NEARFest Records?

[PCMusic]

Three is a charm so here is the third topic (of late) with connection to NEARFest ... and guess a question mainly to Chad and Rob but of course it would be great to have more opinions.

Are there any plans to make NEARFest Records to happen for real and have all of the concerts released in more organized fashion (year by year, CD/DVD)? A lot of these got released by the bands themselves but I think a release by NEARFest Records would get a lot of traction - certainly among concert attendees and probably lot more. For one I would love to have on the shelves all of the concerts year by year, all those great memories revived by these concerts.

Not sure what is the time limitation for the rights to these recordings (if it is 25 years the 1999 edition would not be too far off) and then if you have all of these recording in the shape to be published. It would be quite an undertaking but then if released year to year it would give it a nice run, starting in 2024

What say you?

[Dan Roth]

Quite a few of the concerts have been released - but not all on NF Records: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEARfest#Live_Releases

[Poisoned Youth]

There's virtually zero chance that one would see all of the NF releases in CD form under any circumstances. Even if one had all the rights and *could* do it, it would be a charity exercise, since a large financial loss would be certain.

If one could get the rights to release all the music without any or minimal costs (which would be an amazing feat) or to license the ones the artists own, the only path forward would be to put them all on Bandcamp. And even some of those would likely be soundboard or basic mixes unless time was donated to properly edit/mix/master them.

And that probability is still slim to none unless Rob/Chad go temporarily insane. But it's a nice thought.

[JKL2000]

If you search, this question has come up before. Just for your info, I’d love it too! But as Dan points out above, their are a lot that many of us already have.

[jefftiger]

I recall for a few years that there were Studio M recordings of some of the shows available for streaming in Realaudio format. I remember listening to the Banco and After Crying shows from 2001, which was the first Nearfest that I attended. I just did a Google search and, incredibly, the 2001 and 2002 shows (maybe more?) are still online.

http://www.studiomlive.com/nearfest2001/

[littleatlas_steve]

I would SO love to hear Keneally and D'Virgilio's version of the Kevin Gilbert song Shadow Self. Even just once.

Steve

[chalkpie]

A gazillion gems in the NF vault!

[PCMusic]

Quite a few of the concerts have been released - but not all on NF Records: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEARfest#Live_Releases

Yes I know that some performances have been released, I was thinking about more systematic releases and full festival records - year by year. Repeating even those released already by bands and with DVD whenever possible. Wouldn't this be great?

[PCMusic]

There's virtually zero chance that one would see all of the NF releases in CD form under any circumstances. Even if one had all the rights and *could* do it, it would be a charity exercise, since a large financial loss would be certain.

If one could get the rights to release all the music without any or minimal costs (which would be an amazing feat) or to license the ones the artists own, the only path forward would be to put them all on Bandcamp. And even some of those would likely be soundboard or basic mixes unless time was donated to properly edit/mix/master them.

And that probability is still slim to none unless Rob/Chad go temporarily insane. But it's a nice thought.

Thanks for "a nice thought"
Perhaps that's the challenge to pick-up? If there would be no cost for the rights perhaps it would not be all bad. Perhaps crowdfunding could a solution to get the seed money?

[PCMusic]

If you search, this question has come up before. Just for your info, I’d love it too! But as Dan points out above, their are a lot that many of us already have.

Yes, I should have searched first before posting the thread to know what topics had been discussed. Anyway, I too have some recordings from NEARFest released by the bands but I would love to have the whole sets for each year and in the same format. Each year festival had a specific graphics associated with it ... one can dream right?

[Dan Roth]

Yes I know that some performances have been released, I was thinking about more systematic releases and full festival records - year by year. Repeating even those released already by bands and with DVD whenever possible. Wouldn't this be great?

I think that is just unrealistic. Not sure every band signed off on being recorded, and I believe its been said that some acts specifically did not want their performance released for one reason or another. And yeah - this would be a money-loser for sure.

[PixelDelirium]

I would pay a significant amount of money to fund a Keith Emerson Band release. So, all I ask is, don't underestimate what people would contribute for a Kickstarter (or similar) project. You have the source recordings, if there's any possibility of releasing them, don't let them go to waste. A lot of fans would appreciate it I'm sure. I mean, even some kind of "official bootleg" kind of release would be welcome. Something less than perfect is better than nothing at all (assuming the rights holders are good with it).

[nearfest]

There is a Keith Emerson Band "Moscow" DVD/CD released with a very similar (same??) repertoire. File "full festival recording releases" under: pipe dream, sorry.

[PixelDelirium]

There is a Keith Emerson Band "Moscow" DVD/CD released with a very similar (same??) repertoire. File "full festival recording releases" under: pipe dream, sorry.

Yes, I have it, and love it. But, I was at the NEARfest show (and it was at a pretty significant time in my life). So... you can choose not to answer this (obviously) but does a recording (video and/or audio) of the Keith Emerson Band show exist? What exactly would it take to get it released (money-wise and logistically)? You'd likely have to deal with Keith's estate/family. I realized that costs money (lawyers and all). Plus the cost of production. Hypothetically, how much money are we talking just to get to the point of releasing such a thing? Not holding you to it, I'm curious (as well as interested in actually making this happen).

