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markwitz
`Olu`olu
USA
841 Posts |
 Posted - 07/26/2007 : 03:38:51 AM
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I just want to say a personal Aloha to Bill and tell him how much I enjoyed and learned from his "Ho'olohe Hou" podcasts. They have been a great educational tool for me to use in my quest to learn about Hawaiian music.
I encourage anyone who is not aware of these Podcasts to go to www.hwnmusiclives.libsyn.com and check them out.
I can only hope that they will be continued at some point in the future.
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"The music of the Hawaiians, the most fascinating in the world, is still in my ears and
haunts me sleeping and waking."
Mark Twain |
Edited by - markwitz on 07/30/2007 09:29:50 AM |
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alika207
Ha`aha`a
USA
1260 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2007 : 05:00:09 AM
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| Great site! I love it! |
He kehau ho'oma'ema'e ke aloha.
'Alika / Polinahe |
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da_joka
Lokahi
361 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2007 : 06:29:11 AM
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| thanks for the link ... awesome! It really brings me back home ... |
If can, can. If no can, no can. |
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hawaiianmusiclover06
`Olu`olu
USA
562 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2007 : 11:56:05 AM
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Mahalo for the link... will check it later.
Alana :) |
Aloha Kakou, maluhia a me aloha mau loa (Hello everyone, peace and love forever) |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2007 : 1:19:58 PM
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Life is very strange.
Bill and I knew each other electronically back in the days when Mainframes ruled the computer world and Usenet was the only source of NewsGroups - Win 3.1 had just come out and we all used Telnet to mimic TTYs. We had to use special software to browse soc.culture.hawaii and alt.music.hawaii (not places anyone I know would now hang out, but Auntie Maria could probably advise us). Bill was steeped in Hawaiian Music then, and his own talent had not fully emerged. Now it has, and we met, and enjoyed, Bill, and his still expanding abilities, in the flesh, at Andy's and Lynette's a few weeks ago.
Like meeting an old friend, because that is just what it was.
...Reid |
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LovinLK
Lokahi
USA
112 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2007 : 9:09:55 PM
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I remember when newsgroups were only for Unix users. We had to use -rn to get the newsgroups and I remember the soc.culture.hawaii and the other newsgroups too using a Unix box. Wonder where all those people vanished to? I don't see them here.
I remember Bill posting a lot on that newsgroup. |
Lovin' Lee is my favorite pasttime!!
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Edited by - LovinLK on 07/27/2007 5:35:01 PM |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 03:45:33 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by markwitz
I just want to say a personal Aloha to Bill and tell him how much I enjoyed and learned from his "Ho'olohe Hou" podcasts. I downloaded them all and converted them to cd so that I can listen to them while I drive. They have been a great educational tool for me to use in my quest to learn about Hawaiian music.
I encourage anyone who is not aware of these Podcasts to go to www.hwnmusiclives.libsyn.com and check them out.
I can only hope that they will be continued at some point in the future.
Thanks for your warm note. I have received a few e-mails from you along the lines of "what happened to Ho`olohe Hou," and I regret that I have not been glued long enough to a computer to offer you a heartfelt reply. But I very much appreciate the compliments about the show and here is the reply I should have offered sooner.
Regrettably, I have had to discontinue the podcasts for a while - not for lack of time or energy (I am a bachelor with plenty of both), but because of new royalty collection schedules specific to internet delivery of music. The music industry is trying to collect royalties from Internet music distribution and, as a musician myself, I agree this is highly necessary in this evolving market for music. However, the royalty collection for Internet distribution is exorbitantly high - partly because I think that the RIAA, BMI, and ASCAP see that this is the direction the music industry is heading (given the bleak CD sales the past few years), and partly because the Internet has the advantage of actually being able to use the technology to count how many people have actually heard a song or broadcast.
If I were to continue doing my show, it would cost me a minimum of $500 annually for a blanket license for the minimal number of listeners I have (about 100 per week at the time I abruptly cancelled the show). If the show's listenership grows, then so do my licensing fees. Add this to the $300 that I am already spending annually to maintain the bandwidth to produce the show, and I simply can't afford that. The irony, of course, is that given the choice of music I played on my show, 97% of the artists and composers featured have passed on. So, who is actually receiving compensation for their work now? This is unique to the music world that our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can continue to benefit from the musician's work. (Imagine having to pay DaVinci's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren a mechanical fee for every person who walks through the Louvre and views the Mona Lisa?) As a musician, I cannot stress enough how important it is to support those musicians who are still making their livings as musicians. But to whom does the money go when the musicians and composers have left us?
