Brian's Music Musings

Over the last few months, the Aquatones have released some CD's. One contains songs that were originally recorded by the group, but all have been re-sung with the new group. They do a really great job with them, and included on the CD is a version of The Star Spangled Banner. The other is a mixture of old and new songs, some written by Dave Goddard, original Aquatones member. Both CD's are a lot of fun to listen to. I still have not gone through the liner notes, but there are a few spelling issues.

A few updates to my website include the later stereo LP by the Teen Queens on Crown, A promo of Johnny Dee for Sittin In The Balcony. It was actually issued in the 3rd style label configuration. You can check that out here! Though certainly not super difficult to find, I added the Lifeguards "Everybody Out Of The Pool" on it's original label, Casa Blanca, to the first and second pressings page. It later came out on ABC, though it was not a national chart hit. This week I hope to add Chuck Alaimo's "Leap Frog" on the Ken label, before MGM pressed it.

I hope to add my interview with Little Willie G of Thee Midniters this week as well. I had a much different radio show last night and played a lot of Latino East Los Angeles music, through about 1967. I played about 10 songs of Thee Midniters, and was really taking myself back in time as I grew up listening to some of there songs on the radio in Whittier, CA.

The 200.00 VG 78 of Chuck Higgins is back on Ebay! I wish someone would list one for about 20 bucks - which is about what it's worth in that condition.

Although the bidding has ended, here is a new approach to listing a common record on Ebay. First, mis-spell the name of the group and then tell everyone what it would be worth if it was on the original label in mint condition.

It looks like congress is getting involved with Internet radio. To me, it's not a surprise that they

are introducing a bill to make the rates more affordable. I imagine they got more than a few emails on the subject. At the moment, the latest short article is HERE. It will be interesting to see if it goes through and all the details of what the bill looks like. Something has to be done, and I would prefer anyone but Sound Exchange to make the rules. I'm sure this story will continue to evolve.

Updates: I now have both the Paris 78's for the G Clefs on my page, for all to see. A great sounding group,and for some reason, the issue on Regina called "Angel Listen To Me" has still eluded me.

Added Hey Lolly Lolly to the Oscar McLollie site. I still have two records to get for his site, but I'm sure I will keep searching until all 78's and 45's are shown. I had an email from someone that said they were a long time "Family Friend" and mentioned he lived in Oakland. Seems reasonable to me, as my information was the San Fran bay area.

I will be attempting to interview Fred Romaine of the Native Boys in the near future. I had one other interview that unfortunately has fallen through at the moment. Maybe I will have better news in the future, along with identification.

Thanks to a suggestion from Fred, and a project that was on my list already, I split the first and second pressings page into hits and not quite as big hits. If you are on dial-up like me and Fred, those pages might load a little easier. My goal is to continue to add records to those pages, so i could run into the same issue on the future.

Also in the works are updates on my playlists. Maybe I can add those by the end of the month. It's funny just how many artists type their names or group names in a search engine, and then see themselves on a playlist. I have a least one and a half years of lists to add!

I have been following the recent upholding of the ruling concerning Internet radio and how they pay royalties. The ruling is that the fee structure will be based on a "per song per listener" basis. Effectively, that will put most Internet radio into silence. A company called Soundexchange is a real motivating force behind the fee structure, and had quite an interesting comment after the ruling. They said "It looked forward to working with Internet radio companies in order to ensure that the industry succeeds". What industry? There won't be any left after this goes into effect. It appears that the new fee structure will take place starting in 2008, though adjustments for 2006/7 seem to be in place and are retroactive. Some stations are estimating fees of around 200K for 2007, which is astronomical. Some non commercial stations don't even have a yearly budget that high. Most others are scraping to get by on the donations from their beg-a-thons, and can't even dream of coughing up that much dough. Non Commercial stations do have an exception if they fall under the set amount of listener hours, so that may save some stations, But, it's at the cost of not growing your on-line audience. Go over the maximum and you pay the commercial rates.

So, what will happen? I can't believe that Soundexchange is this stupid. And i don't think they are. Some compromise will need to be reached. You know the old game of telling somebody really bad news, and then say you are joking, but here is the real "Not So Bad News" and it seems so much better? Could happen. Most small and medium market stations won't be able to justify the current rate, but might consider an increase after seeing the initial outrageous expectations of Soundexchange. Large market stations might be able to absorb it. But those are not the stations most people want to stream, and are not the stations with the varied playlists and new alternative music. More on this subject in my next blog along with a small discussion on royalties/payments, etc.

Looking for "A Thousand Stars" by Kathy Young? Click here for the $45 version. I have an extra copy or two that I would love to sell at that price. If you have seen some of my past entries, you know I am interested in over-priced records and wonder how they can ask the prices they do. Maybe......someone believes it and buys it. If they research and look on Ebay, they can find other copies cheaper. Oh well. I am always on the lookout for $100 Chordette 45's. If you see anything good, let me know!