reboog711 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (229) comment rss

  • On the post: Congress Delays Digital TV Transition: Everyone Loses!

    reboog711 ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2009 @ 07:14pm

    Atenna on the Roof

    I actually don't mind the extra time to get an antenna on my roof. It'll be hard to find someone to install one with the weather this bad [and I've been putting it off for quite a while]. While the bunny ears on my TV work; I think a higher / bigger antenna will give me much stronger signal and better reception.

    I had two coupons. But they expired before I got to use them; so I ended up shredding them. At some point I bought a new TV making the digital converter box a moot point.


    One of the local channels I do get switched from 1 digital channel to 4 digital channels today.

  • On the post: Monty Python's Meaning Of Free: The Holy Grail Of Massively Increased Sales

    reboog711 ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2009 @ 07:16pm

    Re:

    I'm unclear where I said the world needs one business model. Just that I felt this information was not quantified enough to really man anything.

  • On the post: Monty Python's Meaning Of Free: The Holy Grail Of Massively Increased Sales

    reboog711 ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2009 @ 12:21pm

    I'd love to see this quantified differently

    To me this seems more like a single anecdote; as opposed to something I would based my business on. I followed the links, but could not find any statement / quotes from the Pythons themselves.

    I'd love to see these quantified differently; but following the links doesn't appear to shed any light on it. What does number 2 on Amazon.com mean in terms of units sold or dollars profit? How were other avenues of sale affected? What were sales before?

    Does the increase relate directly to units sold? Or does it relate to sales rank increase?

  • On the post: Connecticut Government Bails Out Newspapers

    reboog711 ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2009 @ 05:56am

    Despite the headline in the Fox News site; the actual report does not use the term bailout. They are offering incentives. Doesn't government offer such incentives to public / private businesses all the time [at both the local and federal level]?

  • On the post: How ASCAP And BMI Are Harming Up-And-Coming Singers

    reboog711 ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2009 @ 02:59pm

    I just wanted to say; as a gigging band, we had played at venues who used the "all original music" argument to the royalty societies and were able to get them to back down.

    That was quite a while ago, though.

  • On the post: Once Again, Concert Business Sets New Records

    reboog711 ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2008 @ 11:18am

    Re: Re: . . .

    My only comment is that I'm not sure where I said I thought that every artist deserves to be rich.

  • On the post: Once Again, Concert Business Sets New Records

    reboog711 ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2008 @ 11:13am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: . . .

    The missteps 'we' made as band in terms of self-promotion could fill multiple books. I'm smarter now in that area; but am devoting my efforts to other non-musical expenditures.

    The low cost of recording technology makes it easy to create good quality recordings. The Internet makes it easy to make those recordings available at low cost.

    Neither of those things lead to exposure, however. They only lead to the possibility of exposure. Just having songs on the Internet is just a small portion of being a successful musician.

  • On the post: Once Again, Concert Business Sets New Records

    reboog711 ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2008 @ 11:07am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: . . .

    I didn't mean to insinuate either situation was a problem. It is up to the band [aka business] to decide whether it is a good deal for that band [or not].

    I just meant to say that bands are not necessarily making lots of money from gigging / touring.

  • On the post: Once Again, Concert Business Sets New Records

    reboog711 ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2008 @ 08:29am

    Re:

    I don't know how to judge who is--or is not--deserving to make a living off music. I'd say the guy in the pub working his arse off is probably more deserving than corporate manufactured pop such as the Jonas Brothers.

    But, every band [every business] I've ever known has started somewhere with the intent on growing.

  • On the post: Once Again, Concert Business Sets New Records

    reboog711 ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2008 @ 08:26am

    Re: Re: . . .

    Many independent / new bands tour small venues; such as pubs, coffeehouses, art spaces, and anyone who will book them.

  • On the post: Once Again, Concert Business Sets New Records

    reboog711 ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2008 @ 08:23am

    Re: Re: . . .

    On CD Sales:
    An independent artist is not on a label and therefore a CD sale is all profit. They make $10 or $15 or whatever they can charge. They do have to pay the upfront cost of CD production. It is unlikely in this scenario that they'll sell 10 million copies, though.

    On your touring numbers:
    How many independent bands sell 1000 tickets a night?

    Of the two 1000 people+ venues in CT that book independent / original bands; the bands get paid based on ticket sales.

    At one venue; the band gets $1 dollar for every ticket after 50 of theirs that comes through the door. So, if they get 100 people through the door; make $50.

    With the other venue; the band has to buy 50 tickets @ $10 a piece to get booked. This is a pay to play contract. If the band can sell those tickets, they'll make the money back. IF they cal sell more tickets; they make even more money. Otherwise the show is a complete loss. The band with the least ticket sales plays first; and the band with the most ticket sales plays last.

    I'd love to see a source for your claim that bands split the ticket price with the venue.

    I suppose I will caveat this with the fact that I stopped being in a gigging band about four years ago. However I doubt things have changed in the past four years as much as you claim.

