I love to read behind the scenes information about the way people come up with creative ideas. One of my favorite Manilow CDs is Here at the Mayflower so this article is especially interesting. The photos on the Mayflower CD help advance the storyline of the songs and this background story tells how the photographer developed the concept for the pictures on the CD.
It’s one of my favorite situations when personal work became published and paid work. I was asked to scout a building and photograph it to give the record company (Concord Records) an idea what the real Mayflower (the building in Brooklyn Manilow grew up in which inspired the songs) looked like, so they could come up with something similar to shoot the artist in LA.
They loved my photos so much they ended up using them on the CD cover and package and superimposed the photos of the artist (Barry Manilow) over my photos. Then they asked me to go BACK and shoot some more and ended up using them all over the notes! Cool. I love that they took my vision and loved it and used it!
Where are my manners? I have been meaning to write and officially welcome Barry to the fan Internet world. My welcome is a little late; real life has kind of gotten in the way. My oldest son just got engaged and will be getting married in February. Also, I am no longer an unemployed blogger – I got a job! Anyway, enough about all that, back to my welcome.
A debate had been going on for quite some time among Manilow fans. The issue contemplated was if Barry read Internet fan sites. That question was settled once and for all by a letter Barry wrote that appeared on Sunday, October 4th. The letter was in the form of a hotline to UK fans as well as being on the main page of Manilow.com for a brief time before vanishing into that great void of cyberspace that swallows any postings that don’t go along with the elusive party lines of TPTB. Funny, I thought Barry was one of TPTB. Shows how much I know about such things.
How cool is that? Barry joined the ranks of all the people who have had postings pulled off official Manilow sites. Even he doesn’t know what’s allowed and what’s not. I was glad to see the letter. For a brief moment there was dialogue between Barry and his fans. If it had or does continue, this could lead to fans becoming the friends that Barry referred to in his letter.
In the letter it seems that real life is dealing with Barry too. Not the happy events going on in my life, but in the form of more surgery. I was sorry to read that. I hope it all goes well and Barry gets relief from his problem. Prayers and positive thoughts are sent his way for a speedy recovery. Take care of yourself, Barry!
So welcome, Barry. Now that you have gotten your feet wet, so to speak, come back any time. We know you can speak if you choose to when ever you want. Your friends on the Internet are very interested in what you have to say. Don’t be such a stranger. We look forward to hearing from you more. You sure got all the boards and sites buzzing. Keep these dialogues going and you may discover that fans can be articulate and intelligent, if given the chance. Give us the chance.
Manilow TV is starting up next week. This announcement started a controversy many different places in the Manilow fan world. Once again, the cult members went on the defensive about any opinion or comment that did not go along with the thinking that Manilow TV is the greatest thing ever.I don’t see what all the fuss is about. A service is being offered and the choice to buy that service is up to each individual. Happens every day; it is basic consumerism 101.
People are faced with making decisions every day about how to spend their money. The choices made are usually based on need, budget, or a number of other factors that play into what is going on in a person’s life at that time. In most cases these decisions are not shared with other folks on the Internet.For some reason Manilow fans find it necessary to share such Manilow related choices on the Internet with mass numbers of their close friends. That’s fine. Just be prepared if all of these people don’t agree with you because they will express how they feel – in no uncertain terms.
There’s really no problem with expressing an opinion. I’m doing that very thing right now. The problem comes when an opinion isn’t allowed. Free exchange of ideas is a great thing but when no exchange is allowed then it falls back into that old cult mentality. Everyone does not consider Manilow TV to be something they are prepared to buy into for various reasons. That should be allowed to be expressed and respected as much as the idea that Manilow TV is wonderful should be expressed and respected. We don’t all purchase the same items or services during the course of our day but that doesn’t make us bad people. It makes us different. Different is not bad.
For everyone signed up for Manilow TV, I hope you enjoy it. People who are not getting it, I am sure you made the right the decision for whatever reason you chose not to get it. I will be in the latter group for right now. I’m sure if the service works very well, word of mouth may convince some consumers who are sitting on the fence which way to go. My hope is that the information will be fair and balanced. It will be if you know where to go to read it. Do you think Consumer Reports will review Manilow TV? I guess not, so fan reviews will have to do. Keep an open mind. I plan on doing just that.
Barry Manilow is playing the Hollywood Bowl on October 24th. Fans have known that for quite a few months but a few days ago an announcement added a charity component to the event. Barry’s Hollywood Bowl concert will now raise money to put musical instruments into the hands of public school students in the LA school district. Music programs all over the US have suffered, like all arts programs, or for that matter education in general, in the recession. California has been very hard hit. Sounds like a very good idea. Yet some fans found fault with this turn of events.
