"The Music Industry", by Eleri Angharad
Creative industries appear to be declining, Government funds cut and competition rising exponentially. This is particularly true of the Music Business, where internet intervention and technological advances have caused studios, record shops and labels to struggle financially and consequently decline in existence. Streaming services decrease record sales; Easily accessible production programmes and software enable track construction without expensive studio equipment or professional producers; popular television programmes such as The X-Factor can imply a narrowing and diminishing of true creative opportunities.
Despite appearances however, Music remains a rapidly growing industry, contributing £4.4bn to the UK economy in 2016 (Bimm.co.uk 2018), reportedly a 6% increase on 2015. Jobs within this sector have also risen at a higher rate than any other creative industry (over 142,000 employed in the UK music market – Bimm.co.uk 2018) hence if the creative individual is willing to ‘get creative’, and persevere, there is money to be made. One area in the industry is particularly flourishing and is a key focus of this report: Songwriting.
“Without songwriting there would be no music industry” – Guardian, 2013.
It is often said that one song has the capacity to launch an entire career, be it the producer, the artist, or vocalist. The song is key, and without songwriters, other career paths within simply would not exist. In recent years, Songwriting has become a recognised, academic pursuit, with courses opening up in several UK universities, the first being Bath Spa in 2007 (Guardian 2013). According to the dean of Performing Arts, Joe Bennett (Bath Spa), contrary to what TV shows such as The Voice UK seem to demonstrate "Most people in the industry have plenty of vocalists.. What the industry is desperate for is amazing songs,".
Songwriting is one of the few areas that will still generate a lot of money for the individual through royalty payouts via PRS, or Sync deals. Songwriters will often generate more income than a non-writing artist from record sales alone. The internet has also opened numerous, reachable platforms, Soundcloud, Youtube, Spotify, iTunes etc from which songwriters/artists can showcase their work and reach vast, international audiences.
There are many obvious pros to streaming services: distribution is effortless via websites such as Tunecore, Spinnup or CD Baby and often very inexpensive, especially compared with the manufacturing of CDs or vinyl. This is particularly beneficial for independent artists, without company funds as the barrier to entry is removed and their songs can be found on major streaming apps alongside signed, established artists. (It could be argued that with the ease of access to unsigned music, it is the public who can decide which songs make up the chart hits, with less influence from record labels.) Services facilitate listening on a global level, a simple, cheap way of reaching a much wider audience. Additionally, and perhaps most usefully distribution sites offer access to market insights and analytics. Through these the artist can view statistics on number of listeners, along with the demographics, which can prove a valuable tool in establishing and marketing to a target audience.
Streaming services however are not without their shortcomings. Having risen up as a tool to combat piracy, streaming embraced the demand for cost-free music and as a result hindered record sales, both digital and physical. From the top ten bestselling records, 1994 compared with 2014, (see image 1.1 billboard.com) where streaming services such as Spotify had really begun to take off, the differences are startlingly apparent. Far fewer top grossing albums in 2014 reached the platinum certification of 1 million units sold, whereas ten years previously over half of the ‘top 10’ were surpassing the 2 million mark.
With the rise of streaming, came the rise of singles, where younger generations in particular will no longer listen to, or purchase an artists’ entire album. Consumers can pick and choose from a collection and consequently may have less of a vested interest in the artist themselves. According to Elite Daily (Thomas Honeyman 2014), record sales are no longer a useful measure of success. He states ‘This is the reality of the new music industry.. built off of liquid attention A new generation of artists has hit the scene and they thrive on attention rather than units of music they sell.’ Although attention is obviously desirable, monetary value cannot be ignored as the artist, or songwriter still needs to earn a living. The key to a successful music career therefore must be to generate attention and monetize it.
