Update: Captiol, Coldplay Remove Forced Record Contract from Contest

 

Source: http://andyontheroad.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/update-captiol-coldplay-remove-forced-record-contract-from-contest/

 

Once again, thanks to B-Money for bringing this to my attention.

 

I can’t be sure if this is due to the ever-growing fan backlash thanks to the various Coldplay message boards (some of which linked here too - thanks!), or pressure from Coldplay, or the sudden wakeup from Capitol, but this morning the terms and conditions page for the opening for Coldplay contest I wrote about two days ago are all changed. Let’s take my previous points of contention and see where they are now. Here are the new rules for reference. I had the good sense to archive the page this time around as well - I wish I did last time, too.

 

• My first point was a minor one (not good persuasive writing, I know). Live Nation and Capitol reserve the right at any time to disqualify “inappropriate” submission, without any veto remedy. This is understandable from Capitol’s angle; they want to be in power here. It’s simply far too easy to envision a truly visionary band being dismissed my companies simply for being too different. Coldplay I’m sure would have some stories about that. I know the Stone Roses do.
   
  
• Originally, you granted Capitol an unlimited, royalty-free license to use the work you submitted. This was handy from a promotional angle, but nothing would stop Capitol from, say, licensing it to a campaign ad and collecting the royalties all for themselves. Now the wording has changed to say “each member of the winning band grants permission for Sponsor and those acting under its authority to use his/her name, photograph, voice and/or likeness, for advertising and/or publicity purposes, in any and all media now known or hereinafter invented without territorial or time limitations and without additional compensation.” Totally understandable, and much more of a reasonable condition. Capitol is going to want to promote this show with your no-doubt pretty and/or handsome mugs, right? Were this a negotiation I may want to put a cap on the time limit, but there is no negotiation to be had here. What’s interesting to me is that instead of saying they have an irrevocable license to use your song for promotion, they lay no claim over the right to use your song. Technically, any use by Capitol is unauthorized, but you’d be a bit foolish to go after them for advertising your song for the Coldplay show (if that campaign song thing happens, though, I may want to consider a strongly worded letter).
   
  
• All claim that Capitol may, to quote the old agreement, “edit, adapt, composite, mix, remix, morph, scan, duplicate, alter and/or otherwise modify and commercially exploit your submission, in whole or in part, without any restrictions as to changes,” is gone. Chalk one up for creative control.
   
  
• Perhaps most interesting of all, all of the language about Capitol holding the exclusive right for 60 days to enter you into a recording contract, the (incredibly harsh) terms of which were all laid out in the old terms and conditions - including such hits as no artist accomidations, total transfer of all rights in the songs, total waiving of all moral rights [which, by the way, you can't do becuase they're inalienable by nature], and vague clauses about this falling under the terms and conditions of a standard recording contract from Capitol without any indication as to what those terms are - all are totally removed from the new terms and conditions. No mention whatsoever.
  

 

So, can we call this a victory? Did the online roars of many reach the desks on the top floor of that LA office building? Perhaps. If you make decisions based soley on the actual bounds of the rules I’d say this is a totally fair contest at this point (though I still have some issue with the prize package with forced approval by Live Nation and joke of a cash payment). By the sheer nature of the new terms and conditions this is an okay game to play.

 

However, if you consider the character of the other party at the table as much as what’s written in the contract, I’d still stay away from this one. Capitol cannot be let off the hook so easily. It was no mistake that the provisions of the contest were so restrictive, controlling, and malicious. Capitol thought in this case they could wave Coldplay in front of your face with the right hand while the left went into your pocket for your wallet. Their changing of the rules was no doubt due to some external influence. In other words, the Devil may offer you a fair deal, but you are still negotiating with the Devil. Be careful.

 

On the other side of the issue, in as much as they deserve shame for the previous contest rules, FNX and Coldplay and all other parties deserve credit for any influence they had in changing about the rules, and dedicated Coldplay fans deserve some thanks for raising hell about the issue. Thanks to all the new readers as well who came by for this post from the Coldplay boards. Hope you stick around.

wow :nice:

I do not swear often, but

 

FUCK coldplay. To think I actually thought the dudes were cool

^ I think this looks worse for Capitol than it does the boys.. I'd say its a good one on them for potentially having a say in stopping Capitol from messing around new artists. I sincerely doubt they would have approved, and I also doubt it'll effect them at all.

 

The only trouble I had with the rules before was the absolute control Capitol would have over all creations from a band thereafter... and it doesn't seem to be that way anymore.

