Is the Record Producer going the way of the dinosaur? Music Industry expert Moses Avalon thinks so unless the business model changes.
Avalon argues that as music sales decrease the sustainability of the record producer is decreasing as well.
Traditionally, record producers make their income via “points” from music sales, generally 3 to 5 points (%) per sale. Fewer sales means less income for the producer who in a lot of cases can make six-figures per recording.
In his latest editorial Moses asks “Add to this is the fact that auditing a record label’s physical sales was already hard enough, but auditing ad-based revenue and blanket licensing is nearly impossible. With this new financial reality, what will producers do to maintain enough of a margin to allow them to take risks on new acts?
However there is a solution. Just as the music industry has had to adapt to new models, Avalon says so does the record producer. “The modern producer needs to be more integrated into the acts they develop from the ground up,” he says. In rap, R&B, and hip-hop, this is already common, but it is rare in rock, country, and other types of acoustic music to see producers taking on more than a creative or administrative role. Now, they will become the artist’s partner in more integrated–or invasive (depending on your viewpoint) ways; their deals with the artists will resemble 360 Deals”.
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