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Life
During Quarantine: Staying Creatively Challenged During
COVID-19
The
pandemic has made traditional performances and tours an
impossibility for the time being, but it has also taken
a toll on some of the more mundane parts of being a
musician, making practicing, recording, and
collaboration difficult as well. Given these
restrictions, staying inspired and creative can be a
challenge. Every musician is being challenged by
COVID-19 in a unique way. With the mass
cancellation of tours and festivals, many have seen
their main source of income vanish in an instant.
Best
Piece Of Music Business Advice From Mastering Engineer
Ian Shepherd
The last question that I ask every guest on my Inner Circle Podcast is, “What’s the best piece of business advice that someone has passed on to you or you’ve learned along the way?”
One such piece of advice comes from British mastering engineer Ian Shepherd, who’s also a plugin developer and host of his own The Mastering Show podcast. He runs the Production Advice website and is the founder of Dynamic Range Day, an annual event raising awareness about the Loudness War. His advice comes from Inner Circle Podcast #112.
Communicating
With Your Fans During A Crisis
With
so much going on, and the US facing multiple crises at
once, it can be an awkward time for artists. Is it
appropriate to plug new releases? How do you communicate
with fans and promote important issues? Here, we offer
some advice.
So far, 2020 isn’t holding anything back Many
of us expected a bit of an intense energy this year with
the upcoming US election, but I don’t think anyone saw
this coming. The coronavirus pandemic, quarantining
and social distancing, a massive jump in unemployment, a
flare up of police brutality and murders of unarmed
black civilians in the US, followed by the biggest and
most sustained protests in a generation.
Six
Skills All Indie Musicians Need Today
A
rapidly changing music industry and technology-driven
consumer preferences have forced a great deal of new
skills on today’s independent musician. It’s been over
a decade since record labels, PR reps and managers could
help the average indie artist find and reach their
audience. Today’s indie music artist needs to understand
branding and marketing, community building, live video
streaming, home-recording, digital distribution and
entrepreneurship. This on top of staying creative and
delivering a great product.
Here
is the future of music: monetized livestreams
The
music industry has been hit hard by the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic, with live events and financial
stability as its biggest casualties. Even as most of the
region's quarantine orders have been lifted and several
countries prepare to reopen, the return of live music
events is largely uncertain.
Best
Tools For Music Collaboration
Band
practices and shows may be cancelled, but that doesn’t
mean the creative faucet is turned off. Even in
quarantine, collaboration is still possible, thanks to
some of these fantastic programs and online resources!
Just
because we’re stuck in quarantine doesn’t mean the
creative juices have to stop flowing! There are many ways
you can keep working with your peers on your next banger
without having to meet in person. Whether you need a
vocalist, producer, guitarist, or sound engineer, these
platforms can connect you with creatives from all over the
world.
5
Things Artists Do That Stall Their Careers
Even
when you pour your blood, sweat, and tears into your
career as a musician, you can still hit a brick wall,
usually as the result of one of five hang ups. Here we
break down what these hang ups are, and what you can do to
overcome them.Have you ever worked so hard towards
something, only to feel like no matter what you do, you
can’t get any traction?
Pandemic
Seen As Accelerating Radio’s Transition To Digital.
The
portion of AM/FM radio listening taking place online hit
10% for the first time last month amidst disruptions to
media consumption caused by shelter-in-place orders from
the COVID-19 pandemic. “Audiences are spending more
time on streaming and podcasting in ways they haven’t
when at work in pre-pandemic times,” says BIA Managing
Director Rick Ducey.” These new audio habits are
likely to take root and grow over time.”
6
Things To Keep In Mind When Picking A Digital Music
Distributor
Once
you’ve completed production of an album, it’s time
to actually release your music to the world. This final
decision of which digital distributor to use is
incredibly important – here we explore six this to
consider before making a final choice.
