Summertime - and the living is easy, so goes the song. So far, here in the U.K. we have had some of the hottest weather since records began, especially unusual for the time of year. For anyone who maybe interested in "weather-talk", we usually get the really hot weather, here in the U.K. towards the end of July and into August, so this "heat-wave" was a little "early"! In spite of the oppressive conditions, I have been trying to bring up to date all the various on-going projects that we have "in the melting-pot" here at Sting and Snow Records.

Still at the forefront of these projects is this year's new music recording session, in Nashville and - with this in mind - I thought that you might be interested to know a little about the process that creates new Square Dance music, so here goes...

Sting and Snow Records have a staff of eighteen top European callers and from this pool of talent we hope to find a selection of songs that might be used. For each idea, the first question is "can we obtain a license to distribute the music, if we record it?". This question is usually answered by a quick trip - over the Internet - to the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) web-site.

HFA look after the copyright licensing of a large percentage of all music. If the song is listed on that web-site and if it shows that HFA have been entrusted with the authority to issue the license, we can purchase it there and then. If the song is not listed on their site or if they do not have sufficient authority to issue a license, we have to search the BMI, ASCAP and SESAC databases to establish who the owners of the music are and then contact the owners direct to obtain their permission. If you look at our releases, you will see the "original music details" i.e. writer(s) and publisher(s) displayed on all our releases, this is a requirement of the license that we have to obtain for all tunes where the copyright is not owned by us. Original compositions (those that we have "created") do not require this information.

Once we have the "green light" and know that we can obtain a license, we then start to think of re-arranging the structure of the song into seven times sixty-four beat sections, running at 128 Metronome Beats per Minute (MBM) in a 2/4, 4/4 or 6/8 time signature. If it still sounds okay and retains enough of the "original flavour" of the song then it might work… If we decide to take-up the option and record the tune, a lot more time has to be spent, considering the most appropriate type of Rhythm to use, the best way to use the various instruments that we have available and whether we need to "add" a little something "special"!

Some tunes don't make it. There are many great songs that will never be made in to Square Dances, some because they cannot be licensed and some (where licenses are available) because they would need so much chopping and changing that there would be nothing (or not enough) left of the original song. Most recently, I sat down and listened through all my Queen albums (I am talking about 33RPM 12 inch vinyl) but could not find a single one of their more popular songs that would survive the transition - so there's a challenge for any Queen fans out there - can you think of one that might work?

I can tell you now that there are some fantastic new Square Dance Tunes in the "planning stage" for this year's session. I now have the final agreed list of new tunes to record, I have obtained the licenses that are necessary to be able to distribute the records and I have paid for my air-tickets, so there's no turning back - now!

My comments in last month's News-Letter about the extremely low record sales, prompted a lot of you to contact me and ask questions about what could be done. Thank you for the questions and for all the promises to "twist arms" and "smooth palms" in order to convince a greater percentage of the estimated 4,000 callers out there, who could purchase new recordings, to actually do so! Please do all that you can to help keep this great industry "alive"!

As I have said before but don't mind saying again, one of the best ways to help us is to sign-up to our Standing Order Offer; remember, if you sign up you will receive twelve Sting and Snow records - free of charge, as well as enjoying the opportunity to receive all of our new records, as soon as they become available!

If you are already receiving the benefit of a Standing Order, then try and persuade those that you meet, who have not yet joined, to do so. Remember, if we can get the unit sales of new records to increase, this would help defer any increases in the cost-per-record and could even lead to lower retail prices!

THIS MONTH'S NEW MUSIC:
During July we will be releasing five pieces of music. These releases comprise: two brand new vinyl releases and three MP3 versions - of tunes from our back catalogue that have been previously released in vinyl.

The first of our vinyl new releases is: "Every Breath You Take" (on STING - SIR 339) - this is based on the Sting song (so it is a "Sting" record in more senses than usual!). It was recorded in our Nashville session of 2003 and features Paul Bristow from the United Kingdom (that's me - folks!) on the vocal. The second of our vinyl new releases is: "Kitt / Kaboodle" (on SNOW - SNW 506) a double instrumental Hoedown/Patter in our usual "traditional (on one side) / modern (on the other side)" style.

The other three releases are the MP3 files of "It's Raining Men" (on STING) with Thorsten Geppert on the vocal, "Little Bitty" (on STING) featuring Neil Whiston on the called track and last but by no means least - our top selling record (to date) "Hazel-Mae / Sassafras" (on STING), which is another double instrumental Hoedown/Patter record in our usual "traditional (on one side) / modern (on the other side)" style. These tunes have previously been available in vinyl but as we now have the MP3 licences, we can offer them to you via www.Dosado.com/Sir.htm in the MP3 format.

All of our new music, in either vinyl or MP3 format can be purchased on-line from our Exclusive Master Stocking Distributor Hanhurst's Tape and Record Service at www.Dosado.com/Sir.htm

FUTURE RELEASES:
As mentioned last month, the streaming audio samples of the future releases on the Future Releases link are up-dated as soon as we have the vocals recorded; make a point to check on this link from time-to-time. If you hear something that you like and want to be sure of receiving a copy - as soon as it becomes available - check out our Standing Order Offer.

RECENT RELEASES: (Full details on the Latest Releases link)
Last month we released three new records on vinyl; this was in a month where a total of 20 new vinyls had been released, which included recordings by several of the top companies and featured vocals by may of the top callers and I am very pleased to say that two of our June releases have sold well enough to appear in the Hanhurst's Tape and Record Service top five "Best Sellers" listing. Our two Best Sellers for June were: (at number 2) "If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?", featuring Anders Blom on the vocal and (at number 5) "Me And My Shadow", featuring Stefan Sidholm on the vocal.

Our third release last month, "She Used To Be Somebody's Baby" with Special Guest Caller Philipp Kamm on the vocal, did sell extremely well. Although it did not feature in the published top five, it would have appeared at number 8 - had the list been extended to show the top ten releases-by-sales - which is still very good against such heavy competition.

Historically, June is a very difficult month in which to release records. It coincides with the U.S. National Convention, which prompts many of the big labels and top callers to release their new music, creating a much higher level of competition than usual. It is, therefore, fantastic for us to have achieved such a high placing in the Best Seller listings; GREAT NEWS for the company!

We now enjoy the "100% available" status on the web-site at www.Dosado.com/Sir.htm - all of our old tunes are listed there, for you to listen to. When you have a chance, check out all of our recent releases on the Latest Releases link. To buy all of our music and to hear the older tunes try the Buy The Music and Listen To The Music links.

FESTIVAL UP-DATES: (For full details of all events see the Festivals link)
Our next big festival will be in 2005 hosted by the Pader Jumpers in Paderborn, Germany. This will occur from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th October 2005. Full details of this event will soon be available but - in the meantime - for accommodation details and to pre-register - visit the Pader Jumpers web-site.

OTHER NEWS:
Although we are now "set" for this year's Nashville odyssey, I would still be interested to receive your ideas for new tunes that could or should be recorded, I am already compiling a list for next year; if you have any suggestions please Contact us - we would love to hear from you.

For more information about recording as a "Special Guest Caller" on SNOW, visit the SNOW RECORDS link, we still have some superb deals available to record a vocal on a previously recorded tune and we are offering a super discounted rate; if you are interested, take a look...

Now back into the sunshine with the "factor 40" sun-tan lotion, dark glasses, soft hat and a long cool drink...

Go Squareful! - Paul Bristow (Owner and Producer Sting and Snow Records)