John Agnello
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It's rare to meet someone like John Agnello: a veteran of the music business who still really, really loves what he does. The producer and engineer, who's worked on albums by Sonic Youth, Jimmy Eat World and Patti Smith--to name just a few--got his start at New York City's legendary Record Plant. As a college student and assistant, he juggled babysitting out-of-control bands like Aerosmith with learning the ropes of recording. Twenty-five years later, Agnello has made his own major mark on rock'n'roll, and took time out of his endlessly-busy schedule to talk with Sound Bites Dog. Read here.
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SBD's Recent Clients
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Hans' Recent Playlist
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1. TV on the Radio "Dear Science"
2. Kanye West "808s & Heartbreak"
3. Tank "Filth Hounds of Hell"
4. Oasis "Dig Out Your Soul"
5. Seurge Gainsbourg "Comic Strip"
6. Sigur Ros "Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"
7. Michael Franti & Spearheads "All Rebel Rockers"
8. MGMT "Oracular Spectacular"
9. Ken Andrews "Secret of the Lost Satellite"
10. The Gutter Twins "Saturnalia"
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Musician's Resources
(Useful Links)
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 Greetings.
Despite the hell that's been breaking loose (jobs, housing, 401ks, fires, locusts), I sincerely hope this message finds you well and that you had a good thanksgiving. As the EELS song "P.S. You Rock My World" goes, "the careful man tries to dodge the bullets, while a happy man takes a walk." Here's to making some great music regardless of the circumstances.
If you read nothing else in this newsletter, please check out John Agnello's interview. He's worked on some of my favorite albums, it's a great interview and he's a cool guy too.
A quick "shout out" to Advanced Musical Electronics
in W. Los Angeles for fixing my Manley Variable Mu within 24 hours.
These guys have expertly saved my deadlines (ass) on more than one occasion.
Thank you.
A couple of updates: In the past I have expressed interest in starting an internet music show. I'm still considering it but have put off the idea until the whole music royalties-thing has been sorted out. Last I heard, Pandora was thinking of packing it in unless Congress steps in. Presently, internet radio stations pay more in performance royalites than satellite radio even though they contain the same songs and stations. Incidentally, terrestrial radio pays none. If you suspect that big business has something to do with this, you're a paranoid maniac.
I'm also still planning on building a clone of the coveted Sontec 430 mastering eq... but so far, I've been a bit strapped for time this year. A good problem to have.
Client News: Signal Hill Transmission's song "On and Off" was featured on Sept 17th's "90210". Congrats to them... it's a killer tune and I had a lot of fun working with them.
Music News: Universal Music Group, the largest record label in the world, has reported a 5% increase in revenue for the first half of 2008 compared to last year. I wonder what the last half's going to look like...
Good Links: I had originally posted a link here to a re-subtitled goof on a scene from the movie Downfall. It was basically Adolf Hitler ranting in his bunker about Pro Tools, Steinberg and Auto Tune. It was actually funny if you happened to catch it before somebody (probably from one of the companies I just mentioned) had it yanked. Sorry.
And here's an article detailing the "loudness wars" and Metallica's "Death Magnetic." It's also a wonderful example of the "black art" known as "passing the buck" (hey, we've all done it).
R.I.P. Norman Whitfield. Earl Palmer. Richard M. Sudhalter. Nick Reynolds. Neil Hefti. Levi Stubbs. Dave McKenna. Merl Saunders. Jheryl Busby. Mae Mercer Mitch Mitchell. Miriam Makeba. MC Breed.
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Playing For Change
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 If you have any time at all in the middle of your busy work day and feel the need to "recharge the batteries", swing by and check out this Bill Moyers' interview with Mark Johnson. He's the producer of an upcoming documentary about the transcending power of music entitled "Playing For Change; Peace Through Music".
10 years in the making and featuring 100 musicians, it's an inspiring collection of performances and recordings spanning the globe. The songs are both old and new, and while I could easily spend the rest of my life never hearing "One Love" again (thanks to commercials, but I do love Bob Marley), the mixture of performers, styles, instruments and recording process is very cool. Most notably, the crew uses lap tops and cheap microphones from street corner to club, Tibet to Zimbabwe, and assembles the varied performances into one mix. It's as if a steel guitar player in New Orleans is playing "Stand By Me" right along with singers in South African. It sounds great... the engineers did an excellent job... check it out.
For more info on this documentary or the Playing For Change Foundation, please visit: www.playingforchange.com
Hans Dekline
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Q & A: As an indie artist, how do I clear a music sample?
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 If you use even the tiniest piece of someone else's recorded song and plan to release it, you must receive clearance from both the owner of the recording (usually the record label) and the owner of the song (writer or publisher). This goes for any sample that is remotely identifiable (ie pitched, time shifted, moderately effected) and, strictly speaking, even ones that are mangled beyond recognition. If the record label tells you "no", you can re-create the sample (play and record it from scratch) but you still have to receive permission from the writer. If the writer tells you "no", legally speaking, you're dead in the water.
So, to answer the question, if you want to hire somebody to handle it for you, check out copyright clearance companies like Diamond Time or Clear Your Sample. These companies usually charge around $500 or $600 per sample, and that's just for the service, not the license. Sometimes these cats can cut you a better deal than if you do it yourself.
If, however, you're an ardent DIYer, your first step is to find out who the owners are which can be done by checking out the CD liner notes or searching Wikipedia. Once you've got the names, look them up online or in a music directory and start making phone calls to find out the exact departments and people you need to contact. Keep in mind that if there are multiple writers and publishing companies listed, you will need to contact and receive permission from all of them. If there are 5 writers and just one of them says "no", again, you're SOL.
Labels and publishers will give you specific submission guidelines but a good boilerplate can be found on EMI's website. Generally, you will want to provide them a CD containing your track and the track you have sampled. Make sure that the CD is clearly marked with your name and address and that you provide detailed information regarding the exact time and frequency with which the sample occurs in your song. Also include your lyrics, record label, distributor, release date, number of copies you intend to press and other intended uses (like film or advertising).
All of these factors, including how successful the sampled artist is, how big the sampled artist's label is, how big your label is, how much of the original you're using, how you're using it and if you've already been distributing it will go into whether you receive approval and how much of an upfront fee and percentage of sales you will be required to pay. Also budget 5 to 6 weeks from the time you submit your request until you hear the final word back.
Clearing dialogue samples from movies is a more complicated and less likely scenario... so I won't go into that here.
Hope this helps and if anybody has anything to add or amend, please let me know.
Good luck,
Hans DeKline
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