What Is A Brand?

Whenever I speak at a college, I always ask the audience what their brand is. I usually get a blank stare back. Now I totally agree that business terms like "brand" will make a musician's eyes glaze over faster than an air guitar contest, but it's important to be self-aware about what your brand is.

One of the things that an artist or band hears a lot these days is the need to promote "your brand" in order to get ahead in Music 3.0. That's all well and good, but it's hard to promote your brand unless you know exactly what a brand is. So what exactly is a brand?

Here's an excerpt from the Music 3.0 Internet music guidebook that describes it perfectly:

"A brand is a promise of quality and consistency. No matter where in the world you go for a McDonald’s hamburger, you know what to expect. No matter what product you purchase from Apple, you can expect sleek high-tech design and an easy to understand user interface. Brand management is protecting the image of the brand and carefully selecting how to best exploit it.

For an artist, that means a consistency of persona, and usually a consistency of sound. Regardless of what genre of music the artist delves into, the feel is the same and you can tell it's the artist. Madonna has changed directions many times during her career but her brand remained consistent. Here persona remained the same even as she changed to and from the "material girl." The Beatles tried a wide variety of directions but you never once questioned who you were listening to. It was always fresh and exciting, but distinctly them.

On the other hand, Neil Young almost killed his career with an electronic album called "Trans" that alienated all but his hardiest fans, and the well-respected Chris Cornell may have done irreparable harm to his long-term career with his recent album with Timbaland ("Scream") even though it was the highest charting of his career. Why did this happen? For both artists, the album no longer "felt" like them. Both Young and Cornell built their careers on organic music played with a band, and as soon as their music became regimented and mechanical, they lost their brands. After Trans, Young returned to his roots and slowly built his brand back to superstar level, but it's too soon to know what will happen with Cornell.

How do you determine what your brand is? It's easier said than done.

In order for an artist to successfully promote their brand, they must have a great sense of self-knowing. You must know who you are, where you came from, and where you're going. You must know what you like and don't like, and what you stand for and why. And you must have an inherent feel for your sound and what works for you.

And that differentiates a superstar from a star, and a star from some who wants it really badly but never seems to get that big break."

For additional excerpts from Music 3.0: A Survival Guide For Making Music In The Internet Age and my other books, go to bobbyowsinski.com.

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Neilsen Says Music Discovery Still Led By Radio

In a new report by Nielsen called Music 360, most people still discover their music most frequently from radio, but teens listen to music through YouTube more than any other source. Among the other findings is that 36% of teens have bought a CD in the last year, and 51% of teens have purchased a music download.

Here's a sampling of what's found in the report:

Radio is still the dominant way people discover music

• 48% discover music most often through the radio
• 10% discover music most often through friends/relatives
• 7% discover music most often through YouTube

More teens listen to music through YouTube than through any other source

• 64% of teens listen to music through YouTube
• 56% of teens listen to music on the radio
• 53% of teens listen to music through iTunes
• 50% of teens listen to music on CD

Positive recommendations from a friend are most likely to influence purchase decisions

• 54% are more likely to make a purchase based off a positive recommendation from a friend
• 25% are more likely to make a purchase based off a music blog/chat rooms
• 12% are more likely to make a purchase based off an endorsement from a brand
• 8% of all respondents share music on social networking sites, while 6% upload music.

Music player apps are most prevalent, followed by radio and music store apps

• 54% have music player apps on their smartphones
• 47% have radio apps on their smartphones
• 26% have music store apps on their smartphones

Males purchase rock music most often, while females prefer top 40

• 38% of males purchase rock most often
• 15% of females (compared to 9% of males) purchase top 40 most often

Digital music is seen as a slightly better value than a physical CD

• 63% of purchasers identified digital albums as a very or fairly good value
• 61% identified digital tracks as a very or fairly good value
• 55% identified physical CDs as a very or fairly good value

Younger consumers who do buy digital tracks, are more likely to purchase new music immediately after its release

• 33% of teens purchased a digital track within one week of release
• 21% of persons 18+ purchased a digital track within one week of release

18-24 year olds are most likely to attend a music event (among those who attend any type of live event)

• 7% attending once a week or more
• 30% attending once a month

Although 18-24 year olds attend more live events, teens are more likely to purchase T-shirts and posters while there.

• 54% (compared to 46% of 18-24 year olds) of teen attendees purchase concert tees
• 14% (compared to 7% of 18-24 year olds) of teen attendees purchase concert posters

Even though Nielsen has done great research for years, there are some things that I have to question in Music 360. For instance, it's hard to believe that most people still discover music through the radio and not from YouTube, which is the predominant way that most people under 30 listen to music. Other things, like the type of music purchased and when, haven't seemed to change for years.

