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Richard James Burgess
November 14, 2017
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While the digital disruption has had a lasting impact on the music industry, not all of it was bad - especially for the independent music community. The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) has found that the digital and now streaming has opened up new opportunities for up-and-coming artists to establish themselves in an industry that was heretofore all but impossible to succeed with deep pockets or major label support. Here, CEO Richard James Burgess offers his perspective on the current business climate and the independent music community's place in it.
Describe your evolution from a musician to producer to Smithsonian to A2IM.
My first goal from very early in life was to be a drummer and my first career goal to be a studio musician. I achieved both early on. At a certain point, I realized the best musicians in the room (the studio musicians) were not the ones making the most money. Studio musicians make a good living but they get a flat rate whether they play on a dud or a million-seller. Although I was playing with phenomenal musicians, the best producers, and on some very big records, I became serious about being an artist and songwriter.
Eventually, I was signed to five different major labels; I had success as an artist particularly with early electronic music when other artists approached me to do production for their albums. I loved producing because, like being a studio musician, it is an almost completely creative job. You don't have to tour and do all the promotional stuff that artists have to do, but you do earn a royalty from your successes. Along the way, I learned about the problems in the industry, particularly in the way creators were treated, which is why I've been an active member in the musician's union (in the U.K.) and on various boards and committees in an attempt to make a positive difference.
In the mid-'90s, I moved into artist management and owning a label and a booking agency. I had two little kids and I didn't want to spend months away from them while I was producing a record. Managers can have more control over their schedules. Out of the blue in 2001, I was offered a job at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Having been influenced by the Folkways collection (in particular the Leadbelly recordings), I jumped at the opportunity and I stayed there for 14 years.
I joined A2IM as a member when I was at Smithsonian/Folkways and by then our industry was in serious decline from the digital disruption. I ran for the board at then-President, Rich Bengloff's suggestion, and was elected. By the time Rich left I had been elected chairman of the board. A2IM began what turned out to be a six-month search for a CEO and at the last minute, I threw my hat in the ring.
I felt, at that point in my career, this would be something worthwhile working on. I've had a great career and a lot of fun, but it's much different for kids coming up as musicians today and for labels starting up now. I felt I might be able to make a difference, to help artists, musicians, and label owners make a decent living from creating music.
Quick trivia question: You worked with Spandau Ballet, which you called the first "New Romantic band," a term you first coined. Yet here in the States, many people consider Adam Ant the first New Romantic band.
I produced an Adam Ant album and someone told me that Adam was quoted in a magazine saying that he hated me for coming up with the term 'New Romantic.' He never saw himself as 'New Romantic!' Adam came up in the punk scene three or four years earlier; he wasn't a part of the Blitz Kid movement, which was the genesis of what became known as New Romantic. Malcolm McLaren is usually credited for popularizing the British punk movement. This was a socially grim period in the U.K. that the punk ethos reflected and in many ways the New Romantic movement was a counter-reaction to that. I understand it was McLaren that encouraged Adam to transition from the standard punk safety pins and ripped jeans to his Native American garb. Later he moved to the dandyish ruffles and via MTV, that's when America assumed he was part of the New Romantic movement.
Getting back to A2IM, why did you join the group and what were your immediate goals?
I joined A2IM not long after it was founded, after the digital disruption, and as digital distribution systems were being established. I found A2IM incredibly useful. Everything was happening so rapidly; this was a central source of information and a great way to learn about all the digital services, which were popping up every other week.
How did the digital revolution impact A2IM?
A2IM, in many ways, exists because of the digital revolution. The last book I wrote was on the history of music production in which I researched the music industry through the decades. It is interesting that in the late '50s and early '60s, indies enjoyed a 75% market share. That was because technology lowered the barrier to entry and that has happened again with digital technology. Back then it was the invention of magnetic tape. After World War II, Ampex started selling tape machines for a few hundred bucks. The early Ampex reel-to-reel tape machines powered labels such as Atlantic and Sun Records. Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly cut their records on an Ampex 2-track machines at a low cost. The machines were affordable; you could teach yourself to use them, and build a business as an independent record label.
Now, of course, we have digital music, which allows you to record using a MacBook that has more power than the most powerful studios of a couple of decades ago. You have more tracks and more (virtual) outboard equipment - devices that were only available in the really expensive studios in the '80s. You can now make a record cheaply on any kind of computer, but a big difference between now and the '50s is that you can now distribute, promote and market from the same machine. Of course, it takes time and expertise to do it. Also, while it is a blessing that practically anyone can make their own record, the curse is that there are now hundreds of thousands of releases each year and your record can get lost. You need the marketing expertise to get your music heard.
You may not need the gatekeepers of A&R to make a record or to get it released, but if you don't have the expertise or money to promote and market it effectively, it won't go anywhere. That's why labels won't go away. Now we have a diverse range of options. You can go to an independent label that understands how to market your brand of music; and independents now have a 37.32% market share in the U.S. The major label is no longer the only choice.
How has streaming impacted the indie labels and A2IM?
