Areas Of The Music Industry
Record companies
Record companies are the funding behind the music industry. They sign musicians and pay for, for example, recording, which helps an artist get a successful career in music. They make their money by selling the artist his records.
There are several kinds of deals you can sign within a record company:
-Artist Deal
The label gives you an advance so you are able to finance recording, promotion and manufacture. But as this money is a loan it has to be paid back, whether you will make money out of this deal or not. As the artist you will get 20% of all the money you make. the 80% that belongs to the label is not the money for the loan.
-Joint Venture Deal
Here, the label only pays for making the record. As the artist you will get 50% of the money you make, but only after all the costs for making the record are covered.
-Distribution Deal
The artist and his team have to take care of, and pay for recording, promotion, marketing, radio and video. So this deal is only useful if you already have a certain amount of money available and have a solid fan base. The label only has to make sure that the records get in the stores. The artist will get 80% of the money that he makes.
There are three kinds of record labels:
-Major Labels
Major labels are the labels that dominate the largest part of the record market. A label is considered 'Major' when it owns more than 5% of the sale of music videos and records.
There used to be six major labels: Warner Music Group, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, BMG, Universal Music Group and Polygram. But after Polygram absorbed into Universal, BMG absorbed into Sony and EMI was split between Universal and Sony, there are only three left, referred to as the 'Big Three'. According to the Nielsen Company & Billboard's Music Industry report, in 2012, the big three controlled 88.5% of the entire market:
- Universal Music Group (with EMI Music): 39.19%
- Sony Music Entertainment (with EMI Publishing): 30.25%
- Warner Music Group: 19.15%
-Independent Labels
Indie Labels control the left over 11.5% of the market. They are not part of any of the big three and therefor funded independently. Unlike the small amount of Major Labels, there are a lot of indie labels. A couple of Indie Labels are: Dualtone, Glassnote, Communion Records and XL Recordings. Because Indie Labels are small, each label tends to take on a specific genre.
-Subsidiary Labels
A Subsidiary Label is an Indie Label which is bought and funded by a Major Label. For example: Republic Records, Columbia Records and Atlantic Records.
Examples
Universal Music Group
''Universal Music Group (UMG) is the global music leader with strong market positions in recorded music, music publishing, and merchandising.The recorded music business discovers and develops recording artists and then markets and promotes their music across a wide array of formats and platforms. UMG's music publishing company, Universal Music Publishing Group, discovers and develops songwriters, and owns and administers copyrights to musical compositions for use in recordings, public performances, and related uses, such as films and advertisements. Bravado, UMG’s merchandising company, sells artist and music branded products via multiple sales points including online, fashion retail, and live performances.'' - http://www.universalmusic.com/company
Republic Records
''A division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company, Repubplic is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists, such as 3 Doors Down, Amy Winehouse, Black Sabbath, Colbie Caillat, Eddie Vedder, Enrique Iglesias, Florence + the Machine, Godsmack, Owl City, The Voice (NBC-TV), Gotye, Of Monsters & Men, Mayer Hawthorne, among many others. It is comprised of innovative imprints and digital business ventures including Republic Nashville (The Band Perry), Cash Money (Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj), Indie pop (The Cataracs), Lava Records (Jessie J, Black Veil Brides), Aware Records (Mat Kearney), Brushfire (Jack Johnson, G. Love), Tuff Gong (Damian Marley), XO (The Weeknd), Loma Visa (Soundgarden) among others.'' - https://www.facebook.com/RepublicRecordsOfficial/info
''A division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company, Repubplic is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists, such as 3 Doors Down, Amy Winehouse, Black Sabbath, Colbie Caillat, Eddie Vedder, Enrique Iglesias, Florence + the Machine, Godsmack, Owl City, The Voice (NBC-TV), Gotye, Of Monsters & Men, Mayer Hawthorne, among many others. It is comprised of innovative imprints and digital business ventures including Republic Nashville (The Band Perry), Cash Money (Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj), Indie pop (The Cataracs), Lava Records (Jessie J, Black Veil Brides), Aware Records (Mat Kearney), Brushfire (Jack Johnson, G. Love), Tuff Gong (Damian Marley), XO (The Weeknd), Loma Visa (Soundgarden) among others.'' - https://www.facebook.com/RepublicRecordsOfficial/info
Glassnote
''Glassnote Entertainment Group is a full service independent music company founded by Daniel Glass, one of the most accomplished and respected music people in the industry, His devotion to music and the artists that create this magic is what drove him to create the new company. Through Glassnote, Mr. Glass Has greated the next-generation Music Company. It can be looked at as a rebirth of the great independent record companies -- Chrysalis, Motown, Atlantic and Island -- but built for the ever-changing marketplace.'' - http://glassnotemusic.com/page/about-us
Being a folk singer songwriter, my choice is not that hard to make. When I look at what the major labels 'produce' nowadays, I can immediately tell that - that is not the direction I want to go to. It seems to me that their artists have to follow a certain protocol and are not allowed to do what they want. They are all made into the same pop-icon and that is not what I would want for me to turn in to. If I, hopefully some day, get signed to a label, I would want it to be an independent label. They might not have a lot of money to offer, but they are known for giving their artist a lot of attention. Where Major Labels have loads of money, are able to fund airplay and get you 'out there' before even being out there, independent labels work by your side and help you get on the road to build a fan base on your own. It definitely is a longer way to go as, even though the indie label will try and help you wherever they can, you still have to work very hard to create that fan base and to sell your records. Another reason why I would not want to be signed with a major label is because when you fail, you fail big time. They would have given you a huge advance to help you out in the first place, but the moment they realize that you are not making any money for them, they will cut you off and you would be left with a insane amount of money to return.
I reckon that a subsidiary label is a nice 'in between' option. It will still be small and have the independent feel to it, but the moment you think that - that label has done everything for you but you feel like you could do much more, there is still a very clear line up to the top as the subsidiary label is connected to a major label.
It is hard to tell now what kind of deal would be most ideal for me to sign as I don't know in what kind of situation I would be in. It can be quite obviously divided in three stages. When you are at the start of your career and you get offered a record deal, the best thing to go for is the Artist deal. You won't have to pay for anything in the first place, which seems ideal. One of the huge down sides is that the money does have to be returned, so if you fail at making any money, you are in huge trouble as you will be left with a big debt. Another one is that you would have to do everything the label tells you to do. They will have complete power over everything and can turn you into anything they want you to be, which I would not want because I want to create my own music.
When you are starting to earn money with your career or you have some savings, I think the right deal is the joint venture deal. You would still have to take care of promotion, but the costs of making a new record would be covered by the label. Even though that money would still have to be paid back, you are aloud to do your own thing and you would have the power over promoting your records. This can be tricky if you are new to the industry and don't know how to do it, but if you have a good team that will do it for you, this is a very good deal.
I think that the ideal deal would be the distribution deal, where the artist gets 80% of the money made. But of course, you would need a lot of money to be able to finance all of the costs and you would need a proper team to make everything happen. I reckon this is perfect if you are earning a lot of money or when you are wealthy, which, unfortunately, seems quite impossible these days.
Artist management
Artist Managers get hired by Artists or their Record Companies to manage the business side of the artist and make sure that the artist achieves his goals. What the manager is doing for the artist depends on where the artist is in his career as an unsigned artist will have much different goals than an already famous artist. They make sure that an artist his career is well organised and the artist is able to gain more popularity.
Being an artist manager asks for a lot of skills:
-Handle a lot of stress and stay focussed, especially when you are managing more than one artist. It is their job to make sure every deadline is met and every goal is achieved.
-Manage financial matters as you will be taking care of the artist his money.
-Be organised. A manager has to make schedules with all the performances, interviews and other appointments and make sure everyone is in the right place at the right time.
-Have a good network. A very important reasons to hire a manager is because they are supposed to have a lot of important contacts that will help an artist get further than he would have been able to get on his own.
-Be good with people. As the music industry is all about meeting the right people, it is necessary to be friendly but to stay professional.
-Understand how the music industry works nowadays. Every kind of genre works differently considering the fan base, scene and other things and it is necessary to keep that in mind.
-Be determined, driven and have a passion for music. It is a hard business with a lot of competition so a manager should always be on top of everything to get the best jobs.
-Be successful, both because the artist puts his career in the managers hands and the manager gets a certain percentage of the money that the artist makes. So when the artist doesn't make anything, the manager will not either.
Example
''Simon Banks is the founder of SB Management, based in Shepherd's Bush, who manage several music artists. He describes a regular working day as an Artist Manager.
''You are the oil in a multi-part machine, where you're kind of the mid-point between the artist and everything else.
The idea is that everything else comes to you before it goes to the artist, and everything from the artist comes to you before it goes to everyone else. And if everyone does their job exceptionally well, then the manager's job should be reasonably straightforward.
I started off in my bedroom doing this, so I've kind of done everything from carrying the guitar up to negotiating the deals. I'm lucky enough that I've got people who work in my office.
A lot of the time is spend double-checking that people have: sent contracts, sent schedules so that the artist knows what time they're getting picked up, all that kind of thing.
So my job now entails not so much running around, not so much making sure people know it's an 8 o'clock pick up or their haircut's happening at this time. I've got people who do that, which is very lucky.'''' - http://www.creative-choices.co.uk/industry-insight/article/the-role-of-an-artist-manager
What would I do?
I think that the main question here is whether to get an artist manager or not, when the best time is to get one and what it would change. In my point of view, it completely depends in what stage you are in your career. When you have just started off your career, the best thing to do is try on your own first. You will not have a lot of things going on and you will not make a lot of money so there is not much use in getting one. The manager would not have much to 'manage' and you would have to share your income. I reckon a artist manager is needed when your career reaches its next level and you start feeling like you are not moving forward any more. It is nice to have someone who helps you organise your schedule, especially if you are on your own. A manager should have a bigger network and will introduce you to important people who will help you to get higher up in the industry. At that point it is good to have a manager, so that you can focus on making music instead of worrying about where to go and what to do. I think I would definitely get a manager if I reach that stage in my career. I am a terrible organiser so in my case it would be very safe to have one. Also, it is always good to have a professional second opinion on certain things, like deals or tunes.
Being an artist manager asks for a lot of skills:
-Handle a lot of stress and stay focussed, especially when you are managing more than one artist. It is their job to make sure every deadline is met and every goal is achieved.
-Manage financial matters as you will be taking care of the artist his money.
-Be organised. A manager has to make schedules with all the performances, interviews and other appointments and make sure everyone is in the right place at the right time.
-Have a good network. A very important reasons to hire a manager is because they are supposed to have a lot of important contacts that will help an artist get further than he would have been able to get on his own.
-Be good with people. As the music industry is all about meeting the right people, it is necessary to be friendly but to stay professional.
-Understand how the music industry works nowadays. Every kind of genre works differently considering the fan base, scene and other things and it is necessary to keep that in mind.
-Be determined, driven and have a passion for music. It is a hard business with a lot of competition so a manager should always be on top of everything to get the best jobs.
-Be successful, both because the artist puts his career in the managers hands and the manager gets a certain percentage of the money that the artist makes. So when the artist doesn't make anything, the manager will not either.
Example
''Simon Banks is the founder of SB Management, based in Shepherd's Bush, who manage several music artists. He describes a regular working day as an Artist Manager.
''You are the oil in a multi-part machine, where you're kind of the mid-point between the artist and everything else.
The idea is that everything else comes to you before it goes to the artist, and everything from the artist comes to you before it goes to everyone else. And if everyone does their job exceptionally well, then the manager's job should be reasonably straightforward.
I started off in my bedroom doing this, so I've kind of done everything from carrying the guitar up to negotiating the deals. I'm lucky enough that I've got people who work in my office.
A lot of the time is spend double-checking that people have: sent contracts, sent schedules so that the artist knows what time they're getting picked up, all that kind of thing.
So my job now entails not so much running around, not so much making sure people know it's an 8 o'clock pick up or their haircut's happening at this time. I've got people who do that, which is very lucky.'''' - http://www.creative-choices.co.uk/industry-insight/article/the-role-of-an-artist-manager
What would I do?
I think that the main question here is whether to get an artist manager or not, when the best time is to get one and what it would change. In my point of view, it completely depends in what stage you are in your career. When you have just started off your career, the best thing to do is try on your own first. You will not have a lot of things going on and you will not make a lot of money so there is not much use in getting one. The manager would not have much to 'manage' and you would have to share your income. I reckon a artist manager is needed when your career reaches its next level and you start feeling like you are not moving forward any more. It is nice to have someone who helps you organise your schedule, especially if you are on your own. A manager should have a bigger network and will introduce you to important people who will help you to get higher up in the industry. At that point it is good to have a manager, so that you can focus on making music instead of worrying about where to go and what to do. I think I would definitely get a manager if I reach that stage in my career. I am a terrible organiser so in my case it would be very safe to have one. Also, it is always good to have a professional second opinion on certain things, like deals or tunes.
Music publishing
A music publisher ensures the songs that songwriters and composers make are protected and that they receive money when their songs are used for: radio, film, video games, advertisement or TV. There is a four-step process when a song is published:
-Registration
The song gets registered, meaning that the song officially belongs to the artist and others, depending on what kind of deal they signed.
The song gets registered, meaning that the song officially belongs to the artist and others, depending on what kind of deal they signed.
-Licensing
A license is needed when money for royalties is not paid directly to the publisher, but goes through a third party. This protects the artist his rights and assures that the artist receives all the money he deserves.
-Royalty Collection
When a songwriter his song is used in any kind of way by someone else, they receive a royalty, which means they receive a certain amount of money. There are different kinds of royalties that a songwriter can receive for his song, for example: a performance royalty, which a songwriter gets whenever his song is played on the radio or TV. This step assures that the publisher and the songwriter receive the money they deserve.
-Creative Exploitation
Here, the publisher tries to advertise the song to, for example: video game producers or advertising agencies, so that both the publisher and the songwriter can earn more money and the songwriter will get more name in the industry.
There are three types of publishers:
-Administrators
This mostly is an individual person or a small company. They take care of the registration, licensing and collection processes for the song. They do not pay any advances.
-Independents
They also provide registration, licensing and collection processes, but with that they also offer creative services and advances.
-Majors
Major publishers pay a lot of money in advance to the composer or the songwriter so that they can keep their market share intact.
Here are two examples of deals:
-Co-publishing Deal
When a songwriter signs this deal, he gives away 50% of the copyright on his song to the publisher and allows the publisher to take 50% of the income from the copyright.
-Administration Deal
With this deal, the songwriter keeps the entire copyright, but allows the publisher to take between 5 and 25 % of all the money that the song makes.
Example
''Reach Global, Inc., an independent music publishing company based in New York and South Florida.
Reach Music is well positioned and experienced to enhance your career as a songwriter. Reach Music protects your copyrights, collects your royalties throughout the world, negotiates your deals and licenses your music with third part users to generate increased value for your songs.
Reach Music is in daily communication with music supervisors, film, TV, advertising and video game executives. The strength of Reach Music is not only within out creative contacts and synchronization pursuits, but also our knowledge of current market licensing fees and contractual terms.
Reach Music provides a worldwide infrastructure to represent copyrights and to handle all registrations, licensing and royalty collection tasks.
Because of our international society affiliations and direct royalty collections both in the US and abroad, we can often collect your royalties faster, which will pay you faster.
Reach Music's structure as a nimble independent publisher allows us to create deals that grant you superior flexibility.'' - http://www.reachmusic.com/company/
What would I do?
I would definitely get my songs registered with a music publisher, especially when you are an advanced songwriter. It can easily happen that someone decides to steal your tune and pretend he wrote it. In this case, if you have not registered your song, it is very hard to prove that it was your song and as long as you can not prove it, there is nothing you can do. Also, depending on what kind of deal you sign, a publisher will help you sell your song or help you get your song out on the market. They have the right contacts with, for example, people from TV and radio and they could get your song to be played on the radio or to get your song on an album. You might have to share the money you make with it, but I think it is a fair trade as they will make sure it makes more money than you would have been able to get for it on your own. My opinion is that when you are a songwriter, the safest deal to sign is the co-publishing deal. It assures you that the song gets sold for a good amount of money as the publisher gets just as much as you do so he should do a good job.
If you are a singer songwriter, the best deal to sign is the administration deal. Here, the song still belongs to you and you can do with it whatever you want, but you will know that it is registered and protected.
Here are two examples of deals:
-Co-publishing Deal
When a songwriter signs this deal, he gives away 50% of the copyright on his song to the publisher and allows the publisher to take 50% of the income from the copyright.
-Administration Deal
With this deal, the songwriter keeps the entire copyright, but allows the publisher to take between 5 and 25 % of all the money that the song makes.
Example
''Reach Global, Inc., an independent music publishing company based in New York and South Florida.
Reach Music is well positioned and experienced to enhance your career as a songwriter. Reach Music protects your copyrights, collects your royalties throughout the world, negotiates your deals and licenses your music with third part users to generate increased value for your songs.
Reach Music is in daily communication with music supervisors, film, TV, advertising and video game executives. The strength of Reach Music is not only within out creative contacts and synchronization pursuits, but also our knowledge of current market licensing fees and contractual terms.
Reach Music provides a worldwide infrastructure to represent copyrights and to handle all registrations, licensing and royalty collection tasks.
Because of our international society affiliations and direct royalty collections both in the US and abroad, we can often collect your royalties faster, which will pay you faster.
Reach Music's structure as a nimble independent publisher allows us to create deals that grant you superior flexibility.'' - http://www.reachmusic.com/company/
What would I do?
I would definitely get my songs registered with a music publisher, especially when you are an advanced songwriter. It can easily happen that someone decides to steal your tune and pretend he wrote it. In this case, if you have not registered your song, it is very hard to prove that it was your song and as long as you can not prove it, there is nothing you can do. Also, depending on what kind of deal you sign, a publisher will help you sell your song or help you get your song out on the market. They have the right contacts with, for example, people from TV and radio and they could get your song to be played on the radio or to get your song on an album. You might have to share the money you make with it, but I think it is a fair trade as they will make sure it makes more money than you would have been able to get for it on your own. My opinion is that when you are a songwriter, the safest deal to sign is the co-publishing deal. It assures you that the song gets sold for a good amount of money as the publisher gets just as much as you do so he should do a good job.
If you are a singer songwriter, the best deal to sign is the administration deal. Here, the song still belongs to you and you can do with it whatever you want, but you will know that it is registered and protected.
Live Performance
A live performance is when an artist plays live music in any kind of environment. This can be in a venue, on parties or even on the streets. The artist can either go to those places himself and try to arrange performances, have a manager who does that for him or he can sign up with an agency. It is very important to know what kind of genre and what kind of scene the venue has to make sure the artist is approaching the right crowd.
Live performances give the artist an opportunity to show people what they are capable of and to build a fan base. In the early stage of a career, the live performances might not bring up any money as, for example, the venue will not be sure if they would make any money out of the artist, but if an artist is doing well, he will get booked more often and at some point be able to earn money trough the sell of tickets, merchandise and what the venue pays them. This money can be used to finance recordings.
example
''The London Underground (LU) Busking Scheme is a hit with performers and the travelling public. Passengers enjoy more than 100,00 hours of live music performed every year by professional, talented buskers.
The licensed buskers have a unique audience of around 3.5 million Tube passengers every day.
Many passengers show their appreciation by dropping a few coins in the hat, knowing that the buskers are licensed and legitimate because they perform on one of our branded pitches.
The scheme has attracted international media interest and some buskers are regularly booked for events and recording sessions; some have even gone on to perform in from of royalty or work with established musicians ranging from Simply Red to principals of the English National Opera.
The lure of performing on the Tube has also attracted some big names. The Libertines, Julian Lloyd-Webber, Badly Drawn Boy and Seasick Steve have all played on the Underground's stage. - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/2435.aspx
What would I do?
I find live performance the most important aspect in a music career. Apart from the fact that it allows you to do what you love, it also gives you an opportunity to let your creations be heard. Even when it is short, you have a moment to shine, to expose yourself to your audience and create a bond with them. It is one of the key things that lead to a successful career in music. I think that listening to music on the radio or on TV got so overrated and now people enjoy going to live performances to see someone they like. It is a new way of approaching music as it is so much more real and you feel much closer to the artist itself. If you are a true musician, there should not be anything else you want more than performing and I think that if earning money or being famous is something that someone wants more, they do not belong in the music industry.
But you have to be ready to do live performances. You need a good repertoire that you know by heart, because there is no room for any mistakes. It is quite hard to get a gig, let alone one that gets paid, so the instant you start making mistakes, they will not book you again.
Another thing to keep in mind is to always be on time. Nobody likes to wait, so especially in the beginning, you can not afford to be late.
sources:
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/record-label1.htmexample
''The London Underground (LU) Busking Scheme is a hit with performers and the travelling public. Passengers enjoy more than 100,00 hours of live music performed every year by professional, talented buskers.
The licensed buskers have a unique audience of around 3.5 million Tube passengers every day.
Many passengers show their appreciation by dropping a few coins in the hat, knowing that the buskers are licensed and legitimate because they perform on one of our branded pitches.
The scheme has attracted international media interest and some buskers are regularly booked for events and recording sessions; some have even gone on to perform in from of royalty or work with established musicians ranging from Simply Red to principals of the English National Opera.
The lure of performing on the Tube has also attracted some big names. The Libertines, Julian Lloyd-Webber, Badly Drawn Boy and Seasick Steve have all played on the Underground's stage. - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/2435.aspx
What would I do?
I find live performance the most important aspect in a music career. Apart from the fact that it allows you to do what you love, it also gives you an opportunity to let your creations be heard. Even when it is short, you have a moment to shine, to expose yourself to your audience and create a bond with them. It is one of the key things that lead to a successful career in music. I think that listening to music on the radio or on TV got so overrated and now people enjoy going to live performances to see someone they like. It is a new way of approaching music as it is so much more real and you feel much closer to the artist itself. If you are a true musician, there should not be anything else you want more than performing and I think that if earning money or being famous is something that someone wants more, they do not belong in the music industry.
But you have to be ready to do live performances. You need a good repertoire that you know by heart, because there is no room for any mistakes. It is quite hard to get a gig, let alone one that gets paid, so the instant you start making mistakes, they will not book you again.
Another thing to keep in mind is to always be on time. Nobody likes to wait, so especially in the beginning, you can not afford to be late.
sources:
http://musicbusinessresearch.wordpress.com/feed/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/introducing/advice/therightdealforyou/aandr/differenttypesofdeal/?2
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130104005149/en/Nielsen-Company-Billboard%E2%80%99s-2012-Music-Industry-Report
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec05/articles/allaboutpublishing.htm
http://www.knowthemusicbiz.com/what-indie-musicians-should-know-about-physical-distribution/http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne?currentPage=all
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/introducing/advice/therightdealforyou/majorlabelsvsindies/
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-does-a-music-manager-do.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01bm5qm
http://diabolo.ca/blog/music-in-live-performance/
Comments
Post a Comment