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.
“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.”
“ASCAP, the global leader in performance rights royalty collections and advocacy on behalf of songwriters, composers and copyright owners, today announced strong revenues of $985 million for calendar year 2011, the second highest revenues in the organization’s history, and an increase of 5.4% over 2010. Collections from foreign countries totaled $347 million, an increase of approximately $50 million over 2010.”
“In his new book, Free Ride: How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back, longtime Rolling Stone contributor Robert Levine tackles head-on the subject of digital piracy and how tech giants such as Apple and Google are booming while the creators of content keep getting hurt. He argues forcefully for stronger copyright protection and offers ways to reach that goal.”