I mean, it seems like any quality recordings of most of the artists that appeared at any of the NEARfest shows have some kind of value. Is it really that impractical and financially impossible to release at least some of the higher profile ones?

[AncientChord]

I'd love to hear them all too, but am grateful for the ones we do have. I especially like the Porcupine Tree set and the fantastic Nektar performance with Larry Fast that put the icing on the cake.

[nearfest]

Is it really that impractical and financially impossible to release at least some of the higher profile ones?

It's 2020. Yes.

What's out, is what's out. And that's all....

[PCMusic]

Yes I know that some performances have been released, I was thinking about more systematic releases and full festival records - year by year. Repeating even those released already by bands and with DVD whenever possible. Wouldn't this be great?

Yeah, looked up the old NEARFest Records thread (from 2014) and found a partial answer there as Chad mentioned not all of the bands were recorded (Magma and PFM in this case) ... surely there were some recorders in use there but these would not be fit for a legal release I guess ... oh well, c’est la vie. One still can dream though, that would have been one of a hell out release series

[nosebone]

and that's that!

[Nearfest2]

There is currently no plan to release anything else. Sorry.

RMI is the last band to buy their recordings and I think they hope to release it at some point.

[Nearfest2]

So... you can choose not to answer this (obviously) but does a recording (video and/or audio) of the Keith Emerson Band show exist? What exactly would it take to get it released (money-wise and logistically)? You'd likely have to deal with Keith's estate/family. I realized that costs money (lawyers and all). Plus the cost of production. Hypothetically, how much money are we talking just to get to the point of releasing such a thing? Not holding you to it, I'm curious (as well as interested in actually making this happen).

Yes, Keith was recorded with both audio and video. From a cost standpoint, the audio isn't too bad, but then it also depends on the engineer. Editing the video is where a large chunk of the cost comes in. That could be in the $5,000-$10,000 range. After that is physical product and packaging. Something like this would need more than a download IMO. Lastly, we didn't even talk about contracts and permissions.

I mean, it seems like any quality recordings of most of the artists that appeared at any of the NEARfest shows have some kind of value. Is it really that impractical and financially impossible to release at least some of the higher profile ones?

Niche within a niche. Value, yes. Enough to cover the costs of production, likely no. We shall see, but again, there are no currently plans. Also NFR has been dissolved so the band/estate or someone else would have to foot the bill and worry about royalties, licensing, etc.

[wilcox660]

Does Rose still work at the Zoellner?

[PixelDelirium]

Yes, Keith was recorded with both audio and video. From a cost standpoint, the audio isn't too bad, but then it also depends on the engineer. Editing the video is where a large chunk of the cost comes in. That could be in the $5,000-$10,000 range. After that is physical product and packaging. Something like this would need more than a download IMO. Lastly, we didn't even talk about contracts and permissions.



Niche within a niche. Value, yes. Enough to cover the costs of production, likely no. We shall see, but again, there are no currently plans. Also NFR has been dissolved so the band/estate or someone else would have to foot the bill and worry about royalties, licensing, etc.

Well, thank you for an honest answer, I appreciate it. If I had the time I'd offer to do the video editing pro bono. I wish I had the time, this just isn't the year for it. $5,000-$10,000 is actually a lot cheaper than I would have expected. I'm glad I didn't decided on video production for my career (seriously, it was an option 20 years ago). It just really sucks that there's an archive of some really awesome shows and an extremely accessible distribution mechanism (i.e. the internet) but bridging the gap between them is apparently not feasible.

I mean, if you accept the fact that you'll never make a profit from releasing any of it could you attempt to put a volunteer effort together to get some of this stuff released, no? I realize this may make getting the rights from the artists or their estates more difficult because there wouldn't be anything in it for them but... well, yeah... I know that's a stretch. Damn it! There must be some way to get this stuff out there! Well, keep everything safe, maybe we can revisit this in the future.

[Poisoned Youth]

Well, thank you for an honest answer, I appreciate it. If I had the time I'd offer to do the video editing pro bono. I wish I had the time, this just isn't the year for it. $5,000-$10,000 is actually a lot cheaper than I would have expected. I'm glad I didn't decided on video production for my career (seriously, it was an option 20 years ago).

You can make a decent living in the video/film production world if you choose the right path and understand that there’s a business side and an art side, which don’t always cross each other.

It’s not unlike the music world, or specifically this thread. From a business-minded point of view, this project is a bad idea.

[Steve F.]

I mean, if you accept the fact that you'll never make a profit from releasing any of it could you attempt to put a volunteer effort together to get some of this stuff released, no? I realize this may make getting the rights from the artists or their estates more difficult because there wouldn't be anything in it for them but... well, yeah... I know that's a stretch.

let it go, friend. let it go. Isn't there enough free stuff out on YouTube out there for you?

[GuitarGeek]

There is currently no plan to release anything else. Sorry.

RMI is the last band to buy their recordings and I think they hope to release it at some point.

There's been some murmuring from Steve Dinsdale to that effect on Facebook.

Yeah, there's some stuff I definitely wish could be released, but if it wasn't recorded, or if the band has decided their performance was, for whatever reason, not worthy of release, there's nothing you can do about it.