  • On the post: Once Again, Concert Business Sets New Records

    reboog711 ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2008 @ 07:20am

    . . .

    Of the thousands / millions of bands out there; I wonder how many are actually making money off touring. Touring has traditionally been viewed as a "loss leader" in order to sell CDs. The article doesn't state how much of that goes to actual musicians.

    If Dave Matthews Band adds another couple of tour dates; they easily bring in ten million or more.

    The band you saw at Joe's Bar last Friday is lucky to leave there w/ $300 (split 5 ways)

  • On the post: ;-) Available For Yearly License Fee Thanks To Russian Trademark

    reboog711 ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2008 @ 09:53am

    Re: Re: I'm confused...

    According to other news reports I've seen--including the link in this post; the Russian guy trademarked.

    I suspect this is just a typo in the techdirt article.

  • On the post: ;-) Available For Yearly License Fee Thanks To Russian Trademark

    reboog711 ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2008 @ 08:36am

    I'm confused...

    First off, did he receive a patent or a trademark? You use both words in the article.

    Let's assume that we all agree that trademarks laws exist to protect the consumer from getting confused.

    If a company has a unique use of a common symbol for commercial purposes; it seems to me it would not be far fetched to get that use trademarked.

    I'm not sure about Russian trademark law, however I wonder what exactly is this guys use of the trademark?

  • On the post: Video Game Schools Claim Ownership Of Games Created By Students

    reboog711 ( profile ), 24 Nov, 2008 @ 07:34pm

    It was the same in Computer Science; at All Universities

    When I went to school for computer science; this type of thing came up a lot. Common belief was that if you were a student, the school owned the rights to stuff you wrote, even if it was on your own time, in your own place, on your own equipment, and had no relation to school assignments. It was definitely a tricky issue for those working full time jobs and getting a degree at night. As long as you were a student they could lay claim.

    Absolutely Ridiculous / troublesome. It sounds like DigiPen is just following the 'industry standard' for this sort of thing.

    I never quite understood it; and do not agree with it. But, it sounds like a pretty good business model from a business owner perspective. I think I'm going to patent it.

  • On the post: Warner Bros. Make Up Your Mind: Are You Competing With Piracy Or Not?

    reboog711 ( profile ), 14 Nov, 2008 @ 01:46pm

    [Quote]
    "I'm quite confused as to how the same company could make both of those decisions in the course of a single week"
    [End Quote]

    It boggles my mind how this would confuse someone. You've never worked for a with a large company I take it? Or on a smaller scale, tried to pick out which color to paint your living room with a significant other.

    The left hand never knows what the right hand is doing.

  • On the post: Sued For Libel Over eBay Feedback

    reboog711 ( profile ), 24 Oct, 2008 @ 08:36am

    Did the Buyer say...

    I can understand why the seller would be upset by bad feedback. However, I'm not sure that feedback is libelous or worthy of a lawsuit.

    I always wonder about the stuff that isn't said in such articles.

    Can sellers still comment on feedback? If so, why didn't the seller do so, saying he was sorry for problems and provided a full refund?

    Can the seller still complain to eBay and try to remove feedback? Did the seller take that route?

    Did the buyer say anything like "seller provided full refund"? I think it would have been good for the buyer to say that in his feedback.

  • On the post: Copyright Royalty Board Keeps Download Rates The Same; iTunes 'Saved'

    reboog711 ( profile ), 03 Oct, 2008 @ 06:59am

    Re: Re: I don't get it...

    For other avenues of sale, such as retail CD sales, the artist usually gets a percentage of wholesale not a fixed fee. I can't understand why it would be different for digital sales.

  • On the post: Copyright Royalty Board Keeps Download Rates The Same; iTunes 'Saved'

    reboog711 ( profile ), 03 Oct, 2008 @ 04:30am

    I don't get it...

    Most professional recording contracts do not use such licensing rates; artists are paid by a percentage of sales. As such, I have a hard time understanding how this would affect iTunes directly.

  • On the post: Heart Demanding McCain Campaign Stop Using Its Song

    reboog711 ( profile ), 05 Sep, 2008 @ 11:29am

    One Correction

    "if McCain wanted to use [a song] at an event, he could as long as he paid the proper performance licensing fees"

    Actually, it is the venue that is required to pay performance licenses, not the people renting out the venue. So, in this case "Xcel Energy Center" would have had to pay, not the RNC or McCain.

    I would assume that the venue has some outstanding contract with all the relevant licensing companies to pay some flat fee. The licensing companies use some random sampling of all venues to figure out who gets paid for song use. At least that is the way it used to work.

    If I understand correctly, the the venue contracts take into account live performance. So, if my cover band plays Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" in a dive bar, in theory the venue is paying performance royalties and the song writers (Van Halen) get kickbacks.
    If Van Hagar plays the same song in a huge stadium, then David Lee Roth is still getting songwriting kickbacks, since he is a co-writer of the song.

    Did I miss my point somewhere?

Next >>