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Here are a few of the Year 2000's Biggest Earning Stars: Tina Turner - $80,200,00.00 'N Sync - $76,400,000.00 Dave Matthews - $68,200,000.00 Kiss - $62,700,000.00 Tim McGraw/Faith Hill - $48,800,000.00 Dixie Chicks - $47,300,000.00 Bruce Springsteen - $45,900,000.00 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - $42,100,000.00 Metallica - $42,000,000.00 Britney Spears - $40,500,000.00 Ricky Martin - $37,200,000.00 Red Hot Chili Peppers - $31,300,000.00 Sting - $28,900,000.00 Barbara Streisand - $27,000,000.00 Creed - $26,200,000.00 Santana - $26,100,000.00 Backstreet Boys - $25,800,000.00 Jimmy Buffett - $24,100,000.00 Up In Smoke Tour - $22,200,000.00 Phish $21,400,000.00; And for 2001 ... U2 - $109,700,000.00 'N Sync - $86,800,000.00 Backstreet Boys - $82,100,000.00 Dave Matthews Band - $60,500,000.00 Elton John and Billy Joel - $57,200,000.00 Madonna - $54,700,000.00 Aerosmith - $49,300,000.00 Janet Jackson - $42,100,000.00 Eric Clapton - $38,800,000.00 Neil Diamond - $35,400,000.00 Matchbox Twenty - $28,400,000.00 Rod Stewart - $27,200,000.00 Jimmy Buffett - $26,900,000.00 Andrea Bocelli - $26,800,000.00 Ozzfest 2001 - $26,400,000.00 Sade - $26,200,000.00 Tim McGraw - $24,900,000.00 Britney Spears - $23,700,000.00 James Taylor - $23,000,000.00 Tool - $20,400,000.00 and that is just the Concert Tour (gate) income! And here's how they did it, and how YOU can do it too. Using a combination of FOUR WALLS (FOUR WALLS is an inside Booking Industry term meaning - DIY - pay your own bills and do your own thing!) and Concert Producer venues! FIRST, GET RID OF THE DELUSION: the vast majority of money made in Recorded Music is earned from record sales. IT IS NOT! - REPEAT - IT IS NOT! THE FACT IS, RECORDS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN AUDIO BUSINESS CARDS! We just happen to be in the only business where we can SELL our business cards, and sometimes at a profit. Second, GET INTO THE IDEA: the vast majority of the money is made in the Live Concert Venues! One more time: THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE MONEY MADE IN RECORDED MUSIC IS EARNED IN LIVE CONCERT VENUES! In short, the bookings. Crunch the numbers yourself: VMG mechanicals = $.086 per song X (times) 10 songs (= $.86) per album sold; X the active parties: ExP = $.86 + (plus) Artist = $.86 = $1.80 per album sold; and Songwriter(s) = $.43 (50% of Publisher's Royalties) for a whopping $2.15 per 10 song album to the ExP/Artist/Songwriter! That's a lot of money, right? Now factor in the point: THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE IS SEVEN (7) OUT OF EIGHT (8) ALBUMS RELEASED NEVER SELL A SINGLE COMMERCIAL COPY! Not a one. Then factor in the COST of production and promotion of those SEVEN duds before you get that Industry Average winner, IF you ever do. And factor in the Industry Average that WHEN an album DOES sell, IT SELLS AN AVERAGE OF 50,000 COMMERCIAL COPIES. However, 50,000 X $2.15 = $107,500.00 - and while that's a lot of money, ONE properly prepared and managed Concert can gross $280,000.00 - and net about 50% or $140,000.00 - for what amounts to ONE DAY'S WORK! (And many days preparation!) So we can see in an instant that ONE Industry Average Concert can pay $32,500.00 more hard cash PROFIT in one day than an Industry Average album (that happens to be that elusive ONE out of EIGHT) does in an Industry Average TIME FRAME of about one year. That's a lot of money and a very different TIME FRAME. For the record, TIME is also MONEY, and especially in this Industry. We need some BASE figures that apply ONLY to making the points of this process clear. They ARE NOT the actual working numbers, which are much higher. Let's take an INDUSTRY AVERAGE figure of $16,800,000.00 per year per act! That's right, a new - beginning - Act that is doing this Best Of All Industries THE REAL WAY this Best Of All Industries is REALLY DONE - grosses an AVERAGE of $16,800,000.00 per year in LIVE CONCERT PERFORMANCES! And that figure DOES NOT include any record (mechanical) royalties paid by the Label/General Licenser. Nor does it include public performance (airplay) royalties (if you can blackmail your PRO out of them). And it does NOT include any MERCHANDISING (T-Shirts, Dolls, Toys, Posters, Plaques, Photos, etceteras) income either. DID YOU GET THAT? . . . $16,800,000.00 for 60 DAYS WORK on the Stage! Again, crunch some more numbers: A good working band plays an average of TEN DAYS PER MONTH - EVERY OTHER MONTH! That means SIXTY (60) DAYS PER YEAR. The average show paying the above $280,000.00 before expenses. We'll cover the HOW TO GET THAT $16,800,000.00 - LOGISTICS AND ALL! Don't worry about that for now - when the time comes VMG will get you on the Investor's Desk for the many more millions you're going to need. First, you need to put your BUSINESS HOUSE in order! Being in ANY business is being IN business. Businesses exist for one purpose, TO MAKE MONEY! The product/service doesn't matter. And being IN the BUSINESS of being a Recording Artist/Entertainer is no different. You need EXACTLY the same administrative organization, INVESTMENT and MANAGEMENT as any other BUSINESS operation, from the corner barber shop/beauty parlor, auto service, etceteras, to the huge employer manufacturers, shopping malls, fast food chains, and every other SUCCESSFUL venture. Second, you need PROVEN product. Something, anything, that will log viable COMMERCIAL radio airplay. You don't need to manufacture - and in fact should