Music Biz Academy Digest - Issue #41 - August 6th, 2002
An update from http://www.musicbizacademy.com.

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THE MUSIC BIZ ACADEMY
http://www.musicbizacademy.com

The Musician's Online Directory:
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/directory

The Academy (Articles and Tips)
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles

The Bookstore
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore

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Welcome, subscribers to the August 6th edition of the Music Biz
Academy Digest!


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT....
Here's the stuff you ought to know:

First, a bill was introduced into congress just over a week ago
by Howard Berman, (D-Calif) that would allow the recording
industry to essentially hack into your peer-to-peer network if
you are suspected of trading music files illegally. To quote
Salon.com, "Berman's bill, the Peer to Peer Piracy Prevention
Act, allows record companies to respond to the "theft" of
copyrighted materials by 'disabling, interfering with, blocking,
diverting, [or] otherwise impairing' a peer-to-peer file-trading
network. As long as record companies do these things to prevent
the trading of their copyrighted works, they couldn't be
prosecuted under computer crime statutes."

Most analysts believe this bill has no chance of passing anytime
soon. See http://tinyurl.com/xet for Salon's complete analysis of
this development. See also
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3734965.htm

Secondly, the "B.E.A.M. (Benefiting Emerging Artist in Music)"
Grant Program, sponsored by Jim Beam Music, is coming to an end.
If you'd like to submit your band for consideration, you've got
until the end of this month. Jim Beam will award $100,000 in
grants to artists all across the U.S.A.. Bands can use the
no-strings-attached grants as they choose, such as buying new
equipment, renting practice space, promoting a new release, or
creating that killer T-shirt for your fans. Enter now at
http://www.jimbeam.com/jb_web/content/Music_Programs/beam.asp

Thirdly, PressPlay.com, one of the Internet's largest digital
music subscription services, has announced a new price and
service structure which gives users unlimited streaming as well
as unlimited music downloads from its library of over 100,000
tracks. The 'unlimited plus' service, which costs $17.95 per
month, includes a 10-pack of 'portable downloads', which
essentially means you are allowed to burn a CD of up to 10 songs
a month. (sort of like getting a free CD of your choice each
month with your subscription). You can purchase more 'portable
download' packs for an additional fee. A 10 song pack of costs
$9.95, a 20-pack $18.95.

I'm very glad to see PressPlay moving toward a more appealing
online music subscription model. Though you pay for access to
online music, you get something of value in return. I'd still
like to see a 'legal' Napster-like file-trading service - all
access, no restrictions - for a reasonable monthly fee. But, At
least we are seeing some movement in that direction. Any movement
is positive movement. Thank you PressPlay. For more on this,
visit PressPlay at http://www.pressplay.com/ .

Finally, from the 'trading places' dept., check out the new 'Rock
Manager' software. You get to pretend you're managing a rock band
and your goal is to 'use any means necessary to make the band
climb the charts (because) anything goes in this strung-out world
of swindle, lies and rock ’n’ roll.' It's brutal, but that's the
music biz. http://www.msnbc.com/news/788747.asp?cp1=1

Until next time,

David Nevue
Editor, The Music Biz Academy
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/internet/index.htm
http://www.mp3.com/davidnevue

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FROM THE STUDIO TO THE STREETS
MARKETING YOUR MUSIC IN A DIGITAL AGE
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/internet/workshop.htm
The Music Biz Academy is honored to take part in "From the Studio
to the Streets: Marketing Your Music in a Digital Age." This
Portland, Oregon workshop features a panel of music business
professionals, including David Nevue, author of 'How to Promote
Your Music Successfully on the Internet' and founder of The Music
Biz Academy. How do you and your music fit into the Digital Age?
If you've ever wondered, this workshop is for you. Join us in
Portland, on August 24th, at 11am.


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THE INDIE BIBLE
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/indiecontactbible.htm
Need to create some BUZZ about your music? Looking for reviewers?
Radio station contacts? Promotion services? Then grab The Indie
Bible. This fantastic new musicians 'black book' contains pages
filled with contacts with publications and radio programmers all
over the world. These are people who actively look for music to
review! Download or Hard Copy Version Available for $24.95!


