Mika Karhumaa

About Mika Karhumaa

https://mikakarhumaa.fi

Mika Karhumaa is a known music business strategist. He is also the author of The Essence of the Music Business - Book Series and The Art of Music Business Management - For Artists & Managers book. He is an asked lecturer in multiple universities and of course, a coach and a mentor for various artists and other industrial activities around the world.

Posts by Mika Karhumaa:

Libraries and Lectures

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Libraries have played a huge part in the promotion of my books. Maintaining a life-long connection with libraries is something I hold dear. I thought I could dedicate this Sunday to this appreciation. Simultaneously, I am getting ready for the forthcoming music business management course. Why do I bring up in this context? First of all, without libraries my production would never had such a wide circulation and reach. Consequently, the amount of lectures I give have increased considerably.

A series of lectures starting next week will make the issue topical in another way. The students have had time and opportunity to familiarize themselves with the course material in advance. Such an opportunity gives the lecturer more room – and alternatives. The lectures can be enriched with a variety of examples that could otherwise be unattainable.

My main distributor for the university libraries is EBSCO. Their e-book collection is impressive. What’s even better is that all students can now borrow a book right away. My upcoming course has 47 students. I use all three books as a course material. If only physical books were available, there should be 47 copies of it. Think about the space they take.

This writing is not intended to discriminate physical books. No, they are equally important – no matter the format. I am grateful of every addition the libraries make when taking my books in their collections – whether it is physical, e-book or an audio book.

This is to every library. Thank you for creating pre-conditions for the successful courses when taking these books. It is a great help and 32 hours of teaching through Teams become doable. All this takes place within two months, and consistency as a key. Easy access to books is something that facilitates not only navigation, but also the internalization of the matter. All the essential is immediately available and not behind many gates. When the subject is artist management and related mediator skills, it involves a lot of information.

UPDATE: Here’s the latest book. Available on EBSCO as the previous ones!

Library, libraries and their importance with The Art of Music Business Management - For Artists & Managers book that's available on Amazon, EBSCO, and many other distributors.

 

Distracting Signals

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Introduction

Distracting signals may affect the case in many different contexts. This article reviews two easy-to-understand situations.

An artist promotion in its technical sense is a set of independent and interrelated measures aimed at the artist’s career enhancement. Each endeavor seeks some external outcome, for example, better streaming results, social media following, additional live performances, not to mention the business aspirations – increase in active and passive income. The better the artist performs in these forums, the better the management can be seen to have done.

When approached from the technical point of view, it doesn’t matter what the popularity results are. It is important that the steps are taken wisely. When this is done, it gives the artist’s music a chance.

I was thinking about approaching the artist promotion and related measures with precedence in mind. Bringing along some proactive points  worth considering. Our focus is in time that precedes the potential successes. The cause-and-effect relationship is not always as clear as it seem. Although the success can be seen as a result of some distinctive measure, it wouldn’t probably be possible without the prior observations and interventions in the content, or the order of presentation elsewhere. These preconditions and their establishment are of our interest now.

You are probably familiar with the individual steps being taken to promote an artist. There are guides that illustrate how to best position your music on streaming services. What’s there to keep in mind. You must have read at least one book about how an artist is best at getting followers. Or the stories how to approach the music supervisors – in the hope your music will be found on the movie or on an ad behind the brand we all know. These placements and their plug-ins are the outer side of the matter.

Modern promotion emphasizes its instrumentality. Streaming services and other social media platforms have their own preferences how the artist-related information is best provided. The idea, on the other side, is to find the triggers that, when properly set, will produce the desired results. As social media and its platforms are constantly developing new functions for how the promotion can be implemented, the choice can cause problems. When there are many opportunities, it is difficult to choose where to be active and how.

The Point

The problem is usually related to the temporary effect and inconsistency. Communication reaches audience yes, but offers no grip. It easily begins to create hooks and tricks to get the audience interested in your subject matter. In order to achieve the desired results, such raptures often need to be repeated. It easily becomes a story based on something that really is meant to be an effect. Literally, it becomes a constant call-to-action, at least in disguise.

The call-to-action is a delicate matter and should not be thought as a mere technical performance. The artist is communicating in many different forums today with many different audiences. Consider an artist urging people on Facebook to follow their site – directly or indirectly. For this purpose, a paid campaign shall be made. The number of followers increases, but they are involved mainly by their own obedience. After seeing the proposal, they have clicked the Like-button. Once again, technically the operation is correct. In order to gain engagements, the artist has to pay attention to the message it conveys. If somewhere else on social media there are discrepancies or mixed claims about the artist and artist’s career or the promotion rides mainly on external accomplishments, we can be dealing with distracting signals. These disturbing signals are not only followed by the public, but also by the media and the industry.

If these distracting signals stay alive, they can complicate many potential operations. Before the artist’s story is sufficiently established,  any external achievement should be treated with reservations. Ironically, while success is something that is commonly sought, it is not always the most sensible topic to bring up. If the artist makes a claim to their current success, they are also exposed to the cyclical fluctuations of the claim. Success is never constant and it takes time for the story to reach a level where those fluctuations no longer matter.

When it comes to persuasive factors, they must never be left thin. If the audience is enticed to follow the artist on the basis of prevailing popularity, it must have muscles. One hit doesn’t create the foundation that could be trusted to leave a mark on people’s minds.

If the artist’s song gains widespread popularity and the promotion is largely based on the reasons and backgrounds why the song became hit, growing expectations for the next single will probably be higher. Now you should remember Google. All this information will recorded within the algorithms of Google and other search engines. It will probably gain high rankings on the search rankings too. If the new song is deviating from the past production, problems can arise at least from two reasons.

If the success does not follow the artist, the only mark left on the artist may easily be this former success. Indeed, the new production may not stand out because of that past success. If the audience still plays that artist’s biggest hit instead of their other production, the new production won’t get the attention it would require to be succeed.

Of course, this is not quite so unambiguous. In some situations success claims are justified and even advisable. Sometimes is enough for a reason to start following the artist. The question is what follows. I’m trying to say is that before the story has been rooted as it should, one should always leave the back gates. To the places to get the attention elsewhere if something goes wrong. At this point it is usually the artist’s story from which to draw that content. Promotion should never be based on mere external factors, although there is a great temptation to do it so today. Namely, the external factors are never in your own hands, even though it may seem at some particular moment.

All kind of anticipation is the thing that seeks to avoid these inconsistencies. It is not irrelevant in which order the things about the artist are told or brought out. If the artist starts a campaign around some themes relevant to the present, but things already found on Google contradict this message – we are in a collision course. This is something that should be taken into account at the earliest possible stage. The success claims are used as an example in this article. There are also other interfering signals. One of such can be any factor whose effectiveness is capable of disrupting the natural narrative of an artist’s story.

There could have been more pages to the subject, but I think the point came clear. This topic came to mind as I was preparing for the upcoming fall’s lectures. You can read more about the subject from The Essence of the Music Business Trilogy – especially from its parts, Philosophy and Strategy.

UPDATE: More information around the topic can be found in this book.

This book talks about distracting signals too

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Few New Ideas and The Music Business

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This idea has been present a lot throughout the year. Finally I can tell you more about my upcoming publications. I’ve been thinking how to complete the trilogy. One option would be write a brand new The Essence of the Music Business book. The other is to include that updated material within the previous three. Since the first part, Contracts, was already updated in March 2019, the other two parts, Philosophy and Strategy, remain as options.

I read both books twice – thinking about how they could be improved. I was particularly interested about the structure and order of presentation. Could I get new information there without compromising anything. Whether the existing structure allow room for the new ideas and/or whether there is enough space so that the book does not become too long. I realized that the update could take place in two steps. It allows me to complete the material if needed. If I make Philosophy first with the things I could add there, I can further refine them in terms of strategy. This realization was followed by a sense of freedom. It would avoid the possibility that an entirely new book would actually be a repetition of three previous ones – with only a few new ideas. The possibility of such always exist, as the trilogy contains more than five hundred pages.

This kind of solution also allows for depreciation. I can take unnecessary songs out of the books – these always remain, at least with the first editions. When the time passes from the publication, the text can be evaluated more objectively, and from the better distance.

I have recently focused on the streaming management, in more detail than in the past. Also to gain experience how to perform this task in the 2020’s. Or rather, I started this operation a few years ago – at the national level. Now it has been transferred to the international scenes – with the same team as before. The experiences I got can be read in the new editions of The Essence of the Music Business.

UPDATE: It still so happened that I decided to write another book – not within that trilogy as I just told. Many things led to this decision. You can get this book from here.

A few new ideas and modern music business with Annika Nord - we are sitting on our kitchen with her.

There’s more to this than just writing and publishing. It’s been a pleasure to partner with Grey Beton Records. Our second joint operation, Delta Enigma’s Waterfall, will be released along through that avenue. More likely all my other artists will end up with the same solution. The vision that CEO Richard Hiles has to offer provides the experience required for the modern streaming release requirements.

