Showing posts with label VIMBC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VIMBC. Show all posts

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Songwriters should be leading the charge......

This is a bonus post in follow up to my Road Trip post/video's at the VIMBC.

Kelly and I were chatting with Bill Henderson and it occured to me that  part of our conversation contained an important message for songwriters so I don't want this footage to just sit on the cutting room floor. It relates back to one of the many seminars I went to at the VIMBC  which was about monetizing digital downloads, Bill Henderson and Ralph Murphy were the panelists. Basically, file sharing is here to stay, and so it should be, it is a fantastic tool. At the same time, artists who should be compensated for their work, are not being compensated. 

This is serious for all songwriters and music professionals, the current stats are staggering.

An estimated 1.6 billion music files are shared online in Canada  each year.
* The total number of purchased downloads in Canada was 38 million in 2005.2
* The proportion between these two is 98/2 – 98% sharing, 2% purchasing.

There are people who will argue  that you can't monetize file sharing because grandmother Betsy would never download a file in her life  and she just plays Bingo on Facebook so she shouldn't be charged and so on and so on.........of course...... this is why there is disucssion going on. I'm not sure that everyone knows this, but there is an unobtrusive way to monetize file sharing and music downloading which is fair to both the artist as well as the consumer, or non-consumer if such is the case.  There is a proposal being discussed right now online at SAC and as a songwriter you should be a part of this discussion. The more songwriters who join in and lead the charge towards the inevitable, the more likely the change will be positive and productive and beneficial to all.

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Canada has given the world some of the greatest music ever produced. We believe that implementing a fair way of compensating Canada’s music creators for the online sharing of their music will usher in a new Golden Age of creativity. (from the SAC website)


For more info, and to lend your voice to the conversation, please go HERE~


And speaking of songwriting, here are a few clips from my showcase at the VIMBC.....




Keep writing and rocking friends.
Rach xo

ON the Road with Kelly and Rachael's All Access Pass! VIMBC



Welcome to my virtual scrapbook video of some highlights of our trip to the 2010 Vancouver Island Music Business conference (I would like to say thanks to Kelly Brock my All Access Pass co-host, for giving me her song to use. Thanks Kel!)  And also I must send huge thanks and hugs to Steve and Carolyn at Two Eagles Lodge in Union Bay for putting up with us putting us up! After staying there for a weekend I can see there is excellent reason that the Two Eagles Lodge has been awarded top honors for Bed and Breakfast's on Vancouver Island, it is a beautiful warm home in a stunning setting, where guests are treated like family.

In fact we felt so much like family that when Kelly and I arrived home from the wrap party at the Whistlestop and spotted headlights from a running car that was sitting over at the barn,  so, we donned our Thelma and Louise dresses and drove down to the barn to find out who the intruders were (because when we left the party earlier, we were pretty sure everyone else was still there). It turned out however, that it was just Steve and Carolyn  checking on the horses (which was really lucky because I'm not at all sure that Kelly and I had any inkling of an idea of what we were going to do if there really were robbers in the barn).

Ah but I digress, for those of you reading who are musicians, composers, songwriters, performers, bands or artists who are interested in working in music and getting the most out of the industry then the VIMBC is a great weekend to plan to attend for next year.

Something of note about this conference is that is does not anticpate growth in size. The VIMBC is limited to 500 people because realistically, space only allows for 500 people.  It's perfect if you ask me. With no pressure to expand on  the size of the conference, Susie and Andy  have been able to focus on the quality of the content and make the most out of the intimacy of the setting. 

Small and intimate means that the panelists are more accessable and the opportunities for relationship building are more realistic. Something about the small size of this conference seems to encourage people (panelists included) to let their guard down and become more approachable.  It's an exclusive event but by the end of the weekend we all seemed to act like we are in this thing together, certainly moreso  than you might get from an event that is larger, crowded and in a widespread more bustling setting.

And speaking of settings, could there be anywhere more beautiful than on an island looking out over the water? It was just so relaxing, and music focused. Music, music, music. If you love it, don't miss it.

For even more of an idea of the conference I invite you to watch Kelly  and Rachael's All Access Pass feature which will take you to a couple of the seminars, talks to some of the panelists, and puts you right there in the audience during the concerts.

What a weekend. There were just SO many friends I had the great pleasure of seeing again, so many of us, we are so busy that our paths just do not cross often enough, but I am always so delighted when they do. I wish I could say hi to you all individually and thank you all for being a part of our fab weekend, this video celebrating the event will have to do!  Enjoy!




PANELISTS ~Link-Fest~


CLICK ON NAMES FOR MORE INFO

Dan Hill
singer/songwriter, Recording artist, Producer, Author
Patricia Conroy
Award-winning singer/songwriter, recording artist -CCMA “Album of the Year” (1993) “Female Vocalist of the Year” (1994)
Bill Henderson
Chilliwack Lead Singer/Guitarist, Songwriter, Canadian Music Icon
Sue Medley
Juno, SOCAN award-winning recording artist and songwriter
Kevin Churko
Producer, Engineer (Shania Twain, Ozzy Osbourne, Ringo Starr, Robert Downey Jr., Lisa Marie Presley, Britney Spears, The Corrs)
Ralph Murphy
Vice President, ASCAP Nashville. Producer, songwriter and music publisher.
Brian Heatherman
President and CEO, FACTOR
Angela Kelman
"Farmer’s Daughter" lead vocalist
Tom McKillip
Producer (Lisa Brokop, Aaron Pritchett, One More Girl, Kenny Hess, Ian Tyson)
John Dexter
Songwriter, Publisher, Label Owner, Producer (Melissa Etheridge, David Foster, Cheap Trick, Bif Naked, West End Girls, Alias, Mel Torme, Starship, Quarterflash
Ron Proulx
Music Supervisor, Arpix Media International
Jamie Warren
Singer/songwriter, Recording artist - the most awarded independent male artist in the Canadian country music industry
Ron Irving
Internationally-acclaimed award winning songwriter, producer, publisher
Steven McClintock
President, 37 Records. Award-winning songwriter, publisher and producer based in Long Beach Ca.
Bob Funk
Producer (Patricia Conroy) Studio and Touring Musician
Sue Irving
Music Publisher, Director, BC Country Music Association.
Jerry Adolphe
Studio and Tour Drummer (Chilliwack, Lisa Brokop, Jim Byrnes, Roberta Flack, Meliissa Manchester, Sass Jordan, Seal)
Bob D'eith
Music Lawyer, Executive Director, MUSIC BC, Peak Performance Project Faculty
Don Adams
Artist Management (Donpaul Entertainment), Promoter (Merritt Mountain Festival)
Gene Daniel
Live Music Promoter, Radio Group mogul
Ted Moseman
President, Horizon International Talent Agency
Douglas Romanow
Toronto-based producer and owner of boutique studio Fire Escape Recording
Ed Harris
Marketing Director, Royalty Records, Calgary Stampede
Kelly Brock
Independent Recording Artist and songwriter
Terry O'Brien
SOCAN Education and Outreach Manager
Joanna Maratta
Executive Director, BC Touring Council
Jim Norris
President, Norris-Whitney Communications Inc.
R Harlan Smith
President of Royalty Records, songwriter, producer,
publisher, CCMA Hall Of Famer
Ed Henderson
Composer, arranger-orchestrator, guitarist, musical director and music producer in theatre, film and the concert stage
Doug Edwards
Studio and Touring musician
Phil Kallsen
Program Director, Country 105 FM, Calgary
Bill Miller
Radio Promoter, Pitbull Promotions
Ryan Mennie
Music Director, 97.3 The Eagle, Courtenay
Michael Behm
Songwriter, Producer, Publisher, Label Owner
Sean Hogan
Songwriter, award-winning independent Canadian Roots/Country Artist
Scott James
Music Director, 100.3 The Q, Victoria
DaveSawchuk
Music Director, 91.3 The Zone, Victoria
Rob Bye
Regional Program Director, Island Radio Group
Susie McGregor
singer, songwriter, VIMBC Event Coordinator
Barry Stecyk
Province Playlist, President, HevyD Music
Catherine Miller
Music Lawyer
Vig Schulman
Concert Promoter, Cumberland Village Works


See you next year!
Rach xo