HOW ARTISTS CAN MAKE CA$H WITHOUT BEING SIGNED TO A LABEL

Mike Masnick stood up and made a speech in 2012 in cannes, france. The speech was all about "how artists can make cash without being signed to a label.

Mike's speech focused on a singer/songwriter Trent Reznor who made success without being signed to a record label.

At first when Mike was signed to a record label he did lots of clever relationship making with his fans by using CWF + RTB = $$$$. This stands for connect with fans = Reason to buy = The business model.

He started connecting with fans by highlighting letters on his tour T-shirt. If the letters were matched up this was spelt- I am trying to believe. Some clever fans put a .COM after this and sure enough this took them to a website which ended up being an alternate reality game. Fans loved this because they felt Reznor was trying to connect with them. Reznor also dropped memory sticks in the bathrooms of his concerts. The memory stick contained songs which he had made but they had not been heard by anyone. Again this pleased the fans because they felt like they knew some songs which others did not(feeling connected to him)

Once Reznor was dropped from his label he didn't give up, instead he got better. For his next album he allowed the members of the public to download the first 9 songs for free. He charged $5 for 36 songs which is very good considering that ITunes charges 99p for one song.

He then released different editions of the album. For example he charged $10 for a two disc cd set plus a 16 page booklet. There was then a delux editon box set which included a DVD, Blu-ray and a booklet, all for $75. Lastly for $300 you could buy an ultimate edition package which was signed personly by Reznor. There were only 2500 of them yet they sold out in 30 hours making Reznor $750,000 and $1.6 milllion in one week. ALL of this was WITHOUT a record label.

For his next album, The Slip, audience members can download the whole HQ album for free.

His album was the most downloaded album on amazon which proves artists can make cash without being signed to a label.

I feel I can include this when making my own artist. I love the idea of creating websites through hidden messages (IE T-Shirts). It gives the fans something do and it makes them feel like your going that extra mile to satisfy them. Its what makes an artist unique. 

A biog of Jamal Edwards

Jamal Edwards is the founder of SBTV. SBTV is the number one UK youth youth broadcaster. Jamal founders music promos, video interviews and impromptu live performances which is apart of the rap scene.

 Jamal says he's "a rebel when it comes to filming" because he uses guerrilla style of filmmaking which means you film on location without permits sometimes using members of the public to act in the film.

In 2007 SBTV was started by Jamal when he was only 16 years old. The idea came to him after he uploaded a video he had made which was of a fox in his garden. The video got 1,000 views which lead him on to do more videos then finally creating SBTV.

Grime music was nether played on mainstream television therefore artists could only get their music out by putting it on youtube or making DVD'S. Jamal spotted this and decided to create an online channel which would feature grime music.

Jamal would film rappers on the streets and in cars. The rappers would look straight into the camera without any of the Hollywood makeover. The videos were "raw and thrilling". Jamal has worked with people like Ellie Goulding, Nicki Minaj and Bruno Mars.

The channel has had over 50,000 subscribers and over 39 million views. Jamal has just signed a deal with sony RCA to get his own stamp on the label.

He would love to go to New York and work his "way from the ground to the top, doing what I did here over there". He knows the compete will be tough but he says he's not scared to anything.

JAMAL EDWARDS

BACKGROUND TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND SOME BASIC THEORY......
POP MUSIC GENRE

Genres are constantly being created and mixed together but most music would fit into one of genres:

• Dance: David Guetta
• R&B: Drake
• Pop: One Direction 
• Hip-Hop/Rap:Run The Jewels 
• Rock: David Bowie
• Punk: The Clash
• Country & Western: Taylor Swift
• Folk: Jonie Mitchell
• Jazz: miles Davis
• Blues: B.B King
• Latin: Shakira
• Gospel: Mary Mary 
• Reggae: Bob Marley
• New Age: Yanni

All the genres have sub genres which can be linked to other factors like hair, clothes and make-up(style).Each genre is supported by other organisations such as festivals such as 'Wilderness' which supports the genre 'Indie'.

Artists are judged into genres just based on their clothes and style even before they start to sing. The look of an artist is just as important as the sound because different styles mean different things. For example an 'Indie' artist would probably wear quite plain but quirky clothes, maybe a nice shirt or a flowing dress and the main singer would probably have flowers in their hair or be holding a mandolin!

Here is an example of an 'Indie' look. She is surrounded by flowers which represents her as free and wild(love and peace). There is some exotic bird in the top right hand corner which is sweet and different from normal album covers and this is what indie is about - being different. 

Even though artists don't like being categorised to a genre that is what it is like.Spotify for example See's what kind of genres you are listening too then recommends other music in that genre. Stores such as HMV split their music up into genres so that customers can easily find what they are looking for.

We can try to get away from genres but it is helpful and without them festivals and stores would all be in a muddle.

   

The One Direction Album Cover is fun and colourful because One Direction are a cheeky fun band.The telephone box tells us we are in England because the telephone box is a well-known symbol of London(the band are English-so the telephone box may be there to say we are proud of being English). The fact that they are climbing all over the telephone box shows that they are a bit rebellious and up for fun-This is the message they are trying to give off to their fans(especially girl fans because girls like boys who are slightly naughty and fun).

The colours in the picture are vibrant, bright and energetic which also tells us this band are full of energy and just want to have fun(put people in a good mood).

The font they used is a fat bold font which is fun and gives the album a youthful edge to it. The font is white because white is the colour of youth-the white also works well with the blue background. The name of the album 'TAKE ME HOME' suggests sexual innuendos which will get girl fans all excited when buying this album(again this a cheeky name for the album which again tells us they like to break the rules and have fun).
They have the 1D sign in the top left hand corner so people reconisge its One Direction.