[Dixielandjazz] Re: Sorry, Tom. More realities of jazz recording

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

Thanks Don:
Let me start by saying that I have utmost respect for Mike Vax and what 
he does just like I do for Jim Cullum, and Jim Kash, and Steve Barbone, 
for what they do, we have a great group of highly talented folks on 
this list who have approached the business from different areas and had 
success with it.  Let us hope we can continue to do so for many years 
to come.

I will insert my answers below:

Cheers, and I hope it helps somebody because it will help us all if it 
does.

Tom Wiggins

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Mopsick <mophandl at landing.com>
To: DJML <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 12:23:57 -0600
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Re: Sorry, Tom.  More realities of jazz 
recording

   I found the recent exchange between Mike Vax and Tom Wiggins to be
rather interesting. Here are two guys, both with vast experience in the
business, with two totally different points of view.

Tom: some questions for you. Do you feel that you would be able to
duplicate your successes in today's music business environment?

That is difficult to say Don, perhaps I was just at the right place at 
the right time with the right product.
It is quite possible that when the major record industry opted for the 
digital system and poured millions of dollars into marketing it that 
they could have killed off most of the High Quality market momentum 
that we had found and developed.  Flooding the market with the new 
technology more suited for mass marketing all but sent the  vinyl 
Phonograph record into extinction at least as far as making it a 
potentially profitable business any longer.

What I do strongly believe however is that my approach to signing good 
artists that had once been signed to major labels had sold sold 
substantially enough product to make the labels money off of them was 
the key that led to our quick success.   I believed that any good 
artists that had established a fan base and a market and had been 
promoted with that labels money, still  had a viable market that was 
looking for their music and would buy it if it were indeed offered to 
them.   I took on acts that had sold 40,000 or more albums for major 
labels and then been dumped because the labels who cast them aside, 
were chasing that illusive dream of the million seller on every release 
rather than being actual business partners with the artists and working 
as a team for everyone's mutual gain and benefit.

As a small independent label I knew we could not compete in quantity 
with any major label, so we concentrated on competing in Quality and 
found that indeed there is always a market for QUALITY and at a premium 
price.   I actually touted our records as the ROLLS ROYCE of 
recordings, and many of the releases proved that they indeed were such. 
   Mistakes were made by the company and since it was not my personal 
firm and I was not allowed to buy any stock in it I could not control 
it to enough of a degree to make it last longer than it did.    I was 
thrilled that I had the opportunity to try my marketing ideas and 
develop skills that I thought I had but had never had the chance to use 
when dealing on the other side of the record label.  I was only 35 
years old at the time with a Bull  by the horns or a tiger by the tail 
so to speak.   I rode it as long as I could and mourned deeply at it's 
funeral.

  If not, what are the most important differences between then and now 
that would
prevent that from happening?

I still believe in the premise of promoting the artists and good music, 
and finding the marketplace for that artist specifically is the key to 
selling any product and escalating the image of the artist no matter 
what genre of music they are in.   If the artist was good enough to 
sign then they are good enough to promote for as long as it takes to 
make them successful.   If a label does not believe in them enough to 
do that they should not sign them in the first place, a mistake made 
all too often by labels just looking to keep a line of acts on a string 
and away from competitors.

The beginning of the decline of the record/music industry came about 
when the major labels were taken over by Lawyers and accountants many 
with no musical knowledge or experience whatsoever, and then their egos 
told them that they could become producers and A&R directors etc. 
because they controlled the money and the check book full of stock 
holders money.   Unfortunately this drove many of the best creative 
music people out of the industry into retirement or back to independent 
production, which is actually where most of the majors became majors 
buy buying up all the independent producers and labels and gaining 
control of the marketing.   Hence it was no longer about Artists and 
music but rather  product #2356478 and how many units did it sell 
bottom line.   If it did not sell as many as the Accountant expected, 
dump it whoever the act was tax write off, put all the promotion money 
we had allotted for it behind product #978643 which is moving more 
units etc.


Is the record company business model so radically different now?

Yes it is, but that also may provide an excellent opportunity for 
history to repeat itself and reinvent the system yet again, which I see 
coming with the I-pod  which will more than likely replace the CD of 
today.    The download system is going to be the future just as soon as 
the Major labels figure out how to get control of it, and you can bet 
they will do so.   However in the current marketplace there are 
enormous opportunities for the independent artists to cash in and make 
more money off their own product than ever before.  It is indeed an 
artists market.   About four years ago I saw an old friend of mine who 
had had hit records forty years ago release a Christmas CD strictly for 
sale on the internet at $13.99  + 3.95 shipping and handling,  $6.00 
for rush service, which was the same, :))   He sold 33,000 CDs in three 
months and made all the money.   I am sure it is still selling well for 
him every holiday season and now he has a direct e- mail distribution 
list to announce and sell any other Cds he releases, and he is keeping 
it very quiet too, not even interested in getting signed to another 
label.   He has made more money in four years off of this one recording 
than he made from the several big hits he had with a major label.

