Ian Grenfell, founder of Silentway Management, was also on the panel that citizensound ran at In The City this year. Representing such artists as Simply Red, Ian has distanced the artist from a major record label, with the artist having greater control (and responsibility) for their future success and development. So, with a little glint in his eye, he asked his fellow panellist Jazz Summers why his acts (such as The Verve) are still with labels, if he thinks record labels offer little for the artist. He suggested to Jazz that, rather than talk about how bad the labels are, Jazz should do as Ian has already done and build an alternative. Seems that Jazz has plans, so he might be following Ian’s lead on this one.

citizensound says:

Ian is a great example of the opportunity that exists in music right now. If the business model doesn’t fit, then go and work one out that does. Don’t wait for a book to be written or the government to legislate for it…DIY is more than making music it is making your own destiny. That is what Ian did. Just don't think it is easy. Also don't assume that all record labels offer little. For many artists and managers, labels offer immense service and support. It's not black and white.

The answer to this was pretty clear from Jazz Summers. For him, brands waste their time with anyone other than the Band Manager. Everyone else is a messenger as far as he is concerned, often with little to add except their percentage. In the end, the brand would have to talk to the manager, so they might as well start there. Ultimately, he is right, as the role of the manager should be to look after the interests of the artist in all aspects of their career. He attacked the labels and anyone else in the middle of the process, such as marketing companies (he was looking at me as he said this!), as he believes that they don't understand what goes inside the heads of the artists, unlike the manager. So far so good. The panel was rocking, and this was only 10 minutes in! Ed Averdieck, Managing Director of Nokia Music Service agreed, confirming that he wished to have much more direct dialogue with managers, rather than going through thrid parties, no matter the fame of the band. For him, using third parties was not efficient. For those agencies who presently advise Nokia on music deals, this might come a bit of a shock! 15 minutes in and things are hotting up. citizensound says:

This is all well and good, but we see the reality as somewhat different. There are clearly band managers out there who are completely at ease with dealing with brands, and understand how they think. However, not every manager can do or wants to. Or they know they do not have the insight on brands that others may have. For some, leaving this in the hands of others is ok. Works for brands too. Brand people and managers are also stretched for time. So inevitably, there is a need to look to others for support. Control and responsibility rests with these two parties, but to say that all people in the middle are either inefficient or a waste of time is a very narrow position to take. Whilst taking ultimate responsibility for the outcome of any deal, many will inevitably depend on third parties who may or may not understand what goes on in the heads of the two parties, but CAN find an effective solution for both parties to benefit.

citizensound organised and moderated a panel that goes to the heart of what we do. Bringing brands and artists together with one thing in mind: ensuring that Brand, artist and fan all benefit from any deal constructed. We convinced the In The City organisers that the growing links between the Brand music worlds needed to be investigated with a panel that would share tips on how to make a Brand/Band relationship work. So we constructed a cracking panel with the following: Ian Grenfell, founder Silentway and manager Simply Red Jazz Summers, founder of Big Life Management, manager Richard Ashcroft, and until recently Snow Patrol Marcel Engh of SonyBMG Europe, responsible for constructing brand deals for their artists Carl Sharples, Head of Customer Propositions, The Co-Op Bank Andrea Moore, Marketing Director, Levi Strauss Ed Averdieck, Managing Director, Nokia Music Service So a wonderful panel, but would they conjure up a lively debate, and help the audience with tips for the future? Too right they did. More on this in the next few posts.

So many young bands were looking for their first break at In the City. Many paid their own way there to showcase their art, in the hope that some music industry person will spot the talent and sign them up. I have heard at recent panels on the future of the music industry, where someone who has been in the industry some time inevitably state that ‘well, it’s easier now to get your music out there…in my day…’. To get the music out is one thing, to get heard is another, to get a fair hearing is yet another. Yet at the A&R panel at In The City, a number of the panellists rightly suggested that sending in a CD and hoping is not enough for a band to get noticed. There is a responsibility for the artist to put the effort in too. And there was no artist more committed to making people aware of their music and name than the wonderfully named Red Star Rebels. If ever a name summed up the music it is this one. Pure unadulterated rock. Loud, fast, and tight…very tight. These guys performed on the last night at In The City to a packed audience mixed with hardcore fans who had travelled to see them along with music industry folk and quite frankly some who were trying to work out what they were witnessing! No band at In The City worked the stage like these guys. Complete entertainment, not just strong music. And this is from someone who is not known to be a fan of such music! For three days solid, you could not go anywhere in Manchester without seeing the Red Star Rebel flyers. The band were out morning afternon and night putting up their flyers. If not doing this, they were chatting to everyone they could at the event, sneaking into the hotel lobby and mingling non-stop. Plus some business contacts of mine received e-mail promotions from the band, quoting that I was a big fan - the cheek of the Rebels! The guys were non-stop. Whether it is a record company, a brand or a VC looking to invest in talent, you can’t ask for any more from a band than this. An immense live performance backed up with a 100% commitment to what they do. I salute the hardest working band in the business - the Red Star Rebels

Every hour every day of the In The City music conference, the huge table was strewn with flyers and CD samples…here are some snapshots of it…

At In The City, the DIY Music panel that Nick and I ran centred around young artists trying to break through, rather than the established artists that the press write about all the time. As a focus for the panel, we invited the talented young musician Rob McCulloch (apologies for the red eye look Rob, but it was that time of night!). The Bolton musician put his CD up on his site and asked his fans to pay what they want for it (pre-dating Radiohead by some way). An average of £11 per album was the result. He has constructed an interesting team around him and his manager, including a company who advises them on marketing and promotion. He is passionately independent, having turned down the advances of the majors in 2005 at SXSW. He controls everything but he is also aware that as things grow for him, the pressures on him will increase, so the topic of the panel interested him more than anyone. Going DIY is not for everyone. Some artists need the comfort of a label. Some believe a more traditional route is best for them. Some have no choice. Some have been rejected by the labels, or have agreed to part company with a label after some time. Ultimately, whilst one could say it is easier than ever to get music out there, it is more difficult to get heard and noticed. So any musician, be they established or new talent, who goes the DIY route is a brave one.

