The very first medium used in music distribution and sold to the public was just music sheets in the 1800s. These sheets were sent out to entertainment production outfits and performed in variety shows called vaudevilles. More than a century later, music’s physical medium had evolved into plastic formats we commonly refer to as compact discs.
More than a decade today, it’s evolved into intangible digital downloads.
Now, a band from Cagayan de Oro emailed me a couple of weeks ago asking about my opinion on the pros and cons between CDs and downloadable MP3s. I decided to post a huge portion of that email below (verbatim):
Which would you rather prefer?
Artists selling their albums at a more expensive price with a superior CD quality (i.e. pressed CDs/printed CDs)?
or
Artists selling their albums at a least expensive price but with a lesser CD quality (i.e. CDRs/burned CDs) but with an album full of songs that would use up the entire 80min CDr?
My take for this one is that in the advent of MP3 players and Ipods, people usually just rip the CD's songs to MP3 formats and play it in their mp3 players, leaving the CD in their cabinets gathering dust. So in my opinion, less and less people will be using the CDs. So having a superior quality CD is no longer important if this would be the case. People would just rip it, transfer it in their Mp3 players.
I am asking this question because we have plans in releasing a new album. And we are thinking of using this line of positioning. More Songs for a lesser price but using CDrs only. Cds would be sold maybe around P150-200/CD. Compared to pressed CDs which are now being sold at P280-300/CD.
Answer : I don’t see the point why one should give out music of inferior quality. The listeners ergo the fans want good quality music. Period. Give them what is for them and what makes them happy. Why compromise the quality when you can provide the best?
Today, I think what is most important to the music fans is not the album but the songs. If you are a music collector, I’m sure you have experienced buying an album with 14 songs worth and only 1 or 2 fit in your eardrums. (Labels have learned this painfully over the years and yet they lose nothing because it's always charged back to the artists against their royalties).
A perfect example here is Extreme’s worldwide hit “More Than Words” in the late 80’s. When the song hit the airwaves, the album moved into music players and up the charts. The bad news was that the consumers discovered the chartbuster as the only good track in the album. In fact, the rest of the tracks didn’t “gel” with the single.
Buyers of that album returned the merchandise to the stores and the store owners shipped it back to the label's warehouse (some record stores even posted a note on their wall saying WE DO NOT ACCEPT RETURNS OF EXTREME ALBUM - it must've been that bad).
You see, before you even think about putting more songs in a CD, deciding between a pressed format and a burned CDR, think about the quality of your music inside and out first. Since ultimately, it's the fans who have the control in deciding on buying your songs (IF they like it), you now have an opportunity to understand how your music should be presented to them.
I understand that your band is also acting as your own record label. Since this is the case, one of the ways to build a strong and huge fanbase is to give your fans what they like to hear, not what you want them to have. You are right - a CD may collect dust in the end. But still, do not compromise quality.
Now people would just say why not purchase the song via download? I think if you download 1 song, it would cost you around P20-30/song. And as an artist, i still can't find a way to reconcile how we would be able to monitor the downloads and be assured that we are getting the right numbers from the dowloading service providers. But if we are selling the CDs, then we would be able to keep hold of our physical inventories and our number of units sold. And if we would be consuming the 80min CDr, then that would give us around 17-18 songs which if you would compute it by the price of the CD that we are selling, it would cost you something like P11-12 per song. So still very much cheaper than what the downloading service providers are giving.
Answer : The quality between CDs and music downloads are, unless all fans have trained ears, practically the same. In fact, no matter what medium – vinyl, CD, cassette tapes – the consumer’s experience is enjoyed because of the song, not because of the medium. The medium is just the material aspect being made available to the public at a time.
Whichever medium you choose to distribute, the consumer ultimately decides whether they like your song or not. It’s another decision for them whether to buy your songs or not. And then another decision whether to buy the entire album. Bottom line is it’s not your role to worry about how much the consumer can spend.
I sense that the issue here is more about financial investment. In which case, and if I am correct about this presumption, I’d recommend that you sell your music via TuneCore.com. Believe me, it works. Just make sure you read the FAQs religiously.