It is not really an artistic decision when music is not rereleased for future generations. It is a business decision. The difference, I think (and I could be wrong), between Disney deciding not to produce DVD copies of "Bambi" anymore and a Hawaiian music label not rereleasing the music by their classic artists is that the Hawaiian music that is no longer being heard has a historical and cultural importance of such urgency that our failure to bring those recordings out of obscurity will mean the loss of an essential educational piece for our future generations of musicians performing Hawaiian music. Kimo Alama Keaulana said wisely, "In order to know where we are heading, we have to know where we have been."
What do I mean? A true story: On a recent trip to Hawai`i, I went to hear one of the "hot new young groups" who perform traditional Hawaiian music. I love this group! They introduced a song as a "classic composed by Rachel Asebido of the group Kaleo O Kalani in the 1980s." Now, the 1980s are a long time ago for these youngsters, but... They proceeded to launch into "Aloha Wau `Ia `Oe" and I later felt compelled to tell them that this "classic" was, in fact, composed by the great kumu hula John Pi`ilani Watkins circa. 1953.
This is why it is so important for me to continue the show. For those who have stated here and elsewhere that "Ho`olohe Hou" was merely redundant to the long-running "Territorial Airwaves," it wasn't. Click on the link and take a listen and see. Harry B. Soria and I have traded notes on Hawaiian music recordings many times, and I have a great many things in my collection that he doesn't and vice-versa. For example, I amuse myself some evenings by pulling out complete episodes of the "Hawaii Calls" radio broadcasts. I have all of the episodes from 1951 through 1954 as well as miscellaneous other episodes from the 1960s/70s. (I also have the complete two-year run of the "Hawaii Calls TV Show" from 1964-65. Yes, "Hawaii Calls" was televised briefly!) Because those who know me know that I will preserve their treasures of Hawaiian music, I have been handed down numerous live broadcasts and house party recordings from legendary Hawaiian music artists. And the members of the online "Steel Guitar Forum" referred to my program on Billy Hew Len as not only a tribute, but an "excellent education piece." So, while like many of you I enjoy "Territorial Airwaves" every single week, "Ho`olohe Hou" had something to offer, as well. And I think that the preservation of Hawaiian music history is important enough that it will take any and all of us willing to contribute to the effort to keep it alive.
That being said, continuing the show is my heart's fondest desire, and I have been spending some time this summer writing grant proposals to try to receive the funding to do the show properly and legally. I have a few avenues to pursue for funding and the contribution is minimal. Royalties and technology all tolled would be a mere $1,000, but much more than I can bear the burden of alone. But if another group can obtain $25,000 for digitizing classic Hawaiian music recordings, perhaps some organization can see their way clear to fund "Ho`olohe Hou." Any suggestions any of you might have for pursuing avenues of funding would be greatly appreciated.
Meanwhile, for those of you who never heard "Ho`olohe Hou," please click on the link, enjoy the first nine shows I produced, and let me know your thoughts. With the show on "hiatus," I am spending the time instead digitally remastering much of my collection. So I will be ready - should the opportunity arise again - to produce "Ho`olohe Hou" on a moment's notice.
Me ka ha`aha`a... |
Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 07:12:32 AM
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Two things: First, Bill's compilations are great listening--they remind me of counter-culture FM radio of forty years ago, only rather more scholarly. Second, his comments on the new (unlegislated, if what I read elsewhere is correct) fee structures for on-line music streaming are on the, um, money. Even a musical packrat like me discovers new material on these sites, and in my music-journalist/researcher role, I've found them an invaluable resource. If folk-jazz-whatever music sites are driven off the net, the commons lose out to the unreasoning greed of Engulf & Devour. (And I'm a "content provider" on the word end of things, so this isn't some sophomoric "information wants to be free" sentiment.)
So, so long, "Ho`olohe Hou," thanks for the tunes, and I hope it proves to be a temporary situation.
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markwitz
`Olu`olu
USA
841 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 09:30:56 AM
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Bill, thanks for the explanation as to why you have TEMPORARILY (I can only hope) paused doing your extraordinarily good "Ho'olohe Hou" podcasts at www.hwnmusiclives.libsyn.com
I kinda knew that it had to be because of some of the reasons, as you explained. The fact that you enjoyed doing them comes across so much, that I just knew that you weren't stopping them without good reason. You have accelerated my appreciation of Hawaiian music so much. I put your work in the same league as the films that Eddie Kamae has done.
