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May 17, 2012
FMC Newsletters
FMC Newsletter #106 | April 19, 2012
It’s been a wild spring for your loyal FMC’ers, and things are hardly slowing down as the temperatures go up. We’ve been all over the country sharing highlights from our Artist Revenue Streams project, presenting in-depth case studies of individual musician-types to categorical overviews of how a broad range of artists are earning a living. The picture is incredibly complex, but we’ve been doing our best to break down the research into meaningful (and comprehensible) chunks. Read on for updates on this important work, as well as Summit dates, upcoming appearances and much more.
Table of Contents
For the better part of two years now, FMC has been collecting data on Artist Revenue Streams through a triple-methodology study, including the Money From Music survey. In addition to the broad array of respondents to our online survey, we’ve also been collecting highly detailed information from select musician “types” via in-depth financial case studies. The identities of these artists are necessarily anonymous, and we’ve taken pains to ensure that the financial data does not reveal identifying information about the subjects, who have generously opened up their books to our researchers for the purpose of examining how different types of musicians’ revenue streams have changed over, say, a five-to-ten-year period.
The first batch of case studies are complete and the ARS project team has been scurrying hither and thither to present the unique — and often provocative — findings at various conferences and music festivals, including SXSW, Canadian Music Week and more.
Our first round of case study profiles includes:
- Jazz Bandleader-Composer
- Indie Rock Composer-Performer
- Jazz Sideman-Bandleader
- Professional Orchestra Player
- Contemporary Chamber Ensemble
You can check them all out right here.
And we’re not done yet! There are more case studies on the way, and Team ARS will be showcasing highlights and findings through the spring. Next up, look for Kristin Thomson and Jean Cook (solo or duo) at the following events:
Rethink Music (Boston, MA)
April 22-24, 2012
Music: Parts and Labor Conference (New York)
Saturday April 28, 2012
NARM Music Biz Conference (Los Angeles, CA)
Wednesday, May 6, 2012
Are you a musician, visual artist, dancer, actor, filmmaker or other artist living in the Washington, DC area?
Are you interested in making $50?
If you answered YES to both questions, we invite you to participate in a focus group about artists’ access to health insurance and health care on Wednesday, May 2. The meeting will be 90 minutes long and held at a Metro-accessible location in the DC metro area.
Email artistfocusgroup [at] reingold [dot] com or call 202-333-0400 and ask for Jillian to find out how you can get involved.
There’s no way to not know that FMC are HUGE supporters of public and noncommercial radio. From our fight to expand Low Power FM service to our working with tons of amazing musicians to make the case for the continued funding of public broadcasting, we’re always ready to go to bat for the noncommercial side of the dial.
And we’re not alone. Currently, musicians and music fans of all stripes are showing their support for Public Radio Music Month, which takes place throughout the month of April. Check out the official Tumblr to see how artists and station are coming together to celebrate how much public and noncommercial radio means to the music community.
The love runs deep in the music community. Earlier this month, 98 artists — including the Black Keys, Andrew Bird, Dave Matthews and more — sent a letter thanking public radio “for taking chances” on new music and new sounds. Check it out here.
Last but not least, have a look at this blog post from our good friend, musician and entertainment lawyer John P. Strohm (Bon Iver, Alabama Shakes), where he talks about how public radio shaped his entire musical existence.
FMC has been pushing to expand Low Power FM radio service to more towns and cities for over a decade. LPFM offers local communities the opportunity to have radio that truly suits their needs — from area musical talent to civic engagement and even public safety info. Now that the FCC is finally poised to issue its rulemaking allowing expanded LPFM, we need to make sure they get the details right. Our friends at Prometheus Radio Project have a couple of ways for you to get involved in making LPFM everything it’s supposed to be.
First, Prometheus is doing important work to ensure that LPFM is actually, you know, local. Without a basic localism requirement, there’s the chance that available frequencies will be gobbled up by so-called “repeater” stations that simply rebroadcast signals from more powerful stations well outside of the community. Over the next few weeks you can let the FCC know they need to protect the truly local aspect of LPFM:
http://prometheusradio.org/
And here’s something just for you musicians. Add your name to this letter telling the FCC that local music is severely lacking on the dial, and that LPFM is supposed to fill the huge void left by the bigger broadcasters.
Lastly, sign up for up-to-the-minute information on the upcoming filing window and how you can apply for an LPFM station!
You might think we’re getting ahead of ourselves here, but we’re so excited to have dates in place for the Future of Music Policy Summit! The 2012 confab takes place once again at Georgetown University, this time on Thursday, November 15 and Friday, November 16. Regular attendees might notice that we typically host Summit in October — so why the change o’ date? Well, we figured with the elections just past, it might be a great opportunity to take stock of whatever the heck happens in the polls and prognosticate on what it might mean for the music community.
We’re also busy lining up some truly visionary speakers and presenters who will fill your noggins with all kinds of exciting ideas. This is going to be our biggest Summit yet, and you won’t want to miss it. More info coming soon…
As we mentioned above, FMC will be at Rethink Music in Boston, MA on April 22-24.
Produced by Berklee College of Music and Midem, in association with Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Rethink Music is a hands-on conference designed to bring music stakeholders together to discuss business models for the future, examine copyright challenges in the digital era, and analyse technological innovation in music and its distribution. Centered around transforming the music industry, Rethink Music’s programming does not just focus on discussing change, but rather making it happen.
On Monday, April 23, FMC Board member and Berkman Center Fellow Erin McKeown will moderate a panel called “Finding a Future in the Clouds.”
On Tuesday, April 24, FMC Board Member and ARS project co-director Kristin Thomson will deliver a presentation about our musician compensation research.
Our COO, Chhaya Kapadia, will also be on hand to take in the conference and generally geek out. Be sure to say hi if you’re attending the conference!
More information, registration and musician rates can be found at www.rethink-music.com.
Our blog has some of the best analysis of music-tech-policy around, but that’s not all we cover, by a long shot. Here’s what we’ve been talking about in the past weeks:
Musicians: Who is On Your Team?
15 Steps to Starting a Local Music Festival (In a Bad Economy)
YouTube Mostly Unscathed in Viacom Ruling
Future of Music Coalition relies on the contributions of individuals like you to support our work educating musicians about the critical issues at the intersection of law, technology and policy. You contribution helps us with original research and our ongoing push for equitable and transparent compensation for creators.
You can always contact us at suggestions [at] futureofmusic [dot] org if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Lissa Rosenthal
Jean Cook
Michael Bracy
Walter McDonough
Brian Zisk
Kristin Thomson
Casey Rae-Hunter
Chhaya Kapadia
Alex Maiolo
Anna-Kaisa Kaila
Donate to the Future of Music Coalition!
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