I learned just Friday night that Arizona State University has recently
banned the selling of CD's at concerts. I wonder what overpaid pinhead
administrator thought up that idea to put on his performance review.
Our wonderful Frank Koonce has brought a wonderful array of incredibly
talented struggling young performers to ASU, and now they will be
struggling even more.
For those that lament that financing is difficult for struggling
young musicians, I should add that it is difficult for struggling young
anybody in an academic field. My brilliant young nephew with a Harvard
Ph.D. in neurobiology is working full time for an annual salary of
$35,000. Remember Jon Nakamatsu, who eventually won first prize in the
Van Cliburn competition, worked as a high school teacher to support
himself. The schools in the Phoenix, Arizona area are full of teachers
with a Ph.D. in some instrument, teaching band or chorus, because that
is the only music related employment they could find to support their
families. My own brother, with a degree in composition, worked
construction, building log homes for 20 years.
My theory is that it all points to the "sex, drugs and rock and
roll" culture (or lack thereof) that has permeated American life for
decades. My own beloved home town Philadelphia Orchestra went bankrupt
last year, and many others are on the verge. How many classical music
stations are left? Very few, and now they are publicly supported!
Americans on the whole just have little interest in supporting the
arts. Unfortunately, that includes too many of our elected officials
who year after year cut support for education, so that the schools
continue to crank out graduates who can barely read or write. Don't be
surprised that they value beer and pizza over Morley or Dowland.
So, Chris, you are spot on in that the present system of support for
arts and academia is badly broken. I don't believe that either Hillary
Clinton or Jeb Bush will ever give fixing it a high priority. It is up
to us to fix it, and if crowd sourcing finds some success, then let's
have more of it.
A. John Mardinly, Ph.D., P.E.
Principal Materials Nanoanalysis Engineer
EMail: [1][email protected]
Cell: [2]408-921-3253 (does not work in TEM labs)
Titan Lab: [3]480-727-5651
NION UltraSTEM Lab: [4]480-727-5652
JEOL ARM 200 Lab: [5]480-727-5653
2010F Lab: [6]480-727-5654
Office: [7]480-965-7946
John Cowley Center for HREM, LE-CSSS
B134B Bateman Physical Sciences Building
Arizona State University
[8]PO Box 871704
[9]Tempe, AZ 85287-1704
On Feb 25, 2015, at 6:16 AM, "Ron Andrico" <[10][email protected]>
wrote:
Thanks for your thoughtful post, Chris. Your project is worthy of
support and you did an excellent job of describing the current
dilemma
for recording artists in accurate and diplomatic terms.
Most people involved in the lute world, whether they are first-class
players like you, or whether they simply enjoy the aesthetic of the
instrument, simply don't even think about what it takes to produce a
recording today. It's a different world than the "fan club" approach
of the past, where top players were easily able to obtain academic
appointments, research grants, artist representation, and recording
contracts that actually paid for the session work, production,
distribution and even royalties.
Today, even the top players (with a few rare exceptions) are
struggling
with the cost of making recordings - which are almost always
self-financed - and even musicians who record for reputable labels
are
"paid" in rather skimpy piles of their own CDs which must be sold at
concerts if they want to make anything at all for their effort.
Talented amateurs who have piles of "the ready" can make nice
recordings without the worry of whether they should reproduce several
cartons of their CD, or whether they should buy a sack of groceries
this week and perhaps even pay the heat bill.
Again, there is no reason why someone who simply appreciates lute
music
should have to think about the nuts and bolts of how their favorite
recordings are made, but we can all be assured that it has nothing to
do with the fairytale myth of merit. There are many deserving
artists
out there who should be heard and supported, but there is no longer a
viable market model for financing and remuneration - especially with
the unsustainable model of streaming services. We have written about
this in the past
[1][11]https://mignarda.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/should-listeners-fee
l-guil
ty-about-using-spotify/ and others have done so more eloquently
[2][12]http://thetrichordist.com/2014/10/14/streaming-is-the-future-s
potify
-is-not-lets-talk-solutions/
Chris, your project deserves the highest level of support - and we
know
that the amount you're aiming for is only a fraction of the total
cost
of the project. You should have people knocking on your door asking
how much you want to make this recording. Kickstarter is a step in
the
right direction, but as far as I can see the only viable solution in
our niche market is to ask our certain incorporated non-profit
organizations to stop behaving like fan clubs and make targeted funds
available to energetic and motivated artists for recording worthwhile
projects - and not with limitations so the funds apply only to the
select few students of the gatekeepers who have been running the
racket
for far too long.
