the AMP - Issue 09

"I wanted to prove the sustaining power of music."
– David Bowie

In This Issue... [11 pages, approx 16.5 minutes to read] You'll Get...

• RECOMMENDS — a Great TED Talk... Your Morning Coffee... the New Music
Lives Group

• TALKABOUT — Women Are Superstars On Stage, But Rarely Get to Write Songs.

• GUEST ARTICLE — Streaming Economics: The 5 Things You Need to Know.

• BACKSTAGE PASS — More Than Your Songs — Tom Jackson

• PS from PS — You're an Artist

Here’s the playlist

• RECOMMENDS — a great TED Talk... Your Morning Coffee... and the
New Music Lives^™ Group

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a Great TED Talk...

Ethan Hawke: Give Yourself Permission To Be Creative

Reflecting on moments that shaped his life, actor Ethan Hawke examines how
courageous expression promotes healing and connection with one another— and invites you to discover your own unabashed creativity. "There is no path till you walk it," he says.

In this TED Talk, Ethan Hawke— American actor, director, and writer known for his work in both film and theater who first gained fame in the late 1980s with his role in the movie Dead Poets Society— delves into the concept of creativity and its essential role in human life. He begins by recounting a story about poet Allen Ginsberg, who dared to be foolish and disrupt the norm, emphasizing that the pursuit of creativity often involves taking risks and challenging conventional wisdom. Hawke argues that creativity isn't just a luxury, but a vital necessity for understanding and coping with the human condition—whether we're experiencing grief, love, or any profound emotion.

His TED video touches on the impermanence of life and how most people are not truly spending their time doing what matters to them. He points out that children embody the essence of creativity as they engage in activities without concern for judgment or excellence; they are naturally creative because they are uninhibited. For adults, tapping into this childlike wonder is not just "nice" but vital for healing and establishing a sense of shared humanity.

Hawke urges us to express ourselves by following what we love. He insists that the journey of creativity doesn't have a predefined path and often requires one to "play the fool" to discover one's true self. By embracing what you love and taking risks, even if they seem foolish, you engage in a dialogue that enriches both you and your community. Therefore, creativity isn't just about art or talent; it's a conduit for understanding, sharing, and healing.

• If you haven't already, tap the title link above to watch the short (9 mins) video.

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Your Morning Coffee...
Weekly Music News For the New Music Business

Simon Owens, host of The Business of Content podcast, wrote, "Industry veteran, Jay Gilbert, writes one of my favorite newsletters, Your Morning Coffee. This highly curated newsletter offers a weekly snapshot of the New Music Business. Not only that, Jay and Mike Etchart, former host of the syndicated Sound & Vision Radio program, host a fantastic weekly podcast. In it, they break down the top stories so you can stay on top of the latest news and trends in the industry.

"Working for companies like Warner Music and Universal Music Groups, Jay got to know just about every facet of the music-making process. Then in 2015, he struck off on his own and launched a consulting business. To help raise awareness of his services, he began curating a weekly newsletter called Your Morning Coffee.

"What started out as an email sent out to a few hundred friends eventually grew to over 15,000 readers and is now one of the most influential newsletters in the music industry."

Tap here to SUBSCRIBE to Your Morning Coffee

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the New Music Lives^™ Group— It's the Beginning of a .COMunity

Are you suffering from FOMO— Fear Of Missing Out? If you're not, it's ONLY because you don't know you have the disease. How do we know you're infected? Because there are more than 250 Subscribers to the AMP and least than 30% of them (you?) have joined our Private Facebook Group. And so almost 180 of you ARE Missing Out. Big Time. So you can be afraid. Very afraid.

The New Music Lives^™ Private Group is a 'Treasure Trove' of thoughtfully curated news, resources, training, and turn-ons. Up, down, and all around your life and work as Singer Songwriters. It's the AMP Daily!

And yeah. Okay. It's Facebook. We know some of you won't play their way. Honestly, for the sake of all you'll get from the NML Group— YOUR NML Group— play anyway. It's the best. You can leave the rest.

It's 'Private' to keep out the riff-raff. We just want sincerious (sincere and serious) Singer Songwriters. AND... most important of all, it's the beginning of the New Music Lives^™ .COMunity. Someday soon community will be THE biggest benefit we have for you.

So... hands folded and knees bent, we ask PLEASE go to our Private Facebook Group get your invite, and then Connect and Engage.

The power of .COMunity is waiting.

• TALKABOUT —
Women Are Superstars On Stage, But Still Rarely Get To Write Songs.

This digital publication from 'The Pudding' is best viewed on-line. Tap the title link above. (And you'll also have the opportunity to subscribe to the newsletter. Scroll waaaayyy down to the bottom for that.)

How often has a top 5 hit been written only by women in the last 10 years? It’s likely rarer than you think. In 2022, Top 5 Billboard songs had 228 songwriting credits, but only 33 were women (14% of the total).

