Music Before the Money

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Find out what the pros know about earning money as a songwriter and composer. Tim Hardy, SOCAN’s Member & Industry Relations Executive for Atlantic Canada, will be on hand to discuss the following topics:

1. How to join SOCAN if you’re not already a member
2. How SOCAN collects you money (radio, TV, film, live performances, Internet)
3. What’s new at SOCAN
4. Understanding copyright
5. SOCAN Foundation funding for artists and presenters

About Tim Hardy

Tim Hardy has worked with SOCAN  within their Licensing & Membership Departments, both in their head office in Toronto and their Atlantic Canadian Office based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia since 1995. Tim’s current role with SOCAN as the Member & Industry Relations Executive – Atlantic Region has him based in Dartmouth, but on the road throughout Atlantic Canada.

The Member Relations role allows Tim to work with songwriters, composers and music publishers, as well as industry associations and key influencers within the region, spreading the word about SOCAN and its role within the Canadian music industry. The Industry Relations role allows Tim to work directly with many industry associations in Atlantic Canada (Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, chambers of commerce, hospitality associations, restaurant associations, etc.) who’s membership is effected by SOCAN licensing.

Tim also does numerous presentations and workshops throughout the region discussing SOCAN, copyright, performing rights and the SOCAN Foundation.

About SOCAN:

SOCAN plays a leading role in working with other organizations to ensure the long-term health of the members’ livelihoods and the Canadian music industry as a whole. SOCAN is the Canadian copyright collective for the right to communicate to the public and publicly perform musical works. They administer these rights on behalf of the members (composers, lyricists, songwriters and their publishers) and those of affiliated international organizations by licensing this use of their music in Canada.

The fees collected are distributed as royalties to the members and to affiliated organizations throughout the world. They also distribute royalties received from those organizations to our members for the use of their music worldwide. SOCAN has offices in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Dartmouth.

The information session is free for all Music Nova Scotia members to attend but we ask that you RSVP for your spot so they can hold a seat for you.

Please RSVP via email with the names of who is attending to RSVP@musicnovascotia.ca

For more information please contact: Jonny Stevens Education and Events Coordinator Music Nova Scotia 902-423-6271 ext 4 jonny@musicnovascotia.ca (do not RSVP to this address)

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Molson Canadian Nova Scotia Music Week is featuring new buyers to the list of delegates at this year’s festival and conference in Yarmouth November 5 – 8.

The Bringin’ It Home Community Presenters include:

Carlton Munroe – Town of New Glasgow – www.glasgowsquare.com

Erick Bickerdike – Chester Playhouse – www.chesterplayhouse.ca

Leif Helmer – Little River Folk – www.littleriverfolk.com

Andrew Taylor – Musquodoboit Valley Bicentennial Theatre – www3.ns.sympatico.ca/bicentennial.theatre

George Douglas – Tantramar Theatre – www.tantramartheatre.ca

Susan Hoover – Osprey Arts Centre - www.ospreyartscentre.com

Russell Easy – Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival - www.folkharbour.com

Donald Ferguson – Marigold Cultural Centre - www.marigoldcentre.ca

Paul Henderson - Sappyfest – www.sappyrecords.com

Chris Ball – Astor Theatre - www.astortheatre.ns.ca

Geoff Keymer – Kings Theatre – www.kingstheatre.ca

Paula Davis – Town of Port Hawkesbury - www.phcivic.com

Jim Stewart – Reason For Hope Society

Jonas Hector Colter – Evolve Festival - www.evolvefestival.com

Kasia Wieczorek – Halifax Pop Explosion – www.halifaxpopexplosion.com

Errin Williams-Spindle – Harmony Bazaar Festival – www.harmonybazaar.com

Francois Cote – Deep Roots Music Festival – www.deeprootsmusic.ca

Sara Rankin - Strathspey Place - www.strathspeyplace.com

Sandy Fevens – Th’Yarc - www.yarcplayhouse.com

For more information, please contact:

Krista Keough
Communications and Membership Coordinator
Music Nova Scotia
(902) 423-6271 ext. x 2
302-5516 Spring Garden Road
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 1G6
krista@musicnovascotia.ca
www.musicnovascotia.ca

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With the death of Edward Kennedy another piece of the 1960′s falls. Many historians feel that the ’60′s began with the inauguration of President Kennedy  and ended with the botched Woodstock-style concert at Altamont Speedway in California on December 6, 1969. Just like the Rolling Stones pegged themselves as the “Anti-Beatles” the concert at Altamont was the “Anti-Woodstock.” In other words, everything that Woodstock brought to the world, Altamont tore down.

