Before Elvis there was swing music which got the greatest generation through WWII during which the antiquarian record business died for lack of shellac. Plastics gave us a new music industry. Fueled by rock & roll and the marriage of AM radio and 45s the modern record business was born.
The King drove MUSIC to a very high place and the infrastructure was further exploded by the talents of The Beatles. When 331/3 married FM radio the postmodern record business became big business. The symbiotic relationship between concerts and records blew it up even bigger. All of this was MUSIC driven.
It is culturally impossible for the old infrastructure to survive without an artist geometrically more appealing than Elvis or The Beatles. Even in this era of FREE MUSIC and niche markets, such an avatar could draw an ubiquitous audience. Lacking a superstar to attract their interest the people will go back to the street and start over. The exodus has already begun.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Holodigm @ UCLA - Building Careers in The Music Renaissance - June 17, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
HOLOGRAM: Hartmann Returns to UCLA for Fall 2010
Holodigm Music CEO, and music industry veteran, John Hartmann has been engaged to repeat "The Insiders Guide to Music Management" for UCLA Extension this Fall. Hartmann who is a three time professor of the year at Loyola Marymount University will bring his new digital music industry paradigm to the Westwood campus for the second time. The Holodigm system is attracting musicians and entrepreneurs from all over the world who are dedicated to building careers in the music renaissance.
The Insider's Guide to Music Management
X 447.31 Music 4 units $550
The music manager's role is crucial to a musician's career success. Yet very few people who enter the entertainment industry have any idea what a manager does or how one can help their career. This course is designed to explain the management side of the music business. Find out what music managers do, why they are important, and how to avoid management pitfalls. Lectures, discussion, and industry guests address such topics as when to get a manager, the role of the manager in the indie world, and going up the ladder with a manager. Internet access required to retrieve course materials.
Reg# V9000B
UCLA: 2214 School of Public Affairs Bldg.
Saturdays: 12PM -4PM - 9 Meetings
Sep 25 - Nov 20
HOLOGRAM: Hartmann Returns to UCLA for Fall 2010
Holodigm Music CEO, and music industry veteran, John Hartmann has been engaged to repeat "The Insiders Guide to Music Management" for UCLA Extension this Fall. Hartmann who is a three time professor of the year at Loyola Marymount University will bring his new digital music industry paradigm to the Westwood campus for the second time. The Holodigm system is attracting musicians and entrepreneurs from all over the world who are dedicated to building careers in the music renaissance.
The Insider's Guide to Music Management
X 447.31 Music 4 units $550
The music manager's role is crucial to a musician's career success. Yet very few people who enter the entertainment industry have any idea what a manager does or how one can help their career. This course is designed to explain the management side of the music business. Find out what music managers do, why they are important, and how to avoid management pitfalls. Lectures, discussion, and industry guests address such topics as when to get a manager, the role of the manager in the indie world, and going up the ladder with a manager. Internet access required to retrieve course materials.
Reg# V9000B
UCLA: 2214 School of Public Affairs Bldg.
Saturdays: 12PM -4PM - 9 Meetings
Sep 25 - Nov 20
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Quote Me! - Bob Lefsetz - June, 16, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
QUOTE ME: Bob Lefsetz
"We live in a confusing, crazy world. But one thing is constant. The winners
pay their dues. And it's not solely time on the chain gang. No, there's a
ton of anxiety involved. Questioning yourself, taking risks, sticking to your
guns when no one believes in you."
From:: www.thelefsetzletter.com
QUOTE ME: Bob Lefsetz
"We live in a confusing, crazy world. But one thing is constant. The winners
pay their dues. And it's not solely time on the chain gang. No, there's a
ton of anxiety involved. Questioning yourself, taking risks, sticking to your
guns when no one believes in you."
From:: www.thelefsetzletter.com
Monday, June 14, 2010
HOLOGRAM - BioMatrix @ Yoga Desa - Sundays
BIOMATRIX
MIND + BODY SYMMETRY TRAINING
"A Youthing System for the 21st Century"
Aging is not about time, it is an accumulation of symptoms. BioMatrix Training reverses the aging process by eliminating the symptoms. Close the Mind + Body gap and realize your full potential.
Stretch, torque and meditate your way to peace, harmony and a stress free life. Empower your goals with integrated action. Position your mind to dominate and control your bodies agenda.
Find your personal balance before you are endangered, before pain masters you and your mind loses its keenness. Seek the truth and serve the light. Strive to master only yourself.
Pax et Amo. Hartmann
SUNDAYS - 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM - YOGA DESA @ PINE TREE CIRCLE - 120 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Topanga, CA 90290
FIRST CLASS - July 11 - All ages and all stages welcome. Yoga mat required. Donation: $5
BioMatrix Coach: John Hartmann - johnhartmann@holodigmmusic.com
Friday, June 11, 2010
HOLOGRAM: A Light Goes Out in Music - Barbara Skydel - June, 11, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
MAKE THEM SING BARBARA SKYDEL MAKE THEM PLAY
Barb was the best of the best. She brought dignity, class and style to the profession of booking agent. Her honesty, integrity and humility set a standard that only she could achieve. Either at Premier Talent, or the Morris office, she represented every act I managed for the past four decades.
Yesterday I called a number only she had answered for over forty years. I was just checking on her health which had been distressed. Not waiting for a "hello" I immediately went into my song: "I am HartSky and you are SkyBlue, I'm just callin' to say I love you..."
"I presume you are calling for Barbara," replied a very dignified Nurse Genvieve. "I am sorry to inform you that Barbara died this morning." She didn't sugar coat the word as if there were some flavor that might turn the pill sweet.
Genvieve was a professional and she had done this many times before. She told me the truth with love, I swallowed hard, could think of nothing to say, thanked her and cried.
"I an HartSky and you are SkyBlue, I'm just callin to say I love you."
John Hartmann
MAKE THEM SING BARBARA SKYDEL MAKE THEM PLAY
Barb was the best of the best. She brought dignity, class and style to the profession of booking agent. Her honesty, integrity and humility set a standard that only she could achieve. Either at Premier Talent, or the Morris office, she represented every act I managed for the past four decades.
Yesterday I called a number only she had answered for over forty years. I was just checking on her health which had been distressed. Not waiting for a "hello" I immediately went into my song: "I am HartSky and you are SkyBlue, I'm just callin' to say I love you..."
"I presume you are calling for Barbara," replied a very dignified Nurse Genvieve. "I am sorry to inform you that Barbara died this morning." She didn't sugar coat the word as if there were some flavor that might turn the pill sweet.
Genvieve was a professional and she had done this many times before. She told me the truth with love, I swallowed hard, could think of nothing to say, thanked her and cried.
"I an HartSky and you are SkyBlue, I'm just callin to say I love you."
John Hartmann
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The Holodigm Quote of the Day - Ryan Gosling on Pitchfork - June 2, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
QUOTE ME
Ryan Gosling - Dead Man's Bones - on Pitchfork:
"It seems like an interesting time to come into music, because it seems like everybody's leaving, every office we go into the guy's packing up, and pulling all the final things from his desk in a box," Gosling said. "It seems like, you can't make money anymore, so people are trying to figure out how it all should work. My impression just seems to be like, it's kind of the Wild West in a way. Whatever you think of you can do, and that's really terrifying but also an exciting situation to be in, because you realize that you can create the way that this goes down for you...So people are in it because they want to be, and not because they think it'll be profitable for them. It seems like it's good creatively, but you also have to figure out how you want to present your music, because the old model doesn't work anymore."
Posted by Amy Phillips on January 11, 2009 at 4:20 p.m.
QUOTE ME
Ryan Gosling - Dead Man's Bones - on Pitchfork:
"It seems like an interesting time to come into music, because it seems like everybody's leaving, every office we go into the guy's packing up, and pulling all the final things from his desk in a box," Gosling said. "It seems like, you can't make money anymore, so people are trying to figure out how it all should work. My impression just seems to be like, it's kind of the Wild West in a way. Whatever you think of you can do, and that's really terrifying but also an exciting situation to be in, because you realize that you can create the way that this goes down for you...So people are in it because they want to be, and not because they think it'll be profitable for them. It seems like it's good creatively, but you also have to figure out how you want to present your music, because the old model doesn't work anymore."
