Consumer Cash is paid out by the consumer which goes to pay for every part of the music industry.

the consumer makes up the point of every aspect of the music industry, every component is there in the service of the consumer without whom the industry could not function. it is due to the money paid out from consumers pockets that goes to pay for every single part of the music industry. This is what makes good service to the consumer essential. If the cash flow that starts with the consumer stops the the entire music industry fails.

Production
Music Artist A music artist is an individual who releases music either independantly or thrugh a record label. Being a music artist requires intense mental and physical conditioning due to the stressful nature of the occupation, many music artist leading nomadic, erratic live, spending excessive hours in recording studios, constantly travelling to perform their music and besides this they must also deal with the uncertainty of their income. Being a music artist can be a lonely occuption but it is still one of the most highly over saturated professions today. Music artists have an unconventional form of pay i.e. they have various revenue streams rather than a set wage or pay check. These revenue streams are how music artists recieves compensation for their work.Artist recieve most of their revenue from what are called mechanical royalties. These are the payments the music artist will recieve per song per album sold, the current royalty rate being 9.1 cents per song per album i.e. if an artist releases a ten song album that sells five hundred thosuand copies, the mechanical royalties would equal: 500,000 (albums sold) x 9.1 cents (per song) = $45,000 (per song rate) x 10 (ten song album) = 450,000 At the end of each quater, or at the end of every march, june, september and december, the artist recieves a check form the label for their calculated mechanical royalties earned. At one point mechanical royalties was the mai form of revenue for music artists, but that is no longer the case. Music artist also recieve performace royalties, this is the money that artist recieve every time his or her song is performed publicly. Perfirming in this case is the digital transmittance, live performance, broadcasting and/or playing in a public place, Public meaning anywhere that people from the general public can go. These royalties are collected by PROs or performing rights organizations. these organisations collect money in behalf of the artist every time their music is played publicly to ensure the artist is properly compensated for their work. In order to be properly compensated for their work an artist must choose which PRO they wish to collect their performance royalties. Upon the release of a new piece of music to the public and other forms of media, the artist's PRO will start collecting the performance royalties. At the ned of each quater the artist will recieve a check for the performance royalties form the prior quater. Music artist will also recieve Synchronization rights. this is the money paid to the artist when their music is synchronized to a video, wether it is a music video, video, a movie, television show or advert. The music artist can choose wether to grant a license to anyone interested in synchronizing their music to a visual production. Music synchronization is extremely common especially if the artist releases an extremely popular piece of music. This means that companies will want to use that music on their adverts to better market their products. movie studios such as universal, acquire thousands of synchronization licenses every year for the music they put into their movies. because of the heavy use of music in popular media, granting synchronization licenses has become the foremost way in which artists make their money due to its reliability and frequency.Music artists also make money by licnesing their songs to stores, restaraunts and nightclubs in what is called special permission. This allows the venue to play the licensed piece. Music artists will usually grant "blanket licenses" whioch cover a range of songs rather than licensing each song individually. Stores such as Walmart, Best Buy and GAP are all holders of blanket licenses that allow them to play music. Artists will also have a team of individualls to help them. Music artists are technically a business in and of themselves due to their ability to generate revenue from selling a product. In order to keep generating they must keep aming products to sell. To this end many artists hire a team to handle anything the artist does not have time or the knowledge for. This teams job as a whole is to ensure that the music artist's business sealings, legal matters and overall comfort are taken care of so that they can continue to make music and thus make money. Music artists will have a manager, which is and individual or a company, whp guides the artist and oversees the day to day running of the business affairs of the artist. The manager is usually the first position on the team to be filled and then takes on the role of both business manager and booking agent in the early stages of a music artists career. As the business grows it would be necessary to hire individuall people for each of these positions. The manager recieves a compensation of 10-20% of the music artists gross income. The exact percentage is negotiated between the artist and the manager. this generally happens early on the artist's career before any serious income is being made. The artist must also employ and entertainment lawyer who handles all legal matters and contracts for the artist which are so common in the music industry. An entertainment lawyer must handle talent agreements, producer agreements, synchronization licenses, music industry negotiations and general intellectual property issues, in paticular those pertainking to copyright. Music industry contracts are lengthy, densely worded and written to be negotiated so the entertainement lawyer must have a working understanding of contract language in order to negotiate a terms that are favourable to the artist. Lastly an artist would also have an accountant, this is because of the irregular unreliable way in which music artists make their money. the Large number of different revenue streams and cheques that the artist recieves can easily become hard to keep track of. not only does this leave the music artist open to being unpaid, underpaid or having money stolen from them, but this also becomes a nightmare come tax season. This can lead to issues with the internal revenue service and even the end of their careers if the problem is not dealt with. This makes an accountant essential. The high work load and time constraints that come with being a music artist make it impossible for said artist to do their own accounting, The accountants job is to make sure other team members aswell as the artist themselves are paid on time and are paid the correct amount of money. In most cases the accountant will handle the artists taxes and make sure that their filing is done and is in accordance with the law.

