Don Passman He taught a music law course at USC for several years when he realized that his class notes were an outline for a book. He says he had the opportunity to write “business summaries that are easy to read, even for people who don't like reading, because musicians rely on their ears.” Think “large print, lots of pictures, analogies, and simple words.” When the first edition Everything you need to know about the music business '' was published in 1991 and its 11th edition arrived in October of this year, but “at the time, there was only one important book about the music business,'' Passman recalls. “And it was a little difficult to read.”
However, music business education seems to be gaining more and more attention these days. Thanks to advances in technology, the number of ambitious artists releasing songs with little or no understanding of the music industry has skyrocketed. Many of these artists begin releasing tracks in their early teens, long before they've had a chance to take college-level courses on the music business, let alone master the nuances of copyright law. And they often hire similarly inexperienced friends as “managers,” ensuring that even their closest advisors lack the experience to navigate the industry.
As a result, high-quality, accessible music business education is desperately needed. Today, many of the platforms that allow artists to create, listen to, and distribute music see educational efforts as a way to foster loyalty and community, which in turn empowers artists in the never-ending battle for users and attention. It will also help you stand out and perhaps even provide an additional source of income.
Some of these education efforts are in their early stages. Spotify, for example, began testing video learning courses in the UK in March, while TIDAL says education will be the foundation of a new era as it works to build financial tools for artists. (Acquired by Block Inc. in 2021.)
A company called Creative Intell has gone even further, raising money from the music industry to create an animated series that teaches young artists the inner workings of the industry, from record deals to publishing. Bandlab, a platform that allows over 100 million users to create songs on their phones, also continually releases free tutorials and blog posts.
Helping aspiring artists understand the complexities of the music industry is “something we're heavily invested in,” he says. clevin breuner, Head of Artist Development and Education at Bandlab. “The industry is more complex than ever, and understanding the business from day one isn't just an advantage; it's essential. Bandlab has a very young audience, and that number continues to grow, but we We want these artists to feel like they have a partner, someone they can trust.”
austin smart Agree: The DJ, who co-founded British music education company PLAYvirtuoso with his brother in 2020, sees “huge potential in this field”. “What I'm looking at is at least one in eight people will be homeschooled,” he said, and some of them will be interested in the music industry.
Creative Intel Co-Founder Stephen Shipp divides the field of music education into three areas: how to make music, how to market music, and the business of music. While YouTube alone has plenty of free videos on the first two topics, not to mention all the Reddit threads, blog posts, and TikTok tutorials, it's even harder to find reliable and accessible information on the third topic. is. “The business of music is probably the most important. It needs to be the most accurate, but it's often ignored,” Shipp says.
If an aspiring artist produces a track poorly or markets it clumsily, the song will probably not do well and end up being a temporary setback. In contrast, if you don't understand how the industry works, the consequences can be far more harmful. They may sign a deal with a manager, label, or publisher and relinquish control of their work for decades. “In the early days of the music business, artists were taken advantage of badly because they didn't know what they were doing,” Passman says. And today, Bruner added, “the industry is changing so rapidly” that it's even harder to “know what's important and what's not.”
When Smart signed with a major label Although he and his brother were “two hungry young artists living in London”, he admits that they “had no knowledge or understanding of what they were ultimately signing”. A lawyer might have helped, but they didn't have the funds “to hire a lawyer to help with interpretation.”
Contracts are often “vague and complex,” Smart continued. “You're offered a relatively large upfront payment. At 25 and he's 22, that's a pretty big number. What does this actually mean? What does it mean in 10 years?”
If he could turn back the clock, he imagines going through the process again, but this time “with a course in place to understand label deals.” And if you want, you can also “book her a one-on-one session with someone for £30” to provide additional context. This is one of the reasons why one of the “three pillars” of PLAYvirtuoso's material focuses on understanding the music industry.
PLAYvirtuoso was one of the four companies that originally partnered with Spotify to offer courses on a variety of topics. The streaming service made the decision to test the new material after data showed that some users wanted to learn more.
“If you go back 10 years, most people who came to Spotify came with one purpose: to listen to music,” he says. Mohit Jitani, Product Director at Spotify. “But in recent years, with the introduction of podcasts and audiobooks, people have started flocking to Spotify to listen to interviews and learn about leadership and finance.”
Currently, Spotify courses are offered on a freemium model. Users can access the first few lessons for free, but must pay to complete the full course.
Spotify's exploratory foray into education began with the fact that “people started flocking to education.” [us] And that could provide a new revenue stream for the platform, as Jitani says. His TIDAL's latest commitment to helping artists improve their business IQ comes from new owner, payments company Block.
“As we've been building tools and services for business owners, we've realized that the world becomes more complex when you gain even a little bit of attention outside of your friends and family,” he says. Agustina Sacerdote, Global Head of Product at TIDAL. “You have to start understanding your numbers to understand where the next big opportunity will come from.”
The same principle applies to artists. Naturally, they tend to focus on art. But as Shipp points out, whether you like it or not, “the moment you release a song, you're in business.” So TIDAL started offering webinars and rolled out a new product called Circles. Sacerdote likens it to a “very curated version of Reddit, with topics that I think most artists have questions about, like touring and merch.”
For now, TIDAL's products are free. “When artists receive really great advice that they never would have gotten before, [elsewhere] Start thinking about how to monetize Circles. ” Sacerdote says.
Creative Intel's music business material is currently much more comprehensive than TIDAL's or Spotify's. The company has created 18 animation courses to help aspiring artists (the majority of whom don't have managers or lawyers) “understand what they're signing.” , learn how to better monetize yourself and learn how to protect yourself,” says Shipp.
Creative Intell releases some materials for free, but you have to pay for access to everything ($29.99 per month). It also aims to work with distributors like Vydia as marketing partners. His Vydia is not the only one considering offering this kind of resource. For example, Songtrust has created unique resources to help songwriters understand how to raise funds from around the world.
“Other industries have all kinds of corporate resources for training, but the music industry lacks them,” Shipp says. “We're trying to fill that void.”
