Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Katherine Calvert
Spring 2013
Paul Sturrm
Adjunct Faculty, Arts Administration, IU School of Public & Environmental Affairs
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Abstract
With the advent of new technologies, especially those of streaming and file sharing, the
music industry is experiencing the rise of new methods of making profit. At this point, the industry
is in a period of change in which many different ideas for ways to make money are surfacing, and
my paper will evaluate the most promising ideas to see which will be robust enough to become
staples for a new model in todays industry.
The first profitability model that I will analyze is the increasingly popular model of crowd
sourcing, which is an online process through which users of sites like Kickstarter, Pledgemusic and
Indiegogo use small donations from other users to fund a project. This method allows up-and-
coming artists to generate the capital necessary to get started without being signed by a record
label. Typically, labels provided the upfront funding for albums and tours, but with the crowd
sourcing method, artists can raise money to put out an album or start a tour on their own. This will
open the door for more artists to be on the market due to the removal of record labels as a
gatekeeper to the industry.
The next model that I will analyze is that of the rising importance of revenue gained from
touring. As the music industry continues to adapt, profits from touring will become the primary
source of revenue and profits from albums and other recordings will become a thing of the past.
With the advent of online streaming and file sharing, fewer and fewer albums are being bought, so
we can already see a fairly clear trend in the making. I will explore this trend, and seek to illustrate
how the industry is shifting to focus on the experience of live music rather than recorded tracks.
Lastly, I will analyze how licensing songs can become a stable source of revenue for artists.
From mechanical to synchronization licenses, there are many different types of licenses that are
available to increase the value of a song. Each license has its own advantages and disadvantages,
which will allow me to explore the merits and profitability of each versus how much control an
artist must relinquish. Through this research, I will then recommend the licenses that have the best
payoff-control balance that can be used by artists in the future.
Overall, I hope to illustrate that the industry can still be profitable, but just in a different
way than it has been in the past. By determining the feasibility of various ways to make money, I
hope to show that there is a way for artists to continue to make a living doing what they love.
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Table of Contents
Introduction ... 4
Touring.................................................................................................................................................... 20
Merchandise............................................................................................................................. 22
Meet and Greets...................................................................................................................... 23
Exclusive Events..................................................................................................................... 23
Licensing................................................................................................................................................... 25
Master Recording License.................................................................................................... 26
Performance License.............................................................................................................. 27
Mechanical License................................................................................................................. 29
Synchronization License....................................................................................................... 30
Issues with Licensing............................................................................................................. 32
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................... 34
Bibliography............................................................................................................................................. 39
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0
DRM Report
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Introduction
Since the advent of the internet, the mp3 file format, and file sharing technology,
many industry executives have proclaimed that the music industry is failing, and that
making money from recorded music is a thing of the past. The Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA), major labels, and journalists have been lamenting the so-
called death of the music industry as if this creation of digital music technology is
something from which the industry will never be able to recover. However, they are not
looking at the advantages that this new technology brings. The internet has allowed a vast
network of musicians, fans, and industry executives to be connected more quickly and
easily than ever before, and sharing music online is also becoming increasingly simple with
websites like YouTube, MySpace and SoundCloud. While the major labels are declining, as
are CD sales, overall profits in the industry are not disappearing; rather they are simply
CDs are certainly on their way out, due in large part to the advent of the iPhone and
other mp3 players that make purchasing and listening to digital music so simple. The
compact disc format had its 30th birthday in October 2012, which is the typical amount of
time that any sound medium has stayed in vogue. 1 Former head of the recorded sound
division at the Library of Congress Sam Brylawski explains this trend: "If you look at the
last 110, 115 years, the major formats all have about 20 to 30 years of primacy." 2 The cost
of producing a physical CD is so much greater than the cost of putting that same music
online for an unlimited number of people to download with no marginal costs, and
1 Rose, Joel. "The CD, At 30, Is Feeling Its Age." NPR. NPR, 01 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
2 Ibid.
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therefore, the medium is going out of style primarily from an economic standpoint.
from physical sales have been steadily declining from $33.1 billion in 2006 to $19.9 billion
in 2011, showing yet again how the CD is being replaced by digital sales. 3
On the other hand, the same eMarketer report shows worldwide recording industry
revenues from online showing remarkable growth from $1.9 billion in 2006 to $7.3 billion
in 2011. 4 Digital downloads also offer a degree of ease that CDs dont because thousands of
songs can be held on a tiny memory card, whereas a CD can only hold 80 minutes of music.
The fact that consumers can conveniently carry a significant amount of music wherever
they go makes digital formats the most popular form of recorded music at the moment.
Additionally, the added ease that smart phones provide as well as the capability to
download music on the go with an internet connection satisfies the desire for
In the digital era, the music industry is certainly not dying, but rather the old models
of making profit are slowly crumbling, and are being replaced with new ones. There are
many indicators that show that the industry is, in fact, thriving. The most important
indicator is the consistent increases in total music industry revenues and concert revenues
worldwide, as well as a dramatic increase in worldwide digital music revenues. The total
revenues for the music industry worldwide totaled an astounding $67.6 billion in 2011,
which has steadily grown from $60.7 billion in 2006 and can be seen in Figure A. 5 Along
3"Global Music: Tuning Into New Opportunities." EMarketer. N.p., May 2011. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.
4Ibid.
0
Moore, Frances. "Digital Music in 2012: Optimism Jusitfied. Complacency Not Accepted." Digital Music Report
(2012): 4. Web. <www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2012.pdf>.
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with total revenue, concert revenues worldwide have also seen steady growth. Figure B
shows that in 2006, revenues from live music performances were at $16.6 billion and
reached $23.5 billion in 2011, signaling healthy growth. 6 Lastly, there has been a dramatic
increase in digital music revenues worldwide since 2006, when the total revenues in this
area were $2.9 billion. From 2006 to 2011, revenue from digital music has increased more
than five times, resulting in profit of $14.8 billion, shown in Figure C. 7 All three of these
revenue patterns are very good indicators that the industry is still quite profitable and is
continuing to grow.
$70.0
$68.0 $67.6
Revenue (in billions)
$66.0 $66.4
$65.0
$64.0
$62.6
$62.0
$61.5
$60.7
$60.0
$58.0
$56.0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
5TF Market Research. "GLOBAL MUSIC: TUNING INTO NEW OPPORTUNITIES, MAY 2007" May 08, 2007.
Alacra Store. Feb 27, 2013. <http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/markintel/EMARKETER-50127904>
6 TF Market Research. "GLOBAL MUSIC: TUNING INTO NEW OPPORTUNITIES, MAY 2007" May 08, 2007.
Alacra Store. Feb 27, 2013. <http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/markintel/EMARKETER-50127904>
7 Ibid.
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$26
$24
Revenue (in billions)
$23.50
$22 $22.20
$20.80
$20
$19.40
$18 $18.10
$16.6
$16
$14
$12
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
$16
$14.8
$14
Revenue (in billions)
$12.9
$12
$10.7
$10
$8
$7.0
$6
$4 $4.5
$2.9
$2
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Phonographic Industry, explains, in the current music industry, you see a striking paradox:
on one hand, there is the innovation and drive of a business that has led the way for
creative industries in adapting to the digital age; on the other hand, the extraordinarily
difficult environment in which these changes are taking place. 8 This difficult environment
is the product of technology adapting very quickly, which had created problems for which
8Moore, Frances. "Digital Music in 2012: Optimism Justified. Complacency Not Accepted." Digital Music Report
(2012): 4. Web. <www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2012.pdf>.
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solutions have yet to be found. When mp3 file-sharing first became an issue, records labels
used the RIAA as their primary weapon to defend against sites like Napster and Limewire
distributing music that was owned by their artists for free. Napster, as a peer-to-peer
system, caused great controversy on the music scene, and is currently still defined as one of
the greatest sparks igniting a change in technology, SPEA graduate Brittany Buckley
describes. 9 Major record labels looked for any way possible to combat this file-sharing
technology with new technology of their own, such as audio watermarking or digital rights
management (DRM) protection, but none of their efforts were effective enough to end the
Once major record labels found that fighting piracy was an uphill battle that cost
them more time and money than it was worth, they declared the industry dead. 10
Eventually, industry executives began looking for alternatives instead of continuing the
futile battle against piracy, and found that they could shift their reliance for revenue from
recorded music to other areas, such as touring or licensing. Both artists and record labels
are discovering these new revenue streams from crowd funding, touring, and licensing. All
three of these new methods of making money are promising, and therefore have the
potential to be stable enough to shift artists reliance away from the revenue that used to
come solely from selling recorded music, and look towards a balanced portfolio of revenue
streams.
9 Buckley, Brittany. "Digital Takeover: The Reality of Music in the Twenty First Century." Thesis. Indiana
University, 2012. School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.
10 DeGusta, Michael. "The REAL Death Of The Music Industry." Business Insider. N.p., 18 Feb. 2011. Web. 27
Feb. 2013.
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recommended and widely used. Many consumers create an investment portfolio that
includes a variety of stocks, bonds and other assets from a variety of industries to mitigate
their risk of losing money. As SmartMoney.com explains, one way to reduce the volatility
of a portfolio is to add some alternative assets. 11 In the setting of the music industry,
artists should add additional revenue streams in place of assets as they create their
can protect themselves from future changes in the industry that may cause a shift in the
profitability of certain revenue streams. Sales from recorded music can no longer be relied
upon as a single source of revenue, therefore artists should look to crowd funding, touring,
Crowd Funding
The creation of the internet and the dawn of the digital age allowed artists to reach a
large network of people in moments. This helped artists to broadcast their music to a far
larger audience than ever before, which in turn allowed them to create a larger awareness
base and fan base. In addition to being able to reach more fans, artists were suddenly
exposed to a bigger pool of consumers from whom they could receive funding. In the pre-
digital model of the music industry, bands needed to be signed to a record label in order to
have enough financial support to produce their album or tour. The record label acted as a
gatekeeper for the industry, only signing acts that either had enough talent or charisma to
11 "How to Create An Investment Portfolio." SmartMoney. N.p., 9 May 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2013.
