Michael Jackson was not just a legendary singer who also knew how to dance; he was a smart businessman who jointly owned SONY/ATV, the biggest music publishing company in the world which administers the rights to songs owned by some of the biggest writers in the world (Kelsey, 2018). This is not the show. It is the business.
The knowledge of, or lack of the business aspect of music has been the success or failure of many artistes. There have been stories about artistes who, remarkably talented and successful via their talent, somewhere along the line become broke, ordinary and soon-forgotten. There have also been stories about many not-too-talented artistes who had just about an average amount of success arising from their talent, who remain consistently successful financially through the years, some turning around to sign on those they used to look up to.
So, what’s the difference? What’s the reason?
In the highly dynamic and broad sphere of music and its business, happenings and experiences have established that to succeed financially and remain consistently so, talent is not enough. In fact, talent represents only a small fraction of what could make an artiste succeed and thrive; the rest, and the biggest actor is business.
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Therefore, it might be smart to have at the back of a beginner that in the word “showbusiness”, behind every show there are lots of business activities. Ignore the business side at your own peril, either soon or later in the future.
For any enthusiast, practitioner or stakeholder in any manner, it is important to have an idea, at least, of aspects like music production, music publishing, interpretation of music contracts (recording, Agency, management, production, licensing, synchronization, etc.) copyright, marketing of music(traditional, digital or hybrid), finance, which is the determinant of many fates to a high degree, Legal aspects and other relevant activities or terms.
On this platform, I’ll be writing about these diverse topics, sharing ideas and thoughts, providing information which may help and could water the thirst of any interested stakeholder or enthusiast.
Welcome aboard.
Source: Kesley, R. (2018, January 22). Introduction to the Music Business. Retrieved from https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-music-business-berkleex-mb110x-9
