20110321

A Love Supreme liner notes (by John Coltrane)

A Love Supreme

I will do all I can to be worthy of Thee O Lord.
It all has to do with it.
Thank you God.
Peace.
There is none other.
God is. It is so beautiful.
Thank you God. God is all.
Help us to resolve our fears and weaknesses.
Thank you God.
In You all things are possible.
We know. God made us so.
Keep your eye on God.
God is. He always was. He always will be.
No matter what…it is God.
He is gracious and merciful.
It is most important that I know Thee.
Words, sounds, speech, men, memory, thoughts,
fears and emotions — time all related…
all made from one…all made in one.
Blessed be His name.
Thought waves — heat waves-all vibrations –
all paths lead to God. Thank you God.
His way…it is so lovely…it is gracious.
It is merciful — thank you God.
One though can produce millions of vibrations
and they all go back to God…everything does.
Thank you God.
Have no fear…believe…thank you God.
The universe has many wonders. God is all.
His way…it is so wonderful.
Thoughts–deeds–vibrations, etc.
They all go back to God and He cleanses all.
He is gracious and merciful…thank you God.
Glory to God…God is so alive.
God is.
God loves.
May I be acceptable in Thy sight.
We are all one in His grace.
The fact that we do exist is acknowledgement
of Thee O Lord.
Thank you God.
God will wash away all our tears…
He always has…
He always will.
Seek Him everyday. In all ways seek God everyday.
Let us sing all songs to God.
To whoma all praise is due…praise God.
No road is an easy one, but they all
go back to God.
With all we share God.
It is all with God.
It is all with Thee.
Obey the Lord.
Blessed is He.
We are from one thing…the will of God…
thank you God.
I have seen Godd–I have seen ungodly–
none can be greater–none can compare to God.
Thank you God.
He will remake us…He always has and He
always will.
It is true–blessed be His name–thank you God.
God breathes through us so completely…
so gently we hardly feel it…yet,
it is our everything.
Thank you God.
ELATION–ELEGANCE–EXALTATION–
All from God.
Thank you God. Amen.

20110119

Why Angil and the Hiddentracks are not Sacem-registered

I chose not to be a registered member of Sacem because I did not have to. Sacem is a private syndicate (with a public service mission, but still); so legally speaking, nothing obliges anyone to be a member. This is far from a well-known fact; many young musicians believe that they must be registered, whereas it is totally OK to release records in France without being a member of Sacem. Anyway, the French law has always been very protective with copyrights (well, the French equivalent, "droits d'auteurs", which actually has a slightly different definition), so if ever my songs were "stolen", I am pretty sure I would be well protected by the law, and would not need any help by Sacem.

Many French musicians and labels also think they have to pay SDRM to release a record (SDRM means "Mechanical reproduction rights"). SDRM was actually created by... Sacem, and once again, it is not illegal to release a record without paying these rights. Which is good news, by the way, as these rights are exorbitant. You're supposed to get your money back after a few months (actually, about 80% of it), but this is still a huge amount of money to pay (depending on the total length of your album). In other words, I can't afford to be a member of Sacem, neither can We are Unique!

Basically, I am not registered because I do not believe in a financial interpretation of "droits d'auteurs". To me, copyrights and money do not have to be related. Sacem was created after an incident at a bar in March 1847 - three famous composers refused to pay for their drinks, because the owner of the bar had musicians play their compositions without giving them any retribution. The three composers won a trial, which led to the creation of the syndicate. What was at stake then is what lies at the core of the Sacem way of seeing things. All members are supposed to agree with the three composers' attitude - you play my stuff, you owe me something.

I don't agree with that. Had I been in the same situation, I would have thanked the owner of the bar for playing my songs, payed for my drinks, and left. To me, the broadcasting of my songs is not an end in itself, it is just a means. Who knows, one of the bar attendees (or, by extention, website visitor, venue spectator, radio listener, whatever) might want to know my music after what they've heard? They might even buy a CD, or a ticket for our next show. Or set up a show themselves. Broadcasting is just a segment within a much more complex set of interactions and causal connectives. It is a branch in a rhizome...

I must admit, though, I have the luxury to make such a statement because I am not trying to earn a living from music. I obviously understand and support my musician friends who are trying hard to do music as a job, so I am not against the existence of Sacem. On the other hand, there are many scandals surrounding it.

Everyone (including Sacem-registered artists) admits that the distribution system is very obscure. Registrations earn Sacem €600 million a year! Yet those who get the most are the best-selling artists... And if you are an independent young artist who has just been aired on a national radio show, you'd better call them and make sure they got your name (although Sacem has 1,400 employees who are supposed to work on this).

Sacem also has control over many so-called independent financial help systems in France (the Fair, Adami, even some festivals). They won't admit it officially, but if you are not Sacem-registered, you're out of the game, or it is much more difficult for you to be supported, at best. I know it, because this is what happened to us in the past, and will surely keep happening.

Finally, Sacem CEO Bernard Miyet has been in the grip of financial scandals. He's been using the Sacem credit card on personal vacation, for example, and the salaries of Sacem executives are outrageously high. The European Union is getting suspicious, I wouldn't be surprised if Sacem was dismantled, or at least reorganized, in the next few years.

MM