Blog: Secrets REVEALED!

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Yesterday's WHOO-worthy proclamations of near-readiness were a LITTLE over-zealous, it turns out, as the quote i got from our usual manufacturers was a) a bit HIGH, bearing in mind the oft stated lowering of costs for CDs and b) accompanied by a statement that they could no longer barcodes. ARGH! We NEED these to get sold in shops and, vitally, AMAZON, and, futuristically, iTUNES, so it's not really something you can do without these days. They provided me with a link for the main Official Body for barcodes, who appear to want you to sign up as a Barcode Member for a YEAR before you even begin - GRARGH! Also, NGG!

ENRAGED by all this I decided to have a look around for cheaper manufacturers, and found one who seem quite nice, will DO us a barcode, and will cost quite a bit LESS. HOORAH! HOWEVER, they also, like most places now, demand EITHER a certificate from the MCPS OR a Intellectual Rights Statement.

SIDEBAR! This means EITHER a statement saying that you personally own ALL rights to the music recorded on the CD, including SONG WRITING, OR a certificate from the body responsible for licencing such things, the MCPS, demonstrating that you will be paying the appropriate MONIES to whoever DOES own these rights.

Now, this has never been a problem before as we've a) never had to complete this documentation (NAUGHTY!) b) ALMOST always owned all the rights anyway but c) when we HAVE done cover versions have simply not mentioned it (DOUBLE NAUGHTY - QUAKE in FEAR, THE MAN!). It IS a problem this time, however, as we WERE intending to put a cover version on as a Secret Track on the CD and i did not really want to sign a Legal Document to say it WASN'T there, when it really WOULD be...

I thus turned to the MCPS website, which seemed MASSIVELY complicated, and ended the working day yesterday FRUSTRATED and ANNOYED, convinced that The MACHINE Of The Man that IS The Recording Industry was deliberately trying to prevent the HONEST LITTLE INDIE (i.e. ME) doing anything that might loosen their stranglehold on the nation's access to ROCK. Barcodes! Licencing! Forms! MAN!

After some thought I went back this morning to the MCPS online licencing screen and found that, actually, it was quite easy, and submitted my application to licence VICAR IN A TUTU (for LO! that is what is is) for the next single, and have a printed form to show that I have done. Oh BOY did I feel GROWN UP and like a PROPER LABEL when I'd done so. It used to be The Whitaker who dealt with this sort of thing, long ago when he was part of our operation, and I always used to look on in AWE and DREAD as he dealt with it, such was my FEAR of such things, so as you can probably imagine i felt i had been RATHER BRAVE.

I wasn't the only one who's been RATHER BRAVE today in pursuit of EXCELLENCE for this single - Tim has been out and about on the streets of READING today searching for some source material for the CD onbody (i.e. the picture you get to have on the CD itself). As HINTED previously, the cover will feature a re-enactment of the record sleeve of ONE of the TWO bands mentioned in The Lesson Of The Smiths, so it only seemed RIGHT that the OTHER band should be featured somewhere else. STRANGELY, however, although Tim had LOADS of examples of the former lying around his house, he had NONE of the latter, and so he "had" (against his will, he claims) to go and actually BUY their debut album today. He CLAIMS to have been embarrassed by this, especially when the bloke in the shop WINKED at him, but i'm SURE that was just because he TOO recognised the GOOD TASTE of someone buying an album containing BOTH "A Million Love Songs" AND "It Only Takes A Minute". Well done Tim!

posted 8/2/2007 by MJ Hibbett

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Comments:

haha, i am now imagining the five of you recreating a very specific TT photo...
posted 9/2/2007 by CarsmileSteve

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