Present: Brett, Bullen, Copeland, Coult, Feiszli,
Shasberger, Knowles
¤
The international issue: EuropaCantat have withdrawn
from their association with ChoralNet – they do not perceive us as being
useful to them.
¤
(Confidential to Board) IFCM are creating a company to
market recordings they hold the rights for. How can we be involved? Mutual
promotion? More?
¤
Shasberger has talked to an intellectual property
lawyer about our podcast concerns; his recommendation is that we go for it, and
ask forgiveness rather than permission. Apart from anything else, we have no
assets to speak of for anyone else to go after.
¤
Stanley Schmidt has a collection of recordings of
broadcasts he has made over the years – might make good podcast material.
How can this be a win/win situation for us both?
¤
Other podcast stuff – archived and accessible.
Perhaps an Interview of the Week?
¤
Copeland pointed out that there are college/university
people who need to create material for a national forum that can be juried and
reviewed. It could happen with us. Why should Choral Journal be the only other
medium for publication?
¤
Are the lists our focus still, or are we moving more
to website content. We might look at a revision of the latter to make it more
accessible/user-friendly for singers as well as choral directors. What do they
want to see? The lists remain an important source for resource content and for
creating community.
¤
We need more people working on the website; we have 10
moderators, but only 3 web-techs (two of whom are fixed in their ways)
¤
There have been some good revisions. Cues has proved
very successful; when a blog is posted we get 40-50 hits per day; when Cues
comes out it goes to 300+
¤
We need to talk about publicity and marketing. Some
suggestions:
Present:
Albinder (arrived late morning), Brett, Copeland, Coult, Ekberg, Feiszli,
Shasberger
Also
in attendance: Knowles
Apologies:
Pribble, Tropp
Meeting
was called to order at 9:15am
1.
Revision/Approval of Agenda Moved:
Copeland; Seconded: Ekberg – to accept the Agenda as revised. Agenda approved
2.
Approval of Minutes from March meeting Moved:
Coult; Seconded: Ekberg – to accept the Minutes. Minutes approved
3.
Executive Report – Feiszli Issues
raised in FeiszliÕs report, and discussed during Wednesday eveningÕs
brainstorming session (see separate notes) to be taken under advisement
throughout the meeting.
4.
Budget and Finance
a.
2007 Budget report - Ekberg
Balance
sheet report from Quickbooks was sent out. Bank statements are beginning to get
sorted out, though some statements seem still to be in limbo. Hope to have an
updated "balance sheet" and a "budget vs. actual" report
that is accurate when the March statements have been received.
Partners have all been sent letters and invoices. We have added PayPal as a
means to receive payments and have added ACappella.com to our affiliate list.
Commissions from partnersÕ links through our site have been increasing.
SheetmusicPlus has asked if we might be able to promote a couple of upcoming
sales; Action: Ekberg
should put an announcement on the website and one through Cues that reminds
users that it benefits ChoralNet to click through our site, and that the sales
give them an opportunity to do so.
Email
acknowledgments have been sent to all who recently contributed online, and
snail mail acknowledgments were sent to all who contributed by paper check.
Currently
there is c.$8,000 in the account; comparable to last year, though Ekberg has
some concerns re. last yearÕs invoicing – for instance, Chorus America
sent cheques which then were not deposited and finally date-lapsed. Ekberg has
sent out invoices in both email and paper form. Copeland is willing to be the
contact with ACDA; Ekberg to copy him on everything.
We should be
concerned about finances, even with all partners and patrons paying up in full.
Need new partners/patrons (see below)
Action:
Ekberg to
coordinate communications with delinquent partners
b. 2007 Fund drive report –
Shasberger
Fund drive was successful – pledges of $12,880. Shasberger commented on
Allen SimonÕs quick responses to updates and web-postings. The comments box
drew some compliments and kudos. This total was raised by 171 donors – Action: Coult to get
something into a press release.
Shasberger reminded the
Board that we had actually hoped to raise $15,000, with $3,000 of that being
earmarked for a technology fund.
c. New Patron solicitation drive
We were reminded that some
of the funds due (e.g IFCM/ACDA) may be iffy. IFCM owes $1250; ACDA owes for all
of this year. Bullen and Brett are our only up-to-date partners. We need to try
and earmark at least 12 new patrons – we have only one corporate patron
at the moment (the rest are all individuals). Action:
Feiszli to update printed information created by
Hoffman. Current corporate patrons/partners to be asked to write some
supporting material. We need to have stats on web-traffic (Knowles to Feiszli)
to convince potential patrons that weÕre worth spending some of their
advertising budget on. Once again, weÕre talking about the need for an
advertising manager; Brett may have someone in mind. We discussed banner
advertising, panel positioning, ghosting/scrolling ads.
Action:
all Board members to try to identify 5 possible
corporate patrons, and to solicit their support once we have the printed
materials to back the request up. We need to offer a news item
every time we get a new patron, both on the website and through Cues. Look at retailers, publishers,
festivals, schools, tour companiesÉ.