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be profitable for the company. In the post-digital model, this gatekeeper idea is essentially
gone, allowing anyone who considers themselves to be a musician to generate funding for
In the post-digital model, major record labels are declining because musicians need
for them is decreasing. In place of record labels, a rising number of artists are using crowd
funding as a method of generating money for tours, albums, or both. Crowd funding by
definition is a collective effort by people who network and pool their money together,
usually via the internet, in order to invest in and support efforts initiated by other people
advance from a record label, the artists are not liable to pay any portion of their profits
back to their benefactors on the back end, except typically a small fee or percentage to the
website that was used to host the campaign. As successful crowd-funded artist Amanda
Palmer explains, artists can reach out fans directly without the machine, [they] are
empowered to call the shots and keep whatevers leftover not the labels. 13 This is a
major advantage for artists, because often profits are whittled away by the fees that are
On the investors end, the fact that the money is accrued through a series of micro-
donations means that each person's risk is low because he or she is part of a crowd of
12 Ordanini, Andrea, Lucia Miceli, Marta Pizzetti, and A. Parasuraman. "Crowd-funding: Transforming
Customers into Investors through Innovative Service Platforms." Journal of Service Management 22.4 (2011):
443-70. Print
13 Palmer, Amanda. "Where All This Kickstarter Money Is Going." The Official Website of Amanda Palmer. N.p.,
This makes this funding model ideal for both investors and artists because it mitigates the
risk on both ends: if a project flops, investors only lose a small amount of money, and
artists arent liable to a record label. Additionally, because the investors are consumers of
the product as well, they have a vested stake in the project being completed. Their interest
in seeing the project be successful will likely spur them to act as promotional agents and to
encourage others to donate. The new active roles that the consumers play in the crowd
funding model are a major shift from the passive role that they played in the pre-digital
model, further blurring boundaries between marketing and finance in this new model. 15
Types of Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding takes on two distinct forms: ex post facto crowdfunding and ex ante
crowdfunding. 16 The first, ex post facto, is a model in which financial support is offered in
exchange for a completed product, which is most commonly seen in the music industry. 17
This model can be found on many crowdfunding sites where musicians ask consumers to
pledge money in order to receive a hard copy of the album once it is finished. The second
type of crowdfunding, ex ante, is less commonly seen in the music industry, yet there still
are some who choose this model. In the ex ante model, financial support is given on the
front end to assist in achieving a mutually desired result. 18 This model more closely
resembles the stock market, where consumers invest to help a musician that they like to
make a new album, with a promise of a share of the profits that is proportional to their
15 Ordanini, Andrea, Lucia Miceli, Marta Pizzetti, and A. Parasuraman. "Crowd-funding: Transforming
Customers into Investors through Innovative Service Platforms." Journal of Service Management 22.4 (2011):
443-70. Print
16 Tim Kappel, Ex Ante Crowdfunding and the Recording Industry: A Model for the U.S., 29 Loy. L.A. Ent. L. Rev.
investment in the project. For the purposes of this paper, well mostly be looking at the ex
There are several sites that allow musicians to set up campaign pages to ask for
financial support, including but not limited to Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and PledgeMusic.
Each site has its merits as well as its detriments, and each is better suited for different
Kickstarter
Kickstarter was founded in 2009, and is likely the best known crowd funding site on
the internet. In 2012, 2,241,475 people successfully backed 18,109 projects, and raised
more than $274 million from crowd funding alone. 19 Kickstarter takes a 5% commission
from projects that are successful, allowing them to earn more than $13 million dollars last
year. 20 Kickstarter funds projects that range from dance to comics; from film to technology.
Its wide breadth of fields make it suitable for a variety of campaigns and backers to use, but
it also means that music is only a part of its focus. Unlike crowd funding sites that are
specifically designed for music, the functionality of the site is not set up solely for musicians
to use, and therefore functionalities such as adding songs to the site are muddled by other
functions for other types of projects. This makes the site less intuitive than other sites to
19 Blattberg, Eric. "Kickstarter in 2012: The Numbers You Need to Know." Www.crowdsourcing.org. N.p., 11
Jan. 2013. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
20 Ibid.
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use, though the way that Kickstarter walks project creators through the steps of creating
their campaign makes other aspects of creating the campaign very simple.
Donating to the site is also very simple. Potential investors can quickly and easily
see how much money the campaign is seeking to raise, how much progress has been made
towards the goal, and how much time the campaign has left to reach their goal within
rewards for each level of donation that they request, which can be viewed easily by
investors on the right sidebar of the page. Some musicians choose to keep their rewards
simple, like a copy of the new album, a meet and greet, or private show, while others offer
more quirky rewards like baking cookies for investors, or offering them exclusive visual art
works created by the musicians themselves. This makes the site feel less donation-based
and more like an investment due to the fact that consumers are getting something in return
for their donation to the artist. It also benefits the artist because people are more likely to
give them money when they can understand the physical product that they will be
receiving.
Kickstarter has an all-or-nothing policy regarding fundraising for the projects that
they host, which they describe on their website: If the project succeeds in reaching its
funding goal, all backers' credit cards are charged when time expires. If the project falls
detriment to the site because if artists get close to their fundraising goal and miss it, they
get nothing. For many musicians, any money to fund their project is better than no money.
21 "Kickstarter." Basics: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
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A campaign that is almost successful and barely falls short of its goal will leave the
musicians with no money and can be demoralizing and unhelpful. Kickstarter defends this
policy with the ideas that It's less risk for everyone. If you need $5,000, it's tough having
$1,000 and a bunch of people expecting you to complete a $5,000 project, and that It
motivates. If people want to see a project come to life, they're going to spread the word. 22
While both ideas are valid and have the best intentions to help artists and donors alike, it is
not practical for musicians. Musicians can work around this policy by setting their
fundraising goals beneath what they actually need to raise. As Kyle Andrei of Idealware
explains, The important trick to Kickstarter is to figure out what the bare minimum you
need to fund your project, and post that as your goal, so you increase your chances of at
least getting enough. If you aim too high, and your project doesnt succeed, youll end up
with no funding. 23 For this strategy to be effective, musicians need to make it very clear in
the campaign description that additional money needs to be raised, because the first
number that investors will see is the lower goal that theyve submitted. Overall, the all-or-
nothing has its theoretical merits, but is generally detrimental to musicians in a practical
context.
