MusicTank Newsletter - Feb 10

Your superstar artist has just recorded their hugely anticipated new album, a release date has been set, and the pr, marketing, distribution and retail wheels are all beginning to turn.  With several weeks to go all that remains is to clear a space on your wall, sit back and wait for the inevitable clutch of platinum discs to arrive in the post.

Unfortunately, with over a month to go before the album hits the shops, just as radio starts playing your lead single and the press are warming to the release, your lovingly crafted opus appears on p2p sites across the world and before you know it anyone with half an interest in the artist and an internet connection is downloading it. 

With the sums of money involved in recording and releasing an album you would think that advance copies would be guarded like the crown jewels but every day pr and pluggers send out thousands of promo copies to journalists, radio stations and kids who have spent five minutes setting up a blog on Wordpress.

The heavily front-loaded nature of nearly all major release campaigns ensures that not only are promo copies floating around for weeks or months before the official release date but we’re also generating hype and demand for a product that is legally unavailable.  Fine if the public has no option but to wait for the release and grit their teeth as journalists Tweet smugly about its magnificence – but as we all know, that’s almost certainly not the case anymore.

So why this self-defeating compulsion to spread our product everywhere and anywhere like a rampant married footballer?

Labels argue that it is necessary to accommodate the lengthy lead times of print magazines and generate a buzz through radio airplay, in order to create good first week sales and ensure further support down the line from retail and media.  And that this balances out the inevitable loss of sales to p2p.

Still they aren’t particularly happy about the situation, and in recent weeks artist managers and retailers have broken ranks, with the MMF calling for no lead times whatsoever between radio servicing and retail availability, with new chart rules in place to enforce any changes.

Retailers would also love to be able to sell tracks the minute the public can hear them on the radio, but accept the occasional need for a degree of pre-release marketing – especially for new artists – if only to give them some gauge of the stock levels they should order.

Unfortunately though, for all those that would prefer to see the pre-release window shortened, the indisputable fact is that to date, bar Radiohead’s mould-shattering In Rainbows (which made it’s own media splash with its pay-what-you-want model), all those who have experimented with a shortened window have so far seen disappointing results.  Without a collective decision from label and the media any unilateral action seems bound to fail.

It is clear that not only would the printed press strongly resist any changes that impact on their ability to compete with online media, but in the case of radio, it is impossible to stop them playing whatever tracks they want, when they want, once an album has been released.

It’s obviously an issue with no easy answer, indeed some contend there is no answer at all and we just have to make the best of a bad lot.  Despite the knot of almost Gordion proportions the business finds itself caught up in, we believe we should at least make a serious attempt to cut through it and find a solution that benefits all parties.

Next month, for the first time, MusicTank will gather together representatives from all the sectors involved, the press, radio, labels, retail and management, to attempt to find that solution.  At MusicTank we’ve always believed that there is no problem facing the music industry too difficult to overcome if we’re open to change and embracing new ideas - let’s just hope that this time, the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t that of a speeding train.

Editorial by John Power

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OUT & ABOUT: MusicTank events

INDUSTRY DIARY: Other events

MUSICTANK LOUNGE: New to site, sponsorship & institutional membership

MERRY-GO-ROUND: Industry announcements

Please remember all MusicTank events MUST be booked and paid for in advance!  Become a member of MusicTank for just £30 per year and enjoy privileged discounts on all MusicTank events...

http://www.musictank.co.uk/about/membership-benefits

MAR 10: 'NUMBER 1' WITH A BULLET: IS PRE-RELEASE KILLING OUR BUSINESS?

The UK release process is one of the most front-loaded in the world, with pre-release promotion starting up to three months ahead of release.  The problem is that, with everything riding on building pre-awareness, we’ve produced a system that creates demand for a product that is by definition not legally available – which doesn’t work when it takes just one promo CD to be uploaded to a p2p network for a release to spread around the world.

Industry bodies including ERA and the MMF are calling for abolition of pre-release windows in their entirety. With speakers including the BBC's Head of Music for Radio 1 George Ergatoudis, this event will bring an artist manager, label, distributor, journalist and retailer together with the Official Charts Company to find a solution to the biggest issue the release system has faced since the advent of the digital download.

