Episode 7 of the IMSTA Song Reviews LIVE was a lot of fun. There were 7 good songs and the reviewers gave it their all and provided some amazing feedback as always. In the end, the top song of the episode was "In Harmony" by Marknox. A groovy song with a solid vocal performance and great musicianship, "In Harmony" was in harmony with the panel’s taste for good music. This was a well-deserved win for Marknox, a composer, keyboardist, producer and sound engineer from Toronto, Canada. His composition accomplishments include a wide range of film scores, TV open themes, Pop songs and numerous production music tracks that have been used all over the world. Mark is currently the owner/operator of NewSound Productions, a boutique music production studio located in downtown Toronto.

Episode 6 was sponsored by PSP Audioware. Take a listen to the winning song below:

Marknox

One of the most depressing observations I’ve made about new music is, so few really care. When you add up that music as an art is basically free to the world and a sad thing called “Music Paralysis”, the amount of engaged music lovers or fanatic music lovers is just so small. In short, most people could care less about new music. There is no greater diss in my mind than being apathetic to the artistic process. So why do it at all?

So, what is music paralysis? 

“A new study conducted suggests that people over the age of 30 tend not to seek out new music, a state referred to as “musical paralysis.” …… The survey, conducted by music streaming service Deezer, polled 1,000 Americans about their listening habits and found that, on average, people reach “musical paralysis” at an age of 29 years and 10 months. The results also indicate that people, on average, reach the peak of their music discovery efforts around age 26. – “From Live for Live Music Andrew O-Brien”

One could argue if this really exists, but I can assure you from my observation, it really does. The exception is with most industry people as they have learned skills for listening or the millions of music fanatics that are out there. However, when we are talking about the normal non fanatic consumer north of 30, it leaves a much smaller group of potential fans to engage with. I have been curating new releases in the New Music Collective for almost five years and for the most, only a few really care. In fact, the most common response is “it was better back then” or they only respond to music that the mainstream is pushing hard. So sadly, if you are an artist trying to get heard, it can be so bleak because, so few really care. What’s point of trying?

The other harsh reality is music is just too free. We have devalued music art so much the general consumer takes it for granted. You can get Spotify FREE and basically have access to all the music in the world for nothing. Stranger still is that so many people north of 30 don’t have Spotify FREE nor do they pay for a monthly music subscription! Most people think $120 a year is too much to have access to all the music in the world but have no issue paying five bucks a day on designer coffee. How upside down is that?

This is not the case with music enthusiasts south of age thirty or the diehard music lovers. They “tithe the ten” gladly. They totally understand the industry term “The Value Gap”.  It’s a no-brainer to pay $10 a month for everything. With such a small pool of potential fans, why would anyone bother to even consider being a musical artist?

Add to this, that the streaming payouts for one-to-one play royalties is so small, that making a living seems impossible. There are millions of naysayers to the modern music market. The “Value Gap”, a term the industry has coined where the value massively favors the consumer instead of the creator, is a real thing. There is so much room for Royalty reform to fix this. So again, why even try to be a music artist?

Thankfully for our younger generation and all the music fanatics out there, there is still an artistic need by millions to express themselves musically. There are now tools to do this inexpensively, in the comfort of your home and in high fidelity. There are now many music aggregators enabling you to release your music to the world without a record contract. As we have discussed, there has never been such a time in the history of recorded music. Yes, it’s hard to find a following but every week I find new artists with mad talent with enough fans to start making recurring “Art Money”. This blog was about me observing this amazing movement happening off the mainstream that is almost all outside the purview of the big labels. It was about noticing how so many artists have this driving need to create where the “do” was more important than the “done”.

This is the question that needs to be asked. Are you obsessed with creating and expressing? If you said yes, then this new world of music subscriptions, streaming, growing a fanbase, playing IRL, and engaging with your followers is pure artistic opportunity. Once you have figured out your potential audience is most likely younger, or they are your old fans, or just real music lovers, it becomes obvious why being authentic resonates the most. If you are an older artist with a respectful catalog, your opportunity is to fire up your older fans and bring them into the present while hopefully making them new music fanatics. At the same time, you are introducing your catalog to new music lovers. All of this is possible because of the way music is now distributed. Streaming music from Spotify, Apple Music or any other DSP is an opportunity not a roadblock.

The leader of the viral funk band VULFPECK Jack Stratton, is very vocal about how unfair streaming payouts are to artists. He is right, there needs to be reform. The Value Gap needs to be fixed. His band “gamed” Spotify in 2014 with an LP called “Sleepify”. They asked their rather large viral fanbase to stream the LP of total silence while they slept. They made twenty grand and used the cash to fund an admission free tour that blew up their following. In an interview on CNBC in 2018 on the eve on Spotify’s IPO, Jack was brilliant in his dismantling of the Spotify business model (yes reform is needed) but in the closing questions of the interview he was asked if there was any tangible benefit to the ‘streaming era’ – to which he honestly said, well of course, it’s because of the model they don’t need a label and are as successful as they are. Google it – it’s worth it.

