Must be the Music

Recently I have really taken an interest in a new TV series in the UK called ‘Must be the Music.’ We have had TV talent shows for years here in the UK but I really enjoyed the subtle changes this show made to the concept.

The series finished last weekend with Emma’s Imagination a female singer from Scotland winning the final. Unlike X-Factor the show was open to singers, musicians and bands, not only this but performers were allowed to play their own compositions.

These weren’t the most exciting difference though. The way they really innovated the market by making all performances from the semi-final round all the way up to and including the final available for download on iTunes straight after the performance. Not only this but the acts were given 100% profit of the sales from their performances with two acts cracking the UK top ten and four UK top forty hits.

Instead of giving the winning act a record deal the winner got a £100,000 cash fund to develop their music instead of the usual record contract. This was done to make sure the winning act had more control of their career instead of a record company which I thought was an interesting idea.

I just wish the show had mean on a terrestrial channel as if this format had the backing of one of those channels I think it could have been huge. The programme has however I think given a shot in the arm to TV talent shows and show other channels how it should be done.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Monetisation

I read a great article last week on monetisation in the music world. I am always a fan of people and industries who when faced with a problem think of a way around the problem or new avenues in which they can go down. The music industry has the problem of dwindling music sales so musicians and labels have had to diversify and find new ways to make money and to survive.

Back in the boom of the music industry it was record sales, royalties and sales of tickets to gigs which were in its bread and butter. Then in the late twentieth century other avenues of revenue were opened up like sponsorship and commercials following on from this in the early part of this century we then had reality TV which provided another way to make money.

Now however with the rise of the internet, the way we get hold of music and our attitudes towards paying for music artists and labels are having to be even more innovative with their ideas as they become entrepreneurs. What a lot of music acts are doing is instead of putting money in to trying to attract a bigger audience they are working hard to get their hardcore devoted fan base to fork out more money. Successful ideas have been artists writing personalized songs to their highest bidding fan, artists selling the ability to remix their songs and artists recording a version of any track the fan wanted them to cover to the highest bidder.

Now as a business model it is dangerous as if you are only marketing towards a small group of hardcore fans they are eventually going to run out of money but for the short term these ideas can generate a good sum of income. The best idea along this vein I have seen is bands selling the live recordings of their concert to their fans at the gig to take home on a USB pen drive as a memento of the experience.

I for one can’t wait to see or hear about the next innovative idea in the music world.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

If it isn’t broke don’t fix it

This Saturday sees the return of the X-Factor to our screens in the UK. After many seasons of the same format this year the producers have made a range of changes including auditions now being held in front of live audiences instead of just in front of the judges to name just one.

Using the same format the X-Factor has been a hit in the UK for many years now but this is the first time the producers have played with the format. I’m not sure if this is because they are scared about viewing figures or people just want to make change for change sake.

If something is successful or you are successful you should keep doing things the same way as yes a change could make you even better but there is a risk if you change things up for no reason that it could make you less successful. If you are going to make changes there should be a purpose behind them and they should be well thought out.

It is hard in today’s world to find a winning formula and with things like TV programmes the viewers obviously like the programme for a reason and if you change it you may alienate those viewers that liked the programme before you changed it.

In a fast changing world there seems to be this atmosphere and culture of having to change to keep up with the times and for entities to keep evolving but I think it is important that we don’t go blindly in to this cycle and sometimes fight the urge to change some things.


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Miming

Britney Spears has launched a press and PR assault on the UK this weekend with an appearance on X-Factor and a 90 minute supposed bare all interview which was broadcast on Sky One this week. People should be talking about her new album which she is here to promote but this week many people have been left talking about her alleged miming on her so called live performance of here new track “Womanizer.”

People have been miming for years and this isn’t a new thing for music artists to do but when big names do it, it gets headlines. This week I ask when is miming acceptable and even is it acceptable at all? Should TV companies and music companies be doing more to make sure they perform live? And should we be told before an act performs if they are live or miming?

When people pay to see a concert are they paying for a show? Are they paying for entertainment? Or are they paying to see the act perform live? Now I can slightly understand if you are going on to a TV show at last minute and they can’t set the audio production up properly for you that you wouldn’t want to go on live. With sites like YouTube if you give a bad performance its going to be plastered all over the internet and through one performance could ruin your image but when it comes to concerts you play in venues which are designed for gigs and in which you have the whole day to set up and do sound checks so to me there is no excuse for miming at a gig.

When an act goes on to a TV show to do an interview and a performance do you just see this as a promotion / an advert for the music or should it be held in the same position as a performance at a gig? With a TV show no fan or member of the general public has paid anything to hear you sing live so is it acceptable not to?

You play a dangerous game when you mime and try and pass it off as a live performance. If you youtube Ashlee Simpson and Saturday Night Live you will see what I mean as on live TV her track started before she was ready and within a few seconds left the stage in embarrassment. Or if like Britney you have one of these headset mics and then when you have to be interviewed after the performance the interviewer has to put their mic in your face. As much as a bad performance can be bad for your image getting caught miming can be equally as bad just ask Ashlee Simpson.

The whole miming side of the music industry helps reinforce the belief that many people have that pop stars can’t sing and all there stuff is just edited to sound good. This is a reason why I think more needs to be done to make people perform live because as long as people continue to mime people will continue to have these thoughts.

I think the problem lies in the overproduction of tracks when they are released. When an artist can go in to a recording studio and spend days just recording one song and record it in small chunks having hundreds of attempts of course it is going to sound a bit different when you have one take to belt it out live. I think the quality of the production of some of these tracks makes it near impossible for some acts to recreate live and this puts them off performing live.

Britney picked the worst show to do a mime on as the show is all about people who have none or very little professional training performing live every week and this is what has brought this in to the headlines. If Britney had mimed on a daytime TV programme I don’t think there would have been as much talk about it.

What do you think about singers who mime on stage? Do you think it should be stopped? Or do you just want to be entertained and not care if the act is miming or not? We want to know your view points on miming and you can share your views by joining in our topic of the week:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=617

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Contracts - Are they worth signing?

Now many of us are aware of the lengthy and sometimes unfair contracts that music acts are signed to by record labels but nobody has really thought about contracts on the X-Factor. On the show each finalist is tied down to a contract which states that they can’t release any music until after the winner has released there’s and that they will have to take part in the X-Factor tour among countless other things I’m sure.

Scott allegedly wants out of his contract so that he can start releasing music now and not be restrained by the terms of releasing music on his contract. He obviously believes that his best chance of chart success is getting something out now before the X-Factor buzz dies down. If successful he would set a president and it would get other acts wanting to do the same so I a sure if he did attempt this it would be unsuccessful.

Ok the X-Factor contract may be restrictive but without it Scott wouldn’t have gotten on TV and had all the media buzz behind him so even if he does have to wait he still has a higher chance of success than if he hadn’t been on the show. The X-Factor tour is also great PR as he gets to perform to thousands of people up and down the country at the same getting paid a nice amount for doing so which without his contract he wouldn’t get the chance to do.

I think if this story is true then it is just another attempt to get media hype for being the first person to try this. I’m sure if Scott was still on the show he wouldn’t want to be released from his contract. Personally I think it is worth signing a contract like that for the opportunities that show can supply but it does bring back in to the spotlight the importance of reading a contract and thinking about the outcomes before signing one.

In this week’s topic of the week we want to know if you think contracts are unfair on the talent? Are the big record labels and TV shows wrong to tie people in to contracts> We want to know your thoughts. And you can share your thoughts by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=598


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

TV, Internet and the 21st Century

This week I want to talk about an email I got this week from some of the guys working on the E4 series Skins telling me about competitions they are running for young people to get their music featured on the show and to secure speaking roles. This got me thinking for my blog this week.

I think its great how TV companies are integrating their services with an online arm and they are using their online side of the organisation to encourage members of the public to get involved and create media. The internet has made it so quick and easy for young people to create recordings of their music and videos of their acting or producing which is encouraging more young people to try their hand at these things and enter competitions like this. Back many years ago people would have to make a tape of themselves and then send it off to an address to enter competitions like this which would put many people off who had the talent and ability to do win competitions like these.