Those of us working class musicians who have been in the biz since
the
70s have watched with dismay how the new business model has changed
what used to be "$ for product" into "you're lucky we pay you 0.00012
per stream." It's a little frustrating to see monthly reports
indicating tens of thousands of streams and not making enough to
cover
the price of a good meal.
Anyway, best of luck with your project.
RA
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2015 09:21:53 -0800
To: [13][email protected]; [14][email protected]
From: [15][email protected]
Subject: [LUTE] Lute in the Future
Dear Luters,
If you think the lute is only for S.N.O.B.s, then read no further.
However, if you believe that there are still vast oceans of discovery
our instrument has to offer beyond the marvelous work produced by
Smith, North, ODette and Barto, then read on.
Todays music scene is fraught with significant challenges, but also
many opportunities. The great modern masters of the lute forged brave
paths for our instrument in the 70s and 80s to which we are all
greatly
indebted. Their efforts would have been in vain but for the platform
of
support provided by forward thinking record companies, academic
institutions and festivals/concert series willing to take chances on
promoting what was then a promising, yet extremely risky endeavor.
Young musicians working in early music today cant expect such
assistance. The plum teaching positions and concert series are
already
occupied by members of the previous generation. This is true of
record
labels as well, which, saddled with their own difficulties of making
money in the digital age, are unable to put money behind developing
new
artists as they once did. This is especially true of those whose
artistic individuality brings fresh insights.
Until recently, these deserving voices had little chance of being
heard at all. Despair not, hungry members of the lute hoard, for no
longer must we rely on outside arbiters of taste to find the boldness
we desire! The early music industry, restricted by market forces and
the expectations of recently invented tradition, must confine their
lineup of performers to a relatively small circle of recognizable
"stars" who play within an easily-defined range of stylistic options.
Admirable as the work of these well-established pioneers has been,
you
can at last delight in other gems! How can you so empower yourself?
Simple. Through the support of people like you, several members of
this
list, including Edward Martin, Thomas Walker and Duo Mignarda were
able
to bring out valuable projects via crowd funding that otherwise may
have been neglected entirely.
Im also turning Kickstarter to fund my next album. Its a recording
of
Bach, Weiss and Falckenhagen that incorporates portions of elaborate,
written-out doubles and improvised cadenzas just how musicians of the
18th century were expected to play. Im proud to present this
combination of art and research. However, because such intrepid
exploration goes beyond the just play the notes on the page mentality
of many in classical music, it is the type of thing that fits
uneasily
into the catalog of record companies.
The best part? Your support wont just give you the warm fuzzies; if
you back the project, your generosity will be rewarded with very real
gifts, including an advance copy of the new finished album. Click the
link below for a video presentation, description and audio samples.
[16]https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1600736048/desperate-doors-b
aroque
-lute-album
Thank you!!!
Chris Wilke
Dr. Christopher Wilke D.M.A.
Lutenist, Guitarist and Composer
[17]www.christopherwilke.com
To get on or off this list see list information at
[18]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--
References
1.
[19]https://mignarda.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/should-listeners-feel-gui
lty-about-using-spotify/
2.
[20]http://thetrichordist.com/2014/10/14/streaming-is-the-future-spotif
y-is-not-lets-talk-solutions/
--
References
1. mailto:[email protected]
2. tel:408-921-3253
3. tel:480-727-5651
4. tel:480-727-5652
5. tel:480-727-5653
6. tel:480-727-5654
7. tel:480-965-7946
8. x-apple-data-detectors://6/
9. x-apple-data-detectors://6/
10. mailto:[email protected]
11. https://mignarda.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/should-listeners-feel-guil
12. http://thetrichordist.com/2014/10/14/streaming-is-the-future-spotify
13. mailto:[email protected]
14. mailto:[email protected]
15. mailto:[email protected]
16. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1600736048/desperate-doors-baroque
17. http://www.christopherwilke.com/
18. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
19.
https://mignarda.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/should-listeners-feel-guilty-about-using-spotify/
20.
http://thetrichordist.com/2014/10/14/streaming-is-the-future-spotify-is-not-lets-talk-solutions/
