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MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT #43Power Reading for Busy Music ProfessionalsHope 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 Written and published bimonthly by Peter Spellman, Director of MUSIC BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: Turning Music Business Data into Useful Knowledge. Career-building books, articles, training, consulting and more. P.O. Box 230266, Astor Station, Boston, MA 02123-0266, USA Phone: 888-655-8335 Email: success@mbsolutions.com Web site: http://www.mbsolutions.com © 1997 - 2006, Peter Spellman, MBS Business Media, www.mbsolutions.com Please feel free to redistribute with above credit and copyright notice. IN THIS ISSUE - MBI #43
MUSICAL COCOONS ON WHEELS In the wake of its startup record label, Toyota continues to explore the music market landscape. The Japanese automaker recently unveiled an automobile that it
coyly calls a "car-shaped music player." The Toyota dB, a compact
hatchback, is geared for customers who want to completely
immerse themselves in sound. A subwoofer is located in the center
console and eight additional speakers surround the interior of the
car. The car, introduced in Japan on Tuesday, also includes 11
flashing lights located on the speakers, cup holders and door trim.
Toyota and other carmakers are revving up their car concepts in
anticipation of the North American International Auto Show, which
takes place in Detroit from Jan. 8 through Jan. 22, 2006.
(All businesses are becoming music businesses - cast your net
wide! -PS) SCOTTI'S RECORD SHOPS The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) doesn't like it, but the kids at Scotti's Record Shops are just wild about the fourstore chain's "Buy It, Burn It, Return It" policy, reports Jolie Solomon in The Wall Street Journal. The policy is, "customers can buy a used or new CD, take it home, listen, and, if they want, burn a copy to a computer. Within 10 days, they can return the CD for 708 percent store credit." Scotti's -- based in New Jersey and run by brothers Jeff and Gary Scotti -- decided to introduce the policy not only because its CD sales were in decline, but also to make their stores attractive to younger consumers. "A kid could grow up now and never set foot inside a record store," says Jeff Scotti. "We want them to think record stores are cool places." Where previously teen customers would whisper, "Don't buy that. I can burn it for you," now, say the Scottis, they are saying, "Wow, I love it. I'm going to tell all my friends." Sales are up, according to Jeff Scotti, who adds that "he also sees customers trying new music because they know they can return a CD they don't like." The RIAA, however, doesn't like the looks of this one bit, and warned that the Scotti's policy "could mean copyright violations, illegal record rentals or 'rentals in disguise.'" The association and the record shop are in talks about this, and the Scotti's say they may revise their policy as a result. The brothers Scotti surely would be bummed if a revision were necessary, but the policy is not their only attempt to win over younger customers (most of their "best customers are in the 30 to 50 range"). In addition to CDs, the stores now also sell things like "body glitter, AC/DC flip-flops and Jimi Hendrix candles...Near the entrance of each store are replacement headphones and other equipment for MP3 players...A growing business in vintage vinyl also attracts customers, some from as far away as Japan." In addition, each store features a "Monitor This! kiosk, where shoppers can get customized CDs and enter contests...And Scotti's gives customers Soundprint, a magazine customized with Scotti's ads and copy." Such inventiveness apparently is in the Scotti brothers' genetic code: Their father, Anthony, a Frank Sinatra fan, opened the first Scotti's Record Shop in 1956, on a hunch that "this record thing was going to catch on." Then along came Elvis, the Beatles...Eminem, Britney...and the RIAA. iPODS OVER THE RADIO A whopping 85 percent of music listeners between the ages of 12 and 24 would rather listen to their MP3 players than to terrestrial radio broadcasts, according to a recent finding by Bridge Ratings. The audience measurement firm also found that internet music delivery mechanisms rank higher with this age group than traditional radio. The statistics were a part of a joint study with USC on the listening habits of the "iPod Generation". The report, titled "How to Make Music Radio Appealing to the Next Generation," polled 2,000 younger listeners across the United States. Survey participants all grew up with the internet, which included easy availability to music in digital formats. The results also showed a growing disconnect between AM/FM radio
and Generation Y. "While it appears that the next generation has
responded negatively to traditional radio, the reasons are rooted in
radio's abandonment of the 12-24 year old over the last 10 years,"
explained Bridge Ratings president David Van Dyke to Mediaweek.
"This age group appears to want radio to step up, change for the
better and challenge them with a new way of presenting radio that
is customized for their lifestyles and tastes."
These statistics also show the erosion of terrestrial radio as the
primary promotional tool for the record industry, an interesting twist
as the industry continues to grapple with new digital delivery
mechanisms. Bridge offers several recommendations to pull this
young audience back into traditional radio, though newer mediums
are now successfully competing for the ears of record buyers. That
does not yet include satellite radio, which was only adopted by 2
percent of the survey respondents. THE RAMONES' LEGACY Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee may be dead and gone, but the Ramones and "their barely intelligible, two-minute blasts about cretins, pinheads and lobotomies" have "achieved the kind of legitimacy and recognition that was elusive during their prime," writes Luke Torn in The Wall Street Journal (9/8/05). Back in the '70s, the Ramones "were routinely feared, ignored, or both" by "radio programmers more comfortable with Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles or disco." In other words, they were everything a rock 'n' roll band was supposed to be. But now, a few years after the "end of the century," (Do you remember Murray the K?) the Ramones and their "chainsaw guitar riffing...pounding locomotive rhythms" and "ghoulish, comic-book absurdity" is showing up "in TV ads selling everything from beer to cellphones." It's not all that hard to understand why this is happening, given the band's "catalog of undeniable pop classics that merged melodic bubblegum, girl group, surf and garage styles with buzz saw guitars, goofy humor and breakneck rhythms." Hey-ho, let's go! "... Ramones classics like 'Rockaway Beach,' 'I Wanna Be Sedated' and 'Sheena Is a Punk Rocker' sound like great escapist American rock 'n' roll, descended from pre-hippie tablature like the Del-Vikings, early Beach Boys and Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, and ripe for canonization and opportunistic appropriation in these far more noxious times." All that and more was released last month in a boxed set, "Weird Tales of the Ramones," compiled by the late Johnny Ramone, and stacking "85 clanging, thunderous tracks over three CD's." Even more to the point, the Ramones were a band with a message, and that message was this: "Go start your own band." The Ramones "proved that you didn't have to have the technical expertise of Eric Clapton or Paul McCartney to reclaim the spirit of rock 'n' roll...In stripping rock 'n' roll for parts, and reassembling it to give voice to suburban boredom and social outsiders and miscreants of all types" the Ramones "presented a united front, a brotherhood, that welcomed any misfit that cared to join them." Plus they all took the same last name which also was the name of the band. Good marketing, that. Anyway, the Ramones may not have loved the way their music is being appropriated by marketers today, but they might at least rest peacefully in the knowledge that their band lives on "as a symbol that if a ragged pack of dead-enders from Queens can foment a cultural revolution, anyone can." ))) ILLUMINATING TRIVIA (((
Did you know... ...that all the earliest recordings were unique performances? Last month I was interviewed by Hitquarters.com. The interview is scheduled to appear the same time my next book, INDIE MARKETING POWER bows in March. But you get to have a piece of it now! Hope you find it nourishing. What advice would you give new artists to save time, energy and money in building their career? In my book, The Self-Promoting Musician, I offer a success formula: TALENT + INFORMATION x ENERGY = SUCCESS. Though this is an obvious simplification, I think it still holds true. Talent is essential. These are gifts you have and the skills you acquire. Then you need the energy of yourself and others to magnify the talent and to give it a place to move out to. But the missing piece in musician's lives is often the information piece. In general, artists are slow starters but good finishers if they stick with it. Career success can be accelerated by having clarity of vision for yourself and then putting lots of creative work into it on behalf of that vision. The right information allows you to create a map that gets you on your way to your destination. In a sense, I see myself as a "career cartographer". A mapmaker. If you produce, for example, trance music, you need to look at all the different information pieces that can go into that - appropriate radio shows, ezines, record pools, discussion lists, magazines, affinity retailers, etc. Creating an informed map helps you know where the mountains are, where the rivers are to build bridges over, where the highways lie for quick action, and where the bogs are so you don't get bogged down. The key is laying out a map so you can see your destination and have clear ideas of how to get there. That information piece is crucial. The map is essentially a business and marketing plan. It helps you to anticipate and mentally rehearse challenges and maximize your resources of time, money and energy. That said, it's important to remember that the map is not the territory. The road to success will always have surprises along the way. But having some kind of provisional guide will make your steps more sure than not having one. What is most important for an unsigned act to attract first? An act needs to first pay the dues necessary for growing an audience - an audience they can nurture and which in turn can support the act. Once an act achieves a certain level of success on its own, it's then in a position to attract management, a booking agent, a label or some other partner company. This was the strategy of Phish, and the Grateful Dead before them. It's an approach used by OAR, Maktub and dozens of other acts in the States today. I think it's essential for an act to create some success on its own first and then leverage that to greater success. Success begets success. Who do you network with first when you are just starting out? If you're a recording artist then you want to try to link up with someone who has producing talent - someone who knows the gear and who can help you perform comfortably in that environment. If you're a writer then you want to hook up with some co-writers who are a couple of steps ahead of you, and do some collaborative work. The networking piece is crucial to moving careers ahead. You should also network with the well-connected, even if they're outside the entertainment biz. People like clergy, professional organization leaders, politicians and their staffs. These people tend to know a lot of other diverse people, often through their work. Music is probably the most relationship-driven business on the planet. The more people you know and who know you, the more opportunities you will hear about. And always remember: the more "Nos" you hear, the closer you are to a "Yes". How should today's musicians think outside the box of the traditional approaches and creatively engage with the new possibilities? There is a "received wisdom" about how to achieve music career success that isn't always applicable to every musician. That received wisdom is often centered around linking yourself up with a larger company so that you can better your chances at career success. It could be getting signed to a label or trying to get a writing deal from a publisher. There's a lot of mythology around these goals. Those mythologies have driven music instrument sales, trade magazines, and much else for musicians for many years, but we also know the statistics. I would estimate that 99.99% of every artist ever signed to a label never received a single penny in royalties. That's just the way it's all set up. A recording deal can sometimes be a boost to a career. But it can just as much be a major career risk for the artist, because these deals are tilted way in favor of the company, not the artist. Just look at the "Where are they now?" lists. Since artists today have the production, distribution and marketing capabilities in their corners, that whole pursuit is not as attractive as it used to be. There are whole new approaches that need to be considered based on what's happening in the business world. For example, every business is becoming a music business. What do you mean by that? Well, the baby boomers (those born between 1945-60) are in positions of power now. They grew up with music all around them. They lived it and breathed it. And now they're trying to figure out how to add music and entertainment to the mix of what they're doing in companies way outside the orbit of the music business. For example, Toyota, Starbucks and Stella Artois brewery have all started their own record labels. You've got Song Airlines starting a record label and a recording studio. These are all straws blowing in the wind that indicate that potential partners for musicians have emerged now that weren't there before. These are possibilities for affiliation and creative alliance to go forward with. Asking a different set of questions as a career musician today is crucial. The whole business world is restructuring. We're living through a time of "creative destruction". In a sense, anything goes. Musicians have to expand their scope as they look out there in terms of potential partnerships. How important is musical talent to an artist's success as opposed to marketing and luck? Talent is crucial. It's so important to have that indescribable something that sets you apart. Whether it's in performing, writing, producing, arranging or mixing. But talent also needs a plan to get lucky. Talent is great, but it's not the only ingredient. You definitely have to do some planning and strategizing in order to put yourself in the places where you can get lucky. Try to become visible in media that's pertinent to what you're doing. Try to meet people that are in positions that could help your career along. There needs to be business and marketing strategy put behind the talent to become visible and to bring that career to the marketplace. What is your definition of an effective player in the music biz? Who an "effective player" is depends on your perspective. If you're looking at it from the music multinational's perspective, they have their own cultures that require certain qualities in a player: the ability to wear those 90 day-glasses, devotion to satisfaction of investor demand over all else, the ability to see music exclusively as 'product'. Those are some important attitudes to hold in that context to be a 'player'. But that's not for everybody. And it doesn't have to be. You can play in many different ways today. Consider the trend where other businesses are becoming music businesses. These are companies with no legacy of traditional music business practices. They're coming at things from a whole different place and so you're going to 'play' in a different way, often in a more refreshing way. A key understanding here is the nature of communication. How do you communicate with your target market? Whoever it is you want to play with, you'll play most effectively if you walk in their shoes for a while, understand what they value, and get a sense of whether or not it's an affinity you want to have. If the vibes are right, then that might be a partnership you should pursue. But there are so many different sandboxes to play in now. Don't limit yourself!.... Visit Hitquarters.com in March for the rest of the interview! 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— Musical ideas pursue me to the point of torture. I cannot get rid of them; they stand before me like a wall. If it is an allegro that pursues me, my pulse beats faster, I cannot sleep; if an adagio, I find my pulse beating slowly. My imagination
plays upon me as if I were a keyboard. - Joseph Haydn Written and published bimonthly by Peter Spellman, Director of MUSIC BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: Turning Music Business Data into Useful Knowledge. Career-building books, articles, training, consulting and more. P.O. Box 230266, Astor Station, Boston, MA 02123-0266, USA Phone: 888-655-8335 Email: success@mbsolutions.com Web site: http://www.mbsolutions.com © 1997 - 2006, Peter Spellman, MBS Business Media, www.mbsolutions.com Please feel free to redistribute with above credit and copyright notice.
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