Tag: music publishing

David vs. Goliath

I spent all of Friday attending the annual meeting of the Music Publishers Association, which is proud to call itself the oldest music trade organization in the United States. It was founded in 1895. This year, the MPA’s long history was much in evidence—even the printed program, as well as all the name tags for the attendees featured an iconic-looking old logo.

MPA Logo

History screams from the Music Publishers Association’s logo printed on the program for their 2012 annual meeting.

After the announcement of the MPA’s 2012 Paul Revere Awards, which honor graphic excellence in published music scores, a lifetime achievement award was given to Frank J. Hackinson, who has been in the music publishing business for seven decades. Highlights of Hackinson’s CV include popularizing the mixed song folio (now a standard publication format for pop music), signing the Beatles to their first print music contract in the United States, establishing Columbia Pictures Publications (whose roster included Henry Mancini, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and Whitney Houston) in 1971, and, in 1988, the FJH Music Company which specializes in repertoire for concert band and educational music publications.

Bryan Bradley

Bryan Bradley shows MPA attendees some facts and figures about the state of music publishing.

What was particularly heartwarming about this gathering was how deeply personal it all was. At one point during the meeting, there was a memorial to MPA members who had died during the past year, including, in most cases, brief archival video footage of conversations with them. Seeing the faces behind the names throughout the day, both of people who are now longer with us as well as those who very much are, helped me to understand how this particular industry—unlike most in our nation—is very much one that has been molded by individuals rather than by large corporations. Bryan Bradley, the chief operations officer of Alfred Music Publishing who moderated a panel in the afternoon, acknowledged that this “industry is very mom and pop.” And many of these individuals have also been and or continue to be composers or active performing musicians in addition to their work on behalf of other composers and interpreters.

Yet in the minds of many people, publishers are monoliths—giant, impenetrable entities that control the copyrights of others and draconically police their usage. And in the era of the internet, many people have taken an alternative view of intellectual property. Some believe that anyone should be able to disseminate any and all information to whomever they want to freely and at any time, and most believe that the duplication of intellectual property is not the moral equivalent of stealing a physical object. But people who create music in particular are, of course, well aware that this form of creation, though it can never be corporealized into a car or a diamond ring, can be far more valuable than either. And if there is no way to protect this kind of non-physical creation, the ability to make a living from creating it, which has always been tenuous at best, becomes even more of a pipe dream. Ironically, of course, many of those same folks who believe that intellectual property does not require financial remuneration spend loads of money on technological equipment, as well as on online connections, which would have considerably less value for them if these pieces of equipment and services did not supply them with that same intellectual property. As a result, companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google (which owns YouTube in addition to controlling how most people surf the web) are now catastrophically huge corporations, far bigger than any publisher. So much for monoliths!

Digital Big Business

One of the many slides that raced by during Viacom’s Stanley Pierre-Louis’s address at the 2012 MPA Annual Meeting

One of the most poignant observations about this phenomenon that I’ve yet heard was a comment made during the MPA meeting by attorney Kenneth B. Anderson. Anderson has recently been retained to serve as legal counsel for a new anti-piracy initiative launched jointly by the MPA and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), the other member organization for music publishers based in the United States. (Anderson, whose other clients include the Beastie Boys and the Dixie Chicks, is no stranger to a challenging fight. I imagine that representing the Dixie Chicks during the radio boycott following comments made by members of the band that were critical of then President George W. Bush must have kept him busy.) Anyway, during an updated Piracy Report given by Anderson, he exclaimed, “The concept that the entertainment industry is a Goliath and that the internet industry is a David is a 180 degree reversal of reality.”

Of course, whether or not Anderson can help the MPA and the NMPA change the climate of today’s digital environment remains to be seen. But if these mostly small organizations have anything going for them against giant corporate interests it is ultimately history. The NMPA, though not as old as the MPA, dates back to 1917. Together these organizations have been around for over 200 years and presumably have weathered a great number of challenges before the internet.

Bryan Bradley perhaps had the clearest vision of how the industry needs to move forward: “You need a specific knowledge to use the products we make. We’re not selling iPads that anyone can use. If we’re to survive, we need to create more customers. We’ve got to create more musicians, people who are passionate about music. If we don’t inspire that passion, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”

New Commissioning/Publishing Initiative Names First Composer

Zosha Di Castri

Zosha Di Castri. Photo by David Adamcyk, courtesy Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.

“New Voices,” a new creative partnership between the New World Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, and music publisher Boosey & Hawkes designed to identify and nurture emerging composers from the Americas, was officially launched today. Each year, a panel of judges will choose one composer who will be guided through the process of being commissioned and then preparing a new composition for performance. The first composer selected is Zosha Di Castri, a Canadian-born composer and pianist living in New York and currently pursuing doctoral studies in composition at Columbia University. Di Castri will be commissioned to write two new works, one for a chamber ensemble and one for full orchestra. Both of her new pieces will be workshopped and premiered by the New World Symphony and then rehearsed and performed by the San Francisco Symphony in the fall of 2013. Both performances of her orchestral work will be conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, who is artistic director of the New World Symphony and music director of the San Francisco Symphony. During the process, the composer will receive editorial guidance in the preparation of scores and parts from Boosey & Hawkes as well as learn about commission contract preparation, copyright registration, and licensing procedures, plus how to promote the music through publicity and marketing strategies. Additionally, the composer will have significant access to, and guidance from, the presenters’ artistic teams.