Additionally, because Kickstarter is a haven for all creative projects, that indicates
that backers who are on the site are not solely dedicated to investing in new musical
projects. This acts as an advantage and a disadvantage simultaneously. On the one hand, it
attracts consumers who may be more interested in investing in an area other than music,
but these consumers could discover a music project that theyd like to support. On the
22Ibid.
23Andrei, Kyle. "Nothing for Nothing: Kickstarter vs. IndieGoGo." Idealware. N.p., 10 May 2011. Web. 06 Mar.
2013.
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converse, those who are solely interested in investing in music projects may be distracted
by other creative projects on the site. The wide scope of projects that Kickstarter has to
offer makes it the best known crowd funding site on the internet.
Overall, Kickstarter is fairly easy to use for musicians and consumers alike, but its
major downfalls are that it is not solely focused on music projects, as well as its all-or-
nothing policy.
Indiegogo
Indiegogo is a crowd funding site that is very similar to Kickstarter in the sense that
it is used for a wider variety of projects than just music projects, and gives artists a
platform to pitch their campaigns to potential investors. The site also provides perks the
same way that Kickstarter does rewards for those who invest at different levels.
Unfortunately, Indiegogo also has the same detriment of not being very music-friendly that
Kickstarter has, especially because they do not allow musicians to embed their music in
their description, so artists have to link to another site in order to allow potential investors
to hear their recordings. Indiegogo is set up to accept contributions from more than
creative projects; they also allow for charitable and entrepreneurial contributions, making
their focus much more broad than that of Kickstarter, though it has not quite reached the
The main advantages of Indiegogo over Kickstarter are their international funding
base and their flexible funding policy. Currently, Kickstarter is only equipped to accept
funding from the United States and the United Kingdom, while Indiegogo allows anyone
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with a bank account to start or fund a campaign. Their only limitation is that they do not
allow campaigns from countries on the U.S. OFAC sanctions list. 24 This opens up a much
larger funding base, allowing campaigns to reach potential donors on an international level.
Additionally, their flexible funding policy is much more advantageous for artists.
Indiegogo takes a fee of 4% when a campaign reaches its goal, and a 9% fee when a
campaign does not reach its goal, but it allows the artists to still keep 91% of whatever they
were able to raise. 25 With this policy, musicians are penalized for not reaching their goal,
but they are allowed to retain the majority of the money that they raised. Indiegogo also
offers a fixed funding plan that resembles Kickstarters all-or-nothing policy. In the
Indiegogo policy, the site takes a 0% cut if a campaign doesnt reach its goal, though no
money is disbursed to the artist. Indiegogo gives musicians the opportunity to choose the
level of risk that they want to assume by offering two policy options for funding. These
Pledge Music
Pledge Music is another crowd funding site similar to Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but
it is geared specifically towards musicians. Though it is less popular than both sites, it is
similar to them in that it gives musicians a platform to reach potential investors, shows
project progress, and shows investors what perks they would get from pledging money to
each artist. Pledge Music uses the same all-or-nothing model that Kickstarter does, for
similar reasons. Once a project is successful, the site receives a 15% commission, which is
high, but they boast that they have no hidden fees and absorb all credit card processing
fees and overheads. 26 Again, this all-or-nothing policy can act as a major disadvantage to
the site, for the same reasons that were found with Kickstarters policy.
A major advantage for Pledge Music is its focus on crowd funding solely for
can meet. The site has embedded tracks and videos as part of its basic functionality, as well
as band bios and pictures. It is much more cut out for musicians, and therefore it is a much
better option for those who are focused solely on furthering their career in music.
Additionally, Pledge Music is very liberal with what money from campaigns can be used
towards. While sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo want to see a final product like an
album or a tour, Pledge Music allows musicians to use money towards anything that helps
them to advance their careers, such as radio promotion campaigns, studio time or video
recording sessions. Pledge Music is a great option for musicians because while they will
Risks of Crowdfunding
While all three of these sites are great channels for raising money, there is always
the risk that an artist will not raise the money that they need. In this case, the funds raised
act as a good indicator of how successful the project would have been upon completion. If
the funds are not raised on the front end, though it may hurt an artists ego, at least the
artist is not liable to a record label on the back end of the failed project. Although this is a
major benefit of crowd funding, artists still bear some risk because they still need to invest
26 "Pledge Music FAQ." Pledge Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
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some of their own money at the beginning of the project to get it running. Unfortunately,
the main risk with crowd funding is that it can be quite costly to run a campaign. In order to
run a good campaign, artists need to realize that patrons expect to see videos, sound
recordings, and/or pictures to explain the project and convince them to donate to it. As
progress being made on the project, patrons also expect to see pictures and videos of
updates on the projects status. All of the expenses associated with recording quality work
will need to be paid out of pocket before the musicians ever see a cent from the crowd. To
make high quality videos, artists will need to purchase quality equipment with which they
can record themselves, or pay someone who has the equipment to record them. On top of
this, the artist is responsible for purchasing instruments and accessories to be able to play
their music. Crowd funding campaigns take a significant amount of time and money to get
running, but once a good campaign takes off, the results can be very gratifying.