not manufacture - in order to PROVE a product in today's technology. (If you've already made the mistake of manufacturing, it can be undone, but that is another story.) It's as simple as getting your music into any of the promolibraries! Indie 'compilations' WILL NOT WORK! Even the LEGITIMATE indie comps do not have sufficient coverage to satisfy the demands of COMMERCIAL radio airplay, and especially when it comes to have sufficient PROVEN product to influence INVESTORS. The MAJOR company composites do, the indies don't. Third, that PROVEN PRODUCT needs to be PROVEN through any of the legitimate DISTRIBUTED Labels licensed with any of the Super Six General Licensers, or one of the limited (national/international) Licensers, such as Koch in Canada. Jackass Records from over in the swamp absolutely WILL NOT qualify for the INVESTORS! Period. Nitwilly Record Productions, Sewers Cleaned, Cement Contractor & Shine Parlor regardless of where-the-hell they're 'located', can only manage to throw your record just about as far as you can, AND NOTHING ELSE! Your own 'label' or some equally 'renown' parallel is EQUALLY WORTHLESS at achieving COMMERCIAL radio airplay and EQUALLY WORTHLESS for getting the investment MONEY to take advantage of any given release. Fifth, YOU NEED MONEY! You need a lot of it to exploit your PROVEN PRODUCT success! And once you have PROVEN PRODUCT AND YOUR BUSINESS HOUSE IN ORDER, we can and will put you on the desk of those INVESTORS who supply such funding/financial support. They're not interested in your glory trip, THEY ARE INTERESTED IN MAKING MONEY ON THEIR MONEY and anything even remotely jackass DOES NOT QUALIFY and will get your proposal TRASH CANNED then and there! Fourth, (NO! These numbers are NOT out of order) to be able to GET THE MONEY in point five, above, you need a QUALIFIED BUSINESS PLAN that will influence the INVESTORS and that you can LIVE WITH once it's funded! Not some jackass 'explanation' of your 'talented glory trip' DELUSIONS, but a clear and concise presentation in accordance with SOUND BUSINESS PRINCIPALS! To Wit: HOW much money is needed? WHERE it will be invested? WHO is going to do WHAT? HOW MUCH profit is expected? HOW LONG are all these processes going to take? And that's just for starters. But here's how that process, and its logistics, actually works: IN SPITE OF THE FACT only one record out of eight will sell any COMMERCIAL copies at all, with the PROPER PROMOTION the best air-playing song can draw thousands of people to the Artist's Concerts! That's Right! Each and every time a broadcaster plays your record, it's the same thing as a BROADCAST COMMERCIAL for your music, your record, and your LIVE CONCERTS! While the general public assumes (and all the fools think) the record is selling like a house afire (even though THEY aren't buying it) they'll pay top dollar to see the Artist in LIVE CONCERT! The age of everyday LIVE MUSIC clubs for the Week End Star is NOTHING compared to a few years ago, and now is not even a viable consideration. Now BEFORE you blast-off incoherently on an "I've-already-got-that!" scenario, which you really don't with all the right devils in the right details, let's count up some money, starting from the END of the venture and working backwards. The current (2000) RAGE in Concert Venues are those AmpiTheatres built with TAX DOLLARS for the benefit of a VERY SELECT FEW private individuals. They seat an average of 8,500 people with a Park Area capable of another 3,000/5,000 people, not counting the parking lot. Check the nearest TicketMaster or Internet Concert Ticket Sales outlet and you'll find the AVERAGE PRICE IS $35.00 (USC) PER for the average Artist, and the 20 Stars mentioned above averaged a very generous $43.75 per ticket. True, the lessers don't get that, and some of the REAL Stars, like Barbara Streisand, get a whole lot more. But make no mistake, THE $35.00 FIGURE IS A VERY CONSERVATIVE AVERAGE! A NON-sell-out of the seats alone, at 8,000 times $35.00 per is a very generous $280,000.00 gross per concert - again being VERY CONSERVATIVE. And these are the figures mentioned above. 8,000 TICKETS - (X) TIMES $35.00 EACH = $280,000.00 You should be booking TEN (10) days a month for no less than SIX (6) months a year = 60 Concerts. 60 X $280,000.00 equals a BLAZING $16,800,000.00 GROSS INCOME for those 60 days on the road scattered over that year! 60 CONCERTS - (X) TIMES $280,000.00 = $16,800,000.00 However, before you get any idiotic ideas that UNKNOWNS can book HIGH-DOLLAR VENUES, think again. Don't think so? Then answer this question: "How many never-wases have booked the AstroDome? YOU CAN NOT GET THOSE HIGH DOLLAR VENUES WITHOUT A SOLID COMMERCIAL PRODUCT! Period. You flatly are not going to get the INVESTMENT to book the Astrodome with a Jackass Productions record from over next to the freight yard. ANYONE WHO THINKS THEY CAN IS A DAMNED FOOL, AND ANYONE WHO SAYS THEY CAN IS A DAMNED LIAR! It takes a KNOWN somebody, and in music that requires COMMERCIALLY ACCEPTABLE and properly produced, financed, manufactured, promoted, licensed and distributed PHONOGRAPH RECORDS! Which instantly excludes any and all 'indie' product that Main Line Radio won't play and Main Line Outlets won't stock. And, NO!, mp3.jackass won't work either. So, you need a COMMERCIALLY ACCEPTABLE record - on a COMMERCIALLY ACCEPTABLE label - licensed and distributed by a COMMERCIALLY ACCEPTABLE licenser. Get it? Anything less is pure and unvarnished POPPYCOCK! Now THAT isn't as hard to get as you would think