 

How to Live with Uncertainty

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Uncertainty! This article has been requested for two years. Such a difficult topic! I have started this article at least twenty times. Every time I have emphasized some other thing over the other. Now I am about to finish this. I decided to be merciful to myself and just write the things down.

Uncertainty is something we all know. It can be present in many areas of life. You often hear people say that you just have to live with it. Well, that’s how it is. Basically, it is how we deal with it, but also how we prepare for it.

For clarification, this article is about economic uncertainty that many music business aspirant are struggling with. Instead of speaking it from the general point of view, I chose to share my own experience. It seems to interest you the most. Secondly, a personal story is best known to you. It gives you freedom to the tell things without any restrictions.

The beginning of a career

It was 1995 when everything started. I was a first-year law student. At the time, resources were insufficient and life looked just like that. Moreover,  the time I spent with different tasks wasn’t a sacrifice at all, but curious mind and the attitude, I am learning something new today. If I would give advice to 23-old myself, it would be that always leave something in your pocket when receiving rewards. We’ll return to this below.

People told me to focus law instead of music. As a lawyer, livelihood would be secured. Fortunately not everyone agreed with this. At a young age, you are more impressionable. As a result, you could have made the different choices. I am lucky. I have been able to attend to the lectures of great teachers. One professor reminded us about copyright and how it could become more important in the future. Oh boy, he was right.

In my case, law school was the plan b – if everything had gone wrong. That knowledge in itself gives a sense of security. On the other hand, as you get older, you become more prone to worry – or not. Every now and then I find myself wondering what if I had chosen otherwise. This is what I mean when I recommend starting everything at a young age. Later on, you will find it easier to place restrictions and excuses for yourself. And you still got time to change the course.

Knowledge Acquisition

Uncertainty is often due to lack of knowledge, how this business works. This easily manifest itself as a hesitation. The hesitant mind, in turn, sees no opportunities. It become blind to them. Let’s move on.

You can fill this gap by reading music business books and related articles, but also being in touch with music business professionals if that’s possible. Nothing however, beats the experience. It is always the best teacher. So let it be our guide. Entering the industry requires preparation. Without it, your journey becomes difficult.

For the sake of clarity – this article does not per se apply to those music professionals who are employed by the companies in the industry. For them, it’s a bit different thing. This article is more to those who operate independently.

In order to find your path, you need to know what you are after. Until it becomes clear, you need to keep moving. Spend time well with those uncertain years. At that very time, all the experiments and changes in plans are easier to settle. If you’ve already become known with some particular role, it can be harder to change. It is not worth limiting yourself when you start this journey. I personally attended every meeting that came on my way when I was younger. It didn’t matter if the meeting made sense or not. Each meeting developed my communication skills – for future purposes. For the manager, those skills are worth gold. The time you start to think about economic value of your actions – it comes later. Trust me, you want to fill your data bank first. With that information you can find your path – if it has remained unclear.

The better this footwork is done, the easier it is to deal with this uncertainty. You are bound to learn how this business works and what it means to you. Since the music business is poorly suitable for the part-time commitments, you need to find out your true engagement first. Before you can move on, you need to create working facilities. It requires resources. Happy are those who have savings or other releasable  assets when they start out.

Earned Money

For my part, I proceeded as my knowledge grew. I started as an agent – a task where success is realized immediately or at least with a short delay. At this stage, I was not dealing with copyright – nor generating revenue from any sources of passive income. The reward of an agent is commission against the each booked venue.

However, it was a valuable time for information acquisition. You got a reason to connect with the promoters and other operatives in the field. The commissions I received also funded my studies. While I still worked as a substitute teacher, I got the necessary funds to gain early career knowledge and experience.

Easy come and easy go. At that time, money came in surprisingly easy. I always had the job that were paid. One thing I ignored.  A jump from the agent shoes doesn’t happen overnight – at least if your destination is to be an artist manager. If I would be in the same situation now, I’d save most of my rewards for the future purposes.

As a manager, money enters the scene when the artist’s actions make it possible. I started my career with new artists. It means that it took time before they became economically relevant. In addition, making it happen required time-consuming resources which is difficult on a sideline basis. It is also the time when you make a name as a manager. Trust me – you want to do it well!

Derivative

Uncertainty is also created by derivative. As a manager, you are dependent on your artists and how their interest groups are doing their job. It is not uncommon for the artist, after all the preparation made for them, not wanting to continue in the same way. Before any plan is realized, everything is more and less uncertain. This fact is good to consider when choosing your seats. It is rarely worth putting all the eggs in the same basket – especially if your future income is dependent on the others.

I was already so advanced in my studies that I could offer legal services to others too. I was pleased to get that most of those assignments from the industry. Consequently, I wasn’t that dependent a manager can be. It also made my relationship with my artists easier – the work was done on a voluntary basis.

Reward

Reward is something you want to tackle as early as possible. The more obscure your financial figures are, the more uncertain will be your position. You need contracts for this. Basically, the artists are in a better position. They have the rights over their production. It is up to them to decide how they are going to use that output. When, in pursuit of their financial endeavors, they then sign away some these rights, the recipients obtain financial rights over the artist, in a way the agreement determines. WARNING! This paragraph is just an example and does not mean that you automatically have to forfeit your rights or some of them to succeed!

I had my reservation about derivatives. At first I didn’t take anything from the artist, not because I didn’t deserve, but because my own motives weren’t settled yet. By taking care of my artists, I got to learn the industry. I was also able to do it ’at large’ because I wasn’t asking for much. It seemed unfair to make the artist pay for having that opportunity. If I hadn’t been in that role, I wouldn’t have the information I now have. In a way, I was in the same boat with the artists that time.

Secondly, I wanted to write the books! Hardly any of my books would have been born without this. Personally I started to include commission to my contracts when my contribution became economically meaningful – I mean the rewards we gathered wouldn’t be possible without the efforts I had made.

Investments

I’ve noticed that routines are here for this task. I start every Monday in the same way – answering to every contact I have received over the weekend. You would be surprised to know how many contacts an author can have and how it is that most of the new contacts actually take place when it’s weekend. These contacts form my weekly agenda with new assignments. When we add ongoing operations and agreed individual tasks, we are dealing with the agenda I am running through every day.

Now, let us return to the original plot. I always save some of the money I receive. Part of the money goes to chosen funds with variable returns. This way I can estimate the resources I can use for the operations more easily.

The golden advice for entrepreneurs is to have their cash flow steady and sufficient. Without it, all the spontaneous will be missed. It is typical that you cannot really anticipate they are coming. They may emerge like a bolt from the blue – for this, it is good to have releasable funds.

Here we come to the end game, the moment when the breakthrough is supposed to happen. We are also dealing with sacrifices that must be made before anything can be realized. We don’t want to spoil tomorrow’s success today.

The Endgame

This is about mindset. Pretty much all of us have some idea or plan – in what kind of economic circumstances you’d like to do your life work. For my part, I was hoping to get one clear source of passive income – as an economic goal I mean. The distance to reach that point has been long. It will take time before you can write books that really matter. Oftentimes, readers also require some level of experience from the author – especially when it comes to non-fiction books.

I have lived all my adult life in terms of this calling, if I can put it this way. It is surprising what a stretching ability you have when you want something hard enough. It is also about wanting and hunting the desired state of affairs – not at any cost though. When I was younger, I didn’t buy a house or car, like most of my friends did. I thought all that would have restricted me from doing what I do. It would have driven the resources elsewhere. I needed them to accomplish the this mission. It is always about choices and they are unique to everyone. This article is not designed to prompt you to do the same. This is just what I did.

When your work reaches a public awareness, it will make life easier. If the operation ends or seems no longer meaningful, a new one comes into play. After all, the breakthrough isn’t always the economic one. Of course such is desirable, but it is also something else. It is the moment when your achievements begin to have a life of their own. Sometimes it is involved with related passive income and sometimes it is something else.

Of course, no such thing as black or white. Like I said, it’s a mindset. The younger you start, the sooner you find. Youth is the best time for experimentation. It is worth taking advantage and enjoying it.

I promised myself not to exceed 2000 words. Couldn’t follow the plan, it went 300 over.

If you are interested in the subject, The Art of Music Business Management – For Artists & Managers provides a great deal of information. The book is conveniently available on Amazon as a paperbacks or e-books. They deliver them in your home in a few days!

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

How to deal with uncertainty, read this The Art of Music Business Management - For Artists & Managers book

’In Hand’ Pictures

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These ’in hands’ pictures have become popular. A man behind this idea is Victor A Baker from Chicago. He recently sent me a picture with one of my books in his hand. I then asked can I share it. He liked the idea and you probably guess what happened. I started getting similar images – from people who had read my books. I like these gestures a lot – that’s why I decided to publish this collage. I will also update this collage whenever so requested. That is, no picture will be published without permission.

In-hand image from Chicago
 

Such interaction is also a motivator. Whenever such a picture appears in my mail, it reminds me why am I doing this. I know this sound like a much used expression – it is just hard to come up with other way to show my gratitude.

