In an evolving, technology-driven music marketplace, it can be difficult to get a grasp on where artist revenues are coming from and where they might be going.

Many observers have characterized these structural changes to the music business as positive improvements for musicians, particularly when compared with the music industry of yore. While it’s true that musicians’ access to the marketplace has greatly improved, there has been no systematic attempt to understand if and how artists’ ability to generate revenue based on their creative work has changed in this new environment.

We wanted to go beyond speculation and try to figure out how musicians in many genres are making a living in today’s marketplace.

This is why we have launched an Artist Revenue Streams Project (ARS), a multi-method research initiative to assess if and how musicians’ revenue streams are changing in this new music landscape.

Artist Revenue Streams Project

In the first stage of this project, FMC is conducting in-person interviews with a small but diverse set of musicians and composers to collect information about the ways that you are currently generating income from your music, performances or brand, and whether this has changed over the past ten years. We have already completed about 18 interviews, with more on our calendars. If you’re interested in participating, click here to take a 14-question qualifying survey so we can learn more about your role as a musician.

FMC is also reviewing individual financial data from some of the musicians that we interview, with an understanding that any financial information is anonymous and not identifiable with any particular artist, band or label. While the in-person interviews will provide us with a rich set of information, actual financial data – Quicken/Quickbook reports, accounting and royalty statements – can help us to quantify the amount of revenue generated in different categories, and changes from year to year.

In the third phase, we will work with partners to launch a wide-scale online survey, where we hope thousands of US-based musicians will answer questions about their relevant revenue streams. We expect that component to go live in fall 2011.

If you’re interested in participating, click here to take a 14-question qualifying survey so we can learn more about your role as a musician.

For more information, check out this handy page we built for the project.

Extra credit: FMC’s “29 Streams” blog post listing all the musician revenue streams we can think of.

On February 17, the Blue Nile in New Orleans will play host to “Dear NOLA: A Concert for New Orleans,” featuring an all-star cast of artists from around the country. This is the seventh concert to wrap up FMC and Air Traffic Control’s three-day activist retreat in the Big Easy, and this year’s class is just as impressive as its alumni. New Orleans’ own Bonerama provide brass and sass, along with Cody ChesnuTT, DJ Spooky/That Subliminal Kid, Grammy nominated Helen Bruner + Terry Jones, Jenny Toomey & Kristin Thomson of Tsunami, M1 of Dead Prez, Mirah, Sage Francis, Shawn King of Devotchka, Sunpie Barnes and Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave.

Proceeds from the show will go to Sweet Home New Orleans and Gulf Restorations Network — two NOLA-based nonprofits that aim to sustain New Orlean culture and its creative traditions through community resources and by building a foundation for future generations.

Tickets are $10 in advance; $15 at the door, and can be purchased here.

And don’t forget about the critically-acclaimed Dear New Orleans compilation, which features 31 New Orleans-inspired tracks from retreat alumni. The benefit album can be purchased here.

Sometimes it seems like FMC files more often than your Dad commented on your Facebook the first day he joined. Our most recent filing is with the Copyright Office on a certain issue with the 1976 Copyright Act — namely, the so-called “gap” in terminations of transfer.

Under US copyright law, authors — including musicians and songwriters — are allowed to take back ownership of their copyrighted works after 35 years, provided they follow procedures outlined by the Copyright Office. We think this is a good thing, as it lets artists have “another bite at the apple” in terms of exploiting their creative works.

So what is this gap we speak of? Basically, copyrighted works transferred before January 1, 1978 fell into a black hole where no copyright could escape. By filing with the Copyright Office, we sought to make sure that those artists who fell in the “gap” would still have a chance to regain their copyrights.

In December 2010 the Copyright Office gave a head-nod to FMC’s earlier comment on “the gap,” and subsequently asked for feedback on their proposed remedy. In our latest filing, we commended the Copyright Office for their work in resolving the issue, while emphasizing that the solution be “narrowly-applied.”

You can read our most recent filing here.

