O Futuro Do Compositor

The Songwriter Future

First of all thanks to Johnny Dwindle for this article.

It’s interesting to watch human nature during a massive paradigm shift within any industry; a songwriter is no different. We hate change. The more successful we are in any particular field the more removed we are from the undercurrent that is facilitating the change; and the more we fight it.

It makes sense, really, you make money via a certain pipeline or methodology and you get good at it, you have those relationships, you have that “groove” down. When something comes into the market that is disruptive to the status quo, we rebel.

We don’t trust it

We don’t want to start over.

We can’t think about the concept of it except for remembering and waxing about the way it was.

It doesn’t stop disruption from arriving, though.

I like disruption.

The music industry has certainly been disrupted by the internet, Napster, streaming technologies, too much consumer choice, etc.

What does the future of a professional songwriter look like?

Tomorrow will be way different, but it IS better.

Listen, all the answers are not in place yet. Big thinkers are working as we speak to identify and fill some of the vacuums that are being created with these disruptions.

Trust the Free Market

Trust the free market, many people will discover ways to make consistent money selling music on the internet. Then they will figure out ways to bring the supply to the demand. THAT fact we can count on.

If we look at what making a living as a songwriter used to be like, we can better understand the mindset songwriters currently have. Once we identify the old mindset and define it for what it is… which is old, we can tackle what’s going on now.

The old business model provided big bucks to the lucky few who could find their way into the party. The words “Lucky” and “Few” are the key words in the previous sentence because there are only a very limited amount of coveted radio slots to spin songs. So the club was exclusive, man.

If we generalize (yes, I’m REALLY generalizing but you get the point), a hit single, more specifically a #1 single on the country charts, is worth about $1 million of overall performance revenue unless it crosses over to the Pop market, then it is worth more. For the argument, let’s stick to $1 million. Since a #1 single requires “X” amount of radio spins in the same markets, the performance revenue difference between 1999 and 2014 is relatively the same.

Here is where a songwriter suffers today:mechanical royalties.

Mechanical royalties are paid to the songwriter based on record sales.

Let’s study a few of the top selling country records released in 1999 (Just 15 years ago) and 2014, dissect the sales of each (so we can determine the mechanical royalty income), and create some comparative data.

With this information we can calculate a paycheck on gross mechanical royalties for a songwriter.

In 1999 the mechanical royalty rate was 7.1 cents per song. A “cut” on a record would pay the songwriter 7.1 cents for every record sold.

• 100,000 Units sold would generate $7,100 in gross revenue
• 500,000 (Gold) sold would generate $35,500 in gross revenue
• 1 Million (Platinum) would generate $71,000 in gross revenue
• 10 Million (Diamond) would generate $710,000 in gross revenue

These numbers are for ONE song-cut on a record that may or may not be a single. A single, of course, would generate a whole other huge cash register of performance royalties.

Let’s look at a few of the most popular country records released in 1999 and attribute the songwriter revenue to each. NOTE: publishers share of royalties would be 50% and the co-writers would split accordingly; we are just looking at gross revenue.

• Dixie Chicks – Fly – 12 Million Units sold

o   1 song cut = $852,000 in gross mechanical royalty revenue

o   #1 Single = $852,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

• Faith Hill – Breathe – 8 Million Units sold
  

o   1 song cut = $568,000 in gross mechanical royalty revenue

o   #1 Single = $568,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

• Tim McGraw – A Place In The Sun – 3 Million Units sold

o   1 song cut = $213,00 in gross mechanical royalty revenue

o   #1 Single = $213,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

• LeAnn Rimes – LeAnn Rimes – 1 Million Units sold

o   1 song cut = $71,000 in gross mechanical royalty revenue

o   #1 Single = $71,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

• Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Gary Allan, Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Keith Urban, and Montgomery-Gentry are just a few all the artists that had platinum records in 1999…so everyone was going platinum…if you didn’t go platinum you damn sure went gold.

