Music Publishing & Songwriting

Given how difficult it is to achieve even a modest degree of success as a songwriter or record producer, it’s not surprising that most songwriter/producers don’t give much thought about how to build their business beyond simply writing more songs and making more records. It’s hard to worry about expanding your business when it takes years just to create something that actually earns money. Unfortunately though, this lack of planning usually leads writer/producers who suddenly hit it big to make the worst possible decisions, once they are actually thrust into the limelight.

An example for further study: Ask yourself, whatever happened to Scott Storch? Remember the hip-hop whiz kid behind “Lean Back”, “Candy Shop” and “Run It”? Then check this out:

Oh my. That was humbling, wasn’t it? As ugly as Storch’s story is– it’s not unusual. In fact, if one were to compile the Top 3 things that writer/producers do after their first big hit, they would be:

Historically, none of these options have proven to be terribly effective strategies for a producer trying to expand his or her business. Some of the options are inefficient, some are self-indulgent, and some are overly ambitious. Strangely, very few producers have ever made an attempt to expand their operation into the one area where there is a clear need, a direct tie to the core business of making records, and in which they could actually provide some real expertise:

If you’re a producer looking to grow your business, why not expand into Artist Management?

Interestingly, this idea surfaced during a recent lunch with a publisher from Europe, as we discussed the transformation of the music industry into a business dominated by artist managers. If one looks at what companies like Live Nation are doing, it’s clear that the large artist management firms are quickly taking on power roles in the music industry in the same way that agencies like CAA and William Morris rule the movie business. This wouldn’t be a bad thing, if only there were more good managers to go around. Unfortunately, as anyone in the record business will attest, there is a dire shortage of high-quality, experienced artist managers, even for artists at the top-level of the industry. Don’t believe me? Check out the article below:

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where artist managers come from. Some emerge from out of the booking agent/tour manager/club booker netherworld, which is arguably the best training ground available. A few are former A&R or label promotion people– though not many. Some are former artists themselves. A fair number are mothers, fathers, cousins, or old neighborhood friends of the artist– which is rarely a good qualification.

But interestingly, in parts of Europe, the one most likely to offer management services to an artist is the record producer. It makes pretty good sense. Why not let the same person who actually discovered the artist, developed the project, and made the record take it all the way? From the producer’s standpoint, it allows him or her to keep the project properly focused, share in the long-term rewards of artist development, and avoid the risk of an outside party upsetting the delicate relationship between producer and artist. From the artist’s standpoint, it ensures that the producer will remain committed (and affordable) to the artist even if the project’s eventual success leads to the producer suddenly becoming the industry’s flavor of the month. For the record label, it means one less chef in the kitchen, fewer disputes, and probably a quicker response time from the producer when it comes to requests for remixes, special edits, bonus tracks and the like.

Now let me be very clear. I’m not suggesting that the producer should personally take on the additional job of managing the artists he or she develops. Most producers can barely manage to get themselves to a noon recording session by two in the afternoon. I certainly wouldn’t want to see them in charge of running a concert tour. Organization, discipline, and strategic thinking are not necessarily typical traits of record producers.

What I’m suggesting is that producers who are in the business of developing new artists should find a BUSINESS PARTNER, someone who is organized, disciplined and strategic, perhaps someone with a background in tour management, concert booking or A&R, and then encourage that Partner to open a management entity as a division of the production company. It’s called diversification, and it’s how
you expand your business in a controlled, sensible way.

Imagine if Scott Storch, upon completing “Run It”, had started a management company that signed Chris Brown. He would have had a stake far greater than his four or five producer points in a career that he helped to create. He would have had a source of income entirely separate from his own record productions, which could have sustained him when his production sound eventually fell out of favor. He wouldn’t have had to compete with the hot new producer of the moment for cuts on future Chris Brown albums. And he would have been at the forefront of where the music industry is going– with a stake in the branding, touring, and merchandising businesses that are the real sources of income in today’s entertainment economy.

This is a no-brainer. As music sales drop, producers need to expand beyond their core business of making records. It’s equally clear that managers and management companies are increasingly dominating the industry– they are taking the leadership position once held by the record labels. Finally, everyone in the business is bemoaning the lack of good, new managers. Put it all together and what do you get? You get the future business model: a production/management company hybrid, that allows producers to discover talent and make hit records, and then pass the artist to a separate division of the company, which provides the day to day management service.

Of course, it’s not quite as much fun as buying a big house and spending the next three years installing a studio. It means you won’t get to hold court in your very own restaurant or nightclub. It might also mean one less record label in a world that can hardly sustain the ones that already exist.
But if you’re a record producer making hit records or developing hit artists, putting together a management company just might mean that you have a long-term investment, in a notoriously short-term business.