Following Nigel’s question, sorry have been ‘off-air’ for a while but that should soon change.
Regarding Nigel’s response to the House of Commons/PPL piece and his questions and observations - I understand that progress has been quietly promising if a little vague - however we are slowly bringing the government’s perception into the frame about an issue that is becoming a huge priority for many in our profession. But it is not easy and we feel the powers that be are possibly more concerned with other matters to suddenly take time and energy changing present legislation when there are so many other pressing concerns. Like staying in government for starters!
My hope - and that of the PPL is that it will be a ‘drip drip’ approach over a longer time frame during which time a strong case is persistently, and articulately presented to our governing bodies ( here in the UK and European Union) for an increase in the copyright term (upwards from 50 years) Personally I think it will happen eventually and we will get what we & thousands of musicians in the UK wish for and feel we deserve. I guess we have to be patient, persistent, watchful and very ‘canny’ in the meantime!
I agree that loving music can be seen as a weakness professionally–speaking but have found over many years it is also a great strength when one realises you can actually survive when things are tough. I firmly believe everyone gets a break eventually and it is of vital importance not to give up & walk away from the table. In the meantime, if you have to do other stuff to keep body and soul intact - you just have to do it! Play and write music at night in your own time if you have to - and more and more musicians have to face challenges in the present environment.
As an overview I would say that nothing stays comfortable or the same for long in any activity, and that technology - in the case of music biz vs. the web has undeniably sent the goalposts flying round the pitch more akin to greyhound racing than ‘level playing fields’ (pardon the well over-used football cliché!)
But many other businesses, film, journalism & TV are facing similar problems by the techno-implications of the brave new wild West ‘wiki-world’. Hence the days of being properly ‘commissioned’ at professional rates for music are well and truly over, so another approach is called for. “Harnessing the beast” itself might be the answer. Actually, perhaps this is becoming a blog post in its own right! (Yes it is Phil! (Ed)
For instance, experiencing angst about trying to find a label interested in signing Sailor, shows becoming much harder to find etc, I initiated a targeted marketing campaign on the internet using interactive web pages & persistently sending them out to a few large online agent databases. The band’s survival after many years was looking increasingly shaky - but now happily through the internet campaign, 2009 and 2010 will be our busiest for many years and the bookings keep coming in - all this at a time we are told that the recession is hitting many promoters and agents hard.
The above is just an example and possibly a fluke – but think of all those suddenly-out-of -work stride pianists on the dole the day talking pictures came out in the 30’s! The smart ones had to switch direction to survive in music then due to rapidly changing technology, just as many are having to do now.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
