kwikmed Review: Kwikmed Affiliate programs on the Internet
kwikmed
A rock star's life may be forgiven for being something wild but nobody had bargined for what emerges while the world's biggest Bowie bond issue is being negotiated. A chance encounter followed by a brief, romantic fling in the mountains of Wyoming has unexpected repercussions when one of the world's greatest stars attempts to fund new ventures by raising capital in the money markets in a deal that would break all previous records. The $100 million deal looks set to fail - but much more than money is at stake. Music will always have a greater capacity to touch the heart than to open the wallet. In Something Wild the worlds of business and entertainment provide the setting for a drama that will leave noone untouched.
Sarah Jensen, the heroine of Linda Davies' first novel Nest of Vipers, is beautiful and fiercely independent. She has fought her way to the top of one of the toughest businesses in the world, as a financial trader, and worked undercover for MI6. She's survived the death of her parents, the murder of her best friend and the assassination of her lover and she refuses, now, to be vanquished by love. So she runs away from the one man who has touched her heart, rock star John Redford.
Months later, when her son is born, Sarah keeps the kwikmed identity of his father a secret, determined that she will never see him again, and fearful that he might try to claim his child. The she is persuaded to return to her old investment bank to investigate a potential new client, a rock star who is planning a huge financial deal. It can only work if the bank is certain that there is nothing hidden in the rock star's past that could jeopardise his future earnings. Her new client is John Redford. Sarah is quickly drawn into an investigation that threatens her and her son's life. To protect them both she must risk everything ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Something Wild was launched as a hardback in the UK on 6 September, 2001 by Hodder Headline. The the hardback is available both from conventional bookshops and online suppliers like Amazon.co.uk who are also taking orders for the trade paperback version. (The trade paperback version would normally just be available at airport bookshops but is also now available from Amazon. It will also be available from normal bookshops in Australia and New Zealand).
De Vlakte, the Dutch translation, was published by Luitingh-Sijthoff in June 2001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Factual Background kwikmed
Bowie Bonds
Intellectual property, including patents, copyright and trademarks, is a key source of wealth in the knowledge economy. Whereas the possession of tangible assets, e.g. land or real estate, was once often necessary to provide security in large deals, nowadays ownership of intangible assets such as copyright can unlock wealth. The most striking demonstration of this occurred in January 1997 when David Bowie, who has always been one of the most innovative figures in rock music, made financial history by raising $55 million through the issue of bonds backed by the future royalties of his music. Where Bowie leads others follow. James Brown, Marvin Gaye, the Isley Brothers, Ashford & Simpson, Joan Jett, the heavy-metal group Iron Maiden, and Motown songwriter trio Edward and Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier are among those in the music business who have issued Bowie bonds, as has the estate of the late Dusty Springfield.
Most such deals, including the original one with Bowie himself, have been arranged by the financier David Pullman, described by Time Magazine as one of tomorrow's 100 most influential innovators. By using the bond markets a singer, songwriter or musician can raise a huge sum of money without having to wait for royalties to accumulate. The purchasers of the bonds are, in effect, lending money to the the bond issuer whose copyrights act as security for the loan which is paid off using the associated royalties. Normally bonds are issued for a fixed period at a fixed rate of interest. When the bond matures (i.e. the loan has been repaid) the song rights revert to the artist who could either try to sell them again or simply just receive regular royalties.
The advantages of bonds to the creative artist is that by receiving money up front he or she can more easily finance other ventures. Bowie was able to buy out his former manager's share of the rights to his songs so that he now controls 100% of the copyrights in his own songs. Since his pioneering bond deal David Bowie has been involved in virtual banking and other Internet services. Organisations as well as individuals can raise money in this way. On 1 March 2001, the Royal Bank of Scotland announced a �60 million bond deal with the Chrysalis Group Plc , a music publisher.
Why Copyright is a Hot Topic
Intellectual property is a trillion dollar market, according to David Pullman. However if it is to maintain its value then the enforcement of copyright laws is a necessity. This has become a very contentitious issue owing to technological developments and the belief, in some quarters, that "information wants to be free" an aphorism attributed to Stewart Brand, at the first Hackers' Conference back in 1984, but it was the igenuity of a 19 year old college student, Shawn Fanning that resulted in the record companies' worst nightmare - Napster. Within months of its release Napster had become the most controversial piece of software in history and was followed by other peer-to-peer file sharing systems which allowed downloading music in MP3 format from the Internet. If online music piracy grows then Bowie and other artists who got cash up front, could potentially lose their song rights which are the collateral for the loans.
Everywhere the law has to struggle to keep up with technological developments. In February 2001 when the European parliament passed the copyright directive seeking to harmonise the laws of all the countries in the European Union, the MEPs were subject to the most intense lobbying from all sides that had been experienced in the parliament's history.
Such developments show what a hot issue intellectual property is destined to be in the 21st century. The thriller Something Wild is the first work of fiction to deal with Bowie bonds and intellectual property in the music business.
Orders and Information about Future Books
Nest of Vipers, Wilderness of Mirrors, Into the Fire, and Something Wild can be ordered via conventional book shops or via online bookshops such as Amazon.co.uk that will supply books by post anywhere in the world.
If you wish to be informed by e-mail when Something Wild appears in paperback then please join our mailing list. It will be used only for announcements of new books by Linda Davies, different editions (hardback, paperback etc.) and, very occasionally, other news items concerning her writing. Your address will not be given to anyone else.