There's a gender imbalance in the music industry, including and especially in songwriting. Why? The reasons— read excuses— for this disparity are multi-faceted:

• Historical Gender Roles: The music industry, like many others, has been male-dominated for much of its history, which has created a legacy that can be hard to overcome.

• Systemic Barriers: Women may face institutional barriers, such as limited access to networking opportunities, that can impact their career trajectory in Songwriting.

• Representation: A lack of female role models in Songwriting can create a perception that this career path is not open to women.

• Media Coverage: Men often receive more media attention for their achievements, which perpetuates the cycle of male-dominated visibility.

• Work-Life Balance: The demands of a career in music can be particularly challenging for women who bear a disproportionate responsibility for child-rearing and household duties.

• Cultural Factors: Societal expectations about what roles are 'appropriate' for men and women can deter women from pursuing careers in Songwriting.

• Economic Factors: The often precarious financial nature of a career in music may be a deterrent, particularly if women feel the industry doesn't support them.

• Discrimination: Unconscious biases or overt sexism can also play a role in limiting opportunities for women.

Although some efforts are being made to address these disparities, it's way too slow— and too little... and too late... and...

It's Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time. And this one will take all of us.

In Partnership with Mike Goodrich, the Inner Singer

• GUEST ARTICLE — Streaming Economics: The 5 Things You Need to Know, by Jay Gilbert, Co-Founder / Digital Strategy at Label Logic and curator of the Your Morning Coffee Newsletter.

Here are 5 things you need to know about the economics of streaming:

1. Streaming services don’t always pay ARTISTS, in most cases, they pay the RIGHTS HOLDERS. That’s typically the label or Distribution. So, when you hear about DSPs like Spotify not paying artists enough, look to see if they are represented by a label. What royalty rate did the artist agree to? (15% – 25% is common). Is the artist recouped?

2. Streaming services payout nearly 70% of the revenue they take in. But when I asked music industry attorney and pundit Chris Castle about this, he told me “Bear in mind the revenue is not the service’s gross but it’s a negotiated number that doesn’t include certain items. It also doesn’t include the market value reflected in share price, especially true of pure-play music services like Spotify. Although, like the artist royalty, you can’t really know what is to be included unless you see the deal between the rights holder and the DSP.”

3. The #1 music streaming service is still YouTube, not Spotify.

4. A stream is not worth a download, downloads aren’t worth a CD, and a CD isn’t typically worth a premium vinyl package.

5. We all want artists and songwriters to earn more revenue from streaming. Is the answer as simple as raising subscription fees?

I asked Billboard writer Glenn Peoples to weigh in. He told me, "Not that modest prices increases will make a big difference, but I think artists have a good argument to say they shouldn’t subsidize Spotify’s growth at all costs while keeping prices down. Spotify would say more customers, not profits, are good for artists right now. And that might be true."

Pro-rata vs User-centric models

Currently, as an industry, we use a "Pro-rata" model. Some believe that a "User-centric" model would be a fairer way to compensate rights holders and ultimately, writers and artists. What does that mean?

Music-streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music collect monthly streaming revenue and then proportionally divide those royalties to rights holders (and DIY artists) by a pro-rata share of their streams compared to all streams. This means that fans pay for music they don’t listen to, and bonuses the most popular tracks. Soundcloud’s "fan-powered royalties" offering is User-centric.

The User-centric model pays all of a fan’s subscription for actual usage (although that doesn’t work that well in ad-supported services.) For example, if I listen to The Accidentals "Vessel" album exclusively all month, their royalty split is applied to 100% of my $10.

Could the answer lie somewhere in the middle, where the subscriber chooses which model the subscriber wants?

Are we missing opportunities to engage fans on DSPs by offering a deeper experience, connection, and offering?

Smart people are working on a solution, but the UK’s DCMS and CMA haven’t agreed yet on what to do (if anything). So, instead of cursing the darkness, let’s work together to light up the way.

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Jay Gilbert is the Co-Founder / Digital Strategy at Label Logic, Curator of the Your Morning Coffee Newsletter, and Former Executive With Universal, Sony, and Warner Music Group.

• BACKSTAGE PASS — 4 Steps to a Unique Show by Tom Jackson

When explaining how to create a unique show, I always offer the analogy of building a house. There are 4 steps to making it happen.

And for those of you who’ve worked with contractors to build a home, who are thinking to yourself right now, 'Well, that’s pretty oversimplified – 4 steps? What did he think I was doing for the last 8 months when I built MY house!...’

...you’d be right. It is an oversimplification of the process involved. And believe me, I always remind artists that creating a unique show is a long process, too!

But I still believe all the things you do in the process of building a house or building a great live show, basically consist of these 4 steps:

1. Plan It
The first answer I get whenever I ask an audience of musicians, “What’s the first step in building a house?” is always “lay the foundation!” (That’s why we’re all musicians, not contractors.) In reality, the first step is planning the house — taking all the ideas you’ve seen, heard, and thought about, and putting them down on paper.

