Live Performence
Live Performances
Promoting live performances
Promoting your live performance is a very important factor towards the overall success of your performance. This is because when you promote a gig you are getting people interested in the gig and persuading them to come and see you play. A live performance can be promoted in a variety of different ways. One of the most common and most effective ways is through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Another way of promoting your live performances is by putting up posters in the towns you’re playing in just to raise awareness of your gig and hopefully make more people come.
There are so many ways to promote yourself as a musician but if you are concentrating on your performance it can often be better to let promoters do it for you. A promoter is dose what the name suggests, they promote live shows. But they do a lot more than just promote live
performances; they organize shows and book bands. This means that some of the things they will have to do before a live performance is to secure a venue for the performance, promote the show on the internet and using poster and fliers ect, if the band has a agent the promoter will work with the bands agent to ensure that everything that the band needs for the show are covered (lights, PA system ect), when appropriate the promoters pay the band for the performance.
Promoting live performances
Promoting your live performance is a very important factor towards the overall success of your performance. This is because when you promote a gig you are getting people interested in the gig and persuading them to come and see you play. A live performance can be promoted in a variety of different ways. One of the most common and most effective ways is through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Another way of promoting your live performances is by putting up posters in the towns you’re playing in just to raise awareness of your gig and hopefully make more people come.
There are so many ways to promote yourself as a musician but if you are concentrating on your performance it can often be better to let promoters do it for you. A promoter is dose what the name suggests, they promote live shows. But they do a lot more than just promote live
performances; they organize shows and book bands. This means that some of the things they will have to do before a live performance is to secure a venue for the performance, promote the show on the internet and using poster and fliers ect, if the band has a agent the promoter will work with the bands agent to ensure that everything that the band needs for the show are covered (lights, PA system ect), when appropriate the promoters pay the band for the performance.
Here is a real life example of promoting live performancesAS you can see in this picture it is a promotional poster that informs people of a live music event that is happening in the area. I know that this is a very good way to promote live music performances because this promotional poster was promoting a night of music that
my band played at. I helped to put up posters and thing in various locations in the town and it did work because on the night of the performance there was a good turnout and the venue was full. What does a promoter’s job consist of?They will have to contact the venues about booking shows and putting on events. Book the artists and communicate with them so that there is the right kit in the venue on the night of the performance. Promote and share the event as the name of the job might suggest. This is often done through social networking sites like Facebook and twitter. Negotiate and pay the musicians and the bands if the gig is a paid gig. Some times promoters sell the tickets to the band and the band sells then and keeps the profit. However this is not popular among bands. |
Promoters can earn from anything between 7,000 a year to 50,000 a year.
Commenting critically on the job a promoter has
Promoters, more often than now work freelance. This means that they are self inployed and they do everything there self and manage their own work. This also means that in order to be a promoter you will have to have a good work ethic. Because of this it is hard to so say exactly what they earn from it, but it is and it can be anywhere between 7 to £55 thousand a year. This is not good if you are a promoter because it means that your income will vary with how much work and promoting you do and you sometimes might not make as much money as you wanted to. It is had to start off as a promoter because you need that already have a lot of contacts if you want to get your clients anywhere and if you want to be a good promoter. It is not good promoting stuff on Facebook for bands if you have not friends and nobody will see it.
Setting up for a performance
When you are setting up for a performance and you will have already taken all of the sterp like securing a venue and promoting your show and all of the little things that are needed in order to have a successful musical performance. So this means that you will already have sorted all of the kit you need like PA systems and lighting. If you are bringing the kit yourself then you will have to arrange transport. The basic kit that you will need for a performance is as follows; PA system, mixing desk, microphones and lots of XLR leads. When you are in the venue and you have all of the kit you need to do the performance you will have to set up the stage. It is important that the stage is set up in a safe way as
to minimize the chance of tripping or falling off the stage. The way that you will have to do this is by tapeing down the wires.
When you are setting up for a performance and you will have already taken all of the sterp like securing a venue and promoting your show and all of the little things that are needed in order to have a successful musical performance. So this means that you will already have sorted all of the kit you need like PA systems and lighting. If you are bringing the kit yourself then you will have to arrange transport. The basic kit that you will need for a performance is as follows; PA system, mixing desk, microphones and lots of XLR leads. When you are in the venue and you have all of the kit you need to do the performance you will have to set up the stage. It is important that the stage is set up in a safe way as
to minimize the chance of tripping or falling off the stage. The way that you will have to do this is by tapeing down the wires.
The pictures hear is on a big scale as you can see. The stage is a lot bigger that is would be for most bands to play, hence there are a lot more people there setting it all up.
Health and safety
When performing live music it is important that there is some kind of risk assessment that takes place to minimize any health and safety issues. The different types of health hand safety issues depend on the venue that you are playing in. If you are playing your music on the streets then there are less precautions that need to be taken but there still are precautions like making sure that all of the leads are tied up and taped so that nobody will trip and injure themselves. If you are playing in a venue like a put the risk assessment might include things like making sure there are no wires acting as trip hazards going from the stage to the mixing desk and making sure there are no trip hazards on the stage so that you don’t trip over and look stupid.
When performing live music it is important that there is some kind of risk assessment that takes place to minimize any health and safety issues. The different types of health hand safety issues depend on the venue that you are playing in. If you are playing your music on the streets then there are less precautions that need to be taken but there still are precautions like making sure that all of the leads are tied up and taped so that nobody will trip and injure themselves. If you are playing in a venue like a put the risk assessment might include things like making sure there are no wires acting as trip hazards going from the stage to the mixing desk and making sure there are no trip hazards on the stage so that you don’t trip over and look stupid.
Tour/event
Management of Tours and Events -
Different events and tours need different managers and people working behind the scenes booking the venues and making sure everything runs to plan. If the person’s job is to arrange tours their job title is a tour manager. A tour managers job is to help organise the timings and venues that the group they are working for are going to perform. When a group goes on tour they play a lot of shows in a lot of different played on the county. There are some enormous tours like one of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers first tours when they played 62 shows in 70 nights. The smaller and medium size tours would often be organised by road managers as opposed to tour managers. The performances in the tour will also be booked by the bands booking agent, the booking agent works with the concert promoters to place the acts in suitable venues and festivals so
that there genre of music is enjoyed by the audiences.
Being an event manager is deferent to being a tour manager. An event manager can arrange a variety of events. Event managers are the people behind music festivals and a lot of gigs. The event managers are often involved with the tour managers if it is a big band doing a big tour like the examples I put from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Different events and tours need different managers and people working behind the scenes booking the venues and making sure everything runs to plan. If the person’s job is to arrange tours their job title is a tour manager. A tour managers job is to help organise the timings and venues that the group they are working for are going to perform. When a group goes on tour they play a lot of shows in a lot of different played on the county. There are some enormous tours like one of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers first tours when they played 62 shows in 70 nights. The smaller and medium size tours would often be organised by road managers as opposed to tour managers. The performances in the tour will also be booked by the bands booking agent, the booking agent works with the concert promoters to place the acts in suitable venues and festivals so
that there genre of music is enjoyed by the audiences.
Being an event manager is deferent to being a tour manager. An event manager can arrange a variety of events. Event managers are the people behind music festivals and a lot of gigs. The event managers are often involved with the tour managers if it is a big band doing a big tour like the examples I put from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Tour Management
Typical starting salaries are around £15,000 to £20,000 but you can earn around £30,000 plus.
If a band is successful enough that they have been offered slots on tour (either supporting bigger bands or even headlining there own tour) then it is very important that the group or artist have a good tour manager that won’t let you down while you are touring. The tour manager doesn’t book the shows for the tour though often it is the case that the tour manager is involved in the booking process between the artist’s manager and the venues. One an artist has signed an agreement to play a list of tour dates the tour manager will have to start to deal with the non creative aspects of tour management. These are things like booking travel and accommodation fot the band as well as booking rehearsal spaces to ensure that the group or artist have all that they need to play an awesome tour. They will have to deal with all of the members of the crew that are going on the road with the artists as well as arranging all of the kit that is needed which is going to be a lot of kit. While the tour is happening, the tour manager’s job is to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible. This is easier for the tour manager if he or she has done the correct amount of work and preparation for the tour beforehand. The tour manager will have to make sure that the performers are all fit to perform and anything that might stop the shows from being as good as they possibly can. Anything that could jeopardise the quality of the performance should be dealt with by the tour manager as soon as possible. Once the tour has ended the tour manager will have to ensure that everyone who was on the road gets home and that all of the gear that was on the road gets where it needs to be weather that where it was rented from of just back with the band. What might the job consist of?The tour manager’s job will be to take care of the bookings of the accommodation for the artist on the tour and for everyone else who is involved in the tour. Sort out the transport for everyone involved as well as moving all of the equipment safely.
Travel on the road with the tour and be there to fix any day to day problems that might have come up unexpectedly as well as justbeing there to make sure everything works as smoothly and all of the dates are met. Oversee all of the support acts. Reporting the shows attendance figures to the management and booking agents. |
A Poster Shoing Tour Dates: |
Commenting Critticly on a Tour Managers job
When there is a tour to be booked there is so many perpetrations that has to take place before it so that everything runs smoothly. If some of the prep for the tour has not been done then it could bring the tour to a screeching holt because often when bands are on tour they will be
running on a very tight schedule and if for example the van brakes down and they can get to the venue with the kit in time for the souncheck then that is all on the tour managers back because he did not foresee this problem happening and he did not take the appropriate action to make sure f something like this did happen then he would be able to solve. Things like thinking ahead and making sure you have a spare van with the van with the kit so if one of them brakes down there will not be a problem. There is a lot of pressure on the tour managers back but it will all be ok as long as he or she has thought very had about all of the preparations and how everything is going to run.
running on a very tight schedule and if for example the van brakes down and they can get to the venue with the kit in time for the souncheck then that is all on the tour managers back because he did not foresee this problem happening and he did not take the appropriate action to make sure f something like this did happen then he would be able to solve. Things like thinking ahead and making sure you have a spare van with the van with the kit so if one of them brakes down there will not be a problem. There is a lot of pressure on the tour managers back but it will all be ok as long as he or she has thought very had about all of the preparations and how everything is going to run.
Retailing/tickets
- The sales of the tickets for your performances will depend on the promoters and how much they have advertised your performances. For most live music performances there will be premium tickets. Premium tickets are held by a variety of people to sell, these people are often the band themselves, the bands managers, the band or venues promoters and more often than not the tickets can be found on websites like ticket master. If you are playing in a venue like a pub then it is lightly that you will not have tickets and the on the night people will either have to pay on the door or come in for free and the pub generates its profit for me bad.
Backstage/front of house
In musical performances there are often people working behind the scenes. The amount of people working behind the scenes depends on the size of the venue that you’re playing in. An ensample of the backstage crews that would help us if we were paying in a pub is the sounds engineer and the light guy if you were playing in a pub. But when there are big gigs in arenas like the O2 arena there are enormous stage crews and witch will often heave more than 20 members. The front of house is similar to the backstage crew in the scene that the bigger that the venue you are playing in then the more front of house there will be. In a gig in a pub more often than not the pub would employ a bouncer to
not let in anyone who is below the age of 18 and the bar staff would act as front of house. Making sure that people are not breaking the rules and serving drinks and making the night run smoothly.
Performing Rights -
For the musicians, performing is the most important part of the night. But as well as concentrating on the performance you will always be better off if you know your performance rights. Performance right are the right of musicians to perform in public. This is a bit like having a license to perform on the streets of certain towns or city’s or different parts of London. Performing right also help composters get the money they deserve when there songs are played on the radio of on television.
Commenting Critically on Live Promotion:
Live promotion is a very important part of the music industry as you can see from all of the points that I listed above this paragraph. One of the reasons that it is so important is that if you played you live performances and your gigs with no promotion then there is not much of a
chance that anyone would show up because ithe performance hs not been promoted and nobody knows about it. One of the problems with live promotion that makes it harder to promote a musical event of a gig or anything like that is the fact that you have to have some kind of way for lots of people to see or hear the message that you are tryimg to tell people and that can be very hard. It can be done very easily if you hav a big social networking following so a lot of people on the internert who follow the things that you wright on fb and the things that you tweet, ect.
- The sales of the tickets for your performances will depend on the promoters and how much they have advertised your performances. For most live music performances there will be premium tickets. Premium tickets are held by a variety of people to sell, these people are often the band themselves, the bands managers, the band or venues promoters and more often than not the tickets can be found on websites like ticket master. If you are playing in a venue like a pub then it is lightly that you will not have tickets and the on the night people will either have to pay on the door or come in for free and the pub generates its profit for me bad.
Backstage/front of house
In musical performances there are often people working behind the scenes. The amount of people working behind the scenes depends on the size of the venue that you’re playing in. An ensample of the backstage crews that would help us if we were paying in a pub is the sounds engineer and the light guy if you were playing in a pub. But when there are big gigs in arenas like the O2 arena there are enormous stage crews and witch will often heave more than 20 members. The front of house is similar to the backstage crew in the scene that the bigger that the venue you are playing in then the more front of house there will be. In a gig in a pub more often than not the pub would employ a bouncer to
not let in anyone who is below the age of 18 and the bar staff would act as front of house. Making sure that people are not breaking the rules and serving drinks and making the night run smoothly.
Performing Rights -
For the musicians, performing is the most important part of the night. But as well as concentrating on the performance you will always be better off if you know your performance rights. Performance right are the right of musicians to perform in public. This is a bit like having a license to perform on the streets of certain towns or city’s or different parts of London. Performing right also help composters get the money they deserve when there songs are played on the radio of on television.
Commenting Critically on Live Promotion:
Live promotion is a very important part of the music industry as you can see from all of the points that I listed above this paragraph. One of the reasons that it is so important is that if you played you live performances and your gigs with no promotion then there is not much of a
chance that anyone would show up because ithe performance hs not been promoted and nobody knows about it. One of the problems with live promotion that makes it harder to promote a musical event of a gig or anything like that is the fact that you have to have some kind of way for lots of people to see or hear the message that you are tryimg to tell people and that can be very hard. It can be done very easily if you hav a big social networking following so a lot of people on the internert who follow the things that you wright on fb and the things that you tweet, ect.
