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Jazz Podcasts


chris

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Since podcasting seems to be the new black, has anyone heard any good jazz podcasts? I have come across some interesting things to listen to when it comes to pop/rock, film reviews, and personal essays/nonfiction, but it seems like Jazz would be a natural for this kind of thing. I've thought about doing one of my own, but the idea of my take on jazz would probably be worse for listeners than hearing my poetry :)

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Chris,

I think jazz podcasting will really start to take off soon. I'm looking into it myself right now... even if satellite becomes a huge force in broadcasting, I doubt that it will ever provide more than it does in the way of jazz right now (4-5 channels that are decent but very broad--"Big Band," "American Popular Song," "Classic," "Contemporary," etc.). There's a great deal of opportunity for niche programming when it comes to jazz.

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I've started playing around with this, but a) I haven't found a setup that's really convenient to use (being the computer dunce that I am) and b) I realized there's a reason I'm not a professional disc jockey.... I sound like an idiot on the "radio".

If anybody has good links to easy ways to set these up, though, I'm interested.

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It's kind of blogging with audio (the term podcast is aperhaps unfortunate holdover from the fact that iPod folks kind of started the whole thing), or user-radio shows on the web. More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

http://www.ipodder.org/whatIsPodcasting

The cool thing is that a lot of readers/aggregators are being developed that make it easy to automatically grab the latest shows and put them on your computer, iPod, or other MP3 playback device.

Jazz seems like SUCH a natural fit that I imagine it could become a big niche....

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I'd like to see that problem somewhat solve itself by doing podcasts that were actually shows with information rather than hi-fi streaming of recordings. Then the music just needs to be of enough fidelity to work for the show, not enough to burn CDs and enjoy :)

A few of the podcasts have gotten ASCAP license deals (or whatever it takes to be legal-- I just read a blurb about it regarding the "Coverville" podcast, which I really enjoy), but I'm curious how the fees are calculated...

OF course if more people were trader friendly with live shows and more music were released under the Creative Commons and Magnatunes and whathave you, then maybe there'd be plenty enough to talk about without needing the big boys permission...

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I think for a "regular" radio station streaming on the web if you go outside of the statutory regulations for streaming on the web the pricing is something like thirty cents a play per 100 listeners -- far higher than any standard broadcast royalty.

So, we're limited by the statutory license to only play four selections by the same artist in a three hour period. If we were to play 5, that fifth play would be the one charged. This is tabulated by Sound Scan which stations report to.

To get on the web, maintain our statutory license and not pay huge sums of money while still providing classic jazz programming (these rules were not made for 78 rpm length recordings) we've written record companies (copyright holders) asking for permission to operate outside of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (yes, it isn't RIAA, it is Congress) as regards 'this material at this time' streaming on the web. Some of that is micro-managed, and some labels gave us blanket waivers.

As for Pod-casts who knows, but that is a ball park on costs as they've been related to me by record companies.

Edited by Lazaro Vega
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http://jimdye.com/mfvv/2005/05/inaugural-podcast.html

My first podcast.

Not much in the way of commentary, but I wanted to try this out to see what y'all thought about the sound quality, file size, length, etc... The mic I am using is a crappy computer microphone, so sorry about the popping.

I have some old scripts a friend and I wrote when I was doing jazz radio about 12 years ago. I thought I could put them to good use and create some interesting content.

I hope you can put some together, Ghost!

podcast.gif

edit: fixed the link!

Edited by Jim Dye
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I think for a "regular" radio station streaming on the web if you go outside of the statutory regulations for streaming on the web the pricing is something like thirty cents a play per 100 listeners -- far higher than any standard broadcast royalty.

So, we're limited by the statutory license to only play four selections by the same artist in a three hour period. If we were to play 5, that fifth play would be the one charged. This is tabulated by Sound Scan which stations report to.