funding campaign. Palmer just one example of many musicians who sought funding
After being part of the alternative rock duo the Dresden Dolls, a band that achieved cult
popularity, she broke away from the major label to pursue a solo career. 28 In order to fund
this career, she circumvented the major-label ecology, and asked fans to become more or
less direct investors, through crowd funding. 29 Though her campaign was ultimately
successful, she had to invest quite a bit of money into the campaign upfront. She explains
27 Blattberg, Eric. "Kickstarter in 2012: The Numbers You Need to Know." www.crowdsourcing.org. N.p., 11
the full extent of her investment: I had to pay my staff and crew to get this album ready as
well as keep the ship afloat and headed in the right direction. I also needed to come up with
the cost of the recording itself (which was pretty whopping), and any other expenses the
band racked up in the meanwhile. To put a number on all of that behind-the-scenes stuff,
which just got us to DAY ONE of Kickstarter: $250,000. 30 All in all, Palmer was only asking
to raise $100,000 at the beginning of her campaign, but ended up investing more than
double what she was aiming to achieve. By the time that her Kickstarter ended, Palmer
raised $1,192,793, so in the long run, her initial investment did pay off. 31 Though she did
raise a sizable amount of money, she explains that it didnt all go straight into her music
right away: first Ill pay off the lovely debt stacks of bills and loans and the like
associated with readying all of the stuff that had to happen BEFORE I brought this project
to Kickstarter. For the past 8 months or so, I wasnt touring and therefore wasnt making
much income but every step of the way, there were expenses. So, during that time, I
borrowed from various friends and family who Id built up trust with over the years. 32
While Palmer did invest heavily on the front end of her campaign, she used crowd funding
very effectively and successfully to begin her career as a solo artist, and came out with a
Palmer ran a fairly extensive and large campaign, which clearly required sizable
funds to promote, but not all campaigns follow this pattern. Bloomington, Indiana musician
Jesse Lacy ran a much smaller campaign, only seeking to generate $1,500 to produce his
30 Palmer, Amanda. "Where All This Kickstarter Money Is Going." The Official Website of Amanda Palmer. N.p.,
new-record-art-book-and-tour
32 Palmer, Amanda. "Where All This Kickstarter Money Is Going." The Official Website of Amanda Palmer. N.p.,
new album. 33 His experience was the same as Palmers in the sense that he had to invest a
considerable amount of time into planning and executing his campaign. As Lacy explains it,
Preparing for the campaign involved a lot of creativity, professionalism and serious
organization. The Kickstarter page itself was not hard to put together and release, but pre-
campaign work is huge and proved to be essential to our success. We had to calculate our
overheads and decide on how to present and market the campaign. 34 In order to complete
the planning stage for the campaign, Lacy decided to create a time-release outline to show
potential donors exactly how the money will be being used and when. Once the campaign
was up and running, Lacy found that the funding was definitely front-loaded and he
raised 76% in the first 6 days. 35 His rationale for this early flood of donations was that
gracious fans that really wanted us to succeed would pledge early. 36 In the end, Lacy did
reach his fundraising goal, and was therefore able to create his album through donations
from fans. Both Palmer and Lacys experiences demonstrate how crowdfunding can be
Touring
Another revenue stream that will help to diversify a musicians income portfolio is
revenue generated through touring. The experience of live music is not an experience that
one can replicate and relive over and over again, so it provides for a more long term source
first-steps?ref=live
34 "Jesse Lacy Kickstarter Interview." Online interview. 18 Mar. 2013.
35 Ibid.
36 Ibid.
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of revenue. Touring also opens up additional sources of revenue such as exclusive events,
meet-and-greets, and merchandise sales, which act as additional sources of income that
make touring a far more promising revenue generator than relying more heavily on
Though recorded music is still a profitable enterprise, the revenue that the touring
industry is making still surpasses that of the recorded music industry. According to
eMarketer, worldwide live music/concert revenues have grown from $16.6 billion in 2006
to $23.5 billion in 2011. 37 Additionally, From 1999 to 2009, concert ticket sales in the US
tripled from $1.5 billion to $4.6 billion, vastly exceeding the growth of inflation and
survey of Indiana University students, 40% of students said that they attended two to four
concerts per year, and paid an average of $25-$50 per ticket. 39 In comparison, 60% of that
same population purchased zero or one albums in the past six months. Both of these
indicators show that the touring industry is healthy, thriving, and continuing to grow.
Touring revenue is traditionally thought of a just being a product of ticket sales, but
there are also several auxiliary revenue sources that come with touring. Merchandise sales,
exclusive events, and meet-and-greets are all additional ways that musicians can augment
their tours. Each of these avenues allow artists to reach their fan bases in a new way while
37 Ibid.
38 Lee, Timothy B. "Why We Shouldn't Worry About The (Alleged) Decline Of The Music Industry." Forbes.
Forbes Magazine, 30 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
39 See Appendix A.
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Merchandise
The first way that artists can increase their revenue while on tour is through selling
merchandise. T-shirts, posters, and other promotional materials for the musician can be
sold to fans, which is a win-win situation because the fans are paying the musician to
market for them. Additionally, CD, vinyl and other special edition physical copies of music
can be sold at merchandise booths to generate more sales of the musicians recorded
music. These tactics can be used effectively to generate revenue for smaller musicians and
more established musicians alike, and major labels are beginning to see their value. Labels
traditionally did not reap the benefits from ancillary revenue streams surrounding touring,
but now labels are appreciating their value both as a promotional tool and now
asking artists to sign on to new 360 deals that encompass more than just releasing
albums.