Record Companies
Independent Record CompaniesAn independent record label is a record label that operates without funding like the major record labels have. An independent record label an often be referred to as an indie record label. Indie record labels sometimes depend on signing agreements with major record labels to help with the funding for projects with bigger artists. One of the good things about an independent record label is that they are more lightly to let you as a musician do things for your projects the
way that you want to do them and they will often be more tolerant and let you do things your way. Major record labels are more lightly to be a bit more pushy and make you make your album of rep album the way that they think is right and theway that they think is cool and they are less lightly to take into account the way that you want to do things. There have been many artists that started on in independent record labels including Elvis Presily. When a band is sighed to an independent record label they might end up getting much higher royalties that they would get if they were sighed up to a Major record label. This is because most artists sighed on major record labels earn a 10 to 15% royalty on their music whereas when there are sighed on an independent record label they will probably get between 40 to 75% royalties on their music. The reason for this is that the production costs are much lowered when you produce music with an indie label than when you produce with a major label. Pros and Cons of an indie lableProsWorking had to get you Indie label big can end up making you money and good reliable income.
Starting small record company’s helps the music industry in a lot of ways. One of the biggest ways that it helps is that it helps to get artists who might not have otherwise had a chance to succeed in music. One very big example of a record label that has started off as an indie label and dove new and god big is ROUGH TRADE. As you can see to the right of this paragraph there are loads of pictures. They are all indie labels. ConsIt is a very competitive market and it’s hard to
get off the ground as a new independent record company. It is an expensive business to get of the ground as well as it being a very time consuming project to work on. Because of this very few indie labels succeed. Major record lablesMajor record labels are the record labels that have all the money and have the potential to make very good artists or bands into successful musicians who tour and play lots of live shows and sell lots of albums. Here are some examples of major record labels that most musicians will have heard of: Warner Music Group, Sony, BMG, Universal Music Group and EMI. Most major record label artists earn a
10 to 15% royalty on their music. But before the artist can receive there royalties their label must be clear of all debts related to their music. This means that the case could be that the artist won’t get paid until the recordlabel has received all the money for the production the music and maybe the videos. When a band or an artist get signed to a major record label the recording for whatever they are producing will be done in a very professional recording studio. When recording with an indie label the recording is not lightly to be of the same quality as it would be in professional studio. However when you are signed to a major record label the label might want to produce your music in a way you don’t like. Unlike on an indie label where you are more lightly to be able to do things your way, the major label has the power to produce it how they like and they might not do what you want. Pros and Cons of a Major Record lableProsThey will pay for the production of your music if you have signed a contract with them
They have all of the big contacts and then can get artist high up very quickly. ConsMajor label won’t give you as much control and freedom of what you are doing they might ask you to do you r music in a vary that you don’t really want to. To the right of this paragraph there are some of the logos that are from very famuse record lables.
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Commenting critticly on a record lable
Running a record label is a seriously had thing to do if you have not got any contacts because and if you do not have any funding. It is seriously had to get an independent label of the ground because there isn’t a big need for any more labels because all of the big well established labels will get tall of the artists that have potential to make money. If you are involved in working for a major record label there vcn be good money for you and you will get a good chance to build up your contacts. But over all if you are new to the very had music industry then it is incredibly had to get you record label of the ground. It is also a very time consuming project to be working on.
Finding and Signing Artists
Record companies find and sign artists that they think they can make money on and that they think have a big future ahead of them. Major record companies have hole departments of people working with just one job. That job is to search the internet very closely for bands to sign and make records with. The major record companies are looking for bands that are already accomplished without the help of big labels because if they show that independently they can make a name for themselves and accumulate a large following then with the help of the record companies they could do very well. It is the job of the record company to way up weather or weather not to sign a band. But once an artist has signed a deal with a record company they have to stick to the terms and conditions of that agreement.
Acts and Material - artist and repetour (A&R)
A A and R manager is somone who combines acts/artists with specific songs and styes of music suitable for the geonre that the record lable has decided the artist should focus on.
Recording studios
The recording studios these days are crammed full of high tech, expensive recording equipment. An example of a great modern day recording studio is Abby Road in London. Abby has three studios with in it and produces some brilliant music and has had some truly brilliant musicians create music there. Some of these musicians are listed here: Michel Jackson, The Beatle, Queen, Radiohead and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. When you are recording with an independent record label you most probably won’t get access to big expensive recording studios and you might even be working in home studios depending on the size of the record label. Most big recording studios will have some kind of multi track recording software on computers. This could be logic or Quebase or many more. There will also be a big mixing desk for mastering tracks and recording live sessions. Most high end studios will have a drum isolation booth and a vocal booth. As well as theses, the recording studios will have a lot of very expensive microphones for recording both drums and vocals and guitar.
Retail
A music retailer is a shop that sells music in the form of CDs, they used to be shops that sold music in the form of vinyl records and cassette tapes but as time has progressed those ways of listening to music have been left behind, and hence there is no longer a big market for them. There is less and less need for music retailers like record shops and CD shops because in the same way the records and cassette tapes were left behind by CDs, CDs are being left being by downloading music on the internet. There lots of online music retailers these days. The most common place to buy music on the internet is the iTunes store.
Distribution
There are a few different ways that record companies distribute their music. Digital distribution is the main way for record companies to distribute their music in this day and age. Sites like iTunes and Amazon are a big part of internet sails. They can also distribute their music physically in ways like getting it into record shops. A music distributor is what links a record label or independent music group to the consumers and the fans. Major record labels will probably already have very important contacts and they will be able to distribute you music very well.