Always remember it’s just too easy to complain about Spotify. Too many industry people make the erroneous comparison of physical LP/EP unit sales to only Spotify payouts. Spotify is 30% of the streaming revenues so this is like measuring your old hard copy sales at one Record Store chain. Then, so many still think it’s about selling stuff, when all the younger artists know it’s about growing and engaging a fanbase. Spotify is nothing but one ‘engagement funnel’. Look at any modern link tree of a new record release and you will see there are many ‘engagement funnel’. All funnels lead to your very simple website where there is a picture of the artist, then usually buy my hard goods such as CD’s or Vinyl, then here is my complete back catalog in convenient link tree’s, this is where we will be on tour, here are some super fan opportunities for the live events, here are my video’s, please become a fan here and contact information for gigs, feats, or licensing.  I have investigated thousands of artists webpages, and this is the common formula. It’s no secret.

Instead of echoing common complaints, learn about the current Royalty system. It’s so complex that often it’s not about earning royalties, it’s about getting paid all the royalties you earned. There so many services and resource material to help you in this, it’s almost irresponsible to not arm yourself with the knowledge. Then, when it comes to the needed reform, be specific on what needs to be changed. Saying the Spotify payouts should be much bigger just signals you may be lacking acumen. You need to know streaming is a one-to-one radio royalty. It’s a recurring revenue stream modeled after radio play not physical record sales. Yes, the payouts are not correct, nor should the different royalties be so convoluted, but I believe we should be united in what the best possible reforms should be. First – I believe we need to abolish the FREE Ad supported subscription models. It’s time to pull the plug. These models only dilute the pro rata royalty pie. As much as it may be impossible, I would like to see the Pro Rata payment system change to a one-to-one payment system. The Pro Rata model simply favors the big labels way too much. Next, the whole streaming model was designed to be interactive but, it’s the passive aspect of playlists and algorithms that subscribers are using. We need to add a new royalty layer to all ‘passive’ play. And finally – the more music lovers that “tithe the ten”, the more money the music DSP’s make and then slowly the power will shift to the creators. $120 a year for all the music in the world is a no-brainer. Spread the word.

Instead of detailing each one, here is a final list of all the Realty Checks with some commentary. Each one is a blog entry with detail.

1. It’s no longer about selling anything – it’s all about finding, growing, and nurturing engagement with your fan base.
2. There is just too much music – millions of choices for music lovers, you need to be prolific and authentic to be sticky.
3. Rock Star money is rare; art money is attainable – it’s the sum of all engagement funnels that trigger recurring revenue. 170K Monthly Spotify Listeners (multiply by 3 for total world-wide listeners) makes Art Money.
4. New music is king – you need to be prolific with re-purposed new tracks or new music to sustain engagement.
5. If your catalog is old – release something new even if its repurposed tracks – it will stimulate plays of your back catalog.
6. You must engage your fans IRL (in real life) – this is the stickiest and value rich form of engagement. You must kill it live or your fans will move on.
7. Write Cohesive LP/EP’s – the single era is gone. There is no ‘considered’ purchase of your CD – you want your fans to hit play on track one and not stop till the end.
8. Learn to understand your metrics – Spotify and many other DSP’s give you deep analytics, learn to mine them and it will pay dividends.
9. You do not need the Mainstream anymore – Indy or small label at all costs. You want to own your masters. If you make the big label world – fantastic.
10. Authenticity is Your Brand – find your true voice, be brave and authentic. Young and music fanatics resonate with this.
11. Being Prolific is the Business – Until your catalog is deep, write prolifically, this fuels the building of a fanbase and hones your authenticity.
12. Be obsessed with the “Do” not the “Done” – there is artistic opportunity everywhere and this fundamental work ethic will always guide you.

One of the observations I have made is that a lot of the modern musical innovation has come from artists that where not mainstream. They were disruptors and authentic to a fault. They started as ‘artist owned’ or DIY. They may have risen to lofty heights, but it was on their terms. They owned the relationship with their fans. If you go off the mainstream, the examples of this explodes. This vibrant, growing, innovative, and exciting DIY, artist owned, and small label sector is where so much great new music is hiding from the masses but adored by their fans.

It is from this sector that I have observed these reality checks. This is where I created terms like ‘art money’ or ‘engagement versus sales’, the ‘Coachella cycle’, and most of all that ‘authenticity is your brand’ and ‘being prolific is the business’. It’s these pioneering artists of the streaming era that have created a new template for artistic opportunity. The potential is so vast, and I know that we are lucky because “creators will create”.  I truly believe we are now in the second golden age of recorded music.

I humbly dedicate this to everyone that creates music because they have too. There are millions of young ears and music fanatics that keep their ears young. We all want to hear your music. So please keep creating and the ears will find you. Thank you.     

https://newmusicworld.org/

Episode 6 of the IMSTA Song Reviews LIVE was on fire this past Saturday and there were a lot of great entries with some phenomenal performances. In the end, Singer/songwriter Ian Elkerton’s “Chasing Winter” came on top with an overall score of 34.5 out of 40. Although the intro could be much shorter, the overall song structure is on point. Ian more than makes up for the long intro by capturing the audience’s attention from the first moment he starts to sing. The lyrics jump out and the production supports the narrative of the song very well. Overall, Ian’s “Chasing Winter” is a professional level song with a lot of potential. Ian Elkerton has been writing music since he was 16 years old and has come from a long line of musicians and singers. He is currently attending SAE Institute to pursue his dream of being a producer.

Episode 6 was sponsored by Sonible, SAE Institute & NAMMYP.

