Category Archives: Musician Issues

Musicians issues: Show Me The Money! – The Nuts And Bolts of Digital Royalties

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Last week I attended the APAP (Association of Performing Arts Presenters) WORLD MUSIC PRE-CONFERENCE 2013, where many concert presenters and festivals book much of their upcoming year.  Rock Paper Scissors, INC.’s  founder Dmitri Vietze put together a two-day world music pre-conference from Thursday to Friday as part of the APAP conference.

I attended only the Thursday panels (State of the Recording Industry and Technology Tools for Artists, Labels, and Concert Presenters) because they were related to musician issues. I wanted to find out what’s working and and what’s next in the music business. Honestly there wasn’t anything new the panelists could tell me. They just confirmed me that all the things I have done in NY in the last 5 years were correct or “standard procedures”. At the end all panelists agreed that musicians have to take care of their own businesses: be their own managers, publicists, labels and distributors. They have to learn very fast how Internet technology works and how to use it properly. Why? Because the ultimate goal for any musician is to have a fan base. Without fans nothing can happen or work, whatever you try to do. It doesn’t matter how many fans you got. One fan is already enough for the start, but the number must grow gradually.

Speaking of myself, as you already know, I joined the NY City musicians’ union Local 802 last year to find out what they “know” about music business and musician rights. Also to find out how I can apply their knowledge into my musician life. For this reason I decided to use DooBeeDoo as a platform to share my “new” knowledge with all music lovers and musicians around me.

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POST-SANDY MARCH TO THE VILLAGE VANGUARD AND BLUE NOTE!

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Last  Wednesday, November 14th, 8:30pm, I attended the Justice For Jazz Artists rally for the second time. A chilly night. I and my union brothers met at Two Boots Pizza at the corner of 11th street and 7th Avenue in New York for a march to the Village Vanguard and the Blue Note. When I arrived the band was already getting ready to march. Again the goal of this rally was to keep the pressure high on club owners and let these clubs and their owners know that they need to do the right thing and provide pension contributions, fair pay scales and protections of recording rights for musicians who play in their clubs!

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Rally Report: Jazz Musicians’ Rights – Occupy Justice For Jazz Artist (JFJA)…now or never!!!

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Yesterday I joined the Justice For Jazz Artist (JFJA)/LOCAL 802 rally as a union member and as a music activist for the first time. Our goal was to stand up for free speech and send a message to the Blue Note club owners  to sign on to the demands of our campaign: pension, pay scales, and protections on recordings for all musicians who play the club. The rally started at the Washington Square Park at 9pm and moved from there towards the Blue Note. The message was taken out with a live band, who were all union members, consisting of union members to spread the word out to jazz fans, musicians, and most importantly, the club owners. About 100 people joined the rally. 

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DooBeeDoo supports Justice for Jazz Artists!

Text by Justice for Jazz Artists (Local 802)
Dear J4JA Supporter, 

Join us Thursday night, as we are stand up for free speech and send a message to the Blue Note: the club owners need to do the right thing and sign on to the demands of our campaign: Pension, Pay scales, and Protections on recordings for all musicians who play the club.

We will take our message to the streets with a live band to spread the word to jazz fans, musicians, and most importantly, the club owners. Continue reading →

Musicians to Protest Lincoln Center Allowing Canned Music at Koch Theater Dance Performances

Visiting Ballets Perform to Recordings Instead of Live Music, Contrary to the Mission of the Venerated Live Performance Arts Complex

NEW YORK, NY — In blatant disregard of its most sacred mission, the leadership of Lincoln Center is turning its back on live performance by allowing dance groups to perform to prerecorded music in the complex’s Dave H. Koch theater.

On Thursday, October 18, from 6:30-8pm, Members of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and Local 802 will pass out leaflets outside Lincoln Center’s Koch Theater to  inform the audience attending the traveling ballet revue “Stars of the 21st Century” that they are paying top dollar to see these international performers dance to a recording, not a live orchestra. Although the world-class New York City Ballet Orchestra could have  accompanied the dancers, ticket-buyers, who have paid up to $125 per ticket, will instead be  deprived of the joy of listening to live music.

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