Bouts of ambivalent feelings
are to be expected once you’re finished with a track or
a whole album you’ve been working on for weeks, months,
or perhaps even years. What’s next? You’ve reached a
point of no return — it’s release time.
How
To Sell Yourself (Even When You’re Terrible At It)
While
artists and musicians may not like to think of themselves
as salespeople, the reality is that, for your music to be
your career, you need to sell it. Here we look at how
reimagine and embrace the salesperson within all of us.
The days of door to door salesman with slicked back hair
and ill fitting khaki suits might be a thing of the past,
but for a lot of us, when we hear the word “sales”,
that’s where our mind goes.
Artists
Rights Alliance Names All-Star Board, Bill Of Rights
The
non-profit Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) has named an
advisory council. The 93 member Music Council will provide
advisory input and support the awareness of key issues
facing content creators. Jason Isbell, Bette Midler,
Cassandra Wilson, Duke Fakir, Elvis Costello, Emmylou
Harris, T Bone Burnett, Sheryl Crow, Keb’ Mo’, Steve
Earle, and Joan Osborne are among the founding members.
Can
A Song Ever “Grow On Us” Again In The Age Of Spotify?
The
streaming era has reshaped the way consumers listen to
music in a number of ways, some more obvious than others.
In this piece, Fred Jacobs laments the potential loss of
the slow burn appreciation of a song that develops over
time. Someone gets “tapped” to spend 10 days,
selecting a favorite album each day. The idea is
that each of these albums has some sort of significance
and meaning – that is, your carefully selected choices
should be part of your musical foundation.
A
Session Musician's Survival Guide To The Coronavirus
(COVID-19) Pandemic
The
Coronavirus is hitting session musicians worldwide hard.
Here’s our very own survival guide for you if you’ve
lost session work and are looking for other revenue
streams. Due to this outbreak of the coronavirus; events,
functions, shows, festivals and tours are being cancelled
all over the world. This is horrible news for
music businesses and other session musicians alike who’s
income relies on playing live at these kind of events.
This means people in our industry are struggling to afford
to feed their families and keep a roof over their
heads’.
Is
Spotify Launching a Major Video Expansion? — Here’s
What We Know So Far
Spotify
is experimenting with adding music video content to its
app – mimicking YouTube Music. Right now, the video
feature isn’t live in any way, but it’s clear Spotify
is worried about YouTube Music growth. Google completely
abandoned its Google Play Music app in favor of YouTube
Music. Now, the app has achieved well over one billion
downloads and is growing fast. Offering music videos
alongside streaming music is an attractive move for
Spotify.
How
Cox Communications’ ‘Customer Safety Team’ Will Cost
It $100K Per Song
Cox
Communications has been in the hot seat for a while now,
and the company’s failure to terminate its customers’
accounts (in violation of the DMCA) will likely end up
costing the company a pretty penny, according to the
latest verdict by a district judge.
On
June 2,2020, District Judge Liam O’Grady denied various
motions by Cox Communications trying to wiggle out of the
$1 Billion verdict handed down in December 2019. 1 These
motions were Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of
Law and Motion for Remittitur (Reduction of Damages) or,
in the Alternative, a New Trial. Cox won a partial victory
in that the Judge ordered that the number of works at
issue be recalculated. The bad news for Cox is that the
Judge let stand the jury’s award of statutory damages:
$99,830.29 for each work infringed.
4
Techniques For Getting Playlisted
Passive
income sources are more important than ever right now, of
which streaming is one of the best – particularly if you
can land your music on a few playlists. Here we look at
what you can do in order to increase your music’s chance
of getting playlisted. One of the best ways to receive
passive income is from your streaming revenue. To get a
consistent revenue stream, having your songs placed on
playlists is very important. Depending on the playlist
size, you can receive consistent streaming numbers as well
as a solid following. So in this post, I’d like to offer
four ways you can get playlisted to build a consistent
revenue stream.
