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She may have appeared with an entourage of some 40 bodies and have needed extra space for her extravagant costume changes, but Lady Gaga gave all the other performers at Capital FM’s Jingle Bell Ball a run for their money this weekend. Many report that her performance was worth any demands she may have imposed. The Lady Gaga Bad Romance music video song caused some controversy so it was good to see the star play live.

One source told the Mirror: “Organizers had a hummerheaven limo on standby to chauffeur her round whenever she needed it. Backstage workers created a makeshift House of Gaga, with a sewing machine brought in especially.”

New corridors had to be made for the singer backstage in order to house the singer’s fashionable performing collection, supposedly making other performers - such as the Saturdays and Sugababes - a bit annoyed at their own lack of space.

“They even had to run round taping up all the air vents as she was chilly,” the source added.

The singer recently appeared on X Factor sporting a pair of horns and sitting on a toilet. She performed new single “Bad Romance” on the show wearing a bronze outfit, and her set also included a giant bath and shower.

Lady Gaga even advised the show’s contestants by saying: “Be yourself. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t achieve your dreams.”

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Dusty Springfield was a singer who truly deserved her stardom. She began life as one of many introverted, average-looking convent girls and as a teenager almost overnight transformed herself into a glamorous music idol. Many people still argue that throughout her lifetime Dusty was trying to fight the remains of her alter ego present within her.

To which extent she succeeded is another question. It is certain that she was driven by an almost intuitonal urge to perform and express her fragile, emotional nature through her singing. With her unique, stunningly clear, wide-ranging voice she was and still is able to trigger tears and laughter. Her music is a catalyst for emotions to be expressed, lives to be remembered and stories to be told. Each of the Dusty Springfield songs bears a further thought and a stunning impact on our feelings. Her charisma and the power of her music will always live on.

On 14th November 2006 Dusty Springfield became the first British female solo artist to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. In March 1999 she was honoured with the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) and this was followed by her induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April of the same year. Three major honours to an outstanding talent who’s career spanned four decades.

It has been suggested that an unhappy family background, combined with the strictures of an Irish Catholic upbringing, contributed in no small part to an underlying sense of insecurity that Dusty seemed to have experienced throughout significant parts of her life. There is an argument to say that such insecurity found expression in the way she perceived her own image, the lack of confidence in her singing abilities and an almost obsessive longing to achieve absolute perfection in her work. She also displayed an inherent shyness. Perhaps the ultimate irony is that these very traits of hers acted as the catalyst, enabling Mary O’Brien to develop into the persona who achieved international stardom as Dusty Springfield.

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Today, music is one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world. This market is hotter for many reasons. First of all, customers’ demands and tastes are higher and more diversified than ever. Second, the number of people and companies working in this field are increasing at such a dizzy speed that it creates a very large pool of tough competition, and of course, to survive, they have to be unique and distinguished.

We can list out herewith some relevant industry jobs such as Recording, Radio, Television and other Media, Working live shows and tours, Music Retailing and Instrument Repairing, Education and Instruction and many more. Among them, the recording industry is one that has been applying high-end technologies for many years.

The recording industry commenced at the start of the 20th century, when publishers of sheet music dominated the music business. With a quick development pace, recording industry gradually dominated and controlled the music industry. This is the kind of mass-production copies’ business that can fix the price in the market.

To be the priority in the effervescent market of recording, what can they do? - Reducing the price? - Noisy brand-name advertising? - Or investing in technological upgrading of products and services? Of course, though technologies change very fast every day, people still make the choice of high-tech applications as the best way to affirm their positions in the music market.

Regarding recording industry, we consider that this is not only a technical but also a creative career. High-end technology is useful for both sides of this job. Recording engineer definitely must be technically skilled with the equipment. They must manipulate skillfully with all the buttons or knobs to get the correct sound that the artist or the producer want to have. A good microphone is necessary in the first step to begin with the recording process. And then, with the instruments, they find out the expected sounds - not music. The recording engineer, finally, will make the adjustments to enhance the music, morph, add effects… Some years ago, in order to do these steps, they had to resort to many equipment. In this case, the results obtained take a lot of the engineers’ time and labor. However, today, thanks to the development of high-end technologies, recording engineer can apply modern equipment to make their work easier and more professional. One simple example, with a PC and some installed music morpher, music editor softwares, they can mix and edit music like a skilled recording engineer.

