Where Do You Get Your Music?

Starbucks has become one of the last in-store physical CD distributers since many of the big box retailers have closed their doors. Starbucks customers are all about brand loyalty and many of them discover new music, artists and applications due to the curators at Starbucks. Albums and books have been placed at the cash wrap for years grabbing the attention of customers while also playing softly in the overhead speakers.

 Starbucks has decided to discontinue carrying physical albums in stores as the format has seen a decline in sales across retailers. Music has long been one of the chain’s top earners outside of coffee and will continue to be a focus of the retailer. Rather than offering albums in the physical format, Starbucks will still curate music for its loyal customers in various formats.

As customers, we are sure to experience more of Starbucks’ themed compilations and single-song download promotions. The retailer has not released their plan for music distribution at this time as the physical sales are to end in March.

Taylor Swift made headlines when she decided to remove all of her music from streaming giant Spotify. This decision was made pending the release of her latest album and led many to question the success of the album and any singles since digital streaming would be significantly impacted. The bold move may have proved to be genius as Swift’s single “Shake It Off”, led among the publishing charts. The song helped lead Sony to its 10^th consecutive leading quarter and held  a steady number 2 on the charts. The charts are comprised of information compiled by Neilsen Music based on radio airplay.

The fourth quarter charts also meant big changes for Big Machine and Reach Music as both companies were in the top 10 for the first time. The songs responsible for the chart placement were Maddie & Tae’s “Girl in a Country Song” and Charli XCX’s “Boom Clap.

Sony/ATV  currently holds 26.2% of the popular music publishing market share with Universal Music Publishing Group holding 15.3% of the market. This shows that major publishing companies still have footing in the industry.

Industry Liabilities

Copyright infringement is one the biggest issues to plague the modern day music industry. As major record companies are facing record losses and going out of business, record companies are exploring revenue streams that may have previously been overlooked.  Not only are there record numbers of artists touring, record companies are exploring any possible copyright infringement cases. Artists and their families are also waging the battle for copyright and trademark enforcement.

Kelly Van Halen, ex-wife of drummer Alex Van Halen has been petitioning the U.S. Trademark Office for the right to continue using her last name on designer merchandise. Following her divorce, Kelly opened an interior design company and attempted to register a trademark using her on name on products like chairs, children’s blankets, interior design services and more.

The incorporation formed to represent the members of Van Halen and their related intellectual property, ELVH Inc., claimed the trademarks filed by Kelly Van Halen were too similar.  Claims by ELVH. Inc. also stated that the use of Kelly’s trademark may cause confusion and dilution of the Van Halen brand. The two parties have recently reached a settlement allowing Kelly to use the trademark of KELLY VAN HALEN with the promise that she uses her full name and does not create any music-related services that may infringe upon the band’s trademark. This settlement has ended one of the biggest intellectual property family disputes in entertainment (Gardner 2015).

As the definitions of what constitutes as legal marriage change, laws addressing the rights of spouses should also be revisited. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont has reintroduced a bill that prevents any surviving same-sex spouses from content ownership if they live in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriages. In its current state, the Copyright Act only allows the ownership to transfer to a widow or widower of the same-sex in states that recognize gay marriage. Leahy’s passed legislation will give same-sex artists and their spouses the same copyright protections as heterosexual couples (Schneider 2015).

As one of the largest, remaining record companies, Universal Music has entered in many lawsuits pursuing damages for copyright infringement. The latest suit was filed against a group of companies that sell care packages to friends and family members of inmates in correctional facilities. The companies selling these packages, the Centric Group and the Keefe Group, provide care packages that include mixtapes with music from artists such as James Brown, Eminem and Stevie Wonder.

The outcome of this suit will be a landmark decision for DJs and mixtape hosting services as mixtapes are a form of recorded music where DJs have combined tracks of different artists onto a single CD. Many of these works are unauthorized by the copyright owner and any perspective agents.  Universal believes that mixtapes are cover for piracy with very few authorized distributers in the recording industry. Universal Music is requesting that the maximum rate of damages is paid, $150,000, per infringed copyright (Universal Music Files Copyright Lawsuit 2015).

