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Ken Navarro インタビュー(The Meeting Place)

新作ＣＤ The Meeting Place がリリースされましたので、Ken Navarroにメールによるインタビューをお願いしました．
今回は視点を少し変えて、彼の音楽ビジネススタイルについてお伺いしました．
自身のレーベル会社を持っている他のミュージシャンはたくさんいますが、 活動拠点が彼の生まれ故郷であるにも関わらず、 プロの音楽家として全米レベルで活動できていることなど、 いわゆる「知材による著作権料収入」に基づく中小企業等の地方活性化の 良い例にもなっています． （日本語訳は後日掲載します）

(写真の本サイトへの掲載、承諾済み．)

Hi Yoshi - I have answered your questions below. Thank you for such unique and interesting questions!

Best regards,
Ken

Yoshi:
Congraturations your new CD "The Meeting Place" out. Thanks for the previous E-mail interview. This time, I already read Smooth Views your interview article and I'm going to ask you something different viewpoint questions from I have asked you on past interviews. Previus interview questions were mainly your music technical part like "your guitars how to be utilized for different songs" etc.

This time I'm going to ask you more music business side questions, becasue you were moving from LA to Elicott City,MD long time age and continuously successful since then. Usually, if some professional musicians do not have own CD label company and owned copyright songs, their major income is from someone's studio recording, teaching music and/or performance at the live house but not for their own songs, (this is not copyright income provided) whichs are "hourly service" based job. If musicians are in service based job, they need to live in big cities becasue service based job requres more music audience population in a city and music business companies providing recording session job or live performance job must be in these locations for their job. NewYork, LosAngeles and Tokyo are typical these locations, but if anyone live in these cities, house, food, transportation and other misc expense will be higher and net income will not be profitable.

Ken, You have been releasing your CD from your own label company in your home town Elicott city. However, your songs in each CDs are always airplayed in many nation wide Smooth Jazz FM radio stations including Dave Koz Radio Show etc.
Usually, musicians may have own CD label company and working alone, they can get more freedom for their business but sometimes difficult to be appeared on major FM radio airplay and USA nation wide syndicated radio show.

Recently, Japanese musicians start establishing own CD label company and having owned copyright songs for being productive for musicians themselves. However, we still have problem that, how to be advertized like how to promote their CDs and songs for radio power play and others.

Maybe, many Japanese independent musicians will be intersted in Ken Navarro's business model and appearance in radio program.

Under such situation, please let me ask couple of questions and answer them with your oppinion.

Q1: You own your own label Positive Music. Is your own CD sales major your income ? If yes, what percentage of whole your music business income ?

KN:
My CD sales currently account for approximately one third of my income. Another one third of my income is derived from my concert appearances and another one third from royalties from my compositions and publishing.

Q2: Your CD is available to purchase both from CD Baby and Amazon.
CD Baby is well known independent label mail order system. Amazon is now available them to stock from each independent labels directly but Amazon is taking more sales expense for each sales income than CD Baby.
Is Amazon's sales expense acceptable if Amazon sells more your CDs ?

KN:
Amazon's sales expense is certainly high, but they have such strong sales of my CDs that it is worth it. CD Baby handles all of my digital distribution which now accounts for 20% of my sales. I also have a traditional distributor for the USA and Canada whose sales representatives get my CD into the major retail stores, chains and one stops throughout the US.

Q3: When you release each new CDs, are you making "Ken Navarro" introduction brochure kit including promotional video DVD and sample CD ?

KN:
No, it is not necessary for me to do that at this point in my career. My new CD "The Meeting Place" is my seventeenth CD and so the buyers at the retail chains, stores and one stops are familiar with me and my past success. I do create what is known as a "one sheet" which sums up the content of the new CD as well as my past radio and sales successes and also contains the catalog number and other technical information regarding the distributor and the ordering information.

Q4: If Q3 is yes, are you sending them to radio stations ?

KN:
A special "one sheet" is created for the radio stations as well.
Again, the radio programmers know my work quite well and so they do not need a thorough introduction with each new release.

Q5: I think, you are already well known to many music fans. Regardless of you are sending brochure to radio stations, radio station programmers will ask you if you are releasing new CD.
Ken, can you let me (us) know, how to communicate with each radio stations having Smooth Jazz or similar music category radio program programmers ?

KN:
I have found email to be an effective way for me to communicate with radio programmers. It allows me to inform them of the latest news about "The Meeting Place" and also keep them informed of the songs other radio programmers are playing from my new CD. In turn, the radio programmers do not feel obligated to respond to my email unless they want to. However, many of them do respond and I feel like I have developed very good relationships with them. Though many artists and record companies hire independent radio promoters to phone and email the radio programmers on their behalf, I find that email allows me to do this myself in a way which is more natural and personal.

Q6: Dave Koz Radio Show (DKRS) is the most well known syndicated radio program for Smooth Jazz radio program.
DKRS is available to listen from Japan via Internet streaming from KTWV LosAngeles or KIFM SanDiego. Your songs always airplyed in DKRS.
Do you think, this type of syndicated radio program is very efficient for someone's new CD release advertizing ?

KN:
Yes I do. Dave has a great way of presenting new music and I always enjoy it when he does an interview with me as well.

Q7: I think, at this moment, radio program syndication is only available in the US radio network. Unfortunatelly, in Japan we do not have this syndication, because most of radio program copyright is owned by radio station or it's nation wide network company.
I know, such a old style broadcasting network system was gone long time ago in the US.
Ken, Can you let me know your general opinion that, musician's benefit of radio program syndication for new CD release publication ?

KN:
Radio program syndication benefits musicians in a number of ways. Most importantly, it allows listeners in regions and cities of the US who do not have contemporary jazz radio stations in their area, to hear your music. And if the contemporary jazz station in a region is not playing an artist's music, then the syndicated show is another way for those listeners to discover it. Here in the US we also have XM and Sirius radio. These are satellite based and you must purchase a yearly subscription to receive them. These are also excellent syndicated outlets for my music.

Q8: Smooth Views interview mention that, Internet radio is good publication for new CD release all over the world.
I understand but, sometimes (especially in Japan) Internet only broadcasting is not so trusted by general audience becasue establishing IP based only broadcasting station is very easy without big financial backgroud.
Even if, some IP only based station is very sophisticated and recognized by audience. However, IP broadcasting and it's program is very difficult to be discovered like if someone does not know Ken Navarro name and his songs then, driving with listing FM radio, incidentally Ken Navarro's new song "The Meeting Place" is airplayed, then he/she comes like this song. IP radio system is very difficult for such situation provided.
PodCast and other IP radio are comfortable, if someone already know Ken Navarro. However , if someone is "Pre Ken Navarro fan", IP based is not efficient and we still need to utilize regular FM radio music program.
Ken, Can you let me know your opinion for this situation ?

KN:
Well, I personally like internet radio stations and I listen to them quite a bit. I discover new artists and their music through some of the internet stations I listen to. If I like the music an internet station is playing, I do not care how little money it may have cost for them to establish their IP broadcast. Also, many commercial stations here in the US now have an IP feed of their broadcast and so for example, this allows me to listen to KTWV in Los Angeles even though I live on the east coast.

Q9: I (Yoshi) recentlly acquainted one Japanese contemporary Jazz musician having own CD label and successful in Japan nation wide CD distribution from HMV and TOWER RECORD (still tower is alive in Japan). However this musician is always visitting each FM radio stations located in north to south Japan and it is taking couple of days for FM radio station appointment travel.
It is not efficiant especially for independent musicians and tend to live in Tokyo where most of broadcasting network stations are located.
Ken, Do you think, if radio program syndication will be available in Japan (or even in England or Europe. Peter White said there are no Smooth Jazz radio in London at all.) can any musicians get more CD sales and his or her fans ?

KN:
Yes, in my opinion, radio syndication would certainly help this situation and create more sales for musicians like myself and CDs like "The Meeting Place".

Q10: Finally, thanks for taking time for this interview question.
I'm listening Dave Koz Radio Show by KTWV streaming radio every week.
Dave Koz is always asking,
"Desert Island Disks" and "Desert Island iPod".
What is 10 CDs for your "Desert Island Disks" ?

Laura Nyro's "Eli and the Thirteenth Confession",
Brian Wilson's "Pet Sounds",
Pat Metheny's "Letter From Home",
The Beatles "Abbey Road",
Joni Mitchell's "Blue",
John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things",
Ravel's String Quartets,
Anything by Billie Holiday,
Miles Davis "Kind of Blue",
Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Texas Flood".

Also, What is current top 5 songs on your iPod ?

"First Circle" by the Pat Metheny Group,
"God Only Knows" by Brian Wilson,
"Texas Flood" live version by Stevie Ray Vaughn,
"River" by Sarah McLaughlin and
"Strawberry Fields Forever" from the Beatles new "Love" CD.