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The inthemix50 is back for 2008! Each year the announcement of Australia’s favourite DJs, club nights, events and producers is a cause for much anticipation. With dance music down under doing such massive things its great to hear that Brisbane based PNG DJ, AK-47 has been nominated in the Sony intheMix Top 50 DJ comp. They’ve managed to put his mix online as well so I’ve added both links below. Check it out and you can show the brother some love by voting!
Support akay47: Vote for him on the intheMix50 website. Click on the following link:
http://www.inthemix.com.au/50/2008/djlist/ …. and hit submit. Cheers for the support!
If you’d like to listen to ak’s mix-tape, you can go to: http://www.inthemix.com.au/fm/38694/AKAY47_Booty_Ammo_Mix
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Also, The ABC’s In the Loop program is running a musical talent competition called ‘Pacific Break‘. The competition aims to uncover the best unsigned musical talent in the Pacific. The winning entry will be announced on the 10th October and will play at Vanuatu’s Fest Napuan Music Festival in November.You can see some great pics of last years Fest Napuan music festival at Katie Hannan’s Flickr account.
Not to make the title sound too fantasy like but I think Robert@PNG will love this posting from a fellow Open Source Software developer. Oh and Danger commented to me on Google Talk that he was amazed at the sound quality of the recording too. So music lovers I’m talking about Denis Crowdy, who is based in the Solomon Islands and is doing some very interesting work on developing village based music studios.
Besides Denis’ blog he also runs a great website called Melanesian Music where he has lovingly collected stories and links related to Music and Copyright issues in Melanesia, so yeah Kudos to his efforts.
Now to one of his amazing machines. Below is an excerpt from his blog about it. It also has a video to show in motion his recording system.
“Over the last couple of years I have been putting together a portable recording system that I can use in places without electricity as part of a project funded by Macquarie Uni to develop appropriate archiving tools for use in Melanesia. It was first used in a pretty remote village called Taramata on the island of Small Malaita (the southern bit of Malaita) in the Solomon Islands. I travelled there with Adriel Tahisi, a graduate of the music section at UPNG where I used to teach, and we recorded various panpipe, bamboo and vocal ensembles. We took some great video there but I lost the camera on a marathon trip back to Honiara so the following video shows the gear in use in a small village near Honiara called Ohiuola.”
Even more exciting too is the fact that just as we are now talking about the OLPC being used here in PNG for educational purposes. Denis has already been tooling around with success at using one of the OLPC laptops for musical recording. He’s got a post on it here from his test run in Vanuatu. So obviously giving more space for the OLPC’s expansion as an affordable and versatile tool which should be able to attract more funding from grants related to cultural developments in addition to education.
Denis other Open Source efforts can be read about here and OLPC efforts here.
All in all though I think what I’d be interested to see after Denis’ research begins to mature is attempts made to be able to create musical recording packages of these tools so that they can be easily purchased at a music shop or hardware shop anywhere in the Pacific or the world for that matter. On the local scene I see great potential for church groups, youth groups, musicians, teachers, researchers and aid workers using these recording tools.
Oh na mi laik for wishim yufala evriwan lo Solomon Islands Happy 30th Independence!
Allota emails coming and going since the latest discussions on my Arapesh language. So throughout the email discussions about recording traditional languages and music and preserving traditional culture through modern art forms, Dionisia from Fiji enlightens me of the fact that the lyrics from the ‘Sweet Lullaby’ track from Deep Forest are actually from the Solomon Islands. All this time and I never knew??!!??
The Lyrics
Sasi sasi o to aro aro
O angi si nau boroi amu
Ni ma oe e fasi korona
Dolali dasa na, lao dai afuimae
Afuta guau mauri, Afuta wela inomae
Sasi sasi ae o angisi nau
Boroi nima oe e fasi koro na
Dolali dasa na, lao dai afuimae
Afuta guau mauri, Afuta wela inomae
Young brother, young brother you be quiet
Although you are crying to me
Your father has left us
He has gone to the place of the dead
Protect the head of the living, Protect the orphan child
Young brother, young brother hey? although you are crying to me
Your father has left us
He has gone to the place of the dead
Protect the head of the living, protect the orphan child
Interpreting the Song:
At the core of Sweet Lullaby is the voice and melody of Afunakwa from the Solomon Islands who comes from the island of Fataleka. Her singing was recorded in 1969 by ethnomusicologist Hugo Zemp in an effort to archive the traditions of a fading culture. This interpretation and lyrics come a translation by her grandchildren. The song is said to be very old and hence the new generation does not understand every word.
The song is about a young child crying because he does not see his father with the family. In response his elder sister sung this song to comfort as well as tell him the reality, with an appeal for their deceased father to protect this child in the land of the living (local ancient belief is that the dead care for loved ones they left behind).
The old woman also said that the sample, if listened to carefully, used some words and sounds that were added to make it sound more melo. Expression of some words twice, as well pronounciation of most of the words are different from that of normal conversation. Eg. ‘O’ should be OE’, Angiangi should be angisi. This is very common with local traditional songs.
Thanks to the people of the Solomon Islands for the lyrics, translation, and interpretation.
Update: 23/06/08
The existing Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act 2000 lists and protects exclusive economic and moral rights in favor of both copyright owners and owners of derivative works, and for the past 8 years, these rights remained dormant in the absence of a legal framework and entity to regulate compliance. This is about to change fundamentally under the proposed Copyrights and Neighboring Rights (Collective Management) regulations 2008.
These regulations form part of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights (Amendment) Bill 2008, which were discussed at length in Port Moresby at Holiday Inn hotel from 1st to 2nd May 2008 during the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) National Workshop on Copyright and Related Rights and Collective Management of Rights.
At the WIPO workshop, recording artists and songwriters joined legal practitioners and representatives from government agencies, educational institutions, and the book publishing, radio, television, and recording industries for an induction on copyright and its applications before deliberating on the Amendment Bill and regulations.