Artist Revenue Stream Management

Mechanical Rights collect a small amount of money from each album sold by the label take a commision and distribute the money back to the songwriters and publishing companies that registerd the songs. within the music industry mechanical rights allow the license holder to reproduce a recorded music that they do not own the copy right for. It is an agreement between the copyright holder, production company or songwriter that allows the holder to reproduce the composition i.e. recording, printed sheet music or lyrics. it should be noted that mechanical right refer to the composition as an entity rather than any physical copies of the composition.

Performing Rights Organisations collect money when music is played publicly. Songwriters and publishing companies register their new song with them and when the song is reported as having been played the money is paid out to the song writers and publshers months later. performing rights are the right to play a piece of music publicly. in order to obtain performing rights, the performaer must obtain permission from the copyright holder, which is usually the publishing comany. Performance rights are required to perform a piece of music anywhere that is public, this could mean restaraunts, pubs, concerts and nightclubs. Public performances also include radio or TV broadcasts or anyother transmited performance of a live song. ACTRA/ AFM distibutes royalties for players on sound recordings

Production
Production Companies Sometimes signed between the label and the artist they take on part of the work done by the label and take 50% of any profits made by the artist. The production comapny could be directly responsible for the fundraising of the project or will manage this through a parent company, partner or private investor. The production company handles It handles budgeting, scheduling, scripting, the supply with talent and resources, the organization of staff, the production itself, post-production, distribution, and marketing. they are often owned or under condract of a parent company. This is known as the studio system.

Mix Engineers paid upfront from the recording budget but can also recieve part of the artists income after inital recording costs are payed to the label. a mix engineer or mixing engineer is responsible for the combining or mixing of the different sonic elements that make up a piece of recorded music into the final version, known as the "final mix" or "mixdown". The engineer mixes together the different elements of a piece of recorded music to create a good balance of volume, while aso deciding other properties such as pan positioning, effect and so on. Producers paid upfront for their time out of the recording budget and recieve a percentage of the artists income after initial recording costs ar payed to the label Studios payed at hourly rates from the recording budget. and other expenses such as flights and hotels are payed out of the artists income. they may also recieve royalties Song Writers ussually represented by a publishing company, they seek to be paired with an artist to write material for their releases Players are paid upfront out of the recording budget and may be payed royalties by actra if they register the songs they play on