Posted by Amy Phillips on January 11, 2009 at 4:20 p.m.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Digital Music Business FAQ - Book Publishing - May 27, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
A Literary Agent asks:
Will book publishing suffer the same fate as the record business?
Hartmann responds:
The handwriting is on the wall and there is no god powerful enough to stop digimodernization. Reading from paper is too expensive to survive as a great American pastime. Furthermore, it is economically and ecologically unsound.
The big publishers will gobble up the little ones in a vain attempt to grab a few more high profit sales. But, just like the fate the ones and zeros imposed on the record business they will die, crushed under their own weight. So what's new? This is what technology does to everything sooner or later. Somebody builds a better mouse trap and everybody wants one.
Well guess what, everybody has one and the more they play with their computers the faster the old paradigm shifts. And as scary as that may sound to you, it's the best thing that ever happened to authors of creative works. When the price dust settles reading on screen will get millions more people into the mix. More words are read online every day than are accessed from all other sources combined.
It is so Socratic that each and every dreamer can write a book. Why not? Eeverybody is the star of his own movie and all this reading is going to produce a different kind of author. For lack of a term, lets call it "reality writing." Unfettered by the editorial process, the new writers will shred the envelope. The will break all the rules, because they don't know them.
What these cyber-writers bring to the table is freedom. Freedom to create, freedom to publish and most importantly freedom to collect if they write something truly great. Yes, millions will publish a few copies for their friends and family, but think about the potential if you produce something everybody loves. After all it is the entertainment business and only the very best stuff makes the best seller lists.
It is impossible to say what the public will embrace in the long term. History shows that everything just keeps changing. The good news is that if a great book is written and published by the author it will find an audience eager to play and willing to pay. What they won't buy is marginal work.
When the good stuff hits the Internet millions will acquire it for free. A fraction will pay out of appreciation and respect. That minority will be infinitely greater in size than the entire extant book market. The author could sell millions of digital copies in a day. There will be no commissions and no publishers share. The price will be less than five dollars and the author will never have to work again. Of course, he will and he will keep the profit.
Some people will always read from paper books, but they probably ride horses and have eight-track players as well. It's time that the corporate money machines were eliminated from the process and their well demonstrated greed insures their demise. No assasination is required, they shot themselves in the foot and now they are frantically watching themselves bleed out.
Let authors stand on their talents and when they deliver let them keep the money. The world of publishers is doomed, the world of authors is born anew and it is the most exciting time in reading. Some brilliant agents will reinvent the monetization of the business model and all will be well in the land. The winners are the readers and writers. The losers are the powers that used to be and within a decade all that will remain is the ashes of the status quo doused by zeros and ones.
A Literary Agent asks:
Will book publishing suffer the same fate as the record business?
Hartmann responds:
The handwriting is on the wall and there is no god powerful enough to stop digimodernization. Reading from paper is too expensive to survive as a great American pastime. Furthermore, it is economically and ecologically unsound.
The big publishers will gobble up the little ones in a vain attempt to grab a few more high profit sales. But, just like the fate the ones and zeros imposed on the record business they will die, crushed under their own weight. So what's new? This is what technology does to everything sooner or later. Somebody builds a better mouse trap and everybody wants one.
Well guess what, everybody has one and the more they play with their computers the faster the old paradigm shifts. And as scary as that may sound to you, it's the best thing that ever happened to authors of creative works. When the price dust settles reading on screen will get millions more people into the mix. More words are read online every day than are accessed from all other sources combined.
It is so Socratic that each and every dreamer can write a book. Why not? Eeverybody is the star of his own movie and all this reading is going to produce a different kind of author. For lack of a term, lets call it "reality writing." Unfettered by the editorial process, the new writers will shred the envelope. The will break all the rules, because they don't know them.
What these cyber-writers bring to the table is freedom. Freedom to create, freedom to publish and most importantly freedom to collect if they write something truly great. Yes, millions will publish a few copies for their friends and family, but think about the potential if you produce something everybody loves. After all it is the entertainment business and only the very best stuff makes the best seller lists.
It is impossible to say what the public will embrace in the long term. History shows that everything just keeps changing. The good news is that if a great book is written and published by the author it will find an audience eager to play and willing to pay. What they won't buy is marginal work.
When the good stuff hits the Internet millions will acquire it for free. A fraction will pay out of appreciation and respect. That minority will be infinitely greater in size than the entire extant book market. The author could sell millions of digital copies in a day. There will be no commissions and no publishers share. The price will be less than five dollars and the author will never have to work again. Of course, he will and he will keep the profit.
Some people will always read from paper books, but they probably ride horses and have eight-track players as well. It's time that the corporate money machines were eliminated from the process and their well demonstrated greed insures their demise. No assasination is required, they shot themselves in the foot and now they are frantically watching themselves bleed out.
Let authors stand on their talents and when they deliver let them keep the money. The world of publishers is doomed, the world of authors is born anew and it is the most exciting time in reading. Some brilliant agents will reinvent the monetization of the business model and all will be well in the land. The winners are the readers and writers. The losers are the powers that used to be and within a decade all that will remain is the ashes of the status quo doused by zeros and ones.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Reflectacles @ Dakota Lounge - Wednesday, May 26, 2010
HolodigmMusic.comHolodigm artists The Reflectacles will be performing live at Dakota Lounge this Wednesday.
4 GREAT BANDS STARTING at 8:30 PM
The Refelctacles Showtime: 10:30 PM
Location: 1026 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica
Unless something goes terribly wrong with the United States Postal Service, we will have our debut, "The Wiley Post EP," available for sale!
Please help support your local Rock 'n' Roll movement. Music, herself, needs you!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Quote of the Day: Alice Cooper - May 17, 2010
http://holodigmmusic.com/
HoloGram - Pearls of Wisdom from a Master Songwriter
"If I were to take a young band, I would have them listen to four people: Burt
Bacharach, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and Paul Simon, or maybe Laura Nyro.
Listen to the construction of those songs. I mean, the Beatles - so simple, but
I get everything they're saying to me. When I hear these new bands, I don't get
it. And it's because they don't know how to tell a story within those musical
boundaries. That three-minute musical boundary." ALICE COOPER
HoloGram - Pearls of Wisdom from a Master Songwriter
"If I were to take a young band, I would have them listen to four people: Burt
Bacharach, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and Paul Simon, or maybe Laura Nyro.
Listen to the construction of those songs. I mean, the Beatles - so simple, but
I get everything they're saying to me. When I hear these new bands, I don't get
it. And it's because they don't know how to tell a story within those musical
boundaries. That three-minute musical boundary." ALICE COOPER
Friday, May 7, 2010
Holodigm Media Artists LIVE @ A/C
The Reflectacles - LIVE @ Air Conditioned - May 13
GRADUATION CELEBRATION
The official LMU "Ultimate Graduation Kiss-Off " will be celebrated at AIR CONDITIONED on MAY 13. Holodigm Media Artists, The Reflectacles, lead the parade of bands, friends, fans and families who will celebrate the senior class kissing-off school. Come and kiss somebody goodbye.
Kissing is invited, but not mandatory. All kissing will be conducted at the discretion of the kissee, not the kisser. The Reflectacles Music Company, LLC assumes no liability for the after effects of short or long term kissing. Thank you for your cooperation. Bring your dancing shoes and lips.
The Air Conditioned Supper Club is located @ 625 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
SHOW STARTS @ 8:00 pmTHE REFLECTACLES @ 10:00 PM
DINNER RESERVATIONS: 310-250-5343
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Digital Music Business FAQ
HolodigmMusic.com
Valerie Walsh asks:
What the hell is going on in the music business? Is everybody fiddling as Rome burns? Is there a plan for the future?
