JediDefender.com Forums
Community => Other Toy Lines => Topic started by: Angry Ewok on July 27, 2003, 08:34 PM
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I've heard some rumors that McFarlane is making the band and Jimi.... Does anybody know anything at all about this? Pictures?
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Hendrix in October, Zep in November. 8)
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Heard the same. I'm curious to see how they do Zep, especially Jonesy, since he was one of my main influences in learning to play bass.
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I've been looking for pics, but no luck. Just show the damn things already, Todd.
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There are no pictures posted thus far that I can see.
Spawn.com Toy Catalog (http://www.spawn.com/toyfest/catalog/menu.catalog.html)
Jimi Hendrix & Led Zeppelin are listed.
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Wow, this is great News.
can't wait to see it.
and whatever they do, i'm sure will be great. they always managed with all else.
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I probably won't pick these up but I do think it is sorta cool Todd makes these figures.
Guns n' Roses figures anyone?
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No Guns N Roses for me, but an Axel would probably turn out pretty awesome... :-\
As far as Jimi and Zeppelin goes... I'm dying to know what outfits and poses they're coming in.
I'm hoping Jimi is in the white attire (Woodstock) and has the arm raised pointing to the sky pose (if you're a fan you should know what I mean), but if you don't know...
(http://www.geocities.com/~music-festival/jimi.jpg)
Page and Plant would look awesome accoustic style, playing Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp or something... Whatever they do with them two I'll be happy.
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McFarlane gave me exactly what I wanted with Jimi Hendrix...
Led Zeppelin photos may be avaliable today, too!
(http://spawn.com/toyfest/catalog/music/hendrix/hendrix/images/hendrix_hendrix_photo_03_dp.jpg)
So sweet!
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Awwwwwesome. Makes me want to watch the Woodstock flick again.
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It will be mine. :o
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Jimi looks cool! Too bad they didn't finish his paintjob. That's the reason for the shodowy lighting.
Now I'm REALLY curious to see how Led Zeppelin comes out. Just having Bonzo and Jonesy is gonna be awesome. I don't care as much about Page and Plant.
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So, will the Bonzo figure come with a drum kit or a red snapper as an accessory? ;D
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But, uh, nobody laughed at my joke. ;)
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But, uh, nobody laughed at my joke. ;)
I always thought it was a shark.
Edit: Yep, it was a red snapper, but it wasn't Bonzo, it was Zep's road manager
Edit #2: I removed the direct link due to graphic content that isn't suitable for young 'ens. Just go here (http://www.snopes.com/snopes.asp) and do a search for Led Zeppelin and the story will come up
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It gets detailed in the book "Stairway To Heaven', by their road manager, Richard Cole.
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This incident was filmed by Mark Stein (of Vanilla Fudge) and no I don't know where the footage is, or even if the footage has survived through time. ;D
Robert
NOOMIVARR SECTOR
BLACK S.U.N.
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McFarlane website has posted pics and info regarding Hendrix fig (http://www.mcfarlane.com/news/news6.aspx?id=12233)
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Wow, wouldja lookit that. Now the choice: delxue set, or basic?
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Whoa! Gotta get that! I wonder if they might make basic versions of Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding to add on, hehehehe!
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With this being Woodstock Jimi, I doubt they will make Redding and Mitchell - simply because there were (I think) 3 other guys on stage with instruments, too (the first Band of Gypsy's, and boy did they suck)...
The second Band of Gypsy's rocks though, download Hendrix/Gypsy's song 'Changes' if you don't know what I'm talking about. :-*
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Yeah, I think you're right. I'm pretty sure Mitch Mitchell played with Jimi at Woodstock, but I think Noel Redding had left the band by then. I think Billy Cox played bass with Jimi at Woodstock. Still it would be sweet to have the entire Experience band as a set.
I'm also wondering when we're going to see the Led Zeppelin figures. I hope they do the whole band, and don't just do Page and Plant. That would just suck.
I've got most of Hendrix's catalog. But don't be advocating downloading, Brad. It is stealing after all. And as a musician, I'm acutely aware of just how much money downloading costs artists who are just scraping by.
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Jimi is dead - it doesn't cost him a thing.
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He may be, but there are lots of other musicians who aren't. Sorry, I take the downloading thing very personally.
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Actually, it's costing whoever owns the rights to the songs. Unless ownership has changed doesn't 'Experience Hendrix' control the rights to Jimi's music and image? Musicians make the money from the rights moreso than from touring and selling recordings. While Jimi is no longer alive the party that controls the rights to the music are the ones losing the money.
Robert
NOOMIVARR SECTOR
BLACK S.U.N.
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Actually, Jimi Hendrix's family finally regained control of his music within the past few years. So, money from sales of any Hendrix music goes to his family.
And you are correct, Sems Fir. The people who own rights to songs, called publishing rights in the music industry, are the ones who primarily benefit from the sales of music. Yes, record labels also benefit from the sales of CDs, but CD sales are how a large number of musicians earn a living, and most of them are far from being rich.