In the other side of this job, creativity is also very important. Music industry is a very specific one that requires creativity. The recording engineer must have the feeling, the sense of music that can create different and unique sounds that express music in the best way. With the same song recorded by two engineers, we have two ways to express the music which depend on the creativity of the recording workers. The recording engineer can apply some intelligent softwares specialized to perform a good job. Sometimes, just by adding a wave sound, increasing the frequency or reducing the noise of the music, we have colored up the recordings.

More and more recording engineers believe in the important role of high-end technologies for their career. They are willing to spend money on equipment, modern music editor or music morpher softwares to support their work. Some people pay up to thousands of dollars for their recording studios, but some know how to save money. They find out the efficient softwares that can work properly as a mixer, an editor with very competitive price from $30 to $100. They know how to update their “companion” by frequently downloading the latest effects or supporting programs. By this way, high-tech supports for both professional recording studios and some home recording studios.

“A war is happening, not the Iraq war, but the high-tech war”. However, we will not perish in this war if we know how to use and control technologies for our purposes. Holding in hand the weapons of music softwares, we will be the unique winner, the best one in the running of entertainment industry, especially recording industry.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_industry
www.recording.org/
http>//www.audio4fun.com

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Some consider melody the most important aspect of music making. Of course, there’s harmony and rhythm, but melody is the one part that listeners hold to memory more than any other, and, it’s also the easiest part to create!

For example, in the lesson Oriental Sunrise, we have two chords. Now if we just play these chords, if we just fool around with them, we get textures and whiffs of sound that drift away and do not hold. But, as soon as we add in melody, the whole piece becomes alive and discernable.

To create a melody really requires nothing more than playing around with the right-hand. The left has the chords and creates the harmonic background - an aural canvas if you will. Now, we can add in highlights to our sound painting using melody.

We improvise and are amazed at the fact that just a few notes is enough to create a wonderful sound - especially since you use the pentatonic scale. You can’t go wrong by playing on the black keys. Every note you produce will sound “good.” We let go and allow our intuitive mind to come up with the melody and the music pours out of us.

Once you know the scale you’ll be playing in, (in this case, minor pentatonic) you are free to play any note you want from it to create your melody. The focus is now on making music and not on choosing melody notes - a very freeing experience!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

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Whether you are looking to buy new, or replace an old acoustic guitar, the first thing you should always bear in mind is that no other materials should be used to make an acoustic guitar apart from than dried wood. Most of us take wood for granted, but if the wood used to make an acoustic guitar is not completely dried before molding into guitar shape, then the sound will never come out right. The whole life of the acoustic guitar will be one of poor sound quality.

The most important part of any acoustic guitar is what is called the bridge. The bridge unit of the instrument is a vital part of where the sound vibrations come from to move to the sound chamber of the guitar. Without the bridge, which is also constructed from dried wood, the sound would not be there on this instrument.

The body of the acoustic guitar is usually what attracts potential buyers to that particular brand of guitar. Usually the type of wood that is used to make the acoustic guitar body can be determined by the price of the guitar. The higher the price, the higher the cut of wood is - it is rather like a steak.

Understanding not only these two parts of an acoustic guitar, but all other parts as well will allow you to find the perfect acoustic guitar for your needs. If you are looking for that special acoustic guitar with the sturdiest neck or the one that has the best sounding bridge, it is always important to get specialist advice. However the bridge and the body are what most looking to buy an acoustic guitar look at first.

Mike Corrado brings you smoking acoustic guitars at http://www.cheapestacousticguitars.com

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Do you know what a didgeridoo is? There are so many things in this life that are unknown to us. I bet you could find out about something outside your normal sphere of vision and experience everyday for the rest of your life and still not get close to knowing about everything out there. Not to mention the number of things we don’t know about our own internal selves-physical, emotional, spiritual and mental realities that are still unaware to us. That’s another story however, let’s stick to the external in this article.

