MUSIC INDUSTRY BLOG

This is an exciting time for the music industry and its emerging artists.  Although there is still some confusion as to how music should be consumed online, it is evident that the systems available to both the artist and the consumer are challenging the traditional practice of the music industry, specifically the record industry.  The internet has empowered artists with user-friendly applications for self promotion and sales.  Resultantly, consumers can reach artists directly and visa versa.  This relationship allows the artist to take control of his business.  For instance, performing artists and songwriters can now choose to make their songs available online on a specific date for a specific period of time, set the price, provide discounts or even share them for free, all which are decisions typically taken by the record label.  Not anymore, for the most part.

In today’s music industry, the potential for you to develop a direct and intimate relationship with your audience is far greater than ever before.  By nurturing a relationship with your fanbase, you are in fact learning about their wants and needs, likes and dislikes and, of course, how to increase your appeal.  Consider the value of truly ‘knowing’ your audience, no matter how big you’re fortunate enough to become. 

Although the record industry has taken a massive beating and will probably continue to, the music industry is fit and healthy and beginning to embrace a prosperous new dawn.

When I first arrived in Boston back in 1996 to begin my studies at Berklee College of Music, I had preconceived notions about the process of songwriting.  Like many ‘natural’ songwriters, I felt that songwriting came from within; free from form, rules, or a specific discipline.  I decided to major in songwriting and began to study its craft in the commercial sphere.  During the span of my four year degree, I picked up specific songwriting tools and strategies to make songwriting as much a professional discipline as an intuitive recreation.  Songwriting is as methodical as it is artistic.  Or, rather, ‘professional’ songwriting (i.e. songwriting for recording artists, radio jingles, television etc.) is as much a professional craft as a vocational talent.  For fledgling songwriters, I highly recommend an in-depth revision of ‘successful’ songs from the last two or three decades.  Whether it’s “Yesterday” by The Beatles or “Yellow” by Coldplay, I am confident that you will find patterns – tried and tested songwriting principles – that will guide you when you craft your songs.  Once you have a number of songs you feel good about, go out and get as much professional feedback as you can.  Try entering a song competition too (if the organizers provide an assessment service).  Remember: the record industry is founded on superb songwriting because that’s where the money’s at!

The record industry, worth approximately $31 billion globally in 2006, is a large slice of the much broader and more than three times larger ‘music industry‘, worth more than $130 billion.  With record sales dipping and alternative revenue streams coming into significant play, a broader view of the music business, namely the live, gaming and film/television licensing, and publishing sectors, is warranted for budding professionals.  In spite of the bad rep, the record industry remains to be one of the most creatively oriented sectors in media with 20% of its revenues invested in the acquisition and development of new talent.  This is a staggering figure for R&D investment in intellectual property.  Although this investment is still being recouped from record sales, revenue goldmines are being discovered in other media sectors which are increasingly more prominent than the traditional retail sources. Recorded music has become a key influencer in the mobile industry and a pivotal consumer offering in $100 billion worth of broadband subscriptions in 2006. The live performance sector is growing rapidly and its promising, future effect on music merchandising and sponsorship remains to be seen.

While the record industry appears to be an exclusive club, every artist recording and, in one form or another, publishing music is, in fact, a part of it.  As music converges with other media, so does the record industry with other industries.  As such, as more and more artists produce and publish great new music, more opportunities arise for monetizing their copyright without the dependency on actual record sales.

Musicians typically hire music managers (also referred to as artist managers, band managers or, if they work beyond the sphere of music, talent managers) to oversee the creative and business aspects of their careers. Traditionally, music managers receive a commission anywhere from 10% – 20% of their clients’ gross income as opposed to a monthly retainer for their services.

Whereas some music managers are very much regarded part of the “family”, taking the managerial role because they were close to the artist or band from the beginning (and no one else wanted the job!), others are actively pursued for their music industry connections and business acumen.

Renowned music managers include Brian Epstein (The Beatles), who persuaded George Martin to listen to an early demo by the group; Paul McGuinness (U2), who has been with the group from the start of their successful career and also manages PJ Harvey, Art of Noise and several others; Simon Fuller (Spice Girls), also famed for his reality-driven Idol series across the world; Lou Pearlman (Backstreet Boys), who, aside from his music questionable music industry accolades, was exposed in 2006 for perpetuating one of the biggest and longest running fraudulent investment operations in American history.

Successful music managers have a keen sense for hiring the right booking agents, radio promoters, lawyers and other team players, and making new connections that may lead to new opportunities for their clients. Traditionally, music managers were most valued for their ability to put their clients’ demos in the hands of A&R executives at well financed record labels and negotiate the terms of record contracts. Since the convergence of music media with digital media, their role has changed somewhat and a new breed of young, dynamic music managers are emerging with extensive know-how in internet and technology marketing tools, allowing their clients to compete for attention on the web more so than on the ground and make their music available directly to the consumers without the aid of a label or distributor.

Trent Reznor has done it again. Few musicians have Trent’s gift for realizing trends in the music industry and preemptively meeting their fans needs, rather than simply reacting to changes in the market.

With a note attached that says, “Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years — this one’s on me”, Reznor’s latest album, The Slip, is now available for free download everywhere.

In addition to being offered for free, the album has been released under the Creative Commons “attribution noncommercial share-alike” license, and a post on the NIN site says, “We encourage you to remix it, share it with your friends, post it on your blog, play it on your podcast, give it to strangers, etc.”

The album is available in better-than-CD sounding 24-bit, 96-kHz WAV files, MP3, or lossless (FLAC or Apple), and comes with a printable PDF with album artwork, track listing, etc.

Get your free copy of The Slip now at http://theslip.nin.com
All you need is an email address.

NIN – Discipline