Why Is A Culture Shift Important For Musicians?

Why Is A Culture Shift Important For Musicians?
BY: TOMMY DARKER |
Written by Tommy Darker.

Most artists feel helpless today. This is how I comprehend their crawling around the digital music world. Laws and the status quo have changed radically, the audience’s behaviour and preferences as well. And we cannot change their newly ingrained views. It would be pointless. In my opinion, the digital world has ‘change’ imprinted in its DNA.

I understand that we want to preserve the status quo, because it worked so far. But I think we miss out the opportunity for innovation presented here: to build our own future as independent entities and help a new culture emerge.

They say you cannot break the nose with small punches. You need to punch it vigorously.
That’s what we, as visionary independent artists, need to go for.

I have a plan and I intend to execute it gradually. I will briefly present my mindset here. So, follow along and tell me what you think. I would encourage you to share my views, whether you agree or not, so we can have a diversity of opinions.

Advantage for labels, opportunity for independent artists
Labels have strong cards in the game. Let’s see the ultimate truth for a moment.

Major labels. There are a few major players, with a few artists on board, mainstream following and a lot of strong connections and budget. They are on the left side of the Long Tail, their model is to build short-term hits and milk them till the next one. They know the recipe for a hit and walk on that very same way all the time. Predictability and reverential measurement of metrics are their weapon. If something happens not to work, they dump it. Scaling up is the ultimate goal, after all.

Independent artists. Our main characteristic and advantage: we are a lot, millions. And every single artist has some power and following that is difficult to ignore once combined with others as a group. An ant, as an entity, might be insignificant, but as a group, it can move objects multiple times of its size. In economic figures, our Long Tail part is competitive to the major artists.

Here’s where I see the opportunity. In collective power.

A few major players can change a market, but they cannot change a culture. A million minds can.
Startups showed the way. They showed, in progressive fashion, that an ecosystem around entrepreneurship can change, if there is persistence.

A few years ago nobody could believe that it would be so easy to create your own enterprise. A few visionaries started, persisted and inspired. They got early adopters on board. They kept persisting. And services to accommodate that culture shift soon appeared; because businesses saw an opportunity to make money by offering services to an emerging trend. The same goes for investors.

That trend took a share of people’s minds, who passed it on. Then social proof came, a few successes showed that it’s not impossible to build a profitable business out of a niche idea. And more followed. People started encapsulating and teaching this knowledge. And the culture became stronger. Everybody believes now. Culture shift completed.

The transition didn’t happen because of money or metrics. It happened because of persistence for radical change in the culture. It all started with a few crazy individuals.
None of these guys that founded startups was a businessman before. It was the need to do something bigger than themselves that pushed them towards innovation, creation and then education and knowledge.

Their accomplishment: now millions build healthy businesses out of what they love, by offering real, honest value to the real world.
The same thing can happen for musicians. Startups play with needs, we play with emotions. Needs and culture are extremely important for a healthy human being.

But we are not united. We do not have the same mindset to work as one, towards one direction. This is why a reset in mind is required. Before investing in videos, recordings and networking, we need to learn to invest in knowledge. Re-learning some things is essential for independent musicians to take advantage of their huge power.

Next up: the platform
I’m planning to build a platform to unite performing artists and change our habits. Easy to think, it will take much effort and patience to execute. The platform will not change the culture. We will. The platform will merely be the medium to enable us to see relationships hidden before, encouraging success stories buried in oblivion or revealing opportunities and ground for innovation that people thought was blurry.

PS. Follow my work @TommyDarker.

—-

I’m Tommy Darker, the writing alter ego of an imaginative independent musician. I started ‘Think Beyond The Band’ because I feel proud of what I’ve accomplished so far and I like helping other fellow musicians that struggle with the same problems.

I love starting conversations. If you share the same mindset, find me on Facebook and Twitter and let’s talk!