unless you're living under the DELIBERATELY PERPETUATED Beer Joint Baritone DELUSION that 'someone' is going to finance your pipe dream because you 'have talent'. If you're still THAT STUPID you're wasting your time reading this, or any other, legitimate information. THE FINANCIAL FACTS ARE: once you have a PROVEN (Commercially Acceptable) PRODUCT and YOUR BUSINESS HOUSE in order, INVESTORS are willing to look at and perhaps INVEST the amount of MONEY it takes to PROMOTE such high paying Venues. But not until. But let's break that whopping $16,800,000.00 estimate down a bit, and into the REALITIES of Business. First, that is the ESTIMATED GROSS! There are all the EXPENSES to come out of it. So let's use a close estimate that each of those $280,000.00 Concerts actually COST you 50% ($140,000.00) to produce: rent, advertising, security, insurance, sound, lights, travel, communications, clean-up, etceteras. Suddenly your NET begins to take on the aura of reality. It's now down to $8,400,000.00 per that 60-SHOW YEAR - and that's still a lot of cold, hard, pleasure buying loot! But we're not done yet. There's the little matter of the INITIAL INVESTMENT to repay. And let's venture that INITIAL INVESTMENT was $5,000,000.00 upon acceptance of your BUSINESS PLAN and funding thereof by the INVESTORS. There's going to be ACCRUED INTEREST. Everybody is in business to make money, and the ROI (Return On Investment) for the FINANCIERS is no exception. So you minus the $5,000,000.00 plus an interest of $1,000,000.00 leaving you with a tidy $2,400,000.00 before taxes. THE FIGURES ARE EXAMPLES ONLY, and the actual numbers will be far more precise. Even so, even these numbers ask the question: Are YOU ready to begin the process to earn that $2,400,000.00 the first year in Recorded Music? Right here, most people, and all Beer Joint Baritones who are scared to death of a Million Dollars find every excuse under the Sun to escape. They neither want, nor can they handle, such responsibility. Nobody will blame them for walking. But then and there such actions clearly show to any and all the real value of their 'talent'. But YOU are ready to take the plunge! First Step: PROVE THE MUSIC. - How? It's a simple matter of MARKET TESTING your product to determine if it will LOG VIABLE COMMERCIAL RADIO AIRPLAY. If it logs VIABLE COMMERCIAL airplay, you've got the one-and-only indicator to invest more money into the product. If not, cut your losses on THAT production and try something else. Now having said that one more time, let's cut to the PROVEN PRODUCT chase - once you get it. The current best-bang-for-the-buck are promolibraries. Promolibraries don't solve all the problems, but they're the quickest and lowest-cost quality test available in today's market. Second, is to get the BEST song out of the promolibrary results into one of the MAJOR LABEL composites. Most Majors won't even consider anything they don't own lock, stock and tadpoles, but VMG does! More about that later. Or (and this is YOUR choice) once you get satisfactory results from the promolibraries to indicate your product will LOG SUFFICIENT COMMERCIAL RADIO AIRPLAY, you might want to consider going directly for an album. If promolibrary results are deemed sufficient to justify the expense/investment. PROOF, is Proof, is proof, and you're still going to need a hard product BEFORE you can even consider getting on the desk of the INVESTORS! So, now that we have A PROVEN SOMETHING: We take TEN (10) songs, no more, all RADIO FRIENDLY, and release an album. NOT through Jackass Productions, Manure Hauling and Goat Currying, but via the General Licenser you uploaded your promolibrary product through! And we release it World Wide. Now, WIN, LOSE or DRAW, we have the PROVEN product to go to step three. Three, WITH YOUR PROVEN PRODUCT AND YOUR BUSINESS HOUSE IN ORDER, we can put you on the desk of those INVESTORS who can shell out the $5 to $10+Million long-green you'll need to BUY the services and logistics to get those HUGE Venues we spoke of just a few paragraphs above. You'll have to meet a few logistical standards, beside your Business House being in order, but the average investment loan is ONE (1) TO TEN (10) MILLION DOLLARS! And not one penny of it released to party! Every penny is already dedicated. Every cent is allocated to the facilities, equipment, salaries, insurances and administrative logistics you're going to need to deliver those performances. And to get it you also need a SOUND BUSINESS PLAN. What you're going to do with the money, how long it's going to take to do it, how much ROI (Return On Investment) the INVESTORS are going to be repaid, etceteras, as mentioned above. However, for this explanation we'll split the average and base our figures on a $5,000,000.00 investment. So, you've got a Business House in Order, sufficient PROVEN product, and FIVE MILLION DOLLARS that will be spent properly and in exact accordance with your Business Plan, and you are about this business in no un-certain terms. $5-Million Bucks. Owed to the Investors/Lenders. BUT THAT IS PEANUTS! IF - REPEAT - IF you are about the BUSINESS OF THE BUSINESS you're going to book that 60 Concerts - make that $16.8+Million - PAY BACK THOSE INVESTORS - and BE IN THIS BUSINESS right up-with and along-side everybody else who is any body else, you need to know the START UP COSTS. INITIAL START UP INVESTMENTS = promolibrary uploads are $600.00 per song at VMG. Other companies charge their own prices, which includes those independent promolibrary operations