The BIG THREE in the Music Industry

The Big Three often refers to the 3 major record labels in the music industry. They are Universal, Sony and Warner. In the 1980s, the Big Six ruled the industry, and little by little they started consolidating. Is the consolidation of the record labels good for the music industry? Or are we just making way for an even bigger problem in the future of music?

History

The BIG SIX

In 1980’s the Big Six consisted of EMI, CBS, BMG, PolyGram, WEA, and MCA. There were more smaller and significant labels at the time, but these were the top dogs of the music industry. In this decade, MTV began streaming video clips, and the CD became firmly established. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album was also released during this time, sold 40 million copies world wide, and became the most successful product in the history of recorded sound. Towards the end of the 80s, Sony bought CBS records, and named it Sony Music (MacQuarrie, 2000).

The BIG FIVE

The Big Six dominated the music industry until 1999, when PolyGram defunct, and as a result merged with MCA to form Universal Music Group, which is the label with the most control as of now in the industry. During the Big Five era, we were introduced to the mp3 format, and music piracy became a “normal” activity among everyday people (Garrit, 2003).

The BIG FOUR

As music piracy was at an all time high, thanks to programs such as Napster, and Limewire, the record labels struggled for solutions and legal actions. Amidst of this music economics crisis, in 2004 Sony Music acquired BMG, and the Big Five were suddenly the Big Four. This is when the music industry started adopting business strategies. Less and less were record labels signing artists they believed in; they simply couldn’t afford it. Music executives only invested expensive deals to artists who could guarantee a return of investment (Garrity, 2003).

And then there were three. Earlier this year, two major record labels consolidated, again. EMI was bought by Universal Music Group in September, giving more power to the record labels that are left. These major music company now monopolize the music industry. Right now, they are all figuring out an economic model to earn higher profits.  What’s the pros and cons of the Big Three? Are these business decisions a temporary save, or is it going to be just the Big Three for a while?  What do you see in the future of the music industry?

This is open for discussion so please comment. We will analyze the Big Three more in depth next month.

Garrity, B., & Christman, E. (2003). Big Five On Way To Three. (Cover story). Billboard, 115(46), 3-85.

MacQuarrie, R. & et al. (2000) Music CD Industry. Page is: http://www.soc.duke.edu/~s142tm01/history.html

The Impact of the Digital Landscape in the Music Industry

It isn’t breaking news to hear how drastic of an impact the Internet has been to music industry, much less to the world. As Jay Cooper, a music lawyer, puts it, “We’re in the biggest sea change ever in the music business”. It is important to understand, not only know of, the digital age and its effects in the music industry.

After Napster, the decline on CD purchase took a plunge. Less and less music videos were being played on MTV, the “Music” television. Labels, artists, songwriters, producers, engineers, etc. were no longer being paid, but the demand of music was, and still is, at an all time high. Everyone is watching videos, listening to music and downloading songs for free. It is easier and cheaper to obtain, which is why music is consumed now more than ever. The following is a chart from Digital Music News. Click on the image and watch its animated version.

When referring to music as a business, the digital age has permitted unrestricted access to the product. If music is being downloaded without paying a dime, how do the professionals and artists in the music industry get paid? When asked what was the biggest challenge right now in the music industry, Jay Cooper responded that the entire industry is concerned with the economics portion. Labels and companies are desperately trying to create an economic model to allow artists to survive.

Jay Cooper went on to describe the possibilities of the “ultimate economic model”. Would music be paid for per stream? Download? A possible combination of the two? Another idea he mentioned was a monthly subscription, something similar to television. The fee for music will most likely be discreet, but there will be one.

We will see in a near future if Jay Cooper’s ideas for the “ultimate economic model” come to realization, or if something else will be innovated. This is the digital age, and it has effected the music industry in major ways besides economical. There is much more to discuss such as the discouragement of technological sector in the music industry, as well as liabilities such as copyright laws. The digital landscape is massive, and this post barely scratches the surface.

What's an indie artist?

In today’s music industry, an indie artist has taken a more relevant role than ever before. Major record labels won’t even consider signing an artist if they have not proven some sort of success as an indie artist. So what exactly is an indie artist?

5 Key People You Need in Your Music Team

If you want a long-term career in the music industry as an artist, you have to have a team; there’s no exception to this. Whether your goal as a musician is to be a local artist, achieve indie success, or get signed by a major label, having a music team will help you attain your goals. A music team can be made up of as many people as you like. George Howard, founder of Slow River Records, gives great suggestions about including a web developer, tour manager, and song pluggers in your own music management team. Nonetheless, with out these 5 key people in your team, you will not take your career in the music industry to the next level:

Informative Podcasts about Music Law

Whether you are a professional or an artist in the music industry, it is important to be well informed about the law and to have an attorney. The following are the titles, URLs, and reviews of podcasts related to legal liabilities in business:

The State of the Music Industry

Legal Disputes in the Music Industry

In the music industry, it is fairly common to hear about or know someone who has entered into a legal dispute. Whether it is about distribution rights, a copyright claim or a contract, they are all matters that can greatly delay if not end your career in the industry. This post provides 3 articles that provide examples of popular artists and the lawsuits they've recently dealt with. I feel that as inspiring artists, bands and music industry professionals, we can all learn from these court claims.

