Album

It’s hard to introduce a new product, a new thing, a new gizmo, a new idea.  Cause I’ve never heard of this product before.  It’s a new brand/term that has no association with it.  What does it do? Can I trust it? Does it have value to me?

Although introducing and defining a new term/product to the marketplace is obviously very difficult, it could very well be even more difficult to redefine an existing term.

The most obvious one is the term/product “phone”.  For years and years we knew a phone to be a pretty distinct thing.  We had set expectations for it and it continued to meet those expectations whether on a rotary dial, touch tone, ivory hand set, curly cord, cordless with the long antenna.  Even through much of it’s evolution, it maintained much the same function.

And then the iPhone came out, and with it a complete reinvention and redefinition of how we trust the term “phone”.  It was a familiar term with a strict definition that we allowed, in our hearts and heads, to be changed.  

This is the creativity we need in the music business.

How about the term “album”?  It has a long history.  A good history.  And overall, a pretty trusted history.

How could album be redefined to make a new and interesting impact?  

Maybe we learn to associate album with

an adventure

a commitment

a certain amount of time

better connection

better music

an amount of money

an amount of access

Make this list longer, because it’s not very good yet.  Make it longer and my guess is you’ll start feeling yourself pushing into the future. 

It will always be about the music, just like the phone will always ultimately be about connectedness. 

But maybe we don’t need a new thing.  Maybe we can redefine an old thing.

‘Did you get a new phone?’ means something completely different than it did even 10 years ago.

What could 'did you get a new album?’ mean 5 years from now?

The Sky Is Always Falling

Spotify is not stopping you from writing a great song that everybody wants to hear.

Spotify is not stopping you from developing your personality and charisma.

The spotify royalty rate is not stopping you from creating something great that people want to give you all their money for.

Spotify is not stopping your fans from telling their friends about you.

Spotify is not robbing people’s ability to care about you.

Spotify is not stopping you from selling tickets to your shows.

Spotify is not stopping you from becoming a great entertainer.

Spotify is not stopping you from being an entertainer who is very rich.

The Spotify royalty rate is not stopping you from needing to consider all the revenue streams. Did you expect it to?

Spotify is not stopping you from running your business with transparency and integrity 

Spotify is not stopping you from formulating a plan and following it

Spotify is not stopping the future from happening

Remember when recorded music was going to kill the live music industry?

Remember when radio was going to kill the recorded music industry?

Remember when taping songs off the radio was going to kill album sales?

Remember when Napster was going to kill us all?

Remember when every time Facebook changed something about the front page or new feed, people freaked out for a few days and then the freak out ceased to exist?

The sky is always falling. 

We’re so predictable.

Artists…do you just need something to complain about, someone to blame for your sputtering momentum? There’s always going to be something to point your figure at if you want there to be.

But that’s such the typical artist these days isn’t it.  Licking their wounds, expecting sympathy (from who exactly?) rather than blazing the trail.

You say you want a revolution? Well, you know. 

Are You Too Busy?

I listened to the Beatles LOVE album again today.

The most impressive thing about the Beatles was their ability to write the songs they did while in the midst of the most crazy schedule you or I could ever think of.

Hard Days Night, In My Life, Can’t Buy Me Love and Eight Days A Week are great songs.  Timeless songs.  Now imagine your busiest day you’ve ever had, multiply it by four or five and then somehow find the time to sit down with a guitar, clear your mind and crank out songs this great.

That’s the genius.  That’s the only thing that sets that band apart from all the others.

All bands’ stories are pretty much the same.  We’ve all watched the story arcs on vh1 and endless netflix documentaries.  

The songs are the only difference. But if the Beatles had the time to write great songs, then you do too.  Your busy schedule is not an excuse.

Link to the Beatles tour dates HERE (doesn’t include all the other calendar entries keeping them on top of the world)

Spotify Is Part Of The Solution, And You Can Be Too.

If Spotify was paying artists $10 per stream, all artists would love it and endorse it.  But if it was this way, their message to the fans would not be “Spotify compensates us really well, therefore go use it”.

It would sound more like “Spotify is awesome, convenient, and a great way to hear all of our music.  Go get it.”

All artists would champion Spotify if it put a lot of money in their pockets, because no matter what the royalty rate is, it’s a great service for consumers.  And aren’t artists all about the fans???

If you see an artist boohooing about only being paid $0.02840 for 100,000 streams, one of two things is true.  Either they’re looking at the numbers wrong (an independent artist distributing music through TuneCore would net roughly $450-$550 in this scenario), or they signed a bad deal with a record label where the label is entitled to a large percentage of streaming.

So either way, I’m tired of the complaining.  Do the research, know your rates.  And don’t sign bad deals.

Years ago artists wouldn’t stop crying over Napster and the fall of the music business and artists are never going to get paid. Independent musicians are screwed.  There’s no more money.

