VINYL RECORDS – NOT DEAD YET

Easter isn’t only a religious holiday for me; it’s an opportunity to revisit a pastime of listening to my favourite recordings being played on my favourite medium – vinyl.

It is somewhat ironic that I have discovered that today happens to be the annual Record Store Day throughout Australia and the globe. In short, this is a celebration of all things vinyl; new releases, rare and limited edition releases and the ambiance of an authentic record retail store.

Sydney is my hometown, and I am amazed to learn that there are DOZENS of retail stores in the Central Business District and inner-city suburbs that specialise in the sale of vinyl records. Further to this, sales of vinyl records increased by 77% within Australia during the past 12 months.

Nothing beats entering a record retail store. Who can’t resist the smell of vinyl; the inspection of the record label and inner-sleeve artwork; the quirky characters/ fellow customers and [best of all] the store owner. The store owner has so many stories to tell – which record continues to fly off the racks? Which celebrity has been frequenting the store?

Yes, we can read about similar matters almost immediately via Twitter from somebody on the other side of the globe, however “being there” is what truly counts…

WHEN CD PLAYERS RULED THE WORLD…

Not only are music tastes continually evolving, so it seems that the manner in which we listen to and play music is also making a change.

Take a quick look in the electronic section of your local department store. In the present age, most laptop computers aren’t manufactured with an in-built CD/ DVD player, albeit there are at least 2 USB ports [mp3 download?].

The next time that you wish to purchase a new car, don’t expect to be treated to an in-built CD player. This being said, there will be an outlet to plug in your mp3 player.

When your next monthly trash clean up occurs take a quick look at what your neighbours are throwing out. I guarantee that you will find plenty of pre-loved CDs amongst the various treasures on display.

It is inevitable that the CD and CD player will swiftly go the same way as the cassette tape and tape player: to extinction.

Music purists have forced manufacturers to revive the retailing of vinyl recordings and record players [has DJ music played a part in this retro reversal?], however the “in your face” sound quality of an mp3 file may be the defining event in making the 3 decade old compact disc a thing of the past...

CHRISTMAS SONGS: THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

The festive season is upon us once again, and we can’t help but hum Christmas carols and Christmas songs.

These tunes come into vogue for approximately 6 weeks of every year, however research indicates that an exceptionally well crafted Christmas song can be a lucrative money spinner in perpetuity.

The British are fine exponents of all things Christmas, including popular Christmas songs from the past 4 decades. Here’s a sample of the estimated annual royalties derived from Christmas-themed  songs written by British artists:

·         “Merry Xmas Everybody” – Slade [AUD$1.44M]

·         “Fairytale Of New York” – The Pogues [AUD$940K]

·         “Last Christmas” – Wham [AUD$540K]

·         “Mistletoe And Wine” – Cliff Richard [AUD$178K]

·         “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – Band Aid [AUD$140K]

·         “Merry Christmas Everyone” – Shakin’ Stevens [AUD$97K]

·         “2000 Miles” – The Pretenders [AUD$80K]

·         “Stay Another Day” – East 17 [AUD$54K]

·         “Stop The Cavalry” – Jona Lewie [AUD$24K]

Love them or hate them, these songs represent very tidy sums of money for their writers and copyright owners. 

DEATH OF THE NON-PERFORMING PUBLICITY-SHY SONGWRITER

The only constant in the world of music is rapid change. There have been many examples of non-performing hit songwriters over the past 5 decades, ranging from Liebler and Stoller to Max Martin, and the reason why these songwriters are known by face is because the enormous success of their bodies of work has “forced” them to become stars.

What becomes of the journeyman non-performing song writer in the modern age of music?

Garry Paige is an established Australian song writer with over 250 compositions in his catalogue, who has been selling his craft to artists across the globe for the past 35 years. The apex of his work is “Words Are Not Enough” [a Top Ten hit in 1978 for Jon English] and “Heading In The Right Direction” [Renee Geyer’s 1975 signature song]. Both of these songs continue to receive regular airplay on Australian radio stations to this day, however Paige has been forced to take a day job due to the advert of mp3 file sharing and illegal downloading of music via the Internet.

The Internet has forced song writers [both performing and non-performing] to “give away” their music in order to maintain and/ or build a public profile AND then entice the greater public to purchase their music.  Using the Paige example, he has very little coverage when conducting a Google search of his name. If Paige improved his Internet presence, would the frequency and size of his royalty payments increase?

