Current and Future Trends in the Entertainment Industry

Today’s entertainment business in on an ever-changing plan, this plan balances between traditional and digital solutions for each of the major industry products. An example of how the movie industry is still the same as it always was but advancing by leaps and bounds in the public eye would be the need for high definition digital projection systems. Though the demand for seeing a film in a theater is more popular than ever the days of the moving platters from reel to reel have been finding they way out of movie houses for years. These days, the film industry licenses a copy of the film to the theater that wants to show it to the public, it’s then mailed to the theater on a hard drive and then the film is loaded into what is known as the L.M.S. projection system where it can then be scheduled to transfer to whichever house projector needs to play it. The digital key to unlock the film on the hard drive and for each of the projectors is then installed to the main system from a USB drive and the film then has permission to play for whichever allotted amount of time the theater has paid for its licenses.

Some of the trends in the music business that should be paid close attention to can be divided into the three following segments:

Breakthrough Trends

Reports from the recent New Music Seminar are showing where “Albums Earn Less but Songs Learn More”, “Top 100 Songs All Have Shorter Introductions”, “Singles Are Taking Longer To Break Than Before”, “Half Of Recorded Music Revenues Were Digital In 2011”, “Digital Music Retail Dollars Are Up By 44%”, “Music Sales Volume Is Up By 85%”, and “Music Metrics Show Paid File Sharing Trends On the Rise”.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

To stay ahead of the curve industry professionals are looking at the key elements that compel a person to download, purchase, or view content released by major labels.

Peter Spellman has a great blog about jumpstarting careers in the music business and also lists several different ways a person can capitalize on the current market trends and the near future in the music business. A few of these examples include:

1. Empowering the music consumer to view content through any medium they’d like, such as AOL Music, XM Radio, iTunes, etc. 2. Using a music product as a music service, meaning “anywhere, anytime listening and entertainment. 3. Building creative alliances with existing companies, taking advantage of low overhead and the ability to morph as a project. 4. Segmenting music markets and niche market cultures into micro-media off-spins with high-quality music and releases. 5. Know and understand that the next big thing starts out small. In yesteryear there were only three major networks and if an artist were able to get on one of those networks success was almost guaranteed. These days, there are hundreds of smaller networks, take advantage of the smaller ones and create one gigantic representation of the featured product.

The Future of the Music Industry

Many speculate as to where the future of the music industry will be, no one quite knows for certain how each stage of evolution will play itself out, but what can be determined by the direction of the industry, according to Jason Ankeny’s webinar and blog, the future of the music industry lies within each mobile device.

Streaming media services like Spotify, Rdio, and Deezer have ushered in a new era of mobile experiences that are not only redefining how users discover and share music but also how the record industry will promote music in the future.

Some of the advantages of the “music on demand” approach directly affect the physical cost of the products’ production. Digital technology is easier and more convenient to the consumer and gives the artist more budget money to concentrate on the quality of their recorded product and marketing strategies. The royalty returns are usually fair and the reach of the product can grow on a large scale without having to wait on CD pressings, factor in shipping costs, or allow for product breakage.

Breaking Into the Local/ Regional Market for New and Existing Talent (Tad Dickens Interview)

One of the great pleasures of being a local musician is the ability to creatively express oneself in front of both peers and other music lovers, in a local market or region. The privilege of being able to showcase talents that have taken an individual, or group of individuals years and countless rehearsal hours to hone can be a very exciting and validating experience to those with a desire to perform in public venues.

Today, I had a great conversation over coffee in my own hometown with one of our industry professionals and local heroes, music reporter Tad Dickens of the Roanoke Times & World News. Tad is an artist himself with formal training from the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, CA and over ten years of real world education in various touring bands. Our conversation has four main focal points with some excellent insight on how local musicians can become either a performing part of their local scene or an even more viable part of the entire region.

I. What makes a local project marketable and ready for expansion into the region?

·       Make the project simple and easy to review

·       High Resolution Photos

·       Short Bio

·       Plan for self promotion

Explanation:

A talent buyer, music writer or industry professional that usually receives a large number of submissions each week doesn’t really have a lot of extra time to seek out reasons to like, book or want to review a project that may otherwise have great potential. If the submission is clean, easy to read, good quality and answers the who, what, when, where, why and how of the information the group is trying to convey, it makes the entire process much easier for the person considering and researching the project.

Photographs and recordings (live or studio) should always be good quality. More often than not, a group will get overlooked because their press shots and recordings aren’t in the proper format to be featured in the media.

The band biography should be easy to read and convey the group’s information clearly to everyone wanting to learn more about the band. The shorter, the better; pack a great punch, but do it in one page or less. Music Dish’s E-Journal has an awesome resource for learning to elevator pitch a band’s bio for press-worthy consideration.

