Analysis
Brexit may derail the UK Music Industry’s $5.8bn success
WOMAD Director claims that Artist are ‘losing interest’ in performing in the UK due to rigorous visa processes.
Story Highlights
- WOMAD Director claims that Artist are ‘losing interest’ in performing in the UK due to rigorous visa processes.
- The musicians have been lobbying the British Government to create an EU touring visa, post-brexit.
The UK Music Industry saw unprecedented growth last year. International success of acts like Rag’n’Bone Man, Dua Lip, Stormzy, and of course, Ed Sheeran boosted revenues to a record-breaking $5.8bn (£4.5bn). Additionally, talent from the British shores racked up huge numbers on the road, accounting for five of the top ten highest grossing tours of the year – thanks to legendary artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, and Coldplay. In total, live music alone contributed $1.3bn (£991m) to the UK economy. However, with growing concerns of what Brexit may mean for British Music once a deal is finalized, many are wondering whether or not this growing success will be given room to continue.
Whilst many key industry figures are pleased with the recent numbers that indicate healthy growth over the past year, they have also been just as vocal about how important a ‘good deal’ is necessary in order for the UK Music Industry to continues thriving. Speaking to The Independent, UK Music CEO Michael Dugher said they are taking a “vigilant approach” in regards to monitoring the transition period during the Brexit process to ensure minimal negative effect if any at all. Whilst this may be ideal, the reality of EU relations since the referendum alone have resulted in contentious issues in regards to foreign Artists being able to tour in the UK.
WOMAD Festival Director Chris Smith spoke to the Radio Times, stating that since the result of the referendum, a number of Artists are losing interest in coming to the UK to perform due to the “difficult and humiliating” process of trying to obtain a visa.
“We’ve had situations where, say, an African artist has been due to come who plays a particularly rare instrument, and we’ll be asked: ‘Can’t you find someone in the UK who plays that instrument?’, which is absurd,” said Smith.
Considering Brexit is still pending, this most certainly justifies a cause for concern. We’ve had situations where, say, an African artist has been due to come who plays a particularly rare instrument, and we’ll be asked: ‘Can’t you find someone in the UK who plays that instrument?’.
Globally, live music accounted for around $25bn in revenue for 2017 – and is projected to hit over $30bn by 2022. It has had the longest-standing year-on-year growth in comparison to any other form of music and thus a very key element in the overall health of the music business, specifically in the UK where touring makes up for well over 20% of industry revenues. A Brexit deal that adds further restrictions to UK touring could most certainly threaten these numbers.
One of the organizations who has taken action to hopefully get ahead this potential issue is the Musicians Union – who have been lobbying the British Government for over a year for freedom of movement to continue. As part of their campaign to ensure touring is not stifled, they have suggested a post-Brexit ‘EU touring visa’ for musicians and performers within all EU member states that is ‘affordable, multi-entry, and admin-light”. So far, their petition has gained over 16,000 signatures – which is enough to receive a response from a government, but still significantly off the ‘100,000’ mark it’ll need to hit in order for it to be discussed in government.
Earlier this year, Margot James (Minister of Creative and Digital Industries) said she “is committed to building on the achievements” of the UK Music Industry, in light of its growth over the past year. However, with March 2019 fast approaching, she will need to put that ‘commitment’ into serious action rather imminently.
MBN Staff
Analysis
Twinkie Clark’s publishing catalog worth millions, says Attorney
Twinkie’s songwriter journey was recently depicted in Lifetime TV Biopic ‘The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel’.
Story Highlights
- The Clark Sisters’ story was recently depicted in a Lifetime movie biopic.
- Attorney James L. Walker, Jr. recaptured Twinkie Clark’s publishing rights after she sold her catalog for a car.
Gospel Music Legends The Clark Sisters have recently seen a huge resurgence in interest and popularity. On April 11, the faith-based music icons saw their story told in more detail than it has ever been – as their first biopic ‘The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel’ aired on Lifetime TV. Produced by Dr. Holly Carter (alongside Grammy Award Winning Artists Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah) – the initial broadcast captured an audience of a 2.7 million, and closed out with 11 million total (after repeat airs and DVR ratings came in).
