Custom sticker printing has done more for our band promotion than the use of social networks, and it’s all because people love free stuff. We use custom sticker printing in a number of different ways, all of which helps promote the band in ways that can appeal to our existing fan base, as well as to those who have never heard of us. It all starts with trying to let people know when and where we are playing a gig. We use custom sticker printing to order small batches of stickers that we can post around town in order to get people interested. The stickers save a bunch of time, as we used to have to traipse around town with flyers and a staple gun, just looking for places to hang them.

We also like to give our fans a little something to remember us by, so we use custom sticker printing to have our ugly mugs and band logo put on there. We then hand those out at our gigs, and then sign them so that those people will have a cool little souvenir when we sign that big recording deal. The great thing about custom sticker printing is that we can order those promo stickers in batches big or small, or quickly change the look of the picture, which is especially important if one of the guys suddenly decides that he want to quit the band and go get a “real job.”

There are some that might say that custom sticker printing is somewhat antiquated, but tell that to our fans who line up in droves to get their hands on those stickers. You should also tell that to the club owners who have their place filled because our stickers placed around town have done the job they intended. The notion of stickers being old school has lost some validity, and that’s all because of the QR code. We use custom sticker printing to make our unique QR code, which people just can’t help but scan with their smartphones. That gives them all the info they need about the band and where we are playing our latest gig. We may not have hit the big time yet, but with the help of our fans, and some custom sticker printing, it’s only a matter of time.

About the Author

Written by L. Taylor for Nova Custom Label Printing.

Nova provides custom printed labels, custom sticker printing, custom vinyl stickers, custom made stickers, customized stickers printing services to clients worldwide.

Here’s a couple of examples of what I mean. This was in a recent email from a music supervisor requesting music for a film.

“…Because it’s a period piece, the bulk of our budget will go to the actual production, equipment, costumes, production design, etc.” …Sorry, there is no payment for this opportunity.

Now I ask you, why is there money for every other aspect of this film except the music? Why does the budget NOT include money for the music? Isn’t music important enough to have been budgeted for just as the equipment and costumes were? And if the music isn’t important enough to have been budgeted for, why are they now searching for the right compositions to include in the film, and why the heck do they think they can have it for free?

Here’s another example: Watch out for a very shady practice that is becoming increasingly popular and profitable for people who call themselves “agents” for a TV/Film Placement Firm. These are actually middlemen who might offer to place your song in film or TV, then as payment for this service, require you to designate them as a co-writer of your song, along with 100% of your music publishing! That means they would be entitled to 50% of your writer’s royalties and 100% of your music publishing!! And what’s left for you…very little, actually.

The simple answer is that artists and composers anxious to get their music out in the world in some viable fashion are all too ready to give it away for free with the hope that it will benefit them in some small way down the road. Most of the time, it doesn’t. Artists have to be willing to just say, “No,” when the deal has no upside for them.

Here are more situations to look out for:

• Be wary of any indie film company, production house or music library that doesn’t offer to pay you for your music either in the form of licensing it or through a “work for hire” agreement.
• Be aware of the fact that a film company will probably ask for 100% of your publishing and they should pay for that. If you give (or hopefully sell) it to them, you still retain 100% of your writer’s royalties, so don’t let them take part of your Writer royalties by claiming to be a “Co-Writer” of the Track/Song.
• Walk away from any deal that doesn’t pay you a fair price for the use of your music and isn’t willing to list you in the production’s credits.
• Just say no to any offer that won’t agree to notify your Performance Rights Society (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, etc.) about the inclusion of your music in their production. If you aren’t getting paid from their offer, this is the only chance you have to make monies from your writer’s royalties or music publishing royalties.
• Make sure that whatever small concessions a company agrees to make (i.e. paying you any money, including you in the credits, notifying your Performance Rights Society and so on), that they will actually put it in writing once they are negotiated. If they can’t agree to that, there’s a problem and chances are the only thing you’ve gotten is lip service.

Over the years, the music industry has seen its share of unprincipled characters willing to take advantage of artists desperate for success, and it should come as no surprise to you that the old music business model is over as we move from selling a product to providing a service. The problem is, getting paid what our service is worth. Imagine a film, or a TV show, or a commercial, or a video game without music…you can’t! And yet more and more, the producers of these projects are asking us to practically give them our music for ‘promotional’ use. Perhaps in the old days, this might have made sense… to sell more albums. But since no one is buying albums anymore, maybe we should start demanding honest payment for the true value of our music, and/or of the services we provide, and stop giving it away.

Now is the time to send a message to those in charge of choosing music for Film and TV productions, especially the one’s that are offering ripped off “bad” deals, who want your music for free!

About the Author

COUNTDOWN ENTERTAINMENT – a New York City Intellectual Property firm that also provides Artist Management, Music Publishing, and Consultancy services. James Citkovic, president of Countdown Entertainment, continues to have a very successful Management firm since 1983, having represented many Artists and Producers, as well as partnering with some of the Most successful Managers, CEO’s and Presidents of many Major Entertainment firms around the world. Among the Artists James has Managed: “One of the Top 100 Black Entertainers of All Time”, Irene Cara. James also brokers Intellectual Properties (selling Major Music Publishing Catalogues, Record Labels & Masters of Major Platinum Artists) to high Level Key Decision Makers in the Entertainment Industry worldwide. James has secured Catalogue deals for: Lynyrd Skynyrd/Blackfoot; The Ramone’s; Irene Cara; Concrete Blond; Fred Schneider of the B-52′s; Elvis Presley Trilogy; The Fixx; Joe Strummer Estate(The Clash); European dance artists “SASH”, just to name a few. If you are interested in any of the services we provide, or if you have an Earning Catalogue for sale (Publishing firm or Record label), or if you would like to purchase a Major Catalogue, please contact James. Serious inquiries only please!

James Citkovic COUNTDOWN ENTERTAINMENT,
James@CountdownEntertainment.com
www.CountdownEntertainment.com

You know how to make great music. But as most talented people eventually figure out, that’s only one part of the equation when it comes to finding success in the music business. You need someone who can show you the steps, point you in the right direction, and make sure the right people hear your project or catch your live show. That’s what we do at ktc mgmt.

Here are the top 9 things you need in an artist manager or artist consultant:

1. A hand on the steering wheel. Let’s be honest. Most musicians are not business people. Unless you want to spend years learning and keeping up with the ever changing business realities of the music industry, you need an artist manager who can take care of the details for you so you can focus on making music.
2. Organization. It’s important to have a solid organization behind you even before you achieve significant inroads in the music business. Your fans will never see the cogs that keep the machine running (i.e., accountants, road crew, etc.), and that’s just how it should be. You need an organization that works behind the scenes to make sure you can do what you do best—–make great music.
3. Contacts. If you don’t know the right people, it’s difficult to get anywhere in the music business. Like it or not, deals in the music business are struck the same way they are in other businesses and record executives work with people they know and trust. You can either lament the fact that great music never gets heard because of this (and that’s true enough) or you can get an artist manager who knows this business and let the system work for you.
4. Support. You need an artist manager who believes in what you’re doing artistically. You need someone who will support you and go to bat for you while also helping you strike that delicate balance between being true to your artistic vision and putting out music that your audience will receive.
5. Motivation. Truth be told, even the most driven artists and bands occasionally need someone to provide them with encouragement when the daily grind of the music business gets them down (and it will sometimes). Contrary to popular belief, the music business takes a lot of work and isn’t for the faint of heart. Even those who do work hard need that extra push once in a while, and a good artist manager should provide motivation.
6. Straight Talk. Let’s face it, musicians can be temperamental. You need an artist consultant you can trust. Someone who will be unwavering and give you the best possible advice, especially when times are tough. The consultants at ktc mgmt bring that rare combination of candor and tact to your management team.
7. Learning the business. Even if you don’t want a manager to handle all of the business details, you’re going to need a solid consultant to help you work through issues like understanding publishing agreements or recording contracts, how to market your music to movies, TV and other media, or how to get your gear overseas for an international date or tour. These are just a few examples of what an artist consulting company is capable of handling. This is what we do at ktc mgmt.
8. Expense Streams. If you don’t approach your band like a business, you’re chances of succeeding financially are slim. The right management company will help manage your expenses, making sure you’re not spending more than you’re making. The delicate balance of managing expenses is a fundamental of any successful business.
9. Income Streams. In the end, everyone desires the rock star lifestyle. While it would be fortuitous to score a Top 40 hit, there are plenty of ways to earn an income as an artist, at all levels. An artist management company like ktc mgmt can help you realize income streams you may not have thought of, keeping your head above water long enough for you to get the exposure you need to win in the super tough music business.

About the Author

At ktc mgmt we provide a unique artist consulting service which is designed to provide you with clear guidance aimed at increasing your revenues and decreasing expenses. We are able to do this by utilizing our experience in the music industry, combined with our knowledge of business and marketing. With past clients ranging from garage bands to artists signed to major labels, we have a proven ability to work with a wide range of artists.

