Nick Nanton, Esq. - Music.Business.Law

I've moved my blog!

2009-08-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

head on over to here:

http://www.nicknanton.com/resources

to check out my latest blogs, articles and news.

thanks!

New Product for Making Money in Music!

2008-09-28T21:28:00.001-07:00

I've just finished working on a product with Music Marketing GURU, Bob Baker, author of the best-seller Guerilla Music Marketing. It's called "7 Secrets to Making Real Money with Your Music."

Check it out, I think you'll like it!

http://www.bob-baker.com/music/make-money.html

Help Out The OaKs - Lollapalooza

2008-06-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard the OaKs, you're missing out. Check them out at www.myspace.com/wearetheoaks

Anyway, they are great people and great musicians, I got this from Matt Antolick today, the OaKs drummer and I figured I'd share it. You don't even have to give anyone your email address to help them with the first part, it will literally take 10 seconds. Take a minute to help them out, they'd really appreciate it and so would I.

thanks for your support!

--
Hi everyone.

It's Matt from the OaKs. We've had the honor of being featured on this month's BMI Podcast. Not only that, but we're up for a really important prize -- whoever is voted the favorite band on this podcast will win a CD Dupilcation package from Discmakers. We could really use that, we're almost completely out of the first printing of Songs For Waiting! The address is:

www.bmi.com/podcast

And you DO NOT need to enter an email to do this. Just click the button next to The OaKs and you're ready to go!

We're also in the running to be a part of the 2008 Lollapalooza Tour! Round one of voting has just begun, and you can vote here :

http://www.sonicbids.com/lollapalooza08/BandProfile.aspx?candidate_id=4816

Now, you do enter an email for this one, but only to confirm the vote. This keeps things legit and all.

If you can find it in your heart to do this, we'd be so thankful. So thankful, in fact, that we'll give you a code to download The OaKs new and acclaimed album, Songs For Waiting, for FREE. These are 256Kbps Hi-Res MP3s with no restrictions.

And for those of you in the Orlando area, we're playing a FREE ALL AGES in-store performance at the Virgin Megastore in Downtown Disney this Sunday, June 8th @ 7pm. Bring the family and friends. This will be our last Orlando performance for a while as we are preparing to write towards the next album(!)

American Idol 2008 Picks

2008-05-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

Back on March 17th, on my Business Blog, I posted the following post:

http://www.dicksnantonagency.com/blog/the-idol-factor.php

When there were 10 left, I made my top 5 picks for American Idol.

Interestingly enough I got the top 2 right and Brooke White did make the top 5. 3 out of 5 isn't bad odds for the music biz!

I think David Archuletta will win, however, when he puts out his first record, if he tries to go too pop I believe he will be eaten alive. I believe he will do best in the A/C market with Josh Groban and Michael Buble. We'll have to wait and see.

I do feel that David Cook will sell way more records, and that he's a more mainstream artist, but I don't think he can overcome the 12 year old girls who are in love with David Archuletta that will hang out for hours and text into the show. Tune in next week and we'll see.

Nick Nanton, Esq. with Conrad Dimanche

2008-05-14T19:27:00.001-07:00

Nick Nanton, Esq. with Conrad Dimanche, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

I met Conrade Dimanche last year for the first time at the 4th Quarter Entertainment Music Industry Seminar. You may recognize him from MTVs hit show Making of the Band. Conrad is Senior Director of A&R at Bad Boy Records. I have a lot of respect for Conrad, he's a hard worker and for all the hype that his boss (Sean Combs, a.k.a. P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Diddy, Sean Jean, etc.) creates, Conrad understands that hard work and No B.S. is at the core of creating great music and great artists.

It was great reconnecting with him this year and speaking on panels with some other great industry folks. If you missed it, shame on you. Check it out next year.

Tim McGraw PreShow Party

2008-05-14T19:26:00.001-07:00

Tim McGraw PreShow Party, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

Up close and personal with Tim McGraw at the pre-show party to kick off his first show on the 2008 Live Your Voice Tour. It was great to see Tim again and the show was great!

Be on the lookout for Tim's new singles. You won't be disappointed.

Event Update: Songwriters and Sales Letters 2008

2008-04-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Songwriters & Sales Letters 2008, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

We held a client appreciation party called Songwriters and Sales Letters at this year’s Glazer Kennedy Insider’s Circle™ SuperConference in Nashville, TN (April 3-6, 2008) along with Chris Hurn of Mercantile Commercial Capital (2007 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies).

