Integrity, so exceedingly and decidedly void today, is still something that each of us responds to positively when we encounter it. Integrity tells me that, when encountered as either a response or an offer, it holds the readiest of value to everyone. Oh, there are those in denial -- it implies putting one's neck out. The reasons are theirs, but opportunities are missed, whose rewards are more than affirming. When you speak directly and honestly to the most directly honest part in the other person, the truth of your integrity is more than known. It is felt and that one little effect opens the doors to relationships that affect in a monumentally empowering way.
Time to talk honestly.
I have met more people that are more than ready for a challenge that truly means something. They are looking for that point of personal significance that says their lives mean something. It would be great if it was music related, but anything would be welcome. It is when they are most in need, however, that the survival instinct, conditioned feelings of inadequacy, depression and desperation, or whatever, kick in. Back off and you're safe. But are you really?
As a society, we are bombarded with disempowering messages, accelerating and amplifying by the week, by the day. We let elected representatives, the media, and small, vocal groups take responsibility for getting done what we know needs to be done. The results are always insanely consistent, inadequate, and disappointing. And we still get the bill. So much for buyer's remorse.
As musicians, most of us know what it is like to be unemployed, uninsured, and unfulfilled. Only, for us, it is not a recent phenomenon; it is a constant. We let industry "leaders" take care of our business and what do we get? We let the need to work degrade the standards of our work. We take less substance (read paycheck) and take more crap. Is anybody seeing a pattern here?
In the 70's, I could work a week of lousy pay one-nighters and still cover my bills. Having moved to the top of my game in 2009, I worked more and got less -- and had to travel to do so. Hanging at poverty is not a living. That said, the obvious question is, "why do you do it?". If you're reading this, then you know, but, just in case...
My wife and daughter, both disabled and looking to me for their care and advocacy, have told me how miserable it is when I am out playing or hustling gigs. They have also told me how much more miserable it is when I'm not playing! If you're working at a day job, you know what I am saying.
Yes, I have met a lot of folks, lately, looking for that one thing that will make a difference in their lives. I have also heard their laments, their peeves, bitches and gripes. MyGigNet started out as a form letter with the whole laundry list. The list didn't change, but the intent behind it did. Describing the problem was not enough; prescribing a solution had to be there.
Our solution is deeply thought out. It is our experience -- like yours -- but with one difference. We're putting together the place that will let you put together the place that you envisioned when you first wanted to play. It will be housed in the virtual world, but will be deeply connected to the physical world -- through music, the one language we all understand. Integrity, mine, ours, and yours, is what it's about. We are putting our necks out.
We'd like some company.
By the way, we will soon post a slide presentation -- short -- but deep enough for you to better understand what I have been trying to intelligently articulate in previous posts, apparently to no avail. Hope it helps.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
The MyGigNet Survey
Since the MyGigNet mission is to serve the people -- you -- that will help to build it, we are compiling a survey that we hope will give us a clearer idea of what it is that you want, need, and hope for. While we are working musicians with a lot of years of experience, we are experienced enough to know that each person's perspective is different. Our intent is to open the channels for a real dialog here, to determine priorities, and to establish a solid starting point for our data model and our hard launch. When the survey form is finished, you will be notified through our newsletter, but only if you are registered. So, please, if you haven't, then sign up. It costs nothing.
Also, tell others about us. They don't necessarily have to be musicians; they can be music service providers, management, agents, club owners, or fans. We want everyone to have the opportunity to help everyone else.
Your involvement and input are much appreciated and needed.
Also, tell others about us. They don't necessarily have to be musicians; they can be music service providers, management, agents, club owners, or fans. We want everyone to have the opportunity to help everyone else.
Your involvement and input are much appreciated and needed.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The MyGigNet Manifesto: A Promise of Responsibility and Respect
Throughout the course of this undertaking, I have been met with either an open understanding of what we are attempting to accomplish -- for both those that create and those that enjoy music -- or a very conventional perspective that cannot see the forest for the trees. The first group is comprised, mostly, of the people that we are trying to serve and, most openly, by those that are younger. The second group is represented by mostly older musicians and aficionados, but seriously strong in those that can fund our project; the older ones resistant to technology and the investors too steeped in revenue models, projections, and forecasts to recognize the difference between finance and priming the pump of economy. The last group is the one that I have had to focus the most attention upon, especially over the last two years; they are the focus of my appeal to any and all of you that hold any hope for creating and sharing, in a robust and relevant environment, and receiving residual compensation for your contributions.
Investors have tended to see some compelling argument for the creation of a MyGigNet, but they relate best to tangible numbers, usually dollars. While not fluent, I have managed to understand where they are coming from enough to shake my head, thinking "they are stepping over dollars to get to dimes". It is impossible to place a tangible value on much of what transacts between people. What's it worth to get turned on to a new gig? What's the dollar value of finding the band, the CD, the download, the lesson, that moves your consciousness, capabilities, and capacities to the next level?
In thinking this through, realizing that some tangible reference has to be made in order to get the serious attention and commitment of socially conscious, conscientious, and responsible investors, there became apparent that the only avenue open was to post our promise, to persevere in its development and delivery, or to die trying. If we achieve a testable base of 5000 MyGigNet Citizen/Members, on something as simple and direct as a promise, we are convinced that this will demonstrate something of more value, as it is a growing and sustainable model. Imagine 50,000 or 500,000 -- on a promise.
We are keenly aware that the music industry (and the Internet, for that matter) is much too vested in product orientation, too often neglecting the creative process and, when it doesn't, reduces even that to product. If this is what determines the matching of supply to demand, then the best one can hope for is cursory in its results. MyGigNet is of the mind that, by emphasizing process orientation, we are acknowledging the act of creation, which, itself, implies the need to connect individuals through more than common knowledge, skill, and interest; we have to better represent the individuals, their wants, needs, perceptions, perspectives, and manner of engagement. This will result in deeper, defined, and relevant matches, whether as peer networks (creative clusters) or as information, sought and needed.
It is with this in mind that we deliver our solemn pledge:
To build a community governed by principles of personal and professional pertinence, with historically sound relational organization, and exercising the highest economic responsibility to our Citizen/Members; and to hold conscious resolve to the moral and social imperatives that promote the general welfare of these Citizen/Members. The modes and means for accomplishing this include, but are not limited to:
1. Pertinence -- derived through the Personal Profile Application, a MyGigNet format that allows the user to create a discreet, private program representing him/her as a distinct, deeply defined individual. This program can be continually revisited, answering more questions to develop a deeper, more dimensional personal "data avatar" that best represents the user.
2. Structure -- the repository for all things music, thematically organized down corridors that relate to Music Education; Business Education; Composition and Publishing; Recording and Distribution; Pre-venue Performance Development; Venue Performance and Professional Services; Organizations, Programs, and Funding; and Music Therapy. Each corridor will connect to related portals that are more specific to functional tasks and needs. The structural design reference is best described as a hybrid museum-library-classroom-lab.
3. Operation --MyGigNet, using the Personal Profile Application, will operate according to a Guild based model, with Masters, Journeymen, and Apprentices. The status of the individual within this Guild will depend on the tasks at hand, a well as the relative areas of expertise. In this regard, the older Master offers experience in life and career processes; the younger Master offers knowledge of new technological paradigms.
4. Economy -- a new paradigm of revenue distribution, accountable through and to those that contribute content, and determined by how often that content is accessed by other community members, as well as non-members.
The Promotion of the general welfare of the MyGigNet community will beget a positive individual and community identity, more direct problem solving, create a more perfect union/community (we acknowledge that this is not a new idea), and resulting in something of common, substantial value to defend against any and all threats to its integrity and existence.
Investors have tended to see some compelling argument for the creation of a MyGigNet, but they relate best to tangible numbers, usually dollars. While not fluent, I have managed to understand where they are coming from enough to shake my head, thinking "they are stepping over dollars to get to dimes". It is impossible to place a tangible value on much of what transacts between people. What's it worth to get turned on to a new gig? What's the dollar value of finding the band, the CD, the download, the lesson, that moves your consciousness, capabilities, and capacities to the next level?
In thinking this through, realizing that some tangible reference has to be made in order to get the serious attention and commitment of socially conscious, conscientious, and responsible investors, there became apparent that the only avenue open was to post our promise, to persevere in its development and delivery, or to die trying. If we achieve a testable base of 5000 MyGigNet Citizen/Members, on something as simple and direct as a promise, we are convinced that this will demonstrate something of more value, as it is a growing and sustainable model. Imagine 50,000 or 500,000 -- on a promise.
We are keenly aware that the music industry (and the Internet, for that matter) is much too vested in product orientation, too often neglecting the creative process and, when it doesn't, reduces even that to product. If this is what determines the matching of supply to demand, then the best one can hope for is cursory in its results. MyGigNet is of the mind that, by emphasizing process orientation, we are acknowledging the act of creation, which, itself, implies the need to connect individuals through more than common knowledge, skill, and interest; we have to better represent the individuals, their wants, needs, perceptions, perspectives, and manner of engagement. This will result in deeper, defined, and relevant matches, whether as peer networks (creative clusters) or as information, sought and needed.
