Difference between revisions of "Case Studies/Tom Benjamin"

From Creative Commons
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Overview)
 
(22 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{Case Study
 
{{Case Study
|Description=Radio-Tom is an mp3 playlist of free music with lyrics for download and sharing. Dr Tom has done the first recording in living memory of some of the most famous and greatest songs of all time.
+
|importance=Medium
 +
|quality=C-Class
 +
|Description=www.TV-Tom.Com and www.Radio-Tom.Com are internet stations offering free music for download and sharing. Dr Tom has done the first recording in living memory of some of the most famous songs of all time.
 
|Quote=My aim is to do the best versions of the most famous songs of all time.
 
|Quote=My aim is to do the best versions of the most famous songs of all time.
 
|Quote_Attribution=Dr Tom
 
|Quote_Attribution=Dr Tom
|Mainurl=www.tom.com.au
+
|Mainurl=http://www.e-chautauqua.com
 +
|Author=http://www.tom.com.au
 
|User_Status=Creator
 
|User_Status=Creator
|Tag=music, playlist, mp3, download, free, public domain
+
|Tag=music, tv, video, playlist, mp3, download, free, public_domain
|License short name=PD
+
|License_short_name=PD
 +
|Format=Sound
 
|Country=Australia
 
|Country=Australia
 
}}
 
}}
 
== Overview ==
 
== Overview ==
 +
'''Dr Tom Benjamin''' is a researcher in Sydney, Australia, with TV and radio stations: www.tv-tom.com [http://tvtom.wordpress.com/], www.radio-tom.com [http://radiotom.wordpress.com/], and a movie studio www.movie-tom.com [http://movietom.wordpress.com/] and blog [http://www.tom-benjamin.com/] . Most recently, he has developed a new approach to music education made available at www.oz-rock.com [http://www.oz-rock.com/].
 +
 +
These, in turn, are part of the Expression Tent of www.e-chautauqua.com [http://e-chautauqua.wordpress.com/] and are offered under Creative Commons.
 +
 +
Dr Tom is a researcher and psychologist. The tom tv, tom radio, tom movie and e-chautauqua projects are byproducts of his investigation of educational applications of games, virtual worlds, Web 2.0 and new media. They are purely privately-funded out of pocket with no link to government or corporate sponsors.
 +
 +
One of their key purposes is to demonstrate multimedia techniques that teachers and students can use in their own presentations.  This includes 3D animation, blue screen, puppetry, and music creation.
 +
 +
'''How are songs rated as "the most famous songs of all time".''' There are countless 'fake books' of 'standards' and anthologies of popular music. The songs that appear consistently in all of these can be regarded as famous. Tunes sung to children that everyone recognises are by definition famous. The greatest of these is no doubt ''Happy Birthday''. The longest-lived well-known songs would include ''Greensleeves''. 'Famous' does not equal 'popular' or even 'good'. The ''Funeral March'' is one such example of 'unpopular but famous'.
 +
 +
Other songs have historical significance. ''Home Sweet Home'' was the first song of the modern 'pop' variety because it was secular (non-religious), available as sheet music, known on both sides of the Atlantic, and could be sung and played in the home parlour.  ''After the Ball'' was the next pop milestone as it had over a million sales.
 +
 +
Yet you will find few renditions of many of these influential songs beyond the occasional scratchy pre-1900 Edison cylinder rendition. Even when clear the versions are often incomplete or flowery. Thus, the claim to "the best versions of the most famous songs of all time" in many cases only requires a decent, clear recording. The 'best' need not equal 'great' or even 'good' - it may only need to be a 'listenable', 'complete', or even 'bearable' version to qualify as 'best'.
 +
 +
Originally from Detroit, Dr Tom has had a long experience with music. One of his first paid jobs was as a 'weddings and anything' rock & roll singer playing frat parties. The history of this era is well documented on garage band websites [http://www.60sgaragebands.com] [http://www.myfirstband.com] and Tom's band bio [http://www.60sgaragebands.com/wetpaint.html].
 +
 +
The version of ''House of the Rising Sun'' listed in the Music section below is typical of those days, but back then it was real bands with real instruments, not virtual ones. Since then he has remained musically active through music therapy, karaoke [http://www.kara-oke.com]www.kara-oke.com, and in his current role developing quick and simple multimedia techniques that can be used in the classroom.
 +
 +
[[Media:House of the Rising Sun.ogg]]== Media ==
  