I play the didgeridoo. It’s a sacred Australian Aborigine instrument, arguably one of the oldest instruments in humankind’s long history. If you type didgeridoo into your search engine you will see hundreds of sites about this thing that you’ve never even heard of. You don’t know how many people I’ve mentioned it to around the world that never have even heard the word.
One site I found to be quite thorough and useful was: http://www.echotree.com.au/index.htm

This retail site explains in detail how a didgeridoo is made (it is a termite-hollowed branch or tree trunk), how to choose the right one for you, and of course instruction on how to play. It explains how to recognize a quality piece and they say that they can even custom make one to your desires. Each didj has a key or root note, and they can be made of several types of wood, some better than others. Placed on the mouthpiece is bee’s wax which makes for an airtight seal against the face as well as protecting one’s mouth from getting cut by sharp edges.

To give you an idea of the incredible feat it was for the first Aborigines to make this music 40-60,000 years ago I’ll give you a perspective on how it is played. You place your mouth in the whole at the top of the hollowed wood upon the bees wax coating. Then you vibrate your lips against the edge of the wood, filling your cheeks with air at the same time to keep the sound constant. The sound never stops and this is because you circular breathe-in through the nose and out through your mouth at the same time. Sounds difficult, and it is for some like myself, it took me 9 months to get my mind around it. A friend of mine however did it in a couple of days, and babies breathe this way naturally! Pretty cool.

On this site as others you can look at a gallery of instruments, clicking on the ones that interest you. They are all individual (like snowflakes and humans) and characteristics such as key, wood type, length and artist are given. Echo Tree specifically mentions that all their artwork is individually hand-painted by Aborigine artists and no two are alike. So unlike many Western musical instruments that are ubiquitously constructed, you can have one that is different to all others.

The didgeridoo is just another example of how the Internet or World Wide Web can be the medium of discovery in our lives. It is a collective source for all the ideas, creations and beliefs in our world. Anyone that connects can add to the rich melting pot of consciousness. This ‘virtual’ space that we all feed and digest from is truly the next step in the evolution of humanity. Do you want to do or learn something different? You know where to go.

Jesse S. Somer
http://www.m6.net
Jesse S. Somer is a sacred didgeridoo player learning more about life everyday.

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The guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments and the online guitar community probably the most popular of its kind. There are thousands of guitarists connected via online communities sharing guitar tabs, tips and stories and there are many of websites dedicated to sharing guitar music, tablature and even guitar lessons. Some you have to pay for, but there’s a lot out there for free.

Beginning guitarists and professionals alike can take advantage of what is available for free on the Internet. It’s true, you can really download guitar tablature for free on the Internet. There are literally thousands of pieces available for download, everything from classical and jazz music to rock and pop. Try typing “guitar tablature”, “guitar tabs” or “guitar sheet music” into your favorite search engine. This will bring up a plethora of websites which offer music for download. Some sites will charge a membership fee, but offer samples for free so that you can try them out. At first it is difficult to sift through all the sites and find one that is suitable for your needs, but stick with it, and you’ll find exactly what you want.

Some sites specialize in specific music genres, such as classical or rock. Some sites have audio samples of the sheet music so that you can actually listen to unknown pieces before you download. In the end you may choose to pay a membership fee to take advantage of added services that these sites provide.

But before you do that take advantage of everything that’s free. The Internet is such a great place for picking up guitar tricks and tips or even learning the instrument on your own.

Start by doing a Google search for “Free guitar lessons” (use quotation marks) and the top five search results will yield websites with archives full of free guitar lessons. These lessons are designed with the absolute beginner in mind. The advantage of learning the guitar on the Internet is that you can take your lesson whenever you have time or are in the mood and you never have to leave the comfort of your own home. You’ll start off with all the basics: learn about the parts of the guitar, learn how it works, learn scales, strumming patterns, chromatic scales, as well as many songs to play. Despite the relative ease of the Internet, lessons should be taken in the order that they are written.

And remember, your Internet lessons may be free, but they aren’t miracle workers, you still have to commit to a regular program of study and practice.

