Are 360 Deals the Record Labels' Swan Song?

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
--- Hunter S. Thompson

The record business is quickly dying. Music sales in the United States are less than half of what they were just a decade ago. Worse yet, sales will almost certainly continue to drop as digital distribution becomes more popular.

In response, record labels are completely changing the structure of their contracts with artists. The labels' present direction is to capture revenue streams beyond the sales of recorded music. And, in hopes of returning their corporate earnings to where they once were, the labels are attempting to completely cut out promoters, artist managers, and agents.

Since the dawn of the industry, the role of a record label was limited to producing, distributing, marketing, and selling recorded music. Under the new model, labels receive income from other sources of artists' earnings, including live performances, merchandise sales, publishing, and commercial endorsements. The new contracts are known as “360 deals" or “multiple rights deals". They enable record labels to earn income that was never before available to them, making the labels less reliant on recording income.

The 360 model is only sustainable if it benefits both artists and labels, while providing a desirable product to music consumers, and efficiency to the industry as a whole. And, herein lies the problem with the 360 paradigm. While the new model may work for artists with superstar personas, it will not be acceptable, long-term, for most artists. Not to mention promoters, managers and fans alike.

Despite the growth of the 360 model, the structure is objectively harmful to the industry. For starters, most labels are proving themselves inept – or at best, inexperienced – at managing the other elements of an artist's career from which labels stand to profit under the 360 model.

360 Deals also seem to be leading to an ominous new trend. The model's focus on exploiting as many revenue streams as possible has brought about a trend known as “band branding" which removes the emphasis from musicians' music and redirects it towards artists as “brands” that can be sold in a variety of forms. As media theorist Douglas Rushkoff noted, “Recording artists are finding the only way to achieve any financial safety is to become a lapdog of the great corporations.”

Despite the negative aspects of 360 Deals, artists will continue to form these contracts over the short term simply because labels remain the primary source of venture capital for artists. Eventually, however, the majority of artists may forego traditional record labels altogether.

Instead, they may seek 360-style arrangements with more adept and efficient industry players like managers and booking agents. In fact, a handful of savvy artists have already begun to steer their careers themselves by taking advantage of digital distribution, leveraging internet marketing tools, and actively networking to promote their own music. Eventually, this may spell the end of the major labels altogether.

So what do you think? Are 360 deals bad for the industry as a whole? Will the major record labels eventually fade away? Will artists eventually manage their careers themselves? We want to hear from you!

SONG WRITING - How Do I Get The Lyrics To The Page?

I can't tell you how many people I have had say to me, "I wish I could write a song, but it just doesn't work for me."  Well, it won't work for everyone, but it will work for a lot more potential writers than you think.  Another question is, "Do you have to be inspired to write?"  If you're writing professionally, the answer is no. If you're writing for inspiration, it depends on if you want to write professionally or for a hobby.  Hopefully you will find a passion for writing and want to take it all the way.
I'm going to share with you the most important secret to getting your song on paper, whether you're inspired or not:  Writing "to the hook" is a trick the pros use. When you're a staff writer with a quota you must have new ideas weekly. You may ask how do I do that, and what is a hook?

1. A hook is a lyrical phrase that your listener will remember even if they don't remember the lyric to the rest of the song. Such as "Momma don't dance and Daddy don't rock in roll", "Stairway to heaven", "Girls just want to have fun", etc... You must learn to write to the hook to be a successful song-writer!
2. Start a hook book.  This is a place you store catchy phrases that your listener can latch on to.
3. Write to the hook. This means all your lyrics must point and lead to the hook.
4. Get feedback from others.

Of course, this advice just scratches the surface.  However, I hope this will give you some tools to get you started writing your first hit single!

What makes a good song?

There are a lot of opinions on this topic and no one knows all the answers.  It is subject to many variables. I can give you some of the things I learned as a staff writer for many years.  This won't be an exhaustive list but it will help you get started.

1) Remember you're writing to 5th graders.
2) You must have a good memorable lyrical hook.
3) It also needs to have a musical hook that doesn't sound like everything else on the radio.
4) Be original!
5) Try to keep the song as close to three minutes as possible.
6) Get rid of throw away words like buts and I's etc...
7) The topic needs to be relatable to your audience.
8) Keep it interesting.

All of these sound simple to do but there is a lot more to song-writing. This is a good place to start. At AMP our goal is to take you as for as you want to go as a writer. Come join us and let us walk you the art of song-writing. myamp.org

Do you have what it takes????

So you think you have what it takes to penetrate that impregnable wall in music land? What if I said forget it? Keep your day job! You may be thinking what a jerk! You may be right. I can't count how many times people told me that on my journey. There was one person who always believed in me. That person was me. If you don't believe in yourself there's a good chance neither will others.

My belief is this; if you've truly got the gift you can't stop. It's in your heart, your soul and your bones. When GOD GIVES US GIFTS, He does not base it on what other's opinions are. If you got it, claim it, own it and use it. God will do the rest. There is no doubt that at times you will be discouraged, but you can't allow that to stop you if you truly believe in yourself. Remember there are no great people just ordinary people accomplishing great challenges. Three words--Grow thick skin.  Do not listen to the nay sayers, listen to the yea sayers!!!! So when you're about ready to give up remember this -- Don't stop before the miracle happens. It could be the miracle was waiting on you 5 minutes later.

Do you have a plan?

So you want to be a writer, maybe an artist, even a producer or publisher. What's your plan? Do you even have one? I'm sure you've heard the proverbial statement, (putting the wagon before the horse). Where is your horse? There's a myth that runs around the music business that says all you have to have is talent. If you believe that, let me know how that works out for you. Those days are gone. Actually they never existed. Yes some have gotten lucky. Would you prefer trusting luck, or having a well thought out plan? Have you ever heard the harder you work the luckier you get? Well, it's true!

One reason most people don't have a plan is they don't have enough information to form one. Knowledge is your ally. At AMP our goal is to create a custom business model for you so you can focus on your craft. We need to hear from you so we know what you need, not just what we think you need. Here is your opportunity to be a part of your success and to take action in your future! Come join us at AMP and partner with us in your career at myamp.org