Everyone wants to make it big in music, but utilizing these popular growth hacks could derail your career entirely.
Talking about a time in music where the only thing you needed to succeed was talent is like talking about the world before automobiles. Any musician breaking through in 2021 is doing so because they have much more than talent. Today’s stars are musicians, brand ambassadors, marketing directors, and social media wizards. They are plugged in and engaging with followers 24/7 while diversifying their revenue streams for long-term sustained growth. Being proficient as a musician is a plus, of course, but one can argue it’s not the most crucial element to success. At least not right now.
But here’s the thing. Many outstanding musicians have a genuine fear of never being hurt because they are not strong marketers. They worry that they’re a follower count or the number of likes they get on each Instagram post will somehow dictate the fate of their career. Despite having everything we tell each other you need to be a star, Carroll is musicians find themselves feeling desperate and helpless because they don’t know how to make the internet like them. It may read like a silly thing, but it’s not. The internet is the heart of culture. Artists either learn how to go with the flow, or they sink into anonymity.
When you Google advice for growing your digital presents, millions of articles regurgitate the same dozen or so ideas on making friends with strangers. In truth, the best advice is usually the simplest. People who make good content and treat others with kindness often rise to the top. How long that takes to accomplish depends on about a million factors, including how lucky you are with the uncaring algorithms, but it works if you work it.
A lot of the other ideas you find are more deceptive. Growth hacking is a work-intensive, systematic approach to undermining algorithms that rarely produces actionable results. These so-called tricks will have artists direct messaging strangers and engaging with old posts in a desperate attempt to attract followers. It’s the social media equivalent to “spray and pray,” only the results are somehow worse.
In this Music Biz update, host James Shotwell addresses five popular growth hacks for building online followings and the ways they can harm your career. He explains the difference between giving the appearance of an audience and having engaged followers and the many ways the industry will review an artist’s digital stats before working with them. Check it out:
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
From Beartooth to Light The Torch and Sullivan King, there are several can’t miss new music releases this week.
The world is changing. After a year of forced isolation, artists and fans are finally starting to reconnect. Dozens of great albums are hitting shelves every week, and we know that nobody has time for everything. We want to help you find the can’t miss albums and keep you up-to-date on the records everyone will be talking about next week. We realize that documenting every new release would be virtually impossible, but here you will find several new albums from Haulix clients that we feel deserve your time and support. This is the new music you need to hear:
Beartooth – Below (Redbull Records)
Not all rock music is about escapism. The men of Beartooth prefer to process emotions and wrestle with hardships rather than pretend such struggles do not exist. Their catalog is a compendium of tales about everything from addiction to mental health explored through an honest, grounded perspective. The band believes that everyone can overcome the problems they face, but they admit that doing so requires work. Below is a soundtrack for doing the work. Each song plays like a clenched fist connecting with the face of your enemy. You will conquer life when listening to this album. Picture your goals, throw Below on the stereo, and get to work.
Buckcherry – Hellbound (Round Hill Music)
Some people still believe Buckcherry’s contributions to rock history are little more than “Crazy Bitch” and “Lips Of An Angel.” These people are wrong. Hellbound, the group’s ninth studio album in their twenty-plus-year career, is a rip-roaring throwback to the days when jangly blues-rock dominated the underground. It’s a loose and fun rock record that paints vivid pictures of late nights spent packed into dive bars where everything was inexplicably wet and the people are living for the moment. This record will make you want to drive fast with the windows down under a star-filled sky with your hand dancing in the wind. Buckcherry is trying to give you a temporary escape. Take it.
Free Throw – Piecing It Together (Triple Crown Records)
Piecing It Together is a perfect analogy for Free Throw’s approach to life. Now comfortably into adulthood, the Nashville-based band is making angsty emo rock for adults who spent their teen years shouting, “it’s not a phase.” Their music tackles the struggles of adulthood with the same intensity and razor-sharp wit that younger groups might use to cover young love. The result is a collection of songs grappling with the things we cannot control and urging us to do something about the things we can. It’s about doing the best you can with what you have and where you’re at for no other reason than loving yourself enough to try. We don’t know what you’re going through, but it’s worth remembering that sometimes, staying alive is enough.