Take a listen to the winning song below:

Ian Elkerton

We truly now live in a headline click bait and sound byte era. With pervasive mobile connectivity, the media and advertising world has realized they are competing for microseconds not minutes. Everything is disposable unless a viral surge sustains the sticky. The world of news and current events dominate this sound byte bedlam and the deterioration of critical thought has given rise to a tide of confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance. Yet, how has this affected art? How has this affected music? On one hand I see art, especially music art, as a counterweight to this but also a victim to the serial need for new everything. Music lovers will still delve deep into a loved record or artist. They still put their favorite music or even playlists into high rotation. But catching the attention of music lovers and your fans really requires sustained effort. There is just so much music, so much noise, that almost every successful independent or signed artist has one thing in common in the new music world. They are prolific and their fans love new music.

Being prolific in todays music industry is not just about having a mountain of new releases. As we have discussed, almost every artist re-purposes their songs. This re-release of familiar material is an effective way to keep your fans engaged. Yet, it is without doubt that your fans are real because they like what you create. They relate to your expressions and to your authenticity. In this new world of constant noise, any new expression is a very powerful elixir. In my opinion, it’s part of the counterweight to the disposable phenomenon. As much as people are under a constant barrage of everything, humans still enjoy and need long form art with deeper narratives and music is the perfect food for everyone’s artistic soul. So, new singles, new EP’s or LP’s are super important to sustain and grow your fanbase. You simply need to write as much as you can, as often as you can until your catalog is big enough to support longer periods in between new releases. This pressure for new is real for both Indy and big label artists.

The second aspect of being prolific is developing your authenticity. The Beatles wrote some amazing songs, but they where never back to back. They came as they wrote many songs. As they finished one, they moved to the next and in the process the great songs emerged. This is pretty true for almost all successful authentic artists. They simply had to create and the more they created, the more authentic their voices became, and the special art emerged from the process of being prolific. As an artist in these modern times, you need to be obsessed with the “doing” and not the “done”. Many artists obsess on perfecting just one musical expression and once it’s complete they obsess with that singular example. Prolific artists live in the energy of creating and once their expression is complete, they share it with the world and sustain the new work with a host of modern tactics such as the most important of all, IRL (in real life). Yet, as what I call the “Coachella Cycle” ends, these artists are drawn back to their creative corners to embrace the writing process.

When you add all this up and look at the sound byte world we live in, and how both off the mainstream and big label artists are successful in sustaining and growing a fanbase - it’s easy to understand why I say “being prolific is the business”.

Reality Check #12 - Artistic opportunity and wrapping up the observations …

https://newmusicworld.org/

Streaming has changed the landscape of the worldwide music industry. There has never been a time where so many artists can release their music independently or partner with a smaller Indy label. With a paid subscription, music enthusiasts basically have access to every recording from the past, present, and near future. There is really an infinite variety of music to explore. So how do you stand out, get noticed and grow a sticky fanbase? It appears that music lovers, especially young ones, seem to gravitate to “authentic” music art. To grow a fanbase, authenticity seems to be the magic elixir in finding and maintaining a fanbase.

The global music industry was worth 26 billion in 2021. This is an 18% surge from 2020 and the largest since the 1990’s. Streaming now accounts for 65% of all revenues, and the major labels earned well over 20 billion dollars of the total revenue. It’s still rock star money if you can reach the pinnacle of the industry, but the fastest growing portion of the industry is still the “artist owned” Indy sector. Streaming subscriptions has changed how music lovers discover and engage with new artists and this new rising sector is benefiting.

As I have done before, I will use Coachella as the example. Look at the lineup poster from any year and you will notice only the “big font” acts are mainstream. Most of the other “smaller font” acts are a diverse collection of artists, genres, and expressions. In a word, this festival and many others routinely showcase artists with a high level of authenticity. There is a reason for this. The audience tends to be younger, largely music enthusiasts that have totally embraced the streaming era’s “value gap” plus the almost infinite supply of music. They hit the play button on anything, save along the way and revel in the freedom of discovery.

What’s become apparent, is these younger music lovers can sense when a musical product is being sold. They value authentic expression over mainstream hype and promotion. The mainstream mavens are still masters of their business, so great music is routinely promoted and released but this is truly becoming the era of the authentic artist. Freedom to make anything is a result of computers, music software, and gear being both powerful and affordable. You can make a Grammy winning album in your bedroom. Then with the advent of Music aggregators the path to market has zero barriers. Lastly, the market is all digital so the consumption of music is free with ad supported models or for $120 a year, you can have unfettered access to basically everything.

The result of this freedom of expression is a surge in authentic musical art. Authenticity is proving to be ‘super sticky’ when finding, growing, and engaging your fanbase. This is why I composed the slogan: “Authenticity is your brand”. It’s my opinion all artists are best served by being as authentic as possible in their art of creating music. I believe this should be the ultimate litmus of an artist’s creative process. Did they try to make a musical product that fits an existing ideal, genre expectation or make it sound like something currently popular or was their expression free of commercial influence and formulaic intent? I am not saying authentic is a new thing but rather its importance has risen. In today’s new music world, Authenticity is your brand!

In the next reality check, we will explore why I believe being prolific is now the business.

https://newmusicworld.org/

There was a time when you had to have a contract with a notable record label just to get your music tracked, mastered, and distributed to as many record stores as possible. The mainstream of the industry was the ultimate gatekeeper. Everything notable passed through their doors before it was enjoyed by music lovers around the world. Today, if you are talented and lucky enough to land a major contract with one of the big music labels, you will have deep support and resources to find and grow a fan base. For those that are mortal, the good news is you no longer need the mainstream to record, master, and distribute your music. You can be entirely independent or forge a partnership with a smaller Indy label. In fact, your authenticity will probably flourish if you stay Indy or small label.

