Hawaiʻi musicians! The following email from Attorney Bill Meyer, who specializes in entertainment law, was  sent to all members of the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts today. It concerns  an important piece of legislation that will be heard here in Hawaiʻi this Wednesday. Please take the time to read his email - and his testimony and supporting documents, attached below -  and attend the hearing if you can. You can also submit testimony in support of the bill online at the link in his email.

February 23, 2015

Aloha Music Friends,

I write to advise you that there is an important bill (SB1287) which will be heard before the Senate Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Commerce and Consumer Protection this coming Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. in Room 016.

SB1287 would recognize, for the first time in the State of Hawai`i, that Sound Recordings fixed prior to February 15, 1972 carry the full panoply of copyright rights including the right of public performance.

As many of you know, songwriters in the United States and abroad have long enjoyed a right of public performance in the songs they write. Accordingly, when their music is played in public places the songwriters are entitled to compensation which is generally collected through the various performance rights organizations such as ASCAP, BMI and SEASAC. However, American recording artists and their record labels, unlike their counterparts in most other developed nations, have never enjoyed a full public performance right in the sound recordings they create. (A limited public performance right does exist under federal law in connection with the digital transmission of sound recordings.) In the past this manifestly unfair treatment of recording artists and record labels was justified on the basis that free radio and other play essentially advertised the sale of records. However, that view is now archaic in light of recent technological advances and changes in how people access and enjoy recorded music. Today, record sales in the form of CDs are in steep decline and are anticipated to all but disappear in the years ahead. Digital downloads are following suit as consumers abandon “ownership” of copies of music in favor of convenient and cheap “access” to music. As a result, revenue from digital music “sales” continue to fall as a percent of total music revenues while “license fees” (both statutory and negotiated) from music subscription and non-subscription services are sharply rising. The bottom line is that the old justification for not paying public performance fees in connection with sound recordings simply no longer exists.

It is now time to right a longstanding wrong and recognize, under Hawai`i law, that Sound Recordings carry the full panoply of copyright rights including the important full right of public performance. Passage of SB1287 would confirm that right.

I have attached hereto for your consideration my public testimony in support of SB1287 which sets forth a detailed analysis of the legal issues at play here. I respectfully ask that you review this material and that you support the passage of SB1287. In so doing you will be recognizing the value of Hawai`i’s musical heritage and you will be supporting Hawai`i’s older recording artists and their heirs.

You may submit testimony in support of SB1287 online by going here: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?bill&billnumber=1287&year=2015

Of course, I encourage everyone to support this measure by coming to Wednesday’s hearing and testifying in person. Additionally, I encourage you to become familiar with your legislators which are supporting this measure, and in the process Hawai`i’s creative community, and that you remember them when election day comes around.

Please forward this email to YOUR music friends! Thank you!

Very truly yours,
Bill Meyer

William G. Meyer, III | Principal – Intellectual Property
Main 808.540.2400 | Direct 808.534.4412 | Fax 808.694.3055
Pioneer Plaza – Suite 1800 | 900 Fort Street Mall | Honolulu, HI 96813

At long last, multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning slack key guitarist Kawika Kahiapo has released a solo album which showcases his prowess in that specialized genre, unique to Hawai’i. Released on December 29, 2014, Hoʻomaluhia is primarily an instrumental album and features seven original and five cover songs, including the instrumental version of Jack Johnson’s award-winning song “Constellations,” from Johnson’s double platinum “In Between Dreams” album. Kahiapo taught Johnson both how to play slack key guitar and the special tuning that was used for this song, and Johnson plays alongside Kahiapo on this track. Also on the album is “Moe’s Lullabye,” a song Kahiapo wrote for Johnson’s son Moe. The one song with vocals is Kahiapo’s take on a cover of the classic “Koke’e” by his friend the late Reverend Dennis Kamakahi.

A few of the original songs on the album include “Honu,” which was inspired by the sight of forty-plus honu (Hawaiian sea turtles) feeding on limu at the reef shoreline during Kahiapo’s stay at a beach house near Laniakea, also known as Turtle Beach. “Kealohi” was written for a small peninsula known as He’eia State Park, an ancient sacred site on the windward side of O’ahu. After composing “Moon Rising,” Kahiapo wanted to use a portion of it on a documentary video he co-produced, and while looking through his home for a nose flute he was hoping to use to set the mood, he found one that happened to be in the key in which he wrote the song.

