PlayList 8
As I think most musicians and music producers are aware, but perhaps most consumers are not, since the advent of first iTunes, and then Spotify and the like, the folks who actually write, perform, and record the music don’t make enough money from sales through these kinds of platforms to make a living. Forget, make a living, one cannot make enough to even cover the expense of making the record. Mixing boards, computer hardware and software, cables, outboard effects, instruments, monitors, microphones... mixing, and then mastering, paying other musicians, arrangers, and technical staff, like engineers… All that costs substantial amounts of money, and that does not take into account the years of practice, education, and experience, the hours and hours of writing, composing, recording, editing, mixing... And at the end of all that effort and expense, the independent artist will end up making literally something between $0.0033 - $0.0054 per streaming download. Which means the independent artist can expect to make between $3 and $5 per 1,000 streams on, say, Spotify... Contrast this with the $10 profit per CD (or roughly a dollar a song) to the independent artist, back in the day, if you ran your own label…
All that to say, that is not a system in which I desire to participate. Would you engage in a business of any sort where you spend thousands of dollars to produce your product, only then to turn around and allow some third party who neither physically distributes your product, nor promotes it to make so much of the profit that you the producer literally make a very small fraction of a single penny?
As Taylor Swift pointed out, Spotify’s business is not disseminating music, Spotify’s real business is data collection. They collect users’ information and then sell it to advertisers, or whoever will pay them for it.
That is not a system I want any part of…
And, so, we creators of music have a major problem: How do we get paid a fair wage for what we do? There is no system today that allows for that to happen. Radio play used to provide income to creators through performing rights organizations, like ASCAP and BMI... But, radio play, other than for legacy artists and the corporate product of what we used to call record labels, doesn’t really exist. As far as I am aware, BMI and ASCAP made the decision early on, not to survey and collect monies for music that is broadcast on the internet…
And so, all of that to say, I am returning to the Original Ways. If you would like to purchase a CD of PlayList 8 ($10 delivered in the continental U.S.), or the double-vinyl album, Manley ($25 delivered in the continental U.S.), please reach out through this website (here) and you can order directly and make payment through Zelle, or with a money order or cashiers’ cheque. If your delivery address is outside of the continental U. S., please use the form and we can correspond to arrive at a fair price.
I hope more music creators will follow suit, so independent artists can take back their power. After all, without software content-- which music and video most certainly are, hardware is nothing more than a paperweight. The wrong folks wrestled away our distribution as the internet came in. Would you pay the turntable manufacturer every time you wanted to hear a song you like, knowing that the folks who made that music for you received essentially nothing for their hard work? Shouldn’t the lion’s share of the monies paid for music go to the creators of that music?
That is the system I want to be part of, the kind of world I want to live in.
If you’ve read this far, thank you.
M
All that to say, that is not a system in which I desire to participate. Would you engage in a business of any sort where you spend thousands of dollars to produce your product, only then to turn around and allow some third party who neither physically distributes your product, nor promotes it to make so much of the profit that you the producer literally make a very small fraction of a single penny?
As Taylor Swift pointed out, Spotify’s business is not disseminating music, Spotify’s real business is data collection. They collect users’ information and then sell it to advertisers, or whoever will pay them for it.
That is not a system I want any part of…
And, so, we creators of music have a major problem: How do we get paid a fair wage for what we do? There is no system today that allows for that to happen. Radio play used to provide income to creators through performing rights organizations, like ASCAP and BMI... But, radio play, other than for legacy artists and the corporate product of what we used to call record labels, doesn’t really exist. As far as I am aware, BMI and ASCAP made the decision early on, not to survey and collect monies for music that is broadcast on the internet…
And so, all of that to say, I am returning to the Original Ways. If you would like to purchase a CD of PlayList 8 ($10 delivered in the continental U.S.), or the double-vinyl album, Manley ($25 delivered in the continental U.S.), please reach out through this website (here) and you can order directly and make payment through Zelle, or with a money order or cashiers’ cheque. If your delivery address is outside of the continental U. S., please use the form and we can correspond to arrive at a fair price.
I hope more music creators will follow suit, so independent artists can take back their power. After all, without software content-- which music and video most certainly are, hardware is nothing more than a paperweight. The wrong folks wrestled away our distribution as the internet came in. Would you pay the turntable manufacturer every time you wanted to hear a song you like, knowing that the folks who made that music for you received essentially nothing for their hard work? Shouldn’t the lion’s share of the monies paid for music go to the creators of that music?
That is the system I want to be part of, the kind of world I want to live in.
If you’ve read this far, thank you.
M
There's this theory that music, unheard, surrounds us always, and that the musician is somehow able to make these melodies, harmonies, and rhythms audible at any given moment. What you have here is some of the music I have somehow been able to make audible with a bass or two (in the case of the Wal doubleneck) in my hands.