Our friends and clients got the extremely rare opportunity to hear four of the greatest songwriters of all time play their hits. These songwriters don't go out into public often but, due to a few of our connections in the music business, we were able to steal them away from the Nashville's yearly summit!

P4043551.JPG, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

Here are a few of the highlights:

Harley Allen (3 time GRAMMY® Award Winner)
- "Man of Constant Sorrow" - from O' Brother Where Art Thou
- "If Nobody Believed in You" and "I'll Wait for You" - Joe Nichols
- "The Baby" - Blake Shelton (Billboard #1 Song)
- "Tough Little Boys" - Gary Allan (Billboard #1 Song)
- "The Little Girl" - John Michael Montgomery (Billboard #1 Song)
- "Between the Devil & Me" - Alan Jackson (Billboard #1 Song)

Billy Montana
- "More than a Memory" - Garth Brooks (Billboard #1 song)
- "Suds in the Bucket" - Sara Evans (Most Performed Song by a Female Artist in 2004)
- "Bring on the Rain" - Jo Dee Messina & Tim McGraw (GRAMMY Nomination)

Kevin Denney (Lyric Street Records)
- “Cadillac Tears”
- “That’s Just Jesse”

Jamie Teachenor
- “How Do You Get That Lonely” - Blaine Larson
- New duet coming next month with Gretchen Wilson and Montgomery Gentry!

These guys have had songs recorded by Garth Brooks, Sara Evans, Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, George Jones, Alan Jackson, Joe Nichols, Gary Allan, John Michael Montgomery, Darryl Worley, Alison Krauss, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley...and that's just A FEW!

P4043607.JPG, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

Nick even got coaxed (or maybe blackmailed!) into performing a few of his original songs. Here's a clip:

The combination of some of the best marketers and songwriters in the world made for a really great combination. We all learned a lot about putting emotion and personality into our writing and, most importantly, using imagery to help the reader feel what the writer intends.

We hope to see you at our next event!

Songwriters with Jack, Nick and Chris, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

Ok...so I don't want to sound like broken record

2008-03-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

but at least it will be a broken multi-platinum record.

I know I've already posted twice on this blog about Colbie Caillat. And I don't know how to explain it other than I just know when I hear something special.

My prediction is her record "Coco" will be one of the top 3 records of the year and maybe the biggest record from a new artist period. If you haven't picked up a copy yet, you need to do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. Its definitely this year's "room for squares." Its so even tempered and intimate you can't help but love it.

I guessed that Daughtry would have the biggest record last year, and I was right, but I didn't post it before it happened so I don't expect you all to believe me ;) (Although on January 27th 2007 I can prove that I was already touting it!)

Let's see what happens. Good luck Colbie...my money's on you!

What lance is doing that you aren’t.

2008-02-05T20:20:00.000-08:00

When Lance was the only one in his office who was single, his “friends” got together and decided to help him out. So they put up this billboard.

Oh yeah and they made him his very own website as well:

http://www.datelance.com/

While this is a pretty funny prank that ever so timely in the month of February, what I want to call your attention to is how clear the message is here: Lance is looking for someone to date (or at least his friends are looking for someone for him to date!).

And while some might argue that he must have a strong desire to be miserable (that was a joke), lets assume that he’s looking for someone to enhance his life.

In dating we look for someone who is capable of enhancing our lives and fulfilling a portion of our personal lives that we are not capable of fulfilling on our own.

Now why don’t we do the same thing in our businesses? There are so many opportunities to find a great business “match” or as they are more commonly known: Joint Ventures (JV).

Finding the right JV can allow you to:

- reach an entirely new group of people for little to no up front cost
- leverage the relationship that another business has spent a lot of time and money creating with their customers and monetize it for your own benefit
- offer products and services to your existing customers that you don’t have to take the time to create or service and still make money
- Expand your business into new territories
- And so much more!

And this is just a very small list of things I wanted to outline just to get you thinking about these JV opportunities. There are thousands of other benefits, but you get the point. The opportunities are endless.

So, like Lance, why don’t you go out and try to find a great match for your business? Who knows, if you tell your friends they may even put up a billboard for you.