Perhaps establish a PatronsÕ page.
Feiszli
reminded the Board of the ChoralNet Advisory Group – made up of
moderators, translators, partner/patron reps, past Board members. Perhaps there
needs to be a web-page listing – make it an elite thing.
5. Manager report – Knowles
ChoralNet
Cues. Thanks
to a combined effort of Pribble, Topping, Simon, and Knowles, ChoralNet Cues
was successfully launched. Now into its third issue, Cues has been
well-received by list members and other affiliated parties. WeÕre also working
most of the technical and procedural issues out of the publication process; at
the moment, producing an issue still requires a bit more Ôhand-workÕ than it
might otherwise, but things keep getting faster. The last Cues got 1542 hits
out of 4000 sent out.
Server
reconfiguration. ChoralNet and IFCM is now on a new VPS at Spry and is more
stable. In addition to better support from Spry, the change in configuration
will also make it much easier for us to migrate to larger-memory configurations
without major downtime and further hassles; this will likely become necessary
sometime in the next few months.
List
infrastructure improvements. After IndianaÕs list server upgrade precipitated an
infrastructure-level change in how messages are processed through the system
(i.e. we now manage them in a Web service-like fashion). This turns out to be
both faster and more stable. The lists have all been running smoothly (outside
of problems due to the server reconfiguration) since this change.
IFCM.net
move. ifcm.net
is in the midst of moving their web site and e-mail services onto a different
(probably EU-local) host.
Design
improvements. While work on the web task force has been slow-moving, there have been
a number of notable changes on the home page, as well as the continued maintenance
of ChoralBlog.
January-May
averaged 9,000 page visits per day; 50,000-80,000 per month. Choralist traffic
is pretty stable; ChoralTalk slightly down. Material that might otherwise be
posted has been routed to Classifieds. CL has 3,671 subscribers; CT 1,473 (400 are for CT alone). There
were 1,163 postings to Classifieds in 2006; summer is high season for this. 40%
of postings are from the web, however, some of these are from subscribers. CL
averages 200 messages per month.
Feiszli
reminded us that we have three techies at work here: Topping moderates the
Classifieds and the choir directory; Simon also works on the latter, and
focuses on web maintenance and design; Knowles is on installing, fixing,
upgrading. The first two are volunteers, with all the benefits and deficits
that go with volunteer work. Feiszli noted two concerns: 1) volunteers can
burn-out, and usually maintain more independence than paid staff. 2) ChoralNet
needs to recruit more volunteers and develop a system for coordinated management
of volunteers and paid staff.
How would we spend a
possible tech fund of $3,000? Probably on server upgrades and transfer of lists
from Indiana, which would double our hosting costs – likely $1,100 p.a.
6/7.
List/website reports – largely covered in Manager report,
see also InterChoral (below)
8.
Partner Items
a. ACDA – Copeland reminded us
that we need to increase our importance to ACDA
b. Chorus America – Albinder
reported that Ann Meier Baker is very happy with our partnership; CA has hosted
us for this meeting. Action: Copeland to get AMB on video and posted on the website.
c. IFCM – Feiszli reported on their website move,
which will cost them more. They would like to reduce their payment to us by
$300. It was agreed that for the sake of goodwill we would allow this, and
Eckberg will send their next invoice with a credit.
They are
beginning an I-tunes for choral music, establishing a formal corporation to do
so. They have 10,000 pieces of unpublished or rare recorded choral music to which they hold the
rights, and are planning downloads in 4 different formats. Licencing for Europe
and the USA is fixed, and theyÕre talking about a website for the choral
community to market the downloads. The language they use in talking about the
proposed website sounds very much like what weÕre doing – we need to
investigate whether they would market through us, and if so, what they would
pay. Action:
Feiszli is going to the next AsiaCantat in TeiPei for discussions. We
are interested in exploring all the possibilities in the interest of not
offering duplicate services. Can we become a full partnership with them on this
project?
The
suggestion is that the project should use the Musica database as a basis, and
it should be offered in Spanish, English and French at least.
Copeland
pointed out that many choral directors are going to want to be able to access
scores in the same way, and that publishers need to be encouraged to explore
the possibility of limited-access music online – either with incomplete
scores or over-printed ones. Some publishers are already doing this.
9.
Alice Parker Project – Shasberger.
Alice
Parker joined us for a discussion on enabling the publication of some of her
music through our website. As a composer she is frustrated by the process of
getting her music out to users, and musicians are equally frustrated at not
being able to get hold of scores. We may be on opposite sides of the fence, but
we own the fence and can tear it down if we please!
The
proposal is that music should be accessible by licensed download, with us
remitting a fee to Melodious Accord on an ongoing basis. It should be supported
by blogs, sample pages, articles, and a link to MA. We propose to begin the
project with the set of 9 Wesley Madrigals, first written in 1989, and never
published.
