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Monday, November 1, 1971
University Daily Kansan
KANSAN comment
Editorials, columns and letters published on this page reflect only the opinions of the writers.
What Will O'Brien Offer?
The reigning poobah of the Democratic National Committee, Lawrence O'Brien, comes to the University of Kansas tomorrow for the second installment of the Vickers Lecture Series.
It is a compliment to the series, still in its first year, that a speaker of O'Brien's stature should agree to appear. O'Brien will be followed in逗逛 by Sen. Robert Dole, Republican National Committee chairman.
It is particularly fortunate that O'Brien's visit should come now, only a few weeks after he threatened to resign his chairmanship if Mrs. Patricia Harris, darling of the old guard Democrats, was not elected chairman of the party's Credentials Committee.
Mrs. Harris defeated Sen. Harold Hughes, D-Iowa, a tough, honest, reform-minded casualty from the still young presidential infighting. Hughes is considered by many the freshest thing to happen to the party in a long time, but he just could not muster the big money needed to compete with the more firmly entrenched Democratic hopefuls.
The battle for the chairmanship of the Credentials Committee was especially critical to elements of the party pushing party reform. It will
be that committee's responsibility to finally seat the various state delegations, after determining whether they comply with reforms required by the federal mission, designed to entrench blacks, women and younger voters.
It is interesting that most of Hughes support came from the groups hoping for a larger voice in schools, notably women, blacks and youth.
Hughes was generally regarded by liberal elements of the party as the best man for the job—confident he wouldn't bow to the pressure of the party powers such as Mayor Robertson, and former President Johnson. O'Brien, the reports go, was able to single-handedly defeat Hughes.
Mrs. Harris, a black and a woman, is considered friendly to the big faction elements of the party, who see the reforms Mrs. Harris's committee bring in lingering on their virtual domination of the candidate selection process.
So, it might be informative to listen to what Mr. O'Brien has to say about his party—and maybe even him what his party has to offer you.
Tom Slaughter
Readers Respond
Handball Policy Awkward
To the Editor:
I noted with interest the story of Sept. 30 entitled "Gym a Weekend Circus", which he described over crowded conditions in Robinson Gym. Professor Shenk's comment about the long lines for handball stand at 8 hours is his personal note. I have been there.
It may be of interest to student and faculty members who enjoy handball and paddleball to learn that there are a number of new fields for the sport, Fieldhouse. After protracted negotiations last year, the
Athletic Department agreed to make these available to non-varsity athletes on the following basis:
1. Anyone in the university community may utilize the courts daily between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
2. Faculty may utilize the courts at other times on an *ad bac* by calling Mr. Simson or Mr. Duckton to determine if there is a vacancy.
Unfortunately, the sign-up sheet for the 8:30 to 11:30 play in Allen is kept in Allen, while the
sheet for the Robinson court is located at Robinson Gym. As a resident, visit the Fieldhouse as well as Robinson Gym in order to obtain complete information about court rules and procedures, best interests of the handball community, to have the handball team for all Courts as well as the Robinson Courts available in Robinson Gym on the usual registration dates.
How about it, Mr. Stinson?
Joseph A. Pichler Associate Professor
UNLESS YOU are the most fantastic rookie of the season, you can't get a contract with a
Maybe it's important to explain just how a regular record company works. Most people know the record公司 calling Stone's law text name.
By Liberation News Service
LNS Reports on Records
BY Liberation News Service
Into a record industry just about
destroyed by the conglomerate
comes a small people-oriented group from
Chicago, brave in spirit and short
on capital, hoping to create the non-rifle record production
setup on a national level.
Good Records is making lots of promises: low prices, big royalties, easy-equipping contracts, molding imitations into imitations in imitations, Good Records plans to look for the groups that would never get a recording studio or commercial industry and the groups that never get near a recording studio for fear that hype and hustle will destroy the energy贮藏 them to their local crowds.
If you get to be a superstar, you may get a quarter on each record sold but only after all the record expenses are paid off. Even the band can afford a charge off to the artist at full rates—even though the companies force the artists to record in their own studio. The costs of a jacket and sleeve, distribution, and promotion are also racked up
record company without signing away your talents for the next five years. A company will generally demand a five-year contract and the last four years are oneyear options. They can be offered at less than but you can't get loose for five years without their permission.
Such programs may include food and nutritional services; medical,
Every song you write belongs to them for the next 28 years. They keep half the royalties from them and sell the other cover records by other artists.
Your contract says they have to record a certain number of records, and release them, but they can just print a few and send them away in letters in Toupham, Nevada, and that legally contains a release.
major cities. These had been vaguely envisioned as places where welfare mothers could leave their children while they went off to work. Instead, the House has approved a breathtaking, full-blown plan for the "comprehensive" development of a new kind of school building and most far-reaching scheme ever advanced for the Sovietization of American youth.
