http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x57kcRdojrY

The world’s largest piano was unveiled last week in a farmers barn outside of Timaru by the world’s youngest piano maker.

Adrian Mann, definitely the world’s youngest piano maker and possibly New Zealand’s youngest inventor has completed the world’s largest and longest piano. He started the piano at 16 years old, 4 years later he has completed the 5.7 metre-long piano.

With no plans available for such a project, Mr Mann found himself having to design many of the piano’s components. He hand-made four sets of the 700mm long piano keys before he was satisfied.

When traditional piano-building materials weren’t available, he improvised. The spruce used for soundboards wasn’t available so Mr Mann cross-cut Canadian Douglas Fir bought from a salvage yard instead. An estimated 85 per cent of the piano is made from recycled materials.

For the past three months, he has worked 12 hours a day to complete the piano, named after the great-great grandfather who brought his family to New Zealand in the 1880s.

[Timaru Herald]

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Uploaded on Flickr by Gonzalo Barrientos

The music industry has been for the last 10 years casting around for a new distribution model to replace the rapidly fading Compact Disc distribution network. After spending the last five years on a strategy of suing your customer into submission model not really working they are stuck for ideas what to do next. Their strategy of attempting to control digital downloads (and the future of music distribution) is a failure because of ignorance and hubris. This hubris is fueled by an understandable fear that their franchise is on the rocks and a desire to control the next chapter of music. Had it not been for Apple and iTunes, the world of  digital music would have been dramatically different. Steve Jobs had the foresight to see what digital music could be and launched the now iconic iPod music player. In 2008, it was the first time that the number one selling album sold less than 3 Million copies (Lil Wayne 2.88M, Coldplay 2.15M).

The music industry has had near total control over the music distribution for the last 50 years and are very comfortable in dictating how, what and where of music consumption. This included the structure of an album where consumers were forced to purchase 11 or so songs in order to hear the one or two that you are looking for. (Although the argument was that artists could create cohesive themes around their music, albums were created mostly as a marketing mechanism to control pricing) However today digital music is predominately sold as single songs rather than albums (although there are some fabulous exceptions).

This fear that the music labels are losing control has caused them to invest in numerous attempts to build an alternative online presence that emulates the CD distribution strategy, the latest failure being Total Music. TotalMusic is or was a digital music distribution initiative created by Sony BMG and Universal Music Group. The idea was to offer an alternative to free music downloads but the service was so laden with restrictions that people who attempted to use it just got frustrated:

The history of TotalMusic is dramatic, filled with failed deals, major strategy changes, and an antitrust lawsuit. Since forming, the company has proposed two new revenue models for music: the first was to offer end-users a large library of music for ‘free’, by building the cost of the music service into their music devices. That plan didn’t exactly work out – in early 2008 the Department of Justice launched an anti-trust probe which derailed the idea.

Then, last summer, the company came back from the dead. The second new model was meant to serve as a departure from the way music has traditionally been licensed on the web. Historically, the major record labels have charged sites per-song fees for streaming, badgering everyone into submission with threats of lawsuits and steep penalties. Major sites like MySpace and imeem are held under this kind of agreement, as are many smaller sites which are having trouble sustaining themselves because of the high fees (even Pandora, a streaming music site that had the most popular iPhone application of 2008, has worried about having to shut down).

The industry is desperate for an alternative because they are seriously concerned with the market power that Apple now has in the digital music industry. They foresee an industry dominated by a single digital retail vendor who controls the when what and how of distribution.

Total Music and Ruckus are a good example of the mess the industry is in. Unable to put a coherent online strategy together, they can’t even execute on a half-decent strategy like Total Music. The idea was to create a centralized hub where a centralized web presence managed digital subscription models. For example, you can manage mobile phone subscription, MP3 players, website widgets, online stores etc. The idea was to create a portal where you build your experience around subscription models:

With the Total Music service, Morris and his allies are trying to hit reset on how digital music is consumed. In essence, Morris & Co. are telling consumers that music is a utility to which they are entitled, like water or gas. Buy one of the Total Music devices, and you’ve got it all. Ironically, the plan takes Jobs’ basic strategy– getting people to pay a few hundred bucks for a music player but a measly 99 cents for the music that gives it value–and pushes it to its extreme. After all, the Total Music subscriber pays only for the device–and never shells out a penny for the music. “You know that it’s there, and it costs something,” says one tech company executive who has seen Morris’ presentation. “But you never write a check for it.”

They cannot help themselves. They are physically unable to stick with and execute a plan. They know they have to give up the habit in order to create a future for themselves, but just can’t let go.  Sony had given the MP3 player market to Apple through it’s inability to execute on a new plan, and now the labels are doing the same.

However, they ultimately do not have the stamina needed to build a global licensing engine that could manage the entire experience around supporting an artist, and herein lies the problem and the solution.

But to understand how best to solve the problem, we need to understand rights and royalties. There are two basic packages of rights, Publishing rights and Performance Rights. When we think of performance rights we think of every time a given song is played on the radio or at a concert. That original performance, such as the Beatles performing “Please Please me” played on the radio creates a royalty payment to the owners of the performance rights. The other bundle of rights is the publishing rights. These are rights (and royalties) revolve around getting people to record the song such as remake, sheet music and performance rights from third parties. These rights go to the accredited songwriters such as Lennon/McCartney so it is very important to have your name as an accredited songwriter because of these rights (and royalties).

To illustrate this consider the Beatles and the songs they created. The publishing rights are owned by a company called Northern Songs Ltd which was formed in 1963. This was a partnership between Dick James, Brian Epstein and the Beatles members. In 1965 the company was taken public for taxation reasons. Ultimately Northern Songs ended up in a joint venture between Sony Music and Michael Jackson where it remains today. Note however Lennon/McCartney still receive 50% of the royalty rights as songwriters (the other 50% is Northern Songs). Tis situation remains today. (This is true of most songs except for the four songs on the first two singles. These are now owned outright by McCartney).

The rights to the performances belong to Apple Corps, which is technically a partnership owned by McCartney, Starr, and the estates of Lennon (i.e., Ono) and Harrison (i.e., Olivia, his second wife). Those rights are licensed by Apple to EMI however Apple Corps have a lot of control over the exploitation of those rights including digital rights (which have so far not been granted despite Steve Jobs attempting to access those rights, which is why so far they have not appeared on iTunes).

This means that the rights to build an online licensing experience does not reside strictly with the music labels, Universal et al, it lies with a number of people, all who have to come together to realize a digital future. The future of the music industry is in tying all the experiences together, from digital downloads, to tickets, to swag, sheet music, you name it.

However to make this happen this implies trust, something after hundreds of threatening court cases and acrimony is in very short supply.

[tags]music, music industry, itunes, apple[/tags]

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrYCsdNlw0c

Boh Runga (sister of Bic) as well as being an Platinum Award winning Kiwi Artist, is a Car Nut.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iwu6mcOhBA

Kiwi Band Spacifix performs their farewell concert before heading to the big smoke (Australia that is).

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This episode covers some of the best indie music from Montreal, Paris, NewYork and points in between. You will find it hard to find better artists with something to say on and off the Top 20 charts. I hope you find these gems fun and enjoyable.

IndieMusicMix Episode 17 – It\’s a Beautiful Happy Dream [Download]

Beautiful Dream – Jann Klose – New York

Beautiful dream is part of the single “Beautiful Dream/Hold Me Down” single released by 3 Frames and available on iTunes. Born in Mannheim, Germany, his family relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, when he was less than a year old, Jann is the leader of a Chris Marolf (Upright & Electric Bass, Vocals), Lars Potteiger (Keys, Accordion, Vocals), Patrick Carmichael (Drums, Percussion and Recorder), and Leah Potteiger (Violin, Vocals).

Beautiful Dream is a rock ballad of the first order, one of the best unsigned EPs of 2007, it deserves to be recognized along with the David Grays of this world.

Happy – Rinaldi Sings – UK

Rinaldi Sings is the name assumed by singer/songwriter Steve Rinaldi, who was famously described by the NME as a “cocksure 20th Century Scott Walker”. He plays a stylish brand of pop that acknowledges a deep debt to the bubblegum northern soul of the late Sixties. The song Happy allows you to chew and dance at the same time. A lot of fun.

Sticking Around – Jarah Jane – Montreal Quebec

She has described her music as a mix of Holly McNarland and a spoonful of Sheryl Crow… but the guitar style adds just a tadd amount of Ani Difranco. Although from Montreal Jarah has a distinct Canadian flavor including the reference to the iconic 401 highway in Ontario as the name of her tour.

Celine Mastrorelli – Detestez Moi – Paris France.

Although Celine has an Italian surname her family is from Cannes. Detestez Moi has the classic French light and airy feel to it. It swings quickly from beat to beat, with Celine making her opinion clear from each verse. Try listening to this song without tapping your feet, I dare you.

The Cat Came Back (The Cats Perspective) – Marc Gunn

Marc Gunn is an Irish and Scottish folk singer with a strange affinity for Celtic ballads, drinking songs and cats, and he is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards. He is also Celtic music podcaster and Irish music magazine publisher and promoter. Last but not least, he is poet, photographer, and music business educator.

All this music is courtesy of podshow music channel. You can get the podcast from iTunes or from here.

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This week’s podcast definitely plays to the softer side, from Allison Crowe, to Naked to 3 Blind Mice. All of the songs this week have a definite slow beat a

Song1 – Midnight by Allison Crowe

Allison Crowe (born November 16, 1981) is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada who now lives in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada.

Crowe’s most mentioned characteristics are her remarkable live performance ability and her distinctive voice, the natural force of which has been compared to that of Mahalia Jackson. “With the soul of Janis Joplin and the tenderness of fellow Canuck Sarah McLachlan, Crowe rocks with her own unique brand of roots charm.”

David McPherson, Exclaim!, October 5, 2004
You can read her Wikipedia entry here.

Song 2 – There you are by 3 Blind Mice

3 Blind Mice hail from the UK. Consisting of Alex Grayson, Lyndon Connah and Sean Kane they offer an acoustic mix that blends different elements of Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell and others. They list the Beatles, Zeppelin and Weather Report as influences. This particular song reminds me of the Finn Brothers (of Crowded House) in its melody and lyics which is no small accolade

You can find 3 Blind Mice here.

Song 3 – Sea World by Naked

“Sea World” cooks up a storm venturing into acid-jazz/drum ‘n bass territory that features some hairaising flute & vocal.

As a vocalist, saxophonist, flautist, pianist and percussionist, Koalin gives true meaning to that frequently used word, multi-instrumentalist. And now, as the main creative force behind Naked, she’s adding songwriting and production skills to her ever-expanding musical talents.
Fine art and physical accomplishments aside, it is unquestioningly music that infuses Kaolin’s life and drives this remarkable woman’s unceasing quest for new creative horizons.

You can find Naked Bio here.

You can get NorthVoice Indie Podcast from here.

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Check out Northvoice Independent Music Podcast here

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Song 1 – Superhero – Sherby

Sherby (aka Cheryl Childers) was originally from North Carolina. Her musical studies included University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and later at California State University, Northridge. Sherby is from Malibu California.

Sherby works with a charity that teaches music to children in need, called Likwid Joy. Please learn more about Likwid Joy by visiting www.likwidjoy.org. Combining a fun and sunny pop-beat, with darker and more introspective songs, the album, “Starfish Lane”, is sure to win you over.

This music is courtesy of Podshow Music. Sherby’s personal website is here.

Song 2 – One Perfect Day – Adrienne Pierce

“Small Fires” has produced a plethora of rave reviews and was nominated for Best Independent Album and Best Modern Rock Record for 2002 by The Georgia Straight and Just Plain Folks respectively. “Small Fires” was produced by Vancouver’s Sean Ashby (Sarah McLachlan). One track, ‘Every Sprinkler,’ was produced, engineered and mixed by David Kershaw (Wild Strawberries) and the remaining tracks were mixed by Roger Swan (Swollen Members). The album features the talents of Darren Parris [bass] (Bocephus King), Niko Friesen [drums] (Motion Soundtrack, Lily Frost), Sean Ashby [guitar], Craig Ducommon [keys] (Springer DuCommon), Mary Ancheta [keys], and Luke Doucet [lap steel].

Adrienne is from Vancouver BC.

Adrienne appears courtesy of Podshow Music. Her personal website is here.

Song 3 – Start Over – Jasmine Ash

Jasmine Ash began performing music live in 2001 at a small coffee shop in Eugene, Oregon. The fact that she had been playing guitar and writing her own songs for less than one year at the time, didn’t deter Jasmine from setting out to prove that she belonged on the stage. Her effortless charisma and soft, intimate voice made her an instant favorite in the coffee houses and small venues of Eugene.

In early 2002 Jasmine relocated to Portland in search of larger musical opportunities and a greater challenge. She immediately began gaining notoriety with her magnetic live shows and her recently released first album, Penelope’s Diary. Spring 2004, Jasmine brought together Portland’s finest musicians, from bands as diverse as The Bella Fayes and Dr. Theopolis, to begin recording her second album: From Grey to Blue. Released summer of 2004 and produced by Ezra Holbrook (Little Sue, Charmparticles, Camaro Hair, Dr. Theopolis) and Sean Norton. From Grey to Blue is a flawless example of simple, elegant rock.

Jasmine’s music is courtesy of Podsafeaudio.com.

Odd Job Jack is a creation of CTV in Canada. You can catch the new season of the hilarious animated series Odd Job Jack — about a a temp worker’s myriad employment misadventures — on the Comedy Network in Canada.

Odd Job Jack will be featured regularly in Northvoice Podcast as a mashup. Enjoy

You can get NorthVoice Indie Podcast from here.

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This week’s music is strictly from Down Under, the home of the Finn Brothers, Dave Dobbyn’s DD Smash, Middle Earth and Lucy Lawless aka Xena Warrior Princess.

The first song this week is from dDub of Auckland New Zealand called Comfort.
If you love the sound of The Specials or Madness you will love this track. dDub brings a raw roots based sound to the Auckland music scene. Credited as being one of Aotearoa’s finest live acts, the band’s unique sound has captured the attention of audiences around the country and they have become firm crowd favorites at high profile outdoor festivals, including Splore, Queenstown Winter Festival, Soundsplash and Rhythm & Vines. dDub perform extensively this summer season, sharing stages with other high profile acts including Fat Freddy’s Drop, Salmonella Dub, Cornerstone Roots, The Black Seeds, Katchafire and Kora. This is courtesy of Muzic.co.nz.

Song 2 is Northwards Forthwith from Wellington Band Dangerpin. Superpop combo from Wellington, Dangerpin combine an impressive range of Indie or otherwise influences into their melodious and euphonic casserole pot. People in the street compare them to Simon and Garfunkel – this may be because they can’t think of anyone else who do such lush harmony arrangements… Imagine the cuddly sweetness of Belle and Sebastian with the diy whim and indie charm of pavement, alongside the eclecticism and eager-to-pleasedness of Pharrell. You can find them at Muzic.co.nz.

Song 3 is from Wellington Pop Duo Pearl. Called “All I need”, it is a great pop song of Natalia Imbruglia or the Wilson Sisters. Pearl is one of New Zealand’s most exciting up and coming acts. Their debut single ‘Fallacy’ is evidence of their fresh approach to the pop genre. The track was featured on NZ On Air’s Kiwi Hit Disc #72 released in June 2005 and NZ On Air also provided funding for the ‘Fallacy’ video.
Pearl’s sound is rich, pure harmonies driving hooky, uplifting pop songs. The result: a perfect blend of sophistication and fun. Both Lisa and Shelley are talented songwriters. Together with executive producer Chris Jones they have developed their unique sound since forming in 2003. You can find the girls at Muzic.co.nz and their website.

All of this music can be downloaded at Muzic.co.nz. Sophie Moleta’s website is here. This podcast is released under is available under Creative Commons 2.5 license.

You can get NorthVoice Indie Podcast from here.

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Steely Dan did very little touring or live shows in their time prefering to work the studios. There list of session musics that worked with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker is stunning. Here is an early Steely Dan and Back Jack.

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Check out Northvoice Independent Music Podcast here

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