Is Music Licensing for Television the New "Record Deal"

2008-01-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

Check out this article from CMJ that certainly opens your mind to this as a new model and possibly makes it the "highly coveted prize" of today (similar to how major label record deals used to be sought after)

http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=54047375

I've had great experience with licensing music for television. It has really brought some great revenue to some of the band I have worked with.

Special thanks to Matthew Antolick from the Oaks for sending it my way.

NashVegas and some great links to make more money in music

2008-01-13T08:44:00.000-08:00

I'm in Nashville right now finishing up producing a record for Hanna Peterson at the County Q recording studio. We worked with an amazing band, here's the highlights:

Paul Scholten - Drums/Band Leader
Alison Prestwood - Bass
John Jarvis - Piano/Organ
JT Korenflos - Electric Guitar
Steve Sheenan - Acoustic Guitar
Glen Duncan - Fiddle, Banjo, Mandolin
Monty Allen - Backing Vocals

Many thanks to Jimmy Dulin, engineer/Pro Tools wiz for making the record come to life. I'll post some video and audio clips online shortly.

As for some good food for thought on how to do things differently and make money in music, check out these Web sites:

ttp://www.mixaloo.com/

http://www.sellaband.com/

http://www.discrevolt.com/

Music Lessons - A Must Read from Seth Godin

2008-01-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

most of you have heard me preach this same message, but this guy gets more press than I do, so maybe you'll believe him :)

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/01/music-lessons.htm

when you're ready to discuss "The New Model" for the music business let me know...

The Holy Grail for Indie Musicians?

2007-12-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

Those of you who talk to me on a semi-regular basis know that I'm a broken record when it comes to the following concepts:

1. Make people feel like a "member" of your band and you will have a very lucrative fanbase

2. Make sure you have a product to offer at every price point for those who would really like to spend money with you.

That being said, here are two artists that really "get it" and are using these tactics to finance their records. This is exactly what I'm talking about. This is how you make money in today's market and allow your fanbase to get involved and really get a chance to participate with you.

Check out these acts that are allowing their fans to help finance their records:

Scott Andrew
www.saveyoufromyourself.com

Adrina Thorpe
www.myspace.com/adrinaexperimental

And here's the best part, these artists have done the heavy lifting for you and created a new model for you to try out. So here's the next lesson: Don't be stupid and try to think of something totally different, just take what they have done and make it your own.

Let me know how it works out for you, I'll be looking forward to hearing of your success.

How to Sell 15,000 CDs in 18 Months - From the Buzz Factor

2007-11-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a great post from my good friend and music marketing guru, Bob Baker, author of the best-selling book "Guerilla Music Marketing" who was the featured guest on my Music Marketing Mastermind Call a few months ago:

How to Sell 15,000 CDs in 18 Months

Check out this inspiring video interview with
musician Terry Prince, shot a couple of weeks ago
on the Santa Monica Pier. Do the math. He makes
more than $8,000 a month/about $275 an hour
playing part-time.

Watch it here.

Be on the lookout for a new product from Bob and I in the very near future that will help you take your music marketing to a new level of profitability!

I told you I smelled a hit!

2007-11-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

per my post back on July 24th, 2007 I mentioned that Colbie Caillat's song "bubbly" sure smelled like a #1 song. (You can see the post here)

Well, congrats Colbie, looks like the song is still making waves and did in fact make it to #1, not to mention its done great on the international charts as well. You can find details here

More song picks coming soon!

Radiohead, The 4-Hour Work Week and the Importance of Raving Fans - From Copyblogger

2007-10-19T07:23:00.000-07:00

Copyblogger continues to put out great content on a daily basis. this post really caught my attention because those of you who speak with me regularly know that I always encourage my clients to think about music and business in a congruent fashion because the music business is no different than any other business at its core.

It also has some great commentary about why an indie act would even want to consider getting a record deal...or not.

Check out this post for a great perspective and some advice you can actually use:

http://www.copyblogger.com/radiohead-the-4-hour-work-week/

Check out "Of Truth and Stories"

2007-09-17T12:00:00.001-07:00

Of Truth and Stories Release I just did the record deal for ReAmp Entertainment Group to sign the band "Of Truth and Stories" and the record came out amazing!