Related articles

• New Independent Artists Radio Show on Mixposure Radio. * Introducing DJ Doug DIckens (barefootandmusic.wordpress.com)
• Why Is A Culture Shift Important For Musicians? (hypebot.com)
• Saturday Acoustics w/ Independenet Artist Doug Dickens (barefootandmusic.wordpress.com)
• Evver and MusikFly Partner to Bring Greater Awareness to Independent Music (virtual-strategy.com)
• "purevolume" Review and Music Marketing Update (barcusblogs.wordpress.com)
• Tools for Independent Artists: WhyYouNeedPR (projecteve.com)
• BFM Independent Musicians (ireport.cnn.com)

35 Things To Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label

35 Things To Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label

The following guest post is an excerpt from the new 4th Edition of Music Is Your Business by Christopher Knab.

Deciding to release your own record is only a good idea if you know what you’re getting into. As you read through the following questions, mark the ones that you can’t answer and make an effort to find the answers. We answer some of these questions throughout the book. There are, however, some questions that only you can answer, and a few that are outside the scope of this book.
(Answers to any business start-up issues are widely available on the Internet and in many books devoted to that specific topic.)
35 Things to Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label

1. Why are you starting your own label? (What is your motivation?)
2. Why would anyone want to buy your music?
3. Is there currently a market for your kind of music? Prove it!
4. If you’re not releasing your own music, have you ever read a recording contract?
5. Are you aware of all the traditional clauses that are in such 75–100 page contracts?
6. Do you know anything about copyright law?
7. What is a mechanical royalty? What is a performance royalty? Internet play royalties?
8. Have you heard of the Harry Fox Agency, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC? What do they do?
9. What do you want to achieve by starting your own label?
10. What do you know about the day-to-day business of selling music?
11. Will your new company be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or some type of corporation? (Do you know the pros and cons of each?)
12. Have you trademarked the name of your company to be sure you can use that name?
13. Will you need recording equipment, office equipment, and supplies to run your label?
14. Do you have a recording studio you can work with, or will your laptop recording really do the job?
15. Do you know any record producers and/or engineers?
16. How much money will it cost you to start your label, record your records, and market the recordings for the first year? Second year? Third year?
17. How will you raise the money you need to start and run your record label?
18. What local, state, and federal tax responsibilities will your label have?
19. How will you sell your records? (Live shows, Internet sales, mail order, catalog sales, distributors, stores?)
20. What specific distribution and retail sales plans have you arranged so that people can easily find your releases at retail stores?
21. Do you have the money, time, and determination to compete in an industry that releases over 1,000 new records a week?
22. What configurations, (CD, vinyl, MP3, etc.), based on your knowledge of your fans habits, will you need to make?
23. How much will it cost to manufacture your CDs and/or vinyl, and convert your recordings to downloadable formats?
24. How many copies of your releases do you think, realistically, you can sell?
25. What deals are offered by CD manufacturers? Will you use their barcode or buy your own?
26. Will you need to make posters or other materials for retailers? If so, how many and how much will that cost?
27. Will you be making special novelty items like t-shirts, baseball caps, etc., and how much will that cost?
28. How did you estimate the number of copies you needed to manufacture?
29. Did you count into your estimation the number of free CDs you’ll have to give away for promotions of various kinds?
30. How will you go about finding other acts to sign to your label? Are you the sole artist? Then how many new releases will you have every year or so?
31. How important do you think graphic design is in making your label’s logo and cover art work for your releases?
32. Do you know any graphic artists with record design experience?
33. What information should go on the CD cover, back-cover, spine, booklet, and label?
34. What will your website look like? What online marketing news and fan opportunities (blogs, podcasts, etc.) will there be for your fans to interact with you?
35. Do you know how to write a marketing plan, a distributor one-sheet, and other promo materials?
Plus an extra question (this may sound familiar):
36. Who are your customers? NEVER forget this important question! If you think you know them, then describe them in very specific terms. And keep in touch with them. Create an event page on Facebook and invite them to interact with you on Twitter.
And on and on it goes. Welcome to the new music business!

By Christopher Knab, Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. The new, 4th Edition of Music Is Your Business has 100 pages of more info to help musicians help themselves with the business of music.

Related articles

• 35 Things To Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label (djduece.wordpress.com)
• 35 Things To Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label (hypebot.com)
• 10 Career Mistakes Every Singer Should Avoid. (wolebgb.wordpress.com)
• Irving Azoff Reinvents The Major Record Label (forbes.com)
• Breaking Into The Music Business Today (djduece.wordpress.com)
• Reversion Rights Come to Play in 2013 (artherworldblog.wordpress.com)

35 Things To Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label

35 Things To Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label

The following guest post is an excerpt from the new 4th Edition of Music Is Your Business by Christopher Knab.

Deciding to release your own record is only a good idea if you know what you’re getting into. As you read through the following questions, mark the ones that you can’t answer and make an effort to find the answers. We answer some of these questions throughout the book. There are, however, some questions that only you can answer, and a few that are outside the scope of this book.
(Answers to any business start-up issues are widely available on the Internet and in many books devoted to that specific topic.)
35 Things to Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label

1. Why are you starting your own label? (What is your motivation?)
2. Why would anyone want to buy your music?
3. Is there currently a market for your kind of music? Prove it!
4. If you’re not releasing your own music, have you ever read a recording contract?
5. Are you aware of all the traditional clauses that are in such 75–100 page contracts?
6. Do you know anything about copyright law?
7. What is a mechanical royalty? What is a performance royalty? Internet play royalties?
8. Have you heard of the Harry Fox Agency, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC? What do they do?
9. What do you want to achieve by starting your own label?
10. What do you know about the day-to-day business of selling music?
11. Will your new company be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or some type of corporation? (Do you know the pros and cons of each?)
12. Have you trademarked the name of your company to be sure you can use that name?
13. Will you need recording equipment, office equipment, and supplies to run your label?
14. Do you have a recording studio you can work with, or will your laptop recording really do the job?
15. Do you know any record producers and/or engineers?
16. How much money will it cost you to start your label, record your records, and market the recordings for the first year? Second year? Third year?
17. How will you raise the money you need to start and run your record label?
18. What local, state, and federal tax responsibilities will your label have?
19. How will you sell your records? (Live shows, Internet sales, mail order, catalog sales, distributors, stores?)
20. What specific distribution and retail sales plans have you arranged so that people can easily find your releases at retail stores?
21. Do you have the money, time, and determination to compete in an industry that releases over 1,000 new records a week?
22. What configurations, (CD, vinyl, MP3, etc.), based on your knowledge of your fans habits, will you need to make?
23. How much will it cost to manufacture your CDs and/or vinyl, and convert your recordings to downloadable formats?
24. How many copies of your releases do you think, realistically, you can sell?
25. What deals are offered by CD manufacturers? Will you use their barcode or buy your own?
26. Will you need to make posters or other materials for retailers? If so, how many and how much will that cost?
27. Will you be making special novelty items like t-shirts, baseball caps, etc., and how much will that cost?
28. How did you estimate the number of copies you needed to manufacture?
29. Did you count into your estimation the number of free CDs you’ll have to give away for promotions of various kinds?
30. How will you go about finding other acts to sign to your label? Are you the sole artist? Then how many new releases will you have every year or so?
31. How important do you think graphic design is in making your label’s logo and cover art work for your releases?
32. Do you know any graphic artists with record design experience?
33. What information should go on the CD cover, back-cover, spine, booklet, and label?
34. What will your website look like? What online marketing news and fan opportunities (blogs, podcasts, etc.) will there be for your fans to interact with you?
35. Do you know how to write a marketing plan, a distributor one-sheet, and other promo materials?
Plus an extra question (this may sound familiar):
36. Who are your customers? NEVER forget this important question! If you think you know them, then describe them in very specific terms. And keep in touch with them. Create an event page on Facebook and invite them to interact with you on Twitter.
And on and on it goes. Welcome to the new music business!
By Christopher Knab, Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. The new, 4th Edition of Music Is Your Business has 100 pages of more info to help musicians help themselves with the business of music.

Related articles

• 35 Things To Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label (hypebot.com)
• Irving Azoff Reinvents The Major Record Label (forbes.com)
• Reversion Rights Come to Play in 2013 (artherworldblog.wordpress.com)
• 10 Career Mistakes Every Singer Should Avoid. (wolebgb.wordpress.com)
• Starting a Record Label? (gearslutz.com)
• Gist: (Moeck) Part Ways With Record Label (BlackTheme Recordings) @iam_moeck (aprokomusic.wordpress.com)

Hip Hop Marketing At The Strip Club

Hip Hop Marketing At The Strip Club

The Wall St. Journal takes a look at hip hop music marketing through Atlanta strip clubs featuring dj collective Coalition DJs. Strip clubs are a marketing staple for Southern hip hop with djs getting paid to play singles ideally at the peak of the evening. Apparently Coalition DJs are a dominant force in the current Atlanta scene with a well-developed approach for helping break records.

