Music Is Your Business

Transcription

1 FourFront Media and Music A FOURFRONT MUSIC MARKETING HANDBOOK Sample Pages from Music Is Your Business 2nd Edition by Christopher Knab With Legal Tips From Entertainment Law Attorney Bartley F. Day New Revised, Updated, and Expanded Edition

2 Music Is Your Business A FourFront Music Marketing Handbook Welcome to the sample pages for the revised, expanded, and updated 2nd edition of Music Is Your Business! We ve included What This Book Is (and Is Not), What Are the Four Fronts of the Music Business and What Do They Have to Do With You? and An Overview that explains how it all works together. These pages are from the beginning of the book, and will show you how you can get your career on the right track and keep it there by understanding who does what in the music business. We ve also included the Table of Contents to give you an idea of how much is in the book 196 pages of real world information to help musicians help themselves with the business of music. Share this file with a friend! The complete version of the book is available in both a printed version and a downloadable PDF version. The PDF version has clickable Links to every web address, and is completely Bookmarked for fast access to the information you need. (To see how Bookmarks work in the Sample Pages if the Bookmarks window isn t visible on the left of the screen, choose Window then Show Bookmarks. Then click on any title in the bookmark list!) Click here to buy the print version of Music Is Your Business Click here to buy the e-book version of Music Is Your Business FourFront Media and Music Copyright 2001, 2003 by Christopher Knab. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to share this file. No part of this file may be reproduced or altered in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or sold at any price. Printed in the United States of America.

3 What This Book Is (and Is Not) There are many advisors, consultants, and recording industry veterans who have different approaches to marketing a record. In fact, my book joins dozens of others on the bookshelves devoted to the topic of how to sell independent music. Many of these books are quite good, but many of them lay down a firm plan of action a step-by-step guide to success. I don t see it that way. Yes, this book is about the business of marketing and selling music for independent artists or bands. But, in my experience there are many valid approaches that can be used. Some people learn to play music by practicing exercises out of a book. Some people listen to recordings and try to copy what they hear. Even though I m not a musician, I can tell you that learning about the music business also has different schools of thought. If you prefer a step-by-step approach, you ll find some direction along those lines in this book, but I prefer to describe how things work, how the industry is set up. I ll suggest that some marketing ideas work better than others and I may recommend certain tactics and strategies along the way. But, I will not, as many book do, tell you to do A, then when A is done, proceed to B, and when you ve completed B move on to C, and if you do so, by the time you get to Z you ll be a star. I can t say that and neither should the books that provide you with step-by-step instructions. Please note, throughout this book I use the word record, when I refer to record labels, record stores, and your record. Even though the CD is the current standard format for music releases, the music business doesn t call labels CD labels, or stores CD stores, nor have they changed recording studios to digital capturing studios or some other ludicrous term. The recording industry is (only) one hundred twenty-five years old and out of respect for that past, I will continue to use words that remind us of where we came from. Records, and the business of selling them, is what the record industry has always been about is still about today and (no matter what future devices may be invented) will always be about. Long live records! 3

4 Contents iii vii x xi What This Book Is (and Is Not) Acknowledgements What Are the Four Fronts of the Music Business and What Do They Have to Do with You? An Overview PART 1: The First Front Artist and Product Development 2 Why Artist and Product Development Are Both in the First Front 3 What Is Artist Development? Preparing Your Career 5 Ten Reasons Why Musicians Fail (and How Not To) 23 Paths to Success 24 Artist/Band Inventory List 26 Songwriter Relationship and Artist Relationship Charts 27 Filing Copyright Applications 30 Royalties and How They Work 33 Music Publishing: A Bare-Bones Primer 35 Setting Up Your Own Music Publishing Company 39 What A&R Reps Do 40 Recording Contracts: The Basic Concepts 45 Con Jobs: Watch Out for the Flim-Flam Man 48 Artist Development: Questions to Ask Yourself 49 What is Product Development? Making and Selling Your Music 51 Who Buys Music? 56 What You Should Know about Your Fans Things to Consider When Starting Your Own Record Label 60 Releasing Your Own Record A 15-Point Legal Checklist 64 Preparing Your Release: Manufacturing and Design Tips 66 Do You Really Need Your Own Bar Code? 67 Inside Major and Independent Record Labels 69 Typical Major Label Structure Chart 70 Making Your Label a Priority, or Art vs. Commerce: A Music Marketplace Dilemma 73 Distribution Setups for Record Labels 75 Distributors: How to Attract Them and How to Work With Them 80 Getting Your Music to the Customer Chart 82 The Distributor One-Sheet 83 Sample Distributor One-Sheet 84 Sample of a Distributor s Letter of Instructions to an Independent Label 4

5 86 What a Record Label Should Know about Music Retailers 91 Online E-Music Retailing 94 A FourFront Marketing Plan for Independent Record Releases 96 Sample Marketing Plan for a Band 100 Product Development Questions for Music Retailers PART 2: The Second Front Promotion 102 Promotion: Getting Airplay for Your Music 103 Radio Station Music Formats 105 Promotion: How Record Labels and Radio Stations Work Together 119 The Promotion Game: A Day by Day Summary 122 Promotion Front Questions for Radio Stations PART 3: The Third Front Publicity 124 Publicity: Creating a Buzz in the Media 125 Kits, Kits, and More Kits 126 Ingredients of a Demo/Promo/Press Kit 127 How To Write a Bio and a Fact Sheet 130 Sample Band Bio 131 Sample Fact Sheet 132 Sample Cover Letter 133 The Quote Sheet/Press Clippings 134 Folders and Envelopes 135 Press Kit Photos 138 How to Write a Music Related Press Release 139 Getting the Most Out of Your Music Website 142 Tips for Working with the Press 144 Publicity Front Questions for Magazines, Newspapers and E-zines PART 4: The Fourth Front Performance 146 Performance: Finding Your Audience 147 The Business of Live Performance 154 Have You Ever Played a House Concert? 156 Sample Band Tour and Work Schedule 161 Performance Front Questions for Working Your Live Shows PART 5: The Future Is Now 164 Changes In the Way Music Is Sold Over the Last 30 Years 167 New Challenges to Music Marketing 174 The Four Fronts of Music Marketing Chart 176 Author Bios 177 Index 5

6 What Are the Four Fronts of the Music Business and What Do They Have to Do With You? If you re a musician and you want to make money from your music, you re in a difficult position. If you re like a lot of musicians, you spend huge amounts of time and money to improve your music and performing skills, but you may not have thought much about the business of music, or how you re actually a part of it. When you combine making music with making money, you become a part of the music business whether you like it or not. Since most musicians don t know much about the music business, they don t realize how much that ignorance can cost them. The old saying isn t Ignorance is power, but Knowledge is power. This is especially true when you re making decisions about your time, your money, and your future. In today s world a musician really has no choice but to find a way to balance the time and attention it takes to be a musician with the time and attention it takes to be music business savvy. I m not a musician, but I ve spent the better part of twenty-five years working closely with musicians. I ve supported them as a DJ, playing what I thought was the coolest music they made. I ve also supported them by selling their music at record stores and marketing some of the best music I could find with my record label. Today I continue to support musicians by educating them about the realities of a rapidly changing and complicated business. To accomplish this, I ve found a way to describe the structure of the music industry. I call it the Four Fronts of music marketing. These fronts are called Artist and Product Development, Promotion, Publicity, and Performance. I divide the First Front into two parts, Artist Development and Product Development, for a very important reason. Artist Development is about developing your music and building a solid business foundation for your career. It is as important as Product Development, which is about developing a way to record, manufacture, and sell your music. What has or hasn t been done in Artist Development will either help or hurt the music product you make and intend to sell. The three remaining Fronts (Promotion, Publicity, and Performance) I call the Exposure Fronts. They include those activities involved with getting your music heard, talked about and experienced live. Every successful record in history has had elements of the Four Fronts behind it, so there s no need for you to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your own career. There are only so many things that have been done in the past, are being done now, and will always be done to sell records. 6