Music Artist A music artist is an individual who releases music either independantly or thrugh a record label. Being a music artist requires intense mental and physical conditioning due to the stressful nature of the occupation, many music artist leading nomadic, erratic live, spending excessive hours in recording studios, constantly travelling to perform their music and besides this they must also deal with the uncertainty of their income. Being a music artist can be a lonely occuption but it is still one of the most highly over saturated professions today. Music artists have an unconventional form of pay i.e. they have various revenue streams rather than a set wage or pay check. These revenue streams are how music artists recieves compensation for their work.Artist recieve most of their revenue from what are called mechanical royalties. These are the payments the music artist will recieve per song per album sold, the current royalty rate being 9.1 cents per song per album i.e. if an artist releases a ten song album that sells five hundred thosuand copies, the mechanical royalties would equal: 500,000 (albums sold) x 9.1 cents (per song) = $45,000 (per song rate) x 10 (ten song album) = 450,000 At the end of each quater, or at the end of every march, june, september and december, the artist recieves a check form the label for their calculated mechanical royalties earned. At one point mechanical royalties was the mai form of revenue for music artists, but that is no longer the case. Music artist also recieve performace royalties, this is the money that artist recieve every time his or her song is performed publicly. Perfirming in this case is the digital transmittance, live performance, broadcasting and/or playing in a public place, Public meaning anywhere that people from the general public can go. These royalties are collected by PROs or performing rights organizations. these organisations collect money in behalf of the artist every time their music is played publicly to ensure the artist is properly compensated for their work. In order to be properly compensated for their work an artist must choose which PRO they wish to collect their performance royalties. Upon the release of a new piece of music to the public and other forms of media, the artist's PRO will start collecting the performance royalties. At the ned of each quater the artist will recieve a check for the performance royalties form the prior quater. Music artist will also recieve Synchronization rights. this is the money paid to the artist when their music is synchronized to a video, wether it is a music video, video, a movie, television show or advert. The music artist can choose wether to grant a license to anyone interested in synchronizing their music to a visual production. Music synchronization is extremely common especially if the artist releases an extremely popular piece of music. This means that companies will want to use that music on their adverts to better market their products. movie studios such as universal, acquire thousands of synchronization licenses every year for the music they put into their movies. because of the heavy use of music in popular media, granting synchronization licenses has become the foremost way in which artists make their money due to its reliability and frequency.Music artists also make money by licnesing their songs to stores, restaraunts and nightclubs in what is called special permission. This allows the venue to play the licensed piece. Music artists will usually grant "blanket licenses" whioch cover a range of songs rather than licensing each song individually. Stores such as Walmart, Best Buy and GAP are all holders of blanket licenses that allow them to play music. Artists will also have a team of individualls to help them. Music artists are technically a business in and of themselves due to their ability to generate revenue from selling a product. In order to keep generating they must keep aming products to sell. To this end many artists hire a team to handle anything the artist does not have time or the knowledge for. This teams job as a whole is to ensure that the music artist's business sealings, legal matters and overall comfort are taken care of so that they can continue to make music and thus make money. Music artists will have a manager, which is and individual or a company, whp guides the artist and oversees the day to day running of the business affairs of the artist. The manager is usually the first position on the team to be filled and then takes on the role of both business manager and booking agent in the early stages of a music artists career. As the business grows it would be necessary to hire individuall people for each of these positions. The manager recieves a compensation of 10-20% of the music artists gross income. The exact percentage is negotiated between the artist and the manager. this generally happens early on the artist's career before any serious income is being made. The artist must also employ and entertainment lawyer who handles all legal matters and contracts for the artist which are so common in the music industry. An entertainment lawyer must handle talent agreements, producer agreements, synchronization licenses, music industry negotiations and general intellectual property issues, in paticular those pertainking to copyright. Music industry contracts are lengthy, densely worded and written to be negotiated so the entertainement lawyer must have a working understanding of contract language in order to negotiate a terms that are favourable to the artist. Lastly an artist would also have an accountant, this is because of the irregular unreliable way in which music artists make their money. the Large number of different revenue streams and cheques that the artist recieves can easily become hard to keep track of. not only does this leave the music artist open to being unpaid, underpaid or having money stolen from them, but this also becomes a nightmare come tax season. This can lead to issues with the internal revenue service and even the end of their careers if the problem is not dealt with. This makes an accountant essential. The high work load and time constraints that come with being a music artist make it impossible for said artist to do their own accounting, The accountants job is to make sure other team members aswell as the artist themselves are paid on time and are paid the correct amount of money. In most cases the accountant will handle the artists taxes and make sure that their filing is done and is in accordance with the law.

Artist Revenue Stream Management

Mechanical Rights collect a small amount of money from each album sold by the label take a commision and distribute the money back to the songwriters and publishing companies that registerd the songs. within the music industry mechanical rights allow the license holder to reproduce a recorded music that they do not own the copy right for. It is an agreement between the copyright holder, production company or songwriter that allows the holder to reproduce the composition i.e. recording, printed sheet music or lyrics. it should be noted that mechanical right refer to the composition as an entity rather than any physical copies of the composition.

Performing Rights Organisations collect money when music is played publicly. Songwriters and publishing companies register their new song with them and when the song is reported as having been played the money is paid out to the song writers and publshers months later. performing rights are the right to play a piece of music publicly. in order to obtain performing rights, the performaer must obtain permission from the copyright holder, which is usually the publishing comany. Performance rights are required to perform a piece of music anywhere that is public, this could mean restaraunts, pubs, concerts and nightclubs. Public performances also include radio or TV broadcasts or anyother transmited performance of a live song. ACTRA/ AFM distibutes royalties for players on sound recordings

Mechanical Rights collect a small amount of money from each album sold by the label take a commision and distribute the money back to the songwriters and publishing companies that registerd the songs. within the music industry mechanical rights allow the license holder to reproduce a recorded music that they do not own the copy right for. It is an agreement between the copyright holder, production company or songwriter that allows the holder to reproduce the composition i.e. recording, printed sheet music or lyrics. it should be noted that mechanical right refer to the composition as an entity rather than any physical copies of the composition.

