What is a DVD logo? Do we really have to put it on our DVD? What is it for? Can we just download the logo on the internet or do we have to get it from some organization?

If you’re a filmmaker, sometimes a very small thing like a DVD logo can be such a pain in the neck.

I know you’re too busy for these things. That’s why, to make life a bit easier for you, I researched and made a brief summary about the DVD logo. Hope you’ll find this helpful.

What is it?

Is it required?

What does the logo signify?
Legitimacy

Better Compliance

Who can Use the logo?

What Businesses may apply for the License?

This is perhaps another reason why it’s much better to go to a licensed duplication company than to burn your DVDs at home.

If you want to read more about the DVD logo, visit the DVD FLLC’s main site.

You want to “attack” the internet with a killer online marketing strategy but you do not want to appear like a desperate salesman! Here are some effective promotional ideas to boost your album and merch sales:

“Get 10% discount if you promote our album on your Facebook page!”

Simply post the link of our website to your profile for 3 days and you’ll get 10% discount on our band merch. Additional 1% off for every person who comments on the link.

Ø  This is effective because people find it very easy to execute. This is a good strategy since people will ask their friends to check out and comment on your link so they’d get a bigger discount. People who do not know you yet would definitely get curious.

“Giveaway of the week: Mike’s Sunglasses!”

Get a chance to win Mike’s sunglasses if you purchase our album now.

Or, if you just want to engage…

Get a chance to win Mike’s sunglasses simply by answering this question: Who is the sexiest member of the group and why? Write your comment to our website. The one with the best answer will get Mike’s sunglasses.

Ø  If you already have a good following and you are confident many people now value you as a band, then you can giveaway your stuff to random fans. People love gimmicks and free stuff. It will certainly make them more interested in your band.

Free concert tickets!

Get a chance to win 2 tickets for our concert if you purchase our album this week. We will post the 3 lucky winners this Saturday!

Ø  This is perfect for the bands that are not still very famous but are getting there.

Tour with us!

We will pick 5 fans to tour with us this summer! Simply purchase our latest CD and promote it to your facebook page. We will choose the top 5 with the most number of likes and comments.

Ø Give them anything that’s priceless- like a dinner with the band, a chance to be with the band on tour, etc. Again, this is not for the newbies because they would laugh at you when you’re still a newbie and you’d giveout a contest such as this. For newbies, you can start with simpler ones like free shirts, free CD, free concert ticket.

Do you have cool marketing ideas for bands? Please share!

If you want to make money from your music (who doesn’t?), then you better have your music licensed. Indie Music Tech published a definitive list of music licensing companies arranged in an alphabetical list below.

• AudioMicro (license music for motion pictures, feature films, short films, radio advertisements, PowerPoint presentations, iPhone apps and more)
• BeatPick (showcasing 306 talented artists / 5000+ music tracks for film, TV, advertising and other use)
• Gamecues (music licensing for the gaming industry)
• Getty Images (music licensing through Pump Audio)
• iStockphoto (license royalty-free, pay-as-you-go audio tracks and Flash files)
• Jamendo PRO (music licenses for film, documentaries, promotional videos, websites and more)
• LicenseQuote (a music licensing e-commerce solution for music publishers, labels, artists or bands to license their songs and recordings directly from their own web sites while keeping 100% of the sales revenues)
• Magnatune (licensing for independent music)
• Mango Reel (a UK music consultancy with an extensive catalog of independent music for licensing within the television, film, video game and advertising industries)
• Matchless Music (a music licensing site which helps Indie musicians license their tunes to clients in television, film, video games, commercials and the web)
• Music Dealers (a full-service music licensing company that connects quality artists from around the world with leading brands, networks, advertising agencies, film production houses and gaming companies)
• NaxosLicensing (music licensing for classical music, from Bach to Wagner)
• Pump Audio (artists and labels communicate directly with those looking to license music for TV, film, commercials, etc. without giving up any ownership)
• Renommee (European based music licensing provider)
• Ricall (music licensing marketplace, connecting users wanting to license music directly with the relevant copyright owners)
• Rumblefish (licensing for television, film, advertisements, websites, videos, games, podcasts, and sonic branding – e.g. your music inside your local Gap)
• Sentric Music (has contacts across the globe that look for opportunities for their artists music in TV, advertising, film and games)
• SoundLounge (music consultancy helping clients to license their music across all platforms and territories)
• SoundReef (private beta service exchanging music for promotion in television, film, advertising, etc.)
• YookaMusic (a music licensing marketplace for music supervisors, marketing/advertising firms and the like looking to license music, as well as those providing music to license like artists and labels)
• YouLicense (music licensing marketplace, enabling artists and those seeking music to contact each other directly)

