The music industry is changing. We are in serious transition now. The days of effectively shopping an artist to major record companies are coming to an end. Retail stores are about to go out of business. We are living in a digital world now and we must prepare for it. That means that instead of being discovered, (the old way of thinking) you must truly be independent and become the entrepreneurial artist now ( the new indie model).
This is where INDIE WORLD COMES IN!
Black Mountain Productions has created a new global community network for: Artists, Writers and Musicians. Black Mountain Productions is currently assembling the best array of professional indie organizations, a complete group of: Indie Record Labels, Music Publishers, Promoters, Radio Stations, Recording Studios, Marketing & Media Partners and so much more, that will encompass over 36 countries by the end of 2009, in a happy community called: INDIE WORLD--so the artist, only has to go to one location, to receive expert assistance in the music industry!
Artists who sign up with Indie Worldwill be plugging into a community of hand picked artist-friendly organizations, devoted to multimedia promotion and marketing of music talent, including: the selling of Cd Downloads, Artist Merchandise, Cellular Ringtones, Cds, videos, Major internet promotions, creating paid Gigs and Performances, etc. Artists will have mini web sites with downloadable music clips, images, cd covers, fan mail, music reviews, and the ability to promote and sell their own music, refer others to their music stores and etc through iTunes. Artists can track their sales, their downloads, their traffic. And for once, independent artists will be able to monitor their own success and to consult with professionals who can be trusted to guide them through the morass of opportunities offered by the world market for music talent.
So why is membership in this network a benefit to music organizations? Simply put, as a member of our global community, organizations can become more competitive by plugging into our digital network. And our community will constantly look for new creative ways to engage and interact with fans and artists. Organizations will also network with some of the best indie resources in the new indie music industry today, while receiving leads and opportunities on a global playing field, unlike with any current marketing capability.
Being part of Indie World, we will all work together for the benefit of the indie artist. Since the actual survival of the entrepreneurial artist in today's new indie world, requires them to be their own marketer, they will need the extra guidance from those organizations that have their same visions.Their success will be our success! Let's say that an artists is talented and they have a CD with great sounds, but don't know what to do next. By signing up, you will have access to INDIE WORLD and its special services, opportunities and assistance with (but not limited to):
Management Contracts
Publishing Contracts or Mechanical Licenses
Arrange, Produce And Record Artist CD's
Having your material registered and protected
Monthly Newsletter Covering Informative Topics And Issues
"Live" Artist (gig) Video Streaming "Live Music TV"
Free Cellular Telephone (music) Audio Streaming
Create Global eCommerce/internet Marketing and Promotional Strategies globally
Mini artist site for fans, upload images, track sales and downloads, blogs/reviews globally
Commercial, Satellite, College, Indie and International Radio
And the list goes on and on! We invite you to join us to share in our vision of creating and connecting a global community. For more information on membership within this community, please click on the following link: www.blackmountainproductions.net/indieworld/indieworldregistration.html
"Being a true musician, music is all that I have that is constant. I will always look for a higher source of power and energy, for from my soul come the lyrics of my life and being divinely chosen to be one of the many talented artists, writers and musicians of this world, I am special, I am One In A Million on this earth!"™
Like many other communication mediums, radio is in the middle of a battle -- for listeners, for profits, perhaps even for survival. The adversaries include MP3 players, cell phones, satellite services and the infinite dial of the Internet. A wide variety of music is offered free or for a low monthly fee, while radio -- one of the oldest electronic mediums -- scrambles to defend its turf.
Figures for 2007 show that spending on radio advertising dropped 3.5 percent (to $10.7 billion) from 2006, according to TNS Media Intelligence, and was surpassed for the first time by spending on Internet advertising.
The audience, though still robust, has likewise eroded during the past decade: Arbitron reports that 93.3 percent of people 12 and older listen to the radio at least 15 minutes a week.
Can radio as it has been known for nearly 100 years survive?
Industry leaders say yes.
To get the word out about radio and its latest attraction -- digital multicast "high-definition" broadcasting -- the National Association of Broadcasters has launched a promotional campaign: Radio 2020.