Hartmann responds:
Welcome to The Gold Rush - The Digital Music Business
When no bag is ubiquitous all genres are viable. We have entered The Music Renaissance and the future of the Music Industry has never been brighter. The thousands of years old concert business will not evaporate because the postmodern record business has reached the end of its dominant era. The double edged sword of the Internet has cut the big four labels to their knees. It is also the instrument carving the future of recorded music. The paradigm shift is toward the artist. No longer will popular music be dictated from corporate board rooms. The next great star will rise up from the cyber-grass-roots and suddenly explode on the web. Should only the degree of affection we held for The Beatles land on a new artist, a monumental windfall could make such an act instantly famous and vastly rich in one day. Would you have stolen from Elvis or The Beatles?
It would defy the historical trajectory for such a phenomenon not to occur. If everybody with an iPod decided to purchase rather than "share" a particular song a multi million dollar fortune would be made instantly. The pursuit of this potential has a fertile garden and an army of contestants. Millions post their music online every day. This creates a giant hay stack of brass needles. Everybody with a Guitar Hero badge and a Mac can write a song and make a record. But they are not necessarily talented. The challenge is to find the golden needles among the brass. It can't be done by surfing the web. The battle is fought in the live arena.
The digital convergence has vastly expanded the core audience for music. Every song ever recorded is available online for free. Nothing can stop the tide of peer-to-peer file sharing. It is not regarded by the participants as theft. The music is "shared" for the benefit of artist and fan. They regard record companies as the enemy of the artist and they are correct in that presumption. Since the moral quotient has no consideration nothing can stop the practice. The new music industry entrepreneur must accept the fact that paying for music is a choice not a necessity.
The listening experience has come full circle. Music lovers are addressing one song at a time. They no longer have to buy ten songs they don't want to get the one they like. After all, they are not paying for it and nobody steals something he doesn't want. The record business is over, and bands must give their music away to create a following. Downloads are easy to distribute. If enough people "share" your music they will come to your gig out of curiosity.
If you have a great live act they will fall in love and buy the CD from you even though they already have the music or they wouldn't be there. If they go for a t-shirt as well good for you. They saw MTV and are aware that purchasing your merch is a gesture of admiration, affection and support. The artist and the audience are now directly linked and the new infrastructure for the monetization of music will be constructed according to this principal. The artist is the publisher, manager and label and he must own and control all income streams just to survive. Ten percent of the artists will split one hundred percent of the money.
The big four record labels will continue to shrink and ultimately become banking institutions. They will try to buy the acts that succeed. By the time the labels know what is happening the artists won't need them. Their distribution system evaporated with the brick and mortar stores. Radio has been their long time weapon of justification but everybody listens to his iPod.
There is only one template for how to pursue careers in the current environment. If you are going to turn your music into a survival mechanism you must first learn how to play the digital music business game. You must play perfectly well, have talent and get lucky to win. The process begins with education. The systems, mechanics, protocols and politics of how to get started can be found at The Holodigm. The golden needles are invited to join the revolution in the digital music renaissance. Make music your business. Make business your music. Learn how, right now at: http://www.holodigmmusic.com/.
Valerie Walsh asks:
What the hell is going on in the music business? Is everybody fiddling as Rome burns? Is there a plan for the future?
Hartmann responds:
Welcome to The Gold Rush - The Digital Music Business
When no bag is ubiquitous all genres are viable. We have entered The Music Renaissance and the future of the Music Industry has never been brighter. The thousands of years old concert business will not evaporate because the postmodern record business has reached the end of its dominant era. The double edged sword of the Internet has cut the big four labels to their knees. It is also the instrument carving the future of recorded music. The paradigm shift is toward the artist. No longer will popular music be dictated from corporate board rooms. The next great star will rise up from the cyber-grass-roots and suddenly explode on the web. Should only the degree of affection we held for The Beatles land on a new artist, a monumental windfall could make such an act instantly famous and vastly rich in one day. Would you have stolen from Elvis or The Beatles?
It would defy the historical trajectory for such a phenomenon not to occur. If everybody with an iPod decided to purchase rather than "share" a particular song a multi million dollar fortune would be made instantly. The pursuit of this potential has a fertile garden and an army of contestants. Millions post their music online every day. This creates a giant hay stack of brass needles. Everybody with a Guitar Hero badge and a Mac can write a song and make a record. But they are not necessarily talented. The challenge is to find the golden needles among the brass. It can't be done by surfing the web. The battle is fought in the live arena.
The digital convergence has vastly expanded the core audience for music. Every song ever recorded is available online for free. Nothing can stop the tide of peer-to-peer file sharing. It is not regarded by the participants as theft. The music is "shared" for the benefit of artist and fan. They regard record companies as the enemy of the artist and they are correct in that presumption. Since the moral quotient has no consideration nothing can stop the practice. The new music industry entrepreneur must accept the fact that paying for music is a choice not a necessity.
The listening experience has come full circle. Music lovers are addressing one song at a time. They no longer have to buy ten songs they don't want to get the one they like. After all, they are not paying for it and nobody steals something he doesn't want. The record business is over, and bands must give their music away to create a following. Downloads are easy to distribute. If enough people "share" your music they will come to your gig out of curiosity.
If you have a great live act they will fall in love and buy the CD from you even though they already have the music or they wouldn't be there. If they go for a t-shirt as well good for you. They saw MTV and are aware that purchasing your merch is a gesture of admiration, affection and support. The artist and the audience are now directly linked and the new infrastructure for the monetization of music will be constructed according to this principal. The artist is the publisher, manager and label and he must own and control all income streams just to survive. Ten percent of the artists will split one hundred percent of the money.
The big four record labels will continue to shrink and ultimately become banking institutions. They will try to buy the acts that succeed. By the time the labels know what is happening the artists won't need them. Their distribution system evaporated with the brick and mortar stores. Radio has been their long time weapon of justification but everybody listens to his iPod.
There is only one template for how to pursue careers in the current environment. If you are going to turn your music into a survival mechanism you must first learn how to play the digital music business game. You must play perfectly well, have talent and get lucky to win. The process begins with education. The systems, mechanics, protocols and politics of how to get started can be found at The Holodigm. The golden needles are invited to join the revolution in the digital music renaissance. Make music your business. Make business your music. Learn how, right now at: http://www.holodigmmusic.com/.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The Reflectacles - FREE CONCERT - The Good Hurt - May 1, 2010
FREE CONCERT - If you are on The Reflectacles' guest list.
Send an email to http://www.thereflectacles/ .com to add your name.
The Reflectacles at The Good Hurt - Saturday, May 1st @ 10:00 PM
Get a jump on graduation celebrations - Join us at:
THE GOOD HURT
12249 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Reflectacles - The Stonghold - Saturday, April 17, 2010
The Reflectacles - Live @ The Stronghold - Saturday, April 17 - 10:00 PM
1625 Abbott Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
A concert to benefit The House of Ruth
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Digital Music Business FAQ - Underground vs. Mainstream - April 8, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
Underground vs. Mainstream
Casares asks:
I was wondering if the indie and folk genres have what it takes to produce a musician comparable to a group like The Beatles or Bob Dylan. I question this because I see groups, such as Bright Eyes, who have the ability to sell out the Hollywood Bowl at a ticket cost of $100 + and yet, they are still very "underground" in a sense. What is keeping bands like these from surfacing into the mainstream and gaining a dedicated international fan base?
Hartmann responds:
Every generation puts a hero up the pop charts. The evolution of music is deeply attached to the cultural phenomenon we call "coming of age." Growing up is a process that nobody escapes; it just happens. Technology gave birth to the record business with the invention of Edison's phonograph. In the beginning recorded music was a luxury enjoyed by those able to afford the cost of the hardware and the records were essentially loss leaders designed to sell the machines.
In the early nineteen hundreds terrestrial, broadcast radio became the primary delivery system for recorded music. The stations were small and their audiences regional. The music itself focused on the genres and styles indigenous to the immediate locale. There was no mainstream music format. Each region of the country presented the music most likely to attract the largest audience in the broadcast radius of the station. Jazz, Ragtime and The Blues dominated in the deep South. Moving North, Country music proliferated. In the North East and West big band music reigned.
During World War II the record business suffered its first major decline. Seventy eight RPM records were pressed in shellac, a substance produced in a handful of Pacific countries. The war precluded access to this essential material and the business was stopped cold in its tracks. Pun intended. However, the war effort generated enormous advances in source materials, recording technology and manufacturing mechanics. Low cost, 45 RPM record players arrived.
