Washington, D.C.— Continuing a decade of work in understanding and improving conditions for musicians, national nonprofit organization Future of Music Coalition has launched the Artist Revenue Streams project (ARS), which seeks to gather crucial information about the ways U.S. artists are currently generating income from their music or performances, and whether this has changed over the past ten years. The project is funded in part by a two-year grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with additional support from YouTube.

Artist Revenue Streams project

Meteoric transformations in the creation and distribution of music have drastically altered the landscape for musicians. New technologies such as digital music stores, streaming services and webcasting stations have greatly reduced the cost barriers to the distribution and sale of music, and a vast array of new platforms and technologies — from Bandcamp to blogs to Twitter feeds — now help musicians connect with fans.

“Many observers are quick to categorize these structural changes as positive improvements for musicians, particularly when compared with the music industry of the past,” said project co-director, Kristin Thomson. “It’s true that musicians’ access to the marketplace has greatly improved, but how have these changes impacted musicians’ ability to generate revenue based on their creative work? Almost all analyses of the effects of these changes rest purely on assumptionsthat they have improved musicians’ bottom lines.”

“The sales charts and box office receipts only convey part of the story,” continued co-director, Jean Cook. “What is it like being a jazz player, or a songwriter who doesn’t perform, or a member of a professional orchestra, in 2011? How have the landscape changes affected their genres, and their abilities to make a living? Through interviews, financial assessments and survey work, we hope to learn more about what it’s like to be a working musician in America.”

The fundamental research questions for this project are: what percentage of musicians’ income comes from each possible revenue source? What is the ratio among different sources, whether it’s royalties, money from performances, t-shirt sales, or any of the 29 other meaningful revenue streams that FMC has identified? Has the ratio changed over time and, if so, what are the factors that have conditioned these changes? Finally, are the revenue stream ratios different for artists working in specific genres – especially jazz and classical — and at varying stages of their careers?

In addition to asking musicians about the percentage of income derived from “traditional” streams such as retail sales, royalties for public performances and live performances, FMC seeks to identify revenue percentages from new streams like digital downloads, digital performance royalties, ringtones, website click-thrus and a myriad of new licensing options. This will help the field understand whether aggregate income from these new revenue streams offsets losses of revenue resulting from the erosion of traditional streams, or which, if any, of the new models are having an impact on musicians’ bottom lines.

About the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child abuse, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties