Sunday, May 10, 2015
Happy Mother's Day 2015
On Mother's Day, I never have enough time on my hands - to do, or say, how much I love you, miss you, or can thank you for so, so much. Miss you!
Friday, January 09, 2015
Book of Mormon Musician recounts Real Time and Real Life similarities.
Great story by fellow NY musician. .
Fiction vs. Reality
by Adam Ben-David
SMILES AND STRUMMING: Ugandan children experience the joy of playing music.
This is a story of how fiction met reality. I have spent my
entire adult life – starting when I was 22 – working in the theatres of
Broadway as a rehearsal pianist, keyboard player, conductor and music
director. I have worked on shows that have run 10 days before closing,
and some that are still running to this day. In 2011, I had the chance
to become part of a new show written by Trey Parker, Bobby Lopez and
Matt Stone, called “The Book of Mormon.” My parents couldn’t help but
point out that the title of the show alone would fate it to be one of
the shorter runs of which I had been a part. To everyone’s surprise,
including myself, the little foul-mouthed show I had jumped aboard
become a smash hit with sold-out houses every night. I consider myself
lucky indeed.
Original post by Local802afm.org
http://www.local802afm.org/2014/12
http://www.local802afm.org/2014/12
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Info To Consider When Posting Covers on Content Streaming Sites
Helpful Preliminary Info for posting "Cover" songs on Youtube or elsewhere.
(repost of notes by Eliot )
(repost of notes by Eliot )
".. Bexy's response is misleading.
It may be true that YouTube won't flag you for using a karaoke track, if it isn't exactly the same as the original.
However, it isn't strictly *legal*.
First, there is the song itself. It is owned by a composer, writer, and publisher (sometimes all the same person). These people spent time making the song, and want money whenever the song is used. If it were you, you'd want the same thing.
Bars pay a fee to play the radio (BMI and ASCAP), so do restaurants. The money is divided among all of the members of their organizations.
When a song is on YouTube, YouTube uses algorithms and reporting to determine if a song is the same as a copyrighted song. If it is, it will be flagged, depending on whether or not the artist is exerting their copyright. This could lead to an account being closed if it happens too often.
Some cite seeing cover songs as a reason to believe it's okay to rerecord a song. Technically, this is true, if you do what they do, which is pay for the privilege. Most artists make their songs available on Harry Fox, a clearinghouse for use rights. Basically, artists say "sure, you can cover my songs, here's what it will cost, and you don't have to ask me each time, just pay here." When a cover artist makes their album, they first look to see if the songs are available and what the cost is, usually it's a multiple of how many units they plan to sell, and often it's not a huge amount. They pay ahead, hoping to recoup the costs with album sales.
Note that this is for a re-recording of the song, not using the original recording as their back-up track. I am unaware of any artist making their backing tracks available for people to cover their songs, they expect you will hire musicians or redo the backing tracks yourself, even if you plan on making it sound exactly the same. One reason for this is that the song writing rights are separate from the song recording rights. If I record a song I haven't written, I own the recording rights, so that people have to ask me to use my recording. But, if it's a cover, they also have to ask the original writer of the song.
Now we come to karaoke. Karaoke companies also have to obtain permission from the writer to use their music. They pay fees for this (unless they are operating illegally, which there is some question about that). Technically, they pay for both words AND music, although some companies try and skirt the words fees by putting in incorrect words. After all, the singer in the bar or home is the one singing, who knows what they will say? It's bogus, but some companies get away with that.
Now, when you go to a karaoke bar that either uses CDGs or a computer, the host has paid for those CDGs, and therefore is allowed to use them wherever they perform. If they are using a computer, karaoke companies have a new thing that they do which is to demand a license fee unless you can prove you own the CDGs and only are using the songs at a single show. Otherwise, there is a separate fee for buying digital karaoke tracks, and often it's something that has to be renewed at great cost to legitimate hosts.
Now, what do you think? Do you think it's a good idea to put a karaoke track in the background of your YouTube song? Odds are the music is very close to the original; close enough for YouTube's algorithm to match it to the original song. That means you are in danger of a copyright infringement there. Next, you have the karaoke companies who are realizing they have an interest to protect. If your posting becomes popular, it's only a matter of time before the karaoke company may learn that you are singing to their track on YouTube, thus infringing on their copyright.
Even if you don't make any money, you are using their actual work to create something new, and YouTube gets a benefit from that. However, YouTube didn't post it, you did, so if asked, they will pull it down to avoid any nasty legal business.