7 1 An Overview The First Front: Artist and Product Development Artist Development: Preparing Your Career The Artist Development part of the First Front includes fundamental issues that are the basis of your music career. These are the same issues a professional record label would consider when they re deciding to sign an artist or band. It is your job, more and more these days, to develop your own career creatively and in a professional manner. Artist Development includes such important things as: Songwriting skills Copyright issues Music publishing The role of the Performance Rights Organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) Music equipment and instrument needs Band/musician issues and agreements Artist management Ethical and moral issues Political issues Record label dealings (A&R and misc. other) Contracts and legal issues Creating your image Product Development: Making and Selling Your Record The Product Development part of the First Front includes those areas that are directly involved with recording and selling your music, such as: Marketing and sales plans Recording studios, producers, engineers Mastering and manufacturing Graphic design and printing for CDs/tapes Distributor one-sheets Distribution and sales: research and contacts Distributor options: one stops, independent distributors, rackjobbers Retail options: chain stores, mass merchandisers, mom-and-pop stores, misc. other retailers Live show sales Internet sales, mail order, and catalog sales 7

8 8 2 The Second Front: Promotion Getting Airplay for Your Music sample page The simplest way to remember it is this: Promotion equals airplay. Airplay is how most people hear new music for the first time. It s the business of securing broadcast support for your record. This is the Front that the major record labels rely on to secure a hit record. Radio airplay is the most effective exposure to get for your music; it s also the most difficult to secure. Key Promotion Front issues are: Radio airplay: format selection Station research: commercial, non-commercial stations, Internet radio stations Creating station contact lists Promotion tactics and strategies Program and music director relationships Independent radio promotion TV/video: research and options (MTV, VH1, etc.) Tracking airplay on the charts 3 The Third Front: Publicity Creating a Buzz in the Media If the Promotion Front is about getting airplay for a song, then the Publicity Front is about getting your music talked about in the media. Publicity creates opportunities for music fans to read or see reviews, interviews, and feature stories about your music in print or on the radio, TV, or the Internet. The key issues included in the Publicity Front are: Print media research: magazines, newspapers, fanzines, e-zines Broadcast media: radio and TV interviews, stories, and features Creating broadcast and print contact lists Publicity choices: reviews, articles, interviews, calendar listings Program and show research Publicity and public relations plans Creating demo, press and promo kits: Bios Fact sheets Photos Press clips and quote sheets Cover letters Folders Press releases Press relationships: publisher, editor, and writer issues Media deadlines and timelines Advertising options and choices (Note: publicity is free, but advertising is paid for.)

