Fortunately not Sound Cloud. Their policies are quite direct and given in their help screen which states that no DJ can take extracts from material, no bots, no shots, no quotes, no credits to others without the expressed permission of the original owner. Now if this policy is followed by the organisations which permit uploads, we would hopefully have a clean and miraculously musical world. Ashamed to say, we haven't.
Before I go any further, I would like to add that there is no personal interest here. I was advised by a good buddy who first put me on to what was going on that I was "in the wrong place, the wrong time, the wrong era, the wrong country and that I was having a losing battle because Reverbnation was not interested in their artists, but only interested in numbers. Now 3.1 million. An astrological reading, which you cannot fix, cut or paste is enclosed herein :)
Curing the problem
Curing the copycats, thieves, many personalities and fake profiles is to introduce a $1 verification system. Most thieves benefit from the fact that they pay nothing and can sell it even for 5 cents and make a profit. In this case 0.99 cents. I have asked Reverbnation to introduce a $1 verification system payable by Credit card which prevents for instance the same person creating bots (found out today from a gal whose duty is to create 30 bots for an advertising company on various webs which offer free uploads and maintain them with false posts), under different genres and different categories and under different names. This was the system that I introduced to an Embassy and it was full proof and fool proof. It detected the passport number and the national identities of the individuals. With the $1 veritication system, it would detect the credit card number. True the thief can get his friends to pay the $1, but he won't be able to get several credit cards under his name, and secondly, when it comes to money, people are traditionally very "reticent" even friends. Yes, some countries would have a problem, like I would, since my country is not a registered country. Paypal can pay out to others, but cannot pay me.
Getting all the DJ's to come under the category of DJ and not in any other category. Easy to find,
1) they are solo artists, or even with two or three others who are part of the pack
2) never had a band and only feature their music or others, only sounds and beats.
3) without voices or singing,
4) Generally "Dance musicians" can entertain you with the Tango, Waltz, Cha Cha, Rock & Roll, soft rock, chill, sway, Fox Trot, Big Band, Blues, Samba (and there are kings of samba) and these cannot be plagiarized unlike the sounds and beats of today! and that is why DJ's are DJ's.
5) Even on genre, there are 43 genres including, Techno, Electronica, DJ, Solo instrumentalist, (I started off as a band of 4 with 3 singers, 2 guitarists and a piano player (myself)), Funk, Hip Hop, Metal and Other. Why not other? Why choose "Dance" when their music is only one kind of music and they do not like DJ because the competition is higher? Because there are so many of them? Because they cannot get a rank in their own category or genre?
6) Easily found more so because they presently feature as "Dance" and their music can be played and detected for their type!
As an aside, I will have to change my name on my page on face book, presently TABA.your.DJ.for.Dance because I do play a variety of dance music and I will play music for all ages to dance to. :) Find this hilarious!
Why I am targeting the "Dance" Genre is because I make dance music.
DJ's are a breed of their own, they are not artists. The good DJ's are those who play on radio's and who do not make their own music. The DJ's who mix and master are not musicians, they are experts in technology, they also take tracks from the other artists, put a merge here, a fix there and the song is not identifiable from the original and then give it to another artist. It appears that even Beyonce has got her music from a remaster of Mr. Mig. Interesting because most companies want you to play "your originals" and you have to click on "Do you have the rights permission to this song?" So what's a click to the shameless?
Now all these DJ's feature as Dance, not happy with their own category of DJ, because the numbers are too many, they grab the genuine Dance musicians of their place in rank, and one does not know whether they would also grab anything else from another musician. His food? His ability to support his family with his income from his music? His creativity, his genius, his being on the road several hours in road shows, in breaking nights while entertaining the public, and the DJ"s sit in their studio's without any effort, making music in their studio's and benefiting from the talents of others. Sad! Solo instrumentalists do too, but then they never get shows, or gigs, or fame, and I may be the rare "band" gone Solo who do not play definitely parts and pieces of someone else's music, though they may play the great masters like Beethoven, Vivaldi, Mozart and excerpts from the latter, no copyright issues because they were teachers too!
I create my own music, not robbed from anyone else (at least all of which is on Reverbnation/taba) and deleted the only song which I had given credit for to the original owners, Nina & Frederick which had 520 plays because I did not know the difference until I read sound cloud's policy which regard to even giving credit to the artist. Nina & Frederick were my hero's of the 60's and because of them I learned how to play the guitar. You tube is happy with the credits given to the original owners because they do not have sales of any of their material on their page. So it has to be a share if nothing else!
Checked the web about DJ's and most of them say that they make tracks blend them and play them for the mood of the audience, and they "Create" their own music from these mixed tracks, but the writers on the web do not mention where the source of the mixed tracks originate, which is why a DJ is not an artist nor a musician, but a master reproducer. Their domain is in a night club or in a bar, with the lights and gizmo that goes with the haunt. Well we know Mr. Mig mastered Beyonces music
Another DJ Dean Fuel has Metcalfe on his page but his music is put with sexy women on youtube and has quite a following.
Sadly, I am a Western Musician who plays and creates my own originals. Taba is akin to an African Tribal band playing Beethoven in Africa, not liked by his own race, and not known internationally. With Reverbnation, the latter is fixed, in that they play my music, and they are one of the open frontier organisations that does feature artists, but unlike Sound cloud does not have the skills to monitor the numbers or to find out who they are or whether they are fake or genuine. They give you a slot free, but then you have to pay to go up in rank. See the last page, no longer worthwhile really!
For example, these DJ's, featured themselves several times over on Reverbnation. Sam Patterson is featured 3 times, Andy Katana had made himself a minimum of 5 pages under different names, Another chap had created 3 identities and was also trending with the songs of other international singers. With just these 3 people, 11 places are robbed from the genuine musician. True they share, but what of the rightful place for the person who creates his own music?