Where things get a little hazier is if you perform the music yourself. Technically, that would also be an infringement, but in practice, most artists don't mind that kind of infringement and don't follow up so long as you aren't making any money directly. They see the benefit of allowing you to do this, as they get some exposure and you have to work pretty hard to use it.
When it comes to posting a song with graphics on YouTube, that is a little bit different now, because a lot of artists have a deal with YouTube the same way they do with bars and restaurants. If an artist agrees, then ads that are run on their songs will give them revenue, or even allow them to promote new works. Some artists see the benefit, and so those uploads stay. Artists that don't will have YouTube remove those videos.
The bottom line: no, you shouldn't use pre-recorded karaoke tracks to sing songs on YouTube, because technically it is illegal, and it's likely YouTube will pull them.
If you were going to ignore this advice, then at least try to limit yourself to music that YouTube has arranged to allow on its site:
http://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary
There are plenty of songs that you could use in a video, so it's likely (although no guarantees) that you could use a karaoke track of the same song and nobody would blink. But do so at your own risk.
Finally, if at any point anything you do on YouTube is flagged or removed, think VERY carefully. Your best choice is to just stop doing whatever it was, as YouTube is not very nice to repeat offenders. If you think you're in the right, you can contest the pull down, and sometimes it works. But in all likelihood, you should just let it go and do something else.
And there are also sites which have done all the license work for you. Check out:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheKARAOKECh...
They appear to allow you to record songs, some for free, off of their site. I believe that means you could then upload the results to YouTube, but YMMV
It may be true that YouTube won't flag you for using a karaoke track, if it isn't exactly the same as the original.
However, it isn't strictly *legal*.
First, there is the song itself. It is owned by a composer, writer, and publisher (sometimes all the same person). These people spent time making the song, and want money whenever the song is used. If it were you, you'd want the same thing.
Bars pay a fee to play the radio (BMI and ASCAP), so do restaurants. The money is divided among all of the members of their organizations.
When a song is on YouTube, YouTube uses algorithms and reporting to determine if a song is the same as a copyrighted song. If it is, it will be flagged, depending on whether or not the artist is exerting their copyright. This could lead to an account being closed if it happens too often.
Some cite seeing cover songs as a reason to believe it's okay to rerecord a song. Technically, this is true, if you do what they do, which is pay for the privilege. Most artists make their songs available on Harry Fox, a clearinghouse for use rights. Basically, artists say "sure, you can cover my songs, here's what it will cost, and you don't have to ask me each time, just pay here." When a cover artist makes their album, they first look to see if the songs are available and what the cost is, usually it's a multiple of how many units they plan to sell, and often it's not a huge amount. They pay ahead, hoping to recoup the costs with album sales.
Note that this is for a re-recording of the song, not using the original recording as their back-up track. I am unaware of any artist making their backing tracks available for people to cover their songs, they expect you will hire musicians or redo the backing tracks yourself, even if you plan on making it sound exactly the same. One reason for this is that the song writing rights are separate from the song recording rights. If I record a song I haven't written, I own the recording rights, so that people have to ask me to use my recording. But, if it's a cover, they also have to ask the original writer of the song.
Now we come to karaoke. Karaoke companies also have to obtain permission from the writer to use their music. They pay fees for this (unless they are operating illegally, which there is some question about that). Technically, they pay for both words AND music, although some companies try and skirt the words fees by putting in incorrect words. After all, the singer in the bar or home is the one singing, who knows what they will say? It's bogus, but some companies get away with that.
Now, when you go to a karaoke bar that either uses CDGs or a computer, the host has paid for those CDGs, and therefore is allowed to use them wherever they perform. If they are using a computer, karaoke companies have a new thing that they do which is to demand a license fee unless you can prove you own the CDGs and only are using the songs at a single show. Otherwise, there is a separate fee for buying digital karaoke tracks, and often it's something that has to be renewed at great cost to legitimate hosts.
Now, what do you think? Do you think it's a good idea to put a karaoke track in the background of your YouTube song? Odds are the music is very close to the original; close enough for YouTube's algorithm to match it to the original song. That means you are in danger of a copyright infringement there. Next, you have the karaoke companies who are realizing they have an interest to protect. If your posting becomes popular, it's only a matter of time before the karaoke company may learn that you are singing to their track on YouTube, thus infringing on their copyright.
