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Hi
to you all!
I hope that 2003 has begun on a positive note
for you! I believe with all my heart that this
will be an especially fantabulous year for all
of us creative people that work it hard. My
blessings have been bountiful so far. I've
taped appearances on Montel Williams, John
Walsh and The Other Half (what a thrill to get
interviewed by legendary Dick Clark) since new
years. I was also quoted in an article in the
Daily News about why many signed musicians
don't make much money with Danny Goldberg and
John Scher.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/61035p-56985c.html intend to stay on this roll! You're all
capable of getting on the fast train and
holding on. Get into the right frame of mind
and expect it like I do. : )
My most exciting news: Many of you know that I
also write relationship books. I just found
out that my book, All Men Are Jerks until
Proven Otherwise, is being translated into
Persian by a woman for distribution in Iran.
The book is already out in 9 languages, but
it's especially exciting to me to perhaps
*infiltrate* this part of the world where
women don't have as many rights.
Please forward this newsletter to your mailing
list or anyone you'd like. If this was
forwarded to you and you'd like to subscribe,
send me an email that says
"subscribe" in the subject header
with your name and city/state. If you'd like
to post it on your site, please ask for
permission and I'll give it. Read past issues
at http://www.daylle/monthly.html If you
prefer to be taken off my list, please say
unsubscribe in the subject header of an email.
I'm writing a completely revised edition of
Start & Run Your Own Record Label for
release in fall '03. Because I want to share
the wealth of info I've gotten, I've been
including samples of interviews with people
for my next book in each issue of this
newsletter. My goal is to give you as many
tools and as much motivation as I can to
enable you to empower yourselves.
Revenge Productions
http://www.daylle.com
1. The road less traveled
2. Interview with legendary Danny Goldberg
3. My seminars
4. Black Rock Coalition
5. Tips on escape clauses in contracts: a
guest column by Joy R. Butler, Esq.
6. Free online newsletters
7. Interview with Rick Zeiler on Jagermeister
sponsorship
8. Great songwriting & Networking events
1. The road less traveled: In their E-News
Monthly, 5 Star Productions
(http://www.5-starproductions.com/indexframe.html)
includes inspirations. I identified with one
by Robert Frost: "I took the road less
traveled by, and that has made all the
difference." It made me think, and smile
- at the same time. Taking the road less
traveled doesn't seem as easy as following the
obvious path. The less traveled one may not be
clear and you may have to use your wits and
talent to make progress. But taking the road
less traveled is the surest way to develop
yourself, and your talent, to the fullest
degree. I'm an avid hiker. I was recently in
Utah and had the choice of hiking a well-known
trail in Bryce Canyon, or a lesser known one
in Red Canyon next door. I was convinced to do
the latter. Seemed like everyone else chose
Bryce because we didn't see another person the
whole day. Loved that! The trail was very
rocky and sometimes hard to follow because few
people took it. It was fun getting lost and
rewarding to finally reach the top. The view
was more exhilerating than anything I could
imagine. We thought of all those tourists
trucking together on the popular path, not
knowing what they were missing.
A well worn path is easier to follow. That's
why so many musicians try to be clones of
those who are succeeding. But the rocky, less
obvious path, pushes you to greater levels of
yourself. And it also allows you to dig deeper
to create songs that are unique to you. I
often piss people off doing things I'm *not
supposed to* or I'm *too old for* or that
don't follow the traditional way of thinking.
YEAH! Following my passion - not the norm -
has made me who I am and allows me to wake up
smiling and satisfied each day. Have the
courage to follow the road that calls you, no
matter how few have been down it before. When
that road is successful for you, others will
wear out the path after. Someone has to be the
first! Don't let people discourage you or try
to fit you in a slot. People have tried doing
that to me for many years. But fitting into a
slot makes me claustrophobic, as it does most
creatives. I kick back! : ) Give yourself the
pleasure of being true to yourself! My
favorite line from the self-esteem book I'm
writing is "The greatest gift to
yourself, is yourself."
