Introduction To Music Industry And Copyright In Australia: Artist Management Industry Insights

The purpose of this unit is to give students an introduction to the music industry enabling a basic understanding of key sectors, roles and structures within it. It will also introduce students to copyright as it applies broadly to musical, literary, dramatic and artistic works and the functions and responsibilities of publishers and publishing companies. All areas relating to the application of copyright and the workings of publishing are considered.

This unit outlines the practical application of the Copyright Act within the entertainment industry from its formative beginnings in the early twentieth century into an increasingly expanding competitive industry in the twenty first century. The course also introduces music publishing contracts, distribution deals, and opportunities that are emerging with the development of digital technology & the practices of independent artists.

Knowledge

On successful completion of the unit, students will have knowledge and understanding of:

1. Theoretical and technical concepts within copyright and publishing
2. Concepts surrounding roles within the contemporary music industry

Skills:

On successful completion of this unit students will have the ability to:

1. Identify and analyse differences between roles within the music industry;
2. Analyse and evaluate the Copyright Act in regard to artistic, dramatic, literary and musical works;
3. Analyse and evaluate different types of standard publishing deals; Generic Attributes:

On successful completion of this unit students will be able to demonstrate:

1. Discipline specific, or professional area, knowledge and skills;
2. Information literacy (written, mathematical, visual literacy);
3. A commitment to lifelong Learning;

Understand the purpose and scope of publishing & copyright in the entertainment industry

• Evaluate the legalities of publishing& copyright as applied to the entertainment industry
• Examine and understand types of publishing contracts and deals

Overview of the Music Industry in Australia

Music industry is one of the main entertainment industries for any of the country as without music we cannot imagine our life nowadays. It is as important as anything else in day to day life. Austrian music industry is sixth largest market of the world (Forbes, 2017). This industry falls under two categories like contemporary popular music and classical art music. There are various sectors through which an industry earns live music sector, recorded music, digital music and copyright music.Austrlian artist are getting attention all over the world and are source of talented artists.

Australian music is enjoying huge success in all over the world. Technology has increased the demand of Australian music and it is available easily on various global platforms.

Music industry consists so many industries in itself like label, distribution, Artist Management, Publishing and so on. In this report we are going to discuss about the Artist Management industry, its business structure and how this industry is beneficial for the music industry.

Artist management companies play vital role in music industry as they are performing many tasks for the artist like they negotiate the fees of contacts on behalf of their artist, they find and book events for the artist, they took decisions related to the career strategy of the artist and do many works related to publicity and promotions. They also advise the artist related to the songs they should sing. They help the artist to maintain media relations. All these things are very important in deciding career path of the artist (Allen, 2015).

Artist management companies works on the child to develop him or her in a much better way. These companies groomed a person in a talented and well versed artist who can perform in a fabulous way. For example Bold artist management is a company which take child from village and whatever be his knowledge and experience, they develop a person in a well groomed artist who can create spark in the industry (Bold Artist Management, 2017).These companies represent their artist on national and international fronts.

Holistic in nature- Artist management industry is holistic for the artist and provides all the facilities of the interests of the artists in it. Artist management inculcate all the activities in itself those are required for the career of artists .These companies take care of recording, publishing , travelling of artists merchandising and endorsement.

Independent Industry- Main strength of this this industry is that it is independent in Australia and do not need any cooperation from large companies. Decline of other industries not much effect the work of this industry. Artist managers are more skilled and they are well versed in their knowledge.

Supporting Agencies- Australia Council for the Arts supports composers, musicians and organisations to create new music and present it to audiences. Our goal is to reflect and promote the diversity, excellence and energy of contemporary Australian musical culture (Australia council for the arts, 2017).

The association of artist management is a main association of the artist which represents the interests of the artist managers in the Australian music industry. It’s an association of international managers from various other countries like Australia, Belgium, Canada, Sweden and United states and so on( Association of artist managers, 2017). It takes care of challenges and issues faced by the artist managers of the country.

The Role and Significance of Artist Management Industry

Increased responsibilities- Artist management companies have to undertake so many responsibilities at a same time, they have to perform so many things. Therefore a lot of work is needed to be done and expertise of high level require for managing so many things.

Uncertainty- A lot of uncertainty faced by the artist management companies as there are so many companies from the external countries those are working in much better way. In the same way there are some companies those are well established and may create threat for the newly launched artist managers (Wikstrom, Tschmuck, Collopy, & Winter, 2013).