“It is high time we had a copyright industry in PNG,” workshop participant and copyright advocate Oala Moi Eno said. “I join others in commending the National Government through the Investment Promotion Authority and Intellectual Property Office of PNG for collaborating with the Constitutional Law Reform Commission to finalize legislation. I understand the Amendment Bill and regulations will now be put to the National Executive Council for its sanctioning and then Parliament for approval when it next meets. This has been a longtime coming after intense arguments in favor of copyright surfaced again in early 2000″, Oala added.
Oala now challenges creators of works in key cultural industries in PNG such as music and sound recording, print and publishing, film and television, visual arts and photography, and dramatic works and theatre, to consider the benefits of collective management of rights.
According to a WIPO publication, collective management of rights makes the work of artists, authors, and other creators available to the public on a large scale. Its role in economic development is also important:
the collective management system not only helps individuals make a living from their work, it builds upon and strengthens cultural industries as well. Authors and artists in many fields have established professional organizations - generally called collective management organizations (CMOs) - to manage their copyrights, to facilitate clearance of those rights, and to ensure that they obtain economic reward for their creative output.
“Copyright is a private right and the onus is on the beholder to listen, learn and act responsibly. I know of numerous newspaper reports citing breach of copyright allegations, but in all these we stakeholders failed to get up and educate ourselves on an important issue such as copyright.
Now with government and non-government support, we can work together to highlight the importance of copyright and underline the fact that creators of copyright works have a place in society, to create works for our education, our enjoyment, our enrichment, for improving the quality of our lives”, Oala said.
The Bill provides for different groups of copyright owners in the literary and artistic field to organize themselves and setup their respective CMOs.
There is already a preliminary group of songwriters, artists and musicians united as an industry body under the name, Music Industry Association (MIA). Oala is part of MIA’s interim committee and the Chairman of the Interim Committee is popular sound producer/engineer Mr. Digby Holeong.
Oala says that MIA was born in Port Moresby at the conclusion of the Workshop for Performers and Musicians on Copyright and Neighboring Rights in PNG, which ran from 15-17 April 2008 at the UPNG Art Gallery.
“The UPNG workshop was timely as it prepared Port Moresby-based copyright owners to actively participate in the WIPO workshop. I know that facilitators of the UPNG workshop tried to involve a cross representation of copyright owners from within the music industry based in Port Moresby. Due to funding constraints, the inclusion of other regions or networks was simply not possible (at that early stage), however be assured that given time and funding, our brother and sister copyright owners in the Highlands, Momase and New Guinea Islands regions will be given a timeframe and an opportunity to discuss the essential issues as determined by the Interim Committee of the MIA. Missing out or not participating at the WIPO National Workshop was never an option because it involved an issue that would shape and control our livelihood. However, I can say that in attending the National Workshop, we, as individuals and under the MIA banner, represented your interests at a time when it was not possible to have you attend in person and in time, we will come to you. MIA is currently working on a National plan which includes conducting IPR awareness and would embark on a membership drive in due course”, Oala added.
Meanwhile, an infant copyright industry will be born after it goes through the normal legislative process and the new Director of Copyrights and stakeholders covered by this legislation will be kept busy in their efforts to ensure that the PNG Collective Management System works for the country as well as for each stakeholder.
Email queries to oalasongs@hotmail.com
I promised a handful of music lovers about a month and a half ago that I’d put up Oli Wilson’s paper on the recording industry in Port Moresby, so here it is below. He presented this paper on the 27th March this year at the University of Papua New Guinea.
Music and Culture is an enourmas field and I like how Oli has begun his research by trying to tackle one defined geographic location first before expanding his research. I can see this as a progressive work for him and I wouldn’t be surprised if he continuous developing his study in this field till he gets into his 30’s (cos he’s only 23 right now).
I’ll start below with his introduction and a couple of excerpts, but you can download the paper in PDF from the link further below. For researchers and students out there the paper has been accepted for publication in the Wanpisin: Journal of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea.
Introduction
Over the last four months I have been collecting data on the recording industry in Port Moresby, as part of my fieldwork toward a PhD in ethnomusicology. I still have many months of fieldwork ahead of me, so this paper is not intended as a presentation of my research results, as any attempts to discuss or predict them here would inevitably be incomplete. Instead, this paper outlines the basis for research on music industry technology and cultural identity, and discusses why the recording industry in Port Moresby is a relevant and significant case study. I will begin by introducing the discipline of ethnomusicology from which this study draws its fundamental methods, and discuss how the study of popular music in particular, is a valuable means to investigate broader questions concerning popular culture and identity. I will explain some fundamental theories concerning popular music by summarising theories of Popular Culture and Mass Culture. I will also discuss how the term ‘tradition’ has been applied in studies of non-western popular music, arguing that an ambiguity, resulting from the over-use of this term both as theory and description, complicates the application of the above theories. I will conclude by considering how these theories may or may not apply to the music industry in Port Moresby, particularly with reference to how they relate to the construction and representation of cultural identity.