To get on the web, maintain our statutory license and not pay huge sums of money while still providing classic jazz programming (these rules were not made for 78 rpm length recordings) we've written record companies (copyright holders) asking for permission to operate outside of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (yes, it isn't RIAA, it is Congress) as regards 'this material at this time' streaming on the web. Some of that is micro-managed, and some labels gave us blanket waivers.

As for Pod-casts who knows, but that is a ball park on costs as they've been related to me by record companies.

I was at a conference where the founder of Naxos, Klaus Heymann, spoke of this matter. Part of their deal is that they own the rights to the recordings out right. A rare arrangement, but it seems like they are one of the few making a go of it in the mainstream classical CD market.

During a discussion of the pain of maintaining proper broadcast playlists for the RIAA, and the ridiculous rules around it, Klaus pipes up and says "I will waive the rights for this right now. The whole catalog." The one he was referring to was the rule of not being able to play more that three cuts from any one album or artist within a set period of time. Foolish laws, IMO.

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  • 2 months later...

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2005-0...ting-usat_x.htm

Storm clouds gather over podcasting

By Michelle Kessler, USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — At Seattle public radio station KEXP, there's a simple procedure for evaluating new technology. "We just go ahead and do stuff," says John Richards, the station's morning disc jockey.

Nic Harcourt would like to podcast his 'Morning Becomes Eclectic' show, but licensing problems stand in the way.By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

That's how the quirky station created one of the first music podcasts — without support from major record companies.

A podcast is a digital recording of a radio-style audio program that can be downloaded from the Internet and played on a digital music player. Many podcasters think the technology could revolutionize radio as TiVo did television.

But record labels worry that listeners will pirate the songs contained in the downloaded radio shows. The result: yet another Napster-like standoff over piracy and music rights.

Podcasting is a great way for KEXP to reach thousands of new listeners, especially those outside of Seattle, Richards says. But the station can't podcast programs such as John in the Morning —Richards' variety mix of independent and mainstream music — because record companies haven't provided an easy, affordable way for podcasters to license songs. That's why most podcasts today are talk radio.

So KEXP last month invited 14 unsigned or small-label bands from the Seattle area to contribute songs to a podcast. Richards asked a lawyer — a listener who volunteers at the station — to draw up a simple contract for the bands. KEXP did not release numbers but said the podcast was a hit. KEXP is now podcasting some live performances to which it owns the rights.

KEXP decided that "we couldn't sit around and wait and wait for a major (label) to sign off on this," Richards says.

Pause, rewind

Since podcasts are recordings, they can be played at any time. Listeners can pause, fast-forward or rewind them. And since podcasts are posted online, listeners can download programs from radio stations and independent broadcasters from all over the world.

The podcasts can also be hacked and pirated. An enterprising listener could pull songs out of a podcast and turn them into music files or CDs.

That's why many record companies say the technology is promising but problematic. For example, OK Go and several other emerging bands with EMI have their own podcasts. But EMI is not ready to approve a blanket podcasting license. "Podcasting is potentially very exciting," says Executive Vice President Adam Klein. But the company needs contracts "that are responsible to everybody," he says.

Ruth Seymour, general manager at influential Los Angeles public radio station KCRW, worries that those contracts will take years to be worked out. That would keep podcasting from reaching its potential, she says.

Several of KCRW's programs — notably a well-regarded new-music show called Morning Becomes Eclectic— would be perfect for podcasting, Seymour says. Many already have fans worldwide thanks to an early form of digital radio called streaming media.

Streaming media is different from podcasting because it's not a recording, which makes it harder to pirate. A stream is essentially a broadcast that travels over the Internet instead of the airwaves.

Record and radio companies have struck a blanket licensing agreement for streaming based on traditional radio licenses. No such agreement exists for podcasting. So if Seymour wanted to podcast Morning Becomes Eclectic, she would have to sign individual contracts with each record company.

"That's an impossible process," says digital music analyst Phil Leigh at Inside Digital Media.