In hand image from Austin, Texas

Feedback is also an accelerator. It trigger processes that you might not have mastered yourself. This again makes you writing better books and updates when needed.

In hand image from Pesaro, Italy

The whole trilogy is fresh at the moment. Therefore it is relatively resistant to development. However, block chain entry may change the setting quickly. Not yet in practice, but with reservation. It depends on how the market responds to its potential and threats. Also the music and tech is evolving. It is constantly creating new ways to enjoy music. It may be that we have think copyright all over again, with some of its contexts. These, on the other hand, require an updated agreements and arrangements. The writer must be prepared for this. I try to keep release interval in line with the actual market situation.

In hand image from Oulu, Finland

I’ll come back to these pictures yet. They tell their own truths between lines. Book alignments have clearly found their target. The first part – Contracts – is read by lawyers, law students and managers – that is, the professional groups most concerned with the subject. The book has also been useful for the record companies, music publishers and agency’s staff. It is common that some of them at some stage in their career will continue to run it as an artist manager.

In hand image from Austin, Texas

The second book – Philosophy – was intended primarily for managers. However, it did not quite happen. It was embraced by the artists – by far its largest readers group. In retrospect, I’m really happy with the result. I got a lot of information included in it what artists need to know about the professional groups that support them. Some of the pictures where this ‘in hand’ is taken directly from the tour bus make me particularly happy!

In hand image from Kaarina, Finland
 

Maybe the trilogy makes sense. On the other hand, it is about how you sing your song. You have to think about the content and how it is presented. Such a process also evolves. One cannot ignore the fact that next part can supplement and remedy the shortcomings of the previous ones. The last part of the trilogy – Strategy – benefited from this. It has become a popular book outside the music business as well. I bet the strategy in general is so fascinating globally that it attracts.

In hand image from Kaarina, Finland

When you look at these pictures here – pretty many of them have all three involved. And no, this is not a cheap marketing trick. I think it tells us about consistency in one’s mindset- written by a same author. It is then easier to follow, even if the subject changes. So it is for those who started long before me – they have their own readership. I find it great to have a choice.

In hand image from Helsinki, Finland

If you ever hit your hands on some of my books and you want to take ‘in hand’ picture of them and feel free to send it to me. It is very possible that it will be published in a constantly updated collage. This new book may delight you a lot – it’s thoroughly prepared for the wider entrance of artificial intelligence.

Mika Karhumaa’s Author Page on Facebook

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This is what many of you have been waiting for – Facebook. Another inclusion on social media. I just have been waiting for the right moment to launch this. Start opening another avenue in the middle of writing processes is more difficult than one could imagine. Ending the trilogy gives you a required leisure time. Also, summer time is time for myself, but also a space to learn something new. For me, this summer is creating the Facebook pages related to my publications and affiliated activity.

And yes – I know I have been more active on LinkedIn. The question is not that it would be somehow be a priority. No, it just somehow fits to the moments of writing. And there are many of my colleagues. I have developed my own routine how to deal with the outside world, both in private life, working life and on social media. However, I have had Facebook all the time in my mind. Now that the working situation as an artist manager and lecturer is better settled, it is time to add new features.

All the things that I feel worth saying will appear on this page. My greatest source of joy has always been the ability to engage in live situations, much like the interaction in the lectures or as a manager during negotiations. Depending on the pace I learn to use Facebook’s opportunities, I will gradually include all the cool, or less cool, material over there.

One thing to mention! I have visited numerous Skype conversations with my readers – whenever it has been requested. At the moments when ’composing’ feels lonely, a good conversation enlivens your spirit up. I am extremely grateful for these discussions.

I am very pleased, if you experience my book-related Facebook page interesting. Of course, it will not replace my other social media forums and there will surely be overlaps.

Mika Karhumaa on Facebook

A Few Insights Into Modern Music Business

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Modern Music Business vs. Traditional Dimension

Today we talk about the modern music business and how it is different from the past. This is most often to do with streaming. Streaming has become the word of today, not only economically, but also a target for promotion. The higher the streaming numbers, the better it naturally is. One of the desired conditions is to improve the ratings on the various playlists. Also, to be quoted, numbers must support the promotion arguments. It is strategically interesting whether the artist or artist management takes a stand on the artist’s success or does the artist gives others to make a number on it. The question is what kind of statements you make regarding your career.

The current state gives the artist the opportunity to test and learn – better than ever before. They can structure their story and interact it with  the public in a way previously impossible.

Everything has become more transparent. The artists have better access to the information. It is not necessary to have the recording agreement or other industrial arrangements to be seen. This, of course, does not mean they are unnecessary. No, it is not the purpose. The purpose is to update the situation with its new opportunities.

Earlier, the record company was an enabler, the gateway through which the music was made available to the public. This affected the management – their biggest challenge was to succeed in the contract negotiations. This also impacted the artist’s career plans. The first-phase goal was to have a recording contract. The same is still true – albeit somewhat differently and with reservations. The starting point seems to be how far the artists can reach on their own. The recording company becomes topical only after the growth is no longer possible without them.

As a result – the record company is expecting the artist to be ready. It is often required to have a level of fan base and active social media following. Only after meeting these demands, the company sees the artist worth investing. They don’t have to spend their money and time for the tasks the artist can handle better. Ok, it isn’t this black and white, but as the management earlier prepared mainly for the contract negotiations, today it is about making the artist attractive through social media visibility and popularity metrics. Negotiations cannot begin before they are backed up by those numbers.  Another consideration is the weight those readings should be given. For some artists it is good to get a recording agreement right from the start, while for others, independence is the thing.

About Search Engines

Streaming success usually requires well-designed playlist positions – we all know that. Let’s take another perspective here and revisit SEO as it may well have indirect effects to support the success.

The role of the artist is to provide the story root. The root of the story is the thing that is required if you want to be an artist. It is good to note that search engines start working on the day one. The process begins when you make your first release. After that, search engines begin to form an impression about you as an artist.

When remarkable streaming numbers are the goal of today, one dimension is easily overlooked. It is consistency. Search engines rank hits based on their weight, public reliability, and popularity. If the early career promotion is aggressive, it will probably scale the search engine hits. It is not irrelevant what the search engine first offers. Even though the artist’s website should be the first hit, where it lead us, should be another. What is the first thing your website tells from you. If your music and being an artist is not yet public knowledge, the first definitions will be attached based on these general weightings. To learn more about the topic, read this article.

Content of the Story

Strategically interesting is how you communicate with all the audiences. Read more here.

If the artist’s story mainly reflects the streaming numbers to get a recording agreement, the artist will certainly be assessed this way. It is a meaningful thing what kind of claims the artist make at various stages of their career. One good advice is to include at least some kind of reservations for the potential failures. These reservations are also a safeguard for the situation when something starts repeating the same old pattern and it has a negative impact. These reservations can be brought along with keywords and back links, for example. The more consistent they are, the easier it is to use them. In addition, search engine artificial intelligence may realize the same.

It doesn’t need much to change the perspective of the story. It is about finding a meaning and context for the content. If the artist, music and the story is of interest, active and successful promotions result in a passive income stream. This is the point where the artist’s activity is of industrial importance. The better the artist perform here or the higher the expectation value, the more likely they succeed in the contract negotiations.

Hence, the artist’s story contains two main story lines. One that is independent from the financial result. The artist’s real story, and how it is actually understood. The other half of the story focuses on the economic essentials, the priorities that have an economic significance. Both of these stories should be in line with each other. When the artist makes a claim on something, it should in itself take note of its economic impact and vice versa.

To be continued..

This book provides with a new insights into modern music business management

Management and New Affiliations

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Well. ’Strategy’ is soon to be published – it should be proofread and edited by the end of the week. Also this multi-year writing operation is coming to an end – at least for a while. My production will continue to update as and when so required. These are always exciting times. However, it is not the subject of this story. I want to speak about the artist management and how it touches time and time again.

I get a lot of mail from the bands and artists everyday. It is understandable, I have a decades-long manager background. Occasionally, a few among them shine brightly, demonstrating exceptional talent, unwavering devotion, and a deep commitment to their cause. This happened to me earlier this year. It usually starts unnoticed. As if you find yourself taking up the task.  I believe many of my colleagues would agree with this.

Throughout the past year and a half I have been thinking what to do when these books are made. Teaching at Arcada University of Applied Sciences is still what’s going on. However, it does not fulfill the need of being a manager. It is something that’s in your DNA. Secondly, if I couldn’t be in touch with the practice, I would probably be a poor writer.

Now that I think afterwards, I have visited a months-long of correspondence to Austin. Skype calls take place several a week. The plans are made and then implemented.

Let’s talk about the band. My affiliations are not the case here. It is music. When we began to implement our plans, we got the number of Youtube subscribers rose by over thousand in three weeks and it still continues to grow – big thanks belong to our fans. It’s been a great start to the story. The next challenge is to release the debut album and find the necessary partners. It is my greatest joy to introduce Melba Culp.

