Developments And Changes Music Over Time - Essay Example

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES MUSIC OVER TIME HOW SHIFT FROM MAJOR LABELS TO INDEPENDENT LABELS IN MUSIC HAVE AFFECTED SONG ANDCOMPOSERS Music publishing is the process concerned with valuing, developing, and protecting music in the wider music industry. Music publishers are the people charged or tasked with the duty of developing new music and taking care of the business side. They do this to help songwriters and composers to concentrate their efforts on the creation of new music. This therefore leads to the definition of a music publisher as that person who seeks out music, composers and songwriters, goes ahead to promote their catalogues, manages the business exploitation of those catalogues through registration of works and collection of due royalties in order to protect and enhance the work of songwriters and composers (Dolfsma, 2000). They achieve this by doing the following tasks; finding new talents then supporting and encouraging them. Coordinate work flow and secure commissions. They also register the works of songwriters to the appropriate societies and agencies. They produce demo recordings and performance materials in contemporary classical music. They also license and produce printed music. Music publishers also promote songwriters and composers locally and internationally to record companies and broadcasters for commercial purposes. Finally they protect the works of their clients by taking action on those who use their music without license. The music publisher and the song writer or composer is bound together through an agreement called publishing contract. Through this, the composer or songwriter assign the copyrights of their work to the music publisher or a publishing company in return for licensing, monitoring and collecting royalties for the compositions. These copyrights are the basis for intellectual property in the music industry (Graham, Burnes, Lewis & Langer, 2004). Royalties are the payment made to the holder of a copyright or a patent which in this case is the composer or songwriter. These royalties are paid to the song owners by users through the music publishers. The various types of royalties in existence include; mechanical royalties. These royalties come from the sale of recorded music such as digital downloads and CDs. They are paid to the publishers by record companies. Another one is the performance royalties which are collected by performance rights organizations. These are paid by those who broadcast recorded music and radio stations. Lastly is the synchronization royalties which are collected when a composition is used in a television soundtrack or in a film. Independent music also known as indie music is refers to music that is produced independently without involvement of major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries. This process employs the autonomous, do it yourself approach to recording and publishing the various music genres in the industry. The opposite of this independent publishers or label is major publishers or label. Major labels are on the other hand referred to as multinational companies that own distribution channels and also own or has 5% of the world market together with other companies in the group for the sale of records and music videos. Examples of such major labels are Warner, Universal Music Group and Sony among others (Hall, 2000). Independent music companies are gradually changing the face of music in various ways by doing things differently and in embracing the current and emerging trends in their publication. These companies have seen the face of the music industry change because they are mostly involved in backing new artists and developing more careers contrary to the older companies which focused on dealing with established artists. Another reason is that these companies are digital oriented and try to stay current with the changing music environment. These companies are also known to take major risks in an attempt to maximize their profits and grow their scope. Technological advancement is also the other feature or phenomena that have seen indie publishers change the face of music. Advancement in music production software and the internet has had quite a huge impact on music creation and distribution. In the past artists, publishers, distributors, record company, retailers, and consumers existed separately and independently but with the technology these has since been done away with. Today most of these departments involved in music production exist as one entity that is diverse and specializes in all. This is the characteristic of independent music publishers. In the current music publishing world, artists tend to act on their own publishing companies; they manage, promote, and market records for themselves. Artists may also choose to promote and market themselves through the social media or utilize the services of you tube. This has also seen consumer electronics companies become digital retailers thus helping with music publication. This new form of digital music distribution has seen re-examination of definitions the rights of individuals involved in music production and publication and their intellectual property (Kasaras, 2002). To the unsigned artists or the do it yourself artists, independent music labels or publication would be the best option to settle for. Personally, as a do it yourself artist am advocating for indie music record label or form of publication because artists get the rights to their music. This is the greatest benefit an artist gets by signing a contract with an independent label. The keeping of rights of the music by the artist normally leaves the artist with an option of doing whatever they like with the music once it has been recorded. Another advantage of the independent labels or publications is that they tend to sign artists because they love and believe in the brand of the artist or the composer. This is because they normally believe that your brand will sell and promote you contrary to the major labels that are always in constant pressure from the directors to see