A MUST READ FOR EVERY PUNK-ASS KID THAT HAS STOLEN MUSIC!

Brave new world Record labels look to diversification as a way to stay viable Bryan Birtles / bryan@vueweekly.com Record companies are built upon a suspect business model that runs rampant in the media business. Instead of each release making a modest profit, record companies—not to mention movie studios, book publishing houses and a myriad of other, similar industries—have long relied on the massive profits of one huge hit to cover the losses of a series of flops. This model, which endured for decades, finally became untenable in the late-'90s...

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Warning: Some of These Stats Are Really, Really Scary...

DigitalMusicNews.com As the music industry stumbles into a totally new place, the number of artists actually selling serious quantities is astonishingly low. At New Music Seminar on Tuesday, Tommy Silverman and Eric Garland rolled through a tirade of stats showing the extreme challenges that marketers and artists. Sure, the album itself is waning, but these stats are still worth examining (Nielsen Soundscan is the data source). Albums that sold at least one copy in 2009: 98,000 Albums selling more than 10,000 units in 2009: 1,319 Albums selling...

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The Truth About Management In The New Digital World

Anybody who tells you they've got a grip on today's landscape, that they know everything, what's truly going on, is full of shit. I doubt anybody even knows all the sites name-checked in this video. But that's the point...It's overwhelming! Meanwhile you DIY artists out there, never forget most people start these sites with money in mind. They say they want to help the artist, but after they're helped first. Which is why they suck and so often don't get traction. Because the concept is lame. The concept is how can I get rich? Whereas if the concept...

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Taking D2F directly to the fan!

This performance of Atomic Tom was filmed unannounced on Friday October 8, 2010 aboard the New York City B Train, over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn and edited from 3 iPhone cameras. All footage is performed 100% live and executed in one take. If you like the tune, it's available on iTunes. http://facebook.com/atomictomband http://twitter.com/atomic...

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A Few Things To Remember About Record Distribution For The DIY Artist

Distributors get records into retail stores and online stores, and record labels get customers into retail stores and to visit online music retailers through promotion and marketing tactics.  Make sure there is a market for your style of music. Prove it to distributors by showing them how many records you have sold through live sales, internet sales, and any other alternative methods. Be prepared to sign a written contract with your distributor because there are no ‘handshake deals’ anymore. Distributors want ‘exclusive’ agreements with...

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HOW MUCH DO MUSIC ARTISTS EARN ONLINE?

Recently, the UK government passed The Digital Economy Act which included many, perhaps draconian, measures to combat online music piracy (including withdrawing broadband access for persistent pirates). Much was proclaimed about how these new laws would protect musicians and artists revenue and livelihoods. But how much money do musicians really...

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5 Social Media Trends Artists Need To Understand

For musicians, proper marketing and networking using social media can be tough. The possibilities are seemingly endless and as such, musicians are likely to spread themselves too thin. But not all forms of social media will give you the big pay-off. In fact, some methods are a complete waste of time for musicians looking to grow their fanbase, sell more albums, tracks and tickets, and who are ultimately achieve enough success to sustain a viable career within the industry. It is very important for musicians not to get caught up in the semantics...

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The 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online

You’re always hearing that the music business has changed. That’s not quite true. In fact, it’s changing – and that’s quite a different thing. Facing that change, and negotiating it as it happens, is one of the biggest challenges for independent music businesses. The best way to navigate in such interesting times is to really understand what’s going on around you, so you can adapt and respond appropriately. You don’t have to be a computer whiz – you just have to understand some basic principles. I reckon there are about 20 of them. If you understand...

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Why Piracy Actually Does Affect Concert Prices...

"so if you want ticket prices to go down stop stealing music." @irvingazoff, Aug 3rd. Skip the Twitter fireworks and ridiculousness for one second. And there's plenty ahead. But Irving's opening Twitter salvo makes a good point. Because the concert industry is suffering partly because of piracy and its resulting havoc on recording sales. Turns out that the seemingly-separate subdivisions of the music industry are actually quite interrelated. Often scarily so, and the sinkhole happening in recordings is actually dragging areas like publishing...

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The Great Music Marketing Void...

Artists have enough hammers and nails to build a mansion. But where are the architects, the developers, the people who used to sit in marketing and A&R development departments at the labels? The answer is they've been fired, went back to law school, switched to a different industry, or are now just listening to music for fun. Welcome to the great music marketing void. Mike Doernberg at ReverbNation got in front of artists recently at New Music Seminar and doled out endless pearls of wisdom. This is one of the experts, but Doernberg can't hold...

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Make A 360 Deal With Yourself

As we have seen, there are many different ways to make money in music today. In the past few years, much has been said and written about the 360 degree deal, where an artist/writer enters into a business partnership with a company and gives the company lots of rights to recordings, songs, merchandise, and touring, usually in exchange for a larger advance. My...

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What is the Artist Manager’s Role in Today’s “D.I.Y” era?

D.I.Y. / Do It Yourself. For many independent artists, the D.I.Y. option is chosen either by design (because they are perfectly happy and capable of doing things without a manager or label) or by default (because they are unable to attract the attention of a manager or label). Either way, artists have lots of help getting things under way. In this D.I.Y era, dozens of fan relationship management resources like Reverbnation and FanBridge, among others, are marketed to artists as tools that enable them to engage with fans in a more direct...

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DYI is not DTF, and DIY has its limitations

This week's New Music Seminar was an absolute overload of information for attendees, a large percentage of whom were aspiring artists. The tips were flowing strong, and those taking notes probably have a year's worth of information to sift through. In some ways, "you had to be there," but there were some important themes that should not be missed - by artists, labels, marketing teams, managers, and everyone in-between. Here are five to ponder... (1) DYI is not DTF, and DIY has its limitations. DIY - or 'do it yourself' marketing for the uninitiated...

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