Now let’s look at a few of the top selling records for 2013 (the mechanical royalty rate has risen to9.1 cents)

• Luke Bryan – Crash My Party – 1.9 Million Units sold
  

o   1 song cut = $172,900 in gross mechanical royalty revenue

o   #1 Single = $172,900 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

• Blake Shelton – Based On A True Story – 1 Million Units sold

o   1 song cut = $91,000 in gross mechanical royalty revenue

o   #1 Single = $91,000 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

• Keith Urban – Fuse – 354,000 Units sold

o   1 Song Cut = $32,214 in gross mechanical royalty revenue

o   #1 Single = $32,214 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

• Kenny Chesney – Life On A Rock – 392,000 Units sold

o   1 song cut = $35,672 in gross mechanical royalty revenue

o   #1 Single = $35,672 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

• Darius Rucker – True Believers – 502,000 Units sold

o   1 Song cut = $45,682 in gross mechanical royalty revenue

o   #1 Single = $45,682 (gross mechanical royalties) + $1 Million (gross performance royalties)

FYI, I believe these were all #1 records in 2013.

You see the difference? Record labels are releasing fewer records because they are making less money per record and nobody is really buying records anymore. Sheesh!

Just a quick glance at the difference between songwriter revenues in 1999 vs. 2013 shows that without a #1 single, the revenue is around 10%-18% of what it used to be 15 years ago. You used to be able to make a seriously good living with a cut on a record that would never be spun on the radio but that has significantly changed.

The AWESOME performance royalty revenue is on its way out too. As terrestrial radio continues to erode a hit single will definitely dwindle in financial significance.

So what does the future look like for a songwriter?

I think the outlook is good and certainly accommodating to more writers. Before you really had to be “in-crowd” to get a cut, much less a single. Cuts were rare and singles even more rare…but they paid WELL. So we judged our revenue and/or potential revenue per song or per artist as 1 song had the power to change everything.

The key to success for the songwriter of the future will be volume. The songwriter business model of the future is not really going to have any “home runs” in it, it will be founded on “base hits” instead: lots of base hits.

1 hit song, even right now, has an amazing revenue potential, the kind of financial impact that results in an “Achy Breaky kitchen”, an “Achy Breaky Ferrari”, or an “Achy Breaky west wing of the house”

The future will belong to fragmented, unexciting, financially insignificant revenue streams per song. The “living” we all aspire to make will reside in the aggregate revenue of many songs; many base hits.

Think the true story plot of the baseball movieMoneyball and apply it to songwriting. It’s all about base hits now guys.

I see a smart minded songwriter changing his business approach to coupling with as many artists as they can. Maybe between mechanical royalties and performance royalties (from YouTube for instance) a songwriter will make only $2,000-$3,000 per song, per year. However, there is no velvet rope, no terrestrial-radio-log-jam to limit the universe of revenue bearing opportunities, essentially no tyranny of space.

So ideally, a prolific songwriter could place 20-30 songs a year or more into a pipeline that generates revenue. The revenue could also be consistent meaning that if a songwriter placed 20 songs into the pipeline that generated $2,000 per song each per year they would gross $40,000 in revenue; the next year they could add to that.

It’s conceivable that the songwriter could build up his/her book of business over time well into the 6 figure range.

Keep writing. The world is about to change

As Instalações do Bad Robot - Tudo Sob o Mesmo Teto - Video

The Bad Robot Facility: Everything Under One Roof

Join host Matt Feury at Bad Robot for a discussion on the innovative workflows the teams created to help them commandeer the story and action at warp speed for the upcoming movie, Star Trek into Darkness.

See how concurrent collaboration enables the teams to create more inspired content faster. Hear how the editors create full 5.1 temp audio mixes in Media Composer while they cut. Gain insight into J.J.'s workflow and the special elements that he himself creates. Take a peek at their unique workflow, featuring Media Composer, Pro Tools, and ISIS.

Industria Works Lança Uma Nova Plataforma Para Desenvolvimento De Artistas Alternativos

Nacional Records Chief Launches Industria Works, 'An Alternative Platform for Artist Development': Exclusive

Tomas Cookman, Founder/CEO of Cookman International, Nacional Records, photographed on June 26, 2015 in his Los Angeles office.