Contact: ktc mgmt or music@ktcmgmt.com

One idea is to submit your music to one or more online stock music libraries. Similar to stock photo sites, these businesses operate by allowing content creators to send in their material, have it offered to customers, and pay you a portion of the income if and when your track should get sold (licensed) to a customer.

There are many stock music sites, often referred to as “royalty-free music” websites out there. Some of them allow anybody to set up an account and simply start uploading their own material. Others – such as my own site Shockwave-Sound.com – have a more stringent “quality control” process in which you contact the site owner and ask them to evaluate your music, at which point you may be accepted or rejected.

The different sites / businesses have different selection criteria. Some require that you are not a member of a Performance Rights Organization (PRO); others are happy to use your music even if you are a member. Some require that your music is not in any YouTube Content ID system; others don’t mind. Some companies may pay you some money up-front, whether it’s a buy-out of your tracks or advance on royalties – others do not pay any advances. It’s a good idea to spend some time using a company’s website for a while, check their articles, contact pages, listen to their music, read their end user license agreement (EULA), so that you can get to know the company a bit before you start working with them and hand them your jewels. For example, the YouTube Content ID, once entered into, can be very tricky to get back out of, so you may want to take extra care about that.

I think it’s safe to say that very few composers, if any, have “made it rich” by having their music sold via royalty-free music websites, but a lot of composers use it as a source for a nice little side income, which works for them week in and week out, while they continue pitching for new projects.

Some reputable stock music websites that you could start off with include neosounds.com, beatsuite.com and productiontrax.com.

About the author

Bjorn Lynne started his musical career in the early 1990’s when he composed “tracker music” for Amiga games. He went on to work for Team17 Software for 10 years; first as an in-house composer/producer and then as an audio manager. He set up his own music publishing business in 2005 and today he owns and manages the royalty-free music / YouTube-safe music website Shockwave-Sound.com and the royalty-free sound effects website 1SoundFX.com

Billboard reports that the singer’s death, at age 73, prompted her highest sales week ever. The Best of Etta James – 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection rose to number 46 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with 8,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In the week used to track those sales, only two days were after she passed away. Her previous highest-charting album was At Last!, which peaked at number 68 in 1961.

Moreover, that same week, total sales from her catalog were at 30,000, which represents a 378 percent increase from the year before. Total digital sales were up to 118,000 songs, with more than half of those coming from purchases of digital copies of “At Last.”

But this is not a new trend emerging with James’ death, and sales numbers have traditionally risen when artists pass away. However, with the readily available subscription services – in addition to sites like YouTube and the prominence of illegal downloads – it is refreshing that music fans are going out and buying (or purchasing downloaded) records to support the legacies of these artists.

One of the most prominent examples of a sales bump after the passing of an artist was when Michael Jackson died in 2009. A TIME magazine article commemorating the year anniversary of the King of Pop’s passing reported that in the year since he died, Sony Music sold 31 million Jackson albums. That came after a huge sales increase immediately following his death – nine million of those albums were sold within three weeks of his death, according to the Los Angeles Times.

But death is not the only thing that will inspire a sales bump. Any number of factors can spark record sales, like when former “American Idol” Kelly Clarkson saw sales increase after she voiced support of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul through her Twitter account.

Even President Obama got in on the action. At a recent event at the New York’s Apollo Theater, the president paid tribute to Al Green, who was in the audience, by singing a few bars from the classic soul singer’s hit, “Let’s Stay Together.” The song sold 16,000 downloads the following week, which represents a 490 percent increase from the week before.

While all of these events likely would have caused sales bumps for the respective artists at any time, the news of recent sales spikes correspond with a recent trend of the entire music industry showing improvement recently. With complete 2011 sales numbers slowing being revealed, it appears the music industry is slowly beginning to work towards progress in sales numbers.

IFPI, a music organization, reported that digital revenue grew by 8 percent in 2011, as compared to 3 percent in 2010. This puts the total value of the global digital music market at $5.2 billion, which is an increase from the $4.8 billion it was worth the previous year. The report by the international music association called the growth of the digital music business “unprecedented,” and credits the revenue increase, in part, to the growing success and widespread use of digital streaming music services like Spotify and Rhapsody, as well as new cloud service by iTunes and Amazon, among others.

The report states that major digital services were present in 58 countries at the end of 2011, as opposed to 23 countries at the beginning of the year. The number of paying subscribers also increased dramatically over the year, up 65 percent to 13.4 million around the world. Additionally, the revenues also resulted from the rise of single track downloads (up 11 percent), as well as digital album sales (up 24 percent). For the first time, more than half of record company revenue in the United States is from digital sales, which account for 52 percent of recorded music revenue. As a comparison, 71 percent of revenue in China comes from digital sales.

Overall, the total revenue generated by the music industry was down 3 percent, from $16.7 billion to $16.2 billion. But, this represents a much better number than the 8-9 percent drop the industry faced the year before. In a statement, IFPI CEO Frances Moore summed up the optimism he said the report contained about the upcoming year.

“As we enter 2012, there are good reasons for optimism in the world of digital music,” he said. “Legal services with expanding audiences have reached across the globe and consumer choice has been revolutionized. Meanwhile momentum is building in the fight against piracy as governments and a growing circle of intermediaries engage with our industry.”

In the last part of the statement, Moore references new anti-piracy acts enacted by some governments, including the controversial anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA that had been moving through the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate before being placed on hold last week.

The report notes that France has introduced a graduated anti-piracy act called the Hadopi law that “has been successfully implemented and research shows it is having an impact on consumer behavior and on digital sales.” The report also notes that digital album sales in the U.S. grew by 19 percent, while albums sales in France increased 71 percent.

Both the SOPA and the PIPA bills were put on hold in their respective houses of Congress late last week, due in large part because of public outcry after large media websites like Wikipedia and Google voiced strong displeasure with the laws.

While the festival is usually held over one three-day weekend, this year’s gathering will take place over two three-day April weekends in the desert of Indio, Calif. And as an attempt to give more fans the chance to see their favorite artists, each weekend will feature the exact same lineup. To get a better idea of why the three-hour figure is so significant, consider the fact that last year’s festival, a one-weekend event, took six days to sell out.

All of this goes to illustrate the continually rising popularity of the already successful festival. Billboard reports that Coachella was the world’s top grossing festival in 2011, earning a gross of $24.9 million. That number is up from $21.7 million the previous year. In 2011, the festival drew 75,000 music fans per day, with an aggregate attendance total of 225,000.

As usual, the 2012 Coachella festival boasts a stellar lineup, and will be headlined by Radiohead, the Black Keys and a joint performance by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. But the festival has been making additional headlines for its power to bring bands back together.

Texas rock band At the Drive-In went through an apparently nasty breakup at the height of their success back in 2001. In the intervening years, some members went on to have a successful career with the Mars Volta, and almost any former At the Drive-In member that spoke about the band suggested that a reunion was unlikely. But the day before the Coachella lineup was announced, the band posted a not-so-cryptic Tweet that suggested a reunion and, sure enough, they were listed on the Coachella lineup the following day.

British band Pulp is another band that will have a reunion of sorts at the festival. The band played a few U.K. festival dates last year after lead singer Jarvis Cocker released two solo albums, but the band will play its first American dates as a reunited group at Coachella.

The indie-music set has been abuzz after the announcement that Jeff Mangum will play this year’s festival. The reclusive former frontman of Neutral Milk Hotel has been rarely been seen playing live music since walking away from the band in 1998 shortly after its most well-known album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea was released. Aside from a few solo shows late last year, little has been heard from Mangum in recent years.

And finally, the schedule is rounded out as always by an eclectic lineup that includes big names like David Guetta, Arctic Monkeys, Feist, Bon Iver and Florence + the Machine.

Grooveshark struck a deal with EMI in 2009 after a previous infringement lawsuit, and the new suit claims that Escape Media Group has “made not a single royalty payment to EMI, nor provided a single accounting statement.” Grooveshark responded with a statement that said, “This is a contract dispute that we expect to resolve.”

Though the actual damages EMI has asked for in the case have not been disclosed, the New York Times suggests the number is probably at least $150,000.

At a time when the more and more music streaming sites are relying on subscription services like Spotify and Rhapsody that are fully licensed by the major labels, Grooveshark has sought protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) since the site was founded in 2006. The DMCA is an ever-evolving and sometimes vague law that protects sites posting copyrighted digital material when they comply with take-down notices. Grooveshark is an unusual case because, unlike many other music subscription services, users upload songs – most of which are copyrighted – to the company’s servers.

Obviously, the major record labels are not happy with Grooveshark’s practices. The largest major, Universal Music Group, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Grooveshark late last year, and the other two majors, Sony and Warner Music Group soon joined that suit.

What these cases will really prove is just how must protection judges are willing to grant to websites under the DMCA. And as new laws are created now and in the future concerning internet distribution, it is unlikely that the decision in this case will be the final word on the matter. Currently, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the corresponding PROTECT IP bills are making their way through the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively. The bills would significantly redefine how digital information can be presented on the internet, as well as who is responsible for any infringement. Since they are concerned with content posted by the users of a site, it is likely that, if passed, these laws will affect the decision in the Grooveshark cases.