What the report does illustrate is that we often don't really know what we think we know. If you listen to the media, the music world has turned completely upside down. After looking at this report, it's not as different as we're led to believe.

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7 Ways To Improve Your Site's Navigation

One of the main premises of my Music 3.0 book is that your website should be the center of your online universe, not Facebook, ReverbNation, Ning, Tumblr or any social network.

The reason why is that you control everything about your website, where if you're on another platform, you're at their mercy. If they change their terms of service, the parameters of their user interface (i.e. Facebook), navigation, or anything else about the platform, you have no choice but to go along. A website can be custom designed for your brand, and everything else should feed into it.

That said, many artist websites are quickly designed with little thought. Even if you have a website that's due for an update, consider these 7 tips to improve its navigation, courtesy of Searchengineland.

1. Keep it consistent. Consistent navigation from page to page in both how and where things appear on the site promotes ease of use and increases your visitor's ability to find relevant information more quickly.

2. Divide categories clearly. All categories must be clearly and visually defined, with category headings separated visually from sub-categories.

3. Make all navigation elements clickable links. All major category headings should be clickable links, even though you may have a drop-down menu with sub-categories.

4. Use accurate navigation titles. Visitors need a general idea of what they should find on a page even before they click on a navigation link.

5. Ensure every clickable image has ALT text. Every image should include the ALT attribute (the alternate description of the graphic) complete with descriptive text. This is so everyone who views the page knows what the link is, regardless of how they view your site.

6. Ensure that your search feature works. You do have a way to search your site, right? Be sure that it always produces relevant results. No one likes a "not found" result.

7. Always test your site. Make sure that every link functions correctly before it goes live. This not only ensures a better user experience, but a better search ranking as well.

These are very simple points that will lead to a much better user experience, which is what we all want from a website.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

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The 9 Top Music Pirate Countries

We hear less about it these days because online music streaming has become the hot button issue, but there's still a good bit of music piracy that goes on all over the world. Musicmetric has compiled a report called The Digital Music Index that found that there were over 400 million illegal downloads after watching Bittorrent for the first 6 months of the year. They broke it down by country, and here's what they found.

1. US - 96.68 million.
Most downloaded artist: Drake

2. UK - 43.26 million.
Most downloaded artist: Ed Sheeran

3. Italy - 33.15 million.
Most downloaded artist: Laura Pausini

4. Canada - 23.95 million.
Most downloaded artist: Kenye West

5. Brazil - 19.72 million.
Most downloaded artist: Billy Van

6. Australia - 19.23 million.
Most downloaded artist: Hilltop Hoods

7. Spain - 10.3 million.
Most downloaded artist: Pablo Alberan

8. India - 8.96 million.
Most downloaded artist: Billy Van

9. France - 8.39 million.
Most downloaded artist: Sexion d'Assaut

I'm actually surprised at how low these numbers are. If you listen to the RIAA, they should be about 20 times higher, but here we have empirical data that shows that while pirating still continues it's not to the level that the music industry tells us.

Still, if you're a record label, it must be distressing that 400 million potential sales were left on the table. That said, how many of those would've been turned into a sale if piracy were eliminated? My guess is that it wouldn't have been even half of that total, and spread out world-wide, the potential revenue is a drop in the bucket compared to what major record labels deal with every day. If anything, this study shows that streaming music is beginning to take hold and piracy is decreasing.

It will be interesting to visit this again next year. I bet the numbers will be a lot lower.

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This Is Why Artists Hate Major Labels

The prevailing wisdom in today's music business is that any artist signed to a major label (and many indies as well) will get shucked and jived out of hard-earned royalties in that rare case when an artist has a hit. It was certainly like that way back when the record business began, and even though artists have made great strides since then in protecting themselves, it's still happening now.

Case in point - iconic balladeer James Taylor. JT is suing his former label Warner Music Group (WMG) for several million dollars, and even after several audits where his accountants have found over 50 contract improprieties, he's still having trouble collecting. This is all laid out in a wonderful article over at Digital Music News by Paul Resnikoff called "52 Ways To Screw An Artist."

It takes a long time to get through every one of the points, so I'll summarize them here.

JT's accountants first did an audit way back in 2004 and found that he was underpaid by $1,692,726. After Warner's and Jame's representatives got together to hash things out, they settled on a figure of $764,056 and WMG immediately cut a check for only $97,857. After trying to get the balance paid over the next 8 years, WMG finally decided to officially dispute the remaining amount, claiming they owed just around $147k instead of the $666k balance, but of that money that even the label agrees is owed, they paid a grand total of $0.

So basically it turns out that JT finds that WMG owes him $1.6 million, they settle on a figure of $764k and pay him $97k and let him twist in the wind for the balance ever since.

What's funny is how blatant some of the royalty "mistakes" are, from charging manufacturing costs (which is on the label) as recording costs (which is owed by the artist) to paying a royalty rate under the agreed amount of points, and on and on.

But it doesn't end there. In 2010 JT initiates a second audit, and this time discovers that he's owed $1,147,559 for the three year period between 2007 and 2010. WMG basically blew him off and never responded to the audit inquiry. And that only appears to be the tip of the iceberg, as there were several additional revenue sources where royalties should have been paid that the auditors couldn't find.

The bottom line is that if James Taylor's high-powered accountants and attorneys can't get paid, you have almost no shot if you're a new artist. And the labels still wonder why artists want to go the DIY route?

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Major Label Death Predictions May Be Premature

Could everyone's predictions about the demise of the major record labels be premature? What we've heard over and over in the press (and sometimes on this blog) is that the major labels were floundering in red ink, about to go belly up any second. While revenue for the industry is less than half of what it was at it's peak, and profits did take a hit for a while, it appears that everyone has missed the point that the labels have been evolving with the business, and they're pretty healthy as a result.

Case in point - according to Billboard, in the first six months of 2012 Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group had together reported profits of $356 million. Yes, that's profits!

Now take into account that EMI doesn't disclose their finances at the moment because they're privately held by CitiBank (at least until the sale to Universal is finalized), and the CEO of BMG Rights Management has said that their profit would be over 250 million Euros this year (about $325 million), and you can see that no one inside the big music corps are worried about their bonuses.

Then the fact that we're heading into the strongest buying season of the year makes analysts think that the major labels will make over $1 billion in profits in total for 2012.

Here's the fact as it stands today - DIY is great for any artist that's either starting out to even a star level, but if you want to break into superstardom, you still need a major. They're the only ones with the infrastructure to take an artist to those heights, at least at the moment.

That said, the more you DIY and the stronger your audience, the greater your bargaining power is. It's almost like there's no middle ground these days when it comes to making a major label deal. Either you're completely at their mercy with a 360 deal or you have all the leverage because you've built an audience without them.

Whatever the case, the major labels are not going away any time soon. Now if only we had a new crop of indies.

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A Look At Apple's Music Streaming Plans

We're learning more and more each day about the planned Pandora-like streaming service planned by Apple (see this post for more info). It appears that Apple is still in discussion with the major labels on the license fee that they'll be paying, which is complicated by the fact that Apple wants to implement some interactive features in the product to distinguish itself from either Pandora or iHeartRadio. This is a complicated issue on so many levels, but suffice it to say that Apple wants to pay the least it can while the labels want the most.

It's been reported that the labels are also demanding a couple of things besides the license fee:

1. A way to refer listeners back to the iTunes Store (like a "Buy" button) to stimulate sales so that the streaming doesn't cannibalize it. I'm sure that Apple would like the same thing, but once this streaming cat is out of the bag there's no reason to own the song any more. In fact, Pandora has the same thing and it's been reported that it hardly throws off any revenue.

2. The ability to program tracks to fit the listener's profile, which they can't do now with Pandora.

2A. There's been some talk of even allowing programming on a geographic basis, which is perfect for an indie artist or band just building an audience.

You can bet that this is going to happen sooner than later despite the fact that Pandora has a huge head start. iTunes has a global customer base of 465 million users, and there are 335 million iPods, iPads and iPhones out there, so their potential reach eclipses everyone else in the market. The problem is, this will be another nail in the downloadable music coffin as consumers get more and more used to renting music instead of buying it.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

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Top 20 Most Profitable Merch Pieces

Here's a great chart that comes by way of Digital Music News and merchandise manufacturer Jakprints on the 20 most profitable merch pieces. As you can see, patches and stickers have the largest profit margin, normally costing 20 to 40 cents and selling for $3 to $4, but they're also a great giveaway as they're small, which makes them an ideal promo item. Unfortunately, most artists/bands think of T-shirts first when it comes to merch items, while some of the other items on the chart can be a far better promotion and better revenue source.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

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The New Bronze Music Delivery Format

I rarely cross-post to this blog from by Big Picture production blog, but I thought that this topic is worth it. It's about a new online music delivery format called Bronze that's pretty interesting. Is it "take over the world" interesting? Probably not, but I think that there will be a place for it in many genres of music in the future.

Why? I'm glad you asked. Bronze is the first format that can alter the mix of a song with each playback. It's non-interactive, so the user has nothing to do with how it's played back, but each listen is different, just like a live performance.

Supposedly the chance of hearing the same version twice is about the same as winning the lottery, and it's not possible to freeze any version to listen to it again. Just like a live performance, once it's gone, it's gone forever. That said, it's possible for an artist to continue to update a song with new tracks long after it's been released. Considering that some of the artist's that I've worked with in the past can never let go of a song, this could certainly cut down their overall output of songs.

