Wrongs and Rights

My column in the July/August JazzTimes (not online, alas), concerns music publishing, an issue of stealth importance today. To parrot a dry but earnest line from my own self: “At a time when most jazz musicians are composers, and other sources of income are dwindling, music publishing may be the one area with growth prospects.” Given the thrust of some recent bloggery, it seems a good notion to revisit.

Jazz musicians have long paid the price for inattention to their publishing. In some cases, it’s a matter of ineffectual policing. You may know, for instance, what happened with Thelonious Monk’s most oft-recorded composition, “’Round Midnight.” After it had been introduced to Cootie Williams, the song was filed for copyright with three names on the certificate: Monk, Williams and lyricist Bernie Hanighen. “Consequently,” writes Robin Kelley, “Hanighen and his estate receive a third of the royalties from every version of ‘’Round Midnight’ produced. And in turn, the original composer and his estate receive only a third of the royalties -- to this very day.” Got that?

But let’s set aside the Big Fish example from a bygone era. Most present-day jazz musicians will never write a “’Round Midnight” -- and that shouldn’t at all diminish their interest in the publishing game. In the column, I seek illumination on that point from Dan Coleman, whose publishing-administration company, “A” Side Music, works with the likes of Maria Schneider, Brad Mehldau and Billy Childs. (More on him in the comments.) I also consult with two publishing-savvy musicians, bassist Ben Allison and keyboardist Larry Goldings.

Both had a lot to say. Allison, on one hand, was proactive about the issue early on: “I remember these fantastic stories about Duke Ellington and Monk, a lot of musicians of that era, signing off their publishing early on in their careers and living to regret it,” he said. “In the case of Monk, he ended up being very careful about his publishing, but he learned the hard way.”

Goldings, on the other hand, admitted that he had been largely indifferent to music publishing earlier in his career. “Even when I was writing music, which was initially almost always for my own records, it wasn’t really part of my thinking,” he said. 

 “On the New York scene, nobody really talked about it. It was more about honing your craft as a player. That’s all changed, with the record companies not really existing, and record stores not really existing. Now that I have someone like Dan [Coleman], who’s trying to find placements for my music, I’m definitely thinking in different terms. When I make a record, I want to include pieces that aren’t nine-minute-long blowing sessions. More and more I’ll include a handful of tunes that are more songlike. I definitely do have in the back of my mind: ‘It would be nice to have something that’s beautiful and palatable and that could actually be licensed.’”

Not every jazz musician is inclined -- or for that matter, equipped -- to take this market-conscious approach. It’s working for Goldings, though. On his most visible gig, with James Taylor, he often plays an original interlude called “School Song.” (It’s on the recent album One Man Band.) Other Goldings inventions have been recorded by Curtis Stigers and Bob Dorough, while “Dario and Bario,” a waltz from his 2006 Palmetto release Quartet, is currently in development for the repertoire of Madeleine Peyroux. (It also appeared, as “Tuscany,” on the soundtrack to Funny People, the Apatow-Sandler film.)

And consider “Benny’s Dream,” which Goldings has recorded with tenor saxophonist Harry Allen and some Vince Mendoza strings (for the forthcoming, honest-to-goodness album When Larry Met Harry):

Benny's Dream (excerpt) 

After producer Larry Klein heard the song, he decided it would be perfect for an album by the Australian singer-songwriter Mark Sholtez. The album -- The Distance Between Two Truths, due out this Friday -- features the lyricized version of the song, with its new title:

Little Things 

I know, I know: this is more the exception than the rule. But Goldings, through his persistence -- and on some level, the advocacy of “A” Side -- made it happen. And much the same could happen even for those whose music runs thornier and less obliging. I couldn’t help but notice that in a recent appearance on the public radio program Studio 360, pianist Jason Moran said he was always thinking about the sweet spot of a given track, the “break” that a hip-hop producer might sample. That’s a creative motivation, but it has its fiduciary side effects.

And Moran’s comment arrived in the context of his take on Monk, which brings us full circle in this roundabout post. Here’s his version of “Crepuscule with Nellie,” which appears on the new Blue Note album Ten. Proper royalties were remitted to the Monk estate, I’m sure.

Comments

[Roger Ray Remick]

To Nate Chinen; Nate, in regards to your September 2010 40th Anniversary Editorial, I AGREE 100%, Mr. Chinen!! Guys like Peter Hum, I Personally find, to be a RIGHTIOUS PAIN In The ASS!! But so do 90% of the "Blogging/Internet" Generation between the ages of 18 to 30!! You know,...I, will be 57 years old This December 17(And, I DON'T FEEL IT!, I might Add!!),and, as I Get OLDER, I notice, a CURIOUS Phenomenon,and it is that ALL 18 to 25 Year Olds, Think that THEY INVENTED > HIP! < Do you notice that, Nate? To all those BLOGGER'S OUT There in "Internetland' Let me TELL YOU SOMETHING! I saw, in 1973 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, In Santa Monica, California, the ONLY!! Concert Tour that JOHN McLAUGHLIN & CARLOS SANTANA EVER DID TOGETHER, I saw the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA #2, at ROYCE HALL,UCLA in 1974, WEATHER REPORT, 6 or 7 TIMES in the 1970's!! RETURN To FOREVER, TWICE!! (Also, at GIBSON Ampitheater June 2008, Of Course!)AND, Herbie Hancock and ,BOTH, the MWANDISHI Group AND the HEADHUNTERS!! In 1972 and 1973 at the TROUBADOUR Nightclub in Los Angeles,..O.K.?!! I mean, I saw these "FUSION JAZZ" ACTS,..LIVE!! when they were FRESH and NEW on the Music Scene! All YOU INTERNET SCHMUCKS HAVE, are CD'S and DVD'S, IF THERE ARE ANY! So as NATE CHINEN, said, a LITTLE MORE UNDERSTANDING, a LITTLE MORE TOLERANCE of OTHER VIEWPOINTS, OTHER than YOUR OWN!, AND a LITTLE MORE COOPERATION, and WE WILL GET ALONG FINE! Because We JAZZ FANS (That's ,ELECTRIC!! AND ACOUSTIC!) > NEED!< to STICK TOGETHER! O.K.?!! Later!

[felix contreras]

Hey Nate,
FYI your boy Haim Sabam is also part of the investment group that bought Univision Communications. Yes, THAT Univision, the largest Spanish language media company in this country. He's also on the board of directors.
-Felix

[Nate Chinen]

Thanks, Tal. I read that piece in the magazine, and couldn't get over Saban's cold acquisition skills (and how much money was actually in the Power Rangers!)

My point here partly does involve cautionary tales, a la Saban's songwriters, Levy and Kaniel. But I'm also talking about creating opportunities, by seeking out partnerships and licensing. Some musicians, like Goldings, are on the case in a big way. Others could be.

[Tal Rosenberg]

A recent New Yorker article about the Israeli media mogul Haim Saban is relevant to this area of discussion. He made millions off of the rights to theme songs written for children's television programs. His policy was to pay the artists generous sums; but in the long run, they would lose out on the tremendous amounts of money to be made in residuals, for work in which Saban played little part. All artists should remember the importance of copyrighting, regardless of the composition.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/05/10/100510fa_fact_bruck

[Nate Chinen]

Now here's my full disclosure about Dan Coleman, which I make explicitly in the column. We know each other from college, though our time there never overlapped. And we're still friendly: when he's in New York, we sometimes meet for coffee or a show.

Look here for more about Coleman. (He also conducted the strings on Brad Mehldau's Highway Rider.) Suffice it to say that publishing isn't his only musical pursuit.