Internet Sales
The vast majority of music that is sold there says is music sold online. There is constantly less and less need for CD shops as the world is progressing in digital technology and the internet allows you to download it from your computer at home or from you phone or Ipad or Ipod whilst you’re out and about. CD and record shops have been going bust all over England and the rest of the world. One example of this is how HMV, one of the biggest CD shops declared bankrupt. Even though there are is a lot of music being sold on the internet, the vast majority of music that is downloaded from the internet is downloaded illegally. This is not good for the music industry or the musicians because music piracy is essentially stealing.
Intellectual property and copyright management
Intellectual property is a legal concept. In this law the rights of authors of literary and artistic works (such as books and other writings, musical compositions, paintings, sculpture, computer programs and films) are protected by copyright, for a minimum period of 50 years after the death of the author. Also protected through copyright and related (sometimes referred to as “neighbouring”) rights are the rights of performers (e.g. actors, singers and musicians), producers of phonograms (sound recordings) and broadcasting organizations. The main social purpose of protection of copyright and related rights is to encourage and reward creative work.
Digital rights management (DRM)
In the music industry Digital Rights Management is a method of controlling and stopping people from listening to copyrighted materials. In some ways what Digital Rights Management is, is a more modern electronic equivalent to the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society. What it is doing is making sure that musicians are rewarded for their music. What it does is stop people from copying music. In some countries it is illegal to make personal copies of music in some circumstances. The reason for DRM is that music piracy is too had to stop and putting the terms and conditions of DRM means that there is some type of limitation on people use on the music that they have supposedly purchased.
Industry Organisations sutch as loyers, management, PR (public relations),personal assistance and push and plug companys with important contacts and merchandicing ect.
Commenting critically on record company's
Record company's are such a hugely important thing in the music industry. Because of the record company's there is a lot of music that gets produced well and released out to the public. There are problems with record company's because there will always be independent record company's that can do exactly the same thing as the big record company's can do just because of the internet. The only difference between the smaller independent record company's do not have the same amount of funding as tge big record company's.
Music Publishing Companies
Here is the MPAs definition of a music publishing company:
"A good publisher seeks out great music and great composers and songwriters; supports composers and songwriters in the creative process; promotes their catalogues across a variety of platforms; manages the business exploitation of the catalogues (including the registration of works and the collection and onward payment of all due royalties); and generally seeks to protect and enhance the value of their works with passion and professional commitment."
Finding/selecting Songwriters and Composers
When a music production company is selecting artists they will look for artists who fit the genres of music that they are producing once they have found the new talented musicians they will encouraging and supporting them as they develop their skills, whether that is through helping with their living expenses, providing them with the facilities they need to produce music, (like in big recording studios), or offering advice and guidance in writing for particular markets.
Promoting the Material
A good music publishing company will have useful contacts and lots of experience with the music industry. This means that they will be able to promote the song to the maximum number of potential licensees and negotiate good terms for the music’s use. For example the publishing company might agree terms and conditions with a film maker for a song to be used in there film. They would negotiate the best possible terms and conditions for the musician so that they have the maximum amount of money and they will also be getting promoted by the fill so all of the people who see the film hear the song.
Music Sales and Live Broadcast
When the music publishing companies are trying to sell as many records for the artist as possible they will do a lot to promote their music. One of the things that can help the sails of records is getting a lot of air time on radio stations. This is when a radio station or a radio broadcaster plays the artist or bands music live on the radio. If the artist is lucky enough to get on a playlist for a big station that has lots of listeners then they will get have a lot of people hearing there song ant the radio DJs will say what song it is and who it is by. This is great if you have jsut released an album because people might not have herd of you before and then they start to hear you on the radio, and if they like you, there is a chance they might buy your record. Some musicians are lucky enough to play like on the radio and have interviews. The publishing companies will promote there new releases as much as they can and radio promotion is one of the best ways to do that.
Intellectual Property and Copyright Management
Intellectual property is a legal concept. In this law the rights of authors of literary and artistic works (such as books and other writings, musical compositions, paintings, sculpture, computer programs and films) are protected by copyright, for a minimum period of 50 years after the death of the author. Also protected through copyright and related (sometimes referred to as “neighbouring”) rights are the rights of performers (e.g. actors, singers and musicians), producers of phonograms (sound recordings) and broadcasting organizations. The main social purpose of protection of copyright and related rights is to encourage and reward creative work.
Performing Rights
For the musicians, performing is the most important part of the night. But as well as concentrating on the performance you will always be better off if you know your performance rights. Performance right are the right of musicians to perform in public. This is a bit like having a license to perform on the streets of certain towns or city’s or different parts of London. Performing right also help performers get the money they deserve when there songs are played on the radio of on television.