Regardless of if you like a song or not, Bronze is probably better suited for some musical genres than others (think electronic music). As a mixer, I'm pretty suspicious of the format, since what we do is to try to freeze a moment in time, but as a consumer, I'm very intrigued. A great mixer can bring certain things to the table that makes it a hit that you might not have in another mix. On the other hand, if you really dig a song, you'd probably want to listen to it over and over to see how it would change every time. That said, that means you'd probably not want to look for new music as much, since the music you already know is somewhat new every time.

That said, as a business, Bronze probably doesn't make much sense. A record label sells a frozen archive as a product, so this wouldn't appeal to them. And legally, how to you copyright a product  that's not a fixed recording?

But the idea of Bronze is pretty cool in that it's a unique use of existing technology. Now let's see if anyone will play along. The first song released in the format is by ex-Golden Silvers frontman Gwilym Gold called "Flesh Freeze." Check it out on the Bronzeformat.com website.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

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Even The Boss Has Trouble Selling Tix

In what may be indicative of the new realities of the music business, it looks like there's some consumer push-back to high concert ticket prices once again. If you remember, this is a trend that began during the recession/depression days of 2008, but last year saw a bit less consumer resistance to the high ticket prices that have become the norm.

A great indicator of this is the fact that even Bruce Springsteen, The Boss himself, has had to discount tickets in order to get a sellout in his own back yard of New Jersey at MetLife Stadium. Bruce's promoter decided to use LivingSocial, a competitor to Groupon, to provide a special $59 ticket to its members (prices were $82). Despite the 28% discount, the offer only drew 65 buyers by the end of the first day.

Bruce isn't the only big act that's having ticket problems though. LivingSocial has also done deals with the Black Eyed Peas and the joint dates by Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, and many other acts like Madonna and even Eric Clapton are struggling to sell out.

But if there's one artist who isn't, it's former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters, who's "The Wall" tour has grossed over $160 million so far, which is about double of his closest competitor, who happens to be Springsteen.

So what does this mean? First of all, the economy isn't great and it's a real struggle to pay for a concert. With the average ticket going for around 60 bucks, it can easily double after the "convenience charges," parking, and beverages are added. What would you do if given the choice of putting gas in your car to go to work or buying a concert ticket?

The next thing is overexposure. Most acts make all of their money on the road, so if they want the revenue to continue, they better keep working. The problem is that you just can't come back to the same venue year after year and expect the same turnout, especially at those prices.

The recorded music side of the music business has undergone a paradigm shift that it still can't get its arms around. I predict that the next sector to see such a major change will be the concert business.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

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It's True, The Music Business Is Not About The Art

Last week the entire music portion of the blogosphere seemed to be lit up by the following statement from Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge when talking about Justin Bieber:

The company likes hits, the fans like hits, and that's what he's there to do--make hits. 

We're not in the art business.

Why this statement should be any surprise to anyone I'm not sure. First of all, except for the label pioneers of the 50s, 60s, and 70s like Motown's Berry Gordy, Warner Bros' Mo Ostin, and Elektra's Jac Holzman (among a few others), this has been the label mantra for at least 30 years since the majors were bought out by the international conglomerates. Why should it be any different today?

Here's the bottom line if you're an artist or band and want label interest: a label doesn't care how good or bad your music is, they only care if you have an audience.

Good and bad is so subjective anyway. What's great to one person may be crap to another and vice versa. Most record companies only care if you have a line around the block waiting to see you. Really when you get down to it, that's all that counts.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Most Online Listeners Stream Classic Rock

Here's something that's definitely unexpected. According to a Wakefield Research survey targeting cloud computing literacy that asked which music from the cloud they listen to, most chose both classic and modern rock legends. The top 10 artists mentioned were:

1. The Beatles

2. The Rolling Stones

3. Michael Jackson (okay, I agree, he's more r&b)

4. Bon Jovi

5. Pink Floyd

6. Bruce Springsteen

7. Eminem (definitely not rock)

8. Maroon 5 (their rock credentials are suspect)

9. Led Zeppelin

10. Coldplay

There are a few other things the survey found:

• 5% of those who think they're not using the cloud, actually are
• 59% believe the workplace of the future will exist entirely in the cloud
• 33% agree that using the cloud allows them to interact with people that they rather not in person
• 68% recognize the economic benefits of the cloud
• 14% have pretended to know what the cloud was during a job interview.

The survey just goes to show that the cloud has permeated our everyday lives to the point that we're really not aware that we're interacting with it. Let's hope that this connected remains forever intact.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.