Ah, I remember the good old days when I had my first banjo lesson. Actually, it wasn’t exactly my first lesson. I had been using the internet to improve my “skill” for a while, and I was slightly conceited since I thought I had some idea about what I was doing. I watched videos of a real expert playing the banjo while the tabs were available as well. I learned a few songs and techniques that sounded interesting, but that was about the extent of my knowledge.
When I had my first real lesson, it broke down all those illusions I had of being a decent player. I tried to show off, but as soon as his deep eyes met mine I missed a chord. It was my first time to ever play any instrument in front of anyone, and I didn’t think I would get nervous. After all, I’ve always been a gifted public speaker. The only one in the room was my teacher, and I was having a terrible time.
I’m having a hard time seeing my future in banjo playing, especially since I can’t even whack up the ginger to play something in front of my own teacher. He’s a nice guy, and he can play the banjo like no other. He’s already taught me several exercise I can use for my next lesson. It’s also a great experience just to watch him play, since his skill far outweighs mine. I just hope I will sound at least slightly more decent the next time I have a lesson.
But if I always freeze up when I try to play at my lessons, I’m worried that my instructor will never be able to give me the help I truly need. It’s impossible to get feedback and constructive criticism if everything I play is absolute garbage. I think I will start recording my lone practice and playing it back for him. Hopefully I won’t freeze up just knowing that he will be listening to it soon…
If anyone or any company feels that your music will not make them money, there will be absolutely no interest in your music. That’s it in the nut shell. Remember, to always remember this. The Music Industry is about Money!
There are a few sources of money to be made in the music industry. They include but are not limited to:
· Record sales
· Songs played on the radio
· In movies and television
· Concerts
· Song writing
· Producing
· Merchandising
· Advertising
· CD-ROMs/DVDs
If you are an artist and want to get into the music business, you need 3 very important very good people in your corner batting for you on a daily basis. They include:
· Personal Manager – The most of important of the three. They should have contacts in the music industry, keep on eye on all your affairs, advise you on things to do, help promote your music, producers to hire, who to sign with when to go on tour, etc. The personal manager will receive 15% and 20% of an artists gross earnings and have good contacts with record companies A&R, Marketing / Sales, and Promotion departments.
· Music Attorney – A good attorney specializing in the music will know how to properly negotiate and structure the deals an artist makes. They should have good contacts and be trust worthy. Expect to pay between 100 and 200 per hour for a good music attorney. If an attorney thinks you will get signed, they forego a set fee and charge a percentage of artist’s earnings. In bigger cities, you’ll pay more than in smaller cities.
· Music Agent – Book concerts and special appearances. A Personal Manager will help the artist with selecting a good agent.
If you blow up and start generating the big money, then a good Manager / Accountant will be needed to handle your tax situation, review royalty statements, financing tours, offer invest advice and how to manage your money.
Getting recognized by mailing your demo to record labels isn’t impossible, however, 99.9% of the time your material will not get listened to. Even if you have the best song on the planet, it will not be listened to. Record labels want to limit their liability, so they do not listen to unsolicited music. Record labels don’t want to listen to numerous songs and then be held liable if someone claims their material was copied.
If you do decide to mail your CD to record label, send the “solicited” material. First get a contact, preferably an individual in the Artists & Repertoire (A&R) department. Call and first speak to someone. After sending your CD follow up to determine if the targeted individual received your material and another follow up call to determine if it was listened to. Submit 3 to 6 songs and send a bio and picture of yourself. Again this isn’t the preferred way to submit your material to major record labels.
Until you have music business advisors in your corner trying to promote you and there is a “buzz” going around about you, your demo will not reach the decision makers at the record labels. Record companies on a daily basis receive thousands of unsolicited CDs. Most likely your CD will be tossed into a bin located in a remote room filled with overflowing bins of CDs.
Record labels like to deal with artists who have a history of record sales. These are artist that may have produced and sold their own CDs locally or regionally. Record labels like to deal with artists who have performed their material and there is this “buzz” going on about them. MC Hammer, before he became famous, performed his own materials and sold his own records until a major record label signed him. MC Hammer had a lot of leverage in negotiating a good contract because he already proved on a local basis he could sell records.
Record companies want to limit their liability. If you are signed, you are considered an investment that will require some money and they want to see a premium return on their money invested in you. The more you can prove that you can sell record, the better chance you can get signed.
If you get signed to a record company, you the artist will go into the studio and record songs for the record company. The record company makes copies of the master recording and ships it to a distributor. The distributor is a wholesaler who then sells the CDs to retail outlets like Best Buy, Sam Goody and Tower Records. The record company then pumps money into marketing by advertising and promoting your music with hopes of selling records, thus making you a superstar and becoming rich!
It is not as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of hard work by a talented group of people. Everyone has to work together to make this happen. There are usually many people behind the scenes working to make an artist a superstar.
Record companies often categorized into 4 groups: · Major label record companies - have the recording and operating resources to complete all function to sell records. Major label record companies are integrated in that they can handle the promotion, sales, marketing, and distribution to sell music. Major label record companies are Arista, Atlantic, Capital, and Sony.
· Major label affiliate labels – have special agreements with the major label record companies, where the major label may fund the smaller labels recording and operating expenses in exchange for a portion of the smaller label profits.
· Independent labels - distributes records through major labels. Independent labels have few employees. They tend to find talent, sign the talent, sees to it the music is recorded and contracts with major record labels to perform the promotion, marketing, and other functions.
· True independent labels – Has no association with a major label and distribute their music through independent distributors.
The A&R (Artists & Repertoire) Department
The A&R department is the talent scout. They are in charge of finding new talents. They are the eyes and ears of the record company. However, not because you get signed to a record label because an A&R representative likes you it doesn’t mean your CD will ever get produced and released. Executives higher in the company could cancel your deal if they feel your CD will not sell. A record company will have to invest several hundred thousands of dollars to release your CD, so they will be extremely cautious on whom they release.
The Marketing and Sales Department
This department is responsible for getting the public excited about your music and first selling to retail stores the idea of carrying your CD. They are responsible for promotional merchandise, advertising your CD, in store displays, publicity, your CD cover, etc.
The Promotions Department
This department is responsible for getting your music played on the radio. The individuals in this department will visit the various radio stations to convince them to play your material. If your material doesn’t get played, no one will now how you are. People will look at your CD in the retail store and wonder who you are. There is also a direct correlation with CD sales vs. how many times a song for that CD gets played on the radio. More air time on the radio equals more CD sales for the record companies.
Remember music is art, but to the record companies, it’s about money. Keep in mind that it’s a business. Keep in mind everyone is out to make money. The minute people believe that you will not make money for them, you will be dropped and these same people will turn to seek other new artists that they believe will make them money. Unfortunately, the record business doesn’t believe in grooming people. If your first CD isn’t a success, you are out. There are rarely second chances. There are always other talented people behind you who what their shot at fame.
Distribution
Most major retailers such as Tower records will not carry a CD unless the record has a distributor. A strong distributor ensures that your CD will be available in enough places so your CD will sell to ultimately make money. Major labels use large distributors who are better able to get record stores stocked. After years of consolidation, there are only 5 major national wholesale distributors in the US who are owned by conglomerates who also own major record labels. They are:
· BMG (distributes Arista, BMG and RCA)
· EMI (distributes Capital and Virg.)
· Sony Music (distributes Columbia, Epic and Sony)
· Universal Music Group (distributes Interscope, Island/Def Jam, and MCA)
· WEA (distributes Atlantic, Elektra and Warner Bros.)
Distribution via the Internet Record labels and artists are increasingly using the web to distribute their music. Unknown artists can also use sites like this mZeus.com, http://www.mZeus.com, to generate buzz about their music. However, unknown artists will still have to work hard to get the buzz going about their music. Ultimately, signing a contract with a major record label is the way to go. The major record labels have the financial muscle and people to give you a good shot at becoming famous.
Let’s face it. It’s all about money! Yes, the entertainment industry seems fun and exciting, but people are in it to make money. As an artist the most important contract in the music industry is the record contract. The royalty is a portion of money from record sales paid to the artist for his/her music. The record contract which is a negotiated legal agreement between the record label and artist will state how much royalty an artist is entitled to among other things.
An artist should have a good understanding of how royalties are calculated. A good music attorney will help with this process by making sure the artist is paid what he/she deserves. A 13% royalty for one artist may be a lot of money, however a 13% royalty for another maybe “chump change”.
So this is how the numbers work. An artist successfully signs a record contract. The artist goes to the studio and work diligently to create a CD that the record company fully supports. The record company via its distributor sells the CD with a suggested retail list price (SRLP) of $17.99 to a retailer for about $10.99. The distributor will take 10% - 14% of the $10.99. Therefore the record company will get about ½ the SRLP of $17.99. Independent record companies may receive less than ½ the SRLP. Major record companies will pay artist royalty as a percentage of SRLP.
Rates will vary of each artist depending on how successful their record sells. For a new artist who never had a record deal or has sold less than 100,000 albums will get a typical royalty rate of 12% to 14% of the SRLP. For an independent record label it maybe 10% to 14% of the SRLP. For established artists who have a track record of selling 200,000 to 500,000 albums the royalty rate maybe 14% to 16%. For artists who have sold over 750,000 albums the royalty rates maybe 16% to 18%. As you can see, the more successful the artist is, the higher the royalty. Additionally, royalty maybe based on how well the record sells. For instance, the record contract may state that an artist will get 12% for the first 100,000 units sold, 14% for 100,001 to 300,000 units sold, and 16% for over 300,000 units sold.