The organizers of Woodstock lost heavily on the concert but recouped their seed money many times over when the movie and three-record album was released. This never began the era of big money in music but it fueled a growing trend. The 1970′s began the time of “The Big Record Mogul.” The small independents were being gobbled up by the big labels and “selling out” became the order of the day. Many of the acts who never bought into the money machine fell by the wayside. Others like Elton John, the Bee Gees and Rod Stewart morphed from their blues roots into Disco Stars.

It was hard not to buy into the post-Woodstock era of music. In less than a month’s time groups that played in bars and packed their own gear from vans could be playing packed coliseums. Kiss and Super Tramp were examples of this new trend and so were former “Hippies” like John Denver became television stars.

Hey, there’s nothing wrong with this. Marlon Brando went from being a motorcycle punk and leader of the new 1950′s youth movement to an overweight caricature of his former self. And maybe that’s exactly what happened to the music after Woodstock.

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“First day in August Last rain was in May
When the rainmaker came to Kansas
In the middle of a dusty day
The rainmaker said to the people
Tell me what you are prepared to pay”
The rainmaker said to the people
“Well, I’ll conjure up a rain today”

Harry Nilsson, Bill Martin: Summer, 1969

Every August 1st I think of this song and Harry Nilsson, of whom a lot of people have never heard. However, along with Gordon Lightfoot, Al Stewart and a few others, Nilsson’s music was the soundtrack for my life for almost 3 years.

My friend, Dave Dixon, was a Nilsson fanatic and had many of his albums: Aerial Ballet, Pandemonium Shadow Show and Harry. I had Nilsson Schmillson and A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night. For you are are not familiar with this guy he won a Grammy for Without You in 1972 and wrote One for Three Dog Night.

We had Harry on 8-track and sang along to his songs on our road trips to the U.S., Alberta and other parts. If I sang them now few people would know the songs. but that’s just like a lot of artists. We all know the hits but not the “fillers” and many of these songs are the writes’ best works.

Rainmaker, from his album Harry, is a haunting song about a town that has been through a terrible drought and hires the services of a rainmaker to help restore their dried up crops and lives. The rainmaker uses his supernatural powers to bring rain but when he goes to get his pay the people refuse. Instead of getting angry he laughed and drove away in wagon. In that instant the people and the listener know that the rain would never stop.

” Then the people of the town heard the sound of his laughter
And they knew the rain had come to stay .

Rain rain go away
Come again another day , hey,
Rain rain go away
Come again another day, hey.”

So, for those of you who want to get in touch with a few nuggets of memory take out an old piece of vinyl or search for the lyrics of an old song. I’m not kidding. It’s like a time machine!

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Music never began in bars but liquor establishments became the showcase for bands in the 1970′s through the 1990′s.  Before this time the mighty juke box and the the pool table ruled the roost. During the 30+ years when live bands plied their trade in the bars bar managers became promoters as bars grew bigger and began to resemble theaters.

Sometime in the late 1990′s this all began to fade away. Big screen televisions and gambling machines became the opiate of the bar patron. In addition drinking-and-driving penalties were getting stiffer and slowly live entertainment was downgraded. Live music in bars downhill following music in record stores. And nopw the record store is becoming a rare occurrence.

But wait a minute – I never bought my first recording in a record store. There weren’t any in the early 1960′s. I bought it at the store that sold appliances, televisions and lawnmowers. The 45 rpm discs were up on the pegboard wall at the back and the LP’s were on a swivel stand.

Our first gig was a house party. Our second one was another house party. Our third was playing for a few hours in the lobby of the local skill hill . .  .and so on. We were too young to play liquor establishments even if they would have allowed bands at the time.

Famous R & B singer, Sam Cooke, began as a gospel singer and played the church circuit across the American midwest. These groups recorded and sold their records from the back of their cars. Churches paid big money for these groups  – and still do. Amy Grant began singing on a circuit much like this.

For up-and-coming bands no it is a lot easier than it was in the 1970′s. Even though the money was better the equipments cost a fortune. As a keyboard player in 1980 I paid $5,000 for a heavy Yamaha Electric Grand, $1500 for an ARP string machine and $1500 for a Minimoog. The equivalent can be purchased for $200 now and weighs 8 pounds. Today a new PA system is under $1,000 whereas ours cost $9000 and we needed two vans to pack everything around.

My advice is:

1. Play wherever you can for free until you get a good set list.
2. Video is really cheap now so get a good video recording.
3. Many private clubs are screaming for money so rent one of these places for $100 and throw your own dance.
4. Read the biographies of the old bands and get hints on where they usedto get gigs. Believe it or not it still applies today.