 

In short, a) maybe don't be so quick to judge?

and b) I'm still pretty darn excited :nice:

 

M.

Last Day for Coldplay!

 

Today is the last day for your Open For Coldplay entries for the following shows:

 

Hartford (concert on Aug 2): Entry period beings 7/1/08 and ends 7/7/08.

Washington D.C. (concert on Aug 3): Entry period beings 7/1/08 and ends 7/7/08.

Boston (concert on Aug 4): Entry period beings 7/1/08 and ends 7/7/08.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMoIGeBSObo

 

Jubeus made a video, did you? Click here before it's too late!

Harrisburg band has chance to open for Coldplay

 

Harrisburg group Bridges And A Bottle is one of 15 bands fans can vote for online to open for Coldplay.

 

Vote on Philadelphia radio station WMMR's Web site, http://www.wmmr.com.

 

The members of Coldplay will then judge the three videos that receive the most votes, and grant the winner a 20-minute opening slot before their July 25 performance at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

 

The deadline for fan voting is Thursday. For details, visit http://www.yorkblog.com/flipside.

Good Going, Ian!! :) Keep whipping that Devil of a company!!:devilish::whip:;)

^ I think this looks worse for Capitol than it does the boys.. I'd say its a good one on them for potentially having a say in stopping Capitol from messing around new artists. I sincerely doubt they would have approved, and I also doubt it'll effect them at all. ;)

 

The only trouble I had with the rules before was the absolute control Capitol would have over all creations from a band thereafter... and it doesn't seem to be that way anymore.

:shocked2:Yikes! Did they actually claim that?? Wow, that's nuts!! Glad for you sake Maya, that's been removed!!!

 

In short, a) maybe don't be so quick to judge?

and b) I'm still pretty darn excited :nice:

 

& Best Luck to ya!!:)

Smells like the boys' idea gone to EMI :/

wow

 

JEEZ! My band is actually in first place right now in the voting... after reading the first set of rules...we all were like.. SHIT! but these seem better... :\

By the way... vote for us!! http://www.fnxradio.com we are the last band on the videos page.. check us out.. as of now we are in first place in the voting!

My band is in the final 15 for the Boston show. We are currently in first place in the voting.. please check us out and vote if you like!! We recorded with Jim Warren, Radioheads live sound engineer and producer on The Bends..

 

fnxradio.com we are the last video on the page!!

 

Thanks for the support (if you vote) :)

 

One of the midstate's favorite bands, Bridges And A Bottle, is currently in the top 15 in an online contest that will determine the opening act for Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" tour stop in Philadelphia.

 

The band's video for "Promise" is one of 15 band-submitted videos, chosen from over 400, that fans can vote for on Philadelphia radio station WMMR's Web site.

 

The members of Coldplay will then judge the three videos that receive the most votes. The winner will nab a 20-minute opening slot before Coldplay's performance at the Wachovia Center July 25. The voting deadline is Thursday, July 10.

 

Bridges and a Bottle -- led by brothers Justin and Adam Smith and guitarist Tyler Adkins -- is currently in the studio with producer Rich Keller working on their third album.

 

http://blog.pennlive.com/go/2008/07/local_band_in_running_to_open.html

So, About That Coldplay Contest....

 

Thursday July 10, 2008

 

As you might recall, I blogged last week about a contest run by Capitol Records that gave local bands a chance to open for Coldplay in their cities. I was not too impressed with the terms of the contest, which basically required every band who entered the contest to give Capitol some pretty far reaching rights and a 60 day option for a none too great record deal. At first, the comments and emails I was receiving about the post were in the "yeah, right on!" camp, and then I started getting comments and emails disputing what I said were the contest rules. Frankly, I was more than a little confused. I couldn't understand how anyone could walk away from reading the rules and say some of the things they were saying. It was like we were reading two different sets of rules.

 

Well, turns out we were! Based on a comment I received today (many thanks for the input), I checked out the rules again. Gone was the 60 day option. All that remained was a pretty simple and fair agreement that the winning bands would have to let Capitol promote the show using their name and music. Now THAT - that is fair. I'm going to try to get to the bottom of this a little more and will report what I find out, but kudos to everyone who was involved in adjusting these terms. Isn't it nice to hear some good news every now and then?

 

http://musicians.about.com/b/2008/07/10/so-about-that-coldplay-contest.htm

Bicycle Thieves - my favorite local band from Virginia - and some of the nicest guys (cute too :) ) need some love! Help them open for Coldplay in WDC. If I find their CD at home, Ill even send it to everyone that wants to hear their earlier stuff - but Id imagine theyre online too.

 

So, a coupla things.

 

1. The rumours of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. We still exist.

 

2. You might have caught us at the Celebrate Fairfax festival in June. Then again, you might have stayed home since it was 110 out and we nearly melted.

 

3. Vote for us so we can open for Coldplay! All you have to do is go to this link, where we are the first band listed on the page: http://www.coldplayontour.com/wwdc/

 

You can vote once from work and once from home. Please send this around to everyone you know and don't know.

 

Thanks!

Bicycle Thieves

http://www.bicyclethieves.com

Western Mass Band Could Open For Coldplay

 

Holyoke, MA - There are plenty of people out there who are looking to make it big, but they just need a break to get there.

 

Fendline is a Western Mass band with a lot of heart, a great sound, and some big goals. "My dream was to just stand in front of thousands and thousands of people and just play," said vocalist and guitar player Chris Lomma.

 

Drummer, Kevin Lang has a similar goal, "It's always been a dream of mine to get in front of a crowd of people and just do what I love to do."

 

And that's what they've been doing for the last six years, playing shows and trying to get their name out to as many people as possible. "We want people to hear our music and we hope they like it," said bassist, Dan Barkyoumb.

 

All the while, having a fun time doing so. "We're definitely close, so that definitely shows in how we play and everything, we're friends first," said electric guitarist, Kevin Douthwright.

 

Then one day Fendline came across a radio contest from WFNX to be the opening act for Coldplay's Boston show. "Took a shot send the video in and see what could happen from it," said Lomma.

 

Now Fendline is part of the final 15, and competing for votes to get them one step closer to making their dream come true. They hope residents from Western Mass will help them out. "We're hometown kids, we've got big aspirations and we just want to do what we do. This is an amazing opportunity for us, and we're just hoping that the Western Mass community can rally behind us and send one of their own to Boston," said Barkyoumb.

 

And if that happened, it could be the break of their career. "If we're in front of [Coldplay]," says Lang "hopefully we'll just capture the attention of as many people as we can, that's the goal."

 

While nothing is certain until all the votes are in, Fendline has found the positive.

 

"Just the exposure," said Douthwright "Even if we don't even win, just being up on the website and being with the other 14 finalists."

 

But if they did win, it would be a whole new experience. "We've played shows before where it's a couple hundred people and I start getting butterflies," says Barkyoumb, "You know 30,000 I can't even imagine. I bet it'd be a rush."

 

If you would like to vote and help Fendline open for Coldplay log onto:

 

http://www.coldplayontour.com/wfnx

 

Fendline's video is the fourth from the top. The song is titled "Break Me Slowly."

 

http://www.wggb.com/Global/story.asp?S=8668517

Cool share Ian, I've been following this, choosing the opening act for them when they played Boston, thank you for the links.

 

Can you imagine being a local band and getting plucked up to play a huge venue as the opener for Coldplay? Whew!

 

When I saw them in Manchester NH, Dec 05, it was Richard Ashcroft that opened and that was brill!

 

In Mansfield Ma earlier that summer it was a young Canadian group I'd never heard of called Black Mountain. They weren't half bad but I felt bad for them because their sound mixing sucked.

Drexel student to open for Coldplay

 

Congratulations to Music Industry student Jonah Delso! Delso was selected to open for Coldplay on July 25 at the Wachovia Center through a video contest run by local rock station 93.3 WMMR.

 

Stay tuned for an interview with Delso in the July 25 issue of The Triangle, but for now, check out the winning video below.

 

http://blogs.thetriangle.org/

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD-SVVdBMuw

Jonah Delso[/url]! Delso was selected to open for Coldplay on July 25 at the Wachovia Center through a video contest run by local rock station 93.3 WMMR.

 

Stay tuned for an interview with Delso in the July 25 issue of The Triangle, but for now, check out the winning video below.

 

http://blogs.thetriangle.org/

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD-SVVdBMuw

 

 

is this song serious? people actually voted for this???? and it WON??? well now i know NOT to enter the wachovia center until this garbage is offstage, good lord

He has a really interesting voice. Good luck to him.

Local band a semifinalist to open for Coldplay

 

 

Last week, Laurence and Anna McKenna kept refreshing a DC101 Web site. Laurence McKenna, 36, is a professional musician whose band, Shag, had entered a contest to open for Coldplay at the Verizon Center Aug. 3.

 

Finally, the Web site updated. Shag, a band with roots in Winchester and Manassas, was one of 15 semifinalists selected by the radio station.

 

"We were screaming, it was kind of cool," McKenna, of Winchester, said. "We were fortunate enough to be picked."

 

Hundreds of bands entered the contest.

 

Now, visitors to the DC101 Web site can vote for his or her favorite band from 15 semifinalists. Most of the other semifinalists are also from the region, spanning from Richmond to Baltimore. When voting closes today, the bands in the top three places get sent to Coldplay.

 

Coldplay has the final say on which band will play a 20-minute set before its August concert.

 

Although, as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, Shag was in second place, it was a bumpy start. McKenna said Shag and one other band weren't featured alongside the 13 others in the online voting. Now, they've skyrocketed to the top.

 

"I think it's a real good possibility," McKenna said, of opening for Coldplay.

 

They'd be a pretty good fit, too. Shag plays original British rock. The band also covers British bands like The Cure, The Cult, Radiohead and, of course, Coldplay standards like "Yellow" and "Clocks." But, if they win, the band'll only play originals.

 

McKenna, whose ringback is The Smith's "A Charming Man," is originally from Darby, England. He came to America in 1989 to work at a summer camp for the mentally disabled. That summer he met his wife-to-be, Anna. He eventually moved to the United States to tour as a musician, both with a band and as a solo artist. Besides, the mythology of American musicians like Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie really fascinated him.

 

(Austin Powers hadn't popularized the British slang "Shag," a euphemism for fornication, when McKenna named his band).

 

Mike Miggins, 37, of Manassas, has been with the band for eight years as lead guitarist and back-up vocalist. His influences run a bit more hard rock ("Van Halen") compared to McKenna. He said the idea to enter the contest came from his wife, Linda, and McKenna's wife, Anna.

 

"Originally we didn't want to do it," Miggins said "Normally this type of contests are a big pain, we didn't know when we were going to be able to shoot a video or how we'd be able to do it. Luckily it worked out."

 

To enter, the band had to shoot a video and upload it onto YouTube.com. Shag filmed a live cut of its song "Overrated," about a drummer McKenna played with about 10 years ago.

 

"It's about a guy who kind of thinks he's more than he is," McKenna said. (Obviously, it didn't work out with this drummer.)

 

But when the list of winners went live, Miggins didn't see their video in the mix. He said due to the two videos that didn't load in the original list of winners, he didn't think Shag made the cut. About 20 minutes later, McKenna called.

 

"I was pretty surprised," Miggins said. "I thought we'd done a good job but I didn't know what they were looking for."

 

Miggins said opening for Coldplay is within the realm of possibility, but doesn't want to get his hopes up.

 

"If we make it in the top three we've got a pretty good shot," Miggins said. "There's a couple other really good bands up there, anybody could really win it."

 

http://www.insidenova.com/isn/entertainment/music/article/local_band_a_semifinalist_to_open_for_coldplay/18486/

Viva La Vida: How a Fresno musician got to open for Coldplay

 

 

Eat your heart out, other Fresno musicians -- Rico Rodriguez is opening for Coldplay.

 

Rodriguez, a Fresno boy, plays drums in the Bay Area-based rock band Picture Atlantic, who won the opportunity to open for a little ol' band named Coldplay tomorrow night at HP Pavilion in San Jose. Did we mention the band was hand-picked by Chris Martin & Co? Yeah, that's cool too.

 

Though he recently moved to Santa Clara to focus on the band, Rodriguez (pictured second from right) is a veteran of Fresno's local scene and was in town this week visiting his family. We caught up with him to get some details, thoughts and exclamations as he preps for Friday's show.

 

How did your band get to open for Coldplay?

Live 105 and Coldplay hosted a contest where bands would submit videos to be judged by the radio station. They picked 15 videos that they like and those were put up on a website to be voted on by the public. Of those 15, three videos were sent to Coldplay and they personally picked the band they liked the most.

 

That's huge -- what are you guys doing to prepare?

We just finished up a tour of California so we feel as prepared as we could be for this show. We're going to have a few more practices before we take the stage at the HP Pavilion this Friday. We've also been doing a great deal of jumping jacks.

 

Explain the Fresno connection. You're from here, but the band is based out of the Bay Area? How does that all work?

I had lived in Fresno my whole life until recently and I've been a part of the music scene since I was 15. I met the guys in Picture Atlantic through my sister. They came out to one of my shows for a band I was playing in at the time. We became pretty good friends and when I heard that they lost their drummer I called them up immediately. I mean, like the same minute that I read on the Internet that they had lost their drummer I yelled at my sister for not telling me, then called them.

 

 

What kind of history do you have in the Fresno music scene?

My first show was at Pizzaland (anyone remember that place?) with a band called Inerflu. Since then I've played with many bands including Jellyfish Tree, JAF, and Elmo Marconi.

 

What do you think this Coldplay gig will do for the band career-wise?

I'm really not sure. We have received some really interesting calls and e-mails. I think I'll just leave it at that for now.

 

Are you a big fan of Coldplay? Does that make it even better?

I love Coldplay. I would love to just go to that show, playing it is a dream come true.

 

The question everybody is probably asking: Will you guys get to meet them or hang out with them?

Haha I really hope we do! I want to give Gwyneth Paltrow a high-five!

 

When can we expect to see Picture Atlantic play in Fresno?

We just played here last week on our tour with Hazel and Vine. There are no further dates planned yet but Fresno has my heart. We will play here again.

 

http://www.fresnobeehive.com/archives/2008/07/viva_la_vida_ho.html

Another interview with Rodriguez about his experience :)

 

 

What did you do Friday night? Rico Rodriguez, oh he just hung out with Coldplay.

 

Rodriguez, you might remember, is the Fresno-bred drummer of Bay Area band Picture Atlantic. Rodriguez and his band won an opening spot for Friday night's Coldplay concert at HP Pavilion in San Jose.

 

We talked to Rodriguez as he was getting ready for the big show and now we're getting his post-Coldplay thoughts -- backstage encounters, an almost-exploding heart and everything else.

 

So what was it like?

 

It was amazing! Everyone treated us really well, including Coldplay. Performing in front of all those people was a dream come true. I can't wait to do it again.

 

How did the crowd react to you guys?

 

We received really great feedback from the audience after every song there was a roar of applause -- one I have dreamed of hearing. When I was walking around the stadium people kept stopping me to tell me how stoked they were about our performance. I even signed some autographs and took some pictures. That was a lot of fun to me.

 

How was the backstage stuff? Did you get to meet Coldplay? Did you get a dressing room? A bowl of only green M&Ms?

 

We did get a dressing room and we also got to talk to Coldplay a bit. Their bass player Guy Berryman actually came into our dressing room and hung out with us for about half an hour. For our bass player that was a dream come true, Guy Berryman is his hero. We didn't get a bowl of green M&M's but they did feed us some tasty Shepherd's Pie. Backstage it felt like we were in England. Everyone had an accent.

 

When you guys introduced your band, did a "Fresno" reference get dropped in there?

 

Unfortunately, no. It's a complicated thing to explain where we are from because I'm from Fresno, Ryan's from Redwood City, Aarons from Oakland, Patrick's from Santa Cruz, Nick's from Santa Clara and Brian's from Sunnyvale. Pretty soon most of us will be living in the San Jose area, plus the venue was in San Jose so when we walked out we just said, "We're Picture Atlantic from San Jose!". The crowd loved that and it was easier just to say it that way.

 

Did you stick around and watch Coldplay?

 

You bet! It was one of the most incredible and inspiring shows I've ever seen. We got to watch their sound check as well. They were running through some songs and the stadium was empty except for us Picture Atlantic guys. That was a great experience for us.

 

Was there anything that really surprised you about the "rock star" experience?

 

I'm not a fan of the label "rock star" but I know what you mean. We truly were treated like rock stars. I was surprised by how much fun it was. I knew that I was going to have a good time, but we were just so well taken care of and catered to that it ended up being even better then I had imagined. I think we should just play with them all the time.

 

What do you think the band learned from this experience?

 

Playing in front of all those people on that huge stage was very comfortable for us. I thought that it was going to be scary, but I seem to learn the same lesson over and over. I was made for this. I was made to play music.

 

Is there a moment that you know you'll remember 20 years from now?

 

Everything about last night was amazing and I will remember it always, but I will never forget the feeling in my chest when we were waiting on that ramp to walk on stage. My heart felt like it was going to explode. Then we walked on stage and the crowd roared. It was a beautiful moment for me. Hearing my snare and bass drum echo through the stadium was something that I'd dreamed of for years.

 

http://www.fresnobeehive.com/archives/2008/07/viva_la_vida_ii.html

^awww... Guy is such a sweetheart!