Performing Rights Organisations collect money when music is played publicly. Songwriters and publishing companies register their new song with them and when the song is reported as having been played the money is paid out to the song writers and publshers months later. performing rights are the right to play a piece of music publicly. in order to obtain performing rights, the performaer must obtain permission from the copyright holder, which is usually the publishing comany. Performance rights are required to perform a piece of music anywhere that is public, this could mean restaraunts, pubs, concerts and nightclubs. Public performances also include radio or TV broadcasts or anyother transmited performance of a live song.

ACTRA/ AFM distibutes royalties for players on sound recordings

Production
Production Companies Sometimes signed between the label and the artist they take on part of the work done by the label and take 50% of any profits made by the artist. The production comapny could be directly responsible for the fundraising of the project or will manage this through a parent company, partner or private investor. The production company handles It handles budgeting, scheduling, scripting, the supply with talent and resources, the organization of staff, the production itself, post-production, distribution, and marketing. they are often owned or under condract of a parent company. This is known as the studio system.

Mix Engineers paid upfront from the recording budget but can also recieve part of the artists income after inital recording costs are payed to the label. a mix engineer or mixing engineer is responsible for the combining or mixing of the different sonic elements that make up a piece of recorded music into the final version, known as the "final mix" or "mixdown". The engineer mixes together the different elements of a piece of recorded music to create a good balance of volume, while aso deciding other properties such as pan positioning, effect and so on. Producers paid upfront for their time out of the recording budget and recieve a percentage of the artists income after initial recording costs ar payed to the label Studios payed at hourly rates from the recording budget. and other expenses such as flights and hotels are payed out of the artists income. they may also recieve royalties Song Writers ussually represented by a publishing company, they seek to be paired with an artist to write material for their releases Players are paid upfront out of the recording budget and may be payed royalties by actra if they register the songs they play on

Production Companies Sometimes signed between the label and the artist they take on part of the work done by the label and take 50% of any profits made by the artist. The production comapny could be directly responsible for the fundraising of the project or will manage this through a parent company, partner or private investor. The production company handles It handles budgeting, scheduling, scripting, the supply with talent and resources, the organization of staff, the production itself, post-production, distribution, and marketing. they are often owned or under condract of a parent company. This is known as the studio system.

Mix Engineers paid upfront from the recording budget but can also recieve part of the artists income after inital recording costs are payed to the label. a mix engineer or mixing engineer is responsible for the combining or mixing of the different sonic elements that make up a piece of recorded music into the final version, known as the "final mix" or "mixdown". The engineer mixes together the different elements of a piece of recorded music to create a good balance of volume, while aso deciding other properties such as pan positioning, effect and so on.

Producers paid upfront for their time out of the recording budget and recieve a percentage of the artists income after initial recording costs ar payed to the label

Studios payed at hourly rates from the recording budget. and other expenses such as flights and hotels are payed out of the artists income. they may also recieve royalties

Song Writers ussually represented by a publishing company, they seek to be paired with an artist to write material for their releases

Players are paid upfront out of the recording budget and may be payed royalties by actra if they register the songs they play on

