Win over $10K IN PA GEAR!

Minneapolis, MN - Electro-Voice and Dynacord have partnered with Performer Magazine as official sponsors of Performer’s “Rehearsal Space Rehab” promotion. The winning artist will get consultation and over $10,000 in PA gear from Telex companies to optimize their rehearsal space. The winner’s practice space is scheduled to be rehabilitated with a complete PA System courtesy of Electro-Voice and Dynacord, including: wired and wireless microphones, loudspeakers, powered mixer, accessories, and expert advice. A special 3 month editorial section on the “Rehearsal Space Rehab” will feature the winning artist with a Telex representatives documenting the various stages of the rehearsal space transformation beginning in Performer’s December issue. Telex Pro Audio Group Public Relations/ Artist Relations Manager, James Edlund remarks, “We’re excited to work with Performer Magazine on this promotion. We feel that Performer has its finger on the pulse of what’s happening in independent music across the US. Of course, these indie musicians are also our customers. And we want to help educate them... So, that’s what we’re offering: Up to 10K of gear, set-up assistance, and expert advice for the winning band. From the microphones to the mixing console to the loudspeakers, our gear is designed to work seamlessly and flawlessly together... Good luck to all of you!” The contest is open to any performers who rehearse in a commercial or home-based space. To enter, fill out an online entry form at www.performermag.com. The contest closes October 15, 2005.

Telex is a leader in communications, wireless, aircraft, multimedia, broadcast, and audio equipment with the brands Electro-Voice, Telex, RTS, Dynacord, Midas, Klark Teknik, University, and others. For more information, call (800) 392-3497, or visit www.electrovoice.com, www.dynacord.com, and www.telex.com. Performer Publisher William House adds, “Our Rehearsal Space Rehab will not only help the lucky band that wins, it also helps all the independent bands out there who are trying to optimize their space. We’re really hoping that each of our readers will benefit from this powerful partnership we’ve established with Telex Pro Audio Group.

Kazaa KO'd in Australian Court

After a lengthy court case against P2P file-sharing network, Kazaa, in
Australia, the court ruled on September 5 that the software may no longer be
used for illegal music sharing purposes. It had been in the financial
interests of Kazaa owners Sharman Networks Ltd. and their partners "to
maximize, not minimize, music file-sharing." according to Federal Court
Judge Murray Wilcox. The cour ordered that Kazaa's software be modified to
include filtering technology to prevent illegal song trading. Six of the 10
defendants were found guilty and ordered to pay 90 percent of the record
industry's court costs, with an upcoming hearing to determine exact amounts.
Sharman plans to appeal the decision.
http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=114640

Sony Caught in Payola Scheme

Internal memos from Sony Music were released by the New York state attorney
general's office as part of their investigation of payola. With contemporary pop radio sounding more and more commercial to the ears of those that tune in, these revelations show the actual cost of commercial success. "Please be advised that in this week's Jennifer Lopez Top 40 Spin Increase of 236 we bought 63 spins at a cost of $3,600." "Please be advised that in this week's Good Charlotte Top 40 Spin Increase of 61 we bought approximately 250 spins at a cost of $17K." Both are quotes from actual Sony memos that New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has brought to light. In both of those examples, Sony artists actually were played less despite the payments.

Sony Music, now known as Sony/BMG, agreed to a $10 million settlement with Spitzer. While the payment clears Sony of their wrong-doing, it's not the end of this investigation as Spitzer's office is investigating all the major record companies. Spitzer is said to be close friends with Sony's new CEO, Andrew Lack, who publicly welcomed the new investigations earlier this year when they were announced. Now that Sony has stepped out of the line of fire and set up everyone else in the radio industry, it will be interesting to see who takes a fall and how much they all have to pay for it. While most of these practices had been stopped a few year's back, none of the labels are accountable. While payola has creeped into play during both the ‘50s and ‘70s, no one is going to go back and retroactively fix the charts that resulted from these improprieties. Programmers got trips, tickets, computers, cameras, and anything to get songs heard; it was never about the music.

Memos from both Sony's Columbia and Epic Records senior vice presidents of
promotions circa 2002-2003 descibe explicitly who to pay and what to pay them in order to get the company's records on the air. An Epic memo from November 12, 2002 is obstensibly a rate card showing that radio stations in the Top 23 markets will receive $1000, Markets 23-100 get $800, lower markets $500. "If a record receives less than 75 spins at any given radio station, we will not pay the full rate," the memo to DJs states. "We look forward to breaking many records together in the future."

News Corp Buys Out MySpace

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation acquired Intermix Media, an operator of 30 websites including online community site MySpace.com, for $580 million. MySpace hs become a default web home for many new bands looking to establish a presence online; the site allowed bands easy ways to network, promote their concerts, and offer free mp3s. Intermix will become part of its newly-formed Fox Interactive Media unit. The sale come sin the wake of Intermix exercising an option to acquire the 47% of MySpace that it did not already own. "Intermix is an important acquisition for News Corp., instantly doubling the number of visitors to our sites and providing an ideal foundation on which to meaningfully increase our internet presence," Murdoch said. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005. Intermix recently paid $7.9 million to settle charges brought by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who alleged the company was distributing hidden spyware; the company admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement.




Indies Get iTunes Parity

Independent record labels will soon make the same profit off of sales of digital song downloads as their major label counterparts. The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), a newly formed collective of independent record labels, said that Apple will soon pay indie labels 70 cents per song - up from 65 cents. "Not to take any specific credit, but I think this does demonstrate the power of a collective approach," Rykodisc founder and A2IM president Don Rose said. Indie labels collectively account for about 28% of all music sold.



New Piracy Czar

Former Time Warner executive Chris Israel, currently deputy chief of staff for US Commerce Secretary Carlos Guiterrez, has been appointed to the newly-created, senior-level position as the US Coordinator of International Intellectual Property Enforcement. Israel will work to develop policy, and address IP violations and enforce IP laws overseas. Gutierrez said, "American ingenuity and innovation are driving forces in our economy and we need to protect our ideas, both at home and abroad." The Commerce departent believes 7% of all goods sold worldwide are counterfeit.



Teacher Confused For Fahey

Last year Fantasy Records released The Best of John Fahey Vol. 2: 1963-1983, and the label included three unreleased tracks: two re-recordings of early ‘60s chestnuts and the unheard “Tuff." But it's not Fahey playing on those tracks, and "Tuff" isn't his song. All three are the work of Charlie Schmidt, a 42-year-old high school teacher who lives in Skokie, IL. Schmidt recorded the material in 1993 as part of a prank Fahey hoped to play on Shanachie Records, but Fahey never followed through with the plan, until the recent compilation’s producers found the tapes and took the bait.

The Sounds of HALLOWE'EN

This fall's sweetest and scariest benefit song is "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?," a star-studded ensemble known as the North American Halloween Prevention Initiative. The tune is a parody of Band-Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” with all profits being donated to UNICEF. This anti-Halloween call-to-arms features a musical who's-who including: Beck, Sum 41, the Arcade Fire, Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Peaches, Feist, Devendra Banhart, Postal Service, Sex Pistols' founder Malcolm McLaren, ‘60s soul legend Gino Washington, Roky Erickson, Sparks, and Inuit throat singer Tagaq. Hallowe'en is primarily a North American holiday, and the song asks the rest of the world to help us end this night of fear and terror. For more information visit www.vice-recordings.com/halloween