Interview with Steinar

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Steinar works at Kunsthall art gallery in Bergen, it seems that the art created in Norway that is not attached to some kind of cultural publishing stream, finds it difficult to get any kind of platform. Although US artists have little cultural funding, they do have a very much less regulated art world. If this creates a more real art environment or not who can say. Most US artists seem happy to make their way over to Europe and tour through the cultural landscape if they can. It does seem that few acts tour Europe that are self published. the ones that are self published are most likely going to be performing art that others created.

My experience of Norway is that almost every artists from outside Norway that does a show here is with a publisher. The conclusion in Norway seems to be a little like this: if you can’t find a publisher in your own country then why should we allow you to perform here.

For artists in Norway it seems: we can give you money to make what you want, yet if you want to get exposure for what you create, your at the mercy of the publishers and cultural funds. If you (as an artists) create content without a cultural publisher or commercial publisher then your only (most likely) going to be able to show this to your friends. You can play for free in a bar and your friends can drink lots of beer. Conclusion: oh yeah, its unfortunate that we don’t create any public spaces for these kind of events, if we did we would be under minding the well organized cultural publishing system that we have in place. So that is just not going to happen.

Punks, keep on filling in forms. Artists in central and western Europe might have an easier task at getting content out than any artists based in Norway. Although its not really possible to pay a professional in Europe to book a self published artists shows in Euopre. Yet i am finding that this also apllies in the US. DIY is the only way and those that don’t deal with DIY artists, well they are the enemy.

please find the truth for yourself, this could be more science fiction.

Niaal works in the Bar at Vamoose and is in a band

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Niaal works in the bar at Vamoose. Over the past 3 years performing in Venues around Norway.

Niaal Performs in

The low Frequency In Stereo

The Megaphonic Thrift

The Alexandria Quartet

http://www.rawmedia.tv 

David Venue owner in Bergen Norway

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David run’s a venue called vamoose in Bergen. The venue is popular and is doing ok. Being a fan of live music Vamoose puts on a live act when it can. The reality is that the venue often looses money even when the band is playing for free. Stage space use and sound of artists means a night of live music can mean less money. Tono regulates the use of content in this venue even though much of the music comes through unpublished sources. David says that most bands would rather collect anything he pays to Tono direct from him. Myspace don’t pay for use of content, yet Vamoose does. Vamoose does not have soap commercial running over the artists head when they are playing their tunes to the public. What to do?

Ideas i have brought forward to the university of Oslo have been knocked back, as i have no proof that the projects i offer have a use in the community. I was not able to talk to students about ideas that relate technology and art. (you visit the projects at this link. Why? it would be un-ethical for me as my opinion is un-qualified. So the artist press kit idea gets shelved, intellectuals advise students what project they should do. The interesting thing is that few people within the intellectual community have much experience in the art world beyond a theory of understanding. Most universities promote types of art that have already been established in the media/publishing.

Every which way you loose, be sure to copyright everything and put it in a freezer and then present it as a paper and get a better salary. If your also able to merge a couple of those corrupt organization with your findings (TONO), better still and more points to you.

Anyway: excuse my cynical way here, meanwhile another person starts to write a song- cause they figured that song was better than the one they heard on the radio. They buy a guitar/amp, software for the computer, eventually an artist press kit, they sign their rights with a rights organization, they create a myspace, they try to tour out of their town, they can’t- no infa structure.

Who is going to build that infa structure. Lets wait and let myspace get around to doing that, rather than using any of that public money. The more advertising space the better, we like it best also when the artist gets none of that money that myspace get for the use of the artists content. That way the artist is sure to never be able to tour beyond the doors of her/his home, or if they do for sure its with an established publisher. We also like it that soon myspace are going to be selling stages to live venues with soap commercials above it. Yes mypsace sponsored by the rights organizations making sure that live music stays within the home for 99.9 percent of content created.

Now with the added bonus of knowing that a possibility to innovate did exist, however the idea did not have a PHD attached to it.

For sure if your good enough one of the major publishers is going to find you. Live performance skills are not needed with all this technology! Make sure you work on your online smile size, respect those building your cyber home. If we are all nice enough the walls of the future may not be all google adds.

http://www.rawmedia.tv

norway film maker

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http://www.rawmedia.tv

Globe Box

Today i sent this plug in concept to company that builds these machines. view the site that i put the concept on

View Tomra patent technology at this link.

What is this machine? Many bottles purchased in Norway are able to be recycled. If a bottle has a refund attached then this machine can figure that out. If the container does not have a refund attached, then the bottle is not accepted by the machine and can be put in a bin next to the machine. When you have finished your issued with a ticket that can be used as a credit within the store.

concept: The customer could be given a swipe card (or apply online for a connection via “gmail“”paypal“) by the store that allowed the customer to distribute the refund to a charity of choice. How would the customer decide what organization would get the reimbursement? An internet site would be set up that the the customer could log into (listed on swipe card) and choose the charity that would collect the credit. Alternatively a credit card company might build their services into the machine.

concept+: An additional feature (heart button) could be built into the machine that allowed the customer to give that credit to a charity. The store could choose a charity. The stores nominated charity and the the “total” amount (as it increases) could be displayed above the machine.

concept++ A different infa-structure to that of the one in the picture above could be built. People living in/near apartment blocks could drop any waste into a system and be issued with a credit that they could direct to any charity via the internet (via use of a swipe card). Waste could be sorted through identification (color coded bags) and waste could be sold to the highest bidder. Consider also: Large charity organizations could set up their own pick up points and then the contributor could direct their source to a department within that organization online.

Both concept and concept+ could work together within any store.

Concept+ & concept++ could be adapted so that people could collect the credit without distribution to charities.

Software needs for this project.

more links to visit

Radio Nova Project: Open Source Internet Radio Project

I sent this note of to Radio Nova in Norway.

Radio Nova might like to start collecting works licensed under a creative commons license. A kind of open source internet radio/art station that plays content licensed with creative commons licenses. From the people that i have spoken to at the university there would be support to create such a project.

Music that was considered popular on the Open source radio station you might then perform through the regular airwaves. The more works licensed with a Creative Commons licenses that are performed on your above ground radio network the more right you would have to demand a decrease in the amount that you had to pay to Tono. (tono is the rights organization in Norway)

Keep in mind that the contract that the artist based in Norway signs with Tono is non-exclusive, where as the contract that the artist signs with ASCAP (US rights organization is exclusive). Artists based in Norway can join and possibly transfer to ASCAP. 

Thoughts on Creative Commons:
What i like about creative commons is that it offers the artist the opportunity to get exposure for her or his ideas/cocepts/art/music beyond their community of friends without the use of the regular business model.

Keeping this in mind. Most likely 95 percent of the content that is played on your radio network is owned by publishers, and your a non-profit radio station funded by the people.

People that have musical ideas at home and want to get exposure for those ideas beyond their immediate social network have to go to publishers mostly. Mostly their musical ideas are rejected, as a result huge amounts of cultural funding that is given out to maintain the arts scene in many developed countries.

Artists join collection societies with the backing of culturally funded labels in many circumstances. In Australia artists often pay a grant writer around 250 dollars to write a grant and then the grant writer gets 10 percent of anything the artist is granted. Neither getting a cultural fund for your music or getting a publisher to accept your music are such artistic ideas. I spent 10 months in Norway and found very few spaces to even play the songs i make.