FOCAS '09 - Part I: Trust

(This is the first of a three-part series of FOCAS '09. I am not a journalist, but I do host a music show for a community radio station, WOMR in Provincetown.)

For the last three days I've been watching the webcast of FOCAS '09, the Aspen Institute's Focus on Communications and Society forum, "Of the Press: Models for Preserving American Journalism." (Many thanks to Rachel Sterne from The Ground Report for hosting. Archives are available at http://www.aspeninstitute.tv.)

I've also been following the FOCAS09 topic on Twitter, where one of the new objects of my geeky fangirl lust, Craig Newmark of Craig's List participated in a discussion about trust and transparency. Craig has said he will blog about it, which I'll link to here, but he also raised the issue again with the esteemed, invitation-only group toward the end of the session. The challenges around trust, transparency and even audience engagement seemed to take a back seat during the forum, which I find very puzzling.

Trust and transparency critically effect models.They are core factors in how journalism will generate revenue and how it will be funded. They matter more than figuring out a different way to present advertising, especially since we know that online engagement with advertising is minimal at best.

As someone who has worked in music most of my career, I'm struck by the parallels where trust and transparency are concerned. News organizations no longer have the luxury of being "the voice of God," pushing to the people what they want them to know. Like it or not, just like the marketers who have been their compatriots in the one-to-many communication model, they have to get into the conversation-and they have to do it with authenticity to regain and build public trust.

NEXT: Part II: Models

Global Soul on WOMR

I've got a new radio show called Global Soul, airing on WOMR in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The show is a mix of downtempo, contemporary soul, hip hop, modern world and a bit of jazz. Tune in on Friday nights at midnight EST to the live stream on http://www.womr.org. We're working on archives and a podcast, but for now you can listen to selections to get the flavor of the show on the Global Soul blip.fm page, http://blip.fm/globalsoul.

The show has taken up a good bit of my time lately, however I'll resume writing about the industry this week. There is a lot happening on the Hill and on the digital landscape.

3 Thoughts for a Mother Concerned About File-Sharing

MusicianWages.com, Music Careers at About.com and KnowtheMusicBiz.com have organized a group blogging event for all music and musician bloggers in response to a comment from a reader concerned about her teenage son's file-sharing.

Here are three thoughts I would share with that reader:

Her son has told her "the record sales make money for the record label, not the artist" and "the artists make all their money from touring and live concerts."

This is a common rationale, fueled by major label hate. It conveniently ignores the songwriter. If the recording artist also wrote and owns the song, then they would make money directly as the writer. If they did not write the song, then another songwriting musician, who may have no direct relationship with the record label at all, would earn from the sale. That songwriter may not be a touring or performing musician. Don't they deserve to be paid?

She also writes, "Admittedly, he is stealing music that is recorded by major record labels, so maybe its different than the independent musician working for his living."

The RIAA has done a horrendous public relations job and major labels have engaged in the unbelievable business practice of suing fans. It's easy to dislike and disregard companies that would do something like that. And it's no wonder that many online, in mob-like fashion, express disdain for their "fat-cat greed" and celebrate the failure of anything with which the majors are involved.

However distinguishing between major and independent owners of a recording is simply another justification. Returning to the song and songwriter, if the independent musician does a cover version of the Beatles classic "Hey Jude" would you buy everything else from her, but refuse to pay for that track because Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a major label related publisher owns the song?

The ownership rights for a recording are often complicated. Neither you nor your son can know what the rights are behind every recording he has downloaded and who is actually getting paid from it-whether it is sold as a file, on a CD or used in a television show. But there is a value to those rights, which is how the recording got produced in the first place, whether it was funded by a major label, an independent label or an individual musician.

Since he is a musician himself, I point out to him that someday that's going to be his money people are stealing.

There has been plenty of debate on whether downloading is "stealing" or "sharing." For your own moral peace of mind, you and your son could reach a compromise by using one of the free, licensed sites for listening to music like Last.fm or imeem. The musician will get the benefit of promotion from having his music heard and you can have a clear conscience. Amassing a massive collection of downloaded tracks, most of which isn't even listened to, is so yesterday. Streaming anytime and from anywhere is the future.

Finally tell your son that with all this unfettered access he has had to virtually every song ever recorded, his own music better be really good. That is, of course, if he actually expects someone, somewhere to pay him to perform it.

Prince on Leno 03/26/09 - Rock

From night two of the residency. With a completely different backing band.



(Unfortunately, the hulu video that I originally posted has expired. You have to wonder if the good folks at hulu understand the power of the embed and viral brand marketing.)

Prince on Leno 03/25/09 - Funk

At last, from Hulu:




ETA: If the video defaults back to the top of the program, go to 38:17.
(Those silly people at Hulu. Help me help you turn brains into mush.)

Prince's Residency on Leno

Last night Prince gave the first of three straight performances on the Tonight Show, leading up to the release of his new CD set on Sunday at Target. (Not Tuesday, the industry standard release day, but Sunday.)

He's a master performer and I'll be there again tonight for more.

While U2's Grammy opening performance looked desperate for all parties involved and Bruce Springsteen huffed his way in a state of aging boomer breathlessness through a forgettable Super Bowl act, Prince once again demonstrates that he understands his audience and what they want: to be in the club, whenever and wherever he performs and however he gives them access.

That access could be:

• Buying the $12 three disc set
• Getting into one of three shows he is doing Saturday night in L.A. (echoing his three hometown shows on 07/07/07) or
• Joining lotusflow3r.com for about $75 a year with access to advance ticket purchases, exclusive extras, merch, downloads and most importantly the badge of belonging.

I'm a big fan of Hulu (also owned by NBC like the Tonight Show) and wish they had a clip of last night's show up for sharing. I waited before posting this blog to see if they would make it happen. But then why would they want to do something silly like give Prince fans the tools to help drive ratings the next two nights?

When and if it appears, I'll update.

Music Lobby Days on the Hill

The Recording Academy and the musicFIRST Coalition are getting together in D.C. on Monday and Tuesday to lobby Congress for passage of the Performance Rights Act, which was reintroduced by John Conyers (D-MI) and Darrell Issa (R-CA).

As a governor elected by the Academy's Pacific Northwest chapter, I had a conversation with a trustee about make the trip down from the Cape and participating. I hesitate because I have mixed feelings. The performance rates set for webcasters seem designed to squash growth and concentrate programming in the hands of the few, which rings in an eerily similar way to one piece of the puzzle that has put the recording industry in the challenged position it is in today.

Click here to download the text of the bill. (49kb PDF)