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…My own research is concerned with the social function of commercial music in a developing urban context, in particular, its capacity to construct and represent cultural identity. In order to investigate this, I am studying how the music industry, and in particular, ‘globalised’ music technologies, influences contemporary notions of cultural identity in Port Moresby. To explain this further, I will discuss three related areas; music technology, the industry, and how these two influence and effect how music represents and constructs cultural identity…
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…These studies provide a relevant foundation for popular music research in PNG. However, they only focus on the guitar and ukulele, and we could be mistaken to believe that these instruments are the only technologies that drive the musical phenomena known as stringband. It is possible however, that the guitar was not the sole catalyst for the development of this style, and also that it was not the sole catalyst for changes in how music is perceived and organised by Papua New Guineans. Instead, the guitar must be considered as only one part of a process that includes many other elements, including human interaction, and other technology…
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…Therefore, when investigating the recording industry technologies that are impacting musical culture today, I must acknowledge that musical culture in PNG has already undergone considerable change, none of which can be attributed to a single event or technology. Developments in musical culture therefore can be seen as part of a long-standing trajectory of cultural change…
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…Port Moresby music industry is undergoing a digital revolution, where relatively affordable digital recording technologies are becoming commonplace. Port Moresby currently has at least twenty small digital recording studios that are all producing commercial music. This drastically increases musicians’ access to recording technology, which dramatically increases the regularity with which commercial music is produced. For example, I estimate that PNG produces 300-400 commercial recordings a year, which is a phenomenal number for a country of this size and demographic…
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…Papua New Guinea’s urban centres, such as Port Moresby, have a migrant population that is relatively new, and it would be difficult to argue that their residents are atomised to the extent that mass culture characterises urban subjects. It would appear that people’s social relationships are in fact well defined, and manifest in various forms, for example, through the wantok system. However, because of urbanisation, people are dislocated from the origin of these social systems, and therefore the process of urbanisation alone is enough to have some effect on these social systems. From my observations it would appear that people are using commercial music in order to connect with the places they are unable to connect with physically. For example, the marketing strategies of local record producers is centred around the concept of selling music from one area, to people who identify with that same area. People buy music from “their place”, therefore reinforcing their relationship to place, and thus reinforcing their cultural identity….
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Download PDF here:
Does PNG have Popular Culture? Perspectives on Commercial Music in Port Moresby. By Oli Wilson - PhD Candidate in Ethnomusicology at Otago University, New Zealand
Presented as part of the MAPS seminar series at the University of Papua New Guinea on Thursday 27th of March, 2008
Accepted for publication in the Wanpisin: Journal of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea.
Lets Talk Music For a bit
Been a while since I’ve written about music on this blog and with all the Hoo Ha still raging on with Telikom/Digicel/GreenCom etc (see, Sell! Sell! Sell! Come and get it while its Hot!) I need a break. Can they stop talking and actually start doing something about interconnection or in GreenCom’s case get in the ring to add some green to the blue and red mix going on here?!
So anyway Oala Moi, PNG’s strongest advocate for musical copyright protection, sent me an email the other day about an interesting legal development in regards to copyrights. To begin with, I’ve had the opportunity to chat with a number of successful PNG musicians and allot of their hopes and dreams appear to be pointing towards joining the Australasian Performing Right Association or more commonly known as APRA. (You can read about APRA’s involvement with PNG music here).
However it is still a complex road ahead for our artists so looking at what’s happening in Australia should give us a better idea of what we’ll need to sort out here to make it work for us in PNG or anywhere in the pacific as well.
What is APRA?
Essentially the gist of APRA is to provide a management body of some legal standing to allow for royalties for musical work to be paid directly to an artist. So nobody else can use their work without getting their permission first, and if necessary, paying a royalty for this use. APRA as a not-for-profit organisation collects royalties on behalf of its 47,000+ members, and by agreement, for all the copyright owners around the world.
In further detail their website explains it as:
Copyright and royalties
Whenever music is performed in public, communicated or reproduced the songwriter may be entitled to a payment or royalty. This is because the Australian Copyright Act gives writers what are known as ‘economic rights’ which cover certain uses of their music. By licensing and allowing the public performance, communication or reproduction of their music, songwriters may generate income known as royalties.
Click here for more information on copyright and APRA.
Public performances of music include music used in pubs, clubs, fitness centres, shops, cinemas, festivals, CDs or even playing the radio or television. Communication of music covers music used for music on hold, music accessed over the internet or by television or radio broadcasters. Reproduction of music covers making a copy of the work, such as a CD recording, using music in a video or DVD, a mobile phone ring tone, digital download, as production music or in the making of audiovisual and broadcast material.
APRA collects and then pays these royalties to its members throughout the year. Royalties collected from domestic sources are paid twice a year in May and November; overseas royalties are paid as they accrue.
Click here for more information about how royalties are distributed.
Music - a ‘user pays’ system
All businesses, organizations or individuals that choose to publicly perform, communicate, or reproduce copyright music need permission from the copyright owners.
In most instances, an APRA licence provides a simple solution. This is because APRA collectively administers the public performance and communication rights on behalf of the majority of Australian and overseas copyright owners. APRA simplifies the legal process for business proprietors who would otherwise need to obtain a licence from each copyright owner whose music they wish to play.
Click here for more information about how music users are licensed.
Australian Hotels Association v Copyright Tribunal, what happened?
On 10 July 2007, the Copyright Tribunal handed down its decision in relation to a new nightclub and dance party licensing scheme. Click here to view the Copyright Tribunal’s judgment.
In relation to nightclubs, a rate of $1.05 was set for each person per night of operation, to be calculated on the basis of the venue’s capacity. For dances and dance parties, the Tribunal adjusted the rate to $3.07 for each person that attends each event.
At a hearing on 15 November 2007, the Tribunal confirmed that nightclub licence fees payable under the new scheme are to be phased in over a five year period. The rates fixed by the Tribunal per person per night of operation are set out below. On 15 November, the Tribunal also stated that the new dance party rate of $3.07 will not be subject to a phase in period.
On 23 November 2007, the Tribunal issued an Order formalising its decision on the implementation of the schemes. Click here to view the Copyright Tribunal’s Order. The Order provides that the Dance Use licence scheme (nightclubs and dances/dance parties) comes into operation as of 23 November 2007. The annual phasing-in increases for the nightclub tariff will take effect from 23 November 2007 as set out in the following table:
|
23.11.07 – 22.11.08 |
23.11.08 – 22.11.09 |
23.11.09 – 22.11.10 |
23.11.10 – 22.11.11 |
23.11.11 onwards |
|
$0.51 |
$0.64 |
$0.78 |
$0.91 |
$1.05 |
Annual CPI increases will apply from the second year.
Review of Copyright Tribunal’s Decision
In August 2007, the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) lodged an application in the Federal Court for a review of the Tribunal’s decision of 10 July 2007 in relation to nightclubs (“the Appeal”). The Federal Court may either confirm the Tribunal’s decision or require the Tribunal to reconsider the case.
