Cutting Artist Costs
If you're pursuing an artist path, a heavy stream of content is essential for our internet age. Keeping up with the pace of our ADD culture is quite expensive. Between paying producers, photographers, and videographers, an artist can rack up a hefty bill in order to properly promote a song. So let's discuss a few ways that an artist can cut down on the upfront costs of their business.
Master Split Agreements. Look, any industry vet will tell you that owning your masters is essential. The master is the actual recording of the song and generates the bulk of your streaming revenue. In addition, if you get a sync license half of the money will go to the owners of a song's master and half will go to the owners of the publishing. There is real financial value in the master. That said, producing masters can be an expensive affair. If you're working with an up-and-coming producer you could be looking at spending anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 for a single song. In order to drive down that cost, you might want to engage in a master split with your producer. A master split is an agreement in which multiple people have ownership over a single master. You can offer a percentage of the master to a producer in exchange for a reduced rate or a free track. This is an excellent business strategy if you need to prioritize producing content at a cheaper rate.
One Take Videos. Music videos are expensive. If you're trying to create something high quality, you'll need to hire videographers, directors, gaffers, directors of photography, and hair and make up. One way to cut cost is to make a one take video like Kiesza's "Hideaway" or Lawrence's "23." Though you might still want to hire a colorist, one take videos don't require you to hire an editor. This cuts down on the post production time and cost.
Distribution Costs. Every songwriter has options when it comes to their distributor. CDBaby, TuneCore, and Distrokid all require upfront costs in order to use their services. If you're an independent artist I do think that these are excellent financial choices to make because you will get 100% of the sales revenue. If you're really in a pinch, you can submit your music to Stem or AWAL who will take a percentage of your sales revenue in exchange for their services. Please note that certain distribution services do require a process of company approval. If you opt for a percentage split distributor, you will cut out the cost of uploading a song but you will likely loose out on streaming revenue. Choose what works best for your business model.
On Demand Merch Sites. When you start to gain some traction, you might want to capitalize on your new fandom by selling them merch. You can do so by buying in bulk up front, footing the cost for production, storage, and artistic work. You can also use a site like Printify to ensure that costs to you, a small business owner, only happen at point of purchase. If your business and fandom exist largely online, this can be a great tool for ensuring that costs remain low. Once you’re on tour, you’ll unfortunately have to cough up the cash for that in person sale!
Negotiate Your Door Deals. Look, when you’re starting out it can be hard to get a venue to give you a great door deal. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try! See if you can eek out another 5% or so from ticket sales from a venue and always always always nix any attempt by a venue to get a cut of your merch split!
Sell Your Own Merch and Use Transactional Apps. At shows, a merch person can be a bit of an unnecessary financial drain, especially when you’re just starting out. Plan to man your merch table—your fans will want to meet you anyway. When selling merch, opt for using apps like CashApp or Venmo or Zelle for transactions. That way you can avoid fees incurred using credit card running systems like Square.
