The Manager’s Corner

By Chris Daniels

I’ve managed my own band since the 1980s and despite the amazing change in technology, success in the music business is built around four tried and true elements: great music, really hard work and timing (often mistaken for luck). The other key element is getting the help you need to make that luck happen. These days that help is everywhere. The book I wrote for my UCD class on artist management is called “DIY: You’re Not in it Alone” and that is exactly what you need to understand.

Here is this month’s question for young artists, how are you going to make money selling recordings of your music: mp3, CD, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and/or selling them at gigs? Answer, these days you will have to do ALL of that.

Unless you have been living under a tree in Rocky Mt. National Park musicians have watched the “delivery” systems change for recorded music. If you are an ‘old fart’ you remember the days of the ‘45’, LP, cassette and finally the CD. For those thinking I left out 8-track tapes, I did that for a reason. One that I hope will scare the crap out of you. So far, in our new ten-year old digital download age (since the iTunes store opened in January of 2001) all the digital sales amassed so far still fall short of the sales figures for the 10-years that 8-track tapes were part of the market…really!

For anybody who’s been out there selling “merch” at their shows you know that sale of CDs and even USB drives loaded with your music have fallen off from the numbers you used to do. There are wonderful rays of sun in this gloomy forecast. Amazing music lovers like Paul & Jill Epstein at Twist & Shout and independent record stores all across the country are holding their own and some like Andy at Albums on The Hill are really forging ahead with in-store performances and great music choices and a remarkably devoted clientele. And there is a wonderful rediscovery of vinyl and the warmth of that medium with sales increase numbers to match that rediscovered joy of listening.

But the future on the “BIG” horizon begs some questions. The “majors” are looking to “streaming” as a “river of pennies” to save recorded music. And at the recent F8 conference in Nashville Facebook and Spotify are forging a solid relationship. For those not familiar with Spotify, this is essentially a streaming-service that allows you to listen to just about any track ever recorded for a small monthly fee and then if you like it you can download it. It is better than the billions of tracks stolen every day, but here is the shocking financial reality as reported by Digital Music News … it takes roughly 330 “streams” to pay the recording artist approximately $1.29 … the equivalent of one download track on iTunes. Which means that is a mighty small river (stream) … whatever!

So the answer for young DIY artists and managers or the “band’s business person” is to make the most of every medium that makes cost effective sense. And you have “friends” or partners who will help you do that. Andy at Albums and Paul & Jill at T&W will be willing to take your CD on consignment IF – you are playing gigs. Tunecore, CD Baby and any number of “aggregators” are willing to get your music on iTunes (you cannot go direct to them) Amazon, Spotify, Last.fm etc etc. Look carefully at the number of shows you are playing and the number of CDs or USBs you plan to press and DON’T over press beyond your sales capacity even if you get a great price break at 2,000 dics … if you can’t sell em, they’ll sit in your garage and really piss off your loving partner! The long and short of it is to make SMART choices as to what will work for you and understand that recorded music needs careful planning and marketing to work. I know it’s gloomy, and even Lady GaGa’s manager said he thought that recordings were probably going to head for the zero price-point but there are really good people like Andy and Paul and Jill and CD Baby that believe in recorded music and you just have to make smart hard choices about your plan. Last, MAKE A PLAN – and always and I mean always make sure you have “product” in your hands at least three weeks before your CD Release Party at Herman’s!

Category: The Post