Karla Geigle Interviews Kelsey Clark of Second Best

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Ed Battistella
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Kelsey Clark is a  Music Business major studying at Southern Oregon University while recording her own music and playing in a local band.

Karla Geigle: Have you had any previous experience with publishing?

Kelsey Clark: I personally have not, but there are different ways to do that.

Music is basically copyrighted when it’s created. There are ways you can register your music to make it safer such as under major publishing companies, but yeah music is copyrighted when it’s created. Mail it to yourself and it’s proof that it’s yours.

A publisher basically initiates the copyright itself, you’re going to enter into a contract with them and they own part of the copyright, or even all of it.

Publishing used to be printing of the material; money was made off sheet music. Now the tables have turned and it’s not like that. Copyright wise, the songwriters gain part of the royalties and the copyrighters have some of the royalty.

KG: How did you get in contact with your publisher, copywriter, etc?

KC: We do not have a contract with a publisher, actually. Nor have we copyrighted any of our music. We have not registered it.

I personally have dealt a little with contracts between the publisher and the songwriters, I actually had to write one out in a project, but I’ve never done that with our band.

If I were to get in contact with somebody like that, I would speak with different contacts that I’ve met throughout working for my degree and that I’ve met through other bands.

KG: So, word of mouth?

KC: Yeah, I think word of mouth is huge. Just introducing yourself and making a brief impression. There are many people in Ashland involved in music publishing and the industry, so I would go to them first.

KG: And your second choice?

KC: I would definitely look online.

KG: I understand you produce some music in a home studio, is that right?

KC: Yup, that’s right.

KG: So, the production of your work is very important. Out of curiosity, what do you use to record your music at home? Does this differ any from what your publishers/producers use? In what ways is it better/worse?

KC: Umm, a huge part of a professional studio is having the equipment, and also the recording engineer. They are REALLY trained to have a good ear in the recording process. So you have the equipment that costs thousands and thousands of dollars… you can do the same with cheaper equipment sometimes, but you need to know what you’re doing.

A huge part is having good solid microphones, and also knowing the acoustics of a room. You can have the best equipment out there, but if the acoustics are off you won’t be able to

With less money you can get down and record without having to pay for it.

KG: And the flexibility as well?

KC: Yeah, definitely. You can sit down and get the music done, and spend as much time as you need to get it right and get the music out to the public.

A home studio – it really depends on who’s producing the music and has a good ear for mixing…

A great part of a professional studio is going in and there’s someone who knows what they’re doing, an expert in their field.

An example of someone who’s done well with their own studio is Imogen Heap. She started out in her own studio, has her own songwriting, and she’s definirtly gotten her music out there through publishers, advertising, etc.

Her music got big when it was placed on a TV show or movie, I can’t remember which right onw. So that’s an example of someone successful in their own home studio.

KG: Also, there’s Ben Folds. Before the band became Ben Folds Five, he created his complete CDs himself, right?

KC: Yes and it’s amazing, that’s a really good example. You can sit down with a basic guitar or vocal, and sit down with an editing program and add a whole band behind you.

With Ben Folds he created all the music on his own however. That’s pretty impressive. I don’t know if that was done in a home studio though…

KG: Yes, that’d be interesting to find out. So, how much of your content are you happy with?

KC: Oh wow, I haven’t actually heard any that I’m happy with. I guess it’s part of me being my own worst critic.

I think…I need to have more experience in the studio. I think I haven’t recorded enough in the studio, now have I taken advantage of the whole professional aspect, now recorded as much as I’d like. It’s tough to get a good recording.

And the thing is, I haven’t recorded on the home studio with the knowledge that I just came out of this class I took, the audio recording class. Which is interesting, there are so many things I’ve learned that I haven’t been able to use yet. And the home studio my parents have is very basic, I don’t think you could get radio quality stuff out of it.

But you never know, some computer whiz could come in and… *laughs* well, you know.

KG: How do you promote your work? Facebook, website, Twitter?

KC: Facebook, we don’t have a website up at the moment.

At this point we’re just doing word of mouth, Facebook… Facebook is a big thing right now so that helps.

Our band isn’t doing this as a full time job, so a website isn’t really needed.

KG: Famous sings/songwriters have someone to manage their social networking and promotion; does your band have someone who does this?

KC: Two friends not in the band tend to the networking and promotion. Courtney updates the Facebook page, puts photos, etc. Meredith presents packets of information about our bands to radio stations and more along the lines of promotion.

KG: So bringing the focus out a bit, how did your band get together?

KC: It started as a family, and just kind of grew from there. Me, Ryan, Justin, and Renee. It grew from there and my dad started playing with us too. He was the initiator, who encouraged us to get together.

We started playing more and acquired more band members as needed and the music advanced.

We started playing at different church events and fundraisers, and at get-togethers. We’ve done different competitions around the Valley one of which we actually won one. Small gigs and other shows.

We’ve expanded our music further, such as Redding where we’ve done several shows. We’ve also played in the coffee shop down at Mt. Shasta, which was really fun, to play there.

KG: Have you faced any large obstacles in getting your music “out there.”

KC: Umm, in terms of getting it “out there”…

One thing that’s held us back is getting quality recordings. We have a contract with a studio here in the Rogue Valley, but it’s still expensive and we rarely have time to go into the studio together (it’s cheaper that way, and quicker) to record.

It’s hurt us quite a bit in getting our music to the people, and producing quality music. A lot of our stuff is rough, because we do have a small recording studio at home but it’s not nearly the same quality as what you’d get in a professional studio.

Personal life holds us back as well, we’re very busy people. Well, I guess not really holds us back but you know what I mean! It’s higher priority than the band right now, but that could change if we expand further and this becomes kind of a full time thing.

Note: I didn’t have any recording equipment on hand, but the following content are real quotes taken from portions of our conversation.

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Copyright or Copywrong: Who’s right in the legal battle of fan creations?

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Ed Battistella
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Note: This is a neutral commentary on the creation of fan works! I strongly encourage you to use this information and other sources to create your own opinion.

No one thinks deeply on the nuances of publishing and copyright until there’s a problem. The question I’m going to pose is simple: How far should a company go to protect its content from being stolen? We’ve all heard about the big internet scandals where the government is trying to “crack down” on music piracy, but how much deeper does this go? There are creators all over the world who create both original works and adaptations of others – the adaptations sometimes being accepted, and sometimes completely forbidden and immediately taken down.

Recently, my friend sent me a cool adaptation of the Avengers trailer. Unfortunately, by the time I was able to see her message and click on the link, the video had been removed from YouTube under violation of copyright. Where should the line be drawn? The author wasn’t gaining a profit from the content, and if anything was creating interest in the film itself (not that the whole world wasn’t interested in said movie).

Another example is how tight a hold Anne Rice has on her content. Rice has completely banned the use of her characters or ideas in all fan created works, all “fanfiction” completely forbidden and taken down as soon as it goes public.

So how much is too much? While the artists have the legal right to pull anything that’s created with their original ideas in mind (or intellectual property), some don’t mind at all. But here’s where the laws get complex. Artists hold full rights over their original characters and ideas, but courts in America grant protection to parodies! Some fan art can also be categorized as parody… Actually, quite a lot of fan art. As good ol’ Wikipedia states, because of this fact a lot of copyright cases are very long and tedious.

Along with the artists that are strict with their copyrights, there are also those that are extremely lenient. While it’s still illegal to reproduce their works in original art or stories, some artists and companies don’t pursue the perpetrators at all. While most individuals don’t sell their fanart, some do. The most common example is selling art prints, plushes, or other works in which there is a copyright on the character, but the art is copyright to the artist “stealing” the design but creating the artwork. This happens often in conventions such as Comic-Con or other conventions (science fiction, anime, etc) to appreciate a genre or other type of work. While there is a section for licensed companies to sell their merchandise, a convention also typically includes a completely separate section for small businesses or thrifty individuals to sell art they’ve created themselves. These are curious galleries, because the majority of the art pieces for sale are of copyrighted characters, and therefore very illegal to sell! However, these pieces rarely get targeted by the original creator. Why?

The answer is that most artists recognize fan works generate interest in their own product. In a poll of artists who do fan art, the majority state that selling their work is only a novelty; most artists only break even after production costs and profits, if that.

So, who’s right and who’s copywrong? There is a plethora of laws and legal issues surrounding fan creations, which should definitely be glanced at if you’re thinking about drawing that cute Watchmen picture or creating a fan trailer of a movie. However, Fanart is a running trend that will most likely continue strong.

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The Future of Books and Reading

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Ed Battistella
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The presentation of the HD Reader, along with the growing significance of audiobooks–which have been around for much longer–leads us to a natural question: what is reading? Does it include these new technological steps where we listen and imagine instead of literally looking at the words on a page? Or is this something else entirely?

It’s kind of a cheap answer, but I think it all depends on how you define “reading.” Consider that one of the things many teachers and scholars say is that reading is good for your brain because it exercises your imagination. In that sense, it is the act of imagining that functions as the “reading,” and audiobooks have the same effect. We hear things instead of reading them, sure, but we still see them in our heads, so the mental part is definitely present. On the other hand, when we describe children listening to stories read by parents, we don’t think of them as “readers.” We think of them as “being read to.” We say that reading to our children is healthy because it helps children learn how to read, not because it’s actually reading.