2. Interview with legendary Danny Goldberg: I
was thrilled to meet with Danny Goldberg,
Chairman and CEO of Artemis Records, the
number one independent label for 2 years in a
row. He has an illustrious history and says he
went from being a journalist to being a
publicist and then a personal manager. He
adds, "When I got to be 40, I took a job
with Atlantic and from then I worked for big
companies." Goldberg became President of
Atlantic Records, and went on to be Chairman
and CEO of Warner Bros. Records as well as of
the Mercury Records Group. He began Artemis in
1999.
Why did you start Artemis? "I had gotten
fired when Universal bought Polygram and they
eliminated the Mercury Records Group. Michael
Chamber came to me with vision to start a new
label. I thought it was a good atmosphere to
start one. We both had the same idea. He had
the money and I had the background,
supposedly, and so we were able to do it
together. And here we are 3 years later."
How did you develop your niche? "We've
been able to get good artists. A record
company is only as good as the sum of the
records you put out. I think we had enough
funding and a team of people that could
attract really good artists, at a time when
certain artists just aren't served by the
majors. So I've been able to fill part of that
niche. I think we have a ways to go before I
get where I want to get to be a solid company.
And I want to operate with a longer term
agenda than you have when you're going year to
year. But I think we've had some good records.
. .We can offer artists more than some of the
smaller indie labels and we'll pay attention
to artists that wouldn't get attention at some
of the bigger ones."
What kind of artists? "I'd say 2/3 of
what we do now are artists that were dropped
by major companies and have a sales base -
Boston, The Pretenders - where we know there's
a certain amount of sales. The ballpark is a
sales base between 100,000 and a million. Over
a million the majors are not going to drop
anybody. For us, under 100,000 is not as
attractive, although there are a lot of
exceptions."
How do you choose newer artists? "We look
for a following, some press, a producer who
brings some marketing ability, radio stations
that like them. We're risking a lot when we
put out a record, not only the cash. The
smallest cost these days is the recording or
the advance to the artist. The biggest cost is
the marketing and a substantial cost is the
cost of staff time. We look at all those
business factors as a filtering device. The
final element is equally important -
intuition, an emotional connection to some of
the music and a feeling about their new songs
or where the artist is in the arc of their
career or the recording is exciting. It's a
decision that involves rationality as well as
emotion."
What are some advantages of being an indie?
"We can be successful at a lower level of
sales. It gives you a certain kind of artist
you can really work on passionately, whereas
in the context of a major, some of them would
not be important. For example, Steve Earl was
selling 125,000 at Warners. We got him to
200,000. That difference wouldn't make a
difference to Warners or Columbia. Whereas at
Artemis, it does make a difference, to us and
Steve. The good side is the ability to really
focus on every record, to get to know every
artist. The company is a more holistic entity
and personal experience, for me and the people
who work here."
3. My seminars: My next seminars - Start &
Run Your Own Record Label and How to Get a
Record Deal - will be held in the fall. I¹ll
have the new dates soon.
http://www.daylle/seminar.html
"Daylle's seminar was the most on-point,
user-friendly music-business seminar that I
have ever attended. When I left, I felt
pumped-up and ready to take the recording
industry by storm. My entire career has taken
a sharp change for the better. I now feel
armed with powerful tools that will allow me
to create exactly the kind of career that I
want, when I want. By seeking out the right
resources in the right way, I will determine
my own level of success. If you want a no b.s.
approach that works, get thee to a Daylle
seminar ASAP. I feel that I have been given an
extreme advantage over the average DIY
musician because of my new knowledge. It is so
refreshing to know that there is someone out
there who is on your side and wants to help
you better yourself and your career. Thank you
Daylle." Jeff Everest President of 424
Records Inc.,
jeffeverest1@yahoo.com 11/02
I always ask people to include their emails
with quotes so you can check if you'd like
that they're legit. : ) There are many more on
my website.