The Federal Court heard the Appeal on 6 March 2008. The decision was delivered on 13 March 2008 (click here to view the Federal Court’s Reasons for Judgment). The Court dismissed the Appeal. This means that the Tribunal’s Order of 23 November 2007 continues to be effective and the licence fee rates set out above are confirmed.
What?? Does it mean now that I need to pay fees for playing music at my Night Club?
Well for PNG not yet, as we have 2 principal issues and that is getting the Hotels and Clubs to participate and having the actual singers registered with a body like APRA to enforce licensing participation. What the case above basically highlights is a clear and definite legal development in copyright protection for music (and other forms of art). If our local artists push further with an association with APRA then the above revenues could become a reality in PNG. (Keep in mind here though that this post is only referring to revenues from music being played in businesses. Revenues from CD sales and public performances etc are a whole other topic).
From the outset it is a complicated affair and the calculating of licencing fee’s and what is to be billed for within a licence was the main issue involved in the above case. I can imagine Hotels and Clubs suddenly jumping up and down about added expenses and how music licencing in public places will add a Kina to my beer. So licensing fee’s will have to be simplified and calculations made clear before pushing this through in PNG.
Now I hope I don’t make this posting more complicated by adding that the above case wasn’t related to an APRA licence, but a licence from the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Limited (PPCA). PPCA grants licences for the broadcast, communication or public playing of recorded music (e.g. CDs, tapes, records) or music videos. They then distribute the licence fees they collect to the record labels and Australian recording artists registered with them.
So it appears that in Australia you may need more than one licence to cover yourself.
Why 2 licences?
It’s important to note that if you need a licence of the type available from PPCA, you’ll probably need a licence from APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd) as well. That’s because there are at least two copyrights in most recordings and music videos:
- the copyright in the song (lyrics, composition etc.) - licences available from APRA ;
- the copyright in the recording and/or music video of the song (a particular recorded performance) - blanket licences available from PPCA, or individual licenses from each of the relevant copyright holders.
So who in Australia needs a licence? (Cos this gives us an idea of who potentially may need one in PNG).
The Copyright Act specifies the rights granted to copyright owners. These include the right to allow their recordings to be heard in public (ie. played in a public place such as a retail store, restaurant, fitness centre, etc.). This is known as the ‘public performance right’ in recordings.
To avoid infringing copyright, any business that wants to:
- play protected sound recordings, other than by radio or television broadcast (eg. CDs, tapes) in a public place;
- exhibit music videos; or
- use sound recordings as music on hold;
should obtain a licence to do so from all of the copyright owners for each protected recording or video
they play.
So Back at the Ranch what should we do?
Well the ingredients are here:
- we have a copyright law,
- we have APRA scratching at the door,
- we have a tribe of artists with small mountains of produced music, and
- we have businesses who use music for various purposes in their operations.
So either some bar or restaurant gets caught playing local music without permission and taken to court or these entertainment businesses start getting registered with APRA licencing. On the same note our artists will also need to get registered with APRA to get any benefits. But to be fair to any business that plays protected sound recordings the licensing fees must firstly be relevant to our market size. The licences also need to be simplified as much as possible for businesses to take it seriously and without fear of added business costs.
I think the greatest benefit that could come out of this, could be the kick starting of an actual music industry where musicians can do this as a profession and not a part-time job. But it has to be a simple and straightforward exercise for all involved.
Oli Wilson, a young man from the land of the long white clouds has been in PNG for a couple of months doing his PHD on the recording industry in Port Moresby. So if you’re into music and the business side of it come along to the UPNG Main Lecture Theatre on Thursday, 27th March at 3pm to hear his seminar.
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“Research Perspectives on Commercial Music Production in Port Moresby”
By Oli Wilson (PhD Candidate, Otago University, New Zealand)
Abstract:
Popular music, brought about by urbanization and the development of third world cities, has previously been considered unworthy of scholarly attention, as it appeared not to connote important rituals or significant cultural performance. However, recent trends in ethnomusicology acknowledge that popular music has important cultural functions among the majority of the world’s cultures. Of particular interest has been its capacity to reflect and stimulate cultural change. Ethnomusicological studies of popular music from different cultures have challenged disciplinary concepts of authenticity and tradition, and have questioned how these concepts relate to the construction and representation of identity. This paper outlines how investigation into the commercial music industry in Port Moresby provides a relevant case study of the impact music industry technology has on musical culture, and how music industry and technological developments influences the construction and representation of cultural identity.
Danger and AKAY47 are in town. Both guys share my love for music and DJ’ing so I finally made a start on re-building my music collection. I’ve borrowed external hardrives from friends like Danger and other wonderful friends also like Elise which collectively has taken me from Zero music to 19,699 songs (104.22 GB). Most of Dangers stuff is trance, techno, dance and turntablism stuff and Elise’s is chillout, latin and r’n'b. So getting there now. My brother has allot of PNG stuff and hip hop and r’n'b so will be getting his stuff as well. But I think I will need to get a good collection of older stuff like 60’s/70’s and 80’s music and more PNG and Pacific music.
Rex and Solo also mentioned that they have music, so will have to knock on their doors as well as I do my rounds to build a good size music collection. So after losing my music and having packed up my turntable and mixer for so long I’m finally getting back into the music. Settling into my new house has been the major reason that I am able to setup again and Akay came over last night to test out my turntable and mixer to give me some pointers and advise on scratching and Dj’ing generally. And as for my external hard drive, well I went out and bought a 500GB hard disk so that should do the trick for a couple of years.
Image from Danger’s Blog
As everyone knows we all have MP3 players now and allot of our music comes from friends PC’s or from burning CD’s. I haven’t bought a music CD for nearly 5 years now, so maybe paying money to record companies is really not the way of the future (duh!).