The major record labels still own the lion share of the industry’s revenues but the ‘artist owned’ segment is gaining ground all the time. This is a mixture of independent artists, but also smaller labels where the masters stay artist owned. Most of the “off the mainstream” music I find, curate, and share comes from this growing sector of the recording industry. If you look at the Coachella lineup each year, most of the festival card is small label, artist owned or Indy. It’s my belief this sector is where the most musical innovation comes from. In other words, there is a lot of freedom to express authentic art and not make a product. I hold no grudge or disdain for the big labels and the mainstream, as they are professional giants representing super talented artists. Yet, this grass roots ‘artist owned’ movement is spreading top to bottom.

Taylor Swift is a great example of how the Indy and small label mindset is creating change at the top. Taylor started her epic career with a sweet big label record contract. Like most big contracts, she did not own her masters. Subsequently, her catalog was sold, and she no longer had control. To combat this, she simply released new recordings with masters she owned. She knew her fans where hers and not the label’s. She also realized that with music subscription, her fans did not have to consider buying her CDs again. They just streamed the new LP’s. Brilliant. This is an extreme top-down example, but the lesson is the same. In this era, the artist should own all their masters and be in control of all their royalties. This is best done as “artist owned” or by signing to a smaller “facilitator” style label.

When Billie and Finneas dropped “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO” it sent shivers through the executive offices of the big labels. They did this on their own, in a bedroom with a dedicated fanbase waiting. After that release, I recall a quote from Jimmy Iovine where he basically said this, “the artist now owns the relationship with their fans, not the label. The labels need to start asking the artist what they can do for them, and not the other way around”. These are profound words that are at the heart of the Artist Owned, Indy and small label sector.

When I say “facilitator” label I am referring to the ‘artist first’ mindset. There are many smaller labels that really want to help the artist make their most authentic music. They are there to help by handling the time-consuming stuff like promotion, social, tour management, backend licensing, and a whole host of things that the artist once had to do on their own. The purpose is simple - to nurture and facilitate the artists ability to concentrate on their musical vision. New music is the life blood to continuing engagement with a fan base and these labels know this is hard to do, so they make this as easy as possible.

The younger generation can smell a product with a sales pitch a mile away. It’s becoming apparent they prefer authenticity in the expression of art. I constantly discover interesting artists with authentic music that none of the big labels would ever consider signing. Yet, these artists have dedicated large fan bases. The Unknown Mortal Orchestra has 2.4 million monthly Spotify listeners, with an estimated 7.2 million world-wide monthly listeners. Thundercat has 4.3 million monthly Spotify listeners, with an estimated 7.2 million world-wide monthly listeners. Ludovico Einaudi is a classical composer, and he has an estimated 19 million world-wide monthly listeners. Only one of these are signed to a major label. Can you guess which one?

If you are an artist just starting out, you DO NOT need a record contract from one of the major labels. There is zero barrier to release your music independently. Armed with this freedom, there is no one to tell you what your music should be. I contend that if you stay authentic and hone your art you will find fans. If your fan-base grows to that magic 500K world-wide monthly listeners, then there would be many small “artist first” record labels that would be happy to sign you. Stay Indy or small label at all costs.

https://newmusicworld.org/

Everyone knows you made more money in the good old days selling hard copies of your records. In today’s streaming era, many see Spotify as the villain. Even though they represent 30% of the streaming market, their per stream payout makes it difficult to make a living. It goes without saying that reform is needed.

However, many forget to understand the advantages artists have in the digital streaming era. Spotify is one-part recurring revenue, but also one-part radio because it has a free ad supported model. It’s also one-part business intelligence. Artists get continuous granular metrics of what their fans are listening too, when they are listening, and for how long. You even know where these fans are located around the world and much more. Never in the history of the music business has so many analytics been available to the artist. If you learn to mine this data, it can pay dividends in maximizing how you engage and grow a fanbase.

When you release a new EP/LP on the music DSP’s, there is no inventory to manage. There are no endcaps to buy space on, or big push into the world of radio. If you are lucky to be signed to a major label, they still trigger many promotional levers and then some. The mainstream big five are a well-oiled marketing and promotion machine. They even command the top squares on all the DSP’s. Without a doubt their KPI’s (key performance indicators) all come from the analytics the DSP’s share with content creators. This access is NOW 100% democratic and every artist has access to a host of useful data.

You work hard to write, record, mix, master, and release a new record. Within hours, you will know which track is resonating the most with your fans. You know which track is the ‘most played’. Was it one of the singles you trickle released? Did you predict which song would resonate the most? Did your fans play the new album from top to bottom? Or did they listen to the first one or two tracks and then move on? Within a very short time, there is a host of data that can help you make important musical and business decisions. Getting a granular snapshot of your total plays, will help you choose which track to re-purpose into a new sustaining engagement single. You may do an acoustic version, or a live version or add a ‘featured’ performer. This takes the guesswork out of it and instead you use concrete evidence from the data to inform your next creative step.

A new EP/LP release that gains traction with your fanbase, will usually trigger the streaming of your back catalog. In the physical unit sales era, your fans would have to ‘consider’ buying your back catalog. With music subscription this is not the case, and you can quickly measure the “all boats rise” factor as your fans start to listen to your entire catalog. It’s now the norm that with each successful release, your entire catalog usually starts to generate more plays. With your metrics you can draw conclusions from the play counts. It’s truly powerful data.

If you are an aspiring and evolving artist, finding your authentic voice is super important. It’s my experience that most modern fans gravitate to an authentic voice. Getting your play counts for each track will often help you hone your authenticity. For many artists it becomes surprising what song is the most played. It’s often that track they loved but thought no one would like. Since the numbers don’t lie, your analytics become a powerful way to get excellent feedback on the art you have created. Often, there is affirmation and that can only sharpen your pencil when you start writing your next EP/LP.

One of the other data collections is your demographics. Knowing where your fans are is critical to building an effective IRL (in real life) tour. Always target your fan rich cities and countries. They will show up to your show and bring friends. It could also be useful or at least interesting to know what the ratio of your audience is male, female, non-binary or unspecified. What is the predominant age group? You can also find out what other artists your fans listen to. This can help you forge potential collaborations for tours or adding a featured artist for your new record.

The data will also tell you where your fans are coming from. Did they all come from being on a playlist. You can see which of your songs have been added to a playlist, which is a key performance indicator. You can also see if your fans are coming from your artist page or primarily from these playlist inclusions. All this data helps inform how your fans are engaging with your music. I would never suggest you manipulate your compositions to trigger favourable analytics, but I do know that often, your analytics will help you discover your most resonate artistic voice. Mine your metrics, it will pay dividends.music art. Always try to write cohesive albums as it will pay off in this new era where there is a zero-dollar investment for your fans to consider all your music.

Reality Check #9 – you do not need the mainstream anymore, Indy or small label at all costs

https://newmusicworld.org/

often talk about what I call the golden age of recorded music being the “album era” from the mid 1960’s through to the 2000’s. Prior to this, the 45 RPM seven-inch single was the primary format for the record industry. The “album era” really featured an explosion of timeless recordings and completely cohesive LP works that stand the test of time to this day. The 1980’s saw the rising dominance of CD’s and the peak of physical LP sales by the end of the 1990’s. Napster changed the script with their file sharing platform and then on January 9th of 2001, Apple released the first version of iTunes. The industry came full circle and the era of the .99 cent “single” came of age in 2005 with Gwen Stefani’s “Hollow Back Girl” becoming the first track to be downloaded a million times.

Armed with a computer, consumers started shopping singles from iTunes and other sources with a passion, creating playlists to sync to their iPods and taking with them everywhere. Everything was about the single and the hope that a consumer would later pay $9.99 for the entire digital LP instead collecting their favorite tracks as singles. In so many ways, the cohesive LP faded as the artistic priority. The playlist had become the king of the hill and you wrote singles at all costs. Physical sales started to decline as the MP3 era evolved and then the industry was disrupted again when Spotify was founded in 2006. By 2013 streaming had become the dominant source of music consumed.

During these times, there was a parallel revolution of how music was created and recorded. From the 1980’s into the 1990’s computers and the rise of DAW software changed the creative methods and slowly lowered the bar to releasing professional quality music without the need of an expensive studio. It’s totally possible with today’s software and computers to write, record and master a Grammy worthy LP in the comfort of your bedroom. In 2005 TuneCore was founded and marked the beginning of the ‘aggregator’ era for artists to release music without having a traditional record contract.

We now have millions of tracks available in hundreds of worldwide markets to millions of streaming customers and the industry is coming full circle again, where the “cohesive” LP/EP is becoming the artistic priority and most valuable expression for music creators.

In the “album era” fans loved top to bottom play of vinyl, tape, and then CD. If the album was cohesive, it sold better. When the MP3 age arrived, ninety-nine cent singles took center stage and fans had to “consider” whether to buy the entire album or not. Fast forward to the streaming era and young artists have figured out that you trickle release singles into your LP/EP release and if your final album is cohesive, the odds increase your fans will play it top to bottom.

The key point they understand is that there is no longer a consideration to invest extra money to buy the entire album. Your fans can freely hit play and the more plays, the more revenue. Since the name of the game is keeping your fans engaged, if the new album is not cohesive, the chances of the dreaded “skip” increases. Because of all this, cohesive works with narrative themes and careful consideration to the order of the tracks around the singles is becoming the artistic norm.

In conclusion – cohesive albums are more engaging and increase the odds of top to bottom play. Yes, we are in the playlist era, but singles load the funnel where a new interested fan will open your entire catalog and hit play. It’s in the artist’s interest to capture that fan and draw them in with an “album era” style piece of music art. Always try to write cohesive albums as it will pay off in this new era where there is a zero-dollar investment for your fans to consider all your music.

Reality Check #8 – learn to understand and mine your metrics, it will pay dividends...

https://newmusicworld.org/

Episode 4 of the IMSTA Song Reviews LIVE started with a song called “Ruin Machine”, by a US band called Ruin Machines. Perhaps we should not have started with this song, since it set the bar for the other songs. Although there were so many good songs that followed, none measured up to “Ruin Machine”, which ultimately became the top song of episode 4 with scores that no other song had received in previous episodes. The song caught the listeners’ attention and kept it for the duration, right to the last note… It checked all the boxes, having a solid vocal performance on top of a well-produced rock track, and a guitar solo that you just want to keep on rewinding. A well-deserved win by Ruin Machines.