This new playback systems liberated teenagers from their parent's music. Young people now had the unique ability to choose their own music one song at a time. The collecting and trading of singles became the primary bonding mechanism for the baby boomer generation. Searching the radio dial young people discovered the latest hits and scrambled to own them. Into this fertile marketplace exploded Rock & Roll music. The fuel was the beat and the superstar was Elvis.
The enormous popularity of The king of Rock & Roll and the consolidation of radio stations into broadcast networks enabled national exploitation of regional artists. The mainstream was born. For more than fifty years national radio formats have successfully serviced a ubiquitous audience. Technical changes introduced thirty-three and one-third RPM albums just in time to flood the exploitation of FM radio. The Beatles led the parade and rock music dominated the airwaves.
The tremendous success of John, Paul, George and Ringo enthralled the world and every young musician yearned to start a band just like The Beatles. Millions tried and many succeeded, but none quite as well as The Fab Four. Regardless of the degree of success enjoyed by any given artist, high fidelity and stereophonic sound kept the public engaged and the music industry flourished behind its two primary activities performing and recording. The concert business nourished the record business and the sale of records precipitated attendance at live events.
The music industry was strong and a myriad of record companies emerged as the dominant marketing force. They controlled both radio formats and built vast distribution systems to service the thousands of record stores across the country and around the world. In the mid-seventies an extraordinary breakthrough shocked the industry. The vast number of record players extant, combined with efficient delivery systems and massive airplay to provoke a new phenomenon.
A young artist named Peter Frampton sold twenty-five million copies of the album "Frampton Comes Alive." This seminal event changed the record business forever. Lured by the huge profits attached to gigantic album sales, and the booming concert business, giant multi-national corporations began a process of acquisition and merger. This has resulted in hundreds of record labels being shrunk down to four major companies. With the record business under the control and direction of a few executives it didn't take much to bring the whole thing crashing down.
One fatal choice brought the postmodern era to an end and obliterated the mainstream. The decision of the Recording Industry Association of America, to destroy peer-to-peer file sharing and to sue their customers for doing it sealed their fate. In an effort to maintain the high profit CD as the prime delivery system for music, the big four walked away from digital downloading and denied their customer base. For the past decade CD sales have been in a constant decline.
The game has come full circle. The public has consistently demonstrated an interest in individual songs as opposed to the album format. This return to the singles game has resulted in music fans refusing to buy ten or more songs to get the one they want. With the loss of high profit CDs the infrastructure of the postmodern era could not stand. The loss of the record business is the music fans gain. More importantly, it places the power in the hands of the artists and music producers.
Radio is no longer the primary delivery system for music. The brick and mortar record stores have all but disappeared and the record companies are stuck in the old paradigm with no rescue in sight. Digimodernization has opened up the Internet and provided every artist with the same power tool to exploit their music. The major labels can no longer justify the enormous costs associated with artist development. Sales can not support the old record business paradigm.
The good news is that a small group of corporate executives, lawyers and bean counters are no longer in charge of popular music. The former dictators of content, and arbiters of taste, must now wait to see what the fan base is embracing on the world wide web. Recording costs are low, distribution and promotion are free and every style of music has a well established fan base.
There is a channel open for every genre and each one has a clear path for artists and managers to follow. Success is no longer measured in multi-platinum sales. A platinum album is every bit as rare and unique as it was in the beginning of the postmodern era. Only a handful of artists have enjoyed million unit sales in recent years, and the number is declining rapidly. What the RIAA calls theft is, in the minds of the cyber-kids, no such thing. If it is on the Internet, it's free for all.
The liberation of the artist community from the iron handed control of the record labels is a sign of progress. The future is clearly in the hands of the creative community once again. Many artists are enjoying relative success in the music renaissance. Bands like Bright Eyes selling out The Hollywood Bowl, at $100+ ticket prices is no small achievement. They are making good money. This has been accomplished through a long process of nurturing their following through live performances. Their fan base grew without the benefit of massive, mainstream radio airplay.
Making a living from music is the first level of success and it is only accomplished by ten percent of the artists competing. The digital stage is set. The cultural interest in music is at its highest level in history. More songs are in play to more people than ever before. Into this environment a young artist will eventually explode. The fans will fall in love, just like we loved The Beatles.
This new found musical hero will inspire the public who will voluntarily pay for the music, when they could "share" it for free. This transition in thinking will only be provoked by a great talent, with a timely image and a lot of charisma. Such a superstar will make millions of dollars from the sale of downloads on a single day. Then the same monolithic corporations, who are running for cover today, will reassert themselves, buy up all the players willing to sell, and crash it all again.
Underground vs. Mainstream
Casares asks:
I was wondering if the indie and folk genres have what it takes to produce a musician comparable to a group like The Beatles or Bob Dylan. I question this because I see groups, such as Bright Eyes, who have the ability to sell out the Hollywood Bowl at a ticket cost of $100 + and yet, they are still very "underground" in a sense. What is keeping bands like these from surfacing into the mainstream and gaining a dedicated international fan base?
Hartmann responds:
Every generation puts a hero up the pop charts. The evolution of music is deeply attached to the cultural phenomenon we call "coming of age." Growing up is a process that nobody escapes; it just happens. Technology gave birth to the record business with the invention of Edison's phonograph. In the beginning recorded music was a luxury enjoyed by those able to afford the cost of the hardware and the records were essentially loss leaders designed to sell the machines.
In the early nineteen hundreds terrestrial, broadcast radio became the primary delivery system for recorded music. The stations were small and their audiences regional. The music itself focused on the genres and styles indigenous to the immediate locale. There was no mainstream music format. Each region of the country presented the music most likely to attract the largest audience in the broadcast radius of the station. Jazz, Ragtime and The Blues dominated in the deep South. Moving North, Country music proliferated. In the North East and West big band music reigned.
During World War II the record business suffered its first major decline. Seventy eight RPM records were pressed in shellac, a substance produced in a handful of Pacific countries. The war precluded access to this essential material and the business was stopped cold in its tracks. Pun intended. However, the war effort generated enormous advances in source materials, recording technology and manufacturing mechanics. Low cost, 45 RPM record players arrived.
This new playback systems liberated teenagers from their parent's music. Young people now had the unique ability to choose their own music one song at a time. The collecting and trading of singles became the primary bonding mechanism for the baby boomer generation. Searching the radio dial young people discovered the latest hits and scrambled to own them. Into this fertile marketplace exploded Rock & Roll music. The fuel was the beat and the superstar was Elvis.
The enormous popularity of The king of Rock & Roll and the consolidation of radio stations into broadcast networks enabled national exploitation of regional artists. The mainstream was born. For more than fifty years national radio formats have successfully serviced a ubiquitous audience. Technical changes introduced thirty-three and one-third RPM albums just in time to flood the exploitation of FM radio. The Beatles led the parade and rock music dominated the airwaves.
The tremendous success of John, Paul, George and Ringo enthralled the world and every young musician yearned to start a band just like The Beatles. Millions tried and many succeeded, but none quite as well as The Fab Four. Regardless of the degree of success enjoyed by any given artist, high fidelity and stereophonic sound kept the public engaged and the music industry flourished behind its two primary activities performing and recording. The concert business nourished the record business and the sale of records precipitated attendance at live events.
The music industry was strong and a myriad of record companies emerged as the dominant marketing force. They controlled both radio formats and built vast distribution systems to service the thousands of record stores across the country and around the world. In the mid-seventies an extraordinary breakthrough shocked the industry. The vast number of record players extant, combined with efficient delivery systems and massive airplay to provoke a new phenomenon.
A young artist named Peter Frampton sold twenty-five million copies of the album "Frampton Comes Alive." This seminal event changed the record business forever. Lured by the huge profits attached to gigantic album sales, and the booming concert business, giant multi-national corporations began a process of acquisition and merger. This has resulted in hundreds of record labels being shrunk down to four major companies. With the record business under the control and direction of a few executives it didn't take much to bring the whole thing crashing down.
