What's the upload? That question was at the heart of an enlightening panel discussion hosted jointly by the Producers & Engineers Wing and Los Angeles Chapter on April 24 at The Recording Academy's Santa Monica headquarters.
The digital landscape has opened up tremendous opportunities for artists to get their work into the marketplace, but the roads through that landscape can be tremendously confusing. This panel brought together entrepreneurs and experts in the field of digital distribution, all of whom offered unique insight into how an artist can best move from hopeful upload to registered sale.
Panelists included Derek Sivers, founder and president of Web-based indie-music seller CD Baby; Kevin Arnold, founder and CEO of comprehensive digital music service IODA; Jeff Price, founder and CEO of digital distribution company TuneCore; and Bruce Taylor, VP of marketing and PR for Snocap Inc., a service that allows artists to set up their own Web-based stores. The panel was moderated by Eric Garland, CEO of BigChampagne Media Measurement, which provides analysis on issues involving the intersection of entertainment and technology. Los Angeles P&E Wing Committee Chair Mike Clink and Western Regional Director Lizzy Moore introduced the panel, who spoke before a capacity crowd that included outgoing L.A. Chapter President Maureen Crowe, newly-elected L.A. Chapter President Tom Sturges, and other L.A. Governors.
While serious information was exchanged, a light tone was set early on as panelists discussed some of the changes in terminology — and by extension philosophy — that the digital revolution has brought. "What used to be called 'product' is now called 'content,'" pointed out CD Baby's Sivers. "We call it anything but music — like how you never call beef a cow." Added Tunecore's Price, "When music grows up, it becomes content."
The topic at hand might have led to volleys of high-tech jargon, but moderator Garland craftily assumed the role of an artist seeking distribution, and instructed the panelists to break down the services they offer and to explain what kind of artists or small labels they each might be right for.
Some striking differences among the panelists' businesses became clear. Arnold described IODA as a service occupying the position of a traditional distribution and marketing company tailored specifically to work in the digital realm. As such, it is more interested in signing on more established artists and labels that have some sales record behind them. CD Baby works on the model of an indie distributor, and is more open to artists taking their first step into the marketplace. Price explained that he had turned away from music business models to embrace the business model of a completely non-musical company — FedEx. He described TuneCore as a kind of musician's delivery service: while IODA and CD Baby receive a percentage of sales for their work, TuneCore charges an up-front flat fee to make an artist’s music available for download. While all three services act as pipelines to digital music stores such as iTunes, an artist who wanted to establish his own store on a band Web site or MySpace page could turn to the services of Snocap. "The more stores you get out there, the more you sell," Taylor pointed out.
When Garland asked if an artist might be best off submitting material through all the panelists’ companies, the response was skeptical. Though most deals with online distributors are termed "non-exclusive," sending the same music through several different services would lead to tangled accounting problems and the risk of annoying the music stores, the panelists agreed. (Sivers cautioned against over-working upload buttons with the advice, "Don't drink and click.") Panelists discussed some of the filtering processes they’ve put in place as a form of A&R: CD Baby's staff physically listens to everything submitted and frequently culls out copyright violating mix-tapes, while Snocap has established a digital fingerprinting system that prevents someone from submitting material that isn't their own. They also spoke to a strange wrinkle in digital music stores that actually encourages less originality: because consumers often search for music by title, a new artist may have their best chance of getting heard by posting cover versions.
Taylor made one of the strongest points of the night — that, from an artist's point of view, digital distribution shouldn't be seen as a cold system of dollar-a-tune sales. "You still need to think of making a connection with fans. That direct connection is crucial, and it doesn’t always happen through music store downloads." Price emphasized that an artist’s goals were key in figuring out the right way to approach distribution. “It depends on your definition of success," he explained. "You don't have to sell anything — you could put all your music up for free just to have it out there. Or you could treat it as part of your business and use all the tools that are out there."
Conversation remained lively when the floor was opened to the audience. There was consensus that digital labels who promise artists prominent iTunes placement should be avoided, and there was an in-depth discussion of all the opt-ins and opt-outs an artist needs to consider when working with a distributor (Will the work be distributed globally? Can it be streamed as well as downloaded? Can it be used promotionally?)
Moderator Garland brought the evening to a close by posing a striking question: Five years from now, what would the same panel be discussing? "If anyone says anything other than I don't know, don't trust them," laughed Price. Surveying the crowd of music-makers before him, Sivers raised the possibility of a future in which music could move straight from artists to listeners. "I'm looking forward to the day when you don't need us at all."