now coming alive on the net. Some of those operations will do a full service for about $450.00 - and some even less - so you'll have to seek them out. If you have a question as to their legitimacy, ask us. How many songs will it take before you have a solid air-logger? Nobody knows. FOUR (4) out of FIVE (5) songs released never log one split second of COMMERCIAL Radio Airplay! And that's why you DO NOT - REPEAT - DO NOT blow your wad on an album at the get-go! Only an INDUSTRY IGNORANT does that. They've documented their own INDUSTRY IGNORANCE by releasing a product that doesn't have any Market Test on it and therefore NO MARKET FOR IT! And it's done everyday by those who buy-into the WHAT-NEVER-DID-WORK myths and delusions of the Beer Joint Baritone community. And WHERE can you get your product into the promoliobraries? You have several choices. First, there are Independent PromoLibraries (some on the internet), and they'll have the best prices. Some Independents upload through one or more of the General Licensers, while others just trade out (like they all do). The Major Labels offer the service (if they'll take your product), and their prices are usually higher than Independents, but IT PUTS THAT LABEL IN YOUR POCKET should you produce any viable success. And last, are the Super Six General Licensers direct, only at a huge increase in cost over the Labels and way-above the Independents, IF - REPEAT - IF you can get them to accept your product to begin with. The few Major Labels and Independents will upload anything and everything, but NOT because of the money! Those Majors and Independents WILL NOT SIT IN JUDGMENT as to whether your product will air or not - but the Major Labels might not want product out of their dedicated line. Nobody really knows whether your product will succeed or not, so the Independents upload it and find out. In either instance, success is success is success and EVERYBODY WANTS IN ON IT ONCE YOU HAVE IT! Do you want THAT kind of a deal and opportunity? Well, THAT and ONLY THAT is what VMG reaches for every time. Contact any VMG VP/Rep. Just don't spam the company. We TRASH spammers at the outset. |
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EXPOSED: THE REAL PURPOSE BEHIND VMG's WEB SITE AND BB/MESSAGE BOARD Everyone who really knows GENERAL BOBBY FARRELL fully understands he might be a lot of things, but "stupid" IS NOT ONE OF THEM! You can check all the 'how to' books written by 'experts' who've NEVER done it themselves, surf the net until you're over loaded with TOTALLY USELESS urls, and talk to every Beer Joint Baritone between here and the moon, AND STILL NOT GET THE ACCURATE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN ONE CURSORY READING OF THE VMG WEB SITE - http://www.vmgworldwide.com - and then check the Top 2,500 Records In The World Chart at - http://www.atlantic-satellite.com - and see the results for yourself. VMG's site is the NUMBER ONE SITE IN THE WORLD for Recorded Music information! ACCURATE information. Cold, hard, right-between-the-eyes information. Information used EVERY DAY by all the other Major Companies and the PROs! The cookies don't lie, and they clearly show the track record. In addition, with those cookies safely secured - AND NOT ONE LAW SUIT FOR EITHER DEFAMATION OR LIBEL IN THE FOUR-PLUS YEARS IT'S BEEN ON-LINE - can it be assumed that GENERAL BOBBY FARRELL is telling the WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, SO HELP HIM, GOD? YOU'RE DAMNED RIGHT IT DOES! But what does THAT have to do with the REAL purpose for the existence of both the site and the BB/Message Board? EVERYTHING! Unlike all the other Major Label sites, the VMG site DOES NOT contain page after page of Artist's bios spewing perpetual hype about releases that AREN'T SELLING EITHER! All the other Major Label sites are filled with HYPE, Hype and more hype. GENERAL BOBBY FARRELL's VMG site is the ONLY site that contains the HOW TO DO IT and the WHAT WON'T WORK information for both established and beginner artists, songwriters, producers, studios, labels and publishers. AND IT CONTAINS THE WHOLE TRUTH IN ALL CATEGORIES! If the site CONTAINS THE TRUTH - AND IT DOES - and there are those EXPOSED therein who dare not sue - AND THERE ARE - then what does THAT say to all VMG Personnel about those who have a tizzy over the contents of the site? IT SAYS THEY'RE JACKASS, THAT'S WHAT! And if they're JACKASS, they're also LOSERS who will not, and indeed cannot, make it or survive in this Industry. Therefore it also says THEY'RE NOT WORTH ANY EFFORT on the part of any VMG Representative! FACT: In the years since the VMG site has been on-line in 1995, there HAS NOT been so much as ONE negative word from ANYBODY WHO HAS BEEN THERE and KNOWS from First Hand Experience! And the communications from KNOWN artists, producers, songwriters, publishers, studios, booking agents, FINANCIERS and everybody else is constant. All the whining and nonsense-spewing has been from the NEVER-WASes and AIN'T-NEVER-GOING-TO-BE crowd. Nobody else. And the BB/Message Board? It actually shows the PARANOIDS, PSYCHOPATHS, IDIOT ELEMENTS and BEER JOINT BARITONES with their life-long DELUSIONS, in real time! READ IT! You'll find the SAME poppycock from the SAME ninny-group as every other BB on the net. BUT HERE VMG DOESN'T CUT THEM ANY SLACK! If they scream "lie" - VMG simply requires them to CUT AND PASTE IT! And there have been NO TAKERS any where on the net. THERE ARE NO LIES ANYWHERE IN THE SITE! Simple as that. If they scream "scam" - VMG simply