Latin indie guru Tomas Cookman will head Industria Works, a new international “alternative platform for artist development” launching today (Sept. 12), Billboardhas learned exclusively.

Based in Los Angeles, where Cookman runs the storied Latin alternative label Nacional Records and his Cookman management company, Industria Works will also have offices in Madrid and Mexico City. The new company encompasses recording, publishing, artist management, marketing, live events and data analytics, with a suite of services designed "to expand the reach of its artists and clients on a local and global level."

Cookman says that Industria Works will “help define what today’s music market is and be part of it.

"I have long felt that there was a need for a company like Industria Works," adds Cookman, whose Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) has done much to expand the definition of Latin music in the United States in both the Latino and Anglo markets over the last 16 years. "One that can be independent but have the infrastructure and vision to go that much further than has been the norm."

Nacional Records Leader Tomas Cookman on the Label's 10th Anniversary, a Booming Synch Business and Thoughts on Poaching Promo

Rob Filomena, co-founder of MuuseMe, a music licensing service that focuses on connecting independent Latin artists with multinational brands, has joined Industria Works as CFO.

Investment banker and frequent music start-up advisor Frank Gelardin will act as Chairman of the Board of Industria Works. The new company is backed by a group of international investors led by Gelardin’s New York-based Gelardin Capital together with Madrid-based Springwater Capital.

"Our team was particularly impressed by the network and recognition this management team enjoys across a wide number of regions and target markets" Springwater Managing Partner Martin Gruschka said in a statement.

The Industria Works platform launches initially with Nacional Records, Avenir Music Publishing, MuuseMe, Industria Management, LAMC, Los Angeles festival Supersonico, and Trenderscope, which tracks Spanish and Portuguese-speaking artists’ digital and social media impact. Those entities will continue to operate independently under the Industria Works umbrella.

According to Cookman, Industria Works "will continue growing, incorporating additional companies and catalogues that fit within the company’s strategy and objectives.

"Nacional Records will very much exist -- and will grow by leaps and bounds" Cookman says, adding that "expanding the management division is very much a part of the plan."

Animação! Minha Trilha Sonora Efeito sonoros e Sonoplastia. Assista Ao Vídeo!

Animation! My Soundtrack, Sound Design and Foley

Hi everyone! We I did this demo a couple weeks ago for a costumer. I like very much to do it.

Some sounds are already there, such as guns shots, bombs, airplanes from  of beginning until 37 seconds of the animation. The rest of animation there no sound at all so that is my job just to put some sounds designs there.

It wasn't requested any kind of soundtrack, but I decided myself to put something in just because to hear only other sounds design would be a little boring.

I start since of beginning working with a sound track with dark sound low chords in minor. After that I put radio antenna and fan noise. After that I put others sound as you can heard on video animation.

Any comment will be welcome. See you on my next sound track.

Como Se Preparar Para Licenciar A Sua Música? Cada Etapa É Vital

How To Prepare Yourself For Licensing Music: Every Step Listed Is Vital

Music licensing is a very lucrative business. One with no shortage of placement opportunities. Everywhere you turn there’s a company or product that utilizes music to some extent.

As an indie music creator, you have the ability capitalize, but you have to be organized, flexible, patient and willing to cater to the market’s needs. This is a different ball game when compared to creating around an artist.

Here’s some tips you can utilize today to better prepare yourself for licensing.

1. Make Sure Your Music Sounds Good.

I’m not speaking in terms of genre or taste, but more so in terms of sonic quality. You want to make sure your music is mixed properly. This means no clipping, good dynamic range, good levels etc. It must sound good.

If mixing isn’t a talent you possess hire someone to mix your music or start learning how to do it yourself.

I get a lot of questions in terms of who to contact for mastering or does my music need to be mastered. My answer is no it does not need to be mastered, don’t focus on the mastering, focus on the mix because the master is only as good as the mix.

