an open letter to stephen judge
Stephen
i do not recant
i am furious with your insulting royalty statements
i intend to put your royalty statements online for the whole world to see
with annotations by an american record biz auditor
and as i wrote to you personally
if you dont sort this out i have some very interesting new allies
who are prepared to help me get to the bottom of this once and for all
i am so fucking sick of being ripped off and underpaid
you are the final straw that broke this camels back
let me make this plain
i am leaving the church because of you
and also because i am unhappy with the bands internal business attitude
but definitely its mainly you and now your ludicrous response
so if i dont receive my adequate share of the pie
i mean regardless of what you say stephen
you made about 30 or 40 grand for that period
and we got a hundred dollars each
(300 extra for my solo albums)
keep denying that if you like but the statements will be here ,on facebook and anywhere else very soon
IF YOU DONT DECIDE TO DO THE RIGHT THING
AND PASS SOME OF THE MONEY YOU COLLECTED ON TO THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS MUSIC!
20 or 30 years ago when you were just a little kid
we made these records!
and i still aint never been sorted out properly
stephen, im as mad as hell and i aint gonna take it!
re; sydney morning herald
i was flustered
i was trying to ameliorate a bad situation
i shouldnt have backtracked
i will not again
i will not back down
i am going to have satisfaction or my day in court
steve kilbey, in canberra , on tour
I’ll start by saying I’m selfish.
I would hate to see the Church broken up. I’ve been a fan of you guys since seeing you on Countdown ALL those years ago. Got all the albums on the day of release, saw most of the tours, play Church stuff everyday etc etc. – I’m a huge fan.
My life though is very different to you.
I can’t really imagine all of your frustrations with money. I have a secure, reasonably well paid job with no dependants but a largeish mortgage that I plan to have paid off by before I retire.
As much as we all hate the idea of money ruling our lives, it’s the thing that allows us to live the lives we want (or think we want).
Even you recent statements have reinforced the centrality of it in your life.
Yes, you are an artiste and, like me, hate the idea of people thinking only about money money money but you have to keep an eye on it even if you hold it at a distance.
Your statement seems more a reaction than a considered response.
I have seen the breakup of the Church in the past. I’ll never forget your very emotional goodbye at the Enmore back in 91(92) which was on the back of you saying that YOU were the Church. You ARE the main man for sure – but the difference in your stuff (which I usually always love too) and the Church’s demonstrates that your stuff misses the magic something that Marty, Peter and Tim bring.
I agree with those above who say you WILL need to do it ALL (marketing, T shirts, booking, recording and releasing(via bandcamp or similar))yourselves. Thus, Nirvana IS within your reach if you are to stop this happening again and again.
I appreciate that America IS however your biggest market and, yeah, it will be a huge blow if you can’t get stuff to people there. However, the use of social media and downloads can get around the need to be paying ANYONE but yourselves anything.
You are a passionate person, but I think you need to take a very deep breath and let the emotion subside and the cunning cut in before you make a rash decision again.
It would be ironic that a group like the Church, high on artistic integrity over “sellling out” were to break up over money.
i aint really interested in money but i have children and therefore i have to be
i never said I AM THE CHURCH
never
of course i dont and cant sound like the church
but now thats too bad
i cannot continue as it is
the whole story will be revealed one day i guess…at least my side of things
if you all only knew……
I would love to say, y don’t you make it all clear.
because my words are similiar ‘if u all only knew’ / ‘what’s going on here’. Oh – well, I shall just have to continue to trust in God the Father in all things and hope that what i am about to hand in is acceptable in His sights. anon
Good on you SK… we are all behind you. why this twat Judge takes 50% of money made from recordings such as Heyday, Starfish etc , which were recorded long ago is beyond belief …. seriously , i’ve been putting our stuff up on Reverbnation … sites like those i hope are the future for us … Fight the good fight though Steve , what is going on is wrong … I wish you well in whatever way you produce and release your music .
Steve, maybe you should start a band with Bill Ward & Mick Taylor ?
I think it’s sad, weak and disrespectful to rip on Steve on his own blog, especially at a great time of grief he is going through.are you really fans? i think not. fucking trolls
Who in the hell are u addressing ???
Point out the people, do not say ‘FANS’ -
because it certainly doesn’t imply me or
many of us who hav been here everyday ,
every year – from the very very beginning !!!
It’s a typo – is it not ???…..Fans ???
Daz !!!
I feel sorry for the poor baby. As somebody who has REAL problems and still exudes niceness to the world who hasn’t made me rich
i’d say not getting paid for 30 odd years is a REAL problem, wouldnt you?
God pays in kind. In blessings. I would accept these anyday over the physical cash. I accept He provides what we need, for even the birds are fed etc etc. anon
reality… have you worked a day in your life?
oh i’m sure you did….
do you recall the % of tax withheld on your paycheck?
surely it wasn’t in excess of 80%?
how quickly your exuded niceness would be extinguished if that was the case
oh that’s right — writing and playing music isn’t work, is it?
amen
Steve, i’m a long-time fan, blah blah blah. Reading your blog here and learning of your money issues in the bizness, i feel for you, sincerely. Your work has meant a great deal to me in my life and has given me more than i could ever re-pay. That is the result of a true artist at work in the world. i sympathize and empathize. i have supported The Church best as i could over the years and it angers me too that money i gave to own your albums, etc. did not go to you or your co-members. We are all human and we all live in a money oriented world.
i have no pearls of wisdom, no help to offer, just gratitude for your art and the soul you have shared. Know you are appreciated. i pray to the Universe that a solution presents itself.
Your once and always fan, jim
thanks jim
Dear Steve
I’m a longtime fan, have met you a coupla times, you may recall a painting of you by Margi Curtis (my partner) that I sent you and you liked.
This whole thing is horrirble and I am determiend to do whatever I can personally to help you to sort it out. It’s the least ii can do for someone who has given me, and thousands of others, over 30 years of visions, poetry, music, dreams, beauty, insight, great rock n roll, and so much more.
I have contacted Chris Beal who says he will be selling a DVD interview of you reading poems. I have offered to sell as many as possible of these in Wollongong where I live. Ireally have no money myself but I willtake to the streets and sell these door too door, and anything else that Church merch would entrust to me to sell in the Illawarra and send the money back to the band. If there’s anything else I can do, please let me know, I am at your beck and call, whether it blogging and retweeting about your situation, making calls on your behalf, setting up an Illawarra art echibitoon for you like the one you have in Bondi, whatever, jsut let me know. I ahve a lot of contacts in the arts community down here and can be be persuasive.
I consider you a friend via your music, even though I’m not as close person
ally to you as some, and it breaks my heart to know about the way the industry is/has been mistreating you. I want to see justice nd that you get your just rewards for all your incredible work. This is a time for all Church fans and Kilbey fans and friends to rally around and give back some of the energy that you you have put out to the world over the years.
best wishes and kind regards
Leigh Blackmore (lvxnox@gmail.com)
Dear Steve, I can absolutely understand your bursting anger & frustration; and you are obviously very aware that your handling by the muzikbiz is quite standard practice, unfortunately.
I joined the ‘Real Life’ in the 1990s, after the main success the band had in the US, Australia & elsewhere, in the 80s. It’s situation has parallels with yours. David Sterry, singer & main songwriter spent over 10 years in litigation against people like Glen Wheatley etc (barely succesful). Royalty payments from the US also must by now amount to exorbitant sums. Sums of money the band has never received, even after selling millions of vinyl in the 80s. As you correctly write, while thousands of dollars goes into the guarded bank accounts of those business people ostensibly looking after the artist’s interests, the musician is lucky to get away with a measly hundred dollars at times. I do support you in your decision, we are all just human and can only be pushed and abused so much. George
same old, same old
i blame the mechanisms by which the biz works
it allows the big n little sharks to nibble away at yer $
and nibble away at yer soul!
