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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, August 29, 2000
TOP STORY:
* What the Debates Won't Tell You: Bush and Gore on Digital Music
NET NOISE:
* RATM.com: The Official Rage Against the Machine Site
BEATS:
* A Deal for The Rosenbergs?
New York-based band may be remaking the contract model
* Dot Dot Dot
MP3.com in court ... Epitonic's "mix tapes" ... The weekly spews ...
Survivor loser
SOUND OFF:
* Which candidate will best further your digital-music agenda? Why?
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TOP STORY
~~~~~~~~~
What the Debates Won't Tell You: Bush and Gore on Digital Music
By Julene Snyder
Bungled pronunciations, public displays of affection. With all this,
uh, serious discussion surrounding the presidential candidates, we
turn to a topic closer to our hearts: digital music. Who'll be the
best choice for those consumed by issues like the changing nature of
copyright, file-sharing, work-for-hire clauses and explicit content?
Before you answer, consider the conclusions of political psychologist
Aubrey Immelman, an associate professor at the College of Saint
Benedict and Saint John's University. He's made a career out of
studying the personalities of politicians, and he sees troubling
traits in both candidates.
"Gore's personality type can have an us-vs.-them mindset," says
Immelman from his Minnesota home. To illustrate the point, he quotes
from Bob Zelnick's critical biography, "Gore: A Political Life":
"'While serving in Congress, Gore had a mind that could run in
stubborn ideological circles and was most motivated when he could play
white knight. His solutions were often punitive.'"
"He's likely to pick some kind of enemy," says Immelman, "and if
Tipper really cares about (extreme content in music), Gore could
become moralistic about it and dig in his heels." On the whole, he
sees Gore as much more likely to get involved in pop culture battles
like those currently raging in the courts over copyright, file-sharing
and work-for-hire.
Perhaps surprisingly, Immelman sees Bush as the more conciliatory of
the two: "George W. Bush doesn't like to rock the boat. Even though
the Republicans tend to be more conservative, Bush is not likely to be
as moralistic as Gore. Still, he may have more pressure on him to
act."
Of the pair, Gore is clearly the more tuned-in to both the pop culture
landscape and the Internet, says Immelman. "Though Bush had a frat-boy
image when he was younger, he didn't get into the '60s
counterculture," Immelman points out. "Gore is probably more aware of
pop culture than one might think. He's admitted that he's a Grateful
Dead fan."
Deadhead or no, a Gore win is hardly a slam-dunk for fans of
technologies like peer-to-peer file-sharing and for those who hope to
see the entire music industry torn down and rebuilt from the ground
up. Gore's personality profile (posted on Immelman's Web site at
www.csbsju.edu/uspp), lists one of his limitations as having a
"self-defeating potential for dogmatically advancing a favored policy
or principle in defiance of legislative or public disapproval." Uh oh.
For his part, W signed a Texas bill into law in 1997 limiting the use
of state funds to "invest in any private corporation or other private
business that owns 10 percent of a corporation which records or
produces any song, lyrics, or other musical work that explicitly
describes, glamorizes, or advocates" a variety of offenses ranging
from assault to illegal drug use to degradation of females.
"Follow the money," Deep Throat advised in "All the President's Men."
No easy task: The Center for Responsive Politics reports that in 1998,
a cool $29.6 million was spent on lobbyists who were presumably
pushing the entertainment industry's agenda. Among those dollars were
$136,300 in political-action-committee contributions for the 1999-2000
election cycle from the American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers (with 61 percent going to the Democrats and 39 percent to
the Republicans), and $374,233 from the National Association of
Broadcasters (with just 28 percent to the Democrats and 72 percent to
the Republicans).
Of Time Warner's $264,750 in PAC contributions this year, 52 percent
went to the Democrats and 48 percent went to Republicans. A similar
picture can be found at Universal, which gave 44 percent of its
$108,250 in contributions to the Democrats and 56 percent to the
Republicans.
As for celebrity contributors, Bush has a few recognizable names
ponying up $1,000 each to his campaign - with Pat Boone, and country
artists Larry Gatlin and Loretta Lynn among them. Gore has the likes
of Sheryl Crow, Glenn Frey and Lisa Loeb among his big-deal
supporters.
But for perhaps the most telling stat, look no further than - who else
- Hilary Rosen. The Recording Industry Association of America head has
contributed $1,000 to Gore for his campaign.
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Click URL:
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Copy: Get Inside.com - your 24/7 insider's guide to the entertainment
and media industries. Come to the one-stop source for fresh, smart
information, analysis and data for professionals in the music, film,
television, radio, magazine, newspaper, web- and book-publishing fields.
Click on Inside and take advantage of our FREE charter 30-day trial
offer.
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NET NOISE
~~~~~~~~~
RATM.com: The official Rage Against the Machine Site
The intro alone gets your expectations and dander up, hammering out
the word "RAGE" with rat-a-tat flair before punctuating the sentiment
with the stark addendum, "The Battle of Los Angeles." While you might
think that there's a connection between that line and the recent
Democratic National Convention in L.A., the album from aggro band Rage
Against the Machine actually came out on election day in 1999. This
official site is cleanly designed without a lot of annoying bells and
whistles, just pointers to loads of photos, set-lists from past shows,
calls for action on issues like the Mumia Abu-Jamal case and freedom
of choice, along with a recommended reading list for those of you who
want to fight the power but need a little help figuring out just where
to channel your energy. There is a lot of bombast scattered about this
site - as there is in RATM's music and lyrics - but it's tempered with
a sincerity that's nigh-on irresistible. Check out the latest video
online, find out about the upcoming tour, chat live with other fans or
post to the bulletin boards for posterity. While a visit here won't
get you as sweaty and fired-up as a live show would, it's the next
best thing to being there.
