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:: THE INDUSTRY INSIDER
Every quarter Mark Berry will post a new column with advice and tips for the up and
coming artist and producer. Mark's experience in the industry makes him one of the
most knowledgable and sought after producers in the business today.
 So be sure to take advantage of this FREE service from Mark Berry and read
the Industry Insider.
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:: MARK BERRY NEWSLETTER
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:: Industry Insider with Mark S Berry
MARK S. BERRY NEWSLETTER
May 1, 2004
For immediate release…
YOU’VE GOT A FINISHED RECORD…NOW WHAT !!!
Hello to all MarkBerry.com subscribers. I have FINALLY gotten around to writing my first quarterly Newsletter after much harassment from my staff and the boys from Pit-Bull Advantage.
As you all know, I am constantly being sent demos to review for production and mixing services. I can’t work on all of them, but I do try to get back to artists and musicians to find out what they are trying to accomplish with regards to getting their CD completed and sounding awesome. After reviewing several emails I thought it best to advise artists on what things are happening here in the North American record business in 2004. I want to explain to you how A&R takes place here in North America and how the labels arrive at decisions for signing great talent like you.
As the business changes on a monthly basis, it is imperative that artists have a gameplan in place once their master CD is completed. Being involved with many independent projects worldwide, I would not even consider producing someone’s CD unless I knew that there was an additional budget allowed for promotion and marketing of the completed CD. And I’m not even talking about a lot of money either, just enough to get it going and not become a “shelf trophy.” Major labels are scared shit about production expenses and really rely on the act to get the records up and running. They then come along and “cherry pick” what is already either selling/scanning units or getting airplay.
There are 2 basic services that the majors and independents follow with regards to tracking records for the possible "bump up" of an artist to a major or independent label scenario. The first is BDS (Broadcast Data Systems) which scans the airwaves and detects the amount of "spins" you are receiving on any particular radio station across North America and the second is Soundscan which tracks the actual sales of records, either over the counter retail or live venue sales. You could walk in with a rock-in-roll masterpiece tomorrow called THE WHITE ALBUM, but at the end of the day if your are not selling/scanning records in your own backyard that the majors can track through Soundscan or BDS detection’s, then its all for nothing. The major labels theory is that if its not selling in "your backyard" what makes you think that it will sell in "our backyard". SO you now must go out and create the base for the artist to sell records that can be monitored by Soundscan and BDS and tracked properly.
In the USA, the college market is huge and that is a market that all independent acts should be concentrating on. The following is a small checklist of items that should fall into place once your CD is completed. If you’re waiting for the big deal to fall from the sky because you’re all geniuses, forget it. This is 2004 and the business model for signing artist to major labels has been altered forever.
1) Service at the very least 125 -150 of the Core CMJ (College Music Journal) reporting stations. We only want the CORE stations as they report back to CMJ that they are playing the record. A&R people monitor CMJ, which is the bible for college radio
2) Distribution, Please listen to me on this and don’t be schmucks…no point in paying for a radio promoter if you do not have distribution in place for the kids to buy the records after they hear it in the radio. PERIOD.
Your distribution should include about 25 Online, 15 download sites and traditional retail outlets like the "mom & pops" and "chains". So the entire US and Canada will have the record covered regarding distribution. That way if a kid walks into a record store in Boise, Idaho and says you’re bands name, then the store can at least (if it’s not in the store) order the record.
3) Service at least 150 Music Supervisors worldwide that need music like yours in their TV shows, Films or Extreme Sports DVD’s. Trust me on this. It is a great source of not only short term but long term revenue as well. You also make performance income back from the airplay of the insertion and this helps with recouping expenses associated with the promotion and production of your CD.
4) BDS and Live Venue Soundscan Registration to insure that everything you are
doing is applied towards the accumulated success of the record. If you sell 100 records through distribution then you want that accounted for. If you get 40 spins in 1 week on a major College Station then you want that accounted for. If the band sells 50 records at a club, then you want that accounted for as well. Because A&R guys monitors these accounts...With regards to the Live Venue Sales from Soundscan you will need to hook up with a company that is part of that program.
5) You should also service about 50 of the specialty "MIX" and “INDIE” shows within the major US radio system. Specialty shows that have select playlists for your bands genre of music, i.e.: THE INDIE HOUR at 3 in the morning at K-Rock in LA, etc.
6) And now at the end, after you have everything in place do you service your A&R
mailing list. Why now you ask…because you have something to tell them, that’s why !!!
This should be an international list as well and includes about 25 companies in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim. Please do not forget about Europe and the Pacific Rim, as they are huge markets either as a finished goods market or straight licensing.
Above are six very easy steps you should take. Let’s call it your basic “COLLEGE PAK” for getting your record up and running.
For more information about promotion and marketing visit www.deevel.com which is a company that I have used for the promotion and marketing of many of my client’s records with great success. Let me know how you make out, I want to hear the success stories…
Stay tuned for our next Newsletter:
In our next Newsletter we will be discussing how we chose songs for a very talented female artist here in Canada that I am currently producing a full-length album on. I was able to get songs from some of the world’s most talented songwriters including Diane Warren, Aldo Nova, Billy Pace, Andreas Carlsson, Desmond Child and many more outstanding songwriters. It wasn’t easy but we did it and now we have a smash album that is radio ready !!! Stay tuned !!!
- Mark S Berry
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