Creative Methods to Sell Your Music

The days when musicians and their record labels could rely on selling their albums through traditional record stores are gone. Today, very few musicians get the opportunity to have a multi-million dollar campaign as their force to distribute and sell their music. Your team has to learn to do it themselves. Artists, manager and their labels need to start finding creative ways to disburse their music.

Website Review: ReverbNation.com

Hello everybody! Today I will be reviewing the website ReverbNation.com . ReverbNation is a promotional website for professionals in the music industry. It most specifically aims for the independent part of the industry. They aim to use the technology for today to prosper careers in the music field. They provide hands-on and easy to use tools to distribute and promote solutions to career goals in the complex world of music. The following image is what ReverbNation stands for.

Interview with Antwain Booth

Antwain Booth is an entrepreneur in the entertainment and media industry. In 2005, he started in real estate with investors in Greensboro, North Carolina. In mid 2007, he ventured off into the entertainment and media industry in Raleigh, North Carolina. What started as a way to market real estate activity evolved into his own promotional, marketing, media, event and entertainment company. For more information about Antwain Booth and his company BWI visit http://bwinvests.tk/about .

Veronica Belmont's interview with music industry professional Ethan Kaplan

For today’s blog post, I decided to write about a video I found of an interview. Veronica Belmont “Tech Talks” with Ethan Kaplan, who during the time was Vice President of technology at Warner Bros. Records, about the music industry. Although the video is about 4 years old, I found the information valuable and applicable for today’s industry.

Apple is Preparing iTunes Renovation

The article talks about Apple Inc. and its plans of major changes to iTunes since its debut in 2003. Bloomberg acquired this information from people with direct knowledge of the matter, and they mentioned that Apple would release the details of the plans later in the year to the public. Any change to iTunes becomes critical to the company since it is a major source of revenue. Also the changes are sure to affect the music and media industry because it is the “gateway” to many users of the Apple products such as iPhone, iPod, Mac computers, etc. to purchase music, movies, shows and television shows. 

Use the inspiration! You'll need it in this industry

The video of the TED speaker named Chris Anderson emphasizes what he calls a “crowd accelerated innovation”. Despite the population of the planet growing, the Internet has made the world a smaller place. People are able to communicate and influence each other despite the distance through different vehicles in the Internet. To explain what he means by this, he uses the example of webcam videos. These videos that people make and put online become abundant and global. It becomes a self-fueling system.

NARIP - A Professional Association Program

There are several professional association programs that impacts the music industry. One of the most appealing ones is called National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP). NARIP is an association program across the country and around the globe that brings together the brightest minds and leading innovators in the global record and music industries. It is the biggest in the world, and it is specifically for record industry professionals.

What's the Deal with Music Publishing?

Music publishing is incredibly similar to the big record labels. Aside from royalties, licensing deals and administrating copyrights, music publishing involves the recording and selling of songs, just like record labels do. So what's the deal with music publishing? Simply, the business of recording music is getting weaker as the music publishing business is becoming stronger. A revenue collecting company for songwriters called SongTrust states that the importance of music publishing has increased during recent years. The Internet has made an abundant amount of music distribution methods. The digital media has caused a much wider audience to be reached, and the payments from these audiences increase the publishing revenues.

The End of the A&R Era?

Possibly. A&R back in the day were considered creative people who had some sense of power over pop culture. They knew the dos and don’ts of commercial success, and they were responsible for scouting talent for their record label. They would go spend their evenings in nightclubs to listen and discover new artists or bands, and help them develop.  Nowadays, however, the talent needs to have some sort of momentum before A&R even consider getting involved. Once an artist achieves this momentum, they go straight to the contract without the need of an A&R.

The Importance of an Internet Marketer

The recording industry and the music business have always depended on marketing for the success of their sales. In these modern times of Facebook and Twitter, it is easy to promote and communicate with consumers. Any musician can communicate with fans by themselves, and they may even feel that there is no need of an expert. However,  Ariel Hyatt, an online marketer and businesswoman, stresses that without implications of traditional marketing strategies, all the effort put in social media websites becomes diluted. She states:

“The act of selling music is not at all like selling goods or services which is where Internet Marketers have a leg up on musicians. You are ostensibly selling a feeling. People connect to music in a very different way than they connect to any old product, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t take the same basic principles and apply them.”