Many shows have asked for people to upload videos for competitions for acting roles but not many have offered the chance for young musicians to have their music featured on a show. This is ingenious because now young people will get the chance to have their music featured on a show which is popular with young people and a series which will be repeated, available online and possibly on DVD which is a great advert for their music.

The TV companies also get rewards for running competitions like this as they get free promotion and encourage their fanbase and potential audience members to interact with the show and feel more a part of the show. Not only this but music rights for TV programmes can be an expensive business so to get hold of music which isn’t from a major label or music company is a lot better for the producers financially as they have to pay through the nose to use music from established stars on their show.

I think we will see more competitions and opportunities like this in the near future as it is a win / win situation for all involved.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Giving away music for free

This month will see McFly trying to expand their fanbase by giving away their latest album for free through The Mail on Sunday through which they expect their album to reach three million homes in the UK. We have already seen the likes of Prince giving away his album through the Mail as well as Radiohead offering their album in exchange for a donation on the internet but it now looks like pop acts are getting in on the act.

As the way in which we consume music changes the industry needs to change with it so I am always interested to see what new and innovative ways companies and music acts are using to distribute music. However I feel that when a handful of acts start giving their music away for free and doing it in a mainstream way it affects the whole music industry. If one act can afford to give away their music for free then the general public start to think they should be able to get music from other acts for free and not paying for music becomes an acceptable activity.

Another problem which occurs when music is given away for free is that music becomes worthless. Music instead of being a saleable product it just becomes a form of advertising and promotion for a band to sell merchandise and tickets to live events. By making music worthless it becomes harder for the smaller acts to make money. The bigger acts benefit from doing it as they run live events at big indoor venues and make a lot of money from merchandise but small acts who only tour small venues need the income that record sales provide.

There needs to be systems and services put in place which can give people access to music at a reasonable price without having a negative affect on smaller acts. With the credit crunch how it is it is right for the music industry to react in a way that makes music more affordable but it is just a shame that crunch will probably affect how much money is invested in to new acts. I think new unsigned acts have to capitalise on their ability to produce music and promote it on the cheap thanks to new tools on the internet as record companies no longer have big budgets to establish artists with. That’s the one advantage for unsigned acts is that their music is cheaper to produce than a signed artist so they can afford to give away heir music more cheaply.

The internet has revolutionised the way in which we buy, watch and listen to music, TV and films we just need to make sure that the way in which we are consuming media is fair to the artists and the production companies. For some time I feel the industries have been to kind to the artists and not kind enough to the consumer in the way things have been priced and profits made but we need to make sure we don’t go in completely the other direction where it becomes unfair to the people creating media. As for us to have good quality entertainment we have to have people making it who are fairly paid.

What do you think about bands offering their music for free with newspapers or online? Does it make you less likely to pay for other music? And you think it is a positive thing for the music industry? Let us know by joining in our topic of the week by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=494

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Award Ceremonies

February seems to be awards month with many awards evenings, events and presentations taking place. If you live in the UK you will have been aware of the Brit Awards which recognises musical talent in the UK and if you live in the US you would have been aware of the Oscars event which recognises talent in the film industry.

Now award shows are great especially when it is you that is getting an award. Watching awards is also fun if you follow the industry in which the awards are taking place as you always have your own personal favourites that you think should or should have won.

The one problem I have with awards is that in many award shows you never know what actually happened for that person act or piece of media to get the award. They say things like judges or the board voted but you are always left wondering if an act deserved to win or if politics, personal agendas or power struggles behind the scene had anything to do with it. That is why I prefer awards that are decided by the fans. It is the fans that put the money in to an industry and keep it going and they are the ones that are important. Films and music are made to attract an audience so it is the general public who should be the judge.

The thing that got me thinking was that in an arts and entertainment world how do you decide who should win an award how do you work out who the best actor / singer is or what the best film is. In sporting competitions its easy to see who the best is as they can compete against each other and the result is dependant on their own performance not influenced by other people. In arts and entertainment you can work out who the most popular artists or films are by sales but how can you say who is the best? It is all subjective as different people like different things so to have awards which are best this or best that I think are wrong as really they are just the people who the judges liked the most.

Here is another thought if someone is more popular than another does it mean they are more talented than less popular artists? If this is true are the most talented people already established artists or are there a horde of people more talented than popular acts who nobody knows about?

To share your thoughts on awards or awards ceremonies join in our topic of the week by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=366

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Downloading Music on the Internet

This week British Record Label EMI have announced they are to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide to cut costs in the face of falling CD sales and the problems encountered with the new digital music era. In light of this news I am going to give you my take on the current state of the worldwide music scene and what I think needs to be and can be done to help young people in the music industry.

I think that the music scene was always going to see casualties and a lot of money expended by companies in the transition between CD being the leading format to Digital Downloads taking the helm. This will only be a short term financial problem as when Digital Downloads, MP3’s and MP3 players are as common in the home as CD Players and CD’s have been over the last decade then the Record Labels will have the chance to reap higher profits through smaller distribution and production costs.

The brilliance of the new digital age is that it has levelled the playing field for smaller record labels and up and coming artists that can’t afford to do a full CD release. Now smaller artists can be made available to download and purchase on the same websites that the bigger more recognised artists are on whereas they may never have been able to get themselves on the same high street shop shelves as the big artists.

The main problem with making music available to download on the Internet is that millions of people each day are finding ways to illegally download and trade music for free. This is taking money away from the record labels which causes them to invest less money in promoting their new or fringe artists who need that investment. Record labels will always spend money promoting their big artists and this won’t change regardless of the state of illegal downloads but it will affect the young up and coming artists.

Now I think there needs to be a place online which is regulated by the music bodies where artists and companies can post their music to be available to be downloaded for free. I think if artists released some of their music for free they would encourage more people to pay to download their more popular songs. Also it should be a place for unsigned artists to post their music for free if they wish. By having popular artists giving away the occasional track for free it would encourage more people to the site who would then see a host of free downloads for unsigned artists.

When I go to the websites and MySpace pages of up and coming artists I see a lot of them trying to sell their music on CD or legal download. I don’t blame them for wanting to make some profit after all there investment but I personally would give all my tracks for free download if I was an up and coming artist. If you ask people to pay for your tracks not many people will hear your music but if you make them available for free you will expand your fan base and improve your chances of getting signed and making big money down the road instead of making a few pounds here and there but never making it big.

Going back to Record Labels I think they need to capitalise on this new digital age. The age we live in has made it easier for young talented singer and musicians to record, produce and distribute their work so it is much easier for the record labels to scout new talent but they don’t seem to be investing time to do this.

One question I get asked a lot is how do I get signed by a record Label? To this there is no one answer as it seems that the record bales employ a million and one different ways to notice talent. I think record Labels need to be clearer on their websites and publications on how they discover new talent. I think instead of deliberately not informing people on how to get signed they should set up an address and a policies and procedures guide on how to submit demos to them and encourage people to send them in.

Remember if you are illegally downloading music on the internet you aren’t hurting the established artists the most it’s the up and coming artists you are hurting.

Do you download music on the internet? What are your thoughts on downloads over CD’s? And what are your thoughts on illegal downloading we here at Talented Young People want to know and you can share your opinion by joining in our topic of the week by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=316

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Talented Young People Podcast - Available to listen to now!

After weeks of anticipation the podcast is now available for you to listen to


"Listen to the first ever Talented Young People Podcast featuring music from Skatch and Charlotte Louise Stannett as well as interviews from the Chairman of Truro Hospital Radio Mark Sanders as well as Youth Theatre Leader and Professional Voice Coach Val Cottrell."

To listen go to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/podcasts/

If you are and up and coming band, musician, producer or singer and you want to be featured on one of our next podcasts get in touch with us by going to the contact page: http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/contact/

We are waiting to hear from you!


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/