Dean Erickson - Journalist, and web site builder Dean Erickson lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of http://www.guitar-tab-finder.com/ on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

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Which Musical Instrument is Recommended for Beginners?

*Will the instrument I choose be affordable?

*Which instruments are easy to learn and which are difficult to learn?

*Will it be a quiet instrument or a noisy one?

*If I don’t choose a popular instrument will I be able to find a teacher easily?

*Is the musical instrument of my choice popular or is it an instrument that not many people play?

*How much will a lesson cost?

*I want to choose a musical instrument that I can play in a band. What instruments should I choose?

*I want to play a certain type of music. Which musical instruments are suitable for different styles?

In the following article I will be answering all of the above.

Here is a list of musical instruments to choose from listed in popularity, with the number 1 being the most popular:

1) Guitar

2) Piano

3) Keyboard

4) Drums

5) Violin

6) Cello

7) Flute

Saxophone

9) Clarinet

10) Trumpet/Cornet

11) Trombone

12) French Horn

13) Banjo

14) Recorder

15) Viola

16) Tuba

17) Oboe

You can see a list of all musical instruments here:
Musical Instrument Shop. Lots of information and choice. Buy Musical Instruments here

Will the instrument I choose be affordable?
If you want to buy a musical instrument but don’t wont to spend too much money I would choose either a guitar, keyboard, violin, clarinet or trumpet. These instruments are the
cheapest to buy when starting out.

Which musical instruments are easy to learn and which are difficult to learn?
The easiest musical instruments to learn from the list above are: Guitars, Drums and Recorders.

Guitar
The guitar should be easy to pick a few chords and you can almost start strumming and playing a simple tune from your first lesson. It is best advised to learn the classical guitar first as it has nylon strings and will be easier on the fingers than a steel strung electric or acoustic guitar.

Drums
Drums are fairly easy to learn as well. The important thing is to feel the rhythm, once you have this, everything else should be easy to pick up.

Recorder
The recorder is probably the easiest of all musical instruments to learn. Most children at school take up this instrument before progressing on to the clarinet, flute or saxophone which is much more difficult to learn.

The most difficult musical instruments to learn from the list above are: Oboe, French horn, Trumpet and Piano.

The Oboe
The Oboe is probably the most difficult musical instrument to learn. It is very difficult to even produce a sound at first, let alone a musical note. This instrument can take many years to master

The French Horn
The French horn also takes quite a while to get the hang of. The sound is produced not only by blowing, but by creating an embouchure and buzzing the lips to control the air stream, which in turn creates the correct pitch to produce the note. Then the correct valves that correspond to the right pitch have to be learnt. The hand is also used to help the quality of sound by placing in the bell. Wow! Perhaps this is not a great instrument for beginners!

The Trumpet
The trumpet is considered difficult to learn initially because of the techniques needed (similar to the French horn but without using the hand in the bell). The difficult thing about the trumpet is trying to make a nice sound which can take a few years to perfect.

The Piano
Although it is easy to make a sound on a piano, just by pressing any note you sound like a professional, the piano is very difficult when you need to play more than one note at a time. All the above instruments require you to play just one note at a time but with the piano sometimes you need to use every finger and thumb at the same time!
You also need to learn two different clefs, and to learn to read this at the same time is not easy at first.

Will it be a quiet musical instrument or a noisy one?
Do you have neighbours that don’t appreciate music? And they live right next to you with thin walls.
Do you want to play late at night or early in the morning
Are you embarrassed that you are not making a good sound yet, or you don’t want people to hear what you are playing.

If any of the above is true, you need a quite musical instrument or at least one that you can play with headphones or adjust the sound electronically.

If you want to learn a quiet musical instrument, then choose one of the following: Guitar, Piano, Keyboard, Recorder, Clarinet or Flute.

The Classical guitar is very quite and delicate but not the electric or acoustic guitar which are very noisy when amplified!

You can plug headphones in to a digital piano or keyboard or you can turn the sound down. This is the ideal instrument to buy if you don’t want to make any noise. The acoustic piano (also known as the upright or grand piano) is very noisy and should be avoided if you need some peace.

