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Suggestions for Managing Your Image on YouTube

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

by Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

I am grateful to several colleagues who assisted me in preparing my response to the following question: the distinguished entertainment attorney, Donald Franzen, and his associate, Mark Robertson; Jaime Campbell Morton, who is a viral marketing and social networking expert and who founded Artspromo, and Lacey Huszcza, director of advancement at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and a social media expert in her own right. I encourage our readers to contribute their comments on this subject since I am sure there is considerably more to be said and a good deal to be learned from their own experiences.

Dear Edna:

I have a question that I hope will be of interest to other people as well as myself. I am a 15-year-old aspiring musician and am fortunate to have already had some wonderful opportunities to perform publicly. My question regards what I should do when people in the audience video my performances and then upload them to YouTube without first checking with me to see if this is ok. I am coming to realize that via YouTube, a performance that I give can extend far beyond the four walls of the venue in which I play. I may have been very happy with the performance I gave but the video that I discover on YouTube may be significantly less favorable in quality from the point of view of the recorded sound or visual images. I don’t want to have to track down everyone who posts something without my consent. Is the only other alternative to just sit back and accept that this is a phenomenon of our times? I could take the attitude that many YouTube videos don’t attract attention anyway, but I see that some of mine have generated a good number of comments. I have responded to some, because I don’t want to appear ungracious, but I realize that this might encourage a practice that I’m not sure I want. I am caught between wanting to be cautious about how I am represented in the media but also wanting to express gratitude to a potentially growing fan base. Do you have any suggestions?—Grateful Young Artist

Dear Grateful Young Artist:

In all my years of involvement in the arts, I have never met an artist who wasn’t deeply concerned about how they came across in the media, especially in situations over which they had little or no control. This concern prevails even in the big wide world of YouTube. While most people look at it as a wonderful form of free international publicity, they obviously want it to reflect well on them. In researching this answer, I learned that the Copyright Code does address this issue and considers it a copyright violation to record a live performance without a performer’s consent. However, enforcing this is not a very simple matter. People do have recourse to getting things taken down from YouTube in cases of copyright infringement, subject to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but this doesn’t apply to you since you don’t own the copyrights of the pieces you perform. The simplest thing, which you alluded to, is to contact the person who uploaded the video and ask if they would please remove it. (As you probably know, once you are logged in, you can message people.) There is also the possibility of flagging a video, but this is mostly used in cases that are seriously inappropriate or inflammatory. YouTube reviews flagged videos and if they think they violate their “Community Guidelines,” they will take them down. This, too, is not applicable to your case. It seems to me that everyone who uses YouTube knows that the variety in the quality of the posted videos is quite vast. If a presenter is looking at a performance of yours, they can usually tell whether it was posted by a fan, or whether it is a more professional, accurate representation of how you play. If you have a more professional representation of the same performance that has been posted, you might want to upload it yourself. Another avenue might be to enlist the help of the venue in which you performed to see if they might have recourse to get the video taken down if they feel it is in violation of their stated policy. Backing up a little, you could probably discuss with someone at the venue prior to your future concerts that you would be most appreciative if they could be proactive in discouraging unauthorized recordings of your performance, should they see anyone in action. As for whether to answer the comments you receive, there seems little question that answering will help to encourage more such videos. However, if your objections to the videos aren’t strenuous, your fans will greatly appreciate you taking the time to connect with them and it will make them and their friends like you even more.

Your questions are important to me and can be about anything! Please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2011

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When a Quartet Becomes a Trio (temporarily)

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

by Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

Dear Edna:

I am a member of a string quartet. We are all just out of college and trying to get our individual careers going, as well as dedicating a lot of our time to establishing our quartet. We were recently in a situation where we were offered several dates but our second violinist was not available during the proposed dates. We had to turn the work down. I had suggested to the rest of the group that maybe we should have taken the dates and found another violinist. Then we could have done the tour and gotten those performances under our belts, which we all know we need to do. My question is, I know it’s tradition that either it’s all or nothing when accepting dates as an existing quartet, but would we be breaking any “laws” or doing the quartet more harm than good by finding a replacement to make a particular tour happen, even if one of our members is not available? It’s tough getting concert dates these days and we all need to work when we can. Please help! Thank you. —L.H.

