For major music publisher executives, it’s better to find, contact or network with their assistants, interns or other upcoming artists, signed writers, or composers instead of contacting head executives directly or blindly submitting your material to the publisher. The panelists (Danny Strick/Sony ATV Music Publishing, Greg Sowders/Warner Chappell Music, Lionel Conway/BMG Chrysalis, & Monti Olson/Universal Music Publishing Group) indicated that more than 50% of their referrals for writers and composers come from other artists, signed writers, assistants, and interns. When networking, it may be best to develop a relationship with the gatekeepers to the gatekeepers in order to get your music in the hands of a head executive. For instance, Monti Olson (Exec. VP/Head of Pop & Rock Music of Universal Music Publishing Group) indicated that he is excited to work with an amazing young band that he was introduced to by the talent booker of the Carson Daly show.
The “Digital Frontier: New Ways to Market Your Music & Engage Your Fans” panel included panelists from ground-breaking companies including Spotify, Topspin, & Kickstarter.
D.A. Wallach, lead vocalist of indie pop band Chester French (Spotify’s resident artist), was asked about new marketing trends in the music industry. In response, he indicated that there are numerous platforms out there right now to market your music, ranging from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc., but the biggest marketing challenge in the music industry is to “give people art that they care about or that they care to talk about” in a world where there are so many independent artists and musical options. Chester French’s new controversial song and video about interracial love, entitled ”Black Girls” (below), received more hits in three hours than any of their previous songs.
The “We Create Music” panel consisted of Brett James, Heitor Pereira, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Monica, and Ryan Tedder. At the beginning of the panel, the artists/composers explained their backgrounds and the foundations of their music careers with the audience. What’s interesting is that all of the artists/composers have been creating or performing music from a young age.
“Andy VanDette, chief mastering engineer for Masterdisk in New York, recently remastered 15 Rush albums for iTunes. He talked to Bloomberg Businessweek’s Devin Leonard about the process and how Mastered for iTunes could change the recording industry.”
“In other words, if you have a great consumer experience and need distribution, then more distribution brings you many more consumers. This is why Internet radio usage has risen so markedly. More distribution on more devices to more people.”
“It’s the same reason why CDs are still selling billions, years after their prime. Technology simply moves faster than consumers, and older formats die hard. Which is why ringtones still accounted for $277.4 million in revenues last year – in the US alone – according to stats just released by the RIAA. That compares to $241.0 million in revenues from the likes of Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody, MOG, and ilk, combined”
“It’s always exhilarating finding cases like this that validate the lessons we so often, teach, learn, and debate here on MTT. This story in particular, highlights the power of conscientious direct-to-fan (D2F) communication on the part of Fleet Foxes’ front man, Robin Pecknold.”
“For a small business owner such as a songwriter/publisher, knowing the market is vital. Budgeting for success means looking at income (when it decides to come in!) and making informed decisions about how to spend it most effectively. Up near the top of the list of expenditures (almost right next to eating) are demo costs. The financial outlay for demonstration recordings has risen to $750 – $1,000 per song. So, if you write 30 songs a year and only have $10,000 in your demo budget, you’re going to have to make some hard choices.”
“You’ve done it again. You’ve given away a free track from your latest album. It’s on your website. You’ve talked about it on Facebook. Job done, you think. Well think again.
There’s no doubt about it. Free music is a powerful marketing tool. However, the music industry has become so over-saturated with free music that we’ve become desensitized to the process of consuming, promoting, and thinking about the importance of free music. This age-old debate has become, well, old.”
“So what makes a great, remarkable lyric? Below are a list of five common mistakes that you should avoid when writing lyrics, as doing so will strengthen the overall quality of your songs:”