It is with this in mind that we deliver our solemn pledge:
To build a community governed by principles of personal and professional pertinence, with historically sound relational organization, and exercising the highest economic responsibility to our Citizen/Members; and to hold conscious resolve to the moral and social imperatives that promote the general welfare of these Citizen/Members. The modes and means for accomplishing this include, but are not limited to:
1. Pertinence -- derived through the Personal Profile Application, a MyGigNet format that allows the user to create a discreet, private program representing him/her as a distinct, deeply defined individual. This program can be continually revisited, answering more questions to develop a deeper, more dimensional personal "data avatar" that best represents the user.
2. Structure -- the repository for all things music, thematically organized down corridors that relate to Music Education; Business Education; Composition and Publishing; Recording and Distribution; Pre-venue Performance Development; Venue Performance and Professional Services; Organizations, Programs, and Funding; and Music Therapy. Each corridor will connect to related portals that are more specific to functional tasks and needs. The structural design reference is best described as a hybrid museum-library-classroom-lab.
3. Operation --MyGigNet, using the Personal Profile Application, will operate according to a Guild based model, with Masters, Journeymen, and Apprentices. The status of the individual within this Guild will depend on the tasks at hand, a well as the relative areas of expertise. In this regard, the older Master offers experience in life and career processes; the younger Master offers knowledge of new technological paradigms.
4. Economy -- a new paradigm of revenue distribution, accountable through and to those that contribute content, and determined by how often that content is accessed by other community members, as well as non-members.
The Promotion of the general welfare of the MyGigNet community will beget a positive individual and community identity, more direct problem solving, create a more perfect union/community (we acknowledge that this is not a new idea), and resulting in something of common, substantial value to defend against any and all threats to its integrity and existence.
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Well Within Our Reach
In this particularly perilous time, we are faced with ever mounting issues of personal and social survival. There is a certain conditioning at play, which causes us to acknowledge the more modest, but immediate relief from our travails. We have become too easily distracted by details, by personality, by headline, by sensation, and all for the illusion that we survive for some future benefit. If conditioning holds out, this future remains just that -- future -- never attained, never arrived at; a long way out of reach or almost within our grasp.
I have been guilty of such short-sightedness. In my mind, 5 billion prayers and pleas for relief and deliverance would just put mine into a pot; multiply that by several times per day, every day, month, year,........ I could never be a priority. Even reasoned omnipotence has its limits. There is total parity in the universe. We are all energy, matter, and energy, again.
Ours is the search for a well, a fountain of affirmation and empowerment, the source endless and its bounty well beyond. We wade through a vast desert called life looking for an oasis on the horizon, on the surface. This is the point of opportunity sought and fulfilled, but it is deceiving if it is the only accepted point of recognition and reference. Looking for trees and grasses is, most certainly, evidence of life flowing from below, but it represents a greater wellspring fed by an integrated network of springs and aquifers, which can extend far beyond our vision.
Sometimes a stream runs its course, visibly meandering in meadow and wood, mountain and valley. Other times it is unseen, running freely and undetected beneath our feet. Either one represents the opportunity to partake of its benefit.
The lesson here is to feel and to recognize the well wherever it is. Do not be distracted by only looking for the obvious. Ask, "why here and why now" and determine its value as a source for solution, removing the "problem" paradigm, and initiating response in place of reaction. Responsible engagement is the backbone of the MyGigNet and global community.
We must stop looking for the sip of water when the well is within our reach.
I have been guilty of such short-sightedness. In my mind, 5 billion prayers and pleas for relief and deliverance would just put mine into a pot; multiply that by several times per day, every day, month, year,........ I could never be a priority. Even reasoned omnipotence has its limits. There is total parity in the universe. We are all energy, matter, and energy, again.
Ours is the search for a well, a fountain of affirmation and empowerment, the source endless and its bounty well beyond. We wade through a vast desert called life looking for an oasis on the horizon, on the surface. This is the point of opportunity sought and fulfilled, but it is deceiving if it is the only accepted point of recognition and reference. Looking for trees and grasses is, most certainly, evidence of life flowing from below, but it represents a greater wellspring fed by an integrated network of springs and aquifers, which can extend far beyond our vision.
Sometimes a stream runs its course, visibly meandering in meadow and wood, mountain and valley. Other times it is unseen, running freely and undetected beneath our feet. Either one represents the opportunity to partake of its benefit.
The lesson here is to feel and to recognize the well wherever it is. Do not be distracted by only looking for the obvious. Ask, "why here and why now" and determine its value as a source for solution, removing the "problem" paradigm, and initiating response in place of reaction. Responsible engagement is the backbone of the MyGigNet and global community.
We must stop looking for the sip of water when the well is within our reach.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Obstacles and Opportunities
Times like these are reminders that, when we rely on others to do right by us, we -- the common folk -- are the first mentioned and the last regarded. Our economists, pundits, and politicians bluster, boil, sidestep, rationalize, and argue over an abundance of small points that have each been inflated to category 4 and 5 storms, just by the perceptions that are being shaped. Everything is a problem. Everything is a crisis. And no one is attending to the real answers.
The infrastructure of any economy is not determined by the money-moving accounting networks of banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, or Wall Street. It is determined by the relationships of the people within the society that lead to exchanges between them -- valuable, not because they have a dollar amount attached to them, but because of the needs of those doing the exchanging. Whether its goods, services, knowledge, or even questions, there is an intrinsic value that is implied that no number can measure.
I buy some product or service, as an example. Who did I buy it from? Why did I buy it? It is almost always a matter that is more about the integrity of the company or individual that I purchase from than one of just price. How much value do you put on that relationship, as a purchaser or as a purveyor? While knowledge does have a bearing (again, what's that worth?), it is the question -- or series of questions -- that are posed, back and forth, that qualify the integrity and the pertinence of the transaction. Each question begs an answer. Because it is posed as a question, the respondent inherently knows that there is an answer and, thus, he strives to fulfill or to lose out if he doesn't.
Which leads me to the issue of problems and the obstacles that they present. If we were to pose problems, not as statements, but as questions, wouldn't a solution be naturally forthcoming? The obstacles to solutions are removed (or, at least, reduced) by this modest shift in presentation. And what is a solution, but an opportunity? This site is looking at solutions -- and the opportunities that they offer -- not just from a small group of people on the inside. It is seeking solutions from you. What do you know? What do you do? What can you offer? This is your site. Start offering. We're waiting. And so is opportunity.
The infrastructure of any economy is not determined by the money-moving accounting networks of banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, or Wall Street. It is determined by the relationships of the people within the society that lead to exchanges between them -- valuable, not because they have a dollar amount attached to them, but because of the needs of those doing the exchanging. Whether its goods, services, knowledge, or even questions, there is an intrinsic value that is implied that no number can measure.
I buy some product or service, as an example. Who did I buy it from? Why did I buy it? It is almost always a matter that is more about the integrity of the company or individual that I purchase from than one of just price. How much value do you put on that relationship, as a purchaser or as a purveyor? While knowledge does have a bearing (again, what's that worth?), it is the question -- or series of questions -- that are posed, back and forth, that qualify the integrity and the pertinence of the transaction. Each question begs an answer. Because it is posed as a question, the respondent inherently knows that there is an answer and, thus, he strives to fulfill or to lose out if he doesn't.
Which leads me to the issue of problems and the obstacles that they present. If we were to pose problems, not as statements, but as questions, wouldn't a solution be naturally forthcoming? The obstacles to solutions are removed (or, at least, reduced) by this modest shift in presentation. And what is a solution, but an opportunity? This site is looking at solutions -- and the opportunities that they offer -- not just from a small group of people on the inside. It is seeking solutions from you. What do you know? What do you do? What can you offer? This is your site. Start offering. We're waiting. And so is opportunity.
MyGigNet Is Not Dead
I just received an email asking, since there have been no new blog posts, if MyGigNet is dead. I assure you that it is not. The tasks that we have laid before us have been very involved, from determining database issues (acquisition, access, security), to the formatting of the PPA, its programming, spread sheets that investors need (yes, there are people out there that are very attracted to our mission), business development, marketing, site development, and on and on and on..........
We are honestly close. We have been struggling to make advances, but our commitment is no less than ever. Remember that we are musicians working on a mission, but upholding the responsible and respectful position of treating this like the sustainable business model that it is. In the meantime, we have bills to pay and issues to address. It ain't easy, but it is getting done. If you have any skills that you can offer, financial/funding, programming, research, business development, etc., please let us know. Thanks.
We are honestly close. We have been struggling to make advances, but our commitment is no less than ever. Remember that we are musicians working on a mission, but upholding the responsible and respectful position of treating this like the sustainable business model that it is. In the meantime, we have bills to pay and issues to address. It ain't easy, but it is getting done. If you have any skills that you can offer, financial/funding, programming, research, business development, etc., please let us know. Thanks.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Well yes, Oregon IS for Dreamers
The need for MyGigNet is apparent in so many ways. I speak to working musicians, to teachers, to students, to organizers and activists, to fans, and the list goes on. Each and every one has expressed frustrations, from simple searches to finding gigs, connecting with like-minded musicians, programs, funding, guidance, etc. This list, too, goes on and on. MySpace frustrates them, Sonicbids frustrates them, download sites frustrate them, repetition frustrates them. It is not just the process, it's the result -- too little, too irrelevant, too costly. The article, below, cites 2 million artists, but that's professionals. With 84,000,000 playing music -- for the joy of just doing it -- too many are too isolated to share their gifts. Everything comes at a cost. In Portland, Oregon there is a creative environment that attracts many to get a start, but the end result is that they have to go elsewhere, with no guarantee of success, to move ahead. It is easy to see the problem. It is a little harder to find small, pointed solutions. It is extremely difficult to execute the one, grand vision -- but it is not impossible. We each have something to offer, but it must be done within a committed, contributing, community; one that shares enough of what it knows to help itself by helping others. It will be done in bits and pieces, but it will be done. Read on. There is affirmation for our mission in this article. Yes, there are problems. You hold a piece of the solution.
David Kahl
_______________________________________________________________________
Sometimes the statistics show just what you think they will.
According to a 150-page report released Thursday by the National Endowment for the Arts, there are more artists than ever before in the United States -- about 2 million -- and Oregon is one state where the number of artists has grown decisively, jumping from 15th nationally in 1990 to eighth in 2000. And that underscores the perception that Oregon, and specifically Portland, is one of the country's more popular artist havens.
"This report gives the arts community a real tool to show the public how much of an impact they have here," says Jesse Beason, senior policy director for Mayor-elect Sam Adams, whose portfolio of responsibilities includes overseeing the city's arts scene. "It's not simply a feeling, not only anecdotal. It's rooted in facts."
The report, called "Artists in the Workforce," compiles data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. censuses and the 2003-05 American Community Survey. Chock-full of charts and tables, the study is a comprehensive appraisal of the state of the artist, which it defines broadly and inclusively through 11 categories, including designers, architects, writers, fine artists, actors, musicians and even announcers.
Several of the report's national findings may sound surprising: The number of artists is a shade less than the number of American military personnel -- who number 2.2 million -- but greater than the number of lawyers, doctors or farmers.
Not surprisingly, most artists live in the country's major cities, with Los Angeles having the most, followed by New York, Chicago, Washington and Boston.
Artists, the report says, tend to be more educated than the general work force yet earn less than others who are similarly educated. And it seems that even the arts have much work to do when it comes to equal representation and pay: Most artists are men, and male artists tend to earn more ($42,000 a year) than women ($27,300).
For Oregon, there is good news for arts supporters. The state ranks eighth in the number of total artists per 10,000 people, ahead of Washington and Nevada, but behind New York, California and Massachusetts.
A breakdown of the total artists category is revealing: Oregon ranks eighth in the number of architects and ninth in three separate categories: designers, actors and fine artists, which includes animators and art directors. Lovers of Powell's City of Books won't be surprised to find out that Oregon is No. 5 when it comes to the number of writers.
It's unlikely that these numbers will shock Oregonians. For the past decade, everyone from culture observer Richard Florida to mayor-elect Adams has talked about Oregon's --particularly Portland's --bounty of artists and designers, its so-called "creative class," and how they affect the quality of life here. But why have so many artists come to Oregon and Portland?
"We have an environment that is conducive to creative activity," says Virginia Willard, executive director of the arts advocacy nonprofit Northwest Business for Culture & The Arts. "It's an open-minded environment that accepts creativity. Artists are comfortable here. There's a lot of fertile ground."
While the report strengthens Oregon's standing as an arts hub, Willard thinks that's not enough.
"This is a great place for artists to get their start," says Willard. "But many feel they have to leave. Are there enough financial opportunities for them? Is there enough of a market? We have to make sure there is enough infrastructure and resources to support them."
Beason agrees, and says one of Adams' chief successes as city commissioner has been his championing of arts funding, programs and coalition-building within the arts community. Beason says that Adams intends to build on those accomplishments as mayor.
"All along we've said it's important to make investments," says Beason. "To keep what we have if not grow what we have. We still want to think about what policies will help continue to make this an attractive place for artists."
-- D.K. Row; dkrow@news.oregonian.com
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