As the name suggests, 360 deals allow record labels to help their musicians in all
facets of their career. In return for their additional work, the labels also take a percentage
of ancillary revenue streams. Lady Gaga is a famous example of an artist who has used this
model, and has made shrewd use of new digital platforms, while still leveraging the clout
of a major label, an institution deemed obsolete by many proponents of DIY culture. She is a
product of a new kind of recording contract which goes beyond just selling records to
encompass everything from touring, merchandiseeven her make-up deal. 40 These 360
deals show that the industry is finally aware that they cant fight piracy any longer to
40Jurgensen, John. "The Lessons of Lady Gaga." WSJ.com. The Wall Street Journal, 29 Jan. 2010. Web. 6 Mar.
2013.
P a g e | 23
increase sales of recorded music, but rather they have to find new methods to make money,
Meet-and-Greets
Meet-and-greets are also a great way to make a profit from shows on top of the
revenue from ticket sales. They are a low-cost, high-profit activity that only requires time,
patience and a smile on the musicians end. Fans will pay well over $100 on top of the price
of their ticket to meet their favorite artists, and it doesnt cost anything but time for the
artist to greet their fans. Additionally, meet-and-greets build a good rapport with fans
because after meeting their idols, fans feel closer to their favorite artists. Taylor Swift is a
great example of an artist who understands the value of her audience. 41 Swifts manager,
Bill Bennett explains that She's worked hard to keep her country audience. She goes to
every awards show, visits radio, signs countless autographs." 42 This kind of dedication to
her fans has allowed Swift to develop a loyal fan base, which has turned into revenue
Exclusive Events
The last auxiliary method of generating revenue is through exclusive events. These
events go deeper than meet-and-greets, and were created as an extension of that very idea.
Exclusive events allow artists to charge a considerable sum, typically ranging from $200 up,
on top of the ticket price for a chance to get to hang out with the band before or after the
41 Christman, Ed. "What Taylor Swift's Million-Selling Album Means for Music." Billboard. N.p., 05 Nov. 2010.
Web. 07 Mar. 2013.
42 Ibid.
P a g e | 24
show. Typically there is some activity involved that allows the fans to better connect with
the musicians. A great example of a band who has successfully held exclusive events is the
Zac Brown Band. During the summer months, the band frequently hosts eat and greet
events that gives a selected few of their fans a chance to eat some great food and hang with
the band for about an hour before their show. 43 These events are great ways for musicians
to generate buzz because it allows fans to get to know their idols on a deeper level than
they know them just from seeing them on stage, so fans feel more connected to and
emotionally invested in the artist. Also, fans typically take pictures of such events and post
them to social media sites, further spreading the buzz to their friends. Exclusive events
work best for artists who have a larger fan base and are more well-known than they do for
smaller bands because of the fame factor and hype that more popular bands have, which
These auxiliary methods of making money while on tour all relate back to the idea of
having a balanced portfolio of revenue streams. While on tour, musicians have a significant
group of their fans in one place, which gives them many opportunities to make money. By
diversifying the ways in which theyre making money on tour, musicians can fully take
advantage of all of the ways that fans will pay for exposure to the band.
43Loesch, Raymond. "Zac Brown Band Eat and Greet Offers Fans a Taste of the Zamily." Country Fan Network.
N.p., 18 Aug. 2010. Web. 07 Mar. 2013.
P a g e | 25
Licensing
Once a musician becomes more established, or has a tune that is appealing enough
to catch the ear of a company that wants to use it, music licensing becomes a promising,
stable, and lucrative source of revenue. However, this revenue stream is not for the
inexperienced. Due to its stability and potential to be highly lucrative, licensing is a highly
competitive field that requires negotiation and careful discussion between the parties to
ensure that both sides are getting a fair deal. There are very specific laws surrounding
copyright, as well as many different types of licenses that each protect a specific facet of a
song or performance. These laws can often be difficult to navigate, so it is advised that
artists get a knowledgeable lawyer to aid them if they wish to license their work for others
use.
There are many different ways that an artist can license their work, and each type of
license comes with a varying level of control. For example, Amherst College graduate
Andrew Plenge describes that for an album, there are generally three different copyrights
the rights for the album as a whole, the performance rights for each of the songs on the
album, and the mechanical rights for the physical copy of each song and each different
copyright generates royalties for various uses of the copyrighted work. 44 Depending on
the artists contract with a record label, they may own one or all of these rights, giving
them varying flexibility to license their music. 45 Throughout this discussion of music
44 Plenge, Andrew C. "Accounting for Ancillary Revenue Streams: The Optimal Level of Copyright Protection in
the Music Industry." Thesis. Amherst College, 2001. Print.
45 Ibid.
P a g e | 26
licensing, we will assume that the artist is the copyright owner for their works for
simplicitys sake, and will therefore use artist and copyright holder interchangeably.
The first type of license that Plenge mentions is a master recording license. This
license grants the right to include a specific recording of the composition in timed relation
to a picture. 46 While this definition may sound similar to that of a synchronization license,
which will be discussed later, the master recording license differs in that a sync license
gives the license holder the right to re-record a song for use in a media project, while a
master license gives the license holder the right to use a pre-existing recording of that song
in a media project. 47 The master recording license is commonly used with the
synchronization license in media, film, commercial and TV projects. The royalty rates for
master recordings are negotiated on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature and
amount of the song used. This case-by-case negotiation allows for greater control on the
part of the artist, but it also requires more time and frequently a legal team to successfully
46 "All Clear? A Music Clearance Primer." International Documentary Magazine. N.p., 2005. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.themusicbridge.com/clearance-and-license/all-clear-a-music-clearance-primer/>.
