No doubt many of your long time subscribers to this list have frequently
enountered my ranting and raving about the copyrights and the unions...and
my lack of access to broadcast performances I could use for my research
and teaching...and enjoyment...

This recent note from the American Symphony Orchestra League was most
encouraging.  St.  Paul seems to be following the lead of the Milwaukee
Symphony.  I now have this fantasy that the NY Phil, Chicago Symphony,
Boston Sym, etc.  will follow suit.

And, on a somewhat related note...I am considering doing some orchestral
recordings for my label and am shopping around for an orchestra.  Just
out of curiosity, a friend of mine got a quote for a 3 hour session with
the New York Phil.  $37,000.  What can you do in 3 hours...not every
much, unless they have rehearsed it well or played it in concert.  Then,
you also have to pay the stage hands, use of the hall, insurance, recording
engineers, use of recording equipment...so, the cheapest you could
probably manage would be about $150,000...assuming the conductor worked
for free.  Of course you have to add the cost of the layout, pressing,
publicity, etc.  Assuming one recorded music in the public domain, and
that the conductor worked for free...let me see now...you would need to
sell about 50,000 copies to break even...

While we are a 501 c3, it would take about a $200,000 donation to pay
for it...so any of you who have rich friends who would like a 2 CD set
of some of the orchestral music of Edward Burlingame Hill, feel free to
send them in my direction...making matters worse, some of the European
orchestras are in countries which have adopted the Euro...which means
they might be out of the ball park...I wonder if some rich country like
Saudi Arabia would be interested in providing an orchestra to record
American Music...well, it would be a grand jesture...my guess is that
it wouldn't even make a dent in one of those Prince's checking accounts.

Karl