Music Industry portfolio

Most individuals may define the music industry as just being a group of people that create and sell music to entertain people as well as to make money. But this is not the actual picture. Since I have been exposed to the music industry for a while now I can clearly state that the running of a music industry is much more complex than what it may seem to be. There are many people that have to take on different responsibilities in which make up music industry as a whole. These roles and responsibilities undertaken are broken down into four different areas which include production and recording, creative direction as well as creating budgeting, marketing and promotions for this whole process. All of this falls under A&R (Artist and repertoire): PR/Marketing (Promotion and marketing): Distribution (Manufacturing sells etc): Administration (Lawyers & Accountants). Looking Out for New Artists In order for a record label to be successful they have to invest money into an artist that best relates to the current market as well as correspond to the future market. They tend to use statistics surroundings of what they think will make them the most revenue and profits at the same time pleasing the publics demands and being able to stay buoyant. For an in established label to be able to accomplish this they have to sign someone who has an exceptional image and makes astounding music and an individual who is also is most likely to sell a lot of records. A good example of this is Rihanna and Carly Rae Jepsen & Justin Bieber Everything that a record label stands for is not only accomplished by one person but a whole team of people/personals are employed and specialise within certain aspects within the business whether it be the A&R (Artist and repertoire) or the promoting and marketing team. The amount of staff that is delegated to take care of certain tasks within the business varies all depending on the type of record label it is; whether it is major or Indie. The difference between a Major and Indie record label is defined by the capital and resources put up to release an artist or band. In some cases this usually affects the sound quality and distribution of an album project or singles released by an indie label. Indie record labels tend to have fewer resources compared to the major record labels. Its unfortunate that the music industry is no longer focused on the music quality but instead focuses more about the money like every other entertainment industry available. This is partially to blame on the internet because the majority of the public do not buy music anymore but instead chose to download for free from forums/torrents. Therefore record labels strive to make revenue as efficiently as possible through other means e.g. making money through concerts and tours.

Production and Recording: In-order for a record label to have a success full record that wont make the label lose money. A team of professional are employed to make sure that every aspect of the production and recording process is conducted and executed well. The A&R is the person in charge of finding the artist/band, signing them to the label as well as managing the recording process. The A&R assembles several resourceful personals that will work with the producer and artist to help paint a vivid picture of the overall product they wish to have at the end of the project, whether it be the making of an album or single. These personals include a wide range of different instrumentalists know as session musicians. Engineers of both recording and mixing, Features both singers and rappers. Once all the pieces to the puzzle are there. The producer will be called in to take over and begin the creative process in-order to make the record/s, along with the signed artist. They both will have all the different personals assembled by the A&R at their disposal if need be. All sessions may differ depending on the personals involved, but the producer, song writer and artist are always present. An engineer will be available when needed depending on the type of studio or session being conducted because it wouldnt make sense to have an engineer in writing session; its a waste of money. Session Musicians can be professionals that play instruments or even vocalists in some cases. These professionals are usually called in by the producer to add riffs with an authentic style of a real instrument or backing vocals that the producer/s on their own cannot do. Most of the time they are directed by some producers tend to use them for experimental purposes. Artist/s Groups/bands The Executive Producer is the person in charge of overlooking the project before it is finalised and ready for release. Some of the roles undertaken by the executive producer are to make sure that the project as a whole sounds solid and fits the target market. This role is not fixed as it can be undertaken by anyone whether it is internal or external to the record label. Opinions and

ideas will be bounced back and forth between the executive, artist, producer and A&R. This process enables them to put finishing touches to the project before it is taken sent/taken for mixing. The Mixing and Mastering Engineer/s are the personals in charge of the solidarity of the overall sound and tone to the music made. They will work on the project till they every track sounds good on any kind of speaker the public may use. This is the last stages before the projects are sent for mixing or sample clearance.

Budgets/Accounting: A budget is a financial plan that sets out how much money is allocated to the record label and how it is intended to spend it whether it is on the artist development, recoding or advertising (TV, radio & magazines etc) the press PR. In relation to the music industry this is how the label makes the artists known to the public eye, all with the main goal of making large amounts of money at the end of the process. A budget can work to many advantages when it comes to record labels without a budget there wont be any means of delegating spending power to the different departments within the record label e.g. PR Marketing. It helps to co-ordinate the different departments within the record label and helps them to work towards the same ultimate goal. In this case this could be making a top selling number one record. In addition a budget is used to keep track of expenditures, returns and income. Therefore a budget is put in place in order to eliminate wastage and helps the label keep within target.

Moreover a budget is a good way of monitoring the overall performance of the Record Label. It can be used as a guide to how the resources, capital and time can be efficiently allocated. In retrospect budgets are not always good. They can sometimes work as a limitation or a restriction to the label. This is reflected by the different performances of major labels and Indie records in some cases. Major labels tend to have a looser budget therefore they can grab any opportunity they can in order to bring in revenue whereas an Indie label is restricted to a tight budget and this means less resources. This is the reason to why the performance of an Indie labels is not usually at the same level of success compared to a major label.

Altogether budgets promote forward thinking within a record label as it provides the personals involved with an overall image in which the direction the record label is taking in the near future.

PR/Marketing: This process known as PR/Marketing that ensures the public know about the coming of a project and are able to buy into the product before they have the full package at their reach. It is a strategic process that is used by record labels to expose the forth coming of an album or single and gets the consumer excited and talking(Hype). Different methods and stages in PR/Marketing: Radio interviews Magazines cover photo shoots and interviews News Papers articles TV Interviews Internet/Online publicity All these different methods are usually used prior to the project release. When these methods of promoting and marketing are executed correctly they help create attention around the artist and their product. Most of the successful projects resemble a good PR/Marketing team. In order for a product to have a buzz prior to the release and for the artist to be able to bring success for their product, themselves and the label. The PR has to be conducted in a synchronised manor almost resembling an engine like process. This allows the artist + project to be at the centre of attention/limelight from different aspects within the process put together. This helps have the public excited, and gain word of mouth from the people talking about the product. Failure of having an unsynchronised PR run could cause the downfall of a product and in some cases very low record sales or people not knowing where or how to find your product. This is an example of the PR/Marketing engine not working well together and In some major label cases the artist/band is automatically dropped.

Distribution: The distribution means how the finished product(Albums or Singles) is delivered from the manufacturer to the audience/consumers and there are

many different ways to get a product to the customer in this day and age. What most record labels tend to do is release the hard copy of the album in stores and online. Since records dont sell as much as they use to, over 60% of the money made comes from performing on tours and doing shows e.g. Concerts at famous arenas, clubs and schools/universities.

Contracts

Personal/Employee

Artist/Bands Producers Session musicians Songwriters Recording Studios Engineers Managers PR/Marketing Accountant/s A&R Lawyers

Independent Major Contracted Salary Commission Record Record label access Label access

As you can see on the table above, both Major & indie record labels have the same access to personals or resources needed accomplish a project. The difference between the two companies is that a major record label prefer salary based staff opposed to the indie label that use flexible payments based on sales and how they access these personal/resources whether it may be freelance, salary, contracted or commission based. Within the categories mentioned in the table are a number of sub roles that are not specified.

Contracts allow the payee to be paid hourly/daily/monthly/annually depending on the terms and agreements. Salary also allows the payee to be paid hourly/daily/monthly/annually depending on the terms and agreements. Commission based payments are based on the sales completed and come as a dividends.

Im going to describe explain and critically comment on the contracts associated with the Production and Recording Process within the music Industry. By the time the consumers to have a piece of professional music on their phones, iTunes or any other gadgets they wish to store the music on. At least 5 or more contracts would have been involve somewhere along the line before that.

Manager and Artist contract:

VX Recordings and Promotions

Event:

Venue Zeus Club Capacity 650 people Normal Ticket Cost - 15.50 = 9,300 VIP Ticket price - 20 = 1000

Venue Hire for one night = 2,250 Sound Engineer = 350 Light technician = 250 Flyers = 465 Ticket Printing = 300 VIP ticket Printing = 100 Snacks = 190 Wrist bands = 70 VIP Wristbands = 50 Security = 450

Headline Artist = 1,450 Support Acts (DJ, 2ND Artist and Comedian) = 1,150

Total Costs = 7.075 Gross profit = 10.300 Net Profit = 3.225

Recording costs

Studio Time: 8 weeks recording = 12.300 Per day(Including Engineer) = 219.64

Camp Accommodation and Transport: 56 days = 8.200 Accommodation per day = 92.80 Transportation to and from the studio per day = 53.57

Session Musicians: Max = 2000 Mixing & Mastering = Max 6500 Contingency = 1000

Total = 30.000

PR/Marketing

Online Ads: Exposure to 20000 people per day for 1 month = 4275 Radio Adverts: 30 seconds 4 times a day on Radio XFM for 1 month = 2100 Music Videos: 1 day all inclusive shoot at 4 locations with Redcam cameras = 8500 Posters/Flyers: seen by 30000 people per day for 1 month = 4500 Magazines/Articles: Cover ads in 3 different monthly urban magazines + 2 news paper articles = 4900

Copyright

What is a copyright? Copyright means the right to copy. These are laws dedicated to give the creator or author of the original work the right to copy and distribute. For example if you have song idea that you havent recorded yet, it does not have copyrights until its been recorded. When the song is recorded means it is now presented as a product opposing the idea which means that its been copyrighted. How to protect your copyright? The copyrighted product is not automatically protected just because you have created it. To justify that youre the rightful owner of the product in cases where the product is stolen and you have to take the case to a court. There are several ways to protect your work: 1. If youre a songwriter, composer or singer. After you have finished writing/composing the song, make a paper copy of the lyrics/print out a CD and put it in an envelope and send it to yourself via recorded mail. This has to be done before any other copies are released or you could lose the rights if someone else beats you to the process. 2. Another great way to protect your product is to make a paper copy of the lyrics/print out a CD and put it in an envelope then gives it to your Lawyer/Solicitor/Attorney to put away.

Contracts: In todays industry some artists dont own the rights of their product because of the so called 360 deals given to them by the business minded record labels. The 360 deals are contracts that mean the record label is buying a bigger percentage of shares in your career than you personally posses or uphold. These contracts are given to promising acts that have no idea what their music is worth over a period of time and are eager to make quick money. Record labels capitalise on this to their advantage and sign young acts at a young age. At this point they are naive and are willing to take the so called large sum of money offered by the record labels. Most acts that end up signing this sort of contract usually dont have a clue about rights in music.

In some cases this can work to the artists advantage if they dont have a longevity career. This means if the record label signs you for 3 million for 2 about

Ways to generate revenue from copyright: Once the music is created and copyrighted. A publishing company will then give you an offer to buy by the copyright to resell your product. Depending on what the music youre selling, it can then be sold to TV commercials, movie sound tracks, and iTunes singles or albums. The money made comes as royalties of which the term is defined by the revenue according to the number sold. For instance youre a music producer that sells beats and you charge 20000 per beat to the publisher. For example; you sign a 50/50 split deal or contract for your rights with the publisher and you sell one beat o them. You are given an advance for the money you charge for the beat and you will not receive royalties until the publisher recoups the 20000. Its only then any money made buy the publisher would be split 50/50 like the agreed contract. The simpler term for this upfront cost is basically borrowing.

Beats sold

Price

Personal rights

Publisher rights

Price per unit

Units at recoup point.

1 2 10

20.000 35.000 365.000

50% 55% 39%

50% 45% 61%

0.99 0.99 0.99

20.202

Payout per unit after recoup. 0.49