SG: Yeah. And, he in turn makes things work for himself. It is still profitable.
I think the idea of dealing with an outmoded model—which is what the record companies essentially have been based on—is just not reason to continue it.
DS: Well, you know, the issue is when are they gonna learn?
If we have more independent entrepreneurs like Norm helping artists get their music out without shackles and without taking copyrights, I think that’s a good thing, and we can thank digital technology for that.
SG: Absolutely, and I think that there are artists out there who are really looking at what the CD means. Someone like Prince or Bruce Hornsby, these are two examples of people who include a CD along with the price of admission to go to their concerts. That to me is putting the emphasis where it belongs, which is on live performance.
DS: Right, using the CD to promote the performances.
SG: Somebody just asked me about the Spice Girls reunion and whether they’d sell a lot of records, and it seems to me that the album that they’re creating is just promoting the tour.
DS: That’s right.
SG: Talking about Beyond FM and Norm Levy, people can go and see it at beyond.fm. Is your music there yet?
DS: Yeah, there are tracks from the new CD and there’s some video from a concert that I did in Eilat, Israel at the Red Sea Jazz Festival a couple years ago.
SG: Do you write most of or some of the music for Caribbean Jazz Project?
DS: Yeah, I write the majority, but that writing is not necessarily original music. I’ve done a lot of rearranging of standard jazz tunes that have been kind of “redecorated.”
But, for me to put out the arrangements for small group or big band, and be more than happy to pay a reasonable amount, split with the composer of the piece—I’m not the composer, I’m the arranger— would be fine, but I can’t get the rights. They won’t even talk to me.
SG: But, when you write the arrangements, do you keep the copyright in your arrangements or do you have a publisher?
DS: I keep the copyright.
SG: And, do all the collections yourself?
DS: I have someone who collects for me, yeah.
SG: Where can people keep up with what you are doing next?
DS: The Website is caribbeanjazzproject.com or dsamuels.com.
Editor Note: This article is the second part in a series on using new technology to succeed in the music business. Click Here for Part I in this series where Gordon presents an interview with Will Calhoun.
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