Melba Culp was founded in 2015 by guitarist & vocalist Jack McConnell. The band, based out of Austin, Texas, released their debut single and music video ”Never Surrender” on January 18th.

The guitar-driven band aims to hit the world hard with its fast-paced and hard-hitting aggressive single Never Surrender. The single, recorded at PlethoraTone in Nashville, is the first from the album expected to arrive in 2020. 

An update to this story. My collaboration with Jack continues, and Melba Culp has successfully synced their music with couple of indie films.

By the way, it’s really cool when you can use the artists you work with in your lectures. To demonstrate the communication and co-operation between the artist and their management – with real-life examples.

Management and Co-lecturing with Jack McConnell from Melba Culp at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences

 

Strategy In Narration

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If the artist’s intention is to tell his or her story, the strategic considerations must be taken into account in the narrative. It is not one and the same thing what the artist tells, if the story aims to influence the artist’s prospects or the artist’s image requires it. Part of that strategy is guided by the artist’s own ambitions and the other part is driven by necessity. Some parts of the story requires a certain response, while in other respects the artist is free to decide what is being produced at any given time. It is clear that some parts of the story are trying to open new grooves while the other parts are intended to confirm the already existing content.

It is of great importance where the artist is at his or her career stage. At the beginning the narrative aspirations are different from the situation where the artist has already established a career. If the artist is world-renowned, there is no need to struggle to improve awareness. The main focus is probably on the content issues. Instead, the artist who is just entering the industry, or maybe gained some foothold in their home country, the situation is different – if it is to reach the wider markets.

The best thing is always to stay in truth and practice what you preach. In the early stages this can be difficult if your music cannot find the listeners. This does not mean that the artist should color the story at the expense of the truth. No – it’s more about to give efforts to improve the attractiveness of the story.

Earlier the greatest desire was to get music to the widest possible public play in radios and television and tell the story to this end. Success in those channels boosted sales and increased other copyright income. In the past, the commercialization of marketing was to bring the artist’s albums to the record stores and preferably, well-presented. In the streaming era, this same idea is to get the artist’s music to the best possible positions on the streaming supply, to their internal playlists. Before the artist reach the desired market position, the story must support these efforts. Therefore, the business reasons may limit, but also dictate the narrative of the story if it has given such status.

The artist often uses different versions of the story for different purposes, depending partly on the feedback they receive. At this stage it is worth recalling the consistency. Bearing themes should not much differ from each other. So much to the public should not strive to influence that each market area would have a different story – the story that is appropriate for that area.

If the artist is just landing to some particular market area, no big achievements should be included in the story – as they aren’t happened yet. In this situation, the story could emphasize some other components, for example, artistic perception or artist’s personality. Of course, if success in some other geographical area already exists or can be noteworthy, you should consider incorporating it. If the artist has achieved platinum streams in some remarkable market, it may be relevant in another market area too.

The artist’s story must take note the structural aspects as well. The artist’s story is well written if it indirectly brings with it the elements such as those that the industry can capture. This is crucial if the artist is still unknown to the general public. When the story of the artist reveals expectation-worthy factors, the recording contract will be considered in a different way than in a situation where there are no sights for this. If the artist is getting a television performance or own spot at some relevant festival – this can be worth pointing out. If something extraordinary happens in the artist’s operations, it may also be worthwhile to include in the story, even if it seems insignificant. They for sure bring their own twist in the story. It is not uncommon for some genre to be particularly impressive in some particular geographic area. If the artist’s music goes through an area where the artist’s style is not usually popular, it is almost an obligation to point out. All this brings the value to the artist’s story and makes it interesting.

It is good to note that story lives all the time, even if its core would remain the same. A very few artists can pass through the story by dictating the terms of it. The public and industry’s reception makes it impossible. Especially during the early stages of the operation, all kind of monitoring is important when the artist is waiting and searching for the place to go through. If the popularity for some reason is growing or decreasing, the reason for this would be good to locate. If the number of audience or fans is increasing from one thousand to ten thousand, and it takes place in a short time, there is probably some reason for that. At this stage, in storytelling, it is worth focusing particularly on those factors and the channels in which that growth is taking place – even if the artist’s story would require something else. You can leave that back-to-back action and activate it when the current hype starts to fade. Especially with the newcomers, the artist must take advantage all the moments in which awareness of their existence and music grows.

The same is true in another direction. If something makes the artist less attractive or lowers the numbers, there is no point in targeting energy. It is good idea to change the plan and focus elsewhere. The attention should be taken to the places where the artist and the artist’s story seem to be best performing. It is important for the story to continue and never stop.

Hence, the story of the artist is the root theme – a stone-based designation to respond to everything around. On the other hand, it is also the popularity and the business that is built for that purpose. It is characteristic that it changes in the artist’s career at different stages. If you willing to read more about the story root and what it really means, read this book.

Your story may require a disclosure of some matter. Even your own desires may require this. However, if the events around it do not support that decision, it is worth moving to a better time. Some specific theme around the artist is always framed the most. Importing a new episode may mess up previous patterns and cause confusion. As a rule, one could say that a new season cannot start until the previous one has been exhausted. Strategically interesting is the moment when the artist moves forward in the story or changes the emphasis.

There are two things to monitor in particular – the hit accuracy of your own feeds and what people are really interested in. This makes us wonder what the artistic freedom is and whether it exists at all. Fully strategical, proper communication may taste like plastic if it is obediently followed. It is good to note that it is life that happens within all this – with all its mistakes, successes and failures. It is these distractions that make the story interesting and thus success as an achievement.

The artist’s story has many narrators, one of which is public. A good story begins to live a life of its own. The more popular the artist is, the more versions the same story usually have. If somebody else is writing your story, make sure you can bear it. The music industry is characterized by the fact that the story of the artist is partly told by other facets than the artist him- or herself. There are reasons for this. The artist is not always the best interpreter of his or her story. For example, in the contract negotiations, the subject matter and the essential things is often presented by the artist’s manager. That internal communication within the industry is a different matter as it is with the public. Still it is about the same story and the root story does not always play the main role. That’s why it is important that the management speaks out on behalf of the artist in forums inherent to the manager. A skillful management can embed the promotion and selling arguments in the story in a way the artist can’t. 

What I am trying to say. Some of these feeds are cool lively stories, vitalizing elements. Others are invented ideas and perceptions that are not fully realized yet, or you haven’t thought it out. It is important to understand that all these messages you send, form a foundation how people begin to see you. In an ideal situation, it is in balance with your goals and takes into account your needs and aspirations at any given time. Sometimes you misstep from the road. The harmony might broke due to some external factor, your own actions or the reaction of public.

Tracking and analyzing your own communication is a professional way to deal with it. Even a well-designed operation may fail completely. In this situation, your can always change the tune. Once this unbalance is returned, it is important to remain faithful to the root of the story – the idea on which everything is based. It is usually about finding a new or alternative display to explain the story. Anyway – the experience is the best teacher. The story itself is usually the thing that guides what to do next. Mistakes shouldn’t be afraid of. They are belonging of all this. In the era of electronic media, your communication style can be quickly changed and repaired – it can also react quickly.

The artist’s story requires to be told all the time while the artist’s career is at the active stage. Sometimes it is written by the artist, sometimes someone else. However, you as an artist, or as an artist manager always have a choice – how much you are willing to talk about yourself. When it becomes clear, then – just begin your narrative! 

Strategy in narration can be found from this book - The Art of Music Business Management - For Artists & Managers

Footwork

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Footwork in this context does not mean the true meaning of the word – it is more of an association. Footwork is the easiest aspect to present as one of the most important phase of a career in the early stages. Footwork is synonymous with the responsibility of everyone their own career. In the music profession, the business of an artist is typically first a presentation, especially by the professional groups supporting the artist. However, such a presentation is likely to mislead people in terms of footwork, which is the artist’s own responsibility. Footwork entails things done by the artist themselves, either being onsite or otherwise ensuring that the project under construction is moving forwards. One important starting point to consider in the music business is that your dreams are yours – not anyone else’s. Generally, outsourcing is usually needed to achieve them – but not as a matter of course.

It is often lulled into the idea that everyone manages its plot with the same intensity that the necessity of a task requires. It would be an ideal situation if that were the case. Everyone would simply choose their goals and concentrate their full energy and passion on it. Everyone would be well prepared and practiced in their skills so that they can respond to each request of help coming out of the box. With such an equation comes structural problems. It would require each participant to experience the operation as their own, with financial benefits. Only a real professional can concentrate and engage with the necessary care when dreams and work-related compensation are not met, which is perfectly understandable.