For now, KCRW is podcasting only talk programs, live performances and independent bands. "I really want to podcast (major label) music!" Seymour says. "It's where the future is ... (but) I don't want a cease-and-desist order."

Protecting artists

Record companies say they're just trying to look out for their artists. Podcasting could exacerbate the piracy problem created by file-swapping sites such as Grokster and Kazaa. When listeners download a podcast, they "are getting a copy of an entire program ... an unprotected copy that they can do whatever they want with," says Steve Marks, a lawyer at the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group.

This difference between streaming and podcasting also has licensing implications, Marks says. Streaming is generally licensed collectively, while podcasting, because it is a download, is licensed by individual copyright owners.

If the radio and recording industries do agree on a contract, it's unclear what it would look like — or cost. Most podcasts today are free, but that would change once podcasters have to start paying for broadcast rights, says Inside Digital Media's Leigh.

Still, Leigh and others say a solution will eventually be found. Podcasting technology is too exciting to ignore, says Tom Poleman, senior vice president of programming for Z100, a top-40 station in New York.

Z100 podcasts some talk portions of its morning show, and Poleman says he'd love to offer fans more.

"A lot of people in radio may have the initial reaction to fear technology," Poleman says. "I think it's an exciting time, an opportunity for us to reinvent ourselves."

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  • 8 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

During a discussion of the pain of maintaining proper broadcast playlists for the RIAA, and the ridiculous rules around it, Klaus pipes up and says "I will waive the rights for this right now. The whole catalog." The one he was referring to was the rule of not being able to play more that three cuts from any one album or artist within a set period of time. Foolish laws, IMO.

I agree. It seems as if everyone is afraid someone else is going to benefit without them being involved. Never mind the fact that there are people who seriously want to hear and document the music, it's the fear of someone missing out on a buck that drives these often times ridiculous rules and laws.

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  • 2 weeks later...

1. DD Jackson's podcast is pretty ok. A bit self-indulgent and promotional but better than a lot of the poseur crap out there.

2. Just last night, while browsing the JazzCorner, I found a link to Robin Eubanks' amazing new site which includes links to the audio of his podcasts - a new feature of the site. There are a total of eight so far. They're actually available on iTunes - just go to Podcast Directory and do a search for Robin Eubanks and it will come up. Anyways, the content on Robin's podcast is really good - stories from the road and such - and some music...not much though.

3. Also, another one I came upon is the Gotta Say - Live Jazz podcast by PhillyC (produced out of Rochester). It's pretty darn good.

For iPod/iTunes users, you can automatically get updates to any podcast by simply clicking on the "Subscribe" button in iTunes. iTunes will save your subscription and download the latest one automatically whenever its been put up online. When you've finished listening to them you can either keep 'em or throw them out. I recommend throwing them out if you're low on hard drive space like me because many are long and thus are large files. Some of the NPR music podcasts last over an hour. But those are not exclusively jazz - mostly trendy hipster stuff that I need to listen to as a college radio music director, just to make sure I'm ahead of the hipster curve. Fuckin Bob Boilen. Douchebag.

Will repost when others come to mind.

My Podcast wish list:

Tzadik Records Podcast

Herbie Hancock Podcast

Larry David Podcast

Albert Mangelsdorff Podcast

Karl Rove podcast

an official Blue Note Podcast

Sunnyside Records podcast

Idris Muhammad podcast

....add your two cents....

Edited by cannonball-addict
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  • 7 months later...
  • 14 years later...

I was going to ask this question but I see there's already a thread. In the almost 1 1/2 decades since this thread had life in it, have any of you identified any good new jazz podcasts? 

I quite enjoy Jazz United, which is a show hosted by Greg Bryant and Nate Chinen. Chinen is a known quantity, of course, but Bryant has a different perspective as someone who grew up in (in think) the early 80s in a community with active jazz fans, and has some different influences.

Any others that people enjoy?

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