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ARTIST DEVELOPMENT

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How many musicians/songwriters have thought “I wonder how much more time I could devote to writing/production if I didn’t have to think about securing funding or the legal side of the business?” Think about it. Beyond booking gigs, arranging radio airplay, developing merchandise, promotion, recording, securing P.A equipment, the average musician will focus a large amount of their time on getting signed to labels, so they can secure the amount of funding they need, to go out on tour, or create a music video, or record a full length CD versus a promotional EP.

funding sources available: (without being signed to a label): Without consulting an Entertainment Lawyer, Band Manager or Agent, the average musician does not know about how to secure funding sources, on an independent level. A producer will not tell a musician these critical details either – they expect the musician to know about these relevant things. Copyright: Unfortunately, the average musician does not know much about the legal aspects of the music industry, and I have found that even more musicians do not even know how to get their music copywritten in the United States! Just think – if an artist had an international distribution deal, they could really lose out on their “fair share” of percentages, regarding copyright royalties, if they don’t own their Copyright, in advance. International Distribution: Does the average musician know there are different “statutes” (rules) on Copyright and Publishing in each different country of the world? My guess is probably not. Which again, would put the musician in the position of “ oh, I don’t get publishing royalties in Denmark or Germany because I did not own my copyright – the publisher does?!”

Merchandise: Every smart independent band has some. With an existing inventory of band merchandise, it is possible to secure (solicit) merchandise sponsorship, if an international tour is already booked, and confirmed. Aside from income generated from live performances, merchandise is what “recoupment” is all about. Typically, merchandise involves a logo, or a brand. Into that picture comes trademark issues – another related legal topic.

Most musicians are incredibly talented, and by rights, should be able to focus on the most important thing – writing good original music. I mean, when it comes down to the business end of things – the bottom line is this: how else does a band get noticed by the general public?! From their songs….I feel that Artist Development has “disappeared” in light of the massive product branding that has occurred in the music industry, and that Artist Development is a critical topic, that needs to be re-addressed, as a critical focus in the music industry.

Written by the owner of a Canadian Independent Record Label, who has worked with entertainment law for over 16 years, and has been a musician for over forty years.

Ms. Linda Marie Sekulic
President Pop Records Inc
Listed in Music BC Business Directory

watching a TV show like American Idol

by Dave Grohl, FOO FIGHTERS

When I think about kids watching a TV show like American Idol or The Voice, then they think, ‘Oh, OK, that’s how you become a musician, you stand in line for e...ight fucking hours with 800 people at a convention center and… then you sing your heart out for someone and then they tell you it’s not fuckin’ good enough.’ Can you imagine?” he implores. “It’s destroying the next generation of musicians!

Musicians should go to a yard sale and buy and old fucking drum set and get in their garage and just suck. And get their friends to come in and they’ll suck, too. And then they’ll fucking start playing and they’ll have the best time they’ve ever had in their lives and then all of a sudden they’ll become Nirvana. Because that’s exactly what happened with Nirvana. Just a bunch of guys that had some shitty old instruments and they got together and started playing some noisy-ass shit, and they became the biggest band in the world. That can happen again! You don’t need a fucking computer or the internet or The Voice or American Idol.”

Singers and Musicians
by David Ackert, LA Times

"Singers and Musicians are some of the most driven, courageous people on the face of the earth. They deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime. Every day, they face the financial challenge of living a freelance lifestyle, the disrespect of people who think they should get real jobs, and their own fear that they'll never work again. Every day, they have to ig...nore the possibility that the vision they have dedicated their lives to is a pipe dream. With every note, they stretch themselves, emotionally and physically, risking criticism and judgment. With every passing year, many of them watch as the other people their age achieve the predictable milestones of normal life - the car, the family, the house, the nest egg.

musicians and singers are willing to give their entire lives

Why? Because musicians and singers are willing to give their entire lives to a moment - to that melody, that lyric, that chord, or that interpretation that will stir the audience's soul. Singers and Musicians are beings who have tasted life's nectar in that crystal moment when they poured out their creative spirit and touched another's heart. In that instant, they were as close to magic, God, and perfection as anyone could ever be. And in their own hearts, they know that to dedicate oneself to that moment is worth a thousand lifetimes.”