Hence, a professional thinking only dictates what should be done and whose responsibility it is. Because we all have our own dreams and goals, and we cannot always implement them ourselves, we must compromise and rely on the help of others. In this context, agreements will be entered into in exchange for these mutually important elements. As an example, an individual may be a social media master that with correctly timed operations and feeds that support the artist’s career, the artist and their existence may become quickly known to the general public. This requires continuous monitoring and analysis of input power. It is not enough for the first feeds to be done impressively, and then deteriorate, which is the most common mistake in this case. Another big mistake is to assume that an expert would willingly continue working without any incentives. It is quite possible that, without a reply, the aid provider sees no other possibility than to continue in other contexts than with the story of the artist. Commitment is sometimes difficult to achieve when it comes to other peoples’ dreams. Each dream must be somehow included in each pattern of effort so that the goal of success is maintained throughout.

Most often this motivation is acquired with money. The obvious problem being that there is rarely enough capital at the beginning of a career. That support therefore needs to be acquired in some other way and when nothing large is on offer – you are not able ask a lot. The artist should also note that even a couple of unfinished projects can attract remarkable interest. Bringing the artist and their production to a point where it really begins to produce takes time and resources. Even though such cynicism is fortunately not always true, it should always be taken into account. At the time when there is nothing to offer to the public, projects cannot be left to someone else, at least not entirely.

At this stage it is good to return to the idea of your own responsibility. It is not realistic to expect anyone to do the lion’s share of the project if they are not entitled to a share of the resulting income. Consider a master of social media, showing their flavor through the production of an artist, combining their own personal motives – bringing the knowledge into a favorable environment and raising awareness to the public in a professional manner. Nothing prevents him or her from using this contribution as a springboard for their own personal dreams.

A social media master needs something that reflects his or her skills. This is also the case with other professional groups supporting the artist. In the music business, it is difficult to be a relevant factor without music and artists.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with this. The music industry’s livelihood is based on independence and free will. On the tactical side however, problems arise if the artist’s success counts on such cooperation. Thus if such an attempt to move forward fails, the artist will be in trouble.

The artist easily relies on those who provide feedback and encouragement. It is not uncommon at all for someone to comment on the first demos on a regular basis. Because industry circles are a difficult equation, or at least the belief is such, the artist can become locked in a challenging trap, both in fact and mentally. This should also be understood by professional groups that support the artist.

The person who evaluates the demos may actually be at a point in their career/situation where nothing available at that moment is interesting. From the artist’s point of view, one should consider whether such a person is the right person to give feedback in all matters. It is a completely different matter to give feedback from a general point of view compared to putting one’s own assets into a project. Such a situation, and especially the longer it continues, is bad for the artist – particularly in light of footwork. The artist likely goes astray wasting energy to assure the ‘feedback agent’ with a new demo. This kind of motivation may in turn make it harder to continue the work. It also excludes a lot of other options and closes other doors to the artist. The time that an artist should harness their social skills in other forums, is now wasted on this single judge’s opinion. Worst of all, it is perfectly possible that the recipient of your demos may one day find the artist/project he or she has been looking for and thereafter have little or no time and energy to provide even the slightest feedback.

These two situations are educational examples of what happens when footwork and self-responsibility fall short. It is completely polite to answer questions and give feedback, even though a commitment might not follow. For more and up-dated information around the subject – you should read this book.

A man I did not always like told me to always trust your stomach. I cannot confirm the accuracy of that assertion but quite often in my own career it has held true. Not all people are meant for each other in such a delicate branch as the music business. The sooner this fact is accepted, the easier it is to move forward. The pursuit of a meaningful career can sometimes be in the midst of work and pain, and there are no shortcuts to it. You also have to remember that only a few compositions will last forever – people change. It is quite possible that some unexpected event might even bring you together with your worst enemy.

Artists must understand that some things must be done themselves, even if they have external help. The most effective artist organizations are when participants are aware of the special skills and available resources of each member. If a manager handles 70 percent – you should consider whether they can also handle the remaining 30. It just slows down the operation. The organization can find another operator who performs the task easier with less effort. For reasons of professionalism, it is not worth increasing the workload over resources – no matter what professional titles say. An artist’s affiliates tend to admire the artist’s organization as a whole – not always whom it belongs to. Such a thing may be left uninterrupted because other things are so well taken care of. An operator who is working hard to do something is not the person you want to blame.

Solidarity is good. Such implementation requires an open discussion. A group is may be unknowingly ignorant of the motivation and resources of the participants. Due to copyright, the artist and other copyright holders are ultimately held responsible for everything – whether these tasks are delegated or not. Many things are related to career advancement elsewhere and are often a prerequisite for success. The question is when you should seriously consider outsourcing activities and become lazy. The answer is certainly never – but the idea is clear. In an ideal situation, the artist’s organization would work in a differentiated manner, with each department performing in accordance with the artist’s wishes and instructions, so that the story of the artist remains consistent.

Let us consider a social media master getting hype in Australia with some ingenious effort of his or hers. If the artist does not have anything more important on, the artist’s management should take advantage and already begin to make inquiries about a possible Australian visit, for example TV-shows and gigs. It is extremely important to take a stand whether the performances will promote the success the artist has achieved or something else, for example related to the initial hype created by the social media master. The answer to this lies in whether the artist takes part in the cost itself, or are they already aiming for an income stream when visiting. In general both occur, but in the first phase of promotion this decision is of great importance. Sometimes it is worth taking part in the costs yourself if there’s something meaningful in return. And that can be anything.

Oftentimes however, such a project is left unattended or is not even seriously considered, because the artist or management feels they don’t have the resources to make the vision possible. This can be a big mistake. Simply emailing rarely leads to any desired outcome, but is preferable than doing nothing. A trip can be made at your own cost if it is expected to be favorable. The promotion of the artist is about reacting.

The main rule is that hype should be utilized, or at least the artist needs to become mobilized in some way. That moment will never return in the same way, and it only lasts a short time. A new artist needs a story and the audience’s interest is the best way to get people to listen it.

A horror scenario of this situation would leave the Australian hype situation totally ignored or not used to its full advantage. The resulting hype is mainly enjoyed by the band’s inner social circle and bragging to friends and domestic media. Perhaps the artist’s management comes to the conclusion that no visit should be made, which can be a sensible decision due to analyses showing resources and interest were in fact not sufficient to make the visit profitable. But let’s think about it from another point of view.

What if the artist had taken advantage of the Australian hype opportunity?

Let’s think about this matter from a passive situation. An artist’s actions should be internally aligned so that outsiders can also detect it, making it easier for people to contact the artist. Even if the artist has outsourced management, the artist’s website should also have the artist’s contact information, especially at the beginning of their career. This is not a no-confidence motion for management – it is just that contact may concern a variety of things and the artist should be aware of all possible contact opportunities. Hence, if the artist has reassigned operational responsibility too early, or is simply lazy and/or careless and ignores potential advantageous situations, many easy-to-follow or act-on things may be completely missed and not implemented.

In the situation where the artist is directly contactable, the Australian trip can be accomplished at a later date and the situation still be taken advantage of, even after the initial hype may have died down.

These situations tend to occur when the artist’s activities associate with economic value, or at least some kind of expectation value that the industry acknowledges. Before this, the artist does not want to make any far-reaching plans with anyone without justified grounds. It is also unwise to grant any rights at any level until it is clear that the music will be released and the organization is set up enabling passive income entry. Up to that moment the artist should be self-sufficient, even if supported by other people. Someone’s commitment cannot be defined if there is no guarantee of desired outcome, thus this is the period in which the participants are living in more or less uncertain circumstances.

The main rule here is that if you question whether something is being dealt with on time or proposals or initiatives are reaching the recipient, you should take care of primary contact yourself. During the time when no one has economic motives acting for the project, many things can be easily left untouched.

In the promotion of an artist, the most important thing is to connect the music with the artist, so people know who they are when they hear a song. The wider this knowledge spreads, the more successful the promotion. Footwork should not be stopped or neglected before this position is achieved. It is up to the artist, how they ensure this is happening, which also requires monitoring of the situation. Here we come to the area where the limits of responsibility for requesting and providing support are met. What is reasonable? When very strong commitment from others is awkward to expect, the artist should be mainly responsible for the progress of projects. It should also be noted that although the operation works together, the horizons are the combined personal goals of everyone involved. These are not always consistent even if cooperation has already begun, which is the reason why it is important to study the basics of the industry carefully. Then it becomes easier to evaluate what to expect from others and what to pay attention to when mapping the need of external assistance.

Footwork is explained in more detail in this book.

Homepage and Communication

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When the first steps of the promotion are to be presented, the website cannot be ignored. In fact, the website provides a fertile ground when we talk about the road map, plan realization or just reacting accordingly. As it is with income types, also promotion can be divided in active and passive sections. Modern promotion has many different tasks, but also meanings. You should read The Art of Music Business Management – For Artists & Managers to get an updated info.

