Tajamman

Archive for March, 2011

Music is an art. It is generally loved by almost every person in the world. It helps people to get a fresh mind away from all tensions. Music helps in relaxing. It is also used as a medicine to cure various physical, mental, emotional disorders in human beings. Music is very vast. There are many forms of music. Now we will discuss Music Libraries.

Music Libraries can be explained as a place where music related materials are stored. There may be collections of digitized music or audio recordings in music libraries which are generally non-print materials. A music library contains print materials as well which include printed music, dictionaries and encyclopedias, bibliographies, indexes and directories, music serials and other contents related to music literature. Such music libraries are generally for patron use and therefore use of these materials may be confined to specific patron groups. Music Libraries are of four types. They are:

Music libraries in Universities or Colleges to support their music departments; Music libraries to support conservatories and schools of music; Music libraries in public libraries; Music libraries developed as independent libraries for music organizations.

Music Libraries are used in other ways also. There are libraries producing music which give license to television, films, and radio productions for using their copyrighted music. Libraries for performance provide space to music groups for performing music. Digitized music libraries provide space to preserve digital music records in electronic form. This preservation requires procedures in order to avoid decay and loss.

Licensing Music can be defined as the way by which the copyrighted music can be used by using a license. Licensing music makes sure that the developers of music get payment for their work. The media on which the music is stored can be owned by the buyer of recorded music, but not the music and thus the buyer has limited rights to reuse or reproduce recorded music. Broadcasting, in licensing music is the playing of the previously recorded or live music for public other than the buyer who is licensed. The broadcasting of music in stores and other pubic places requires the purchase of such service the organizations which offer it.

Radio stations also have to make payment for the rights for broadcasting music by paying fees for it to the licensing bodies. The fees that is paid for the rights for broadcasting, is calculated by periodic auditing of the music that is being played. Licensing issues also arise when television programmes or films use copyrighted music and are released on DVD format. The main point is that for using copyrighted music a fee has to be paid.

By Licensing Music copyrighted music can be used and reproduced by the licensed purchaser. If any copyrighted song is used without license then legal claims can be made against them for illegally using the song. Music Libraries preserves music for which special procedures are laid so that the precious composes of music does not get obsolete and destroyed.

The very word “MP3 player” brings to mind iPod from Apple in much the same way as once the personal cassette player brought Sony’s Walkman to mind. But the fact remains that iPod was not really the first MP3 player to be introduced into the market.

The honor of discovering MP3 players goes to Saehan Information Systems MPMan F10. This Korean company first manufactured the players in bulk about 10 years ago. With a flash memory capacity of 32 Mb, it could be connected through the computer’s parallel port, as USB ports were in its infancy stage those days. It is quite a surprise that these players became popular as the amount of good quality music that could be stored in 32 Mb was quite questionable. Also the fact that it cost a whopping two hundred and fifty dollars did not seem to dampen the spirits of the music lovers.

But one thing that did affect the companies, either adversely or favorably, were the lawsuits. The music and recording industry in 1998 was petrified by the launch of MP3 players. Whether it was the real potential of these players that scared the industry or whether the industry saw it as just another copyright infringement (technically speaking copying CDs without proper authorization is still illegal) is quite debatable. But the music industry’s parlous state today forces us to assume that it was the latter reason.

Being Korean helped Saehan to escape from the litigious wrath of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which could not sue them in the American courts. On the downside though, they missed the free publicity their main competitor Diamond Multimedia Rio PMP300 gained by being dragged into the courts. Though Rio had to be briefly removed from the sales counters, thanks to the RIAA’s lawsuit, the publicity that it gained made people remember Rio, rather than MPMan, as the foremost MP3 player.

But the omnipresent MP3 players and iPods are a witness to the fact that RIAA could not keep Rio off the sales counters for too long. However this did not discourage RIAA from continuing the lawsuit for some more years.

Sharing music through MP3 amongst peer groups became more popular in late 1999. But it was the introduction of Apple’s iPod with a capacity of 5 GB that sealed the fate of the music and recording industry. IPods were light, sleek, user friendly, style iconic, and could store a thousand songs in your pocket, (Apple’s adage at that time). The iPod’s capacity grew within the next eight months to double and it also became compatible to personal computers and Macs, making its march to success that much more easier.

The standpoint of the music industry had changed radically with the advent of MP3 players and even after six long years, the music industry is reeling under the onslaught of MP3. It is trying to revive itself by slapping lawsuits after lawsuits, having shifted focus on to music lovers from the manufactures of MP3 players. Hopefully they will come to terms with the reality and adjust to the new environment.

Kenwood House Picnic Concerts Series starring several artists. Kenwood has been a unique fixture in the London summer concert calendar for over 55 years. In 2007 a decision was made to cancel the event due to a change in licensing conditions that meant the concerts were no longer financially viable.

It was donated to the nation by Lord Iveagh, a member of the Guinness family, when he died in 1927, and opened to the public in 1928. He had bought the house from the Mansfield family in 1925. Unfortunately the furnishing had already been sold by then, so the house is largely empty. Some furniture has since been added. The paintings are from Iveagh’s collection. Part of the grounds were bought by the Kenwood Preservation Council in 1922, after there had been threats that it would be sold for building. In the late 1990s the house received approximately 150,000 visitors a year and an estimated 1 million people visited the grounds each year.

English Heritage and IMG have announced the return of the Picnic Concert series at Kenwood House from June 28, 2008, as well as the 2008 Picnic Concert series at Audley End, which commences on July 12. Kenwood has been a unique fixture in the London summer concert calendar for over 55 years. In 2007 a decision was made to cancel the event due to a change in licensing conditions that meant the concerts were no longer financially viable.

For the past year, English Heritage and concert organisers IMG have worked closely with local residents, a range of stakeholder groups and with Camden Council to find a mutually acceptable solution. A new scheme for the concerts has been developed, and was granted a license on 21 February 08. The concert programme is subject to planning permission being granted by Camden Council in April.In August, Michael Ball, currently wowing audiences with his Olivier-winning performance in the critically acclaimed Hairspray, and Lesley Garrett, Britain’s most popular soprano, perform together, followed by Canadian jazz singer Diana Krall. Katherine Jenkins hosts The Last Night of the Kenwood House Proms, with special guests Blake and a firework grand finale on Saturday 23 August.

Get tickets for Kenwood House Picnic Concerts Series from Sold Out Tciket market at nominal rates and don’t miss the chance to watch your favorite singer or band performing live this summer. Enjoy world class performances along with relaxed atmosphere.