I’m sure many of you have seen this already, but it’s just too good not to share. Below is a beautiful info-graphi.c that breaks down the amount of music in various digital formats that a single artist would have to sell in order to meet the US minimum wage in a given month.

As you can see as you scroll down through graphic the returns become increasingly low. In order to earn minimum wage through spins on Spotify alone, your track would have to be played 4,549,020 times in a single month. A  little intimidating.

Pink dots can’t tell the whole story

Now, it’s important to note that the data being visualized here is somewhat flawed. This is for a couple of reasons. If you look at the fine print at the bottom of the graphic you’ll notice the following:

Rates do not include publishing and performance rights for songwriters.

These royalties can actually make a huge difference, especially when it comes to internet radio.

For example, I got myself into a bit of trouble a few months back by mis-interpreting one of Lady Gaga’s Spotify statements. After just over one million plays on the streaming music service, Lady Gaga earned an abysmal $167.

These numbers were shocking at the time. Lady Gaga’s earnings were one of the first real case studies of the kind of revenue artists should expect from services like Spotify, and the results were less than promising.

However, after more details emerged it became clear that the $167 payment was only a piece of the puzzle. The $167 was only Gaga’s half of the publishing royalty, and didn’t include the performer’s fees paid by Spotify.  The real total was probably more like $1837. Still not great, but streaming is only one small part of an artist’s digital strategy.

Would those additional numbers make much difference in the size of those massive pink dots at the bottom of the graphic? Probably not. But every little bit helps, so it’s worth being as accurate as possible.

How to react

Some artists and labels have looked at these numbers and react by threatening to boycott streaming services due to the extremely low returns. That type of knee jerk response ignores the realities of the digital music market.

The challenge for artists today is not simply how to earn enough money to pay the bills. Any new artist has the formidable task of rising above the noise of an intensely crowded market. Services like Last.fm and Spotify may not pay well, but can be a great way to expose new listeners to your music.

Using Lady Gaga once more as an example: Lady Gaga had her track streamed over one million times in 5 months. During that same period she also sold over 20 million paid downloads. Do you think maybe all that streaming had something to do with it?

Diversification

If this graphic teaches us anything it is that the key to a successful digital music strategy is diversification. There is simply not enough money to be made by focusing in on one format.

Take the smallest dots in the graphic and do what you can to drive revenue from those formats. Read Monday’s post on a recent report that shows listeners still want to purchase physical formats, such as vinyl. This graphic preaches the same message.

Remember, though, that streaming radio and other services that drive little to no revenue may still drive the sale of some of the higher margin items, such as paid downloads, CDs, and vinyl releases.

Making a living as an artist is not an easy thing to do, as these numbers make painfully clear. But it can still be done. And remember – these pink dots are not the only revenue streams available to an artist. Live performances, special edition products, merchandise, licensing, etc. are big slices of the revenue pie. They may be missing from the chart above, but they should certainly be present in your strategy.

100 Resources for DIY Musicians

Greg Rollett of Gen-Y Rock Stars and Label 2.0 sent me an email this morning letting me know that he had just published a new report called 100 Resources for DIY Musicians, and that he had been kind enough to include Creative Deconstruction as one of those resources.

The report is a follow-up to last year’s much downloaded ’100 Social Media Resources for Musicians.’ Greg has expanded the focus a bit to include the full range of platforms, services and information sources that an independent band can utilize to build their careers.

I spent some time with the report this afternoon and from what I’ve gotten through so far it looks to be a pretty complete list. The resources Greg has included range from the obvious (hopefully, anyway) – MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, CDBaby etc. – to the more advanced such as tools for email marketing, online collaboration, building online communities and mobile apps. I found services that I hadn’t come across before, like WishList which allows you to turn your WordPress site into a membership community.