9 4 sample page The Fourth Front: Performance Finding Your Audience For most styles of popular music, the live Performance Front is the foundation for developing a fanbase and it is an important part of marketing and selling recorded music. The key areas involved with the Performance Front are: Live show venues: clubs, halls, fairs, festivals, etc. Venue research: creating venue contact lists Booking agents and concert promoters: roles and relationships Live performance contracts Lighting, sound, and equipment needs Tours: planning, tour coordination, concert promotions Road managers, roadies, and life on the road Touring as marketing: radio, press, and retail opportunities Remember, these last three Fronts are the exposure Fronts of the music business. This is because they include the different ways the music buying public becomes aware of (or is exposed to) new music. What All the Fronts Have in Common I want to stress three essential areas that are a part of all Four Fronts. Dollar and Sense Issues: It costs money to develop and promote music. To put it bluntly, it takes more money than talent these days to get your music to the attention of consumers. Image Development and Management: Developing an honest, yet consistent image is essential for any artist. An image is what people remember about a singer or a band finding and managing that image is of the utmost importance. On and Offline Marketing Opportunities: Gone are the days of building your music career without the use of current technology. Online sales are a growing business. Many new Internet radio stations and e-zines can get your music to an audience. Opportunities for live performance broadcasts are already an everyday occurrence. Lest you think that the Four Fronts are only for beginning artists and bands, let me tell you this. You may just be getting started and think that all this is a one time deal until you are discovered. Sorry about that, the truth of the matter is that the more successful you get, the more time you will spend dealing with the Four Fronts of music marketing. No matter how well-established or famous musicians become, every record they put out is like starting over again. For each new release, even superstars have to devise a marketing plan that is based on the ideas and structure of the Four Fronts. How the Four Fronts Work Together Understanding the purpose of each of the Four Fronts is one thing, but you must also realize that they interact and depend on each other. In some ways there s a Catch-22 that goes like this: In order to get your recording into mass distribution, the distributors and stores want to know why they should carry your record: what kind of radio support your record is getting, how the media is supporting your music, and what the audience response to your live shows has been. 9

10 In order to get signifigant airplay, the radio stations want to know why they should play your record; how it s been selling, if you re getting good reviews in the media, and how well your live shows are being received. In order to get the print and broadcast media to review and write about your music, they want to know why their readers and audience would want to know about you: How your record is selling, what kind of radio airplay you ve gotten, and if your live shows are creating excitement. In order to get better live shows and tours, the booking agents, concert promoters, and venue operators want to know that they ll make money from your concert. They will check your retail sales, airplay statistics, and media reviews before they decide to work with you. So, let me say it again loud and clear: The Four Fronts of music marketing are interrelated and dependent upon each other! No one uses the tools available in every Front equally. Many acts have, for example, built their careers primarily by playing live as often as possible (the Performance Front). Others have jump-started their careers with college radio airplay (the Promotion Front) or have become critic s darlings, and received a ton of favorable press (the Publicity Front). Others combine different elements from the Four Fronts. The trick is to pay attention to what works best for you and build on your successes. It s up to you to decide what mix is best for your career. Where To Start I believe that the safest and most realistic way to develop your music career and market your music is to understand how the music business works and how it applies to you. I ve provided a list of questions on page 26 for you to use as a starting point the Artist/Band Inventory List. These will help you define where you are in your career. What are your current resources and what are your goals? Then go to those chapters you re most interested in. Being successful at music marketing requires an ability to improvise and be spontaneous. You should be able to be flexible in your business activities. And it can be fun. As you go along you ll meet many frustrations, but the tips and strategies I describe should help you avoid many pitfalls as well. Empower yourself and take control of your music career. Good luck! Click here to buy the print version of Music Is Your Business Click here to buy the e-book version of Music Is Your Business 10