One fatal choice brought the postmodern era to an end and obliterated the mainstream. The decision of the Recording Industry Association of America, to destroy peer-to-peer file sharing and to sue their customers for doing it sealed their fate. In an effort to maintain the high profit CD as the prime delivery system for music, the big four walked away from digital downloading and denied their customer base. For the past decade CD sales have been in a constant decline.
The game has come full circle. The public has consistently demonstrated an interest in individual songs as opposed to the album format. This return to the singles game has resulted in music fans refusing to buy ten or more songs to get the one they want. With the loss of high profit CDs the infrastructure of the postmodern era could not stand. The loss of the record business is the music fans gain. More importantly, it places the power in the hands of the artists and music producers.
Radio is no longer the primary delivery system for music. The brick and mortar record stores have all but disappeared and the record companies are stuck in the old paradigm with no rescue in sight. Digimodernization has opened up the Internet and provided every artist with the same power tool to exploit their music. The major labels can no longer justify the enormous costs associated with artist development. Sales can not support the old record business paradigm.
The good news is that a small group of corporate executives, lawyers and bean counters are no longer in charge of popular music. The former dictators of content, and arbiters of taste, must now wait to see what the fan base is embracing on the world wide web. Recording costs are low, distribution and promotion are free and every style of music has a well established fan base.
There is a channel open for every genre and each one has a clear path for artists and managers to follow. Success is no longer measured in multi-platinum sales. A platinum album is every bit as rare and unique as it was in the beginning of the postmodern era. Only a handful of artists have enjoyed million unit sales in recent years, and the number is declining rapidly. What the RIAA calls theft is, in the minds of the cyber-kids, no such thing. If it is on the Internet, it's free for all.
The liberation of the artist community from the iron handed control of the record labels is a sign of progress. The future is clearly in the hands of the creative community once again. Many artists are enjoying relative success in the music renaissance. Bands like Bright Eyes selling out The Hollywood Bowl, at $100+ ticket prices is no small achievement. They are making good money. This has been accomplished through a long process of nurturing their following through live performances. Their fan base grew without the benefit of massive, mainstream radio airplay.
Making a living from music is the first level of success and it is only accomplished by ten percent of the artists competing. The digital stage is set. The cultural interest in music is at its highest level in history. More songs are in play to more people than ever before. Into this environment a young artist will eventually explode. The fans will fall in love, just like we loved The Beatles.
This new found musical hero will inspire the public who will voluntarily pay for the music, when they could "share" it for free. This transition in thinking will only be provoked by a great talent, with a timely image and a lot of charisma. Such a superstar will make millions of dollars from the sale of downloads on a single day. Then the same monolithic corporations, who are running for cover today, will reassert themselves, buy up all the players willing to sell, and crash it all again.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Insiders Guide to Music Management - UCLA - April 1, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
HoloGram:
The Holodigm Seminars @ UCLA - Saturdays from Noon to 4:00 PM
Three time Loyola Marymount University Professor of the Year, John Hartmann, will be presenting a nine week course at UCLA Extension starting Saturday, April 3 at 12:00 Noon. This four unit course is called "The Insiders Guide to Music Management."
It is the first time The Holodigm Seminars have been available to the general public.
Please forward this message to any friends who may be interested in learning how to build bands in the digital age.
All artists and entrepreneurs engaged in creating careers in the music renaissance can benefit from this comprehensive lecture series on the systems, mechanics, protocols and politics of personal management in the music industry.
The course includes "A" list guest speakers from the eight core professions of entertainment.
You are all invited to participate in the first class at no charge. Just show up.
We meet in room 1234 of the School of Public Affairs Building on the Westwood campus this Saturday at 12: 00 PM. Use easy access at parking lot 3 and walk South to the SPA building.
You may register at www.uclaextension.edu. The course registration number is: V5990.
HoloGram:
The Holodigm Seminars @ UCLA - Saturdays from Noon to 4:00 PM
Three time Loyola Marymount University Professor of the Year, John Hartmann, will be presenting a nine week course at UCLA Extension starting Saturday, April 3 at 12:00 Noon. This four unit course is called "The Insiders Guide to Music Management."
It is the first time The Holodigm Seminars have been available to the general public.
Please forward this message to any friends who may be interested in learning how to build bands in the digital age.
All artists and entrepreneurs engaged in creating careers in the music renaissance can benefit from this comprehensive lecture series on the systems, mechanics, protocols and politics of personal management in the music industry.
The course includes "A" list guest speakers from the eight core professions of entertainment.
You are all invited to participate in the first class at no charge. Just show up.
We meet in room 1234 of the School of Public Affairs Building on the Westwood campus this Saturday at 12: 00 PM. Use easy access at parking lot 3 and walk South to the SPA building.
You may register at www.uclaextension.edu. The course registration number is: V5990.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
The Digital Music Business FAQ - What is The Holodigm? - Match 27, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
WHAT IS THE HOLODIGM ?
The Holodigm Corporation is based in a one room cabin high in the Santa Monica Mountains. It is run entirely on volunteer and collegiate intern labor. It is also the fastest moving force in the creation of a new music industry paradigm. The central product is the first on line, audio-visual, interactive text book.
The Holodigm System provides a comprehensive training in the eight core professions of entertainment. Our online education program presents an industry overview and analysis of the systems, mechanics, protocols and politics of the contemporary music Industry. It is part higher education and part coaching and mentoring. Holodigm Society members gain access to a myriad of products and support services.
The Holodigm Seminars course provides the initial income stream, it is generating a loyal customer platform from which a myriad of production and manufacturing systems previously, provided by record companies, will be launched. The digital convergence has imposed a severe decline in the century old record business. This does not mean that the ancient concert business will suffer a similar fate. Those same digital forces, that have decimated the postmodern record business, are presently engaged in carving a new business model to address the future direction of millions of music professionals and fans.
Established in 2008, by veteran agent, manager and record executive John Hartmann, The Holodigm is an on line sanctuary for artists and entrepreneurs seeking to build careers in the music renaissance. The core demographic of our customer base is the millions of bands posting music on the Internet every day.
The infrastructure of the music industry is built around publishing, concert and record commerce. Every generation chooses a musical hero. The contest to be the one at the top of the charts generates the global music industry mechanism. As a new paradigm evolves the creative community has no template for how to launch a career. The Holodigm provides a map, strategy and method for bringing the band from the garage to the professional realm. We are the missing link in the evolution of digital and music.
With just one full time employee, and a free-lance, part-time staff of interns and professional advisers, The Holodigm has established a marketing position with its central product, The Holodigm Seminars. We have proven the profitability and scalability of our business model. An array of ancillary tools, text books, DVDs and interactive programs are in development. The on line “Songworks” and “Coaches” services will connect aspiring songwriters and bands with world class record production and song craft.
Over the next 36 months, the Company intends to replicate its success by:
• Expanding its promotional and Internet marketing strategy
• Increasing the on line content for The Holodigm Music “Academy” division
• Developing enrollment in The Holodigm Music “Society”division
• Continuing to develop the Holodigm Music “Media” division
• Creating reciprocal trade agreements with the primary music manufacturers.
• Building the infrastructure to provide full time Web rejuvenation and repair.
The business model leverages an extremely large industry with enormous systems that will not expire from the loss of one of its components. All economies considered equal, digimodernization will turn out to be a great thing for the entertainment industry.
The advent of free music and low cost infrastructure has brought the extant universal library of music to the widest audience in history. Collegiate level education in music and business is creating a higher standard and it will produce a music renaissance.
WHAT IS THE HOLODIGM ?
The Holodigm Corporation is based in a one room cabin high in the Santa Monica Mountains. It is run entirely on volunteer and collegiate intern labor. It is also the fastest moving force in the creation of a new music industry paradigm. The central product is the first on line, audio-visual, interactive text book.
The Holodigm System provides a comprehensive training in the eight core professions of entertainment. Our online education program presents an industry overview and analysis of the systems, mechanics, protocols and politics of the contemporary music Industry. It is part higher education and part coaching and mentoring. Holodigm Society members gain access to a myriad of products and support services.
