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CALL FOR ARTISTS| Laurel Street Fair 2012

Submission Guidelines:
Artist submissions for the 13th Annual Laurel Street Fair (August 11, 2012) will be accepted during the month of May 2012. Please note we will be accepting submissions online ONLY. Both emerging and established artists are welcome to apply, however, the focus will be to highlight artists in Laurel District. Sorry only Laurel District residents and residents of adjoining neighborhoods are eligible to apply at this time.

All submissions should include the following:
• Link to music/website/Youtube that showcases your work
• Biography (brief)
• Contact Information: Name of contact person, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail
• Audiocassette, VHS, CD and DVD recordings will not be accepted

Artist Submission Status:
Although we sincerely appreciate your interest, please be aware that the Fair cannot at this time, guarantee your participation. Therefore, only those who are being considered for inclusion will be contacted—typically by early June.

Please email submissions to laurelstreetfairsubmissions@gmail.com.

We will contact you via mail or e-mail to confirm receipt of your submission.

Thank you for complying with the guidelines and for your interest in participating in the Laurel Street Fair!

By Pluginin

Source: The Tennessean

Michael McDonald Sues Over Online Music Sales

Singer-songwriter Michael McDonald, best known for solo hits like “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near),” and “What a Fool Believes” recorded while a member of The Doobie Brothers, has filed suit against Warner Music Group, claiming the company underpaid him for online music sales.

McDonald, who lives in Franklin, filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Nashville this morning.

He is seeking at least half a million dollars in royalties he claims were deliberately underpaid for sales of his music through download sites such as iTunes and through cellphone ringtone sales.

McDonald’s lawsuit is the latest in a growing list of breach of contract suits brought by artists against the nation’s major record labels over accounting and payment practices for music sold and streamed online.

Since December, country singer Kenny Rogers, rocker Peter Frampton, Weird Al Yankovic, members of the 1980s rock band Toto and an heir to the drummer for 1970s-era rock band The Knack (they’re known for “My Sharona”) have all filed suit on similar grounds.

The lawsuits generally claim that record labels have kept the lion’s share of digital music sales instead of fairly dividing them with the artists.

The musicians are all represented by Nashville attorney Richard Busch, partner in the King & Ballow law firm.

Last year, Busch filed suit successfully over royalties for rapper Eminem and his producers, F.B.T. productions. That suit withstood multiple appeals by record label Universal Music Group and is due to return to a Los Angeles courtroom this summer to determine monetary damages owed to the singer and his producers.

The underpayments to McDonald were “part of a conscious decision by Warner, and others in the music business to deprive artists of their proper royalties…,” McDonald’s lawsuit contends.

Related articles

• Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald Sues Label (rollingstone.com)
• ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic sues Sony Music (variety.com)

By Maurice Edwards

Remembering “The First Lady of Love”

Donna Summer

As an young kid in 1978, I was no different from any dreamer wishing  to one day become a celebrated performer.

So what I hope to do with this post is to try and show how significant Donna Summer experience was to me and future performers.

Let’s start from the beginning

The year was 1975 and I riding in the backseat of the family Ford Pinto when out of the blue I hear this moaning over an infectious bass-line coming through the radio. I don’t remember much except that I was deeply moved and wanted more.

That song turned out to be “Love To Love You Baby”.

Funny side note: When I first heard Love To Love you Baby I didn’t know the artist name, so when the song used to come on the radio I would also go” Mama ooh please turn up the radio it the “Nasty Lady”. I still chuckle when I think about that.

My Grandpa and Drag Queens

In 1976 my grandfather lived in San Francisco and  he used to babysit my sister and I when we finished school. Well it was at grandpa’s apartment that I as introduced to Donna Summer’s “Spring Affair” and Drag Queens. I know you ask probably wondering what does Drag Queens have to do with this? Anyone who has lived in San Francisco knows that living quarter can be pretty close to each other. Well my grandpa’s kitchen window was paralleled to his neighbors who happen to be drag queens and remembering him constantly playing Donna Summer over and over.

Side Note: At this point in my life I have not become an active consumer of records. I do not own any Donna Summer records yet or know what she looks like. It’s true

Puberty and MacArthur Park

1978 was a  pivotal year for me, I was about to graduate to junior high school, start puberty and I began to buy records. The very first record I purchased was the 12′ of “MacArthur Park”.  I still get shivers when I think about the production of that song. It was my first real lesson of how to make records outside the popular soul sound of the time.  I was completed enthralled by all the production stitch work, the musical charts for the brass and strings, and most of all Donna’s vocal performance.