11 Author Bios Christopher Knab is the owner of FourFront Media and Music, a Seattle, Washington based consultation service dedicated to helping independent musicians promote, market, and sell their music. In the 1970s Christopher owned Aquarius Records, a new-and-used record store that was integral to the San Francisco music scene. The Ramones, The B-52 s, Elvis Costello and many others made instore appearances there. Later he co-hosted the first commercial alternative rock radio specialty show in the nation The Outcaste Hour, and later The Heretics, and The Modern Humans on stations KSAN and KSJO. Using his on-air name Cosmo Topper, he gave dozens of now-legendary alternative bands their inital radio exposure. He was the co-founder and Vice President of 415/Columbia Records (Romeo Void, Translator, Red Rockers, Roky Erickson, et al). From , he was the controversial Station Manager of Seattle alternative college radio station KCMU (KEXP) during Seattle s grunge era. He was also the President of NAMA (Northwest Music Association) for two years and workshop coordinator for NAMA s music business conferences. He is currently on the faculty of the Audio Production program at the Art Institute of Seattle. His website, established in 1995, is a highly regarded Internet resource, hosting his monthly column Indie 2003, and dozens of articles and links to help independent musicians with the business of music. He is also an in-demand speaker and panelist at numerous music industry conferences, as well as a voting member of the Recording Academy (NARAS). Mr. Knab is available for personal consulations, workshops, and seminars, and can be reached at: (206) , or by at Chris@4frontmusic.com. The mailing address for FourFront Media and Music is: 1245 S. 128th St., Seattle, WA Bartley F. Day is a Portland, Oregon based entertainment law attorney in private practice. He is also a partner in ALLMEDIA, Ltd., a company with offices in Portland and Los Angeles. ALLMEDIA specializes in administering the licensing of music for film, television, commercials, and computer games, and represents various record labels and independent music publishers. Mr. Day can be reached by at: allmedia@hevanet.com. His office number is: (503) His mailing address is: 1001 S.W. 5th Avenue, Suite 1100, Portland, OR Christopher Knab and Bartley F. Day are also the co-authors of a chapter on distribution deals for independent labels, in the latest edition of The Musician s Business and Legal Guide, a book compiled by the Beverly Hills Bar Association and published by Prentice-Hall Publishing (New York). 11

12 FourFront Media and Music PRINTABLE ORDER FORM Don t want to order online? To use a check, money order, or credit card to order your copy of Music Is Your Business: A FourFront Music Marketing Handbook please print out this form and mail it to the address below. Your Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Phone Please send copy(ies) of: Music Is Your Business at $29.95 each Washington Residents: Add 8.8% sales tax to your subtotal US & Canada: Shipping and Handling add $6.50 per book International: Shipping and Handling add $12 per book Total (US funds only) : Payment: Check Money Order Please make check or money order out to Christopher Knab Credit Card Sorry, only VISA and MASTERCARD ACCEPTED! Card Number: Name as it appears on card: Expiration date: Mail this form to: Christopher Knab FourFront Media and Music 1245 S. 128th St. Seattle, WA USA 98168

13 Music IsYour Business A FourFront Music Marketing Handbook Musicians spend huge amounts of time and money to improve their songwriting and performing skills, but they may not think much about the business of music. If you re a musician, or if you re planning a career in the music industry, you must know how music becomes a consumer product and how it s marketed if you re going to succeed. Christopher Knab describes how things work in the music business with his FourFronts of Music Marketing. The FourFront approach organizes the complex world of music marketing into four areas: Artist and Product Development, Promotion, Publicity, and Performance. This book will help you understand how these four Fronts work together, and what they mean to you and your career. Chris has always had a sense for the business of music. He has the ability to hear the commercial potential in an artist s music, and help them plan a strategy to bring their music to the right audience. We worked together closely on many projects when we were partners at 415 Records. (Romeo Void, Translator, Red Rockers, Wire Train, and many others.) Howie Klein, President of Reprise Records When I learned Chris Knab s Four Fronts of Music Marketing from him a few years ago, it opened my eyes to how record labels promote their releases. Today, whenever I check out a new marketing plan sent to me by my label, the first thing I look for is to see if all Four Fronts were included. Michael Bailey, Artist Development Rep, EMI Music Distribution Chris Knab not only gets it but helps other musicians get it. Business and soul do dance together. Tina Lear, Singer/Songwriter, Red Hat Records It is truly a great thing to know someone who is so knowledgeable about the entire music industry, and at the same time is willing and interested in helping newbies, so to speak. Music Is Your Business will help many people learn what it takes to compete in the music industry. Dianne Caron, Caron Management Group Christopher Knab is the owner of FourFront Media and Music, a consultation service dedicated to helping independent musicians promote, market, and sell their music. Bartley F. Day is an entertainment attorney in private practice and a partner in ALLMEDIA, Ltd. ISBN FourFront Media and Music 1245 S. 128th St. Seattle, WA info@4frontmusic.com Find us on the World Wide Web at