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MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT #13 Power Reading for Busy Music Professionals Hope you're hungry! MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT is published for musicians, songwriters, managers, label reps, booking agents, entertainment attorneys, studio owners, music publishers, and all others involved in the music business. Its purpose is to help boost your business, find new markets, make the right connections, develop professionally, work smarter and improve your bottom line. "As a general rule, the most successful people in life are those who have the best information." Benjamin Disraeli Published bi-monthly by Peter Spellman, Director MUSIC BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: Turning Music Business Data into Useful Knowledge. Career and Business-building books, articles, consulting and more. P.O. Box 230266, Astor Station, Boston, MA 02123-0266, USA Phone: 978-887-8041 Email: success@mbsolutions.com Website: www.mbsolutions.com © 1997 - 2003, Peter Spellman, Music Business Solutions In this issue:
MBS NEWS & UPDATES
BRIEF GUIDELINES FOR NEGOTIATING ANY CONTRACT If you're involved in the music business, sooner or later you'll sit down with someone you have to negotiate an agreement with. It may be a management or record contract, or perhaps a "work for hire" agreement where you provide music for some particular use. Use the following general guidelines to keep the communication on the best level possible. And always think "win/win".
))) GENRE SPOTLIGHT: World Music (((
Introduction World music -- a term coined by ethnomusicologists as a catchall for non-European, indigenous traditions -- has been seeping into the Western pop mainstream for years through progressive recordings by David Byrne, the Beatles, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon. Simon's "Graceland" and "The Rhythm of the Saints" albums, particularly, brought South African and Brazilian folk styles to a mass audience. Now, after decades of borrowing by Western musicians, Third World composers are creating cross-cultural fusions of their own -- and finding a growing audience. Ten years ago, a world-music album was lucky to sell a few thousand copies in the U.S. Today 10,000 to 50,000 copies is more typical, and the number of artists and record companies -- from Luaka Bop to Mango, Real World and Rhythm Safari -- has exploded. Is there an expanding market for world music? That depends on the definition one uses. And there's the rub. A random check of Billboard magazine's world music charts over the last few months reveals Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Canadian harpist and singer Loreena McKennitt and the Buena Vista Social Club around the top positions. Do they have anything at all to do with each other? Of course not. Add to that the fact that we're seeing more and more crossover recordings in which artists from Africa or Ireland or Tibet record with Western pop elements and production techniques, and the picture gets even more complicated. There's a vast disparity in the sales performances of some world music acts. There's a Gipsy Kings at the high end, a group with a quasi-pop hit 10 years ago that sold a million units. Down a notch, there's Buena Vista, which is a real phenomenon, tapping into the fascination with Cuba, with the added plus of Ry Cooder's involvement. This disc has sold about a quarter million and there's no letup in sight. Cesaria Evora comes from Cape Verde, which is not exactly a hotbed of anything, but she's doing around 150,000 to 175,000 units. And the Bulgarian Voices, with their unusual sound, are around 150,000. But there are inexplicable examples as well. Caetano Veloso, arguably one of the finest artists in any discipline in the world and a huge star in his native Brazil, sells no more than 25,000 or 30,000 copies in the U.S. (check him out; his voice will melt you). Other acts, and probably the vast majority of world music artists sell no more than 10,000 copies or so. Tracking specific information about world music sales and popularity can be difficult. SoundScan, the most commonly used source of sales figures, does not specifically log world music separately other than to issue a top selling chart similar to the one published by Billboard. Both are broadly inclusive, with names like McKennitt, Bocelli, the Gipsy Kings and Harry Belafonte included. The Recording Industry Assn. of America logs sales in a category identified as "Other," which includes ethnic, folk, Hispanic, comedy, spoken word, exercise and other small niche areas. Over the last 10 years, the "Other" category shows little change, ranging from a low of 4% of the market to a high of 7% and averaging around 5%. It's probably a fair estimate--given the items included in "Other"--that world music sales in the U.S. range close to the 4% figure allocated to jazz and to classical music. Of course, if you include mailorder, bookstore, and internet sales, sales figures could be much higher. It's worth noting, however, that according to the industry association, sales of Spanish-language product (recordings that include songs with more than 50% Spanish-language content) have been increasing by about 20% per year for the last