The industry’s addiction with likes, friends, and followers is reaching junkie status. So maybe this is a step towards recovery. Or, at least a little more balance: according to a new finding from NPD Group, social media’s role in music discovery is actually minor compared to other formats. In fact, far stodgier platforms like AM/FM radio, TV, and simple person-to-person recommendationstower in importance over crafty Facebook campaigns.
Check out this breakdown from NPD Group researcher Russ Crupnick, who decided to ask music fans a fairly simple question:
“How did you first hear about (whatever song) you wanted to hear again?”
These were ‘highly-engaged music fans,’ not disconnected, casual listeners. Yet Crupnick still found that old-school radio played astunningly disproportionate role in discovery.
Crupnick was far from dismissive of social networking platforms, but noted that this space is ‘a little bit overhyped’. But could it be that Facebook is actually wildly overhyped, totally overblown, and not as effective as we thought? Over in concert-land, Digital Music News recently found entrants like Songkick having little impact on concert attendance, despite pushing creating more awareness than ever before.
But wait! Critics blasted that report, saying it’s just too early to judge – and there are significant lag-times at work. Perhaps inside the bubble, Facebook-connected apps and alerts are in full swing, but in reality, there’s still an upward curve. Which is why when Crupnick asked these same consumers what it would take to get them to buy more music, many said ‘more Facebook alerts‘!
After our recent post about getting music placed in video games, we had a bunch of requests to find out also about the same process for advertising. We spoke with James Alvich from MAS (Music and Strategy) who provides a full range of solutions for brands and advertising agencies including original composition, music supervision, licensing, talent procurement, and sponsorship packages. James has over 11 years experience in advertising, specializing in television, radio and online commercial production.
ST: What is the process for placement of music in advertising?
JA: MAS will typically be called upon by our clients with a music brief or reference of a track they like, but for a myriad of reasons cannot obtain. At that point, we’ll get on a creative call to discuss the creative idea, tempo, tone, and genre to best figure out what exactly the client is liking about the temp and that helps guide us to what kind of music we should be looking for. MAS has relationships with every label, library, managers, and musicians that we can reach out to in order to help us find the perfect song. After receiving many tracks, we’ll sift through to send our clients only the best of the best that fit the brief perfectly.
ST: Which genres/ types of music get placed in advertising most often?
JA: I would say that the indie rock vibe has been most requested in the last few months, but every genre has been asked for. Within advertising, there is not one genre that dominates over any other. It’s always based on the creative brief and what the commercial calls for.
ST: How often does advertising require original compositions vs. using existing music?
JA: I think there is a certain appeal to agencies being able to break a song or a new band, but it typically falls on the agency creative to determine what the commercial needs. Some commercials don’t require a licensed track and need something scored to picture to accentuate the creativity or to set a certain mood that a licensed track may not be able to accomplish. Also, budget and timing plays a rather large role in this decision as well.
ST: How can an unpublished songwriter get considered alongside the big boys for placement?
JA: I would say to start making relationships with the different music houses, libraries, and sync pitching agencies out there. Let them represent your music, but you still retain ownership of all of your stuff. This way they can send your music to agencies, editors, and producers for consideration.
ST: How much can advertising placements pay upfront?
JA: This is a hard question to answer given that there aren’t any set rates. Factors for pricing really depend on how reputable the artist is and who owns the publishing and master. Beyond popular music, it’s really about where the commercial will be airing and for how long. Once you have those facts you can start to carve out pricing, but it can be lucrative if you can get your music placed.
ST: Which brands do you feel best use music in their advertising?
JA: I personally feel that Target does an amazing job with breaking new music to the masses. They seem to always have a great licensed track that, once released, becomes a major seller.
ST: What are some good ways to find out about upcoming advertisement placement opportunities?
JA: Work with a company like MAS or one of the many other music houses that have the already existing relationships and are in constant contact with the agencies and production companies involved.
There’s plenty of advice out there for booking a tour. In fact, I’ve written on it a few times (including this step-by-step guide). People generally talk about the same kind of stuff: how to approach a venue, where to book, promoting, etc. However, I want to cover some of the territory that people don’t talk about, the pitfalls that you’ll come across along the way.
When the Promoter Wants You to Fill the Bill
Some promoters/venues prefer that you pitch them an entire show (with locals) before confirming the show. It makes their life easier (they don’t have to find bands for the show) and local acts make booking a touring/unknown act a safer bet. So if you don’t have any contacts in an town far away, who do you find band?
Three easy solutions:
See who is already playing the venue on a weekend
Look up bands in the city’s alt-weekly paper
Post an ad on Craigslist.
When you can’t fill in a date or run out of venues to ask
Sometimes it seems that everyone in town is booked or no one is interested. You don’t have many options because you’re on a tight tour route or have dates/before and after that are already confirmed. These things happen. When they do, this is what I usually do:
Use Google, Google Maps, Yelp, City Search, or Four Square to look up “live music” and the city name. Sometimes, there are places that host bands that don’t pop up in the usual venue databases. You might also try contacting a store or organizations that would suit your ideal, target audience. Examples include: skateboard shops, youth groups, non-profit fundraiser, goth clothing store, music store, independent record store, etc.
Contact: breweries, wineries, colleges, and fans in the area.
Use Craigslist and search in the “Gigs” section. Often times, new bars/venues will post there looking for live music, as well as people throwing house parties, fundraisers, or events looking for a band.
See what shows are booked and ask the bands on those bills if they’d be willing to add you to the bill. Be sure to pitch how you will get them new fans, make more money, or bring people to the show.
Consider doing an acoustic version and do some busking. I know some acts who busk in Santa Monica, CA and make $200-$400 per day in donations and CD sales. You can also contact the local Occupy Movement encampment about working with their cause by performing (if there’s one there).
When You Don’t Know Anything about the Venue that You’re Booking
It’s always a good idea to know what kind of situation you’re booking into: Will they have an adequate stage? Will they have a sound system and engineer? What kind of audience is there? If you’re booking a venue that you haven’t worked with before, do a quick search online about them. Check out their website, see what kind of acts perform there normally. Look up reviews on Yelp. Ask bands that are on their calendar.
These are just some of the areas that few people talk about when giving advice about booking a tour. What have you run into that you’d like advice about? What areas can you speak to for other bands? -MusicThinkTank
That’s according to statistics compiled by the US Department of Labor, which counted 269,400 working musicians in 2010. That, overlayed with the US Census population figure of 308,745,538, means that 1 in 1,146 American adults is thriving, surviving, or scraping by as an instrumentalist, singer, director, composer, or related endeavor.
Here are some of the more interesting Labor statistics (2010).
Number of ‘Musicians, Singers, & Related Workers’: 296,400
Subset of ‘Musicians and Singers’: 176,200
Subset of ‘Music Directors and Composers’: 93,500
Median Hourly Salary, Musician/Singer: $22.39
Median Hourly Salary, Director/Composer: $22.10
Additionally, jobs among musicians have grown since 2000, according to the Labor statistics. And, the Department predicted modest gains of about 10% in the sector by 2020.
Claudia Garcia, Manager of International Exploitations for Universal Music Group Latino, gives advice to anyone wanting to enter the music business. She believes that the best way to start out is through an internship in order to gain experience in a business environment. Claudia also makes the point that people who are passionate are the ones who are more likely to be successful.