Why Copyright My Music?
If you see yourself as a serious musician (and I presume you do), you would be wise to register your original songs with the U.S. Copyright Office (if you reside outside of the U.S., skip to the section on International Copyright below). This will protect you in the event that someone, somewhere, steals one of your songs and claims it as their own. Whether you want to copyright just one song for possible digital distribution or an entire CD of collected works, the process is the same.

The eCO Online System
The U.S. Copyright Office encourages you to register your music via an online registration process called the eCO Online System. Once you go there, create an account for yourself, then log in and you’re ready to start. Registering a copyright via this process is not all that difficult, but the technical language can be confusing. The online process does walk you step-by-step through filling out the document, but even so, take your time. Carefully read the help links (the underlined text) provided each step of the way. If you do that, it will help you understand what information goes where.

You’ll find a copyright tutorial for the eCO system at http://www.copyright.gov/eco/eco-tutorial.pdf . I recommend you take a look at that before you undertake this process to see what you’re in for.
The filing fee for online song registration is $35.

A few tips regarding the eCO process that I think might help you:

• You’ll want to register your music as a “sound recording” as this kind of registration includes not only the performance, but the underlying music itself.
  
• Under “Title of Work” add the name of your CD first and set the “Type” as “Title of work being registered.” Then list your song titles and set the “Type” for those as “Contents Title.” So the album name is the “Title,” the individual songs are the “Contents.”
  
• If you have cover songs on your album, you’ll exclude those under the “Limitation of Claim” section. For example, if track 7 on your CD is a cover tune, under “Material Excluded” check the boxes for “Music” and “Lyrics” (if you have lyrics) and then in the space for “Other” indicate “Track 7.” Then under “New Material Included” check all the boxes and under “Other” list the track numbers for your original songs. So here you specify what tracks to exclude for copyright registration (because they belong to someone else) and which tracks to register under your own name. If all the songs on your album are original, you can skip this section entirely.

Once you have filled out the form and verified all your information, add it toyour cart, pay for it, and then you’ll receive an email with instructions on out to print out your registration and mail it in with copies of your CD. You can also upload the files digitally, if you prefer.

If you don’t wish to go through the online process, you can type all of your information in Form CO, print it out and mail it in. And you’ll find instructions for Form CO at http://www.copyright.gov/forms/formco2d-ins.pdf . Fill out the PDF file following the instructions and then print TWO copies. One copy for yourself, and one copy to mail to the Library of Congress to the address provided.

The cost to submit the form by mail is $50.00.

Either way you go, whether online or via mail, it will take six months to a year for the Library of Congress to process your registration. However, once you’ve submitted your work, you’re officially protected. If you use FedEx to send your copyright forms (which I suggest you do), keep your tracking number handy and you can present this as legal proof of your effective date of copyright registration should you ever need it.

What Does Copyright Registration Do for Me?
Well, if someone does steal your work, not only can you prove the work is yours by your registration, but you can also sue for damages (you can’t legally sue for damages if your song isn’t registered with the copyright office). If the copyright infringement is determined to be deliberate, your attorney can initiate a formal criminal investigation.

Registering your songs using Form SR grants you these exclusive rights:

• The right to make copies and duplicate your CD
• The right to distribute your music
• The right to prepare derivative works (alternate versions, new arrangements)
• The right to perform the songs publicly
• The right to display the product publicly
• The right to perform publicly via digital audio transmission

Once you’ve registered your sound recording (your CD) with the U.S. copyright office, these rights belong exclusively to you and you alone (provided, of course, that you are the actual copyright owner). No one can take those rights from you.

Once your song is registered, you no longer have to worry about someone stealing your song idea and taking credit for it. If someone does that, gets a hit out of it and you can prove the song is yours with your registered copyright, you are going to smile all the way to the bank when the court awards you damages, which can be very high for copyright theft.

How to Copyright Individual Digital Creations
What if you only want to copyright a single song (or video, or photo, or article, or blog or whatever) to prove it’s yours? See http://www.myfreecopyright.com/ . At this web site you can upload your digital files, be they music, video, pictures or whatever, and they are instantly copyrighted and you can prove the date/time of registration. The service is free, and it’s a very simple way to copyright your individual music creations. Just so you know, however, even though you can use this digital copyright in a court of law to prove infringement, you cannot collect statutory damages from the infringer. You can collect lost profits that might be determined, but not statutory damages which is generally where the big money comes from. To collect statutory damages, you still need to send in a registration form into the copyright office as stated above.

What About Creative Commons?
There is an alternative means by which you may copyright your work called Creative Commons ( http://www.creativecommons.org ). Basically what this does is create a copyright for your music whereby instead of all rights being reserved, only some rights are reserved. This invites others to use your work for certain purposes without having to get permission from you first. In theory, this means people searching for music to use in their products or digital creations are more likely to use your music if they don’t have to jump through a lot of legal hoops to make use of it. So, for example, you might allow a song to be used in a non-commercial product (ie. no financial profit for the distributor) without forcing the licensee to get permission from you, but still reserve the right to collect a royalty if the product in question is a money-maker. The Creative Commons copyright is still a rather new concept, and there are many variations on it that may make the concert confusing for the potential licensee. Even so, it is something to at least be aware of if the concept becomes more widely recognized and accepted. For a list of the different Creative Commons licenses available, see http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/meet-the-licenses

What About International Copyright?
If you are not a citizen of the United States, obviously the comments above do not apply to you as every country handles the copyright process a bit differently. However, chances are that your homeland is a member of the World Intellection Property Organization (WIPO). If so, you can start researching your copyright options at http://www.wipo.int/members/en/ . Select your country name from the WIPO list, follow the “contact information” link, and that will take you to a page that lists the web site address of the copyright office for your country.

Some notable and related links from this article:

The U.S. Copyright Office: http://www.copyright.gov
Copyright and Fair Use: http://fairuse.stanford.edu
Copyright Your Web Site: http://www.gocopyright.com
Copyright Form SR: http://www.copyright.gov/register/sound.html
Copyright Your Digital Creation: http://www.myfreecopyright.com
World Intellection Property Org: http://www.wipo.int/members/en/
The Harry Fox Agency: http://www.harryfox.com/index.jsp

This article was written by David Nevue, the founder of The Music Biz Academy and Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio. He is also a professional pianist, recording artist, full-time Internet musician, and author of the book, “How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet.”

Christopher Knab is an independent music business consultant based in Seattle, Washington. He is available for private consultations on promoting and marketing independent music, and can be reached at 206-282-6116 or by email at: Chris@Knab.com

Musicians – you probably spend a lot of  money supporting your craft every year, paying for instruments and amps, photos and photocopies, practice room space and van rentals. Wouldn’t it be nice to deduct some of lose expenses on your income taxes? Maybe you can.

Business or Hobby?

First you need to figure out if making music is your hobby or your business.That is, do you do it for pleasure, or to make a living? If it’s a business, you can probably deduct the cost of your equipment and other expenses and fees on your tax return. If it’s a hobby, you can only deduct only up to the amount of income you earned from the hobby. Intuit offers expert advice on their website, with several sections dealing with common questions about the hobby/business differentiation.

Sections include “What you need to know about turning a hobby into a business,” “How do I convince the IRS that I’m serious about my business?” “What can I do if my business is audited?” and “What if my business really is a hobby? Can I write off my expenses?”

What if it’s more than a hobby, but you’re not in it for a profit (and haven’t made a profit)? See this page from the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, particularly the section about 3/4 the way down the page, entitled ACTIVITIES NOT ENGAGED IN FOR PROFIT. (Keep in mind that this site was created for people who are accountants, not for those of us that need accountants.)

