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 Dean Hampton MP3: Let the Updates Begin One of the hardest parts of putting together last issue's MP3 article was choosing a cutoff date for including late breaking news. Sure enough, just before we went to press, but too late for updates, a number of things changed in the world of MP3. Since the article came out, you have had many questions. Two FAQs I've heard are: "Is this for real?" and "When do you think it will take off?" Two discoveries were made within a week of last issue's street date that helped answer those questions. (Yes, MP3 is for real, and the time is now!) First, you can now purchase a portable MP3 player at Sears. That's right, Sears. Second, you can purchase and download the entire Concord Jazz collection from www.emusic.com. Or, you can sample individual tracks and purchase only the ones you like (for 99 cents each). If all you want from a certain CD are the ballads, for example, you are now in the driver's seat. Or, if all you want are those tracks with Kim Park solos, you now have that choice, too. New online MP3 services are also gaining momentum. And so are the legal battles. MP3.com has started My.MP3.com where you can listen to your newly purchased CDs online. Simply put, they will rip your new CDs (or even your old ones via their Beam-It program) into MP3 format and make them immediately available to you via their online storage. You will then be able to listen to them anywhere, anytime. It's called Instant Listening™, and the hype on their web site states, "Instant Listening™ lets you listen to and enjoy your online CD purchases before they arrive in the mail! Every time you purchase a CD from a participating Instant Listening partner, we'll immediately add the album to your My.MP3.com account at no extra charge." On January 21, 2000, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a lawsuit against www.mp3.com in Federal District Court in New York. In what CNET predicts to be a potential multibillion-dollar lawsuit, the RIAA alleges copyright violations stemming from the company's new Instant Listening Service and Beam-it programs. MP3.com believes that once you have purchased your CD, it is up to you what to do with it including having them make it available to you instantly in MP3 format. So, MP3.com has countersued claiming that it uses secure technology to verify that the customer owns a physical copy of the CD. MP3.com has also been accused of creating an unauthorized digital music catalog of up to 45,000 CDs. This is the vehicle used by MP3.com to store CDs in advance of your purchase and is made available to you only after proving that you own the works. They claim that the copyrighted music is the property of its members. EMusic.com feels that MP3.com has overstepped its bounds. Bob Kohn, a renowned licensing expert and chairman of Emusic.com, calls it a textbook case of copyright infringement. "There is a long line of cases that say you can use your own copy machine at home to make a copy of a book you own," Kohn told CNET. "But you can't take the book to Kinko's and do the same thing or Kinko's will get sued, and it knows that." While this battle will rage for a long time to come, it will not slow the MP3 digital music revolution. Industry analysts at Forrester Research estimate that online music sales will total over $8 billion in 2003. (And it is obvious that America Online and Time Warner are banking on this.) A few of our readers have recognized that MP3 is here to stay. About the portable player recorders, former KC Symphony Music Director Bill McGlaughlin says, "The little gadgets themselves are small and very cool. I've seen a number of musicians using them on the job. I've also watched reporters at NPR in Washington record interviews on them, edit the interview entirely in the machine in a cab on the way back to NPR and put the interview up on the air. All without using more than this little box and a microphone. Dick Tracy and Flash Gordon, take a seat!" Guitarist Pat Metheny's major concern with MP3 format is with the music quality and download speeds. "For someone like me, who spends an enormous amount of time and energy researching ways of making music sound better (with 24 bit recordings, 5.1 surround systems, and so on), honestly, on a musical level the MP3 thing is a kind of "dumbing-down" move. I expect in a few years when everyone has high bandwidth systems, and full-fledged downloads are the norm, it will all be looked back upon as kind of a joke." Chicago based writer (and JAM contributor) Don Rose looks at the possibilities for jazz. "Certainly this means a revolution in the marketing and distribution of pop. I'm frankly more interested, however, in the possibilities for broadening the prospects of jazz. With or without the billion-dollar music moguls, the web and digital distribution offer amazing possibilities for jazz artists to send their improvisatory lines around the world -- and for people everywhere to download and enjoy them. Just as CD technology made it possible for jazz artists to bring out their own discs relatively inexpensively, the use of the web now solves that other major sticking problem, distribution. This could be a revolutionary, liberating force." KC saxophonist Doug Talley agrees with Rose about MP3 having more of an impact on pop music than on jazz. "As far as classic jazz, my mind's eye has trouble envisioning cars cruising the street throbbing to 'Blue Train.' So-called 'smooth' jazz, which is more hit and star oriented, will probably be affected by MP3 to a greater degree." In viewing the possibilities for the art form, Talley also commented, "Maybe it's time for a change. Historically art (i.e. musicianship, creativity) and commercialism (money) have tended to take opposing paths. Technology may help the two find some common ground. Think of all the wonderful musicians without recording contracts and advertising budgets who will be able to take advantage of these changes!" So, yes, MP3 and similar formats are here to stay. And MP3 for most listeners is of acceptable quality. (I plan to demonstrate this at one of the next Jazz Ambassadors' meetings by doing an audience "blindfold test" using CD and MP3 playbacks.) Download speeds are not what they need to be unless you subscribe to a DSL service or cable modem. But availability of MP3 jazz is growing faster than you can download it. As for purchasing a portable player, save your tax refund (should you be so lucky) for at least six months. Then you should be able to buy a player with considerably more storage space. Because: he who dies with the most MP3 files on his portable wins. A Glossy Anniversary One year ago, JAM introduced its first color glossy cover. The reaction has been very positive, to say the least. Over the years we have made various improvements to the magazine, but this one has topped them all. The benefits of this addition have been many. JAM has since attracted a larger (and higher quality) advertising base, including several national accounts that probably wouldn't have talked to us in the pre-glossy days. We have also attracted additional high quality staff, and have introduced inside color ads, both of which have opened new doors. In the past year JAM has enjoyed a 23% increase in content (creating a constant battle of the bulge!) and best of all, a 70% increase in distribution since April of '99. That means JAM is reaching more and more jazz fans, both here in Kansas City and around the country. And the best is yet to come! An Award (and a Farewell) for Karrin
During her time in KC, the local jazz scene has grown dramatically. And Karrin has played a significant role in that growth. She has been a true Kansas City jazz ambassador. For helping to spread the word about KC's many worldclass jazz artists, Karrin was recently presented with the Jazz Ambassadors' first-ever "Jazz Excellence Award." The inscription on the award reads: "In recognition of the great contributions you have made to Kansas City and its reputation for Jazz Excellence - KARRIN ALLYSON - From your friends, The KC Jazz Ambassadors." The presentation took place on March 11 at the Blue Room, during Karrin's final local club engagement before moving to New York. While this move represents a new milestone in her career, Karrin assured the SRO crowd it is not a goodbye. Karrin still has several dates booked in the Kansas City area throughout the remainder of the year. You can keep up with her schedule by checking her web site at www.karrin.com. Kelley and Cotton History was made on January 20 when area blues legends Cotton Candy and Kelley Hunt sang a duet of gospel tunes at the Grand Emporium. Kelley had been asked to do a performance for the Jazz Ambassadors' monthly meeting, and Cotton was preparing for her sendoff to a major blues competition in Memphis as the winner the KC Blues Society Band Contest. As Kelley finished her Jazz Ambassador set, and Cotton prepared for her Emporium show, the two got together, much to the delight all on hand.
Of Cotton Candy, Kelley says, "She's a woman of remarkable spirit. And singing with her was a totally uplifting experience. I'm thrilled the Jazz Ambassadors asked me to do this and that Cotton agreed to join me." Hunt had mesmerized the crowd earlier by sharing personal inspiration about recordings and by singing several very moving songs, one of which had her leaving the stage and working her way through the audience. But it was the duets with Cotton Candy on "Precious Lord" and "I'll Fly Away" that brought down the packed house. And then it was time for Cotton and her So Many Men to take the stage for the big sendoff to Memphis. -- Bill Williams RETURN TO APRIL 2000 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved. |
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