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Topic: Cumquat Records |
Ralph Czitrom
From:
Ringwood, New Jersey
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Posted 2 Dec 2012 12:24 pm |
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| Has anyone had any contact with Cumquat Records lately? I've purchased CD's from them in the past and though it often took a long while (understandable as the company is based in Australia), they always arrived. Today I tried to go to their website, and instead found the ominous message "This account has been suspended". If they are out of business, that would be a terrible loss, as they've carried high quality material no one else has. I was hoping to add to my Dick McIntire collection... |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 2 Dec 2012 2:11 pm
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| How long before their catalog falls into public domain? |
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Mike Anderson
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 2 Dec 2012 2:54 pm
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That's a very interesting question, Ron. I don't know enough about Cumquat and never ordered anything so had no communication with the owners, but I'm sure people here have and can provide some input.
I heard some time ago that the founder, Bruce Clarke, had passed away. I am assuming that he created his Hawaiian catalog by collecting 78s and digitizing them. Those 78s certainly would have been in the public domain, but not the Cumquat CDs - someone owns the rights to them. There are however threads here at the Forum with posts from people claiming they never received their orders. When things get to that state (and with all due sympathy; losing a family member is always painful - but Mr. Clarke died in 2008), you start to wonder just how interested the current owners are in maintaining their rightful domain over the content of those CDs.
I am curious to know if there are still outstanding paid orders. I am naturally even more curious about the law around off-catalog music; I find very little reason to feel guilty over, for example, rips of off-catalog vinyl or 78s being distributed. Seems there's a fair bit of gray area in this issue and I'd love to read other members' thoughts on it. |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 3 Dec 2012 10:16 am
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| I think 7 years from 'some' point is the time span before PD kicks in, but I don't know where the law say's that begins. |
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Kekoa Blanchet
From:
Kaua'i
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Posted 3 Dec 2012 10:47 pm
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| Ron Whitfield wrote: |
| How long before their catalog falls into public domain? |
The Copyright Term Extension Act of 1968 (CTEA, also known as the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" because of heavy lobbying by Disney for its passage) extended copyright terms in the United States to the life of the author plus 70 years and for works of corporate authorship to 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever endpoint is earlier. In 2006, Australia amended its copyright law to bring many of its provisions in line with those in the US. I don't know if Cumquat material is copyrighted in the US or in Australia, but whichever country it is, we've got a long wait. Better to hope for a revival of Cumquat's enthusiasm to sell CDs, or the sale of its catalog to somebody like Cord International. |
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Mike Anderson
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 4 Dec 2012 7:53 am
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Thanks for this Kekoa. Still wondering if there are paid orders that never got filled.
Something else: is it even possible to copyright a digitized version of the work of another artist? Because that's what the Dick McIntire or Andy Iona collections would amount to. |
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Michael Lee Allen
From:
Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois
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Posted 4 Dec 2012 9:27 am
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deleted
Last edited by Michael Lee Allen on 21 May 2018 2:16 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mike Anderson
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 4 Dec 2012 9:35 am
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All good points Michael. And if there are no heirs that are legally entitled to the work of deceased artists - what then?
Now all of this said, without Bruce Clarke's efforts nobody except a handful of other collectors would ever again be able to access this music. This whole thing with Cumquat is starting to look like the grayest of gray areas to me. |
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Ralph Czitrom
From:
Ringwood, New Jersey
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Posted 4 Dec 2012 12:26 pm
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| I've been able to track down Bruce Clarke's son, Dallas, who runs a high end audio shop in Melbourne, Australia. I sent him an e-mail inquirng as to the fate of Cumquat and received an automated acknowledgement of my message. As soon as I get any real information, I'll post it. |
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Michael Lee Allen
From:
Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois
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Posted 4 Dec 2012 2:05 pm
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deleted
Last edited by Michael Lee Allen on 21 May 2018 2:17 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mike Anderson
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 4 Dec 2012 2:10 pm
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| Having spent a fair bit of time digitizing myself Michael, there is no question it was a labor of love. |
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Sebastian Müller
From:
Berlin / Germany
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Posted 5 Dec 2012 4:53 am
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It would be great if the whole Cumbquat catalogue would be available
as downloads, similar way like in itunes and also similar pricing, cause I think
30 € per CD a relatively high pricepoint, especially if you like to have several CDs from of an Artist series. That would make the life of Bruce Clark's son much easier,
you don't have to think about shipment etc. But I guess he has a stock of CDs left and just want's to sell them, and of course, buiding an downloadshop from the scratch isn't an easy task either. |
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Mike Anderson
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 5 Dec 2012 7:46 am
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| That's a great idea Sebastian, but if he wants to sell remaining stock he shouldn't have let his website account get suspended. For all intents and purposes there is no such thing as Cumquat Records right now. |
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Ralph Czitrom
From:
Ringwood, New Jersey
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Posted 7 Dec 2012 11:09 am Cumquat Records lives!
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I finally heard from Dallas Clarke, and it seems that Cumquat is not ready to leave this earth (yet). Here's what I received:
From: clarkeaudio@bigpond.com
Hi Ralph,
The faithful but now obsolete system that ran Cumquat has hit the wall and requires a total re-build...I have stock of all the catalog CD’s plus a few previously unreleased Cumquats here – they’re all still available. The original website took ages to build but I’m hoping its replacement won’t take nearly as long, however 2012 has been a bear and my main concern, Clarke Audio, has required 110% of my time this year.
In the meantime, if there are any CDs you want, they can be ordered by email from this address.
Thanks and Best Regards,
Dallas
I answered him and asked if there was a way for him to post the Cumquat catalogue and, following Sebastian's lead, suggested that there would be a market for downloads. Based on my experiences in the past with Cumquat, patience will be required... |
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Mike Anderson
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 7 Dec 2012 11:38 am
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| Very cool Ralph, thanks for this! |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 7 Dec 2012 1:22 pm
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Ralph, that is very reassuing news. Trying to build a multi-page website myself, I can imagine the time Dallas has had to put into Cumquat, especially if he has to start from scratch.
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Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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