Artist Quote of the Week

"Being a manager or agent is similar to renting an apartment. Having a record company is like owning a home."

--Rob Kahane, Trauma Records

New Approaches to Music Marketing

Okay, so you’ve just made the record of your life. Everyone in the band knows it, the engineer knows it, even your girlfriend knows it, and she’s heard those songs one thousand times. Now what?

There are so many CDs being let loose on the market every day it makes your head swim to think about it. You’ve been around long enough to know that you’re David in a music business still run by Goliaths.

Of course it takes a certain amount of dough to get music in front of press, radio, and fans. Are you able to match the kind of promo budget that goes behind the latest U2 release? Doubtful. The little label that’s already made you an offer is little more than a short- term loan, you don’t have any high-powered lawyers to shop your disc to the big guys, and the only option is to get it out yourself.

Successfully releasing a record on a on a shoestring budget is a challenge, but doable once you make the commitment, combine realism with optimism and take stock of the assets you already possess, beyond $$$, which are currently in short supply. You’d be surprised how liberating it can be once you focus on your resourcefulness rather than lack of resources. This article is about how to turn the impossible to your advantage.


Read the enitre article @http://www.musiciansatlas.com/newsletter/feb08/geedavey.asp

Shared copyrights

If you write the lyrics to a song and your buddy writes the music, then you each own 50% of the song. You don't own all of the lyrics and your buddy doesn't own all of the music -- you each own 50% of the total song, music, lyrics and all. This means you can't give someone exclusive rights to the song on your own if you have a fight with your buddy. And, if you make any money on the song, half of that money must go to your partner.

Other forms of shared copyrights come into play when you or your publisher (typically you give control of the song's copyright to the publisher) sign over a portion of the copyright to another publisher for a sampled composition -- a song that uses a portion of another song.

How To Write & Send a Press Release

If you are looking to get yourself noticed, the press release (or news release) is the most common tool used to bring an artist or business publicity.

Basically, a press release is a simple, neat-looking sheet or an e-mail that provides news to reporters, editors, bloggers and other media people. Any press that you get from your news release will be free, so it's easy to see why writing a good press release is a valuable skill.

When To Use A Press Release
You can use a release to notify the media about any sort of happening - a new CD release or CD release party, a special gig, or label signing. The thing to remember is: this is news so the press release needs to be "newsworthy".

The "So What" Factor.
The worst thing that you can do is to write an article about you or your event that leaves the reader thinking to themselves "So What?" You want to make sure that your article leaves the reader with the desire to get more information about you and will drive them to go to your website to learn more about you.

The articles that get published are the ones that target the readers with your news. You have to find people who actually care about your news and, you have to figure out if the places where you are submitting your articles have readers who will care about reading about you.

Artist Quote of the Week

"Independent labels take nothing and make something out of it. Major labels buy that something, and try to make more out of it."
Tom Silverman, Tommy Boy Records CEO

Slicethepie To Finance More New Artists Than EMI In 2008

Slicethepie, the website that enables music fans to run their own record label, estimates over 30 unsigned artists will secure financing from fans and investors on the site in 2008, more UK artists than EMI, Sony BMG or Warner Music achieved last year.

In the past six months, Slicethepie's music fans and investors have financed nine artists and the site's increasing popularity and recently-launched Virtual Trading Exchange is set to make Slicethepie the industry's biggest source of new artists in 2008.

Gilkicker, The Alps, The Skies and Miranda Barber are just some of the artists to share in the £150,000 raised so far by Slicethepie's music fans and investors.

David Courtier-Dutton, Slicethepie founder, said. "Most people dream of being a music mogul, but few get the chance. Similarly, too many new artists struggle to get support from record labels focused on superstar acts. This needs to change. With Slicethepie, music fans can now live out their dream and run their own label - and artists can record and release an album free from label constraints."

Slicethepie is an online intermediary which connects bands in search of funding with music fans keen to scout, break and invest in new artists. The launch of the Virtual Trading Exchange - 'fantasy football for music' - allows budding music execs to hone their skills at running their own record label before investing real money in the live Slicethepie Trading Exchange.

Unlike major labels, Slicethepie does not rely on financing huge superstar acts. Investors who finance an artist on Slicethepie will make a profit if the artist sells over 1,000 albums and singles - earnings so far top £30,000. This fits well into recent industry trends where the number of new major hit artists is declining, while smaller, lower-selling artists are becoming increasingly popular.

News Corp, Major Labels, MySpace

News Corp. is working on a joint venture music site between the four major labels and MySpace, according to PaidContent.org.

The site would be similar to Hulu.com, the video venture backed by News Corp. and NBC Universal, which is now in beta.

The music venture would be operated by News Corp.-owned MySpace with EMI, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group providing music and getting a content equity stake, according to PaidContent.

Music downloads would be available DRM-free and ad-supported. No label has yet signed on for the venture, but PaidContent cites unnamed sources who say that could change in a matter of weeks.

Amazon Mp3 News

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc said it will begin an international roll-out this year of its digital music store that offers songs without copy-protection technology known as digital rights management.

Amazon said it is the only retailer to offer DRM-free MP3s from all four major music labels as well as thousands of independent labels.

Amazon MP3, launched in September 2007, offers DRM-free MP3 music downloads, which now includes more than 3.3 million songs.

Artist Quote of the Week

" The whole music business in the United States is based on numbers, based on unit sales and not on quality. It's not based on beauty, it's based on hype and it's based on cocaine. It's based on giving presents of large packages of dollars to play records on the air."

Frank Zappa

TV/Film Song Placement

When a producer wants to use an existing musical composition in a network television program or weekly series, permission must, with few exceptions, be secured from the music publisher who owns the song. The producer or music supervisor of the show will decide what song they want to use in the program and the scene in which it will appear, how the song will be used (e.g., background vocal or instrumental, sung by a character on camera, over the opening or ending credits), and the media needed (e.g., free television, pay television, subscription television, pay-per-view, or basic cable).

The producer or its "music clearance" representative will then contact the publisher of the composition, describe the context of the program and particular scene in which the song will be used; ask for a specified period of time to use the song in the program (usually from 5 years to life of copyright), negotiate a fee, and then sign what is known in the television business as a "synchronization license."

In most cases, the "synch license" is signed after the first broadcast of the program, but the negotiations and securing of permission to use a song virtually always occur prior to putting the song in the program or, at the latest, prior to the initial broadcast date.

Many television programs secure price quotations from music publishers for the use of songs either during the scriptwriting stages of a project or immediately after a final script for an episode has been approved. Some weekly series, however, clear music while scenes are being shot or, because of impromptu ad-libs during taping, last-minute additions, or editing delays, a few days prior to actual broadcast and sometimes even after the airing.

Read the entire article@
http://www.taxi.com/faq/ftv/tv-licensing.html

Back in the Day

was told at a recent music conference by an executive from an independent distributor that he wishes the Internet would be destroyed because it hurts record sales so bad.

I have in recent times heard from a major market radio consultant that the Internet was responsible for the demise in listener ship at radio formats around the United States and it should be banned.

To both of these statements I say, “It’s about time.” The one-sided business practices and limited opportunities within the radio / record / store system should have ceased years ago.

Michael Harrison, publisher of the talk-radio magazine Talkers, told a group at the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Show that competing technologies -- like Internet, Wi-Fi, podcasts and cell phones -- would all but fill the niche they now occupy.

"These are dark times for terrestrial radio," Harrison said. "And most people in terrestrial radio are in denial of it."

The old record industry depended on radio airplay to sell records for record retailers. Then they added MTV / BET to their record selling mix. This vicious cycle has finally started to erode. Technology has made it easier for more creators of music and multi-media projects, and with this proliferation of new material came new avenues to listen and expose these creations. The new record industry has been birthed and the initial growing pains are now presenting themselves. Change can be embraced, fought or ignored. Change cannot be stopped, and today’s technology has brought many new revenue generating ideas to our industry.

Read the entire article@
http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=12004

Gigging and Touring as an Indie

Playing live gigs is one of the most traditional ways for musical artists to spread the word about themselves, entertaining fans and attracting new ones. And nothing beats gigging as a way to build a band’s musical chops. Playing gigs also gives you a recurring reason to contact your fan base and promote your act. It’s a great vehicle to collect names for your email list, and it’s the best forum to sell products like CDs and t-shirts.

What’s important to realize is there’s a focused and unfocused way to go about booking and playing gigs, and the difference can spell success or failure for your act.

An unfocused approach might include booking gigs in towns you’ve never played without doing any research into the club you’ve booked. Or it might simply be booking yourself too frequently in the same area. Or it could be booking too big a room, or playing dumpy rooms for too long and establishing yourself as a second-tier live act.

Read the entirearticle@
http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=12131 article@

Artist Quote of the Week

"There are more letters in the word 'business' than there are in the word 'music'."

Anonymous

BETA Records To Sign 100 Indie Artists In 2008

Rebelling against the current downturn for traditional record companies, Chris Honetschlaeger, President of BETA Records, has announced a new generation of record deal which partners the company with the artist in a non-exclusive three song contract and plans to sign 100 artists in 2008.

BETA will analyze and utilize listening behavior across its own fast-growing community database of 75,000 unsigned artists to find, sign, and develop the best 100+ acts over multiple genres throughout the year. BETA has already signed 5 acts with another 12 pending in genres ranging from metal to pop.

NEW DEAL

The BETA deal incorporates a multitude of distribution channels available online including featured placement of the artist within the newest version of the BETA Records website slated for release in Feb 2008. "Plugging into the new BETA is like accessing over 100 distribution channels simultaneously," says Georg van Handel, BETA Records CEO. "Alongside selling songs and ringtones, BETA will unveil two innovative online revenue features to monetize the artist. BETA has solved the industry wide riddle in its upcoming website release to generate revenue from the passionate and engaged fan who already owns the music via purchase or piracy."

NON-EXCLUSIVITY

Contracts with BETA "allow the artist to keep all physical CD sales, tour and concert revenue, and merchandise," notes Honetschlaeger. "BETA's position takes a 50/50 stake in the copyright, digital song sales and online advertising of the artist's music. All of this comes packaged in a concise 8-page contract, blessed by some of the best music attorneys in Hollywood. And since our deal is non-exclusive, BETA allows and encourages artists to find other deals to help with their career growth. I am convinced that we will discover the next generation of superstars faster and more efficiently than Universal, Sony, Warner, and EMI combined," Honetschlaeger adds.

In working with each of the 100 artists signed to the company, BETA will utilize its new multimedia facilities in Hollywood to record both the audio and respective video of each song in a high energy 3-day 3-song production schedule. With 18 streaming cameras and microphones in the studio, not a moment is lost in the "making of" each song and video.

FUTURE PLANS

BETA plans on hosting a private unveiling dinner of the new site to a group of 50 press, bloggers, forum leaders, and music industry tastemakers in the first week of February. Those interested should contact scottg@betarecords.com.

Artist Management

Breakdown of Rights and Royalties

Licenses and their corresponding royalties fall into four general categories:
Mechanical licenses and royalties - A mechanical license refers to permissions granted to mechanically reproduce music onto some type of media (e.g., cassette tape, CD, etc.) for public distribution. The music publisher grants permission for the musical composition to be reproduced. The mechanical royalty is paid to the recording artist, songwriter, and publisher based on the number of recordings sold.

Performance rights and royalties - A performance-rights license allows music to be performed live or broadcast. These licenses typically come in the form of a "blanket license," which gives the licensee the right to play a particular PRO's entire collection in exchange for a set fee. Licenses for use of individual recordings are also available. All-talk radio stations, for example, wouldn't have the need for a blanket license to play the PRO's entire collection. The performance royalty is paid to the songwriter and publisher when a song is performed live or on the radio.

Synchronization rights and royalties - A synchronization license is needed for a song to be reproduced onto a television program, film, video, commercial, radio, or even an 800 number phone message. It is called this because you are "synchronizing" the composition, as it is performed on the audio recording, to a film, TV commercial, or spoken voice-over. If a specific recorded version of a composition is used, you must also get permission from the record company in the form of a "master use" license. The synchronization royalty is paid to songwriters and publishers for use of a song used as background music for a movie, TV show, or commercial.

Print rights and royalties - This is a royalty paid to songwriters and publishers based on sales of printed sheet music.
In addition to these royalties, the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 brought about yet another royalty payment for songwriters and performers. This act requires that the manufacturers of digital audio recording devices and the manufacturers of blank recording media (blank cassette tapes, blank CDs, blank DVDs, etc.) pay a percentage of their sales price to the Register of Copyrights to make up for loss of sales due to the possible unauthorized copying of music. There are two funds set up where this money is funneled. One is the Sound Recording Fund, which receives two-thirds of the money. This money goes to the recording artist and record company. The other fund is the Musical Works Fund, which receives the remaining one-third of the money to split 50/50 between the publisher and the songwriter.
Foreign Royalties

The licenses we mentioned above (mechanical, performance, synchronization, and print) are also issued for the use of U.S. copyrighted material in foreign countries. The foreign agents, or sub-publishers, are responsible for managing the licenses in their countries and paying royalties to the songwriter and U.S. publisher.

Performance Royalties

How are performance royalties tracked and calculated? Remember that performance royalties are tracked and paid out by the performance rights organizations like ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and SoundExchange.
The royalty trail begins when the song is registered with one of the three performing rights organizations mentioned above. Once a song is registered, it becomes part of that PRO's collection and is available to all of its users. Most of those users have a "blanket license" to use any or all of the PRO's music, however some users license on a per program basis and only pay for the music they actually use. (This is good for users who don't use that much music.) The PROs deduct money for their operating expenses and the rest goes to the songwriters and publishers.


PRO customers include just about anyone who plays music in a public place -- even those who play "hold" music for their business. These include television networks, cable television stations, radio stations, background music services like MUZAK, colleges and universities, concert presenters, symphony orchestras, Web sites, bars, restaurants, hotels, theme parks, skating rinks, bowling alleys, circuses, you name it -- if they play music, they have to have a license and pay royalties.


Read the entire article@
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/music-royalties7.htm

Artist Quote of the Week

"I wish there had been a music business 101 course I could have taken."


Kurt Cobain