We have PayPal and can use
the PayPal shopping cart; we have the technology to allow for sound downloads.
Action: Shasberger to work with lawyer & AP to
confirm agreement. Copeland to set up interviews. Coult to transcribe music, Ekberg
& Knowles to set up the PayPal arrangements.
Contact
with AP – alice@aliceparker.com
- 413-339-8508
Brett
suggested we investigate the copyright situation re the Shaw-Parker carols;
they would be popular downloadable material. However, Lawson-Gould may be
unwilling to releaseÉ
There was
some discussion on the issue of ethics & copying; we have to trust to the
honor of our downloaders. There should, however, be something in the receipt
that stands as a license to copy a limited number of pages.
10.
Podcast report – Copeland. Referred back to brainstorming
session from previous evening – Stanley Schmidt: has more than 500
programs possibly available for some of our podcasts. www.goingbeyondwords.com
Copyright
doesnÕt seem to be the issue we thought it was, according to our Òlegal
advisorÓ - may need further investigating in this context.
Copeland
has contacted person who did ACDA tech session: Tim Fredstrom – talking
to him tomorrow. One way of possibly sidestepping copyright issue –
interview format with composers/conductors – first talked about this way
back! People like Simon
Carrington... Talking to people
who are changing jobs... Encourage
visitors to sign up for RSS feed so they can keep up to date with latest
podcast. ChoralNet clinics?
Action:
Copeland to talk with Schmidt; try to set up some
interviews. Jean-Claude Wilkins, Dale
Warland, Joseph Jennings...
WhereÕs
the line we draw on ÒwhatÕs newsÓ? We want to generate debate, but stay choral-focused. Do we
diminish our stature with sensationalism? Need to have edifying news, and not
allow stuff to linger so long it becomes irritating. Action:
Copeland to investigate merging news and
blogs.
11.
InterChoral report – Feiszli; how international can/should
we be? IFCM/Europa Cantat think we are too American-centric. Issues of language
alone or content? Feiszli pointed out that when he announced the current
meeting, and invited guests, the interested responses were all European!
IFCM
finally has their site in four languages: French, Spanish, German, English. Our
home page offers those languages, but most of the actual content and resources
is still in English. Do we get complaints? Do we need our translators to be
doing more?
It
was decided that we let the languages issue lie, but make an effort to have
more international content – e.g. interviewing composers from other
countries (Miskinis?). Perhaps put out a call for more translators, but not
until weÕre more organized.
Topping
and Feiszli were supposed to get InterChoral off the ground, but itÕs not ready
to go yet. WhatÕs needed:
It was
originally suggested that IC be the prototype for the website design, getting
rid of the three separate forums and blending them into InterChoral, based on
our web-based server. However, it was pointed out that ItaliaCorale in its
present form is quite busy, and if we merge them into IC without consultation,
we may be doing them no service! It was decided that IC
be tabled at this stage.
We
discussed going from lists and website being separate into a combination; it
was felt that lists as email alone may be an outdated form, and that hybrid web
forums may be a direction to look, certainly making it easier to harvest
resources and articles. However,
accessing lists by email should still be possible, with users able to opt for
either form. We donÕt want to lose any of our current subscribers, who may not
be ready for a tech move.
Moved:
Copeland; seconded: Shasberger – that the website
taskforce be reconstituted as a committee with Feiszli (chair), Knowles,
Pribble, Copeland, and Simon. involved in the decision-making process, and with
Topping not currently involved. Passed Action:
Feiszli to contact committee members, set agenda, and begin both long-term and
short-term planning.
How long
to implement? – possibly end of summer.
12.
Publicity – refer to previous nightÕs session; Google
advertising discussed – establishing keywords. Reluctance to spend money
on it unless we see some money coming in. Action: Coult to send out a news release – donors/Alice
Parker/podcasts
Action:
Feiszli to revise CAG newsletter
New
business: need for some strategic planning on our mission
statement – should we be shifting the boat towards content rather than
communication, or addressing singers as much as choral directors? Brainstorm
specific sectors – church musicians, for instance. Perhaps address the
needs of the scholarly community who need to publish in a national, juried,
adjudicated environment. Identify the credible people – could have
multiple editorial boards. Ask for peopleÕs expertise – feel-good factor.
Can we
handle a strategic planning process online? Perhaps a Board meeting than an
ongoing discussion.
Alice
Parker – what do we do when weÕve finished the Wesley Madrigals project?
If she has more, we should just go on producing. We might have another composer
in the wings. Editorial board decision – of which Alice should be
one. Perhaps go outside the USA
– Jaako MŠntyjŠrvi? Stefan Kalmer? WeÕll probably get many self-promoting
composers!
Moved:
Shasberger; seconded: Ekberg: that Copeland be encouraged to
solicit new bloggers for the website. Passed
There
being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Next
meetings Online
meetings scheduled for
Final
decision to be made at the September meeting.