This DJ Dimuthu Bases himself in 5 different places on the Web, features himself even in Botswana, and plays the music of LMFAO,and Pit bull. Hip hop & Trance artists featuring themselves as Dance. The 2nd under me at that stage was a guy called Brad Fireborn. A fictitious character created by Randy Katana who had 7 profiles on Reverbnation.
DJ's use "hype" i.e. they use the music of other artists who have featured and gained from 350,000 votes on youtube to more than 1 million which is guaranteed a best seller and has a "popular taste". They may start their page with the music of an international artist to "Draw the crowd" Hype | Define Hype at Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hype to stimulate, excite, or agitate (usually followed by up ): She was hyped up at the thought of owning her own car. 2. to create interest in by flamboyant or dramatic ... then put their own songs. With a smattering of other artists of international repute as well.
Trending Dance musicians all genres in Sri Lanka. Chamitha Cooray trends with Adele's "Rolling in the deep"and if not sufficient, he also features the cover from "The Titanic" and Broken Angel.
The original artist of Broken Angel
Another method of cheating the system is to sing a song in a different language which of course, Reverbnation as an American company does not know. You need time to listen to music. But what if there is a blatant name directing you to the person they have robbed the song from? And at age 61, with a father (Vet) who played the Saxophone and a mother (Nurse) the piano, we were inundated with music from America and other foreign countries, so on the whole I can identify whether the music is robbed or not and of course, knowing music otherwise you would not know the difference! And the inherited scant respect for the cheats by being brought up by British Nuns (Alliteration) :) Energy uses the song "That's the way I like it" by KC and the sunshine band. And Sadly, under the search on youtube, you also get a remix of the song. Yelba plays the Eagles and Sting and sells her Spanish version of the song, even though she has a beautiful voice, but then, not her song! Jacquescoley's club was/is number 18 on the dance charts, he sings Yvonne Elimann's song.
It is a pity that even the "spoken word" has the music of someone else as a background. but I did mention to Youtube that since they were a sharing and caring company, it would be ridiculous to even consider plagiarism on their web, because the music at a wedding would include the music of other artists played by the local musicians but since it is only for entertainment and not for sale, and also within the country, no piracy occurs.
The theft of music occurs when the users of others music attempt to sell their music via a change of language or even the spoken word using the music of someone else as a salable item on an international scale. Thus international organisations must have a team who investigates the uploads and finds out whether the song is anything like what anyone knows. The group would comprise those aged 70 to 7 :). Maybe 80's if they are alive and, as an after thought, with a British and American background :)
The music that is not monitored on the international organisations that help Artists, and this I hate, because they ARE helping people to promote not only their music but their exposure is to an international scene, is likely the music of the dead artists and in another country. Sri Sara radio plays the music of Metalingus and the www.edge theme. Yes, he is a fan of the artist and the song, but he has no right to "credit" the gent as coming from sri Lanka and is ranking #1 with the song. Just one song, effortlessly. Living off the glory of another artist. Ugh!
Now if Reverbnation does not have the time to monitor its 3.1 million "Artists", then it is up to the musicians to protect their own back and check their genre and music. For example, Jim Wilson in America is not the same Jim Wilson in Whoop whoop, and plays a different genre of music and style of music.
How displacement works, on the global rank, and probably your own blog in your own country, in your own home town, where the happiness you may have had can be tarnished when you find that what you said yesterday, has altered drastically within a couple of hours not because you lied, but because your genre has been robbed by another usurper. No, not me, just an example. I am very low profile in my own country, our Radios night clubs, discotheques, all play the music of every other international artist and not a single local artist who plays or creates western music. They play the music of the locals who are Sinhalese 75% ethnic population and the Tamil radio's feature the Indian artists and Hindu Songs also from India.
What I was on the global rank before all these Music masters took over with just one brand of music and none other which may also explain why you no longer rank high in your genre either. The chap below features himself as a Jazz musician, but he is actually what he says he is. A good voice, and a song that I recognise. Let it come to me Most of these "Finds" were found by being given evidence of the facts. Nobody likes a whistle blower, but then if the blower brings blessings to bona fide's then the blower is blessed. I am weird, yes, I do compose my own music. There are some brilliant composers in Sri Lanka, but they probably will not join the artists because they would not like their music stolen. That is what comes of putting your music on the web, but then why take it to the grave? On the other hand, why provide pristine paradigms to the plagiarists and profiteers?
Managed to get into the top ten, which is nice, now the 30th and dropping rapidly with the number increase and the technicians taking the place of true musicians, but I agree with my friend, you are just a musician who is able to manage without music as your income, what of the others I say?
And finally the ultimate shame when a country is banned because there are thieves in the music industry.
or fake companies who are trying to get artists to join them at $9.95 to register on a tour
Or, Technorati who features Justin Beiber and Daft Punk but ranks 1 on the global charts for dance and remixes Justin Timberlake.
December comes up, and with it the bundle and renewals and payments to be made to Reverbnation, so I may not be around because I cannot really pay for my place on their ranks :) Good luck to all of you. 61 years old, I think I have done my bit, mostly a teacher, is what I am, and I think of the future of the children of our world, why not make it a cleaner one for those who are "musicians", I would think people who express themselves through music ought to be cleaner than the Government per se!
The song that made me, or so I thought, very unpopular because my rank in the charts was dropping like ticks off a dead dog, but it was not caused by the song, it was actually caused by the increase in numbers and the DJ's who were all featuring themselves as "Dance" artists. I did say the GOOD DJ's. Rare but still alive!