So a Mike Masnick from Techdirt came up with this suggested business model. he states that when you’re dealing with digital goods, you can’t sell the music as a “good” — they’re not goods in any sense. So, you have to sell services or other tangible goods. And, if you’re selling a service, you never sell past work, you’re always selling future work. So … with that in mind:
* Bands start out the old fashioned way, playing local shows. Building up an audience. They record a few songs (cheaply, thanks to inexpensive digital recording equipment) and use that to get some attention beyond local venues. They’re encouraged to offer the songs as free MP3s and even *want* people to put them on file sharing networks because it gets them attention. They begin to realize that the music file is simply a promotional item for the fact that they make good music. Buzz on file sharing networks is important.
* If they get that wider recognition, they start touring more broadly, playing larger venues. They take the door money, and they sell some merch. Some people will still want CDs, especially if they can be offered cheaply (K5?) and include additional things such as liner notes and lyrics. Notice that Steps 1 and 2 are still the same as they are now (other than if you’re completely manufactured by the recording industry).
* Now is when things get more interesting. You start to offer a “service.” You might call it a fan club, but that has connotations. Let’s call it a “subscription” to the band. When the band is still young and small, the subscription should remain pretty cheap and flexible. Say, you let people pay K10/year (less than the cost of a current CD), and they get benefits: direct contact with band members, early access to recordings, ability to request songs at shows. Give the fans their own special RSS news feed so they can be alerted every time the band has a new song for them to hear. Members also get discounts on tangible goods. T-shirts for 25% off. Actual CDs (with bonus features — movies, games, who knows what) for less than anyone else can buy them. Easy access to recorded concerts right after each show that they can download also would be great.
* The band grows even more, and expands the fan club. They’re playing larger venues, so they reserve the best seats for their members. Members get backstage passes. Maybe even the chance to win a concert in your backyard or something like that. The fan club membership prices rise (though not to ridiculous levels) as the band gets larger. Preferably those fans who joined early get grandfathered in at lower prices (incentive to support young bands).
The bands are now making money from (a) concerts (b) fans who are “subscribed” to their service and (c) still from selling tangible merchandise. Fans get to directly support the bands they like. The actual music can be enjoyed by a wider audience. Digital music files are seen as promotions, and thus a band is more likely to get a wider audience, meaning more people joining their fan club. No, not everyone will join, but so what? Not everyone buys CDs now.
If my choice is to buy 12 K18 CDs a year (one a month, say) or support 20 or so bands at K10/year getting all those extra goodies, guess which one sounds more appealing to me? I’m still spending about the same amount, but I’m getting much much, much more, as are the musicians, themselves.
Now, again, this cuts out some of the industry — but it doesn’t have to entirely. Promotions are still needed. A savvy promotional campaign (understanding the nature of using free MP3s as a promotional tool) would still help. Concert promotions are still important. Setting up tours. Setting up higher quality recordings. All of that. What’s no longer needed is quite the same amount of CD distribution. Contracts would, of course, need to be restructured, since the industry now gets all their money from CD sales and bands end up with most of the touring money.
A super special friend of mine has been giving me a crash course in Opera. I obviously have no clue about it although I recognise certain pieces of music from them being used in movies etc. My friend also speaks fluent Italian which helps when she’s translating it for me so I can better understand it, but just listening to a version of “Nessun Dorma” by Paul Potts really blew me away. What made it even more emotional was the fact that this guy was a mobile phone salesman and out of the blue on a talent show on TV he comes out with a majestic voice that kept the crowd in awe. One of the judges remarked that what we were seeing was ‘a little lump of coal that is about to become a diamond…’. (jeez I’m getting a lump in my throat just writing about it).
But getting back to Opera, she also ran through Wagner’s 4 part Epic, I recognised the tune for ‘Ride of the Valkyries‘ from the movie ‘Apocalypse Now‘ and now I’m trying to download ‘La Mama Morta‘ which was played in a scene in Tom Hanks movie ‘Philadelphia‘. (ahh Thank God for YouTube!)
What I began to see was that Opera in most cases were folklore, tumbuna stories of their ancestors which were able to live and continue thriving through the art form of Opera. You can probabaly guess where I’m heading with this, but here goes, what about our culture then? What famous PNG stories do we have that reflect human spirit, tragedy and triumph? A perfect example of how the stories in Opera has survived is the very fact that allot of the story themes and music have been used in modern day advertising and entertainment as well. For example the tune for “Nessun Dorma” being used in the Olympics.
Na yumi olsem wonem nau? I used to watch some great funny plays when I was at UPNG, but I don’t hear of them anymore. You get allot of productions at the Moresby Arts Theatre and that’s a great effort but where is the balance with locally produced art? What if PNG musicians like Pati Doi teamed up with a playwright to do a production of some tolai legend? Maybe it comes down to money, maybe it’s marketing…who knows? I mean why don’t we even use PNG music tunes for advertising, instead of always using western music tunes?
It would be nice to see more Tumbuna and modern day stories being translated into plays. I know there is a good body of local productions out there but it has been far and long in between each one, but perhaps if the scripts could be collected in one place then maybe more than one acting group could perform the same stories elsewhere in the country as well. Sort of like a collection of classic rock hits that any band could pick up and play.
Anyway, here’s that Paul Potts video that’s been making me cry at my work desk…
and here is ‘La Mama Morta‘ in ‘Philadelphia‘
Most of you will probably guess by now that I’m a big music fan. I’ve got all these fantasies of being a DJ but I haven’t had enough time lately to get into it more cos I’m in between houses right now and my turntable is packed up. My delays have also been prolonged by the loss of my external hard drive which housed my entire music collection.
I’m not that great as I only have 1 Numark turntable and mixer, so I really have to get another turntable before I can start mixing, but I’ve had some baby attempts at mixing with a laptop. I’ve even started a little vinyl collection which is growing slowly. My favourite ones are the 60’s and 70’s disco 45″s which I love playing at home. But the most influential album for me, especially for my leanings towards turntablism has been ‘Since I left You’ by the Avalanches. It was after listening to that album that I really began to appreciate the skill involved and it was then that I decided I might have a go at this.