The Recorder is fairly quiet, apart from the high notes, so this instrument would be ok.
The Clarinet is a fairly quiet instrument. It does really depend on how it is played.
The Flute is also quiet but the sound can be a bit piercing on the higher notes.

If I don’t choose a popular musical instrument, will I be able to find a teacher easily?
You can find a musical instrument teacher almost anywhere; there are literally tens of thousands in the UK.
You will almost certainly have no problem finding a teacher if you play the more popular musical instruments: guitar, piano, keyboard, drums or violin.

Is the musical instrument of my choice popular or is it an instrument that not many people play?
Please see the above list of musical instruments. They are listed in order of popularity, number 1 being the most popular instrument.

There are a few guides to find out if a musical instrument is popular. Just look at a symphony orchestra or a wind band and count the number of instruments there are and how many there are of each.
You will find that there are lots of violins and percussion (clarinets and flutes in the wind band case) which means that there is no shortage of people learning these instruments. You will also find that there is only one tuba, one oboe, a few french horns, a few flutes, a few clarinets etc. Of course this is only a guide, as some of the other popular musical instruments such as the guitar, piano and keyboard are not normally found in a symphony orchestra.

How much will a lesson cost?
Individual musical instrument lessons can cost between £8 and £20 for half an hour. Group instrument lessons £5 to £12. Popular musical instruments are normally cheap than not so popular instruments, normally because there is no shortage of teachers and competition tends to bring the prices down.

It is normally better to learn instruments in a group rather than learn individually. Group learning is much more fun as every one is the same level as you and you can share experiences together. Individual instrument lessons can be too serious for a beginner and can actually put you off learning music because of this. However, individual lessons are a must when you get to a certain level of proficiency.

I want to choose a musical instrument that I can play in a band. Which instrument should I choose?
The best musical instruments to learn if you want to play in band are: Guitar, Saxophone, Clarinet, Violin or Cornet.

This list might be considered a strange one, but let me explain the reasoning behind this.

*The guitar is second-to-none as a solo instrument for a band. If you are the lead guitarist (electric guitar), you get all the limelight. You can play great riffs from all the famous songs.

* The Saxophone is a great solo instrument and if you play in a jazz band or big band you get lots of solos to play.

*The clarinet is the king of the wind band; it is the orchestra’s equivalent of the lead violin. In a wind band you get to play lots of solos and intricate melodies.

*The Violin is a fantastic solo instrument and orchestral instrument. Many of the great composers have written beautiful solos and melodies for this instrument.

*The Cornet is the king of the brass band. This instrument has one of the most delightful sounds of all. The cornet is given the lead role in a brass band and is featured in all the best arrangements. The lead cornet player gets to play many solos.

I want to play a certain type of music. Which musical instruments are suitable for different styles?

Here is a list of different music styles:
Rock, Classical, Pop, heavy Metal, R&B, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Carribean, African, Latin, Dance, Country, Rap, Hip Hop, Christian, Opera.
This list below would be endless if I went in to it in great detail, so here is a short list.

1) Guitar. The electric or bass guitar is suitable for pop, rock, R&B, heavy metal, R&B, Jazz and blues, the classical guitar for classical music, the acoustic guitar for pop and folk.

2) Piano. The acoustic piano is suitable for classical, jazz, blues and dance.

3) Digital Piano/Keyboard is suitable for pop music, dance, jazz and blues.

4) Drums are suitable for pop, rock, classical, jazz, African - well, almost everything!

5) Violin is suitable for classical, folk, country and dance.

6) Cello is suitable for classical.

7) Flute is suitable for classical.

Saxophone is suitable for jazz, blues, pop.

9) Clarinet is suitable for classical, jazz and blues.

10) Trumpet/Cornet is suitable for classical, jazz, blues and dance.

11) Trombone is suitable for classical, jazz and blues.

12) French horn is suitable for classical.

13) Banjo is suitable for country and folk.

14) Recorder is suitable for classical.

15) Viola is suitable for classical.

16) Tuba is suitable for classical.

17) Oboe is suitable for classical.

I hope that you now feel more informed and can make a decision on which musical instrument is best for your needs.
If you need more information about musical instruments I can recommend visiting http://www.soundsmusical.comthe top musical instrument shop in the UK - Soundsmusical.com

Happy learning!

