Unsprung Media

Cool. 'Xcept that musicians should first and foremost be just that - musicians. Any idea that includes doing something else - apart from making music - is at best limited to those who have an aptitude for things other than music and - frankly - besides the point. Either you can make money making music - just music - or you can't. Everything else just clouds the debate. Sorry.

Krzysztof,

Did you get my email from last week?

Well, my follow up to your comment is - read my blog. Learn how to incorporate people into your team that can help and possibly raise money, or seek a record deal.

Did anyone ever just make money making music? No, let's see, someone made the CDs, did the PR, bribed the radio station, etc, etc, etc.. It's always been about getting it done with a team; just form a new type of team. Perhaps make a movie as John did, or do something else elaborate and smart..

Cheers...

haha I just stopped by to comment.

Along the lines of . . . basically the OPPOSITE of what krzysztof said - no disrespect.

It's all about multimedia and convergence, I'm more than willing to monetize an artist with no musical talent who has performance talent or charisma.

You gotta remember where I'm from, Flight of the Concords is a BIG DEAL. Their our biggest act right now.

But actually in saying that . . . I'm sure krzysztof opinions represent a niche thats waiting to happen / is happening too . . .

A great idea, the music opening the door to that which truly puts food on an artist's table. I've been grappling with innvoation myself along allied lines, as if you can manage to raise 160 Grand, then there must be noteworthy avenues to make a living. It's just really, really annoying that deals like this one, and all the current land-grabbing corporate ad spend chasers, appear to go to those least deserving, with the UK girl 'band' in this link a case in point;
http://www.utalkmarketing.com/pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4655&Title=Girls_Aloud_to_front_low-calorie_Kit_Kat_ads
How are we independent artists gonna earn our fair share when even Warner's have started their own dedicated division in this field, and the first deal they've done in the UK is a somewhat strange decision for their 'client' to say the least?

Bruce, I know what you're saying. I'm not sure you understand what I am.

I am saying is that the purpose of the musician is to make music. Now, music may be a marketable commodity or not. It all depends on whether people are willing to pay for listening to music.

I'll say it straight: giving a post about a guy who made a movie the title "You Can Make Money In Music" is patently silly. It's about as sensible as saying: "You can make a living as a musician, provided you have a day job as a plumber." Hell, you can even hum your songs while you're poking around in the pipes.

The point that I'm not sure you are aware that you are repeatedly making is that you can only get money for music when you are engaged in doing something completely different (movies, episodic documentaries, blogs, t-shirt sales, whatever). That's as may be, but there is no way you can make it sound like good news to a musician.

@Matt: Artists with no musical talent are the majority at this point and that (among other things) is why the industry is in such a sorry state.

I've never heard of Flight of the Concorde and can't say I'm encouraged to find out more after such an introduction.

If the idea that musicians should concentrate on making music (and get paid for doing so) is a niche these days, it's time for me to retire. :)

Krzysztof

Love your comments. OK, I do get what you are saying.

Look at the Frames, they created songs and then the bass player wrote a movie that happened to be a great vehicle for marketing their songs.

Contrast that to a scenario that may have happened otherwise, and thankfully for them it did not. The alternate scenario could have been: The Frames created songs and then found a record label to facilitate the promotion and sale of their music.

Independent Film = Record Label.

Artists make music - agreed.

What does an artist do next? Not nothing!

-Whistle your tunes into pipes as a plumber?
-Find a record deal?
-Promote on MySpace?
-Set yourself on fire in front of the Hard Rock Cafe?
-Take hostages in a radio station?
-Write a film script?

The choices are endless. I am saying be smart about your options. If you are smart - as in John Carney smart - you will make money..

What I am not clear about (Krzysztof) is what is your plan for "next steps" after you have made some music? There are 4,000,000 artists is the English speaking world. How does one not be a proverbial needle in a haystack?

I am struggling mightly to see how getting signed to a label could be better than making a film that features music?

Always fun. Thanks for having the debate. I think this is useful to readers.

When are you going to start your own blog?

I will take a stab at understanding what Krzystof is saying: The musician who considers himself "solely" a musician / artist should focus on that strength and not be distracted by other aspects involved in music as a career.

If I am correct in that understanding then I think it makes the idea of a "Team" a crucially valid point.

Any artist who is waiting for someone to "discover" their talent and hand them the keys to the music career kingdom is living in a Hollywood dream (That was quite rare even in it's day) that no longer exists. Talent can be measured of course but music is not solely about talent (unfortunately and fortunately).

A career in music just like any career is a series of compromises. The extent or level of compromise is up to the individual but it is inevitable. It is life. To me the "compromise" of assembling a good team of trusted comrades to execute a focused goal may seem like a compromise but it is also just plain damn smart.

Strum your guitars, tinker with your DAW's, paint great works in your basement...But if you want to make a living at it come up with a great team and an "Elaborate Plan".

Musicians keep creating, distributors keep distributing, marketers keep on marketing....and for those of you who can tackle more than one of these...BRAVO!

Cheers,
Milton

This post (from today) from Peter Kohan is related to this discussion.

What is "Selling Out"?

Thanks Milton.

Great blog... wonderful debate. I agree with Krzysztof. This seemed to only work in this case because the bass player was actually equally talented at creating movies. If the movie would have sucked, it would have been a bad idea. A great question is how did they raise $160,000 to make a movie?

I think this post is being taken too literal.

The point seems to be that, in this day and age, thinking outside the box is advantageous for a musician. Not everyone can make a movie, true. But is there something else you could use as a vehicle to expose your music to a broader, in this case, international audience?

As to "making money by only making music" debate, I think the only ones doing that are street musicians. Booking gigs, signing distribution deals and creating marketing materials are not "making music". In order to make money its obvious that a musician needs to wear a different hat and/or hats or else align himself with someone who will do it for him.

My little 1.5 cents...

Peace.

I love this article. I agree with the points given in this article. thank u

detta