While that wasn’t true back then, it’s even less true today.  Here you have a service that will compensate you for people streaming your music.  You want the royalty rate to be higher, I know.  But come on, everyone wants more money.  Nothing new.

And the royalty rate will go up, not down, in the future.

Taylor Swift and the few others pulling their music from Spotify (you can listen on YouTube, which somehow hasn’t been under scrutiny for being a place to listen to music for free while being ad supported just like Spotify) aren’t doing it out of moral conviction or principle, or cause they’re music purists or cause they’re spear heading some other solution.  

It’s all a game.  She doesn’t care about you, the fan or the indie musician.  Taylor will get at least two giant stories out of this move…one when she took her music down, and another when she puts it all back up.  We’re the suckers.

What should artists do? Encourage everyone to join Spotify. Rave about how paying $10/month to carry millions of songs in your pocket is on target with the solution.  Especially in the long term.

Artists can help increase the size of the pie, then they can make a play for higher royalty rates.

(Right now it’s between $0.006 and $0.0084 per stream, depending on ad revenue and number of plays. TuneCore distribution, for indie artists, takes 30% which leaves artists with $0.0042-$0.0058 per stream).

If you’re a big artist on a major label, 99% of you are never going to see any money from album sales or anything to do with your master recordings, so your career isn’t tied to this source of revenue anyway.  Tell people to join Spotify.  It’s good for everyone.

If you’re an indie artist scraping by on the road, don’t worry, people will still buy your album at your shows.  But its a souvenir, not a means to listen.  So that person not only bought your album for $10 but now they’re going to generate more money for you by actually listening to your music on Spotify.  It’s a win win.  Better yet, come up with another $20 item that your fans NEED to have.  Get creative.  That’s what you do, isn’t it?

Spotify is a fantastic service that is set up to satisfy both musician and listener.  It might not be perfect yet, but artists need to embrace the fact that this (Spotify, streaming, etc) is the present and the future and figure out ways to use it to their advantage.

Let’s boil it down, what do you think the per stream royalty rate should be?

Artists, start receiving your Spotify analytics HERE

Everyone, start using Spotify HERE

Playing vs. Listening

Music that is enjoyable to play isn’t necessarily enjoyable to listen to.  The same is true for the other way around…songs that are pleasing to listen to aren’t necessarily pleasing to play.    

The third scenario is when the music is awful to listen to and awful to play.  That sucks.

And then there’s the forth possibility that we’re all dying for, music that gives life when people hear it and brings you to your knees when you play it.

But the mediocre music that is so prevalent these days, that artists and bands trumpet as their “best work ever” usually comes from that first situation: fun to play, boring to listen to.

With all the bands and artists I’ve played with since I was in middle school, I can honestly say, a lot of music is enjoyable to play.  

But most music doesn’t make an impact on the listener.  And like Celine Dion says, “that’s the way it is”.

I get it, it’s hard because you can’t simultaneously be inside the music (playing it) and maintain a regular listeners point of view at the same time.

You chose to try your hand at a career in music, to make money with it, so at some point you have to come to terms with the fact that a certain amount of people in the world have to enjoy your music in order for you to succeed. It matters what (some) other people think. i.e. your music has to be enjoyable to people who aren’t actually playing it.  

I know I know I know, it’s not good to sit around in agony all day in the studio wondering if people are going to like the way you put the first verse and chorus together.  But it’s something to keep in mind.  It’s a trap that’s easy to fall into without realizing it.

We’re all looking for a song we need to hear again. Do you have it? 

Starbucks Makes You Stand Up

I don’t mind paying a little extra for an above average cup of coffee.  I probably wouldn’t have said that 2 or 3 years ago, but things have changed and I can now taste the difference.  Regular Starbucks coffee is not above average, it’s average.  

There’s nothing wrong with that.  Especially being on the road, I value Starbucks’ reliability to deliver me an average cup of coffee.

While I was waiting in line today, ready to order my regular coffee, other people’s orders were being called out on the other side of the bar, loudly, for the entire world to hear.  As usual.  Great big long drinks, something like, “venti dairy free iced mocha latte with an extra shot for Derek!”.

Derek, not really expecting the announcement and fanfare, slowly steps forward to own up to his drink and get back to the construction site.  At least that’s what his attire hinted at.

Starbucks just happens to be one of those places where they force you to own up to your nutritional religion in front of everyone.  

And let’s face it, when we hear the drink title shouted from the rooftops, it’s kinda interesting to see who claims it.  What kind of person corresponds to THAT drink?  How shall I choose to judge them?

Oh, HE’S getting a skinny? Does SHE really need sugar free? Should children even be having coffee?  Who are these parents?

If you really pay attention you can see everyone else judging too.

Man, it’s a zoo out there.  And I guess I just have appreciation for a place where you’re publicly forced be FOR something rather that against.

Derek, it’s all good man.