Even if you don't make any money, you are using their actual work to create something new, and YouTube gets a benefit from that. However, YouTube didn't post it, you did, so if asked, they will pull it down to avoid any nasty legal business.
Where things get a little hazier is if you perform the music yourself. Technically, that would also be an infringement, but in practice, most artists don't mind that kind of infringement and don't follow up so long as you aren't making any money directly. They see the benefit of allowing you to do this, as they get some exposure and you have to work pretty hard to use it.
When it comes to posting a song with graphics on YouTube, that is a little bit different now, because a lot of artists have a deal with YouTube the same way they do with bars and restaurants. If an artist agrees, then ads that are run on their songs will give them revenue, or even allow them to promote new works. Some artists see the benefit, and so those uploads stay. Artists that don't will have YouTube remove those videos.
The bottom line: no, you shouldn't use pre-recorded karaoke tracks to sing songs on YouTube, because technically it is illegal, and it's likely YouTube will pull them.
If you were going to ignore this advice, then at least try to limit yourself to music that YouTube has arranged to allow on its site:
http://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary
There are plenty of songs that you could use in a video, so it's likely (although no guarantees) that you could use a karaoke track of the same song and nobody would blink. But do so at your own risk.
Finally, if at any point anything you do on YouTube is flagged or removed, think VERY carefully. Your best choice is to just stop doing whatever it was, as YouTube is not very nice to repeat offenders. If you think you're in the right, you can contest the pull down, and sometimes it works. But in all likelihood, you should just let it go and do something else.
And there are also sites which have done all the license work for you. Check out:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheKARAOKECh...
They appear to allow you to record songs, some for free, off of their site. I believe that means you could then upload the results to YouTube, but YMMV
Source(s):
credit:
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=A0LEVvWLJ6BUbQkAvJMPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByNzA1YWV1BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDOQRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkAw--?qid=20100903001130AAqGguV#
Monday, November 10, 2014
No Phone is In!
"No Phonies," (or phun intended) have made some serious headway in western tech and cultural trends over the last month. If Madison Ave should ever get a hold of this, like the "Pet Rock" - it could start a fire storm, if not a revolution in social change and the way modern people and consumers communicate! Check out the best "selfie" tech in town with their "real time selfie" feature. It's only 6 bucks extra.
Created by Van Gould, Ingmar Larsen and Ben Langeveld, the team has reached well over 300% of their initial Kickstarter IKO (Initial Kickstarter Offering).. Meanwhile, orders and ink continues to rise.
http://www.nophonestore.com
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Singing Nun Ya!
Singing Like a Virgin Nun tops any Vatican PR I've known in recent months. Brilliant! http://youtu.be/r0e8Uve7cJU. Cant wait to hear her and pope's duet cover of "Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo" from La Traviata!
Ya.. Just in time for #octobercoversongs month.
Ya.. Just in time for #octobercoversongs month.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin Hopkins (via www.popmatters.com)
Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins
ONE
East Texas Cotton Picking Blues
East Texas Cotton Picking Blues
The blues is born with you. When you born in this world, you were born with the blues. Lightnin’ Hopkins, 1967
Hopkins’s rural roots exposed him to what would become his lifelong hobby—fishing: “I was born down by the river, they call it Warren’s Bottom.” “I was born on the banks of the river, that’s the reason I’m a fisherman from my heart. I was born on the banks of the river that’s true, water flowing I guess… Cuz that was on the Red River.” Unfortunately for Sam Hopkins and his family, the calming and lazy flowing river through Leon County did nothing to soothe Abe Hopkins’s wild ways. After he fathered a family, Abe Hopkins continued drinking, gambling, and shooting guns. Sometimes the elder Hopkins’s gambling winnings were paid in cotton. Another time his winnings amounted to a mule and a wagon.