It's my hope that someone will recognize what a great resource you are and help you along your way. What can we do individually or collectively to help?
I hope that I'm not crossing boundaries here that I shouldn't be, and apologize in advance, to any and all, if I am.
One last thing, you say you are digitally re mastering your collection. Will that take out the "pops and hisses" found on those old 78's and 45's in your collection? I hope not entirely. I just love the sense of history you get when you hear a vinyl original. |
"The music of the Hawaiians, the most fascinating in the world, is still in my ears and
haunts me sleeping and waking."
Mark Twain |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 1:15:28 PM
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| These podcasts are gems. Loved listening to the first two -- so far. |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 1:49:36 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by markwitz
One last thing, you say you are digitally re mastering your collection. Will that take out the "pops and hisses" found on those old 78's and 45's in your collection? I hope not entirely. I just love the sense of history you get when you hear a vinyl original.
That's a great question. Like you, I happen to be a vinyl purist and one of the many who believes that "analog sounds better than digital." (I have 1,500 CDs but I have more than 6,000 LPs, 45s, and 78s. I am currently collecting things like VH1's "100 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time" and I am collecting them on vinyl at flea markets for $1 each. The term we weirdos usually use to refer to the difference is "warmth." Digital lacks "warmth.") Naturally, I don't have a $25,000 grant to remaster digital recordings like "Malama Na Mele" does (www.malamanamele.org). But even if I did have the resources, I still wouldn't go to such extremes. If you listen to some of the decently remastered 78s of the golden era of Hawaiian music - such as those Michael Cord has remastered for his Cord International/Hana Ola Records CD series - even the untrained ear immediately notices that the excessive suppression of transient noise (the technical term for "clicks and pops") leaves the music less "musical." The dynamic range becomes compressed, so there are fewer extremes of highs (trebles) and lows (basses) and the music is left sort of "flat." Sometimes I even have difficulty making out the words when the remastering is so severe.
No, there are $300 turntables and there are $20,000 turntables. There are $50 software packages for digital remastering and there are $500 software packages for digital remastering. And there are those who go about the process so scientifically (as the Smithsonian often does) that they examine the grooves under a microscope to determine which of 120 different styli they should pop in the turntable to get the best results. As for me, I am sticking to my $300 turntable and my $50 software and the results are less severe remasters that still retain some warmth and musicality - along with some clicks. The only reason I am going through the process is convenience and accessibility. I would love to be able to listen to my Sonny Chillingworth recordings on my iPod. Plus I have found that my car LP player tends to skip a lot. |
Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 7:50:52 PM
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| I like that you mentioned Billy Hew Len. I remember seeing him play as a child(me not him). I was totally enthralled since he had no left hand and tet he played so beautifully. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
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alika207
Ha`aha`a
USA
1260 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2007 : 12:04:05 AM
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| I particularly enjoyed your Linda Dela Cruz podcast. What a leo nahenahe she had! I wish she hadn't passed away so quickly. Some of you may feel differently than I do on this, but personally I think she sounds like Auntie Genoa. |
He kehau ho'oma'ema'e ke aloha.
'Alika / Polinahe |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2007 : 05:25:57 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by hwnmusiclives
If I were to continue doing my show, it would cost me a minimum of $500 annually for a blanket license for the minimal number of listeners I have.
Hi Bill, I hate to point this out but you may want to do some additional research on this (as I have). Currently the RIAA will not grant a license to podcasters at all, for any price. (While BMI and ASCAP will grant licenses to podcasters, those licenses do nothing more than grant you the right to perform licensed songs...they don't cover recordings.) The royalty issues that have been making headlines lately and that you refer to apply to streaming media only.
Also, from a strictly legal standpoint (I'm not an attorney), unless you pull your existing shows from your web site as well (assuming you don't have permission from the copyright holders to use the music), you could be subject to some fairly heavy fines (six figures and up).
This is why podcasters have turned to independent music for their shows. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 07/30/2007 05:36:17 AM |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2007 : 03:18:05 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by cpatch
quote:
Originally posted by hwnmusiclives
If I were to continue doing my show, it would cost me a minimum of $500 annually for a blanket license for the minimal number of listeners I have.