But hold your horses. If you sell 500,000 albums and have a royalty rate of 12% doesn’t mean you will get 12% of 500,000 at a SRLP of $17.98 which would equal $1,078,800. This is because as specified in the record contract, there are deductions (expenses) that have to be deducted.
To start off the bat, the record company will deduct a “packaging charge” from the SRLP which is typically 20% for cassettes and 25% for CDs.
Second, more often the artist is responsible for paying the record producer a portion of his/her royalties. Typically a producer will receive 3% to 4% of the SRLP.
Third, in the record business, the contract may state that the artist’s only generates royalties on 85% of the unit sales. For every 100 albums sold, 15 albums sold, the artist gets no royalty.
Forth, the record company will hold a portion of the royalty money because the distributor typically has an agreement with the retail outlets to take back and credit the retail stores money from unsold units. This is very important, because a good portion of your album could be returned to the record company if the album doesn’t sell! The money that’s held back is called a reserve. Reserves maybe held for 2 years before it’s paid to the artist. Typically a major record label will hold a reserve of 25% to 40% of the royalties.
Fifth, advances paid from the record company to the artist are deducted from the artist’s royalty. Advances include but are not limited to the:
· Recording studio expenses (new artists to an independent my get an advancement of $0 to $80,000, new artist to a major record label $150,000 to $400,000
· Hiring independent promoters to help sell the albums
· Cost of making a music video (promotions and an inexpensive music video can cost $150,000 to $200,000.
When money is made for the record sales, these costs are deducted from the artist’s royalties. This is called re-coupment. Therefore, if the artist’s record isn’t successful, the artist may never see a dime. If the royalties are less than the deductions, they artists may well owe the record company money by being in the red! This negative cost maybe carried over to the next album release. A good record contract will not allow a negative cost from one album to be carried over to another album (cross collateralization). If there isn’t another album the record company generally eats the loss.
There are many other costs that the record company will not charge the artists. This includes marketing and in-house promotions (free CD give away, etc.).
So how much does an artist make for a gold album (500,000 albums sold).
Check out the math:
CD (suggested retail list price SRLP) = $ 17.99 Less CD Packaging of 20% = $ -4.50 NET = $ 13.49 Times: Net artist royalty rate (12% - 3% to producer) = X 9% Gross royalty per CD (9% of $13.48) = $ 1.21 Times 500,000 albums = $ 500,000 SUB TOTAL = $ 605,00 Times: Royalty bearing % (15% o = no royalty) = X 85% Gross Royalty = $ 514,250 Less advances: Recording, promo, music video, tour = $ -350,000 TOTAL ROYALTY TO ARTIST = $ 164,250 - Reserves (35%) returned by retailer) = $ -57,487.50 (1) ACTUAL ROYALTY PAID TO ARTIST = $ 106,762.50
(1)Reserves will be paid to artist in 2 years if no CDs returned by retailer
Remember the artist still has to pay TAXES! Don’t forget Uncle Sam has to get his cut! Also, don’t forget the Personal Manger, the Attorney, the Accountant, the Agent and other numerous expenses.
However, there are many other royalties that an artist can acquire. They include, Record Clubs, Compilation CDs, Samplers (low-priced albums in which a few artists are featured), Premiums (albums sold with other products, such as cereal), Film Soundtrack Album, Music Video Sales, Greatest Hit’s Album, Foreign Royalties (song played in some foreign country radio stations pay royalties, unlike the US), Master Use License (music used in a movie, television, commercial, the Internet, CD-ROM and DVD), etc.
Of course because of the Internet, the rules royalties are changing. Many people now buy their music via the Internet. Just think, no packaging required and no distribution to traditional retail stores needed. Some websites allow customers to buy individual songs as oppose to an album. Changes are currently taking place on how royalties are calculated because of the Internet. Many attorneys are pushing to have royalties be based on each song sold as oppose to each album sold. So stay tuned!
If you're planning a Houston wedding, you'll confront the million-and-one decisions that all brides face. Who should you ask to be in your bridal party? Where will you find the perfect wedding dress? What do you need to pack for your honeymoon? In the process, it's important to remember that the enjoyment of your guests is also your responsibility. To ensure that they have a wonderful time at your reception, you should select a professional wedding DJ in Houston who can take some of that responsibility off your shoulders. These simple guidelines will help you find the Houston disc jockey that is a perfect fit for your wedding.
Find the Right Houston Wedding DJ
Initially, the thought of having to find the right wedding DJ in Houston can be overwhelming. Take some time to cruise the Internet and locate DJs in Houston who specialize in weddings. Make a list and run the names by your caterer, photographer, and the manager of your reception venue. They should be familiar with Houston DJs and can help you narrow down your list.
Is it the Right Music for You?
