Music Business Models Today

Just recently I read an article on growing your music business by Andy Hill CEO of “I Like Music” where he speaks about a simple business model that has kept I like music to survive and thrive in the ever-changing music industry. “I Like Music”  provides music that is full licensed for use in many markets, and has access to a large collection of vinyl and CD’s from every genre of music that includes Top 40 Hit singles.

In the 1980’s he was part of the creation of the first digital music-licensing model while working for IBM that would provide music for commercial use. Being there for the birth of digital music sharing he gained insight into what changes were being made in the music industry and with this knowledge “I Like Music” was able to thrive taking advantage of the many opportunities in the music industry. Looking to expand in the music market “I Like Music” set its focus on the North American market because of its large media and retail markets.

After identifying companies that could help “I Like Music” develop their products “I Like Music” decided to release their virtual jukebox, which were used in pubs and bars. At this time getting capital was hard to come by because Banks viewed it to be to high- risk. “I Like Music” has grown worldwide supplying their virtual jukebox to many areas of the world. Through it’s partnership with the Santander group and their Growth Capital fund “I Like Music” has been able to expand and hire staff to help their growth.

Businesses should always be sure that their business objectives could be scaled up to guarantee the potential for growth in overseas markets. For “I Like Music” Santander Growth Capital fund was right for their business and if you are a music entrepreneur in the Digital music market remember that changes are always happening in the industry, and we need to be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that come with change.

Do What You Love

This week I watched Gary vaynerchuk, “do what you love, no excuses” on TED Talk and found it to be very inspirational, in his talk he points out that many people are doing what they really hate and we all need to have patience and passion for what we are doing in life. There is no reason for us to do things we hate and we have to be passionate about what we do while being patient. As business people we have to care about the community that we engage with and learn to hustle because when we hustle we put the time in to grow our business.

I realize that I am building a business and I need to work hard to make it a success, so if I have to put many hours in to learn what my business needs then I need to hustle and hustle hard. Some people look at the word hustle as something that is only done in a negative sense, but we have to do the legal hustle to build a successful business. When we work for someone else we have no problem working long hours to make that business a success, so why not hustle and do overtime to build your own business.

Gary offers motivation to the up coming businessperson who has doubt about succeeding in business, there is no excuse for not succeeding we have the Internet that offers a formula for success. Gary goes on to say that we must believe in the product we represent or get out of the business NOW! If you love what you are doing it will show and people will want to be a part of what you do. Your business has to be transparent and we need to build brand equity to have a successful business. Don’t try to figure out what social tools you need to use Gary suggest to use them all, because the people who follow your brand are everywhere and you need to be there too.

It all boils down to YOU; what do you want to do, and once you put your finger on your passion then you can build a business modal no matter your niche, there are many opportunities available, but you have to have passion for what you do. The social media landscape is wide open.

Getting music into Film and TV

Having a record deal use to be the way to get your music into Film or TV, but in today music industry musicians are getting placements through music licensing that provide a steady income. There are many ways to license music and many sites available that will license your songs, but you need to know which ones will give you a fair deal and which one won’t. There are many companies that will take a major percentage and pay you less than what is fair but most will enter into a 50/50 split.

The music licensing business is very tricky so you have to be careful; you need to know whom you are dealing with. For many musicians they seek out Music supervisors and some look for Music Libraries to place their songs. Making contact with music supervisors usually means going to film festivals or other networking events, but make sure you have done your homework first.

This is a great time for independent musicians to get placements for their music, and the pay can be pretty good depending on if it’s a background track or main theme song.  Remember to never send MP3’s or CD’S without first getting permission, you could send a email if you have the contacts info and make sure you add a link to your music from your Soundcloud or Reverbnation profile.

Never forget that music licensing is very competitive and you need to send the right music that fits the film or TV show you’re pitching to. Make sure that you first find out what films or shows are looking for music and that you have the right song style that they need. You can make a generous income from music licensing and start to build a list of contacts to pitch your music.

Freelancing and the Music Producer

Many of today’s musicians are turning to freelancing because the music industry has changed and there are more opportunities available to them, with a robust marketplace musicians are finding it easier to find work. As Jeff Wald states in his Forbes article there has been an increase in the freelance workforce, and with SoundBetter musicians can connect with other professionals on a trusted platform where they can manage their projects and get listed.

Before musicians had to rely on studios or labels to get work, but with production tools easily affordable and musicians recording music in their bedrooms there seems to be an increase in do it yourself projects, and this has led to an increase in demand for services. With technological advances you can now do it all from home without the loss of quality and produce a “release-ready” product.

Many musicians are turning to the freelance marketplace to get the work done to complete their projects and find it cost effective, by being an independent musician you can license you music to major Cable TV Shows, Film and Game developers. The freelance music producer has more opportunities at their disposal, such as mentioned in the above, working with all types of artists from vocalists and rappers.

You can market yourself by putting a face with your music and creating your brand with a nice clean logo to let people know that not only do you create music, but that you are also in the business of music. Build up your music catalog and provide different genres of music, be versatile and you will be able to become a freelance music producer. There is plenty of work for a professional music producer and the opportunities to write music continues to grow. Movies, TV, cable, games, and videos are just a few, so if you are a music producer take advantage of the freelance marketplace.