Dear L.H.:

Your excellent question is not a simple one to answer. My first reaction was to say that getting the performances under your belt with a substitute violinist will have limited value since the quartet’s collective artistry will only grow when all of the regular members are playing together.  When I thought about it more, I realized that each of the three remaining regular quartet members would undoubtedly learn something  from every performance and that those realizations could be shared with the second violinist upon his or her return.  I then turned my attention to the financial aspect of your question.  Concerts are hard to come by and all young musicians struggle in the beginning.  There is certainly a reason for wanting to salvage dates, if at all possible, and you would not be breaking any “laws” or doing the quartet any harm if you tried to find a replacement to make the tour happen. You turned the dates down, which leads me to believe that your group understands the expectation of audiences and presenters that quartet members will remain constant, as that is the only way that they can hope to develop the unanimity of playing and interpretation that distinguishes the very finest chamber ensembles. You mention that you second guessed your decision, wondering if you should have taken the dates and found another violinist. That might have been an option this one time but certainly you would have needed to reverse the order of that process, checking first to see if the presenters would accept a substitute and then finding another violinist.

To get a broader perspective on this,  I chose to consult with a few presenter colleagues: Jenny Bilfield, Artistic and Executive Director of Stanford Lively Arts; Samuel Dixon, Executive and Artistic Director of Spivey Hall at Clayton State University, and Bert Harclerode, Executive Director of Chamber Music Sedona. I found all of them to be quite open-minded about this situation. My colleagues pointed out that, in general, it is harder for a well-known established quartet to use a substitute on a tour because they become known for a sound and a collective excellence in all facets of their playing that has been built up over many years. Furthermore, audiences become familiar with individual members of the quartet and anticipate the specific contribution that each of them brings to the performance. Since your quartet is just starting out, the audience will be coming more out of their interest in discovering a new young ensemble than out of devotion to individual members of your group. Nevertheless, offering a substitute for a member of the quartet should be a rare occurrence . A quartet that seeks a lasting career must make a serious commitment up front to make the ensemble one of the most important priorities in their lives and to make sacrifices when necessary, for the benefit of the group. Once you start making exceptions and accepting substitutes for less than urgent reasons, the fabric of the quartet is weakened and the quality of the performances will undoubtedly suffer. Sometimes the need for a substitute may come very close to the performance date. Audiences and presenters will generally be very understanding if it is due to illness, a newborn child or a family emergency.  It is important that whoever you use as a substitute be someone whom you know well and with whom you have had some sort of performance experience in the past, even if in other chamber music configurations.  This will help to ease any concerns that the presenter may have. Also, be sure to alert the presenter as soon as you know about the need for a change and ask for their approval. They will be very appreciative if you send a bio and picture of the substitute as quickly as possible.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2011

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Choosing the Right Moment

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

by Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

Dear Edna:

As it is now late August and booking season is heading our way, I was wondering when you think is the best time to catch orchestra executive directors. I will be sending out materials through regular mail and e-mail. If I move too soon, they will be on vacation and have a lot to sort through when they return. If I’m too late, they may have already started the decision making process and my name most certainly won’t make it on the list! When is the best time to reach out? —A Violinist

Dear violinist:

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact time that any orchestra makes decisions about guest artists. In truth, it is an evolving process that might begin about eighteen months before the start of a season and continue until six months before the start of the season. It all depends on the size of the orchestra and when they traditionally announce their season. I admire your industriousness but hope you realize that the number of orchestras who will respond to unsolicited letters and promotional materials is rather small. Make sure that whatever you send clearly highlights something that might be of interest to them (perhaps a premiere or rarely performed work of genuine substance or appeal). Assuming that you are writing to mid-size or smaller orchestras, from now until Thanksgiving is an ideal time to be in touch. If the orchestra has an artistic administrator, you would do well to write to them instead of the executive director, as chances are a bit better that they will take note of your approach to them. Good luck!

