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MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT #23 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, MBS Business Media, www.mbsolutions.com Please feel free to redistribute with above credit and copyright. IN THIS ISSUE
NEWS & VIEWS
Meet the latest weapon in the battle of the keyboard. This fall, Musicrypt.com, a Toronto-area company, launched a service that lets music sites identify users by the unique manner in which they type in their password. Armed with that info, sites could ensure that only a user who buys a given song would be able to play it on the computer. Musicrypt is licensing the technology called BioPassword from Net Nanny Software, best known for its Web-filtering programs. Musicrypt says that identifying users by keystroke patters is more secure than merely using passwords, which can be passed on to thousands of people. Musicrypt claims the keystroke identifier is 98 percent accurate. BioPassword measures the exact manner in which a user depresses keys to type a password to access protected materials, and then compares those characteristics with how the password was typed during a registration process. Musicrypt is hoping that music-content owners - particularly major labels - will use the technology to make songs available on the Net, confident that their goods will be accessed only by paying customers. The company will host digital materials for clients and will create a transaction log for reporting and billing purposes. The Keystroke technology is only the latest indication that biometrics - the use of physical characteristics such as fingerprints, retinal patterns, and voice - is gaining favor as a means of security even outside large government installations. Sony just rolled out a credit-card-sized fingerprint scanner that plugs into a PC, bringing biometrics to the home office. While measuring keystroke dynamics may be less obtrusive than fingerprinting, the technology could face resistance in the marketplace, says Eric Scheirer, Forrester Research media and entertainment analyst. Musicrypt's technology makes it difficult to download music to portable devices, because they lack traditional keyboards. And if you sprain a finger, you could be locked out of your digital music collection completely. In the end, users may balk at any system that restricts the free flow of music. "With keystroke dynamics, you're saying you can't share digital music the way you can share CDs now," says Scheirer. "That's a big difference." (from Wired, 10/00)
))) FEATURE (((
THE LOCAL / INTERNATIONAL CONUNDRUM IN MARKETING MUSIC by Peter Spellman
Recently I spoke with a friend who works at a French record label about some of the challenges he and his affiliates face when releasing albums by new artists. I found the dynamics he described illuminating regarding corporate practices and thought you might gain some insight too by my sharing some of our dialog. I'd appreciate hearing from any artists who have faced the following dilemma in their own deals with labels overseas.
INTRODUCTION The fact that there is a very limited domestic market for local musics in major music market countries poses important problems, given the skyrocketing costs of recording and marketing. It is therefore necessary to look to larger markets in order to recoup investments in a band or an artist. This is highly problematic for performers from countries with small markets (for example, the Netherlands) and small shares for local product within those markets, as these have no tradition as musical trendsetters and, consequently, little chance to market their musics abroad. In the end, this process can lead to the withering away of a vital cultural practice, in that a whole sector of cultural activity - one consisting of musicians playing music, performing live in concert, being recorded by a local music industry and receiving airplay on domestic radio - is slowly disappearing. This is only because this activity cannot survive in a context in which the economic scale necessary for its success has been expanded beyond its own capabilities.
HOW THIS TENSION OFTEN GETS FLESHED OUT Let's take the average president of the national office of a major company operating in the Netherlands. For him (it is almost always a man) it is almost impossible to get his artists released in the USA and the UK. The affiliates in those countries put out so much product themselves - product which he, along with his colleagues on the European continent, must release - that there is little room left for the exploitation of Dutch material in the UK and the US. Even if our president of the Dutch office gets the UK and the US A&R managers to listen to his artists, they find easy ways of backing off from them. If the music sounds different from what is current in the US or UK market, they will say: "This is not suitable for our market". If, in contrast, it sounds English or American, the argument will take a different tact: "We have dozens of acts like this ourselves". So our president leaves, having accomplished nothing. Another option for our director of the Dutch office - who is very enthusiastic about his product and wants to go for international success - is to disregard the UK and the US, buy a round trip airline ticket and visit every affiliated office on the European continent (and maybe, also, Japan.) He probably will get his product out in some countries, but under his arm, when he comes back, will be five to ten master tapes of albums by acts from Italy, Spain and perhaps even Japan - albums he must release in Holland in exchange for the release of his product in those countries. Then, trying to be a smart guy, he will release those records, send a confirmation copy to his faraway affiliates and do nothing with respect to those releases - no promotion, no plugging, etc.. What he forgets, of course, is that his Italian, Spanish and Japanese colleagues are also smart (perhaps, in fact, that's why they ended up in the same business, maybe even in the same company), and they will likewise do nothing to make the release of his record a successful one. In the end, nothing happens. The local president's only success comes in being able to state, in the press release which accompanies the release of the album, that the record is out in more than ten countries around the world. Yet another reason why 9 out of 10 new releases "fail" in the musical industrial complex.
ILLUMINATING TRIVIA Did you know that... ...the following five songs have been number-one hits more than once?
1. "The Twist" (Chubby Checker, in 1960 and in 1961!) 2. "Go Away Little Girl" (Steve Lawrence in 1963 and Donny Osmond in 1971) 3. "The Loco-Motion" (Little Eva in 1962 and Grand Funk Railroad in 1974) 4. "Please Mr. Postman" (The Marvelettes in 1961 and The Carpenters in 1974) 5. "When a Man Loves a Woman" (Percy Sledge in 1966 and Michael Bolton in 1991). ))) GENRE SPOTLIGHT: GOSPEL ((( "Genre Spotlight" focuses on a niche music style with a promotion and marketing slant.
INTRO Here's a pop quiz: The following musical artists, all stars in American music, had their roots in what musical genre: Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Boyz II Men and Jodeci? Well, the answer is gospel music. The sound of gospel music burst beyond the stained glass of black churches in the '60s when Edwin Hawkins' "Oh Happy Day" was a nationwide hit. Today, gospel music is such a strong influence on all forms of American music, that it usually goes without comment. Gospel's on movie soundtracks, gospel is on Top 10 hits behind the voices of white stars like Madonna. Gospel's even in elevator music. The roots of gospel are deep in the African-American experience. Before gospel, they were slave work songs, communal singing that featured call and response. That evolved into church spirituals and jigs or songs of celebration closely tied to spirituals. After the Civil War came jubilee songs, which were upbeat songs of praise that told Bible stories. Then came the blues, and out of that experience in the early 20th century, gospel was born. Today, gospel is so popular that young artists such as Kirk Franklin are marketed like any other music star. That has caused great concern among traditionalists, who feel the music must stay close to the church to retain its power. But as far as American culture is concerned, the genie is out of the bottle. Gospel music is now proudly claimed as American music.
MARKETING INTELLIGENCE To say the growth in gospel music is purely divine would cause some in the industry to revisit their religious convictions and spirituality, and perhaps even join the young worshipers in the pews. Reports from the revenue generated by gospel music over the last five years are astounding. Gospel music is said to have become even more popular than jazz and is only surpassed by R&B, rap, country, rock and pop music. The controversy over baggy pants and foul language has been replaced with the Gospel of Christ. Bible-toting teens account for a large portion the 32 percent growth rate gospel music has enjoyed over the past five years. Many record labels have cashed in on the popularity of gospel music and its appeal to a generation with an impressive amount of disposable income. A study conducted in 1998 by the New York-based Interep Research group, found that half of the listeners to gospel radio stations were between the ages of 25-44. This group is said to account for more than half of all record sales. With figures like these, look for more focus to be given to gospel artists on contemporary, urban and other mainstream radio stations. The makeup of most gospel music stations are females 35 years plus. While you may have some 18-34 year olds and some teens, the majority (based on Arbitron Rating figures) of listeners will be over 34. Many 24-hour gospel stations are on the AM dial. When does everyone else listen to gospel? On Sunday mornings on the FM "secular" stations. That's where you'll find the strongest 18-34 and teen numbers. The image of gospel artists also influences the image of young teens. Former negative labels such as preacher, reverend, church boy, choir boy or church girl, are now accepted as compliments by teens. With the dwindling appeal of Gangsta Rap and songs with less than positive lyrics, the tidings of love, acceptance and triumph,contained in many of the gospel songs create a more inviting message today. With enormous backing from the industry, much of the music on the market today is more positive and encourages unity between youngsters. Releases like Kirk Franklin's "Lean On Me," continues this focus of objectivity, positiveness and love for one's neighbor. Franklin' s success is seen as the beginning or catalyst for other gospel artists to reach more young people. Like the teens who idolized Run DMC, Grand Master Flash and Salt 'n Pepa, today's youth look up to Franklin and others who sing songs with lyrics that are far more desirable than the Hip Hop tunes of old.
TOP TEN GOSPEL LABELS - based on number of charting albums on Billboard's charts 1. Gospo Centric 2. Verity 3. B-Rite 4. Dreamworks 5. Word 6. Island Inspirational 7. Pioneer 8. CGI 9. Malaco 10. Harmony
GOSPEL MUSIC HUBS
The Caucasian side of the gospel music industry. Excellent resources for networking and launching a gospel music career.
Articles, industry news, online radio show, and more.
Great articles and interviews on what really makes the gospel music industry tick.
The Southern Gospel Music Ring Information Center Link to continuous Southern Gospel Music sites, groups, artists, and musicians. You will find most of the information about Southern Gospel available on the internet here.
Monthly news, articles, album and video reviews, artist spotlights, mp3s, chat rooms and a whole lot more.
American Gospel Music Directory Groups, Songwriters, Publications, Organizations, Businesses, Links, Marketplace Music Shop, AND MORE.
Words and chords of the best gospel songs.
KEY INDUSTRY RESOURCES The Gospel Music Industry Roundup Annual resource of strategy and contacts for all those releasing gospel music today. Covers the year in review, , Awards, the business dynamics of gospel music, record companies, booking & management, getting radio exposure, and lots more.
Gospel Industry Today (monthly magazine) Great interviews and instructional articles along with current chart information.
MARKETING MUSIC MOXIE
Creating the Distribution One-Sheet As you get your release ready for distribution, you'll want to create a sheet providing the who, what, where, when and how of the recording. This is called the Distributor's "One-Sheet" and it is an essential document to ensure the smooth placement of your recording in the distribution pipeline. A one sheet has all the information a distributor or record store needs to know to order the record, effectively sell it, and pay you for it. Here's what your one sheet should include:
Getting all of this onto one sheet of paper takes some creative design. You might consider hiring a graphic designer to set up a nice-looking "template" that you can use for any and all of your releases as they appear.
BIZ SMARTZ:
PULLING TOGETHER YOUR COMPANY INFORMATION
As soon as the nucleus of your management team is assembled, you must, together, address a range of issues. Among the most important are the following:
A good part of a successful business is having your company information well-managed. While tedious, attention to these details will save you tons of time in the long run. You ARE planning to be in business for a long time, right?
Don't forget that MBS offers both music career and business consulting as well as career-building publications. Discover some powerful tools and leads to help you grow your music career and business! TO SUBSCRIBE to MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT: send email with the message in the body, "subscribe" to success@mbsolutions.com It's not an autoresponder so feel free to include any other comments, ideas, suggestions, etc. you may have. 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-- "I declare that the Beatles are mutants. Prototypes of evolutionary agents sent by God, endowed with a mysterious power to create a new human species - a young race of laughing freemen."
-- Timothy Leary (1964) 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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