require them to produce so much as ONE victim! NO TAKERS there either. BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ANY! Simple as that too. The VMG site and BB/Message Board are there for all to use. Register and post. Any LEGITIMATE questions will be answered by someone who has BEEN THERE and KNOWS from First Hand Experience. You may not like the answer, but you can damned sure take it to the bank. If you take the time to get ACCURATE/TRUTHFUL INFORMATION and then FAIL to use it in good time, your failure IS NOT at the feet of GENERAL BOBBY FARRELL or VMG - IT'S TIED UP IN YOUR OWN SHOE LACES! So, our Beloved GENERAL BOBBY FARRELL, the TRUTH is out on you, the VMG site, and the BB/Message Board. YOU SET BOTH THE SITE AND THE BB/MESSAGE BOARD UP TO WEED THE JACKASSES OUT OF THE FEEDING FIELD! And, you set the JACKASSES up to buy their own ads AGAINST themselves in the process! And, as usual, you did another Master Piece Job! Now go and enjoy your retirement (until we need you again ... probably within the hour!) Arnold & Amanda Repprucht, Atlantic Satellite Marketing, Ltd. counter@atlantic-satellite.com ----------------------------------------------------------- MONEY IN MUSIC Everybody knows of the many MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in Entertainment and Recorded Music. HOW IT WORKS and HOW TO GET IT are the two big questions! WHAT WON'T WORK is the perpetual Kiss Of Death. In this issue, we're going to cover all three. It always starts with the song. Schlock, regardless of how 'emotional' and/or 'trendy' will always Die the Death of Damned Foolishness long before the final money is counted. The 'real cool' nonsense is doomed to jackass while a KISS-Factor (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) song will still be there and will make more long-term money - WHEN DONE RIGHT - than all the 'real cool' idiocies ever invested in. You've got the song (hopefully a LOT of them, 10 at least). A retarded brick can produce a COMMERCIALLY ACCEPTABLE record if they have enough sense to leave the 'emotional' stupidities out and put the HARD LISTEN in. Producing a record is done primarily in PREPARATION, just about like everything else. Got ninnies who think it's a party?; who think your record is some kind of a do-nothing big joke?; or facilities that can't deliver the bottom line of a FINISHED EDITED CD ready for final mastering? THEN FLUSH THE LOT OF THEM! Not sure? Then ask somebody WHO KNOWS, you're closest VMG Representative, for example. If they don't know, they damned sure know WHO DOES! And they'll get that info for you asap. You've got your song(s) DONE RIGHT ... now what? BEFORE you jackass your project, the first thing is to DETERMINE the COMMERCIAL ACCEPTABILITY (if any) of what you've put in the groove. You're going to need to know BEFORE you can make the MONEY your investment is intended to return. You've only got one - three - five - songs. Fine. Put them into any legitimate PROMOLIBRARY and wait for the results. DON'T JACKASS THE GAME WITH ANY KIND OF HYPE! Leave it alone so you'll have a handle on the ACTUAL market acceptance, if any. None? That's fine too. Now you KNOW and can move on to something else/better and you haven't blown your wad on a "what wouldn't work". Action? GREAT! Now go for an album WHILE YOUR MUSIC IS WARM TO THE TOUCH! It might not get any hotter, and is going to cool considerably unless you DO SOMETHING with it. Got TEN songs and need to work? Then let's cut to the chase in TODAY'S MARKET! Do an album. The cost NORMALLY varies between $40,000.00 and $60,000.00 TOTAL BUDGET (VMG has SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT - 75% - of that) and the call is YOURS! What happens: VMG loads ALL TEN songs into the PROMOLIBRARIES. By the time we're through preparing the album - anticounterfeiting, label and traycard artwork, clearances, etceteras - we should have RESULTS of WHICH (if any) of those TEN SONGS are getting the most notice. The SONG(s) WITH THE MOST ACTION BECOMES THE "PUSH" SONG FOR THE ALBUM. We print that into the info, and on the mailers/envelopes. Action? As disgusting as it is: in TODAY's MARKET a record will play BECAUSE OF THE LABEL! Any label DISTRIBUTED via any of the SUPER SIX GENERAL LICENSERS can log air on the same songs that are TOTALLY IGNORED on any and all 'indie' releases. Shouldn't be that way, BUT IT IS! And YES (for the terminal idiot element) VMG IS ONE OF THOSE SUPER SIX MAJORS! FACT: 4 out of 5 songs NEVER log airplay - 7 out of 8 albums released NEVER sell any commercial copies. Got that, everybody? Then: HOW CAN ANYBODY MAKE ANY MONEY? BY PLAYING THE LIVE CONCERTS IT TAKES A GOOD PLAYING RECORD TO GET! Anybody miss the point in that statement? "PLAYING" record! NOT 'selling' record. Playing(?) record? RIGHT! PLAYING record. And here's HOW WE DO THAT! Upon release of the ALBUM, being "PUSHED" by the most COMMERCIALLY ACCEPTABLE music in it, there's a good chance the record will PROVE! Either via actual sales OR continued airplay! Either one will work! WE hope for BOTH, but we'll settle for either. Remember a PLAYING record is the SAME THING for the ARTIST as a bought-and-paid-for COMMERCIAL is for the Car Dealer, Computer Company, Cold Remedy cum Cure-It-All Medicals, Breweries, etceteras, AND ALL OTHER COMMERCIAL ADVERTISERS! And HOW do we get that HARD COMMERCIAL Main Line airplay? JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, WE BUY IT! Buy it? Yep. BUY IT! Legally, without payola! You see, in this industry there are REALITIES. One is that RADIO/BROADCAST is an entire industry BETWEEN those of us who MAKE records and those (the public) we want to BUY them. Another is, that radio lives or dies on it's COMMERCIAL INCOME or lack of it. Aaaaannnnddddd .... RADIO, like all other businesses NEED BUSINESS ADVICE, and they get it from CONSULTANTS! Broadcast CONSULTANTS. Who often offer PROGRAMMING to insure a solid LISTENER base for the TARGET MARKET of the RADIO station. Read that last line again. IT'S IMPORTANT! Another REALITY is that RECORD COMPANIES also need and use MARKETING CONSULTANTS! The real kicker is: CONSULTANTS CONTROL SCADS OF MAIN LINE RADIO - AND ALL THE REPUTED MAIN LINE CHARTS - BILLBOARD, RADIO AND RECORDS, AND GAVIN [UPDATE: GAVIN HAS FOLDED! ANOTHER CASUALTY OF TRUTH IN A HYPE-IS-EVERYTHING MARKET!]