Zosha Di Castri (b. 1985) composes both instrumental, mixed, and purely electronic music, as well as interdisciplinary works. Di Castri’s orchestral work Alba received its world premiere at the 2011 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, commissioned in honor of Marin Alsop’s 20th anniversary there by composer John Adams and funded by a special gift from him and Deborah O’Grady. Her compositions have additionally been performed by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie, l’Orchestre de la francophonie canadienne, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, JACK Quartet, and the Orchestre National de Lorraine. She has also participated in residencies at the Banff Center, the New Music Session at Domaine Forget, and the National Arts Centre’s composition program. Di Castri was recently named a laureate of the 3rd International Composer’s Competition for the Hamburger Klangwerktage Festival, and is currently composer-in-residence for Ensemble Portmantô. Upcoming projects involve a performance by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic through the Green Umbrella Series, a vocal work for the New York-based Ekmeles singers, and a commission from the Electric Noise duo for flute, piano, and electronics to be premiered at Cluster Festival 2012 (Winnipeg, Canada). Prior to moving to New York City, Di Castri lived in Paris where she pursued further musical studies after completing a bachelor’s degree in composition and piano performance at Montreal’s McGill University. Her composition teachers have included Brian Cherney, Philippe Hurel, Fabien Lévy, and Tristan Murail; she is currently studying with Fred Lerdahl.

“For a young composer, having the opportunity to work with two such forward-looking orchestras and a renowned publishing company on both a new orchestral work and a piece for chamber ensemble is practically unheard of,” notes Zosha Di Castri. “I’m particularly interested in investigating the vast sound potential of the orchestra, a medium that is relatively new for me, and am looking forward to digging into a chamber work of substantial length. It will also be very productive to be able to revise my works between the East and West Coast premieres; young composers rarely have the chance to hear their orchestral works played at all, let alone twice. Most of all, I am excited to meet the musicians, work under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, and learn more about the publishing world.”

To select the composers chosen for the “New Voices” initiative, a preliminary panel identifies composers and invites them to submit portfolios. The panel is made up of: Zizi Mueller, president, Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.; John Mangum, director, artistic planning, San Francisco Symphony; and Doug Merilatt, senior vice president for artistic planning and programs, New World Symphony. The final selection, however, is made by Michael Tilson Thomas and a panel of American composers and industry leaders. For the inaugural panel, Tilson Thomas was joined by composers John Adams, Steven Mackey, and Steven Stucky.

(—from the press release)

The Kindness of Strangers

One of my favorite things about living in the middle of the city of Baltimore—which the locals call Charm City—is that I constantly am interacting with strangers. As we walk around town, we tend to greet other pedestrians with a nod, and when I’m out with my dog, people often stop me to ask questions about him. Sometimes these brief encounters lead to delightful experiences, like the day that I opened my mailbox to find a coffee mug and keychain proclaiming my love for Belgian sheepdogs (my dog’s breed) without a note or any other indication as to who my kind benefactor was. Although I eventually identified the other dog companion who had given us these gifts, I still don’t know his name, nor does he know mine.

Similarly, at times the world of new music can feel like a charming town in which everyone is working towards the same goals and is willing to help out strangers in order to share the music they love.

I find that there are more great composers working today than I can possibly keep up with. Sometimes it seems that people tell me about amazing pieces by composers who are new to me on a daily basis. We live in a time when the wealth of creative riches can be completely overwhelming and physical distance is no excuse to avoid learning about good music. Because of this, some composers who clearly deserve more recognition can get lost in the shuffle.

In my opinion, Eleanor Hovda is a fantastic candidate for the composer most deserving of far greater recognition than she has received. I have long admired her sonic landscapes, which have never failed to grab my attention, even when I’ve been listening to compilation CDs in the background while administering to other tasks, and I was saddened to hear about her death in 2009. She left behind a relatively small catalog of works, but all of the ones I’ve heard have been of the highest quality and I’m very happy that Innova Records recently released a 4-CD compilation of her music.

I’m working on a guitar quartet right now, and, as usual, I began by listening to several examples of contemporary quartets. The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet’s recording of Hovda’s striking 1992 piece, Armonia, blew my mind with its beautifully constructed sounds in an entirely engaging form. I wanted to study this piece further, and so I went online to try to purchase its score. I was saddened to find that it wasn’t available through any distributor that I could locate, nor was it in my local libraries.