Play the Part

If you have decided that yes, your music is indeed a business venture, you need to know that the IRS says “The music business… present(s) unique problems in an income tax audit.” Translation: tread carefully. While you are entitled to deduct expenses from your business, you have to make sure to learn what you can and cannot claim, ensure that you report all your earnings from music and document everything.

Solid Business Advice

• Make sure you are operating like a business.
• Keep good books and accurate records.
• Advertise.
• Get business cards.
• Get a business license or separate taxpayer ID number (TIN).
• Incorporate your band. Open a P.O. Box.
• Join Musicians’ organizations and/or unions.
• Copyright your work. Register your songs with a performing rights organization (such as ASCAP, BMI or SESAC).

How You File

To deduct business expenses, fill out a Schedule C and file it with your Federal Form 1040. If you’re self-employed, you will probably have to also file a Schedule SE. (According to IRS Publication 533, you must pay self-employment taxes if your net earnings from self-employment activities were over $400.)

On Schedule C, Line A, you’ll need to know your principal business code. It’s listed in TurboTax under “Services: Personal, Professional & Business,” then under “Amusement & Recreational Services.” (So that’s what the IRS thinks musicians are!) Code 9811 is for musicians – as well as theatrical performers, agents, producers and those in related fields.

Having a hard time getting the forms you need? Try the IRS’ Tax Fax

Services or download them over the Internet. Many of these forms are in PDF format, which requires you also download the free Adobe Acrobat reader.

What can you deduct?

If you spent money to run your music business, you should be able to deduct it from your income taxes. The IRS says in Publication 535: “To be deductible, a business expense must be both ordinary and necessary. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your trade or business. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your trade or business.”

Here are some categories to think about (while keeping in mind that you’ll have to separate business use from personal/pleasure use, at least in the eyes of the IRS):

• Instruments
• Equipment/gear & accessories (amps, pedals, effects, straps, carrying cases)
• Consumable supplies (such as drum skins & sticks, guitar strings & picks)
• Music business books, record company directories, venue directories
• Subscriptions to trade magazines (such as Billboard and CMJ))
• Sheet music and “How-To” books and manuals
• Promotional: CD/tape duplication (for demos), photos, bios
• Office supplies: paper, envelopes, photocopies, stamps
• Fees related to maintaining your website and e-mail access for your music-related activities
• Rent for storing your gear and for your practice space
• Membership in professional organizations, associations & unions
• Professional fees (attorney, manager, agent, accountant)
• Copyright and registration fees
• Lessons & instruction
• Travel expenses
• Losses by theft

Some of these expenses can be deducted in full, while others must be depreciated. See IRS Publication 946 (“How To Depreciate Property”) for more information.

Can you deduct for a home office?

If you’re a performing artist, Certified Public Accountants tell us that no, you can’t take a home office deduction: For musicians, the principal place of employment is where the performance occurs, not the home practice area.”

If you run a studio out of your home, or your principal business is not to perform but to record or sell your music otherwise (such as by the sale of CDs or tapes, or if you operate principally as a songwriter/jinglewriter), that rule may not apply.

Be Prepared

I remember hearing that self-employed people are at more of a risk for an audit, and I can believe it. Add into that equation that you’re an artist (which may make the business side of things a little harder to substantiate) I’d suggest that your expenses may well exceed your profits, and you’re live bait. That’s not to say it’s not worth claiming legitimate expenses because you run the risk of an audit, just that you need to be accurate and be prepared.

You need to also be ready to answer questions like these below, culled from an IRS audit guide. This document was secured by AIM’s Tax Center from the Internal Revenue Service through the Freedom of Information Act. (As it is part of a government document, I’m reproducing this list here.)

Important Questions that the IRS might be concerned about:

1. Explain all the different roles you play in the music industry. (Such as performer, songwriter, studio musician, recording artist, etc.)
2. What form of organization have you designed to be involved in these ventures? (Such as sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, etc.)
3. Are you self-employed for any of your activities? (File Schedule “C” and “SE”).
4. From what sources do you receive income?
5. How are these sources of income reported to you? (Form W-2, Form 1099, statement, settlement sheet, contractual agreement, partnership Schedule K-1, etc.)
6. Who keeps up with all your records and where are the records currently located?
7. What type of expenses do you incur?
8. Who keeps up with your expenses and where are the supporting records located?
9. What contractual agreements do you have through your business? Furnish copies.
10. Have you been examined [audited] previously? If so, what were the results?
11. What assets have you purchased that you use in your business?
12. How have these assets been handled for tax purposes?
13. Have you ever made or received any “payoffs” to obtain or maintain a position in the music industry?
14. Do you ever receive cash payments? If so, what is done with the money? (Used to pay bills, deposited into a bank account, etc.)

