ASCAP, SESAC, BMI? Pub or co-pub? Admin? P & D deal with label? DIY or record deal? What the heck? The music business maze is confusing at best and most times downright confounding! Didn’t it used to be easier? It’s like the maze in the book Who Moved My Cheese?
Is This a Joke?
Nope. Let me state the obvious: things change in the music business. Every five minutes. New ways to make money with music and new avenues for distribution arrive all the time. Artists used to be able to start out in clubs to hone their craft by investing the 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell wrote about and maybe get “discovered”. The bad news is most of those clubs are gone. But the good news is, now many artists cut their teeth on videos that go viral (and the smart ones learn how to monetize those videos. You knew that, right?)
The cold, hard truth is you will miss opportunities (read $$$) if you don’t know the potential pitfalls and missteps in the maze. Don’t let the joke be on you.
Knock, Knock
That’s where I come in. Artists and writers come to me for assistance in moving the proverbial needle on their careers. It’s hard enough to work those 10,000 hours. An artist or writer needs a guide to navigate the maze. That’s why I recommend my potential clients #TakeTheTwenty.
My mission is to share my accumulated knowledge as an industry veteran to assist you with the basics (Why do I need a PRO like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC?) or the convoluted (Should I agree to an admin deal with a publisher or hold out for a co-pub deal? Or, do I really need to sign a record deal to get my music distributed?) Here’s your free take-away advice to question number one: Without a PRO you won’t see any money from public performance of your music. Number two and three I’m happy to answer for clients.
Who’s There?
Your career. Like I asked in my last post, are you in the groove or in a rut? Either way, reach out to me and let’s create your personalized road map to the music business maze.
chris@chriskeaton.com
