WHY MUSIC IS FOOD (By Piers Faccini)

A few days ago, the English songwriter Piers Faccini - with whom I work closely as a digital marketer - published a great post on his website about his new status as an ‘artist-running-a-label’. In this text, Piers makes a smart parallel between small farmers and musicians who have both had to adapt to a market that has taken a radical turn over the last few years.

His words have all the more resonance considering the current debate concerning streaming royalties and it also shows how important it is for independent artists to be able to develop their own eco-system thanks to the Internet.

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How Does Spotify Pay Artists? An Answer That Makes Sense!

How much does Spotify pay artists? It’s the biggest mystery in music. One independant artist claims to have received a measly $0.004 per stream. There was a rumor that Lady Gaga only earned $162 from a million streams. Even indie band Grizzly Bear chimed in to express their displeasure with the alleged slave wages of Spotify declaring that they only received $0.001 per stream. Some have even taken to restricting their music from the service altogether. Is it really that bad? are the payments that low?

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The UK markets MBA for the Music Industry at Henley Business School proves to be a Key Influencer in US Job success

The UK market is known for its influence in music across the world so its no surprise that its world first MBA in the Music Industry also proves to be a real game changer and a positive effect on the US jobs market.

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Henley Business School's New MBA for the Music Industry Program Gets U.S. Launch at Musexpo, May 5-8, 2013

Spearheaded by Program Director, Helen Gammons, the Henley Business School will officially launch it’s new MBA in the Music Industry program in Hollywood at the Musexpo global music event, May 5-8, 2013.

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On The Importance Of Originality

The last worker adds less to output than the first.

This was the argument set forth by French economist Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot (1727-1781). Turgot believed that national wealth was created from agriculture. In the 1700’s this made more sense than now. Turgot developed an interesting theory that explained how the output of each extra worker changes as successive workers are added to a production process. It goes like this:

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Fast Food for Thought: A World Without Art

This is the first blog I wrote for my band’s website, www.thegibsonblock.com

Hello ladies and gentlemen. I am El Denito Frigoni, also known as Denis Frigon: drummer, dreamer, world destruction schemer. And today, I wish to discuss one such world ending scheme. As I enter into the foray of continued post-secondary education, many thoughts cross my mind. Education of any type is something I personally find enriching though it may be a tad dry and taxing at times. But lately, when I think of the outcomes of my efforts at school, I think about the outcomes of the efforts in other aspects of my life. Mainly, music. I love my band and my band mates. And I love the Edmonton scene. And today, I would like to share a short dystopian future scenario with all you kindly readers:

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Music Without Labels Live Tour 2012

At Music Without Labels & Beat-Play we know you want, and deserve, exclusive coverage of all of the best summer festivals and concerts; which is why MWL Live is embarking on journey across the United States! MWL spokesperson, Katie McVeay, and leading videographer, Shane Suski, are crossing state lines to showcase musical acts at festivals, small town concerts and everywhere in between, providing up-to-date photos, video interviews, and giving you the opportunity to interact with today’s top artists and musicians.

During Shane’s first year with MWL, he has had the opportunity to photograph over 75 artists including big names like Immortal Technique, GZA, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Young the Giant, and more! Katie McVeay started her MWL work in NYC where she interviewed numerous up-and-coming bands such as Caged Animals, Dustin Wong, The Beets and Canon Logic. In February, Katie relocated to MWL Headquarters in San Diego and has had the chance to interview talented acts such as Puscifer, Lost in the Trees, Rachael Yamagata, Talkdemonic and many more!

MWL Live will be traveling approximately 11,000 miles in 108 days featuring popular musicians at Sasquatch, Free Press, Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot Music Festival and everywhere in between! We also know that not all of your favorite musicians are located near hub cities where their music can be properly showcased, reviewed or featured. Are you one of these artists? Do you know a great band in your location? We are reaching out to artists and fans! We want to visit you during the MWL Live Tour!

A trip like this takes funding! How much? $10,000! Right now we have $5,749 towards the project, but it’s not enough! Our Kickstarter goal of $6,000 helps cover the (high) price of gas, food, accommodations, tolls, festival fees, equipment and other expenses that we need to make the MWL Live Tour 2012 a reality!

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Why People Buy or DON'T Buy Music

With much debate surrounding streaming services and file-sharing sites, I brainstormed reasons why people still buy music in 2012. Although scarcity is a factor, it was omitted because theoretically once music is digitized it is vulnerable to mass sharing. Also, although there are many opinions about the overall quality of music being unworthy of purchase these days, but I believe that goes without saying.

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Who are the Highest Earning Musicians in the UK & US and How Do They Impact the Economy?

A few days ago I wrote a post over on Canpages about how Justin Bieber, Drake, and Chris Brown represent a whopping 7% of Canada’s whole music economy, which as a figure is a staggering $107,000,000 a year. I thought it would also be quite interesting to look at who has the biggest impact on the music economy here in the United Kingdom and in the United States.

The UK is home to three of the current highest earning artists in the world: U2, Elton John, and Paul McCartney, who collectively earn a massive $362,000,000 a year (it slightly dwarfs Justin Bieber’s $53,000,000!)

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