The Holodigm Seminars course provides the initial income stream, it is generating a loyal customer platform from which a myriad of production and manufacturing systems previously, provided by record companies, will be launched. The digital convergence has imposed a severe decline in the century old record business. This does not mean that the ancient concert business will suffer a similar fate. Those same digital forces, that have decimated the postmodern record business, are presently engaged in carving a new business model to address the future direction of millions of music professionals and fans.
Established in 2008, by veteran agent, manager and record executive John Hartmann, The Holodigm is an on line sanctuary for artists and entrepreneurs seeking to build careers in the music renaissance. The core demographic of our customer base is the millions of bands posting music on the Internet every day.
The infrastructure of the music industry is built around publishing, concert and record commerce. Every generation chooses a musical hero. The contest to be the one at the top of the charts generates the global music industry mechanism. As a new paradigm evolves the creative community has no template for how to launch a career. The Holodigm provides a map, strategy and method for bringing the band from the garage to the professional realm. We are the missing link in the evolution of digital and music.
With just one full time employee, and a free-lance, part-time staff of interns and professional advisers, The Holodigm has established a marketing position with its central product, The Holodigm Seminars. We have proven the profitability and scalability of our business model. An array of ancillary tools, text books, DVDs and interactive programs are in development. The on line “Songworks” and “Coaches” services will connect aspiring songwriters and bands with world class record production and song craft.
Over the next 36 months, the Company intends to replicate its success by:
• Expanding its promotional and Internet marketing strategy
• Increasing the on line content for The Holodigm Music “Academy” division
• Developing enrollment in The Holodigm Music “Society”division
• Continuing to develop the Holodigm Music “Media” division
• Creating reciprocal trade agreements with the primary music manufacturers.
• Building the infrastructure to provide full time Web rejuvenation and repair.
The business model leverages an extremely large industry with enormous systems that will not expire from the loss of one of its components. All economies considered equal, digimodernization will turn out to be a great thing for the entertainment industry.
The advent of free music and low cost infrastructure has brought the extant universal library of music to the widest audience in history. Collegiate level education in music and business is creating a higher standard and it will produce a music renaissance.
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Digital Music Business FAQ - Making It Big - March 15, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
Making It Big
Lindsay Stanger asks:
It seems as though... 30 years ago when a band got signed to a major record label they were bound to at least be a one hit wonder if not a superstar. I have some friends that are either solo artists or in bands that were signed to major record labels and some even received a pretty hefty signing bonus...why is it that nothing ever seems to happen for them after they are signed?? Does the record label give up on them even after originally seeing potential? Is this common?
Hartmann responds:
All size is relative. "Big" is in the mind of the beholder and "making it" is a very nebulous term that has unique connotations to different people. One of the phrases most often used by music fans to describe their favorite artists is to say "they are making it big." But what does that really mean today? For a thing to be described as big something else must be regarded as smaller. The big four record companies have lost their way and the old system is no longer cost effective. The small artist owned and operated record company will emerge as the next big thing in music.
The standards of success in the old music industry paradigm were much more clearly defined than they are in the digital music renaissance. For more than one hundred years the concert business evolved in a symbiotic union with the growth and development of the record business. The technical link that bonded these two businesses together was terrestrial broadcast radio.
From the late eighteen hundreds, into the nineteen twenties and thirties, the antiquarian record business progressed from printed sheet music, to Edison's cylinders to shellac discs vulnerable to breakage. This was the acoustic period for recorded music. The play back systems of the day did not utilize electricity in their drive train or amplification mechanics. Radio receivers came in all shapes and sizes from simple crystal head sets to larger more elaborate pieces of furniture.
Music was forced to compete with comedy and dramatic programming for a share of the limited air time. Local stations operated at most twelve hours a day. Eventually radio replaced singing around the piano as the dominant form of in home entertainment. The "Great" Caruso, Rudy Vallee, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and many of their contemporaries sold millions of records on the strength of radio airplay. This led them to extensive film and personal appearance careers.
The process was rudely interrupted during World War II when the distant sources of shellac were no longer readily accessible. Manufacturing techniques and materials developed during the war enabled huge leaps forward in the analog recording and hardware delivery systems. By the mid fifties the modern record business was born out of the marriage of AM radio and forty-five RPM records. The low cost record player was easily acquired by the baby boomer generation.
Millions of teenagers were engaged in the collection and trading of "singles" as the seven inch, vinyl discs with the doughnut hole in the middle were called. Into this musical sanctuary of the young exploded the dynamic force that would drive the record business to unprecedented heights of popularity. Elvis Presley, The Hillbilly Cat, who would eventually be regarded as the King of Rock & Roll brought charisma, sex appeal and an incredible singing voice to an entire generation.
The infrastructure that was created to service Elvis and his contemporaries provided a vast public platform from which the postmodern record business would emerge. It was technology once again that pushed the envelope and prepared the way for the marriage of FM radio and thirty-three and a third RPM long playing albums. The driving force in this era was The Beatles.
Rock & Roll music eventually consumed more radio air time than all other content combined. The record business infused free recorded music and vast advertising and "payola" dollars into the system. A music hungry public fully engaged their heroes who reached the top of the charts and embraced the artist's records and personal appearances as their primary source of entertainment.
The process was slick and smoothly run. Hundreds of small record companies proliferated with many enjoying critical and financial success. As fame and fortune accrued to a steadily growing coterie of artists the public clamored to see their favorite rock stars in concert. The first to take advantage of this demand were the disk jockeys. Many gained enormous credibility with the radio audience by being the voice of the promotional vehicle and the self appointed arbiters of taste.
A disk jockey out of Cleveland named Alan Freed coined the term Rock & Roll and produced many of the earliest rock concerts and tours. A platter spinner from Philadelphia produced the first major touring events with "Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars" which were bolstered by his enormously popular "American Bandstand" television show. Both were caught up in the "payola" scandals of the fifties. Although no particular guilt was ever established, Freed was destroyed by them and died destitute. Clark went on to dominate music TV for fifty years.
During the last half of the twentieth century the infrastructures of radio, records and concerts became inter dependant and all three activities flourished together. During this time period there was a reasonable expectation that if you could get a record deal, mount a live act and demonstrate a modicum of talent and charisma you could have a productive career in the music industry.
This did not mean that everybody in the game became a superstar, far from it. In fact a core principal developed over time that prevails today. About ten percent of the artists competing at the professional level achieved financial success. This was enough to keep the industry healthy and growing. The remaining ninety percent of the artists failed to make a profit and moved on.
Today digimodernization has imposed a harsh new system on the music industry. Digital distribution of music has decimated the record industry. Low cost production and post Napster file sharing have drastically reduced the number of records purchased, while simultaneously putting more music in play than ever before. Mom and Pop record stores have disappeared along with the major chains. Within a decade ninety percent of recorded music will be acquired on line.
The myriad of record companies have been merged and consolidated down to four primary record groups that dominate the business. With the loss of control over the radio promotion and brick and mortar distribution systems they once dominated these four giants are engaged in a free fall of their own creation. Short sighted executive decisions vainly attempting to preserve the high profit, album oriented CD. The RIAA sued their customers and lost direct access to the fan base.
This accounts for the very small number of new artists achieving extraordinary success in the music renaissance. Only a handful of new acts have reached financial profitability in the past decade. The number of units sold to reach the top of the Billboard magazine charts has plunged from over a million units to slightly more than a hundred thousand. These facts reduce the investment dollars available to promote new acts. The cost of traditional radio promotion has remained the same or increased. Without the potential to sell a large volume of product the game, as we know it, is over.
While the record business struggles to find its digital life preserver, the concert business marches on, and continues to grow at a healthy pace. With all the recorded music ever produced readily available on line without the imposition of economics the fan base is building at an enormously accelerated rate. This new "free" form of promotion has created a global forum for fans to share music on a peer-to-peer basis eliminating the middle man and insuring the demise of the labels.
The next big superstar will be discovered and nurtured through the Internet and the potential for success is greater than ever. As a promotional tool the world-wide-web is infinitely more powerful than AM and FM radio combined. It allows artists and their managers to be proactive and independent about how they expose their music to the public. The musicians and producers can also market their music and branded products through low cost on line systems. More importantly they can capitalize on high profit margins by selling CDs directly to their fan base.
Making It Big
Lindsay Stanger asks:
It seems as though... 30 years ago when a band got signed to a major record label they were bound to at least be a one hit wonder if not a superstar. I have some friends that are either solo artists or in bands that were signed to major record labels and some even received a pretty hefty signing bonus...why is it that nothing ever seems to happen for them after they are signed?? Does the record label give up on them even after originally seeing potential? Is this common?
Hartmann responds:
All size is relative. "Big" is in the mind of the beholder and "making it" is a very nebulous term that has unique connotations to different people. One of the phrases most often used by music fans to describe their favorite artists is to say "they are making it big." But what does that really mean today? For a thing to be described as big something else must be regarded as smaller. The big four record companies have lost their way and the old system is no longer cost effective. The small artist owned and operated record company will emerge as the next big thing in music.
The standards of success in the old music industry paradigm were much more clearly defined than they are in the digital music renaissance. For more than one hundred years the concert business evolved in a symbiotic union with the growth and development of the record business. The technical link that bonded these two businesses together was terrestrial broadcast radio.
From the late eighteen hundreds, into the nineteen twenties and thirties, the antiquarian record business progressed from printed sheet music, to Edison's cylinders to shellac discs vulnerable to breakage. This was the acoustic period for recorded music. The play back systems of the day did not utilize electricity in their drive train or amplification mechanics. Radio receivers came in all shapes and sizes from simple crystal head sets to larger more elaborate pieces of furniture.
Music was forced to compete with comedy and dramatic programming for a share of the limited air time. Local stations operated at most twelve hours a day. Eventually radio replaced singing around the piano as the dominant form of in home entertainment. The "Great" Caruso, Rudy Vallee, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and many of their contemporaries sold millions of records on the strength of radio airplay. This led them to extensive film and personal appearance careers.
The process was rudely interrupted during World War II when the distant sources of shellac were no longer readily accessible. Manufacturing techniques and materials developed during the war enabled huge leaps forward in the analog recording and hardware delivery systems. By the mid fifties the modern record business was born out of the marriage of AM radio and forty-five RPM records. The low cost record player was easily acquired by the baby boomer generation.
Millions of teenagers were engaged in the collection and trading of "singles" as the seven inch, vinyl discs with the doughnut hole in the middle were called. Into this musical sanctuary of the young exploded the dynamic force that would drive the record business to unprecedented heights of popularity. Elvis Presley, The Hillbilly Cat, who would eventually be regarded as the King of Rock & Roll brought charisma, sex appeal and an incredible singing voice to an entire generation.
The infrastructure that was created to service Elvis and his contemporaries provided a vast public platform from which the postmodern record business would emerge. It was technology once again that pushed the envelope and prepared the way for the marriage of FM radio and thirty-three and a third RPM long playing albums. The driving force in this era was The Beatles.
Rock & Roll music eventually consumed more radio air time than all other content combined. The record business infused free recorded music and vast advertising and "payola" dollars into the system. A music hungry public fully engaged their heroes who reached the top of the charts and embraced the artist's records and personal appearances as their primary source of entertainment.
The process was slick and smoothly run. Hundreds of small record companies proliferated with many enjoying critical and financial success. As fame and fortune accrued to a steadily growing coterie of artists the public clamored to see their favorite rock stars in concert. The first to take advantage of this demand were the disk jockeys. Many gained enormous credibility with the radio audience by being the voice of the promotional vehicle and the self appointed arbiters of taste.
A disk jockey out of Cleveland named Alan Freed coined the term Rock & Roll and produced many of the earliest rock concerts and tours. A platter spinner from Philadelphia produced the first major touring events with "Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars" which were bolstered by his enormously popular "American Bandstand" television show. Both were caught up in the "payola" scandals of the fifties. Although no particular guilt was ever established, Freed was destroyed by them and died destitute. Clark went on to dominate music TV for fifty years.
During the last half of the twentieth century the infrastructures of radio, records and concerts became inter dependant and all three activities flourished together. During this time period there was a reasonable expectation that if you could get a record deal, mount a live act and demonstrate a modicum of talent and charisma you could have a productive career in the music industry.
This did not mean that everybody in the game became a superstar, far from it. In fact a core principal developed over time that prevails today. About ten percent of the artists competing at the professional level achieved financial success. This was enough to keep the industry healthy and growing. The remaining ninety percent of the artists failed to make a profit and moved on.
Today digimodernization has imposed a harsh new system on the music industry. Digital distribution of music has decimated the record industry. Low cost production and post Napster file sharing have drastically reduced the number of records purchased, while simultaneously putting more music in play than ever before. Mom and Pop record stores have disappeared along with the major chains. Within a decade ninety percent of recorded music will be acquired on line.
The myriad of record companies have been merged and consolidated down to four primary record groups that dominate the business. With the loss of control over the radio promotion and brick and mortar distribution systems they once dominated these four giants are engaged in a free fall of their own creation. Short sighted executive decisions vainly attempting to preserve the high profit, album oriented CD. The RIAA sued their customers and lost direct access to the fan base.
This accounts for the very small number of new artists achieving extraordinary success in the music renaissance. Only a handful of new acts have reached financial profitability in the past decade. The number of units sold to reach the top of the Billboard magazine charts has plunged from over a million units to slightly more than a hundred thousand. These facts reduce the investment dollars available to promote new acts. The cost of traditional radio promotion has remained the same or increased. Without the potential to sell a large volume of product the game, as we know it, is over.
While the record business struggles to find its digital life preserver, the concert business marches on, and continues to grow at a healthy pace. With all the recorded music ever produced readily available on line without the imposition of economics the fan base is building at an enormously accelerated rate. This new "free" form of promotion has created a global forum for fans to share music on a peer-to-peer basis eliminating the middle man and insuring the demise of the labels.
The next big superstar will be discovered and nurtured through the Internet and the potential for success is greater than ever. As a promotional tool the world-wide-web is infinitely more powerful than AM and FM radio combined. It allows artists and their managers to be proactive and independent about how they expose their music to the public. The musicians and producers can also market their music and branded products through low cost on line systems. More importantly they can capitalize on high profit margins by selling CDs directly to their fan base.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Reflectacles will be playing Brixton, a pretty sweet bar on Redondo Pier, at 8:30 PM this Friday, March 12. Also appearing: Merchants of Moonshine.
100 W. Torrance Blvd
Redondo Beach, CA.
Come and support your local Rock n' Roll movement. Tickets are $10 in advance, so please contact Hartmann or your favorite Reflectacle for purchases. We do, indeed, deliver!
Redondo Beach, CA.
Come and support your local Rock n' Roll movement. Tickets are $10 in advance, so please contact Hartmann or your favorite Reflectacle for purchases. We do, indeed, deliver!
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Digital Music Business FAQ - Stairway To Heaven - March 5, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
The Stairway To Heaven
amarti76 asks:
In a recent lecture you talked about how an artist can make it to the big top through an alternative means, through climbing "the stairway to heaven". What are the advantages of taking this route as opposed to other more "conventional" methods. Is one way more preferable over others in order to ensure an artist long run success?
Hartmann responds:
The ancient music industry has evolved a system of mechanics and protocols that govern its traditional activities. The performance of live music in front of paying audiences can be as simple as one person singing in the street, for donations, and as complicated as tens of thousands crowding into sports arenas for major music events. The singular difference is measured by gross box-office potential. The dollar bills and loose change that land in the troubadour's guitar case are just as vital to his survival as the million dollar pay days that superstars take from larger venues.
The street musician is providing the very same service, from rock bottom, as the major artists provide from the big top. The primary difference is how many zeroes follow the number of dollars earned from the performance. The concert production business is the primary activity of the music industry and provides the core infrastructure around which the rest of the game is conducted. Every performing artist is in competition with all the other artists great and small.
