Imagination Movers Season 3 Set! (For, er, 2011, Maybe?)

It was a little dicey there for awhile -- you could tell from Facebook that the fans at least were getting restless (and nervous) -- but it's official -- Season 3 of the Imagination Movers' self-titled Disney Channel show is going to happen. Here's an article from Variety discussing the move -- it notes that production will start back up in New Orleans in June and that the production order includes a concert special, a first for the band on Disney. (And, yeah, there's another album coming out on June 8.) Even though Seasons 1 and 2 started in the fall of 2008 and 2009, with a June production start, I'm guessing that fall 2010 may be hard to accomplish. What the article doesn't mention is Nancy Kanter (Senior VP of Programming for Playhouse Disney) saying (in the press release) that Season Three "will expand the Movers world beyond the Idea Warehouse and will include more surprise visitors and guest stars." So there you go -- perhaps they'll start going the Yo Gabba Gabba! route and inviting a whole bunch of guest stars from the real world. Come to think of it, maybe the Movers should challenge the folks at YGG -- which just started its third season -- to a friendly rumble. Or maybe a pickup basketball game. I think the guys have the moves, but Brobee et al. got height, and you can't teach height.

Do Kids' Musicians Get the Royal(ty) Treatment or Royalty Screwed?

Some posts are meant to be. A couple weeks back, when I started Zooglobble Radio (go listen now, really), I got into a brief discussion with another person in the industry involved in terrestrial radio in some way. They reported their playlists, but expressed doubt that it was really benefitting the artists they played on the station. They mentioned one artist in particular that they'd played literally dozens if not hundreds of times that had never received a single royalty check. (I chose Live365 in large part because I wanted to make sure artists got paid, and they're the only internet radio provider that provides full SoundExchange payment.) So when I saw this Los Angeles Times article about royalty payments paid by SoundExchange, a non-profit group created by Congress to distribute royalties from digital and satellite media streams, I thought this might be of interest. And then I read the first paragraphs:

When John Boydston got an e-mail from SoundExchange saying he had several thousand dollars in unclaimed royalties, he did what most sensible people would do. He ignored it. To the rock musician from Atlanta, "money for nothing" meant a song by Dire Straits, not a stranger contacting him out of the blue promising to cut him big checks. But then he got the message again six months later. Curious, he called SoundExchange. "Sure enough, they had a sizable amount of money for me," said Boydston, 51, whose band Daddy a Go Go includes his two teenage sons. "It was several thousand dollars. That's not a ton of money. But for a guy who makes CDs in his basement, it was enough to finance my next album."

That's right, that's SXSW artist Daddy A Go Go there. So here's my question for you, kid rockers -- is SoundExchange a major part of your income stream, a minor part, or no part at all? And if so, why (or why not)?

Crowdfunding, Part 2: Matt Clark Kickstarts His Project

Two or three weeks ago, Jim Cosgrove, AKA Mr. Stinky Feet made a splash in the kids music world by announcing he was "crowdfunding" his next album by asking for supporters to pledge money toward the costs of recording, producing, and distributing the next album. Cosgrove's views on why he went this route are essential reading for kids musicians. He also noted that he hadn't previously heard of Kickstarter, a site which helps musicians (and countless others) do the same thing. One major difference, though, between Cosgrove's approach and Kickstarter's is that Cosgrove's going through with the project regardless. (In fact, I'm pretty sure he's starting recording this week.) But if a person seeking Kickstarter help doesn't reach the required amount, they receive squat. So let's hear it for Portland, Oregon's Matt Clark, who's established the first genuine kids music Kickstarter project. That's right, if you go here, you can be part of another crowdfunding experiment. $3 gets you 1 mp3; $5 gets you 2, and so on. My favorite level -- $50 gets you (among other things) 3 chances to name the new disk. Clark's debut, Funny Little Fella, was a nice little disk -- here's hoping he gets the $3,000 to have round 2 see the light of day.

Art and Commerce: Frances England and the Bisquick Blueberry Pancakes Ad

One of the most winning songs off Frances England's debut disk Fascinating Creatures was "Blueberry Pancakes," whose chorus features England singing "blueberry paa-aaaaaaaan-cakes." (If you've heard it, you'll know I've transcribed that chorus accurately.) It was an obvious television ad waiting to be made, though it wasn't written with that in mind. Well, Bisquick's ad agency finally got a listen, and drafted the tune for use in a Bisquick television ad. So I asked Frances a few questions about how the TV ad came about, which she's answered below. As for the unasked question -- what does the ad look like? -- well, it's a live-action video depicting a family making, well, blueberry pancakes. Pretty simple, actually. Can't show it to you, though, as England reports that there are no internet rights associated with showing the video. (Tell you what, play 15 seconds of the song while your family makes pancakes this Saturday, and light and edit well. There you go.) Zooglobble: "Blueberry Pancakes" seemed like an obvious fit for a pancake ad from the first time I heard -- how was the initial contact made? Frances England: They contacted me. Apparently, they had already started production on the commercial when someone heard my song and they ended up kind of synchronizing their footage to the song.

Interview: Jim Cosgrove (Mr. Stinky Feet) on Crowdfunding

A couple days ago, Jim "Mr. Stinky Feet" Cosgrove sent out his latest newsletter with a most interesting proposition -- please help fund his next CD:

As some of you may know, the landscape of the music industry has changed dramatically over the past five years. As the giant labels have faltered or collapsed with the rapid decline of retail album sales, independent artists have emerged as the leaders of the changing tide. Where some see a shriveled industry on life support, I see opportunity and challenge. And I love challenges. So, I'm asking you to join me as we embark on an adventure into new territory. I have a goal of raising enough money to pay for outstanding musicians, promotion, production, and a Grammy-nominated producer for my new record. Please help me make this dream a reality. You've already been a big part of my success, so please consider taking part in the production of this project. You'd buy the new CD anyway, right? So, consider this a pre-purchase plan.

His specific funding levels start at $20 (get an autographed copy of the album), move up to $50 (autographed CD, t-shirt, and bonus CD), and go up from there -- my favorite title is the $150 "Now You're Just Showing Off". (Go here for the complete list and/or to make a contribution.) While this sort of "crowdfunding" has been around for awhile (I wasn't the only one for whom Kickstarter came immediately to mind), it's the first time it's been explicitly used in the kids music scene. (The closest Kickstarter project was this successful project which sought funding to make a soundtrack by a tween indie rock band to accompany a tween indie rock novel.) So when I got the newsletter I immediately shot off some questions to Jim, whose answers I think are pretty much required reading for artists (and probably family music fans in general), regardless of whether or not they want to follow Cosgrove on this particular path. Zooglobble: Aside from the general upheaval in the music industry, what specifically led you to crowdfund your next CD? Jim Cosgrove: Challenging times call for creative solutions. So, rather than putting the whole thing on credit, we looked at other models and found that many bands in other genres have been successful in getting their fans directly involved. I meet parents all the time who thank me for my music and for the fun we bring to families, and they ask me if there is anything they can do to help. Now, I'm calling in those offers. And I really think people want to help and like to help and want to be part of something that is fun and positive. Is there a particular dollar amount you have in mind?

Conference Me In: SXSW 2010 and Kids Music

When I mentioned a while back that South By Southwest would feature another kids music panel, I omitted one small detail: I'm going to participate on the panel. That's right -- "Jumping into the Kiddie Pool: Diving for Dollars" will feature me along with four other folks talking about this little (but growing) slice of the music industry. Considering the other folks on the panel -- Tor Hyams, Karen Rappaport McHugh, Daniel Brindley (who runs Jammin' Java and manages Rocknoceros), and Marty Diamond (who books a lot of kids shows, including the Sippy Cups) -- I'll excited just to be a part of it. While I wouldn't expect somebody to register for the conference just for that one panel, if you're around -- even if you're an artist who thinks they'd never record music for kids -- on Friday, March 18 at 2 PM, stop by. It'll be lots of fun, and I'm pretty sure you'll learn something. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to be spending the next five weeks catching up on my sleep. I gather from Bill, who spoke on a similar panel last year, that I may not sleep that much that weekend.