If you're a fan of great pop/rock with an indie flare, be sure to check it out. Its being released on Sept 25th and was worked on by an all start cast of who's who in the Music Business.

you can preview it at www.myspace.com/oftruthandstories

Here are the details for the album release

Sept. 25th
Of Truth and Stories
Prologue
Produced by Brett Hestla(Creed,Framing Hanley,Faktion)
Mixed by Pete Thornton (Shinedown, Between the Trees, Paramore, Limp Bizkit, Cold)
Mixed by David Bendeth(Breaking Benjamin,The Almost,Paramore)

check it out, you'll be glad you did.

Oh yeah, and if you want to talk about some up and comers in the music business, look no further than Derek Kohn and John Dyer of ReAmp Entertainment Group who have taken the band a very long way in just a matter of months.

You heard it here first!

Chuck-E-Cheese Robot Rap

2007-08-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Not too sure where this came from originally, but I got it from my good friend Bobby Burg, thanks Bobby, I laughed for like 30 minutes.

"There is a movement of Chuck E Cheese and Showbiz fans that are buying the old robots and setting them up in their homes or garages. Some program them for good, while the creator of this video obviously programmed these for evil. This is a lot better than indie bands ironically covering rap songs."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm-h1NZZVys&mode=related&search

Garmin Nuvi 360

2007-07-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, a product changes my life. And the Garmin Nuvi 360 is one of them, so I thought I'd share it with you. I just got it, and its a whole lot like my other Garmin c320 I used to have, which was great also (Garmin makes the best GPS units of any of the many GPS units I've sampled) but it also has a built in Bluetooth Speakerphone. This thing is amazing. If you talk on the phone as much as I do, this will really make you feel better about not getting into an accident by holding the phone to your ear, AND not make you look like you're waiting for Scotty to beam you up because you're wearing a dorky looking headset.

When my phone rings it makes an audible alert and I can answer the call by touching the screen or answering it on my phone, and chat hands free, and from all tests so far the callers on the other end of the line haven't noticed that I'm on a speakerphone at all.

Check it out:
Garmin Nuvi 360

Check out Colbie Caillat "Bubbly"

2007-07-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

I just have to weigh in on this tune. If this song doesn't absolutely tear up the pop charts, there's a problem. I'm going to go ahead and say that this one is going to launch a big career, its pop sensibility is a real throwback to John Mayer's early work on "Room for Squares", but it also has a scent of Jack Johnson in it. Check it out and tell me if you disagree!

I smell a #1 song...

Between the Trees- National CD Release & VIDEO!

2007-05-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

My good friends and clients "Between the Trees" have had a great run since they put out their debut release "The Story and the Song" a few months back and things are just heating up!

Now, courtesy of Fontana/Universal Records you can pick up the album in stores nationwide!

....and even better, you can check out their world debut video exclusively at Purevolume

Congrats to Ryan, Brad, Wes, Jeremy and Josh (The Band) as well as David McKenna and Nick Sambrato at Bonded Records.

Keep tearing it up guys! Not to be cocky, but I told you so! I called it in a myspace post last June 13, 2006 and it seems like I was right:

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Check Out "Between The Trees" - You Won't Be Sorry!

Just came back from meeting with the band "Between the Trees" at The Fort Studios where the renowned Pete Thornton is doing some work with the band. This band is poised to go VERY far and I'm looking forward to working with them and Bonded Records, Inc./David McKenna on this project. Check them out at www.myspace.com/betweenthetreesmusic

This is the best band I have heard coming out of the Orlando Scene for a very long time. Congrats guys, keep up the great work.

Florida Music Festival and Conference Selects Orlando Music Lawyer Nick Nanton to Speak on 2007 Music Panel in Orlando, Fla.

2007-05-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have been selected to speak at the Florida Music Festival on Friday May 18, 2007.

You can get more details by clicking here

Check out My New Article "What's In A Name"

2007-05-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

How Choosing the Wrong Band Name Could be the MOST Expensive Decision of Your Career

You can read it by clicking here.

NARAS (Home of the GRAMMY® Awards) Selects Nick Nanton Orlando Music Lawyer to Speak at Music Industry Summit 2007

2007-04-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Orlando music attorney, Nick Nanton, The Indie Lawyer, will speak on "Taking Care of Business" Panel April 26, 2007 at 11 a.m.

Orlando, Fla. (Billboard Publicity Wire/PRWEB ) April 24, 2007 -- The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), a national organization for music professionals, best known for producing the GRAMMY® Awards, has selected local entertainment attorney Nick Nanton to speak at Full Sail Real World Education next week at the Music Industry Summit 2007, a day-long, four-panel event exploring creative, business and technical trends in music. Full Sail is located in Orlando, Fla. and is considered one of the country's premiere colleges for media arts.

