Episode 021 : Brad Powell of Calabash Music
Listen (TRT: 1:01: 43): Lo-Fi > Higher-Fi > Quicktime | Shop | Recommendations
I first learned about Brad Powell and Calabash Music from a friend of my friend, Marion Seymour, ironically, both of whom live in Seattle, Washington--a city where Powell and I both once lived before both returning east and now living in Boston.
Hearing about what Powell was doing, I checked out the Calabash Music site and found many a treasure from around the world. I then asked Powell to record a Well-Rounded Rave for a previous episode of Well-Rounded Radio where he talks about Oswin Chin Behilia from Curacao.
Since 2001, Powell has been the shopkeep for what he describes as a "carefully curated boutique" of music from all over the world. As he describes in the Well-Rounded Radio interview, Calabash Music now features several thousand artists and about 20,000 individual tracks. He's now attracting musicians from around the world who want to be included in their catalogue.
Calabash Music's tagline is "The World's First Fair Trade Music Company" and their site says it best: "Our business model presents a new opportunity for sustainable economic development from independent music sales in developing regions around the world. All of the music in our catalog is licensed from independent artists or small, independent labels. We've established an Equal Exchange/Fair Trade model in which independent artists get at least 50% of all retail sales."
Calabash Music has also received high marks from a number of media outlets and musicians themselves: Global Rhythm Magazine wrote "The impressive Calabash Music web site is becoming an especially hot destination, providing an easily navigated and encyclopedic one-stop for finding out about world music talent and purchasing their recordings. The site offers some spectacular deals on MP3 downloads, and it's guilt free" and the New York Times' Jon Pareles states that "World music has its own clearinghouse at Calabash Music, where it's easy to stock an iPod with music from Uzbekistan or Curacao."
Even Elvis Costello has chimed in. He's quoted as saying, "My favorite music download site? The legal, world music source, calabashmusic.com" in the Los Angeles Times.
Powell has a fascinating history of how he came to found Calabash Music...and he tells it so well, you should simply read it!
I recently met with Powell in Calabash Music's offices in Arlington, Massachusetts to discuss:
* what turn of events brought about the collapse of the music business for many labels around the world in the 1990's
* how Calabash Music is changing the revenue cut that a distributor pays to artists
* how users can find out about other artists featured on calabashmusic.com and discover new music direct from artists and labels.
Music featured in the interview with Brad Powell includes:
track) artist - song - country
1) Tsapiky Guitars - Tsapiky 2000 - Madagasgar (in preview)
2) Marmar Kassey - Foulbe Gari - Niger
3) Fellyko Tshikala - Paysan - Congo + Zaire
4) Gokh-Bi System - Mission of Music - Senegal
5) Mona Gadelha - Saint Denis Ceara - Brazil
6) Cabruera - Zabe Sabe - Brazil
7) Shoukichi Kina - Subete No Hito No Kokoro Ni Hanna O (Flowers for Your Heart) - Japan
8) Marta Gomez - Dejalo ir - Argentina
9) Sultana - Kusu Kalkmaz - Turkey
10) Amayenge - Mao - Zambia
11) Edou - Nos Creations - South Pacific
12) Radio Zumbido - Lo-Fi Chicken Bus - Guatemala
13) Lei Qiang - Night Song - China
14) Walter Ferguson - Bugaloo - Costa Rica
15) Warsaw Village Band - At the Front of the Gates - Poland
16) Black Rose - Raude Meke - Fiji
17) Nightlosers - Shame, Shame, Shame - Romania
18) Kiran Ahluwalia - Main Dhoondta (Eternal search) - Canada
If you like this interview, give a listen to the Well-Rounded Radio Interviews with Balla Tounkara and Atlas Soul.
Artists featured in the interview include:
Tsapiky Guitars, Mamar Kassey, Fellyko Tshikala, Gokh-bi System, Mona Gadelha, Cabruera, Shoukichi Kina, Marta Gomez, Sultana, Zambush, Edou, Radio Zumbido, Lei Qiang, Walter Ferguson, Warsaw Village Band, Black Rose, Nightlosers, Krian Ahluwalia.
Brad recommends Magnatune.
Well-Rounded Radio recommends adding yourself to the Well-Rounded Radio world map!
To find out more about Fair Trade, visit What is Fair Trade?, Global Exchange, Fair Trade Federation, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Resources, Ten Thousand Villages, and Equal Exchange.
