Unit 39:Areas of the music industry

Areas of the music industry

                                                             Record Companies

Record companies are one the most important factors both financially and promotion within the music industry. Their main targets is to sign musicians into their label, by signing a contract leagued to royalties and law terms,so they will always take a percentage of anything the artist earns.There are different kind of deals that one can get within a label:

-Artist deal

This deal consist in the artist receiving a money advance,this is to be used to create and publish a record,from recording it  until the distribution, this includes promotion , manufacture etc. This advance is a loan , therefore the artist has to pay it back to the label. Here 20% goes to the artist 80 record label

-Joint Venture Deal

This deal consist in the label financing only the making of the record, once the costs of the record are covered the artist will receive 50% of earnings

-Distribution deal

This deal consists in the artist to do everything by themselves, paying for the whole process , the making,recording,promotion of the record, here the label only has to make sure that the record gets an space in the "shelf" at music shops. Artist here receives 80% of earnings

Those were all the deals that an artist can get in a label, now there are the different types of labels you can find:

-Major labels

They have under their control most of the record market, they own more than 5% of the music market.

Now days , there are only three major labels , they control a huge percentage of the industry ,88.5% to be precise , they are Universal music group , Sony music entertainment and Warner music group.

-Independent Labels

These labels own what is not own by the three major labels, as the name explains , they are in dependent therefore they fund themselves , and they always try to focus  in one music genre. For example we have Dualtone,XL recordings,Glassnote among others.

-Subsidiary Labels

A subsidiary label is still an independent label , often bought and funded by some of the Major labels.

In a persona\l view , i would choose an independent label,and signing a artist deal.

Independent labels often will dedicate more to promote something new ,not necessarily commercial, so to start the best choice it to pick one of these labels, many of the artist i listen to ,they started on independent trecor labels,  for an example Deathlike Silence signed many young Norse bands , like Enslaved, Dimmu Borgir and Japanese Sigh among others.This label made sure that these bands were heard within the underground across the globle. I.I personally would love a label to do this, as metal fans see bands and respect them as a cult, a fan base would become stronger if the band is signed to a record label that is not mainstream as everything is better "underground" for many metal fans.On top of this ,by signing an Artist deal, i would achieve a goal of being signed to a label but not having to spend from my own pocket, specially if i am just starting my carter in the music industry.

                                                               Artist management 

An artist manager in that person in charge of the band's progression, with this i mean that the artist manager controls the time table of the band , they guide the bands towards achieving a goals,from assisting to meetings, arranging gigs, and other public events , to give them legal protection and promotion.

Some of the skills needed to be an artist manager is to stay focused, have good network,good people skills,mange both legal and financial matters.

Many starting bands manage themselves , because they cannot afford to pay one or it is not necessary as there isn't much going in the bands life but as the time passes and the band's goals become more and more challenging in necessary to find one, to help them get promoted, to get them on the road, to protect them and they become essential in the bands progress.

Being a musician and doing what you love feels awesome, but we need to realise that happiness has a price, price that we as individuals give, and focusing specially in making music and enjoy life is made a lot easier irf you have someone in charge of all of the paperwork ,legal stuff that you have to deal with everyday, having that person to promote you book you gigs, and manage your career can save you from making bad decisions that could put your career and life in danger.An artist manager can become very close to you ,and can open many doors too.. So be nice to them !

                                                              Music publishing

They are in charge of looking after the royalties that belong to the artist and/or composers.They make sure that they get paid if any of their compositions get used by someone else , like the radio ,video games, entertainment , TV etc. So the first step to publish a musical composition  

**Registration 

This means that the song belongs to someone once it gets registered, is like putting your stamp on it so that in case it get used you receive money from ,off course, if you authorize it's use

**licensing

After registering the song, you need a license,just to ensure that you receive the money that belongs to you if it gets used by someone else.It goes through a third party. 

**royalty collection

When a song that has been registered it mean that belongs to someone, now, if it get used in any way by not the owner, royalties have to be paid to the artist,as an example if the songs gets used on a radio show,they have to pay for it, even thought it also promotes the artist they must pay for the use of the track.

**creative exploitation 

A song can be advertise to be used in many sectors withing the art industry, like sound track for films, video games, among others. This will also help to promote the artist.

But also there are different type of publishers, Administrators they are mainly a rather small business, they look after the registration,collection,and licensing of the song, Independent will provide the registration licensing and collection , on top of this they can give creative services and advances,Major publishers can afford to pay a huge percentage in advance in order to keep what corresponds to them in the market intact.With all of this, you get two types of publishing deals, Co-publishing deal ,which is when a songwriter gives away 50% of the royalties or copyright of his composition to the publisher and the Administration deal which mean that the artist will keep hold of all the money made by the track, but  will let the publisher to keep a percentage of the record/song sales.

Is very important to have your songs published, to protect them , as it is a product someone can steal it.By publishing a song you automatically will have a better change to ear money from it, and it can vary from where it it used, for example if it gets used on a radio station, money will come your way every time it gets played, but if it is on a film you will get certain amount of money in one go, and depending on how is it used and the length used the money will increase. 

                                                                    Live performance

When music or any other soft of  performing art gets done live it's called live performance,the venue or place can vary, the audience can vary, but it is always consider live performance if it is done in front of an audience , from one  person onwards.

Now days, live performance if one of the biggest sources of income an artist gets, as they record sales have been brutally afected by illegal downloading , and piracy.Also it is an amazing way to promote the band/artist, and to gain experience and helps you get ready for bigger things in the career, bigger venues, more challenging audiences , on the side of things , live performance creates many jobs , some of them are sound engineers,lighting engineers, roadies, stage managers, ushers, bar staff, security,box office clerks, health and safety supervisors, fire mans,merchandise sellers,photographers etc. . Live music is quiet an important part of the economy in certain countries.

 

As a  musician, an being in a band, i find performing live as the most exciting part of the whole process, as you get to very often play the music you love and /or composed ,on top  of this you help others,inspire others , earn some money and release adrenaline. It is also a great way to promote the band.Some one said once " To play a wrong note , is insignificant, but to play without passion is inexcusable" - Ludwig Van Beethoven 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 SOURCES

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com
http://musicbusinessresearch.wordpress.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk
http://www.businesswire.comIndustry-Report

http://www.soundonsound.com

http://www.knowthemusicbiz.com
http://www.wired.com