Areas of the music industry
In this assignment I will be talking about the four sections of the music industry. I will be describing the different sections, explaining how they work and analyzing the pros and cons of the different different areas. I will also be talking about the the past, present and futures of these different sections of the music industry.
Live performance
Live music's basic purpose is to entertain and to connect with the audience members. While those two are the main goals for a live performance you can make through various other ways such as merchandise sales and royalties. Live Performance is one of the oldest and largest areas of the music industry. As live performance is connected to every other area of the music industry.
Why is live performance so important?
A good reason for why an artist should perform is that its fun to perform. Performing can bring back the enthusiasm of an artist and motivate them to keep the passion of music going. Every area makes some money from live performance so it is an essential part of the music industry. Live performance is the best way to spread your work to the public. For supporting bands who are on tour with a bigger artist it can make a huge difference to people finding out who they are. The same goes for playing at a festival.
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/liveperformance.htm
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/liveperformance.htm
How does live performance link with every other area?
Live performance links with publishing in the form of collecting royalties. Whenever a song is played in a public place money will be set aside for the songwriter which the publisher then pays to the songwriter not the artist.
Live performance links with artist management in that it is the managers job to organize live events. A manager will get a cut of the ticket sales as they will have arranged all of the PR and the venue time slot. Managers will also scout artists from live performance to bring them into a record label or try and sign themselves to them if they are an independent manager.
Live performance links to record labels in that the performance advertises the artists music which will then translate into sales of songs and albums making the record label more money. A record label is only as good as it's artists so the bigger the artist the bigger the record label and one of the best ways to advertise an artist is to put on gigs and tours to spread the word of the artists music.
It's important to mention that live performance is probably one of the most accessible areas for new artists as you don't have to be signed to a label or a publisher. The opposite can be the case in that artists are signed through live performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQbsUK8W5Jo&ab_channel=AcousticMagazine1
Here is an example of live performance as well as new media getting someone signed to a label in America.
Live performance can be split into three different categories being local, national and international artists at an international level are usually signed to a record label. Local artist usually play in pubs in their surrounding area, the band sing Ramona sing are a local band which play a lot in York. Where as national artists will tour around the country and a international artist will play all over the world like bands such as Muse or DJ's like Deadmau5.
Live performance links to record labels in that the performance advertises the artists music which will then translate into sales of songs and albums making the record label more money. A record label is only as good as it's artists so the bigger the artist the bigger the record label and one of the best ways to advertise an artist is to put on gigs and tours to spread the word of the artists music.
It's important to mention that live performance is probably one of the most accessible areas for new artists as you don't have to be signed to a label or a publisher. The opposite can be the case in that artists are signed through live performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQbsUK8W5Jo&ab_channel=AcousticMagazine1
Here is an example of live performance as well as new media getting someone signed to a label in America.
Live performance can be split into three different categories being local, national and international artists at an international level are usually signed to a record label. Local artist usually play in pubs in their surrounding area, the band sing Ramona sing are a local band which play a lot in York. Where as national artists will tour around the country and a international artist will play all over the world like bands such as Muse or DJ's like Deadmau5.
Cons of live performance
The main con of live performance would be the health and safety risks that could occur in a live environment if the equipment isn't set up safely a number of risks could occur such as lights falling from quite high up, electric shocks speakers falling over, depending on the type of gig moshing could incur some bad injuries in the crowd and without the proper ear protection the performers and staff could suffer ear damage.
The past present and future of live performance
Live performance as it is now is as big as ever. With more ways to view live performance than ever before it's become more accessible and easy to view. Live streams are incredibly popular now so you can view the performance without even being there. With giant festivals with massive followings such as Glastonbury and Leeds festival being as popular as ever the live performance business is thriving. I think that the future of live music will be making a move to digital with live streams becoming more popular than ever. I would say this because that is one of the latest developments in the live performance industry and has shown to be very popular.
http://musicians.about.com/od/publishingandroyalties/f/How-Are-Performance-Rights-Royalties-Paid.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert
http://musicians.about.com/od/publishingandroyalties/f/How-Are-Performance-Rights-Royalties-Paid.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert
Artist management
Artist management has lots of different roles such as building the career of the artist, promotion, gig bookings, discussing with record labels and looking over contracts. Overall the artist manager is responsible for making the artists career a successful one. They should be talking to already existing contacts about gigs such as venue owners as well as making contacts with bigger venue owners.
Another very important responsibility of an artist manager is that they should protect their artist legally. They should be checking contracts to see if it is right for the artist in that they make money out of their work and that it's right for the manager so they still get payed for their work and aren't put out of a job. All of these things come under developing the artist that is the main overarching aim of a artist manager.
