Absolutely one of the best comedy television shows of all time. Great writing and a wonderful cast.
I really don't want to highjack the thread but ... who remembers the Thanksgiving show with newsman Les Nessman exclaiming, "I thought turkeys can fly" after shoving live turkeys out of a helicopter for a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway.
I really don't want to highjack the thread but ... who remembers the Thanksgiving show with newsman Les Nessman exclaiming, "I thought turkeys can fly" after shoving live turkeys out of a helicopter for a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway.
Just rewatched it:
Actually, that was Mr. Carlson. As the recipient of the covented "Buckeye Newshawk Award", "Silver Sow Award" and the "Copper Cob Award" for excellence in farm reporting, hopefully Les would know that turkeys can't fly... But competence has never been his forte, either.
Oh, Internet... you put so much trivia at my fingertips.
Now back to our regularly scheduled topic of ever-diminishing songwriter royalties.
who remembers the Thanksgiving show with newsman Les Nessman exclaiming, "I thought turkeys can fly".
Not to call you out or be a jerk, but Carlson said that. "As god is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
Edited: I just saw that someone below posted the clip. That episode was classic. "The Pinedale Shopping Mall was BOMBED today..." Johnny Fever was the perfect stereotype of the hipster DJ of those years.
They did a really good job when the people died at The Who concert too. Very strong writing on that episode to bring home to point of how senseless it is that people got trampled, as if being closer to the stage allows you to hear better.
If the analysis I read of Spotify's financial report is correct, at the Spotify rate of about $0.00058 per spin, a songwriter who retains all publishing rights to his/her song would need 288,104,634.15 spins to earn the reported average salary of a Spotify employee (around $160,000).
Edit: $168,747 average salary
Last edited by Matt Finley; 02/04/1705:42 PM.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
So, based on what I read in your very informative post, it would seem that songwriters who publish their own songs have a bit more potential to profit from their compositions. Would that be correct?
LOREN (a.k.a. "bluage")
"Music is what feelings sound like."-- borrowed from a Cakewalk Music Creator forum member, "Mamabear".
So, based on what I read in your very informative post, it would seem that songwriters who publish their own songs have a bit more potential to profit from their compositions. Would that be correct?
LOREN (a.k.a. "bluage")
Yes. Publisher's share is 50% of the deal and writer's share is the other 50%.
However, if you have to have the connections, and are willing to work as hard as a publisher works for you, by plugging your songs to the end users, whether they are artists or production companies, then yes, you can make the full 100%.
Many artists as they get bigger and gain "star power", eventually set up their own publishing companies. They then either become publishers of their own material out right or split the publishing with another publisher who probably does most of the work. It's an easy way for a big artist to not only get the writer's share (split between the writers on a given song) but also to pick up a percentage of the publisher's share as well which is generally a 50/50 split between the 2 publishing companies.
Essentially, anyone who self posts their music to i-tunes or youtube is self publishing without the connections of an established publishing company, and we all know how little money that makes for you.
Owning a small percentage of a large amount certainly beats owning 100% of nothing.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Well, as my father once said to me, "Son, if you're going to compose music, do it because you enjoy composing music. Then, the money will come..."
Still waitin' to see if that's true!
Actually, I agreed with him, and would believe it even if he had never told me that. I have never, ever, sat down purposely, and with focused deliberation, to compose a song that I imagined would be appealing enough to a mass audience to cause them to want to buy it. How would one even attempt such a thing? Not to mention the fact that I've read story, after story, after story, about musicians who composed something in a casual manner without any expectation of profiting from it...and then, all of a sudden, they had a "hit" on their hands. On the flip side, the songs they wrote that they actually believed could be "hits", never went anywhere.
Trumpeter Lee Morgan's surprise "hit" composition, "The Sidewinder," was a "happy accident." Here's the Wikipedia information:
"According to drummer Billy Hart, Morgan said he had recorded "The Sidewinder" as filler for the album, and was bemused that it had turned into his biggest hit."
Go figure! What does it mean? I think my father got it right...
My personal pipe dream would be to compose a straight-ahead jazz tune that "went viral." It's been years, maybe decades, even, since I heard of a straight-ahead jazz instrumental, or song, that "climbed the charts." When was the last one? Dave Brubeck's and Paul Desmond's "Take Five" in 1959? Eddie Harris' "Exodus" in 1961? Antonio Carlos Jobim's and Vinicius de Moraes' "The Girl From Ipanema" in 1965?
Anyway, I just think it would be cool to walk down the street and hear people snapping their fingers and "be-bop-sha-boppin'" to the tune of a nice instrumental jazz tune, or crooning the lyrics of a melodious jazz ballad...
LOREN (a.k.a. "bluage)
Last edited by bluage; 02/09/1707:39 PM.
"Music is what feelings sound like."-- borrowed from a Cakewalk Music Creator forum member, "Mamabear".
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
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Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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