Sales and Distribution

Music Retailers Music is distributed to the consumer through local independant shops, specialist music chains such as Virgin and HMV and more recently through supermarket chains such as Tesco, Walmart, Asda and Morrisons to name but a few. Music retailers were the original method for distribution of music via physical copies of music recorded onto vinyl records. Later this included audio cassettes before the compact disc more commonly referred to as CDs took over. Music retailers however are now under threat from online retailers. An online retailer enables the consumer to purchase hard copies of vinyl records, CDs and the like from the comfort of their own home, it is possible to buy both singles, being a disc with one song on it, and albums which are a collection of music usually by the same artist Further online retailers can also provide copies of music available as a digital download which again includes both singles and albums. Digital downloading eliminates the need for an existing physical record of a piece of music like a CD or a vinyl record as well as shipping times and the possibility of the product being damaged in transit. All of this means that online retailers now provide a much more convenient and often cheaper service than that of music retailers which has resulted in the closure of many chains including HMV, many stores of which ended up closing down. More recently however, music retailers that sell vinyl records have been doing better and better with the new market that has opened up for vinyl records. Many consumers have begun buying records again, after a period where the record was percieved as outdated, due to claimed greater quality of sound that is obtained from a vinyl record. more modern recordings of music, weather they are digital or on CD is percieved as sounding electronic and tinny as opposed to the much more rounded and clean sound produced by vinyl records The market for vinyl records has now become so large it ia possible to find vinyl recordings of modern music that has been copied onto a vinyl record, though these vinyl records are generally made from modern polymers as opposed to old records which are made from a combination of different materials which are then laquered to provide the highest qaulity achievable. This has once again raised question about which version sounds better with most people siding with the original, older records over the new plastic records. Online Retailers (iTunes,Spotify...) entered cashflow at differing royalty rates but outdated label stipulations are still in affect. Digital retailers offer another way of obtaining music that does not require a physical copy, a piece of music can simply be downloaded in a digital electronic form where it can be stored on any number of different devices such as phones, MP3 players, computers or even portable hard drives. Digital sales are executed via downloads and online transaction of payment, whereby no actuall money changes hands, the cash is simply wired from your bank account to the company you are buying froms bank account. There are of course other methods by which online retailers operate. the one shown above would be an example of the system used by iTunes i.e. you must buy the music to listen to it and until then it is not available. Another example of a method of retail used by music retailers is the one used by Spotify. Spotifies revenue streams rely largely upon ad revenue and the cash brought in by subscriptions. This is due to the fact that Spotify and other retailers similar provide the ability to listen to music for free until you want to move it to a personal device, at which point you would be required to pay for the piece of recorded music, it should also be noted that the quality found on services like spotify is questionable to say the least, the vast majority of the material present on the service being user uploaded, the main bonus of this kind of service being that its free, of course. Most of the features in this kind of operating system are locked until the user begins a subscription to the service at which point there are a number of bonuses to be obtained, for instance, discounts, no ads, mobile capabilities and faster streaming. Despite the apparent ease of digital online retail and purchasing, there are many issues that should be raised, not the least of which is the issue of ownership of digital content. The argument being that when a piece of digital content is bought it is still technicallythe property of the company that sold it i.e. it is rented not bought. This isnt really an issue with hard copies like CDs or records, when these are bought you have the music there with you and it is stored in a for that cant be taken away by the company, unlike with a digital copy. This issue exists in several forms, the one described above being just one of them, alot of digital content is also stored on overarching servers called cloud servers these are essentially a way of running user aplications for a customer from a remote location, it should be noted that this kind of system is used far more widely in gaming whereby any essential data is stored on "the cloud", for instance saves, downloaded content or in some cases the entire game (though this is uncommon). The main issue of cloud computing and the like is that when the server shuts down all the content stored on it is lost i.e. if you had bought a new album and it was stored on a cloud server ready to listen to when ever you want, if that server were to suddenly shut down, weather because the owner no longer thought it profitable or if a newer more advanced software was implemented, then the album that you bought would no longer be available to listen to, almost making this kind of service a double edged sword, on the one hand your music, games and other dgital content is safely stored on "the cloud" and its ready to listen to when ever you want, even if you are'nt at your own computer the content can still be accessed via the internet, but on the other if the company should so choosed the content is lost with closing of the server, never to be retrieved. Distributors Distributes CD's to stores, which could include anything from large super market chains such as Walmart in America, their british subsiduaries such as Asda and their Uropean competitors such as Tesco or Morrisons or local independant stores like Cranes or Cadno music, Chains such as Virgin or HMV would take a large part of the Distribution, taking a cut from the retail price. Distributors are being replaced by internet based retailers that provide a more convenient and often cheaper service Streaming Based online Retailers (Youtube...) Cash flow from the consumer is not present here as this is generally a free service. Instead revenue is generated through advertisements i.e. for every person that sees the ad and clicks on it small amount of money is sent to the person who uploaded the content, when a video is succesful then that small amount of money from each "hit" adds up to a respectable profit. When the uploader of this content is properly licensed and registered, in other words they are known to the label and have been allowed to upload this content to the internet, then a small part of the profits are sent to the label. This kind of presentation of entertainment represents a form of media that is potentially damaging to both conventional online and physical music retailers. This is due to the nature of the way that the companygenerates money, because these sorts of services are free consumers automatically consider them to be superior, with the added convenience of the content being immediately available where ever you have an internet connection this kind of service becomes the chosen option for listening to music. this is not to say that these services dont have there own problems, for instance, if not for the lackof quality control on these sorts of services then conventional retail avenues for music may well come to an end. Besides this, websites like Youtube are also in the grips of a struggle to find there feet in the world of popular media, having just come out of rut of low quality, non content, currently being in the transitional faze of a site to upload silly videos that you made on your home camcorder to a recognized form of media and entertainment that is respected and well thought of. Hence the term "high quality non content" was coined torepresent this period of sitting on the fence. Despite this they still represent a sizeable threat to other retailers, though not particularly to labels and artists who recieve part of the profits made on properly licensed accounts. the main online threat that labels and artists must face is pirac, or the theft of digital softwre and media to be illegaly distributed for a reduced price or in some cases, even for free. Piracy generally involves bypassing various forms of protection put in placce to stop theft. one form of protection is online DRM or Digital Rights Management which comes in two generations. First-Generation DRM has the intent of controlling the copying of content and products while Second-Generation DRM concerns the control of viewing, copying, printing and altering works or devices. DRM is a controversial subject and is not universally accepted. Proponents of DRM argue that digital "locks" are required to protect intelectuall property from being feely copied, just as physical locks are required to protect personal property. Those who oppose DRM argue that there is no evidence to support that DRM does in fact prevent copyright infringement but instead just inconviences legitimate customers, and helps big business to stifle creativity, innovation and competition. Works can become completely inaccesible if the DRM scheme is changed or the service is discontinued.