“Hang
On – You Do What?!” A Guide To Music Industry Roles
Between
managers, publicists, booking agents, promoters, and
others, sorting out who does what in the music business
can be a real head scratcher, particularly for those
unfamiliar with what the industry is like behind the
curtain. Here, Angela Mastrogiacomo offers a guide the
various roles in the music industry. Quick—what does a
manager do?
If
you hesitated for a moment before ultimately fumbling
around for some combination of, “They book me shows/they
get me press/they do my social media/they make my dreams
come true!”, you’d be altogether completely wrong and
completely correct.
How
To Avoid Spotify Playlist Scams
There
are currently a rash of ads being presented to musicians
pledging to get their music on multiple massively
influential playlists, all for a small fee.
Unsurprisingly, these offers are often too good to be
true. The most prevalent ads for musicians on social media
promise guaranteed placement on hugely influential
playlists for a small amount of money. But how do you know
when an offer is too good to be true?
12
Million Stimulus Checks Remain Unclaimed by Americans
Because They Don’t Know the Rules
An
estimated 12 million stimulus checks haven’t been
claimed by Americans, according to an estimate released
this week. Here’s why. Most Americans have already
received a stimulus check from U.S. Government, often for
the amount of $1,200. That includes everyone making under
$75,000, as well as couples making less than $150,000,
with lower amounts also distributed to higher
earners. In total, the House Ways and Means
Committee has estimated that 159 million checks have
already been distributed as of June 5th. That
includes a lot of musicians, many of whom rely heavily on
touring income and recurring royalty checks.
Rehearsing
Sucks, Or Does It? How To Make Practice The Highlight Of
Your Day
As
much as you may love performing and playing music, there
will doubtless be times when practicing feels like a
chore. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way! Here
we offer up a few techniques for making practice time the
best part of your day.
Whether
you’re just starting out as a musician or you’ve been
playing for many years, there are many times when practicing
music feels too much like work and worry rather than
joyfulness and freedom.
Achieving
Passive Income For Musicians
Making
a living as a musician has always been challenging, and is
now more so than ever. For this reason, artists are
recognizing the need to diversify their income, and
establish as many sources of revenue as possible.Life can
take unexpected turns. The current situation the
world finds itself in is more than enough motivation for
musicians to learn to rely on more than one single revenue
stream. The live music industry has been rattled and
brought to its knees.
Good
News, Music Industry — American Jobs Are Storming Back
as States Reopen
With
American jobs storming back as states continue to reopen
following widespread lockdown measures stemming from the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, artists and music
industry professionals – who have been hit especially
hard by the crisis – stand to gain. Plus,
artists, engineers, and recording studios themselves
suffered as a result of lockdown measures, and a host of
indie record shops scrambled to make ends meet while
lacking customers and income. To be sure, record stores
are still struggling to stay afloat, but being
able to welcome shoppers once again is a major step in the
right direction.
iHeartMedia
Extends Employee Furloughs By 90 Days.
Citing
a longer than expected lockdown of businesses and
communities across the country due to the COVID-19 virus,
iHeartMedia say it has extended the furlough period for
non-essential employees by an additional 90 days. The
temporary unpaid leave of absence for jobs deemed
non-essential began April 4 and would have ended in early
July. The extension pushes the end-date out to early
October.
Streaming
Music Consumption On The Rise Once Again
Although
music streaming initially took a hit at the beginning of
the COVID-19 pandemic, recent data reveals that music
streaming is making a solid comeback, and is on the rise
once again.
Royalty
Exchange Transactions Pass $75M, Helping 875 Creators
The
Royalty Exchange, a digital marketplace for buying, and
selling music catalog, announced that it passed the $75
million in transactions in May, just 4 years after its
2016 relaunch. According to the Royalty Exchange, $25
million, a full one-third of the full transaction value
took changed hands on the platform in just the last
year.
