An Open Letter to "Charly" Records (IA) and Paul Drummond

[michael jensen]

Greetings,

Over the past few years, Charly Records in conjunction with Paul
Drummond, a self-acclaimed "author", have seen fit to re-release music
from the old International Artists catalog of recordings. In this
endeavor, it is all but certain you have made a great deal of money
from these recordings, with little or, no, investment.

A few days ago, a member of the 13th Floor Elevators contacted our
Group and informed us you have not paid royalties to him or, to other
artists involved in your re-releases.

In this, "Charly" and, Paul Drummond, I have a challenge for you:

Take the profits from your quasi-legitimate re-releases and set up a
fund to pay the artists a fair fee for their work!

Instead of heading over to the "Pub" to impress women with dubious
claims of "Record Barron" or "Author", set aside funds to reimburse
the members of the bands you have flagrantly exploited for your own
capital and, personal gains.

In resurrecting the name "International Artists" and stamping "your"
releases with this title, you have also resuscitated the legendary
reputation for greed, manipulation and graft endured by these artists
through your disdain for their creative process.

In short, you are abusive and, dishonorable.

But, you can change this... You can step up, pick up your pen and send
these artists their just dues. After 40 plus years, they deserve more
than your abject disrespect...

Michael

[The Cool Charmers]

i wonder who much Drummond pocketed from these re-releases

its criminal that the guy who wrote liner notes gets paid and the musicians
who created the music get nothing.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "michael jensen" <slipinside...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 1:44 PM
To: "Texas Psych" <tex...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [TexasPsych] An Open Letter to "Charly" Records (IA) and Paul
Drummond

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[steve bradley]

it's outrageous.  how the fuck do they get away with it!!!!????

who owns international artists/charly?

On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 9:22 AM, The Cool Charmers <sheekt...@iinet.net.au> wrote:

i wonder who much Drummond pocketed from these re-releases

its criminal that the guy who wrote liner notes gets paid and the musicians
who created the music get nothing.



--------------------------------------------------

From: "michael jensen" <slipinsidethishouse1@gmail.com>

texas-p+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

For more options, visit this group at
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To view the CD Club discography go to
http://groups.google.com/group/texas-p/web/roky-cd-club-discography?hl=en

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[Kiloh]

http://www.texaspsychedelicrock.com/2011/09/open-letter-to-charly-records-by-mike.html

Letter as blog post.

[Marti Sivers]

This is really good, Michael. Maybe would be something good to post as a customer review on Amazon.

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[borntolose]

What people are forgetting is that all these titles will be selling
next to fuck all, especially the non-Elevators stuff....... no ones
interested in it.
Only songwriters get royalties btw - so John Ike was never going to
receive any money. He obviously knew this prior to this outburst, as
he declined to offer up his own tapes. Record deals are record deals -
International Artists were screwing the band over well before Charly
entered the picture, no? Sign a shit deal, no ones going to become a
charity case and give away money they don't legally have to.

If Roky is struggling for cash - instead of being forced to do shows
he's clearly unconfortable being part of - why is his management not
looking into archive releases of his solo material?

[borntolose]

And since when did IA have a "legendary reputation"? For not being up
to the job you mean? For screwing their artists over, not being able
to distribute or promote their artists etc? They "lucked out" and
signed a band who later became a cult phenomenon.

[michael jensen]

Royalties are dependent on the contract, of course. With reputable
contracts, the principle writers make more money than the "band
members" but, EVERYONE gets paid! John Ike and all of the people who
played music on the "IA" recordings which have been re-released
deserve some compensation.

[Kiloh]

Yes, you go Mike.

[andyexcuse]

"...why is his management not looking into archive releases of his
solo material?..."

They've not only looked into it, they've released quite a bit of
material. Often, the releases have been botched to such a degree that
they haven't done Roky's legacy any favors, or done much for his
financial situation. Are you new to the group, or to Roky fandom?
These matters have been discussed quite extensively.

[Kwork]

As a new member to this group, and one who could never benefit from the old
Yahoo archives, I'll ask. Is there any official source for the Elevators'
music that is worth checking out, or are the CD club discography releases
the only way to get the music in the proper versions. I'd love to lend my
financial support to the music, but only if it's done right. The brickwalled
mixes I've heard so far don't qualify. They make my ears bleed.

