© C in a Circle - Copyrights in Bankruptcy: When Seven Is Not Your Lucky Number
When people think of assets, they usually consider their house, car, furniture, bank accounts and the like. But copyright owners, or persons who receive royalties generated by copyrights, hold a class of assets that doesn’t readily come to mind as such because they are not tangible and tend to be forgotten. Yet they, too, become part of what is called your bankruptcy “estate.”
3178 hits | 3 comments | c in a circle | added on 06.03.09

Takes from the Top: The Smithereens’ 'Green Thoughts'
Recorded in just two weeks in late 1987, Green Thoughts — a set of molten, melancholic rock from New Jersey’s the Smithereens—still stands as one of the most powerful collections of pop from the time.
1264 hits | 1 comments | artists | added on 05.15.09

New York & Nashville: How the Songwriting Centers Differ
As a transplanted songwriter from Nashville to New York City, I’ve had the chance to observe, up close, the approaches to songwriting and the songwriting communities in both cities. While there are, of course, many similarities, there are also quite a few differences. Please keep in mind that these observations are my impressions, not hard facts.
3124 hits | 7 comments | added on 04.27.09

Jay Ferguson on Writing TV Themes
First entering the public consciousness as lead singer of jazz-rock band Spirit and scoring a hit as a solo artist with 1978’s Thunder Island, Jay Ferguson has for the past 25 years focused on composing for television and film. Having written music for over 15 feature films and numerous television shows, Ferguson’s most notable recent success is the theme music for the U.S. version of The Office, for which he won the 2007 Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for a Comedy Television Program. Here, Ferguson shares his thoughts on the state of the TV theme business, and offers some advice for those looking to enter the field.
2363 hits | 1 comments | artists | added on 04.01.09

Q&A with Recording Engineer Joe Barresi
“Cut it now, fix it later” might be okay for some practitioners, but not Joe Barresi. “You really need to get the sound right at the beginning of the recording,” says the Los Angeles-based producer/engineer, “because it's so difficult to add it later.” Following his work on Tom Petty’s 1994 solo effort Wildflowers, in 1996 Barresi was tapped to oversee Pinkerton, the sophomore release from Weezer, then followed with Fastball’s breakthrough effort All the Pain Money Can Buy before capturing Courtney Love in action on Hole’s Celebrity Skin. Since that time, Barresi — an ardent fan of traditional recording technique — has cut tracks for the likes of Bad Religion, Queens of the Stone Age and the Melvins; in 2005, Barresi engineered and mixed 10,000 Days, the platinum-selling fourth album from prog-metal artists Tool. Barresi opened his own Pasadena-based recording facility in 2008.
2851 hits | 2 comments | tech | added on 03.09.09

Tales From the Top: The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers (1971)
In late 1969, Sheffield, Alabama’s Muscle Shoals Sound — a former casket factory conveniently located next to a graveyard — was still a shoestring operation with just one hit to its credit. That is, until the Rolling Stones arrived for an impromptu three-day session in December and proceeded to put the renegade studio on the map.
3080 hits | 5 comments | artists | added on 01.30.09

Gear Cheapness Pt. 2: The Pleasures and Perils of Purchasing Online
You take a significant risk when buying low-priced, used or “as is” studio products from faceless sellers on eBay, Craigslist and the like: You never really know what you’re getting until you actually get it.
2934 hits | 2 comments | tech | added on 01.08.09

C in a Circle - Three Copyright Firsts
This year has seen the conclusion of some pending industry and legislative initiatives that have resulted in changes in the copyright arena. For those of you who have not been following the press reports, here’s a report on what they are.
7537 hits | 10 comments | c in a circle | added on 12.09.08

Tales From the Top: Recording Pink’s ‘Get the Party Started’ (2001)
For those who fantasize about creating a worldwide smash from the privacy of their basement studio, Pink’s 2001 breakthrough hit “Get the Party Started” — and the rest of her multiplatinum second effort M!ssundaztood — is proof that, even in today's inner-circle society, pop miracles still do happen.
3707 hits | 11 comments | artists | added on 11.06.08

Gear Cheapness, Pt. 1
When it comes to buying stuff for the studio, I generally gravitate towards the kind of gear that can get the job done for as little as possible (as in under $100, in many instances). Why pay more when you don‘t have to?
4716 hits | 15 comments | tech | added on 10.02.08