Singers, musicians and bands seeking fame and fortune in showbiz must overcome the gravity in the elevator to the big top. There is a natural resistance from those in power to relinquish the rewards to the new contender. The baby band is competing for the same entertainment dollars as the established artist. Those earning the most, at any given time, fiercely resist the emerging artist's success by holding on to their spot in the ever changing music market place.
The competition is conducted by entrepreneurs and the creators of music through the traditional relationship between artists and personal mangers. Regardless of the nature of their financial arrangement this marriage of careers makes the manager the CEO of the artist's corporation.
The pursuit of their shared goals creates the commercial activity that generates box-office receipts and ancillary income streams through marketing of branded merchandise and recorded music.
Although every management team faces the same challenges in overcoming the circumstantial resistance to their success, each career has its own unique set of characteristics. Some are enabled by extraordinary talent, beauty and charisma. Often fledgling artists are supported by circumstances that have nothing to do with their inherent talent. They have access to the big top through one of the pathways on the stairway to heaven. Accessing these alternate routes is more about luck and natural selection than the artistic or entrepreneurial skills of the core team.
There are five paths on the stairway to heaven. The most powerful is "nepotism." If your father is an established star with proven talent and popularity, you as his offspring will be given an opportunity to demonstrate your craft. If you reveal prodigious creative and technical ability the public may embrace you as a star not having fallen far from the parental tree. Such public appreciation can lead to instant access to the star making machinery and insure your success.
A second route to the big top is "personal wealth." If you are a trust fund baby with deep pockets, you can invest your capital in the development and maintenance of your career. During the postmodern era the costs of mounting a live act were traditionally born by the record companies. With the advent of digital downloading the major labels can no longer justify huge investment in new artists. The loss of this financial source does not effect an artist who can fund his enterprise.
Corporate "sponsorship" can also provide an alternate route to the big top. As the digital convergence continues to erode the traditional systems for marketing and promotion, more and more business enterprises are seeking a direct connection to their customer base. By providing vehicles, cash and equipment to musical attractions many companies are actively engaged in the growth and development of new artists. This will increase as Internet advertising proliferates.
The fourth pathway is the slippery slope of "talent TV." There is no question that the talent contest television format has catapulted a handful of artists to the top of the charts. A few of them have even built what appears to be enduring careers. Conversely, it has brought the dreams and aspirations of many thousands of aspirants to a dead halt. Regardless of how far into the process one evolves, the careers produced are more about celebrity than talent. The notoriety accumulated in a few television exposures does not form the basis of an enduring career in music.
There is a long established tradition in showbiz that performers can sometimes "sleep" their way to the top. This is probably the riskiest and most painful method of building executive access to the people, systems and mechanics of the music industry. However, its efficacy cannot be denied. If you are an artist married to the president of the record company, it is reasonable to assume that you will get productive attention from the vice-presidents and staff, thus ensuring a concerted effort. There is a recent case that proves even in divorce such an artist can come out well ahead.
Regardless of how one gains a place in the elite fraternity that occupies the top ten percent of the music industry, surviving there is a daunting process. There are no guarantees in showbiz and in a game where duration is the primary goal, very few careers last a lifetime. The ones that endure are built one performance at a time by establishing a personal rapport with their fans through the concert arena. Artists starting their careers on the stairway to heaven must build the same management team, to stay on top, that would have been required to get there in the first place.
The Stairway To Heaven
amarti76 asks:
In a recent lecture you talked about how an artist can make it to the big top through an alternative means, through climbing "the stairway to heaven". What are the advantages of taking this route as opposed to other more "conventional" methods. Is one way more preferable over others in order to ensure an artist long run success?
Hartmann responds:
The ancient music industry has evolved a system of mechanics and protocols that govern its traditional activities. The performance of live music in front of paying audiences can be as simple as one person singing in the street, for donations, and as complicated as tens of thousands crowding into sports arenas for major music events. The singular difference is measured by gross box-office potential. The dollar bills and loose change that land in the troubadour's guitar case are just as vital to his survival as the million dollar pay days that superstars take from larger venues.
The street musician is providing the very same service, from rock bottom, as the major artists provide from the big top. The primary difference is how many zeroes follow the number of dollars earned from the performance. The concert production business is the primary activity of the music industry and provides the core infrastructure around which the rest of the game is conducted. Every performing artist is in competition with all the other artists great and small.
Singers, musicians and bands seeking fame and fortune in showbiz must overcome the gravity in the elevator to the big top. There is a natural resistance from those in power to relinquish the rewards to the new contender. The baby band is competing for the same entertainment dollars as the established artist. Those earning the most, at any given time, fiercely resist the emerging artist's success by holding on to their spot in the ever changing music market place.
The competition is conducted by entrepreneurs and the creators of music through the traditional relationship between artists and personal mangers. Regardless of the nature of their financial arrangement this marriage of careers makes the manager the CEO of the artist's corporation.
The pursuit of their shared goals creates the commercial activity that generates box-office receipts and ancillary income streams through marketing of branded merchandise and recorded music.
Although every management team faces the same challenges in overcoming the circumstantial resistance to their success, each career has its own unique set of characteristics. Some are enabled by extraordinary talent, beauty and charisma. Often fledgling artists are supported by circumstances that have nothing to do with their inherent talent. They have access to the big top through one of the pathways on the stairway to heaven. Accessing these alternate routes is more about luck and natural selection than the artistic or entrepreneurial skills of the core team.
There are five paths on the stairway to heaven. The most powerful is "nepotism." If your father is an established star with proven talent and popularity, you as his offspring will be given an opportunity to demonstrate your craft. If you reveal prodigious creative and technical ability the public may embrace you as a star not having fallen far from the parental tree. Such public appreciation can lead to instant access to the star making machinery and insure your success.
A second route to the big top is "personal wealth." If you are a trust fund baby with deep pockets, you can invest your capital in the development and maintenance of your career. During the postmodern era the costs of mounting a live act were traditionally born by the record companies. With the advent of digital downloading the major labels can no longer justify huge investment in new artists. The loss of this financial source does not effect an artist who can fund his enterprise.
Corporate "sponsorship" can also provide an alternate route to the big top. As the digital convergence continues to erode the traditional systems for marketing and promotion, more and more business enterprises are seeking a direct connection to their customer base. By providing vehicles, cash and equipment to musical attractions many companies are actively engaged in the growth and development of new artists. This will increase as Internet advertising proliferates.
The fourth pathway is the slippery slope of "talent TV." There is no question that the talent contest television format has catapulted a handful of artists to the top of the charts. A few of them have even built what appears to be enduring careers. Conversely, it has brought the dreams and aspirations of many thousands of aspirants to a dead halt. Regardless of how far into the process one evolves, the careers produced are more about celebrity than talent. The notoriety accumulated in a few television exposures does not form the basis of an enduring career in music.
There is a long established tradition in showbiz that performers can sometimes "sleep" their way to the top. This is probably the riskiest and most painful method of building executive access to the people, systems and mechanics of the music industry. However, its efficacy cannot be denied. If you are an artist married to the president of the record company, it is reasonable to assume that you will get productive attention from the vice-presidents and staff, thus ensuring a concerted effort. There is a recent case that proves even in divorce such an artist can come out well ahead.
Regardless of how one gains a place in the elite fraternity that occupies the top ten percent of the music industry, surviving there is a daunting process. There are no guarantees in showbiz and in a game where duration is the primary goal, very few careers last a lifetime. The ones that endure are built one performance at a time by establishing a personal rapport with their fans through the concert arena. Artists starting their careers on the stairway to heaven must build the same management team, to stay on top, that would have been required to get there in the first place.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
The Reflectacles @ The Mint - TONIGHT - February 27, 2010
HolodigmMusic.com
THE REFLECTACLES - Tribal Stomp - Put on your dancing shoes and come on down.
The Reflectacles in concert. Get out of the rain and into The Mint at 10:30 PM:
THE REFLECTACLES - Tribal Stomp - Put on your dancing shoes and come on down.
The Reflectacles in concert. Get out of the rain and into The Mint at 10:30 PM:
The Reflectacles will be performing at THE MINT in Hollywood tonight. 6010 W. Pico Blvd. L.A. CA 90055. Hope to see you there. Hartmann
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