International Music Managers Forum A global community for artists and their representatives
The IMMF’s core mission is to ensure the safeguarding, respect, and protection of the moral and professional interests of the worldwide community of musical artistes and their representatives.
IMMF: A Global Network
Let us take a look at the early days of music management
One of the first “artist� entrepreneurs was Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein based in Vienna (1762 - 1823)
Without his support, in the form of management skills, time, and finance, or rather without his passionate support for creativity; Beethoven may never have had the chance to forge the career he had, or to make all the music that he did. It started with PASSION.
Roughly 150 years later the age of Rock ´n´ Roll was defined by another nobleman, The King himself: Elvis Presley. Seen here with his manager Tom Parker
For the first time: It’s all about the MONEY
Next Generation Of Iconic Managers Brian Epstein The Beatles
Andrew Loog Oldham The Rolling Stones
Malcom McLaren The Sex Pistols
Not to forget Peter Grant who famously went to war for his clients Led Zeppelin.
Early Roles For Music Managers Sponsoring Creation Steering Talent Helping To Create A Brand Financing Careers Administering Income Streams Fighting For the Interests Of The Artists
To analyze the current requirements we have to look at the driving forces of the new music business.
The Creation Of A New Eco System
Impact Of Technology On The Music Business Shellac Records Vinyl Records Cassette Tapes 1982 CD´s changed the game 1995 the Frauenhofer Institute invented the MP3 format. In 1999 Napster was launched as a peer-to-peer file sharing platform. iTunes came in 2001 Facebook in 2004 YouTube in 2005 Spotify in 2006. On February 25th 2010 iTunes celebrated its 10 billionth download, and by 2014 Spotify had announced an active user base of 40 million people. The changes in the 30 years since CD‘s announced the arrival of digital music consumption are extensive..
Creates technology new business models?
The copyright laws that govern IP exploitation and consumption are stuck in the stone age! Creating a pan-european harmonization of new copyright laws that support artists in earning a basic living if their copyrights are exploited is one of the major challenges the music industry, and music fans face today.
100,000 plays online... does that buy me lunch?
Global players from music & media and IT industries divide most of the music revenues from digital markets according to rules they established amongst themselves. Digital is creating new opportunities, but making a living from music is becoming harder for most artists.
How the digital eco -system renewed the relevancy and values of music management Digital sales physical sales telco deals sync rights neighbouring rights live shows merchandise testimonial deals sponsorship product placements video channels
publishing rights income from various collection societies investment/access to finance brand partnerships artist brand development fan-base management social media presence monetizing social media promotion marketing etc. etc. etc. ‌
Can all this be done by one person?
If You Are Not A Genius You Need
Creative Industry The worldwide turnover of music sales show a decline over recent years.
Replacing The Loss Revenue Of Record Sales For years the record companies desperately tried to counter decline sales and to redefine their role in the new digital eco-system.
Record Companies expand their business interests Labels own millions of copyrights, they negotiate with streaming platforms in deals which are hidden by non-disclosure agreements from the artists whose music is being traded. According to Forbes Magazine: "Spotify granted equity stakes to the largest music labels Warner, Universal, [EMI] and Sony and Merlin�.
Who Owns Who? Let’s take Vevo as an example to illustrate how rights holders (music sellers) invest in digital platforms (music buyers). Vevo's audience has been built on music videos.. The production of music videos and the music in them is usually created at a cost to the artist. The owners of Vevo are: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Google, and Abu Dhabi Media. Do those who created the music participate in the shareholder value or in marketing payments from Vevo to Universal and Sony?
New Artists Business Models: Artists As Brands The research specialist PQ Media defines product placement as: “a marketing tactic used by advertisers as a part of a multimedia strategy in which the objective is to integrate brand names, logos or products into nonadvertising content in media such as TV, film, internet, mobile, videogames and music.â€? Brands spent â‚Ź70 million on product placement in music videos in the US in 2012 alone.
Creative Industries; Europe vs. USA and China In a 2012 communication the European Commission stated that the economic performance of the cultural and creative sectors is significant, in the EU they account for 3.3% of GDP and employ 6.7 million people (3% of total employment).
USA & ASIA Europe's international competitors already invest a lot of resources in the cultural and creative sectors: The USA has done it as a tool to affirm their presence globally. Others, such as China, South Korea or India, are also making massive investments to boost their economic potential and 'soft power'. China's public investment in culture has grown by 23% annually since 2007, and they have plans to raise the creative sector’s share of GDP from 2.5% to 5-6% by 2015. Creators are in demand.
A Team Of Experts Managing a successful artist career requires a range of skills and knowledge. Coordinating specialists who develop, watch, check, monetize and control the different facets of the artists business requires teamwork. Being able to share knowledge and expertise is key to managing a successful act. Being informed of new business trends, changes in law, tax developments, political processes and their business impacts, access to finance opportunities, new strategies to break artists, and access to a slew of other agendas, some of which are hidden, necessary to survive.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Wherever and whenever it is possible the IMMF organizes Training and Education sessions which are focused on topics that impact the daily work of running an artists career.
Today’s Challenges Require Strong International Networks More people are listening to more music than ever before. At the same time the majority of artists are getting less money than ever before.
The Music Industry will only survive in the long run if artists and their representatives join forces to set the agenda. Artists, not other participants need to be at the center of the music industry. Only a strong international network of artists and their representatives can force transparency and fairness into the system. Do Russian music managers support us?