Research

If you are a record label and you want to increase your sales then Depth Charge in association with Global Communication Music Media Research can help.

The music industry can be divided into two sectors.

The First Sector is the Major Label Sector. Big corporations run by executives like those pictured on the Promos Page.
The Second Sector is the Independent Label Sector.

Major Labels. In the last 40 years today's Major Labels have become very sophisticated in organising sales, promotions and distribution.

Today, using bar codes a record label can know how many people bought albums in stores in any specific region. Tour support for albums can be organised to follow up success in any territory and advertising money can be targeted per TV Region. In direct response to demand a record store like Virgin or HMV or any grocery chain that sells records (Wall Mart to Tescos) can order records to replace those that are in demand.

In America the big record companies have used bar code systems as a major part of their market research and market response infrastructure. If a new act is launched and sales are low (monitored by bar code activity) a company can decide whether to perceiver with an act or drop them. Prior to bar code response a record company would spend way too much or way to little on product. If a company manufactured 1 million albums and only sold 100,000, a company could go bankrupt. If a record company manufactured only 200,000 records but retail demand was for 2 million copies then a company has lost a lot of revenue. Bar Codes with managed adverting has created a $38 billion dollar music industry in the west which is driven primarily by the development of the American Marketing Machine.

Independent Labels. The Independent Music business is the trend setter for what big record companies will invest in. Hip Hop, Trance, Rock N Roll, Reggae, Jazz, Drum&Bass, Techno etc, all started off as Independent Music before the labels that specialised in these art forms were licensed by Major Corporations that would look to sell records on mass. The costs and procedures involved in joining the bar coding and publishing organisations along with using marketing and distribution companies that can facilitate mass sales today for many independent labels is prohibitive.

Signing An Independent Label. When a Major Label signs or Licenses an Independent Label it does so with two fundamental concepts in mind.

It has signed the label on the basis that the music produced is part of a new buying trend in any sub culture from Country and Western to Heavy Metal. In the case of Hip Hop in America, Andre Harrell's Uptown Records which gave us Puff Daddy, Mary J Blige, Teddy Riley & Guy and Heavy D is a case in point.
If what the Independent Label produces is part of a scene that is happening all over the country (e.g. Hip Hop) then each Major Label hopes to get the best Labels in the Independent Scene signed to its books.

An independent label many not have bar codes but it has enough buyers for Major Record Company executive to notice that their sales are in decline (bar code monitoring) and their must be some other forms of music that their market is buying instead.

By choosing the best Independent Labels and using their sales infrastructure it is hoped that they can now supply what the market is now willing to pay for.

Universal Product Code

Record Label Barcode

Bar Code Scanning And Data Transfer Systems Enable Record Companies To Track Record Sales All Over North America And Canada

With this network of sales monitoring a record company can target sales promotion and album tour campaigns by city, region and state. Areas of the territory are divided into television and radio regions so that exact amount can be spent and reinvested area by area to break a band nationally. Once a band or artist is famous in America, the profits can be used to sell an act internationally.

In the Promos Section you will read about the development of Jazz in America. Labels like Verve or Reggae labels like Studio 1 are run by people who have an ear for a particular style of music. Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown did not take a small label and grow it into one of the largest music entertainment companies in the world using Bar Code Systems which are used for books (see left) and many other product. Many forms of Dance Music are in a grey area because they have no way of monitoring how successful their music is by region or how successful it can become.

Administered By GCMMR Global Communication Music Media Research

The Chart World Global Monitor has being designed with labels like those owned by people in the Drum and Bass world in mind. If you are a Producers or Independent Label owner all you have to do is email us using the box below and we will be in contact with you about the chart's launch date and how it works. Once we have 200 users logged onto our service we will be launching a Top 10, 20, 50, 100 and Top 200 Listing.

Technology is making it easier to log music activity around the globe in the Drum and Bass world and once the chart is launched we will be distributing a copy of the Chart Listing to all Music Business Publications Commercial Radio Stations and Club & Dance Music Press internationally. The chart will make it possible for all of the creators of Drum and Bass music to gain global recognition for what they. The chart will see many new DJ Producers in the scene of Drum and Bass becoming globally known.

From Virgin To Motown & Bar Code Systems

Two of the biggest label founders in recent history have been Richard Branson and Berry Gordy. Berry Gordy succeed in building his big label because he was a producer, record label owner, writer and manager all in one. Richard Branson's label launch succeeded because he ran a music mail order business that had a client base and when he signed Tubular Bells he know it would work because he was selling music to a public that already bought what he was selling. Most of today's Dance Labels are more like Berry Gordy because the owners are writers/producers/label owners.

