ad-supported music
Wanted: artists and advertisers to mash things up.
We make music because we love it, but making a living at it is kind of useful. The income streams in the music industry are in turmoil as the net changes the face of society, so what is the new model to keep us employed?
Is it ad-supported music? I’d like to see artists and advertisers thrash out a cunning plan that will satisfy them both. Who’s up for it? Or is this a no-brainer and we should be looking elsewhere, or doing nothing?
If you trawl round music news and blog sites, you’ll see a common theme – folks don’t want to pay for tunes anymore. There’s file sharing, and on-demand social broadcasting in the shape of YouTube, Last FM and others. Voices in the music industry paint a bleak picture of impoverished artists (and record labels) but I’m not convinced it’s that bad yet. However, there is a shift in how money flows in and out of the music industry.
How about a track with advertising in it (on it, round it, up it). That’s not as crass as it may sound; look at the arty quality of cinema ads or the power of product placement or sponsorship. And consider how many ads licence songs as soundtracks. Your song doesn’t have to start with ‘For a whiter smile use Colgate toothpaste…..take it away boys’ …but then again….
Increasingly, a song exists with a video and visual imagery is a more ‘arty’ form of advertising than the spoken word (believe me, I worked in radio advertising in a former life).
So how do we find a winning formula? Something that satisfies the artist (profile and payment) and the advertiser (profile and sales). Not a quick fudge, but a radical approach to a problem that definitely needs solving. I’d like to facilitate experiments between artists and advertisers; I don’t know how exactly how, but please join the debate.
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To explore ad-supported music further, here are some links to blogs and music sites already in the game.
pete gabriel’s site www.we7.com
www.macnn.com
(is iTunes getting interested in advertising?)
SprialFrog – only in the USA/Canada
www.marketingvox.co Napster and ads.
The AVC blog talks about the free music business – the best internet business models are free to users, income is from advertising.
An interview in the Times with Peter Gabriel who talks about his advertising-funded download site and on the BBC website.
Techcrunch – make money from gigs rather than recordings.
An article in The Independent about the changing face of the music business.
www.bubblegeneration.com
fan-force.com/blog
A site for info (and a daily newsletter) is http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/
Mark Cohen has got further than most in looking at ad-supported music at ad-supported-music.blogspot.com/
His blog Includes a list of Ad-Supported Music Companies
August 20th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
This whole area needs monitoring on a regular basis, its like the wild west at the moment, and all the rules are being broken.
I subscribe to Bob Lefsetx ( http://www.boblefsetz.com)who, among other things, is a US based commentator on the state of the music business. ( Bob was a special guest of Tony Wilson at last year’s ITC. His insightful views on current trends are useful, critical and combative, not everyone likes him but his missives are never dull or without value.
This current ad supported idea is likely to be a future model in some incarnation, but I think we have to look at the steps which need to be taken before this situation fully matures.
Presently there are effective steps being taken to montise artists by better managed artist – fan relationships, including artist specific subscriptions. At Sparkle Street we are seeing a succesful old school subscription based fan club development which is generating substantial revenue for Mr . At the other end of the spectrum, we are developing a digital locker model for one of our emerging artists, where for a nominal one off payment fans can buy direct access to all the existing and forthcoming output as well as receiving exclusive merchandise by post ( thats the old fashioned thing where you put something in a funny looking red box on the street, and some guy in a uniform takes it all the way to the recipients house in a little red van )
August 20th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Thanks Dave, I guess there is not going to be a ‘clean’ solution rather a series of shifts to access the money. Can you add any links to Sparkle Street? The Bob Lefsetz is a new one on me – the correct link is http://www.lefsetz.com/
And a post about music and money is at
http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2007/08/03/music-needs-to-be-paid-for/
August 20th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
I too find it difficult to know how to make money as an artist. especially with a left wing view that music should be free.
As you may know Im a DJ for an internet radio show called The Hour of Power on QTRadio. I am beggining to put on gig nights for unsigned artists as there are a million little guys out there who need to get noticed. once theyre signed to a label or are making success of their own label theyre pretty much on their own two feet! (This may be a steriotypical view) But aswell as myself as a musician, I aim to get the little guys a chance at success. The way we’re doing it is, we print a million odd tickets and give a number to bands to sell themselves. Friends and family is the place to start! Also just advertise your ass off! Any other tips on making money for musicians is welcome.
We’ve currently got a Ska/punk night at the Zoo Night club “A Night with Ska-Face” (Which is just behind the Pub Zoo on Grosvenor street, just off Oxford Rd) 22nd of Sept (A Saturday in freshers week) £4 a ticket £5 on the door. It would be fantastic if we could fill the venue! drop me an email if your interested. or just turn up on the day!
ace_mcgibbo@hotmail.com
also 2 weeks later (the First Saturday in Oct) Were hosting an unsigned metal night at the same place.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:15 am
As the arts and entertainment sectors ‘converge’ so the skills of the new artists need to ‘diverge’. MTV thinks gaming is the way ahead for their music business.
http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6176762.html?sid=6176762
August 22nd, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Hi pete, all very interesting. My neightbour Steve is the partner with Peter Gabriel in the WE7.com business, I am meeting him in Berlin where we both speak at Popkom, I intend doing business with him. Maybe you should meet him too?
