Online Music Distribution Problems For Start Up Companies

            There was a very interesting article about digital distribution that I had read by way of www.cnet.com.  The article spoke about potential problems that some starts up companies have faced in trying to distribute music online, and there were some good suggestions on how to improve it.  According to Matt Rosoff, a service called Speak Heart allows artists to sell songs through the service’s digital store, and the artist has complete pricing discretion.

            This pricing discretion is good on one hand, but on the other hand, the service keeps 25 cents per song sold by the artist.  Another problem with a start up service like this one is that most mainstream artists already have their own distribution; so many unknown artists will continue to live in obscurity without any recognition (Rosoff, 2008).  Most of these unknown artists are not able to build a fan base online, because their not being given the exposure that they need to break in.

            A good suggestion that Rosoff mentioned about was to possibly have a mainstream artist featured on the site to help bring traffic.  I believe this is probably what CDBaby and some other services have possibly done to breakthrough with unknown artists.  Another service called eMusic had an advantage over Speak Heart, because it has been around for over 10 years already.  Speak Heart was really knew, so the uphill battle for recognition was probably pretty steep.

            The author mentioned some good advice for beginner artists that are trying to build their fan base.  He said “ if you’re a beginning artist, I still think the best recipe for success is to give full downloadable samples away on your home page or MySpace, then sell your music through a service like CDBaby or Tune Core” (Rosoff, 2008).  I am not sure how many artists have really taken heed to this kind of advice, but I believe it would help a lot of unknown artists become mainstream much easier.

Source:www.news.cnet.com/8301-13526-_3-9887085-27.html

Some Current Music Publishing Issues

          I had read an article online on www.americansongwriter.com, about some recent changes in the music industry regarding music publishing, and the direction that the music industry is heading in.  According to Tune Core founder Jeff Price, he states, “ in the new music economy, a songwriter will have the most power” (Inman, 2011).  This is due to the drastic change that major record companies and its artists are facing and how both will survive in the new digital age.

            He also believes that songwriter revenue will increase and that the revenue of major record labels will drop from this change.  The article also mentions that major record labels will begin to look more like artist management companies, and will offer more 360 deals to milk as much money from their artists as possible (Inman, 2011).  The major labels sound like they are seriously in decline, and that the power of the business will fall into the hands of the artists themselves.

            According to the website, if record companies continue to decline, then more artists and their managers will seek distribution and marketing deals directly, which will really put the majors in dire straits.  An interesting point made in the article, spoke about how artists can collect their own royalties without having to be affiliated with a Performance Rights Organization. 

            That is where Tune Core and few others come inn, because this service allows artists a way to cut out the middleman when collecting royalties.  Tune Core gives artists a chance to make more money from song sales and Internet streams, and works for self-published and non-published writers as well.  Of course, the industry is not pleased with the waves that are rippling throughout the music business, but I am happy to see the power is going back to the rightful hands of the independent musician. 

 Source:  http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/12/a-new-frontier-in-music-publishing/