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THE STANDARD'S
B E A T S H E E T
The Latest Digital Music News - and It's Free
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For more on digital music, visit
The Standard's Media & Marketing page:
http://www.thestandard.com/subject/marketing
Tuesday, March 13, 2001
TOP STORY:
* When the Music's Over
Does being laid off from a digital-music company mean never having to
say you're sorry?
NET NOISE:
* Rockrgrl.com
BEATS:
* Napster, Hogger of Headlines: Part MCXIIV
DOT DOT DOT:
* The RIAA Is Watching ... Microsoft's P-to-P Perspective ... Snoop
Dogg Streams Radio
SOUND OFF:
* This week's question: What's the worst digital-music layoff horror
story you've heard recently?
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TOP STORY
~~~~~~~~~
When the Music's Over
Does being laid off from a digital-music company mean never having to
say you're sorry?
By Julene Snyder
Over the last year, digital music has been hit as hard as any other
dot-com sector when it comes to handing folks their walking papers.
And while reactions to getting the ax vary wildly, some former workers
are finding it's not as easy to get back on the employment pony and
ride off into the sunset with another digital music company as it used
to be. Where once the newly unemployed had only to sit back and wait
for recruiters to call with multiple offers, job-seekers now have to
look for work the old fashioned way: Send out resumes, network, call
in favors and hope for the best.
That is, unless you're an intrepid sort like Marvin Sanders, who
recently elected to bypass that scenario entirely and go into business
for himself. The 37-year-old former editor in chief of Keyboard
magazine "blew through" two different San Francisco music startups -
Riffage.com, an online music label that's since gone out of business,
and Harmony Central, an online resource for musicians - and is now
launching his own custom publishing company. He says he doesn't
necessarily miss the bad old days of working around the clock. "I
almost broke myself," he recalls. After leaving the last company, he
took a few months off from job hunting, only to find after the break
that he'd lost his desire to return to office culture. "I couldn't
face the resume sending, khaki-wearing job hunt, so I decided to start
my own company. And if that doesn't work out, hey, I'll get a job."
While Sanders and other digital music veterans seem to find it
cathartic to talk about their layoff experiences, many are less keen
to go on the record with specifics. Nashville-based Paul Schatzkin -
who's perhaps more recognizable in Internet circles by his nickname,
"The Perfesser" - was laid off last October from Songs.com, the online
music store he founded in 1995 on a shoestring. In the midst of 1999's
dot-com boom, he and the other principals had decided to search out a
capital partner so it could compete with better-funded ventures.
Gaylord Digital bought Songs.com, kept Schatzkin on as general
manager, and then the next year, he says, "took it out to the pasture
and shot it." Schatzkin isn't interested in talking trash about the
now-defunct Gaylord Digital's parent, Gaylord Entertainment - which he
calls an "institution in Nashville" as the owner of the Grand Ole Opry
- but recalls that by June 2000, it was clear that all was not well.
"It was as if the parents suddenly realized that the kids had spent
their allowance for the year in six months," he says. "The dot-com
implosion was underway and our bubble had burst."
Even though Schatzkin isn't thrilled with the way he was let go -
being told via e-mail to report to an off-site location, where he says
he was "laid off like an auto-worker" - he says he walked away with
enough cash so he can choose how he spends his days. "I'm one of the
few dot-com refugees who got out with my equity intact," he says. "We
rode the wave all the way to the beach."
Most people who get laid off from their digital music gigs aren't so
lucky, but a good number say they saw the writing on the wall. When
26-year-old Meg Hansen was laid off from her position as director of
community for Tonos Network in Los Angeles last month, she wasn't
surprised in the least. "I sensed a big layoff was coming," she said
via e-mail. When she was hired in July, Tonos had 30 people on staff;
when she was laid off, the staff numbered three times that. "Honestly,
Tonos never needed more than 25 to 30 people on staff."
Going freelance can look like an attractive alternative when you've
been bucked off the employment pony a few times, but some are finding
that even those jobs are drying up. Freelance journalist Joe McCombs
says that if he can't find some steady music-writing gigs pretty soon,
he may end up working temp jobs as an office assistant. The
28-year-old San Franciscan was laid off from RadioSpy.com - a division
of GameSpy Industries - in mid-2000 when the company phased out its
editorial department. After writing a story for an entertainment
magazine called This Week, he was told there might be a staff position
for him, but the publication folded outright a week later. Next, he
says, he hooked up with a Web site called OnAir Streaming Networks as
a freelance contributor, but found himself looking for other writing
outlets when the site went under. McCombs seemed to be caught in a
maelstrom of bad luck, but at least he had a steady gig as a
contributor to Digital Music Weekly - that is until a few weeks ago,
when the publication cut back on freelancers. "That one caught me by
surprise most of all," McCombs says. "I'd written at least 15 articles
for them, and I thought everything was fine." Now he's back to sending
out resumes and writing about music for free. "I may get forced out of
the industry entirely," he says. As a last resort, he could always go
back to his old career in the brokerage business, but he doesn't sound
thrilled at the prospect.
Why have so many digital music denizens experienced this fate? Many
caught in the crossfire point to the biggest story of the last year -
Napster, licensing and litigation - to explain the past year's digital
downturn. Venture capitalists are in wait-and-see mode, and the money
has all but dried up. "The controversy around Napster and the
undermining it implies of existing copyright law all create
turbulence," Schatzkin says. "That's a factor in my own reluctance to
jump back in the water," he muses. "I'm squatting on the beach next to
my surfboard, which is standing in the sand. I'm looking out at the
water, and it's choppy." At least from where Schatzkin's sitting in
the sun, there's no real hurry to jump back in: "Let's roast the pig,
and just wait for the next clear swell."
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NET NOISE
~~~~~~~~~
Rockrgrl.com
There's not a whole lot to read at Rockrgrl.com, just enough to pique
your interest so you'll subscribe to the hard copy of the 7-year-old
magazine of the same name (Tag line: "No beauty tips or guilt trips").
Founded by musician-turned-music writer Carla DeSantis, Rockrgrl came
about out of DeSantis' frustration with condescending, patronizing
magazine articles about women musicians. She'd experienced that sort
of attitude firsthand and was sick of it. Who can blame her? How many
men get told not to touch the instruments in a music store? Not many.
But DeSantis had been playing for 10 years when a clerk chastised her
for putting her hands on the merchandise. Hmph. When I interviewed
DeSantis way back in 1996, she offered some insight into the
magazine's way of thinking: "Our questions don't focus on what's it's
like being a girl, but what struggles you've had as an artist,"
DeSantis said. "There are girls coming up through the ranks who need
to see that other people have been successful before them. I strive to
show that there've been women who've been doing it all along." Last
year's Rockrgrl Music Festival 2000 featured the Indigo Girls' Amy Ray
and Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes as keynote speakers; panels
included topics like "Mommy, Do We Have to Go on Tour?" and "Skirting
the Issue: All About Image." While the event got rave reviews, those
interested will have to wait until 2002 for the next one. In the
meantime, you can join the 15,000 subscribers to Rockrgrl and stay
up-to-date on issues that women in the music business deal with every
day, like trying to juggle motherhood and stardom and the
aforementioned trend of music clerks' bias against women customers.
Also, find loads of interviews with luminaries like Yoko Ono and
Chrissie Hynde and bands like the Donnas speaking their peace. Does a
magazine for women musicians discriminate? "We don't think so," the
Rockrgrl site says. Instead, it's a "haven where women who play music
can discuss our commonalities, our differences and our own unique
perspective."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BEATS
~~~~~
Napster, Hogger of Headlines: Part MCXIIV
In spite of the occasional plaintive appeal for the Napster madness to
end - "This endless litany of articles about Napster must stop," one
peeved reader wrote - we somehow can't help ourselves. Perhaps there's
a support group we can join. In any case, the major labels presented
the file-swapping service with a list of 135,000 songs on Friday that
it claims are being traded illegally. Monday, the company said it had
blocked more than 115,000 of the files from its system and was looking
for ways to keep users from working around the blocks. Napster said it
won't be able to screen 46,000 titles that Sony presented because it
didn't properly follow the procedures for identifying the songs.
Meanwhile, Fairtunes.com founder Matt Goyer is reportedly raising
money to "set up an OpenNap server beyond the reach of the Recording
Industry Association of America," which apparently means offshore on
the artificial island of Sealand, which the Globe and Mail calls a
"data haven platform off the coast of Britain." Goyer is looking to
raise $15,000 per year to pay for the Napster clone; currently
Fairtunes.com contributors have pitched in about $420. For the scheme
to work, Napster aficionados will have to dig quite a bit deeper, and
if the clone takes off like a house a'fire, it seems highly likely
that the already-busy RIAA lawyers will find a way to put a stop to
it. An essay about problems with the Sealand scenario
(http://ga.to/children/sealand.html) details the scheme's myriad
complications and makes the following point: "There comes a time when
you just have to ask yourself if it's ultimately easier and safer if
all those 16-year-olds just buy their own goddamn CDs."
Read more about the Napster blocks at TheStandard.com:
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,22802,00.html?nl=bts
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DOT DOT DOT
~~~~~~~~~~~
The RIAA Is Watching ... Microsoft's P-to-P Perspective ... Snoop Dogg
Streams Radio
Last week, the RIAA issued a press release letting us know that the
vigilant fight against music piracy is proceeding apace. "Our ongoing
efforts with law enforcement and prosecutors at the federal, state and
local levels are continuing to show clear results," Frank Creighton,
director of the RIAA's anti-piracy unit, was quoted as saying. "There
is not a corner in this country where we will not look. Anyone
selling, manufacturing or distributing suspected illegal sound
recordings will be found." Illegal activities were uncovered in
Chicago, New York, San Antonio, Texas, and elsewhere during February,
resulting in the "confiscation of countless counterfeiting devices,
scores of illegal CD-Rs and the apprehension of numerous alleged music
pirates." ... Microsoft's Will Poole, vice president of the Windows
Digital Media division, weighed in last week on the peer-to-peer
debate, with a curiously cliche-ridden press release that included the
following sentence: "This week's ruling represents the beginning of a
new era rather than the end of an old one." Hence, we find that "the
challenge is to tap this potential in constructive, legal ways that
remain compelling for consumers." How can we do this? Easy! "All
parties must give a little to continue reaping the Web's vast
distribution benefits." Whew. Glad that's settled. ... Contrary to
popular belief, not every news flash has to do with apster-Nay:
Digital Music Weekly reports that Snoop Dogg has launched a new Web
site for his "Bigg Snoop Dogg" syndicated radio show, where listeners
can "stream previous shows, request songs or even e-mail Mr. Dogg
himself." (Find it at www.biggsnoopdoggradio.com.) Of course, in our
never-ending quest to make sure that at least 2 out of every 3 Beat
Sheet sentences reference Napster, we couldn't resist checking their
database to see if the Snoopster is still a playa with the p-to-p
crowd. Yup. It turns out that a goodly number of his songs are still
up for the grabbing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUND OFF
~~~~~~~~~
This week's question: What's the worst digital-music layoff horror
story you've heard recently?
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.
Last week's question: Should recording artists form a union? Why or
why not?
The question of forming a union or not has a lot to with ownership of
property. In the case of normal "labor" unions, the employees can be
said to "own" their labor. Thus, when they go on strike to push their
agenda, they can effectively incapacitate the company. In the case of
the artists, however, they do not own their property. For the most
part, they have signed contracts that turn over their intellectual
property to the labels for the duration of their agreement, and in
perpetuity as to the sound recordings recorded while under contract.
In this way, the labels can merrily go on selling their existing
products and wait out the artists who will no doubt sooner need to
generate money than the labels to stay alive. (However, ironically
they mostly do not get much from the labels in the way of support
anyway.)
So, although recordings are 100 percent paid for with the artists'
earnings and advances, the "privilege" of being made into a "pop star"
has a great price.
I think the artists should or are realizing this. They must begin to
form new independent marketing vehicles. Here's an idea: "record
co-ops." Once free of their contractual enslavement, artists could
approach their fans via a network that allows them to "advance order"
their next recording with a monetary advance of, say, the cost of a
CD, and drop this into an account that the artist could tap to make
the recording. In this way, the artists would form a true partnership
with his or her fan base when making records. When the record is
completed, the fan would get a copy delivered digitally or via some
other means. I know, it sounds idealistic. But having worked in the
record business for several years, and being an artist myself, I
believe the combination of artists' unfortunate circumstances with the
RIAA, their lack of business sense, bad record contracts and their
need for egoistic gratification forms a bad brew to begin with.
The Internet provides the means for innovative new business models to
be developed which favor independence of artists. I for one am pushing
to make those ideas happen. Long live rock 'n' roll!
- Frank Jacob
Ex-senior executive
Creative Sounds
Personally, I believe musicians will be better served by having their
own union. I have seen the frustration suffered by local San Diego
artists just trying to get someone "important" to listen to their
stuff. A union would provide organized aid from inside their ranks,
fellow musicians and the like that (hopefully) have business sense.
Ideally, such a union would also provide a large support group for new
and struggling artists.
- Lori Wiar
The basic reason behind any union is strength in numbers. This
includes both collective bargaining powers and simply banding together
to help each other with everything from advice to accomplishing things
that can only be done with sufficient numbers. For musicians, this
would be things like legal advice, networking (finding other musicians
for projects, etc), and perhaps most importantly these days, the
possibility of helping all musicians find health insurance. There's
been a San Francisco Musicians' Union in the past, but a widespread,
large union would be a boon to everyone. Then we can watch the RIAA
and the major labels figure out how to put anti-union stipulations in
artist contracts.
- Mason Jones
Charnel Music/SubArachnoid Space
STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder (julene@well.com).
Editor: Michele Keller (mkeller@thestandard.com).
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