Unfortunately work has been pretty full on for me this year and just when I thought that my feelings for turntablism were about to die (because like any relationship you will always have to work on it to make it work), I get an anonymous email about a new site for DJ’s called ‘United DJ’s of PNG‘. Awesome or what! So yeah, check out the site if your into that sort of thing and start sharing!
Also if there’s anyone out there with old records they no longer want please let me know as I would love to buy them, I’m really not fussed what type of music.
Thursday, 2 August 2007 - PNG songwriters will soon receive the first local royalty payments as a result of a new licence agreement between APRA and radio station, PNG FM. This is the first licence issued, for performing rights, since the implementation of copyright law in PNG
The news was announced at the inaugural PNG & Pacific Copyright Summit held in Brisbane last week. Proudly presented by APRA and the Copyright Collective Management Division of WIPO; the Summit formalised a commitment from PNG Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the PNG Department of Justice to finalise the relevant regulations for the establishment of a collecting society. APRA|AMCOS and WIPO also pledged support to the nascent organisation.
Also launched at the Summit was CMS Pacific – a centralised documentation and royalty distribution database for the region. “This cost-effective IT solution will enable the management of copyright protected musical works on behalf of Pacific songwriters and composers,” said Scot Morris Director, International APRA|AMCOS.
“CMS Pacific will support the establishment of viable local collecting societies in the South Pacific region. A regional solution to rights administration in developing markets; CMS Pacific takes full advantage of the available economies of scale.
The Summit was held in conjunction with the Queensland Music Festival; the two events shared in a ‘Sing Sing’ performance featuring George Telek, Ari Ingram Djakapurra Munyarryun and Soru Tony Subam. The performance was directed by the renowned songwriter, composer and collaborator with PNG artists, David Bridie, who was also a panelist at the Summit.
The Summit attracted delegates from PNG and across the Pacific and featured panel discussions about copyright law and practice both internationally and locally, perspectives on traditional culture and music in the South Pacific, as well as strategies to combat piracy in the region. Guest speakers included songwriters, composers, copyright experts, academics and representatives from the Australasian and PNG music industries, APRA|AMCOS, WIPO and the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department.
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APRA|AMCOS Communications
Phone: (02) 9935 7900. Email: comms@apra.com.au Web: www.apra.com.au
The Australasian Performing Right Association Limited was established in 1926 and now administers the performing and communication rights of 47,000+ composer, songwriter and music publisher members in Australia and New Zealand. Public performances of music include music used in pubs, clubs, fitness centres, shops, cinemas, festivals, whether performed live, on CDs or played on the radio or television. Communication of music covers music used for music on hold, music accessed over the internet or used by television or radio broadcasters.
The Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) collects and distributes mechanical royalties for the reproduction of its members’ musical works for many different purposes.
These include the manufacture of CDs, music videos and DVDs, the sale of mobile phone ringtones and digital downloads, the use of production music and the making of radio and television programmes.
Since 1997, APRA has managed the day-to-day operations of the AMCOS business.
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The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
WIPO is dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest. Web: www.wipo.int
Cameron Q and Squad are back in POM this weekend at Lamana. So head out for some Top DJ action!!!
But feeling quite sad for my fellow ‘Wewak International School’ mate Lynx, who is going finish to Australia next week. He’s been a huge help to me when helping out as the Secretary for POMRFU from 2005-2006 and he’s been a creative force that we will miss badly in PNG. He’s a top notch graphic designer who has helped us out at Masalai from time to time, so brada, BOLA! and keep your ‘Creative Head’ in top shape!!
The last 3 days on this blog have been intense, on Tuesday we had 348 hits, then Wednesday it shot up to 402 hits and today it’s settled back to a respectable 279 hits. So to something less intense now, below is a video my brother Flavius took of our friends Massive Sound System doing their thing at the Digicel launch. Haus Boi and Dadi G also rocked the party! So was a great night for all.
Looks like Dadi G’s got a good marketing deal going on with Digicel so good on him! I must say I was really impressed with his rapping.
Also keep an eye and ear out for Alyson Joyce and Jenny Lee, two powerful voices that are sure to go places. See them in the video below.
Well things are certainly moving in the music scene. The Australasian Performing Rights Association or APRA are hosting a PNG Music Copyright Seminar in Brisbane next week at the Judith Wright Centre from the 25-26th July. Download the PDF details here.
APRA is a not-for-profit organisation that collects royalties on behalf of its 47,000+ member songwriters and composers who are the exclusive owners of their original music and lyrics. So good to see a push in the right direction for our artists and even better to see international recognition of these issues coming through. Would have been nice though if this was held here in PNG, but anyway it’s a start which is important.
If you want to go along, email Mathew Fackrell on mfackrell@apra.com.au
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The Program
DAY 1: Wednesday 25 July
9.45 Welcome to country
10.00 Opening Address: Brett Cottle, CEO APRA|AMCOS and Carole Croella, WIPO
10.15 What is Music Copyright and what does it mean for songwriters and those that represent them?
Scot Morris, Director - International, APRA|AMCOS
11.00 International Conventions and Collective Management of Copyright, including Protection of Expressions of Traditional Culture Carole Croella, Copyright Collective Management and Copyright and Related Rights Sector, WIPO