Episode 4 was sponsored by Antares, the makers of Auto-Tune.

Take a listen to the winning song below:

The name of the game in today’s new music world is growing an engaged fanbase. This is done on multiple levels with a culmination of touch points such as social media, trickle release singles, LP and EP releases, playlist placements, sync placements, and video - to mention a few. The stickiest of all engagement tactics is still playing live. This is the highest form of fan engagement. It’s very important to put on a great show and to make it memorable for your fans. If you don’t, they have hundreds of other artists to engage with. Unless you’re super famous, if you don’t engage IRL or tour, you will most likely not be able to stay relevant to your fans. They will move on.

When someone claims the only way to make money is to tour, the odds are they are an established older artist with a large catalog, very little new music, and an older fanbase. They need the type of fan that can pay the crazy ticket prices for the bands of their younger years. This is also the case with the mainstream acts being pushed by the big labels. The big tours fund costs but also yield profits. However, the IRL tours I am talking about are not these big expensive shows. Younger artists that understand the IRL tactic want as little friction as possible to have their fans see them live. They play smaller clubs and venues with very reasonable ticket prices. This is not a profit center, it’s a ‘make it sticky’ opportunity with your fans and an effective way to find new ones.

Because of all this, the quality of live performance is on the rise. If you show up with a drum machine, some canned backing tracks, and a microphone, you better have one flashy show. Young artists are realizing that great music played well in a live setting will resonate and keep your growing fanbase listening to your catalog long after the gig has ended. There is a trend of artists having bands with more musicians. It’s an old truism, a well-rehearsed band playing live is hard not to enjoy. This does not mean it’s the standard drums, bass, two guitars, and a lead vocalist. Even electronic acts are adding as many live play elements as possible. It’s amazing watching an accomplished artist play a Native Instrument's Maschine or modern synthesizers being controlled in real-time. Whatever you do, you just need to kill it live. This is the magic sauce that will fuel the growth of your fanbase and retain their interest.

There seems to be an observable cadence to how new music is being released, especially off the mainstream. I like to call this the “Coachella Cycle”. With great regularity, it seems the fall and winter are the writing season. There are less EP/LP releases during this time. Then as winter fades, the trickle releases start accelerating. This is usually a sign of a new EP or LP coming for these artists. It seems spring is the hot window to release new works. After you release, you start your tour to promote the new LP and touch your fanbase IRL. If you are lucky enough to be a small font at Coachella, fantastic. This event is the start of the summer festival circuit. Countless acts plan their summer tour around such festivals. Because of the depth of the available analytics, they know exactly where their fans are and try to hit these locations in between the festivals, usually at smaller venues with affordable ticket prices

The cadence is, release your new music in the spring, tour the record at festivals and fan rich locations, get sticky with your existing fans, and find new ones. When the summer ends, go back into writing mode. Then “rinse, repeat” for the next year. At some point, if your music and hard work find a large enough fanbase, the cycle can be extended to every two years. Even the biggest acts of our time, always tour. There is no secret here but knowing how the emerging artists are leveraging this modern world could be helpful to your success. Just kill is live as often as possible, it will pay dividends.

Reality Check #7 - Write cohesive EP and LPs - the ninety-nine-cent single is dead...

https://newmusicworld.org/

Younger artists are rarely nostalgic about selling CD’s in a record store. They understand selling hard copies is good business, but they see it as another revenue stream, and not their major money maker. In fact, hard copy sales are almost always the first offering once a new fan has funnelled to their website. However, most of these younger artists are fully committed to growing an engaged fanbase from multiple avenues and don’t rely on just selling CD’s. Their revenue comes from multiple income streams. Whenever I hear older artists lament they have no streaming revenue and are no longer selling many CD units, I know their catalog is probably older and usually pre-dates 2008. Surely, they have moved their entire catalog to all the available streaming DSP’s but engagement is low, hence streaming royalties are low as well. There is a fix for this.

If your original works pre-date the streaming era and you re-release the catalog on every possible modern DSP, you still must launch an engagement campaign to re-ignite your fans. I was amazed when Madonna released her last LP “Madame X” in 2019. Her ‘Monthly Spotify Listeners’ was approximately 10 million. A week later it had ballooned to 15 million. That 5 million bump was not only from streaming the new LP. That release re-ignited her fanbase to listen to her back catalog. Yes, the very fans that bought all her CD’s did not dust off the CD player, they just streamed the older catalog LP’s. This is what I call the classic double dip. All she did was release a new LP and her back catalog popped.

Writing a new LP is a lot of work. I have noticed that artists with a back catalog will often re-purpose the originals in new EP and LP works. The classic “greatest hits”, or a live set, or maybe a stripped-down acoustic version all work well. All you need to do is release something, preferably new original music, but really anything that will remind your fans from the past that you are still alive and well. If they were a fan, they will probably start streaming your back catalog. These will be the very same people that bought your CD from the record store.

One of the most recent success stories of an older artist was John Prine. Before he became a sad casualty of the Pandemic, John was on fire. When he released his LP “The Tree of Forgiveness” it blew up. He was at every festival and old fans went back catalog and new younger fans that were smitten with his honest storytelling, also went back catalog. He still has 1.8 million monthly Spotify listeners.