New artists or bands that have yet to fully explore the range of online options that are available to them will benefit from spending some time with ’100 Resources.’ It can take a lot of time to research the tools your band should be using – time better spent actually writing, performing and promoting your music. Greg has done the hard work of sifting through the multitude of different sites and services and narrowed it down to a few solid options in about 16 categories.

My Picks

I’ve selected a few notable resources from the report that I strongly suggest you check out:

1. Indaba Music – Very cool site that allows musicians to collaborate and make music, remix it and showcase the finished product. This has the potential to open up great possibilities for producing music with other artists at a distance.

2. TubeMogul – It’s sort of like a beefed up ArtistData or Ping.fm, but for videos. When you upload your videos TubeMogul will aggregate them to all the important places, like YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, etc.

3. Mobile Roadie – Allows bands to create custom iPhone with social and mulit-media content.

4. Live Music Machine - This service gives bands a widget that can be placed just about anywhere online that allows fans and venues to book them with a single click. Also includes a full tour schedule, availability calender and a map of the different stops on the band’s tour. I’ve been working with Live Music Machine for a few months now and I can tell you that this tool has the potential to change the way bands are booked.

5. Plugo.la – Run by a fellow Chicagoan named Erik Peterson, Plugo.la is a music community and marketplace with a cool twist. It allows fans to ‘plug’ their favorite tracks and earn affiliate fees when those tracks are sold.

You can download the full report here. You have to sign up, but it’s free. If you do, you can find the blurb on Creative Deconstruction on page 15.

What do you think of the report? Is it helpful to you, or do you feel like you knew all this stuff already? Let me know in the comments.

Many bloggers and artists seem to be ending 2009 on a note of cynicism. While the year began with a sense of excitement about new possibilities available to artists, the independent music community has begun sounding unusually negative lately, even jaded. It’s like everyone is racing to be the first to declare the DIY revolution last year’s news.

2009 may not have lived up to everyone’s expectations, but there remain so many reasons to stay positive as we enter the new year. 2009 was transitional, as every part of the music industry struggled to find new footing. I truly believe that 2010 is going to be the year to plant our feet and make things happen.

Progressive or Regressive?

A lot of the negativity in recent weeks can be attributed to a couple of primary sources. We bloggers have a tendency to confuse cynicism with remaining on the cutting-edge of popular thought. Being the first to become jaded with a widely accepted idea and move on can often feel a lot like progressiveness. The headlines are catchy, traffic jumps and pages of heated discussion in the comments section ensue. That’s successful blogging, right?

Unfortunately, it’s really not progressive at all. In fact, prematurely dismissing ideas that still hold true potential has much more in common with re-gression. Independent musicians have been presented with what is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime window of opportunity to succeed apart from the crushing practices of the traditional record industry. And we want to throw a wet rag on this fire? Yet, no alternative solutions are being offered. What option remains, then, except to go back to the way things have always been done? That’s regression.

Delivering on the promise

Artists appear to be growing frustrated with a lack of success relative to what they feel they’ve been promised by the Music 2.0 gurus.

Where are my 1,000 True Fans? I’m killing myself on countless social networks – why am I still not making any money?

I get the frustration, and I sympathize with you. The business of extracting revenue from music is not easy, and it takes a whole lot of work. DIY promotion is not a silver bullet. Hopefully neither I nor anyone else have led you to believe that it is. Signing a lucrative record deal would possibly be a lot easier (assuming you aren’t neglected or dropped unexpectedly of course.) But independence can be much more rewarding, and even more profitable than signing your rights to the majors.

Hang in there. Success doesn’t happen over night. Independent artists are small business start-ups. Any entrepreneur will tell you that most new businesses go 5 years before leaving the red. That scenario isn’t for everyone, but fewer and fewer alternatives are left. It’s important that you know what you’ve signed up for.

2010 is the year to make it happen

The DIY movement is one of those unique opportunities that only appear every generation or so. Music is leading the charge into modern, technology powered, socially connected business. This transition will only accelerate as other related industries begin to follow down the path of creative deconstruction. It’s the perfect time to establish a new career and make something happen. There is still room on the ground floor, but space is becoming limited.