11.45 Morning Tea
12.00 PNG Copyright Law and Music Tom Vere, IPO, PNG
12.45 Lunch
1.30 Melanesian Popular Music Dr Denis Crowdy, Macquarie Uni
2.30 The growth of the independent recording sector – an alternative approach in the modern world.
Stuart Watters, Association of Independent Record labels
3.00 Protecting the Music - Anti Piracy Initiatives in the Region Sabiene Heindl, General Manager MIPI and Mark McCall, Director of Anti Piracy, RIANZ
3.15 Afternoon Tea
3.30 Pacific Perspective Panel - Alain LeCante (New Caledonia), Nigel Quai (Vanuatu), Evariste Wayaridri
(New Caledonia), Kolone Maisa (Western Samoa), Placid Walekwate Jr (Solomon Islands), Distaquaine Tu’ihalamaka (Tonga), Eremasi Tamanisau Jr (Fiji)
4.30 CHM and Artist Royalties Richard Francisco, Music Manager, CHM Supersound
5.00 Day 1 Concludes
7.30 Queensland Music Festival - Sing Sing Performance* – Brisbane Powerhouse
DAY 2: Thursday 26 July
10.00 The role of CISAC and Performing Right Societies Scot Morris, Director - International, APRA|AMCOS
11.00 Government guidelines for the operation of Collecting Societies and the role of the Copyright Tribunal. Justine Clarke, Acting Principal Legal Officer, Copyright Law Branch, Attorney- General’s Department
11.30 Morning Tea
12.00 Case Study: Licensing Music Users - Experiences from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji
Matthew Fackrell, Deputy Director - International APRA|AMCOS, Acting General Manager, Fiji Performing Right Association
12.30 Launch: Pacific CMS Demonstration of online copyright management, regional documentation and
distribution system Matthew Fackrell
1.00 Lunch
2.00 Roundtable Discussion: Next steps for establishing a PNG composer society Moderator – Scot Morris
Panel – Gai Araga, Tom Vere, Ralph Diweni, Oala Moi, Pius Wasi, Dr Lawrence Kalinoe
3.00 Afternoon Tea
3.15 Experiences of PNG Music David Bridie, songwriter, composer, musician
4.00 Summit Summary and Q & A
4.30 Summit Concludes
Okay to all those music loving bloggers out there, today’s interview is with Cameron Kennedy aka Clarence Q from Cairns. Some of you in Pom will no doubt have already seen the flyers going out for the big party with 2 other DJ’s at Lamana on the 7th of July. You can also check out their MySpace page here.
So I thought I’d have a chat with Clarence Q to find out a little more about this Disc Jockey. So mate tell us a little about yourself.
I’m 25 years old and I was born in Adelaide and within 2 weeks was living it up in Port Moresby. I’m half Tolai and half Aussie.
And how did you get into your music, where did that come from?
Living half of my life in PNG and the other in Australia, I was exposed to lots of different music. Growing up with people from all over the world exposed me to drum n bass and Jungle from Ireland, Disco and House music from USA and Dub and Reggae from Jamaica, UK and PNG.
I first started DJing with cassettes and vinyl when I was 9 years old at my mum and dads house parties on Airvos Avenue. My mum and dad where disco people, they were around at this night club in New Orleans when Amy Stewart’s “Knock on Wood’ first performed in the early 70’s’.
These days I play pretty much everything from House to Hip Hop and Funk to Dub.
So did you go to school here in PNG?
I went to school at Ela Beach Primary School and then to POMHI for 2 years. I then went to Ipswich Grammar School as a border for 4 years. After that I moved to Townsville to do a Bachelor in Photography. I then moved to Cairns and did a Multimedia diploma and started HiFly Production House soon after.
Tell us about your company HiFly Production House?
With HiFly I have photographed concerts, made television commercials, documentaries, designed magazines ETC. I have recently formed another company HiFly Entertainment Group which has just bought a nightclub here in Cairns. I plan to bring down as many PNG recording artists as possible to both my club as well as clubs in Brisbane.
I am also one of 6 young people in QLD to be chosen for the Q Music’s A-Venue Program in 2006. That same year I coordinated my first major festival ‘Backdrop Festival”. I had to organize 120 performers on 3 stages over 12hrs. That was a mission!
Since 2003 I’ve been in the promotion side of things in Cairns putting on bands and DJs from all over Australia and the world. I’ve put on over 200 shows since I began in this business.
Cool, is your nigh club ready yet? What’s it called?
Im in the process of license transfers right which takes 4 to 6 weeks. So im hoping to launch the HiFly Bar at the End of July.
So obviously besides your other work at HiFly you are a DJ in your own right, whereabouts have you played?
We’ve performed at the Barrier Reef Hotel, Victory Café, PCT, Backdrop Festival, the Upholstery, IMA, the Tanks, and Metropolis. I play Funk, Hip Hop, Dub and House and I’ve been performing for 16 years now.
So any funny stories when you’ve been on the job?
Wendell Sailor almost belted me at Hotel LA in Brisbane. But I guess it wasn’t funny at the time.
One last question do you know Akay-47 of the Massive Sound System?
No but I went to school with Tarosi at Ela Beach and Glen is my cousin.
Awesome! Well it’s encouraging to see young people such as yourselves developing the music scene internationally as well as in PNG so thank you for your time and I’ll definitely see you at the LGC!
Update 22/5/07
MAY FRIDAY 11th, 2007 (BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND) – If you’re getting tired of the same styled music video’s on EMTV then sit tight because Massive Sound System have something fresh baking in the oven.
For the last couple of months Allen Kedea producer of Massive Sound System has been working with young film producers in Brisbane on a fresh concept for their hit song ‘Everywhere’. Allen a.k.a. akay47 will be using the power of the internet to help promote their new music video to the world market. With websites like MySpace, Hi 5 & Bebo fast becoming popular resources for the latest music videos, Massive Sound System have opted to use the net as an avenue to help promote their music and expose new PNG music to the world.
When asked what the idea behind the clip was Allen replied, “The concept was to do something fresh for the PNG market while keeping the film clip professional enough that an international audience can digest and appreciate it.” PNG has so much musical talent, but so little of it is exposed on a world stage. “We want to be taken seriously as sound designers but the clip had to be funny!” Allen explains as he laughs. “We thought this would catch viewers off guard because they’d be expecting a romantic type clip because Everywhere is a love song. The clip is a love story but not in the conventional sense. That’s all I can really say without giving too much away.”
Massive Sound System have been approached by ABC Radio to do an interview on their new album and talk about PNG music crossing over into Australasia. The interview will be broadcasted live on radio in Australia and PNG. The segment is called, ‘In The Loop’ and covers all aspects in the Pacific region. The interview is scheduled for 2:30pm, Friday 18th May 2007. If you would more information on the interview head to www.massivesoundsystem.com.