As copyright wars continue to be fought out in courts across the country, I believe that more artists will turn to live displays of talent to continue driving income. Live shows may be one of the last remaining displays of talent that is exempt of piracy.

Interviewing EB.

I interviewed Ebony B., past-Director of The Compound Foundation. The Compound Foundation is the passion project of RnB singer, Ne-Yo to serve youth growing up in foster care and group homes. The foundation serves as a support system for foster care youth to encourage the pursuit of education, individual goals and dreams. Ebony B. was the founding Director, creating foundation programing and securing many grants as funding. Ebony also worked to establish relationships with local group homes and foster care agencies in Atlanta, Las Vegas and New York.

CW: Thank you for agreeing to sit with me and telling me about your experiences in entertainment. Take a moment and tell me about your career and how you became the Director of a celebrity non-profit.

EB: My non-profit career began when I was a student at Howard University. I began working for a women’s reproductive rights organization as an intern. Within a year, I was promoted from an intern to a field manager for the organization. I worked on a local front to educate women of their rights and to encourage them ask their politicians to legislate on behalf women’s reproductive rights. My time at the organization introduced me to politics afforded me the opportunity to move to Atlanta. Atlanta made it possible for me to combine my interests in politics, non-profit work and entertainment.

CW: You have an extensive resume, how has the power of negotiation helped you in your career?

EB: As I have worked in many different fields from non-profits, entertainment and politics the art of negotiation has been a major benefit to me. I have had to negotiate on behalf of clients, organizations and myself. I have had to negotiate on behalf of clients for my boutique public relations firm to land media deals and coverage. As Director of The Compound Foundation, I negotiated on behalf of Ne-Yo to The Board of Directors as well as supporters and partners of the organization. I was able to negotiate deals that allowed the Foundation to directly impact the lives of foster youth.

CW: How do you plan for negotiations?

EB: I plan for negotiations by collecting all of the facts possible for my argument then outlining the argument that I am making. I often prepare for negotiations as I would prepare for a presentation while trying to anticipate the argument of the other party. I find it best to prepare for negotiations by researching all topics applicable to my argument.

CW: Ebony, thanks again for taking time to speak with me.

Where's the Tour Money

As the structure of the music industry has changed and record sales no longer generate the majority of income, artists have had to turn to other directions to earn a living. Many artists, belonging to major or independent record labels, have returned to the live performance component of the music business. Live performances are one of the very few ways for artists to interact with their fan bases. As many listeners are subscribing to streaming services such as Spotify, the already struggling record industry is experiencing continued challenges. Touring and live performances have successfully sustained many entertainment careers in this struggling industry.

Just as an industry is reinventing itself, Billboard releases a report that many opening acts for your favorite artists are losing money with every show played. As touring is proving lucrative for superstars, once again smaller artists are suffering. The practice of setting ticket prices is a delicate art and could be one of the sole determinants of a well-attended show. As venue sizes increase, this fragile ticketing formula is continually put to the test to benefit the headlining artist.

 As tour and business managers have the interests of the headlining artist as a priority, opening artists are feeling more and more of the pinch. An opening artist with a $15,000 performance fee spends about $10,000 per week on production costs and an additional $7500 per week on crew costs including tour management. As an opening artist, you are often relying on your label for as much financial support as possible given your inability to cover basic touring costs. As an opening artist signed to a major label, it is likely you will not see much income from touring.

As an artist or act becomes larger, the costs of touring also grow larger just as the guaranteed percentage of the tour’s gross income. As the live show requires greater resources, the potential for income also grows as the demand for additional items such as tour merchandise grows. Tour merchandise allows an act to cover additional expenses that have accumulated while touring such as production, transportation and crew costs while being respective to ticket prices and consumers.

With the increased costs of touring, many headling artists may eliminate opening acts and many openers may decline major tours. Artists such as Beyoncé, Elton John and Stevie Wonder perform without opening acts, will the trend continue?

Resources

Waddell, R. (2014, Oct. 3).  In Why are Opening Acts for Superstars Losing Money?. Retrieved Oct. 5, 2014, from http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/touring/6274026/why-are-opening-acts-for-superstars-losing-money