The title of the In The City conference this year was Brand New Dance…but I don't know it's name. Beautifully reflects the confusion and opportunity that is the music industry right now. citizensound was asked by In The City earlier this year to help them assess what the key concerns were in the music industry. We sensed that the speedy reshaping of the industry around the growth of the DIY music culture seemed a good place to start. Artists who have decided to control their own destiny without the support of a major record label are not doing anything new, so understandably another discussion on the rise of DIY music might have been a bit 'so what'. However, DIY music means many things. It could mean DIY in the sense of the era of skiffle music in the 50s where young musicians used what they could find at home to make music (spoons, washboards and more). It could mean a Punk attitude, where making the right notes were not as important as getting up there and not holding back. Right now, the IT in Do-it-yourself is more about the investment, marketing and distribution of music, rather than just the creation. It is about artists wanting control over all of these elements. (more…)

I'm sure some of you would have seen the Nationwide Mercury Music Awards on BBC4 the other night. The awards were founded back in 1992 by then Virgin Records MD, Jon Webster, as a way to champion the best in British music. The awards still seem to generate plenty of column inches in the press, even if the TV coverage is relegated to the BBC's fourth channel. This started to make me think. As award ceremonies seem to be ten-a-penny these days, who really benefits from them? The biggest beneficiaries of the Mercury's are surely the artists, as even the most obscure of acts experience an increase in sales from being nominated. This year, Basquiat Strings sold 6,000 extra copies of their album, an improvement on the 270 copies they had sold prior to their nomination. Meanwhile, music fans benefit from gaining exposure to a bunch of artists that may not have heard of before; 2007 nominees Bat For Lashes, Fionn Regan or Maps were hardly household names, although hopefully they've gained some broader recognition among music fans. What has really been puzzling me is what the awards sponsors, the Nationwide Building Society, get out of it? The brand's website claims "As a major sponsor of sport in the UK, it was a natural step for us to get involved with the nation’s other major passion – music. And like our sponsorship of football, our sponsorship of the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize is a form of advertising, aimed at maintaining our strong and positive brand image." A laudable aim, but are the Mercury's really the place for the brand to build their credibility within the music space? It seems that they have tried to apply the same rules to sponsoring music as it does with sport, without acknowledging that they are very different beasts. It somehow doesn't seem inappropriate for a building society to sponsor the national football team, but I'm not sure what the fans of Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand or Anthony and the Johnsons make of the brands 'involvement' in the music space. It feels like the Nationwide are trying to buy 'cool'. Where in music space you really need to earn it.

We are witnessing so many young people finding their own path in creating, distributing and marketing their own music. The Punk ethic gone global so to speak. Meanwhile established artists are also finding their own way, be it Simply Red, Paul McCartney or Prince. Some are of the opinion that such artists are past their prime, so have no choice but to find alternatives to the record label support. As Naresh Ramchandani suggested:

Prince is doing what every artist formerly known as good has had to do. He's selling out, and it's never pretty.

However, I think he misses the point. Prince is not formally good. Joni Mitchell is not formally good. Music is about sharing with a community, about story-telling, about sharing life experiences, about representing the community. That is what these artists still do in their own way. These artists are exploring new directions of communicating with their community. They are glorious in their bravery, and should be heralded for trying. Anyone in the music world, be they label, manager or artist, should be cheered for trying new things. If no-one takes risks, the music industry will continue to struggle. Critical to risk-taking is understanding your audience. John Sinclair might not have had all the answers in the 60s, but his view that music binds communities together was bang on. By better understanding the community that the artist connects with will help the artist and their representatives. Some artists take risks and benefit, others are less brave. Part of the bravery of trying something different and exploring their relationship with their community is understanding HOW the artist connects. Over the last few decades, this connection has been driven by the recorded song. As my friend (and honorary citizen) Gauti Sigthorssen pointed out, are we not merely reverting back to a time when the live experience was more important, before vinyl transferred the communal experience of music into a commodity? Many people are looking for a greater emotional connection with artists, not just a throwaway flirtation. The sense of community is stronger than ever. Artists (and brands) that understand their community are the brave ones.

Well, a recent visit to a London Starbucks (Hammersmith Tube) gave me a little surprise. We all now know of the tie-up with Paul McCartney and the fact that they have shifted a fair few of his recent release. Good news for all. In store now the price has dropped to £5.99 which suggests that they are now looking to clear out the release for the next artist. Fair enough. However, I would make one suggestion to Starbucks. Having gone to all the trouble of signing up such a big name as Paul McCartney, it might be best not to be playing John Lennon tunes in store. The shock of hearing 'Woman' made me almost choke on my muffin…just imagine (no pun intended) if Sir Macca heard about this.