MUSIC AND ITS REDEMPTIVE POWER

There have been numerous times I’ve felt discouraged and music has lifted my soul. At age 14, my mom had died. Music was my therapy to help me through the tough emotions of loss. I sang in my school and church choirs, played trombone in the marching band, and played the guitar for 5 hours a day. I even began writing my own songs, expressing my heart and feelings through music. Even today, music is a part of every aspect of my life and still brings relief and encouragement.

Robert Vijay Gupta also experienced music as a redemptive force. He is an Indian-American violinist and musical activist. He joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2007 at the age of 19, after completing a Master’s degree in Music from Yale University, and a Bachelor’s in biology from Marist College. TED.com says it well, “Gupta is passionate about education and outreach, both as a musician and as an activist for mental health issues. He has the privilege of working with Nathaniel Ayers, the brilliant, schizophrenic musician featured in ‘TheSoloist,’ as his violin teacher.”

In this TED-Talk video, Robert Gupta talks about a violin lesson he once gave to Nathaniel Ayers, a brilliant, schizophrenic musician, and what Gupta learned in the process. Nathaniel Ayers was a double bassist who graduated from Juilliard School. He had a series of psychotic episodes in his 20’s and was treated with Thorazine (used for treating certain mental or mood disorders like schizophrenia). He dropped out of Juilliard and ended up homeless on Skid-Row in downtown Los Angeles 30 years later.

Gupta was able to give a violin lesson to Ayers, which affected both of them. Through playing music and communicating about music together, Gupta discovered that Ayers was transformed, exposing a brilliant musician, experiencing sanity in those moments. Music acted like a medicine for Ayers, a healing balm bringing him back to a place of creativity and rationality.

At the end of the TED-Talk, Gupta says music caused Ayers to “take his thoughts and delusions and shape them, through his imagination and creativity, into reality.” This is the essence of art – taking our emotions and expressing them through music! “This is what reaches us, moves us, inspires us, and unites us.” Watch this video here and comment below with your thoughts on music as a redemptive power.

CREATIVE CONTENT - GETTING IT TO THE PUBLIC

It is such a joy to be able to share my music with others and hear from them that it is enjoyable, beautiful, unique, inspiring, and even educational. Most people who are creative want to produce something that is an expression of themselves and appreciated by others. But, once it’s created (creative content), how do you get it out to the public? This is known as publishing and distribution, a topic I’m covering this month in my Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution class at Full Sail University. It is rare that anyone would create something just for his or her own enjoyment. Usually, they want to share it with others. This is certainly what I want to do with my music.

Creative content is anything that you create whether it is music, art, software, a book, a TV show, an APP, curriculum, or a poem. If you created it, it is considered your creative content. First, it is important to protect your creation through copyright registration. With songwriting, once a song has been written down, it is copyrighted and published. But, you can choose to hire a publishing organization or songwriting agent to get it to the public or you can self-publish your creation in getting it out to the public. The Harry Fox Agency is the leading provider of rights management, licensing, and royalty services for the U.S. music industry and was established in 1927 by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) as an agency to license, collect, and distribute royalties on behalf of musical copyright owners.

When I write a song and feel it is something I’d like to share with others, I put it on an album (recording it myself), copyright the album as a work, protect it through BMI (a Performing Rights Organization), publish it myself by making copies of the album through Disk Makers and distributing it digitally and physically through CD Baby. Disk Makers is known as a Print-On-Demand (POD) company that enables me to make as many copies as I’d like. Because I’m publishing it myself, I have more control. CD Baby distributes my digital recordings on iTunes, Spotify, Rhapsody, Amazon, and others. I also distribute my recordings, music books and other products through my website (heartfeltmusic.org) and digitally through Gumroad.com (an aggregator). I may not have the breadth of distribution an outside company would have, but I love the personal and immediate connecting I have to the people listening to my music. Plus, I’m saving money by not paying a middle-man.

Check out my songs on CD Baby and iTunes! Please, leave a comment if you have any questions on getting your own creative content out to the public.

MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT LAW

Entertainment Law is so important in the music industry. It’s the business foundation holding up all the artistic endeavors both individuals and companies embark on. Signing contracts, committing to service, borrowing money, or using other people’s intellectual property are some of the issues addressed by Entertainment Law. I’ve selected three current articles relating to Copyright Law, Trademark Law, and Patent Law. Each are in the music industry.

The first article has to do with Copyright Law. On March 10, 2015, the jury reached a decision in the Blurred Lines trial and awarded the estate of Marvin Gaye $7.4 million. “The case centered around allegations from the estate that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, when writing their hit song, infringed upon Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give it Up” (Bailey, 2015). This has been going on for a couple of years and will probably continue. I think this is significant because it has to do with the written music and not the performance. Though someone wants to get an “oldie” sound, they have to be careful not to copy something without permission.

The second article has to do with Trademark Law. The superstar rapper and wealthy hip-hop musician filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the creators of a humorous new Kanye West-themed digital currency called "COINYE" that is not something Kanye West gave permission to do. “The logo for the currency, which is bought and sold over the Internet, features a cartoon version of West wearing his signature ‘shutter shades’” (Dillon, 2014). Kanye says this is hurting his brand and wants them to stop using his brand to promote their company. It turned out that Kanye buried the Internet coin parody only months after it started (Schneider, 2014). It’s important to Trademark you name and not let someone try to misuse it.

The third article has to do with Patent Law. In February, a federal jury in Texas ordered Apple to pay $532.9 million to Smartflash LLC to compensate the company for infringing on three Smartflash patents in Apple's iTunes music software. Smartflash claims that Apple violated its patents in iTunes relating to digital rights management, inventions related to data storage, and managing access through payment systems. Apple is taking this to higher courts, but it looks like they will have to pay. This is a reminder of how important it is to check existing patents and to establish your own. However, I don’t think Apple will be set back much considering it makes more money every month ($25billion) than the entire recorded music industry does in a year ($15billion).

References:

Bailey, Jonathan (March 11, 2015). Living in Blurred Times. Retrieved on November 29, 2015 from: https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2015/03/11/living-in-blurred-times/https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2015/03/11/living-in-blurred-times/

Dillon, Nancy; Beekman, Daniel (January 14, 2014). Kanye West sues COINYE, themed digital currency, over trademark infringement. Retrieved on November 29, 2015 from: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/anye-west-sues-coinye-themed-digital-currency-trademark-infringement-article-1.1579164

Ingham, Tim (February 25, 2015). Apple ordered to pay $532.9m in iTunes patent infringement trial. Retrieved on November 29, 2015 from: http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/apple-ordered-to-pay-532-9m-in-itunes-patent-infringement-trial/

Ingham, Tim (January 29, 2015). Apple makes more money every 3 weeks than the entire recorded music industry does in a year. Retrieved on November 29, 2015 from: http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/apple-makes-more-money-every-3-weeks-than-the-entire-recorded-music-industry-does-each-year/

Schneider, Marc (July 17, 2014). Kanye West Buries Coinye With Lawsuit Victory. Retrieved on November 29, 2015 from: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6190174/kanye-west-buries-coinye-with-lawsuit-victory

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS WALSH

I had the privilege of interviewing Chris Walsh, the Executive Director of Tonto Rim Christian Conference Center in Payson, Arizona. He works for Transformational Ministries, a subsidiary of American Baptist Church, USA. They have 3 conference centers and 165 churches. We sat down to discuss his experience in negotiating and deal making. There are plenty of negotiation opportunities for a conference director with employees, visiting groups, and conferees. Since I am the Executive Director of Heartfelt Music Ministry, I knew what he had to say was something I could easily apply.

We discussed three issues at the heart of negotiations. The first one was separating the people from the problem. Walsh stated that you really do have to keep the person separated from the problem. His advice was to deal with facts, trying to leave out emotions in order to be fair and balanced. Be objective in your processing. “In the process of negotiating, keep the goals in mind. When both parties see the goal, sometimes they catch it themselves how they are not helping get to the goal.” This topic, as well as the following ones, are covered in an excellent book called Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (Fisher, 2011).