the success of the music on the charts. Independent labels also tend to have close personal relationships with their artists more than the major labels. This is because of their small artist rosters that they operate. This usually provide artist with the opportunity of working one on one with a representative whom they can form a personal relationship with. This ensures easier access of the label management by the artist which can enhance their performance and increase production. Independent labels also offer pro-artist contracts (Tapscott & Williams, 2008). These contracts tend to be less complex thus favoring the artists in return. These contracts are known to be more artist friendly as they give more money to the artist through larger royalty percentage or profit-sharing programs than in the major labels. Back in the old school days music publishing was totally different to the one seen today. In the past royalty income predominantly emanated from two major revenue streams which include; performing income which largely came from radio stations, TV stations and live performance income. The other royalty income also came from mechanical record income from vinyl reproduction and sale of tape recorders. The royalties were split between the publishers and composers in a 50-50 deal. The retention period of the copyrights by the music publisher was also longer. Advances made to the composers or songwriters were rare as in the case with the modern or current music publishing. The good thing about this old school days of music publishing is that they were major label oriented. During this time mechanical sales were high as there was no piracy as in the case with modern publishing. This ensured more revenues and better rewards for composers and songwriters. The major labels also offered funding to promote their music at a critical time when the industry was still young and growing. Overtime, music publishing evolved, and much changed in the industry compared to the old school music publishing. More rebalances between music publishers and songwriters have taken place and these include; retention periods of the music publishers have drastically reduced from as much as 70 years to lesser years of less than 20. Another transformation that has been witnessed in the music industry is the sharing of the royalty rates. The 50-50 norm was broken and new deals were developed. This has seen the present deals going at 70-30 splits. The introduction of advances in the current music publishing is also a new thing which was absent in the old school days of music publishing. Songwriter’s advances have risen together with the introduction of royalty splits over overseas or foreign incomes. Recent legislations have also seen songwriters obtain the rights to object to certain synchronization adaptations and uses of samples. Publishers are also required to advice composers to seek independent legal advice over certain exclusive deals. Royalties from mechanical recordings were quite high before the introduction of or rise of the digital distribution. In the past decade streamed and digitally downloaded music has been quite popular. This popularity saw an increase in illegal downloads and streaming that rendered the physical recordings like the tapes and CDs unpopular thus reducing the rates of royalties that were initially earned from the sale of these CDs and tapes. Recent studies or observations have shown a reduction of income to the composers and publishers through royalties. There has been a shift to sync deals which are currently generating more money and income to the publishers and composers. Synchronizations refer to copying of the works or compositions of composers into advertisements, TV, or even films. Most publishers are now developing relationships with music supervisors of the various film production companies in order to be considered for synch deals and contracts. Independent films and TV series like skins are really creating enormous impacts on the talents of unsigned artists by making them get noticed. These films and series are constantly produced to ensure that they are ever present for consumers. Through this the artistes end up getting promoted and noticed. These publishers also focus on talents because only through this quality can be achieved in the competitive music and film industry (Wikström, 2013). In return independent publishing companies have gained popularity and there revenues increased through sync deals by multinationals who hire these artists for commercials and other related activities. Synch has played a great role in seeing the independent acts break through. This has been achieved through commercials and advertisements. Synch has also seen the employment of the works of this independent acts get endorsed by radio stations, TV series and the film industry. It is this popularity that comes from the said activities that has led to the breakthrough of these independent acts. This has also seen some major labels strike deals with independent labels thus helping in the distribution of the works of artists. Despite the benefits that arise form indie labels such as backing new artists, taking risks, developing careers, having the best interests of the artists, digital forward thinking and staying current with important changes, indie levels also has its demerits (Swatman, Krueger & Beek, 2006). If compared to the major labels, there are merits of the major labels that far outweigh those of the indie labels. Some of the pros of the major labels include; major labels do have large amounts of funds at their disposal. This enable them to fund high quality production, promote global physical distribution, package, and promote digital distribution through world tours, music video, shoots, and major online outlets. This ensures a wider coverage of the works of artist and thus increased sales chances. Another merit is their broad connections and networks arising from the long experiences in the industry. This enables them to negotiate with major media outlets. Their size and reputation also has a strong impact in influencing marketing and promoting players in the music