Although the winner of numerous awards (including three Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards in 2007 with his former group Kaukahi for their debut album "Life in These Islands"; he was featured on the GRAMMY® award winning album "Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key"; and he was the recipient of the “Slack Key Artist of the Year” award), Kahiapo has never before released an album that highlights his much-sought-after mastery of slack key guitar. His passion for the art began as a child, when he was influenced by world-renowned slack key master Gabby "Pops" Pahinui, who frequented the casual “garage parties” held at the Kahiapo family home. He continued to perfect his skills, broke into the professional music scene at age 17, and never looked back. To date he has contributed his talents to over 80 recording projects and has collaborated and performed with artists from the internationally acclaimed Jack Johnson to fellow GRAMMY® Award winner Cyril Pahinui; the Sunday Mānoa’s Palani Vaughan, and many, many more. He is a fixture at slack key festivals all over the U.S. and abroad, and the demand for both his slack key and vocal talents has expanded to the recording of numerous jingles and theme songs for radio and television ads.

Hoʻomaluhia was produced by Kahiapo and recorded over a period of ten years, beginning at the same time he was in the studio recording the award-winning Kaukahi album, “Life in These Islands”. The album was recorded at Jack Johnson’s Mango Tree Studio, Rhythm and Roots Recording Studio, and Rendezvous Recording Studio. It was engineered by Chris Lau and Pierre Grill.

The CD is currently available at Me Ke Aloha, and digitally online at CD Baby. Wider release through other online and retail outlets will follow. 

Win a performance by Kāpono Naʻiliʻili of the band HAPA for your next party or event! Just listen to Hawaiian 105 KINE, and when you hear the track "A Place Called Home" from his album “Ala Iki,” post a video of yourself to Facebook or Instagram with the song playing on the radio in the background and tag it ‪#‎kaponomusic. Your name will go into a drawing to be held following the end of the contest. (Requests count too! Call the station to request the song, and if it’s played, post, shoot, and tag the same kind of video!)

Contest rules: limited to Hawaiʻi residents. Travel and sound must be paid by the winner if s/he is a resident of any island other than Oahu. Contest ends February 8, 2015.


Here's a clip from the song:

Ten-time GRAMMY® Award winner Bob Dylan will be honored as 2015 MusiCares® person of the year at their 25th anniversary tribute February 6, 2015, as part of the GRAMMY® week celebrations. Former President Jimmy Carter will present the award – here are the performers who will be there:

• Beck
  
• The Black Keys
  
• Jackson Browne
  
• Crosby, Stills & Nash
  
• John Doe
  
• Norah Jones
  
• Tom Jones
  
• Los Lobos
  
• Taj Mahal
  
• John Mellencamp
  
• Alanis Morissette
  
• Willie Nelson
  
• Aaron Neville
  
• Bonnie Raitt
  
• Bruce Springsteen
  
• Susan Tedeschi
  
• Derek Trucks
  
• Eddie Vedder
  
• Jack White
  
• Neil Young
  

The event is sold out (and unfortunately it won’t be televised) but this annual gala helps shine a light on the good works of MusiCares®. For those in the music industry (it’s not limited just to musicians!) who aren’t familiar, here’s some info:

Established in 1989 by The Recording Academy® (the GRAMMY® folks), MusiCares® provides a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need. Services and resources cover a wide range of financial, medical and personal emergencies, and each case is treated with integrity and confidentiality. Programs and services to members of the music community include emergency financial assistance for basic living expenses such as rent, utilities and car payments; medical expenses including doctor, dentist and hospital bills; psychotherapy; and treatment for HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis C, and other critical illnesses.

MusiCares® also offers nationwide educational workshops covering a variety of subjects, including financial, legal, medical, and substance abuse issues, and programs in collaboration with health care professionals that provide services such as flu shots, hearing tests, and medical/dental screenings. The MusiCares MAP Fund® allows access to addiction recovery treatment and sober living resources for members of the music community. Staffed by qualified chemical dependency and intervention specialists, MusiCares Safe Harbor Rooms, supported by the Bohemian Foundation, offer a support network to those in recovery while they are participating in the production of televised music shows and other major music events. MusiCares® also holds weekly addiction support groups for people to discuss how to best cope with the issues surrounding the recovery process. The MusiCares® Sober Touring Network is a database of individuals across the United States who can take music people to recovery support meetings while on the road. For more information, visit www.musicares.org. 

Are you a Native Hawaiian musician, dancer, artist (etc)? You might be interested in this fellowship! I received this information today via the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts:

"To support Native Hawaiian artists active in the fields of dance, music, traditional and visual arts, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) has announced a new fellowship with a January 15, 2015 deadline.

"The fellowship awards include support ranging up to $20,000 per artist. While this is the first fellowship created exclusively to support Native Hawaiian artists, the national nonprofit foundation has offered national fellowships of this amount each year since 2011 to Native Hawaiian, American Indian and Alaska Native artists and culture-makers. Artists who apply need to be able to supply documentation of Native Hawaiian ancestry.