! (And BTW, heavy-hitter INVESTORS require such CONTROL in their presentations. More below.) It's a 'CRONIES-IN-LAW" situation. RADIO needs CONSULTANTS and RECORD COMPANIES need CONSULTANTS. Enter the CRONIES-IN-LAW factor! ConsultiCRONY who does RADIO 'selects' the music for the station's playrack. ConsultiCRONY who does RECORDS 'selects' the stations for the record. In fact, RECORD-ConsultiCRONY simply contacts RADI0-ConsultiCRONY and BUYS THE AIRTIME on behalf of the RECORD COMPANY! Now you've got the picture ... RECORD-ConsultiCRONY and RADIO-ConsultiCRONY are CRONIES-IN-LAW in business! Because ALL stations ARE NOT consultant-programmed, VMG lets you TEST your product (via promolibraries) BEFORE squandering a fortune (or your limited budget) - then offers up to SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT (75%) of the INITIAL PROMOTION BUDGET to release an album - and then offers the assistance necessary to get you ON THE DESK of the INVESTORS who can put up the MONEY to BUY THE CONSULTANTS AND AIRTIME that will deliver those HUGE-PAYING CONCERT VENUES! Now take that one again, one bite at a time. Now get this point clear: ALL stations ARE NOT consultant-programmed and ALL stations ARE NOT promolibrary-programmed - and YOU NEED BOTH! And you can AFFORD them in the proper order. VMG offers the necessary MARKET TESTING via PROMOLIBRARY; VMG offers the necessary FINANCIAL SUPPORT to release an album; VMG offers the necessary BUSINESS EXPERTISE to secure the SUPER FUNDING (on PROVEN product) to BUY the rest of the RADIO market and BUY (Four Wall) those SUPER-PAYING VENUES at a very nice and hefty profit for everybody concerned! Contact any VMG Representative. You'll be glad you did. ----------------------------------------------------------- The Staff and Management Vandor Motion Pictures, Phonorecords and Music Publishing Group |
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First, most people who start their own labels do so simply because they are musicians themselves and the doors to all other labels are either closed, are outright scam operations, or totally without the means to throw a record any farther than the nearest trash can. And that won't work. A music 'capitol' (Nashville, Hollywood ... ) address won't change that fact one iota! Ask anybody who has been there and came home with their fleecing intact and their budget gone. Second, most people who start their own labels have no idea that Main Line Radio won't play 'indie' product, and Main Line Outlets won't stock 'indie' product, effectively making their investment totally worthless. And that won't work. It's a simple matter broadcasters and merchants absolutely cannot afford to! The competition for listeners and customers is fierce, and even the illusion/perception of anything shoddy/substandard must be avoided at all costs. Your product might not be shoddy/substandard, but it's in the same bucket with the rest who are! Third, most people who start their own labels have absolutely no expertise in business, administrative or marketing the real world of record promotion or distribution, other than that deliberately perpetuated by all the fools who never did it themselves either. And that won't work. With the broadcast and record store doors closed to 'indies' at the outset, attempting to ship 'indie' records to everybody in sight hoping someone will want a bazillion copies by some 'magical' process is sheer ignorance at best, and business stupidity at worst. Fourth, most people who start their own labels think getting distribution is a free and clear million dollars from the distributor. And that isn't going to happen. Distribution is a service. Just like utilities in your home or office, gas, water, electricity, garbage collection, etceteras. You pay for it or you don't have it. Somebody paid a lot of money to be in the business of distribution, and they're going to get paid on that investment. That's why they made the investment to begin with. Fifth, most people who start their own labels have no idea of the investment required by publishers who own the copyrights to the music involved. And that is not a freebie! The one and only full truth out of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC (and Foreign PROs) is the fact that publishing is a business and requires both expertise and investment. Exploiting copyrights is not a something for nothing endeavor. Sixth, most people who start their own labels think they can manufacture their own records and the distributor will buy them up front. Don't hold your breath. Distributors don't need your product under any conditions. In fact, they're up to their eyebrows with product they can't sell as it is. Seven (7) out of eight (8) records released