Whereas Richard Branson had to wait to find a product, Berry Gordy created his. In the dance world producers crate their own product. Many major label executives are not producers or writer as in the case of Berry Gordy and sometime Major Label Execs don't know if a product is good or bad.

The financial systems that a major label uses to manage which acts get signed, kept on, dropped or reinvested into are very similar to that of a bookmakers (betting shop). A betting shop is designed mathematically (the odds) to take in more money than it gives out. Major record labels are run on similar principles. The insurance industry using complex formulas sell life or car insurance polices on the basis that you are less likely to die or have a car accident. Every non claim is their profit.

In the case of Verve Records which was set up and run by a Jazz lover, many major label executives do not have a "Berry Gordy" ear for what is good, bad or will work. Every Record Verve signed is brilliant. Every Studio 1 Record is a classic, every Early Motown act made history.

Bar Code Systems are part of an electronic Feed Back or Regional Focus Group mechanism that executives can use to look at a country by regions and know what is selling where.

In exactly the same way that a bookie looks at his "Figures" and decides which odds should be given to what horses to reduce or enhance his profits on the horses in direct relation to their performance, budgets are given to artists. The reason why it is difficult to get a major record deal is that the music industry is about profit and returns - not music. Music from the point of view of the shareholders is simply a vehicle to make money.

Major labels are neither good nor bad, they, as companies are in business to sell the product they can sell in the most efficient manner possible using the business system they have invented in it's present incarnation over the last 40 years. Major labels are not in existence to sell "credible music" they are there to sell that which can be sold.

If we look at Berry Gordy, Jazz, as exemplified by Verve or Blue note or Richard Branson, these companies aimed at a core market with an overspill market in mind.

Richard Branson looked at his core audience as being his mail order customers who were big enough in size to launch his own label. if he sold enough product to his core audience his overspill would be the national charts. Berry Gordy's core audience was Black America, his overspill was White Teenager America. Def Jam was aimed at Urban Black Youth, its spill over market was Teen America. Jamaica's Labels owners core audience was both domestic and overseas Jamaicans and West Indians, their spill over market was the rest of the world. Verve and Blue Note's core audience is the Jazz lover in America, then they sell to the rest of the worlds Jazz community.

Where Is The Drum And Bass Market Of The Future For Producers Across The World?

In the late 1980s when Rave culture was big, Bands like Prodigy, Bizarre Inc as well as artists like Dina Carroll (Quartz Melt Down) and Rozalla became internationally known acts.

the Rave scene had something that today's Drum and Bass music does not, international press.

The E Culture was big news, not just in England but in American music publications like Billboard. The 1960s gave the music world Woodstock, Jimmy Hendrix and LSD, 40 years later the UK has Rave Culture with all of the youth moving in convoys to outdoor events where everyone takes drugs. the music with its speeded up vocals was said to be understood only by those who were high. With tabloid newspapers giving the scene front page coverage, artists to come out of the scene had a spill over audience who bought records and "middle of the road DJs" buying the tracks that were supposed to be the next big thing coming out of Rave Culture. The death of a few teenage girls who took drugs at Raves but the publicity on the music in the mainstream press at fever pitch. The UK Rave Scene had a publicity vehicle working for it. DeMobs "Acieeed" was banned but the publicity enabled him to launch "Aint It Time To Get Funky". Rozalla was dubbed "Queen Of Rave Music" and Prodigy were the "Wild Boys or Mick Jaggers of Rave". Mr C of the Shaman sang "Es Are Good" and the threat of banning the song propelled it to number 1 in the charts.

The publicity of the Rave Culture created its spill over market but by the time the Rave Culture had moved into Jungle/Drum and bass and after the publicity had died because people moved from the out door event to the club, Rave was unable to sustain a market. In contrast Jungle/Drum and Bass has sustained its strong underground following, the problem for Drum and Bass is that it has been unable to create its spill over markets which Rave had created for it by tabloid exposure making albums sell millions of units.

Drum and Bass qualitatively is far superior to Rave but it has no publicity mechanism to make its spill over sales grow like other scenes.

There are enough DJs, Record Label owners and clubs across Europe to create spill over marketing forums if these labels, DJs and clubs acted like the major industry.

All of the bar code information that creates the National and International Charts as listed in Billboard shows the industry how well it is performing.

