DECIBEL 2008 / THE BIZ

Operations at a/O were on auto-pilot for a few days
while the writer/artist/curator TJ Norris was in town
for the Decibel festival. TJ and I were on a discussion
panel pertaining to the current state (and future of)
music writing, and we also attended other various events
at the festival. Unfortunately, I didn't take very many

photos and the ones I did take, didn't turn out very well.

Highlights for me included Akira Rabelais / Carole Kim (visuals),
William Basinski, OffTheSky, Tujiko Noriko, Kamran Sadeghi,
and Balún. There was also a discussion panel regarding
music licensing and monetizing music, while informative,
also proved to be dreadfully uninspiring since most of the
panelists were steeped in an old paradigm mindset…
My suspicions were confirmed when I asked a question
pertaining to the overstepping of jurisdiction of major labels
and organizations like ASCAP and BMI when it comes to
listening to the CDs we buy outside of our confined private
spaces, and the panelists not only tried to justify the stance
of the aforementioned organizations, but they also jokingly
refered to me as being “rebellious”(?)…

Hello? If we buy CDs, we should have the right to play them
just about anywhere we choose without getting threatened
with a licensing fee for doing so. Sending out minions to
search for CDs being played outside a particular environment
reeks of corporate fascism and should be outlawed because
it impinges upon individual rights. Playing a CD is not the same
thing as copying and/or giving it away on a blog without

permission, and while I think artists and recording labels should

receive compensation for their work, I also think that the

jurisdiction of organizations like BMI or ASCAP (in the USA)

should be thoroughly re-examined and revised. As it turns out,

one of the a/O artists has joined such an organization in Europe
that tries to charge a licensing fee even if a sample is featured
on a website(!) which is self-defeating and unproductive. I can

tell you that if such an organization tries to charge me fees for

promoting work that I spend money to release, then I will start

asking the artist for compensation fees, because so far, the

artists don't have to pay anything for the CDs I publish for them.

Apart from that nonsense, I had a fantabulous time at dinner
with Akira Rabelais, William Basinski, Carole Kim and TJ on
Saturday night, which was a very nice way to end the festival,
since TJ was heading back to Portland and I had to get back
to work, therefore skipping Sunday’s events.