And here are a couple of blog posts explaining the issue in a bit more detail.
http://futureofmusic.org/blog/2010/04/21/terminator-rights-reversion-and-musicians
 http://futureofmusic.org/blog/2011/02/02/terminator-ii-return-gap

In one corner, FMC, Center for Creative Voices in Media (and ABC). In the other corner, the FCC’s indecency policy regarding a scandalous bare butt in an episode of “NYPD Blue”. The result? The US Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit’s denial of the constitutionality of this indecency policy, or in other words, T.K.O.

Our fight to preserve creative expression for artists is going pretty well, thanks our friends at Media Access Project, who helped us file an amicus brief on this case. The reason we care about this whole buttocks business is because “vague and arbitrary” indecency policy can have a chilling affect on art and expression across platforms, including radio.

Check out our filing here:
 http://futureofmusic.org/sites/default/files/indecencyamicus_0.pdf

Trend Alert: Cybersecurity is the New Black!

On January 18, we crashed (okay, we respectfully attended) the annual State of the Net Conference in Washington DC. The event, hosted by the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus, calls for open dialogue on technology, policy and everything in between — which means we had to be there. One topic in particular struck a chord with FMC: intellectual property. As fans of copyright, creativity and commerce, FMC believes that giving artists unfettered ability to use their works to establish revenue streams is vital to the future of music. One strategy? To keep the gatekeepers off the guest list, while pursuing business models that reward both creators and fans. Check out our blog recap here.

Where in the World will FMC be in the upcoming months? Where won’t we be, more like…

FMC @ SXSW
FMC will be large and in charge(ish) at SXSW this year, and we hope to see you there! Here’s what’s on deck so far:

FMC’s Alex Maiolo and Kristin Thomson will host a panel discussion on musicians and health insurance — still a hot topic, given both the ongoing implementation of the health care law (and its opposition). Core questions the panel will ask: “What will the law do to expand coverage for the creative class, and how can musicians take advantage of these changes? One of the most pressing issues is the mandate that all Americans — including musicians — attain health insurance coverage by 2014. How will musicians access affordable coverage in the next three years?” More info.

And don’t forget about FMC’s Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT), which offers free, confidential information to musicians curious about their health insurance options.

Casey Rae-Hunter will also moderate a special SXSW conversation with producer/manager, FMC advisory board member and McGill University Professor Sandy Pearlman. To the best of our knowledge, the discussion is called “The Future of Music - Is There One?” Provocative!

But wait, there’s more…
Just prior to SXSW, Casey will be in Toronto (along with Sandy) as part of Canadian Music Week, which runs March 9-13. More info:
 http://www.cmw.net/

Brian Zisk’s Future of Money & Technology Summit (February 28)
& the SF MusicTech Summit (May 9)

FMC co-founding Board member Brian Zisk will be hosting the San Francisco-based Future of Money and Technology Summit on February 28, and an eighth(!!!) SF MusicTech Summit on May 9. These events are always incredible; reserve your spot now!

SFMT | Future of Money & Technology

Barbershop Punk — A Documentary on The Open Internet Debate
You probably already know about our love for Barbershop Punk — a documentary about the highs and woes of online censorship and the debate about the open internet.

In case you missed it, get on a plane/train/automobile to Portland, Oregon for the Feb 12 and 17 screening of Barbershop Punk. The tells the story of Robb Tolposki, whose internet uploads of rare barbershop quartet recordings were blocked by Comcast, his internet provider in Oregon. This was the catalyst for the FCC to pay further attention to the amount of control service providers have on content.

The Northwest Film Center’s 34th Portland International Film Festival will present this film by Georgia Sugimura Archer and Kristin Armfield. The documentary’s cast is quite impressive — look for FMC’s Michael Bracy, along with appearances from notable real-life punks like Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins.
Buy Tickets

Digital Music Forum East
The NYC-based forum will cover topics on every end of the music, technology and policy spectrum. DMFE brings together the top music, technology and policy leaders for high-level discussions and debate, intimate meetings and networking about the future of digital music. FMC’s Casey Rae-Hunter will be on hand, partaking in a discussion about what’s working and what’s not with current music licensing structures; Chhaya Kapadia will be making connections of the high-falutin’ event kind. For more info, and to register, head here.

FMC @ NCMR
FMC will also head north April 8-10 for The National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR) in Boston, where Casey be on a panel on local music and culture. This event has an incredible amount of stuff going on; if you care about media issues, it’s a can’t-miss.