Robert Fripp's Diary

DGM HQ The main task

09.44

DGM HQ.

The main task of the day is to address an inbox, en-bulged while in Sant Cugat.

11.22  Yippee! Life begins again! Regina & Steve Ball are parents to a baby girl, arriving to save the world at 01.28 Seattle time, Tuesday.

12.14  Visitors to this diary may recall our disagreement with Last.FM who claimed they were doing KC/RF a favour by playing our music, without first having established a royalty / payment structure for doing so. Then, Last.FM sold for mega millions with none of the money going to the artists whose work had enabled the company’s trading. Now…

http://hypebot.typepad.com/hypebot/2007/07/lastfm-demands-.html

Last.FM Demands Indies Waive Royalties

UPDATED: Last.FM has a stellar reputation as a place where all music is created equal.  Where music discovery is a wonderfully random event untainted by cash or influence. But Last.FM’s love for indie music does not extend to its checkbook. The contract that most indie and D.I.Y. artists use demands that they waive their rights to royalties in exchange for airplay on the personalized net music streaming service.

 “By uploading Licensed Material, You grant to Last.FM a non-exclusive, royalty-free license (including the right to sub-license for all purposes related to the Last.FM service (for example, embedding the Last.FM player on third party websites (such as personal blogs)"

After some public pressure, the Clear Channel radio network has just dropped a similar clause from its indie artist contract. But Last.FM which was recently bought by CBS continues the practice.

"I’m a huge fan of Last.fm and what they’ve done (or could do) for indie labels, bands and music fans," says IndieHQ blogger and Blackout label owner Bill Wilson. "However, it seems that their new media conglomerate sugar daddies are having an influence on their policies already. Wilson originally forgave the no royalties policy but now says, "Last.fm isn’t a start-up anymore, it’s part of the global media biz."

I have never been a fan of Last.FM’s business policy; and if that business policy wasn’t focused on royalty payment when the company was a start-up, why should I anticipate that the policy change now it’s owned by CBS?

13.03  In the news today - the well-known & becoming-better-known, gregarious, and popular music educator Bob Carruthers, who is not dishonest merely consistency-challenged (in the opinion of TOM ENGLISH [email protected]) - reportedly also has tight lips…

Carruthers tight-lipped on Paterson

BILL LOTHIAN ([email protected])

EDINBURGH RUGBY owner Bob Carruthers today rejected an SRU "request" for an explanation as to why Scotland captain Chris Paterson had been allowed to leave the club for Gloucester.

"It is inappropriate for the SRU to be making such a request and we could not possibly discuss a player’s contractual arrangement," he said.

Actually, in his recent dealings with us, I have myself found Mr. Carruthers to be entirely consistent in his apporach. But perhaps the Scottish sporting press & the Scottish Rugby Union are not as easily persuaded by Mr. Carruthers’ of his benevolent intentions as, for example, those artists whose work he has released on CD & DVD – with the very best of educational intentions, to establish the standard in independent musical reviews.

17.43  E-flurrying.

22.50  The floor is waiting.