Next, I went to the website for the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, who had commissioned the piece, and sent an email through their “Contact” link. I also posted a query on the wall for the Facebook group “Eleanor Hovda—Remembering” asking if anyone knew how I could purchase the score. Within a very short time, several people offered to ship me free copies, and less than a week later the score arrived in my mailbox. Sure enough, studying it has proven to be extraordinarily fruitful.

I can’t help but compare this experience with those we often have with major publishers. Sometimes it seems that the large publishing concerns would rather we didn’t try to perform the music they represent. It can be frustrating when you want to learn more about a piece but are faced with obstacles from traditional publishers—like exorbitant rental fees and lack of communication—that can create barriers between the people who love the music they publish and the music itself. In the case of Hovda, I felt immediately welcomed by her community of family and friends, who clearly believe in her music and want to see it spread to as many interested people as possible. I only hope that the kindness of these strangers fulfills its function and continues to allow for the music of this amazing composer to be heard as often as possible.

Subito Music Names Brian Ciach as Subito Composer Fellow

Brian Ciach

Brian Ciach, photo by Paolo Vairo

Subito Music Corporation has chosen Brian Ciach to be the first participant in the Subito Composer Fellowship program, developed in partnership with the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute. The Fellowship will provide professional promotional efforts for Ciach’s work, along with the opportunity for him to cultivate a practical knowledge of today’s publishing industry with on-site, hands-on training.

“Following the recent success of our new partnership with the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute,” states Subito Music founder and CEO Stephen Culbertson, “we’re pleased to welcome Brian Ciach as our inaugural Subito Composer Fellow. The Composer Institute is a celebrated training program for young symphonic composers; and this year, it presented Brian’s work Collective Uncommon. Brian possesses a unique way of connecting with listeners through his use of orchestration and intense sonorities to create a visceral, musical montage. We created the Subito Composer Fellowship as a mentoring program so that composers could gain an in-depth understanding of the classical music publishing world, and we look forward to working with Brian as he gains the insights and tools that relate the business of music to the art of creating music.”

Collective Uncommon: Seven Orchestral Studies on Medical Oddities was inspired by Ciach’s visit to Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum, a medical oddities branch of The College of Physicians which was founded in 1787. “The Mütter Museum,” Ciach explains, “contains a host of specimens of various odd afflictions…[and it’s] goal is to inspire research into the successful treatments and cures of various unusual disorders. I was fascinated by the collection and thought ‘What kind of piece would these relics inspire?’ [These] artifacts, as unusual and as macabre as they may seem, were once part of a living human being…[and] as museum personnel reminded me ‘there is a terrifying beauty in the spirits of those forced to endure these afflictions’. [So] I set out to create a sensitive, chiarascuro-balance between light and dark, macabre and humanitarian.” Written for Ciach’s doctoral dissertation, Collective Uncommon explores seven medical oddities using specific compositional genres.

A native of Philadelphia, Brian Ciach (pronounced “SIGH-ack”) is an internationally performed composer and active new music pianist. He studied at Temple University and holds a doctorate from Indiana University. Ciach has taught at West Chester (PA), Temple and Indiana Universities, and is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Ball State University. He served on the piano faculty at Delaware County Community College, the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, and at the Darlington Arts Center. Upcoming Ciach premieres include two commissioned works: Blank Slate for the Square Peg Round Hole for percussion quartet, and The Einstein Slide (an appendix to Collective Uncommon) written for the contemporary group Alarm Will Sound who will premiere the work during the composer’s residency at the 2012 Mizzou New Music Summer Festival.

Subito Music Corporation (SMC) provides a wide range of production and distribution services for both composers and publishers, including engraving, printing, rental, sales, and copyright administration. Under the Subito and Notevole imprints, SMC also publishes a select roster of composers including Michael Abels, Kenneth Frazelle, Nancy Galbraith, Dan Locklair, Steven Mercurio, Paul Moravec, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Roberto Sierra, and Judith Lang Zaimont. In addition SMC represents the music of composers published in the catalogs of Seesaw Music, Association for the Promotion of New Music (APNM), Columbia University Press, Canadian Brass Collection, Ben Rena Music, Sorom Editions, Dunstan House, and Zimbel Press.

Pierre Jalbert, Hannah Lash, and Lei Liang Join Schott

Schott New York has announce the signings of representation agreements with Pierre Jalbert, Hannah Lash, and Lei Liang (pictured left to right above).

Norman Ryan, vice president of composers and repertoire, commented:

We are delighted to begin publishing relationships with Pierre Jalbert, Hannah Lash, and Lei Liang. Each has developed a compelling voice expressed in a wide range of orchestral, chamber, vocal, and solo works that display masterly command of the myriad musical resources available to creators today. Our new composer signings along with the recent launch of the e-music publishing platform, Project Schott New York, continues Schott’s ‘Fresh Start in America’ initiative, which was launched shortly after the opening of the New York office in 2005 and designed expressly to recognize, support and promote significant composing talent at various stages of development.

Profiles of each composer and details about their work are available on Schott Music:

Pierre Jalbert
Hannah Lash
Lei Liang

(—from the press release)