Light The Torch – You Will Be The Death Of Me (Nuclear Blast)
Howard Jones is on the Mount Rushmore of modern metal titans. You can probably argue he also belongs on any tribute to metal in general. The frontman and songwriter, whose career spans decades, continues to impress with the latest record from Light The Torch. Alongside his bandmates, Jones showcases a craftsman-like skill for metal artistry. Every element of You Will Be The Death Of Me is refined to the point of near perfection, yet the album still feels emotionally raw. That would be considered impressive for most artists, but for Light The Torch, it’s just another day at the office.
Sullivan King – Loud (Hopeless Records)
Sullivan King is the future of hard rock. He’s not the first person to blend rock with EDM, but he is one of the few to do so successfully. Loud is a riot-inspiring, party-starting concoction of ideas and noise that will cause your heart rate to spike. King does everything in his power to make you feel something. There are anthems of protest and songs of hope shared with an invigorating energy that nobody will be able to resist. I don’t know that there has ever been another album quite like Loud, which makes it difficult to describe, but I understand that it’s an experience you cannot miss.
New Music Friday recommendations feature a collection of new releases from Haulix clients chosen by the company staff. Join Haulix today and gain immediate access to the industry’s leading digital promotional distribution platform: http://haulix.com/signup.
Hot on the heels of their new album, Indisputably Carnivorous, The Day Of The Beast stops by Inside Music to talk all things heavy metal.
Every band needs something that sets them apart. For some, that thing is a lively frontman that commands stages of any size. Others find their niche in the precision of their instrumentation. But, for The Day Of The Beast, the one thing they do better than anyone else is telling stories.
Indisputably Carnivorous, the band’s brutal new record with a great name, is a compendium of all things dark. The relentlessly aggressive release channels the darkest corners of the human psyche into a macabre collection of horrific visions meant to elicit a strong response from listeners. It’s the kind of album that nightmares are made of, and we mean that in the most complimentary way possible. IndisputablyCarnivorous is a brazenly imaginative and nihilistic metal record you have been unknowingly waiting for your entire life. Set aside some time to take this one in because once you start, you won’t be able to stop.
But is it enough? Competition for attention is at an all-time high, and being good is never good enough. The bands that emerge from the underground to take the world by storm have something else to offer. There is a dedication to craftsmanship that listeners can detect in every note and lyric an artist provides. That intangible “it” factor is the key to meaningful success, and lucky for The Day Of The Beast, that devotion is apparent in everything they create.
In this episode of Inside Music, host James Shotwell speaks with The Day Of The Beast guitarist Steve Redmond about the tremendous power of Indisputably Carnivorous. Steven recounts the album’s creation and the stories behind some of the group’s most infamous song titles. He also shares the story of how The Day Of The Beast joined Prosthetic Records and his advice for others hoping to do the same. Check it out:
Inside Music is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
With the launch of Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces, social media giant Twitter is doing its part to help creators make more money online.
Twitter recently launched two new offerings that artists can earn from, though both are currently available to only a select amount of users. The first, Super Follows, enables creators to generate monthly revenue for themselves (and Twitter) by allowing users to subscribe to a feed for $2.99, $4.99, or $9.99 per month. Only users who are over the age of 18 and have at least 10,000 followers can enable the new super follows feature.
According to reports, Twitter will only take 3% of creators’ revenue after in-app purchase fees. But that’s on top of the 30% already charged by Apple and Google. Twitter also ups their cut as you begin making serious money. For example, after users exceed $50,000 lifetime earnings on Twitter, the app will take 20% of all future earnings after fees. That’s a jump from 33% to 50% of revenue taken before it enters the creator’s pocket. Compare that to something like Patreon, which only takes 5% to 12% of a creator’s earnings, with no concern about in-app purchases.
