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Think Music Streaming Is The Devil? Think Again

In this piece, Bobby Owsinski pushes back against the common industry narrative that the streaming economy is to blame for the pitifully small royalty checks artists often receive these days. It seems like a week doesn’t go by without someone from the “old music business” complaining about how small the royalty checks are these days and blaming it all on music streaming. Never mind that the music business paradigm was way different 20 to 50 years ago. Never mind that the music person making noise doesn’t believe in aging out. Never mind that the person has no idea how the music streaming business works today. Never mind that their opinions are based on misinterpreted or inaccurate data. To them, it was better back then and it’s pretty crappy now.

 

Tailor Your Music Marketing Campaigns For Different Types Of Media

In order to most effectively market your music, it is essential for you to understand the four types of media channels available to you as an artist, and to the then appropriately tailor your marketing campaigns to match them.

To boost the effectiveness of your marketing, you need to understand the four different types of media channels. Each requires a different approach and, in this article, we explain how to use the first two to get the message out about your music.

 

Spotify Dreams of Artists Making a Living. It Probably Won't Come True

Spotify’s own data suggests it won’t achieve its core mission — a million creators earning a living from its platform — for the better part of a century. And that’s being generous  Spotify issued its customary quarterly letter to shareholders, revealing that its global subscriber base had grown by 8 million in the second quarter, up to 138 million. Within the letter, the company revealed a startling statistic: “Growth in the number of artists making up our top tier — those accounting for the top 10% of streams — is accelerating; that cohort now stands at over 43,000 artists, up 43% from 30,000 one year ago.”

 

Recording Academy & A2IM Applaud New Senate Bill That Bars Radio Conglomerates From PPP Funds

The proposed legislation would preclude companies like iHeartRadio and Entercom from receiving PPP funds under the Senate's HEALS Act.  The Recording Academy and the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) are supporting a new Senate bill that would allow small businesses and individuals to qualify for a second loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), while also prohibiting large radio conglomerates from receiving the aid.

 

Facebook Takes On YouTube, Adds Music Videos

UPDATED: Facebook has added music videos including exclusive content starting this weekend, the company announced.  All of the major music groups are on board for the launch including Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Merlin, BMG, Kobalt and “many others across the independent music community, publishers and societies.”

 

Like It Or Not, You Are Who You Listen To

A new study from Israel’s Bar Ilan University revealed an exciting music psychology tidbit about who we listen to and why. According to the study, people tend to prefer the music of those artists who display a similar public personae to that of the listener.  And it turns out that when it comes to music, we now have the answer – at least when it comes to the artists we adore, and the music they make.  A new research study, conducted by four PhDs, from Israel’s Bar Ilan University reaches this fascinating conclusion:  People prefer the music of artists who have publicly observable personalities (“personas”) similar to their own personality traits (the “self-congruity effect of music”).

 

Guide To Common Creative Roles In The Music Industry

As it has become increasingly common for artists to mix and master their own material, the creative lines between each creative role have become somewhat blurry. This can sometimes lead to miscommunications and tension as to who is responsible for what. In hopes of alleviating some of this confusion, we here breakdown a few of the more common creative roles in the music business.

 

MLC Requires Songwriters To Clean Up Their Own Data

The Music Licensing Collective’s takeover of mechanical royalties management under the Music Modernization Act was designed to streamline payments to songwriters.  As a result of the passage of the 2018 Music Modernization act the federally designated Music Licensing Collective (MLC) will take over licensing, collecting and paying mechanical royalties from streaming services to songwriters January 2021.  Previously these duties and services were performed by a variety private companies.  One of the goals of the MMA was to streamline the process so that songwriters would benefit from increased efficiency and lower overhead. Incredibly the MLC appears to be establishing a system that will be less accurate and less efficient than the bad old system.  Essentially it is an additional $60 million dollar layer of bureaucracy sitting atop the old system with many of the old players now hired as “vendors.”

 

Which Indie Distributors Increase Your Chance Of Being Featured On Spotify?

Who is the best independent music distributor if you want to have a hit? Charles Alexander of label services firm Systemic took a look at Chartmetric and other data to find out.  Alexander’s analysis looked at week of mid-July Spotify data.  The goal of this fascinating data dive was to look at the songs and artists on New Music Friday playlist to explore the who, the why – and possibly the how – these songs made this flagship Spotify playlist. He and his team then looked at the Spotify Singled Out playlist which summarizes the best performing songs of the most recent week.

