As an audio professional creating musical
content, it will eventually become important to actually publish and distribute
those products if any type of success is desired. Therefore, it is necessary to
both conduct independent research, and to consult with other professionals in
your field who already have experience in this area. With this in mind, I
recently contacted Ricardo Miranda, an independent dance music
producer, songwriter, and arranger, who has been in the music industry for over
13 years. He created his digital label in 2007, Noble Square Recordings, as a result of his
frustration with the fact that major vinyl distributers were closing down all
over the world due to the rising popularity of digital music distribution.
Since he has had quite a bit of professional experience with digital publishing
and distribution, I asked him various questions on the subject for the purpose of
concluding my research.
First, I asked Ricardo about how he
publishes and distributes his music as an independent label executive. Currently, under his publishing company, Ricardo Miranda Music, as well as
through outside independent labels, his music is distributed directly through
the following distributors: Traxsource in the U.S.; Juno Records in the U.K.; Wasabeat in Japan; What People Play in Germany; and Groove Distribution, for vinyl, in the U.S. He was
previously with ASCAP, but left recently due to a failure to receive all of his
royalties, so his publishing company is temporarily unrepresented by any
performing rights organization. However, his entire writer publishing is currently
handled by PRS for Music in London.
Logically, my next question for Ricardo
was whether or not he had ever used any POD companies, such as CD Baby,
TuneCore, or INGrooves, but he responded that he had not used one to date.
Since he was able to make direct distribution connections really early on, with
companies that were in their infancy stages at the time, he never had to use
any aggregators before.
My third question was about what Ricardo
thought about the current digital music distribution platform, and today’s
music content overall. He stated that he believed that a lot of music is really
horrible today. His reasons are multiple, but his main thought was that people
who are not really musicians or professional artists are making sub-quality
music because of the ease and availability of programs and home audio equipment,
without the benefit of true experience or skill. Furthermore, he stated that because
these people are making such high volumes of sub-standard music so quickly, it almost
downgrades the worth of other good records because it makes the shelf life of all
records extremely short. Ricardo further elaborated that there are so many
people putting out independent records daily, which are being bootlegged by the
minute, so it is hard for independent music publishers to make any money off of
their distribution of creative content. His last comment was that it is even
harder when an aggregator has to be paid as the go-between, and the only way to
really make any money now, would be to get involved with making music for
movies, TV shows, commercials, video games, and other forms of media.
When I asked Ricardo about his thoughts
on major distribution outlets such as iTunes and Amazon, he stated that they
are really profiting the most in his opinion, from aggregator fees and the fact
that they are providing web space for a high cost in the music marketplace. He
further stated that they are actually acting somewhat as record labels, except
for the fact that they do not have to handle any of the creation/production
side of musical content. His last comment was that they are almost like a mall,
leasing space to business owners who can’t afford to set up their own
freestanding storefronts, which makes it harder for independent business owners
to successfully make money.
Miranda’s final advice to other
independent songwriters, producers, artists, and label owners in regard to
producing, publishing, and distribution of creative content, was that digital
sales are really not the best avenue for making money. He went on to explain
that it does however provide an avenue for marketing and promotion of musical
content, so you need to make strategic business decisions about which companies
you will use for publishing/distribution, based upon your financial and/or media
exposure needs. Despite the fact that he does not currently use POD/aggregator
sites at this time, he still feels it is necessary these days for most people
to distribute music. Out of the companies he researched recently, he found
Symphonic Distribution to be the best choice in regard to services offered for
the pricing structures available.
Ricardo Miranda’s personal opinions about
the current state of digital publishing and distribution are probably not the
norm for most independent music professionals. However, it is always a good
idea to obtain the pros and cons of all choices, before making a final decision
about which direction to go in. At the very least, after your research has been
conducted and opinions gathered, you should be able to make an educated and
informed choice that should be a good fit for you in the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment