Member Profile - Joe Perry | Publisher of Electronic Musician

One of the most energetic supporters on IMSTA is Joe Perry the publisher of Electronic Musician.  For Joe, IMSTA was a validation of his own personal modus operandi of buying all his music and software.  Joe had even counseled his kids about this anti-piracy message before IMSTA was born. We sat down with Joe to talk about music, technology and piracy.

How did you get involved in Music?

I started as a recording engineer in Atlanta with my own studio in the early 80s.  My studio was 8-tracks but we did some great stuff back then.  The workhorse was a Tascam 80-8 but the equipment was secondary to the environment.  I really tried hard to create a low pressure environment with creativity at the heart.  I created lots of sounds just using the space we were renting, microphone placement and positioning equipment and materials.  It was fun back then because our approach was so organic, so acoustic and so environmental.  For example, we tried to capture the real reverb in the room as much as possible.  You see this is before the SPX-90 and that slew of digital gear that so revolutionized recording in the late 80s.

Joe Perry working in his Bombay Studios circa 1980

Do you play and instrument?

I play guitar and write songs but honestly I’ve always preferred to work with musicians.

Did you record any notable musicians in your studio days?

I recorded many bands in the region including REM and the Georgia Satellites before they made it big.

How did you get into the Musical Instruments industry?

I started working for New England Digital (Synclavier) and was based in Nashville, TN.  We were selling what was the most advanced music equipment and I really enjoyed that phase of my life and also it was a great learning experience.  Most of our systems ran for about U$200,000 but we did a lot of business, especially in Orlando, Miami and Chicago.  The Synclavier offered the first real usable sampling engine even did FM Synthesis and other advance forms synthesis.  Eventually, as you know NED went out of business but there are still lots of people out there using them even today.

A full blown NED Synclavier system ran for US$200,000.00

Then what did you do after that?

I worked for Roland for 6 years selling HD recording. The VS 880 series was my bread and butter and I did really well with that.  I actually spent the better part of 14 years selling hard disk recording systems.

How did you get into publishing Electronic Musician?

I think I was the archetypal EM reader.  I had been recording in my own studio for years.  I have used a ton of music technology in real world situations.  I had also been on the supplier side working for manufacturers for years.  So primarily, my recording and music background made the EM publisher position a perfect fit.

What’s it like being publisher of EM?  Do you like it?

Well, now I have an even broader perspective of what people are doing.  I really love EM and the kind of things we are doing here.  I like the diversity of working with a lot of different company.  I love the partnership more than anything else.  And although I am not an editor I understand the products.  That big picture perspective has really made this work for me.

Joe in his Atlanta area personal studio chilling in IMSTA blue.

How did you get involved in IMSTA?

Ironically, the IMSTA is something we had talked about at EM.  I had thought that EM could head up a cause like this before IMSTA.  This was because I saw the problem in my travels around the United States.  I would estimate that for every one legitimate software tool I saw there were 5 pirated ones.  I thought that we had a role to play in raising awareness of this problem in our editorial pages.  I though EM could head up a move to raise awareness.  It was at that time that I heard about BeCool.  This was ultimately better than our idea because it was an industry inspired effort and so we were naturally supportive at the get go.  On a more pragmatic level the piracy problem does take away from ability of companies to market their products.  If this continues this hurts our publication. More healthy companies in an industry is a good thing for and industry publication like EM.

The piracy problem is so pervasive why did you even think about attempting to do something about it?

For me it wasn’t theory instead it was real.  I had real world examples from the kids bringing home music, games, software gotten from friends.  I was one of those people who would slave over a song for days and weeks in a studio.  I had put my blood, sweat and tears into recording music and the thought that it could just be flung around without a care just didn’t sit well with me. As a musician I saw this trend as very alarming. 

I live in an IT dense community just outside Atlanta.  To my shock some of these IT professionals, who are my neighbors, were supporting piracy by condoning downloading and even using pirated software.  Back in those days Napster was a force of nature.  But at that time it was outlawed at my house.  My family makes a living making music.  My family makes a living from companies who make tools for people who make music.  I instilled in our kids to buy the video game instead of pirating it.  I have always been personally revolted by the actions of people my age who feel nothing when they duplicate software, music, etc.  There is no feeling that anything is wrong with that behavior.  Ironically, some these people made a living in IT.  They just don’t see the blow back and that is why what IMSTA is doing is so important.  We have to educate because back then there just seemed to be no outreach against the piracy.  Even now, there seems to be no coordinated public program or campaign against piracy.

How did your kids react to the house rules?

Our house rules against piracy were not easy to swallow.  Let’s face it, all the other kids were doing it at school and in the neighborhood.  It was hard to explain to the kids at first but over time I saw acceptance which was reassuring and rewarding.  The kids for the most part have accepted the ideal.

So IMSTA and you seem to be on the same wavelength.

Absolutely.  We will continue to support IMSTA.  And, I must say that I can’t understand why more companies don’t support IMSTA.  There are still a few big holdouts I can see from your members page.  This is definitely a cause everyone can and should support.

Any final words for those reading this?

I would just say get message out.  Have people respect the message and be firm about this.  This is a major thing for the industry, but not just our industry.  I think this IMSTA message and approach can go across all the lines into video games, software and music.  People have to respect intellectual property.  There are still things I love about LPs and CDs.  You get to absorb the entire experience of the album art, what was happening behind the music, who played on it and where it was recorded.  For me, this is an important dimension of the music.  Downloading music means this is lost.  The understanding of the apparatus behind making music is lost.  People don’t understand what’s behind the music making it easier to not respect the intellectual property rights.

Joe Perry (left) in high school "guitar battle" with guitarist/producer Brendan O'Brien [Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Korn, Black Crowes]

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