With your show, what do you want to see (or more accurately, what do you want your audience to see, hear, experience)? Whether it was an idea you got from someone else’s you wrote, or something from your own creative mind that no one else has ever imagined — you need to get a vision for your unique show and begin to make a plan for how you’ll make those special moments happen for your audience.

2. Lay the Foundation
OK, now is the time for that foundation! When it comes to the live show, that means the mental, emotional, psychological, and spiritual parts of you and what you understand about your audience. Most artists have an unsteady foundation because they have failed to deal with what is going on at a personal level inside of themselves and their audience.

The foundation is so very important, but rarely addressed. Your audience will be connecting with you as a person. They want to understand the human side of you. You’ll need to be confident, with authority and charisma, and that will very likely mean wrestling with yourself about being on the stage, being able to accept criticism and learning from it, working through struggles of business and finances, and more.

3. Build It
This is the part most people think of when you talk about building a home. And it’s the part artists think of when preparing a show. Getting the music right, developing the skills to play your instrument and sing, writing songs, and getting the sound & tone right, etc.

Add to that the part of “building it” that most artists don’t think about... the visual and style development... and you know this is a big part of the process, and one that will take a great deal of time to get right!

4. Move In
Finally, there is this important part of building a home (or a show). It will make the difference between moving into a “cookie cutter” house in a subdivision that has been decorated and furnished by the builder, or choosing your own paint color, flooring, furniture, and accessories to create your own unique home.

To do this with your live show means rearranging your songs so you are in control and can connect with the audience. It means extracting the moments within your songs that allow you to express yourself completely from the stage. And it means learning how to effectively communicate, musically, visually, and verbally from the stage so your audience can understand who you are and relate to you and your music.

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Tom Jackson is the author of the book, Tom Jackson’s Live Music Method and the All Roads Lead to the Stage DVD series. He’s worked with Taylor Swift, Magic!, Shawn Mendes, LeCrae, and a host of A-List artists. Tom’s uniquely talented and skilled at transforming an artist’s live show into a magical experience for the audience; helping artists at every level to create a live show that is engaging and memorable and teaching them to exceed their audiences’ expectations and to create fans for life— TrueFans.

Tom's innovative, fun, and unique speaking & teaching skills are highly regarded at conferences, colleges, and music events around the world. Tom has worked with Taylor Swift, Magic!, Shawn Mendes, LeCrae, Home Free, Thompson Square, The Band Perry, and many (many) others.

“A compelling live performance is key to building a successful career. Tom is the only person teaching artists real actionable steps to turn their live show into something that builds fans and drives merch sales."
— Kevin Breuner, Director of Marketing, CD Baby

As Tom says, "When I introduce my Live Music Method into a performer’s rehearsal process, I’m leading them into an entirely new set of skills, a completely new tool set... in fact, a totally new mindset!"

You can learn more and connect with Tom on his website: onstagesuccess.com

AND... Coming Soon. Not Ready Yet. Tom and NML's Paul Saunders are planning a Performance Series aimed at solo-duo Singer Songwriters. That's gonna' be killer. KILLER!

• and WE CONTINUE TO ASK... For people who appreciate the AMP

If you're one of them— the Appreciators— help us make more of you. We're not a big deal Internet nor affiliate marketers. We're building NML on a shoestring. (Not even bootstrapping.) So, if you enjoy the AMP... Benefit from what's in each issue... And you're willing and able to spread the word with and for us... Please. And thank you!

Go to New Music Lives™ FREE. the AMP. the Book. the Group. No charge. No strings.

And we don't hound people or hassle them with sales pitches. It's Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time. We're asking you to help us make that happen. Thanks.

• PS from PS— You Are an Artist

You are an artist.

I want you to remember that. Remember... as in don't forget. Ever.

Even if you have not written a song this week— you're an artist. Even if you have not played a gig this month— you are an artist. When you're at the grocery store, you're an artist. If you have a day job, you're an artist, but your real job... Your always and in all ways and all the time job is— you're an artist.

The goal of every artist is simply to know and be yourself and follow your love. And at times, as the poet said, be willing to play the fool, because if you live that way most people will think you are. A fool. Artists are fools.

Your 'job' is to create and present your art. Then you will find that within your audience are the fans that get you. Within that group of fans are people that truly get you. Your TrueFans. They will come to you. Be drawn to you. Because you’re an artist.

As Ethan Hawke said in his TED talk, you will feel foolish, but that's the point. Play the fool! Because... You are an artist.

Thanks for reading. Give us your feedback. And remember, all Issues of the AMP are posted in our Private Facebook Group.

And PLEASE, If you've got any Singer Songwriter friends, pass the AMP on, because...It’s Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time...

Paul Saunders