Hi Bill, I hate to point this out but you may want to do some additional research on this (as I have). Currently the RIAA will not grant a license to podcasters at all, for any price. (While BMI and ASCAP will grant licenses to podcasters, those licenses do nothing more than grant you the right to perform licensed songs...they don't cover recordings.) The royalty issues that have been making headlines lately and that you refer to apply to streaming media only.
Also, from a strictly legal standpoint (I'm not an attorney), unless you pull your existing shows from your web site as well (assuming you don't have permission from the copyright holders to use the music), you could be subject to some fairly heavy fines (six figures and up).
This is why podcasters have turned to independent music for their shows.
Craig, most excellent points. Thank you for your wisdom and for sharing this with me. I had taken my "free legal advice" mostly from other podcasters (all of whose opinions are tainted by the fact that they are trying to find any loophole to keep 'casting).
I did do some additional research at your suggestion and learned that you are quite an authority on this subject (even if you are not a lawyer). (Craig founded his own awesome podcast - TGN - and was writing a book on the issue of podcasting - a book I will be the first to by when it becomes available.) So I have two questions that hopefully don't sound ridiculous. I hope you are willing to oblige with an answer.
1) If I turn off the ability to download the podcast, then it is no longer by definition a "podcast" because it is not a copy and cannot be rewound/fast-forwarded. If I then simply leave the "PLAY" button, does this program then become a stream like Territorial Airwaves? http://hawaiian105.com/MARKET/shared/ads/territorial_airwaves.html
2) Can you say more about the "30 second myth?" I would be happy to do a show where I only play snippets of music to turn the audience on to artists and songs they had never heard before. What rules apply here? If I researched correctly, these brief clips are still subject to the same royalties and mechanicals. But if so, how can amazon.com, towerrecords.com, and other online retailers get away with putting up 30-second soundclips of every song on every CD they sell?
I am looking for any legal means to continue to do some kind of show that will educate and help perpetuate this music. Any suggestions you have in this regard would be greatly appreciated. I remain willing to move forward with grant proposals, but I need to be able to calculate how much I am asking these foundations to cough up.
(Please note that all past editions of "Ho`olohe Hou" are gone. I hope you enjoyed them. If any of you wonder what kind of trouble I would have been had I left them posted, about $150,000 per song per download. Wow!) |
Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2007 : 06:14:09 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by hwnmusiclives
Can you say more about the "30 second myth?" I would be happy to do a show where I only play snippets of music to turn the audience on to artists and songs they had never heard before. What rules apply here? If I researched correctly, these brief clips are still subject to the same royalties and mechanicals. But if so, how can amazon.com, towerrecords.com, and other online retailers get away with putting up 30-second soundclips of every song on every CD they sell?
That's the generally accepted guideline for "fair use" (for purposes of review or promotion, e.g.), as set out in the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended. The Act does not clearly state any time limitation, but 30-seconds has evolved into a standard accepted by the courts (until and unless someone fights it, resulting in a set standard.)
Quoted from a primer on copyright basics for students, developed by the Consortium of College and University Media Centers:
"Fair use is a legal principle that defines the limitations on the exclusive rights of copyright holders.
There is no simple test to determine what is fair use. Section 107 of the Copyright Act sets forth the four fair use factors which should be considered in each instance, based on particular facts of a given case, to determine whether a use is a "fair use": (1) the purpose and character of use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes, (2) the nature of the copyrighted work, (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
While only the courts can authoritatively determine whether a particular use is fair use, these guidelines represent the participants' consensus of conditions under which fair use should generally apply and examples of when permission is required. Uses that exceed these guidelines may nor may not be fair use. The participants also agree that the more one exceeds these guidelines, the greater the risk that fair use does not apply.
The limitations and conditions set forth in these guidelines do not apply to works in the public domain--such as U.S. Government works or works on which copyright has expired for which there are no copyright restrictions--or to works for which the individual or institution has obtained permission for the particular use. Also, license agreements may govern the uses of some works and users should refer to the applicable license terms for guidance.
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Up to 10%, but in no event more than 30 seconds, of the music and lyrics from an individual musical work (or in the aggregate of extracts from an individual work), whether the musical work is embodied in copies, or audio or audiovisual works, may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as a part of a multimedia project. Any alterations to a musical work shall not change the basic melody or the fundamental character of the work." |
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