Piracy
Music piracy is a big problem in the music industry. Music piracy is the same as film piracy. It is illegal but that does not stop people from doing it. Music piracy is when instead of buying the music from places like iTunes or CD shops people are going onto illegal torrent sights and downloading the music for free. What people are doing when they download an artist’s music for free is essentially steeling from the artist. There are too many illegal torrent sites on the internet and if they did not exist then a lot of big musicians would have more money. There are constantly sight being blocked by authorities but the sites will be back up within a few days. 67% of piracy sights are hosted in North America and Western Europe. There is 12.5 billion dollars in economy losses each year due to illegal downloading; this is understandable when you know that 95% of music downloaded online is downloaded illegally.
Record companies find and sign artists that they think they can make money on and that they think have a big future ahead of them. Major record companies have hole departments of people working with just one job. That job is to search the internet very closely for bands to sign and make records with. The major record companies are looking for bands that are already accomplished without the help of big labels because if they show that independently they can make a name for themselves and accumulate a large following then with the help of the record companies they could do very well. It is the job of the record company to way up weather or weather not to sign a band. But once an artist has signed a deal with a record company they have to stick to the terms and conditions of that agreement.
Acts and Material - artist and repetour (A&R)
A A and R manager is somone who combines acts/artists with specific songs and styes of music suitable for the geonre that the record lable has decided the artist should focus on.
Recording studios
The recording studios these days are crammed full of high tech, expensive recording equipment. An example of a great modern day recording studio is Abby Road in London. Abby has three studios with in it and produces some brilliant music and has had some truly brilliant musicians create music there. Some of these musicians are listed here: Michel Jackson, The Beatle, Queen, Radiohead and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. When you are recording with an independent record label you most probably won’t get access to big expensive recording studios and you might even be working in home studios depending on the size of the record label. Most big recording studios will have some kind of multi track recording software on computers. This could be logic or Quebase or many more. There will also be a big mixing desk for mastering tracks and recording live sessions. Most high end studios will have a drum isolation booth and a vocal booth. As well as theses, the recording studios will have a lot of very expensive microphones for recording both drums and vocals and guitar.
Retail
A music retailer is a shop that sells music in the form of CDs, they used to be shops that sold music in the form of vinyl records and cassette tapes but as time has progressed those ways of listening to music have been left behind, and hence there is no longer a big market for them. There is less and less need for music retailers like record shops and CD shops because in the same way the records and cassette tapes were left behind by CDs, CDs are being left being by downloading music on the internet. There lots of online music retailers these days. The most common place to buy music on the internet is the iTunes store.
Distribution
There are a few different ways that record companies distribute their music. Digital distribution is the main way for record companies to distribute their music in this day and age. Sites like iTunes and Amazon are a big part of internet sails. They can also distribute their music physically in ways like getting it into record shops. A music distributor is what links a record label or independent music group to the consumers and the fans. Major record labels will probably already have very important contacts and they will be able to distribute you music very well.
Internet Sales
The vast majority of music that is sold there says is music sold online. There is constantly less and less need for CD shops as the world is progressing in digital technology and the internet allows you to download it from your computer at home or from you phone or Ipad or Ipod whilst you’re out and about. CD and record shops have been going bust all over England and the rest of the world. One example of this is how HMV, one of the biggest CD shops declared bankrupt. Even though there are is a lot of music being sold on the internet, the vast majority of music that is downloaded from the internet is downloaded illegally. This is not good for the music industry or the musicians because music piracy is essentially stealing.
Intellectual property and copyright management
Intellectual property is a legal concept. In this law the rights of authors of literary and artistic works (such as books and other writings, musical compositions, paintings, sculpture, computer programs and films) are protected by copyright, for a minimum period of 50 years after the death of the author. Also protected through copyright and related (sometimes referred to as “neighbouring”) rights are the rights of performers (e.g. actors, singers and musicians), producers of phonograms (sound recordings) and broadcasting organizations. The main social purpose of protection of copyright and related rights is to encourage and reward creative work.
Digital rights management (DRM)
In the music industry Digital Rights Management is a method of controlling and stopping people from listening to copyrighted materials. In some ways what Digital Rights Management is, is a more modern electronic equivalent to the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society. What it is doing is making sure that musicians are rewarded for their music. What it does is stop people from copying music. In some countries it is illegal to make personal copies of music in some circumstances. The reason for DRM is that music piracy is too had to stop and putting the terms and conditions of DRM means that there is some type of limitation on people use on the music that they have supposedly purchased.
Industry Organisations sutch as loyers, management, PR (public relations),personal assistance and push and plug companys with important contacts and merchandicing ect.
Commenting critically on record company's
Record company's are such a hugely important thing in the music industry. Because of the record company's there is a lot of music that gets produced well and released out to the public. There are problems with record company's because there will always be independent record company's that can do exactly the same thing as the big record company's can do just because of the internet. The only difference between the smaller independent record company's do not have the same amount of funding as tge big record company's.