The film clip for ‘Everywhere’ is to be released in PNG via CHM’s music video show, CHM Super Sound Video Hits in the next couple of weeks. The music video will be broadcasted online via the MSS website www.MassiveSoundSystem.com. The release of this new film clip will coincide with the release of their new CD titled ‘Pride, Neglect, Greed’. Out in-store now via CHM nation wide.
For all those fans out there of the Massive Sound System who enjoyed our interview with their main man earlier this year. Tok save tasol that ABC Radio will be doing an interview with Akay47 next week Friday on the 18th May.
I’ll advise next week closer to the date on how you can listen to the interview on radio or the net as a stream, but you can check out the ABC Radio site yourselves to see how to listen to the ‘in the loop’ program. The ABC Radio program is hosted by Isabelle Genoux, Clement Paligaru and Heather Jarvis who present a lively mix of music, interviews and sounds of the Pacific, highlighting the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century.
Oh and I’m pretty impressed that the ABC even has news in tok pisin!! 
Locally we are entering a sort of pre-teenage era now for our music, we have a very strong following for our music in the South Pacific and with acts such as O-Shen and George Telek, (just to name a few), who are skirting on international stardom, when do you think we can see a true international star coming about? It doesn’t have to be pop music or pop rap or all that sort of thing. The world music scene is enourmas and the world does appreciate quality music that is real and comes from a unique and individual identity.
PNG has already begun blending it’s form of RNB, Reggae, Gospel and HipHop, so who are the best in PNG and who can we promote and push into the limelight? When do you think it will be possible for a PNG artist to make an actual career and living out of his artwork? Even acts like the Massive Sound System in Brisbane need a hand!
Do you think it would be possible to get one of our artists to the Blues and Roots Festival in Byron Bay, Australia next year? Why? well because the people behind the festival have through this initiative promoted and created many opportunities for their Australian bands, while at the same time providing a quality entertainment festival for visiting international stars as well. The festival is geographically close to PNG, so besides showcasing their music, the artists are also exposed to a very well connected international promoter.
The Bluesfest is owned by a man named Michael Chugg, who owns Chugg Entertainment. Chugg is considered to be a pioneer of the Australian music industry having over 40 years experience in organising and promoting international artists. His efforts have not only included promoting some of the biggest concerts in Australia and New Zealand, but also his tireless promotion of Australian music to the rest of the world.
He has spent a great deal of time travelling across the world developing close relationships with every major record company, booking agency, management company and music convention. In 1997 (whilst with Frontier Touring), he produced the first Pacific Circle Music Convention, now named Australian Music Week.
Michael Chugg Entertainment was formed in 2000 and since then has promoted and toured over 150 Australian and international artists making the company one of the most prominent and respected promoters not only within the Australian Music Industry, but also around the world. In the 2005 half-year concert report in the industry’s number one magazine – Billboard – Michael Chugg Entertainment was polled as the 5th biggest promoter in the world and was the only Australian to make the list.
Peter Noble, organiser of the Blues and Roots Festival, says change is afoot for the event.
Even the Bluesfest organiser, Peter Noble has said that they will one day want to move beyond just blues. Peter Noble, says it has a long way to go before it does its dash. But whether it will always be a fully blues-orientated event is a moot point, “Like any event you need to crawl before you can walk and then you need to develop your faculties,” “The Byron Bluesfest is almost out of its teenage years now and we still have a long way to grow.” But a straight diet of blues is a bit like bacon and eggs for breakfast every day.
I like bacon and eggs, but not all the time. After a while I want muesli,” Mr Noble stated. “There is a world of music out there, a world of quality music. And the right music makes a better world.” This is where Peter Noble’s Bluesfest is headed, along with his related blues fests in Fremantle, Point Nepean, Durban and Singapore: They are about people with a message who play music at the highest level. “Blues is a part of this, but it is not everything,” he says. “ I am not going to be kept in a ‘blues’ pigeon hole.”
So from what I have seen of the acts here like the Reggae from Ziggy Marley, the African Reggae from the Refugee All Stars, the indigineous funk and rock from Banawurun and the cover music from Vanuatu band The Sunshiners, to me there is no reason why we cannot have a PNG act at this festival. All we have to do is ask and see and maybe our bands themselves need to be a bit more proactive on the business side of things and look out there for their own opportunities as well.
More pictures of the Bluesfest and Byron Bay can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/masalai/
Was actually supposed to leave on Wednesday for my 30th B’Day Bash, but have delayed it to tomorrow morning. I’m actually quite stressed, so much work to clear before I leave. Just sent off 4x website Invoices this week and gotta send out Digital Posters Invoices and then our continued Digital Posters setup with CPL’s Stop’n'Shop Waigani Outlet. So it’s kinda hard to squeeze in some play here.
But all is good as my guys will have it under control while I’m away, that’s the beauty of delegating. After doing everything myself for so long it’s great to be able to tell people to do this and do that, while I take a break.
So anyways, in terms of taking a break, I’ll be off to the Bluesfest at Byron Bay. Great thing about this trip is that my mate Bobby and I have been given FREE Media Passes to do interviews for our very own Masalai blog. See the email invite below:
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From: Gaynor Crawford [mailto:thingie@wirefree.net.au]
Sent: Saturday, 17 March 2007 10:32 AM
To: emmanuel@masalai.net
Subject: SPAM-LOW: EAST COAST BLUES & ROOTS FESTIVAL
Dear Emmanuel,
We welcome you and Bobby to our festival. I attach the media accreditation form. You will have 2 5 day media passes including one photo pass.
Safe travels.
See on site!
Best Wishes
Gaynor
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So how about that huh?! So I’m planning to interview Ziggy Marley, Ben Harper, the Roots and Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars. It’s all very new to me so not sure what I’ll ask them or even if I’ll have the nerve to approach them.
But anyways have a look at the Bluesfest lineup and let us know what questions you think I should ask and who I should interview. I’ll keep everyone posted with pics on that weekend.
By the way, here’s the Playing Schedule.
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Update 2/04/