Music Licensing Landscape

Below is a brief list of some of the companies that can help bands and musicians place their music in film, television, commercials, games, etc. What companies did I miss?

Rumblefish (licensing for television, film, advertisements, websites, videos, games, podcasts, and sonic branding - e.g. your music inside your local Gap)
Gamecues (licensing for the gaming industry)
YouLicense (music licensing marketplace - essentially, their system enables artists and those seeking music to conduct business directly with each other)
Pump Audio (artists can license their music in television and advertising without giving up any ownership
BeatPick (music licensing provider)
Ricall (music licensing marketplace, connecting users wanting to license music directly with the relevant copyright owners)
SoundReef (private beta service exchanging music for promotion in television, film, advertising, etc.)

ArtistDish Releases Podcast Pilot

ArtistDish, a new podcast project I've been invited to be a part of with Pat Woodward and Bruce Houghton of Hypebot released its pilot podcast today. This initial broadcast is a discussion about Lively and Topspin, and the impact these technologies may have for indie artists. You can listen to the entire podcast here, or you can subscribe to the ArtistDish podcast and listen via iTunes.

ArtistDish is a 30 minute broadcast co-hosted by Pat Woodward, Bruce Houghton and myself on the state of the indie music industry, and the trends and tools impacting independent artists, labels and managers. Each show covers two topics approximately 15 minutes each. New broadcasts will be posted about every two weeks, and if you have any suggestions for us, please let us know. For more information, please visit ArtistDish.

Second Life, More than a Promotional Tool for Artists: Interview with Grace Buford (A.K.A. Cylindrian)

For several months I've wanted to interview an artist or band successfully using Second Life. A couple of weeks ago, Timothy Moenk sent me a link about a podcast that Rusty Tanton and Amber Rhea recently created on the Georgia Podcast Network with Grace Buford, an Atlanta based singer/songwriter. During this artist interview, Grace, A.K.A. Cylindrian, talks about her experience as a musician using Second Life to market her music. Her insight on how Second Life is helping her connect with new fans and promote her music is helpful, and so, I edited the original podcast and distilled it down to 10 minutes of her comments about Second Life, which you can  listen to here.

Not only is Second Life providing a global, real-time platform for showcasing her music, but Grace is also building a world-wide virtual following. This virtual audience interaction is also convenient and profitable, as Grace can perform on-line as much or as little as she wants, and when she wants, without travel expenses like food, lodging and gas.

Grace is primarily using Second Life as a way to build her brand, get new gigs and for broadcasting, like her IRL live shows and rehearsals. When Grace mentioned this, it occurred to me that Second Life is a great way to publish content to a potential fan community, as well as engage in one-to-one relationships with your existing fans, deepening your fans' loyalty to you. It's also a great way to get feedback on your new songs before you even release them. Who knows, one of your fans may just give you some feedback that's the difference between your song being average, and becoming a hit.

Second Life could also be a good avenue for artists to connect with one another in different parts of the country, helping each other with gigs in geographic areas where they have not yet played. You could also use Second Life to tap into fans that have never heard of your band by visiting the existing virtual communities in Second Life where people gather to listen, see and chat about other artists in your genre.

Towards the end of  this interview, Grace raises a great question... If Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Second Life, etc. are not increasing an artist's fan base or revenue, is it worth it to spend the time managing these promotional tactics? My response is that good music always finds a way to rise to the top, and if one is spending a ton of time marketing their music with little return, than it might be time to pursue another career, because if people don't like your music than marketing it is not going to help you sell it.

If you're an artist and have Second Life successes you would like to share on this blog, please contact me as I would like to post your experiences.