Travis

----- Original Message -----
From: "andyexcuse" <andye...@gmail.com>
To: <tex...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 1:44 PM
Subject: Re: [TexasPsych] Re: An Open Letter to "Charly" Records (IA) and
Paul Drummond

--

[Kiloh]

HOW'S IT FEEL PAUL? PUTTING OUT ALL THIS MUSIC AND BEING CALLED OUT ON IT? BEING CALLED A LOWER-FORM-OF-LIFE! HOW'S IT FEEL? THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO MICHAEL AND MYSELF? WE PUT OUT OVER FIFTY VOLUMES OF PRIMO STUFF AND WE WERE CALLED "BOOTLEGGERS". THE PEOPLE CALLING US THESE NAMES LEFT OUT THAT WE HAD THE PERMISSION OF THE ORIGINAL ROKY ERICKSON TRUST TO DO THIS. HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? IT "FEELS" PRETTY GOOD TO ME. SQUIRM ON THE END OF OUR FORK! BEND OVER AND SQUEAL LIKE A PIG BOY! I'M LAUGHING MY ASS OFF! I'M LAUGHING MY ASS OFF BECAUSE WHAT MICHAEL IS SAYING IS TRUE! IT'S TRUE! IT'S THE FUCKING TROOTH! HAR! HAR! HAR!

[Chris Marsall]

Drumman is  laughing all the way to the bank..

On Sep 13, 2011, at 2:20 PM, Kiloh wrote:

HOW'S IT FEEL PAUL? PUTTING OUT ALL THIS MUSIC AND BEING CALLED OUT ON IT? BEING CALLED A LOWER-FORM-OF-LIFE! HOW'S IT FEEL? THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO MICHAEL AND MYSELF? WE PUT OUT OVER FIFTY VOLUMES OF PRIMO STUFF AND WE WERE CALLED "BOOTLEGGERS". THE PEOPLE CALLING US THESE NAMES LEFT OUT THAT WE HAD THE PERMISSION OF THE ORIGINAL ROKY ERICKSON TRUST TO DO THIS. HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? HOW'S IT FEEL? IT "FEELS" PRETTY GOOD TO ME. SQUIRM ON THE END OF OUR FORK! BEND OVER AND SQUEAL LIKE A PIG BOY! I'M LAUGHING MY ASS OFF! I'M LAUGHING MY ASS OFF BECAUSE WHAT MICHAEL IS SAYING IS TRUE! IT'S TRUE! IT'S THE FUCKING TROOTH! HAR! HAR! HAR!

[Kiloh]

Yeah! I'm just laughing my ass off! No money!

[Kiloh]

Get the stuff from the CD Club. We even have the 8-track mixes.

[Kwork]

That's all I needed to know. I'll do that. Thanks!

 

Travis

----- Original Message -----

From: Kiloh

To: tex...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 2:45 PM

Subject: Re: [TexasPsych] Re: An Open Letter to "Charly" Records (IA) and Paul Drummond

[michael jensen]

I posted this on the Texas Psych Group thread on Facebook:

Just for the record: "Bootleggers" and "Pirates" make money on their
illegitimate releases. Our Group gathered rare recordings and, with
our time and expense, used simple technology to clean up the "dust"
and give out the music without compensation. Add to this the support
and, trust, of the artists we received over the years in our sincere
efforts to promote music we believe carries a message and, should be
heard by the people. In this, I am not seeking fame as a "Wanna Be" or
"Hanger On"; nor are any of us in our Group seeking personal gain or
recognition. But, as a man who grew up, influenced by this genre of
music; its presence and joy felt for the greater part of my life, I am
demanding in public Just Compensation for these artists from those who
have blatantly profited from their creation and work!

[Marti Sivers]

Mechanical royalties are actually more complicated than just the songwriter getting royalties. Which is why entertainment lawyers make alot of money. I grew up in the midst of all this going on with IA, & the artists at the time were just a bunch of talented hippie kid musicians, who like many other musicians throughout history, were taken advantage of by labels because they just wanted the chance to record, be promoted, & distributed. "Shit deals" were pretty much the only kind of deals being offered unless the band either had some incredible luck. Of the Tx artists that were around back then, some of them made it-made it (ZZ Top), others had a hit or two, still others just hovered on that cusp & were locally popular, but didn't go much further than that. Some of them have next to nothing left in the way of recordings etc because they didn't hang on to them. Much of this music from that time in Tx music would have been lost forever except for people (like Kiloh) who "got it," acquired what they could of it, kept it alive. IA was a shady operation from the beginning. It is just a real shame that they are doing it all over again all these years later, & that people are going to buy the product & not be aware that the artists themselves are not getting a thing.

[Kiloh]

Yeah! It's the same ol' IA! LEGENDARY RIP-OFF ARTISTS! I mean, rip off the artists! HAR! HAR HAR!