This new case is yet another in a long string of cases involving the DMCA, and it will be interesting to see the latest outcome.

EMI’s publishing division – which filed this lawsuit – was sold by its parent organization, Citigroup, to Sony Corporation in November of last year. The record label portion of the label was sold to Universal Music Group. Both of these sales, however, have to be cleared by government regulators before they are finalized.

For example, since the album, which was released in January 2011, has now sold 5.68 million copies, it is the first to sell over five million units since 2004. Usher claimed the last album to sell over five million copies – his record Confessions moved 7.9 million units. And in the week leading up to Christmas, sales of 21 soared again, with 399,000 copies sold. Not only is that number up 44 percent from the previous week, it marks the best-selling week for the album yet, even topping the 352,000 copies it sold its debut week 44 weeks ago.

Billboard magazine reports that the high sales this week make 21 only the 14^th album since 1991 to have at least 100,000 sales in at least 30 weeks. 1991 is used as the marker since that is when Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales. The 30 weeks at 100,000-plus were not consecutive, but the worst sales week Adele had with 21 was the week of August 20 when the album sold 76,000 copies. The streak puts 21 in the company of such albums as Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette, Cracked Rear View by Hootie and the Blowfish and the aforementioned Confessions by Usher, which racked up 33 weeks with over 100,000 sales. Many of the 14 albums on the list have gone on to become some of the best-selling albums of all time.

But this news isn’t all just about Adele. Though she’s at the top of the pack, the entire music industry looks to be breathing a (slight) sigh of relief this year. Overall music sales are expected to be up three percent for 2011. Probably not coincidentally, the last time music sales were up that much was also in 2004. Additionally, though a one percent drop in digital downloads in 2010 worried a record industry continually concerned about illegal downloads, those digital sales were up nearly ten percent in 2011. One of the forces behind that number was Lady Gaga.

Amazon.com announced a special during the first week of sales for Lady Gaga’s second album, Born This Way, that would charge customer’s only 99 cents for the entire album when they purchased it on the site. The price was only good for two days, but during that time 443,000 copies were sold at the discounted price. The sales boost prompted Billboard to amend the rules on how album sales factored into Billboard chart placement.

Last year was also good to Michael Buble, who will likely have the second best-selling album in the country. Though it wasn’t released until October (21 was released in January), his Christmas album has already racked up 2.43 million sales with one more week to go. Of course, being a holiday album, it’s unlikely Christmas will reach the 30-weeks of 100,000-plus mark Adele achieved, though she may not be done yet. The third single from 21, finally reached the top 10 of the Billboard Top 100 singles chart last week.

Termination rights is a complicated subject that no doubt will incite many court cases in the coming years as new precedents are set in relation to a provision of the current version of United States copyright law, which went into effect in 1978. The debated provision in that act states that artists are allowed to terminate copyright grants 35 years after the song is first published. If those copyright grants are terminated, then the copyrights of the song would revert back to the original songwriter. Since the 35 years will be up in 2013, and artists have a two-year window prior to that to file a claim, the rights to many songs currently are being debated.

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” adds a slightly new twist to the termination rights concerns because of a long and unique history, in part because it was written and published before 1978 when the new terms took place. J. Fred Coots, on whose behalf the lawsuit is being filed, co-wrote the song in 1934 with Haven Gillespie. Publishing rights to the song originally were assigned to Leo Feist, at the time the owner of one of the largest publishing companies in the world. That contract was renewed several times, including in 1981, three years after the 1978 copyright act went into effect. That same year, Coots came to an agreement with the company after sending a termination notice to the publishing company that owned the rights after acquiring Feist’s company. Coots died in 1985, and the publishing company was eventually owned by EMI.

The debate was sparked again in 2006 when Coots’ estate sent yet another termination notice to EMI after reaching a publishing agreement with Warner Bros. Music Corporation. EMI contested the notice, saying that Coots already had exercised his termination rights in 1981, while the estate says that notice was invalid. The case currently is in a Florida federal court.

The amount of money to be made from owning the copyright for one of the most popular Christmas songs of all-time is extremely high. The song has been covered by over 150 musicians, including Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, Lynyrd Skynyrd and recently on a Christmas album by Justin Beiber.

While many of the new termination rights cases will focus on songs published during or after 1978, the law still leaves much up for interpretation for songs published before this time. This particular case raises common questions that must be settled in court, such as how rights are handled when the song is co-written, as well as what constitutes a “valid” termination rights notice.