Recorded music sales have declined, but the demand for music is increasing. Recognizing additional revenue sources and fostering the relationship between fan and artist are keys to the survival of the music industry.

“You are leaving money on the table if you don’t have a bucket under every single revenue drip.”

-Scott Sellwood, senior VP, RightsFlow

We are 10-plus years into the digital music age, and recorded music revenue has continued its decline. The illegal downloading of music prospers seemingly unabated. Licensed digital music services have taken hold with listeners but have not picked up the slack in lost sales. For traditional record labels, this is a challenging and cathartic time; but for music fans, it is also an age of great abundance.

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The digital age of music has introduced new legal forms of music consumption that do not correlate clearly with the previous licensing laws. These old laws were created at a time when the recorded music industry revolved around physical sales and traditional radio play. They do not address, however, services like Rhapsody, where streaming audio is not public performance, nor is it a transaction of ownership. In some cases, these gray areas have allowed royalties to slip through the cracks, never reaching the hands of the rightful copyright owner. Read the rest of this entry »

October 5, 2010 (Boston MA) – Heavy Rotation Records, the student-run record label at Berklee College of Music, will produce a cover song tribute to some of rock’s biggest names and the seminal bands that influenced their sounds and styles.  To be recorded and compiled this fall, the project will highlight songs from groups including Gang of Four, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Pixies, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, and Sonic Youth.  Scheduled for release in early 2011, the project will couple material from well-known favorites like Green Day, U2, and REM, with covers of the important, compelling acts who influenced them – Husker Du, Joy Division, and Mission of Burma.

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When it comes to finding a career in music, sometimes half the battle is knowing what you’re good at. The other half, of course, is working hard. Music business/management major Kim Gerlach ’03 did both. She graduated high school a year early, finished Berklee in three years, and went on to Suffolk Law. At only 27, she’s the director of licensing at New York-based RightsFlow, a start-up in the fast-moving field of mechanical licensing and royalty administration. Read the rest of this entry »