It is important to say that an artist manager can either make or break the artists career as he is in basic terms the artists representative. If a manager makes a bad reputation for themselves it reflects badly on the artist. An artist managers job doesn't just finish after the artist gets signed with a record label, the manager has to work with both the label and the publisher to arrange tours, albums and licensing deals. The manager at this point is pretty much the middle man between the artist and the companies. The manager will also still have their responsibilities that they had before such as making sure all of the gear for performances is there and working and making sure all the crew for the performance is hired and present at the event.
A good artist manager should always know what position their artist is in in their career, what they want to do and how they can achieve this goal. For example if the artist isn't signed the manager will want to generate as much work for them so they will get noticed and hopefully signed. For signed artists it may just be to become bigger and more popular so the artist manager need to know who to talk to in order for this to happen, this means that the artist manager must have a good understanding of the current day industry and how things work.
Zach Quillen is a big successful artist manager who manages the duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis who's debut album hit number 1 which lead the duo to win 4 awards at the Grammy's. The duo have been dubbed 'indie artists' but have rose to great success because of their hard working manager.
http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/the-most-successful-managers-in-the-music-industry/2/
Another very important responsibility of an artist manager is that they should protect their artist legally. They should be checking contracts to see if it is right for the artist in that they make money out of their work and that it's right for the manager so they still get payed for their work and aren't put out of a job. All of these things come under developing the artist that is the main overarching aim of a artist manager.
It is important to say that an artist manager can either make or break the artists career as he is in basic terms the artists representative. If a manager makes a bad reputation for themselves it reflects badly on the artist. An artist managers job doesn't just finish after the artist gets signed with a record label, the manager has to work with both the label and the publisher to arrange tours, albums and licensing deals. The manager at this point is pretty much the middle man between the artist and the companies. The manager will also still have their responsibilities that they had before such as making sure all of the gear for performances is there and working and making sure all the crew for the performance is hired and present at the event.
A good artist manager should always know what position their artist is in in their career, what they want to do and how they can achieve this goal. For example if the artist isn't signed the manager will want to generate as much work for them so they will get noticed and hopefully signed. For signed artists it may just be to become bigger and more popular so the artist manager need to know who to talk to in order for this to happen, this means that the artist manager must have a good understanding of the current day industry and how things work.
Zach Quillen is a big successful artist manager who manages the duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis who's debut album hit number 1 which lead the duo to win 4 awards at the Grammy's. The duo have been dubbed 'indie artists' but have rose to great success because of their hard working manager.
http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/the-most-successful-managers-in-the-music-industry/2/
Where is the artist manager business going
I think that artist management would take a hit if the major labels fall in the future. However I do think that artist manager will always be around even if they aren't scouts for record labels. Independent artist managers will always have a place in the industry as artists will always need gigs and help with legalmatters so they can concentrate on making music.
http://musicians.about.com/od/otherindustrycareers/p/artistmanager.htm
Record labels
Record labels come under two different categories. Independent and major labels. As of 2015 there are three major record labels and over 100 independent record labels with differing success. The difference between a major label and an independent label is that a major label does things other than just music such as Warner brothers doing films as well as music and Sony having a big hand in the technology market. Independent labels don't necessarily mean that the label is small and can't produce big artists.
Sumerian records are a big independent record label that works with a lot of metalcore bands with some of their bands playing major rock festivals such as rock am ring in Germany and Download.
The three major labels have a massive ownership of the worlds music. In 2007 70% percent of the worlds music was owned by four labels as well as 80% of the american music market. as of 2015 there are only three major labels. Warner Brothers, Sony and universal. Right now Sony music entertainment are in a lot of debt and could look to close their music branch of the company, meaning that only two companies would own the vast majority of the music industry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_label
Major record labels make their money by giving a loan to an artist to make an album and then take a large percentage of the album sales as well as getting the loan back from the artist. Say if an album costed £10, the major label would take take nine of it. So if the artist has to pay back a loan of one million they would have to sell one one thousand albums just to break even. This would also result in the label making ten million while the artist makes very little.
http://pulseradio.net/articles/2015/04/how-record-labels-really-make-their-money
The reason why the major labels own so much of the music market even though there are lots of large independent labels is because of the major labels buy the big independent labels making them big conglomerates.
Epic records is a independent label owned by Sony music. Epic records is a massive label which has signed massive artists such as ABBA and Micheal Jackson as well as modern rock artist Don Broco and Mallory Knox. Epic records has been around since 1953 being launched by Columbia records as a sub label meant for marketing pop and jazz. In 1987 Columbia records and epic records where bought by Sony music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Records
http://www.sonymusic.co.uk/labels/epic-records
http://www.epicrecords.co.uk/The three major labels have a massive ownership of the worlds music. In 2007 70% percent of the worlds music was owned by four labels as well as 80% of the american music market. as of 2015 there are only three major labels. Warner Brothers, Sony and universal. Right now Sony music entertainment are in a lot of debt and could look to close their music branch of the company, meaning that only two companies would own the vast majority of the music industry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_label
Major record labels make their money by giving a loan to an artist to make an album and then take a large percentage of the album sales as well as getting the loan back from the artist. Say if an album costed £10, the major label would take take nine of it. So if the artist has to pay back a loan of one million they would have to sell one one thousand albums just to break even. This would also result in the label making ten million while the artist makes very little.
http://pulseradio.net/articles/2015/04/how-record-labels-really-make-their-money
The reason why the major labels own so much of the music market even though there are lots of large independent labels is because of the major labels buy the big independent labels making them big conglomerates.