To help reconcile the media’s need for advance copies against the pitfalls of pre-release leaks, MusicTank will itself experiment with a new format and attempt to crowdsource the answers.  Following the keynote presentation, attendees will be split into groups, each led by one of the panellists, who will set to work developing their own ideas before presenting them back to the wider group.  MusicTank 2.0 you could say…

SPEAKERS - George Ergatoudis (Head of Music, BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra); Emily Mackay (Reviews Editor, NME); Martin Talbot (MD, OCC); Joe Taylor (Artist Manager & Co-founder, ROTD); Peter Thompson (MD, PIAS UK); others tbc.

DIARY - Date & Time: 10 Mar '10 | 18.30 - 21.00 hrs; Venue: Basement Bar, PRS for Music, Berners Street, London W1

Cost: £25 MusicTank Members | £30 Trade Body | £35 Full Price - price includes complimentary drink on arrival and free post-event transcript.

Full details & booking: http://www.musictank.co.uk/events/charts-and-the-release-process

All tickets MUST be booked and paid-for in advance - no walk-up on the day!

Attend this event for FREE by signing up to Creative Futures and commiting to participate in a complimentary programme of business support for a minimum of 12 hours over the next 3-years.  Creative Futures is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

More... mailto:jonathan@musictank.co.uk | T 020 8357 7317

MAR 04: CREATIVE FUTURES LAUNCH - FREE EVENT

Next Thursday evening, March 4th, sees the official launch of Creative Futures - a three-year programme created by six of London’s most dynamic, creative organisations who have come together to support peer-to-peer innovation and sustainable growth in small London-based music, film, fashion, digital and creative enterprises.  Financed through the European Regional Development Fund and Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea Councils, the Creative Futures project is a comprehensive response to the new economic realities facing small and medium enterprises. 

Comprising MusicTank, New Media Knowledge, Julie's Bicycle, London Film Convention and Portobello Film Festival, Portobello Business Centre and Paddington Development Trust, each of the founding partners brings skills and expertise to a business sector that forms the backbone of creative, working London and who will facilitate a range of FREE business advice, consultancy, workshops and seminars to registered participants of the programme, on a first-come, first-served basis during the next three years.

This free launch event will provide an opportunity to learn how Creative Futures can help you build your creative business in 2010.  Held at Great Western Studios - a brand new, giant interactive networking space - this event also affords an opportunity to meet new people, organisations and potential clients in a relaxed atmosphere and against an exciting backdrop of interactive art installations, music and games...you'll even get a chance to experience a Talkaoke mobile chat show!

As if that's not enough, complimentary drinks for the early birds come courtesy of Creative Futures and Great Western Studios.  What are you waiting for?

This event is FREE but you must register at: http://www.creative-futures.co.uk/event/2010/03/creative-futures-launch

DIARY - Date & Time: Thurs 04 Mar 2010 |  18.00-21.00 hrs; Venue: Great Western Studios, 65 Alfred Road, London, W2 5EU

See below for further information about Creative Futures...Creative Futures is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Remember!  No walk up on the day - you must register for this event !!

MAR 04: MUSIC 4.5 CONFERENCE

2Pears, the team that bring you the popular TechCrunch Europe events and the UKTI Pitch Workshops, are pleased to announce the launch of a new music tech start-up event - Music 4.5 - which will take place in central London on Thursday, March 4, 2010.

Music 4.5 will bring together music tech start-ups, serial entrepreneurs, investors, artists, band managers and key industry players to share knowledge, discuss strategies for business success, debate market trends and evolution, as well as network.

MusicTank newsletter subscribers can get 20% off the delegate rate using the following code when booking: JGR10

More... http://www.music4point5.com

MAR 12/14th: ILMC

The Royal Garden Hotel, London, UK.

The 22nd ILMC sets sail on 12th March 2010 on a cruise liner carrying around 1000 delegates from over 55 countries, on a passage that will encounter many engaging and thought provoking panels and fruitful networking opportunities.