With a new artist, the audience rarely has enough knowledge of them. Therefore all the plug-ins that increase that awareness is extremely important. When people begin to know their name, the two-way role of the website will be established. For the followers who already know the artist and their story, the main focus is on the artist’s up-to-date affiliations and future plans. This part of promotion is the active part. For others, the people who are not yet aware of the artist, or who visit the site for the first time – the attention is paid to other things. They are generally interested in what it’s all about. This side of the story could be considered the passive part of promotion. Unlike with the already existing fans, a new encounter need a background information. They are usually in a need to know more about the artist, and what a better way to do it than search engines. If everything is in order, search engine provides the artist’s own homepage first. The homepage is also a source of information where an artist can best influence the content of stories.

When considering the promotional content, one must take into account the different levels of needs. TV series must have parts that attract new viewers even if they haven’t followed the show from the beginning. In addition, it must also be able to retain older fans interest with new episodes. The artist’s future and the ability to follow their progress is for the existing followers. Giving the opportunity to find out the artist’s history and origin is for the new followers. Thus, it is a good idea to have metadata information such as biographies and discography, as well as photos and videos along the way.  All the new material instead, plays an important role for the fans as it shows the artist being active.

All the artist’s products should be easy to find – also the related information. Information acts like a product description. Unlike the products that can be bought with one click, information works differently. It always requires an effort from the recipient. This in turn requires clarity on the artist’s side, with the content and layout. The artist cannot confide that a new visitor will be patient or want to find information behind a thousand links. This may cause a counter reaction – it can be a good idea to keep your homepage simple, but also thoughtful and spectacular – pleasing to the eye. The career information should be initially guided by the artist’s action plan, not so much a massive awareness of the artist’s existence. On the tactical side, it is important that the artist reacts to the call, if the reception requires. If the artist is unable to answer this call, it is not worth acting the opposite.

What most artists want is to the contacts – for this reason contact info must be very easy to find. The same applies to other things that the artist wants to emphasize. The products should also be accessible and the links should be avoided if the products are difficult to obtain. This of course requires on-call time. If this situation changes in the future, availability placement can be made to match the prevailing situation. This is one example of why homepage matching reality is more important than impressive appearance. If a potential buyer cannot get the product they want, or worse, not even find a link, the visit will surely leave a sour taste.

This will be the next thing – the links and their use. It is perfectly normal and even advisable to use links to the services and improve availability. However, they should not hinder the acquisition of information or mislead people which may happen by accident. Ensure that links actually lead where you want to steer people. It is not uncommon for something to go wrong when setting up links. The artist is therefore not linking their homepages to mere sales aspirations. Links also have other uses. They can lead people to interviews or other relevant forums. It is good to note links may change its content. They may, and often change – as well as their locations. Someone else’s interview may be found behind some particular link. It is good to be aware that not all the content behind these links is not solid.

If you’ve shared that one of your songs or albums is #6 on some chart and half a week later someone clicks that link and you’re in position 28, the positive message you’re trying to convey may have the opposite effect. A 22 position drop does not necessarily support the other positive messages on your homepage. Fast-changing information is better placed elsewhere on the social media environment – not on the homepage unless placed on its News Section.

Restrictions can also be present with copyrights. Some distribution networks have divided their offering so that there are regional distribution points around the world. Many times this is due to local legislation. Even if some umbrella organization has obtained the right to sell your copyrighted products throughout the world, the content of the license does not necessarily apply to all of its distribution outlets. Therefore, it is not necessarily wise to advertise products through German link despite the product would be topical in Germany. This choice may exclude all the other countries if you are not careful. It can be that the umbrella organization’s French unit is responsible for France’s distribution and Italian unit for Italian needs. If there is a globally eligible link available somehow, you should use it. Alternatively, if the artist has a fan site in Germany, then it is completely natural to use German links there.

In many cases – the less information, the better. Browsing pages may become a challenge if the artist’s homepage is a salad, filled with all kinds of information from here and there. Different sections of that site hold a different weight and it is always better if the most delicious points of one’s career are presented first. In doing this, the visitor gets a better idea of what the artist really entails.

Particular attention should be paid to the site’s sections that do not change very often, but are of great focus. It is a good idea to strongly invest in the content, structure and layout – to meet the artist’s image. It is also good to post artist-related communications elsewhere in social media, rather than just on the artist’s home page. Some news are just better to place on artist’s Facebook page, where it disappears with the news stream. Visitors usually tend to pay attention to the issues that the artist raises. If the artist’s current plan calls for more sales, it isn’t wise to talk about the new album and associated pre-production – as this topic is premature. It only takes the focus away from the current agenda.

It is time to remind the concept of footwork. The active stage favors regularity. It is highly recommended to build a communication plan, the protocol. To map out all the things the artist wants to share and/or how to react to the echoes. Fans who regularly visit the artist’s ‘premises’ are surprisingly aware of the truths behind the scenes. All the lightweight news is better placed in faster forums such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, if the artist feels it necessary. This allows the artist to react quickly in a situations where the artist is expected to respond. The bigger news and more time-tolerant stories are worth to put on the homepage.

All in all, communication on the homepage and its relation to the artist’s other information channels is a matter of choice. No single truth exists. It is about the artist’s career stage that usually determines the contents of the artist’s homepage. In any case, it is always wise to plan in advance how to meet the different situations – and through which media different things will happen. At the beginning of one’s career when knowledge of an artist is limited, it is important to be clear and honest. Everything leaves a mark on the search engines.

Why homepage and its communication should be aligned can be read from this The Art of Music Business Management - For Artists & Managers book

Passive Income In Artist’s Revenue Generation

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In an ideal situation the artist’s distribution network and prevailing popularity match. Each measure transpires effectively towards the goal and allows the public make positive purchasing decisions. When the artist give interviews, perform live, or otherwise appear in public, the public have immediate access to the artist’s products, but they also have a prior information where to find them. If the artist or management neglects this, the artist cannot take advantage of passive income, at least to its fullest extent.

When the artist’s distribution network is setup, it takes care of bringing the products to dealers – in both physical and electronic forms. It is completely up to the artist’s management to decide how this task is taken care of. Many artists, because of the small size of their activities, do most of these things themselves – however this is not always an ideal setting. The goal of many artists is to achieve such revenue that they are able to outsource these activities to the record company or some other relevant player – depending on the business area in question. Here we come to what was meant by the prevailing popularity and efficiency of the distribution network. The more familiar, the more popular, or the more promising the artist is, the greater is the likelihood of industrial cooperation with the artist. Here we come to what the another article here meant about footwork. It is the main task of artists to make their activities interesting – it’s about pop music.

Passive income doesn’t mean the goal is to desire a state of affairs in which the money should come without doing anything. Not at all – it is the complete opposite. The job has to be done, but in advance. Music business earning logic has been arranged so that it possible to enjoy passive results. The clearest manifestation is found in music publishing. Song-writers get remuneration for the use of their songs whenever their music is publicly performed, or music recorded to a phonogram – as it is simply expressed. Copyright collecting societies and collective management organizations monitor the use of copyrighted music and collects royalties of their use. These organizations pass on royalties to the artists, provided they have affiliated with the organization as a clients or members. Copyright collecting societies, for example, grant licenses to radio stations or TV-stations when they play music in their programs. They also grant mechanical reproduction licenses when music is recorded on a phonogram. In this way it is perfectly possible that after writing a song an author of such piece can enjoy the copyright revenue only by joining such an organization. After that moment, he or she may no longer need to do anything, as the organization takes care of the monitoring of use and distributing royalties from the users to its authors. This is the passive income referred to in this article. The money doesn’t come from nothing but requires a prior work.

Here we come to the need of external help and the justification of its cost. In order to make passive income, the artist usually delegates powers to those who make the production available to the public. It is also about acquiring strategic know-how making that happen. Many record companies and music publishers are able to gain more revenue to the artist, even though they take part of the revenue. The question here is the price an artist should sensibly accept – as well as how much it is wise to give up decision-making power.

No one can find a song unless they know of its existence or various playlists or other industrial mechanism push it through. In the industrial sense, music producers and/recording artists don’t go looking for music they want to use from the massive registers of copyright organizations. To this end, the area has its own operator – music publishers. On a professional scale, their job is to do the footwork on behalf of the song-writers they represent. In this context, we do not take a stand in the legitimacy of music publishing. No – we want to demonstrate passive income and the meaning of its accumulation. If the author and music publisher end up in a music publishing agreement, the publisher will participate in the ownership of the catalog, yes. Consequently, the publisher gets the other half of the artist’s catalog insofar when it is associated with the publisher’s share. At this point, it is good to point out that 50/50 is not the only method of calculation used. There are also other kind of arrangements. It’s common practice that the artist gets to keep the writer’s share in full, but the artist and publisher share the publisher’s share equally. However, you cannot rely for this main principle – read the contract carefully. It may well be that with some income types, the split is something completely else. If this income generates a main income for you, even a small deviation can be meaningful.

When it comes to rehashing old songs, we find ourselves at the heart of the passive income. Previously released piece starts to generate additional revenue for its rights-holders. Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill is a perfect example. When it got connected to Stranger Things in its Season Four, the song skyrocketed to multiple charts. For such songs, the footwork has already been done and its authors are in the ‘public domain’. Not to mention that for younger viewers, this song is completely new.