never sell a single commercial copy at all! Seventh, most people who start their own labels think they can manufacture their own records and supply them to the distributors outlets on some sort of 'commission' cum 'consignment' basis. There's no way in hell. Somebody has to guarantee product (buy-back - as in money-back guarantee) return in cold hard cash, and distributors are not going to permit some ignoramus to ship a bunch of unsellable/unwanted product to their customers/outlets the distributor is going to have to eat! Eighth, most people who start their own labels think they can do all the public relations on behalf of the distributors and everybody is going to make millions and be satisfied. No way in hell with that one, either. Distributors don't need to upset their outlets with somebody's irresponsible 'promises' behind their back. The reason is simple. It takes a lot of time and investment to build customer confidence, and that is what a distributor's outlets are: customers! In short, distributors can't afford to have anyone speaking for them that they don't control! And neither can any other business. Ninth, most people who start their own labels think the product they have to offer is solid gold without any other consideration than the fact it exists. If they didn't, they should have recorded something else! But records are not bought. They are sold! Just like any other product. And that's where distribution becomes the all-important consideration. Without it, the record buying public is not going to have access to the product. Period. Tenth, most people who start their own labels think there's millions of dollars to be earned from record sales and thousands of dollars to be earned from performances. The exact opposite is true. Records are audio business cards. Nothing more. It's just that those in recorded music can sometimes sell their business cards at a profit. No other business on earth can do that. Now that we have most of the misperceptions out of the way, how is distribution secured?: and how much does it cost? The first, "How is distribution secured?", is the easiest to answer. Vandor Motion Pictures, Phonorecords and Music Publishing Group, VMG for short, is one of the Super Six General Licensers who manufacture, license and distribute world wide. The other five and some of their labels are: Time-Warner (WEA, Warner Bros., Atlantic, Elektra, Asylum, Tommy Boy, Maverick and Vandor's manufacturer); SONY (CRG, Columbia, Epic, Screen Gems, MoTown); Bertlesmann (BMG, RCA, Arista, BNA, Ariola, Virgin); Universal (UMG, MCA, Decca, Mercury, Polygram, Polydor); and Walt Disney Company (WDC, Buena Vista, TouchStone). [UPDATE: EFA (Europe) is now defunct. BMG (Europe) and SONY (Japan) have 'merged' and now constitute one General Licenser although each still operates independently of the other.]. With enough money - or - with enough product sales ($10,000,000.00 per annum is the minimum) - you can contract any of that final six and get a distribution deal. We think VMG has the best price to deliver the same service. Why? Because we do things a whole lot different, business wise, than the other five because we structured differently on day one and we can afford to. VMG does not, and never will, own anybody's masters! Did you get that? The client retains total ownership of their Masters! Including film and videos. VMG offers full cooperation with the label's Artist Promotion endeavors! We have in-house World Wide Concert Tour booking and administrative support (venues, travel arrangements, advertising, etceteras). And the second question, "How much does it cost?", depends on how much financial support your product needs. And that can vary from release to release. Let's make that a bit more simple. Any product in a Main Line Field: Country, Adult Contemporary, Rock, Classical, R&B, Urban, Jazz, etceteras, requires far more broadcast coverage (promotion) than the Secondary Line Fields: Bluegrass, Dixie Land, Gospel, etceteras, and therefore requires a larger budget. A product with crossover potential can enlarge even these budgets, or the product is not being properly promoted or exploited for profit. Now that we know nothing is welded in steel until we get down to the actual cases, what is the rule-of-the-thumb cost? With respect to "in-advance-of-orders" copies stocked in outlets: a five-color CD label, with a four-color tray card insert (booklets and folders are extra), in a standard jewel box, shrinkwrapped and delivered to the dock (U.S.) is $2.85 (USC) per copy - with a minimum run of 50,000 copies. And VMG advises NOT to make such investments until the public demand for the act justifies it. CDs will contain VMG's exclusive distribution and licensing logo, without which your product neither gets on Main Line Radio nor on Main Line Store shelves. Without solid commercial radio airplay any record is totally worthless for anything but a demo. We'll cover that later. CDs will contain VMG's exclusive anti-counterfeiting codes and measures, without which your product can be pirated (counterfeited). Did you know those copies you've already manufactured are all first-generation masters? Nothing can stop all pirating any more than cameras, guards, police and prisons stop all bank robberies, but it is a required deterrent and helps to find and prosecute the violators. CDs will be the sole and exclusive property of the client, who is also responsible for any and all record promotion, Artist Development and Promotion, royalties and product return. There are