Text by Dawoud Kringle
The world of music was saddened to learn of the passing of bassist Thomas Michael Stevens / T.M. Stevens (a.k.a. Shaka Zulu).
Born in New York City on July 28, 1951, Stevens studied biology in school, but at the suggestion of his professor decided to drop out to focus on music. He honed his skills by playing in after-hours clubs around the city. He soon became established on the scene and began working as a session musician who excelled in a wide range of genres.
Editorial by Dawoud Kringle
Before the October 7th, 2023 attack by Hamas, and Israel’s genocidal response, a fascinating music scene was growing out of Palestine.
An Editorial by Dawoud Kringle
Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), one of the major performing rights organizations (PRO) in the United States, was founded in 1939 by the National Association of Broadcasters.
In the late 1930s, royalties to publishers and songwriters worked differently than they do today. Rather than paying for the songs that they played, broadcasters were required to hand over a certain percentage of their revenue to a PRO, regardless of how much music they played, or which artists. During the Great Depression, ASCAP (the dominant PRO at that time, founded in 1914, and still the second-largest in the US today) raised the percentage it required broadcasters to pay. The radio broadcasters rebelled, and set up their collection organization; BMI. The US Justice Department under the Roosevelt Administration ran an antitrust investigation of ASCAP, and BMI. Both organizations entered into “consent decrees” with the Justice Department, requiring them to allow radio stations to pay only for the music they played, and requiring both organizations to offer their entire catalogs to broadcasters.
With only a few alterations, those consent decrees have governed ASCAP and BMI’s operations ever since. BMI and ASCAP have since operated on a nonprofit basis, collecting and distributing licensing fees to its affiliated songwriters and publishers after paying its overhead/operation costs. These PROs do not own copyrights.
Text by Bruce Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery, November 16th, 2022)
“Marble Son” performed by Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
Oh, marble son, why can’t I love you more?
I wish I’d found you beautiful before
When I was young, I’d have most anyone
But I only loved what was to come undone, come undone
An Editorial by Dawoud Kringle
In 2007, a new musician’s service called Bandcamp began. This was a revolutionary service that allowed musicians to release digital music. Since its founding, Bandcamp provided a place where musicians can cultivate loyal fan communities and receive 82% of every transaction (compare this to Spotify and other streaming services, which pay a fraction of a cent per stream).
Bandcamp was sold to Epic Games in March 2022. Many artists, music lovers, and industry groups were concerned that a uniquely artist-centric platform might change for the worse. Epic managed to keep Bandcamp operational.