Streaming has opened up a lot of opportunity for independents. What's beautiful about streaming is that if I hear about something I can immediately go and listen to it as part of my subscription. Back in the day, most of us would hesitate before buying an artist's entire collection. Back then the artist would get paid once if I bought their CD. Now, they get paid every time I and anyone else listens to a track. This encourages more diverse listening habits, which benefits independent labels that used to find it difficult to get racked in stores or to get played on radio.
Today, it's imperative that artists make great albums or at least tracks that count. They can't afford to put out albums with one or two great tracks and the rest filler. Now labels and artists get rewarded through repeated plays, not physical goods sold. Getting on radio playlists was always an expensive challenge and while it is still not easy to promote a recording, the barriers to entry via the online platforms are lower than when all we had was radio and physical record stores.
If you're a touring artist you can use the analytics from the streaming services and see where your track is getting played. In the physical sales domain of 10-20 years ago, you might not know about sales in other parts of the country or the world until much later. It was also difficult to get distribution deals in other countries until you had success in your home market. Now you can distribute worldwide, see where you're getting played and target your touring on those areas.
Because of the algorithms that the streaming services use, if we get a lot of replays and are added to playlists, a record can start to rise through the system. It's a more democratic way to develop a record, which is not to say it is easy but it gives an enterprising independent an opportunity that didn't exist 20 years ago.
Since streaming seems to monetize by the track, does that essentially render the album concept obsolete?
Not from what I can see. I tend to listen to tracks more than albums today, but I grew up in a singles world when I was producing in the U.K. Most of the records I produced were "two singles with a six-album option" deals. I would make two singles; if the first one didn't hit, we'd go to the second. If the second one was not a hit, the label would drop the band. If one of the two did hit, we'd make the album. Streaming is not so different from that model.
But I do love albums and when I talk to my team - who are all millennials -- they think albums are doing fine. I'm happy to hear it. It's beautiful to go on a streaming service where you can create a playlist of separate tracks, or you can listen to a full album. I suspect albums will survive. The streaming economy puts more pressure on artists to be consistent; you can't do the "two hits and a bunch of filler" in this environment.
So where does radio fit in the indies' mix?
At this point, radio is following streaming in terms of where records get started, Radio has never been a great fit for independent labels, but as it increasingly follows streaming, it's becoming even less relevant. It still doesn't pay musicians performance royalties, which is egregious. To be the only country in the developed world that doesn't pay artists and labels is shameful. They got away with claiming promotional value for years, which might have had some merit when CDs were $20. Now people don't have to buy physical goods or discover music on the radio; they can stream it. From our point of view, the game has changed; independents can prove themselves via streaming and perhaps wind up on the radio, or they can develop the record via streaming and never bother with radio.
Radio's days as a discovery source are numbered because of connected devices and the connected car. Radio does not dominate the connected dashboard.
Realistically speaking, can you ever see radio paying some sort of performance royalty?
A2IM is part of a coalition that is called musicFIRST. It includes the Recording Academy, the RIAA, the Musicians Union, and SAG-AFTRA, and we are making some progress in talks with the NAB. That's not to say we're on the brink of a deal, but for the first time in my history of knowing about this, they are listening with a more sympathetic ear and vice versa. We're trying to get to a consensus that can lead to legislation.
Radio has not paid for music for 97 years. There have been something like 26 attempts to get a terrestrial performance right since the early 1920s. The NAB is a powerful lobbying entity, but we are trying to find a win-win if there is one to be had.
Hip-Hop seems to be the more successful on independent labels than other genres. Why do you think that is?
I am not sure that's true but Hip-hop is now, effectively, pop music. It's like the early '90s, when alternative rock became the new pop music. Obviously, there's pop music outside of hip-hop, but even then a good amount of pop has some sort of hip-hop or rap influence in it.
Radio created genres and packaged music to sell to advertisers. They test music to make sure it appeals to the correct demographic. The independents, on the other hand, take chances on new music that doesn't necessarily fit neatly into genres but that can be developed and, ultimately, do really well. Many independent acts are rising to the top because they have a means of validating their music without being dependent on a few radio programmers and radio promotion people. We can still develop an artist and get them on the radio, while at the same time, we can make, what might be thought of as a noncommercial record, not get it on the radio, and still be very successful with it.
Where does EDM fit in the indie music mix?
It's all part of the mix. Some genres will rise and others will fade away; this happens to be one that has endured for a long time - like hip-hop, EDM infuses other styles of music including pop, country and even hip-hop. Nothing lasts forever, but there will always be some form of dance music and I don't foresee electronic music going away. It will just morph over time.
What are the goals for A2IM going on from here?
There are always new labels popping up, as well as new batches of 16 or 17-year-old artists who have a limited knowledge of our business. Nowadays many of those teens are going to become their own labels because it's easy to make and release a recording. If you put out a record, you have performed at least some of the functions of a label. Once you get really serious about it, you'll start hiring people to work your record. A2IM wants to help those people understand the constantly changing parameters they need to understand in order to be successful.
It goes back to why I joined A2IM when I was at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. The digital distribution business was changing so rapidly that labels needed a central source of information to keep up. Our industry continues to change and I expect that change to accelerate. I find that exciting. To keep A2IM viable, we need to keep up with the changes, work to prevent negative changes, and disseminate the new parameters to our members, to give them a better chance of having success on their terms.
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