“The foundation looks forward to supporting the inspirational creativity of Native Hawaiian artists and culture-makers in the Hawaiian Islands and around the country!” said NACF Program Officer Andre Bouchard. “Online applications must be submitted at your.culturegrants.org. by 5 p.m. Pacific time on January 15. Panels will review submissions this winter and we will announce the awardees in Spring 2015.”

"A partnership with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and support from the Leonard and Rose Freeman Family Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation allowed the Native-led foundation to offer this new fellowship exclusively to the nation’s Native Hawaiian artists.

“We are grateful for the advocacy and generosity of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Freeman family,” said NACF President/CEO T. Lulani Arquette (Native Hawaiian). “These esteemed partners share our commitment to Native cultures, which have the power to bring people together to transform their communities.”

"To apply for a Native Hawaiian Artist Fellowship, applicants must submit online applications by 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at: your.culturegrants.org.

"To learn more about the foundation or to donate in support of its mission, please visit: www.nativeartsandcultures.org."

In the past few days, my mailbox has started filling with CDs from artists entering their 2014 releases for consideration for a 2015 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award (Hawaiʻi’s GRAMMY©). Each year, some of the artists (or sometimes their record companies or distributors) take advantage of the mail out or e-mail blast service offered by the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA) to send CDs, postcards, flyers, download cards, emails (often with links to digital files), etc. to the voting members of HARA either prior to the preliminary ballot being released, or afterwards (if they’ve made the final ballot).

I’m often asked by artists if I think it’s worth the time and expense to take advantage of this service, and my answer is – it can be, but you need to weigh the cost with some other factors. While not every voting member of HARA listens to every CD (or digital file, etc.) they receive through this service, many do – and if you’re relatively unknown, not getting any radio airplay, not active on social media, and especially if you self-distributed and your release isn’t available in brick and mortar stores, this may be the first time anyone has ever heard of you or your release. Speaking from experience, I’ve voted for a release based on hearing it (and of the artist) for the first time because it landed in my mailbox or email box via the HARA mail out service. (I’ve also booked people on Pakele Live after hearing their release via the mail out service.)

However, using the mail out service is not a guarantee that you’ll win a Hōkū or even get nominated, so I always advise my clients to weigh their options. Some older members of HARA are not active on social media, and receiving a CD might be the only way theyʻll know about you. But for many other voters, a well-done social media campaign can also do wonders. Some of my favorites were some creative, funny, and very well-done YouTube videos by (multiple Nā Hōkū Award winners!) Waipuna that were also shared via Facebook and Twitter for the 2013 Single of the Year; the 2012 
Favorite Entertainer of the Year (and the blooper reel); and for their nine (nine!) nominations in 2012 for their 2nd album, “E Hoʻi Mai” they did individual videos for each song on the album. Here’s just one of them, for Kamehameha Trilogy (my favorite track, a.k.a. TRACK 10! TRACK 10!). Here is the result of their efforts in 2012 (they've since won more Hōkūs): 


















If you’re interested in taking advantage of HARA’s mail out/e-blast service to voting members, here is the information and pricing schedule. And remember - YOU DON'T NEED TO BE A HARA MEMBER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SERVICE!

If you’re a Hawaiʻi-based musician who released an album, EP, single, or video (of any genre, not just Hawaiian music) between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014 and would like your work to be considered for the 38th Annual (2015) Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards (Hawaiʻi’s GRAMMY©), you have until January 16, 2015 to submit your nomination forms and materials to the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA). YOU NEED NOT BE A HARA MEMBER to enter! Non-Hawaiʻi residents are also eligible to enter under certain circumstances.

The nomination forms and guidelines are available on the HARA website. You may also enter online however; hard copy (product(s)) submissions must still be received at the HARA office by the deadline. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

NOTE: Sometimes an artist’s record company or distributor submits the nomination paperwork on behalf of the artist, but don’t assume! Check with your label or distributor, and if they aren’t submitting on your behalf, do it yourself! (I provide this service for my clients, but will also submit on behalf of non-clients for a small fee.) If your label or distributor have or will be entering on your behalf and they haven’t consulted with you on certain categories, be sure to ask what they have entered for Song of the Year (if applicable), Instrumental Composition of the Year (if applicable), and for the adjudicated categories (if applicable) which tracks are being submitted for Haku Mele; Hawaiian Language Performance; and Engineering. If you disagree with the tracks they have chosen for any of these categories, request that they be changed to tracks of your choosing. Your engineer(s) should also be consulted, as for the engineering category the tracks (three of them) are to be those of the engineer’s choice “that best exemplify the engineer’s craft”.  