"I am very excited to be included in such a wonderful event. It's always a great honor to work with The Recording Academy (NARAS). The Recording Academy does so much for its members and the music community and I'm proud to be a part of such a forward thinking and respected organization that is always looking for ways to make the music community better than ever," Nanton said.

The Panel will take place Thursday, April 26 at 11 a.m. at the Full Sail Live building in Orlando, Fla. The covered topic will be "Taking Care of Business: Financial and All-Around Wellness for Music Pros."

About Nick Nanton:
Nick Nanton is an entertainment attorney with more than a decade of experience in the industry. He is an award-winning songwriter and producer, and he spent much of his career as an artist manager. Nanton has been a member of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences since 2001 and is a partner in the law firm of Dicks & Nanton, PA.

For more information about the event or Nick Nanton, The Indie Lawyer, visit www.NickNanton.com or contact Lindsay Glass.

Contact: Lindsay Glass
LindsayGlassPR, LLC
321.228.9877

###

6 Lessons from a Music Festival (South By Southwest – SXSW 2007)

2007-03-18T08:41:00.002-07:00

1. Out of Sight Out of Mind- If you aren’t in attendance, chances are someone who does the same thing as you will be. Who do you think will get the call?

2. Meet the Players – For most of the year its hard for a newcomer to get a chance to talk with even one industry heavy hitter, in a festival setting you can chat with as many of these heavy hitters as you care to. They are around to talk after panels, at parties and after performances. But remember they are busy, so respect their time.

3. Party On…in Moderation- Most business transacted at the event will be transacted at the parties. After everyone has a couple of drinks in them, the conversations definitely get more interesting. However, don’t be the one puking over the balcony, moderation is the key, don’t make yourself look foolish, you’ll be known by everyone, but its probably not the kind of introduction you were looking for.

4. Expose Yourself – (Get your mind out of the gutter.) By attending a festival where there are over 1000 bands vying for everyone’s attention, you will really begin to see how similar most bands are. It gives you a great insight into the perspective that record labels and the industry elite are listening from. While your band may be the best band in your hometown, there are probably another 100 bands (if not more) around the country that have a similar sound. Who is working hardest to get to the next level? Well, its pretty evident at the festival and that’s very likely the band that is going to get the record deal.

5. Supply and Demand- Its funny what happens when you bring everyone in the music industry to the same place. There are more people who work for record labels than there are people who don’t. The result, record labels are actually fighting to talk to you. How refreshing!

6. Have Fun- where else is 14 hours a day of music, booze and networking considered work? Take advantage of the opportunity to immerse yourself in what you love and have some fun.

SXSW Update

2007-03-18T08:41:00.001-07:00

SXSW was amazing. I saw so many live shows that I actually don’t think I care to hear any more music for at least a couple of days. My favorite performances were undoubtedly by the following bands:
- Between the Trees
- Lola Ray
- A Day to Remember
- Kirkland
- Ian Moore
- Aslyn
- Fink
- Jamie Scott

And I’m sure I forgot some. I also had a great time at numerous industry parties and educational panels. BMI’s Brunch was undoubtedly the biggest schmooze-fest of the event and they had some incredible performances. The Law firm of Davis, Shapiro, Lewit, Montone and Hayes party was a real close second and everyone and their mother were at both parties.

My Boys, Between the Trees, put on two amazing shows and things are really heating up for them. Their album will be nationally released in April and from the way things were heating up, it looks like this album is going to do really well for them. David McKenna and Nick Sambrato of Bonded Records, did a spectacular job of showcasing the band at this year’s festival and I’m sure we’ll see a lot more success out of them.

Up and coming L.A. band manger, Justin Sena, showcased his band Kirkland at “The Chuggin Monkey” and they put on a great show. This is another band that I really expect some great things from and I can’t wait to hear what they are going to turn out in their next trip into the studio.

Lastly, the “state of the industry” panels held by some of the country’s most prominent entertainment lawyers were extremely informative and it was nice to see that even the lawyers that work for most of the major record labels are really starting to see a power shift to artists and are actually welcoming the industry changes (or so they say). I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

As for me, I’m tired. Time to go home.