The main issues that have come to the fore this  year are those relating to the artist; their discovery, development and making sure we maintain a steady flow for the live business, after all an industry without an artist is like a ship without a crew.

As well as the usual favourites Michael Eavis being interviewed by Ed Bicknell for the Sunday Breakfast meeting, there’s a Nordic Showcase at the Tabernacle on Thursday 11th March at 7pm, the ILMC Production meeting on the same day and a plethora of great panels across the event.

More... mailto:info www.ilmc.com

MAR 13: BRINGING THE PARTY HOME. FESTIVALS AND FREE PARTIES: A MULTI-MEDIA EXHIBITION

Bringing the Party Home is a FREE 12 hour multi-media event, which is being held as part of the ESRC’s Festival of Social Science Week 2010 at the Trinity centre, Bristol on Saturday 13th March 2010.

The event is documenting a two-year ESRC funded study of music festivals and the underground free party scene, which investigated the meanings that these events hold for the young people that attend them, and for corporate sponsors.  Music festivals are marketed, and constituted by festival goers, as a temporary escape from everyday life, in which young people can ‘be themselves’ and engage in collective experiences.  Simultaneously, they have become increasingly managed environments, shaped by corporate interests and efforts to capitalise on their significance in order to market specific branded products.

The event is open from 1pm and will provide interactive opportunities for visitors to explore the meaningfulness of festivals and free parties through banner size and projected interview extracts, artefacts and photographs collected during ethnographic fieldwork, collages and graffiti, media clips from the public domain, and objects associated with each leisure space (e.g. tents, portaloos, flags, sculptures, banners, effect lighting).

From 8pm - 1am, the Ninja Hippies, Malnutrition and Chemically driven free-party crews will take to the decks to recreate a free party experience.  The event will also feature guest speaker George McKay (author of DiY Culture and Senseless Acts of Beauty), who will be speaking on festival and free party culture in the early evening (approx 7pm).

More... http://people.bath.ac.uk/ym206/festivalsproject.html

MPA, MMF & MMF TRAINING: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN MUSIC PUBLISHING

The Music Publishers Association and Music Managers Forum in association with MMF Training are pleased to announce that their joint Professional Development Programme in Music Publishing is running again in 2010.  This Programme has been developed and refined over time to ensure that all attendees become better equipped to take advantage of the new business opportunities that are central to the development of our industry.  Individuals from all sectors of the music industry who are involved or interested in any aspect of music publishing will benefit from the Programme’s varied and comprehensive content. The objective is straightforward: to provide practical information placed in the context of today’s music industry.

COST PER MODULE - MPA/MMF members & PRS Music Staff: £29.79 | AIM, APRS, BASCA, BPI, IAMA, MPG & MU members: £46.81 |Non-members: £63.83

All prices subject to VAT @ 17.5%.

NEXT MODULE - Module 2: Monday 15 March 2010 | 18.30 hrs
Creator / Publisher Relationships, Agreements & Contracts

Module 3: Monday 19 April 2010
Sub-Publishing, Co-Publishing, Publisher/Publisher Relationships, Contracts and International Royalty Tracking

Module 4: Monday 17 May 2010
Music Publishing in Audio-Visual Media: Rights Holders, Owners and Music Users

Module 5: Monday 7 June 2010
Music Publishing, The Record Business & Live Performance

Module 6: Monday 5 July 2010
International Collecting Societies & Global Royalty Streams 

More... http://www.mpaonline.org.uk/Events/MPAMMF_Professional_Development_Programme_2009.html

MPA INDUCTION COURSE FOR NEWCOMERS TO MUSIC PUBLISHING

The MPA Induction Course acts as an essential overview of the music publishing business, its organisations and their roles. Each session is conducted by an expert in the field.

