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?
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...
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. :)
That's it! Looking forward to talking more with you about getting your music licensed to film, television, and video games soon!
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?
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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?
Check out the Music Business Radio episode we just did with a group of music publishers called Chicks with Hits...
Get the podcast on iTunes or hit the play button to stream it...
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