"Americans continue to have a love affair with radio," said David Rehr, association president. "More than 232 million people each week, according to Arbitron, listen to radio. And they think of radio like electricity or the washer or dryer. They love it, but they don't think about it very much, because it's so accessible, so free, and it's everywhere."
Industry leaders plan to save radio not by avoiding new technology but by embracing it.
Here are some of the plans:
New delivery systems
While talk radio in particular has embraced iPods and other MP3 players that allow listeners to download radio shows for later listening, the industry is actively pushing for MP3 players that include a radio for live reception.
In a recent survey by the National Association of Broadcasters, "We found the No. 1 requested adapter on iPods was FM adapters," Rehr said. "You go through all these bloggers' comments, and most of them are all talking about how iPods would be so much better if you could get radio on them."
An even more promising delivery system is on the horizon: cell phones.
"If you've got cell phones that also can be MP3 players, how hard is it to add a chip so that they could pick up FM and HD? Not hard at all," said John Crenshaw, operations manager of Clear Channel Columbus.
The move toward listening to music on cell phones is well under way. A recent study from TNS Global Telecoms found that 43 percent of cell-phone users listen to some form of music on their phones. While much of that comes via MP3 players, use of FM players on cell phones could be ready to explode. About 30 percent of U.S. cell phones can receive FM radio, and the industry is hoping for more, Rehr said.
According to surveys by America Online, more than half the respondents say they would listen to the radio
on their cell phones if it became available.
Satellite
The future of subscription radio remains in limbo, as the two giants, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, battle over Sirius' $5 billion bid for XM. The stakes are high: Without a merger, neither satellite radio company thinks it can become profitable and survive.
The Justice Department in late March approved the buyout, saying the deal was unlikely to lessen competition or harm consumers. The companies have a combined 17 million subscribers.
Sirius proposes to keep separate subscriptions for XM and Sirius customers, ultimately offering "a la carte" services that will provide options with fewer channels and lower prices.
Internet
Many central Ohio stations can stream audio live from a Web site. New, portable receivers that allow listeners to plug into Wi-Fi as easily as listeners use old transistor radios will open up vast opportunities.
A study to be released this month by Arbitron and Edison Media Research shows that online radio listenership grew from 29 million a year ago to 33 million. That means 13 percent of Americans age 12 and older listened to online radio during a recent week.
Arbitron said that while 42 percent of listeners use their computers to tune into Web streams made available by traditional radio stations, 56 percent are choosing Internet-only stations.
The number of people who listen to Internet-only stations may be large, but it is diffuse, Rehr said.
"We're always going to have new entrants, people with niche markets who put on Internet stations that offer classical ballroom music produced in Jamaica," he said.
"On the Internet, you can find 50 other people who want to listen, too, but for large bodies of people who care about genres, radio is well-positioned."
High definition
The big push is on among the old radio companies to switch to high definition, a system that will enable them to multicast three or more channels over one signal -- turning what was a single station into several at the flip of a switch and allowing new segments of the audience to be served.
"Right now, you have to seek it out," said Peter Ferrara, president and chief executive officer of the HD Digital Radio Alliance. "But within five years, every radio will be HD. Kind of like when you walk into Best Buy today, you don't ask for a color TV anymore."
"We had to struggle getting consumer devices out there," Rehr said, "but it's going to be an exponential increase soon. Now we have them in Ford, Volvo, BMW. It's moving forward."
Sales outside of cars have been slow, however, and that has hampered HD radio's growth. Bridge Ratings projects that it will be another two years before there are more than 1 million listeners nationally to HD radio.
Based on current trends, Bridge Ratings estimates that HD will have fewer than 10 million listeners by 2020, while 250 million will still be listening to "terrestrial" radio and 180 million will be listening to Internet radio.
The multicast capabilities of HD radio are already being put to use by many Columbus stations, Ferrara said.
"WCOL is doing country and new country, and that's not unusual.
"Most stations are doing one of three things with HD," Ferrara said, "straight brand extension like WCOL, or doing what I refer to as a demographic parallel -- serving the same audience with a different format.
"A good example would be a station that has adult contemporary music (WSNY, for example) and would offer female talk on its second channel.
"The last thing stations do with HD is sort of a diversity experiment, fill in the blank, something that has nothing with a current format or a current target audience, but someone at the station says, 'Wouldn't it be great to have . . . ' whatever format you can imagine would fit an unserved niche."
Click Above
CD Baby founder Derek Sivers offers timeless advice on what it takes to succeed with music
Sophie B Hawkins has some wise words to say about the present state of the music business and the new journey ahead. Sophie agrees that each artist must take it upon themselves to find organizations that truly have the capability and desire to assist them!
One is arguably the biggest pop star of the last 20-plus years. The other is a quartet of pasty English eggheads given to song titles like ''Weird Fishes/Arpeggi.'' On the surface, they don't have a heck of a lot in common. But in a single week, Madonna and Radiohead just might have permanently transformed the music industry.
On Oct. 10, Radiohead, one of the world's most beloved, respected, and unpredictable bands, self-released their first new album in four years. (Capitol had put out their previous six discs.) The rabidly anticipated new album, In Rainbows, is currently available only as a download through the website www.inrainbows.com When it comes time to pay, you'll encounter four short words that might come as a surprise: ''It's up to you.'' The album's price, that is. Five dollars? Your call. Ten? Sure, sounds good. Nothing at all? Hey, whatever works for you. ''I'm just glad everyone's hearing it at the same time,'' says Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. ''That was the point, really.''
He's being modest. Radiohead's sliding-price release is a potentially game-changing tactic, perhaps the strongest indication yet that the record industry will in fact redefine itself — in order to survive. The same day In Rainbows went on sale, news broke that Madonna will leave Warner Bros., her home of 25 years, to sign a reported $120 million deal with tour promoter Live Nation that will include albums, touring, merchandising, and licensing. That's right, Madonna is about to entrust her future to a company that has never sold a single album.
And it's not just Radiohead and Madonna. Lately it seems like fewer and fewer established artists want to be on traditional labels. On Oct. 8, Trent Reznor walked away from Interscope. Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell — who between them have logged more than 80 years on major labels — released their most recent albums through Starbucks. The Eagles' new disc will be available exclusively from Wal-Mart. This past summer, Prince gave away his latest album with copies of a British newspaper, and Kinks frontman Ray Davies recently announced he's planning to do the same with his next disc.
All of which makes us wonder: Could these developments herald the eventual demise of the label business? Well...maybe. ''I think it marks the beginning of a new era in how record companies function, but I wouldn't call it the beginning of the end,'' says Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's longtime Warner Bros. publicist. ''For the last year or two it's become much more crystallized that everyone in the business has to explore new ways of being profitable. The combination of Radiohead and Madonna these last few weeks is a big shift.''
Of course, what works for major stars probably won't work for everyone. Few artists command the kind of respect and loyalty needed to succeed without label support. ''People called to ask me, Is [Radiohead's pricing] the new business model?'' says Eric Garland, CEO of Big Champagne, a company that monitors Internet music. ''And I said, Yes! It's a fantastic new business model. Step one: Be Radiohead. Step two...''
''Soon a lot of these companies won't define themselves as record companies. They'll define themselves as artist development companies. If you're involved in an entire career with an artist, then everyone's interests can be aligned.''
undeniable truth: The traditional way of doing business is disappearing. Album sales continue to plummet (down 25 percent since 2000) — a victim, at least in part, of the illegal file sharing that has plagued the industry since Napster's 1999 inception. Record stores are shutting their doors, including once mighty chain Tower Records, which closed for good last December. There's even speculation that recorded music could turn into just another marketing device, a promotional tool rather than the key source of profit.