Nearly
90% of US Independent Venues Face Permanent Shutdown
Following COVID-19
According
to a newly published survey from the National
Independent Venue Association (NIVA), 90 percent of
independent venues may be forced to permanently close
their doors in the next few months, owing to the fiscal
strain of ongoing coronavirus lockdown measures. At its
start, the analysis of independent venues’ status
reiterated that the businesses were among the first to
close because of the novel coronavirus pandemic – and
will likely be among the last to reopen. Similarly, the
report emphasized that these live entertainment
establishments are unable to draw revenue presently, but
must still find a way to cover bills, insurance costs,
and other expenses.
Inspired
By or Just Plain Copying: A Guide to “Borrowing”
Song Ideas
How
you can practically foster inspiration from the
songwriters you love without blindly ripping them off or
spawning sound-a-likes? How do you crack that famous
“find your own voice” mantra? How do you temper the
nagging doubt you’ll never be as good as your musical
heroes? How can you stamp your own signature on your own
songwriting? Let’s talk about it!
What’s
Next? 5 Music Industry Growth Drivers
The
risk with trying to imagine what the
future might look like is to simply
think it is going to be a brighter,
shinier version of today. At this
precise moment in time, this has perhaps
never been truer. The COVID-19 lockdowns
were a seismic shock to the economy, one
which will take months, possibly years
to recover from. Entertainment
consumption patterns have been
transformed, with some need states
becoming void states in an instant,
while new ones have filled their place.
Amazon
Music For Artists: 5 Social Media Best
Practices
Amazon
Music for Artists is regularly rolling
out new features to help up and coming
artists increase their reach. Here we
look at five ways to engage with Amazon
Music through social media in order to
broader your reach and uncover new fans.
Amazon Music for Artists is consistently
creating new tools to help artists like
you get heard by the world. In an age
where social media reigns supreme, take
all the help you can get! To help you
out, here are 5 ways to engage with
Amazon Music on socials to help increase
your reach and discover new fans.
Get
your music on millions of car stereos,
smart speakers and phones with
SoundCloud Radio
A
few months ago we launched our
distribution and marketing engine Repost
by SoundCloud so serious artists can
make a living from their music while
staying independent. And today we’re
launching a new station with Dash Radio
so Repost members have even more ways to
reach new audiences wherever they’re
listening. With 12M monthly
subscribers tuning in from their cars,
homes and online, Dash Radio – like
SoundCloud – is known for breaking
artists.
Country
Music Hall Of Fame And Museum Extends
Closure Through June
The
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
has elected to keep the museum and its
ancillary properties, Hatch Show Print,
Historic RCA Studio B, the CMA Theater
at the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Museum and the Taylor Swift Education
Center, closed through Tuesday, June 30,
2020, it was announced Tuesday (May 26).
Spotify
Lifts 10,000 Track Library Limit — But
Download Caps Remain
The
Spotify library limit is changing —
users can now save unlimited songs,
albums, and podcasts.
Users
have been complaining about Spotify’s
10,000 library limit since 2014. It is
one of the most discussed features on
Spotify’s Community Ideas forum, where
user feedback is collected. Previously,
users who ran afoul of this limitation
would see the message, “Epic
collection friend. There’s no more
room in Your Library. To save more,
you’ll need to remove some songs or
albums.”
EaseUS
Wants to Help Artists and Producers
Recover Lost Music Files
Few
things are more frustrating than losing
a file because of an accidental delete,
a virus, or a hardware malfunction —
especially for artists in the middle of
complex recording projects. EaseUS, a
company focused on data recovery, is
aiming to solve that problem with a tool
capable of retrieving seemingly
inaccessible digital assets.
Here
Are Some General Guidelines for Using
Music on Instagram and Facebook
Facebook
and Instagram have released a collection
of basic guidelines for those who intend
to use music in their videos, and
particularly in their Live broadcasts.