 

Best Email Subject Line Ideas For Musicians

Be it fan or a publicist, whether or not someone will open your email is incredibly dependent on the subject line. For this reason, word choice and composition is hugely important in crafting a subject line. Here, we look at how to make your next email title pop.  Email subject lines are a lot like song titles; they should sum up what you want to say in a way that will intrigue people enough to make them want to learn more.

 

MUSICIANS: A Guide To Effectively Marketing Your Virtual Services

As the pandemic continues, virtual events are here to stay, but for some consumers, live streaming events can be a tough sell. Here we examine what artists can do to more effectively market their virtual services.  Virtual events have become part of the “new normal” as our country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.  It’s important to let potential clients know that you’re able to provide a virtual experience on par with a live performance! We’ve created a simple guide to effectively market your virtual services.

 

SoundExchange & Neighboring Rights Explained

In this continuation of Disc Makers’ series on music copyright and royalties, CEO Tony van Veen dives into the concept of neighboring rights and how the organization SoundExchange tackles tracking and paying royalties earned from said neighboring rights to the relevant party.  In our sixth video about music copyrights and royalties, Disc Makers’ CEO Tony van Veen discusses neighboring rights and SoundExchange, the organization that tracks and pays those royalties.

 

Stimulus Checks Can’t Be Seized by Debt Collectors — Now, It’s the Law

Yesterday, we reported on the Senate’s newly detailed COVID-19 relief legislation, the HEALS Act, including its proposed second round of stimulus checks. Now, it’s been revealed that debt collectors will be unable to seize these stimulus checks from eligible recipients who have outstanding federal and/or state financial obligations.

 

What Each Country Pays For Spotify Premium and How It Affects What Artists Get Paid

Spotify is available in 92 countries. But what users pay for a Spotify Premium subscription varies widely, according to a new study.  The difference in price is designed to make the service affordable in each country and reflect local per capita income.  But some countries get a much better deal than others and the result of all of this variable pricing effects what Spotify pays out in royalties.

 

Federal Unemployment Checks Likely Getting Chopped to $200/Week — At Least for Now

The CARES Act’s $600-per-week federal unemployment checks are set to conclude at the end of the month. Now, newly released Senate legislation (the HEALS Act) calls for unemployment benefits worth “approximately 70 to 75 percent” of lost wages, with $200 weekly checks proposed for the August-October timeframe.

 

Pandemics, Riots, Protests, and Promotion: What Does an Independent Album Rollout Look Like in 2020?

Being an independent artist or label was already unpredictable, but things got even more difficult in 2020. Here's how artists and labels are evolving and surviving in an unforgiving landscape.  t’s no secret that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a cataclysmic impact on the music industry.  Despite all of this, there’s still lots of new music being released, and the music industry has had to adapt to these new conditions. 

 

Getting People to Buy Your Music

How do you get people to buy your music? That’s the question, isn’t it? As Facebook makes “Likes” even more meaningless than they already were, and in spite of the common perception that your primary path to success is through social media, for most artists social media numbers simply don’t translate into actual purchasing fans.

 

Top Analytics Tools For Audience Development

Both artists and industry executives employ analytics tools as a means of assessing their niche in the market, as well as identifying weaknesses and key areas for growth. In this piece, we look at six of the best tools for understanding and unpacking your music industry stats.  Industry professionals and artists alike utilize music analytics tools to help them further understand their place in the market. Knowing where you stand and where you have room to grow is the key to excelling in this industry. To help you truly understand your stats, here are some of the best tools out there to guide you in the right direction.

 

9 Easy Places To Find Creative Lyric Ideas

Composing strong lyrics can be challenging, and consistently coming up with original, creative words for your music is often difficult for even the most experienced songwriters. Here we look at nine easy places from which to draw lyrical inspiration.  It is often said that a good melody will last a season, but a good melody combined with strong lyrics can last a lifetime. The only thing is, good lyrics are difficult to come by.

