To All Artists Who Has/Had Music on Vodka Tonic Radio and
To Interested Artists that We Have Yet To Feature. PLEASE READ!
Hello All!,
Vodka Tonic Radio will be expanding into a different, yet fast growing media
concept: PODCASTING.
This should be relatively easy to create, since I have made hour long mixes in
mp3/wave format for years now, usually just burning them to CD for friends, etc.
However, the podcasting phenomenon brings a few "legal" issues that I don't have
to worry about when I broadcast on Live365.com (Live365 pays all broadcast
licensing fees for me; ASCAP, BMI, Sound Exchange, etc).
Although ASCAP has recently added a "Podcasting" bulk rate under their
broadcasting licensing terms, there are still many grey areas since a podcast
can both be defined as both a "broadcast" and a "digital copy". However, this
restriction may be a blessing in disguise, since a Vodka Tonic Radio podcast
would feature ONLY independent artists whose music is free from the policing and
jurisdiction of the RIAA and the Harry Fox's of the world.
So usually my habit with my regular Vodka Tonic Radio streams has been to
contact any independent artist and say "hey, I added you to the playlist!"
(which most all have returned a hardy "thank you"). However, this time I may
need some actual email replies in advance to say "yes, it is okay to feature our
music in a Vodka Tonic Radio podcast". I will keep these emails on file for
myself since the powers that be are working faster than ever on regulating this
format.
Here are some FAQs:
Q. Vil, how much will this cost us?
A. There is no "placement" cost charged to any of the artists or bands. I won't
be charging anyone to download the podcast. Any unforeseen maintenance costs
will be taken care of by Vodka Tonic Media.
Q. Vil, what is podcasting or what is a podcast?
A. A Podcast is a pre-recorded radio show that can be downloaded at anytime and
listened to at anytime. Some people like to listen on the computer, however most
will either burn a CD or transfer the files to a portable mp3 playing device,
like an IPOD. Podcast subscribers depend on a metadata tool called RSS, which,
based on title and content, enables them to seek out podcasts and other types
media formats posted by “bloggers” on the web. Podcasts are usually in mp3
format. Some podcasts are archived radio shows that had previously aired LIVE on
an AM/FM station or in syndication elsewhere (a good example is Al Franken's
show on Air America, archived and made available for download on a daily basis).
Other podcasts are created strictly for downloading only. Some are
professionally made (in a real broadcast studio) while others are made in
people’s basements and bedrooms (think Christian Slater in Pump Up The Volume).
Although the term "podcasting" has been buzzing for about 9 months, I am sure
podcasts have been available for far longer. Nearly a year ago I went on tour
with a band whose guitarist had many archived Phil Henry shows archived in his
IPOD. I experimented with something very similar to podcasting in 2001 as an
alternative to the real audio streams I was offering on my former renegade radio
show (Madpen Radio for Madpen.com). However, at that time it was fairly
unrealistic to hold and expect people to download 65MB files since broadband was
not as readily available as it is today.
Q. Vil, will your podcasts be daily or weekly broadcasts?
A. I cannot as of now quote a frequency of these broadcasts, if any. Probably
not weekly and definitely not daily. It all depends on the number of bands that
respond. If I only get 10-15 bands to respond, it may be a one time show. If I
get 50, I can probably do several one hour shows, and post them infrequently
spanning a few months.
Q. Wait, Vil, so people are going to download our songs for free?
A. Yes and No. What they will download is "One" huge mp3 file, which contains a
mix of songs segued into each other. Have you ever had someone burn you a mix CD
that placed a list of songs on one track continuously, disabling you to skip
tracks like you can on a conventional CD? A podcast can be considered an mp3
version of that. Yes, it is possible for someone with alot of time on their
hands to obtain a mp3 editor and splice up the file into individual segments.
However the songs will be segued (as one song fades out, another fades in) and I
probably will be doing some voiceovers as well (giving out information on
artists such as websites, tour dates, etc). Consider that I may also drop the
bit rate of the file below the normal 128kpbs, no one will be able to obtain a
perfect copy of your songs as it appears on your CD.
Q. Vil, help us imagine better on how all this will sound like?
A. Sure, how about a 10 minute Vodka Tonic Radio podcast sampler. I included
three bands that I am doing radio promotion for (Blanche Davidian, Pinky
Tucsadero’s White Knuckle Ass Fuck, and Thee Oh-Nos).
Just right
click here and choose “save as”. Download and listen.
Q. Vil, what are the benefits for doing this?
A. For you...exposure. To have new people listen to your music based on the
overall content of a 1 hour program. For Vodka Tonic...more visibility towards
our quest as a major independent media company...and an opportunity to brand the
company by showcasing our name in association with great independent RAWK!
Q. Vil, where will the podcast be available for people to download?
A. From VodkaTonicMedia.com, although we hope to have our show listed on such
IPODDING directories like PodcastAlley.com
Q. Vil, we are still not entirely sure. Anything else to convince us?
A. Yes. If the term podcast scares you (Hey...it’s all new to me as well) or the
mumbo jumbo about the regulation and licensing of podcast I spoke of in the
first paragraph confuses you, then think of this invitation the same you would
if I was asking you to be on a compilation CD with other bands and, due to the
reduced retail price of the comp CD plus the many artist involved, artists would
only consider the CD a promotional tool and not a royalty generating device.
Please, if your band is interested in having a song or two featured on our first
(and hopefully 2nd, 3rd, etc...) Vodka Tonic Radio podcast, email me your
permission to do so today.
The content of your email should be formatted something like this.
“As exclusive rights holder of our songs, we (insert band name here) license
(name of song here or write "any song") to be used in the downloadable internet
podcast known as Vodka Tonic Radio, produced by Vodka Tonic Media. We understand
that no fees, funds or royalties will be charged or received by either party."
This protects me in case my podcasts are ever audited by one the many royalty
collecting groups out there.
I rather not do a form for this since they can be easily forfeited.
Email me at vodkatonicmedia[at}yahoo[dot]com. Feel free to forward this to any other artist who you feel will be interested in
this.
I appreciate your help and submission in advance…Thanks for your time!
Vil Vodka Feb 27, 2005
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