NAVIGATING MUSIC INDUSTRY LANDMINES - PART 2
Action Steps
As I mentioned in Part 1 - here are some actionable steps for those creatives, finding themselves in the difficult positions I mentioned:
Educate yourself: All You Need to Know About the Music Business, The Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing, Who is Michael Ovitz?, The Five Heartbeats, Cadillac Records, Hitsville: The Making of Motown, and ‘The Black Godfather are some good resources. As you know, a quick Google or YouTube search will also turn up plenty more, but remember - double check the information
Empower yourself: Being book smart, and understanding the music business intellectually is important - but just as important, maybe more, is developing strength of character, resolve, and emotional intelligence. Understand how people operate and think at all levels of this business (as much as you can). Understand incentives. Be clear on what you actually need at every point of your career - i.e., if you have never released music - you probably don’t need a manager. Understand how to discern the credibility of people and information - critical thinking and self-direction are supremely important. The list goes on and on - simply put, realize that this is a business - and in business, you come across all sorts of characters; particularly, in a business that doesn’t require any form of training, education, or accreditation as a pre-requisite. Oh yeah, find a healthy hobby outside of music..
Think Differently: For the life of me, I could never understand why producers simply chase bigger artists instead of looking to develop their own artists. I understand the benefits that come with getting a big placement (recognition, larger paychecks, and a big publishing deal - to be covered later); but every producer is doing these things. I’m not telling you not to do it - but also think like a business. If you can produce one song, you can produce an album, if you can produce an album you can produce multiple albums, if you can produce multiple albums and develop marketing and distribution capabilities (much easier now) then you are effectively functioning as a record label. Similarly, songwriters, I believe, should be thinking about partnering with producer(s) - that way they can leverage their talent, and revenue (both on the composition and master side) even as they face increasing hurdles in this new music industry.
Charge Session Fees (and stick to it) - enough said.
Seek To Monetize Your Brand - I spoke about the ‘Creator Economy’ in this article. Read it to understand more about the potential of on demand courses, subscription based channels, and cohorts - in addition to any unique ideas that you develop based on your persona, brand, and emerging technolgies.
Reach Out: There are organizations, associations, and unions that songwriters and producers can align themselves with - and there are reputable lawyers, managers, and other advocates that can educate artists, writers and producers on their rights and help them enforce those rights.
If you’re an artist, writer or producer who needs assistance, reach out to me and i’ll try to connect you with someone who can help.
Elijah Adefope is a media, entertainment, and technology consultant and attorney. He is Lead Counsel at Substack, a media technology platform for creatives, and has written two books on the music and sports industries. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia and can be reached on LinkedIn or at elijah@thrivesportsent.com