Sessions include:

The Many Facets of Music Publishing | Publishing Agreements and Money | The Writer’s Perspective | Copyright & Related Rights | Print Music Publishing | The Work of the Collecting Societies - PRS & MCPS | The Users’ Perspective | The Work of the MPA | The Work of UK Music |

DIARY - Date & Time: Tues 20 Mar, 09.30 - 17.00 hrs & Wed 21 Mar 09.30 - 12.30 hrs | Cost: £135.00+VAT (£158.63) for MPA members and MCPS / PRS staff | £185.00+VAT (£217.38) for members of AIM, BASCA, BPI, MMF & MPG | All others £215.00 + VAT (£252.63)

More… http://www.mpaonline.org.uk/Events/MPA_Induction_Course_for_Newcomers_to_Music_Publishing1.html

REPORTS

Capgemini Report: Working and Making Money in the Digital World

This point-of-view presents a forward-thinking perspective on the challenges - and opportunities — in today’s media and entertainment industry.  The report identifies and comments on five areas that need to be addresses by companies as they make their business digital and more competitive; Customer Experience Management, Digital Insights, Intellectual Property Management, Digital Monetisation and Digital Media.

More... http://www.musictank.co.uk/reports/capgemini-report-working-and-making-money-in-the-digital-world

Jazz Services Report: The BBC – Public Sector Radio, Jazz Policy and Structure in the Digital Age

Professor Stuart Nicholson, Emma Kendon, Chris Hodgkins | Foreword by John Fordham

Very much the focus of MusicTank's Jazz and The Beeb event (Jan 2010), this illuminating report, presented by Professor Stuart Nicholson, and by Emma Kendon and Chris Hodgkins of Jazz Services, includes an examination of the disparity between jazz representation on the BBC’s public radio services and those elsewhere in Europe. It asks why British jazz exposure on the BBC should have declined so significantly in recent years, at a time when the skills, formal training, diversity and international status of UK jazz musicians has never been higher. It also asks why the Corporation does not appear to extend its public service remit to jazz in the way that its continental equivalents do, despite commitments to the broadest possible range of social and cultural diversity enshrined in the BBC charter. The report also proposes some ways forward, in the challenging context of a budding digital-radio environment potentially offering more channels and niche-audience resources than ever.

MUSICTANK'S PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME

MusicTank is encouaging FE and He institutions to join its University Partnership Programme that's been established with the aim of bringing UK music business closer to all colleges and universities with relevance reaching beyond those teaching or studying core music subjects.  Media, law, computer science, technology and business courses potentially have much to gain from engagement with MusicTank, too.

It is our intention that this initiative will become an important component of MusicTank’s longer-term mission: to improve access to music industry knowledge for all in further and higher education, irrespective of status.

The University Partnership Programme is designed to provide its member organisations with secure, privileged access to relevant music industry information and valuable resources, as well as providing advanced and exclusive access to MusicTank’s own content pool, research outputs and event outcomes and discounts for all MusicTank events.  Institutional membership also provides a unique opportunity to become a partner in MusicTank's work, too.

Interested? For information and pricing, please contact mailto:jenny.tyler@musictank.co.uk

SPONSORSHIP

Commercial partners are sought for our think tank events with a range of packages available, to suit all budgets - we're also inviting sponsorship enquries for our newsletter, too.

If you or your company are interested in helping sustain the network in this way we'd be pleased to hear from you, in which case, please contact mailto:jenny.tyler@musictank.co.uk

MUSICTANK POSTS & TWITTERS

MusicTank has a facebook Group and a Twitter feed.  Visit us at:

   http://is.gd/mwBa/musictank/facebookgroup

   http://twitter.com/MusicTank

MUSICTANK AND CREATIVE FUTURES - FREE CREATIVE BUSINESS SUPPORT PROGRAMME

MusicTank and the Creative Futures group comprising Portobello Business Centre, Julies Bicycle, New Media Knowledge, London Film Connection and Portobello Film Festival and the Paddington Development Trust have formed a London-based support and innovations network for businesses working in the creative sector.  We’ve done this in response to the huge changes taking place in the global economy and our need to collectively respond to both threats and opportunities thrown up in the madness.

If you're a developing or an existing business model, seeking new markets, wanting to improve existing performance, looking for investment capital, designing new products or services, analysing energy consumption or designing a green base into your business, the Creative Futures programme is here to help.

Costing only your time, membership is FREE and includes complimentary access to consultancy, seminars and workshops spanning everything from social networking to product development and technology, through to opportunities to participate in pitch camps designed to attract investors and angels, specialist business advisors, customised business planning support and opportunities to develop growth potential.

The events programme kicks-off with Portobello Business Centre's FREE, 2-day Music Management Course (Apr 23 & 24) - see below.  Meanwhile, starting in the summer, MusicTank will deliver a series of events throughout this three-year project that will facilitate higher-level debate, provide incisive music industry intelligence and opportunities to engage with a rapidly changing industry.

Throughout this initiative, participants are encouraged to sign-up to a tailored itinerary of business support and related activity including workshops and seminars from a range of specialist providers, facilitators and advisors.  Creative Futures is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Can you afford to miss out?

APR 23 & 24: MUSIC MANAGEMENT COURSE
Consultant Boomy Tokan runs the Music Business desk at the Portobello Business Centre and lectures at City University on the Cultural Industries Foundation Degree programme. As a label owner himself with some 20 year’s experience, he addresses Music Business issues from a personal and experiential viewpoint.  With his additional knowledge of other business environments, Boomy believes in “Importing Ideas” from those sectors into the Music Business arena.

In order for particpants to get the most out of the course, participants will be invited to a one-to-one session with Boomy Tokan to analyse your business objectives and to complete the registration process ahead of the course itself.  Places on the Music Management course are limited please book early. Proof of trading is essential.

DIARY- Date & Time: Fri 23 & Sat 24 Apr 2010 | 10.00-17.00 hrs, both days | Venue: Portobello Business Centre Units 11 & 12, 246 Acklam Road, London, W10 5YG

More... http://www.creative-futures.co.uk/event/2010/03/free-music-management-pbc

Remember!  No walk up on the day - you must register for this event !!

For further information about Creative Futures, its programme and to register...

mailto:info@creativefutures.co.uk | http://creative-futures.co.uk/ | T 020 7575 3113

Creative Futures is funded by the European Regional Development Fund

SURVIVING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY JUNGLE

Davenport Lyons launched a new Music Business Survival Guide at MIDEM 2010, to help artists take advantage of the digital music revolution.  When it published the first edition of its Music Business Survival Guide back in 2005 it did not anticipate the enormous demand for copies.   Now, with some 3,000 copies in circulation, the Guide has become an established reference guide for artists seeking a readable, straight-talking guide to the music industry.   It has also proved popular with a wide range of readers throughout the music industry for its user-friendly overview of the commercial and legal side of the business.

Davenport Lyons has now published the second edition of its free Guide to take into account the massive changes in the music industry since 2005.  It now includes new sections on live performance, "DIY" distribution, "360"/ All-rights deals and brand tie-ins, whilst still covering the nuts and bolts of management contracts, copyright, collecting societies and recording artists deals.

More... http://www.davenportlyons.com/legal-services/articles/music_business_survival_guide

PAUL EPWORTH WINS PRESTIGIOUS MPG PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Paul Epworth picked up the coveted Producer of the Year Award at the 2010 Music Producers Guild Awards, which took place at the Cafe de Paris in London on February 11th.  Epworth, who also collected a BRIT for Best Producer, worked with Florence and the Machine on their debut album Lungs.  Florence attended the ceremony to present Paul with both Awards.

Although only in its second year the Music Producers Guild Awards is now firmly established as a ‘must attend’ event on the music industry calendar.  Hosted by BBC 6 Music’s Nemone Metaxas, the ceremony attracted over 300 music industry VIPs who filled the Cafe de Paris to celebrate the enormous contribution that recording professionals make to the success of the UK’s music industry.  Among the artists attending to support their producers were Jamie T, Muse, Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand and Dizzee Rascal.

If you have any queries regarding any of our events or activities, please call Jonathan on 020 7915 5412, or e-mail: info@musictank.co.uk

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily condoned or shared by MusicTank. MusicTank is a non-profit organisation owned and operated by University of Westminster. University of Westminster is a charity and a company limited by guarantee. Reg Number: 977818, England. Registered Office: 309 Regent Street, London, W1. MusicTank is based at University of Westminster, Fifth Floor, Copland Building, 115 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6UW.