other details too complex to be given here. We're open to any and all questions. Can VMG offer your label manufacturing, promotion, distribution and licensing? YES! Does VMG offer world wide promotion? YES! Record Promotion is an entirely different endeavor, with it's own set of rules, and with it's own costs and expenses. VMG is not interested in any 'local cum regional' releases whatsoever. It the product isn't suitable for International Coverage, it is simply not worth our time or investment. As stated above, the promotion of any given release is exclusive to that release and will be detailed after due consideration. Will VMG accept you and/or your label as a client? MAYBE! The fact is, VMG turns down well over NINETY EIGHT PERCENT (98%) of all projects brought to us. The NUMBER ONE (1) reason is actually two: Paranoia and Industry Ignorance. Both are tied for first place, even though neither is excusable. The NUMBER TWO (2) reasons are listed above as First, through Tenth, and everything else falls somewhere beneath. VMG is not the only General Licenser offering these services. And, none of the Super Six will 'bid' against any other General Licenser for your business! If you're 'talking' with some other General Licenser, VMG wishes you the best of luck. Just don't waste VMG's time until you're through 'talking' with whoever. One closing word of advice, if you're 'talking' to anybody about multi-International or Global distribution WHO IS NOT one of the Super Six General Licensers (mentioned above), you're wasting your time and you're going to lose your money. Nobody else has the facilities or resources in-house to deliver on a multi-International or Global basis. Thanks for reading. Sincerely, Your Obedient Servants, The Staff and Management, VMG World Wide info@vmgworldwide.com |
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VANDOR MUSIC GROUP can get you an Executive Producer's Record Release Agreement regardless of your Field of Music, and investing Publisher(s) and Label(s) who are about the business of selling records everywhere phonorecords are sold. At VMG the Executive Producer (ExP), individual, company or group, retains 100% ownership of their Masters. Artists who are their own ExPs, thus retain total control of their career! Songwriters retain 100% of any and all composition rights. The only music tied up are those five or ten songs contained in and duly contracted to the release. That's right! All your other compositions, past, present, or future, remain under your control! SORRY! We do not "get publishers" for music that isn't already a part of a Record Project! Executive Producers decide the music and arrangements contained in their releases. NO! We don't get "freebie" Recording Contracts for Artists either! - We're NOT into Song Sharking and NightMare record deals. YOU can be your own Executive Producer - 98.9% of all Recording Artists earning $100,000.00 or more per year are their own Executive Producers - read the label credits and see for yourself! Either you want your record promoted, licensed and distributed, or you don't! And either you want your record properly promoted, licensed and distributed, or you don't. Even before you record, these are the TWO foremost critical business decisions. And only you can make them. Below are a few more details. VMG will promote and distribute your Label if you're ready to make that kind of investment and business risk. As an affiliated label, you will also be responsible for the Executive Producer's share of promotion, except when we solicit you for Label Budget on behalf of other ExPs - on a very set and long rotation basis. You'll also be required to release one project per-year to remain active. Call our nearest Vice President or Producer and make arrangements for their FREE AUDITION of your material! If they're busy, leave a message. They'll call you back. They'll hear your production from end-to-end (but not on your schedule), make their decision and let you know ASAP! However, even ASAP can take two or three weeks - but we won't leave you hanging for months on end. And NO!, our VPs can't take time off from current commitments to permit each hopeful to present their product in person! Nice idea, but time just does not permit it. Don't forget to ask about Digital Library releases - the best Market Test anywhere before investing in an album. Before you contact any of the VMG Executives, read the entire site and LEARN THE COLD HARD FACTS OF THIS BUSINESS! As with all legitimate Record Companies, the people you'll be in communications with WILL NOT waste their time 'explaining' kindergarten to you, nor will they be 'put on trial' to get your business. If you want a career in music - then educate yourself in your chosen profession, just like any other Professional. This website contains all the foundation blocks to build, control, enjoy and profit in a musical career from the perpetually repeated "what-won't-work" jackass scenarios, the major scams and con-games, and the EXACT "How to do it RIGHT the First Time" from songwriting through recording and getting your product licensed and distributed World Wide. All you have to do is learn these elements and apply them! And finally, don't spam the company! All our contracts are the same! Nobody is going to 'get you a better deal'. VMG is endeavoring to locate our Representatives for your convenience, but you may choose any VMG Representative for your project. |
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Since new count began, 22 April 2008.