Sam Hopkins might have been old enough to notice friction between his mother and father due to his father’s carousing, because later he recorded a song called “Mama and Papa Hopkins”:
I wonder why my mama don’t love my papa no more
I guess my daddy been doing something wrong…
Oh yea caused my mom’s heart to ruin
In 1915, when Hopkins was about three years old, his father was murdered. Minus a breadwinner, the Hopkinses’ family life quickly became hardscrabble. His mother Frances kept the family mended and supported as best she could, but she soon came to understand the difficulty of feeding and clothing five children all by herself. In addition to the dangerous racial climate, Frances lived in a time when women suffered second-class citizenship. For example, a nearby newspaper, the Grapeland Messenger, carried an item on May 20, 1915, that read, “Hats off to Houston! She is the first city in Texas to start an organized movement against women’s suffrage.” Unfortunately, women like Frances were years away from benefiting from the freedoms promoted and pioneered by suffragettes.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Flash insanity and FB with pre-intel chip Apple OS users
What has Adobe worked out with Facebook. All pre-intel chip Mac G4s, laptops, towers, et and OS 10.5 will not allow Flash content to play on Facebook, while watching on Youtube or other sites streaming the content work fine using the Flash player 10. This doesn't add up. Meaning all pre-intel chip Apples, OS 10.5 or before, are expected to enjoy a limited edition of FB - less any flash content, while all streams fine from Youtube. What a cram down!
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Occupy Broadway Big Hit! OWS Lives On and Beyond
OWS UPDATES
Occupation Broadway was smashing success.
Saturday performance went well with
“Bye Bye All Those Wall Street Lies”
parody on '71 hit "Miss American Pie," and
"We Shall Overcome."
____________________
So Bye, Bye all those Wall St Lies.
The 99 percent is here and ready to RISE!
And them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and lied
Singing this'll be the day Wall st died.
Sining this'll be the day Wall St. died.
A long long time ago, I can still remember
How my bank teller used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance,
That I could make those dollars dance
And maybe I’d be happy for a while
But Fall ‘08 made me shiver,
Mountains high of toxic paper .
More bad news on the doorstep
with globalized economics.
I can't remember if I cried,
When I read about how Bernie Lied!
But something touched me deep inside,
The day – that day, that Wall street died/cried.
Did you write the book of hope
And do you have faith the Fed can cope?
If the senate tells you so?
Now do you believe in toxic loans?
Can bank bail outs save your simple home?
And can you teach us how to think real slow?
Well, you know some ---------- 1 percent,
Ran the banks on shorts without even a scent.
Some sat back and smiled,
While the markets fell a mile!
We were a lonely first class one time bunch.
With a lot of hope, not on some Wall St dope.
I knew we were running with little luck,
The day that Wall St died.
Now, for 200 years we've been on our own,
Where no toxic moss grows on a rolling stone
But that's not how it used to be,
When Goldman Sachs sang for FDIC
In a coat they borrowed from AIG
When the showdown stage lights grew dim.
Oh and while the SEC pants were down
Madoff stole the all time crown.
The congress couldn’t sort,
An mp3 from a CDO.
While commissions paced - the traitors danced
The DOW fell down beneath Euro trance.
Most counted pennies in the dark,
In the days, as Wall St died.
Occupation Broadway was smashing success.
Saturday performance went well with
“Bye Bye All Those Wall Street Lies”
parody on '71 hit "Miss American Pie," and
"We Shall Overcome."
____________________
So Bye, Bye all those Wall St Lies.
The 99 percent is here and ready to RISE!
And them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and lied
Singing this'll be the day Wall st died.
Sining this'll be the day Wall St. died.
A long long time ago, I can still remember
How my bank teller used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance,
That I could make those dollars dance
And maybe I’d be happy for a while
But Fall ‘08 made me shiver,
Mountains high of toxic paper .
More bad news on the doorstep
with globalized economics.
I can't remember if I cried,
When I read about how Bernie Lied!
But something touched me deep inside,
The day – that day, that Wall street died/cried.
Did you write the book of hope
And do you have faith the Fed can cope?
If the senate tells you so?
Now do you believe in toxic loans?
Can bank bail outs save your simple home?
And can you teach us how to think real slow?
Well, you know some ---------- 1 percent,
Ran the banks on shorts without even a scent.
Some sat back and smiled,
While the markets fell a mile!
We were a lonely first class one time bunch.
With a lot of hope, not on some Wall St dope.
I knew we were running with little luck,
The day that Wall St died.
Now, for 200 years we've been on our own,
Where no toxic moss grows on a rolling stone
But that's not how it used to be,
When Goldman Sachs sang for FDIC
In a coat they borrowed from AIG
When the showdown stage lights grew dim.
Oh and while the SEC pants were down
Madoff stole the all time crown.
The congress couldn’t sort,
An mp3 from a CDO.
While commissions paced - the traitors danced
The DOW fell down beneath Euro trance.
Most counted pennies in the dark,
In the days, as Wall St died.
Monday, September 12, 2011
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