BEATS
~~~~~
* A Deal for The Rosenbergs?
New York-based band may be remaking the contract model
When The Rosenbergs said thanks-but-no-thanks to what they called a
"cyberscrewing" contract with Farmclub Online back in February, it
seemed that the New York-based band was either being very naive, very
brave or very stupid. But the outpouring of support - and publicity -
in the wake of its decision to kiss off Jimmy and Doug's Farmclub (an
affiliate of the Universal Music Group) has proved that the band was
definitely very smart. This Monday, they announced a deal with
Discipline Global Mobile, a U.K.-based indie label that was founded by
well-respected musician and King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. This
deal differs in substantial ways, reports The Industry Standard's
Michael Learmonth: "The Rosenbergs keep their masters, and DGM acts
more like a venture capitalist, investing in building the band's brand
and enjoying revenue beyond CD sales, such as Internet revenue,
concert receipts and merchandising." The eyes of other bands who are
looking for a way out of the traditional big-label system will
doubtless be following this one closely, hoping that a day is coming
where everyone gets paid, the artists wind up owning their own music
and dancing celebrants fill the streets. Hey, we can dream, can't we?
To read more, click here
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,18039,00.html?nl=bts
* Dot Dot Dot
MP3.com in court ... Epitonic's "mix tapes" ... The weekly spews ...
Survivor loser
Always on top of the story, Hits gave us an update yesterday on the
MP3.com legal proceedings going on in New York between the San
Diego-based company and Universal Music Group, the sole remaining
litigant in the case. Hits reports that even as testimony was being
delivered, "talks continued furiously behind the scenes between
MP3.com and UMG," and that "some insiders believe a settlement could
be reached before Seagram head Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s testimony, which
is slated for Wednesday (8/30)." ... Gotta love that Epitonic.com.
First off, they've got hyperbole like this in its press releases:
"Epitonic.com, the epicenter of downloadable music for the aurally
fixated." Second of all, it's got music that I actually like. And
third of all, they just announced a new "playlist," a feature that
lets users create digital "mix tapes" and e-mail them directly to a
friend. What's not to like? It's easy, it works, and it's even legal.
S' Oh, dear. This week's nominee for "spews" (an amalgam of "spam" and
"news" that was suggested by a few helpful readers) has got to be this
gem: "Music.com, which originally was an acronym for a French
semi-conductor company, has spun-off as a separate music industry
network and is re-branding itself under this new direction. To
leverage its strong URL, the company is now solidifying its branding
strategy for global roll-out of international music content for the
consumer and the industry." Say no more. S' A founding member of the
band Survivor - the group behind the Grammy-winning tune "Eye of the
Tiger" a million years ago - has "lost his preliminary motion for a
Temporary Restraining Order against CBS Corporation and TVT Records,
LLC for their 'unauthorized use' of his Survivor trademark," according
to the Music Industry News Network (www.mi2n.com). There's only room
for one survivor here, boys, and he's the formerly fat one with the
alternative lifestyle.
SOUND OFF
~~~~~~~~~
This week's question: Which candidate will best further your
digital-music agenda? Why?
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: If your favorite artist had a subscription
service, would you join? How much would you pay for the inside track
on their projects?
You know, I just had this exact conversation with a friend of mine. I
had just read somewhere that Madonna has had something like 25,000
remixes of her songs done, and I had said how I would more than gladly
pay a monthly subscription to get access to those songs. Even if it's
only a few thousand songs, I would be happy to log on everyday to find
a new Madonna song to cherish. There are probably a handful of other
artists (Boss Hog, Jon Spencer, Garbage) and labels (Kill Rock Stars,
K, Dischord) that I would also jump at the chance to subscribe to. I'm
already an EMusic.com subscriber and couldn't be happier. Screw
waiting for the damn postman to deliver my CD - I want it now and I'm
more than willing to pay for it.
- Phil Leitch
Editor
Yahtzeen.com
Look, if you have got quality people like They Might Be Giants,
Madness and Steely Dan putting demos and rare stuff up for free, why
would I pay? As for the subscription-movement people, I assume the
thinking is "Gee dog, I better cash in now 'cause by next year I'll be
as popular as Vanilla Ice."
- David Newman
Editor
SoulMD.com
Because I am a musician involved in a style where the technology is as
intriguing as the music, I would subscribe to an artist's newsletter
if they were using techniques or equipment I found innovative. I don't
care how Britney does what she does (or has done for her). I do care
about how Funkstorung gets those funky sounds.
- Corey H Maass aka Secret Agent Gel
It has to be something along the lines of "Being John Malkovich." To
really make something that stands out, it has to be personal and so
individualized that it seems worlds away from traditional music
packaging. Like a yearbook page rather than a commercial Web page. The
artist would have to get in there and generate some truly funky raw
content. It would almost be like a serial novel - cliffhangers and
people coming back for more. The emphasis should be on the live. Maybe
some video every once in awhile. That liveTV/"EdTV" thing. I'd pay $20
a month to chart Perry Farrell's synapses
- David Elliott
I'd definitely join a subscription service for my fave artists, but
the amount I'd be willing to pay would depend on the quality of what
it offered. A simple newsletter, even if written directly by the
artist, is already available for free. If perks such as full audio and
video downloads, graphics, artist-identified Web services, exclusive
performances, recordings, advance ticket sales and e-mail access to
the artist and their crew were part of the deal, I'd be willing to pay
anything from $5 to $20 a month.
- Asia Gard
Nolo.com
STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder (julene@well.com).
Editor: Steven Zeitchik (szeitchik@thestandard.com).
Deputy Editor: Michele Keller (mkeller@thestandard.com).
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