industry. Some of the demerits associated with this method of music publishing are the need for the artist to fight for attention in order to be noticed and given priority. The other demerit is the artist unfriendly deals that normally aim at exploiting the artists. Finally, major labels tend to face pressure from the directors to perform and this is further passed to the artists. They therefore focus on production and not talents. On the other hand the demerits of indie labels include lack of funds. This normally frustrates recording, packaging, distribution, tour support, and merchandise. The artist is therefore at times charged with the responsibility of marketing and promoting themselves. Disorganization as a result of inadequate staff to handle the company’s tasks such as accounting may lead to mismanagement. The size of these labels is also another demerit as it renders them less influential in the markets (Pfahl, 2001). Therefore, an overall view of the two publishing technique is that they both have their merits and demerits. Indie levels focus on artist development while major labels focus on profit making. As much as the two are fair, personally I would settle for indie labels as they focus on developing talents and are artist friendly. Songs is one of the leading contemporary independent music publishers that dedicate their services to songwriters and composers. Songs are doing things differently from other indie labels in that they offer higher sync earnings are above the industry average to ensure their writers are well rewarded. It is entirely owned by its employees and there are no external approval parties. This is so to ensure independency and faster decision making in all spheres of its operation. This also reduces manipulation by big companies’ thus increasing service to the writers. Song also invests its money based on the value of the music and not to institutional capital. Reputable artists like Lorde and The Weekend prefer Song over the other labels because of their uniqueness in handling music publishing. First is the type of service they offer to their clients. Secondly is their mode of investing. They invest with a long term focus. They also uphold their traditional values as they incorporate the new school thinking in music publishing. They also have a big team of employees and staff who cater adequately for the needs of their clients and ensure quality and customer satisfaction. The shift being witnessed in the music production and publishing industry is that of top down to bottom up. Top down meaning a management style that focuses on the company more than the composer or songwriter to bottom up referring to that which put more emphasis on the songwriter or the composer rather than the company. This has seen the growth of a new form of music publishing (Hull, Hutchison & Strasser, 2011). Coupled with advancement in technology, indie industry has grown and is continuing to grow. This has also seen music publication made easier and now individuals need not sophisticated software like it was the case in the past. Music can now be published even at home with the help of a computer and internet connection. The future of do it yourself artists seem to be brighter and promising especially with the fall of major labels in the industry. Thanks to the internet and advancement in technology that has seen artists compose and at the same time market and promote their music. This ensures development of talents at the same time developing managerial skills leading to the rise of artists and composers who are diverse in skills and talents. Money, power and creativity not necessarily a must have, really matter in the music industry and especially when it comes to production and publishing of music. The possession of one or two may see an artist prosper in the industry but the possession of all the three might see an artist make it big in the music industry. Money helps in producing quality videos through provision of the necessary equipment and materials. Power on the other hand plays a key role in influencing the major key players in the music sector for consideration (Hracs, 2012). Finally creativity is the most important element in any music activity because it is the backbone of quality and interesting music that the consumers want to get from their preferred artists. In conclusion, it is evident from information obtained in this paper that the music publishing industry is facing a shift from major label to indie labels. One of the driving factors is advancement in technology and the desire for artists to manage their music. Personally, I prefer indie music publishing as it is evident from the text that this form of publication encourages talent development and prevent exploitation of the artistes as it is the case with major labels. References Dolfsma, W. (2000). How will the music industry weather the globalization storm?. First Monday, 5(5). Graham, G., Burnes, B., Lewis, G. J., & Langer, J. (2004). The transformation of the music industry supply chain: A major label perspective. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 24(11), 1087-1103. Hall, P. (2000). Creative cities and economic development. Urban studies, 37(4), 639-649. Hull, G. P., Hutchison, T. W., & Strasser, R. (2011). The Music business and recording industry: Delivering music in the 21st century. Taylor & Francis. Hracs, B. J. (2012). A creative industry in transition: the rise of digitally driven independent music production. Growth and Change, 43(3), 442-461. Kasaras, K. (2002). Music in the age of free distribution: MP3 and society. First Monday, 7(1). Pfahl, M. (2001). Giving away music to make money: Independent musicians on the Internet. First Monday, 6(8). Swatman, P. M., Krueger, C., & van der Beek, K. (2006). The changing digital content landscape: An evaluation of e-business model development in European online news and music. Internet Research, 16(1), 53-80. Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. D. (2008). Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything. Penguin. Wikström, P. (2013). The music industry: Music in the cloud. Polity. Read More