Task 1- The Music Industry Sheet
Task 2- The Music Industry Slideshare
Task 3, 4 & 5- Production & Ownership
Task 7- Distribution Videos
Video 1- Part 1
https://drive.google.com/open?id=115a60-4WGbSCW7I3HPpK5ccRM2wjbwv9
Key notes/points.
- Getting it out there stage of the process, getting the music to the audience
- Used to be recorded in real to reel tapes
- From the tapes it is created into vinyls and then distributed to radio station, tv studio and many more.
- Cost a lot to transfer
- After success of basic distribution the artist can find other ways to distribute their music by doing festivals, concerts, TV appearances and live radio slots.
- Can travel to get the music out to a wider audience
Video 2- Part 2
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1m8HGsU5vxeFpIfJ6bYdQXlDV-b-Q9INk
Key notes/points:
- Modern day can occur in your bedroom/small recording studio.
- An artist can write, produce and lay down their tracks on their own and then upload it to social media platforms such as spotify, soundcloud, ample etc.
- Then they can market on social media and attract fans on them
- Music videos can be created on a smartphone and then uploaded as well.
- All be done cleanly, quickly and cheaply without any extra people
- Music made, formatted, produced, distributed and marketed efficiently.
- However you have to be quirky, have to stand out and be talented in order to make it work and get recognised.
Video 3- How the Music Industry works.
Key notes/points:
- Business model screw the artists
- In the 50’s (Rock n Roll artists) there was much less money involved
- 60’s/70’s cant pay hit artists because paying for all bad artists.
- How the music industry is set up which takes advantage of the bad artists and ones who don’t care about the money
- Some bands have had to sure labels in order to get paid
How a typical record deal is structured:
- Record label gives a sum of money in advance to an artist to record an album, the album sells many copies and makes money from each copy.
- Record takes their cut out of the amount earned from selling which is typically around 85% of total sales leaving the artist with 15%.
- Before receiving the payments the record labels deducts the advance and recoups other costs such as recording costs, half the promotion costs, half the video costs and tour support. This leaves the artist with a huge sum of money in debt.
- The debt carries on to the next album and the next.
- There are long form contracts which continuously throw things in as legislators for a government
- There is a big issue but underneath there are all these smaller issues (little laws) which they throw in and do not talk about.
- There used to be damage fees with digital downloads
- Hidden items which they include are things such as: packaging costs (25% of artist cut known as royalty to cover expense of plastic cover and artwork) This is even transferred to digital download where packaging isn’t even existent.
- 10% is deducted to cover breakage costs during shipping, this started in the vinyl era, moved onto CD’s and still applies even when there is digital downloads
- 10 % Free goods deduction is a system where a retailer buys 100 albums but is given 10 more at no extra charge. Artists are only paid for the ones sold so aren’t compensated at the extra 10. This still continues at a digitally dominated market.
Video 4- What is distribution? then & now.
Key notes/points:
- The process of giving music from an artist to an outlet making it available to the public to purchase or to listen.
- Since the 18th century distribution had been primarily physical, first through sheet music, then through records. Music went through the creators and then to the shops where it can be purchased.
- There are music distribution companies which sign deals with record labels or artists which then gives them the right to sell their music to shops.
- The distributor takes a cut of the income of what was sold and then pays the record label the remaining balance who then pays the songwriter through mechanical royalties.
- Most record labels expect finished ready to market products or M&D Deals. Where the distributor pays upfront and then keeps all the income from album sales until the initial investment is paid off.
- Brick & Mortar labels were once the only way in which artists could distribute their music to get them in the hands of listeners. However, digital distribution changed all of that for the better. In 2015 digital sales surpassed physical.
- Streaming and digital platforms are the new record shops. The goal of this is to get your music onto one of these platforms. Once your music is here people can stream, buy and download your music and in exchange you receive royalties on how and where your music was listened to.
- Digital music outlets receive music from digital distribution companies. Instead of delivering boxes of vinyl every week digital distributors distribute music.
- So now the process has reduced shipping times, reduced manufacturing times, low upfront costs. It is as simple as a couple of clicks on a computer. You can reach a bigger audience, boost your profile, faster money flow, data & analytics
Video 5 – who are the Digital Distributors – who’s the best and what do they do?
Key notes/points:
- Before music distributors you would never be able to distribute music without being signed to a record label. That is why many artists wanted to be signed to record labels so that they could get their music out there.
- However now there are many independent artists around and this is because of digital streaming anyone can release music. This is where distributors came in.
- Artists could go to a distributor and get all cds in store and they would take it for you, take a cut and give you the proceeds. Now the idea of buying CDs is gone.
- Now, a digital distributor gets your music online, in stores or on digital streaming platforms and will then collect royalties for you.
- A distributor can not only set royalties but has technology which can tell you where your music is being streamed/used/played. So if your music is played on the radio a distributor could pick that up and pay you the royalties for that. Without a distributor, independent artists will struggle to find those things.
Key features of distributors
- Some will allow you to get your music uploaded to things such as Instagram and this is a great way for music promotion. They can link through to the Spotify page for your song and stream your music.
- In early 2019 Spotify released the best distributors for artists such as CD baby, Distrokid and Emu Bands. So if you want to get added to Spotify playlists you should use these distributors.
- Prices completely vary between distributors and some are very good at making themselves look cheap, they look this way as you expect your track to blow up. You have to pay for the songs you upload and then some pay a percentage of commission fee
Task 8- Distribution Pros & Cons
Task 11- Case Study ANIMA
Task 14- Exchange & Exhibition Collage
Task 16 – Full glossary of music industry terms
Task 19 – Own Copy of Slideshare
Task 20- Case Study Index
Task 21- Marketing Essay
Task 22- Big Ideas Summary