More of the document is on the AIM website, and is well worth reading, at least to get an idea of what the gameplan might be in case of an audit.

Proving It

So now you know – if you didn’t already – that the IRS are absolute sticklers for detail. Document everything! I suggest you make a copy just for your tax file of pretty much anything related to your music, such as:

1. Every letter and every press release you sent
2. Responses from record companies, radio stations – anyone – to verify that you have been active in the pursuit of your music
3. Gig fliers/postcards (even the postmarked “return to sender” ones are helpful for this)
4. A copy of your mailing list
5. All press mentions – and if you have none (or very few), keep the ad or newspaper listing from any shows you play
6. All receipts and invoices for everything you pay out or earn that’s band-related. Make sure everything has a date and any other supporting information written down on it somewhere.
7. If you haven’t already kept detailed records, start now – and do your best to reconstruct everything up to this point NOW, rather than some random point in the future when you might get audited. Really put some effort into keeping this up – if you don’t, and you get audited with a poor end result, you could owe back taxes and penalties otherwise, and any future music-related deductions will be closely scrutinized.
8. When in doubt, ask a professional or don’t deduct it. (I recommend that you keep those “questionable but not deducted” receipts, though – if you ever get audited, they might be helpful.) Keep all of your tax-related records for at least seven years.

Is It Worth It?

You definitely should take whatever deductions are allowed – we don’t get many tax breaks in the country… well, not unless you’re rich.

While I’m not a tax professional, these tips represent some of what I’ve learned when filing several IRS Schedule C’s over the years. When all is said and done, and especially if you have earned a lot or are deducting a lot of money, you might be better off doing what the guys Hyperreal suggest: get yourself a tax attorney and/or have her or him advise you. This is particularly true if you’re not used to filling out tax forms.

Many happy returns!

The Transformation of the Music Industry in the 21st Century

by George Ziemann — August, 2010

A new school year is underway and it’s time to give all the college researchers something new to chew on.

I’ve been studying the recording industry statistics for 8 years, a move which was prompted by the RIAA interfering with my attempts to sell my own music on eBay in 2002. Over those 8 years, a brief instant in the history of recorded music, the entire game has changed and it will never be the same again.

There are a few numbers to show, some data to analyze, but the real story cannot be found in any industry reports. In fact, the more I look at the labels’ year-end reports, what the RIAA and Nielsen put out, it becomes more obvious that it’s all pretty worthless. Not one of them holds the real story. Not even a fraction of it.

You can memorize every fact and figure from Nielsen’s data and still not know a fucking thing about what is happening in the music business.

But the truth is out there. And once you start putting the pieces together, the big picture is hard to ignore.

My original vision of this article was divided into several sections, each with a specific focus. But that’s because I was trying to be all academic about it. All that does is needlessly confuse the issue. It’s really very simple, so I’m going to keep it that way.

U.S. Releases and Sales

Canada Releases and Sales

Unreported Sales

Conclusions

New Releases — U.S. (1992 to 2009)

What I saw in 2002 was that the RIAA was trying to create a self-fulfilling prophesy. What if they moaned and cried about Napster and nothing really happened. So they made sure sales would drop by simply putting out less product. Then, in 2003 and 2004, they ramped back up a little and sales actually came back in 2004. Seemed like simple cause and effect at the time.

But what happened from 2005 to 2009? Releases went through the roof, but sales didn’t come with them.

I’ll leave you to ponder over that for a minute. Now let’s look at Canada, some StatCan data provided by Kent Clark, a Loyal Reader from the Great White North.

The Canadian data is rather odd. It doesn’t follow the cause and effect model either. (I’m assuming “Other” is the independent releases, by the way. We’re unmentionable, like sirty underwear or something.)