A message to all non-performing publicity-shy song writers; take the time to make a presence to the world [just as a performing artist must do] and watch your income skyrocket…

OLD ROCKERS GIVING AWAY DISCARDED RIFFS?

Recent media reports that Lars Ulrich [Metallica], Brian May [Queen] and Tony Iommi [Black Sabbath] will be giving away their respective band’s discarded riffs has opened the proverbial Pandora’s Box for commentary.

It is difficult to imagine very successful artists surrendering their copyrights without some form of financial consideration being in play, or is this really a case of wealthy musicians giving to the next generation?

Ulrich’s riff giveaway concept appears to revolve around selling the song fragments by way of an Ebay-style arrangement, whilst May and Iommi’s ideas involve mixing the unused guitar parts into another artist’s unreleased song. Either way, the established artist will profit most favourably from such a deal, whether it be “selling” the discarded riffs or song writing royalties from their established and lucrative publishing deals.

I am a fan of each of these artists’ back catalogue, however the cynic in me views this concept as a novel approach to maintaining publicity for each band in a new world of music.

Old rockers never die, nor does their quest for public adulation…

MUSIC FESTIVALS: GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT

From Woodstock to Live Aid to Live 8, music festivals can make or break both a music promoter and a music artist.

At first sight, the concept of a music festival per se is a logistical nightmare in anybody’s mind. How do you control the weather, the artists’ performance, the sound quality, the crowd’s behaviour et al?

With so many obstacles in play, why do promoters continue with the concept of a music festival?

Recent data released in Australia indicates that people in the 18-35 age bracket remain keen to attend music festivals, thus it’s a youth thing.

This being said, we are only touching the surface with this revelation. A youth audience will pay to attend a music festival if the music acts are appealing. This is a particularly important point, because Australian music promoters are generally filling their festivals with unknown local acts, on the pretense that they will “become” a major act on the back of their live performance.

Thirty years ago, the Narara Music Festival on New South Wales Central Coast was an artistic and financial success because the headline acts were Simple Minds, The Pretenders, The Eurhythmics and [the relatively unknown] Def Leppard. Great musicians who could all cut it live. The following year, Narara took a risk by leveraging off the “goodwill” of its name, and cut its costs by hosting only local acts. That was the final Narara Music Festival.

Nothing has changed in 40 plus years of music festivals. Yes, it’s going to be hot [or wet], crowded and uncomfortable, however all is forgiven if a promoter can attract great live acts. 

SUPERIOR COVER VERSIONS

Recent media reports that Linda Ronstadt is privately battling Parkinson’s Disease has been a genuine cause of concern for her many fans around the globe. The extent of the disease has rendered Ronstadt unable to sing, thus the music world will never hear her superb voice again.

Ronstadt is best known as an “interpreter” of other people’s songs, and some say that she is the best in the business at this craft. Roy Orbison had a smash hit with his self-penned “Blue Bayou” in 1963, however Rondstadt’s 1977 cover version may be the apex of her 40 plus year singing career. “Hurt So Bad”, “It’s So Easy”, “When Will I Be Loved”; these songs are key components of her body of work however we often overlook that each song was a hit in its previous life.

Rarely is a cover version of a song “better” than the original version. Let’s outline a selection of Superior Cover Versions:

“Without You” – Harry Nilsson heard the 1970 original by Beatles protégés Badfinger at a party, and made a mental note that this album track held all of the ingredients of a hit song. Nilsson hit the top of the charts in 1972 with his memorable re-work, and it is his version which still gets regular airplay to this day.

“Jealous Guy” – rarely can anybody “out-Lennon” John Lennon, however Roxy Music’s 1981 cover version surpassed the 1971 album cut from “Imagine”. Notwithstanding the “tribute” aspect of the release of Roxy Music’s version in the wake of Lennon’s assassination, Bryan Ferry’s vocal sensitivities and seminal whistling outro make this song very special.

“With A Little Help From My Friends” – Lennon and McCartney knocked out a catchy little ditty for Ringo Starr’s vocal debut on 1967’s “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, however Joe Cocker chose the following year to transform the song into an unforgettable psychedelic soul anthem. It’s also impossible to acknowledge that each version is one and the same song.

“All Along The Watchtower” – plenty of artists have covered Bob Dylan, ranging from The Byrds’ “Mr Tambourine Man” to Olivia Newton John’s “If Not For You”. Jimi Hendrix waited 6 months to re-work Dylan’s 1968 release of “Watchtower”, and in doing so he invented psychedelic rock.

The sure fire method of releasing a hit song is to release a cover version of a popular song. The real art is “outdoing” the original version of the song…