[Marti Sivers]

True,true,true.

On 9/13/11, Kiloh <roky...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Yeah! It's the same ol' IA! LEGENDARY RIP-OFF ARTISTS! I mean, rip off the
> artists! HAR! HAR HAR!
>

[borntolose]

Morally, they do - but they signed a shit record deal. As far as I
know, mechanical royalties only get to the artist and songwriter/s
after distribution/production/promotional/touring costs have been
recouped..... performance royalties are from radio play etc, which I
can't imagine any old IA artists, including the Elevators are getting
any. I doubt anyone's got rich from those boxsets - they were hefty
packages, they only produced 3000 and they probably had to pay shed
loads to get hold of the tapes they did. They don't get played on the
radio and sales are minimal - do people really think different?

[borntolose]

Don't Knock The Rok - what others? I know Roky's mother supplied a
label with some audience tape. I was mostly referring to returning to
Roky's solo output and releasing definitive re-issues with the proper
record labels. The Evil One, if it's still in print, is only available
on some low rent label as part of a 2 CD release which is distorted
and features some demos, whilst the performances are superior to the
album, are sourced from a radio broadcast. There's potential to
release something great, if anyone can be bothered.

[andyexcuse]

"...There's potential to release something great, if anyone can be bothered...."

Yes, that's exactly right. This group bothered, and has a long string
of great releases available for free. Again, are you new to the group?
You're raising a lot of points and asking quite a few questions that
have been discussed ad infinitum, yet you take the tone of a know it
all in a hissy fit. If you're genuinely curious, there's many people
here who will be glad to share their knowledge and experience.

[borntolose]

Sorry, not sure what you're talking about. Most of what is shared here/
online is sourced from cassettes and vinyl. A lot of it is great, but
most is not releasable. I'm referring to professional quality releases
on proper record labels. Someone owns the masters to the Evil One era
recordings/demos - and they should release them all in one package.
I'm not aware of anyone on here getting hold of these masters and
releasing them?

[Marti Sivers]

Only mechanical royalties are involved in this situation. You are correct as to when the artists receive their share, but my point was that it's not just the songwriter/composer that receives royalties, in response to your comment that John Ike wouldn't be getting royalties anyway. AI & Love Street, where many of these bands played were inseparable. Doug Tull of Josefus once renounced AI on the stage at Love Street & they never played there again. (But did a memorable free gig outside after being ousted.) Their just weren't alot of labels as accessible as AI at that time to these artists doing what at the time was really new kind of music, & the only deals AI offered were shit deals.

[Kiloh]

You'd think that Charly, as International Artists, would want to DO THE RIGHT THING and throw the artists some dough. I'm not talking anything "official" but just to start with DOING THE RIGHT THING. Is it me? Is this so out of bounds?

[Kiloh]

We struck a nerve! One of the rats, probably Drummond, sent me this:

Your distribution of Roky's music -for free- has significantly impacted his sales - Roky's not happy. Think about exactly who you're pissing off- ROKY - You are not his fan - you're his stalker. Stop fucking him over. And this from Mike who wanted to extort $250,000 for his imaginary Easter Everywhere masters tapes- you disgust me.

[andyexcuse]

"...Your distribution of Roky's music -for free- has significantly
impacted his sales ..."

Your distribution of Roky's music -for free- has significantly

impacted his sales - in a positive way. Due to your efforts, a large
number of people who would have otherwise been unaware of Roky or the
Elevators have purchased the box set we made such a mess of, as well
as some of the abysmal reissues of Roky's solo material that have been
lining our pockets for so many years. Keep putting out the real stuff,
with the blessing of those who were involved, and all of us will
benefit. Regardless of our ridiculous hectoring, you have done more
for Roky's legacy and sales than our decades of shameful, transparent
exploitation.

[slide machine]

You can actually *smell* rat when you read that message a couple of
times.
Wet rat. They're all wet.

On Sep 14, 10:12 pm, Kiloh <rokysy...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> We struck a nerve! One of the rats, probably Drummond, sent me this:
>

> *Your distribution of Roky's music -for free- has significantly impacted his

> sales - Roky's not happy. Think about exactly who you're pissing off- ROKY -
> You are not his fan - you're his stalker. Stop fucking him over. And this
> from Mike who wanted to extort $250,000 for his imaginary Easter Everywhere

> masters tapes- you disgust me. *

[Marti Sivers]

This is exactly correct, that as importantly as conserving music that otherwise would have been lost, the music got out there & as a result has been kept alive.