few years. I think it may be fair to say that world music is getting a bigger slice of the pie, if only because there's so much more product. But it's probably not going to increase dramatically unless it gets a better hearing. And outside of National Public Radio there's not much opportunity for it to get heard on the radio, which is where most people hear new music. So in a way, it's already ghettoized. And that's going to have to change. See "Rough Guide to World Music", edited by Milo Miles for a wonderous traipse through the world music terrain. WORLD MUSIC RESOURCES AND SITES Ethnic and National Musics (Worldwide Internet Music Resources, Indiana University) http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/ethnic.html Good jump site. World Music Center http://www.zZounds.com/WorldMusicCenter/index.htm Great info on world cultures and instruments. World Music Home Page http://www.isis-intl.com/mike/world.htm A good jump site with some great links. The World Music Textbook http://nutmeg.ctstateu.edu/depts/edu/textbooks/music.html Designed to link you to music and its composers from all over the world. Most of the links explore music from today . However, music from the past is also included in the European section. The World Music Calendar http://www.digitaldiscounts.com/music.html Includes music festivals, opera, theater and dance, listed alphabetically by continent and city, with North American cities listed first. Listserve Discussion Group: * GLOBE-L is an electronic discussion group about world music. It welcomes subscribers who are radio DJ's, listeners, performers, record company people, reviewers, and anyone else who enjoys world music, including both traditional and world fusion genres. To join GLOBE-L, send e-mail to: listproc@nevada.edu with the following message in the body: SUBSCRIBE GLOBE-L [YOUR NAME HERE] WORLD MUSIC MAGAZINES ONLINE http://www.dirtynelson.com/ Covers celtic, folk and world music traditions. Also has a great festival guide for the same as well as a directory of Record Company Addresses (exclusively roots and world music labels, with links where available! Way cool. http://www.dirtynelson.com/linen/special/label.html http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/ Primarily a world and roots music magazine. Great "regional" sections. WORLD MUSIC RADIO SHOWS ONLINE Echoes (http://radio.boisestate.edu/). A syndicated radio show that has been very supportive of the world fusion music movement. Highly recommended. PBS-FM in Melbourne, Australia, has quite a few supportive shows, including Continental Drift (http://yarn.insted.unimelb.edu.au/yarn/wwmc/ww-cd.html). Program featuring music from around the world. Presented by Garry Havrillay. Global Village (http://yarn.insted.unimelb.edu.au/yarn/wwmc/ww-gv.html). A weekly 2-hour program playing traditional and contemporary music from around the world, with an emphasis on acoustic sounds; also on 'collision music' - cultural collisions and fusions. Presented by Roger Holdsworth and Suzette Watkins. Sergey Tutov (http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/9365). Independent Russian radio journalist and producer of ambient and world music shows in Moscow. Tangents (http://www.tangents.com). Creative eclectic radio program from Dore Stein on KALW in San Francisco. Very supportive of world music. WERS, Boston (http://www.emerson.edu/wers/home.html), "Gyroscope"; airs M-F 2-5 pm. WREK (http://www.gatech.edu/wrek/wrek.html). Has many world music shows supportive of world fusion music. Scores The following sites offer composers specializing in world fusion music scores for film, video, multimedia, and CD-ROM. ))) ILLUMINATING TRIVIA ((( Performers Who Appeared at Woodstock But Not in the Movie 1. The Band 2. Blood, Sweat & Tears 3. Paul Butterfield 4. Creedence Clearwaer Revival 5. The Grateful Dead 6. Keef Hartley 7. The Incredible String Band 8. The Jefferson Airplane 9. Janis Joplin 10. Melanie 11. Mountain 12. Ravi Shankar 13. Bert Sommer 14. Johnny Winter BIZ SMARTZ SCOPING OUT BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES A key to be a successful entrepreneur is knowing your industry inside and out: where the industry is, where it is going, what the competition is inside the industry, what competitive forces may emerge from the outside, etc. How can you find all this out? You go out and get the facts and figures from your colleagues, suppliers, customers and competitors. But that is not enough. Often the most important and accurate facts, figures and forecasts come from published, publicly available information sources. The following is an overview of publicly available information resources for entrepreneurs. It intends to help show you some of the appropriate places to go to and the proper sources to monitor for data on your industry and competitors. When searching for data on your industry there is no single place to go or sole source to use. All sources differ in coverage, currency, format or other aspects, so figuring out where to start may be tough. However, you are searching a subject matter you know well, and you will quickly become familiar with the group of sources covering your field. Soon you will be able to use them efficiently and soon you will be able to develop a checklist of reliable, high quality sources to return to again and again. Besides the Internet, there are plenty of additional sources. Places To Go: 1.Libraries -- A good place to begin. Visit a public or university library near you. Stop at the reference desk first to consult a business reference librarian. A reference librarian can help you identify, locate and use the information sources in your field of interest. 2.Publishers -- Identify a few useful newspapers and magazines and subscribe to them for your own collection. 3. Corporate Public Relations (PR) Departments --If you need a company profile, product and service catalog, or other promotional materials, the PR department of the company is the best place to call. 4. Trade Associations --Trade organizations are sources of highly specialized business and technical information. To identify the associations in your field, you may use the annual "Encyclopedia of Associations", published by Gale Research Inc., Detroit, MI. Most libraries own a copy of this. 5. Local Chambers of Commerce or Economic Development Offices --These sources track local economic and business data. You may use the phone book to identify and locate the offices. 6. Government Agencies -- Government sponsored publications are excellent sources of regulatory, economic and industry analyses. Almost all cities and counties in the United States have some form of public offices that distribute government publications. You may use the phone book to locate the offices in your area. Information is power! READS & RESOURCES BOOKS-- Oceans of Sounds: Aether Talk, Ambient Sound & Imaginary Worlds by David Toop (1996, Serpent's Tail). Always reliable as one who thinks "outside the box", Toop's latest work reads like an alternative history of 20th century music. From the Amazonian rainforests to the glitter of Las Vegas, he traverses the varied sonic landscapes of the modern era, shattering consensual reality in the process. Though focused primarily on ambient musical art, Toop pulls everyone from Debussy to Sun Ra into the blender. As one reviewer suggested, "Buy it, read it and let it remix your head." A sonic joyride if ever there was one. The Entrepreneur Magazine Small Business Advisor, ed. by the Staff of Entrepreneur Magazine (1997, John Wiley). $19.95 Sort of like having a team of top business consultants on call 24 hours a day, but a whole lot cheaper. Covers all relevant topics to help you start, manage and grow a successful small business. Chapters include listings of trade associations, periodicals, on-line services, software, government agencies, and other valuable sources of business assistance and information. Wow, I finally understand what a "leveraged buy-out" is!
WEB SITES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT-- The Event Planning Search Engine site is for those who are planning meetings, conventions, and trade shows; and those who supply event infrastructure, from service companies to convention centers. Event designers can research some 9,000 event sites, destinations, and services, and find the best hotel rates in those areas. Professional eventors can request planning guides and book sites, post event requests or want ads, and transact with suppliers. This Web site from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) offers a quick reference tool for businesspeople who need to find a ZIP+4 Code in a hurry. There are links to find out city and ZIP Code associations; local-office finders that can correct USPS database ZIP Code errors; a database of commonly asked questions and answers; a customer-support center to help you maintain address data at your company; and all kinds of links for mailers who are trying to do more with less. That's all for now folks. The HTML version of this issue will be up at the MBS website in about three weeks. Issue #14 will appear in mid-November. Did you know that MBS offers both music career and business consulting and career-building publications? Check out the MBS website at www.mbsolutions.com. Discover some powerful tools and leads to help you grow your music career and business! TO SUBSCRIBE to MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT: To subscribe just send email with the message in the body, "subscribe" to success@mbsolutions.com About the Publisher PETER SPELLMAN is Director of MUSIC BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, a business and marketing consultancy to the music industry, and Director of Career Development at Berklee College of Music, Boston. He is the author of several books for music entrepreneurs and teaches music industry courses at Northeastern University (Boston) and the University of Massachusetts (Lowell). A musician since he was ten, Peter continues to spin riddims in the improvisational collective, Friend Planet and sing Cat Stevens' songs to his kids every night before bed. BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED! Quote of the Month-- "Talents are best nurtured in solitude; character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world." - Johann Wolfgang Goeth E-mail: success@mbsolutions.com © 1997 - 2003, Peter Spellman, MBS Business Media, www.mbsolutions.com P.O. Box 230266, Boston MA 02123-0266 978-887-8041 Rise up!
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