2010 is going to be the year of execution for many – whether artists, new services or start ups. My advice? Do whatever you have to do to make sure that you are one of them.

Photo by Barry

Hope and Social

Rich Huxley is a member of the gloriously independent Hope and Social, a founder of Alamo Music – the UK’s first fan-owned record label, and a record producer.

The case for independence:

One of the questions I like to ask when I meet people through music is: “How many artists do you know personally who have a record deal that they’re happy with?” The answer is almost exclusively “None“, very occasionally “one or two”. Most go onto agree that the happiest artists we know are those who directly connect with their musical world; with their fans, venues, promoters. I also like to ask emerging artists: “Outside of the creation of music, who has done the most to further your musical career?” Honestly, most people say a manager, a friendly promoter, a good friend who helps with web stuff, videos, photography. Though often ignored, the answer should most often include “Me!”. This is not to ignore the impact of the great people who help you; however You are your (or your band’s) greatest asset. The people who help you, absolutely, they’re vital and need more thanks than we can probably ever give back, but they want to help You. That’s what Independence is about.

For Hope and Social, we realised that pretty much all the good that had come to us had not originated from pluggers, press companies and PRs. In fact, with the notable exceptions of the sadly no-longer active Fistral, they hoovered our bank accounts dry and when there was no money left for them, the phone calls stopped, their enthusiasm it seems was only on a paid for basis and despite their failure to follow through on promises, the cord was cut. We realised that the good things had been things we’d generated ourselves and the things that were generated by our close friends and fans. So, in 2005, at the start of “DIY”, the members of “Hope and Social” quietly asked the 20 or so people who through the years had pledged “if I ever win the lottery, we’ll look after you guys”. Between us we proudly founded Alamo Music the UK’s first fan-funded, fan owned record label. Why “Alamo”?
“I shall have to fight the enemy on his own terms.” William Barret Travis, Texan commander – The Battle of the Alamo

What’s working for us?

Connecting directly with fans
Through our Website, Facebook, WordPress Blogs, and Twitter (@thehuxcapacitor, @socialsimon, @edhombre), through YouTube, Flickr. As an independent artist, the most cost effective means to connect with fans are the free ones. Through following, and meaningfully connecting with the likes of Steve Lawson, Andrew Dubber, Ben Denison and your own Refe Tuma, we’re discovering new means of connecting with fans, new ideas about how to release, tools to save us time, and have been introduced to new ways of making our work pay.

A band, a fan, and a kazoo.

Videos
For a 50th of their estimated worth we continue to make videos with the fantastic Mark Wordsworth; videos which garnered MTV and VH1/2 rotation. We paid for film and not a lot more, involved people who love us and our music and got people to work and perform for free. Nobody got paid, they just got fed and watered people and to be part of a something exciting, to make art with us. Looking For Answers features friends and fans (if there’s one thing fans like to see on your site, on TV, in the press even more than they want to see their favourite artist, it’s themselves) and they pass it on, they are the new PR, the buzz and the way to new people. Likewise for the Four Day Hombre videos, particularly the 1 shot “1,000 Bulbs” video and The First Word is the Hardest, shot for next to nothing, on 35MM film. Mark went on to make videos for Embrace, was nominated in Cannes for his James Morrison video and has recently moved to New Zealand to seek further film work. What’s more, our band supported Embrace on a national UK tour through this connection, playing shows to thousands of new fans.

Blogging
Both personally, and for the band. The reality of making your way in music is, for many people, more interesting than the rock star dream. My advice, write about it, be interesting, create content as often and as best you can. Eventually (I’m told) it becomes natural and effortless.