But something interesting to note about this phenomenon that I’ve heard comparatively little about is how it’s possible to read words without actually reading. See, I’m someone easily distracted by his own wandering thoughts. Therefore, even as a grade school student, I could be sitting there staring at the pages, going through the words, but not get anything from them. This frequently led me to have to reread pages over and over again, and by the end of a month, I’d be lucky if I’d finished 100 pages of a story. Now I could have continued “reading” in spite of having gained nothing from the words and I can assure everyone that I’d have finished tons of books by now, but that isn’t really what we think of as “reading,” is it? To read, one must also be paying attention and follow the story. When we think of it this way, it could be argued–assuming it is easier to pay attention to a speaking voice than to words on a page–that some people “read” better with audiobooks than with written text.

So that leaves us with the big question that we started with: what is reading? If you were to put a gun to my head and demand I tell you exactly what I thought constituted “reading” and what didn’t, I’d probably call either the cops or a psychologist as you would clearly need some medical attention. But assuming that option was off the table, I’d say that I think the answer is smack dab in the middle of it all. To read the actual text constitutes “technical reading” regardless of whether you pay attention, and to pay attention as you read constitutes both “technical” and “mental” reading. Audiobooks constitute “mental reading,” but not “technical reading.”

The HD Reader is some combination of all of those that will allow more people to get involved in the market, whether that’s through the more technical avenues of reading or the more mental aspects of reading.
Regardless of what we call reading or not, what I believe is that we’ll move farther away from the “technical” aspects of reading over the next few years and farther into the “mental” realm of reading. Why? Because it’s easier to listen while we do our chores than it is to sit still and stare at a page. The latter can even be sleep-inducing, while the former keeps us wide awake. Call it better or worse, but that is the future I see for reading.

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An Interview with Dr. Diana Maltz

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Ed Battistella
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Dr. Diana Maltz is a specialist in late-Victorian literature and culture.  She has been a professor at SOU since 1999 and is current Chair of the Language, Literature, and Philosophy Department. She received her BA in Literature and History from Bennington College, and both her MA and PhD in English from Stanford University. In addition to her book, British Aestheticism and the Urban Working Classes: Beauty for the People, 1870-1914 (2006), Dr. Maltz has published in a variety of professional journals and essay collections (9 articles and 11 essays). Her articles on Victorian counterculture have appeared in Victorian Literature and Culture and Journal of Victorian Culture.

We began our conversation by discussing the differences between academic publishing and other genres of publishing. The academic world has its own sub-cultures of writings and a specific publisher usually becomes well known for certain fields of work. For example, Dr. Maltz specializes in Victorian Studies and is therefore is very familiar with publishers such as Ashgate Publishing and Ohio State University Press. In academic publishing it’s very important to match your interest with publishers.  I thought that this was a really interesting point because it helps give young academic writers some direction as to what company might be best suited to publish their material.

After giving me an introduction to the world of academic publishing, Dr. Maltz went on to describe both the drawbacks and rewards of this particular type of writing. Obviously academic writing does not reach as large of an audience as books like Harry Potter do, and therefore may never see similar profits. However, Dr. Maltz assured me that most authors of critical writings are professors who write because it helps advance their field of study, not because they expect to make millions off of their articles or essays. Another challenge that she mentioned was the struggle of maintaining a balance between teaching and working on new publications. As students, I’m sure we can all relate to the challenge of time management but the added stress of trying to publish material, not just write it, seems daunting.

We then moved on to discussing the rewards involved with being published. As all English majors have experienced, there is a certain satisfaction that comes with seeing your work in print, but more importantly Dr. Maltz noted, is the feeling of being a part of community who shares your interest and love of academics. She mentioned how rewarding it was to know that your work will go on to possibly help future graduate students in their own academic efforts.

My next question for Dr. Maltz was what advice she had for young writers who decide to go into academic publishing. She really stressed that writers need to be aware that this field of writing is part of a package of a particular kind of lifestyle and is heavily connected with the work of being a professor. And of course, network! Talk to people who have been published in academic journals and learn how they navigated it. From what I’ve experienced, SOU’s English Department faculty would be a great place to start.

Dr. Maltz was first published in a collection of essays in 1999. Over a decade later, she has had the chance to observe some of the changes academic publishing has undergone. She notes there has been a shift towards more career-oriented mentorship in PhD programs. Dr. Maltz commented that she sees a lot more coaching taking place between professors and graduate students with the hope that if a student has been published while in graduate school, they have a greater chance of obtaining a job after graduation.

My interview with Dr. Maltz gave me a great insight into the world of academic publishing. Currently, she has a contract with Broadview Press to edit a new critical edition of Arthur Morrison’s novel “A Child of the Jago.” She is adding a brand new introduction and incorporating footnotes of the text with the hope that it will enrich her students reading of the novel when she teaches it.

Interviewer’s note: I don’t have a recording device and my phone’s digital quality is awful, therefore I reconstructed my interview with Diana Maltz from notes taken during our discussion and added some of my own personal reflections on what I learned. 

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