 

How I Sold 1K CDs In 10 Weeks

In this case study, Brian Hazard of the project Color Theory explains how, antiquated though they may be, he was able to successfully sell 1000 CDs in the space of a ten weeks.  Why would anyone buy a CD in 2020? Let me count the ways:

 

Similarities Between Musicians and Startups: Cherie Hu On Music Biz Weekly Podcast

Repsected music industry journalist and researcher Cherie Hu joins co-hosts Michael Banrdvold and Jay Gilbert on the Music Biz Weekly Podcast.  The three discuss the parallels between launching a music career and launching a new artist. Along the why they dip into other topics including why social media and engagement are missing from the digital streaming services.

 

2020 Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards Ceremony Postponed

The 2020 Country Radio Hall of Fame Induction and Dinner ceremony has been postponed to an undisclosed date and time, the Country Radio Broadcasters announced Monday (July 20).  The annual event, initially scheduled for June 24, then re-scheduled for Sept. 3, is now on hold due to ongoing uncertainties surrounding the spread of COVID-19.

 

Understanding Music Publishing as an Indie Artist

Don’t leave your publishing on the table. If you’re an indie artist, there’s a high likelihood you’re missing out on some serious cash because your publishing isn’t being taken care of. It’s a trying time with artists unable to tour. Every penny helps. Create content and get it out there. Engage with your fans and importantly, make sure all you have the relevant partners to collect the money your content generates.  In short: Publishing pays, and it can pay well. However, too many artists are leaving money on the table while their music is being used royalty-free.

 

Amazon Warns Customers That Echo Buds Are Overheating

So much for our ‘amazing’ wireless future. Amazon Echo Buds are now overheating due to a firmware update.

Remember the last time your 3.5mm headphones overheated while charging? Me neither. Amazon has issued a dire email warning to owners of their new $130 Alexa-powered Echo Buds. The email says the Echo Buds overheating issue is due to a bug in a firmware update.  Amazon says the firmware update introduces a “potential safety risk” to users.

 

The Importance of Finishing Songs And how to avoid the comfort zone of incompletion

It’s the only one of his songs in which Paul Simon offers direct songwriting advice. It’s simple advice, but fundamentally important. Which is: if you want to write a song about the moon – or any subject for that matter – do it. Take action. If you intend to do it, or think about doing it, or ponder whether it would be any good, or any other variation on thinking without doing, you won’t make any progress.  The only way to proceed, reasonably, is to do it. Now. The point of power is in the present. Dally no longer.  By ‘do it,’ the idea is to do it to completion. Not only write one verse, or maybe a chorus. But to finish the song. Because – again, this is fundamental stuff – the only chance this song has of completion is in your hands.

 

Facebook Takes On YouTube With Officially Licenced Music Videos

In a direct challenge to YouTube, Facebook will launch officially licensed music videos in the US next month. But the social media giant is taking a decidedly more controlled approach.  Facebook has already notified the admins of some artist Facebook Pages of the coming move.

 

How To Create A Live ‘Zoom Call’ Video Fans Will Love

In addition to basic artist live streams, the pandemic also introduced us to the live Zoom call video. While this allows for a larger ensemble of artists, many musicians were perplexed by the technology which allows these ‘live’ Zoom calls to take place. Turns out, it’s easier than you might think.

 

What Are Performance Royalties, PROs?

In this fifth segment of their series exploring music copyrights and royalties, Disc Maker CEO Tony van Veen breaks down what performance royalties are, why you probably aren’t getting enough of them, and who the performing rights organizations responsible for collecting them are.  In our fifth video about music copyrights and royalties, Disc Makers’ CEO Tony van Veen discusses performance royalties, the PROs (ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC) who collect them, and why you’re probably not getting all you deserve.

 

A Medical Professional Discusses COVID-19 And The Future Of Live Music

Medical professional and music fan Adam Stuart joins co-hosts Michael Brandvold and Jay Gilbert discuss COVID-19 and the music industry.

 

What Fans Think Of Online Concerts And How To Improve Them

On any given day about 3000 live-streamed concerts are listed on Bandsintown. Fans are flocking Show4ME, StageIt, Bandsintown Live and other platforms. But what do they want to see and hear when they get there?  Online concerts have gone mainstream, and being one of the platforms that provides concert streaming and ticketed online show capabilities, we here at Show4me were naturally curious what are the fans’ opinions of their online show experiences – what draws them in, what keeps them interested, what they wish was improved.