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)?

Please Pass the Yellow(gold) Sippy Cups, Daddy(-A-Go-Go)

The tentative showcase list for the 2007 South by Southwest Music Festival has been posted, and a brief perusal of the 1,300 (yes, you read that right) bands indicates at least 3 artists whose primary medium is kids' music: Daddy-A-Go-Go, Gustafer Yellowgold, and The Sippy Cups. The Sippy Cups' newsletter from Tuesday night indicated that they'd be headlining a free family concert at Auditorium Shores, so I wonder if the three bands are on a (pretty cool) triple bill... Oh, and there might be a couple other bands in that list worth seeing.

Review: Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate - Daddy A Go Go

The list of stand-up comedians who tried their hand at becoming musicians is long -- Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, and Bill Cosby, for starters. The list in the other direction -- musicians becoming stand-up comedians -- is much shorter, if it exists at all. There is, after all, a fine line between stupid and clever. John Boydston, who will release his fifth Daddy-A-Go-Go album, Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate on May 2, 2006, may not be appearing at the Improv next week, but he does have stand-up tendencies. Ad libs, puns, humorous vignettes -- all make an appearance on the album. Boydston's singing approach is somewhere on the tunefulness spectrum between Lou Reed and Craig Finn from The Hold Steady, in which he talks as much as sings. I didn't mind so much, because the it's not too out of sync with the music itself, which is straight-ahead, well-played guitar rock. (Your mileage on his vocal stylings may vary.) Perhaps "For Those About to Walk, We Salute You" doesn't sound quite enough like AC/DC to merit its title, but it's a fun little ditty that encourages walking without any sappiness. "Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate," is a bluesy rocker that isn't much more than a listing of vegetables with ad-libbed jokes ("Okra! I love her show!") liberally sprinkled throughout. The best tracks are those in which the humor is curbed a bit -- the aforementioned songs, the reworked cover of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" (on which Boydston's 14- and 11-year-old sons play bass and drums), the two instrumentals. Less successful for me were "Hang Up and Drive," in which frustrations with drivers who talk on their cellphone will completely go over most kids' heads, and "Pink Floyd Saves Hugh Manatee," in which the guest singer sounds just like Boydston and the song sounds nothing like Pink Floyd. And I found the earnest cover of "Listen To The Flower People" from the classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap to be completely unnecessary, but maybe that's because I've got 20 years of associations with that song. Your child probably won't recognize the "Stonehenge" references you make afterwards, but that's your (or at least my) problem. The album is probably best for kids age 5 through 10. You can hear samples and read lyrics (without Boydston's many ad libs) here. The album is available at the Daddy A Go Go website and at online retailers, and possibly at some retail locations. In sum, maybe the best way to determine whether or not you'd like the album is for you to decide whether you like Jimmy Buffett. Don't misunderstand me, the album doesn't sound anything like Buffett, but it does have a very Buffett-like vibe. If you think Buffett is a joke and can't stand any of his songs, you won't like this. But if you understand where Buffett is coming from and don't mind the occasional Buffett song or album, you and your kids will enjoy listening to this.

Baseball Songs

I don't like to change posting dates, but I'm adding so many songs here, and this predates the time a lot of people started visiting the site, so I'm making an exception here. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, or something like that. Originally posted April 2, 2006. Last revised May 16, 2006 I'm ignoring the fact that the baseball season is one game old. Baseball starts Monday, during the day, and nobody can tell me otherwise. There are very few sports-related children's songs that come to mind. I can understand why, as sports like football and hockey require a lot of equipment and are typically for older kids (this is especially the case for football). Basketball and baseball are easier to play, perhaps -- less equipment, introduced at an earlier age. Since the major sports typically become mostly a spectator sport as we grow up, perhaps it's good that there isn't much children's music about sports since a song about watching other people do something is kinda depressing as a kids' song. (It does make me think that the genre of children's soccer songs is a niche waiting to be filled.) In any case, the list of songs about baseball for all ages is reeeeeeaaaaalllllllly short. (OK, not so short anymore) Here goes: -- "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (well, duh) -- try Wiggleworms Love You, from the Old Town School of Folk Music (nicely bipartisan, cheering for both the Cubs and White Sox) -- "Baseball Dreams" -- off At the Bottom of the Sea, by Ralph's World (Cubs all the way in this one) -- "I'm Gonna Catch You" -- off Under a Shady Tree, by Laurie Berkner (it has one relevant line -- "So I jumped into Saturday / And I had a baseball batter-day" -- yeah, I'm really reachin' here) -- "Centerfield" -- off Centerfield, by John Fogerty (not kids' music, but a great song anyway) -- "Talkin' Baseball -- off countless albums by Steve Cashman, who just re-records and updates his song -- baseball history lesson in 3 minutes -- "Big Train" -- off the RTT's Turn It Up Mommy!, as noted in the comments. About Walter "Big Train" Johnson. I'd probably disagree that he's the best pitcher ever, but that's another blog. Good song. -- "Right Field" -- Peter, Paul and Mary. Again, see the comments. -- "Cryin' in the Dugout" -- off Daddy-A-Go-Go's upcoming Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate album. A humorous song -- "Baseball Dreams" played for laughs instead of nostalgia. -- "The Greatest" -- Kenny Rogers. See the comments. -- "Roll Around" -- Peter Himmelman, off of his My Lemonade Stand CD. A fun, rollicking song about a baseball who retires, then comes back to his calling. And finally, an artist reviewed here on this very site wrote me to suggest four more songs, including at least one I'm miffed I forgot... the comments in quotes are the artist's, not mine. -- "Catfish" -- off Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series. I am unfamiliar with this one. But it's Dylan. -- "Joe DiMaggio’s Done it Again" -– Wilco and Billy Bragg, from their Mermaid Ave Vol. 2 -- "A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request" –- Steve Goodman – "Classic, and very funny." See "Talkin' Baseball," above. -- "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" -- Brave Combo - "two very cool versions... wacky and fun." It's Brave Combo, how could it not be fun? If any of you have more suggestions (or can point me to a family-friendly soccer song), leave me a comment.