Documentary Film Focuses on Jug Band Music
Jug band music, which had its origins among African Americans in the urban South who often played homemade instruments like washboards & empty liquor jugs (poor man’s tubas) during the early 20th century, peaked in popularity during the ragtime era (1920s & 30s), and played an influential role on some of the leading names in folk and rock music in later years, is the focus of a new documentary film entitled “Chasin’ Gus’ Ghost.†Written and directed by lawyer, businessman, music and film buff Todd Kwait, the historical retrospective will be screened at Woodstock, New York’s Bearsville Theater on October 13, as part of the Woodstock Film Festival.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Boston’s WUMB Folk Radio Turns 25
WUMB Folk Radio, a non-commercial station licensed to the University of Massachusetts, begins its 25th year on the air on September 19 -- just days after the 10th annual Boston Folk Festival, which it presents.
Beginning at 6 a.m. that day, every half-hour will include a three-song set of the three top folk songs played on WUMB each year, from 1982 to 2007 (to date). Throughout the day, a number of celebrity well-wishers also are expected to join on-air hosts Dick Pleasants and Dave Palmater in sharing memories of the station through the years.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Recording Artists Stage Tribute to Red House Records Founder
An impressive lineup of artists will come together at St. Paul, Minnesota’s historic Fitzgerald Theater on Sunday, September 9, for A Tribute to Bob Feldman: Celebrating a Life in Music. Proceeds from the 7 p.m. concert will benefit the Bob Feldman Redwood Forest Fund to be disbursed to organizations engaged in efforts to conserve the Redwoods that the late founder and president of Red House Records so loved.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Senators Vow to Push for Internet Radio Equality Act
U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), chief sponsors of the “Internet Radio Equality Act†in the Senate, are vowing to press forward with it if webcasters and SoundExchange, the performance rights organization, have not reached a compromise agreement with respect to royalty rates by Labor Day.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Tommy Makem, 1932-2007
Tommy Makem, a singer-songwriter and storyteller who played a major role in popularizing Irish folk music in America, as well as in his native Ireland, died of lung cancer Wednesday at his Dover, New Hampshire home.
Widely regarded as the godfather of Irish music, Makem, 74, regaled audiences with traditional Irish songs and stories for more than half a century, as well as his own ballads like “Four Green Fields†and “Gentle Annie,†sung in his rich baritone, while accompanying himself on the banjo and tin whistle.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Webcasters Get Last-Minute Reprieve
Webcasters have received what appears to be at least a temporary reprieve from what some considered to be onerous new royalty rates that could have led some online radio stations to cease playing music.
A recording royalty rate increase imposed by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) will not take effect on July 15, as scheduled. During a hearing on Thursday before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce, SoundExchange, the sole administrative entity designated by the U.S. Copyright Office to collect and distribute performance royalties that are owed artists and labels, indicated that it would hold off on enforcing the new rates as it continues to negotiate with webcasters.
[To read the entire article, click on...
Webcasters Denied Emergency Stay on Royalty Rate Increase
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has denied an emergency stay sought by the Digital Media Association, National Public Radio and a group of small commercial webcasters to block a recording royalty rate increase imposed on webcasters by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB).
“This situation is grave, but that makes the message all the simpler and more serious,†maintains the SaveNetRadio Coalition in an action alert posted on its Website (savenetradio.org) today. The coalition is encouraging its supporters to call their U.S. Senators and Representatives to urge their support for bringing the Internet Radio Equality Act to the floor for an immediate vote.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Folk Alliance International & Regional Conferences Slated
The 20th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference is slated for next February 20-24 in Memphis, Tennessee, while regional conferences of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance (Folk Alliance) are shaping up for this fall. Designed for performing artists, presenters, agents and managers, folk DJs, folk societies and clubs, media, and others engaged in the folk music field, these conferences provide useful and enjoyable opportunities to learn, network and share music.
Booking gigs is the primary objective of some performers who attend these annual conferences, while many presenters and folk DJs come primarily to scout out new artists and those who they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more...
Performance Royalties Sought for Terrestrial Radio Airplay
Calling for “fair pay for airplay†and expressing its collective belief that artists should be compensated when their music is broadcast over the air, a new coalition of U.S. recording artists and music industry organizations announced the launch of musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) on June 14. The move comes as a battle still rages over the Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to raise Internet radio royalty rates (as previously reported here).
[To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Webcasters Seek Stay on Royalty Rate Increase
The Digital Media Association, National Public Radio and a group of small commercial webcasters filed a joint petition seeking an emergency stay of a recording royalty rate increase imposed on webcasters by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). Last week’s filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was prompted by concern that pending bills in Congress to repeal the rate increase may not be brought to a vote in either chamber by July 15, the day on which initial payments are due under the newly increased rates.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline. For more background on this issue, see The Future of Internet Radio May Hinge on Royalty Rates Increase, posted May...
People’s Music Network Slates Summer Gathering, June 1-3
There’ll be lots of planned and spontaneous jamming and singing of socially relevant songs when the People’s Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle (PMS/SFS) holds its annual summer gathering, June 1-3, at Epworth Camp and Retreat Center in High Falls, New York.
Also on the weekend’s agenda are topical song swaps, a variety of workshops and political discussions, and plenty of opportunities to just mix and mingle and enjoy the camp’s 160 acres of woods and meadows along the Rondout Creek, nestled between the Catskill and Shawangunk mountains.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline].
The Future of Internet Radio May Hinge on Royalty Rates Issue
Some 70 million Americans currently listen to online radio each month, according to Nielsen Media Research and a Bridge Ratings study. And many independent artists have come to rely on it as a key way of gaining exposure for their music that they would not otherwise get through commercial broadcast radio. But just how many webcasters (particularly nonprofits and small organizations) will be playing music in the near future -- and the diversity of styles that will be heard -- may well depend on the outcome of a currently raging battle royale over Internet royalty rates.
{To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Like/Follow Us!