In Billboard you can read about how much money a company is going to spend to launch its new acts in the Country and Western, Hip Hop, Jazz, RnB, Reggae and Rock market. You see what parts of the country will be targeted to launch an act, what TV and Radio stations are going to be used to advertise a track or album and even what parts of the country will be bill posted.

Dance Magazines are doing a great job of reporting about the scene for those that are part of the scene itself. As you can see from Billboard its focus is on how labels intend to sell both to niche and spill over markets. What the Drum and Bass needs is an information resources similar in function as Billboard for labels that are not Bar Coded.

Depth Charge in association with Global Communication Music Media Research will be keeping the Drum and Bass community in touch with the developments that will make this music one of the strongest international club scenes ever.

If you go to the DC TV page you can read about what Depth Charge is doing in the world of online Television and Radio. In this Research Section you have seen how companies use money and bar coding systems to manage the international promotion of music. In the future the internet and television will be one. How long it is before we get there is unsure. What we do know is this, in the major industry companies like Microsoft are inventing the devises that will make it possible to view online television on a computer or television screen.

Napster Understood. The biggest threat to an industry, if people are going to steal form you will look like a television but it will have the recording clarity of a CD or DVD. The major label machine that has evolved over the last 40 years was designed to sell millions of albums by investing $/£millions in an acts recording and marketing process. with a computer a record can be made for as little as $/£800-£/$1200..

A recording artist signed to a major company gets about 10% of the price of an album, so $1 for an album costing $10 in the shops. For a major artist to earn $100,000 she has to sell 1 million albums. Once an artist is famous they make more from big live gigs, advertising and airplay royalties. A solo artist/DJ Producer who sells 50,000 albums @ £/$10 each would generate £/$500,000.

For a major label, having invested millions in launching an act, any high level of piracy seriously affects the label's ability to recoup its investment. For an independent label selling 50,000 records by major label standards is enough to get the artist dropped, as was the case with many Drum and Bass acts. But 50,000 sales to a Drum and Bass label that has 4 artists/DJ producers in its camp that all sell the same amount is brilliant. People pirate Brittany Spears because they know her. if the music industry becomes very niche market orientated then fame as we know it may be a thing of the past. Artists will be selling fewer volumes but making more profit. Michael Jackson's Thriller sold 50 million copies. Mariah Carey's first album sold 20 million copies. Fugees - The Score sold 20 million copies. Other big artists stateside can sell 1-10 million of an album. For less industry headache, selling 50,000 with less hassle will be an option more acts go for.

Drum and Bass is one of the few scenes in the world where the scenes credibility is not based on TV and radio airplay or major label support. with this in mind Drum and Bass is a scene that can grow its own industry from the bottom up.

Independent Labels - Independent Distribution. When the independent labels of House and Techno started 20 years ago selling 20,000-50,000 copies of a 12 Inch was reasonable. 10 years ago independent distribution companies went broke and took the labels they had with them. today in England there exists the EEC which should give producers of the dance world a bigger market. Some distribution companies in recent times have been involved in a conflict of interest scenario that has worked against some of the newer label. in order to raise profits because they could not increase export or domestic sales of the labels on their books, independent distribution companies set up their own labels and sold these product in preference and to the detriment of those who had better long term earning potential. The web will offer newer producers the ability to develop a profile without the expense of advertising and without the worry of not having adequate promotional recourses to increase sales.

Record Labels run by DJs and the clubs that host the events will not be charted by "bar coded sales tallies" but labels will be grade like a football league. the best DJs with the best labels with the best music will be the future. The sole advantage a label will have will be its musical talent. Stables will emerge like Motown where the acts form a label will be seen as the most talented when compared to others in there label troop.

Up until and in anticipation of that time actually being here Global Communication Music Media Research will provide DJs and producers a growing region by region breakdown of how popular they are and their music in regions across the globe.

The first record to become a European Hit as a result of using the net was Drude by Sandstorm. Some of the strategies used by Drude are based on the same ideas used by Jazz, Reggae and Hip Hop Labels that had no way of getting a public pre a major deal and then having access to its resources.

With the new market update information Drum and Bass artists, DJs and producers will be able to plan regional or national promotions campaigns with a degree of accuracy that traditional Promo or Regional Radio or TV Campaigns have been unable to deliver.

The world of athletics is based on the talent you posses. You cannot represent a team or nation if you are not good. It does not matter who you know, if your talent is not of sufficient calibre, you will not be a competitive athlete. The technology to create new charting and promotions systems is here and it will change the music industry forever. Europe is the only place on earth where

If you would like to receive further information on the subject of International Promotions With And Without Bar Code Systems please use the message box at the bottom of this page.