For bands like Wilco, that might work quite nicely. Though they do make some money on albums, most of their income is earned on the road, and they've been known to stream their albums online before they come out. ''With Yankee Hotel Foxtrot it just seemed like the simplest thing would be to let people hear it [for free],'' Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy told EW earlier this year, referring to the album that the band initially gave away online in 2001 after Reprise rejected it. ''Because we wanted to keep touring, which is what we do for our livelihood. A lot of naysayers in the business would say, 'Well, Wilco would probably be selling a million copies of every record if they didn't have this liberal policy toward downloading.' I find the opposite to be true. I think that you really should spend time developing goodwill between yourself and your audience.'' And for many, the bond between artists and fans is stronger than ever. ''Consumers have never been happier,'' says Big Champagne's Garland. ''There's more music being consumed in more ways than ever before. We're spending more time with popular music than we ever have. So the clear losers here are major recording companies and traditional music retailers, who are very vulnerable.''
These days, the most reliable money is in still-healthy areas like touring, publishing, and licensing. Which is why, as intriguing as the Radiohead release is, the Madonna deal could end up being more significant. The singer's contract with Live Nation — which takes effect after she delivers one more new album and a greatest-hits disc to Warner Bros. — is a 10-year deal covering, among other things, at least three albums, all of her tours, and merchandise sales.
This sort of contract is known as a ''360 degree'' deal, where a single company gets involved in all aspects of an artist's career. They're becoming increasingly common (Korn and Robbie Williams signed huge 360 deals with their labels a few years ago), and many label execs believe that's where the future lies. ''Soon a lot of these companies won't define themselves as record companies,'' says Steve Greenberg, the former head of Columbia Records who now runs the independent record company S-Curve. ''They'll define themselves as artist development companies. If you're involved in an entire career with an artist, then everyone's interests can be aligned. If for some reason an artist winds up having an unsuccessful record career but a tremendously successful career as a songwriter or as a performing artist, I'm happy for them. I'm not happy if I only have [profits from] the recorded music.''
''I think it's irresponsible on Radiohead's part to take the position that they don't need a record company. Because it may work for a few artists who are hugely successful, but the large population of recording artists aren't Radiohead.''disappear anytime soon. For most young bands, record-company promotional and marketing clout is still a crucial part of building and maintaining a fan base. ''Traditional record companies put money and passion into what they believed in, and helped take it out to the forefront,'' says Atlantic Records president Julie Greenwald. ''We continue to do that, to find the best music and put money, muscle, resources, and passion behind it.''
While that may be true, a growing number of young artists, including indie-rock band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Maroon 5 tourmate Sara Bareilles, and Grey's Anatomy staple Ingrid Michaelson, have launched solid careers without a label (and with help from MySpace). But that kind of success remains rare. ''I'm very lucky,'' says Michaelson, whose self-released ''The Way I Am'' has become an unexpected Top 40 hit. ''I don't think this is the end of labels. They have a lot of money. If they spend the right amount, get you in the right places, if the songs are the right songs...it's like the right cocktail.''
But Madonna's Live Nation deal is a wrinkle that could flummox some big labels. By breaking down well-defined boundaries between record companies, tour promoters, publishing, and other revenue sources, labels could open themselves up to a lot more competition. ''The Madonna thing is interesting because it's a major corporation that's not a record company saying that they're the whole dog, not just the tail of the dog,'' says Gold Village Entertainment CEO Danny Goldberg, who managed Nirvana and has run three labels. ''There's sort of a paradigm shift in terms of where the real driver of the business is. Now the live career is what's driving it all. But it's encouraging to me that an artist can still command a nine-figure deal, that they can still have that kind of career at this stage. It shows that the music business is still very healthy — even if the record business is going through a tough time.''
L.A. Reid is not happy. The chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group — the man behind Usher, Kanye West, and Mariah Carey's comeback — thinks Radiohead are making a terrible mistake. ''I'm a huge Radiohead fan, love their music,'' says Reid, puffing on a cigar behind an imposing desk in his midtown New York office. ''But I think it's irresponsible on Radiohead's part to take the position that they don't need a record company. Because it may work for a few artists who are hugely successful, but the large population of recording artists aren't Radiohead.'' What especially irks Reid is the band's implicit devaluation of recorded music. ''To give away music is a huge mistake,'' he says. ''Because the music they make is amazing. They should charge more for their record. Because it's better! I think it's a horrible signal to send out. I'm a huge fan of their music, but I absolutely question their business acumen.'' (It should be noted that Radiohead are also selling a deluxe CD/vinyl set for about $80, and they plan to release a traditionally priced CD in stores next year.)
''MySpace is only about three years old. YouTube is less than two years old. They've fundamentally changed the relationships between artists and fans, and I couldn't have told you five years ago that I expected those things to happen.''
L.A. Reid represents an increasingly rare point of view, however. After years of institutional resistance to change, some label heads are now bowing to the realities of the digital age. On Oct. 5, new EMI chief Guy Hands sent out a surprisingly blunt memo written in response to Radiohead's pay-what-you-like pricing plan. The memo — which quickly leaked to the press — challenged EMI employees to find ways of capitalizing on digital music instead of stubbornly clinging to plunging CD sales. ''The industry has stuck its head in the sand,'' Hands wrote, criticizing what he sees as a culture of ''excessive expenditures and advances.'' Familiar criticisms, to be sure, but still shocking coming from one of the world's most powerful music executives. ''I think there've been some amazing people within record companies who have been awake to [the changing climate] for years,'' says Nettwerk Productions CEO Terry McBride, who oversees Canada's largest independent record company and recently gave away new Barenaked Ladies tracks online. ''What they haven't had was 'Let's go do it!' from the very top of the corporate structure.''
While nearly everyone agrees that the business is mutating, it remains frustratingly hard to predict what form that change will take. Columbia Records co-president Rick Rubin has been touting a subscription model, where fans could pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to thousands of albums. But really, nobody has a clue where this is heading. ''There will be new technologies we can't even imagine,'' says Martin Kirkup, who manages k.d. lang and Jamie Cullum, among others. ''MySpace is only about three years old. YouTube is less than two years old. They've fundamentally changed the relationships between artists and fans, and I couldn't have told you five years ago that I expected those things to happen. What I do know is there will be some great acts making great music.''
As for L.A. Reid, well, he agrees with that last part, at least. But it turns out this unusually savvy and successful exec's vision of the future is surprisingly...familiar: ''I hope it looks like it looked 20 years ago, honestly. It's really simple. The model for the future: Great music. Great artists. And people will buy it. There are many naysayers, analysts, and even artists and executives who have all pronounced that the record industry is dying. Well, I think they are the murderers. They are shooting bullets at the record industry, and they want to kill it. But guess what? It ain't dying. People still buy music. The difference is that people only buy music they really love, that is important or relevant to their lives, and they pay for it. They pay exactly what we charge. And they don't have a problem with it.'' But if you do have an issue with paying more for music? If you'd rather just download your favorite tunes for free? Well — to borrow a phrase from Radiohead — that's up to you.
(Reporting by Clark Collis, Shirley Halperin, Vanessa Juarez, Lori Majewski, Simon Vozick-Levinson, Margeaux Watson, and Chris Willman) -Entertainment Weekly www.ew.com
Indie World Activities, Promotions
INDIE WORLD will havemany additional benefits for the independent artist, songwriter and musician. For starters, we will have an Indie Magazine and Newsletter, that will cover all current information in the indie music industry, provide the latest tools available, where to find them and provide important news as to what's going on around the globe. We will also, have a special interactive Classifieds section for you to network with other Indie Artists, Writers, Musicians, Publishers, Record Labels, PR Organizations, Recording Studios and a host of other resources, in over 36 countries, that will be available at the click of your mouse! We will have "News Bites" for up-to-date music industry changes and promotional opportunities, that will assist in many of the necessary steps for your career. INDIE WORLD is also your place for major artist promotions through showcases, concerts and other performance activities, that will be created in over 36 countries. You will be part of a global family, that truly cares about your potential success in the music industry. INDIE WORLD is not just for local communities, but, for the entire indie world of music!
The Voice Of Indie World
We would like to hear from you in regards to our new community. Your comments, suggestions and questions are always welcome. Being an artist, writer or musician here atIndie World, your voice matters and your concerns are ours. Use the form below and please be specific, so we can best assist you. We will respond usually within a 72 hour period upon receipt of your e-mail.