About The Author

Henry Howard is a respected member of the music community. He is known as The Master of Music and has written many articles about musical instruments. You can reprint or reuse this article as many times as you wish, but keep my links intact.

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If you live outside Britain you have probably never heard the name of Shayne Ward, but by this time next year, my guess is that you will. Shayne Ward is the newest winner of Simon Cowell’s reality TV program, The X factor. He strolled away to win the top prize of a million pound record contract and his first single “That’s My Goal” was duly released four days before Christmas.

It is widely tipped to be the Christmas Number One, and judging by the queues in the record stores, there will not be too much competition. Shayne is twenty-one and comes from a large family in one of the poorer areas of Manchester. In recent years the winners of these reality TV programs have more often than not sunk without trace in record time, if you’ll pardon the pun, but there is something about this kid that suggests he will last the pace.

He is an excellent ballad singer, a fantastic live singer, nothing seems to phase him, and one senses there is an inner steel about this young man that he will need if he is to shrug off the tag of a one-hit-wonder reality TV show winner. This time I suspect that Simon Cowell’s organisation have finally created a true star who will not only last the pace, but will make the leap to international stardom. Of course any singer is only as good as his songs and this will be the acid test for Shayne Ward. If the songs are good enough this handsome kid has every chance of making it to the very top.

In a tense final of three acts, the duo Journey South were the first to bite the dust, and that was all that the backers suspected. In the final pairing Shayne finally prevailed over the much publicised trash collector Andy, a hugely likeable older singer who too would seem to have every chance of a bright future. No more rubbish for him!

Millions of pounds was once again wagered on the outcome of this live show, and half the nation seemed to stay in glued to their TV sets to watch the outcomes of rival networks TV reality show programs. But it was the X Factor that caught the imagination of the bettors and over a million pounds changed hands on the night. You can obtain a free $30 bet on future reality TV progs by checking out Betfair.com. Just fill in the code 6CHE3VPWJ where required.

So please remember the name, Shayne Ward, for this time I suspect a real star has emerged, a star who can challenge those established male heartthrob singers who have seemed to rule the roost for far too long. Shayne Ward is coming to disturb their peace!

David Carter’s latest published work is SPLAM! Successful Property Letting And Management. Splam! contains over 240 pages of hints and tips on how to start your own property business on a limited budget, and how to successfully let residential property. You can view actual extracts of the book at http://www.splam.co.uk and order a download or a hard copy at this site or you can go direct to the publishers at http://www.lulu.com/dc. He also runs a holiday cottage website where you can access over 7,000 holiday cottages, apartments and villas worldwide at http://www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk. Don’t you deserve a holiday? Well of course you do! You can contact David on any matter any time at supalife@aol.com

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Where music meets licensing, there’s money to be made. How much money? “I have synched quite a few thousand songs into productions over the years,” states Peter Jansson of Janssongs, Inc., “and have charged anywhere between US$1.00 and US$250,000 for each one.”

That’s correct: he said a quarter of a million dollars. And there are a great many places to earn money from music. For example, there are more TV shows on more cable channels than ever before. There are oodles of commercials. There are tons of electronic games and toys. There are corporate video productions galore. There are big movies, little movies, and direct-to-DVD movies. And they all are potential places to put your music, if the rights can be cleared.

Goldmine or Minefield.

The world of music clearance can be a goldmine or a minefield. We heard about the quarter-million-buck goldmine. “Having said that,” Jansson adds, “I think an average fee is usually between $4,000 - $6,000 per side (i.e. Master & Synch). It depends on how badly they want to use the song and how big a hit it was.” Those two words, “Master” and “Synch” indicate part of the problem for the average singer/songwriter who hopes to have a song appear on a soundtrack. Before you can start earning money, there’s a lot to know.

The facts are so important that NARIP, the National Association of Record Industry Professionals, has Stacey Powells lead workshops on the topic. Powells, currently clearing music for On Air With Ryan Seacrest, says “This is a much more complex part of the business than most people realize, but it can be extremely lucrative for artists, so there’s a great feeling to passing along this information.”