Music Retailers Music is distributed to the consumer through local independant shops, specialist music chains such as Virgin and HMV and more recently through supermarket chains such as Tesco, Walmart, Asda and Morrisons to name but a few. Music retailers were the original method for distribution of music via physical copies of music recorded onto vinyl records. Later this included audio cassettes before the compact disc more commonly referred to as CDs took over. Music retailers however are now under threat from online retailers. An online retailer enables the consumer to purchase hard copies of vinyl records, CDs and the like from the comfort of their own home, it is possible to buy both singles, being a disc with one song on it, and albums which are a collection of music usually by the same artist Further online retailers can also provide copies of music available as a digital download which again includes both singles and albums. Digital downloading eliminates the need for an existing physical record of a piece of music like a CD or a vinyl record as well as shipping times and the possibility of the product being damaged in transit. All of this means that online retailers now provide a much more convenient and often cheaper service than that of music retailers which has resulted in the closure of many chains including HMV, many stores of which ended up closing down. More recently however, music retailers that sell vinyl records have been doing better and better with the new market that has opened up for vinyl records. Many consumers have begun buying records again, after a period where the record was percieved as outdated, due to claimed greater quality of sound that is obtained from a vinyl record. more modern recordings of music, weather they are digital or on CD is percieved as sounding electronic and tinny as opposed to the much more rounded and clean sound produced by vinyl records The market for vinyl records has now become so large it ia possible to find vinyl recordings of modern music that has been copied onto a vinyl record, though these vinyl records are generally made from modern polymers as opposed to old records which are made from a combination of different materials which are then laquered to provide the highest qaulity achievable. This has once again raised question about which version sounds better with most people siding with the original, older records over the new plastic records.