The other feature, Ticketed Spaces, hopes to leverage the recent popularity of audio-based social media for profit. Anyone eligible to create a Ticketed Space can set their ticket price between $1 and $999. Creators also control how many tickets can be sold, which might justify that near $1k price tag for a one-on-one meeting. Ticketed Spaces attendees are notified of the event through in-app notifications.
Anyone on Twitter over the age of 18 with at least 1,000 followers and three hosted Spaces can apply to use Ticketed Spaces. Access to Ticketed Spaces is limited for now, so everyone will need to apply. Twitter faces competition from Facebook, which has implemented something similar in its recently launched Facebook Live Audio Rooms.
Clubhouse, the platform that helped bring drop-in audio chats to the masses, allows users to tip anyone hosting an event. While that feature is useful, it redirects users to third-party services to complete the process. Those extra steps can be costly in more ways than one. Twitter Spaces, while tied to a fairly steep revenue share, streamlines the process.
One positive side effect of the ongoing pandemic is there more companies than ever are helping creative people make money online. From streaming platforms to social media, it seems everyone wants to be in business with people able to create digital spaces that draw users. These companies are also making a percentage of all the money everyone else makes, of course, but that’s the nature of business.
Ahead of Serpent & Spirit hitting stores worldwide, Joe Nally of Urne stops by Inside Music to discuss his creative process.
When the world shut down, Urne got to work. One of the most exciting bands to emerge from England in recent years, the group was nearly finished with their long-awaited new album when the pandemic changed everything. Facing a lack of touring and an inability to connect in a studio, the band began piecing together the final elements of their record via Skype. It was a new and challenging experience for the trio, but it ultimately proved beneficial. The change of pace allowed for greater consideration and fine-tuning, ensuring that what comes next is precisely what Urne envisioned from the start.
Serpent & Spirit (out June 25) is a compendium of struggles and grounded optimism. It’s a sprawling and aggressive collection of music that channels the frustrations of life into something altogether striking, which co-founder Joe Nally discusses at length during the latest episode of Inside Music.
“I had a bit of a bad patch for a few months,” explains Nally, revealing the inspiration for the album’s lyrics. “I’m absolutely fine now, but I drew on those two months where I just wasn’t feeling great. I took that and wrote a story based about that. The actual track listing is done like that film Memento, where it’s all in a different order. Maybe one day someone will listen to the lyrics and work out which order the story goes in.”
He continues, “The album is called Serpent & Spirit. The spirit is the human experience and the serpent is the evil that tricks your mind. It’s about getting pulled apart and trying to find yourself within all of that. So it’s almost good and evil, and throughout the album it’s about a person getting pulled from the light to the dark.”
Nally’s conversation with Inside Music host James Shotwell covers the album creation process and the life of the band. He shares how a diverse set of influences inspire the group’s unique approach to rock and speaks to the power of big ideas in songs. He also recommends a few up-and-coming acts you won’t want to miss. Check it out:
Inside Music is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
From the return of Fear Factory to the impressive debut of De’Wayne, there are several can’t miss new music releases this week.
The world is changing. After a year of forced isolation, artists and fans are finally starting to reconnect. Dozens of great albums are hitting shelves every week, and we know that nobody has time for everything. We want to help you find the can’t miss albums and keep you up-to-date on the records everyone will be talking about next week. We realize that documenting every new release would be virtually impossible, but here you will find several new albums from Haulix clients that we feel deserve your time and support. This is the new music you need to hear:
UnityTX – HELLWAY (Pure Noise)
UnityTX is the future. The Texas hardcore group has steadily built a rabbit following over the last several years, and with the return of live music eminent, they’re releasing their best material to date. HELLWAY is a ferocious four-song collection that will have you starting mosh pits at home, in your car, and everywhere in between. It’s the perfect combination of chug-friendly breakdowns and cathartic angst delivered in such a way that it moves you on a profoundly spiritual level while also being the perfect soundtrack for gym life and street fights. Please turn it on, turn it up, and release all that rage simmering beneath your skin (in a healthy way).