A Little Tech Talk.

Music can be used in four broad categories under copyright law: Adaptation, Recording, Reproduction, and Public Performance. Depending on where and how someone is going to use a song, there are mechanical rights and synchronization rights that have to be negotiated, and the various parties involved may include the songwriter, publisher, and record company, usually holder of the master rights.

Well, that last part doesn’t sound so complicated. Oh really? Consider that there may be multiple songwriters, each with their own publisher for their share of the song. Song copyrights are held by music publishers (which may be the artist, but more often is a third party), while sound recordings (the masters) are controlled by record companies (which also may be the artist, come to think of it).

The Facts of the Matter.

So what, exactly, is “Music Clearance”? Simple: getting permission from rights holders to use music in your production. But what rights? The song’s copyright is held by the writers (or the estate of the artists, or whoever was sold the rights). The master recording is held by whoever controls the recorded version of the song. Ah, but which version of the song? The one the singer/songwriter recorded? The one recorded with Russian lyrics? The jazz instrumental? The one recorded by the metal-reggae band?

Consider this: you can get permission from the publisher without permission from the record company — if you record a new version of the song. But without the publisher’s permission, the master recording license does you no good at all.

The field is very competitive. Don Grierson, former head of A&R at Epic/Sony, Capitol Records, and EMI-America, and often a music supervisor, consultant, and executive producer, notes that “nearly everyone in the music industry seems to be aiming at the film/TV and commercial licensing markets. There is intense competition. It can come down to relationships on some occasions, but often it is determined by the ease with which you can obtain the clearance.”

Negotiating the Fees

Janssongs’ Peter Jansson quickly lists some of the variables: “When it comes to Synch Licensing, there are a number of factors that determine what the fee is going to be, such as: territory (USA? World? Provincial?), media (Theatrical only? Radio? Television? DVD/Video? New technology?), usage (Featured Instrumental/On Camera? Background Instrumental? Background/Vocal?), length (Entire composition? 30 seconds or part thereof?), version (re-record or original recording), to name just a few.”

But even once you have sorted out who owns what and where something is going to be used, there’s the legal terminology, with contracts likely to contain such phrases as “World excluding the BRT’s,” “Rear Window,” “now known or hereafter devised,” “MFN,” “Pro Rata Share,” “Third Party Payments,” and even “Audit.”

True, you don’t need to know all of these things if you’re a songwriter, recording artist, manager, agent, record executive, film/TV production professional, or advertising agency executive. But the more you know, the better. Not only will you be more comfortable with the business side of the music business, you’ll be in a better position to guide a career — your own or your clients’ — to more rewarding choices.

“Just knowing a little about these topics allows you to follow the conversations these clearance guys have with my clients and all their other representatives,” says one manager of several musical acts. “And knowing a little can help a lot.”

Real-life Examples.

Sometimes you learn by doing. “The very first time I licensed a song on my own,” says Marc Ferrari of MasterSource Music Catalog, “I never got paid for the license. The production company released the movie (Son of Darkness 2) then went bankrupt. What a way to start a business!! I have had better luck with nearly 1,600 licenses since then!”

Don Grierson, when acting as a music supervisor for motion pictures, says “Those who represent songs often call me and ask ‘What are you looking for?’ and it’s amazing how rapidly that can change. The music requirements for any given project, or even any given scene in a film, can change depending on the director, the producer, etc. And whatever mood is being established in the scene may change in postproduction, requiring a change in the music.”

Mistakes to Avoid.

Where people are involved, there can be errors. “Publishing and record companies sell and sublease and assign rights, some of which they did not own to begin with,” points out Janet Fisher of Goodnight Kiss Music. She quickly lists a few more potential problems: “New companies file new cue sheets and suddenly a song is attributed to the wrong writer, a title is changed, a publisher forgotten; or sometimes a copyright holder just stops filing all paper work, including change of address forms.”

One indie artist who has had several compositions in TV shows says, “Being an indie artist can be a huge advantage. Music supervisors are always looking for quality master recordings. An indie artist can sign off on a master synch music license in a day. Time is always an issue, and TV supervisors love indie artists because of the lack of major label red tape which often leaves them without clearance in time.”