Hi Steve,
This must be a very difficult decision for all involved and I fully respect it. These last 10 years or so have been so artistically successful for you (both with the Church and your many excellent solo releases) it must be very hard to find that all this creative energy doesn’t pay off in some much earned financial security for you and your family. I makes me angry to see that people who have given me so much pleasure over the years have to struggle to get their just rewards. Unfortunately, you are not alone in this, making great albums that get very good reviews, touring all over the world and coming home with little to show for it (fellow Australians The Drones and Hugo Race spring to mind, but there are many more). I hope you can find a way to get out of this situation in time and that you can come to a somewhat lucrative business solution. The internet has undermined the classic and already deeply flawed model of selling music, but it also offers new ways, and in some ways makes it more personal (as this discussion proves, it would have been unthinkable 20 years ago). Granted, it will be with a much smaller potential audience, but these people ARE willing to pay, handsomely even, for quality music and art in general. The number of artists and bands taking this route is growing steadily. I and all of your fans (for want of a better word) anxiously await, and count on, more fabulous music from you, in any form and through whatever way of distribution. I also (but no doubt vainly) hope you might one day play another gig in Belgium. We saw you here twice and it had a profound effect on my wife and me and many other people present (in an admittedly very small venue, but that made it all the more special). Thank you for that experience. I know that all this doesn’t help you legally or financially right now, but all we can do is buy your music and come to your shows.
Hang in there,
Jan
love on you jan!
Hello Steve. As nothing more than a longtime American fan who never really dove into the inner workings of the music business, I went to secondmotion’s website today to see if there were any recent releases by the band. Wait, what’s that, a rambling, weary statement by Stephen Judge about you and your frustrations? OK, I come to find your blog site and see in fact that you don’t recant what he clearly states that you did. Now I’m a bit pissed at Mr. Judge at his insincerety along with his greed. Let me assure you Steve that your message is heard and I’m sure that nearly everyone that comes here to converse with you understands.
Please also understand that we also love the Church and your shared artistic work and expressions. I only regret that I did not meet your band for the first time while you were near Philadelphia a few years back. Much love and future prosperity to you, my friend.
Hi Steve, just heard about you quitting the church, wow! what a shame. But a show of strength and a belief in your own personal credo I think. You and the Church were always above the music biz spivs, not about the money but the song and the muse. I tend to go off a band when it gets a major lable signing, old Indi roots I suppose. You guys were always well above all of that to me and my friends. Trancendental Melodies like Iv’e never heard before, your poetry and music inspired me and a lot of bands. I got a book for crimbo called ‘Electric Eden’ which is all about the Zeitgeist running through Albion to create a musical soundtrack for our times. I grew up listening to you guys and you transported us out of this grey and dreary land to sunlight and a dolphin in disguise. You are an Avatar and you know it. Fuck stephen judge and all that corporate crap. Shine on because you just have to. Just check out your fanbase, e-mails we are all with you dude. You are always welcome to crash here if you need a change of scene or want to record some music (I have a very minimal studio at home)Wimborne, Dorset. Which is a grand town. Much love to you and yours mr.K
.
I’m so sorry that all of this hasn’t worked out for you. I have to admit that I never knew how all this music stuff worked just content to listen to the albums you put out. Please know that I’m so glad that I got to meet you in person, and have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with the beauty and art you brought to this world.
Hi Steve
long term fan
I am another who feels deeply about the music
and more than a little resentful about the financial.
I think it echoes what society values today (tripe)
I recall Robert Fripp went through similar
(King Crimson got ripped off big time, apparently)
His response was Discipline Global Mobile records,
which is meant to serve the artists over and above the executive.
(you may already know about this, but I wanted to illustrate you are not alone — the feeling is shared by more than just a few)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_Global_Mobile