If you worry about inventories, believe me, it’s probably the most boring and the most gruesome task in any distribution business. That's what labels are for. It's one of their main services. Unless you are willing to compromise your time for creativity, you wouldn’t like it.
Another thing is that by producing CDs instead of just having it available for downloads, we are giving graphic designers/Artists a chance to promote their works by giving them an opportunity to design our album's packaging.
Answer : Hmmm… this is a good point to consider. Or maybe it would be more fun if the artists that work for you work on a voluntary or for-the-love-of-it basis instead of promising them promotional benefits. It can be difficult not to build expectations around your goals and vice versa so if you can, try to keep everyone away from this probable negative outcome.
So there… I guess my general answer is that it’s really up to you. When the CD medium was first introduced, there was resistance but eventually it caught up. Now, they are fast becoming obsolete (but maybe I’m wrong).
The evolution of music was from paper to tapes to vinyls to tapes to plastic compact discs to MP3s...
Today, professionally pressed CDs cost about P35,000 - P60,000, and maybe even more - just to make for 500 pcs excluding shipping cost (since you are in Cagayan de Oro).
While downloadable MP3s are apparently becoming the new music business model. No frills, no shipping hassles, less cost, etc. All you have to do is simply trust the website you are working with... now that's another issue isn't it?
Showing posts with label tunecore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tunecore. Show all posts
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood? (Part 2)
In the last Indieology entry, I described the list of entities that are “closest” and most visible to you, the “consumer”. The artist, media, venues, and then the stores - all these elements are in a very close relationship brought in front of us by record labels in the hope that we would in turn, if we like the music of the artists, buy the CD or download their music at the end of the day.
II. The Middle Men
Before an artist makes that sale, his/her music has to be plugged first somewhere. Media does that via airplay, online streaming, press releases, album reviews, charts, etc. When the song picks up, a tour follows to promote the album and venues take centerstage. People are then expected to buy or download the music from the stores. Easy isn’t it?
But who are the people working behind the scenes? In this chapter, I will attempt to define the roles of the ones responsible for giving that necessary push for the artist in the music business. I classify them as the “middle men”. I’d like to start with the labels and work my way down to the liaison that makes the deals in the business.
1) Record Labels
I did mention that the record companies are usually the most visible entities in the music trading business as they are often seen as “key players” in bringing that artist the success he or she rightfully deserve. In fact, you can find the logos of the record companies printed on the inlays of CDs of your favorite artists.
The truth is, and as I mentioned this in another article, labels are actually just investors on the premise that they believe in an artist’s potential. The trade that they do for artists is somewhat similar to how banks approve loans to qualified applicants. These loans are called advanced royalties in this industry lingo.
Bands use that money to hire and pay fees to producers, sound engineers, recording studio time, management, themselves (of course), and sometimes even lawyers for legal advice on contracts.
After all the recording and mastering is done (usually for professional sessions, it takes about 5 to 9 months), the master harddrive is sent back to the record company for mass production and distribution. Again, the label spends for this.
The advance payment and all other costs must be recoupable. That means it is deductible from the artists initial sales of albums, and in some cases ticket sales, before any actual royalty is made and given back to the artist (assuming that the artist writes or co-writes the songs in the album).
Today, some successful managers of globally established bands think about advanced royalties differently. One manager commented that advanced royalties that are “loaned” to artists look more attractive to newer bands given the fact that record labels also help on the manufacturing, marketing and promotions, distribution, and even accounting which all of these things new bands know practically nothing about.
These managers are now opting to release the albums themselves independently, working directly with music publishers and their entertainment lawyers rather than signing a new five-year contract with a major label. It actually makes sense.
2) Distributors
The distribution department is probably one of the busiest people in all of the record company’s departments. Everyday their staff would make and receive calls, keep track of sales, forward sales reports to other departments such as accounting, etc.
Yet contrary to what most people who are in this business (but not entirely in the business) believe, distributors may not necessarily be run by the record company themselves. There are also companies that specialize on the business of distribution.
In fact, with the growing entrepreneurial spirit of the internet, many websites do a similar distribution service to an online store say iTunes or Amazon.com. Up Dharma Down’s album is, as of last note from their indie label manager, had their CDs distributed under a distribution company – not a record label in Manila outlets.
At this point, the first relationship between the four frontliners of the music scene and the label/distributor is established. I have intended to separate the label from the distributor to simply emphasize this point.
3) Promoters
Of course, just like any product, promotion must be integral in the marketing plans of an artist’s music and career. Who are the promoter’s prospects? Generally it’s media. Although sometimes the promoter’s task may extend up to concert venues and sometimes they would act as the booking agent.
Some labels may have an in-house agent to do the task for them. Lately, they even attempted to merge the tasks of a promoter, artist management, and booking agent. I know a couple of labels in Manila who practices this method.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it works to the label’s advantage. Not only does this save cost on salary, it also gives the company an assurance that everything is kept “within their reach”.
4) Booking Agents
The booking agent’s general scope of work is usually to assist the artist’s management on getting gigs – from interviews to concerts and the in betweens. They coordinate the schedules and get paid for the service.
Booking agents may not be common in the Philippines because the job of the manager and an agent tend to overlap most often. However, these people become significantly important for bands doing worldwide tours.
My observation is that some bands in this country call the person who is taking care of their career as booking agents. There were also instances when a band's extended member does bookings only and they call him/her the "manager". I didn’t care to ask why.
5) The Managers
Many bands in Cebu don’t have managers and that is a fact. If there are, I can only count them with one hand. Perhaps it’s because Cebu is a “big small town” and hiring a manager may not be practical plus it can only reduce the income of the artist (if there is any decent income at all to speak of).
However, a manager’s job can help a lot in an artist’s career because aside from developing an artist, he/she can do most, if not all of the tasks I mentioned above.
I’m not saying that the funding, distribution, marketing and promotion, and booking gigs would come from one person alone. Of course not. That would be suicide. A manager taps and coordinates with people or companies outside of his band zone to get things running for his talent. He/she must also be “well connected”.
It will always be an advantage if the person managing an artist’s career has business skills. But beware, there are also managers who cannot be trusted. Take it from me.
At this point, we have established a link between the front end and the middle men in the music scene. The labels and distributors bring the merchandise out front to the stores (TuneCore.com is a digital distributor that directly deals with artists or its representative). The promoters sell the “image of the artist” to the media. The agents and managers ensure of the artist’s schedules and activities.
In the next Indieology, I will be describing what happens at the back end and who are those involved in getting these middle men motivated to work.
At the moment, I’d like to note that to succeed, start your band small.
Get a “good” manager who knows and understands the music business. Someone who knows someone in the media, the copyright law, music publishing companies, business itself, and most importantly, someone you can really really trust.
The music indusrty is not just about business, it’s also about relationships.
II. The Middle Men
Before an artist makes that sale, his/her music has to be plugged first somewhere. Media does that via airplay, online streaming, press releases, album reviews, charts, etc. When the song picks up, a tour follows to promote the album and venues take centerstage. People are then expected to buy or download the music from the stores. Easy isn’t it?
But who are the people working behind the scenes? In this chapter, I will attempt to define the roles of the ones responsible for giving that necessary push for the artist in the music business. I classify them as the “middle men”. I’d like to start with the labels and work my way down to the liaison that makes the deals in the business.
1) Record Labels
I did mention that the record companies are usually the most visible entities in the music trading business as they are often seen as “key players” in bringing that artist the success he or she rightfully deserve. In fact, you can find the logos of the record companies printed on the inlays of CDs of your favorite artists.
The truth is, and as I mentioned this in another article, labels are actually just investors on the premise that they believe in an artist’s potential. The trade that they do for artists is somewhat similar to how banks approve loans to qualified applicants. These loans are called advanced royalties in this industry lingo.
Bands use that money to hire and pay fees to producers, sound engineers, recording studio time, management, themselves (of course), and sometimes even lawyers for legal advice on contracts.
After all the recording and mastering is done (usually for professional sessions, it takes about 5 to 9 months), the master harddrive is sent back to the record company for mass production and distribution. Again, the label spends for this.
The advance payment and all other costs must be recoupable. That means it is deductible from the artists initial sales of albums, and in some cases ticket sales, before any actual royalty is made and given back to the artist (assuming that the artist writes or co-writes the songs in the album).
Today, some successful managers of globally established bands think about advanced royalties differently. One manager commented that advanced royalties that are “loaned” to artists look more attractive to newer bands given the fact that record labels also help on the manufacturing, marketing and promotions, distribution, and even accounting which all of these things new bands know practically nothing about.
These managers are now opting to release the albums themselves independently, working directly with music publishers and their entertainment lawyers rather than signing a new five-year contract with a major label. It actually makes sense.
2) Distributors
The distribution department is probably one of the busiest people in all of the record company’s departments. Everyday their staff would make and receive calls, keep track of sales, forward sales reports to other departments such as accounting, etc.
Yet contrary to what most people who are in this business (but not entirely in the business) believe, distributors may not necessarily be run by the record company themselves. There are also companies that specialize on the business of distribution.
In fact, with the growing entrepreneurial spirit of the internet, many websites do a similar distribution service to an online store say iTunes or Amazon.com. Up Dharma Down’s album is, as of last note from their indie label manager, had their CDs distributed under a distribution company – not a record label in Manila outlets.
At this point, the first relationship between the four frontliners of the music scene and the label/distributor is established. I have intended to separate the label from the distributor to simply emphasize this point.
3) Promoters
Of course, just like any product, promotion must be integral in the marketing plans of an artist’s music and career. Who are the promoter’s prospects? Generally it’s media. Although sometimes the promoter’s task may extend up to concert venues and sometimes they would act as the booking agent.
Some labels may have an in-house agent to do the task for them. Lately, they even attempted to merge the tasks of a promoter, artist management, and booking agent. I know a couple of labels in Manila who practices this method.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it works to the label’s advantage. Not only does this save cost on salary, it also gives the company an assurance that everything is kept “within their reach”.
4) Booking Agents
The booking agent’s general scope of work is usually to assist the artist’s management on getting gigs – from interviews to concerts and the in betweens. They coordinate the schedules and get paid for the service.
Booking agents may not be common in the Philippines because the job of the manager and an agent tend to overlap most often. However, these people become significantly important for bands doing worldwide tours.
My observation is that some bands in this country call the person who is taking care of their career as booking agents. There were also instances when a band's extended member does bookings only and they call him/her the "manager". I didn’t care to ask why.
5) The Managers
Many bands in Cebu don’t have managers and that is a fact. If there are, I can only count them with one hand. Perhaps it’s because Cebu is a “big small town” and hiring a manager may not be practical plus it can only reduce the income of the artist (if there is any decent income at all to speak of).
However, a manager’s job can help a lot in an artist’s career because aside from developing an artist, he/she can do most, if not all of the tasks I mentioned above.
I’m not saying that the funding, distribution, marketing and promotion, and booking gigs would come from one person alone. Of course not. That would be suicide. A manager taps and coordinates with people or companies outside of his band zone to get things running for his talent. He/she must also be “well connected”.
It will always be an advantage if the person managing an artist’s career has business skills. But beware, there are also managers who cannot be trusted. Take it from me.
At this point, we have established a link between the front end and the middle men in the music scene. The labels and distributors bring the merchandise out front to the stores (TuneCore.com is a digital distributor that directly deals with artists or its representative). The promoters sell the “image of the artist” to the media. The agents and managers ensure of the artist’s schedules and activities.
In the next Indieology, I will be describing what happens at the back end and who are those involved in getting these middle men motivated to work.
At the moment, I’d like to note that to succeed, start your band small.
Get a “good” manager who knows and understands the music business. Someone who knows someone in the media, the copyright law, music publishing companies, business itself, and most importantly, someone you can really really trust.
The music indusrty is not just about business, it’s also about relationships.
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