*******

I am grateful to my longtime friend and colleague, Ed Yim, former president and current board member of the American Music Center and Artistic Consultant to the New York Philharmonic, for his assistance in preparing my response to the following question.

Dear Edna:

I am a composer whose career is beginning to take off. I was fortunate last year to win a number of prizes and I have been receiving commissions. I also have signed with a very fine publisher who is eager to promote my work. Recently, I was contacted by a manager who is interested in representing me. I would appreciate your advice on whether a composer needs both a publisher and a manager. Thank you so much. —A Curious Composer

Dear Curious Composer:

Thank you for writing in with a question that I am sure will be of interest to other composers. It is wonderful  that you are already in a position to be represented by a fine publisher. Congratulations, too, on having won a number of prizes and already secured some commissions. It sounds like things are going very well for you. At the present time, I don’t think you need to have a manager. Part of your publisher’s job is to investigate possible new commissions and to promote your published works, hopefully leading to increased performances of them. There may come a time in the future when, if your career has grown exponentially, you might want to hire a publicist or manager to call attention to certain works or projects you have undertaken. They would also be an added ally to help monitor your publisher’s effectiveness on your behalf. In general, most composers don’t have managers unless they have their own performing ensembles (for example, Steve Reich) or are active as performers in some other way (e.g., John Adams as conductor).  Those performance activities generate an income stream that makes them more attractive to managers. Another raison-d’être for a manager’s or publicist’s involvement would be if the composer was undertaking substantial projects, such as extended residencies, or was the focus of major retrospectives. I hope that your current partnership with your publisher brings significant new opportunities your way and that whenever the occasion arises, you find time to share your experiences and mentor some younger colleagues. Composers’ careers develop differently from those of singers, conductors and instrumentalists, and they are always grateful to receive advice and encouragement from someone such as yourself.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2011

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Getting to Know You (writing a good bio)

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

by Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

Please note that in the months of June, July and August, I will be posting new entries to this blog on a bi-weekly basis. I am grateful to all of you for your interest in “Ask Edna” and wish you a very pleasant summer.

Dear Edna:

What do you think makes for a good bio these days (from an artist management point of view)? I’m sick of reading bios that are either A. Boring (laundry lists of accolades, credits, quotes and not conveying something distinctive) OR B. Overly chatty/personal (some non-classical bios are like this, as are musical theatre bios typically). —a management colleague

Dear management colleague:

I think a good bio is one that provides only as much information as is necessary to capture the attention of the reader and keep them engrossed until the end. It should come across as professional, be well written and well organized. It should find a good balance between sharing important factual information and also giving the reader a glimpse of what is special about the person it spotlights. It should whet the appetite of the reader to experience the subject’s artistry and to get to know them better, either by presenting them, hearing them or listening to their music making.

The first sentence and paragraph of a bio should help place the artist among their peers and highlight some recent significant accomplishments. This is not achieved by the all too typical introduction that reads something like this: Joe Smith was born in Buffalo, New York in 1984 and began to study violin at the age of five with his father. The opening of the bio should also avoid any grandiose statement that is out of proportion to the artist’s career. As Ellen Highstein has written in her book Making Music in Looking Glass Land, “ the expression ‘one of the foremost pianists of our day’ is only appropriate for someone who is undeniably one of the foremost pianists of our day.”

Here are some opening sentences that grabbed my attention when I surveyed a sampling of bios of young artists with burgeoning careers:

“Internationally renowned as a brilliant innovator of the classical guitar, Paul Galbraith has been working since the 1980’s towards expanding the technical limits of his instrument, besides augmenting the quantity and quality of its repertoire.”

“Born in Los Angeles in 1981, composer and performer Gabriel Kahane is a peerless musical polymath, invested in the worlds of concert, theater and popular music.”

“Formed in 1984 by four prize-winning graduates of the Conservatoire National Superieur de Paris, the Parisii Quartet won early acclaim with its triumphs at three major international competitions: Banff (1986), Munich (1987) and Evian (1987). Invitations followed from the major concert halls and festivals of Europe, and the Parisii has since toured regularly throughout Europe and the United Kingdom.”

