DJ, Producer, and Songwriter Diplo offers some helpful insight into his interesting creative process as well as some of the insecurities that most artists grapple with as they enter “studio” mode. Check it out here. It is from The Creators Project series, which is definitely worth a look.
While Diplo is involved in numerous cool, fun projects, he is probably best known to date for his work with MIA and the track Paper Planes.
Tags: A&R, Creativity, Recording
Leave a commentAn increasingly important source of revenue is licensing your music for use in films, television shows, and commercials. Licensing music for these uses has several appealing aspects: you are paid relatively quickly, usually within 30 days of the music usage, it can be considered “found” money, since you already have recorded the music there is no additional cost to you, and the money can occasionally be substantial. The range of money paid for the use can be anywhere from $100 to $100,000+ (the latter amount is usually for hit songs in global campaigns, major films, etc.)
Music licensed for film/TV/commercials generates income for the songwriter (called sync rights), and for the owner of the actual recording (master rights). If you own your recordings and you have written the songs on the recordings, you will get the income for both sync and master usage. Nice.
A downside to be aware of when thinking about licensing your music, and that is how will your music be used? What scene will be using your song? In what context will it be used? Are you okay if your sensitive ballad is used ironically during a slasher scene in a B movie or worse, perhaps running in the background while an ad spokesman pitches a hemorrhoid cream. If at all possible you want to maintain control over how your music is used. Hopefully you can sign off on each licensing usage, approving of the scene, length of usage, fee, etc.
Some artists use brokerage houses that will represent your music to interested parties on your behalf. They may be seeking “pre-cleared” music, which means to represent you they require pre-approval to license your music at a fixed price and for any kind of usage. Find out from them the scope of usages they pursue before you sign up so you know how your music may be used. Of course take a look at the money they are offering you after all expenses are removed too. How much do they take for their own fee? Are they paid by the end music licensor (film/tv/ad co.) or are they getting their fee from a percentage of your income? In general try to avoid retitling, whereby whoever licenses your music re-registers your song with a new title for that specific licensing usage and in turn takes a piece of the performance rights income that would normally go directly to the songwriter. There are differing views about this, see some here.
There is a simple way to greatly improve the chances of getting your music licensed. Remove the vocal tracks from your mixes. The need for instrumental music is much greater than the need for vocals. Sometimes vocals can get in the way of dialogue in a scene or the lyrical content may stray from the mood that the instrumental is providing. Whenever you are in the studio, before you master your tracks save a vocal free mix of each song. Whenever you submit a track for licensing, let the interested party know that an instrumental version of the song also exists.
I was speaking at a recent NARM event and some artists asked about how to get in touch with music supervisors and others seeking to license music. Info on that below along with some other sites you might find interesting:
Music Brokerage House (they represent pre-cleared music for licensing uses): Sir Groovy
Music Supervisor Directory: Music Supervisor Guide
Interesting Music Supervision and Licensing: Rock River
The Future of Music Licensing and Evaluation?: Pandora’s Tim Westergren
Tags: Music Licensing
Leave a commentAn efficient way to get your band’s career moving is for each member to take on particular band business responsibilities. In doing so, take a realistic look at your different personalities and experience. Someone more outgoing can deal with setting up and later conducting interviews with media/blogs/etc. in a given city. Another can handle tour logistics (lodging, expenses, merchandise, fees). Perhaps someone else can keep media and venue databases up-to-date or write band bios and keep social media fresh. You may need to double up personnel in some areas, but what is most important is that you are doing things yourselves, learning as you go, relying on each other, and saving money along the way. First and foremost you need to create your music, but at your best you are also a small company trying to make a living. Don’t hire someone to do something you can handle doing yourself.
Tags: Career
Leave a commentDerek Sivers, the visionary who created CD Baby (and a very nice guy), asked some people for tips on on how to best deal with the promotional-intense music convention scene. With South by Southwest just around the corner, here are my thoughts:
1. Be open to fortuitous error. More often than not, the really big meeting that may have instigated your convention attendance won’t even be where your future lies. It will be the person you bump into by the escalator or who strikes up a conversation after spilling beer on your shoes at a gig that can change your life and help your career. You are surrounded by talented people with shared interests, don’t presume anything about anyone and be OPEN.
2. Have a business card. It may seem old school, but after a good conversation, being able to hand a simple, tangible artifact representing yourself is helpful to people. Make sure it looks good and that you like it.
3. Don’t eat alone. You are surrounded by so many people with common interests and goals. The time for quiet reflection is when you get home. Right now, dive into the stream of humanity. Make yourself known (nicely), and learn about people.
4. Pace yourself (especially drinking.) ‘Nuff said.
5. Don’t be shy. Insecure? So is everyone else in music. Fuhgeddaboutit. This is your opportunity to make an impression. When you meet someone, find something that interests you about them, ask questions ,and learn about what they do. You’d be surprised how often their pursuits might benefit from your talents or vice versa (see Point 1.) You don’t want to miss out.
6. Follow-up. Within a week after the convention, when you have had a good conversation with someone and exchanged information, follow up with a short e-mail reminding them of where you met (remember, like yourself, they have probably met more people than they can specifically remember and things start to blur.) Let them know you enjoyed meeting them and ask them to keep you in mind if they need assistance with anything. Put your contact info by your signature so they can easily cut and paste it into their own contact list.
7. Learning one ‘big idea’ per day is a very successful convention. If you are in a meeting where you are learning something important to you, stay until you’re satisfied. You seldom get anywhere by rushing around and cramming too many meetings into an hour. You won’t absorb it all.
8. You never learn by talking. Listen.
9. That said, talk when you have something to say and then allow the other person to respond. If you find yourself talking for more than 30 seconds at a stretch, you aren’t talking, you’re pitching/self-promoting. The pitch can come at a later date. Right now, engage and enjoy.
10. Make sure your digital identifier website/myspace/blog is functioning well before the convention. When you meet people and give them your card assume they will check out your site to learn more about you and your work. Remember, your site is representing you. Is it readily understandable for the user? Do all your song links work? Make sure you have tested everything.
11. Hit the Salt Lick. Great barbecue and vibe about 30 miles outside Austin. Yum.
Tags: Career, Marketing, Odds & Sods
1 commentIn today’s world, everyone creates. With A&R execs becoming relics of the past, it’s up to a microcosm of taste-makers and local communities to point out the good stuff amidst a sonic avalanche of mediocrity.
The good news is that moving your career forward isn’t dependent on the subjective whims of a few gatekeepers. While this means you have to work harder than ever to make yourself known, at least it’s now up to you.
Journalist Paul Rogers sums up the current situation well in his excellent LA Weekly article: A&R Starmakers: The Vanishing Gatekeepers.
Tags: A&R
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