Profitability Challenge- Profitability of the artist management company entirely depends on the revenue generated from the performance of the artist. A lot of investment is made by the companies on the artist for their long term development. If an artist fails to entertain the audience and generate revenue from his performance, it’s badly affecting the profitability of these companies.

Adaptability-It is being seen that artist keep on learning in his whole life, there is daily new learning for him, because the taste and preference of the audiences keep on changing and an artist has to    perform according to the requirement of their audience and there is no text book which teaches these things to the artists.

Competition from other countries-In comparison to other countries like USA, it becomes difficult for the countries like Australia to run their business with small group of artists.

Increased Burden -As label industry has declined in Australia therefore burden on artist management companies has increased. People expect that these companies should work which used to be done label industry as well.

Unattractive Sector-There is lack of income in this sector because of which very few managers get attracted towards this.

Funding Issue- Funding is the main issue faced by artist management industry as artist have to perform at national and international level which require a lot of expenses, so that their expenses can be managed. But these companies do not get funding from the other sources (Gamble, Brennan, & McAdam, 2017).

Decline of label industry- The decline of label industry has become opportunity for the artist management companies as, previously survival of these companies used to depend on the performance of label industry. But after the decline of this industry artist management companies can create mark of itself.

Growth of recording business- When there is boom in the recorded business it was beneficial for the artist and also for the managers as previously artist have to work under a strict contract and used to get payment according to that only.

Invention of electronic gadgets-Invention of high capacity music players and other gadgets has increased the audience for the music of any country

Role of artist management association- Various artist management associations have been made and the representatives of these associations are recognised at global level. These managers understand the international market and artist can get benefit of their knowledge.

Importance of social media- Social media plays a vital role in Australian music industry by engaging more fans.

Role of telecommunication companies- Telecommunication companies are providing free subscription for various music apps, which is beneficial for the artist management companies as it will increase customers those are interested in listing music.

Various competitions and reward programs are organised in Australia for the musician of the country for participating and providing rewards to them for their contribution for example Australian pop music award and ARIA music award and many more. Reward functions matters a lot for the artists as they get very much influenced by the recognition. It positively affects their performance. For example Lyn Williams OAM got Don banks music award, he said that he felt honoured on achieving this award and provide recognition to his expertise( Australia council of the arts,2017)

Various workshops, conferences and seminars are organised to improve the talents of artists. Live music festivals are organised for providing entertainment to the societies for example, Electronic music festival, classic music festival, jazz festivals and many more (Wikstrom, 2013).

There are many association and firms those keep on providing job opportunities to the artists in music industry (Bridgstock, 2005).

There are many associations those provide funds for supporting music in the country like funding from national and state level organisations.  Funds are also attained from local government and commercial companies.

Conclusion

It is analysed by the study and research that overall revenue of the artist management companies are growing up and will increase in future. There are many challenges those are faced by the artist management companies but each challenge also reflects opportunity for the industry as well because of the support received from the Austrian government strengthen this industry. Contribution received from various associations and companies positively helps the industry to grow.

References

Allen, P. (2015). Artist management for the music business, (3^rd Ed.). New York, Focal Press.

Association of artist managers, 2017, Home, retrieved on 19 July 2017, <https://www.aam.org.au/>.

Australia council of the arts, 2017, Music, retrieved on 19 July 2017, <https://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/artforms/music/>.

Bold Artist Management, 2017, Talent Management, retrieved on 19 July 2017, <https://www.boldartistmanagement.com/>

Bridgstock, R., (2005). Australian Artists, Starving and Well-Nourished: What Can we Learn from the Prototypical Protean Career?, Australian Journal of Career Development. vol. 14. no. 3, pp: 40-47.

Forbes, 2017, The Australian Music Industry Is In Trouble, retrieved on 19 July 2017, < https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2015/01/27/the-australian-music-industry-is-in-trouble/#32ba60166840>

Gamble, J. R., Brennan, M., & McAdam, R. (2017). A rewarding experience? Exploring how crowdfunding is affecting music industry business models, Journal of Business Research,vol.70, pp:25-36.

Music Australia, 2017, Competitions & Awards, retrieved on 20 July 2017, https://musicaustralia.org.au/competitions-awards/

Wikstrom, P. (2013). The Music Industry: Music in the Cloud, ( 2^nd ed.).Cambridge, Polity Press.

Wikstrom,P., Tschmuck,P., Collopy, D. & Winter, C. (2013). Special issue on The Australian Music Economy, International Journal of Music Business Research.  vol.2, no. 2.