Spotify, iTunes, and equivalents all provide similar services: easily accessible music and new ways for artist and consumer to do business. These platforms are abundant, and consequently the market is saturated with available music, old and new. Upcoming artists are competing against not only new releases but established artists’ entire back catalogues. Whilst distribution is obviously useful, without marketing it remains utterly redundant. The question then is how does the artist make people care about their music; as stated by C.L.I.M.B podcast, ‘Consumers don’t need more ways to connect with artists and purchase products, they need more reasons to’.
With Social media at the heart of ‘millennial’ culture, it is easier than ever for artists to begin building a fan base, promoting and marketing themselves online. With Radio no longer the only forerunner for discovery, the music no longer always comes first, the artists themselves do, and therefore must find creative ways to connect with their potential audience on a personal level. While social platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, make communication easier, this does not necessarily mean more effective.
Many young artist ‘advice’ books, for instance ‘On Making Music’, Adam Walton and blogs such as the HUB, will say to build a brand, image, online presence and ultimately a story, in order to connect with potential listeners. Stories are frequently used in marketing campaigns for numerous products and services, from McDonalds to BMW to John Lewis, as it is paramount to create an emotional response from the consumer and this is no different from marketing music. It is important to remember that everyone within the business, from fans, to A&R, radio producers or label heads, are only human beings; the industry is built on human communication and if an artist can build an enticing narrative around their life and their music, interest peaked will translate organically into listens, streams, YouTube hits.
‘The value of an album is, and will continue to be, based on the amount of heart and soul an artist has bled into a body of work.’ – Taylor Swift (Love Story, Blank Space, Top 100 Songwriters - Rolling Stone) Swift is the perfect example of maintaining a loyal fan base through story and real human connections. Her first ‘Pop’ album 1989, sold over 1.3 million copies in its first week, despite the complete loss of the country radio airplay she had previously capitalised on.
After establishing the importance of branding and target marketing, the product obviously needs to live up to expectations built by the promotion campaign. It is vital both for artists releasing their own music and sending to record labels, radio etc or songwriters pitching to signed artists that they immediately grab attention.
A ‘HIT’ song launches a career, no matter the genre, or how niche the target audience. Without ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ Joni Mitchell may well have faded into obscurity and without ‘A-Team’, Ed Sheeran may never have broken the mainstream UK market. There are proven conventions songwriters can utilise to improve chances of a song being played on Radio or used by a major artist. Industry professionals do not have the time to listen to the plethora of tracks they are presented with, and as a rule songs have about thirty seconds of time in which to grab the listener. Spotify only pay out royalties after the thirty first second and in the aforementioned saturated market, with almost infinite choice even everyday listeners will probably not give anymore time before clicking next on whatever streaming app they are currently using. As Léveillé Gauvin (Ohio state university) says “There’s always another song,”. The intro therefore is key.
According to a study by Ohio State university, introductions have been reduced by 78%, since the pop music of the 1980s, and the vocals come in at an average of five seconds, quickly seizing attention and hooking the listener in, lest they skip to another track. So if one assumes the vocals are the first ‘hook’ of the song, the next obvious hook would be the Chorus, ideally introducing contrast to the verse, a very catchy, fairly simple melody, and the song title in the lyrics. This section should also feature within the first minute of music, and not only maintain the listeners interest, but allow them to easily sing along, and remember it afterwards, encouraging repeated plays. With the ‘thirty second rule’ so prevalent, many popular songs will even begin with a chorus, not wasting any time before grabbing their audience.
Within melody, there are subtle techniques worth mentioning: Repetition of melody or rhythm; Sequencing, repeating the shape of the melody at a different pitch; and considering the Range of pitch to allow even the average ‘non-singer’ to be able to hum along. ‘Never be ashamed to write a melody that people remember’ says Burt Bacharach (The Look of Love, I Say a Little Prayer). Melody is universally acknowledged among professional songwriters as the single most important ingredient in creating a successful, money-making, hit. It is the first thing the human brain can engage with and retain, before lyrics, arrangement or production.
