MAY | COVER FEATURE
Be-Known Music’s co-founder Dan Andrew agrees
that brands are playing a more active and meaningful
role: “I worked on a Jack Daniels campaign called Jack
Rocks. Brands are now understanding the parallel
importance of working with mico-influencers rather
than working with one big, famous influencer. The same
principle applies to musicians producing great music. A
more unknown act costs far less money for brands, but
can still really resonate with their business aims.”
But is social media a double-edged sword? We Are
The Fair’s CEO Nick Morgan says the under-40s make
up a large proportion of live music attendees and social
media has changed this audience’s engagement. “It’s
massively reducing attention spans. They offer instant
gratification and have erupted a disposable culture.
Platforms like Spotify offer so much choice that people
listen to seconds of music before moving on and as such
band loyalty is not what it used to be. There are pockets
of fans however lifespans of bands are shorten by this
culture.”
But this disposability also means greater choice, and
it’s never been easier to be independent as an artist,
according to Gentilli. “Advancements in production
software like Roland, Ableton Link, Dubbler, Tenori-On
means an 18-year-old can make beats using the same
software as Four Tet. Technology has democratised
music production. Technology has also democratised
music marketing – innovative companies like Platoon,
AWAL, Mycelia are changing the game – they’re
providing the tools for artists to raise funds, distribute,
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Dan Andrew Theo Gentilli Dixon Brothers (Adrian Dixon, left)
Nick Morgan Sean Quincy Harvey Goldsmith
promote and manage
their music. Record labels
aren’t going to die just yet but
it’s no longer make or break if you
aren’t signed. It’s an exciting time, and the talent pool
out there is larger than ever before.”
Artists weigh in
Access chatted to an emerging talented artist, Sean
Quincy about his experiences in the recording and live
industry, which he says is shifting in a positive direction:
“The internet’s so incredibly oversaturated with art
that’s it’s almost impossible to get heard. Everyone’s so
indulged in the digital world that people have forgotten
about real life, about actually being out there physically
and building relations. I think there needs to be that
perfect balance of being in the real world and online
because the real inspiration comes from the streets not
from Instagram.
“I see many artists jumping into deals with literally no
leverage and you can see how short lived their career is
and how unsustainable it is. The label gives an advance,
the artist doesn’t manage to recoup the money back
and then gets shelved and once that happens it’s pretty
damn hard for any other label to want to dig you out of
that hole.
“Create a brand, build a team around you, pump out
sick content and the audience will grow. What’s super
important is knowing your target audience because,
once you have that, all the power is on your side. There
are so many steps to do before even thinking about a
major label - with the way the internet is the artist has
their own platform. If you’re an artist and you’re not
seeing yourself as a brand make sure you start now.”
“I think streaming is definitely fixing things, labels
and live agents are literally jumping on artists who are
getting into official Spotify playlists. Find your niche! It’s
hard to adapt to the industry because it’s changing so
fast, think ahead of it.”
Goldsmith CBE agrees, adding that you don’t need
to ‘go big’ to wow audiences. “Mariah Carey played
Wembley and bought 11 trucks and we only put five up. I
said ‘what’s all this stuff? They’re coming to see you and
hear you. Lets cut it down accordingly.”
More optimism comes from Andrews, who says there
there are acts coming through who will be the next
Arctic Monkeys. “There are great pop acts emerging. I’m
excited about Billie Eilish, but she will take some time to
mature. We are still seeing artists on the level of Justin
Bieber. Sean Mendes and some US and Canadian artists,
as well as the Korean and Japanese sound.
“The market is different. Small bands can finally
make a lot of money from Spotify – in fact there’s