Earlier a hotline had been sent out to some west coast fans and an alert posted on Facebook with the information that seats for the Hollywood Bowl priced at $9.99 were available. This was seen as a sign that the ticket sales were doing poorly. This was all speculation. Announcing the fundraiser fueled this speculation. Just for sake of argument, and I am meaning that in the terms of a point, not fighting with anyone, the speculation is true. Barry and his management came up with the idea of trying to increase ticket sales by making this a charity project. It’s not clear how this helps out tickets sales. Donating to the music project is only done by buying packages. Maybe the thinking is a lot of people will be convinced to buy tickets because Barry is giving something to the schools, or to save face in LA for Barry’s supposed poor ticket sales? Not sure about that thinking. Would it still be a bad thing, only to rip-off fans, as the fault finders say?
One of the key sticking points about how fans are being taken advantage is the packages being offered. The charge is that fans are being asked to pay a huge amount to meet Barry.Only one person on one board pointed out that maybe these packages were aimed at corporate sponsors. This makes perfect sense when reading what is included in the packages. Fans wouldn’t care to have their name put in ads or merchandise. The packages were designed to get corporate money. Probably these sponsors have already signed up. Meeting Barry is put in only as something for the guests who attend the concert in behalf of the company who buys the packages. It was never intended for fans. The cheapest package maybe aimed at fans but that’s all. Some people are so obsessed with the idea that meeting Barry is only done for a price that they lose all common sense.
How can this not be a good thing? It will put musical instruments into the hands of students who could have missed the opportunity to learn music because of budget restrains. Personally, I like this charity above all the others. In the case of Palms Springs, the donors saw the instruments get into the hands of the students. How many charities are able to show concrete proof that what they raised money for actually reached the people it helped? This is one of the few.
The Hollywood Bowl fundraiser looks like a win-win situation to me. This could be a case of having lemons and making lemonade out of them—Manilow Lemonade.Barry gets to help put musical instruments into student’s hands. Corporate sponsors or whoever buys the packages get to help Barry put the musical instruments into students’ hands and see a concert. Most importantly, students in LA will get the chance to learn to play musical instruments because of Barry’s Hollywood Bowl concert. Anything that aids kids is a good thing in my book. Maybe the next Barry Manilow will learn to play his music on one of the donated instruments. That would be awesome.
Things have really been busy in Manilowland for the past few days. For years a fan in Europe has been supplying fans with music, photos, and videos of Barry Manilow. Not only did she post this material on her own site, she posted it on Internet sharing sites. Last week she got caught; an email from an attorney representing Stiletto arrived in her in box. Of course she had to share the pain of receiving such an email with all of her many online friends, one of whom she suspects turned her into TPTB. Fans have been up in arms about the treatment this fan received. Closer examination shows that she and her friend left TPTB very little alternative.
Many times fan has commented what a caring person this lady is to have taken the time to edit and post so many videos. Trouble is her concern didn’t go far enough to obey the laws that protect an artist’s material. Her sharing has another name – copyright infringement. The only way copyrighted material can be used legally by anyone other than the copyright owner is to obtain permission from the copyright holder, which this person clearly did not do. Claims have been made that this person didn’t think she was doing anything wrong but only helping by promoting Barry.
She did know and her own words prove it. On August 2, 2009, she posted a reply on the forum board about her videos being removed from the Daily Motion site. In the reply she says not once, but twice that, “I was expecting this to come one day…” and “As I said, I was expecting this one day or the other but I was hoping this day not to come that soon.” (Now before I get angry emails that I used quotes off a private forum, I want to pass on this bite of information. The discussion boards on the Manilow Network are not private. I was able to look this up and pull it off without even signing on to the network. Anyone can see what is posted there. The only reason to sign on would be to reply to a discussion. All goes back to nothing is private on the Internet.) So she knew what she was doing was wrong.
Copyright seems to be brushed aside by fans as not being relevant when money does not change hands. That is not true. What she knew or didn’t know became a non-issue when TPTB pulled all her videos off the public site. Big clue there that this fan was doing something that wasn’t supposed to be done. Not only that, but that she was being watched.
This rather large hint did not get through to this person. She came up with another plan to keep sharing copyrighted material. Once again she shared this information around the Internet on email strings. See where this is going? Where it always goes. Once again back to that nothing is private on the Internet (doesn’t that get boring that I have to keep saying that? But some people never get it.) It is supposed that someone, trying to score whatever it is moles get, turned her into TPTB. Tons of finger pointing and names named as to who this was has been going on all over the fan sites. It can be narrowed down to one place; My Manilow Network.
Some well meaning person posted on the MMN discussion boards that this lady was going to keep posting her videos but she couldn’t tell how the fan planned to do this because then TPTB would know. Think maybe this person, who all but dared TPTB to stop this fan had anything to do with tipping then off that something was afoot? (I went back to find the post but in true cult fashion, it has been removed. Good covering of tracks.) It is not hard to imagine that after reading this post, on their own official site, that TPTB knew that hints and being nice wasn’t going to work. It was time to get serious and they did.