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Actually, Experience Hendrix is the name of the family-based organization that controls the rights to Jimi's music and image. I'm not sure of the hierarchy but Jimi's half-sister Janie Hendrix was or still is the president and CEO of Experience Hendrix. I use the term 'rights' as a song is copyrighted and other 'rights' are utilized. The law terms a musical composition as a "musical work" which is copyrighted. Publishing rights can be broken down into five general categories: performance income, mechanical income, print income, synchronization income, and foreign income. While these five categories play a key part in the short term for an artist to generate a personal income, it's the copyright that generates the most income for an artist especially if the artist is successful for an extended period of time.
If an artist is relying on disc sales to generate a personal paycheck, the artist needs to expand out on how to use their personal works to make revenue. A copyright is where the income is generated not by disc sales or touring.
Robert
NOOMIVARR SECTOR
BLACK S.U.N.
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Wow, you know your music business! Actually though, touring and ancillary merchandise sales are a large percentage of a musicians income as well.
As for the various types of royalties you mentioned, the performance one is for the actual performance on the recording. This one pays on a per unit (disc, tape, etc) basis. The typical major label rate is $.08 to $.11 per disc. Rather pathetic, to be honest. Business models like Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe records, a self owned label, have proven far more profitable.
The mechanical is paid based on airplay. Soundscan, an independent monitoring company, keeps track of how many times a given recording is played on radio, and broadcasters pay a fee per playout. MTV, however, has managed to skirt around paying mechanicals since they term music videos as promotional material, and not a musical performance. I've yet to see anyone take on MTV to payout mechanicals, and they probably won't for fear of being blackballed by one of the biggest forces in the music industry. Ironic, since MTV made their name playing music videos, but barely shows them at all anymore.
Print income is for sheet music sales. This is usually a partnership with a publishing house that will do the actually score printing, and take a percentage of the sales as a fee. This is a very low percentage source of income.
Synchronization fees refer to film or television use of a song in a given production. Fees must be paid for rights to use the song. In the case of every artist, it's imperative to hold onto these publishing rights, as syncing fees can bring in serious money. A single track being put on a movie soundtrack and placement in a major motion picture can easily run a couple hundred thousand dollars for a low level band on a major label. A band I know was set to appear on the "American Wedding" soundtrack, and they had negotiated a fee in the mid 100 thousand range. Too bad the deal fell through for them. :(
Additionally, merch and touring are big income draws. Far bigger than most people realize. It dwarfs the $.08 to $.11 per disc that most major label artists earn in their performance royalty. Bands like Metallica (an extreme example) have made themselves rich for a lifetime because of touring and merch.
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Touring doesn't make up a high amount as most people believe. Alot goes into a tour, and everything costs money. Limo rides aren't free and unless it's in a contract the artist will foot the bill. Everything from the promoter promoting the gig, renting the facility to put on the gig, the concession stands, security, the road crew, and that's just the starters for who is dipping their hands into the money pot. I won't even mention the budget to tour, travel expenses, packing any additional items needed for the tour, musicians for hire to play on the tour if needed, hotel accommodations etc. 8>)
Merchandising is another matter. Materials used to create the products, getting the proper licensing to use various images on the merchandise if it's needed, artists for hire to create images get their share of the pie as well unless the image was created as a "for hire" basis also cost money. Any leftover unsold merchandising that's still around at the end of the tour is in essence a loss of revenue unless another sales outlet can be utilized to move the remaining product.
For the performance income it's a requirement by law in the United States as well as most countries in the world that compensation be paid to the copyright owners for the public performance of their music. This is where ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC come into play, as these organizations are the ones that collect the public performance income and then distribute it in proportion based on the success for each song licensed by the organization. These three organizations are the ones responsible for "sampling" thousands of hours of radio airplay to generate a model of music broadcast on the radio. Both ASCAP as well as BMI "sample" but BMI also uses the playlist created by the program director of the radio station or "logs" to get a broader scope of what is played since songs that are no longer hits or never were hits are also in the airplay lists for rotation. This income is paid out in two varieties: the writer's share as well as the publisher's share.
Mechanical income is the revenue generated from the sale of the discs (album and CD), as well as cassettes etc. Rates are used to pay this income and the rates are set by the copyright royalty tribunal. These rates vary if stated in the contract. Everything costs money and if an artist gets a cash advance they won't see dime one until the advance is repaid. Plus studio time, disc artwork etc. all cost money.
I agree on the print income it's not very much as the publisher earns the most in this segment of revenue, and the synchronization income while it can be a good source of revenue is a shaky source of income, although these days soundtracks to albums sometimes do better than the movie the product is supporting.
Alot has to be taking into account for revenue. Touring will only generate money if the artist is successful. If the facility isn't filled with enough paying customers the losses could be deep red ink, and merchandising gets affected accordingly.
The copyright is where the most revenue comes in. From radio airplay, live performances, cover versions by various artists, sampling, licensing usage of performances is the best long term way to generate revenue. The longer the artist is successful the more revenue will be generated. This also is a disadvantage as the artist I collect Led Zeppelin just found out. The licenses on Zeppelin's first five albums were up for renewal and the royalty rate is now roughly four times what it was when Zeppelin released the albums. Zeppelin went to court to get a newer more modern royalty rate and lost as the court found the songs to be made for hire due to the copyright act of 1976. While still at the old royalty rate generating millions in revenue the surviving members also lost millions. There are rare occurrences where touring does generate big dollar income. Zeppelin with their manager Peter Grant pioneered the 90 / 10 split for revenue generated by a gig.
Let's just say music is a hobby. 8>)
Robert
NOOMIVARR SECTOR
BLACK S.U.N.
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Thank God for Peter Grant! I read about how he pioneered the change in how venues deal with artists. It was a terrible arrangement until he told the venues to screw off, you can't have the artist unless you deal on our terms.
Music is also a major interest of mine, to the point where a regional tour and serious representation may be on the near horizon.
As for the difference between mechanicals and performance royalties, I was always under the impression that the mechanical referred to airplay, and the performance was in reference to each copy of an album sold. I'll have to consult a friend who works for a management company. I thought I had that straight.
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Peter Grant really was the pioneer for the way the industry was shaped in general. Peter understood that if the artist was the one creating the music they should be the one making the money not everyone else. Peter was a businessman who knew that control over a career was the most important thing. While most managers sat behind a desk and paid tour managers and other people to be on the road Peter went along with Zeppelin and oversaw everything.
When Zeppelin signed what was at the time the highest advance ($200,000) Peter established production and publishing companies to ensure that the group had control over every aspect of their business, so in essence they never really were tied to the label. The 90 / 10 split was a hefty business deal. After Zeppelin took their 90 percent of the gross the promoter was to pay for all his expenses then take what was left of that 10 percent as the profit. Of course Peter knew that he didn't need to pay a promoter to promote Zeppelin as Zeppelin promoted themselves, so why waste money on a promoter who didn't need to do anything. If Zeppelin did the work they deserved the money.
Radio airplay falls under small performing rights which includes television, radio, movie theatres, etc. and is a nondramatic performance right. Both ASCAP and BMI license this type of performance by granting a blanket license for usage of each of their respected catalogues. The song composition being performed is a public performance, regardless of which artist's recorded version is being played.
Mechanical right is the right given to reproduce the song in a mechanical format (or phonorecords as defined by the copyright law) such as albums, compact discs, cassettes etc. This type of right can be broken down even more to include a compulsory mechanical license which allows another artist to utilize your song without permission as long as the artist complies with the laws set in place to do this.
I admire that you are taking an interest in the profession you may choose to go into. I've seen so many artists so many times get the full steam ahead attitude and relying on other people without learning to protect themselves. So many artists go bankrupt because they just sign the contract without reading it to see the royalty rates and other information and spend money like water without realizing how much money truly comes in after expenses. If an artist relies on somebody else they are likely to get taken. Aerosmith is a prime example of losing revenue to two former businessmen from early in their career. When they signed their contract the two businessmen get their share of the pie whenever certain songs are played from early in the bands career. It's a shame really. Elvis lost millions as well when he signed that piece of paper stating a 50 / 50 split with Tom Parker. That's a hefty management fee.
The days of trust in the industry are long gone. Zeppelin used an honor system of verbal agreements and handshakes by Peter. The amazing thing to note is that Peter never had a signed contract with Zeppelin, and I'll have to check but if I remember correctly Peter received 20 percent for a management fee. He was their manager on trust. Trust went along way in the past but sadly it's gone from the business forever. Good luck in the industry. While this thread really has nothing to do with action figures anymore it's still music related and it's been great to be a part of it.
Robert
NOOMIVARR SECTOR
BLACK S.U.N.
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You're correct, Peter did have a 20% stake in Led Zeppelin. Considering what he was able to achieve for the band through his negotiations, he more than earned his pay.
As for taking an active interest, I think it's imperative for any artist to know how and where their income is generated. I know a college in my area that has a music management major, and I'm on the verge of taking some courses to get further acquainted with how the business end of things works. There's never such a thing as too much knowledge.
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OK, I found the Hendrix figure at Spencer's the other day. ($16. Ouch!) And I'm wondering where the Zep figures are.
BTW, Happy Belated Birthday to Jimmy Page, who turned 60 yesterday.
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I have a feeling the Zeppelin figures may not be coming... ever.
I looked at the Toy Catalogue on Spawn.com and the Led Zeppelin figures have been removed from the listings. :-\
I haven't found the Hendrix yet.
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I read at TNI that they've been cancelled after all. Never even got to see the things. :'(
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I guess we'll never get Led Zeppelin, :'(, but I did finally find Jimi Hendrix! This figure is really cool, very detailed - Hendrix's Stratocaster is even missing the back panel, like in real life.
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I don't feel like starting another thread, so, eh.
Found that McFarlane Elvis figure at TRU today. It was $13. Since I'm not an Elvis fan, I didn't buy it, but they had more there than you could shake a stick at.