Goodnight Kiss’ Fisher agrees: “Obviously dealing with an indie catalogue is going to be more affordable, and easier to work with. The large entities are not as hungry as the small, and our songs are no more than once-removed from the source.”

Another who agrees is music supervisor Frankie Pine, who has worked on all the Steven Soderbergh film and TV projects in the past decade. “I have had at least one indie recording in every film,” she states, “and it is often much easier to get them to sign off on an agreement. In a business that is so time-intensive, that is a real plus.”

Helping out indie musicians is Barry Coffing of Uprising Entertainment. “We go searching for great independent music,” he notes, “and the great thing about this business is that there is so much excellent music being made in so many categories.”

Musician vs. Music Supervisor.

Nancy Luca is a musician who plays so often on both coasts, she has an L.A. band, a New York band, and a Florida band, and does session guitar work (her solos were on two Heineken commercials during the Super Bowl broadcast). She observes that “There are people who make a lot of money writing music for television that ’sounds like’ other artists. It would be great if they would use the real artists like me who have great songs but no break with a big label. I am for licensing just to let people hear the real music — the stuff that was written with heart and mind, not just for a paycheck.”

Joel C. High, Vice President of music and soundtracks for Lions Gate Entertainment, displays the excitement that many of us have for making music work with images. “We often have directors who are greatly inspired by music and who may be passionate about acquiring a song that wouldn’t normally fit in the budget of that film or television project. That’s when we, as music supervisors, have to try to bring that same fervor to the negotiating process. We try to go to bat for our filmmakers in such a way that it benefits the picture and gives the best possible exposure for the musical artist. We want to get the absolutely perfect music for the scene and often the only way that can happen is by getting the recording artist to see the merits of having their song in a film - to consider the way their song is used so they will see benefits beyond just the financial one.”

A Director of Copyright and Licensing at a major independent publishing company had this to say: “Obviously, licensing music in film/TV is a wonderful way to get exposure, although for new artists, it will probably not be lucrative. And of course, there are things writers/artists should take into consideration when someone requests to use their music: Avoid giving broad rights away for free! This sets a bad precedent in the community, especially for new artists/writers, and it de-values their work.”

Did this person have any ideas for working out a compromise? Certainly: “If a writer is eager to be involved in a project, and the producer wants the use for FREE, here are a few suggestions when negotiating. First, try and reduce the terms (e.g. instead of perpetuity, reduce the term to 10 years; instead of all media, reduce to all TV or theatrical only; and instead of worldwide rights, try and reduce to U.S. only). If the producer is not agreeable to this, then the writer should request some sort of ’step deal.’ Very little money (if any) is paid up front, but should the production be successful, they are obligated to compensate the writer at certain ‘milestones’.” The feeling is that “if the producer starts making money, so should the writers of the musical works involved.”

Music supervisors Frankie Pine and P.J. Bloom have the best piece of advice for artists placing music: “When you get the call, say Thank You!” says Bloom. “There are so many people trying to get songs onto soundtracks, that it is important to get in the door and create a relationship.”

The Bottom Line.

Fisher has a lovely metaphorical summary for this story: “Like any part of the music business, licensing can be feast or famine, goldmine or plain old shaft — but like any part of any business, the best protection resides in employing those with experience and integrity. If I were looking for a goldmine, I’d find an experienced miner who had found gold before.”

URLs of principals in this story include:

http://www.goodnightkiss.com,
http://www.janssongs.com,
http://www.mastersource.com,
http://www.nancyluca.com,
http://www.narip.com,
http://www.sladjana.com/pages/don_grierson.htm,
http://www.uprisingent.com,
http://www.gmanmusic.com

Scott G (The G-Man) writes and produces radio commercials at G-Man Music & Radical Radio. He also composes music for commercials and has albums in distribution via Delvian Records, iTunes, and many online stores and sources. A member of NARAS (the Grammy organization) and NARIP (National Association of Record Industry Professionals), he writes about advertising, marketing and music for the Immedia Wire Service and MusicDish.com. Samples of his music and commercials are on his site: http://www.gmanmusic.com

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