I’m a black and white person. Rules and laws are to be obeyed in my book. I’m not naive to think that most everyone hasn’t shared a video or something with a friend. That is not the case with this lady. She had great amounts of material. Her material wasn’t limited to videos; she claimed to have unreleased music. Someone here in the United States supplied her with material. Trying to put a spin on it that she was “helping Barry” and other fans does not change the fact that what she did was not only morally wrong but against the law. She got away with it for years but her run is over, or I hope it is. Surely she got the message this time. Maybe this fan can use the skills she acquired in editing and posting Barry’s material into a new hobby—one that is legal.
Last weekend quite a few fans got to see Barry perform in two different venues. Reviews and pictures appeared of both concerts. What I really found really interesting was how various people saw Barry’s performances through very different eyes. By sharing their accounts of what was experienced, I was able to see the many ways fans relate to a concert. In a way it was like the life cycle of a fan.
New fans saw the concert with child-like eyes. It was all new and exciting. Just being in the same place as Barry was nearly enough. Every aspect was enjoyed and savored with the awe of a wonderful Christmas morning when Santa fulfilled all the wishes. Oh, to have that joy again.
Older fans, (and I don’t mean in years as age, but more in years as a fan) tend to not only appreciate Barry’s performance but also the event itself. Friends and being together was a vital part of their experience. As people grow older they tend to be grateful for friends and the opportunity to do things mutually enjoyed.Maybe the show wasn’t exactly what it used be but that doesn’t matter. Knowing that there are still shows to attend makes them happy.
Last are the die hard older fans; the senior of the fans who have been there for the whole time. Long memories of days past sometimes hinder their ability to enjoy the concert. Seeing the changes reminds them that not only has Barry grown older, but so have they. That can be hard to accept. The concert is viewed with a more critical eyes of what it should have been based on what Barry once did. The past can’t be relived. Some will understand and accept that; others will not.
My thanks to all the people who shared their concert going experience from last weekend. I hope people continue to do that. Seeing Barry’s concerts through different eyes gives insight to how people think and feel. That always interests me.
Looks like Manilow TV is about to come online. For a short while on Sunday, the website was up. It got taken down when fans started accessing the website and sharing information. Or was it put up to test the waters? What a great way to gage fan’s reactions. After reading what fans said, then pricing and terms could be tweaked. Great marketing!
So what did the marketing testing show? Manilow TV has generated a lot of buzz in the fans world. Over on MMN, the official site, everyone is expressing what they would like to see. There is no mention of thoughts on the price of $20.00 a month. Lucky people over there do not seem to be feeling any affects from the recession. I am happy for them. Oh, wait a minute. Maybe they are being careful not to say anything negative so they won’t get banned. I’ll be positive and go with the Manilow Network is a recession proof zone.
That is not the case with the newsgroup and other places. The monthly fee seems too high for most of these folks who have been hit by the recession. One great idea was a pay for view tier of service. Fans pay for just what they want to watch, say for maybe a twenty-four hour period. (Thanks to a newsgroup poster for this idea.) That might make the service accessible to more viewers.
I can’t say I was surprised by the no downloading or allowing the material to be put on any other site, as stated in the Terms of Service. That is how it should be. The service is not giving away videos; you pay for the privilege of watching them. I’m just not sure how the videos can be monitored. A little thing like TOS never seemed to affect the illegal videos on the Manilow Network. Maybe Manilow TV will have something in place to make the downloading complicated.
I mean, come on, you and I both know that someone somewhere will figure out to download the videos. Nothing on the Internet is ever safe. The best you can do is make downloading hard. That will cut out a majority of down loaders. Only the hard core, download-or-die fans will be left and TPTB probably know who they are. If the videos end up on a site, some one will blab. They always do. Gotta score those Brownie points.
Manilow TV –here it comes. Stay tuned to see how it goes. You won’t be getting any first hand information from me. I’m one of those recession people. I wish the venture all the best. All the people who do sign up for the service, I hope you enjoy it. Tell us about it now and then. We’ll live vicariously through you.
Hi! Welcome to Sue's Manilow's Blog. I have been blogging on the Manilow Network since last summer but with the New Year, I have branched out to my own independent Manilow blog. As a long time fan of Mr. Manilow, I seem to not fit very well in the define groups of the Manilow fans world. Truth be told, I think very few people do. For most of us, Barry is not what our lives are centered on - he is just a pleasant escape from the reality of the every day world. I don't put Barry down either, as some groups do. No this blog is just to share my thoughts and experiences with other fans. Feel free to comment. As a note, the comments will be monitored.
Posts