If you have an extensive back catalog of your music, re-release all of it on every possible modern DSP like Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, or Amazon Music. Then release a new EP or LP as soon as possible. This will trigger a new engagement with your long-time fans and help you acquire news fans. Make sure you have a simple website that offers hard copy sales and link trees to your entire catalog. If you then invest in some IRL (in real life) events, you will engage with your total fanbase. Then monitor your analytics and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Reality Check #6 – You must engage your fanbase IRL, if you don’t

https://newmusicworld.org/

One of the hardest realities of the new music world is the insatiable requirement for the regular release of new music/content by an artist. The one hit wonder is now super rare. Since sustained engagement is the rule, that popular single will come and go from the collective “mind share” so fast, that you will wonder if anything can be called a hit anymore.

In the first golden era, great tracks got played endlessly on the radio, etching themselves into the memory of society at large. Today, great songs come and go daily that never get their deserved attention. Sticky is by the hour, and not by the decade anymore. We live in a disposable world of sound bites, tweets, memes, and viral whirlwinds. Gone are the savoring days of buying an entire CD just because that hit song was on it.

Every artist on the planet now fights for as many ears as possible. The act of listening over and over is one major way artists make a living, and an engaged fan is one revenue source. It’s not about selling them that CD with the one track they loved, then listening to the CD twice before putting it on the shelf. Today, you better have an evolving catalog with new music releasing on a constant trickle and drip basis. It doesn’t have to be exactly new music, but it must be something new to tickle your fanbase, keeping you at the front of their listening mind.

The most common tactic is to trickle release singles, leading up to an EP or LP release. After releasing you need to keep up the drip. It's hard work to write new original music all the time so we are now in the era of re-use and re-purpose. Your streaming analytics will tell you what song is most popular, so do an acoustic version of it. If you are doing the IRL (in real life) grind, get to know which venues capture the best live performances. There are countless examples of how todays ‘off the mainstream’ artists are being creative and always having something new to be shared.

You deploy all these tactics – to simply keep your fanbase engaged. You can try to do it with just social posts, tweets, and other content variations. However, new music or new versions of your music, is what your fans want the most. It’s the stickiest tactic after performing live for your fans. Without new music, you simply cannot sustain engagement. Your fans have thousands of choices, so the minute you are not front of mind, their ears will find new artists to engage with.

Remember, your fans all have streaming access. They have millions of choices. You must stay relevant to them at all costs. I have composed a two-line slogan simplifying today’s industry and this reality check is part of it. It goes like this “authenticity is your brand and being prolific is the business.”

Reality Check #5 – If your catalog is old, it’s a problem but there is a solution …

https://newmusicworld.org/

One of the other big shifts in the new music world is how an artist makes money, and how much. The truth today is, only a few can achieve “Rock Star” money. However, what I call “Art Money”, which is anywhere from 70K to 900K per year is achievable. I figure once an artist starts grossing a million a year, they are edging into the rock star club.

Globally the recording industry is still on a growth trajectory. In 2021 it grew by 18.5% to 26 billion, which was a 7.2% increase from 11.3% in 2020. This growth came in the following sectors: streaming, physical formats, performance rights, and sync. The only sector that saw a decline was digital downloads. The big labels that represent the mainstream artists still own most of the “Rock Star” money. As reported by Music Business Worldwide, the three major labels earned up to 20 billion in 2021. However, there is supporting evidence that the biggest growth is still coming from Indy/DIY/Artist Owned sector, even if this is only a 6 billion slice of the total pie.

I have spent a half a decade reviewing and curating new music released on a weekly basis across multiple genres. This has introduced me to an avalanche of amazing “off the mainstream” artists. Every week I find something interesting, and usually they’re not represented by any of the major labels. I will often go digging, and during this process I have formulated ways to estimate how these artists are making a living. Surprisingly most of these artists don’t have days jobs and most of them make “Art Money” on a sustaining basis.

If you only look at their Spotify revenue in one country – they would all need days jobs. It’s only when you add up all their potential engagement funnels that you start to see the potential sum of all revenue streams. My observed and estimated number for “art money” is to have a half million monthly streaming listeners, a sustained release of new music, and a healthy dose of IRL (in real life) performances. The easiest way to define the half million mark it to take the published Spotify Monthly Listeners number and multiply it by three. Basically, you need at least 165,000 worldwide monthly Spotify listeners to have your funnels primed for recurring monthly revenue.

All engagement funnels lead to the artist website. With great regularity these websites follow the same basic formula in this order: image of the artist, buy their hard goods (CD/vinyl/merch etc..), explore their entire catalog in “Link Tree” offerings, their current tour (IRL) schedule, VIP ticket opportunities, watch their videos, please become a fan, do you want to license their music, and contact information.

The net sum of all these parts is where art money starts. If you are missing any single element; or have not signed up for all the services to get all your royalties; or have very little new music, have a small back catalog, and don’t engage with your fans IRL – then it all starts breaking down. The path to “Art Money” is always “many” revenue streams.

Next week: Reality Check #4 – New music content is King, without it there is no engagement …

https://newmusicworld.org/

In episode 3 of the IMSTA Song Reviews LIVE we heard 11 songs, mostly from the United States, but we also had two songs from Canada and one from Norway. One song came on top, receiving 8, 9.5, 9, and 8.5 from our panel. The songwriter/producer who submitted this song had also entered songs in episodes 1 and 2. After coming close in these previous episodes, Effex Music wins episode 3 with a song called “Stop Signs”, featuring an artist named K.O.

