SONG CONTEST BLOG

Battle-of-the-bands site, OurStage, signed a deal with concert giant, Live Nation, last month to offer its members the opportunity to fill high-profile opening slots.  Through the OurStage Marketplace, participating artists can create a free electronic press kit for venue promoter’s consideration.  The model is strikingly similar to Sonicbids, the leader in the artist-to-promoter submission business.  OurStage has raised a staggering $20m since its launch in 2007 and, although the site’s traffic volume has dropped since its high profile inauguration, it appears that it is gaining renewed traction, boasting a healthy advertising model and strong reputation among the independent community.

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Gigulate is a new dotcom out of England that provides performing artist gig schedules and tour details by analyzing music industry news, blog posts and published gig listings across the web.  Much like SongKick, LiveKick and ItsLiveMusic, to name just a few competing gig listing search engines, Gigulate’s business model is fashioned on live music ticketing, a music industry sector on the up&up.  The idea is to provide music fans with a free and swift method of searching for and subscribing to specific live music events, and up-selling ticket purchases via third-party online ticket sellers such as WeGotTickets or See, two UK leaders.  Although the site, currently in private beta, does not yet provide a direct means for ticket purchases, the company will probably pursue a merger or acquisition by a leading player in the field to deploy the ticketing end; Ticketmaster would be an ideal candidate.

Starting at approximately $1000, emusu provides a turn-key solution for managing and selling your digital assets from your own domain, as opposed to distributing to third-party ecommerce websites or via social network applications.  The system is entirely web-based and the company is sinking its teeth into the music industry.  Ouch. 

The service allows its customers to create custom web pages from a series of handy templates and enable fans to buy directly from the source or incorporate its technology into an existing site geared for music retail.

The fact is that most artists simply don’t sell.  In fact, most labels don’t sell a volume of any note.  As such, even if the service was free, managing your own music sales is not too far up your priority list unless you’re shifting so many units that iTunes’ commission significantly diminishes your bottom line.  Furthermore, if MySpace, boasting approximately three million *active* musician users can’t make Snocap work on exclusive terms, how is emusu going to convince prospective clients that they can sell – and sell more – on their own?

At a time where the industry is shifting away from record sales and toward ticketing, merchandising, bundling, licensing, sponsorship, and advertising, emusu is a surprising entry into the space.  Selling recorded music is no longer the end game but rather the marketing collateral to sell something else.  The infamous 360 deal is a tribute to this strategy and Live Nation is a testament to its success.  Starbucks too.

However, if emusu can leverage its platform to forward thinking megastars such as Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails, both of which ’sold’ direct-to-the-fan, they may have a lucrative client.  Or two.

Live Nation, the world’s largest producer of live concerts and the leading purveyor of the mega-deal (or 360 music deal), has become a music industry powerhouse and, as result, drawing and signing the most lucrative artists in today’s live music market , a la Nickelback and Madonna.  The LA-based live music behemoth sells more than 45 million concert tickets each year and, in music industry standards, considered a promotional sure-fire.  In many respects, the company operates as a music label should: developing professional artists of every caliber by providing a financial pipeline into every aspect of the artist’s ‘portfolio’.   In 2008, Live Nation organized and produced 16,000 concerts for 1,500 in 57 countries.

It seems like eons ago that Madonna seeded file-sharing sites with MP3s of her voice scolding fans about the evils of music downloading. Well if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. In Early October, 2007, Madonna walked away from her 25 year relationship with Warner Music and signed a new 10-year contract worth $120 million with Live Nation, an LA-based concert promotion firm. In a released statement Madonna explained, “the paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a business woman, I have to move with that shift.”

So what does a concert promotion firm have that Warner Music doesn’t? Live Nation offers a complete marketing package for the Madonna label and recognizes, like Madonna now does, that music is the least of what she sells. The deal covers every aspect of the Madonna music brand including touring, merchandising, fan club, DVDs, website, music related TV and film, licensing and sponsorship agreements, and of course, record albums.

This mega-deal with the US’s largest concert promoter is the first step in which Live Nation aims to set itself up as a new breed of record company by appealing to mega-stars and offering them one-stop shopping benefits to market and sell their image, which, for an established artist, constitutes so much more than just their music. It combines two industry powerhouses into one efficient revenue stream that can more effectively promote the Madonna label and dramatically increase revenue for both parties.