Online Retailers (iTunes,Spotify...) entered cashflow at differing royalty rates but outdated label stipulations are still in affect. Digital retailers offer another way of obtaining music that does not require a physical copy, a piece of music can simply be downloaded in a digital electronic form where it can be stored on any number of different devices such as phones, MP3 players, computers or even portable hard drives. Digital sales are executed via downloads and online transaction of payment, whereby no actuall money changes hands, the cash is simply wired from your bank account to the company you are buying froms bank account. There are of course other methods by which online retailers operate. the one shown above would be an example of the system used by iTunes i.e. you must buy the music to listen to it and until then it is not available. Another example of a method of retail used by music retailers is the one used by Spotify. Spotifies revenue streams rely largely upon ad revenue and the cash brought in by subscriptions. This is due to the fact that Spotify and other retailers similar provide the ability to listen to music for free until you want to move it to a personal device, at which point you would be required to pay for the piece of recorded music, it should also be noted that the quality found on services like spotify is questionable to say the least, the vast majority of the material present on the service being user uploaded, the main bonus of this kind of service being that its free, of course. Most of the features in this kind of operating system are locked until the user begins a subscription to the service at which point there are a number of bonuses to be obtained, for instance, discounts, no ads, mobile capabilities and faster streaming. Despite the apparent ease of digital online retail and purchasing, there are many issues that should be raised, not the least of which is the issue of ownership of digital content. The argument being that when a piece of digital content is bought it is still technicallythe property of the company that sold it i.e. it is rented not bought. This isnt really an issue with hard copies like CDs or records, when these are bought you have the music there with you and it is stored in a for that cant be taken away by the company, unlike with a digital copy. This issue exists in several forms, the one described above being just one of them, alot of digital content is also stored on overarching servers called cloud servers these are essentially a way of running user aplications for a customer from a remote location, it should be noted that this kind of system is used far more widely in gaming whereby any essential data is stored on "the cloud", for instance saves, downloaded content or in some cases the entire game (though this is uncommon). The main issue of cloud computing and the like is that when the server shuts down all the content stored on it is lost i.e. if you had bought a new album and it was stored on a cloud server ready to listen to when ever you want, if that server were to suddenly shut down, weather because the owner no longer thought it profitable or if a newer more advanced software was implemented, then the album that you bought would no longer be available to listen to, almost making this kind of service a double edged sword, on the one hand your music, games and other dgital content is safely stored on "the cloud" and its ready to listen to when ever you want, even if you are'nt at your own computer the content can still be accessed via the internet, but on the other if the company should so choosed the content is lost with closing of the server, never to be retrieved.

Distributors Distributes CD's to stores, which could include anything from large super market chains such as Walmart in America, their british subsiduaries such as Asda and their Uropean competitors such as Tesco or Morrisons or local independant stores like Cranes or Cadno music, Chains such as Virgin or HMV would take a large part of the Distribution, taking a cut from the retail price. Distributors are being replaced by internet based retailers that provide a more convenient and often cheaper service

Streaming Based online Retailers (Youtube...) Cash flow from the consumer is not present here as this is generally a free service. Instead revenue is generated through advertisements i.e. for every person that sees the ad and clicks on it small amount of money is sent to the person who uploaded the content, when a video is succesful then that small amount of money from each "hit" adds up to a respectable profit. When the uploader of this content is properly licensed and registered, in other words they are known to the label and have been allowed to upload this content to the internet, then a small part of the profits are sent to the label. This kind of presentation of entertainment represents a form of media that is potentially damaging to both conventional online and physical music retailers. This is due to the nature of the way that the companygenerates money, because these sorts of services are free consumers automatically consider them to be superior, with the added convenience of the content being immediately available where ever you have an internet connection this kind of service becomes the chosen option for listening to music. this is not to say that these services dont have there own problems, for instance, if not for the lackof quality control on these sorts of services then conventional retail avenues for music may well come to an end. Besides this, websites like Youtube are also in the grips of a struggle to find there feet in the world of popular media, having just come out of rut of low quality, non content, currently being in the transitional faze of a site to upload silly videos that you made on your home camcorder to a recognized form of media and entertainment that is respected and well thought of. Hence the term "high quality non content" was coined torepresent this period of sitting on the fence. Despite this they still represent a sizeable threat to other retailers, though not particularly to labels and artists who recieve part of the profits made on properly licensed accounts. the main online threat that labels and artists must face is pirac, or the theft of digital softwre and media to be illegaly distributed for a reduced price or in some cases, even for free. Piracy generally involves bypassing various forms of protection put in placce to stop theft. one form of protection is online DRM or Digital Rights Management which comes in two generations. First-Generation DRM has the intent of controlling the copying of content and products while Second-Generation DRM concerns the control of viewing, copying, printing and altering works or devices. DRM is a controversial subject and is not universally accepted. Proponents of DRM argue that digital "locks" are required to protect intelectuall property from being feely copied, just as physical locks are required to protect personal property. Those who oppose DRM argue that there is no evidence to support that DRM does in fact prevent copyright infringement but instead just inconviences legitimate customers, and helps big business to stifle creativity, innovation and competition. Works can become completely inaccesible if the DRM scheme is changed or the service is discontinued.