Dr Tom Benjamin is from Detroit. He was reared on the Early Great American Songbook. As a teenager he sang in frat-party-rock bands. In his career as a Clinical Psychologist he often participated with ward sing-alongs and music therapy groups. These old songs from his childhood now seemed a bit lifeless. They pre-dated syncopation. Play-along instruments like tambourines only made things worse as they gave a temperance movement marching feel to the tunes - fine for two songs but deadening for a party. All that changed with midi. Dr Tom was a pioneer in introducing midi music and karaoke to the music therapy movement. Now Dr Tom is a researcher in a Centre for Learning Innovation in Sydney. His earlier music experience has come in handy as internet radio gives him the outlet and incentive to test-drive Web 2.0.
 
  
Radio-Tom.Com is the result - an mp3 playlist of free music with lyrics for download and sharing. For most people, Dr Tom's will be the first time they have had a chance to hear  famous and greatest songs that they'd only read about.
 
  
 
{{Incomplete|Overview|formedit}}
 
{{Incomplete|Overview|formedit}}
Line 19: Line 40:
 
== License Usage ==
 
== License Usage ==
  
These songs cost Dr Tom next to nothing (but time) to record and hosting is now free. This lack of costs is passed on to his listeners.
+
These songs cost Dr Tom next to nothing (but time) to record and hosting is now free. The video footage used in tv-tom.com is free and from the public domain. This lack of costs is passed on to his listeners.
 +
 
 +
The Creative Commons link boosted search engine placement immediately and dramatically.
  
 
{{Incomplete|License Usage|formedit}}
 
{{Incomplete|License Usage|formedit}}
Line 25: Line 48:
 
== Motivations ==
 
== Motivations ==
  
The goal is to generate interest. If people like what Dr Tom does with these ancient tunes they may well want to hear what he can do with more modern songs as well. The latter cannot be done for free as there are permissions, licenses, and fees. Oh, and did we mention the not-so-minor detail that you can buy recordings of the later songs done by the most famous artists in history? So this would clearly call for a conventional recording deal so that these could be done to everyone's satisfaction. In the meantime, there are enough public domain songs to keep Dr Tom busy feeding Radio-Tom.Com.
+
The immediate goal is to build a web platform to develop, test, and showcase new media and Web 2.0 technologies. To be worth doing, a site needs some link popularity and 'hits'. Music was a logical choice because it is a popular search topic. Public domain music is actually useful to anyone needing royalty-free tunes for podcasts, public occasions and so on. But with hundreds of thousands of musicians online competing for the ear there was a need to highlight the 'famous' aspect of these songs.
 +
 
 +
The ultimate test will be to see if people like what we do with these ancient out-of-copyright tunes. They may well want to hear what we can do with more modern 'famous' songs as well. But the latter cannot be done for free as there are up-front costs of permissions, licenses, and fees. Oh, and did we mention the not-so-minor detail that you can buy recordings of the later songs done by the most famous artists in history? Any claim to the 'best versions' of later songs comes up against much stiffer competition. But then if one has to pay, hence charge, money it might be enough to fund a conventional recording studio deal. In the meantime, there are enough public domain songs to keep Dr Tom busy feeding the radio and TV stations.
  
 
{{Incomplete|Motivations|formedit}}
 
{{Incomplete|Motivations|formedit}}
  
== Media ==
+
[[Media:House of the Rising Sun.ogg]]== Media ==
 
 
Music
 
  
{{Incomplete|Media|formedit}}
+
Music example

Latest revision as of 06:20, 21 May 2013



License Used
unspecified
Media
Sound
Adoption date unspecified
Tags
music, tv, video, playlist, mp3, download, free, public_domain
Translations

.


Evaluation Information.png
Page Importance: C-Class
Page Quality: Medium
www.TV-Tom.Com and www.Radio-Tom.Com are internet stations offering free music for download and sharing. Dr Tom has done the first recording in living memory of some of the most famous songs of all time.

My aim is to do the best versions of the most famous songs of all time. — Dr Tom

Overview

Dr Tom Benjamin is a researcher in Sydney, Australia, with TV and radio stations: www.tv-tom.com [1], www.radio-tom.com [2], and a movie studio www.movie-tom.com [3] and blog [4] . Most recently, he has developed a new approach to music education made available at www.oz-rock.com [5].

These, in turn, are part of the Expression Tent of www.e-chautauqua.com [6] and are offered under Creative Commons.

Dr Tom is a researcher and psychologist. The tom tv, tom radio, tom movie and e-chautauqua projects are byproducts of his investigation of educational applications of games, virtual worlds, Web 2.0 and new media. They are purely privately-funded out of pocket with no link to government or corporate sponsors.

One of their key purposes is to demonstrate multimedia techniques that teachers and students can use in their own presentations. This includes 3D animation, blue screen, puppetry, and music creation.

How are songs rated as "the most famous songs of all time". There are countless 'fake books' of 'standards' and anthologies of popular music. The songs that appear consistently in all of these can be regarded as famous. Tunes sung to children that everyone recognises are by definition famous. The greatest of these is no doubt Happy Birthday. The longest-lived well-known songs would include Greensleeves. 'Famous' does not equal 'popular' or even 'good'. The Funeral March is one such example of 'unpopular but famous'.

Other songs have historical significance. Home Sweet Home was the first song of the modern 'pop' variety because it was secular (non-religious), available as sheet music, known on both sides of the Atlantic, and could be sung and played in the home parlour. After the Ball was the next pop milestone as it had over a million sales.

Yet you will find few renditions of many of these influential songs beyond the occasional scratchy pre-1900 Edison cylinder rendition. Even when clear the versions are often incomplete or flowery. Thus, the claim to "the best versions of the most famous songs of all time" in many cases only requires a decent, clear recording. The 'best' need not equal 'great' or even 'good' - it may only need to be a 'listenable', 'complete', or even 'bearable' version to qualify as 'best'.

Originally from Detroit, Dr Tom has had a long experience with music. One of his first paid jobs was as a 'weddings and anything' rock & roll singer playing frat parties. The history of this era is well documented on garage band websites [7] [8] and Tom's band bio [9].

The version of House of the Rising Sun listed in the Music section below is typical of those days, but back then it was real bands with real instruments, not virtual ones. Since then he has remained musically active through music therapy, karaoke [10]www.kara-oke.com, and in his current role developing quick and simple multimedia techniques that can be used in the classroom.

Media:House of the Rising Sun.ogg== Media ==



License Usage

These songs cost Dr Tom next to nothing (but time) to record and hosting is now free. The video footage used in tv-tom.com is free and from the public domain. This lack of costs is passed on to his listeners.

The Creative Commons link boosted search engine placement immediately and dramatically.


Motivations

The immediate goal is to build a web platform to develop, test, and showcase new media and Web 2.0 technologies. To be worth doing, a site needs some link popularity and 'hits'. Music was a logical choice because it is a popular search topic. Public domain music is actually useful to anyone needing royalty-free tunes for podcasts, public occasions and so on. But with hundreds of thousands of musicians online competing for the ear there was a need to highlight the 'famous' aspect of these songs.

The ultimate test will be to see if people like what we do with these ancient out-of-copyright tunes. They may well want to hear what we can do with more modern 'famous' songs as well. But the latter cannot be done for free as there are up-front costs of permissions, licenses, and fees. Oh, and did we mention the not-so-minor detail that you can buy recordings of the later songs done by the most famous artists in history? Any claim to the 'best versions' of later songs comes up against much stiffer competition. But then if one has to pay, hence charge, money it might be enough to fund a conventional recording studio deal. In the meantime, there are enough public domain songs to keep Dr Tom busy feeding the radio and TV stations.


Media:House of the Rising Sun.ogg== Media ==

Music example