Donna at this time was one of the biggest stars in the industry and I finally got the opportunity to put a face to the voice. I know it sounds crazy but it took three years before I saw Donna Summer perform on television. Pre-1978 Donna I believe was shown on television after 9pm, which was my bedtime in those days.

Favorite Line From MacArthur Park “I will have the things that I desire as my passions flow like rivers from the sky.  After all the love in my life you will be the one”.

Side Note: I have met a lot of young people who calls MacArthur Park “The Cake In The Rain Song”. 

I Understand The Art of Live Performance

Donna Summer Live & More

At this stage of my young life I’m beginning to take being a performer more seriously now and after purchasing Live & More I realized the lessons were about to begin. With Live & More I studied the importance of grabbing an audiences attention instantly and embedding them into the production. I studied the flow and energy levels of live performances and most importantly the discipline that is required to pull off a great show nightly. I believe this is one of the main reasons I have a lot of respect for artist that are known for being great performers.

 Looking Back On Some “Hot Stuff “

As I matured musically and begin to having a growing interest in studio production I begin to study the older Donna Summer catalog I was to young to appreciate or buy. On a production level I was definitely influenced by  Love To Love You Baby and Four Seasons Of Love albums. Bad Girls is the masterpiece  from a marketing and production standpoint.  Bad Girls was record for everyone.

Hot Stuff with it’s rock guitar  appeal to the pop fans

Bad Girls was definitely R&B

Sunset People was for the club kids

I still look to the Bad Girls album as the template of brilliant music marketing.

Before There Was Madonna, Beyonce And The Rest.

The music business has been through a lot of personal and professional changes and what’s really humorous is that when I want to recenter my creative energy I listen to Donna Summer’s Live & More, it takes me to that place of being an eager 10 year dreaming of being in the business.

Side Note: Please excuse the grammer! I didn’t edit.

Related articles

• A Tribute to Donna Summer (kexp.org)
• Donna Summer Dead (professorlocs.typepad.com)

By Pluginin

If music rights are a mess, why not get rid of the mess?

Here are the Top 5  radical argument against music copyright.

1.  Copyright law is designed to protect innovators and artists, and encourage innovation and art.
2. There’s more music (ie, recordings and songs) being created and distributed than ever before in history, yet most of it does not make money (or produces a loss).
3.  It is highly questionable whether copyright is encouraging this huge output, or whether the absence of recording and publishing copyrights would lessen the quality of the music being created (or, even improve quality overall).

4.  In the music industry, copyright law has repeatedly served to stifle technological innovation and enrich lawyers, while funnelling revenue towards a very narrow class of beneficiaries (ie, major labels, superstar artists, estates).
5. Artists have more outlets than ever to exploit non-recordings, like live performances, branding, and merchandising.  In fact, many artists (like Counting Crows) are eager to position recordings for free.

Without copyright, would artists  no longer have the means to create?

Independent and unsigned artists would be forced to do something else.  The truth is that without copyright, the public would not have universal access to culture online.”

By Pluginin

1. Evernote: Life is busy and your brain is stuffed to the brim with knowledge. Evernote is simple to use and helps you keep track of all your notes, files, pics, and audio notes as they happen. Also works great as a study aid for that final exam!

 2. Sideswipe: The world is busy place, and as you embark on your next adventure, you’ll definitely want to keep tuned in to worldly events as they happen. SideSwipe is a nice news aggregator for BlackBerry smartphone.

3. Top Gear: Now that you’re all grown up, you might be looking for a new car. The ones featured here may be a bit out of budget, but that’s also another thing you need: motivation!

4. Instaphoto: Unless you have a superhuman memory, those magical moments of graduation won’t last a lifetime if you don’t capture them.

5. Poynt: After you graduate, you may find yourself in a brand new city for a new career or your next adventure. Poynt is designed to help you find what you need and keep you connected to where it’s at. You can even make in-app purchases on things like movie tickets, make reservations at local restaurants and take advantage of local deals.

Related articles

• Evernote for BlackBerry Receives Bug Fix Update (news.softpedia.com)
• Evernote for Android Gets a Whole New Look and More User-Friendly Features [Video] (lifehacker.com)