Hannah Karp, writing for The Wall St. Journal, covers territory that I've long found of interest. Karp focuses on Coalition DJs:

"The Coalition DJs were assembled in 2008 as the brainchild of Atlanta music exec, Xavier Hargrove (DJ Big-X). After nearly 10+ years of watching DJ Funky, DJ X-Rated, and DJ Fernando establish their names individually via popular Atlanta gentlemen’s clubs such as Jazzy T’s, Strokers, and Magic City, X felt that combining their efforts would make them a force to be reckoned with in Atlanta’s booming urban nightlife and music scene."

A lot of what Karp describes Coalition DJs standardizing draws on various elements they must have been observing in the clubs. For example, I wrote a piece for ProHipHop in 2006 that drew on sources describing special music nights, fees and even a feedback process.

Karp describes a similar scenario in which Coalition DJs screen applicants, give feedback and feature the music in clubs, often at special nights.

But there's obviously more to the story here. Music from major label artists is also being promoted through strip clubs by major labels and individual artists are also going direct to dj.

So that would suggest that individuals and groups like Coalition DJs have a more complex array of deals, side deals, etc. all possibly within the bounds of group and individual agreements and, according to Karp, fair play as long as they don't have radio shows.

Fascinating to consider, strip club marketing also offers a real world activity that surfaces on the web but can't be replaced by the web.

Personal comments:

Ok yes I thought this was a crazy article when I first saw too, but yet alot make sense. I know this won't work in every strip club. But it might take some time for to catch on.

Related articles

• Hip Hop Marketing At The Strip Club (hypebot.com)
• Djs Doing Work: Coalition Djs Featured In The Wall Street Journal (djsdoingwork.com)
• Drake Hits Up Strip Club In Miami To Celebrate Finishing 'Nothing Was The Same' (highbrowhiphop.com)
• Family, friends mourn young rapper shot, killed outside Houston strip club (khou.com)
• Rapper Killed Outside Of Strip Club (4umf.com)
• New Music: Rico Love 'Strip Club' (getmybuzzup.com)

Trent Reznor Dismisses DIY, Ridicules Musicians Shaking Their Cups For Scraps

Trent Reznor Dismisses DIY, Ridicules Musicians Shaking Their Cups For Scraps

In a fairly revealing interview with Spin, Trent Reznor reminds us of why it's often dangerous to turn musicians into ideological symbols. Reznor has had a strong association with DIY music but recently chose to take his work to Columbia Records. In opening up about his choices he ridicules current DIY approaches and reminds us that he's on a serious fantasy trip about Beats Music.

It's interesting to read this post by Trent Reznor from 2009 on getting known in music when you're an unknown. You can tell he's totally immersed in web-enabled DIY business for musicians. It's not just an opinion piece.

He also raised questions about social media that revealed how hands on he was:

"The reason no record label knows how to market anything to new media is they don't live there. They don't get it because they don't use it. What you've seen happen with the marketing and presentation of NIN over the last years is a direct result of living next to you, listening to you, consuming with you and interacting with you. Directly."

"There's no handlers or PR people here, it's me and my guys - that's it. There's no real plan, even - it's just trying to do the right thing that respects you the fan, the music, and me the artist. That's the goal - a mutual and shared respect."

Trent Reznor's Journey Back From DIY

Since then Trent Reznor has chilled on his absolutist stance regarding record labels and seemed to be going in a direction that recognized that different artists need different options depending on what they're trying to accomplish.

Yet he also seemed to be losing a bit of his technical edge as he bought into what still seems like Beats Music Kool-Aid, that Beats Music was taking a radical step forward by including human curation.

In his feature interview with SPIN, Reznor briefly references his views about Beats Music:

"I'm working on something with Beats that's a marriage of humanity and technology, which is sort of what my music has always been about."