The relatively straightforward
guide opens by noting the
exceptionally positive societal and
social impact that music has created
during trying times like the COVID-19
pandemic. As you might expect, Facebook
and Instagram users have heavily
utilized Live to connect with others
while social distancing.
However,
the resource then states that Live’s
popularity uptick has “highlighted
some confusion across the community,
especially around the use of recorded
music.”
Facebook,
Instagram Launch ‘Shops’ — What
Does This Mean for Artists?
Facebook
is launching new tools to turn business
pages into Facebook Shops. What does
this mean for artists?
Facebook
has certainly dabbled in e-commerce
solutions for both Facebook and
Instagram. Facebook Marketplace operates
much like Craigslist, allowing
communities to sell items locally.
Instagram also allows users to buy
products featured in posts and ads. But
these new features take things a step
further by enabling businesses to create
Facebook Shops.
Consumer
Surveys Suggest ‘New Normal’
Behavior Could Soon Become Just
‘Normal.’
A
report by eMarketer indicates that much
of the consumer behavior that’s been
driven by the mandatory lockdowns
associated with the COVID-19 pandemic
will continue to endure even after
coronavirus fears have finally eased.
That includes online shopping and a
shift away from physical stores, money
management and whether to attempt
non-essential travel
Writing
Songs in Times of Crisis
Many
of the songs we write are reflections of
our times. They are snapshots that
capture the emotions and events that
define our worlds. So, I was not
surprised during my recent songwriters
workshop (which was held online) when
several writers shared songs that had
been sparked by their feelings about the
COVID-19 pandemic. These songs shared
some common denominators: their tempos
were slow and their lyrics were sad.
They expressed hopelessness, despair,
fear, and loneliness and when I asked
what the writers’ hopes and intentions
were for them, they answered that they
hoped to have major artists record them
and/or to place them in television shows
or movies.
Mechanical
Licensing Collective CEO Kris Ahrend
Talks Serving Songwriters, Preparing The
Industry’s Next Generation
In
January, it was announced that Kris
Ahrend had joined as
CEO of the Mechanical Licensing
Collective (MLC), which was formed
following the passage of the Music
Modernization Act in 2018. In 2019, the
Register of Copyrights designated the
MLC as the non-profit organization
responsible for administering blanket
mechanical licenses to digital services
such as Amazon Music, Apple, Spotify and
Tidal, and for distributing those
royalties to publishers and
self-administered songwriters. “Every
songwriter in the country and many
songwriters around the world will
ultimately be getting paid a portion of
their revenue from an organization based
in Nashville,” he says.
Goldman
Sachs: Global Music Revenue Will Drop
25% In 2020
In
a new “Music in the Air” analysis of
the music industry’s outlook, Goldman
Sachs projected that global music
revenue will drop 25 percent this year,
owing to the fiscal and operational
strain of the novel coronavirus crisis.
As
expected, 2020’s substantially
lessened concert and live performance
income played the biggest part in the
predicted revenue drop-off; Goldman
reduced its pre-pandemic earnings
estimates for live music by more than 75
percent. For reference, 2019’s global
music revenue totaled more than $75
billion.
AudioLock
Debuts Anti-Piracy Initiative: The Music
Mission
In
an effort to combat the growing network
of ‘pay-for-access’ piracy sites,
AudioLock recently launched The Music
Mission, bringing labels together to cut
the pirates off at their source.
AudioLock has launched an initiative
that tackles the growing problem of
infringing ‘pay-for-access’ download
sites. By uniting labels to help cut off
the pirate’s income at the source and
with official support from Beatport,
Traxsouce, and Juno Download, they
created The Music Mission.
Trump
Fans Prefer Country Music, Biden
Supporters Like Pop.
In
the final blog post following the release
of its “Contemporary Music SuperStudy
2,” Coleman Insights provides a look at
musical preferences based on political
party lines. The information, which was
not presented in the research firm’s
April webinar, shows that country music
reigns supreme for panelists who have a
positive opinion of President Donald
Trump.
