Governor Abbott Urges U.S. Department Of Justice To Reconsider Changes To PRO Licensing Model
Governor Greg Abbott takes firm position on behalf of Texas songwriters
Governor Abbott sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch last week, urging her to reconsider The United States' Department of Justice's proposed changes to the Performance Rights Organization (PRO) licensing model. In 2015, the Department of Justice announced they would require PROs such as Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) and the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) to require 100 percent licensing rather than allowing PROs to negotiate licensing deals based on their market shares. Governor Abbott objected to the Department of Justice’s decision, which runs counter to longstanding industry expectations, and urged Attorney General Lynch to protect the mechanisms that allow musicians to make a living and create wealth.
“This drastic change in course will have severe consequences for music artists and the music industry as a whole,” Governor Abbott writes in the letter. “The DOJ’s conclusion will inhibit collaboration between music artists, upend longstanding practices within the music industry and further reduce royalty payments to music artists.”
The proposed change would:
- Discourage songwriters from collaborating with artists under different PROs
- Force PROs to build new accounting tools, disrupting partnerships throughout the music industry
- Increase administrative costs for PROs and music artists
To read Governor Abbott's letter, click here: http://gov.texas.gov/files/press-office/DOJ_TMOLetter08292016.pdf.
INTERVIEW: Willie Nelson Family Band Harmonica Player, Mickey Raphael
Just a few weeks ago, the TMO caught up with Texan harmonica player, Mickey Raphael via phone from Raphael's current home in Nashville. Although Raphael is well known for being a 40-plus year member of Willie Nelson's Family band, his virtuoso harp playing can also be heard on projects as disparate as recordings from Chris Stapleton, Elton John, U2, and Motley Crew. Please enjoy part 1 of an enlightening conversation where Raphael recalls his early inspirations, Coach Darrell Royal's introduction to Willie, and how he came so very close to being the Rolling Stones' opening act in 1973.
TMO: Thanks again for taking time out for this interview. Last month, we kicked off the newsletter with an interview with audio engineering legend Rupert Neve, right before his 80th birthday.
Raphael: "Yeah I read that. That was pretty cool. I even use one of his pieces of gear that I take (on the road) with me...I've got one of his mic pre's (pre-amps) that I use."
TMO: I coincidentally saw one of those online yesterday, and immediately wanted to get one.
Raphael: "Are you a musician?"
TMO: I play bass...and a little drums.
Raphael: "I don't know how you'd use a pre on bass, but it's a half-rack space, about 2 inches high, and it's got 1 channel out, with an A and a B side. So you can mix the 2 signals.
"I use a really nice ribbon mic that I play directly into the PA. I’ll go into the pre, so I have a little more control of the gain, and we just take a direct out of it, and we can actually go out of the pre into an amp, that I may or may not mic on stage. It works well for me. I do a lot of one-offs…like my recent one-offs with Chris Stapleton. So I’ll just fly to the gig with harmonicas and a mic, and a pre, and they just punch me into the PA, and we’re done."
TMO: That’s nice. That’s convenient. All of Neve’s stuff sounds amazing too.
Raphael: “Yeah…I think so.” (Then jokingly) “Oh…I thought it was me who sounded amazing. OK.”
TMO: (laughs) Well, you know…it’s likely the combination.
Let’s start off by going backwards. I tried to do some research, and saw that you came up in the Dallas area. And I thought it was fascinating that in your bio, you mention that one of your initial inspirations was harmonica player Don Brooks. And so we were just curious how you met him? And was harmonica your first instrument?
Raphael: “As a teenager, I loved music, and I wanted to play guitar, but I wasn’t any good. And I would go to this little folk club called the Rybaiyat on the weekends when I was barely old enough to drive.
"So about that time when I was old enough to drive, I’d go to the Rubaiyat on the weekends and hear people like Michael Murphy, Allen Damron was there, Ray Wylie Hubbard – who had a group called Three Faces West, and John Vandevere was another flat-picker folk singer. And with John was another harmonica player, Donny Brooks, who played. And the first time I heard him play, it just knocked me out. I was just so taken by him. And I had had a harmonica that a friend of my dad’s had given me as a kid. And I just kinda doodled around on it and stuff. But, it wasn’t until I saw Donny that I thought, ‘Ok. The harmonica’s where I wanna go.’
"And hanging out there on weekends, and going to see the different players there, I was going there as much as I could. I met Donny. And he kinda sat down with me. He was the first real harmonica player I’d ever met. And he showed me how to play a diatonic scale, just the pattern that denotes the fifth…and how to work my way around the harmonica to makes some sense out of the thing.
"And then I would just play by myself all the time. But he was the first guy that sat me down and showed me the little combinations. You know, it’s like playing a lick. If you had this lick, and you could play it in every key just by sliding up the neck. The lick is the same in the key of C or the key of G…you just switch harps…"
TMO: Kinda like an open tuning, playing with a slide.
Raphael: “Mm-hmm…”
TMO: Was the Rubyiat in Dallas proper?
Raphael: “Yes. It was in Dallas. The first (location) was on McKinney. It was just a tiny little club. It has a little stage, and about 2 rows of chairs. And I don’t know how many people it sat. That’s where I met Guy Clark. I was probably 19."
TMO: Wow. That’s crazy. It sounds like it wasn’t long after that you met Willie Nelson, introduced by University of Texas at Austin football coach Darrell Royal. And you do talk a little bit about it in your website’s bio, and I’m sure you’ve talked about it in previous interviews, but for our audience, could you talk about this almost mythic story of how you met Willie? And how you were introduced by Coach Royal at a party?
Raphael: "At that time, I don’t think I was 21 yet, but I was playing with BW Stephenson, who was from Dallas. So that was my gig. He had a record deal on RCA, we were traveling, going down and playing the folk music clubs in Austin: Soap Creek. Saxon Pub. We had a presence in Austin, even though we traveled all over the country. So we played in Austin and the Coach was such a fan of music and a patron of the arts, I imagine that’s where he (first) heard me play.
"So I get a call. I was trying to think of this yesterday. I don’t remember if it was from Darrell or Edith Royal. Or Merlin Littlefield, who was a friend of theirs who worked at RCA at the time. And they said, ‘Coach Royal is in town for a ball game. And he’s having a pickin’ party after the game. He’d like for you to come over. Bring some harmonicas; he’d like to meet you…you know, hang out, and just jam with his friends.’
"And so I said, ‘Cool.’ I wasn’t a big football fan. Being a musician, I was a terrible athlete. Of course I knew who he was, but I wasn’t such a big football fan. I wasn’t planning on going to the game, in other words. But I had the utmost respect for him.
"So I went over there (to the Royal's party). Willie was there. I knew very little about country music. I did actually have one Willie record, because we were on RCA, with BW. And I’d gone through their vault, with all their records, and I found this album of Willie’s called ‘Willie and Family.’ And the cover was just so unique that I thought, ‘I gotta take this,’ and find out who this guy was. It was just Willie and the band, and all their families, standing around a bonfire at Willie’s farm in Ridgetop. And it was just such a weird album cover. So I kinda knew a little bit who he was."
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TMO: By the way, TMO Director Brendon Anthony just pulled up the album cover and it’s almost mystical looking. I can see how that piqued your interest.
Raphael: “Yeah, you can even see Bee Spears, our bass player. And if you look at the guy, he’s wearing black socks and what looks like a fuzzy jockstrap. I mean, I don’t know what it is. It’s a collar wrapped around him and he’s not wearing any pants. And then there’s one guy that just walked in out of the woods! They didn’t even know who he was! Just probably showed up there. Really go through that album cover and look at it. It’s like, ‘who are all these people? We never could figure out who this one guy was.’ It’s like, ‘What the Hell?’
Please check next month's October 2016 TMO Newsletter for Part 2 of this exclusive interview. Photo of Mickey Raphael by Frank Stewart.
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TEXAS MUSIC License Plate Sales Explode!
With the help of many different Texas artists, celebrities, music businesses, and TMO friends and community partners like yourself, sales for the revamped specialty license plate program - benefiting grants for Texas school children and community music programs - have grown exponentially since the new plate's release. Sales jumped from 21 plates sold in May, and 31 in June, up to more than 200 in July and the first week of August after the re-release.
$22 out of the $30 fee goes directly toward grants for traditionally underserved Texas school children to receive music lessons, music instruments, and toward community music programs sponsored by 501(c)3 non-profit organizations.
Although license plate sales are higher than they've ever been, we've got a ways to go in our goal to help provide instruments and services across the entire state. You can purchase a license plate from the Texas DMV here: goo.gl/pLpwgV.
 Asleep at the Wheel leader Ray Benson was kind enough to help the Texas Music Office promote the new charitable specialty license plate across the band's very popular social network channels.
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Texas' award-winning, bilingual Latin-folk singer/songwriter Gina Chavez also volunteered to help the Texas Music Office spread the word about its updated specialty license plate by shooting a public service announcement video. To watch the video, please click here. |
Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott took a few seconds out of his busy schedule to help the Texas Music Office promote the re-launch of its specialty license plate far and wide. |
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Texas Commission on the Arts Announces Call for State Musician Nominations
The Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is currently seeking nominations for the
positions of 2017 and 2018 State Musician.
All Texas citizens are encouraged to make nominations, and
self-nominations are encouraged. The nomination form and complete information
are available online at http://www.arts.texas.gov/initiatives/texas-state-artist/.
The deadline for Texas State Artists nominations is October 15, 2016.
All qualified nominees must be native Texans or five-year residents of
the state. Candidates must have received recognition for high levels of
excellence and success in their respective disciplines. They also must have
received critical reviews in state, regional or national publications.
Chosen artists will join the company of previous state musicians such as
Willie Nelson, Flaco Jimenez, Sara Hickman, and Craig Hella Johnson and receive
statewide recognition. Texas State Artists also have the opportunity to
participate in TCA events and promotions, including participation on TCA’s
Texas Touring Roster and other state initiatives in relation to their
respective arts discipline.
“We are fortunate to have many outstanding artists in Texas, and we
anticipate receiving numerous qualified nominations,” said Gary Gibbs,
executive director of TCA. “Being named a Texas State Artist is quite an honor,
one that brings new career opportunities and recognition from the arts
community and the general public.”
TCA oversees the selection process for the position, in accordance
with Chapter 3104 of the Texas Government Code. TCA issues the call for
nominations, oversees an evaluation review process, and provides a list of
finalists to the selection committee. The committee, composed of members appointed
by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Texas House of
Representatives, makes the final selections. The 85th Texas Legislature will
make the appointments next spring when they are in session.
About The Texas Commission on the Arts
The
mission of the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is to advance our state
economically and culturally by investing in a creative Texas. TCA supports a
diverse and innovative arts community in Texas, throughout the nation and
internationally by providing resources to enhance economic development, arts
education, cultural tourism and artist sustainability initiatives. For more
information on TCA and its programs, please visit www.arts.texas.gov.
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