Cheers
Phil
August 24th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Hope there’s no objection if I lurk for a while. I still don’t have a PC or my own Internet Connection.
However, this ended up being the basic theme for my dissertation. While I did seek out as many different sources of possible information I found I was unable to come to any conclusions regarding what the probable future model for the Music Business is likely to be. That’s assuming it doesn’t get integrated into other sectors. Reading through the press the impression is given that the current model is in imminent crisis of collapse but no-one mentions an alternative.
If yu think anyone has proposed something workable I’d be grateful if you’d share it. I would like to be able to generate an income from this Industry Sector myself.
Niall J Gigha
August 31st, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I think record shops will disappear, as will most physical product. People seem to be rather strangely attached to CDs I think they are actually a horrible format. I think small labels need to concentrate on keeping a presence on the web as thats the main place music is going to be bought, shared and sold. I think that traditional forms of copyright won’t stand up to convergence of global markets, and that maybe we need to move towards a digital distribution right shared between publisher, sound copyright owner and artist/writer
September 10th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
I earn a living as a film and television composer. Having had a scoot around some of the many of the blogs out there on this subject, I find myself taking an even more depressing view of our dilemma than most. I believe that we have many deep routed problems as a consequence of society’s all consuming love affair with cyberspace that go way beyond the fast approaching steam train that’s going to run us all down with “free for all music”
We – the professional creative community, in an attempt to earn a living out of any sort of recorded media, whether we be composers /songwriters / musicians /script writers /film directors /cinematographers etc .. are sadly fighting a “no-win” battle against something which, having been born of the web, is an even more more sinister creation than the heinous concept of file sharing and that is “THE CULT OF THE AMATEUR” (apologies to Andrew Keen whose fitting title I’ve stolen from his recent book!)
The internet has been flooded by so much worthless creative content on a myriad of sites, generated by both individuals and groups like Myspace, that the shear volume of “creativity” makes it now impossible to sort the wheat from the chaff. The principle of “cream rising to the top” has been drowned by the ocean of poor quality amateur generated sewage.
So much of this content tries to announce itself as being something to do with culture but is often just self indulgent and transitory ……. the reverse of mainstream culture which has traditionally had some longevity. ( eg. music, films & books etc) The internet is actually responsible for the dilution of culture.
Creative professionals seem to be losing respect.
I find myself sitting next to people on trains, planes and buses who, as is human nature, enquire of one another as to the purpose of their trip. My journey is usually “going to” or “coming from” some thing do with my work. Perhaps my answer in such a conversation might be something along the lines of -.” I’m on my way to spend a couple of days with a film director, viewing and discussing the final cut of movie which I’m about to score because I’m a composer”
The traveling companion’s retort is almost without exception, “oh I see …. so what do you actually do for a living?” The inference being that surely anybody can do that at home on a PC and therefore you can’t possibly think of that as a way to generate income?! To add insult to injury. they often continue: “My son /brother /sister /father /neighbour is trying to get into that, …. he/she has a laptop in their bedroom ….. you should hear the beautiful music they can produce on their computer ….. it’s as good as anything you hear at the movies ……. it sounds so professional”
In addition to the public’s change in perception of the various creative skills that were once upon a time thought of as the domain of the professional, many employers in positions of power within the creative industry also have Google to consult whenever they need guidance about something that they may feel to be out of their depth with. For example, in the film and tv business, directors and producers who enter the business with little experience or understanding of the craft of using music with picture, now ALSO have a son /brother /sister /father /neighbour who is trying to get into the film music business …. who has a laptop in their bedroom ….. “you should hear the beautiful music he/she can make on their laptop ….. it’s as good as anything you hear at the movies ……. it sounds so professional” ……… eek!!!!!!!?
So as to the value of our long laboured creations, once they exist as music / movie files which are now so easily copied and shared,this value is very little, because the creation of music files is something that anybody can do at home on their laptop.
Society is cutting and pasting its way into believing that anyone can make music way beyond what traditionally the hobbyist had the capacity to produce, simply because computers can allow anyone to create music which to the laymans ears sounds very convincing. You have to pay professionals like doctors, lawyers and accountants for their service, yet music is something that anyone can now make with a few Apple Loops and could be supplied for some professional use / purpose from the comfort of your bedroom.
The cult of the amateur in addition to music being perceived of as free, is leading us to a time when the golden age of creative copyright will be deemed a thing of the past, because now anybody can be creative…… what’s so special about the “gift” of music now?
Live performance is going to be the only way to earn significant income – not that the songwriter / composer is going to ever hear the word “royalty”. Mechanical Copyright is a dead duck.