Music Unions

For this weeks blog I decided to write about two popular music unions I discovered.

Boston Musicians' Associations

This union represents over 1,600 professional musicians in the Boston metro area and beyond. Members play a variety of genres including classical music, jazz, latin, and rock. They play in professional orchestras, theatre pits, religious institutions, night clubs, weddings, and parties. They are a branch of the American Federation of Music. Anyone is open to join.

Some of the benefits you get from joining are:

• Democracy in action 
• Contract Guarantees 
• Pension Fund 
• Collective Bargaining Agreements with major employees 
• Livable Wages 
• Audition Notices
• Arts Advocacy 
• Local Referral Service
• National Referral Service 
• Concert listing and promotions 

There is a fee of $145 to become a new member. If you are under 21 or a full-time student, you don't have to a pay the initiation fee. After that you have to pay $44.25 on the first month of each quarter (January, April, July, and October). Members are offered a discount if they pay for the full amount a year in advance. 

American Federation of Music

This union represents over 90,000 musicians with offices in the United States and Canada. They have offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Toronto. They also have a network with more than 240 local unions in cities through out the U.S and Canada. 

Some of the benefits you get from joining are: 

• Contracts/Collective Bargaining
• Pension and Health 
• Insurance Programs 
• Referral Programs 
• Subscription to International Musician 
• AFL-CIO endorsed credit card 
• Immigration help

The fees and dues depend on which local you join in. In New York, the initiation fee is $100 plus the amount quarterly dues depending on when they join (1st month of 1st quarter= $55, 1st month of 2nd quarter= 36.50, 1st month of 3rd quarter= $19). Musician under 21 do not have to pay this fee. Members pay $220 a year. 

Work Dues Include:

• Live Performances- 3.5% 
• Education Service- 2%
• RIMPFT- 5%
• Theatrical Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings- 4.25% 
• Other national non-symphonic Electronic Media Recordings- 4.5% 
• Local Recording Contracts- 4%

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How to Find a Music Manager

A music managers job is to help guide the professional career of an artist in the entertainment industry. Some of their duties include building a fan base, planning promotional activities, creating a brand, etc. If an artist is unsigned they may also help book shows, promote the band, and handle the finances. If you are looking for a music manger, here are a couple of things you should have prepared.

1. A good recording of your music 

2. Professional looking photos of you or the group 

3. A social network presence (facebook, twitter, youtube)

4. Live performance footage 

5. A well written bio that highlights your accomplishments 

Having these things will give the manager a good idea of what they are working with. If the manager will be handling the booking side, having a good recording, live performance footage, and professional picture will help them out. When they work on promoting you and building a fanbase, having access to your social networks will also help. The bio helps him know what you are all about. 

When choosing a manager you need to be wise. They say that if you don't have a lot of money to spend or are still too small to get noticed, ask a friend. If you or your band is getting big then you should look for someone who is more professional. Here are a few things you should keep in mind when looking for a manager. 

1. Experience 

If you are wanting to grow as an artist, having someone with experience is important. Again, asking a friend to manage for you is fine but they won't have as many connections or knowledge as someone with experience would. Look up who the manager has worked with and how long he has been in the business. Asking him what his plans for you are will help you get a good idea of what you will be working with. 

2. Trustworthiness 

Taking on a manager can be risky. They say you should manage yourself till you no longer can. Giving someone the responsibility of managing your fanbase, promoting, and finances could backfire. Make sure you trust them and build a relationship with them before choosing anyone from the block. 

3. Enthusiasm 

You want to work with someone who is just as excited about your music as you are. If your manager is experienced, having their input on your music will be very important and helpful to you. You  want to make sure they are interested and involved in the music you are making. 

4. Well-Connected 

Having a manager with connects will help get your career going faster. Having someone with connects will help with publicity, getting a booking agent, finding a recording studio, or a gig. 

5. Financially Responsible 

Make sure you pick someone who knows how to handle finances. They need to be able to watch over the touring expenses, recording expenses, and the financial risk that come from signing with a label. Their income comes from the money that you make so if you don't see any money, they shouldn't either. 

Above all, you want a manage who is willing to work with you and has your best interest at heart. A manager is a lifelong partner so you need to think of him as family. Having someone who is looking out for you and taking care of the business side will help keep you focused on the music. 