Two Tier Licensing. There will soon come a time when an Independent Label will be able to sell 50,000 records on its own without a major company. What this will mean to major licensing deals is that a Two Tier Deal is made with a major company. A Two Tier Deal would mean that an Independent would Licence to the major the right to sell records exclusively only after the independent label has sold its first 50,000 units.

Napster And International Theft. People have looked at Napster and said that its system aids in the destruction of music sales. What we know is this, when Public Enemy tried to release a track on the Net an injunction was put out against them by their record company. What the record company was trying to do was protect its investment. The rule is this: If a record company pays for you to become famous, they own you. Internet Rights - Who Owns Them. If an artist signs to a major label, The rule is this: The major label owns your internet rights. When Prince left his record label over a percentage dispute, he was no longer allowed to use his trading name "Prince" because the label owned it. In response to a court order Prince then called himself "The Artist Formally Known As". In other words, if it is possible for you to sell 50,000 record via the web, but the major label has signed you before you develop an international profile without them, you have no claim or position to work on a Two Tier Deal Option. Napster is not a problem to low level celebrity acts but the bigger you are (Madonna) the more prone you become to having piracy work against you but more importantly form the your perspective, PIRACY OR FREE MUSIC EATS INTO THE MASSIVE INVESTMENT COSTS OF TV & RADIO ADVERTISING THAT HAVE TO BE RECOUPED AGAINST YOUR MUSIC SALES.

To the left is a series of talks about the future technology and marketing methods that are going to affect every Independent label on the planet. The series goes under the title - Media, Music And Technology - Changing The Rules In The Music Industry. All label owners and producers will be notified of its availability.

The American Model of mass sales in music may be dismantled by Europe because there are more dance niche markets that start from England that do not have any reason to expect to be big in America. There are so many people in America that want to be the next Bon Jovi, LL Cool J, NSync, Mary J Blige, Puff Daddy or Brittany Spears that the likelihood of the major labels disappearing tomorrow because they do not have anyone to sign because of the net is slim. Reading books about the record industry like the ones pictured left give a great overview of the music industry for those wanting to set up a label, get a record deal or understand the basics of contract.

Dance music however is fundamentally about clubs and DJs and how can a producer with a studio in his basement get 40,000 DJs to hear and possibly buy his 12 Inch. The infrastructure to help cutting edge Label's and producers is here.

When an independent film called The Blair Witch Project, a film costing $30,000 took $140 million at the box office, film executives saw the power of this advertising medium because it usually costs $20-60 million to advertise a film to a global audience using TV, Radio and Newsprint. The team behind the Blair Witches only resource was the web.

Well before Napster came into existence the music industry has had to deal with the unpredictability of being able to sell records on mass. Pictured to the left is Don Ienner head of Columbia Records, one of America's big major labels. In his statement below made in Billboard some 12 years ago Don Ienner speaks about how unpredictable it is to make sales happen. What we have to remember is that even with all of the recourses of mass media, major labels can't guarantee an artist success.

Anyone who has ever looked at or been offered a major record contract knows that the deal is shaped like a gamble. If things work out for the artist, they have a future, if the record company makes a mistake, the artist can be dropped while the record company makes money and the artist makes nothing.

Don Ienner, Head of Columbia Records USA said,

But you can't be a one dimensional record company anymore when you don't have one dimensional artists.

There are over 250 million people in America now, and we get excited when we have a platinum album? Hah! If we sell 2.5 million copies of an album, that's barely 1% of the population that own our record. That's not a lot.

there should be albums that sell 30, 40 million copies, and even that only represents 1-15% of the people in this country. if you take Canada, there are already plenty of albums that sell to 3-5% of the population; in England or Australia, there are some albums that sell to 15% of the population. Abba sells to 40% of the people who live in Sweden, so why cant we in America.

Everybody knows the tune, we're just probably not selling records the right way, or we don't have them in the right places or there's not enough places where people can just go and walk in and buy the record they want. This is especially true with adults, where they are walking into some alien situation, clerks with green hair, open boxes of CDs and cassettes strew all over the place. MTV blasting out of the monitors over their heads. All of that just to buy a record? Forget it.

We still have a long way to go, but I'll always believe that the artist and the music are the answer.

End of statement.

When Don Ienner said these words the concept of the internet and what it would do for any music scene was not even an imagination in the mind of the music industry. Today the technology and marketing principles are hear to market music internationally if people understand what to do.

For more information on this subject, use the message box below.

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