Universal Music Group, TuneCore and You by Jeff Price

totally awesome Jeff !!
thanks a lot for these opportunities.

“This means the label will probably be aware of you, have heard your music, be up to speed on the success you are having, etc.”
Um, the last bit:
“be up to speed on the success you are having, etc.”
Does this mean you will be giving Universal access to the sales figures of independent/unsigned artists to see how successful/unsuccessful they are and help make safer bets for Universal?
OR am I paranoid? A manager of an independent band who are friends of mine vowed never to put the band’s music on iTunes because the majors could access the stats for them and didn’t want to possibly damage their opportunities…

UNIVERSAL JUST SIGNED ME!
THANKS TUNECORE
MYSPACE.COM/ELEGALEMMCE

“A manager of an independent band who are friends of mine vowed never to put the band’s music on iTunes because the majors could access the stats for them and didn’t want to possibly damage their opportunities…”
This seems a little silly to me. To give up potential sales and the promotional value of being on itunes to avoid the majors from discovering that your sales aren’t the greatest, seems pointless. If a major label wanted to do business with a band they thought had legs, they would want to see those stats before signing anything anyway.
If I’m missing something, please enlighten me.

Universal…Big shark eating sardines…How much is in it for you Jeff? I know the answer: ‘Not a dime!!!’

Jeff using Universal or any major label studio to master songs brings some very important legal questions to mind here for an indie artist.
1.)Since they produce the finished product in this scenario,Universal can claim part ownership to the actual master, as such any subsequent royalties,distribution rights,etc.
.2.) Since Universal is affilaited of course with BMI and ASCAP , the whole issue of airplay and artists choice of independant broadcasters comes into question then. Since we all know that internet radio shows cannot afford to pay everytime they air an artists music,this could have a huge effect on indie artists choice/rights.
3.) Although major labels certainly have the ability to market an artist easier,one has to weigh the downside as well,all the legalities involved.
- Without sounding demeaning in any Jeff,partning with the Major labels in most Indie artists eyes, is seen rather unfavorably in mosts views,-because if artists wanted to sign with the majors in the first place, they would have approached them first hand on their own, and wouldnt have come to tunecore to get their music distributed/out there, as independants.
So I believe in most Indie artists eyes, this is seen as selling out. Let’s not forget Major labels take a huge cut from artists sales for everything from music videos,travel fees/concerts to legal fees,etc,etc,etc. ,Just having their name as a credit on your album cover can cause all types of legal problems.
I think you also owe it to artists to come clean and state whether Universal now has aa actual stake in Tunecore or not,because legally, indie artists using tunecore should be aware of this,(if this is the case)because it could affect a lot of things , their copyrights,distribution rights,airplay rights,legal matters with BMI/ASCAP,ETC.

This is such a great opportunity for the regular guy out here, Thanks for the chance to be heard.
Will Williams
side1productions@gmail.com

Labels are changing – they’ll ditch traditional A&R, contracts and the like and start offering services like marketing and access to msm to whoever wants to pay for it.
The notion of a signed band will be something of an anachronism – artists have wised up to dogey deal memos and a whole generation of music consumers think tracks are free stuff you cram onto ipods. Gone are the days where you saved up to buy and album with a spinning disc zeppelin thing and played it endlessly until you knew all the words.
I get the feeling Universal have seen a new revenue stream in unsigned wannabies willing to shell out for a dream and a potential slice of the action with the tiny few who break through.

I am just a little guy out there trying to get my music known so if I ever have a major label wanting to sign me I would be in heaven! I hope they consider me!

Thanks, best news ever came out on TuneCore, thanks for the help.

Its really cool to see so much discussion around this.
GUITARMAN
YOU SAY:
1.)Since they produce the finished product in this scenario,Universal can claim part ownership to the actual master, as such any subsequent royalties,distribution rights,etc.
ANSWER
Absolutely not, The only way someone can claim rights to your music is if you sign a legal document or granting it to them. If what you say was true, anyone that mixed or mastered your music would own it. The mastering service is a simple fee for service arrangement. You are paying a fee for someone to master your music.
The “extras” from the labels have not yet been announced by the labels. I am as interested as you to learn what they will be!
YOU SAY:
.2.) Since Universal is affilaited of course with BMI and ASCAP , the whole issue of airplay and artists choice of independant broadcasters comes into question then. Since we all know that internet radio shows cannot afford to pay everytime they air an artists music,this could have a huge effect on indie artists choice/rights.
ANSWER
BMI and ASCAP collect money from businesses that use music (like a retail store) and pay it to songwriters, composers and music publishers. And again, its your music, if you dont want to get paid by BMI/ASCAP for public performances, you dont have to be. No record label can make this decision for you.
YOU SAY:
3.) Although major labels certainly have the ability to market an artist easier,one has to weigh the downside as well,all the legalities involved.
ANSWER
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!!!! This relationship is about creating opportunities and choices for you. It’s then up to you to decide It’s your choice! And the best decisions are made with knowledge!
CRAIG:
YOU SAY
Does this mean you will be giving Universal access to the sales figures of independent/unsigned artists to see how successful/unsuccessful they are and help make safer bets for Universal?
ANSWER
Yes, if you choose to get via a label portal site Universal will then have information about your band. You can choose to go via the portal site as you want them to have this info or you can choose NOT to go via the label portal site. It’s your choice
Keep in mind, Soundscan is used by all the majors to track sales and information. Big Champagne is another company that does the same thing.
I just figured it would be better to provide you the direct line to the label in the event this was your goal. If not, then do not use the portal site and do not use retail stores that report the information to Soundscan etc.
Rock On!