II. What are the key things a group needs to do to get involved in their local or regional market?

·       Get the right venues

·       Be persistent but not pushy with the talent buyers

·       Be dynamic in the promotion of shows

·       Be well rehearsed and honest with themselves as a musician and someone that wants to perform in front of an audience

·       Professionalism

Explanation:

One of my favorite quotes is “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” –Winston Churchill I am a firm believer that persistence is a virtue and if handled correctly will pay off tenfold; however, when calling a talent buyer, club owner, music writer, etc. more than once a week without their solicitation or request, this is an absolute sure-fire way to shoot oneself in the foot and potentially have them cringe each time they hear the caller’s name. (Note: this is not a positive cringe)

Some venues are more receptive to certain types of music and groups than others; this is simply a fact. Booking an original punk band at a cover venue or jazz club usually doesn’t draw the best crowds for that particular show. Booking lots of clubs at first and then narrowing down where and how often the project performs in that region will be a huge help when trying to build the best audience for the performance(s).

Once a group is starting to book shows and establish their presence in a particular area it is extremely important to be well rehearsed and play each show as if the group is at a civic center or well-known venue, to a packed house. People that are initially excited to come see a show and tell all of their friends how great the band is won’t usually come back if the group seems let down by the turn-out or the quality of the venue. Have fun and love the fact that the group is actually playing live! This will work to the groups’ advantage every time.

Be dynamic in the event's promotions. Though digital technology and social networking are huge pluses for a project, and also has the potential to help save money in advertising dollars, that doesn’t mean that each member of the group is exempt from becoming an active part in their own street team. Blending traditional advertising (print ads, radio spots, local magazine announcements, newspaper announcements, flyers, etc.) with the digital marketing (Facebook, Twitter, Reverb Nation, blogs, RSS feeds, etc.) in conjunction with the venue getting behind the performance and lending their own promotional efforts is absolute the best method for drawing and retaining larger crowds at each show or event.

Finally, being professional. I spend a great deal of time speaking on professionalism in the music industry, so it was great re-enforcement of that principal to hear Tad speak on the subject as well. No one is saying that a band can have a great time at the shows or that that they can’t live La Vida Loca if that’s what they chose, but what the industry professionals are saying is that there is a time and place for everything. Being honest about what the group looks like to the club owner, talent buyer(s) and show-goers should be at the forefront of the entire thought process and at the top of the preverbal list. The absolute last thing a group with great local success potential needs is to be blacklisted from the venues that are gracious enough to give them a shot and open the doors to their project. It’s better to address this issue upfront and keep each person on the same page, or put the project on hold until the group has the right members to accomplish their goals, instead of making each individual member of the project look bad to the public and other venues in the area. It is a huge disappointment for a music journalist to be excited to scout and review a band and then leave thinking they’ve wasted their time due to lack of professionalism. A great interview on band professionalism is the Ramones interview “End of the Century” and on what Brian Epstein brought to the Beatles concerning being true professionals.

III. What are some suggestions for people searching for other like-minded musicians to write, record and (or) perform?

·       Network, Network, and Oh Yeah, Network

·       Local publications, forums and musicians’ boards

·       Tradeshows (if applicable)

Explanation:

The busiest musicians are the ones that are out networking with other musicians. Supporting the other bands and musical groups in the local area is a huge plus when it comes to finding other like-minded talent with which to partner for additional projects. Having a strong alliance with the peers in the music community leads to recommendations and word of mouth advertising and then ultimately a diverse group of people that can be called upon to fill a spot, a gig, a recording need or any other number of voids in a local music scene.

Tradeshows and industry get togethers can be a great way to network for other musicians. Companies like the Music Taxi, OneSheet, Harmony Central and The Local Musician Union, all have wanted listings for musicians in each local network, as well as Craigslist want ads, local musician boards, music store musician boards, coffee shops, etc.

It’s obvious that some areas have more musicians than others, but the only tried and true way to find others to work with is to go out there and look, regarding what works best for that particular project.

IV. What are some examples of groups making headway in the region that others can learn from?

Tad and I briefly talked about some of the more interesting new bands and regional acts that he’s had the opportunity to see in the area. Here is a short list of some that are currently doing great things and also some groups keep an eye on in the near future.

The Sword, Baroness, The Floorboards, The Bastards of Fate, Heevahava, Mafia Track Suit, Madrone, Amanda Stathos, The Niki Barr Band, Honor By August, and My Radio to name a few.

It is always a pleasure talking shop with Tad Dickens. He’s truly an asset to the local community and well respected by every venue and musician in the region. If and when you see him out and about in the Roanoke, VA area, please don’t hesitate to shake his hand and thank him for all that he does for the community and spreading the word on what’s happening in the area musically.