Epic records is a independent label owned by Sony music. Epic records is a massive label which has signed massive artists such as ABBA and Micheal Jackson as well as modern rock artist Don Broco and Mallory Knox. Epic records has been around since 1953 being launched by Columbia records as a sub label meant for marketing pop and jazz. In 1987 Columbia records and epic records where bought by Sony music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Records
http://www.sonymusic.co.uk/labels/epic-records
Where is the record label business going?
From the looks of the current label industry it looks like artists will be making a move from major labels to independent or even striking out on their own with new media such as YouTube being such a massive medium to advertise yourself with. With websites such as Patreon you can receive donations from fans to support your work. In return the patrons can receive other perks like high uncompressed Wav files or other more personal interactions with the artists.
https://www.patreon.com/djjomusic?ty=c
http://musicians.about.com/od/ip/g/recordlabel.htm
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/feb/02/behind-music-record-labels
http://musicians.about.com/od/ip/g/recordlabel.htm
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/feb/02/behind-music-record-labels
Music publishing
A music publisher is responsible for hiring songwriters, promoting their songs and collecting money made from the songs. A music publisher will make a contract with a songwriter. These contracts can vary widely. One of the most common contract for signing songwriters is the single song contract which means that only one song will be licensed by the publishers, it's almost like they are renting your services instead of hiring the songwriter which is more like that in other contracts. The single can differ in how the songwriter is payed. The songwriter could be payed a set amount or a percentage of the sales as well as the royalties generated from the song. The other contract is the exclusive songwriters contract. This contract is like hiring the songwriter the songwriter will write songs for the publisher which will then be assigned to an artist. The exclusive songwriters contract can get quite complicated as if the songwriter is playing in a band and releasing their own songs the publisher may have rights over their song if the publisher has rights over everything that songwriter produces. the payment for this can also vary.
A music publisher will promote the songwriters music but not necessarily to the general public. It is the responsibility of the publisher to promote to the record labels they work with so that one of their artists can have the song attached to their brand. A music publisher will also look to license off your music to film makers or anywhere else in the media. Another responsibility of the publisher is to give out licensing contracts so film makers can use it in their films.
Probably the most well know responsibility for a music publisher is to collect royalties. Royalties are payments made to songwriters when their songs are played in public places, venues, stores etc. A publisher is also responsible for for enforcing and collecting copyright deals. For venues or shops to play music in a public place they must be signed to PRS so that they can pay royalties. If you are playing music in a public place and not licensed with the PRS the publisher could pursue you with legal action.
A music publisher will promote the songwriters music but not necessarily to the general public. It is the responsibility of the publisher to promote to the record labels they work with so that one of their artists can have the song attached to their brand. A music publisher will also look to license off your music to film makers or anywhere else in the media. Another responsibility of the publisher is to give out licensing contracts so film makers can use it in their films.
Probably the most well know responsibility for a music publisher is to collect royalties. Royalties are payments made to songwriters when their songs are played in public places, venues, stores etc. A publisher is also responsible for for enforcing and collecting copyright deals. For venues or shops to play music in a public place they must be signed to PRS so that they can pay royalties. If you are playing music in a public place and not licensed with the PRS the publisher could pursue you with legal action.
The origins of music publishing.
Before the age of digital distribution or even vinyl music publishers would transcribe the music on to sheets to sell. People would then play the piece and that is how people listened to music back when distributions of CD or Vinyl didn't exist. As the years went on the introduction of radio and basic recordings changed the industry into Vinyl.
http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/sheetmusic/about.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_music_publishing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_music_publishing
Where is the music publishing business going.
I think similarly to the future of record labels I think music publishing will see a small decline because of the rise of new media such as YouTube and it's ability to let you distribute music all over the world in a easy and very accessible way. However I do think that music publishing companies wont take as much of a hit as record labels in the future as they still have qualities new media doesn't such as legal and copyright protection as well as licensing music to film producers and others in the media industry.
http://musicians.about.com/od/publishingandroyalties/f/What-Does-A-Music-Publishing-Company-Do.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_publisher_(popular_music)
http://musicians.about.com/od/publishingandroyalties/f/What-Does-A-Music-Publishing-Company-Do.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_publisher_(popular_music)
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