The majors slashed their new releases between 2003 and 2007, and sales actually went up. Maybe the Canadian branches of the major labels actually got more efficient at connecting with the audience. Maybe Nettwerk Records has a lot to do with it, too.

And if you broke the U.S. out between the major labels and the rest of us, it would show that the majors were running about 7,000 new releases a year at the turn of the century. Since then, each and every label has slashed their rosters, cut back their staff and generally went into a panic mode. I’d be surprised if they put out a total of more than 4,000 new releases between them last year.

Here’s the big difference between the U.S. and Canada:

When I started writing about the RIAA in 2002, nobody had a clue who they were. I had to always explain it. Now, pretty much every college student in the country knows all about them. I don’t have to explain it. The RIAA is the group of assholes that sued 40,000 people for listening to music. And every year since they really got going, sales have dropped by 15 to 20 percent. What a big surprise.

Canadians haven’t been sued. Yet.

There’s still a cause and effect going on, but it’s based on knowledge, not numbers.

The thing is, all of this is such a miniscule part of the actual music industry, especially in the United States. Nielsen is considered to be the most reliable infor mation. It’s what people turn to when they want to find out what’s happening as far as data goes.

But Nielsen doesn’t have half the story.

The Unreported Sales

If you add up all the available new release figure from 1992 to 2009, you’re going to come up with a total in the neighborhood of 735,000 new releases.

Go take a look at CDBaby’s “About” page. According to CDBaby, they are “the largest online distributor of independent music.” And they’ll give you their numbers.

278,510 albums being sold on CD Baby
5,339,025 CDs sold online to customers
$107,769,092 paid directly to the artists

The stat there that I’m keying on is 278,510 albums being sold. That’s a full third of what Nielsen reports to have been released since 1992.

In 1996, Tunecore arrived. They’re a little less public with their numbers, but I know that last year, they claimed 90,000 new releases, just about the same as Nielsen reported for the entire industry. Unless CDBaby went on a hiatus for the year, obviously there’s a huge pile missing. And what about the majors and what they distribute?

Makes Nielsen’s numbers obviously useless to determine what’s really happening. So what is happening?

I talked to Derek Sivers, who sold CDBaby off to DiskMakers around 2007-2008. He said that when he left, they had been taking orders for around 200 new album releases every day. That’s more than 70,000 new releases in a year, which is just slightly under what Nielsen shows for the entire industry. I don’t know how many actually were added to the stores. Derek couldn’t tell me that, but did say that the majority of them were orders for 100 to 1000 copies to be duplicated.

What happened after these copies hit the streets and landed in the laps of the musicians that ordered them?

And what about all of us with the time, patience and means to simply burn our own CDs? I’m using Tunecore to place our music on iTunes (Hayden’s Wall and Hurricane Alley — go buy a damn copy so I can pay the electric bill). But the truth is that we sold about 50 copies off the edge of the stage for every one that we sold online.

Nielsen never counted any of them. Or any of the CDs that the other thousands upon thousands of independent acts sold off the stage. Hell, most of them probably didn’t even report it on their taxes (Dear IRS — I did).

The Conclusion

“What you’ll see in the near future is a million artists and about 500,000 labels, and many artists becoming their own labels. The whole album paradigm will be redefined. It will be a singles market place and it will be shared by a million hands.”
Chuck D. — July, 2000

Since 2003, Apple has song more singles than the music industry did over it’s entire history prior to the iTunes Music Store. 10 billion songs, last I heard.

Services like Tunecore have been singled out for criticism by people like Tommy Silverman, who will tell you that 80 percent of the artists using Tunecore to get into Apple are crap because they sell 100 copies or less in a year.

“Those are the people who are using TuneCore and iTunes to clutter the music environment with crap, so that the artists who really are pretty good have more trouble breaking through than they ever did before.”

Silverman missed two very important points.

The first is that 80% crap is still a 20% success rate. The RIAA only claims 5% success. So that’s 95% crap. And Silverman’s record is no better.

Tunecore lets anybody through. The labels pick and choose. Tunecore has a higher success ratio. Draw your own conclusions on that one.