P.S. – check out the pics below, or you can see them all at:

http://www.flickr.com/gp/34014183@N00/13M278

Between the Trees at the Fontana Showcase

2007-03-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

BTT, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

Jusin Sena, David McKenna, Nick Sambrato, Nick Nanton at the BMI Brunch

2007-03-18T08:36:00.002-07:00

Jusin Sena, David McKenna, Nick Sambrato, Nick Nanton, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

Kirkland

2007-03-18T08:36:00.001-07:00

Kirkland, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

Jamie Scott

2007-03-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

Jamie Scott, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

Aslyn

2007-03-18T08:34:00.001-07:00

Aslyn, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

Lola Ray at Spiros

2007-03-18T08:33:00.001-07:00

Lola Ray at Spiros, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.

SXSW 2007

2007-03-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

I will be heading out to Austin, TX tomorrow to the famed South by Southwest (aka SXSW) music festival.

I'm heading out to see my friends Between the Trees as well as a great new band I'm checking out, Kirkland, and so many others.

If your band is playing shoot me an email and I'll try to catch your show.

I'll keep the BLOG updated to the best of my ability while I'm out there.

See you in Austin.

No means...YES??!!

2007-03-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

There is some truth to that (I'll just leave it at that and not crack any jokes....especially about frat boys).

But, in any event, during the course of any successful artist's career the chances are that they will hear the word NO more times from record labels, A&R Reps, Booking Agents and anyone else in the music business than they will ever dream of hearing the word Yes.

Why is that exciting. Well, for the most part it sucks, however, if you are really trying to take your career to the next level, you love hearing No as long as you can follow up with the "Why" questions. (Note: Be sure to remove the desperation and defensiveness from your voice before you ask these questions.)

You see, by the time someone has told you No, they have lost their inhibition to tell you what they really think. These people, unlike your mom and your best friend, are capable of being objective and that's exactly what a budding artist needs. And it is at this precious moment that you can often garner the "little gems" of constructive criticism that you really need to push forward in your career. These gems of advice, when acted upon, can help you make breakthroughs in your career and can potentially allow you to skip years of learning things "the hard way."

You might also note, that more often than not, you will get non-commital answers from people so they don't have to tell you No. There's not much you can do about that, but for what its worth, the people who are really good at what they do are almost always willing to be honest with you and help you learn from your mistakes so that you can get to the next level.

After all, how do you think they got there in the first place? I would guess by hearing the word No.

MUSIC BUSINESS DEAD? WHAT, AGAIN?

2007-02-27T06:48:00.000-08:00

My esteemed colleague and friend, Moses Avalon, sent this out to his mailing list yesterday and, frankly, I couldn't agree more so I decided to repost it here for your viewing pleasure.

For more of Moses' musings you can check out his website at www.MosesAvalon.com

MUSIC BUSINESS DEAD? WHAT, AGAIN?
=================================

By Moses Avalon

I’m not a big fan of repeating myself, but sometimes it’s necessary. In my Moses Supposes of December 2006 I outlined exactly why all the swill about the “decaying music business” was rubbish by has-beens and people who’ve been downsized from their cushy label jobs. I was in turn slammed by the very people who this type of thinking threatens; those who profit off of the “dying music business” business. Namely, bitter bloggers, DIYers, journalists with a hi-tech bias, and so-called insiders who sell the “You need me to make it” line, and the “Screw the labels,” blather. I try to ignore this polarized and oversimplified logic, but it won’t go away.

One of the emails I received had this link in it.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Entertainment/559846.html

You can read the piece for yourself but I’ll save you the trouble and just excerpt the opening sentence.
<<>>>

A more blatant example of what I’m referring to could not be made. I am a fan of Ezrin’s important contributions to the world of music. I mean no disrespect. In fact, if I’m to be honest, I should be so lucky as to accomplish half as he. But he is not an economist. Rather, he is an example of a new breed of music business personality: the angry old-timer. I’m not even sure what marketing reports are feeding their conclusions. My guess is that their sole source for their doom-n-gloom viewpoint is their personal royalty/commission checks. A diminishing asset, I have little doubt. I’m sure when you’re the manager of wrinkle-rock mega-groups like Floyd or Gabriel, and comfortable seeing commissions in the six figures a month and suddenly those numbers start dropping down to $50,000 a month, then $40,000, it’s easy to start thinking the world is coming to an end.

But over 2 billion downloads on iTunes, Yahoo, e-Music et al and the sale of over 500 Million confirmed CD album sales in the US last year alone does not seem to jibe with the statement “People are not going to the record store and are not paying for downloads.”

What Ezrin really means is this: the music business that he and others of his elk understood is changing so fast that they must feel like high-school guidance counselors slammed in the whirlwind of a Mosh pit. In their day they argued with labels over things like tour support and mechanical royalties. Pedestrian. Today’s major label negotiation involves nomenclature like: cross-aggregation, tethered downloads, ethereal DRM, merch-cooping and web-rights. I kid you not when I say that many of these veterans would not know how to finesse those points.

It’s likely that those who prospered in the 70s and 80s may no-longer pay their $10,000 a month mortgage or their $1200 a month car payment solely from passive income derived via CD royalties. So, it must be very hard for them to reconcile the fact that the business they grew up in, the business that they helped mold, has metamorphosed and their place in it has receded into the penumbra of its progress. It’s far hipper and far easier to simply condemn it.

Now… to the 25 year-old who is excited about making $75,000 a year by doing something he loves-- music, the biz is far from dead. To the groups that are able to support their families by grossing a mere $300,000 a year, independently of a label (and I have several clients who are doing that) the biz is far from dead. To the guy who made a cool 20 second loop in his garage and is getting $1000 a month in extra dough from ring-tone sales, the biz is far from dead.

Old-timers can not reconcile these paltry numbers. To them it must seem ridiculous that today’s emerging artist aspires NOT a major label contract. Rather he prefers to make 100,000 “friends” on MySpace. He revels in getting a great, local, home-town sponsor for $50,000 instead of a million dollar deal that will make him a whore for Pepsi; is happy to make $7.00 profit that he can put in his pocket TODAY from a CD he sold off the side of the stage, over $0.94 two years after the label liquidates his reserve and only after he sells 1,000,000 units; or taking a big advance that in three years will leave him wondering what to do with his career after the label drops him.

But to the old-timers, this all sounds rather low rez. Where is the guarantee of $50,000 a night for a fifteen city tour (that I can commission)? Where is the $1,000,000 advance for five albums (that I can commission)? And how about a seven figure publishing deal (that I can commission)? That all-you-can-eat buffet has been subjected to a Balsamic reduction. It’s now a pre-fixe menu of grinding out a decent, proletariat living from the making of great art.

No. We are very much alive. Like the medical and legal industries, recent changes in economics have forced many to re-think why they are interested in becoming doctors or lawyers. You must now love what you do. The money alone cannot be the driving factor anymore.

For music, it never should have been one in the first place. Perhaps, amidst all the buy-outs, golden parachutes, and mergers, some people have forgotten that.

Just the opinion of one man.

Moses Avalon

XM + Sirius = Sirius Trouble? (insert cheesy laugh here)

2007-02-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

Well for all of us satellite radio fans, the announcement yesterday by XM & Sirius of a proposed merger makes the heart go pitter patter. Will I now be able to get Howard Stern on XM? Martha Stewart? Can I finally get ALL the sports I want on one receiver? Whatever it is that makes you want to have both subscriptions, it now could become a reality....HOWEVER, before we get too excited, let me bring us all back down to earth for a moment:

A merger of this kind is extremely difficult. It compares in some ways with the now defunct attempt of EchoStar and DirecTV to merge.

The main reason that we may see some troubles? 3 Letters: F-C-C. The main issue is a 1997 FCC rule that expressly prohibits one company from owning both satellite licenses. I can only assume that this rule was put into play to keep anyone from monopolizing satellite radio (who could ever monopolize radio?) .

Although XM and Sirius are both understandably confident that the merger will be given the greenlight, for the merger to be approved, according to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin, "the companies would need to demonstrate that consumers would clearly be better off with both more choice and affordable prices." I have four words for them "Good Luck with That."

Another 3 Letter organization that is also raising serious issues about the merger is NAB. The National Association of Broadcasters describes itself on its website (at www.nab.org) as:

"a trade association that advocates on behalf of more than 8,300 free, local radio and television stations and also broadcast networks before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts."

Read between the lines and you will see that this organization does some hefty lobbying, so they are certainly not to be ignored. And when it comes to an alternative that could make terreestrial radio much less enticing for consumers, the NAB will be a pitbull in the corner of not allowing this merger to see the light of day.

Lastly, before we all get lost in day dreams of "umpteen" channels under one subscription plan lets not forget that competition is good for the consumer and most of all the indie musician. Its a very easy parallel to draw to terrestrial radio as ClearChannel has gobbled up seemingly all of the bandwidth on the radio and controls it with an insatiably money hungry Iron First. Do you think if clear channel owned all of the college radio stations too that it would be good for indie musicians?

I'll let you insert your ClearChannel radio woes here, but I'll also pose a couple of questions from the consumer side:

- Do you think that satellite radio would be as affordable as it is right now if the two companies weren't hashing it out to grow their subscriber bases? (both companies are practically giving the receivers away right now to encourage subscriptions)
- Do you think the content choices would be as eclectic as they are right now?
- Do you think Howard Stern could have made $100 million any other way? (well I guess this one is harder to answer, but you get the point).

I'll give you my answer, which I expect to be the same as the FCC's answer to the proposed Sirius and XM merger:

NO

The iTunes Dilemma

2007-02-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

I listen to my music these days almost exclusively on iTunes. I do listen to a few CDs in my car and in my recording studio but for the most part its iPod and iTunes. Yup, Apple got me, hook, line and sinker.

So whenever a songwriter, producer, or act sends me a CD, the first thing I do is rip it into iTunes. Hopefully, when I insert it, it already has tags from CDDB and all of the songs and the artist come up. If it doesn't, I enter them in and then rip it. I also get a lot of MP3s emailed to me. This is where the dilemma comes in.

When I was on a long flight from L.A. to Orlando, I was listening to my iTunes on the random setting. This song came up that I don't really remember hearing and I was like, damn, this is a really good tune. So, I checked the artists name, and I didn't recognize it. Likely that meant that this was a songwriting demo or a producer demo that someone had sent me. So I hit Command+i (on a windows machine I believe its ctrl+i) and I looked at the info. LUCKILY, the producer who sent me the song was wise enough to put his info in the notes section. It said:

Produced and engineered by: __________. ###-###-##### producer@producerissmart.com

There it was, name, phone number and email. Exactly what I needed to find out more about the artist and the producer.

Remember, if your songs are great, they will travel all over the internet via email. So, if you want people to be able to find you, be sure to put your contact info in the notes section of iTunes on EACH ONE of your songs. It will only take you a few moments and you'll be glad you did. I know the producer that I'm referring to was very glad that he did.

Recovering from The GRAMMY Awards, well...not really the awards so much as the Afterparty

2007-02-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

Wow, the GRAMMYs were amazing. I'm still in L.A. as I write this, recovering from a 22 hour travel and party day. It was like the rock concert of the century. Many of the best acts in the world all performing together on one stage, for one night only. It blew my mind. I have always dreamed of going, but this year I finally did, and I'm so glad I did. Wow, can I say that again....WOW.

Overall, I did pretty well with my votes. A lot of the people I voted for ended up winning. Not sure if anyone has ever even theard the rest of the Dixie Chicks record, including myself, so I'm a bit shocked it won album of the year.

I'd have to say that I really enjoyed all of the performances, but the standout performances of the night for me were the Police (need I say more) with Sting's vocals just absolutely perfect, as well as Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks (still one of my favorite voices on the planet, even though I don't love her politics) and probably the most emotional performance Mary J. Blige will ever deliver. No, I didn't forget standout performances from Carey Underwood (damn, that girl can SANG), the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera (possibly the most vocal control on the planet?) or any of the other, seemingly hundreds of acts. They were all brilliant.

The GRAMMYs are all about the best of the best in music, and they all delivered. The official GRAMMY afterparty was out of this world. There was enough food and booze to make a small army very fat and very drunk. It was a full on production with Chinese Dragons dancing through the hall, all the way down to scantily clad girls dancing on these huge high-rises as well as hanging from the ceiling. It was like a full-on Cirque du Soleil production. I don't even want to guess how much they spent on that, oh well, it was fun.

Anyhow, I'll post some pics soon. As for now, back to work.....

The Indie Lawyer

2007-02-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm Nick Nanton, and I'm The Indie Lawyer. I work with Indie Bands and Indie Labels. The Indie Market is where its at, and it is undoubtedly the future of music. Check back often for advice, tips and stories on the best indie bands, indie labels and indie music.

Feel free to contact me if I can help you take your band to the next level.