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October, 2006
 
The Money is Still in the Music
Television Features Music and Opportunity by ICX All this talk about there being no money in the music business is ridiculous. The movement to make consumers think that there is no real value in an artist’s CD or single is just a way for some to take advantage of those that take this as a real business. There are signs of hope. Several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, are going to start giving music away to consumers. The plan is to give CDs and music away and use advertisements, sponsorships and commercials to pick up the dollars. Once again it gives the appearance that the music is free, and that there is no real value being placed on it. On the upside, radio stations in larger markets now find it is more effective to pay bands and artists for their station events. In the past, bands and artists incurred all of the expenses to get to a market for a star party or promotion in exchange for airplay. The rules of the game have changed in the artist’s favor. They are still getting the play, but they are getting their services covered as well. BMI and ASCAP can and should be the bread and butter to many of you that compose and publish the music. In the early days these companies would send a radio log to all stations; they were to fill out information on songs played and then turn it in. This is still done a bit, but only on a very limited basis. Now they are relying on a Mediabase sampling to determine how to distribute the funds. The problem is that if you are getting airplay from smaller, non-monitored stations, you are basically getting screwed. In the big picture, the societies figure if they snag a few plays in a monitored major market, they can be calculated at several hundred plays. Without a more detailed report from the hundreds of non-monitored smaller markets, one play or even a hundred plays can add up to nothing, and that is not a fair practice. They need to work on that and set up a better system. Every time you hear a song or music cue in a feature film in your local movie theatre, a composer, band or publisher has secured a music license. Some of these can be quite substantial, and in many cases can actually assist an artist or band in moving their program to a much higher level. There are soundtracks involved, and many film companies rely on the music to help create the buzz on a particular project. This is a win-win situation for all of those involved and can lead to great things. As an artist, you don’t need a major label to give you $2 per CD when you can make between $10 - $15. There are so many ways to make money on the Internet that one could spend all day, seven days a week, making deals and securing avenues of direct revenue. To start your own label takes as much time as you want to give it, and your potential to do quite well is endless. Get a little radio airplay added to the mix by a good, independent promotion company, secure a clever and inexpensive art person, a good CD plant, and you are on your way. You can then build a story and start licensing your material to film and television. That way, when you turn on the television set a year from now, you will hear your music on the local outlets and networks instead of some other bloke's. Larry Weir and Mask Swain run National Record Promotion out of the Los Angeles area. Send your CD for consideration or evaluation to NAP, 137 N. Larchmont Blvd. #500, Los Angeles, CA 90004. Call 323-658-7449, e-mail lweir@larryweir.com, and visit www.heartlandent.com, www.larryweir.com and www.masika.net. |