4. Black Rock Coalition: You've seen info that
I've posted here from the Black Rock Coalition
(BRC). I was asked to write a piece on the BRC
http://www.blackrockcoalition.org for
musicdish.com in honor of Black History Month,
and thought I'd inform you here too. I've been
a member of this terrific organization for
many years. It's a non-profit, run by
volunteers, that's dedicated to expanding and
advancing opportunities for Black musicians.
Their main chapter is in New York City but
there's also one in L A and membership is
international. I've gotten more support from
them than from any other org I've belonged to.
They announce the shows and activities of
members through their weekly e-mail. They
provide performance opportunities; music
clinics; panel discussions with music industry
professionals; and good networking
opportunities. Individual membership is an
inexpensive $25 per year. Band membership is
$100 (check their site for restrictions).
Members are people of all races who support
equal opportunities in music. I have a lot more
details plus an interesting interview with
Darrell M. McNeill, BRC Director of
Operations, at
http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=7440
5. Tips for escape clauses in contracts: I'm
thrilled to have a guest writer this issue.
She's shared some ways you can protect
yourself from being stuck indefinitely in
agreements that aren't working for you.
WHAT'S YOUR EXIT STRATEGY? by Joy R. Butler,
Esq Record deals, songwriting agreements, and
other music industry contracts often involve
your handing your intellectual property rights
over to another party. When things do not work
out, you should be able to reclaim those
rights. You can accomplish this through escape
clauses which allow you to terminate the
contract in the event the other party fails to
meet specific goals. Here are some examples:
RECORD DEALS: Normally, a record company's
standard contract will give no guarantee that
your album will be released. You may not be
able to negotiate a guarantee, but at the very
least, the record company should agree to let
you out of the contract if your album is not
released within a specified period of time.
SONGWRITING AGREEMENT: Many songwriters work
with a music publisher to promote their songs.
In addition to keeping 50 percent of your
songwriting income, the music publisher
typically holds the copyright in your songs.
If a music publisher isn't able to generate
significant song revenue for you within one to
two years, you should be able to reclaim the
copyright in your songs.
MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS: A personal manager
helps you with overall career development.
Many new artists maintain a right to terminate
the contract if their manager has not secured
them a record label contract within one to two
years. Since a manager receives a commission
of up to 25 percent of your gross income on
contracts he helps you to secure, you must
also consider what happens if the management
relationship terminates before the contracts
he negotiated terminate? While it's fair for
your personal manager to continue to earn
commissions on income generated by contracts
he helped you get, there should be some limits
placed on such post-management commissions
such as a gradual reduction in commissions
over a period of time.
Joy R. Butler represents entertainment,
intellectual property and business clients
through her law firm practice (
http://www.joybutler.com)
in the Washington DC area. If you're in that
location and need an attorney, check her out!
She's also the author of the audiobook, The
Musician's Guide Through the Legal Jungle,
available from
http://www.GuideThroughtheLegalJungle.com.
6. Free online newsletters: Besides my
newsletter, there many other free ones on
line. Harmonica Kao
volunteered to help me compile a list of the
free online music industry newsletters. I have
some below. Harmonica gathered and summarized
most of these and I sincerely appreciate his
help! If anyone has others to recommend,
please let me know. The rest of Harmonica's
will be in the next issue.
http://www.indiebible.com/newsletter Published
by my good friend and angel, David Wimble,
this comes out once a month and contains
valuable articles on marketing music via the
internet, websites that will review and play
your music, and lots more. AND, he has free
give-aways (great products) with every issues.
http://www.musicdish.com/ This is an industry
e-journal that comes out once a week. It has
interviews, news, and articles of interest to
everyone in the music industry.
http://mi2n.com/subscribe.php3 If you go to
this link you'll find a variety of different
newsletters with news from the industry. You
can send your own press releases to them.
http://www.musesmuse.com/musenews.html
- Muse
News is the monthly newsletter from Muse's
Muse and is a great resource for songwriters
and performers.