Describing LeBrock to anyone unfamiliar with their music is a lot like explaining a painting someone hasn’t seen. You can speak to the technical aspects of the work and the artist’s execution of them, but you can never fully express how it makes you feel. Virtually anyone can create a piece of art, but not everyone can make the people who witness it feel something. That ability is where true talent lies, and Lebrock does just with Fuse. It’s a dance-rock record that neither tries to be a rock album or a dance album. It’s full of big Hart and big hooks and catchy instrumentation that keep you fully engaged throughout its eleven tracks. Each song stands on its own as an original vision, yet every track flows seamlessly into one another. If you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to listen to this album on repeat for extended periods. We recommend it.
The Day of The Beast – Indisputably Carnivorous (Prosthetic Records)
A compendium of 10 terrifying tales contained within a single full-length album, Indisputably Carnivorous is the long-awaited new record from The Day of the Beast. The relentlessly aggressive release channels the darkest corners of the human psyche into a macabre collection of horrific visions meant to elicit a strong response from listeners. It’s the kind of album that nightmares are made of, and we mean that in the most complimentary way possible. Indisputably Carnivorous is a brazenly imaginative and nihilistic metal record you have been unknowingly waiting for your entire life. Set aside some time to take this one in because once you start, you won’t be able to stop.
Fear Factory – Aggression Continuum (Nuclear Blast)
The last few years have been difficult for fear factory fans. Between infighting amongst the group and very public lawsuits, nobody could blame longtime supporters for worrying about whether or not the group will continue to deliver their signature sound on future releases. Aggression Continuum, which has been in the state of release limbo for several years, shows one of metal’s most influential bands can still riff and rock like no other. It’s a fitting continuation of the sound listeners have grown to love, but it also takes progressive steps forward that delve deeper into the best elements of the band’s music. It’s the crushing dystopian fantasy that you want, as if all the chaos surrounding the group is somehow conveyed as exquisitely detailed songs. The future of the band remains unclear in many ways, but this record undeniably rules.
De’Wayne – Stains (Hopeless)
Nobody is one thing in music anymore. There are no more bands that strictly make rock music, for example. The idea that you need to be easily packaged and sold is outdated thinking. Today’s listeners love variety, and they seek artists with unique perspectives who blend multiple sonic influences. De’Wayne may be only one example of this type of talent, but they’re also among the best young artists the industry offers. Stains is an eclectic and compelling release that introduces the world to a voice it needs to hear. De’Wayne tells us their story as only they can by crafting a tactile world with music alone.
New Music Friday recommendations feature a collection of new releases from Haulix clients chosen by the company staff. Join Haulix today and gain immediate access to the industry’s leading digital promotional distribution platform: http://haulix.com/signup.
Live music is back! Here are a few things music journalists and photographers should keep in mind before heading out to a show.
Can you believe it? After more than a year away, Live music is back. Concerts are already happening across America and worldwide, with hundreds more being announced every week. Live Nation, one of the most prominent concert promoters on the planet, says they will have twice as many artists touring next year as they did in 2019. That would have worried the industry a few years ago, but today, demand and excitement are at an all-time high. Fans are ready. Artists are prepared. Everyone is itching to get back in the pit and sing along to their favorite songs while surrounded by people who feel the same way they do about music. It’s a beautiful thing.
Music journalists and photographers, many of whom have spent the past year trying everything in their power to make click were the headlines from reviews and live stream announcements, are pretty excited as well. As much as writing about tour announcements and reviewing albums can be a satisfying experience, nothing compares to the thrill of covering a live show. A well-written review or beautifully captured photograph can do more to help members of the media and musicians alike than a dozen album reviews. With competition for consumer attention rising, the music journalism community is in a unique position of influence. The tours and events they cover can make or break someone’s spending decision, and that responsibility is not to be taken lightly.
But there’s a catch.
Since the first post-pandemic shows were announced, messages have circulated on social media calling for an end to guest lists. For those unfamiliar, these lists are used by venues and artists to set aside tickets for select individuals to attend a performance without buying a ticket. Spots are typically reserved for family and friends of the artist or promoter and members of the industry at large.
Here’s an example of the messaging in question:
It seems clear that the message of this tweet is for people who do not have a legitimate reason to request guest list inclusion. Artists and promoters are trying to tell friends that they would prefer they buy a ticket. Honestly, it makes sense. Before the pandemic, an artist had no reason to believe that touring, the primary way most musicians make money, would come to a halt. Artists in 2021 know that live music can disappear anytime. There is no guarantee of another tour. Artists need people to buy tickets so that they can feed themselves and pay their bills. The same goes for promoters. People have spent the last year worrying about where the money would come from, and now they have an answer. Live music is back, which means making money is possible.
Regardless, certain members of the music journalism community have taken these comments personally. But as the old saying goes, “if you think it’s about you, then it probably is.”
We spoke to several publicists and promoters who confirm they have no plans to deny guestlist access to writers and photographers when live music returns. One professional, who is allowing us to use their quotes anonymously, went as far as to say that “concert coverage may be more important than ever this fall. Artists, especially smaller ones, are going to need all the attention their shows can get to move tickets.”
That said, we put together a few rules with the help of the industry at large that music journalists from all walks of life should adhere to as concerts return:
Always say please and thank you. That may seem obvious, but unless you are a significant publication with massive influence, granting you access to an artist and their performance is a gift.
Do not publicly attack artists, labels, promoters, or publicists if you do not receive access. Many factors go into media accreditation consideration. Keep working hard and, in time, you will get the access you seek.
Always deliver on your coverage promises. If you said you would write a review, then you better write something. If you said you wanted to take photographs, then you better publish a gallery. The publicists we spoke to say they will be more closely following the content created in return for guest list inclusion moving forward.
Don’t request access to anything you wouldn’t cover otherwise. If you write for a metal site, for example, then you shouldn’t be requesting access to the Jonas Brothers concert under the guise of being a music journalist.
In the event you are granted a plus one, use it to expand your coverage. Guestlist spots are limited, and they are not intended to help your friend or significant other access a show. It would be best to use additional guest list spots solely to ensure the best possible coverage—for example, a writer AND a photographer.
If you enjoy the artists performing, consider buying merchandise. Not only will this help the artist continue to pursue their career, but it’s also a show of support for both the artist and their team. It says that you are serious when you say you want the artist to succeed. Artists and publicists know that not every site has any significant level of influence, but when you vocally support musicians and buy their merchandise, it tells the industry that you are actively working to ensure musicians can continue creating the art they aspire to share with the world.
Don’t be a dick to security or venue staff for no reason. Treat everyone the way you wish to be treated.
Don’t post a photo of your press badge or photo pass on social media. It may seem harmless, but someone may steal that image in an attempt to infiltrate another gig or event in the future. At the very least, wait until the tour or event has ended before sharing your pass.
Respect any boundaries set by the artist or their team. If someone says they don’t want to discuss something or be photographed at a particular time, listen to them. No one wants gotcha journalism.
Send links to your coverage to the person who granted you access. Everyone in music is busy, but you can make someone’s job easier by sharing your contact with them rather than making them seek it out. That behavior will also help you develop stronger relationships with publicists, labels, etc.
Don’t fake it. Humans have a unique ability to detect when someone is lying or not presenting the entire truth. Don’t create content you don’t believe in or would not want to consume. Make what is authentic and meaningful to you, and everything else will fall in place.
There are probably 100 other things we could add, but this is enough for now. We’ll see you at the show!
Purchasing fake followers may sound like an easy path to rapid growth, but the potential fallout isn’t worth the risk.
Don’t buy fake followers. That message has echoed throughout social media in the music business for more than a decade. Unfortunately, to this day, artists worldwide continue to buy followers. Some even go as far as to buy fake streams and fake engagement.
The question I always ask is, why? What benefit is there to buying fake followers, streams, or engagement? Do the people who do this believe the rest of us won’t see what’s happening?
The goal of every artist is to forge a lasting connection with fans. Artists want to make the thing they make and connect with people who like what they create. Purchasing fake followers and streams does nothing to accomplish this goal. You can buy 10,000 streams of your new single for less than $50, for example, but you won’t make any money in that scenario.
Buying followers is even worse. People can see right through that. We know if an artist that has never had a hit single or successful tour suddenly has thousands of followers that something is wrong. We know that if you have one song with 1 million plays on Spotify and the rest have barely broken 1000 that you’ve either gone viral on TikTok or you’re actively buying streams. If we look at places where your music is most popular, and every top city is in a country you’ve never visited with fans you don’t try to engage with, it is immediately apparent that you’re trying to pull one over on everyone else.
Even if you can successfully fool ordinary people, you can never trick the algorithms. All Internet companies have spent every year of their existence mining data to understand their audience. The algorithms behind Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are so advanced that they can detect irregular behavior without human intervention. An individual working at those companies does not need to flag your account for the platform to recognize foul play. Algorithms can identify unusual behavior and take steps to correct it. Generally speaking, the means banning an account altogether or shadow-banning them (which drops organic reach to virtually nothing as a means of making future growth impossible.
At this point, it should be clear that purchasing fake engagement of any kind is bad for business. Not only will consumers and the industry at large see through it, but the algorithms that make these platforms run will do everything in their power to prevent you from further growth. Nothing will bring a career to its knees faster than being identified as a fraud outside of public controversy. It’s not worth it.
But what if it’s too late? What if you’ve already purchased fake followers or engagement or streams in the past? Is all hope lost? Of course not!
In the latest Music Biz update, host James Shotwell walks through the case against purchasing fake engagement. He explains how easy it is to fall victim to scams promising rapid growth and even plays footage of so-called click farms. James also advises anyone who has made this mistake in the past. He explains the proper way to reset your standing on the services to ensure you’re able to grow further in your career without the guilt and regret of past decisions. Check it out:
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
From Wristmeetrazor’s powerful second album to the impressive debut of Mammoth WVH, there are several can’t miss new music releases this week.
The world is changing. After a year of forced isolation, artists and fans are finally starting to reconnect. Dozens of great albums are hitting shelves every week, and we know that nobody has time for everything. We want to help you find the can’t miss albums and keep you up-to-date on the records everyone will be talking about next week. We realize that documenting every new release would be virtually impossible, but here you will find several new albums from Haulix clients that we feel deserve your time and support. Check it out:
Hammer King – Hammer King (Napalm Records)
There is no room for confusion with a name like Hammer King. Either you deliver the best power metal anyone has heard in years, or you give up and go home. Since 2015, Hammer king has delivered on the promise of their name by dropping banger after banger on the international metal scene. The band’s sincere devotion to old-school power metal shines on their latest self-titled release. It’s a loud and cathartic offering that will awaken the thunder within your spirit. You’ve not heard another album like this one in 2021.
Wristmeetrazor – Replica of a Strange Love (Prosthetic)
Two years after taking the metal market by storm with Misery Never Forgets, Wristmeetrazor returns to center stage with their highly-anticipated second record. Replica of a Strange Love is a musical shotgun blast to the chest. The album plunges listeners into the doom and gloom of a generation obsessing over sex, death, and romanticism with big hooks and pummeling instrumentation. These songs would’ve put the band on the map 15 years ago when the modern metalcore scene rose to the public spotlight. In 2021, Wristmeetrazor is positioned to become the new leader in its field. They are making the kind of music people say they wish artists in this genre still made, and they are doing it as well as anyone can.
Mammoth WVH – Mammoth WVH (EX1)
Trying to make a name for yourself as the son of a celebrity is difficult. Trying to become known when your father is considered a god among men is even harder. Wolfgang Van Halen, son of the late Eddie Van Halen, uses his self-titled debut album for staking his claim to the modern rock throne. The 14 track release posts incendiary reps, soaring vocals, and hooks that will keep you singing along while drumming on your steering wheel all summer long. It’s the kind of album that lets you know the talent behind it will be with us for a long time. It is the dawning of a new king, and he goes by Wolfgang Van Halen.
Living Dead Girl – Exorcism (Self-released)
Canada’s Living Dead Girl doesn’t waste any time on her debut album. Exorcism offers 11 banging tracks that deliver what founding member Molly Rennick describes as her “goth girl gone bad” attitude. Her sound combines Motionless In White, Rob Zombies, and any number of notable riot grrrl bands. The resulting sonic concoction is down-tuned upbeat goodness that argues goth rock is far from dead. With the right tour or placement, it’s not hard to imagine Living Dead girl quickly becoming the next household name in hard rock.
Sinoptik – The Calling (ONErpm)
Ukrainian psychedelic stoner rockers Sinoptik hold nothing back on The Offering. A complex release offering meaningful lyrics and a unique perspective on existence, the record aspires to resurrect an age when larger-than-life rock songs were the norm. Each track stands on its own as a complete work filled with emotion, creative instrumentation, and poignant thoughts. The fact it all flows together is proof of Sinoptik’s immense talent. They give us volumes of stories and ideas in the same amount of space others use to share a single thought. They are magicians as much as they are musicians, and The Calling argues they deserve much more recognition in the years ahead.
New Music Friday recommendations feature a collection of new releases from Haulix clients chosen by the company staff. Join Haulix today and gain immediate access to the industry’s leading digital promotional distribution platform: http://haulix.com/signup.
Sony Music is the first major label to forgive unrecouped advances for heritage artists publicly, and the industry will likely follow its lead.
It sounds crazy to anyone outside of the entertainment industry, but there are musicians walking the Earth in 2021 who have never seen a penny of their streaming royalties due to unrecouped advances from two decades prior. Many artists with deals prior to 2000 have fought for years to see streaming revenue for their major label releases, but labels have been slow to act. Instead, many consider any revenue generated from new mediums of consumption as payment toward outstanding advances from when that artist’s material was originally released. You may have a thirty-three year old album that never put a dime in your pocket because the advance was never repaid, and until this week, every label seemed okay with taking what they felt was owed to them.
In a letter sent to thousands of artists today and obtained by MBW, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) has announced the launch of a new initiative called “Artists Forward”, which it says focuses on “prioritizing transparency with creators in all aspects of their development”.
SME’s landmark new policy under “Artists Forward” is called the Legacy Unrecouped Balance Program. The letter confirms: “As part of our continuing focus on developing new financial opportunities for creators, we will no longer apply existing unrecouped balances to artist and participant earnings generated on or after January 1, 2021 for eligible artists and participants globally who signed to SME prior to the year 2000 and have not received an advance from the year 2000 forward.
“Through this program, we are not modifying existing contracts, but choosing to pay through on existing unrecouped balances to increase the ability of those who qualify to receive more money from uses of their music.”
To put this in simpler terms, Sony is writing off any outstanding balance for catalog artists with the label before 2000. That action means that those artists will now receive a cut of all streaming revenue from their material. It also means that they will be applicable to receive money from any future revenue streams.
Music has a long history of record companies taking advantage of artists. Our industry needs musicians, and yet, we treat them as second-class citizens. We act like they should be grateful for the opportunity to perform rather than being happy they chose us to work their release. The latest action by Sony shows that trend may finally be changing, and we hope others do the same.