47 McDonald, Heather. "Master License." Music Careers. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.
P a g e | 27
Performance License
Plenge also discusses the performance rights of the album, which, according to
copyright lawyer Shannon Petty, allows one to perform a musical work publicly. 48
Typically, performance royalties are not collected directly by the artists, but rather through
Authors and Publishers), BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.), or SESAC (Society of European Stage
Authors and Composers). 49 It is important that musicians register their works with a PRO
so that they can maximize the royalties that they receive, because it is better to have a PRO
to help police performance violations in addition to the artists team. Another advantage of
licensing music through a PRO is that they will grant those who wish to use licensed music
a blanket license, which gives these licensees the right to perform all of the music
represented by the organization. 50 While this is more useful for licensees who wish to
use more than one song than for the musicians themselves, being registered with a PRO
gives the musicians yet another avenue for reaching a greater audience through increased
reach to consumers.
Performance rights are a highly debated topic because the definition of a public
performance has changed in the digital age. As copyright lawyers David Oxenford and
48 Petty, Shannon. "Music Licensing." Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Arts & Business Council of
Greater Philadelphia, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
49 Ibid.
50 Ibid.
P a g e | 28
a public setting, it is a public performance. 51 This definition is not so easily applied to the
realm of the internet, because when a website streams a song, many people can access it at
one time. This widespread access fits the number of people in a public setting part of the
public performance definition, but because all of these people accessing the song arent in
the same place at the same time, that makes streaming a song less of a performance. For
this reason, copyright law is still working to define this area of the law.
boundary should lie on public performances: when a webcasting service sends out one
stream to hundreds of people, the webcaster is operating much like a radio service, so
there would seem to be a public performance. But when the service is interactive, so that
unique streams are served up to each customer, is that really a public performance? 52 As
of now, this question has no easy answer. Copyright law does not include a concrete
Millennium Copyright Act has put some restrictions on streaming music for free online. In a
three-hour period, a streaming service can play No more than 3 songs from one album
[with] no more than 2 played consecutively from one album; no more than 4 songs from a
recorded songs by the same artist (live studio appearances are okay). 53 Additionally, the
law states that listeners should not be able to download or call up any particular song on
demand, which is why streaming services like Pandora cannot allow users to toggle
51 Oxenford, David D., and Robert J. Driscoll. "The Basics of Music Licensing in Digital Media." Advisories.
between songs except to skip songs that they dont like. 54 These measures attempt to
control streaming revenues in the absence of more concrete public performance laws.
Though these regulations seek to maximize the revenues that musicians receive
each time their songs are played, the amount collected in royalties per play is typically
miniscule. Most artists receive a fraction of a cent for each play, which does not add up very
quickly. Zoe Keating, an independent musician, is a prime example of this concept: when
her songs had been played more than 1.5 million times on Pandora over six months, she
earned $1,652.74. On Spotify, 131,000 plays last year netted just $547.71, or an average of
0.42 cent a play. 55 Overall, public performance licensing is a crucial part of an artists
Mechanical License
The last type of license that Plenge references is the mechanical license, which is
defined by the Harry Fox Agency as the licensing of copyrighted musical compositions for
use on CDs, records, tapes, and certain digital configurations. 56 The Harry Fox Agency is
the largest mechanical rights licensor in the United States, and therefore many artists
collect their royalties through the company. Any time that a song is reproduced, a
mechanical license is required. However, the mechanical license only grants the copyright
54 Ibid.
55 Sisario, Ben. "As Music Streaming Grows, Royalties Slow to a Trickle." CNBC. N.p., 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 22
Mar. 2013.
56 "How to Obtain Mechanical Licenses." The Harry Fox Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.harryfox.com/public/MechanicalLicenseslic.jsp>.
P a g e | 30
holder the ability to choose the first distributor of a mechanical recording. 57 This means
that an artist may select who first reproduces their work, but after the initial selection,
compulsory licenses are issued. Compulsory licenses permit anyone to make or cover
mechanical recordings for a statutory fee if [they] cannot obtain permission from the
copyright holder. 58 Compulsory licenses give the artist less control over who uses their
works, but also makes licensing easier because the artist does not have to approve every
licensee.
The statutory royalty rates associated with mechanical licensing for physical
recordings and digital downloads are 9.1 Cents per copy for songs 5 minutes or less, or
1.75 Cents per minute or fraction thereof, per copy for songs over 5 minutes. 59 Though
these rates are low, they are much more favorable than the fraction of a cent that artists are
issued for performance royalties. A typical album is about 12 songs, so for each album that
is purchased an artist would receive $1.09 in mechanical royalties. Again, a dollar is a small
amount, but it adds up over time with CD and single sales, covers of a song, and
licensing is a more lucrative licensing method than many, and it is an easier method of
57 Petty, Shannon. "Music Licensing." Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Arts & Business Council of
Greater Philadelphia, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
58 Ibid.
59 "Statutory Reports." Harry Fox Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.harryfox.com/public/StatutoryReports.jsp>.
