Category Archives: General
FIRST STEPS
FIRST STEPS It seems like forever since that casual conversation I had as a new NSAI President with the big kahunas of two major music business trade organization about the upcoming 2006 CRB trial. In fact in music business time, it … Continue reading
COPYRIGHT TRIAGE
More than at any time in my fifteen plus years of volunteer songwriter advocacy, there is a growing awareness in Washington DC of the desperate need for sweeping changes in our antiquated Copyright System. Because we have a true believer … Continue reading
Songwriter Equity Act
Though Paul Allen’s recent Tennessee Voice piece made some valid points, it omitted some very important facts regarding the current plight of music creators in Nashville. Yes, a terrestrial payment for radio is airplay long overdue for artists and labels. … Continue reading
SHARECOPPER
In the world of “sync,” (putting music with commercials, film or video) the songwriter is like any other free American citizen. He can say yes or no to a negotiated price for his work, usually the same fee as the … Continue reading
NEW CAR WITH AN OLD ENGINE
NEW CAR WITH AN OLD ENGINE I recently got to sit in with some of Music City’s entertainment industry power players for an introductory conversation with the new U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker. She’s a music fan, interested in … Continue reading
Songwriting and the Nashville Business Journal
I recently had an interesting hour and a half coffee / conversation with Jamie McGee, who covers entertainment, technology and tourism for the Nashville Business Journal. It felt way more like a friendly exchange between two (new) old friends with … Continue reading
Rethink Music?
On November 15th and 16th I was invited to a private conference on Music Licensing by the Berkmann Center at Berklee College of Music on the Harvard University campus in Boston. Arriving in Cambridge, feeling the history all around me, … Continue reading
Changes in Latitude
I’ve been through some trends, some fads, some swings of the pendulum in my 30 years as a professional songwriter in Nashville. One of my first mentors in town, Rory Bourke, told me in the early eighties that there were … Continue reading