To me, the bass is a relationship instrument, as at home in a supporting role, as it is commanding the spotlight. Enhancing a song, setting a context for the words in a song, strengthening or underscoring the voice (instrument or human) holding forth in the moment-- that is, to me, as much a part of playing bass as taking a featured solo...
Manley
August 2023
________________________
ARTIST BIO
Manley is an American songwriter and musician, novelist and film maker. A nickname, The Wall Of Thunder, underscores the role of the bass in his live performances. Manley is known for fronting the bands: The Balance, Cut To The Chase, Blood, Valve, Manley's Subculture, and The Thunder Group.
_______________________
TRACK LIST
01 Until They Come 4 Me (Manley)
Manley -- Bass and vocals
02 Smile (Manley)
Manley -- Bass
03 Rain Forest (Manley
Manley—All sounds via Wal doubleneck bass
04 Celina (Carl Coan)
Carl Coan — saxophone
Manley -- Bass
05 Max (Manley and Layden Robinson)
Manley -- Bass
Layden Robinson — electric and acoustic guitars
06 Bass Mechanic [Live] (Manley)
Manley -- Bass
Glen “Bono” Saunders — drums
Mike Stumpf -- “Mr. Sound Man”
07 Sam’s Song (Manley)
Manley -- Bass, Guitar, and vocals
08 Cinders (Manley)
Manley – Fretless and Fretted Basses and vocals
09 Guru U. (Manley)
Manley -- Basses
James Knowles -- drums
10 Ruff (Manley)
Manley -- All Instruments and vocal
11 Abra (Manley and Michael Lummio)
Manley -- Fretless and Fretless Basses
Michael Lummio – Guitar and Guitar Synth
12 Today’s Heart (Manley)
Manley – Bass, Guitar, and vocals
13 Murderous Strumpets (Manley, Erik Rogan, Tom Coffeen)
Manley – Bass
Erik Rogan -- Drums
Tom Coffeen -- Guitar
14 Intro To Homicide [Live] (Manley)
Manley – Bass
Scott Collins – Drums
Michael Lummio – Guitar (and spoken intro)
15 The Chase (Manley)
Manley – All Instruments
16 Post Gig-Coitus [Live]. (Manley, Diego Pinera, Garylee Johnson)
Manley – Bass
Diego Pinera – Drums
Garylee Johnson -- Guitar
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Other albums by this artist:
Manley MANLEY (2018)
Manley TURN OF THE CENTURY (2019)
To me, the bass is a relationship instrument, as at home in a supporting role, as it is commanding the spotlight. Enhancing a song, setting a context for the words in a song, strengthening or underscoring the voice (instrument or human) holding forth in the moment-- that is, to me, as much a part of playing bass as taking a featured solo...
Manley
August 2023
________________________
ARTIST BIO
Manley is an American songwriter and musician, novelist and film maker. A nickname, The Wall Of Thunder, underscores the role of the bass in his live performances. Manley is known for fronting the bands: The Balance, Cut To The Chase, Blood, Valve, Manley's Subculture, and The Thunder Group.
_______________________
TRACK LIST
01 Until They Come 4 Me (Manley)
Manley -- Bass and vocals
02 Smile (Manley)
Manley -- Bass
03 Rain Forest (Manley
Manley—All sounds via Wal doubleneck bass
04 Celina (Carl Coan)
Carl Coan — saxophone
Manley -- Bass
05 Max (Manley and Layden Robinson)
Manley -- Bass
Layden Robinson — electric and acoustic guitars
06 Bass Mechanic [Live] (Manley)
Manley -- Bass
Glen “Bono” Saunders — drums
Mike Stumpf -- “Mr. Sound Man”
07 Sam’s Song (Manley)
Manley -- Bass, Guitar, and vocals
08 Cinders (Manley)
Manley – Fretless and Fretted Basses and vocals
09 Guru U. (Manley)
Manley -- Basses
James Knowles -- drums
10 Ruff (Manley)
Manley -- All Instruments and vocal
11 Abra (Manley and Michael Lummio)
Manley -- Fretless and Fretless Basses
Michael Lummio – Guitar and Guitar Synth
12 Today’s Heart (Manley)
Manley – Bass, Guitar, and vocals
13 Murderous Strumpets (Manley, Erik Rogan, Tom Coffeen)
Manley – Bass
Erik Rogan -- Drums
Tom Coffeen -- Guitar
14 Intro To Homicide [Live] (Manley)
Manley – Bass
Scott Collins – Drums
Michael Lummio – Guitar (and spoken intro)
15 The Chase (Manley)
Manley – All Instruments
16 Post Gig-Coitus [Live]. (Manley, Diego Pinera, Garylee Johnson)
Manley – Bass
Diego Pinera – Drums
Garylee Johnson -- Guitar
=====================
Other albums by this artist:
Manley MANLEY (2018)
Manley TURN OF THE CENTURY (2019)