Born and raised in the New York City area, Effex Music has a profound understanding of different genres of music from several eras. “When I was younger, I admired the music my parents would listen to,” says Effex. He eventually became active musically and decided to create his own signature sound. To date Effex Music has successfully released three instrumental EP’s and a host of remixes for various artists.

In addition to the recognition, Effex Music will be receiving a software prize from IMSTA member company, Steinberg Media. Let us thank Steinberg for sponsoring episode 3 of the IMSTA Song Reviews LIVE.

Take a listen to the winning song below:

With any of today’s computers, a decent audio interface, some quality outboard gear, and affordable music creation software; as well as a near infinite variety of software instruments and effects, you can create a Grammy worthy record in the comfort of your own bedroom. No professional studio or record contract required. Having access to a professional studio, mastering and a label can never hurt, but once upon a time it was a requirement to release a record. Now, there is zero barrier for artists to create their music, release it to the world and start growing a following.

Added to this are music aggregators like Tune Core, or Distro Kid, plus music being distributed by streaming subscriptions, and there is now more music than any other time in history. To be blunt about it, there is not enough money to go around. You could have composed and released a Beatle’s quality LP and it does not guarantee anything. This is a hard truth observation; it’s increasingly challenging to find and keep an engaged fan base and earn a living.

To put things in perspective, as per Music Business Worldwide, Spotify is on track for over 100 million songs by the end of 2022. There are up to 60,000 new tracks uploaded per day to this platform, which essentially means that there is a new song uploaded to Spotify every second of the day. Spotify had 3 million creators in 2018, 5 million in 2019, and over 8 million in 2020.

Before we get totally depressed, there needs to be an understanding that Spotify is not the holy grail of revenue streams. Spotify represents 30% of the ‘streaming’ pie and is only one of many potential engagement funnels. Spotify is important because it’s really three things: one-part recurring revenue that pays better than YouTube; one-part radio via the free version; and one-part business intelligence by sharing analytics with their creators.

A common breakdown of the potential revenue tributaries for artists are streaming, hard good sales, IRL (in real life) events, publishing, licensing, sync, collaboration, and splits. In the coming weeks, we will touch on some of these in more detail.

Next week: Reality Check #3 – Rock Star money is rare but …

https://newmusicworld.org/

I often have discussions with industry veterans about Spotify being a rip off for artists and that something must change. They are making a direct comparison to the CD/LP unit sales of the past and they are correct, reform is still needed. But something has already changed, and what’s happening might be surprising.

I have spent over half a decade unraveling these changes and many of my preconceptions have shifted. In the coming weeks I will share these insights with you. Nothing is new, but I feel I have created a solid version of the big new picture. Being artist focused, I will offer a series of reality checks, and give some straight talk.

Unit sales where once everything but now they’re just one tactic of many. The real goal is growing an engaged fanbase. With subscription services like Spotify, there is no consideration to buy anything. Once an artist has a fan base, they must engage with their fans as often as possible in order to stay relevant and front of mind.

Spotify is only one of many avenues that I call Engagement Funnels. It’s the sum of these recurring revenue tributaries that artists must learn to stimulate and cultivate. Spotify might pay the least, but it’s one part radio, one part metrics, and one part revenue. To see this in action, notice that every artist shares their music with a link tree. They are saying - here is everywhere you can engage with my music and come visit my website to learn more.

Next Week - Reality Check #2 - there is just too much music …

https://newmusicworld.org/

Episode 2 of the IMSTA Song Reviews LIVE was even better than the first episode. During the 2-hour event, we heard 12 songs by songwriters from Australia, Canada, Hungary, Hong Kong, Netherlands, and United States. The 1st place spot went to a song called “Encounters” by Ildikó Barta from Hungary. This emotionally charged song was composed and performed by Ildikó. Her smooth and beautiful vocal performance, over cleverly crafted chord progression, with simple yet effective instrumentation made this song an obvious choice for the panel. Ildikó Barta has been involved in music since she was 3 years old. She studied music theory at the Liszt Ferenc University of Music and graduated in 1995. Since then, she has been a teacher at the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music in Miskolc and has written and performed several songs.

In addition to the recognition and the feedback, the winner will receive an T-RackS 5 MAX ($499 value). Let us thank our product sponsor, our panel, our contestants, and our viewers for another incredible event.

Take a listen to the winning song below:

On Saturday, February 19th we held the first episode of IMSTA Song Reviews LIVE and it was a great success. During the 90-minute event, our expert panel listened to and provided feedback on 12 songs submitted by songwriters from around the world. The scores were very close in the top spots and we had to resort to a tiebreaker to choose the 2nd and 3rd place winners. In the end “Ride of My Life” by Effex Music feat. Kimera won 3rd place; "All or Nothing” by Universal Doctrine won 2nd place; and “Slopes” by GoCasual won 1st place.

In addition to the recognition and the feedback these winners received on their songs, each winner will also receive a prize sponsored by IK Multimedia. The 1st Place Prize is IK Total Studio 3.5 MAX ($999 value); the 2nd Place Prize is IK Total VI MAX ($699 value); and the 3rd Place Prize is IK T-RackS 5 MAX ($499 value). Let us thank our product sponsor, our panel, our contestants, and our viewers for an incredible event.

Take a listen to the Top 3 Songs below: