EXPANDING HORIZONS
The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction
by Willa Rohrer
PMP’s November 2006 panel discussion, “Artist-Friendly Record Labels/Distribution Outlets” featured representatives from four organizations that are innovators in developing artist-centered methods for producing and distributing music: Philip Blackburn, director of innova records, the label of the American Composers Forum; Rick Reed, label relations manager with Emusic; Jane Ira Bloom, a recording artist with the label ArtistShare; and Lyn Liston, director of New Music Information Services at the American Music Center. Much of the discussion revolved around the question of how artists can use new methods of distribution and promotion—particularly the Internet—to their benefit. But this also raised some broader questions about the Internet itself: how has it changed the ways in which people discover, consume, and understand the value of music? How does technology affect the way that artists, audiences, and the media interact with one another? What implications does this have for the music industry (and its discontents)?
Artistshare Recording Artist Jane Ira Bloom, photo by Kristine Larsen
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For Philip Blackburn, the panel’s only record company executive, the Internet is a place where independent artists can empower themselves, and in this regard, can be the ally rather than the enemy of a record label such as innova. Even the phenomenon of illegal downloading, Blackburn suggested, is worth considering in a positive light. “Stealing is at least a foot in the door,” he observed wryly. “I think that’s one of the mental switches we need to take. We’ve heard so much negative propaganda about how if you download a track you’re an evildoer who must be clapped in irons. However, if you ask someone who habitually downloads tracks, they’ll say, ‘Well, this year I bought more albums than I ever have in the past because I’ve been introduced to more things.’” Rick Reed, label manager for Emusic, finds the same hunger for discovery in listeners who download music legally. A subscription music download service, Emusic is the largest independent digital music provider and the second largest digital music provider in the world overall. Among Emusic subscribers—primarily 25-62 year-old males—the genres with the fastest growing sales are classical, jazz, and Latin music. Speaking enthusiastically about his belief that Internet distribution levels the playing field for independent artists, Reed remarked that “some things that would never work in retail work perfectly online.” In Reed’s view, the Internet provides a different kind of environment for purchasing music by encouraging consumers to be adventurous in their selections. “The nature of Emusic is that folks want to find music they’ve never, ever heard before,” Reed noted. “Stuff you wouldn’t imagine would ever sell, sells really well.” And according to Reed’s data, visitors to Emusic.com tend to stay on the site longer than they do on other music download sites. Much of Emusic’s appeal lies in its format, which allows users to share information about music they’ve discovered with each other—and, in turn, allows artists to promote their work through a personal chain of contacts. Emusic also cross-references and offers recommendations based on a site visitor’s past purchases, which is the primary way that most people discover new music online. The online record label ArtistShare does more than enable people to discover new music online: it also puts the public directly in touch with individual artists. ArtistShare was founded by Brian Camelio, a musician and computer consultant who, like Blackburn and Reed, sees potential for independent artists to thrive in the digital age. When formulating his vision of ArtistShare, Camelio asked himself, “What is the value of the CD as an object now that anyone can copy it?” What truly excites people, Camelio realized, is not the myriad packages in which we receive music, but something more elusive: the spark that illuminates a creative imagination. And although ArtistShare makes CDs, podcasts, photographs, and other products available for purchase, if the site can be said to deal in one particular thing, it’s the creative process itself.
For ArtistShare recording artist Jane Ira Bloom, this suggests that the music industry is becoming less like a brick and mortar business and more like a service industry. Bloom pointed out that in the ArtistShare model, each individual artist fashions and maintains control of his or her own Web site and has sole contact with fans. In addition to CDs, Bloom’s site sells access to bimonthly podcasts in which she interviews artist friends, and signed prints of her original photography paired with descriptions of how the photos relate to her music. “It’s creating a whole new idea about why people should even be interested in a musician,” said Bloom. While it would appear that ArtistShare represents the dawning of a new digital utopia—one in which artists own their work in perpetuity and sell CDs directly to their fan base—there are also some potential pitfalls. One is that artists must invest a lot of time and energy in their sites to make them successful, and the learning curve can be steep if one is not computer savvy. There is also the difficulty (or the impossibility) of connecting with fans online in the same way one does on stage. In Bloom’s words, “You have to push to portray what it is that a musician does through technology in order [for technology] to come anywhere close to having the impact that you know about when you perform for people. You know about that because it’s what you do face to face. The thing is how to make the technology work for that. I think we’re still in a very transitional stage, and I think ArtistShare, even the concept of it, is a very transitional one… Musicians are changing; our lives are going to change dramatically.” Philip Blackburn added, “We are all global now. We’re competing [online] with people who are involved in labors of love, offering free art and opinion, and it’s a challenge to say, ‘This information is valuable and people will pay to have access to it.’” Although the panel agreed that we’ll never say goodbye to a physical product, they predicted that the way people receive information and make purchases will become increasingly specialized. PMP 55
The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction
EXPANDING HORIZONS
Top right: Tan Dun, photo by Nan Watanabe Bottom left: Jennifer Koh
For the creators of the American Music Center’s Web site, the question of how best to provide information to its users is an important one. As Lyn Liston, AMC’s director of New Music Information Services, explained, NewMusicJukebox (now called the AMC Online Library) was originally meant to be an online radio station, but developed into something more like a library of scores and sound clips. In essence, AMC Online Library is a nonprofit information center (instead of selling scores and recordings directly, it allows composers and publishers to provide links to rent or buy them). Visitors to the library can research a piece from several angles, such as duration, date of composition, and where the piece fits into a composer’s career. They can also listen to clips of many selections, including jazz tracks. AMC’s goal is to make the site a central online clearinghouse for musical organizations searching for music by American composers. In March 2007, AMC successfully launched Counterstream, an online radio station that plays music by American composers around the clock. At the time of the panel discussion, however, assembling the station was proving difficult. Liston shared some of the challenges: because of the range of work written in the 20th and 21st centuries, the labeling process required by radio software in order to create a proper variety and rotation of music is extremely complex. Striking a balance between accessible music and more challenging pieces has also taken considerable effort, but it’s a crucial part of the project since, as Liston pointed out, she’s not sure who the station’s audience will be. Copyright law and FCC regulations were also posing problems for Liston. Much of the songs with which AMC is concerned are, unlike the average pop song, comprised of sequential movements, some long enough to be separate CD tracks. But if according to U.S. regulations, one isn’t legally allowed to play multiple “tracks” by the same artist within a given amount of time, how are multiple movements to be represented? Liston made the case that FCC laws will need to change if classical, jazz, and other long-form music is to be represented accurately online. Despite these challenges, Liston was, like the other panelists, optimistic about the rich possibilities offered by the Internet to independent artists, composers, and their listeners. By the end of the discussion, this optimism had spread to members of the audience, who seemed inspired by those possibilities—and ready for the work ahead.
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Advice from Philip Blackburn, director of innova records :
The first question to ask yourself is whether you want to take a DIY (Do-It-Yourself ) approach or find a label. Before choosing any label, research it to see whether it’s a good fit. Some useful questions to use as guidelines for thinking about what kind of partner you’re looking for in a label are: Who will own the rights? Who will keep the income? What is the goal of the label—are they looking to make a profit? For innova, the answer is “no:” the approximately 200 artists in innova’s catalogue own the rights and keep 100% of the profits from their album (after paying an administrative and production fee up front). While major labels spend 10 times on marketing what they spend on production, innova only spends about 1/10th on marketing what it spends on production. Another crucial issue to consider is why you might want to make a recording and what you hope to achieve by it—whether your goal is to reach a broader audience, preserve an artistic legacy, or both. Be proactive about getting the best possible recording. An independent artist’s album must be competitive with commercial recordings. Creating a buzz about an album is one of the most important steps after creating the recording. Make certain that the CD stands out on the shelf. Design matters, especially for obscure or experimental artists. Three essential tips on self-promotion: 1) Make a “one-sheet,” or a condensed press release that delivers the maximum amount of information in the most concise way possible. 2) Don’t be shy about asking the media, including online publications, for reviews. When possible, work with writers directly, as they may be able to push a story through their editors without ad money being spent. 3) Empower yourself. If the media won’t take notice of you, then create the media yourself. Podcasts, Myspace, YouTube, and Gather.com pages are all accessible and free, and they’re controlled by the artist.
Philip Blackburn, director of innova records
Runout: “Pocket Concertos” at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre On Saturday, April 14, 2007, eight leaders and artists from Philadelphia’s nonprofit music community joined PMP staff in New York City at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre for the second installment in their “Pocket Concerto” commissioning project. Inspired by the example of such masterpieces as György Ligeti’s Piano Concerto, the project aims to commission 12 new works for soloist and sinfonietta over three years. For this concert, the Perspectives Ensemble, conducted by Brad Lubman, was joined by some of New York’s most exhilarating soloists. The audience was treated to Jennifer Koh playing “Spin 5,” a violin concerto by Charles Wuorinen; Emma Tahmizian performing a piano concerto by Sebastian Currier; Huang Ruo’s cello concerto, “People Mountain People Sea,” performed by Jian Wang; and Anthony Davis’ “You Have the Right to Remain Silent,” a clarinet concerto played by J. D. Parran. This concert was received enthusiastically by PMP attendees, who enjoyed the multiple textures and voices in the works premiered, as well as the unassuming atmosphere in which they were presented.—E.S.
Runout: Tan Dun’s “The First Emperor” at the Metropolitan Opera
On Monday, January 22, 2007, PMP staff and 11 leaders of the Philadelphia music community traveled to New York City to attend the Metropolitan Opera’s production of “The First Emperor,” the latest work by celebrated Chinese composer Tan Dun, who is known for uniting Asian musical traditions with the avant-garde. “Emperor” is set in the ancient court of Qin Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor of China (247-221 BC), as he battles to unite China and build the Great Wall. Huangdi was sung by Plácido Domingo, in the first role he has created during his 38 years at the Met. Paul Groves was Gao Jianli, the court composer who defies him and seduces Yueyang, the Emperor’s daughter, sung by Elizabeth Futral. Co-produced with the Los Angeles Opera, this elaborate production cost $2 million and was 10 years in the making. Its creative team featured China’s leading film director, Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers and Hero), Academy Award®winning costume designer Emi Wada (Akira Kurosawa’s Ran), and National Book Award-winning novelist Ha Jin. Domingo’s performance was powerful, and the production featured striking images, including 12 large drums struck by drummers using stones, hitting the drums and banging the stones together with highly stylized movements, creating what Alex Ross called “perhaps the most far-out music that has ever been heard at the Met” in his New Yorker review. While most who attended this PMP runout agreed with The New York Times’ Anthony Tommasini, who wrote, “Mr. Tan’s score is an enormous disappointment, all the more so because whole stretches of it, and many arresting musical strokes, confirm his gifts,” all were glad for the opportunity to see and hear such an ambitious production featuring some of opera’s major artists.—E.S. PMP 57