attention. Plus, I won't be able to sell
my work anywhere else. Gee, can I get some K-Y Jelly with that?
- Jody Lentz
VP of Buzz
eConception
STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder. Send news tips and press releases to
julene@well.com.
Edited by Steven Zeitchik (szeitchik@thestandard.com).
Copyedited by Elese Veeh (eveeh@thestandard.com).
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