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Latest Additions To The Academy
http://musicbizacademy.com/articles/
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CUTTING A 'HOT' CD
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles/hotcd.htm
A common problem: You buy all that cool gear so you can record as
much as you like on your own, and then your CD comes back 6 db
softer than commercial products. Yikes! Since you want your CD to
sound as competitive as possible, it's important to know why
there's a difference. Article by John Vestman.


MUSIC BUSINESS INTERNSHIPS DO'S AND DON'TS
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/interns.htm
Today, anyone who wants a career producing, engineering, or
working in one of the many music-oriented jobs in the recording
industry has many choices when it comes to educating themselves
about the business. In this article, find out how to find a music
business internship, and how to improve your chances of turning
your intership into a career. Article by Chris Knab.


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MUSICDISTRIBUTION.COM
http://www.musicdistribution.com/
MusicDistribution.com aims to help you find the best places to
promote, sell, and distribute your music on the Internet.
Includes our top 10 list, music promotion tips, and
recommended resources.


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Recent Additions/Updates to the Musician's Directory....
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/directory
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BRUCE MILLER MIXING & MASTERING
http://bruceamiller.us/
We don't review many mixing and mastering services, but this
service by
Bruce Miller, who has engineered work for Miles Davis, Yes,
Mariah Carey, Canibus, Lost Boyz, Dave Matthews, Luthor Vandross,
Whitney Houston, and many others, really caught our eye. Bruce
provides a number of services to musicians, including mixing,
mastering, production, recording and editing. If you're in the
market for any of these services, you simply must check out
Bruce's 'Starving Artist Special'. Essentially, you name your own
rate. Tell Bruce what your mastering budget is, and that's what
you start from. All reasonable bids will be considered.


MUSIC CONNECTION MAGAZINE
http://www.musicconnection.com/
Music Connection has been paving the way for the amateur and
professional musician for over 25 years now. Based in Los
Angeles, MC contains articles for everyone on all aspects of the
music business, from getting started to information on where to
find publishers, record labels and so on. Whether discussing raw
survival or the factors contributing to breakthrough success,
Music Connection examines and defines the realities of music
making. It's readership is now up over 75,000. Each issue
includes a directory, list or guide focusing on a wide array of
businesses and services which support a career in music. Music
Connection also contains the largest Free Classified section of
its kind in any publication -- and the ads are absolutely free!
You'll find exclusive cover stories, an A&R report, songworks
(the craft of songwriting), info on the latest studio gear, and
more.


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Contests, Competitions, and Opportunities
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B.E.A.M. GRANT PROGRAM HELPS UNSIGNED MUSICIANS
http://mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=33162
Making a living in the music world can be a tough goal to
achieve. Many talented musicians go unnoticed because they don't
have the resources needed to display their talents. To help make
some of these life-long dreams come true, Jim Beam® Bourbon will
award another $100,000 in grant money in 2002 to unsigned artists
through the B.E.A.M. (Benefiting Emerging Artists in Music)
program. Final grant deadline is August 30th.


THE INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION
http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/
The ISC invites you to enter your songs now to win a Grand Prize
of $5,000 in cash and $20,000 in merchandise/services and
a chance to have your music heard by the music industry's top
decision makers and musicians! Categories include: Pop, Rock,
Country, Folk, R&B, Hip-Hop/Rap, World Music, and Lyrics Only.
Entrants may submit multiple songs in as many categories as they
wish. A total of $60,000 in prizes will be shared by 27 winners.
There is a $30 entry fee. All entries must be postmarked by
September 30, 2002.


101 ONLINE MUSIC PR SOURCES - FREE TO TWO WINNERS EVERY MONTH
http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/onlinepr.html
Bob Baker is giving away copies of his new music publicity
resource. "Some professionals hide their secrets, but not Bob,"
says Jeffrey P. Fisher, author of Ruthless Self-Promotion in the
Music Industry. Fisher is referring to Bob Baker's "Online Music
PR Hot List," a new downloadable book that reveals 101 places to
submit press releases, get reviewed, uncover PR connections and
promote your music on the Internet. Every month, Baker will give
away two copies of this new online music PR directory.


U.K. BROADCASTER SEEKING MUSIC VIDEOS FOR SKY TV
http://www.waterfall-studios.com/
Waterfall Studios is seeking seeking interesting or unusual music
videos from around the world to feature in a SKY TV series. The
series, 'Showcase TV' is broadcast throughout Europe. Artists
seeking exposure for their videos are welcome to submit their
material to Waterfall Studios, 2 Silver Road, Wood Lane, London
W12 7SG. They require Digibeta or BetaSP formats, (NTSC, PAL or
SECAM) although they can also accept U-MATICS. Further questions?
email James Weston at james@...


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Articles From Around The Net....
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SOUR NOTES
http://tinyurl.com/xet
The legal crackdown hasn't squelched MP3 trading -- it's just
made it more of a pain. But the music industry would still rather
fight than give its online customers what they want.


SO YOU WANNA CREATE A ROCK STAR?
http://www.msnbc.com/news/788747.asp?cp1=1
It’s not surprising that the music business, where
sometimes-volatile musicians who passionate about their art have
to work with big record companies that are passionate about their
profits, can be a rough-and-tumble industry. If you’ve ever been
tempted to jump into the fray, you may want to pick up a copy of
“Rock Manager,” a new $20 CD-ROM simulation from DreamCatcher
Interactive.


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Book Review
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I realize it's rather shameless of me to include a review of my
own book in my own newsletter, but hey, what's the point of press
if you can't use it?

This review from Peacework Music just came out this week.
Peacework is an international distributor and record label. Be
sure to stop by their web site at http://www.peaceworkmusic.net/
for a visit.

B o o k R e v i e w: by Jef Peace
Reviewed for Peacework Music - http://www.peaceworkmusic.net/

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC SUCCESSFULLY ON THE INTERNET
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/htpromotemusic.htm

Almost immediately (the first page after the Table Of Contents)
we see the question "Will You Make Millions?" The answer
following the question is refreshing in this jaded world of
get-rich-quick-schemes and scams . . . "The Internet is not a
shortcut to success, it's simply another tool, and one that can
be very effective in the hands of someone who knows how to use
it." The author is up-front with the reality of internet
self-promotion and that is commendable.

The rest of the book is filled with very useful information,
including current links to the various tools and research that is
used. I tested every single link in the book and every one was
exactly what the author said it was. This, in itself, is quite
unusual and again, commendable.

You will find sections on how to fine-tune your website and
tailor it to meet the anticipated needs of your fans as well as
optimize it for the search engines. You will find out what a
press release is, how to write an effective one and where to send
it. There's useful information regarding how to put samples of
your music on your website and links to the free software needed
for this task. There's an entire chapter devoted to mp3.com and
even a chapter letting you know about promotional plans that
DON'T work.

I will give my personal guarantee that if you follow the plan
this book lays down, you will do exactly as the title indicates
and successfully promote your music on the internet and I
heartily endorse this book as the best manual on internet
self-promotion that I've read to date. In fact, I picked a few
valuable tips myself!


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Featured Music Industry News
http://www.musicbizacademy.com
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PRESSPLAY 2.0 OFFERS UNLIMITED MUSIC DOWNLOADS - SORT OF
http://geek.com/news/geeknews/2002Jul/gee20020801015704.htm
The Pressplay Internet music service, formed by Sony and Vivendi,
has a new pricing scheme and service. Users signing up for
Pressplay 2.0 can download unlimited music titles and listen to
unlimited streams for US$9.95 a month. Upping that to a payment
of $17.95 per month gives users "10 Portable Downloads" which can
be burned to CD and/or moved to portable digital music
players. Pressplay offers a catalog of over 100,000 songs.
Unlimited songs can be downloaded with the new plans and listened
to as long as the user remains a member of the service.


BORDERS BOOKS & TAXI TO PROMOTE UNSIGNED ACTS
http://mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=39793
Borders Books and Music today announced it will work with TAXI,
the world's leading independent artist and repertoire company, to
regionally discover, distribute and promote unsigned musical acts
who are already superstars in their local communities.


MACROVISION AWARDED CD COPY PROTECTION PATENT
http://mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=39793
Macrovision Corporation, the leading developer and supplier of
copy protection, electronic licensing and digital rights
management (DRM) technologies, announced that it has been awarded
U.S. Patent #6,353,890 for a method of copy protecting CD
content.