The second point is that as little as 6 years ago, none of those artists selling less than 100 copies were in retail at all. We sold zero copies online. So even one sale is better.

The thing I’m focusing on from Silverman’s statement is this: “…the artists who really are pretty good have more trouble breaking through than they ever did before.”

That seems a little ridiculous as a general statement. Just having an album (or 100,000 albums), on iTunes doesn’t interfere with anyone’s sales. They don’t bury other releases (like the majors used to do with cover songs, where a minor hit would come along and all the big stars would record their version which would literally “cover” the original release at the retail level).

iTunes works kind of like peer-to-peer, in the sense that you generally have to know what you’re looking for in order to find it. If you type in “Mariah Carey,” that’s what you’re going to get. Nothing gets in the way.

Maybe the major artists have more trouble breaking through than ever before, but that’s because the RIAA taught the college students to hate them.

And let’s talk reality. It hasn’t been “the artists who are really pretty good” that have been at the top of the heap for decades. Not since disco hit. Now it’s the ones who are willing to sell out for quick cash, follow the rules, fit themselves into the mold of the flavor of the month and whore themselves out.

Being talented has almost nothing to do with it. It’s all about your ability to do business, not your skill at playing music. That’s why we have autotune.

Back to the point, which is that today’s music business simply cannot be seen in the industry reports. You can pile up all the stats and data and the real music business just isn’t in it. It’s out on the streets.

Times are tough. People have less money than ever to toss around on music. Nothing against Tom Petty (he’s just my favorite star to pull out as an example), but if I get $10 from you for a CD sold off the end of the stage on Friday night, you might have to pass up on Tom’s new album when you spot it on Saturday.

And there are hundreds of thousands of other acts doing the same thing, almost every night of the week (your mileage may vary depending on the size of the town). The artists “who are really pretty good” are selling records.

But they’re not on the charts. The charts don’t tell you anything.

In the last 10 years or so, from mp3s, CD-Rs and the internet, then the ability to get into the world’s largest retailer while completely bypassing the traditional label system, the entire paradigm of the music industry has changed. No one sees it all. No one knows how to measure it. Everything is upside-down and off the charts.

It’s a new day, a new beginning.

The beginning is a very delicate time. — Frank Herbert, Dune

By Andrew Dansby, Houston Chonicle

“Kicking Television” — the title of a live album by the band Wilco — doesn’t have the pop cultural resonance of, say, “At Budokan” or “Frampton Comes Alive.” But by any contemporary measure, it’s a success. Creatively, it’s a vibrant recording that touches on different eras in a notable band’s career. Commercially, it sold 135,000 copies, a strong number these days. And a pricey vinyl version released recently was snapped up by fans.

But compare that to the gold standard by Peter Frampton, who brings his live show to the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach on Tuesday, opening for Yes. “Frampton Comes Alive” has sold more than 6 million copies since 1976; Cheap Trick’s “At Budokan” has sold more than 3 million since in 1978.

The live album, once an obligatory component of a band’s discography and in some cases, a defining work, doesn’t seem as culturally prevalent as it did 35 years ago.

Those who follow pop and rock music ( jazz, classical and Broadway musicians continue to record live) with fervor still value live albums, which offer a different listening experience than their studio counterparts. Live albums are often built more on bombast than on nuance. They need to be familiar but only to an extent: To simply replicate pre-existing music with audience noise interspersed between songs nullifies their impact.

It’s not that concert recordings have disappeared. A live Grateful Dead set from 1989 recently debuted in the Top 50, and the Zac Brown Band‘s new live CD/DVD made a strong showing last month. But the Dead has dozens of live titles in its catalog, and Brown’s album seems designed to bridge the gap between his 2009 hit debut and what comes next.

But live albums that sell millions of copies are likely extinct. The same could be said for most albums, but the live album was on the wane even before the bottom dropped out of the music recording business during the past decade.

Warren Haynes, whose Gov’t Mule has released several live recordings, says “a lot of the more popular music being made these days doesn’t really merit a live version. The concert doesn’t offer anything emotionally different or superior to the studio versions.”

YANGAROO Inc., the industry’s leading secure digital media distribution company, announced that it has successfully completed the first commercial delivery of a broadcast quality music video to MTV Networks and other destinations on May 27th via its Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS).