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http://www.musicmarketing.com/2011/07/music-manager.html
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-tips/5-tips-to-finding-a-music-manager
http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/how-to-find-a-music-manager.html

Music Cities

It seems like every guest speaker we have had has mentioned how important it is to be were the music is happening. You are most likely to get your music out in Nashville than you are in Spartanburg. So I decided to write about the three music cities that I'm aware of and what makes artist go to them.

New York 

New York is where some of the most iconic music originated. There is also diverse music there. You can go from listening to music at the jazz club to the Carnegie Hall. It is an every-changing place to live in. There is always the opportunity to create new things here and it will be attractive to the creative people that live there. However, others say New York's entertainment is a "winner-take-all industry." This means that the vast majority of economic value depends on the effort of only a small number to top performers. So few participants (artists) reap high incomes from their work while the vast majority receives very little. If your a musician starting off in New York, you will make little until you make it big.

Nashville

Nashville is definitely a hot spot when it comes to country music. Great starts have started here or recorded albums here like Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Elvis Presley, and many more. Behind health care, music is Nashville's second largest job generator. For every 1.000 people working there are 7.5 music industry jobs. The cost of living there is 10.2 percent less than the national average which is good for musicians starting off there. There is a reason Nashville is referred to as the "Music City."There are so many musicians there and diverse music. That also means more competition. Most musicians starting out have one or more jobs to help pay the rent. It could be a struggle to be heard or get gigs anywhere.

Atlanta 

Atlanta is known for its hip hop and R&B but artists like Jimi Hendrix, Macklemore, and Death Cab for Cutie have come from here as well. They are known for consistently discovering new hip hop artists and featuring them on V-103, Hot 107.9, and Street 94.5. Artists like Usher, Outkast, Cee lo Green started out in Atlanta.

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http://www.orbitz.com/blog/2014/12/7-best-music-cities-u-s/
https://nextcity.org/features/view/why-nashville-is-still-americas-music-city
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/05/atlanta_n_5008299.html

YouTube

     During class on Friday (9.5.15) we got to talk to Mr. Brauner, an agent at The Agency Group. During the discussion he brought up the fact that he would never sign someone who is YouTube famous because they are a risk and usually don't last. This conversation got me interested in how many artists we know who started on YouTube.
     

     Justin  Bieber   

In 2007 Justin Bieber put a cover of Chris Brown's "With You" on YouTube. Usher saw the video and signed him to his label. 8 years later he is making around $80 million a year from his music, fragrances, model campaigns, and other businesses ventures and has an estimated net worth $200 million. 34 of his songs made the Billboard top 100 and 9 of those were in the top 20. He just got his first number 1 in the U.K charts this past week. 

Gotye 

In 2011, Gotye was a diy artist and uploaded his song "Somebody That I Use To Know." Two 

years later it received the Grammy for Record of the Year. In 2012 it was number 1 on the Billboard charts. The song has made an estimated amount of $7,840,000. 

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 

This hip hop duo has been together since 2000 and has been putting videos on YouTube since 2010. It wasn't till 2012 when their song "Thrift Shop" went viral. It peaked at number 1 on the billboard charts and has sold more than 7 million copies in the U.S.

Carly Ray Jepsen

In 2012 Justin Bieber discovered Carly Jepsen on YouTube when her video "Call Me Maybe" went viral (There was an older version of this song but it got taken down when a VEVO video was made). Justin ended up adding her to his label after going through her YouTube channel and listening to her other songs. This song spent seven weeks on Billboard as number one and was the "song of the summer" in 2012.


There are many more artists who started on YouTube including Greyson Chance, Susan Boyle, Karmin, Souljia Boy, etc. I decided to go with the four that the majority of us would know. These four artists careers are very different even though they all started out the same way.

Justin Bieber is one of the top artists to this day. He just released a song in August that went to number 1 on iTunes the week released. He also just performed on the VMA's a couple of weeks ago. He could never release another song and he will still be famous till he dies. Gotye was a big hit in 2012 but now he is just somebody that we use to know. He has released albums since then but none that hit the top charts. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis has remained active since "Thrift Shop." They have had three more singles make it in the top 20's of the Billboard charts. They also performed at the VMA's a couple of weeks ago. Carly Ray Jepsen went away for awhile after her single "Call Me Maybe" was released. She tried to release an album during all the hype but it failed to get noticed. Since then she has been keeping it low until recently when her new single "I Really Like You" was released a couple of months ago. 

I agree with Mr. Brauner when he said that signing someone from YouTube is really risky. You could have the next Justin Bieber or you could have someone like Gotye who will get a couple of number ones and then goes away. 

Sources:  google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8

                http://www.billboard.com/

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