If the authors themselves intend to find performers for their songs, this footwork becomes their responsibility, in which the existence of the songs and their elements are brought to the attention of potential artists and producers. If the authors want someone else to do it, they will likely have to convince music publishers of the excellence of their songs. In a nut shell, in order to enjoy passive results, you must first succeed in footwork.

Passive income occurs also in record sales and streaming. All royalties received by the artist can be classified as passive income. When the artist has recorded the music and made it available to the public, the artist no longer needs to do anything. The operation is over. The popularity of the album determines the amount of revenue. If the artist succeeds in the promotion and gains popularity, this usually results in additional revenue. At this stage it is good to point out that communicating music to the public via radio and television or online is also a subject to copyright remuneration, not just album sales and streaming. Both the artist and the financial producer of a phonogram are entitled to earnings when the recording is played public. Just as it is the case for song-writers and music publishers, the recording artists also have their own copyright collecting societies. All the revenue gathered here is also classified as a passive income.

It is possible for an artist to become involved in passive income through other contexts than recording or music publishing. For example when their merchandise is sold on the internet by authorized dealers, or their music is associated with the film or other moving images. Passive income therefore concerns all activities that no longer require the artist’s physical presence.

As a comparison, live performances usually require a full show. Active income requires a physical presence and real-time performances by the artist before it becomes topical. It should be noted that passive income does not exclude income from active sources. Consequently an artist, acting as a performer of their own music, not only receive compensation for the show, but also as a copyright remuneration when their music gets performed publicly. The set information of the show, especially in festivals, can be a valuable thing. If the artist performs music created by others, then the authors of the musical piece will acquire passive income from that same public performance – and the performer will obtain direct premiums for the show. 

Passive income has a meaningful plug-in to the artist’s business plan. The artist must be able to organize their activities so that it matches the prevailing popularity and physical presence of the artist. Otherwise there is a risk the artist’s promotion is done in vain. However, at the beginning of a career, when still making name for themselves, this is not always possible.

The meaning of passive income is explained in this The Art of Music Business Management - For Artists & Managers book

Navigating Transferred Rights: Understanding the Artist’s Position

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Here is the article discussing transferred rights and various contract types, as I had promised. Without any more delay, let’s get straight to the point and dive into the subject.

Frequently, artists find themselves in a situation where they must relinquish certain original rights in order to pursue their business objectives. In the execution and management of their business affairs, the responsibility lies with the artist’s management (whether outsourced or not) when it comes to granting or licensing these rights.

This article delves into the processes of assigning, granting, or transferring rights—depending on the terminology employed—and examines their implications for the artist’s personal life, decision-making authority, and economic circumstances. Each instance of rights transfer imposes certain limitations on the artist’s standing. A fundamental prerequisite for exercising these rights should be a corresponding compensation, typically in the form of royalties. Undoubtedly, copyright stands out as the paramount commodity in this industry.

The objective of artist management is to construct and cultivate the artist’s enterprise in a manner that aligns with their requirements and aspirations. The artist’s merchandise encompasses their persona, live and recorded performances, and, naturally, the music that forms the core of their acts. All of these endeavors are intertwined with distinct copyright considerations. Consequently, obtaining the artist’s explicit consent is typically imperative.

Given the unpredictable nature of success, caution is advised when considering rights assignment. The substance, potency, duration, and extent of these granted rights hold significance in evaluating the intentions and dedication underlying each transaction, as well as the potential partner the artist seeks to engage with. To counterbalance the transfer of rights, it is prudent to ensure reciprocity or compensation. Hence, the transfer of rights should never be devoid of remuneration. The artist’s business strategy and current level of popularity serve as indicators for identifying pertinent rights and determining exclusions.

The cardinal rule remains that no rights should be bestowed gratuitously

The rights subject to transfer fall into categories of fixed-term, indefinite, or permanent. The most comprehensive relinquishments occur in instances of perpetual transfers. The music publisher’s entitlement can mirror that of the author (songwriter), where their copyright claim endures for the entirety of the copyright’s lifespan. However, the publisher’s right diverges from the author’s in being derivative rather than original. This right comes into effect upon a duly executed music publishing contract.

This agreement bestows upon the music publisher substantial rights originally belonging to the authors themselves. The contract not only constrains the artist for the agreement’s duration but extends its impact beyond. To warrant this arrangement, the artist must ensure the publisher fulfills their role; otherwise, justifying the music publishing agreement becomes challenging. The music publishing agreement affords the publisher up to 50 percent of the copyright-related revenue from the songs.

It’s important to note that the termination of a music publishing contract doesn’t always nullify the publisher’s rights to songs encompassed by the contract during its term. Even if the active phase of the parties’ agreement concludes, the pertinent rights of the publisher remain in effect.

A parallel permanent entitlement can be linked to recording agreements. In such scenarios, permanent rights pertain to the phonograms and additional recorded content that the artist has produced for the company during the contract’s duration. According to the agreement’s terms, the record company acquires the role of the financial producer, granting them the producer’s right for the valid span of protection.

Typically, the record company gains authority over decision-making regarding the phonogram, similar to how the music publisher obtains control over the catalog they manage through the music publishing agreement.

This, for instance, has an impact on the artist’s standing through the potential inclusion of a non-competition clause within the agreement. Broadly speaking, the artist is prohibited from recording any songs for other labels during the duration of the recording contract. The standard practice designates this protection period as five years. Consequently, the artist is free to re-record the same songs once five years have elapsed since the contract’s conclusion. This restriction is intended to provide the company with an incentive for their investment, or at least that’s its purpose.

Hence, the fundamental principle is to avoid granting these rights more extensively than necessary.

We are dealing with two fundamental concepts: a musical composition and its recording. It’s crucial never to conflate these two concepts. This forms the crux of this article as well. The duration of a music publishing contract does not equate to the terminology of a recording contract, even though these two aspects are closely interconnected. While the music publishing agreement pertains to the song itself, the recording contract is associated with its performance captured in a recording. Consequently, the subject of protection differs despite involving the same content. This division holds particular significance for artists who both create and perform their music.

To implement their business strategy, an artist can also employ fixed-term grants. This approach has gained traction among contemporary artists. It ensures that the artist does not relinquish their rights beyond necessity.

For instance, a booking agreement grants the agency the right to arrange performances within the bounds specified by the contract. As previously highlighted, the transfer of rights in these cases is frequently long-term, spanning wide geographical regions, and exclusive in nature. This implies that artists must navigate through contracts across numerous interconnected business domains simultaneously. This intricate situation often leads to complications when dealing with contractual relationships.

The artist’s various business facets are closely interlinked. If certain sub-areas encounter difficulties, the impact ripples through other spheres of activity. To address this uncertainty, it’s prudent to incorporate contingency measures. The artist would certainly not be content if performances are planned, streaming arrangements are in place, yet no follow-through is ensured for some unforeseen reason. If the artist cannot meet existing demands, or if there’s a mismatch in agendas, being tied to an exclusive contract that hinders progress in other avenues becomes undesirable.

Each agreement should include an exit strategy in case the collaboration becomes unviable due to escalated issues between the parties, or if the partnership simply proves unproductive. This underscores why each rights transfer should ideally carry conditional terms, if feasible.

When crafting the artist’s business plan, effective risk management assumes paramount importance. While the business plan primarily centers on upholding and enhancing the artist’s financial prospects, the agreements should factor in the possibility of unforeseen deviations. Consequently, hybrid contracts should be avoided. It’s not uncommon for enthusiasm to dominate the negotiation phase. The artist’s stakeholders (record companies, music publishers, booking agencies, external investors, merchandise holders, etc.) might express interest in participating across domains beyond their core expertise.

In an ideal scenario, everything would remain under the purview of a competent, dedicated, and trustworthy group, with disagreements unlikely to arise over time. Unfortunately, such ideals rarely align with reality. All it takes is a single key player’s departure, an industry shift, or a shift in priorities to completely alter the trajectory of operations.

Amidst all these complexities, it’s easy to lose sight of the core objective. Driven by the copyright dimension and its alignment with the business plan, the focus remains on the transfer of rights and the value attributed to this process. Each business segment necessitates distinct organization, even if managed by the same entities. Each sector should be treated as an independent entity, not reliant on others in case of contingencies. This approach facilitates the efficient elimination of non-functional aspects, retaining only the effective components.

The boundaries delineated by contract types become evident in the ensuing example. Parties often find themselves engaged in an extensive collaboration that spans multiple aspects of an artist’s business. In such circumstances, the parties are likely to resort to contract types familiar within the industry. If any of these agreements resemble a recording contract, it might inadvertently suggest the presence of an exclusive right across all agreements. If this isn’t the case, clarifications become essential.