Once you have narrowed the field, it's time to start making calls. If you have a particular type of music you'd like played at your reception, check to see if he has that music available. Keep in mind, though, that your reception is likely to include guests ranging in age and musical preferences. A professional Houston DJ will have an eclectic mix of music that will get everyone to his or her feet. By all means, ensure that the songs you want are on his play list, but also realize that part of his job is to set the cadence for your reception. By starting your reception off with light music, your DJ will help to put everyone at ease. Through music, he'll help to move the event along, from your first dance with your new husband, to the cutting of the wedding cake, the tossing of your bouquet, and the departure of you and the groom.
A Houston Wedding DJ Provides More than Music
When choosing from among DJs in Houston, remember that you not only want him to provide terrific musical entertainment, but also to act as an emcee. For that reason, you need to check out the DJ's attitude, personality, promptness, and ability to please the wedding guests. The best way to ensure your wedding reception will be handled in a professional manner is to stop by another wedding reception and watch him in action. By seeing him perform, you will get to know his personality, the quality of his performance, and reaction he receives from the guests.
Important Things to Consider when Hiring a Wedding DJ
Before you sign a contract with a Houston wedding DJ, make sure that he has (or will get) the songs you would like played at your reception. Make sure that he accepts requests, as your guests will enjoy being able to dance to their favorite tunes.
Even if you don't know much about sound equipment ask about it. A professional DJ in Houston should have top quality equipment and high-end professional lighting, both of which will make your reception more enjoyable for your guests.
If you don't have the opportunity to watch him perform, be sure to ask the DJ what he will be wearing at your reception. Most Houston DJs wear tuxedos to weddings, but there are some who don't. By discussing this with the DJ in advance, you'll eliminate any problems or embarrassing moments on your big day.
Having the right Houston DJ will not only guarantee that your special day is well-organized, but will add to wonderful, lifelong memories.
A good music lesson is simply the best way to learn how to play the piano. This is because most people need the discipline they get from learning how to play music in a certain sequence of time. Once you master one lesson, you will be able to move on to the next with a great deal of confidence as your skills start to improve. It’s this confidence that is going to keep you wanting to play the piano and increase your musical knowledge and ability.
The piano is one of the most popular musical instruments today. Most people who are starting out choose to play the piano because of its diversity and simplicity. Once you learn to play the piano, you’ll be able to pick up almost any other instrument and be able to produce some type of quality sound.
When looking for the right style of piano to play, you should consider how serious you are about learning. You will find some pianos are extremely expensive, and this type of piano may not be necessary for someone who is just starting out. Pianos do tend to hold their value, and if you take good care of it you can probably sell it many years later for a decent price when you are ready to replace it with something newer.
The music of the piano can be heard almost anywhere including clubs, schools, churches, symphonies, and at home. Once you get into a routine for each music lesson you take, you’ll find that making time to practice is something you look forward to.
Learning online through an online piano course is a great way to play in your own home without having to fuss with scheduling or finding a teacher. You decide when you want to learn your next lesson, as well as when you have the confidence to move on to the next music lesson. Many people are already finding out how easy it so to learn how to play the piano on their own.
Each music lesson is designed to teach you what you need in order to advance to the next level. All of the notes and chords for the next set of songs are presented at the beginning of the lesson. You don’t move forward until you feel you are ready. This means you can spend more time on one lesson over another if you’d like. And it also means you can go back to a lesson at any time to review what you’ve already learned.
At Hear and Play, we know that finding the right music lesson to get you started at learning to play the piano is the key to creating a successful new hobby or passion. We offer online learning guides and reference tools to effectively help you learn to play music by ear. Contact us today at http://www.hearandplay.com/ to learn more.
Joe is a lead guitarist in a covers / remake band. He is a good guitarist and cool under pressure. He plays for a band called the Psycho Nymphos. They are a five piece band with two guitarist, keys, bass and drums. The other guitarist also doubles as the singer. Yet this is Joe’s nightmare. As a guitarist, this scenario should induce uncontrollable trembling of all body parts and have you soiling your underwear. This, is the gig from hell.
Thinking that he starts at 10:00, Joe shows up at the venue with two hours to spare. Well, it would be two hours to spare, but Joe got given the wrong information. The Band is due to start at 8:30 and Joe hasn’t even unpacked his gear yet, let alone set up. They had been trying to call Joe on his phone, but it was switched off. Joe, keeping cool, unpacks his car in a hurry and somehow manages to get everything set up only 10 minutes late. The crowd is getting restless and the bar manager is furious. Joe is keeping his cool.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=817f9911-ad6b-4b17-ba3f-d119e91da76a)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7dd96ee7-0fd3-4fb4-8936-f46fdcfae111)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6342fffe-7923-4508-8547-c2805f789a0e)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=4f3c6dff-a9f7-40fe-aaac-b90eda8bbf07)
Posts