Music Publishing Companies
Here is the MPAs definition of a music publishing company:
"A good publisher seeks out great music and great composers and songwriters; supports composers and songwriters in the creative process; promotes their catalogues across a variety of platforms; manages the business exploitation of the catalogues (including the registration of works and the collection and onward payment of all due royalties); and generally seeks to protect and enhance the value of their works with passion and professional commitment."
Finding/selecting Songwriters and Composers
When a music production company is selecting artists they will look for artists who fit the genres of music that they are producing once they have found the new talented musicians they will encouraging and supporting them as they develop their skills, whether that is through helping with their living expenses, providing them with the facilities they need to produce music, (like in big recording studios), or offering advice and guidance in writing for particular markets.
Promoting the Material
A good music publishing company will have useful contacts and lots of experience with the music industry. This means that they will be able to promote the song to the maximum number of potential licensees and negotiate good terms for the music’s use. For example the publishing company might agree terms and conditions with a film maker for a song to be used in there film. They would negotiate the best possible terms and conditions for the musician so that they have the maximum amount of money and they will also be getting promoted by the fill so all of the people who see the film hear the song.
Music Sales and Live Broadcast
When the music publishing companies are trying to sell as many records for the artist as possible they will do a lot to promote their music. One of the things that can help the sails of records is getting a lot of air time on radio stations. This is when a radio station or a radio broadcaster plays the artist or bands music live on the radio. If the artist is lucky enough to get on a playlist for a big station that has lots of listeners then they will get have a lot of people hearing there song ant the radio DJs will say what song it is and who it is by. This is great if you have jsut released an album because people might not have herd of you before and then they start to hear you on the radio, and if they like you, there is a chance they might buy your record. Some musicians are lucky enough to play like on the radio and have interviews. The publishing companies will promote there new releases as much as they can and radio promotion is one of the best ways to do that.
Intellectual Property and Copyright Management
Intellectual property is a legal concept. In this law the rights of authors of literary and artistic works (such as books and other writings, musical compositions, paintings, sculpture, computer programs and films) are protected by copyright, for a minimum period of 50 years after the death of the author. Also protected through copyright and related (sometimes referred to as “neighbouring”) rights are the rights of performers (e.g. actors, singers and musicians), producers of phonograms (sound recordings) and broadcasting organizations. The main social purpose of protection of copyright and related rights is to encourage and reward creative work.
Performing Rights
For the musicians, performing is the most important part of the night. But as well as concentrating on the performance you will always be better off if you know your performance rights. Performance right are the right of musicians to perform in public. This is a bit like having a license to perform on the streets of certain towns or city’s or different parts of London. Performing right also help performers get the money they deserve when there songs are played on the radio of on television.
Piracy
Music piracy is a big problem in the music industry. Music piracy is the same as film piracy. It is illegal but that does not stop people from doing it. Music piracy is when instead of buying the music from places like iTunes or CD shops people are going onto illegal torrent sights and downloading the music for free. What people are doing when they download an artist’s music for free is essentially steeling from the artist. There are too many illegal torrent sites on the internet and if they did not exist then a lot of big musicians would have more money. There are constantly sight being blocked by authorities but the sites will be back up within a few days. 67% of piracy sights are hosted in North America and Western Europe. There is 12.5 billion dollars in economy losses each year due to illegal downloading; this is understandable when you know that 95% of music downloaded online is downloaded illegally.
Business Management
In the music industry bands and artists will get business managers to handle the business side of there career. The business manager will act as a representative of the musician/ band. Business managers will make sure that the artist is getting the maximum potential income and helps the artist/musician to invest their income wisely as well as recovering unpaid or underpaid royalties. The business manager basically takes care of the money and marketing side of the artist’s career. This means all issues regarding making travel arrangements for the band and booking recording slots for the band and other things like that.
Sponsorship
A sponsor for a musician or a band can be great thing but if the time is not right and the group or musician is not in the right place for having a sponsor then it isn’t always a good idea. The sponsors will only look at the musicians as a way of advertising there product of brand though. This means that the sponsor wont care about much else than making money. If you are sponsored by a clothing brand you might be asked to wear the shirts that the sponsors give you in a music video or whilst playing live on stage. Of cores if you sign a big sponsorship deal it will count as another good source of income for the artist of the members of the band. Sponsors are lightly to design you posters and leaflets and promote you with them backing you which is a good thing but there are cases of the sponsors taking over and destroying the image of the band. If the sponsor is not a cool brand or something that you don’t necessarily want backing your music then it is never a good idea to sign an agreement with them.
Artists’ and Managers’ Rights
The rights of the artist depend very much on the contract that they have signed. Weather it is a contract with a record company or a contract
with a manager of a contract to go on tour. It is very important that you read any contract very carefully before you signed it because once you have signed it you have to follow the terms and conditions of the agreement. A music managers rights also depend on the contract that he or she signed with the artist. The job of all of a musician/bands managers share one thing in common, that is that there job is to represent the band. The managers rights are conditional to the terms and conditions of the agreements this means that here rights are to take whatever parentage or whatever cut of the performers money that is specified in the agreement.
