Rarely does this blog recall personal stories. Today’s post however demands I break the mold and share a story, which will essentially address and define the blog topic. A quick tale to set the stage for the flood of comments which are bound to follow.
Prior to becoming an entertainment attorney, I enjoyed sharing my time between industry jobs and graduate school. With a foot in professional reality and a foot in educational preaching, I truly enjoyed analyzing the parallels between what was being taught at a professional level and what was actually taking place within the industry. Rarely, if ever did the two co-exist. Then came DePaul University.
DePaul had a Masters program in International Marketing, and seeing I had just completed another Masters program in International Communication I felt I could transfer several of the credits and escape with an additional degree quickly. Wrong. DePaul challenged me. The faculty insisted I tailor the program to my past, present, and future work history in the music industry and adapt the program to encompass “International Music Marketing.” Sure, sounds cool – why not. The University immediately opened up their alumni rolodex, partnered me with bands, labels, and various industry folks around Chicago to see if I could assist in expanding music business opportunities outside of the United States, and more so creating opportunities through marketing trends specific to particular countries. I’ll never forget, the first group I worked with (and pretty much all the groups to follow). They regurgitated one haunting statement: “We’re doing okay around here but we really need to expand our fan base in order to survive. We’ve decided we’ll tour in Europe and see what happens.” As expected there was no rhyme or reason to this statement, literally a we’ll poke around over there and see if something sticks type of mentality (ie: a financial black hole). Inject me.
My role was simple/complex. I begin deeply analyzing my subjects genre, domestic market, viable sponsors, label relations, etc… and would compare it to certain international markets. This was difficult seeing there was essentially no existing research to evaluate. I quickly discovered each international country had it’s own unique music traditions, pockets, fans, buying trends, concert expectations, music marketing trends and so on. Couple that with the nightmare of customs, work visas, shipping product, printing product, equipment rental, and possible immigration headaches – “we’ll try out the European market” was a seemingly unrealistic statement for the everyday band who doesn’t have backing from a major label or alignments with entertainment attorneys who truly understand international law on top of being proficient in entertainment law. In generating research (in unique ways in which I will not reveal), I was able to construct expansion plans for several bands. These plans not only identified the logical 1,2,3 steps to accomplish in terms of countries to target, but it also gave exhausting detail reports on how to market the band in those particular countries.
After completing several of these projects, I felt my work was done – next academic course, please. Wrong again. Oddly enough (to me anyways), several labels began contacting me requesting I assist in expanding their label to relevant international markets. I was stunned, not because labels were contacting me, rather because labels didn’t know how to expand the roster themselves. One label after another, same request, “help us expand overseas.” Then came international labels making the same request. I was seeing a void in the marketplace. Then (at that time) the mother of all request, Universal (in a undisclosed European market), asked me to help them expand one of their best selling artists into the United States. What? I’m thinking to myself, “you guys are Universal, please please please tell me you know how to expand into other markets?” Nope. It became abundantly clear to me that despite all the music industry chaos with illegal downloads, 360 deals, layoffs and so forth, people still were not evolving past the standard music industry business model. Example: A&R finds a artist, label signs said artist, label creates a ground swell by getting radio attention, and later finds physical distribution in areas such as music stores, Target, Best Buy, etc. to sell said music and everyone makes money. This model is now ludicrous.
So what does the above story have to do with defining music globalization? Everything. It’s the anti globalization model, the traditional mindset that music industry professionals typically have and unfortunately the thought process musicians have followed who are forced to do it themselves (DIY). Sign with a label, get distribution, tour domestically, possible pick up some international dates, and then let’s see if people like it. Times are different, the industry is different, and it’s time for everyone to think differently. Now, (for industry discussion), the world is flat. Traditional domestic expansion models are a thing of the past, and to survive you must think globally. If you don’t, you won’t survive.
Ten years ago the Billboard music charts rarely identified an international artist. Statistically speaking, around 2% of the artists on the charts were foreign in nature. Now, on average, over 30% of the artists on the chart are international. International musicians now have a strong voice on the American music scene, and American musicians and labels have to push traditional boundaries (ie: venture outside of the U.S. market). This does not simply apply to U.S. groups, international expansion is taking place in every country more so than ever before. International sync opportunities are at a high, cross continental endorsements are soaring, international film industries have exploded providing licensing opportunities, music placement in video games, unique merchandise, Apps, and global music festivals now dominate. Why would you think domestically when the world provides more opportunities than you could imagine? By simply applying these talked about strategies (ie: thinking globally), you don’t achieve music industry enlightenment. Music globalization is about exploiting all global outlets, especially through establishing non-traditional distribution through new global avenues which most of the time is too large under a DIY model. You must invest in help. Having an iTunes account which can be accessed in Spain, or a CDBaby account where someone in Greece can purchase your album does not mean you're an international recording artist. It means you've established a vehicle of communication where potential fans "could" purchase your music, now you have to drive the vehicle and get them where they "will" buy your tracks.
Many will read this article and think to them self “umm yeah, this information is a no brainer.” I agree with you, but rarely do I see people actually applying the techniques. Applying techniques, navigating international terrain, and exploring new markets is not an easy path to take. It’s a long process, much longer than simply targeting domestic markets alone, and further it’s legal issues attached that make the expansion difficult. Jumping boarders with creative elements, copyrights, sponsors and so on injects new costs (ie: entertainment attorney, international management firms, international PR reps, etc.), but because this new globalization model trend sprouted so quickly it’s not a specialty attorneys understand. Others may read this article and think I’m plugging my services as an entertainment attorney who focuses on international expansion. Yes, I understand the international issues because it's my niche, but you're wrong again. I can’t tell you how many people I’ll be straightforward with and say “no” we can’t represent you, especially if there is not a creative fit. More so, focusing on music globalization means you must give clients your focus, creativity, connections, and legal knowledge and this can’t be acquired with a large roster of clients. I keep it small, selective, and creative with my clients. Lastly, many of my regular readers may feel I’m plugging my book series on International Music Marketing (I speak about these books regularly when discussing music globalization). Wrong again. Contrary to my previous beliefs, I thought the marketplace needed a DIY book series on international expansion. However, the book series sells like garbage. Fine by me as I have a legal career to focus on, however the lack of ground swell has taught me that people don’t fully understand the need to push international boundaries (hence the reason to highlight the topic in this blog).
Whether you work in the industry as an attorney, manager, agent, musician, label, artist, or production assistant I ask you this one question: “where will you be in 5 years if you don’t apply international skills?” Seriously? Like it or not, the world is flatter everyday, we’re more connected, and we’re impacted by new cultures every minute. In addition to the mainstream globalization which affects every industry from telecommunications to engineering, look at the fragmentation taking place simply in our industry. New genres are sprouting overnight, relatively unknown bands can generate millions of hits on YouTube within hours and new musical discoveries are made on Twitter every minute. Is this generated at a domestic level or a global level?
Martin F. Frascogna is an entertainment attorney who specializes in music globalization (ie: expanding fan bases and international markets). He consults with several labels both domestically and internationally in efforts to expand rosters and sponsorships into the appropriate global territories. Martin mainly works with indie level musicians who operate on a shoestring budget. Allowing musicians to budget for legal services as opposed to billing high rates has lead Frascogna to have clients in 11 countries on 6 continents. Feel free to contact - Martin F. Frascogna (marty@frascognamusic.com)
TWITTER: @Frascognamusic