As long as I can keep distributing peacefuly through Tunecore, which I trust, I feel ok for now.

Thanks for the response, TuneCore crew. This looks like an exciting opportunity, and the fact that you’re willing to announce details this early on (and elaborate/debunk our misconceptions) lets me know you are indeed concerned about artist rights.
As has been said, the underlying structure of the labels industry is horribly outdated. This, to me, looks like one of many steps the labels will be taking in order to accommodate the times, i.e. working more directly with independent artists. So thanks for the opportunity.

Terrific TuneCore – it’s a good thing the labels are seeing the wealth of potential at the artist level, and it’s exciting to see TuneCore forging a new model for the business of music – hooray!

Some of you guys seem to be focusing on the potential negatives, Jeff has stated, that this gives tunecore artistes even more options.. you can take it, if thats going to help you achieve your goals or you can stay put if you’re happy with the current deal you have with tunecore!
I honestly don’t see what all the negativity is about, let’s wait and see how the details pan out and make decisions from there!
peace

I’m really looking forward to these new options. I do not know why people are showing negativity towards this huge move. It’s absolutely phenomenal and I think it’s great to have plenty of options at your fingertips. I guess people are just afraid of change – but this isn’t a change that will affect the core of Tunecore. It’s purely a huge addition to an already great system and think many people should consider these new options. I can’t wait to see what the extras will be from the record labels.

This really opens up a whole new business channel for Tunecore, and for those non-musicians who want to run a record label or entertainment group. I assume of course that any label or entertainment group who wants to use Tunecore as UMGD is planning to will be able to do so. If this is not the case, please explain.

Although I would prefer to stay loyal to Tune Core ( the entity that help me get the ball rolling ) I believe that my Rock Opera, “Death Of The illuminati” deserves as much attention and promotion as possible, from every source possible. Ergo, I’m all for any and all record labels or companies that can and will promote me and my Rock Opera. Thank you to Tune Core for this unique opportunity.

I guess if I were in “Universal’s” shoes, and seing what tunecore has done up to now… I would want a piece of cake too. A few years back… Mp3.com was rolling for indie artists…. we were actually making $ until they got too ambitious and wanted known artists…
This is a great way for universal to go straight to the point and filter out what’s good and bad…

this is great, i feel like its a major distribution move….thanks for these opportunities tunecore..you rock !!!!

Thank for every opportunity. Sounds good to me –Bring it on

It’s great that an artist can still deliver his/hers music through TuneCore like before. Many inpedendent artists are also still looking for the record deal, and this makes changes better. But I must say that this is very wise and good deal for the Universal to look for the right artists for them.
I very happy for the support that we have got for R&S pop-rock band from Jeff and TuneCore and I hope this makes it even better (Specially now when I am starting to make my not so retro solo-music).
All the best for TuneCore and all the artists that are with us
peace
JonnieXXX
(R&S pop-rock band)

I just began the folk guitar again last august. and I am so pleased to see my strumming and singing Mp3 for sale on Amazon.com along with my little ebooks!! I did not realize I played that good as many people have run down my musical talents over the years. But my mom and aunt Vi did not seem to mind my playing, Thank you Tune Core.

First, I’m willing to go on a little faith here, so Jeff I hope TuneCore doesn’t let the existing customers and indie artists get shoved aside.
A lot of us have been around long enough to see more than one Mp3.Bomb scenario, so forgive us if we’re a bit skeptical.
The press release is rather vague about what opportunities will be there for TuneCore customers, but it does clearly state what Universal is getting out of it – I would like to see the benefits (hopefully this is more than services that we can buy…) to us clearly spelled out.
As a guitarist, I know it would be cool to have my instrumental albums in Guitar Center stores, hopefully this isn’t only reserved for Universal artists.
This is a smart move for Universal, and I hope this turns out to be a positive thing for ALL involved! Looking forward to seeing more info.

What is the site for Interscope Records Distribution? I want in with them, but I only found a site for Island Def Jam? I am very strict about who I would take, and I am starting to make sure I don’t make a huge mistake of releasing something that’s not good for my market.

My question is how can we artist who have already signed up and distributed our album through tunecore get involved in one of these distrobution opportunities. There is no option to add this to a current album??

thank you for making a major move Tunecore that was real playa. I appreciate you looking out for me and my music. and I no all of the tunecore family is also after reading comments. Keep making those smart moves well keep making the music. thanks a million (records that is)

How many artists have gotten anything from this partnership? I guess they forgot about this partnership.

@ S
10% of Universal Republic’s signings this year are TuneCore Artists and came via this deal – the artist Jaron and the Long Road to Love is the most recent
These deal tend to be marketing deals as opposed to traditional “signings”
Jaron has gone Top 20 Country selling over 45,000 copies of his single Pray For You each week – he has sold over 500,000 copies of that one song in the past 12 weeks.
They are beginning to cross over into Pop radio – also reshot the video etc
The other signings are
Stephen Jerzak
Chase Coy
Boyce Avenue
Ron Pope
Jeff

Look, here’s the bottom line.  This means nothing other than the fact that UMG collects a percentage of sales from artist signings.  I’ve worked under the UMG labels for years as an A&R.  this, in no way, leads to A&R peeps sitting down and listening to artist signed via tunecore. 
It is and will always be an industry controlled by concrete networks (high profile attorneys, management, production teams, etc) referring potential artists for traditional record deals.  This is simply a way for tunecore and umg to increase their overall revenue.  Smart move, but in no way does it provide additional opportunities.  My understanding is that the only company with a genuine upstream deal like that is http://www.jmddistribution.com who uses major distribution platforms and reaches the most retailers world wide.  Hope this helps you guys