When granting rights that are inherently yours, exercise caution in ensuring they aren’t extended beyond the parameters essential to your business plan. Never surrender rights unconditionally. Should the promised performance of the counterparty fall short, you must retain the ability to respond. Particular prudence is advised concerning music publishing contracts, given their potentially perpetual nature. Every song incorporated within the music publishing agreement grants the publisher a standing that confers the right to administer the songs and secure up to 50 percent of the revenue generated through copyright.

Irrespective of your enthusiasm for a new partner, it’s crucial to maintain a clear distinction between plans and agreements. Terminology that ventures beyond the intended scope should be subjected to critical scrutiny. This is to avoid any interpretation that might suggest an expansion of rights beyond the original purpose. The same caution applies to options. For them to be valid, their realization should be reasonably feasible. If an artist embraces an option that surpasses the partner’s resources or willingness, their entire career could be jeopardized.

Mixed-type contracts can introduce challenges, even within functional relationships. A well-functioning management agreement between parties might coexist, but issues could arise in the realm of production collaboration. If the agreement is predominantly exclusive, the productive components might also be deemed exclusive. In such an asymmetrical scenario, the management side might readily step back from the production aspect. However, if disputes were to emerge for any reason, the contract and its contents would undoubtedly require interpretation.

While some of the examples in this article might seem extreme, it remains prudent to maintain a clear demarcation between contracts – even for your own peace of mind. By easily excising obsolete elements from any collaboration, it becomes simpler to strategize for the future.

The purpose of this article is not to provide guidance on how artists should organize their background operations and business. Instead, its aim is to underscore the significance of copyright. It’s crucial to recognize that copyright doesn’t have a uniform impact across all areas of activity. The artist’s business plan is dynamic and ever-evolving. Collaborative business plans and related agreements should be structured to safeguard the interests of all involved parties, enabling them to concentrate on the essentials.

When parties opt for a collaborative model where one contract partner handles both artist management and booking, each function needs to be addressed through distinct agreements. If, for instance, the management or booking aspects are discontinued, the relevant part can be terminated while the remaining collaboration continues. In cases where the artist’s record company and music publisher are the same entity, these matters shouldn’t be consolidated into a single agreement. In the unlikely event of such an arrangement, special attention must be directed towards publishing rights. Particular care should be taken to ensure the artist retains the capacity to change the record company or terminate the agreement if necessary.

If publishing rights are intertwined with the recording agreement, any termination must extend to the publishing segment as well. Consequently, only the songs recorded by the artist during the agreement’s term would fall under the publisher’s purview. Newly composed songs wouldn’t be incorporated into the catalog.

 

The cardinal principle is that when transferring rights, they should be conveyed with utmost specificity. There’s always room for future expansion of these rights should circumstances warrant. Yet, it is incumbent upon the artist to substantiate the economic rationale for each rights transfer. The counterpart to the artist’s freedom is the presence of exit strategies. While contracts within the music industry frequently extend over extended periods and encompass options, a pragmatic approach is essential. The artist must retain the capability to terminate contracts if the business plans underpinning them cease to align with reality.

If the topic piques your interest further, consider reading this book. It provides more examples of contemporary methods to safeguard your rights.

Navigating Transferred Rights: Understanding The Artist's Position

The Idea Behind the Music Business

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When we are approaching the music industry as a business, we are dealing with quite an ingenious revenue generation model and logic. The strong role of copyright or the meaning of ’footwork’ plays a significant part in it. To an unacquainted viewer, this can be a challenge. The idea behind the music business is present beneath the surface. Instead of monitoring by eye, the focus should put more into tactics and strategies behind them – and even more to the core intentions that each operator truly is aiming for. The idea of everything is to get produced material along with immaterial elements into the profitable form for consumers to listen and watch.

People consume products of music for many purposes and reasons. More there are possibilities to enjoy music – more roaring each prospect may turn to. Music industry is known of its ability and willingness to drive new technology in to its own systems. Every new invention enables a new way to listen music.

The production of the master tape is a two times expense. The process should entitle the licensee to produce music into different formats or products for sale or to be streamed. Booking a studio, hiring the personnel or a pre-production is the physical part –  a ’courier service’ to record a specific amount of performances to be released in future. However, the production cannot be exploited without the relevant grants for its immaterial content – the composition and its recording.

The twist comes along with copyrights and other immaterial property rights. It is good to make a distinction between one-time expenses (cost-items of physical recordings) and recurring expenses (authorization of exploitation) while building a business around it. Compensation for these rights-transferring agreements is the cost-item which entitles the exploitation in a granted territory to the extent that is specified in the licensing agreement. All commercial use of music requires a notification of copyrights in order to be exploited and used.  It is usually considered as royalties and other copyright compensations to the relevant rights-holders. It is natural that copyrights reduce the profit of every manufacturer and operator who wants to exploit the music in itself or as a part of their own commercial operations. For the industry this share is an important cash-flow-channel, a reason to produce music.

Footwork in turn, that non-profitable activity, is something to be addressed. Footwork is something that starts all. It is the way in. Everyone has heard about connecting and its meaning for career. This is one of the most misunderstood issues. It is – as usually associated – not ’connecting’ at all. Connections are the consequence. They happen while working together for the joint destination. It all starts from the little circle and the bubble grows bigger – at the same time the operative environment gets larger. There are no short cuts in building your network. Meeting people at the parties and in other similar events is not so meaningful as people often tend to think. The initial meaning of networking is to get know each other via actual work, activity or common business, not only in Person. While working in that stage, it is easier to develop and learn. This is what the word footwork basically means. The same applies to business. True connections are always earned. Usually the release is the moment that fulfills the said requirement.

If every accomplished session is taken as an acquired connection, each release is then counted as a resource. Discography or back-catalog is comparable to money. The same happens with every accomplished and notified business. It is all about the release and results. From that moment it is not possible take that achievement away. After the release, also the vital copyrights will be activated and all the potential input can be channeled to its makers in a way the rights are originally, or as a derivative, established.

The idea of the music business is to get that immaterial substance into the physical, profitable form. It is important to make a distinction between direct and indirect goals. Direct goals occur when money change hands. If you sell your album to your fan, you will receive the payment. If your recording gets streamed online, you will get royalty. All this happens due course. Direct goals are something you can more easily affect. You may convince your fans to buy your record. Or you can get people stream your music on Spotify. The end user has made a decision to listen to your music.

Indirect intentions are the other side of the matter. You now need to convince the gatekeepers first. If they like what they hear, they probably place your music available. For example, if some radio station decides to play your music, you will receive performance royalties.

It is the copyrights and related rights which have an elementary role in pricing. The physical production of the recording isn’t necessarily an expensive operation. The use of its commercial exploitation can be. If you get an offer to place your music with the next Marvel movie, you will probably receive a substantive compensation for it.

An artist’s total income or turnover is a combination collected from the different sources. Availability is dependent on how largely the artist and their production have been distributed and made available for the public. This is always a choice and affected by many things. Not all the artists want to be present everywhere, when with some artists, this is exactly their goal.

At its most authentic form music industry introduces itself when the artist is having a show in front of the audience.

Popular music is a phenomenon that breaks customary barriers whenever it is possible. The origin of a song and its performer have no longer same role it used to have. Nowadays, there are no requirements to born or move to the United States to become a world-known artist, manager or producer. At the same time the technology reduces the margins, distribution have become easier and cheaper. That progress is a double-edged sword. Some artists benefit of this and others don’t. The fact is that none of this changes the essence of the music business. Supply and demand goes the same way it has done for last 50 years. There has just came new ways and technologies to consume music. It is all about how the fans and listeners want to hear it. This is the request for which the industry have to answer – everyday.

The songwriters are the production units of this branch. They either by themselves or jointly bring forth the substance for the performers to record. Technically this production is provided by composers, lyricists, arrangers, producers and sound engineers. They create the facilities for the performing artist.

When the artists then make themselves known with the footwork and make their music available to the public, we are reaching the level of artistry in which the enjoyment of passive income is enabled. The turnover and its magnitude are not relevant here. The main goal is to get something released. What it ultimately generates, depends on the reception of the audience.

to be continued..

The idea of music business management can be read from this The Art of Music Business Management - For Artists & Managers book

 

 

 

 

Quotations

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Here are some leftovers from the writing process. I will leave them exposed before I find a context or another use for them. Consider them quotations.

 

Make sure you are willing to accept the by-products of your achievements.

Don’t advertise yourself out of the game.

Success is really a desired state of mind.

Know-how isn’t a synonymous to desire.

Whatever you are about to close, do it in a way there is no need to return to it.

Be the part of your story.

Hearsay is not a substitute for experience.

They’ll give you prospects. You’ll give them history.

The turning point is the moment at which all that you’ve completed will start working for you.

Good thing about education and experience is that it comes with the fact that not all is necessary.

Apply discipline. It is always better if today’s decisions will not ruin tomorrow’s opportunities.

It may begin with art, but always ends up with money. – Cynical attention to the management :).

Writing a non-fiction is like figure skating. First, a compulsory program must be completed, followed by a free program.

 

More quotations is coming in the future as the writing process continues.

© Mika Karhumaa 2017

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