I still think that's the Kool-Aid talking but it's important to feel good about what one is doing.

Is Reznor's Real Problem His Rigid All-or-Nothing Stance?

Reznor definitely feels good about working with Columbia Records but when he discusses the difference I start to get the feeling that he took DIY to an extreme:

"Being in control of your own destiny was great...It felt good to have my own neck on the line. But you spend a lot of time figuring out who the influential blogger at some radio station is. Market research is not a sexy thing to think about. More than that, when you're self-releasing, you have this walled garden of people that are interested in what you do, and to everyone else you're invisible."

I don't want to read too much into a situation with which I'm unfamiliar based on a few random comments but there are so many quality indie firms ready to help musicians with any aspect of what needs doing that I have to wonder if he got lost in DIY as Do-It-All-Yourself. It's as if he believes that one either does everything oneself or has to make some sort of record deal.

The Reznor Binary: Or Go Fuck Yourself

Taking an all-or-nothing stance actually fits Reznor's public presentation over time. From his early aesthetic to his later statements about DIY to his rude dismissal of DIY successes in the SPIN interview:

"I know that what we're doing flies in the face of the Kickstarter Amanda-Palmer-Start-a-Revolution thing, which is fine for her, but I'm not super-comfortable with the idea of Ziggy Stardust shaking his cup for scraps. I'm not saying offering things for free or pay-what-you-can is wrong. I'm saying my personal feeling is that my album's not a dime. It's not a buck. I made it as well as I could, and it costs 10 bucks, or go fuck yourself."

The line "it costs 10 bucks, or go fuck yourself" has found some resonance on Twitter with its punk veneer and whatever else is going on there for respondents.

But the about face in perspective, one that at first did not appear so extreme, now looks at documented successes and makes fun of them. Sure, he dismissively says it's okay for other people, but his message that "my way is the best way or fuck you" is quite clear.

I guess that's just what passes for punk rock these days.

Related articles

• Trent Reznor Dismisses DIY, Ridicules Musicians Shaking Their Cups For Scraps (hypebot.com)
• Trent Reznor talks Twitter, Beats by Dre, and finding use for the music labels (theverge.com)
• Trent Reznor: 'I'm Not The Same Person I Was 20 Years Ago' (npr.org)
• Trent Reznor On Returning To A Major Label With NIN (hypebot.com)
• Trent Reznor speaks on value of music: "It costs 10 bucks, or go **** yourself. | SPIN (thetrichordist.com)
• Nine Inch Nails Review Royale: Hesitation Marks (littlebylisten.com)
• Trent Reznor (dazeddigital.com)

Want a record deal? Here is what you need to do. (Music clout.com)

A&R

Want a record deal? Here is what you need to do.

Want a record deal? Here is what you need to do.

To get signed, it used to be enough to simply have a talent and bump into the right person, or by sending your demo into a label, but not any more.

With the changing landscape of the recording industry, A&R’s are a lot more hesitant to sign unknown acts, so unless you can prove to the record label that there’s a good chance they’ll recoup the money they invest in you, its very unlikely you are going to get signed.

So, what are A&R’s looking for when they’re getting ready to potentially sign someone? Here are a few things you can to do to increase your chances of getting their attention.

1. Having an amazing draw at your shows
If you want to get a record deal, you need to prove that you can draw in big crowds to your shows. These crowds pay for tickets and show up at all your gigs. They buy your merchandise, sing along to your lyrics, and go home and tell everyone how amazing you are. These are the type of fans every label likes to see.

2: Sell Units (Physical or Digital)
As well as selling out live shows and making good money on merchandise, another thing record labels want to see is you selling units. This shows that people are willing to support you, and your fan base is still willing to spend money on your music. You won’t be expected to sell anywhere near the amount that major artists do. Record labels realise that there’s only so much promotion you can do as an independent artist. Despite this, they do want to see some numbers. If you can prove you can sell a good amount of songs, A&R’s will be more interested considering you for their label.

3: Have a big, engaged fanbase.
Having large numbers is a good thing, but not enough by itself. Having a large number of Twitter followers for example, who never retweet you or mention you in their feed, is ultimately worthless. If you have 17,000 people on your mailing list, but no one reads any of your emails for example, your list is pretty much garbage. The goal is to build a big, loyal and engaged fan base. Anything less, you’re just wasting your time.