Mike: you correctly point out the reality of the difference in operating
conditions between the miniscule trad jazz world and what Tom has been
involved with, but wouldn't it be nice to generate those kinds of
numbers in today's farkakhte music scene? (translation for goyim: "kakn"
is a Yiddish verb meaning "to defecate," and "farkakhte" is an adjective
derived therefrom meaning "all shitted up.")


Yes, it would and I believe it could happen, especially if we recall 
that the miniscule Trad Jazz world was not always miniscule, and we 
ain't all dead yet, and there are several generations behind us that 
are the new marketplace for it, we have to take it to them and until we 
do it one by one and collectively, NO major label is going to take 
notice of it or offer to help us do it since they are still looking 
strictly at the 13-25 age bracket of folks who have not yet learned for 
the most part what real music is.

Like Jim K., Jim Cullum has told me that he doesn't think of selling our
CDs as generating a big revenue stream, but rather more as a promotional
tool. Since he has his own jazz club with a yearly through-traffic of
about 100,000 people, most of the sales are generated on-location. He
also does a fair amount of business on-site at concerts.

Unless you guys get a steady repeat clientele you should be able to 
convert  about 15-30% of that audience into sales of your product, and 
the same holds true for concerts, if you shamelessly promote the sales 
and encourage them to buy it, they often do need that urging and a walk 
through the crowd with CD's in hand will also help, stopping at the 
tables and shaking hands with the folks and just asking if they have 
heard your latest Cd will sell a lot of product.    Having a table at 
the back of the club is fine but that interaction with the audience 
will sell a lot more product because you are affording them the chance 
to interact with the band and or artist,  (remember  almost everyone 
else in the world wishes they could do what we do for a living and 
likes to rub elbows with folks in show business).    Buying a Cd and 
getting to shake the artists hand and maybe getting it signed is a big 
thrill for many of them, as hokey as it may sound.

   The impulse buyer is worth three that might go try to find it in a 
record shop, and accept credit cards, it is a proven fact that stores 
that do sell 38% more product than those that do not.   In Jim's 
situation at the club I would advise telling folks from the stage that 
they can add the Cd to their dinner or drink tab :)) and I'll bet you 
will see them do it.   Also find a way to promote your CDs on the PBS 
programs,  an excellent way is to do the Fundraising telethons with 
them, Donate a box of CDs as premiums gifts for donors to the station, 
and after they have received enough to give away the initial box they 
will be happy to buy more at your wholesale price and continue offering 
them to the subscribers or donors. :))   Now you get promotion, and 
make money off of it too, being there performing live on the telethon 
also keeps you in front of an audience and often gets new fans as well 
that will come out to hear you at the club.  etc.



 But he is
definitely not of the mind set of some of the bands that go to Sac, for
example, with the goal of making $50K + from merchandise sales, not that
there's anything wrong with that. I think with him it's a matter of
having just so many hours in a day to expend energy doing things he
thinks matter more big-picture-wise.

Nothing wrong with that ideology either, it is a promotional tool and 
if used properly will convert into greater demand for public 
appearances and increased fees for performing which is what most of us 
want to do anyway.

While I have seen it happen with rock acts, expecting to sell 
$50,000.00 worth of product at  Sac. Jubilee is stretching it a bit I 
would venture.  Not likely to happen in four days with that particular 
audience, unless you get there and turn on a whole new generation of 
listeners that Jubilee first has to entice to attend and get exposed to 
OKOM.  :))

We are going to try CD Baby with our new release, but the evidence I've
been able to gather so far is that online selling in general for the
most part hasn't lived up to the promise in terms of numbers.

The Internet is a big old place, and CD Baby is just one of many sites 
that can be tapped into for selling, but just like conventional 
distributors and retail stores, you must chose them carefully and check 
them out before just giving  them product that they may or may not 
actually sell and or pay you for. :))   Some are good some are bad.   
Also do not forget to try to get the internet radio stations to play 
your music, some will some won't but the more that do will help spread 
the music the word and promote you and OKOM in general.

mopo

Don Mopsick, Riverwalk Webmaster

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