COVID-19’s
Impact On The Global Music Industry, Part 2:
Geography
Chartmetric
is working to assist artists, songwriters,
and others in the music and entertainment
industry to improve their well-being
during this pandemic by providing
analytical data on the effect COVID-19. To
help address the global music industry’s
concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic,
US-based music analytics company
Chartmetric is continuously monitoring 2M+
artists across 20+ streaming and social
media data sources.
6
Ways For Musicians To Earn Money At Home
During COVID-19
Musicians’
careers have been especially heavily
impacted by the pandemic. With live music
one of the first to go, and likely among
the last to return, artists are facing a
lot of economic uncertainty. That said,
there are still some ways for musicians to
make money from their homes. Musicians are
among the most economically jeopardized by
the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social
distancing mandates. With the live music
industry shuttered for the foreseeable
future, artists are forced to adapt their
business practices to work for them in the
digital realm.
Guide
To Using Data To Boost Plays, Create New
Revenue Streams
Every
artist wants to see their music take off
on streaming platforms. Whether it’s for
the increased revenue or the additional
exposure, streaming is the best way to get
your music heard. Here we look at how you
can harness the power data to increase
your plays and create new revenue streams.
Have you ever wondered why some songs get
streamed and playlisted more than others?
Ever wondered how you can increase your
streaming revenue and create new ways to
receive a steady paycheck every month? By
using the data provided by streaming
platforms like Spotify and Apple Music,
you can make more targeted creative
decisions.
Our
Music Consumption Habits Are Changing, But
Will They Remain That Way?
Most people don’t need a survey to tell them that what they listen to or view is different today than before COVID. Our lives have changed so much in that time that it’s a given that our music consumption patterns have as well. Even if you know that you’re listening more or less than before, it’s still interesting to know what the rest of the world is doing and that’s where the latest series of studies from Billboard and Nielsen Music come in. The surveys titled COVID-19 Tracking The Impact On The Entertainment Landscape Release 1 and Release 2 have some surprising data on how we’re getting our music these days.
Advice
For Starting Your Own Record Label
The
music industry has undergone some
transformation over the last couple of
decades. Our digital landscape has been
instrumental in altering the shape of how
we consume tunes, how artists make music,
and how the business operates. One of the
positive effects is encouraging a DIY
approach to all areas of the industry.
iHeartMedia
Plunges Into a Tailspin as Q1 Losses Top
$1.68 Billion
Against
the trying backdrop of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) crisis and widespread market
uncertainty, iHeartMedia suffered net
losses of over $1.68 billion during
2020’s first quarter. iHeartMedia
experienced a 1.9 percent year-over-year
drop in earnings, which came in at $780.6
million during 2020’s first quarter.
Predictably, the brand’s cash flow
deriving from continued operations
decreased by a third, while EBITDA
(earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization) fell by
10.6 percent, to $140.3 million, from the
same period in 2019.
Radio
Workers Would Be Eligible For ‘Heroes
Fund’ In Late House Coronavirus Relief
Package.
Local
radio, television and newspaper employees on
the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic
could be due thousands of dollars in federal
payouts under the latest coronavirus relief
package unveiled by House Democrats on
Tuesday. The bill includes a $180 million
“heroes fund” that would provide for
“hazard pay” of up to $10,000 for
essential frontline workers.
Foursquare:
Location Data Tracks America’s Return To
‘Normal.
Foursquare
has been monitoring foot traffic levels,
analyzing data from pre-pandemic times through
the early weeks and months of the
national health crisis and now as some
relaxations of stay-at-home orders are
implemented in parts of the country. In its
latest findings, Foursquare reveals that fast
food and gas station visits have returned to
pre-pandemic levels in the Midwest and in
rural areas across the nation. While still
below normal levels, visits in suburban and
urban areas have increased substantially, up
15% since bottoming out in late March.
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