A good thing to do is compare your music to commercial music or a song that you hear being used in the licensing world. If your music doesn’t sound as good sonically then it’s not ready.

2. Who Owns The Rights To Your Music?

Make sure you know who owns the rights to your music. If you working with a band or with multiple writers, then everyone involved with the creation owns a piece of the music.

Here’s a perfect example. If you, Billy and Casey wrote a song together, then you are all co owners, and have say in what happens with the song, unless stated otherwise in a contract.

What licensing professionals need to know

1. who owns a master recording?
2. Who owns the composition?

Why is this important? Because before your music can be used in visual media, the client needs to obtain two specific licenses.

1. Master license (master sound recording)
2. Synchronization license (the right to use the composition)

And without all parties (writers/owners) onboard, the transaction gets stuck in limbo.

visual media = video games, movie, reality TV shows etc.

3. Got Publishing? Sign Up With BMI – ASCAP- SESAC

Make sure you’re signed up with a Performing Rights Organization also known as a PRO. The reason why you want to sign up with the PRO is because they collect royalty payments on your behalf.

If your music is used in a TV commercial and this TV commercial airs several times a day, that’s money in the bank and without being signed up with a PRO, it’s money that you’re missing out on.

Even if the commercial only airs on Saturday mornings between 9 AM and 11 AM, that’s money that you’re missing out on if you’re not signed up with the PRO.

4. Have Alternative Versions Of Your Music

Why? Because it increases the chances of your music being used. A lot of times when you listen to TV ads, you’ll notice that the instrumental plays underneath the dialogue for a few bars, then towards the end, you hear the full song.

This is done because the dialogue for the commercial/TV ad or whatever is important and they need your music to aid the message, and not conflict with their dialogue.

In the event that a music supervisor needs the instrumental version of your song and you can’t be reached or can’t turn it over in a reasonable amount of time, you could miss out on the placement altogether.

There are also times when you have a good song, but it’s not tailored correctly. What does this mean? This means your music isn’t set up to be used in visual media → there needs to be edits and variation.

5. Educate Yourself On The Business Of Music.

Make sure you understand the basic terminology of music licensing as they will be used in your contracts. If you can afford legal representation, I recommend going that route, but if not education is required.

Even if you can afford legal representation, it’s still beneficial to understand the jargon and terms being used. In some instances it’ll save you money, and it makes you a little more marketable (professional).

Big clients like working with people who are professional. Smaller clients will appreciate the Average Joe approach, especially if you can explain things on their level.

Existem Agora Mais de 100 Milhões De Pessoas Pagando Por Música em Streaming.

There Are Now 100 Million People Paying For Streaming Music

First of all thanks to Hugh McIntyre  for this article.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – JUNE 30: ESSENCE Live Host, Dana Blair attends the Apple R&B Rising Event during the 2016 ESSENCE Festival presented By Coca-Cola at Kingsway Mansion on June 30, 2016, in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

During its annual big event, Apple AAPL -2.65% revealed that its streaming music platform has now been able to accrue 17 million paying customers, even though it is only just over one year old. That’s a very impressive number, and it makes Apple Music one of the largest services in terms of paying subscriber numbers in the world. The jump in users is not just good news for Apple, it’s good news for the entire music industry. Thanks to some smaller players making big moves and the larger services collecting millions of new users all the time, the streaming music industry can now claim 100 million paying customers around the world, which is a very big deal for the ever-expanding business.

Just a short time ago, new Spotify hire Troy Carter revealed that his employer now has 39 million paying customers listening to music, which is up significantly from when the company’s CEO tweeted that the Swedish giant had reached 30 million not too long ago. That number is just about the same number of subscribers satellite radio pioneer Sirius XM has collected over the years it has been in business. Add in the tallies of companies like Tidal, Napster, Deezer and a handful of others, and the millions truly begin to add up. In fact, there are probably more than 100 million paying subscribers in the world, but companies like YouTube and SoundCloud won’t reveal the subscription numbers connected to their newly-launched streaming music platforms just yet.