ARTEMIS RECORDS TO WAIVE INTERNET RADIO FEES
http://www.artemisrecords.com/newsarticle.asp?id=66
Artemis Records has agreed to issue licenses to Internet radio
for one year for the master use of songs by all Artemis recording
artists. During this period, beginning August 1, 2002, Artemis
will waive the royalty payments that would otherwise be due them.
Currently, non-interactive streaming radio or Internet radio
stations must pay a royalty rate to the record companies.
"In allowing free use of our catalog at this early stage we hope
to stimulate the Internet radio format," said Danny Goldberg,
Chairman and CEO of Artimis Records.


RIAA WEB SITE DISABLED BY CYBER-ATTACK
http://www.msnbc.com/news/787599.asp
The Recording Industry Association of America’s Web site was
unreachable over the weekend due to a denial-of-service attack.
The apparently deliberate overload rendered the RIAA.org site
unavailable for portions of four days and came after the group
endorsed legislation to allow copyright holders to disrupt
peer-to-peer networks. Nobody has claimed credit for the
denial-of-service attack, which ended at 2 a.m. PDT on Monday.


NAPSTER FUTURE SEEN BLEAK AFTER BERTELSMANN MOVE
http://news.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-20202393-
0.html?tag=ats
Napster just lost a good friend and its biggest supporter at the
parent company that's been keeping it afloat. With the
resignation of Thomas Middelhoff as chief executive of
Bertelsmann AG, the future looks even bleaker for the
debt-riddled and lawsuit-plagued music file swapping company,
experts said on Monday. Middelhoff, considered a maverick at the
conservative media giant, was forced out over the weekend, with
the Gutersloh, German-based company citing differences of
opinions on strategy.


WEBCASTERS OPPOSE RIAA COPYING PROPOSAL
http://shorl.com/ganakyrysese
Webcasters and civil-liberty groups are decrying a proposal by
the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to have
hardware and software manufacturers implement anti-copying
technology aimed at prohibiting consumers from downloading music
from the Internet, cable, and satellite sources. The proposal
calls for an "audio broadcast flag" that would designate streams
as broadcast-only, triggering a response within electronic
devices and preventing the content from being downloaded.


RECORDING ARTISTS TO TESTIFY BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEES ON RECORD
LABEL ACCOUNTING PRACTICES
http://mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=39301
Sam Moore, current solo artist and formerly of Sam and Dave, and
Stacy Womack Henderson, daughter of legendary Motown diva Mary
Wells, will appear before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary
Committee and the Senate Select Committee on the Entertainment
Industry on Tuesday, July 23rd, to testify about how Sam Moore,
Mary Wells, and hundreds of other artists were cheated of their
health and retirement benefits by systemic underreporting of
their royalty earnings by record labels.


BILL LETS MUSIC COMPANIES HACK NAPSTER-LIKE SYSTEMS
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3734965.htm
Media companies would be allowed to sabotage Napster-style
networks to prevent songs, movies and other copyrighted materials
from being swapped over the Internet under a bill introduced in
Congress Thursday. The bill would permit recording companies and
other copyright holders to hack onto networks to thwart users
looking to download free music, and would protect them from
lawsuits from users.



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Recommended Resources
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HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC SUCCESSFULLY ON THE INTERNET
Summer 2002 Edition!
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/htpromotemusic.htm
Learn the marketing and promotion methods that one musician uses
to bring in over $5000 a month in income from the Internet! There
are no 'pipe dreams' sold here. The author details step-by-step
how he finally said good-bye to his day job and starting spending
more time on his music. Download Version Available for only
$14.95!


THE GUERRILLA MUSIC MARKETING HANDBOOK
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/guerrillamusic.htm
This guide to independent music success features over 175 ways to
thrive and prosper with your own band or record label. Download
Version Available! The PDF version of this great book is now only
$29.95!


THE MUSICIAN'S ATLAS - 2002 Edition
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/musiciansatlas.htm
Created by The Music Resource Group, this 368-page volume
provides access to over 15,000 music businesses and key industry
contacts in more than 25 categories. Current names, phone and fax
numbers, e-mail and website addresses, detailed submission
policies and the styles of music preferred is just some of the
information you'll find on every page of The Atlas. Available in
hard copy for only $24.95!


THE INDIE BIBLE
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/indiecontactbible.htm
Need to create some BUZZ about your music? Looking for reviewers?
Radio station contacts? Promotion services? Then grab The Indie
Bible. This fantastic new musicians 'black book' contains pages
filled with contacts with publications and radio programmers all
over the world. These are people who actively look for music to
review! Download or Hard Copy Version Available for $24.95!