Pay What You Want
There’s plenty of talk of the Free Model and the Pay What you Want (PWYW) models, and quite a kick back against it too. I can’t recommend it enough. We’ve averaged £7 per unit here in the UK, £3 more than Radiohead and £6 more than with major label record deals. The key is, connect with people, then give them something to, and a reason to buy. We’ve had people swap a CD for £50, some people take 3 for £5, you can download from our bandcamp for nothing, all we ask (and even this isn’t compulsory) is that you value music.

Special Events
We try to make all shows special, we give out kazoos to the audience for one of our songs brass lines (1,500 kazoos at Glastonbury this year!), we do House Concerts (or as we call them in the north of England, “Living Room Gigs“), we relish audience participation, we ask people to shows in our studio, we wear blue jackets (we know we’re not cool, so at least we’re recognisable) and we’re nice to talk with afterwards, in fact, better than that, we’re great fun. It’s almost like fun is the thing we offer.

How do we survive? Making Music Pay.

Hope and Social at a recent gig.

The band is one of the many things we do to earn. It is by no means the thing that pays our mortgage, however, it enables us to do things that pay us, which in turn enables us make the music we want to make. Ed’s photography has led to a career in photography, his production work with our band brings in more production work with other bands. Simon’s artistic output includes paintings/drawings, great experimental theatre, web design and all the artwork for Hope and Social. Our websites and band artwork act as a portfolio for his design work, and each fanbase feeds the others. Me, I record, mix and produce bands, talk about how to make your musical career work for you, deliver rock schools for young people (and residential “Real Band” experiences for the corporate market), guest blog, present at events, colleges, universities, mentor and coach bands. We are all founders and owners of our independent record label. Hope and Social acts as a hub for all the good, grand and great things we do which pay our rent or mortgage.

Roundup

It’s important to think of independence as a choice rather than a last resort. As a band, we kicked back against of a couple of years of searching for the deal of all record deals (full control of what we record, where and with whom, decent percentage split, a commitment to promote our work, control over what’s spent on the band [and therefore recoupable""], control over publishing [we didn’t want to be featured on a McDonald’s ad, that’s for sure]). Long story short, this deal did not present itself, or perhaps doesn’t exist. While we had plenty of interest from labels and some very good people at labels, our efforts however would have been (and now are being) better spent not seeking outside help, but by seeking new fans and better and more exciting ways of connecting with fans.

By choosing this route, you’re not discounting that there may come a time when licensing your music, or working with labels, promoters, agents, PR’s makes sense; rather you’re strengthening your bargaining position should you choose to outsource. The busier you get as an artist, the longer it takes to manage all of your networks, to book your shows, to account. As of now, Hope and Social remain independent, and today are enjoying our careers more than at any time when we were chasing a record deal, licensing, radio or TV. The music industry is not only the “old record industry”, PR’s, the NME, BBC Radio 1. The music industry is the sum of all musical output of humankind that is for public consumption, it’s the bloggers, the people running conventions, the startup bands, the proactive tweeters. If you’re making music, writing about music, sharing your love of music, you are part of the music industry; you keep the wheels turning.

What will work for you?

The above may not work for you or your band, it’s about finding the personality in what you do, and exuding it from every tweet, blog, photo, conversation. Be interesting, evangelise, create great music, create great art, use beautiful images, create amazing artwork, give people choice about how to consume your music and how to connect with you, use the sites and networks that your potential fans are already using, work in and around music, sharing your knowledge, record and work with other bands, collaborate, share other’s interesting content. Work harder, and smarter than everyone else. Oh, and you should connect with me.

Rich Huxley

Rich Huxley is an independent musician, member of Hope and Social (nee Four Day Hombre), a blogger, a music industry consultant, a mentor and coach, a prolific proponent of social media, a recording engineer, an enthusiast for the “honesty box”/pay what you want model, a guitarist for hire, a mix engineer, a founder of Alamo Music – the UK’s first fan-owned record label, a producer and a generally over-excitable English chap.