We all knew somebody had to find an innovative way to connect the cold, dispassionate circuitry of download technologies with the vibrant energy of a local music scene, providing an online space that allows unrestrained creativity and financial reward for the artists, while offering potential new fans access to their discographies.
But no one thought it would be the Santa Cruz Public Library.
Well, one person did. And then she made it happen.
“I went to library school because I saw libraries were really changing, and becoming vibrant places where things happen in the community,” says Diane Cowen, virtual services coordinator for the county library system.
This is the kind of attitude that leads to something like to the Soundswell: Santa Cruz Public Libraries Local Music Database project. Using the same Omeka open-source software with which UCSC is building its acclaimed Grateful Dead Archive Online, Cowen is building a collection of songs from local bands that can be downloaded by the public, iTunes-style, but for free. Meanwhile, the grant money Cowen received to fund the project will go mainly toward paying licensing fees to local bands who submit a minimum of four songs and a maximum of two full CDs. The rates for a two-year licensing fee vary—from $100 for a full-length album of nine or more songs, down to $50 for an EP of 4-5 songs.
Cowen, a UCSC graduate and longtime library employee who says she “kind of tumbled” into her current position because it gave her a chance to try something new, is now facing the part of the project that may be even tougher than what she went through to get Soundswell funded: getting local bands to fill out their paperwork and get involved. She has been reaching out to local musicians, but admits the process is sometimes “like pulling teeth.” And many bands still haven’t heard about project, which has the potential to not only fund their music-making with some cash, but also bring them exposure to new fans. She wants to have as many local musicians signed up as possible by August 30, which will be the end of this early “proof of concept phase.”
“This could take off in so many ways,” she says. “I see this project evolving over time.”
Cowen has no interest in taking full credit for Soundswell. “Like all good ideas,” she says, “I stole it.” Specifically, from the Local Music Project pioneered by the Iowa City Public Library. But unlike many who read about what they were experimenting with there, she believed Santa Cruz should have its own version, and she set about outlining it in a grant proposal. She was given $5000 to seed the project, and she believes it can win further funding easily as it becomes an increasingly valuable resource to the local music scene.
She also has help from Jennifer Gallacher, of Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studio and Dancing Cat Records, who has been pitching in on the outreach end, helping her contact local bands.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better community partner,” says Cowen.
The bigger picture is that in a future phase, Soundswell could begin to document the crazy history of the Santa Cruz music scene—which is really more like a series of scenes, each with the reigning bands of their era (Snail, Camper Van Beethoven, Tao Chemical, Slow Gherkin and Devil Makes Three, for example) and countless smaller but equally fascinating bands (Spot 1019, Fury 66, Exploding Crustaceans, Huxtables, etc.)
“It could be the start of a really large archive of local music,” she says. “You have a bunch of old records from so long ago hiding in your library that people can’t really listen to. I see the streamable, downloadable collection of [current] local music as the beginning.”
Local musicians can become involved with Soundswell by contacting Diane Cowen at cowend@santacruzpl.org.
