BeatPick Blog on music licensing, creative commons music, gigs

    If you didn’t know already, here at BeatPick.com we are big fans and faithful followers of Creative Commons (CC), but in order to sustain Creative Commons, fundraising is crucial!

CC needs support in order to guarantee access to scientific, cultural and educational content that is pre-cleared for use by its authors. This in-turn brings a balance into the fragile network of digital technologies by enabling a participatory culture; “A culture in which everyone can actively engage in the creativity that surrounds us (CC Blog).” This is the legal frame work behind Beatpick, a fair way in dealing with Independent artists who want recognition of their work, need the publicity- but are unable to do so (unless of course, they sign over the rights of their work to money-hungry music labels = unfair!).

All Beatpick musicians and fans should know that if it was not for Creative Commons, BeatPick might not have existed at all! But with enough support, Creative Commons can raise awareness and educate communities on a global scale! If you believe in the cause like we do here at BeatPick.com, then join the fundraising campaign and let’s make a difference together!

To Donate to Creative Commons Click Here

Wanna see who else supports the CC?

Support CC on your Myspace page!

Il Tempo is a daily Italian newspaper that has been publishing since 1948, and has recently decided to update their ‘look’. Not only do over 50,000 Italians read Il tempo everyday but they will soon be watching Il Tempo’s newest advertisements that features a piano solo from BeatPick’s very own artist, Galdson (track “Roots”)! Il Tempo’s advertisement will be shown in underground metro stations throughout Rome, Italy. Not only is this great publicity for Galdson, but our artist also gets paid! Yeah Baby!

For every BeatPick artist, commissioned projects are split 50/50, unlike most record labels and music sites where an artist receives as little as 4.9% i.e. ITunes. Artists deserve more than what the music industry has to offer and this is why BeatPick is here! Support our Independent artists and check out Galdson’s, “Roots” right here at BeatPick.com.

Recently, one of our most popular artists Mole, was selected by Weebeastie, an Ad agency who provides some of the most creative and high quality adverts on TV, just check out their Lexus commercial and you can see why we are so excited! Weebeastie chose our artist for a TV advertisement promoting the Travel Channel. This advertisement will be distributed in the U.S. and Europe on all Travel Channel affiliate programs with Mole’s song “Dive”, as the background. Opportunities like this are an amazing outlet for our

independent artists that struggle for more publicity and recognition of their work. Advertisements for TV like that of the Travel Channel is just one of many commercial projects involving BeatPick. Stick around, maybe your music submission will find its way into every household via television commercials!

Original Marines is a popular family clothing line with franchises all over Italy. Recently, this clothing retailer licensed ten amazing songs from our artists for their in-store advertisement. These songs will air in every store for three months in an in-store advertisement that screens Original Marine’s up and coming autumn and winter collection! Original Marines is located in all major cities in Italy making this a great opportunity for our artists to gain more exposure and a new audience.

Songs involved in this advertisement include “Down the Drain” by Sleeve Channel, “Blumenau” by Napolitano Lounge Connection, “Mojo’s Last Stand” and “Blow Out the Sound” by Heavy Mojo, “Second Time” and “Tonight” by Nell Bryden, “Sourcrout” by Foley, “The Dude” by Carl Moses, “Bubblegum” by Ohn.

You can bet that these songs were carefully picked to reflect the company image and the target audience, thus creating an ambience and energy level that truly makes a difference in the shopping experience. Such attention to a customers’ experience has proven to increase dwell time and customer engagement within a store. If this is what Original Marines is looking for, than I think they bit off more than they could chew because these songs are hotter than the autumn fall collection! So again, Congratulations to our artists involved in this project!

Fair Music is one of the first global initiative for fairness and justice in the music business. This web log discusses news, background and stories about fairness in the music business and lack there of. This site brings an awareness to the fact that artists don’t always receive their fair share of every CD bought and every song downloaded and do not have complete artistic freedom with their work. It is a long standing debate between an audience having the right to listen to the music they want without the strings attached, and the artists having the right to receive proper recognition and compensation for their work without losing their identity in a major label or the royalties they deserve.

Fair Music is supported by many big organizations like European Music Council, World Culture Forum Alliance, International Music Council and UNESCO. These international organizations and NGOs cultural support initiatives fall within the scope of Fair Music’s objective in the field of music. All of which are striving for fairness in the creation, production, distribution, access and enjoyment of cultural expressions! To join their cause, sign Fair Music’s Fair Music Manifesto’s seven initiatives. These initiatives focus on having a code of conduct for the music industry, so that fairness and justice are no longer considered to be exceptions but become the norm!

Recently, Fair Music site named BeatPick as an example of how new business models for music distribution can balance the interests of artists, producers, customers and marketers justly. Here at Beatpick, we offer audiences and artists a trusted label that can offer musical diversity, recognition and compensation. BeatPick proves that a code of conduct in the music industry is profitable!

If you are reading this article and don’t seem to understand why the Fair Music site is a big deal then close your browser, turn off your computer, leave your ipod and walk away because your favorite artists deserve more from you!

The co-operation between our very own Leo Pari and popular Italian comedian Beppe Grillo marches on in the typically incendiary fashion that has counter-marked all the Genovese satire master’s latest actions.

Grillo, some kind of a Poltergeist for the Italian political class, is organizing an initiative called V-day (Vaffanculo Day, ie. “The Fuck off Day”), which will see the participation of thousands of Italian people in the main squares of over 180 cities across the country. The demonstration is aimed straight against the Italian parliament and government, and proposes to sign a series of documents and flyers that protest against an ever more static political regime.

