The Importance of Artist Development in the Music Industry

Many record labels these days aren’t interested in developing recording artists and bands. Many simply want to work with an artist that has all of that taken care of. From websites, blogs and social media record labels are not interested in working to develop that side of the artist. Reason being is that record labels want to focus on pushing a product that requires little upfront costs in terms of building the structure that sells the artists in so many words or less. Record Labels are looking for a prepackaged deal that can be marketed to consumers and with little developmental effort what so ever.

What artists need to focus on is having someone develop them before taking an offer with a record label or seeking one. Reason being is because with out the necessary look and feel that artist are suppose to gives off to their audience, labels will offer less initial upfront money for recording projects. Touring helps with this because of the amount of exposure artists receive and the amount of record sales that tours generate over time. Developing your fan base is crucial to you getting the best deal with a record label. Thinking about getting signed to a label and getting a great deal means a great deal of artist development for recording artist and bands.

According to Artist House Music interview with Owen Husney who was Prince’s first manager stated that major labels lack Artist Development. He stated that in this type of market where record labels want artists with at least 5,000 albums sold Prince would have never been able to be signed by Owen Husney. He also states that record labels should invest in developing artist. For artist and bands seeking record deals and opportunities start to focus on touring and working on your songs that will get records sold on tours and develop your fan base.

360 Deals and the Recording Artist or Band

Many up and coming recording artist and bands look for the golden opportunity of getting signed to a record label one day. They have put in years of work and one day a representative from a record label calls them and states that they are interested in you and want to ether come to meet you or fly you out to their offices. The artist gets excited and takes them up on their offer. Now they are in the meeting and the label lets the artist know how talented they are and that they are going to make it in this industry. They also tell the artist that one of the ways they can go about having such success is signing the 360 deal. The question is do you sign or walk away?

Many independent artists have come across this decision once or twice in their career and many have chosen not to go through with it. According to Music Think Tank.com article on The Musicians Guide To The 360Deal it states that record labels stand to make a considerable amount of money on the artist. To break this number down according to entertainment lawyer Bob Donnelly in a Billboardbiz.com statement he states that some record labels that offer 360 deals have between 5% and 50% stake of sales outside of the initial revenue from album sales. That means revenue from movies, touring, etc. That’s why a deal like this is not wise for hip-hop and rap artist if they don’t have the proper endorsement deals making them a substantial amount of money on the side.

It is important also for recording artist to know that staying independent until getting the best deal is important. Touring locally and developing a strong presence in the industry is necessary for success before getting to the signing table. It is recommended to have an attorney present when signing any kind of deal to make sure you are getting the best deal possible.  Below are some helpful videos in making your decision to sign a 360 deal. Happy Signing!

Irv Gotti On Signing a Record Deal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xGyWU4LPEs

Entertainment Lawyer Kendall Minter On The 360 Deal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dJhsfjKgQ4