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/ - This site sells
music software but also offers a newsletter
which gives tips, free downloads and
competitions.
http://www.musicbooksplus.com/newsletter.htm
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This site sells music books but also give a
newsletter with tips/advice on all aspects of
the industry.
http://www.GuideThroughtheLegalJungle.com/newsletter.htm
- Gives newsletter on entertainment and media
industry legal advice and issues written by
Joy R. Butler, Esq., my guest writer.
http://www.filmmusicmag.com/joinourlist.html
This provides current news related to the
songwriting biz and announces their events.
7. Interview with Rick Zeiler on Jagermeister
sponsorship: Rick Zeiler is Director of
Marketing Brand Development for Jagermeister.
After interviewing Rich Hardesty (January
issue), I had to call Rick to find out how and
why Jagermeister sponsors musicians. The deal
is you'd be promoting the product at gigs so
you'd better like it. Here's highlights of the
interview:
Why does Jagermeister sponsor musicians?
"We're dedicated to working with
independent artists, on a local, regional and
national level. We pride ourselves on the fact
that we sponsor so many independent artists
around the country. We have a lot of respect
and admiration for these people. They do what
they do because they love it. It's a
frustration to some when they don't get
signed. We as a company try to take care of
some of the financial burdens that some of the
artists would generally have."
What do you give them? "What we do as a
company is supply the independent artist with
posters, lighters, shot glasses, t-shirts.
Once we give it to them we don't care what
they do with these items. We ask that they
give them a way but they can sell them. We're
always searching for ways to promote our
product and of course help out the artist.
We've been very successful in sponsoring about
120 bands around the country, some signed but
most unsigned. We sponsor primarily rock and
metal bands. But we don't limit ourselves to
one style of music (they now have a country
band). As a company we want to be diversified.
But also we're looking for bands that love to
drink and promote Jagermeister. Those bands
will do well in helping us.
What does a Jager band have to do? "They
send us weekly reports with how many bottles
they sold at a particular promotion. That
gives us feedback about how the band is doing.
The bands that do well get the most products
and attention from us. Each night they ask the
bartender how much Jager they went through. It
gives us an idea of how much product they're
promoting on a specific night.
What's the deal with your tours? "We send
out fairly recognizable national acts on a
national tour. It's been a huge success for
our company. We incorporate all the local and
regional bands to open up the shows. It gives
all the Jagermeister bands the ability to play
before a national audience, with national
bands. Jagermeister puts a lot of money behind
the tours and they're very successful. They
play at 1,500 - 2,000 capacity venues."
How can a musician apply? "A musician can
send a press kit to Adam Grayer, Sidney Frank
Importing Company, 20 Cedar St., Suite 203,
New Rochelle, NY 10801. We send the band a
test trial - t-shirts, lanyards, hats, and
other items. We ask them to promote at their
next show and supply us with photographs, and
feedback from that show."
8. Great songwriting & Networking events:
I'm happy to announce events that people let
me know about. Please notify me about others.
My newsletter goes around the world so
location isn't an issue. I know more about NYC
events, but have friends in other cities who
keep me clued in to other events. Here are
some good ones:
The Songwriters Hall of Fame Songwriter
workshops has their monthly NYC networking
event on Monday, February 24th at the Triad at
6:30, featuring a panel of Music Publishers,
followed by an open mic. This is 2 days after
my seminar and if I'm recovered, : ) I plan to
get to this one. I always advise songwriters
to get to anywhere that has music publishers
or any songwriting related people speaking.
That's how people make money from songwriting!
For more info, call Bob Leone at 212 957-9230.
A last minute NYC songwriting event is on
Wed., Feb 12th sponsored by the NY chapter of
Film Music Network
http://www.filmmusic.net.
