On August 20, 2013, the LiveJazzLounge received word from Bill Frisell’s representatives that Bill Frisell does not wish to have his work being promoted in this blog. The LiveJazzLounge respects this and wishes to go on record to this effect.
Within the next few days, content featuring Bill Frisell as a leader will no longer be freely accessible. The LiveJazzLounge regrets this and apologizes to its visitors.
For the sake of transparency, the transcript of the email exchanges that the LiveJazzLounge has had with Bill Frisell’s representatives is reproduced below in order to leave a record of Bill Frisell’s stance on this matter. Please read on and comment.
Peace, love and jazz
The LiveJazzLounge
___________________________________________
Al Evers
alevers@a-train.com
208.64.186.94
Submitted on 2013/08/20 at 00:22
This office represents Bill Frisell. Bill does not wish the recordings that you have of him as a leader to be distributed and asks that you immediately cease and desist any further distribution of them.
We thank you for your immediate cooperation.
___________________________________________
From: LiveJazzLounge
Subject: Bill Frisell
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 22:29:23 +0800
To: alevers@a-train.com
Dear Mr. Al Evers,
Thanks for your message.
The LiveJazzLounge blog is produced by a private individual that loves this music. It is a totally non-profit, commercial-free enterprise. In fact, it costs money. But it makes zero money. (And that’s how it should be.) LiveJazzLounge only posts about music that is not available commercially anywhere. For the most part, all posts are derived from material that is (or has been) publicly and freely available elsewhere. It is the policy of the LiveJazzLounge blog for any content to be immediately removed from the site as soon it becomes commercially available. (This has not yet happened though.) All posts contain an image of the latest or most related album released by the featured artist that is directly linked to a site (e.g. record label, Amazon, artist webpage) from which the album can be directly purchased. The LiveJazzLounge encourages in its webpage the purchase and support of the artists featured in the blog. See HERE.
The LiveJazzLounge is therefore a site that promotes the music and the artists, freely and without making any profit (unlike your own enterprise). It encourages people interested in the music to purchase the relevant recordings that are commercially available. This results in enhanced visibility and increased sales for the featured artists. Importantly, the links for purchase are solely provided for promotion of the artists work. The LiveJazzLounge makes no profit whatsoever from any purchase. We do know that the purchase links are widely used by the visitors of the website. (Although there is no record as to whether folks that click those links end up purchasing any recordings, of course.) The LiveJazzLounge blog has received the praise and gratitude of several of the featured artists.
You write that your office represents Bill Frisell. However, it is noted that your site at a-train.com does not feature Bill Frisell among the represented artists. It is also noted that Bill Frisell does not acknowledge you or your services among his representatives or managers in his own contact page.
The LiveJazzLounge blog does not wish to post information about Bill Frisell if Bill Frisell himself does not wish to have his work promoted in this blog. This is not clear at the present time. All posts featuring Bill Frisell as a leader will be removed as soon as bonafide and verifiable confirmation of Bill Frisell’s disapproval to this effect is received. When this happens, the posts will be replaced by a copy of our correspondence for the future record of Bill Frisell’s wishes on this matter.
Many thanks for contacting the blog.
Peace, love and jazz,
LiveJazzLounge
___________________________________________
From: Al Evers alevers@a-train.com
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 07:46:01 -0700
To: Lee Townsend ltown@songtone.com
Subject: Fwd: Bill Frisell
Lee,
Please take my email, send it to the LiveJazzLounge folks identify yourself and how you’ve authorized me to pursue this on your behalf and ask them to comply with my request.
___________________________________________
Subject: FW: Bill Frisell
From: Lee Townsend <ltown@songtone.com>
To: LiveJazzLounge
CC: Al Evers <alevers@a-train.com>
Thread-Topic: Bill Frisell
Dear Live Jazz folks,
Al Evers is authorized to act on Bill Frisell’s behalf in the capacity of his business affairs representative. Please cooperate with his requests. We appreciate your interest in Bill’s work, but as Al mentioned, Bill does not allow free distribution of his music.
With best wishes,
Lee Townsend
Songline/Tone Field Productions
510.528.1191 voice
510.528.1193 fax
ltown@songtone.com
http://www.songtone.com
___________________________________________
From: Al Evers alevers@a-train.com
Subject: Bill Frisell
Date: August 21, 2013 03:17:48 GMT+08:00
To: LiveJazzLounge
Dear Live Jazz Lounge-
As you can now determine, this office duly represents Bill Frisell- please comply with our request to remove all performances of Bill as a leader.
If you feel that you must replace those performances with Bill’s please say that although Bill appreciates the interest in his work, he does not allow free downloads or streams.
Thank you.
Al Evers
___________________________________________
July 21, 2014
I appreciate the perspective of all parties on this one and would offer that bill frisell offers an extensive batch of live download recordings on his website (for a reasonable cost, in my opinion). Great care is taken with the music and sound – I encourage you to check them out.
January 9, 2014
Bill who? Bill Clinton on the sax? No more Bill Clinton? Oh, too bad!
January 6, 2014
[…] In its two years of life, Live Jazz Lounge featured 180 live jazz performances by 462 artists. It received over 140,000 visitors from 100 countries. Live Jazz Lounge only presents material that is freely accessible and not sold commercially. Live Jazz Lounge is a totally non-profit, commercial-free enterprise, fueled soley by the love for this great music. It has received praise and gratitude from many of the featured artists (except one). […]
September 11, 2013
The person who produced the work gets to decide. They are the artist, the business person, the citizen of the universe responsible for the work existing.
Like all of us, Mr. Frisell gets to choose who gets invited into his world and how, it’s not for us to just decide to show up and spill our cheetos all over his couch because we felt like it and had the technical know how to do so.
September 11, 2013
Very nice words. Now, what about those “citizens of the universe” that paid for their tickets and made the concert possible? Are they not also responsible for the existence of that concert? What about those “citizens of the universe” from jazz clubs and radio stations that produced the recording of the concert and made it available in the first place? Are they not also responsible for the existence of that recording? An artist that gives a live concert is already inviting the whole cosmos into his/her world. Specially if he/she allows it to be recorded and published on the web page of a radio station or jazz site (as Mr. Frisell has done). Giving out something to the cosmos inevitably limits your ownership of it. Remember what they say about eating the cake… The best way for an artist to have total and absolute control and ownerhsip of their artistic creations is to keep them locked up at home and not show them to anyone. Alas…
September 6, 2013
i respect others’ ideas, but music is a world patrimony, and “not for sale” recordings are in the right direction, to promote music, musicians & future sales, even for the ones that don’t agree. However, thanks Mr.Frisell…. and much more tks to you, LJL. Long life to jazz (aka freedom)!
September 5, 2013
It was tricky and somewhat baffling situation that you faced. I think you have handled it wisely and your own analysis to be thoughtful.
September 3, 2013
Dude is trying to make a living. Let him do it how he wants and let him handle his music how he sees fit. It isn’t strange that he has requested things be taken down. It’s strange that permission hasn’t been sought from all the other artists featured here.
September 4, 2013
Dude can’t make a living on material that is not on sale. Even someone from Time Warner Cable should know that… 😉 Dude won’t either make a living by chasing his fans on the internet. Actually, the ones that are most concerned about making a living here are his reps. I bet Frisell has never heard about this blog.
August 27, 2013
So sorry for him… but anyway its his music. Thanks for your web page. I actually downloaded most of the albums, and have discovered a lot of great artists.
August 26, 2013
This is a real shame. I find ‘live’ bootleg sites are a great introduction to artists who I would otherwise not be aware of. In fact I often find myself buying CDs or digital downloads from artists that I ‘discovered’ via bootlegs. I had assumed this kind of thing is one reason that musicians allow their concerts to be recorded for radio and TV broadcast in the first place. Great sites like this are just an extension of this.
August 26, 2013
Times are changing, i’m not a musician but if I was, my intention will be to be listened by the maximum of people, that’s it. I respect all the point of view, but with internet and all the informations around the world, such attitude is a little out of date.
August 24, 2013
mister frisell is just plain ridiculous
August 24, 2013
not cool at all … bill, you’re totally wrong on this one …
respect for LJL
August 23, 2013
Estos siguen a lo suyo, es lamentable que tengan tal cerrazon y cabezoneria, es increible que sean tan burros. En fin, a mi Frisell me gusta a ratos asi que a partir de ahora puede que ni en esos ratos lo disfrute…. palante companero, ya sabes, todo mi support!!
August 23, 2013
There is no evidence that free distribution of material that is not commercially available and that is (or has been) publicly and freely distributed by other channels (such as internet radio broadcasts) causes damage to the artist. There is no evidence that a person that has downloaded a Bill Frisell’s concert from the NPR website is less likely to buy one of his records. In fact, this blog has evidence to the contrary. This blog does not feature any content that is commercially available. Distribution of commercially available material causes a financial loss to the artist. Diffusion of material that is not otherwise commercially available does not. On the contrary, it enhances the artist’s work and contributes to its diffusion and promotion. To that effect, all posts in this blog contain a direct link for purchase of work by the featured artist.
There are lengthy discussions on this topic all over the internet. Some older folks that grew up in the pre-internet era desperately hang on to the old methods and so wish to stop new ways of doing things. The old and angry bulldogs of the business are only defending their own interests and existence, not the music they claim to be representing. But the writing is on the wall. It will be a lost battle for them in the end.
The LiveJazzLounge blog welcomes your comments.
Peace, love and jazz
LJL