     >>>>>There have been a few rule and category changes, so be
             sure to read the guidelines first!  Also, the January 16
             deadline to submit is a “received by” date, NOT a 
             “postmark by” date. All submission forms and materials
             (CDs, DVDs, lyric/translation copies, and for online digital
             releases only: track sheets, credit listings and cover art)
             must be received at the HARA office by the deadline. No
             exceptions! <<<<<
 
Best of luck to all who are entering!

Ballots for the first round of voting (to determine who the nominees will be) for the 2015 GRAMMYS® were mailed to voting members October 15th, and must be returned no later than November 5th. The nominations will be announced the first week of December, and final ballots will go out on December 17th.  (The final ballots are due back January 16th and the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards® Airs Live on CBS Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015.)

Here are the 18 eligible entries from Hawaiʻi in the Regional Roots category (part of the American Roots Music field):

Me Ke Aloha
Lito Arkangel

Hū’ewa
Hū’ewa

Music for the Hawaiian Islands Vol 1
Kuana Torres Kahele

Seeds of Aloha 
George Kahumoku Jr.

Swaying Sea
Kaiholu

D-Tour
John Keawe

Hanuʻaʻala
Kamaka Kukona

I Know You by Heart
Kupaoa

Na Pua Mohala
Kupaoa & Kaulana

Meleʻuhane
Keikilani Lindsey

Made in Hawaii
Chino Montero

Ala Iki
Kapono Na`ili`ili

Pure ʻUkulele
Herb Ohta, Jr.

Kani Pu Kolu
Cyril Pahinui

Hawaiian Slack Key Kings Vol. 3
Various Artists


Napili
Waipuna

Ki Hoʻalu Christmas
Jim Kimo West

Lei Maile
Mark Yamanaka

Good luck to all the entrants!

(Note: we still do not have enough entries to qualify to get our own [separate] category back. Please be sure to contact me or the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts next year for assistance in entering your album or EP for consideration. The qualifying period (release date) is different than it is for the Hōkū Awards, so watch for information next summer!)

 Honolulu, HI – Known for his work with award-winning artists from Jack Johnson to the late Dennis Kamakahi, Kaukahi to Palani Vaughan, Melveen Leed, Amy Hanaiali’i and more, multi Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winning artist Kawika Kahiapo will release Kuʻu ʻAina Aloha  ("my beloved land"), his third solo album, on October 14, 2014. A mix of four original songs, three others for which he composed the music, and five cover songs, Kahiapo’s devotion to and love of Hawaiʻi and its people, land, waters, and culture are evident in his lyrics; his velvety voice painting a picture in English and Hawaiian of both his home and his passions. 

Influenced by world renowned slack key master Gabby "Pops" Pahinui, who with guitar in hand frequented the casual “garage parties” held at Kawika’s family home when he was young, his  passion for ki ho`alu (slack-key guitar) was born and continued to grow. After breaking into the professional music scene at age 17, joining Chucky Boy Chock and O`ahu Brand, he went on to perform with the Sunday Mānoa’s Palani Vaughan. Over the years he has contributed his talents to over 80 recording projects and has collaborated and performed with artists such as the internationally acclaimed Jack Johnson; Na Leo, Cyril Pahinui and more. Subsequent to the release of his first two solo albums ("Alana" in 1996 and "One Heart/One Voice" in 2000), Kahiapo formed the group Kaukahi, which received three Nā Hōkū awards in 2007 for their debut album “Life in These Islands" - including one for Song of the Year for the album’s title cut, which Kawika wrote. He is also the recipient of the Slack Key Artist of the Year award; was featured on the GRAMMY® award winning album "Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key"; and has recorded numerous jingles and theme songs for radio and television ads.

Kuʻu ʻAina Aloha was produced by Kahiapo. Chris Lau of Rhythm and Roots co-produced and engineered the album. Guest artists include: Chris Lau (bass); Nick Olds (percussion); Greg Sardinha (steel guitar); and LT Smooth (guitar). In addition to vocals, Kahiapo plays guitar, ʻukulele, cuatro, bass, and percussion. One of the album’s original songs, “Waimanalo,” composed about the place Kawika calls home, was performed on “Let’s Play Music! Slack Key with Cyril Pahinui & Friends” - a PBS TV special dedicated to the memory of Gabby "Pops" Pahinui. The song is also being aired on Hawaiian Airlines flights.

In his words: “On this CD, I wrote songs about special places in my heart: ‘Ku'u 'Aina Aloha,’ (my beloved land.) As a Hawaiian, love for the 'aina, special places of richness and beauty, are a part of me, and I a part of them.”

The CD will initially be released through Kahiapoʻs website and on Me Ke Aloha, followed by wider release through other online outlets (including iTunes and CD Baby), as well as local retailers. 

Here are some song clips from the album: