CMG Live! 6:30p-7p EST - Episode 01: 2012 Marketing


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Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Music Blogs vs. Album Release Websites

10:48 PM Secrets of the Music Industry , Posted in , , , , , , , , 0 Comments


Recently, Chris Leavins for blogs.com wrote an article discussing the top ten music blogs you haven’t heard or read yet. The article seemed to focus on bands and new releases that had their own blog made completely to generate public opinion on a specific project or release. Also, Mr. Leavins describes a trend in the music industry that stays away from creating complete project websites and has gone for a more grassroots approach via blogging to garner public interest in a new music offering.

I applaud the move to blogs because it engages the people and connects them in a way that is much better than a static website. The website has become less of a necessity and the subsequent expenses can be added to the bottom line profitability of a given music release. Furthermore, the content loss with a blog versus artist release website is minimal given the variety of content that can be offered through the blog’s simple HTML coding parameters.

Furthermore, this blog will be moving towards an approach that lends itself to better public appeal. The team here has included a brief survey for catering a series of blog postings on music production tutorials. These postings are not your typical tutorials because we take for granted you as a music producer don’t need to know the same answers to things readily available online via generic You Tube posts. This series focuses more on industry secrets and the scientific principles that undergird them in a relevant studio environment.

Be sure to fill out the survey to help us zone in on what the first few postings should be geared toward in the series. Thank you all for the support and be sure to leave your own comments.

References

Leavins, C. (n.d.). Top ten music blogs you haven't heard (or read). Blogs.com. Retrieved on August 20, 2011 from http://www.blogs.com/topten/top-10-music-blogs-you-havent-heard-or-read/


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Chrysalis Negotiations - The Hard Facts

8:08 PM Secrets of the Music Industry , Posted in , , , , , , , , 1 Comment


Russell Gaskins
Senior Director, Film, TV, Commercials
Chrysalis Music Group, L.A.

Interviewed by Bryan Bell

How do you pre-plan for a meeting where an artist on your radar is looking for a publishing deal?

First thing I do that may be different than most is I look up the history on the artist. Not what most describe as history, but how they got into music, what influenced them, why they do what they do. That way I may be able to see a correlation to our roster to people that artist already respects and use that in the negotiation.
 
Secondly, I look at the cold hard facts. People lie all the time, but numbers don’t. No advance is even discussed unless I can prove it  could be covered by past releases and record sales.

What numbers grab your attention from up and coming artists versus established artists?

In a newbie, I look for at least 10,000 sales in a time from of about 3 months from release date. If I see that then at least there is a chance in my opinion of re-couping money. In an established artist with marketing, you gotta at least give me 50,000. Otherwise, what is the point of continuing your career with the major label.

Inside the meeting, what do you see the problems are that need to be addressed?

Number one, do they have a gem! If I hear an album, I have to see marketing potential in at least 1 song, just 1 song people! Can I get a Verizon ad or film trailer or something! That is key for me in particular, but like I have told people for a long time publishing is where it’s at man…remember when we spoke about things years ago? I told you back then Bryan that things were shifting and they have continued to shift in my favor lol.

Another problem as I see is not what should be given out in advance money cause that’s all easily solved by looking at the numbers, but the underlying issue from our perspective is marketing the material. Does the artist have enough fan appeal to get the machine behind him or her. Once that machine revs up the rest is easy as pie.
Does a win-win situation seem like the focus or do you find that it turns into every man for himself in these negotiations?

To be honest early in my career I was cut throat as I could be and it served me well. However, the way things are now and the people I speak with its unnecessary. What I mean by that is that things have changed to such a degree that peole understand you have to prove what you get where as before it was based more on feel what was given and what was accepted. So, yeah I definitely search for win-win situations much more now and help out as much as I can.

Have you ever been mislead in a negotiation and lost?

Hell yeah! And didn’t even know I had lost! But the company made it clear to me how I lost, what I lost, and how to stop it from happening again. I had good mentorship and people around me that didn’t pull the plug on me at the first sign of a mistake.

How has this buyout of Chrysalis affected you?

To be honest it hasn’t. It will be over years that our name would even change. Plus, my department is more relevant than it has ever been, so as far as job security, I’m fine.

Thanks for your time.

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Teach An Old Dog New Tricks: Radio Single Marketing

4:29 PM Secrets of the Music Industry , Posted in , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

In a recent article by Jon Ostrow for Miccontrol.com, he describes an oversimplified marketing tool in music, the radio single. I am going to briefly describe each type of radio single. Afterwards, this post will go deeper into proper application to create a diversified revenue stream for an artist at any level of their career.

iTunes IconImage via Wikipedia
1.     Normal Radio Single – This is the typical single pushed by recording acts for radio play and fan support. Generally, it is kept around 3 minutes in length. In addition, it is most often the focus of artist press kits.
2.     Street Single – In the days of vinyl, the street single was referred to as the B Side. This single was forwarded as a way to showcase musicianship, diversity to the band’s appeal, and a creative way to push songs the record label didn’t particularly like but the band members loved.

3.     iTunes Bonus Single – Welcome to the digital age. A new sort of single is now being pushed to increase the new revenue stream of digital downloads. Do not be fooled. The iTunes Bonus single is a proven marketing tool that can help increase market saturation because this single should further increase band appeal through diversity. Unreleased tracks, LIVE tracks, or even remixed tracks reign supreme as great iTunes bonus singles.

4.     Free Download Single – Sadly, music sales are much lower than decades past. Also, the music industry is flooded with new talent. The Free download single is a necessary evil and should be used creatively. Do not just offer it without a deeper driving force behind it. This clever tool can drive traffic to websites, blogs, forums, and more. Please be sure to incorporate its marketing power because it can become so popular that other opportunities spawn from its creation.

5.     Leaked Single – A new rebuttal to the pirating war. This sort of single is used to create a “buzz”. It is accidentally released to subside fans desire to have something they are not supposed to have until the official release date. The key is to get the “leaked” track in the hands of influential people to help the track spread. One downside of the leaked single is the bad publicity that results if consumers find out that it was not actually “leaked”. Be careful.

6.     Viral Video Single – The ploy is to choose a song either incredibly original or racy/edgy…either will do the trick. Although there are no guarantees anything will become “viral”, the benefits are exponential due to the ease of which videos can be shared. Once a video becomes viral, every blog, website and social media will not only carry it, but they will also feature its content.
7.     Remix Single – The idea here is again to increase visibility in a diverse consumer market. For instance, if you have a Hip Hop radio single, then create a remix using an indie rock band. Or vice versa because the perfect remix marketing strategy will augment fan base amongst listeners untapped before.  Moreover, there is the opportunity to collaborate and use the notoriety of one artist to increase the appeal of another.

Promotional recordImage by renaissancechambara via Flickr

These individual musical creations need to be understood as businesses in and of themselves. All copyrights, publishing assignments, and marketing stratagems should be created individually to hone in on how to best maximize their profitability. Do not take for granted each single will have the effect you intended without crafting where it will be marketed, why, and having a clear understanding of how the revenue stream works. In addition, profit goals put forth in each single’s marketing plan will be different due to a list of factors including market visibility, influence, and target market persona. Keep these things in mind and you can multiply revenue with just a few song selections without the need for long albums and increased production costs. Welcome to the age of radio singles and EP’s reborn.

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Increase Profits Through Proper Business Setup

3:02 PM Secrets of the Music Industry , Posted in , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments


LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 07: In this handout pr...Image by Getty Images via daylife...Recording artists are growing in number in spite of dropping record sales by major recording companies. In news, industry colleague Owen Husney (artist manager for Prince who negotiated an unprecedented deal giving complete creative control over the albums he produced and recorded over a number of years) explained how recording artists at any level need to diversify revenue streams with or without label support. Furthermore, understanding revenue diversification in music is paramount for obtaining sustainable success in the industry.

Revenue diversification is one reason why music creation has
Recording Industry Association of AmericaImage via Wikipedia become so popular. Music can be made today with negligible cost and recorded at home with a simple computer based setup. The Internet provides digital marketing at little to no cost via mp3 download. Unfortunately, over-saturation in the music industry has made an even larger chasm between the majors and start-up record labels due to marketing concerns.

One fact has not changed; major record labels sell a million or more copies of records because at least a million people hear their product. Comparatively, indie labels don’t have the client outreach necessary to make substantial money without marketing effectively. Take advantage of the legal protection provided by copyright. Recent news articles that protect musician’s rights like the crackdown on p2p company Limewire by the RIAA could not be prosecuted if recording artists did not feel it necessary to protect their art. Music protection is a necessary component for all music compositions and should not be overlooked. Moreover, the business training required for proper setup of copyrights, publishing, and industry standard marketing materials stifle most recording artists from making money because of the lure for increased music production speed. Ultimately, the recording artist loses out on licensing opportunities and royalty compensation (the most important revenue streams heralded by both majors and indie artists alike) in today’s changing music economy.

In conclusion, both Owen Husney and myself champion the idea that substantial monetary compensation can be made through music creation; however, recording artists need to protect their work and solidify their ability to make self-sustainable profits. In short, protection for music is given through following the copyright procedural guidelines and sustained profit is accounted for by attaining warranted publishing rights for musical compositions. These steps must be followed to maximize any music creation’s full wealth creating potential.


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If you have questions or concerns about setting up your music catalog's copyrights, publishing, sample clearance negotiation, and/or A&R/Radio/PR One Sheet creation do not hesitate to contact me. I am here to help, so, leave comments with your contact information and stay in touch. 


Also, feel free to reach me via phone contact. I personally check my work line throughout the day at 1.888.210.1447 and look forward to hearing from you.


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References:

Bruno, Antony. (2010, November 19). RIAA continues crackdown on Limewire.  
Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/
content_display/industry/e3i02240e53d2361c71e5c3606073e8694f
Husney, Owen (2005, November). Income solutions for independent and major
label artists [Video file]. Video posted to http://www.artistshousemusic. org/videos/income+solutions+for+independent+and+major+label+artists

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Bryan W. Bell
CMG Artist Development 
Boyd Allen Music Group
Business Manager, ASCAP Publishing Admin.
Sample Clearance Advisor
V.Mail: 1.888.210.1447
Twitter: bryanbellmusic
E.Mail: e.artistdevelopment@gmail.com
Web: http://boydallenmusicgroup.com/
         


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