The second issue was dealing with positional bargaining tactics. A clear definition is by Brad Spangler, “Positional bargaining is a negotiation strategy that involves holding on to a fixed idea, or position, of what you want and arguing for it, and it alone, regardless of any underlying interests.” Walsh told me sometimes he just couldn’t give them what they want. Haggling over the price of something is the most common experience of this. Is there some information you could give them that would help them see what they could get if they were even a little flexible? Assess how tight they are going to hold to their strong position, talk with them, then decide if they are really set or if they may budge on their position.

The third issue we covered was working toward mutual benefit. Walsh explained one of the ways he would do this, when a group would want to use their facilities, was to start with the lowest base price then add on features. Their base line for the camp is 150 people for the weekend. Base line for the visiting group includes many things from sound equipment, lodging, meals, etc. Adding on amenities is the mutual benefit. Unfortunately, some people will nit-pick and haggle about the price for the amenities. This is very frustrating and whittles down the feeling of helping each other. Walsh said going back to the facts and goals would help both parties get through the negotiations.

It was a joy to share experiences and laugh at some of the crazy things that happen when dealing with people and trying to reach an agreement in working together. Chris Walsh can be contacted at director@tontorimcc.com.


Resources:
Roger Fisher and William Ury. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, 3rd ed. (New York: Penguin Books, 2011).

ETHICS IN THE WORKPLACE

Marty Nemko was speaking on KGO radio (he’s the Career/Education/Life Advice guy) and brought up the issue of a lack of ethics in society and the workplace. Since I was driving home from a concert in Santa Rosa, I gave him a call. I agree that we need to teach our youth about ethics and train parents to pass it on to their children. But training in ethics should be more than merely identifying good and bad behavior. We should include “consequences,” “resolve,” and “hedges.” If we can somehow give people a vision of the consequences of their actions, such as the destruction it would cause, it would help motivate them to make a resolve to act with integrity (such as “I will never cheat on my wife, but will reserve my romance for only her”). Then, we can think of what “hedges” to place around us to protect us from bad behavior (such as accountability with friends).
 
Unfortunately, there is a lack of ethics in the Christian church as well. Too often we hear of pastors who are stealing money, cheating on their wives, or lying. The Ashley Madison scandal has been an eye opener catching a number of leaders cheating on their wives. Ethics in the workplace is so important and has a ripple affect down the road. What do you think?

BILL T. JONES AT TED2015 - A COLLABORATIVE EXPERIENCE

From one of the most popular TED Talks, legendary dance choreographer Bill T. Jones and musician friends Joshua Roman and Somi didn't know exactly what was going to happen when they performed at TED2015. They just wanted to offer the audience an opportunity to witness creative collaboration in action. The result was this improvised piece they call "The Red Circle and the Blue Curtain” (YouTube - Bill T. Jones: The dancer, the singer, the cellist ... and a moment of creative magic).

The combined talents of dancer Bill T., cellist Josh, and singer Somi beautifully weave music and dance history into the present. Bill T. begins by describing Isadora Duncan. Angela Isadora Duncan was an American dancer. Born in San Francisco, California, but moved to Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50 in Nice, France. She performed dance to acclaim throughout Europe. Her free-flowing style was revolutionary around 1908.

During Bill T.’s explanation of Duncan’s style, Josh is playing baroque music from 1722 (i.e. Prelude in C Major, BWV 846 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I by Johann Sebastian Bach, arranged for cello). His exquisite background music is supported by Somi holding long diatonic notes over 4 measures. Bill T. begins to dance in the same style as Duncan with free-flowing movements interpreting the music.

They stop two minutes into their performance and change their twentieth century collaborative interpretation to a current collaboration of improvised synergy. Working together, they ad-lib contemporary rhythmic expressions from both Josh’s cello and Somi’s voice. Sometimes dissonant embellishments drizzle over and thrust into their creative artistry. Then, four minutes and 45 seconds into their performance, they come back to Bach’s diatonic prelude and Bill T. ends flat on the floor, on his back, in the same position as he began.

