As many of my friends and colleagues know, I’ve been working for nearly two years on launching a comprehensive new promotion, publishing and licensing service for classical and jazz composers. Needing a break from dealing with the travails of software application development and the cast of characters involved, I decided last night to actually go […]
“You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.” – Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan For the past several election cycles, a cottage industry of fact-checkers emerges from their pumpkin patches each fall to assess the credibility of candidates’ claims. One of most-quoted of these, FactCheck.org, is affiliated with […]
Since last week’s Presidential debate, Big Bird’s eight-foot high profile has grown even larger. It started with a comment that Republican contender, Gov. Mitt Romney, made to the moderator, Jim Lehrer of PBS , about cutting federal funding for PBS programs, including Lehrer’s own NewsHour and Sesame Street. Mr. Romney specifically singled out Big Bird […]
Those who know me – or at least have had a meal with me – might be surprised to learn that I was a rather picky eater as a child. Like many kids, I was extremely reluctant to try new things. My family has still yet to let me live down my infamous statement when […]
Last time, I told you how you can find someone to commission you to write a new composition and how much you might get paid for your trouble. Now, I’ll outline the major deal points in a typical commissioning agreement so you’ll be able to deal the deal once you’ve gotten the gig. A commissioning […]
Have you ever wanted to write a symphony, a tone poem for wind ensemble or an opera? Knowing something about orchestration certainly helps. But you should also know a bit about the business of writing these kinds of works, which like great music in any genre, has its unique twists and turns. Pulitzer-Prize winners like […]
My niece is a die-hard Yankees fan. So for her Bat Mitzvah, I got her some Judaica in the form of a yarmulke with the Bronx Bombers’ insignia and a baseball cap that spelled “Yankees” in Hebrew letters — as well as some Bat Mitzvah gelt. Services were at Central Synagogue in Manhattan, which has […]
Of course, they’re forecasting torrential rain tomorrow. Just when I’ve got my first gig since July. Tomorrow night is my latest return engagement at The Cornelia Street Café in Greenwich Village. I’ll be doing a set of my own songs at 6:30pm with a little teaser at about 6:15pm for anyone who gets there after […]
We members of The Tribe often ask if someone was good or bad for the Jews. Often, it was a mixed answer. Steve Jobs’ current legacy in the music business is mostly, but not completely, a positive one.
So you’ve made a funny video of your cat that you want to post on YouTube and you think that if you put the Stray Cats’ Stray Cat Strut as the soundtrack it would be really groovy. Now, you know a little something about copyright law and you actually do the right thing and get […]