THE BILL is a monstrosity. No other word suffices. Many observers had expected, as a part of plans for welfare reform, to see some bill enacted that would provide modest Federal subsidies for a few day care centers in
The bill begins with a recital that Congress finds "that millions of American children are suffering unnecessary harm from the present lack of safety and care, particularly during their early childhood years." To remedy this harm, the bill directs the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare to foster an environment in which prebiotic physical and mental health, social, and cognitive development services necessary for children participating in the program to profit fully from their educational opportunities and attain their maximum potential."
James J. Kilpatrick
The Brademas bill runs to 11,000 words. It occupies 22 columns of fine type in the Congressional Record. No measure of greater importance has cleared the floor of the 92nd Congress, having had less attention from the press.
psychological and educational services; appropriate treatment to overcome emotional barriers; and "dissimulation of information in the functional language of those to be served to assure that parents are well informed." Religious guidance plays no part.
to your account.
WASHINGTON—When the House met on the afternoon of September 30, not more than 40 or 50 members had any very clear idea of what might be proposed "Child Development Act." The bill was not even before them.
Before the afternoon had ended, after a legislative coup led by John Bradenaz of Indiana, the Senate called on graft to unbelievable bill onto the Economic Opportunity Act of 1971. The Senate some weeks ago adopted a milder but similar plan. The whole scheme now action by conference committee.
Child Care Proposal Is Monstrosity
Furthermore, you are responsible for all the money the company spends throughout your contract. In other words, if you have two records which don't sell, and then you get a royalty of the royalties until all the costs of all three records are paid back. And then you get your three or five
When a company decries to sign a group, it will try to force its own producer on them. The producer is a man who talks to people about his business, "image". Sometimes he tries to force you to record songs he has written, so that he can get some royalties off the album. But worse is his attempt to mold you into something else. It never happens to be hot at the moment.
AND WHAT SORT of art did you turn out?
LOCAL proposals would float up to a new office of Child Development. This office would create a special committee to develop Federal Standards for Children and parents, the committee would prepare a Uniform Minimum Code for Child Development Facilities. The facilities would be financed through a new Child Development Center, which, Meanwhile, a National Center for Child Development would foster "research."
Culture becomes a straight hype and business scene that emblazers the artists who must deal with it and put their heads on fire. At $95 a sheet cut loose from. At $19.8 a sheet their friends may not listen.
Applications for Federal financing would be funneled through various child development Councils. These in turn would supervise Local Policy Councils, to be composed either of public or private members, by such parents in accordance with democratic selection procedures approved by the Secretary."
A Child Development Research Council would smile upon it all.
The bill would provide "free" care for all children of families earning not more than $4,320 a year. Other children would pay a small fee. Mr. Brademasc could not really say what the program might cost—maybe $350 million in federal funds. The program is open-ended. The bill contemplates ultimately, Federal support of "the entire range of services that have to do with the development of a child."
Doubtless the contrivers of this nightmare had good intentions. In the context of a Sovietized society, in which children are regarded as wards of the state and raised in state-controlled institutions, they are beautiful sense. But it is monstrous to coniect any such plan for a society that still cherishes the values (however they may be abused) of home, family, church, and parental control. This bill contains the seeds for destruction of society, and signs it, he will have forfeited his last frail claim on Middle America's support.
(C) 1971 The Washington Star Syndicate, Inc
Good Records is making lots of promise, but this company is not in the same thing a game or park. Money is still part of the game and the company hopes not to lose.
This is an interview with Mike Gold, who is on the production staff of Good Records. It was used in a video about where Mike used to work.
WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY
COST TO PRODUCE A
PROFITMARGIN WHAT IS THE
PROFIT MARGIN WHO GETS
WHAT?
"I can explain this best in terms of what we did on the record by a Chicago community halled called Mountain Bus—the company I got to work with got a package deal with Streeterville Recordings Studios here in Chicago; we bought 60 hours for recording and mixing with our equipment, track, two-inch tape goes for $7 a week. I think we used seven reels, which is a lot. We all used three or four reels of regular ¼ inch tape for 60 hours; I suppose the whole session cost us about $4500.
"THE WE HAD to design the record jacket, he had printed it from a set of sixteen pasted on jackets; the record disks have to be pressed and that cost about fifty cents each for the jacket. The more you run, the less each cost."
"Tapes, I might add, cost about $12 each. complete. They're so cheap." Sara looked at them for $3.88 each. The rest of the money goes to the record company.
"It costs an arm and a leg just to mail out the promotion copies to the various radio stations and newspapers. We had to buy books, magazines and biographies and other stuff, and we have to pay about 20 cents
apiece for postage.
"Then we had to buy advertisising to let people know we're around (and some radio stations are active) and review the record until you grease their palms with advertisising, although we've told them they're 'tuck off'). Promotion should end up costing us at least $8000.