As a final note on the writing itself, songs that get airplay will almost never exceed three minutes, so editing a song down to it’s best ideas, strongest melodies and neatest structure is crucial. Gauvin states that in the current ‘attention economy’ songs are no longer works of artistry or ‘cultural products’ but instead become advertisements for the artists themselves, and they need to use these three minutes to sell.
There are numerous ways to make money as an unsigned, artist or songwriter: Tickets sales, Merchandise etc, once the story, brand and music are developed and the artist is actively, building and relating to their audience. With constantly developing technologies and growing marketing avenues, many artists are able to set up their own small publishing companies or independent labels. This trend has also developed among renowned artists, who are often leaving large record companies, in pursuit of greater creative control over their own music. Current singer/songwriter Gabrielle Aplin, (Panic Chord, Home) for instance, terminated her contract with Parlophone, in order to focus on her self-made label Never Fade Records. Never Fade has since gone on to secure over 100 million streams worldwide for its artists, Aplin included. Even as a completely unknown artist, setting up a record label from which to release, gives more credibility and a degree of leverage than simply releasing from an individual standpoint.
However, this is not to disregard major labels, as professional expertise, industry connections and funding are extremely valuable to a new artist. The question then is how to gain attention from record labels. With ‘no unsolicited works’ as a standard on almost every label’s webpage, it can be useful to first find a publisher as this automatically gives an artist/writer higher status and credibility within the industry. In a business where the supply of songs is much higher than the demand, publishers act as a filtering system: a reputable source for labels and major artists to access potential hits. Demo submissions must undoubtedly be of highest quality as labels need a product they can sell, rather than potential. Nevertheless, a publishing contract or even a record deal will never be a substitute for hard work, perseverance and sustaining ones’ own career.
In light of the cutthroat industry, that can seem impossible to break into many schemes and organisations have set up in recent years to provide education, funding and opportunities. While Record Labels no longer have the funds to develop young talent and will therefore only sign an undeniable success, there are smaller operations that can help. In Wales in particular, there are companies such as Young Promoters Network, based in Cardiff with their annual scheme ‘Forte Project’, which takes on ten young artists from surrounding areas and aims to nurture their talent, and develop ‘successful long-term professional careers’ through songwriting workshops, industry talks, recording and performance opportunities.
Another similar scheme, run by BBC Introducing Wales is Horizons/Gorwelion that ran ‘Horizons 12’, a handpicked artist development programme offering unique live sessions recorded at legendary Maida Vale studios, London (The Beatles, David Bowie) as well as festival links with No.6 and Great Escape. Horizons also offer a yearly ‘Launchpad’ fund, awarding thirty-five artists up to £2,000 for their own projects: EP releases, Tours etc. BBC Introducing itself is a UK wide project, with teams in every area, on the scout out for new music suitable for airplay via online database and DJs can forward songs to larger stations, such as Radio 1 or 2, if the music is appropriate for their introducing shows.
From a female perspective, there is a definite trend in encouraging women to enter into an industry, previously dominated by men. The PRS Foundation fund ‘Women Make Music’ is specifically tailored toward developing the careers of ‘outstanding women songwriters’, which not only supports the individual but progresses the industry itself, amplifying the profile of women in music and creating future role models.
Demonstrably among the inevitable challenges of pursuing a music career, there is support available to fledgling artists, even outside the realms of reality TV talent competitions. In addition to the valuable advice and insights into the industry, one major bonus to these grassroots schemes is that they facilitate industry networking, not only with professionals: managers, radio producers etc, but with other artists in the same position, working toward the same goals.
As a final note ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. Although it is a cliché, what can ultimately make or break a music career is getting to know the ‘right’ people.
As Blume (6 Steps To Songwriting Success) acknowledges, ‘It’s easier to establish relationships with people.. working towards success rather than those who have already achieved it’. The most effective strategy for artists therefore is to network with as many peers as possible, sparking and maintaining connections, undertaking collaborative projects, and above all being grateful to individuals that have offered support.
- Eleri