All  rights  reserved.  No  part  of  this  work  may  be  reproduced  or  transmitted,  in  any  form  or  by  any  means,  electronic,    mechanical,  photocopying,  recording  or  otherwise,  without  the  prior  permission  of  the  copyright  owner/author.  The  author    asserts  the  moral  right  to  be  identified  as  the  author  of  this  work.      Page  1  of  3    

UNDERSCORE RECORDS PVT LTD

www.UnderscoreRecords.com 39-B, MIG Flats, Motia Khan, Paharganj

New Delhi 110055, INDIA Phone: +91.11.2353 6573 Telfax: +91.11.2354 6802

Report of seminar

Organized by Underscore Records Pvt Ltd Supported by the Ford Foundation

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ONLINE PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTION

Venue: Gundecha Club, Valley of Flowers Sunflower Society

Thakur Village, Kandivali East Mumbai 400 101

Date: October 10, 2010

Time: 10 am to 1 pm

                 

All  rights  reserved.  No  part  of  this  work  may  be  reproduced  or  transmitted,  in  any  form  or  by  any  means,  electronic,    mechanical,  photocopying,  recording  or  otherwise,  without  the  prior  permission  of  the  copyright  owner/author.  The  author    asserts  the  moral  right  to  be  identified  as  the  author  of  this  work.      Page  2  of  3    

UNDERSCORE RECORDS PVT LTD

www.UnderscoreRecords.com 39-B, MIG Flats, Motia Khan, Paharganj

New Delhi 110055, INDIA Phone: +91.11.2353 6573 Telfax: +91.11.2354 6802

Background During the first year of the Ford Foundation grant project, Underscore Records has enhanced its web presence. It has added many new features to its site www.UnderscoreRecords.com to enable musicians to utilize the latest in web applications on a routine basis and free of cost. Participants The seminar was attended by close to fifty senior and young musicians and music teachers and one representative from an independent record label. Most of the participants were acquainted with the Internet, but were unaware of the e-commerce possibilities for music distribution. Focus The participants were taken on a guided tour of www.UnderscoreRecords.com website with detailed explanation and demonstration of each of the features currently available on the site. These included:

• Audio, video, print and merchandise catalogue: Participants were informed about the diversity of musical forms available on the site and the presence of marginalized forms.

• Player: Participants were invited to send in their demos for inclusion on the streaming audio player list. While that the audio clips could be heard free of cost by the visitor to the site, it was clarified that necessary permissions are required to protect Intellectual Property Rights of the performers. For this purpose, two sets of musicians were invited to perform on this occasion and their permission was sought to make audio recordings of their recitals, which would be sent to them for their approval. Once approved, the performers would need to sign a release form giving Underscore Records the permission to include their music on the player. The terms of the release form were explained in detail to the participants.

• Events Calendar: Participants were urged to send in information about forthcoming concerts featuring them or others, which Underscore Records would add to its events calendar free of cost. The method of sending this

                 

All  rights  reserved.  No  part  of  this  work  may  be  reproduced  or  transmitted,  in  any  form  or  by  any  means,  electronic,    mechanical,  photocopying,  recording  or  otherwise,  without  the  prior  permission  of  the  copyright  owner/author.  The  author    asserts  the  moral  right  to  be  identified  as  the  author  of  this  work.      Page  3  of  3    

UNDERSCORE RECORDS PVT LTD

www.UnderscoreRecords.com 39-B, MIG Flats, Motia Khan, Paharganj

New Delhi 110055, INDIA Phone: +91.11.2353 6573 Telfax: +91.11.2354 6802

information in a form available on the site was also explained.

• Resources: Participants were informed about the model contracts that were freely downloadable from the Resources section of the site.

• Podcasts: The possibility of podcasting interviews and other material was also explained and participants were shown some podcasts and videocasts.

• Sangeet Kosh (Indian Music Wikipedia): Participants were taken through the features included in the first phase of Sangeet Kosh (www.sangeetkosh.net), the Indian Music Wikipedia, initiated by Underscore Records, as part of the Ford Foundation grant project. Participants were invited to register with the directory that forms the first phase of the Wikipedia.

Outcome Participants at the seminar voiced their concerns about the challenges faced by them in live performances and recording sessions. Intellectual Property Rights came up for much discussion and participants were happy that they could utilize the model contracts made available on www.UnderscoreRecords.com to ensure that their rights are protected. Some of the participants have been proactive and have sent in information about forthcoming events to be included in the events calendar on www.UnderscoreRecords.com

Many have also registered with the directory on www.sangeetkosh.net Participants expressed a desire to attend such seminars in future to acquaint themselves further about the latest features available for music publication and distribution on the net. They expressed the need to have frequent meetings and exchange ideas as a fraternity.