MUSIC IS YOUR BUSINESS
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/musiciyb.htm
This great offering from music biz consultant Christopher Knab is
now available in PDF format! Find out why so many musicians fail
and how you can get the 'edge'. Learn how to attract
distributors, radio play, and how to create a demand for your
music. Music Is Your Business includes excellent flowcharts and
graphs, demonstrating in simple terms how the industry operates.
Sample artist bio, fact sheet, and checklists for jump-starting
your career and/or running your own record label! PDF Edition
only $19.95!


THE INDIE MUSICIAN'S PDF POWER PACK!
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/bookstore/index.htm
Get three of our best-selling books for one low price! Set
includes 'How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the
Internet', 'The Indie Bible' and 'Music is Your Business' - All
for only $49.95 emailed to your inbox!


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Services available through the Music Biz Academy!
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These are partnerships we've created though channels and
connections we've established over the years. In other words, we
recommend them because we trust them. If you're looking for help
in any of the following areas, these should be strongly
considered.


CD MANUFACTURING and DUPLICATION
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/cdmanufacturing.htm
MusicBizAcademy.com has teamed up with Northwestern Media to
bring you quality CD manufacturing and duplication at a very
reasonable price. Why NW Media? Because this is the company we
ourselves use. We have partnered with them because we know how
very hard it is to find a good, reasonably priced manufacturer
that offers both great service and a high quality product. We
have been VERY satisfied with the work NW Media has done for us.
You simply cannot do much better, on quality, service, or price.


GET REPRESENTATION
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/representation.htm
The Music Biz Academy has partnered with NOMA music, a very
well-established song placement and promotion agency, to help you
get your music heard. The mission statement of NOMA Music is
threefold:

1) Placing bands, songwriters, instrumentalists, and solo artists
with established record labels.
2) Placing and licensing songs and music into television, film,
commercials, video, and animation projects.
3) Representing up and coming film and TV composers.

NOMA works with a large network of over 400 production companies.
Recent successes include client song placement in MTV's 'The
Osbournes', FX's 'The Shield', an NHL Hockey video, and three
songs in the upcoming film 'Employee of the Month' starring John
Doe from the band X. NOMA provides an aggressive program to get
your music into the right hands.


GET YOUR MUSIC ONLINE!
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/cdstreet.htm
We've partnered with CDStreet to offer one of the best deals on
the net for musicians looking to sell their music via the web.
CDStreet simply takes 20% of your CD price. If you sell a CD for
$12.99, you keep $10.39. If you need to ecommerce enable your web
site (as in, you need a shopping cart), you can use CDStreet to
do that as well. Visitors can rate your music, post reviews, get
news and information and listen to and purchase your music. Very
highly recommended, with lots of buzz on the ‘street’. There is a
one-time $29.95 set up fee, but no recurring or hidden charges. A
fantastic deal on a high-visibility, high-class web site.


MUSIC CAREER CONSULTING
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/consulting.htm
If you'd like some help getting your music career off the ground
or preparing for that next step, contact our expert music
consultant, Christopher Knab. Chris has been called "One of the
Most Influential People in the Northwest Music Industry." by
Seattle's Rocket Magazine. He is owner of FourFront Media and
Music, a consultation service based in Seattle that helps
musicians develop marketing and career plans.


RADIO & RETAIL PROMOTION
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/radiopromo.htm
If you're looking to promote your music either via radio or
through retail, we've teamed up with a radio promoter who has
quarterbacked campaigns for RadioHead (before they were stars),
Lit (Malicious Vinyl), and others. Our contact will help arrange
on-air interviews, CD reviews, and create a custom campaign
custom designed for your music.


ART DESIGN - CDs, Posters, One-Sheets, and Web Sites
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/artdesign/
In this business of music, image means everything! You know it,
we know it, the music industry knows it. Our hand-picked graphic
designers will help you make a powerful statement about your
music! Whether you need art design for your CD package, or just a
quick logo, it's all here. Check out the very cool one-sheet
designs, the perfect item to make your press kit stand out!


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The Music Biz Academy Digest is brought to you by The Music
Biz Academy (http://www.musicbizacademy.com) . It is a resource
designed for musicians promoting or selling music on the
internet. Each week we feature news, articles, and reviews
related to the art of online music promotion and music related
product sales.

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