They have events in different cities: NY, LA,
San Francisco meet once a month, Boston (on
temporary hiatus); Opening soon: chapters in
Nashville and London. Most aren't posted on
their website. I was told to go to their site
and subscribe to their free newsletter (above)
to hear about them. I've heard their panels
are excellent. This next one is called Putting
Your Training to Use: Conservatory Trained
Composers Who Have Crossed Over into Film and
TV Music, featuring 3 successful composers:
Stephen Endelman, Andrew Barrett, Richard
Einhorn. It's at Carroll Music, 351 West 41
St. (betw 8th & 9th Aves.) at 6:30. Cost
is $15, which includes pizza! Doors open at 6.
RSVP if you're going and get more info at 212
592-3600 The NY chapter is putting together a
panel focusing on music for commercial
advertisements on March 18. Call the hotline
for the speakers as it gets closer.
Film Music Network publishes Film Music
magazine (6 issues a year), FM Institute
(course offerings around the country), the TCM
Young Composers Competition, resources for
filmmakers and producers, forums, jobwires,
directories, and radio channels that offer
talk shows and they also syndicate Soundtrack
Cinema (from KING-FM in Seattle). Check them
out!!
L. A. Women in Music: LAWIM has been around
for ages and has wonderful events in LA. I
wish I could participate! I know some of the
*top brass* and would love to hang with them.
: ) Oh, it's NOT for women only. Many men
participate too. They support their members
and have showcases and other events. On
Monday, March 10, 2003, they have their annual
membership meeting from 6:30 - 8:30 pm - ASCAP
Conference Room, 3rd Floor, DGA Building; 7920
Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. http://www.lawim.org
Consider joining if you're in the LA area!
And last but not least, my friend Val Ghent
asked me to let you know about The
Songwriter's Beat & The Songwriter's Beat
NewSongs Workshop. Val works tirelessly to
support musicians. The Songwriter's Beat is an
acoustic night that meets every 3rd Wednesday,
at 9pm at the Cornelia Street Café in NYC;
doors open at 8:45pm; ($5, w/ $6 minimum).
Featuring 4 songwriters per night, each gets
30 minutes to perform and are encouraged to
try out new material! It's curated and hosted
by artist /writer /producer Valerie Ghent. Val
also runs the Songwriters Beat NewSongs
Workshop, which meets every 1st Tuesday of the
month, 6pm-8pm. Sign up begins at 5:30pm. Open
to all, this workshop welcomes those from out
of town who are looking for a place to meet,
hear and exchange with other songwriters. Its
focus is on new songs. Writers to present one
new song each, as well as discuss aspects of
the creative process, performing, and the
craft of writing. Featured guests include name
artists, producers, managers & industry
reps to discuss various aspects of
songwriting, record production, releasing an
indie CD and more. (Free, $6 minimum).
contact:
vghent@weststreetrecords.com
http://songwritersbeat.com
Ya really gotta love musicians when you see
how many are putting these events together to
support other musicians! I'm so proud to call
many of them my friends. : ) You'll attract
the best karma to your music if you reach out
and help others. Keep that in mind always. Get
into the habit of reaching out when you can. I
don't recommend giving time or energy you
can't afford. But sometimes a few kind words
can make a difference to someone. I'm fueled
to do this newsletter by all the wonderful
letters I receive. It's truly is a blessing
when you can make a difference in someone
else's life, however small it may seem.
Kindness is always appreciated, even if the
person doesn't show it. Sadly, some people
aren't used to receiving and don't know how to
respond. But they still get nourished by it
and that's what's most important.
Here's a challenge - do something kind for
someone today - unconditionally - expecting
nothing in return. I try to do this each day.
It definitely can add sunshine to your life! :
)
If you have anything to share, please feel
free to send it. Until the next issue.....
Keep your passion strong,
Daylle
Revenge Productions
http://www.daylle.com
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