Royalties
Royalties is one of the ways that musicians around the world generate their income. Whenever music is used on the radio, in a film, or covered by other artists. They also get there royalties for the sails of their CDs and the download’s of their music from the internet or most lightly from itunes. If the artist is signed to a major record label they are lightly that they will only get something like a 15%t royalty on their music. If they are signed to an independent record label they are more lightly to get higher percentages, more like 40 to 75%. When an artist has a successful album they can make a lot of money from royalties. However they will often make a lot more from there live performances.
In the music industry bands and artists will get business managers to handle the business side of there career. The business manager will act as a representative of the musician/ band. Business managers will make sure that the artist is getting the maximum potential income and helps the artist/musician to invest their income wisely as well as recovering unpaid or underpaid royalties. The business manager basically takes care of the money and marketing side of the artist’s career. This means all issues regarding making travel arrangements for the band and booking recording slots for the band and other things like that.
Sponsorship
A sponsor for a musician or a band can be great thing but if the time is not right and the group or musician is not in the right place for having a sponsor then it isn’t always a good idea. The sponsors will only look at the musicians as a way of advertising there product of brand though. This means that the sponsor wont care about much else than making money. If you are sponsored by a clothing brand you might be asked to wear the shirts that the sponsors give you in a music video or whilst playing live on stage. Of cores if you sign a big sponsorship deal it will count as another good source of income for the artist of the members of the band. Sponsors are lightly to design you posters and leaflets and promote you with them backing you which is a good thing but there are cases of the sponsors taking over and destroying the image of the band. If the sponsor is not a cool brand or something that you don’t necessarily want backing your music then it is never a good idea to sign an agreement with them.
Artists’ and Managers’ Rights
The rights of the artist depend very much on the contract that they have signed. Weather it is a contract with a record company or a contract
with a manager of a contract to go on tour. It is very important that you read any contract very carefully before you signed it because once you have signed it you have to follow the terms and conditions of the agreement. A music managers rights also depend on the contract that he or she signed with the artist. The job of all of a musician/bands managers share one thing in common, that is that there job is to represent the band. The managers rights are conditional to the terms and conditions of the agreements this means that here rights are to take whatever parentage or whatever cut of the performers money that is specified in the agreement.
Royalties
Royalties is one of the ways that musicians around the world generate their income. Whenever music is used on the radio, in a film, or covered by other artists. They also get there royalties for the sails of their CDs and the download’s of their music from the internet or most lightly from itunes. If the artist is signed to a major record label they are lightly that they will only get something like a 15%t royalty on their music. If they are signed to an independent record label they are more lightly to get higher percentages, more like 40 to 75%. When an artist has a successful album they can make a lot of money from royalties. However they will often make a lot more from there live performances.
Commenting critticly on merchandicing
Selling band and artist merchandise like t shirts and cds and things like that can be a very effective way to earn a profit on your initial investment in the merchandise because you can just sell your products for more than you bought them for and make a profit on that but it is very had to get a steady income from it because you can only really sell the products at the bands gigs and if the band is busy recording a album or not
playing gigs then you will find yourself trying to sell all of your shirts but you not have anyone wanting to buy them. If you can secure a lot of people who want to buy your product then maybe you could do wee but it is a very hard thing to do.
playing gigs then you will find yourself trying to sell all of your shirts but you not have anyone wanting to buy them. If you can secure a lot of people who want to buy your product then maybe you could do wee but it is a very hard thing to do.
merchandising
When you are playing a live tour, having successful merchandise sails at your shows is very important. It can be the difference between making some money on you tour or getting into debt. Most of the merchandise that would be sold at a gig on a tour is things like: T-shirts with the bands or artists mane on them, wristbands with the band or artists name on them, posters, sighed posters and
lots of other bits and bobs that will have the band or artists name or logo on them. It is lightly that the band and managers would agree to hire someone to take care of the merchandise stand on the tour so that that is one less thing to worry about for the band. If the band or artist hits the big time and is having a very successful tour then it is lightly that tour merchandising companies will want to sign a deal with the band. When signing an agreement with a tour merchandising company what is basically happening is that you are agreeing that the merchandising company can use your name and likeness on the products they produce. Most artists would get a 30% cut of the money that is made from there merchandise. For a small indie band that might not even have a label the merchandise can be a lot simpler. It can be as simple as setting up a small stand in the back of the venue and selling your products. |
Merchandicing on a small scale
Independent merchandising can be done very easily and it is done a lot at gigs all over the place. Akll that you really have to do
is get you merch printed cheap and set up a table at the back of the venue and sell your merch for a little bit more that you paid for it.
is get you merch printed cheap and set up a table at the back of the venue and sell your merch for a little bit more that you paid for it.
On a big scale
On a big scale like playing at a arena or a stadium or that kind of thing will have a lot of people running the shop and selling the merch. The shirts and thhe outher items being sold can be sold at a lot higher price because the band otr the artist on the shit has got a lot higher profile than most artists and people have already paid a lot of money to see them so they will want a souvenir.