Music Marketing [dot] com

The Future of Music or Illegal Art?

Watch this and discuss below...

The tracklist...

Alphabeat - Boyfriend
Alphabeat - Fascination
Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars
Black Eyed Peas - Gotta Feeling
Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time
Capsule - Can I Have A Word
Chromeo - Momma's Boy
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Daft Punk - Aerodynamic
Daft Punk - Around The World
Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Remix)
Deadmau5 - Right This Second
Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed
ELO - Mr. Blue Sky
Girls Aloud - Biology
Gorillaz - Dare
Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)
Gwen Stefani - What You Waitin For (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)
Housse de Racket - Oh Yeah
Justice - DVNO
Justice - Phantom Part II
Katy Perry - One Of The Boys
Ke$ha - Take It Off
Kylie Minogue - Wow
Lady Gaga - Alejandro
Linkin Park - Crawling
Madonna - Hung Up
Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette - Boys and Girls
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Nero - Me and You
One Republic - All The Right Moves (Danger Remix)
One-T - Magic Key
Ratatat - Shempi
Solange - I Decided (Freemasons Remix)
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star
The Killers - Losing Touch
The Who - Baba O'Riley (SebastiAn Remix)
Yelle - Que Veux Tu (Madeon Remix)

Want more? His name is Madeon and this is his SoundCloud page.

Rebecca Black Pulls "Friday" from YouTube

Rebecca Black is pissed at Ark Music Factory, the company which wrote and produced her "Friday" song aa well as the video. She is claiming that Ark is exploiting her image as well as the song, neither of which she says they have rights to.

The problem is that the song was written by Patrice Wilson of Ark, the recording was produced by Ark, and the video was produced by Ark.

But I'm sure Rebecca Black (or her parents) paid a ton for these services...

Will be interesting to see how this one works out. Until then, make sure you get your agreements in writing, so everything about ownership of your music, production, and image is crystal clear!

UPDATE: Rebecca Black has re-released the video as a "Director's Cut."

UPDATE 2: The new version has been pulled. How am I going to celebrate the upcoming weekend now?

Girl Talk Lawsuit? Not Likely...

Mashup artist Girl Talk released his fifth album this week (download here) and this article by Joe Mullin has some of the best reasons I've seen on why he hasn't been sued yet.

Among the reasons...

1. He'd be a ready-made hero for copyright reformers and would likely have some of the top copyright attorneys in the country willing to represent him for free.
   
   
2. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which believes sampling music falls under fair use, is jonesing to get involved with a case like this.
   
   
3. In the big scheme of things, most people have no idea who Girl Talk is.  If he wins a case like this, it would open the door for bigger, more popular arists to sample music for free.  That would kill a valuable source of licensing income for the music industry.

See my posts on Illegal Art and how Copying Expands the Music Business for more thoughts and feel free to leave your own in the comments section below...

Taxi - Is it a Scam?

I get a ton of emails asking what I think about certain services for musicians.  One of the companies I most frequently get asked about is Taxi.

Should you sign up?  Maybe...

To help you decide, ask youself these questions.

1. How do you define opportunity?

Here is my definition.  If you think like I do, you may very well have a good experience with Taxi.

2. How do you feel about the following comments?

"I found the critiques and forwarding of songs to be very hit or miss - depending on who listens to your submissions each time (which you have no control over). For instance, I would have the same song criticized by one person, and then applauded and forwarded by another critic several times. Once I was told by one listener that the reason they didn't like one of my songs was because they didn't like the way I wrote a specific lyric (one sentence - it was too "poetic" and not natural speech) - yet another listener mentioned that they loved that specific lyric and forwarded the song!"

These are comments from a former Taxi member that I took from a discussion on a popular music business mailing list.  Even if you have absolutely no interest in Taxi, I think they still bring up a very important aspect of the music business.

Here is the reality of how your songs, your performance, your muscianship, your stage presence, and anything else about you is judged...

1. Everybody will have a different opinion of your music, regardless of how good (or bad) it is.

People like different things.  Some people, as this example illustrates, like "poetic" lyrics.  Others don't.

This is a good thing.  If somebody doesn't like your stuff, keep moving, because there is likely somebody who does.

The problem happens when nobody likes what you're doing.  If you're not getting people to your shows or your music isn't selling, it may be time to look at your music.  But if you've got that going for you, don't worry about one or two "critiques" saying you suck.  Yes, they have industry experience and some specialized knowledge of what makes good music, but the only thing that really matters in the music business is whether your fans like your stuff and are willing to pay money that will enable you to keep doing it.

Lots of well-known albums have been panned by critics.  The first Led Zeppelin album got a bad review by Rolling Stone.  And the magazine hated everything Journey did.

So don't get your panties in a wad when somebody doesn't like what you're doing...especially if they're asking for something specific and the comment is in relation to that.  Not only do people like different things, they also define things differently.  A "happy" song for one person might be totally different than a "happy" song for somebody else.

2. It matters who you associate with.

A lone tree looks bigger than a tree with a bunch of other trees around it.

When you submit music to something like Taxi, where lots of music is reviewed at once, you'll be sandwiched between other music.  You'll be compared to what's before you.  If the music before you is amazing, it will affect how your music is perceived.  If it was not so good, it will affect how your music is perceived.

When you submit to a music conference, you have to deal with the same thing.

When you submit your music to me at Music Business Radio, you have to deal with the same thing...on the air.

If it fair?  No.  That's the way it works though.

Final Thoughts

Taxi sends out a list of what people in the industry are looking for.  The more you "write to order" and send in music for these listings, the better you'll get at providing what people are looking for.  To me, that is worth fees they charge, regardless of whether or not you get a cut directly through them.

Taxi membership gets you into their conference in Los Angeles every year.  Hundreds of people go and it's a great way to meet and network with like-minded people.  To me, that is worth the fees they charge, even if you don't do anything with the information they send you during the year.

I'm not a fan of the "middle man" aspect of Taxi.  If you're in Nashville, or LA, or NYC, or are good at making direct connections with people, you're probably better off striking out on your own, getting a tip sheet like New on the Charts, or a directory of record label people like Music Registry.  If you like somebody to hold your hand though, even though it doesn't give you the freedom of striking out on your own, Taxi will probably be a positive experience for you.  If nothing else, it can be a great motivator to write more.

If you've got a catalog of stuff and want to "make existing songs fit" the listings that Taxi sends, I'd skip it.  If you want to "write to order" or are flexible with what you've already written, meaning that you're willing to change things based on what people are looking for, you may very well have a great Taxi experience.

Regardless of the direction you choose, keep moving forward with your music.  In the music business, timing is everything.  If a song doesn't work right now, it might work later, so keep pitching it.  With that said, don't let the possibility of a great future be an excuse for not trying to make what you've got now better.  Songs are never done.  Keep improving and keep trying to better your odds of success.

The Upcoming Generation of Music Consumers Likes Variety

So many great things about this video... One is how open people were to bringing different types of music together. Chic, Blondie, and The Clash on the same bill? You'd never see that today.

You'll hear on it iPods though... As we're no longer tied town to entire albums or very segmented radio formats, people are being exposed to more types of music than ever before.  That will be good not only for our culture, but also musicians who make different types of music.

Copying Music Expands the Music Business

One of the common things that comes up during episodes of Music Business Radio is something I call "life of a song."  This can mean a number of things, but usually refers to:

• Recordings that are so popular they receive airplay years after their initial release dates
• Recordings on a "classic" albums that continue to sell consistently, years after being released
• Songs that are covered again and again - sometimes in the same genre, sometime not
• Recordings that are licensed years later to movies, television, and/or commercials

The stories that come up are as unique as the songs (and songwriters) affected.  Sometimes the result of something like this is big paycheck for the songwriter and publisher, but sometimes things goes way beyond that and can totally rejuvenate careers of the original artists, allowing them to tour more successfully and record/release new material.

But it goes way beyond that... In fact, I believe that "life of a song" is actually what's going to keep the music business going.

Music is one of those things where, when you hear a song that you like, you want to hear songs that are similar.  It's very similar to surfing Amazon.com, finding something you need, seeing the "People Who Purchased This Product Also Purchased These Products," and finding more things that you suddenly can't live without.  You didn't realize you "needed" them because you didn't know they existed.

As we get deeper and deeper into music technology, and it becomes easier and easier to record and distribute music, there will be more and more noise to cut through.  But it's also easier and easier to find out about new artists (and old artists), if you know what you're looking for...

And that is why "life of a song" is important...it lets you know what you're looking for, even if you didn't know you were looking for it.

So when a dance music fan hears this in a club...

He can now ask the question, "I wonder what that sample was?" And find this...

Now, the guy is "into" R&B music.  When when he looks deeper into Gwen McRae, he's going to find she covers Bobby Bland...and that leads him to look into blues.  And where did blues music come from?  It goes on and on...

Obviously, not everybody into house music is going to go this deep, but some will.  And when things work like this, it leads to more money for publishers, labels, artists, songwriters, and everybody in the music business.  It also exposes new writers and artists to styles of music that will affect what they're creating.  Then the cycle starts over again...

I get emails and calls from musicians that don't like to sample and don't like to cover songs.  When I ask them what they sound like, they can't name a similar act because they "don't sound like anybody else."  This is hilarious to me. 

Think you don't sound like anybody else?  Think again... If you're playing a 4/4 time signature and playing a major scale or open chords on a guitar tuned EADGBE, you sound like somebody else.  Don't fight it!  And since you sound like somebody else, why not go a little deeper?

If you like Beatles, don't be afraid to copy them.  If you like Rage Against the Machine, don't act like you're the only musician doing socio-political rock music.  Instead, embrace the fact that everything we do as musicians is influenced (in a big way) from somebody that came before us and go with it.

Your biggest enemy is that your songs will never get heard.  Never.  Being open to copying and being bold in acknowledging influences not only helps the music business, it's also good for your fans, since it gives them something to grasp onto that cuts through all the noise they have to deal with. 

So do your fans (and the music business) a favor by copying something right now.

Thoughts?  Post 'em below...

Music City Remixed

My friend Craig Havighurst just completed a radio documentary for WPLN called Music City Remixed. 

This is a great documentary about how the music business is changing and what's going to happen after the major label shakeout is over.  I suggest everybody listen to it.

Download or listen below...

Thoughts?

The True Story of How I Make $100,000/Year in the Music Business

If you've been following me for a while, you've probably read my book, "How I Make $100,000/year in the Music Business (Without a Record Label, Manager, or Booking Agent)."  If not, I suggest trying to find a copy.  It's out of print, but the methods still work and there are usually used copies available on Amazon.

When I was actively promoting this book, people would always ask me about the title.  The "$100,000year" was very enticing...

The title had nothing to do with me though.  It was about my co-author and the money he was making as a working musician.

But there is more to the story...

Although I'm known as a marketing guy, I'm also a musician.  I'm not talking about playing a few chords on guitar either. I've played since I was a kid, I studied music in college, and my degree is in music.  I was once a working musician and I still have a publishing company.

I'm just like you.  I know what it's like to want my music heard.  I know what it's like to want respect as a musician.

So why are you just now finding this out?  Because marketing is my real strength. 

I started my own direct mail business when I was a teenager.  When I was in college, the volume of mail I received was so great that I had to work out a special deal with the campus postal service, who refused to deliver the buckets of mail I'd receive to my dorm, since I was running a business via my campus address, and would make me come pick everything up at the main post office. 

Marketing is what I was born to do...not music.  But coming from the musician culture, I wanted to stick around.  I didn't want anybody thinking I was a failed musician trying to make money on others in the business though.

Being a marketing guy, I branched out to various things... Most of you know about my syndicated radio show, books like the one mentioned above, and my live "bootcamp" events to help musicians sell more music and get more people to their shows. 

But what you might not know is that I make a ton of money via licensing.

Music licensing is the licensed use of copyrighted music.  This allows companies such as those in the film/TV and video game industries to use your music in exchange for money, a licensing fee.

There is big money to be made in music licensing.  Big money.  It's not uncommon for independent artists and songwriters to get five-figures at a time.  But it can be a lot more than five-figures...

The Rolling Stones song ''(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'' can be heard on a TV commercial for Snickers, played by studio musicians.  The candy bar has used the slogan ''Snickers Satisfies'' for years and wanted to use ''Satisfaction'' in a big way. 

How big?  Music publisher ABKCO, which owns the rights, received $4,000,000.00, of which songwriters Mick Jagger and Keith Richards got $2,800,000.00.

Not a bad day's work.

Will you make that kind of money via licensing?  I doubt it.  But as I mentioned earlier, it's not uncommon for indie musicians and songwriters to pull in five-figures at a time...and that's not bad. ;)

Ask yourself...

• Would you be happy with a five-figure licensing deal?
• What would that kind of money mean to you and your music career?

Again, this stuff isn't uncommon.  You can do this.  I know because I've done it...and continue to do it.

Your time to make this happen is now.

The opportunity to license your music to film and television companies had never been better.  The time to license your music to advertising companies has never been better.  And the video game industry brings in $18 BILLION per year.  How much of that goes to licensing music?  Plenty.

I'm going to show you how to do this...free.

Over the new few weeks, I'll be posting a series of videos, audios, and other information on how you can make a killing with music licensing.  Along the way, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions and even email me directly.

By the time we're done, you'll have everything you need to know. :)

Again, this is free...a gift from me to you. 

To get started, I need you to do two things:

1. Subscribe to my feed. It's free and this will make sure you're instantly updated when I post a new video or other information on licensing music.

2. Sign up for email updates.  Not everything will be posted here. 

Why?  First of all, I want to keep this information exclusive to the people who really want it. 

And secondly, I've got some contact info for you, which will put you directly in touch with people who are looking for new music.  Can't post that on a public website. :)

Input your name and primary email address below.  That way you'll be sure to stay on top of everything I release.

NOTE: You can unsubscribe from this list at any time, with a simple click. :)

   

Name:
Email:

That's it!  Looking forward to talking more with you about getting your music licensed to film, television, and video games soon!

District Court Rules Yahoo, AOL Pay Millions To Songwriters

A US District Court has ruled AOL, RealNetworks, and Yahoo should pay license fees that could amount to as much as $100 million to ASCAP and its membership for songs which they streamed to users from 2002 until now.  The ruling also includes payment for use until 2009.

Sounds good on paper.  The little guy wins, right?

Look, I think songwriters deserve to be paid.  I live in Nashville and own a publishing company!  But since the rate will likely be more than what is paid by traditional broadcast radio stations, my opinion is that it will make it more difficult for anyone to play music online in the future, which will mean nobody gets paid.

So how is this good for the music business?

Music Publishing For Today's Market

by Allen Johnston

MusicDish Network Sponsor

Before the invention of the phonograph, songwriters earned income by relying on music publishers to sell sheet music and piano rolls of their songs. Even as radio and television replaced the piano in the parlor, music publishers continued to play an important role as popular singers continued to rely upon established songwriters to provide their material. (Tin Pan Alley) However, with the advent of R&B (and especially the Motown era) popular recording artists began to write more of their own songs. Since that time, the music publishing industry has taken on a less important role for singers and a much more important role for revenue growth.

Publishers traditionally acquired revenue through several different means.

Performance Rights: A copyright owner has the exclusive right to authorize the "public performance" of that work. This is why radio and television broadcasters must enter into licenses with performance rights organizations such as BMI, ASCAP and SESAC. These performance rights organizations collect income on behalf of songwriters and music publishers whenever a song is publicly broadcast.

Synchronization Rights: Whenever a song is used with a visual image, it is necessary to obtain a "synchronization" (or "synch") license permitting the use of that song. Music publishers issue synch licenses to television advertisers, motion picture companies, video manufacturers and CD-Rom companies. A portion of this money (usually 1/2 the net proceeds) is paid to the songwriter.

Mechanical Rights: Mechanical royalties" refers to royalties paid for the reproduction of songs on CD, DVD, jump drives, DAT, audiocassette, flexi-discs, musical greeting cards, and other devices sold on a "per unit" basis.

However in today¹s new music business model publishers have begun to adjust their business practices to the new digital paradigm. The two main areas that are seeing significant growth are:

1. Wireless Broadband which is allowing the acceleration of device convergence. Now the iPhone has the capabilities of a computer, a PDA can be a music player and video game consoles can now access the Internet.

2. Mobile phones have become basic mini-PC¹s and there are over 3 Billion mobile phone users in comparison to only 1 Billion internet users.

What is happening worldwide is that the idea of ³selling copies² of music (mechanical license) has become secondary to having access to music. The Internet has become a huge machine that is allowing individuals to have access to and copy music, movies and other forms of entertainment instead of buying physical copies. Wireless Broadband access is opening up huge international markets in South East Asia and Latin America and this new access is creating shifts in how publishers must do business.

Publishers can no longer wait for companies to pay them for mechanical rights or even synchronization rights. This is a model based on consumer usage and this model is dying. Publishers must act quickly to license their catalogs to emerging technologies first; in fact recorded music and publishing licensing should now MARRY and be marketed together.

A good publisher must be able to license his catalog for internet and live music performances, background music, printed and digital sheet music, ringtones, lyric services, on-demand services, flat rate revenue sharing and ALL types of synchronization deals.

Physical sales of CD¹s are declining quickly while more and more music users see music as a ³free service² to be traded among other users. Couple this idea with an emerging international high economic growth, a young population and massive mobile phone usage and you have a perfect case for conceiving a new publishing model.

Gerd Leonhard has spent over twenty-five years in the technology and entertainment industries, both in the U.S. as well as in Europe, and recently, in Asia. In 2005, Gerd co-authored the critically acclaimed book "The Future of Music" which has become a must-read for music industry professionals around the globe, and which is now available in German, Italian, and Japanese. Recently he presented the following statistics.

a. In the past 12 months over 300 MILLION people joined online communities that use music
b. About 75,000 different devices can play MP3 files
c. In 12 ­ 18 months, digital broadcasting with ³drag & drop² TV and radio stations will be widely available.
d. In the next 12 months high-capacity wireless devices such as the iPhone will be widely available.

The music business has changed into the licensing business; will you be a part of the new paradigm?

---

Content provided by the
Copyright © MusicDish, LLC 2008 - Republished with Permission
click here for free music content for your site or blog

---