This was clearly a celebration of collaboration between three skillful artists. But perhaps this was also an appreciative commemorative of the creative courage found in Isadora Duncan. Bill T.’s introduction of Duncan starting her dances with her hands on her chest, then to end on the floor with his hands on his chest, suggests to me that Bill T. was giving tribute to Duncan’s art from her life to her death.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the teeming of young and old, black and white, baroque and contemporary, music and dance. Each individual performance was nothing spectacular or sensational on it’s own. Yet together, it was moving, meaningful, and an excellent example of what art is all about: taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary.

WORSHIP MATTERS - A BOOK REVIEW

There is a niche in Entertainment Business that has a unique and meaningful twist to what most consider entertainment: Leading people in worshiping God through music. Some hesitate to call it either entertainment or business, but it's all there...working with being on stage, sound, lighting, managing teams, organizing a set, lyric presentation software, even money (payment). I think worship leading falls into the entertainment business category. The band Third Day is a good example. They mostly do concerts where people are looking for a professional musical experience.

However, there are distinctions that make this niche different. Instead of seeking fame to promote themselves, the performers are seeking to promote God and draw people closer to Him. To look a little closer into Worship Leading, this blog post will review Bob Kauflin's book called Worship Matters.

I agree with worship leader Matt Redman’s comments on the back of book, "Bob loves God, values theology, and cares about people.  This mix is found throughout this wonderful and helpful book." The book is divided into four sections which I will touch on.

• Part I – The Leader
• Part II – The Task
• Part III – Healthy Tensions
• Part IV – Right Relationships

In Part I on The Leader, Kauflin says a leader is anyone in front of others who is influencing them (singers, readers, drummers, etc.).  I like how Kauflin describes many of the little things that consume us as leaders:  what people think, attitudes, musicians not showing up, and even technical things going wrong.  However, the most important thing is giving worth to God.  Worship matters to God because He is the one ultimately worthy of all worship.  Worship matters to us because we were created to worship God.  It also matters to leaders because it is one of the greatest privileges to lead others to encounter the greatness of God. Over four chapters, Kauflin identifies four important aspects of leaders

• My Heart:  What Do I Love?
• My Mind:  What Do I Believe?
• My Hands:  What Do I Practice?
• My Life:  What Do I Model?

These questions are a good way to check your passions, motives, lifestyle, and character. This is something everyone in the Entertainment Business should do.

In Part II, Kauflin covers The Task of worship leading.  He beautifully gives a working definition of the purpose in worship leading with the following sentence:

A faithful worship leader
magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit
by skillfully combining God’s Word with music,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to proclaim the gospel,
to cherish God’s presence,
and to live for God’s glory.

There is a wealth of practical and helpful insights in this section going into detail about what the focus is for worship leaders.

Part III explores the process of putting together a worship service and the Healthy Tensions that are a part of that process. He looks at nine critical areas that must be embraced and kept in balance. Issues like Head & Heart, Internal & External, Vertical & Horizontal, and Planned & Spontaneous. These are seemingly opposites that need to be emphasized and balanced to be effective.

Finally, Part IV describes how important it is to have Good Relationships in worship ministry:  Right relationships with the church (the people you see every week in your congregation), with your team (musicians, technicians, ushers, etc.), and with your pastor (or pastors if you have more than one pastor you work with). Since God is all about relationships, it follows that we should be all about relationships too. The program is important, our theology is important, but relationships matter most.

When it comes to our relationship with God, worship matters! He wants our love. I'm sure He must really enjoy it when we come together to worship Him with singing and praise. Many bands like Third Day, Casting Crowns, Tenth Avenue North, and Big Daddy Weave, do concerts with the emphasis of leading the people to worship God. Churches are doing this too, of course, but some are leaning heavily on the entertainment emphasis with fantastic lights and projections. I think this is good. What do you think?

Worship leading is a part of Entertainment Business and shares many helpful aspects. Kauflin has brought to the table, in his helpful and educational book, how the element of worship brings a unique distinction to this special musical and cultural genre.