“An accomplished young conductor and pianist, Kelly Kuo has had tremendous success working with both singers and instrumentalists in the United States and abroad in a broad spectrum of repertoire including nearly 60 operas spanning the 17th through 21st centuries. He is the recipient of a 2009 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award for young conductors.

“Dubbed a ‘Classical Rock Star’ by the press, cellist Joshua Roman has earned a national reputation for performing a wide range of repertoire with an absolute commitment to communicating the essence of the music at its most organic level. For his ongoing creative initiatives on behalf of classical music, he has been selected as a 2011 TED Fellow, joining a select group of Next Generation innovators who have shown unusual accomplishments and the potential to positively affect the world.”

You are totally correct that nothing is more boring than to wade through a laundry list of endless credits until one’s eyes glaze over. Performance credits should be limited to significant debuts and tours, recent and upcoming engagements, recent recordings, commissioned works, and perhaps some mention of associations with other artists, especially conductors, who may have played an important role in an artist’s career. They might also include examples of an artist engaging in outreach or charitable activities. The artist’s achievements should always be summarized in reverse chronological order so that the reader doesn’t have to navigate through several seasons to get to the most recent and significant accomplishments.

It is important to include dates of various performances and milestones in the artist’s career. I read a bio of a soprano which began: “Most recently heard worldwide in the Sirius Satellite Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Puccini’s Tosca…” None of the artist’s numerous accomplishments were associated with dates anywhere in the remainder of the bio. A quick visit to YouTube showed significant clips from 3-4 years ago so I could deduce that the artist was still quite active. This was reinforced by a vist to Ask.Com that indicated that satellite radio was introduced around 2004. However, this is far more research than should be expected from the reader of an artist’s bio.

The bios of all of the artists mentioned above remained compelling and informative to the end. They never became “chatty” but I enjoyed learning that Gabriel Kahane makes his home in Brooklyn, New York, “in close company with a century-old piano and many books” and that conductor/pianist/vocal coach, Kelly Kuo, began his musical studies on the violin at the age of five, made his debut as a pianist five years later, but also later trained as a clarinetist. Today he has become a champion of contemporary music and has edited scores for two of Jake Heggie’s operas. None of the bios mentioned family members, as musical theatre bios so often do. I have no problem with a bio that does include such information, especially if the artist feels that their family is a major source of support to them in their career and that they bring balance and meaning to a life that can often involve long stretches of lonely time on the road.

The bottom line is that interesting artists have interesting bios. They don’t need to create heft in their bio by citing long lists of engagements. Artists who are still pretty young in their careers can prudently include brief quotes or phrases that pay tribute to their gifts and should focus on sharing with the reader their intense dedication to their chosen profession, the efforts they are expending to share their love of performing with new audiences, their joy in helping to expand the repertoire for their instrument (if applicable), and the other aspects of their lives that are important to them and that contribute to the persona they bring with them when they walk out on stage. If their bio conveys both humility and ambition, and reflects a sense of excitement and privilege at being able to pursue life as a performer, the reader will want to embark on the journey with them and support them as they reach new heights and become better known.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2011

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To Thine Own Self Be True

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

by Edna Landau 

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

This column was prepared with the assistance of Neale Perl, President of the Washington Performing Arts Society, and Ruth Felt, President of San Francisco Performances. Both are valued longtime colleagues, to whom I am very grateful.

Dear Edna:

I am a pianist and have just completed my second year at an American conservatory. I am hoping that I will be fortunate enough to pursue a solo career. I read your article [Getting Noticed in the 21st Century] in the 2011 Musical America International Directory of the Performing Arts and have taken to heart your message that so much of the challenge of succeeding as a performer lies in getting noticed. I have been thinking about this, specifically in relation to programming. My focus has been on learning major repertoire pieces that every pianist should know. Do you think that is a mistake? Should I also be exploring works that are quite rarely performed so that I will stand out from the crowd? —K.P.

Dear K.P.:

Your question is a good one, which will probably be of interest to many other young musicians, regardless of their instrument.

It is my firm belief that no matter what one’s objective might be, a cardinal principle is to remain true to oneself. Throughout your career,  the repertoire you choose should be repertoire you can’t wait to explore and master. There is no list of pieces that every pianist should know. You are fortunate that you have a huge amount from which to choose. In the case of concerto repertoire, it is advisable to keep in your fingers a certain number of pieces that are considered to be “standard repertoire” because that is what most orchestras will want. However, if you are drawn to less often performed repertoire or a relatively unknown concerto that you feel deserves a wider audience, this could prove to be a useful vehicle for gaining exposure. When Murray Perahia was in the early stages of his career, he decided upon the Mendelssohn concertos for his first recording. As far as I recall, he and his manager felt that he should be introduced in concertos for which he felt a great affinity but which had not been overly recorded. Pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin’s earliest concerto recordings featured works by Adolf von Henselt, Charles-Valentin Alkan, Joseph Marx, and Erich Korngold. However, this was no gimmick on Mr. Hamelin’s part. He was introduced to a great deal of unusual repertoire, including Alkan, by his father who was also a pianist.

In these times, when opportunities to play recitals on established series are fewer than they used to be, and when recital reviews for less than superstars are an increasing rarity, considerable attention should be given to one’s chosen program in hopes that it will pique a presenter’s or critic’s interest. There are various ways to do this while still remaining true to one’s repertoire strengths:

  • Round out a familiar program with an unexpected rarity. By way of example, here is a program that cellist Sol Gabetta will perform on the Washington Performing Arts Society’s Kreeger String Series at the Kennedy Center next February: Schumann Fantasiestücke, Shostakovich Sonata in D Minor, Mendelssohn Sonata in D Major, Servais Fantaisie sur deux Airs Russes. The Servais adds a nice symmetry to the program, creating a sort of “fantasy” sandwich with some “meaty” substance in between!
  • Choose a program that includes music from various periods, but not the most obvious composers or works. I like the following program, chosen by pianist Nareh Arghamanyan for her San Francisco Performances recital next April: Clementi Sonata in F# minor; Schubert Four Impromptus, Op. 90; Rachmaninoff Variations on a Theme by Corelli; and Balakirev’s Islamey.
  • If you were born in a foreign country, you might want to showcase music of your homeland or native region. Audiences always seem to welcome the introduction to something new, perhaps even exotic. The young Moroccan pianist, Marouan Benabdallah, is offering two pieces by Nabil Benabdeljalil in his Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall) recital debut this evening.
  • Offer a program of works that have an internal connection. For his Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall) debut this October, pianist Kit Armstrong is offering selections by two composers—Liszt and Bach—including Liszt’s Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor (after J.S. Bach) and his Variations on the Bach cantata “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen.”
  • Offer a program that includes a newly commissioned work or unusual transcription. Violinist Giora Schmidt’s recital at the Ravinia Festival this summer will include a transcription for solo violin of Liszt’s B Minor piano sonata. The transcription is the work of Mr. Schmidt’s piano collaborator in the recital, Noam Sivan.

These types of programs lend themselves very well to some spoken words from the stage. Your audience wlll undoubtedly welcome some introductory comments about how you made your choices and perhaps what they might especially want to listen for.

None of the above rules out you playing a program of your favorite sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin if that is what you feel you do best, but in the early years of your career, you might reserve that program for cities where you are returning to an audience that is already enthusiastic about your artistry. I should also mention that if you are planning on selling a recording following the performance, you might want to include one of the works on the recording in your program so as to heighten the possibility that the audience will want to “take you home with them.”

While you are still in your conservatory years, it would be wise to solicit suggestions from your teachers, as well as guest artists who may be offering master classes or conductors working with your school orchestra, regarding unusual repertoire that you might explore. If you have the opportunity to meet people who write about music or audiophiles who may be a treasure trove of information about recordings that are long out of print, they may be a source of wonderful ideas. You may find yourself planning a program that offers your favorite Mozart sonata alongside a piece by his Czech contemporary, Leopold Kozeluch, or pairing a Bach suite with Max Reger’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme of J.S. Bach. The possibilities are endless, with YouTube showcasing many gems waiting to be more broadly discovered.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2011

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