The music video for the song “21@12″ by the band Hot Hot Heat was uploaded into DMDS at DVS, a video production and duplication company in Los Angeles. The music video was then transferred via DMDS to Video Static Promotions in New York where it was reviewed and then delivered to music video broadcasters via DMDS, saving all parties considerable time, effort, and money. The process was also environmentally friendly, with no tapes, packaging, or jet fuel wasted in the process.

Traditionally, this process would have taken up to a week to complete at a cost of hundreds of dollars; with DMDS it was completed in minutes at a fraction of the cost. Ten new record labels, video promoters, and production houses have signed up since this first delivery. YANGAROO’S team is currently in discussions with all major and many independent label groups to use DMDS to deliver their music videos to MTV Networks and many other music video broadcasters in the U.S. and Canada.

“This was a remarkably simple and efficient process,” said Steven J Gottlieb, Owner, Video Static. “No more waiting for expensive tape dubs, and couriers. Using DMDS saved the two most important elements for me…time and money!”

“The idea of sending the video digitally excites me – We are honoured!” said Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat. “I do like the idea that it can be distributed to people almost instantly after being edited. That’s the way it should be! Minimizing the time from ‘idea’ to ‘distribution’ inspires me greatly.”

“This first billable delivery of a music video is the culmination of years of leading-edge technology development and work with the television broadcast and recording industries,” said Josh Zieman, YANGAROO’S New York based Senior Vice President, Business Development. “The response from the industry has been terrific with new signings every day. I expect that DMDS will rapidly become the standard method for delivering music videos throughout the U.S. and internationally.”

SOURCE: Yangaroo Inc.

Before anything else, check out this really awesome video about t-shirts:

Too awesome, isn’t it? I dunno if it’s related to my whole post but I just can’t help but share this video. Well, at the very least, the vid might have convinced you to make cool shirts for your band or it might have sparked a bright idea…

Now let’s talk about Merch. Merch is essential for bands to survive thus it should be given enough attention. Music Merch is simple in a way that basically, all you’re doing is making t-shirts, mugs, or key chains.  But if you want your merch to be a hit to the fans, then do not just give them a cheap-looking shirt with a lousy design. You complain that it makes you less of an artist but why don’t you just extend your art to your merch! People would know if you put a little love to your products or if you just let some guy do everything for you.

There are many different elements of Merch from design of the actual products to management. When it comes to the product, it is necessary for the artists to get to know their audience better. They should know the demographic’s taste when it comes to colors, fit, design, cut, etc. For metal bands, fans would most likely prefer black than any other color. But that is rather easy to tell. What about for electronic pop, punk-rock, or triphop musicians? What kind of shirts would sell to them? Or do these kinds of fans even like shirts? We know it is not as simple as printing the band’s faces on just any garment.

So how will you know which designs would sell? I honestly think you can never predict that especially if this is your first time to sell merch. You will just find out which ones sell and which ones don’t the moment you start…well, actually selling them. But if you want to have an idea about your fans’ taste because you do not want to produce thousands only to sell a few pieces, you can create designs and post them on your website. Ask the visitors to vote which ones they’d like to wear. This would somehow give you an idea as to which ones you can print.

Once you’ve printed the shirts and other collectibles, take them with you whenever you are in tour. You have to place them in a merch table and make sure they look attractive on the table. Of course, you have to let the fans know that you’re selling merch by announcing it onstage when you’re performing-in between songs, maybe. It would also help you attract more fans if you sit down on the merch table for some autograph signing. At the very least, they’d purchase your shirts if they haven’t brought anything to have your autograph signed on.

For the week ending May 30, the U.S. music industry sold a total of 4,984,000 albums, according to Nielsen Soundscan. This figure, which includes new and catalog releases, represents the fewest number of albums sold in one week since Soundscan began compiling this data in 1994.

This week’s record low comes as the major record companies continue to reckon with a decade-long decline in sales, and as other prominent sectors of the industry, such as the touring business, go through sea changes of their own.

“We think this is the lowest week ever, or at least of the Soundscan era,” says Universal Music Group Distribution president Jim Urie.

Read the full article here.