For such an important move in his own campaigns, Grillo needed an official hymn, and unsurprisingly his first choice was Beatpick’s Leo Pari, who had already recorded a track featuring Grillo samples, “Un Grillo per la testa”. The track was used as introduction to the shows in the comedian’s tours across Italy.

Pari’s new Grillo-centered track is just as uncompromising as one would expect, featuring a furious Grillo sample (as well as a tiny sample from Italian trash hero Marco Masini’s 1991 hit “Vaffanculo”) and a hard-hitting video that advances heavy criticism to both sides involved in the Italian political arena.

Check out Leo Pari’s Beatpick profile, here.

To download “Un Grillo per la Testa” for free, click here.

This past week, two of BeatPick’s artists, Henrik Frenzel and Simon Wolfe, were selected for the soundtrack of a nonprofit video created by the Majority Leaders’ Office of Steny Hoyer, in Washington D.C. The Majority Leader is the second-ranking official in the United States House of Representatives. That’s huge, but what is more important to us BeatPickers, is not the politics of this debate but the music surrounding it (yes, politics are important to, but BeatPick does music not politics)!

The video begins with a serious tone, using Henrik Frenzel’s song “See You in Paris,” which is a beautiful slow tempo score from his album Wide Screen Music. The uplifting turn in the video is when Simon Wolfe’s “Power and Glory”, from his album Moving Sound, takes over. The song is a powerful motivational vote for change.

No one can deny that adding music to political statements makes it that much more emotionally stimulating. Who can blame them when most people think of politics they think BORING. Without Henrik Frenzel and Simon Wolfe’s songs, this video would have been just that, less meaningful, boring and impersonal. And not only does an important issue actually receive more attention but so do our much deserving artists.

In no way do the songs of our artists in this video represent their personal opinion. BeatPick and our artists are neither Republican nor Democratic, nor American or European, nor Eastside or Westside! What BeatPick is, what we are, and proud to be, is a FairPlay Music label.

Link to the video and to their website

During the ICommons Summit, the founder of CC, Lawrence Lessig, discussed the endless possibilities of using the cc and how it is economically sound and profits all who use it. He also explained that the future of CC lies in what he called the “crossover” possibility for users, to pass from free services to commercial licensing within the same web site. BeatPick was ecstatic to find that Lessig’s example for such a new typology of web sites, was yours’ truly BeatPick.com! Creative Commons is the basis of how BeatPick works; giving independent artists greater opportunities to break into the money crazed music industry. Without Lessig’s ideas and revisions of the Internet, society and copyright laws, BeatPick wouldn’t be here today.

[”It is no accident that those who understand this are those closest to technology. Our challenge will be to find ways to explain it so other creators get it as well. “Lawrence Lessig.
http://lessig.org/blog/creative_commons.]

As always, our hats off to the creators and innovators of what we believe to be the best thing to happen for all struggling artists in every field. To see BeatPicks placement within the ICommons Summit, click and watch the video below. Our site shows up on the big screen about fifteen minutes into Lessig’s presentation.

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This past June 21^st 2007, for the first time ever, the European Festival of Music (a free live music celebration held every summer in European cities), was held in Second Life! What is Second Life you ask? Well, let me tell you-it is the strangest, most fascinating and coolest freaking thing on the net. It is a 3-D virtual world entirely constructed and owned by its 8,006,758 users from around the globe. What makes it even cooler to us Beatpickers is that two of our Italian artists, Piergiorgio Lucidi and Leo Pari, performed at this virtual event in 3d characters! It gets even cooler, because not only did two of our artists join this event but so did one of our very own BeatPick colleagues, Teodoro Pizzolante and his band Madreperla!

Second Life has incorporated all aspects of real life on the Internet, so it comes to no surprise that this virtual world has opened it doors to the music industry, because for us, what is life without music? Independent artists now have another outlet for reaching a global fan base with little expense or effort!

[”Second Life is the future right now, offering endless possibilities for artists” - Nick Rhodes, Duran Duran]

What will come next for Second Life and Beatpick…maybe a BeatPick office in this virtual world? Who knows, but for now, stay tuned and rock out to our artists video performance on second life!!

Recently, Heavy Mojo, a band we are particularly proud of here at beatpick.com, notified us that they had been signed with SRC/Universal Motown, a major record label! As sad as we are to see them leave, we are ecstatic for them!

When it comes to Indie artists, us BeatPickers do all we can to commission an artist’s creation. Not only do we make our artists some extra cash but we promote their music professionally at no cost or loss of creative rights. Artists finally have a fair outlet into the the music industry, film and tv. As for Heavy Mojo, a band of this a high caliber super ceded the services that any Indie Label like BeatPick could offer.

With a killer live show that could rival any hardcore band, Heavy Mojo continues to revolutionize and revitalize hip hop, so its no wonder that they have been signed by such a major label! SRC Records is a joint venture between Rifkind and Universal Motown Records, a division Universal Music Group, and the world’s leading music company with wholly owned record operations and licensees in 77 countries. They have worked with artists such as David Banner, Terror Squad, Akon and Young Jeezy.

They are currently recording their first major label release and we can’t wait to hear it! If you are interested in licensing some of Heavy Mojo’s songs before they’re gone, then do it by July 25^th, when Beatpick must say goodbye to its artist and wish them a happy and successful career with SRC/Universal!