Check out Music Clout’s list of record labels currently considering new artists for representation.

FacebookMixxDeliciousTwitterGoogleDiggYahooRedditmyspaceFriend FeedStumble Upon

Related articles

• Music Industry Myths: Four Myths About Record Labels (pr2promo.wordpress.com)
• Amanda Bynes offered $200K advance for record deal (rollingout.com)
• Hopes and Dreams: It's time to crush Them! (thefailedmusicianblog.wordpress.com)
• Example signs new record deal (contactmusic.com)

What Can A Musician Learn From Chipotle?

What Can A Musician Learn From Chipotle?

Chipotle may seem like a bit of a stretch as a source of music industry knowledge but Joy Ike, a musician and creator of the excellent Grassrootsy music marketing blog, makes the connections in "4 Things Every Artist Can Learn from Chipotle." Ike combined her own love of Chipotle with insights from the founder to get down to some basics for musicians as well as entrepreneurs.

Joy Ike used a feature on Chipotle founder Steve Ellis to inspire her post "4 Things Every Artist Can Learn from Chipotle":

1. "Hard Work Always Pays Off"

Apparently founder Steve Ellis had to work a lot harder than he expected to make Chipotle a success but it paid off in the end.

While hard work may not inevitably lead to the success Ellis experienced, it's an obvious prerequisite for having a shot at stardom or even simply making a living as a musician.

2. "Your Game Will Change Over Time"

Ellis started out with a single taqueria and began to build a chain. He later partnered with McDonald's to grow rapidly but eventually had to part ways to follow his own values.

Some artists leave major labels with a brand that allows them to keep building in their own way. Others stay indie but connect with major label distribution. The right deal is only right in the context of your own development.

3. "Good is not Great"

Ellis separated from McDonald's in part because he didn't want to rely on adequate workers. He wanted everyone to outperform.

This perspective should guide any musician from choosing who to play with to building one's team. Sometimes you have to make do but always go for the best.

4. "Integrity Matters"

Ellis chose his values over those of McDonald's and gave up some cash in the process. But he found a way to grow Chipotle on his own terms and he's doing just fine without McDonald's.

Though you may not associate the word "integrity" with the word "business," you don't have to give up your values to be a success in the music industry. You might not be able to make a major label happy but that might not be a bad thing when all is said and done.

Sound pretty basic? You don't have to be a big Chipotle fan like Joy Ike to recognize that, despite the complexity of the music industry, some things remain simple.

Related articles

• What Can A Musician Learn From Chipotle? (hypebot.com)
• Chipotle Faked A Twitter Hack In Order To Get More Followers (businessinsider.com)
• On Chipotle vs. Mickey D's (shortformblog.com)
• 'Hacking' of Chipotle Twitter account revealed as publicity stunt (upi.com)
• The End of Fast Food As We Know It (fool.com)

The Top 5 Biggest Mistakes To Make When Clearing Music For Licensing

The Top 5 Biggest Mistakes To Make When Clearing Music For Licensing

TWEETBY: MUSIC DEALERS | 1 COMMENT | PRINT ARTICLE

The Top 5 Biggest Mistakes To Make When Clearing Music For Licensing

By: Chris Rucks | Music Dealers

There are various aspects to music licensing that can get pretty complex, pretty quickly. Among these is music clearance, essentially the process of locating the owners of a song and obtaining permission from them to license their music in your project. It’s wise to approach the clearance of a song with some important ideas in mind. So, we’ve compiled a list of a few of the most common pitfalls to avoid when clearing music for licensing.

#5 - Assuming you can’t be successful if you can’t license that particular song
Is there a better selection? Do you have to use the song your boss suggested because her 14 year old daughter thinks it’s “omg, like, so good.” You’re about to do a lot of work (and probably spend a good chunk of change if it’s Top 40 radio) for a song that may not be the best selection.

What’s the motivation for using the song? Does it fit perfectly with the project like peanut butter and jelly? Is your song selection formulaic? Is there a better selection? A cheaper selection? A selection that will resonate with your intended audience to a greater degree? Omg, like, maybe!

#4 - Not giving yourself enough time
It’s wise to give yourself ample time for both the necessary research and the time that goes into contacting copyright holders.

It’s Monday and your boss is struck by a “eureka” moment. He comes barreling down the hallway into your office. He enthusiastically insists upon licensing an incredibly popular song by:

• a band with seven writers and seven publishers

• a band that has since fallen out and hates each other’s guts

• a band that hates the record label and compromising on the fee for both sides will be a nightmare

• a band with two writers in dire financial straits, drooling at the possibility of milking you for every red cent you’ve got

When you’re informed that you’ll need that by Friday, the hairs on the back of your neck will stand up straight as you contort your face into a counterfeit smile. Gather your things, head to the elevator, proceed to the bar downstairs, order whiskey and coke, two cubes. You got a lot of voicemails to leave and you’re about to have some fun. Make sure you’re giving yourself ample time when clearing a license. Some situations will be infinitely more simple than others, for example, a label who also owns the master and the publishing and is ready to license their artists with no problems. However, more complex situations, like the example above, require much more work.

The depth of your relationships with rights holders plays a crucial factor in the process. It’s easy to call a large publisher you’ve already dealt with and close a deal a little more quickly, as opposed to just beginning the relationship and having to get up to speed.

#3 - Leaving out a rights holder
“Oh you only need to get in contact with the majority of the publishing/writers of the song. Don’t worry, we’ve got most of them.” [Insert wrong answer buzzer sound] Wrong.

God only knows how many lawsuits have developed from this tiny misconception. My friend, you will need to get in touch with, and obtain permission from, each and every member who has ownership in that composition.

That goes for the big name writers and publishers, as well as the manager’s grandson who’s inherited two percent of the song. If you forget the grandson, guess what? Potential lawsuit city.

#2 - Not having realistic expectations
“Well I only have 5k, but I want this Beatles song in perpetuity for broadcast ads.” Wrong. If you want a popular/well-known song, you’re going to pay for it, there’s no way around it.

Set your limits, know what your budget is, and manage your expectations. This is someone’s work of art, and if it’s well-known, the copyright is a valuable entity. Be aware and be warned.

You wouldn’t go try and buy a house in a nice neighborhood for $1000, the real estate agent would laugh you out of the building. Same thing goes for a song clearance.

#1 - Getting insufficient rights
There’s nothing worse than doing all of the clearance work, getting your $300 an hour lawyer to draft/review licensing agreements, forking over your budget, syncing then releasing that project, only to be flattened by a thick wall of regret (another wall of financial repercussions lands on top of the first wall) because you’ve acquired the wrong rights.

Let’s say that you’re a filmmaker only securing the rights for the use of the song in the US while completely ignoring a clearance worldwide. You may not have a ton of cash at the time, your concern is getting the cheapest price you can, or you may not be aware at all. A year later, you want to release globally. You discover what your contract says and head back to the publisher to expand your music rights worldwide, and they want to hang you upside down and shake the money from your pockets.

It’s good to understand what the ramifications of obtaining certain rights are and, in this scenario, what potential options you have to get the rights that you need. (Maybe you ask the publisher of the song if a step-deal would be an option—you can get the rights you need by appealing to that individual’s hope of earning future cash. At the end of the day, these guys are in it to make money. And there are ways to finesse the situation so you can get the rights you need and avoid costly and/or prohibitive circumstances in the future.)

We’ve seen countless examples of studios and companies unknowingly restricting their music use only to pay dearly in the long run. Make sure you know what you need, cover your back for usage that you can’t anticipate in the future, and manage short term goals/budget with long term licensing expectations.

All in all, if you’ve got the basics down, you’re in a much better position to clear the music you need. But it’s the details and time investment that trips up quite a few professionals interested in music clearance. So, watch out for those nitty gritty details. It’s deep within the shadows of the details that lawsuits like to hide and wait, then spring out when you least suspect. You don’t want anything springing out of a contract, regardless of what line of business you’re in.

Related articles

• The Top 5 Biggest Mistakes To Make When Clearing Music For Licensing (hypebot.com)
• The Day The Music Dies: What's Really At Stake When Licensing Music (musicthinktank.com)
• What Is a Music Master License? (music.answers.com)
• Q&A: How Music Supervisors License Music (hypebot.com)
• FREE Music Licensing for Film (statuteofryanne.wordpress.com)

Do musicians need to interact with their fans?

Now, musicians are busy people. Often they play in several projects, or have day jobs, families, or all of the above. So whenever there is talk about social media, newsletters, and marketing in general, it’s understandable that it can seem a little overwhelming. It takes a lot of work just for the artistic side of things, between writing music, rehearsing, playing shows, and all of the logistics that go into those creative endeavors.

But the days of the reclusive rock star hiding backstage, letting record companies and managers do all the promotion and communicating with their fans, is long gone. It’s not enough to write, rehearse, and perform music to develop a sustainable career. Fan interaction has now become part of the job description for today’s musicians.
How We Got Here: Technology
So how did we get here? We’ve seen recording technology reach the point where you can record professionally from the comfort of your own home. You can now take music you recorded at home and easily distribute it to online stores like iTunes and Amazon for a small fee. And the internet, with tools like websites, email, and social media, gives you access to a potential global audience of fans.

The result of these technological advances? A level playing field for all musicians where you can record for cheap, distribute your music for cheap, and reach a potential global audience of fans for practically free. Hooray! Everyone gets a career in music!

Unfortunately, it’s not that straightforward. The flipside of all of this has been that music fans also now have an unlimited choice of music. They can listen to whatever music they want, whenever they want to. Musicians are now competing for the attention of music fans, who are distracted more than ever by the thousands upon thousands of options available to them at any given moment.
3 Reasons to Interact with Your Fans
So do musicians need to interact with their fans? In a word, yes. But here are 3 reasons why it’s important that you do:

1. Keeps fans aware of you

The biggest reason to interact with your fans is to simply keep them aware of you and your music. As previously mentioned, fans have unlimited choices when it comes to music, so it’s extremely important to keep them aware of your music on a regular basis.

2. Solidifies relationships with fans

More and more, fans want to feel a direct connection to the artists themselves. So interacting with your fans not only keeps them aware of your music, but gives you the opportunity to solidify your relationship with them. Every time a fan makes a comment or asks a question on your blog or through social media, you have the chance to respond and make them feel like they’re an active part of your career. But if you don’t respond, they just might pay more attention to an artist that will.

3. Creates "super fans"

As you solidify your relationship with fans and they start to feel like they’re going on this musical journey with you, some of them will become “super fans”. These are the fans that will buy almost everything you put out; from buttons to t-shirts, to limited edition items. They will also come to all your shows, and probably bring their friends. But most importantly, these are the fans that are going to talk about you and promote you through social media & blogs.

Whereas marketing used to focus on finding ways to communicate the value of your music to potential fans, now the key is getting fans themselves to communicate the value of your music to other people. Here’s why that’s so important:

Nielsen recently conducted a study that found that 54% of people are more likely to make a purchase based off a positive recommendation from a friend.

People are tuning out ads and giving more weight to the recommendations of their friends for what movies to watch, which books to read, and what music to listen to. So if you can get to the point where your fans are actively promoting you to their friends, chances are, your fan base will grow, and with it, the attendance at your live shows as well as your music sales.

And one of the best ways to create this kind of word-of-mouth marketing? Developing a relationship with your fans by interacting with them on a regular basis.

Hypebot contributing writer Dave Cool is the Director of Artist Relations for musician website and marketing platform Bandzoogle. Twitter: @Bandzoogle | @dave_cool

Related articles

• Do Musicians Need To Interact With Their Fans? (hypebot.com)
• Do Musicians Need To Interact With Their Fans? (hypebot.com)
• Bandzoogle Acquires Onesheet To Expand Its Artist Website Platform (musicdish.typepad.com)
• The 3 Pillars Of Music Fan Engagement (hypebot.com)
• 6 Income Stream To Become A Full-Time Musician (djduece.wordpress.com)
• Can PledgeMusic's direct-to-fan approach unlock untapped revenue? (guardian.co.uk)
• Good Ideas for Music PR Moves (music.answers.com)