Music Is Your Business: The Musician's FourFront Strategy for Success, 3rd Edition

A Record Industry Joke......Page 4
Contents......Page 5
Acknowledgments......Page 8
Introduction......Page 11
Welcome to the Four Fronts of Music Marketing......Page 12
How the Music Industry is Structured Chart......Page 13
What Are the Four Fronts of the Music Business—and What Do They Have to Do With You?......Page 15
An Overview of the Four Fronts......Page 16
How the Four Fronts Work Together Chart......Page 20
The First Front......Page 22
Why Artist Development and Product Development Are Both in the First Front......Page 23
The First Front: Part 1, What Is Artist Development?......Page 24
Ten Reasons Why Musicians Fail (and How Not To)......Page 26
Con Jobs: Watch Out for the Flim-Flam Man......Page 46
Artist/Band Inventory List......Page 50
The “Creative” You and the “Business” You......Page 52
Songwriter Relationships / Artist Relationships Chart......Page 55
Filing Copyright Applications......Page 56
Trademarking Band Names......Page 59
Starting Your Own Publishing Company: An Eight Point Checklist......Page 64
Eight Types Of Publishing Deals:An Overview......Page 68
Artist Management: The Basic Deal Points......Page 74
Artist Development: Questions to Ask Yourself......Page 77
The First Front: Part 2, What is Product Development?......Page 79
Who Buys Music?......Page 81
What You Should Know about Your Fans......Page 87
35 Things to Consider WhenStarting Your Own Record Label......Page 89
Releasing Your Own Record:A 15-Point Legal Checklist......Page 91
Preparing Your Release: Manufacturing and Design Tips......Page 95
Let’s Talk About Bar Codes......Page 97
Inside Major and Independent Record Labels......Page 98
Typical Major Label Structure Chart......Page 101
What A&R Reps Do......Page 102
Making Sense of Music Industry Contracts......Page 103
Production Companies......Page 105
Producer Agreements: What’s the Deal?......Page 108
Recording Contract Advances......Page 113
Recording Contracts and Recoupables......Page 116
Recording Contracts and the Artist Royalty Rate......Page 119
The “Term” of Recording Contracts......Page 122
Compulsory Mechanical Licenses:The Facts and the Fictions......Page 125
“Profit Split” Deals:An Alternative to the Traditional Record Deal......Page 131
Making Your Record a Priority at a Record Label,or,  Art vs. Commerce:A Music Marketplace Dilemma......Page 135
Distribution Setups for Record Labels......Page 139
Distribution and Independent Record Labels......Page 140
Distributors: How to Attract Themand How to Work with Them......Page 142
Getting Your Music to the Customer Chart......Page 147
A FourFront Marketing Plan for Independent Record Releases......Page 149
Sample Marketing Plan for a Band......Page 151
The Distributor One-Sheet......Page 155
Sample Distributor One-Sheet......Page 156
Sample of a Distributor’s Letter of Instructionsto an Independent Label......Page 157
25 Things to Remember about Traditional Record Distributors......Page 159
What a Record Label Should Know about Music Retailers......Page 161
Music is Your Internet Business......Page 167
Selling Your Music Online—A Reality Check......Page 168
Getting the Most out of Your Music Website......Page 176
Online E-Music Promotions......Page 180
What is SoundExchange and WhyShould You Know about Them?......Page 182
The Second Front......Page 184
Promotion: The Second Front......Page 185
Radio Station Music Formats......Page 186
Promotion: How Record Labels and Radio Stations Work Together......Page 188
Getting College, Non-Commercial Radio Airplay......Page 205
The Promotion Game: A Day by Day Summary......Page 208
Promotion Front Questions for Radio Stations......Page 212
The Third Front......Page 214
Publicity: The Third Front......Page 215
Kits, Kits, and More Kits......Page 216
Ingredients of a Demo/Promo/Press Kit......Page 217
How to Write a Bio and a Fact Sheet......Page 218
Sample Band Bio......Page 221
Sample Fact Sheet......Page 222
Sample Cover Letter......Page 223
Press Clippings......Page 224
Folders and Envelopes......Page 225
Press Kit Photos......Page 226
How to Write a Music-Related Press Release......Page 229
Tips for Working with the Press......Page 230
Publicity Front Questions for Magazines,Newspapers, and Internet Publications......Page 232
The Fourth Front......Page 234
Performance: The Fourth Front......Page 235
The Business of Live Performance......Page 236
Selling Your Music at Live Shows......Page 242
Have You Ever Played a House Concert?......Page 244
Sample Band Tour and Work Schedule......Page 248
Performance Front Questions for Working Your Live Shows......Page 253
The Future Is Now......Page 254
Changes in the Way Music Is Sold Over the Last 35 Years......Page 255
New Challenges for Music Marketing......Page 259
Licensing Music for Films, TV, Commercials, and Computer Games......Page 265
Licensing Your Masters Overseas......Page 270
About the Authors......Page 275
Index......Page 276