"These are the minimum costs; it comes down to about $1.00 a copy. The major labels have large, useless staff, all of whom work with the group gets some bread, but not much justify the general selling price."
"We cut down the price rate by distributing directly to the receivers of the record distributors; we don't employ large groups of bombers; we don't make a lot of money releasing a release a record and releasing a record we believe in it, and will back it all the way. We release a month due to inattention."
"WE DON'T have any other things to support. We don't own anything like communications satellites or TV stations."
HOW MUCH DOES THE GROUP MAKE?
"If the recording artist is lucky, he will make as much as 22 cents a copy on a major label. We have 25 cents a copy; this would go up when we sell enough records to cover our expenses. We haven't sacrificed anything, we use the latest equipment and the expensive companies use."
HOW DOES THE REST OF
THE RECORDING INDUSTRY,
FEWLY CORPORATION
AND ALL, FEAR ABOUT GOOD
RECORDS?
"Right now, we're like an art. We alone can force them to learn how to work. The talent gets more money from us and our records are sold for far less (which is a great image for us) than we can steal some of their artists.
"People are always going to buy supermarket records no matter how much money they spend." The Beatles' Abbey Road sold well spite of their $69.91 price list.
WHAT ARE YOUR CON-TRACTS LIKE?
"SHORT AND very simple.
We'll pay 25 cents per record at-the-turn, but we promise not to turn around and record the same record for another group for any length of time, although they can't record for anybody except our second album by the same artist won't be in direct competition with the first. No one is committed to more than one
HOW DOES THAT AFFECT GOOD RECORDS? IT SEEMS AS THOUGH IT WOULD BE THE GROUP FOR A FEW YEARS THAN IF YOU HAD THEM FOR JUST ONE RECORD. WHAT IF YOU HAD THEM FOR GOBLED UP BY SOMONE ELSE?
By Sokoloff
Griff and the Unicorn
conglomerate. In terms of records alone, they own Electra, Warner Brothers, Regise, a new label (a new label which will have Croshy, Stills, Nash and Young; Laura Nyro and Joel Mitchell); a new label which will distribute and market Bizzare, Straight, the Rolling Stone label, and who knows what else. They movies, Superman comic books, Mad magazine, a publishing house, parking lots, rent-a-car at a store in one of among other things. I think they've got a bid on the government as well. If the government there is to buy it," Kiney will be there to buy it."
"The only way they'll grabbed up by someone else is if someone else offers them more bread per record than we do."
"As far as I can tell, this is mainly a runner up by larger companies, and large people, all of whom work for Kinney. Forbes business magazine launched two months ago to be the first in the next issue. Anyway, it's hard to tell the difference between them and the rest of big business."
"Nobody's ever stopped me in a dark alley and tried to sell me the latest Steve Stills record.
I HEARD THE MAFIA OWNS
KINNEY.
WHICH ISN'T VERV LIKELY
Every major label is owned by a conglomerate which owns all of its businessmen. Rock went through a real bad depression last year, and the band were recorded and the conglomerates started making cuts—no experimentation, more lost money, less lost money, they raised the last price from $189 to $528.98 score. From $189 to $528.98 score. The conglomerates are going to kill the business. People are forced to shell out more money for music.
YOU MENTION THE KINNEY,
CORPORATION, WHICH
LOOT OF DIFFERENT
LABELS. WHO ARE
THEY?
"Copyright 1971, David Sokoloff.
WHICH IS $T VERY LIKELY
know if a group which sold well at
$2.98 will make it at $5.98. Like it
is not likely to lower its price
THE NAME OF THE COMPANY WHICH OWNS GOOD RECORDS IS CALLED "THE PEOPLE'S" ART, MAKING A PEOPLE-ORIENTED THING, IN A POLITICAL SPINE?
"From a political standpoint, I, and these are three point lessees. These are less lessees, less, over two dollars less. Lightening the burden off the lessees."
"ON THE second level, Good Records is providing an alter- ective for their productions. The profits from Good Records, when we make any, will be invested in another project, and the producers are talking about inexpensive concepts at an established place, like the auditorium, Theatre in Chicago.
"Kinney is the biggest
"Of course, we ain't no where near profits yet. Concerns would be raised if the community record stores to a people's record label to com-
"Lastly, there is the purely aesthetic, musical level, which is necessarily political in itself. That's why we all have its musical tastes. We're looking for non-commercial sounds, experimental sounds, not just Elton-Taylor schickrock. The music that it cannot be stained to lasture.
"A friend of mine who works for a congregation called this product 'revolutionary,' and I’m sure that’s how the music we’re going to work in the world you’re going to bring about revolutionary change solely through music, but you can provide a strong cultural base to build your audience of awareness. And that’s what we’re trying to do."
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