While 100 million is certainly a wonderful marker to pass, there are actually many more people out there streaming away, though not all of them are paying for it. Spotify alone has 100 million users, though only about 30-40% of them are paying for the privilege of ad-free listening. Converting those users already comfortable with the idea of streaming music, while also attracting new users by the boatload, is vital to ensuring that this new form of media consumption is able to survive the coming years.

100 million paying customers means that while there is still a lot that needs to be worked out when it comes to payments, technology, reporting, and so on, streaming music is picking up steam, and the masses have definitely chosen this method as their go-to for accessing music. Streaming music will be better for everyone involved—especially those looking to make a living off the music they create—as the industry grows, and the more people pressing play on songs and paying their monthly dues, the better. This is just one major milestone, and there are sure to be many more in the not-too-distant future, as the rate of people signing up and handing over their credit card information is rising almost as quickly as the numbers themselves.

Conheça A Mulher Que Tem Sido A Engenheira De Som Do Pearl Jam A 24 Anos

Karrie Keyes stands at her soundboard at a show at Boston's Fenway Park in August 2016. From here, she communicates with the members of Pearl Jam to get the monitor mix just right.

Meet The Woman Who's Been Pearl Jam's Sound Engineer For 24 Years

Lots of people have jobs where they make their boss look good. But for over two decades, Karrie Keyes has been making sure her bosses sound good. Keyes is a sound engineer, and her bosses just happen to be Pearl Jam.

"Half our fans, they know who I am because they see me come out on stage," Keyes says. "The 'microphone girl,' because I'm checking the mics."

Keyes (whose last name rhymes with "eyes") is Pearl Jam's monitor engineer, which means she doesn't deal with the sound the audience hears. Rather, she mixes the sound the individual band members hear, through earbuds and speakers, while they're playing live.

"Sometimes it's easy and everybody wants to hear the same thing," she says. "And sometimes it's really difficult, because none of them want to hear the same thing."

From offstage, Keyes communicates with the band, especially lead singer Eddie Vedder, mostly using hand signals. The conditions for her work are unpredictable: Everything from weather and humidity to crowd size and sweat-drenched microphones can change what the musicians are getting in their ears. Over time, she's redesigned her monitor system specifically to suit the band's needs.

Keyes has been with Pearl Jam for 24 years. Her career dates back to when, as a punk-loving teenager at a Black Flag show, she met a sound engineer who offered her a job.

"When I started, it was loading trucks: putting all the equipment back in the trucks, then taking it out of the truck," Keyes says.

She learned to survive on $50 a week, taking any work she could: punk shows, mariachi gigs, gospel festivals. Not every show was great, and as one of few female engineers, she ran into sexism frequently — but she says travel and variety made up for the drawbacks.

"You were gonna go someplace else the next day, so it didn't matter," she says. "That was the selling point: Every day was new and every day had the potential of being an amazing day."

By the early 90s when Pearl Jam exploded, Keyes was on the road a lot. Then, she had twin daughters. While she was touring, their dad, aunts and sometimes a nanny took care of them. It was challenging.

"It took me probably till they were three or four to actually come to terms with, 'You know what, I'm actually a better mother if I'm doing what I love doing.' So that when I'm here, I'm completely here."

George Webb, Pearl Jam's equipment manager and bass guitar technician, witnessed that transition and says he remains impressed.

"That's some serious bravery: doing this job, touring all the time and having two kids," he says. "I remember, you know, when she was pregnant–pregnant on tour. Having babies and raising them and trying to tour at the same time just wasn't an easy thing."

It's rare for sound engineers to stay with a band as long as Keyes has — and it's stillrare for sound engineers to be women. That's why a few years ago, Keyes co-founded SoundGirls, a group that supports and mentors women in professional audio. This summer, SoundGirls held camps to teach young women live sound.

"Everyone's had a mentor, a teacher, a guide," Keyes says. "The crew and the band has earned being here. And we're going to go out and put on a really good show."