P a g e | 31
Synchronization License
Beyond the licenses that Plenge mentions for an album, there are also several other
visual work to music as an accompaniment. This license is frequently used for television,
film and commercial purposes, and, as mentioned above, is typically used in conjunction
with a master recording license. The synchronization license itself only permits the user to
use music and lyrics of the song, not the recording of the song by an artist. Petty gives a
good example of this when she explains If you want to use RESPECT in a karaoke
capacity you may get a synch license and rerecord the song yourself. But if you want to
use RESPECT by Aretha Franklin, you may need an accompanying master license, 60
Similarly to the master recording license, sync licenses are negotiated on a case-by-
case basis. Each license issued is issued for a specific period of time and stipulates the
terms of how the song will be used. Music industry expert Heather McDonald explains
There is one flat fee involved in obtaining a sync license, and once the license is in place,
the song can be used as stipulated as many times within the license period as the license
holder likes. In other words, if you obtain a sync license and use the song in a film, you do
not have to pay a fee on the sync every time the film is viewed. 61 This fee is considerably
60 Petty, Shannon. "Music Licensing." Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Arts & Business Council of
Greater Philadelphia, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
61 McDonald, Heather. "Sync License." Music Careers. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.
P a g e | 32
larger than any of the previously discussed methods of licensing due to the fact that it
Businessman Michael Charles wrote a blog about his experience trying to license
music for a 30 second commercial on YouTube that would only run in the Saskatchewan
area. 62 He found that for the Cole Porter song in which he was interested in using, the fee
would be $15,000, and that was on the low end. After speaking further with the licensing
department at Warner/Chappell, he was told that Even for obscure artists the low end
for synchronization licenses was in the $5,000 range. 63 This is significantly more than
most artists make from mechanical and performance licensing, so it has become a very
There are several issues that need to be considered before a musician licenses their
work. The first of these issues is the retention of rights. With each various method of
licensing, artists face relinquishing control of their works, whether it is to a record label, a
holder to determine how much control over their music they wish to keep. With more
musicians to sign over their rights to a record label or other company in return for a
significant portion of the royalties. This is where a good attorney becomes vital to ensure
62 Charles, Michael A. "Licensing Music for Your Online Ad How Much Will It Cost?" Monsters Blog. N.p., 2
Nov. 2010. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.
63 Ibid.
P a g e | 33
that artists are getting a fair deal, and to negotiate with the opposing side until the deal
The second issue with licensing works relates primarily to master recording and
advertisements that artists are selling out by allowing another company to use their
music. Rock duo The Black Keys have experienced this stigma, and explain the tradeoff as
If someone offers you enough money to buy a new guitar and pay your rent for a while,
and you dont have to do anything for itthe only thing you have to do is take the flak. 64
Early on in their career, the Black Keys turned down a licensing deal from a British
mayonnaise company that would have paid $130,000 simply because they were worried
about their image. Soon after, they decided that as long as you can keep in control of your
art, what does it matter where it gets played? Whats the point of going on the road and
touring, trying to promote your record, then turning down the opportunity to have your
music played because of some stigma? Its all in everybodys head. 65 This is a very
important point, because licensing for commercial use does allow for a musicians song to
reach a much larger audience. Instead of a consumer having to seek out a certain song, it is
delivered right to them in a commercial setting in which they are practically forced to listen
to 30 seconds or more of the song. This is a great marketing strategy for musicians, and
Overall, these issues are issues of personal taste that can be decided by a musician
or band as they come up. Both issues are a matter of weighing personal control and image
64 Luber, Jade. "The Black Keys Fan Lounge." The Black Keys Fan Lounge. N.p., 13 May 2010. Web. 26 Apr.
2013.
65 Ibid.
P a g e | 34
against convenience in revenue collection and marketing, neither of which have a simple
solution. How certain artists make money is changing, and its less about albums and it can
be more about licensing income, Co-president and COO of Warner Bros Records Livia
Tortella explained; For The Black Keys, that (licensing) is their number one source of
income. 66 While mechanical and performance licensing issue less than ten cents per play,
they require the artist to relinquish less control over their works while still being a stable
source of income. On the converse, master recording and synchronization licenses are far
more lucrative, but they are harder to secure and last for a shorter amount of time than do
other licenses. Each decision about licensing comes down to musicians personal
Conclusion
The music industry is a rapidly changing scene that has always found a way to adapt to
challenges with which it is faced. In the digital era, the current challenge of file sharing has seen
diminishing revenues for artists, but the solution of having a balanced and diverse portfolio of
revenue streams is one that is robust enough to take the industry through tough times. By having
revenues from crowd funding, touring, and licensing, musicians no longer have to rely on one
source to make their living. This gives them greater security and financial strength in a tough
industry. While it is a high ideal to master all three of these areas, any steps that a musician can take
towards diversifying their revenue streams is a positive step that will help to ensure financial
66 Ibid.
P a g e | 35
2) How quickly did you see money accrue? Was it mostly at the front end, or did
donations pick up as you got closer to the deadline?
Our campaign was defiantly front-loaded. We figured that the gracious fans that really
wanted us to succeed would pledge early. In fact, we raised 76% in the first 6 days.
To succeed in the music industry or anything with people for that matter:
Building a community and be consistently dependable. Oh, and always know more.
P a g e | 36
40%
Once a year
37%
Twice a year
60%
Three or more
times a year
Always
34% Zero
One
Two to Four
Five to Eight
19%
Nine or more
26%
P a g e | 38
Legally
Illegally
53%
37%
I Don't Download
Songs
P a g e | 39
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