Alternative Mainstream Revenue Streams

Radio Stations Pay an annual fee to performing right organizations acoording to their broadcast strength for usage of all the music they play. Then the songs they play are digitally tracked and song writers are paid according to spins. In this a piece of music is played over the radio in abroadcast often as a part of a radio show such as Radio 1. Bars and Concert Venues pay an annual fee for all the songs played by bands in the venue. bands must report the songs played to recieve royalties. This is also one of the more common ways that music artists make their money. This is due to the rapid emergance of digital retail avenues, which take large parts of a music artists revenue. Concerts are a popular event that draw hundreds if not thousands of people each spending at least 100 on a single ticket, meaning that huge prophets can be made. Film, TV and Ad Usage venues and station showing films, TV programmes and adverts containing songs pay performing rights organizations and the money is then paid out to the artist accordingly. The idea behind this is that a company uses an artists song on an advert, a TV program or on a film to make it more memorable, to complement the mood or add dramatacism in a film or TV program.

Radio Stations Pay an annual fee to performing right organizations acoording to their broadcast strength for usage of all the music they play. Then the songs they play are digitally tracked and song writers are paid according to spins. In this a piece of music is played over the radio in abroadcast often as a part of a radio show such as Radio 1.

Bars and Concert Venues pay an annual fee for all the songs played by bands in the venue. bands must report the songs played to recieve royalties. This is also one of the more common ways that music artists make their money. This is due to the rapid emergance of digital retail avenues, which take large parts of a music artists revenue. Concerts are a popular event that draw hundreds if not thousands of people each spending at least 100 on a single ticket, meaning that huge prophets can be made.

Film, TV and Ad Usage venues and station showing films, TV programmes and adverts containing songs pay performing rights organizations and the money is then paid out to the artist accordingly. The idea behind this is that a company uses an artists song on an advert, a TV program or on a film to make it more memorable, to complement the mood or add dramatacism in a film or TV program.

Management
Record Labels Record labels like warner music group (WMG), EMI, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Universal Music Group (UMG) are all trademarks or brands associated with the marketing of pieces of recorded music and music videos. The recording company is also often a publishing company that manages brands and trademarks; coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos; conducts talent scouting and development of new artists, artist and repertoire or "A&R"; and maintains contracts with recording artists and their managers. The label uses its financial clout to advertise, market and fund the artist. they pay a percentage to CMRRA which pays the song writers. if all the costs of making the cd is made back in profit the artist, producers and mix engineers are paid a percentage of the retail price of each CD sold thereafter. there are clauses in contracts that prevent full payout of the money to artists, including deductions for packaging, money withheld for CD's returned to the store within a year or damaged CD's and reduced payouts for music bought through music dubs.The artist has to trust that the label is honest about sales, or must exercise there right, however costly, to audit the company. The term Record Label is derived from the circular label in centre of a Vinyl record that displayed the name of the artist and other information valuable to a paying csutomer. Publishers Music artists assign part of their revenue to a production company to be paired with major labels . this will also get their songs placed in films, TV, adverts and compilations.Publishing is the process of the public distribution of a piece of media, weather literal, musical or otherwise. in some cases authors, song writers and performers publish their own songs or written works, meaning that they provide the media to market the work themselves, though it is usually handled by a production company. Traditionally publishing refers to the distribution of printed works, but in recent years with the advent of digital distribution it has expanded to include electronic versions of books, music and things such as computer games.

Record Labels Record labels like warner music group (WMG), EMI, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Universal Music Group (UMG) are all trademarks or brands associated with the marketing of pieces of recorded music and music videos. The recording company is also often a publishing company that manages brands and trademarks; coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos; conducts talent scouting and development of new artists, artist and repertoire or "A&R"; and maintains contracts with recording artists and their managers. The label uses its financial clout to advertise, market and fund the artist. they pay a percentage to CMRRA which pays the song writers. if all the costs of making the cd is made back in profit the artist, producers and mix engineers are paid a percentage of the retail price of each CD sold thereafter. there are clauses in contracts that prevent full payout of the money to artists, including deductions for packaging, money withheld for CD's returned to the store within a year or damaged CD's and reduced payouts for music bought through music dubs.The artist has to trust that the label is honest about sales, or must exercise there right, however costly, to audit the company. The term Record Label is derived from the circular label in centre of a Vinyl record that displayed the name of the artist and other information valuable to a paying csutomer.

Publishers Music artists assign part of their revenue to a production company to be paired with major labels . this will also get their songs placed in films, TV, adverts and compilations.Publishing is the process of the public distribution of a piece of media, weather literal, musical or otherwise. in some cases authors, song writers and performers publish their own songs or written works, meaning that they provide the media to market the work themselves, though it is usually handled by a production company. Traditionally publishing refers to the distribution of printed works, but in recent years with the advent of digital distribution it has expanded to include electronic versions of books, music and things such as computer games.