Mashup culture: the Bootie Nightclub Phenomenon

photo by Leo Herrera

Adrian & Mysterious D, a pair of San Francisco DJ’s, started a monthly “mashup” night at a small club in 2003. Then they moved to the DNA lounge, the current home of Bootie SF. Guest DJs spin their own mashups and live music performances are common. This is all out in the open. Only one mashup track from last year’s “best of” compilation was subject to a complaint from a label, so far. 

Bootie is now a small international empire, serving a market that obviously isn’t being served by the music industry. Key to avoiding legal trouble is the way they profit: from people paying the $12 cover charge, minus the cut the venue takes ($15 for special events such as the upcoming seven year anniversary party)

No royalties, no products for sale, just ongoing live events where people are paid to spin or perform. 

Check out the reviews on Yelp:

The house band, Smash Up Derby, is FANTASTIC. (in 29 reviews)

In the end, I had a fabulous time drinking and dancing to mash-ups. (in 33 reviews)

The mashups are amazing, and I love the eclectic crowds. (in 38 reviews) 

To sell a mashup you would need to negotiate with all rights holders for everything, because there is no compulsory license for such use. Up-front fees for one mashup could run from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands of dollars, just for the privilege of selling it on iTunes. Per-item fees could be greater than total sale price. Only the labels can really sell mashups, which seems to finally be a big deal with the upcoming Gaga remixed album.

That said, most of the mashups premiered at Bootie events are available for free download at their blog.

Other resources:

• Bootie on Twitter
• Bootie on Facebook

Disclosure: I’ve met A+D, I’m a fan/friend of theirs, so much so I wanted them to join me and attend Larry Lessig’s “Remix” book gala, but they couldn’t. He wasn’t familiar with A+D at the time.

How to Publish Your Music (wikiHow)

I’m evaluating wikiHow, and considering contributing music-related content. It’s very easy to cross-publish content from there, as I’ve done with “How to Publish Your Music” below. I disagree with much of the content in this article, which is remarkable considering its brevity.

via wikiHow.com

How to Publish Your Music

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Have you made some good music and want to get it published? This article will show you the way to publish your music!

Steps

1. Get a sheet of the music piece. It can be written, or printed out from computer, but the main point is that you have it when you contact a publisher. This will make things easier on them, and overall make them want to publish you quicker.
2. Find publishers in your area. ‘Google’ it. Realize there might not be one within 20 miles of where you live (publishers are located mainly in larger cities). When searching for a publisher, make sure the publisher publishes the genre (type of music) that you have composed. Many specialize in specific fields, such as Rock, Classical, etc…
3. Once they hear or see the music, (assuming they continue with you) they might tell you to edit some parts in the sheet music to fix blurps, mistakes, etc… This is great! you’re about 74% there! Clean up the mistakes, and take it back. Now they’ll be almost ready to publish it.
4. Here’s where the paperwork comes in. If you want to go into Rock/Pop/Rap/etc…, an agent would be a plus to acquire, as they will help with company relations and other miscellaneous tasks. Whenever you sign contracts, take your time and read through everything! It might seem boring, but you want your share of the pay to be more than a few measly dollars, right? Well, make sure that before it’s published, that the company gets it formally copyrighted. Most companies do this for you, but just in case they don’t, you’ll most likely have to file paperwork with the state. This way, nothing is stolen.
5. Get your music known (if you are willing to provide a song or a 30 second demo for free download) at Moture, a musicians portal.

Tips

• Stay calm… as in all processes, publishing takes time.
• Try to find an experienced publisher, as inexperienced publishers may not understand the process of publishing, not have as good as reputation and could lose or change your work while publishing.
• For sheet music, alternatively (or at least until you’ve found a satisfactory publisher) you could opt for ‘DIY publishing’. Websites like lulu.com and myscorestore.com enable you to offer content worldwide; although the first seems focused on print on demand for both books and scores, the latter on music only.
• When talking to a publisher, there are only two options…either they continue helping you, or they throw you out the door. If they ask to hear your music, you’re already 45% there. This means they are willing to take the time to see what you’ve got. If they ask you to come show them the sheet music, or a recording, you’re halfway there.

Warnings

• Don’t be overbearing on royalties. Especially if it’s your first time.
• This is a generalized guide! Mainly focusing on minor publications such as classical music and small town music.

Things You’ll Need

• A song
• Persistence
• Patience

Related wikiHows

• How to Compose Music Part 1
• How to Learn to Write Songs
• How to Switch from Singing Classical Music to Pop
• How to Produce and Write Dance Music
• How to Copyright a Song
• How to File Sheet Music
• How to Get Through a Piano Recital Calmly

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Publish Your Music. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.