The movie told the lives of sisters Denise, Jacky, Elbernita (otherwise known as Twinkie), Dorinda and Karen – their rise to fame, and everything in between. One of the highlights, from a music business perspective, was the sale of Twinkie’s publishing catalog.
It is unknown exactly how accurate the Lifetime movie depiction was, as a number of scenes have been disputed by Larry Clark (son of Denise) and Twinkie’s former husband Johnny Terrrell. However, with the Clarks themselves being listed as Producers – and Executive Producer Dr. Holly Carter already having a working relationship with the family – one can assume most of the events were not too far from the truth.
During their earlier days, Twinkie was the sole songwriter for The Clark Sisters – penning several hit songs for the group. The biggest of these was ‘You Brought The Sunshine’ – from the 1981 album of the same name. The single became a crossover hit, landing a Top 20 Spot on Billboard’s R&B Charts and a Top 30 spot on its Dance Club Songs listing.
It has been claimed that the single and album achieved a Gold certification – for sales in the excess of 500,000. Music Biz Nation was unable to verify either claim using the RIAA database – which lists U.S. gold and platinum certifications awarded as far back as 1958. We did, however, reach out to RIAA for comment, but had not heard back at the time of writing. At present, we can verify that the single had sold at least 200,000 within the two years following its release, according to a 1985 article in Billboard Magazine.
At some point during this era, according to the movie – Twinkie sold her publishing catalog to Michigan-based Bridgeport Music (which was given a fictitious name in the film) in exchange for a Lincoln Continental. Of course, the car selected for the scene may have not been the exact same as what was exchanged in the actual deal. However, if we are to assume it was of similar luxury status – that particular vehicle retailed for around $24,000 in 1979 – close to the time when Twinkie made the deal. In today’s money, that would be equal to $85,000.
The interesting part is, according to a calculated estimation by Music Biz Nation, the success of “You Brought The Sunshine” possibly made Twinkie’s catalog worth at least $400,000 to $450,000 from that release alone – more than 5x what it was sold for. It was later worth ‘millions’.
...artists and songwriters have lost millions of dollars by giving up their publishing
Music Biz Nation spoke with James L. Walker, Esq. – the Atlanta-based Entertainment Attorney who worked with Twinkie to recapture her rights five years ago. Walker was not working Twinkie when she initially sold her catalog, but did say that “generally speaking artists and songwriters have lost millions of dollars by giving up their publishing“.
When discussing the amount of publishing money made from record sales, Walker shared that “one song on a gold album is worth about $50,000“. Meaning, if it is true that the 8-song ‘You Brought The Sunshine’ album did achieve Gold status, Twinkie’s catalog on that release would have been worth $400,000 from record sales alone. This does not include additional income generated from the success of the lead single.
We also discussed the impact of the radio success and other types of revenue. Walker stated that “a hit song is worth well over a millions dollars, if it’s promoted right“. MBN asked if he would place “You Brought The Sunshine” (single) in that category – to which Walker confidently responded “oh, yes“.
Later in the conversation, Walker was asked how he was able to get Twinkie’s rights back. He shared: “There’s what we call ‘the copyright act’, and with the copyright act the writer is allowed to reclaim their rights in the 35th year of the assignment“.
The world of publishing in gospel music slightly differs to that in the mainstream. Being a niche genre, gospel generally does not generate nearly as much as pop or hip hop music in revenue. To give context, it often takes less than 5,000 equivalent albums sales to land a #1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums Chart. Grammy-nominated Artist Travis Greene topped the list last November, shifting just 3,000 units.
Though sales may not be where the money is at for the faith-based genre, Walker stated that ‘sampling’ is another income stream for many of its artists. Referring to Gospel Acts, he said: “Their music is used – people sample it. Jay Z sampled Twinkie’s song“.
Because Twinkie now owns her rights, she was able to claim 50% of publishing revenue when Jay-Z sampled her composition on his 2017 single release ‘Family Feud’. This 50% meant Twinkie owns a bigger share and made more publishing money from the record than lead artist Jay Z himself (and co-writer Beyonce, combined).
Outside of this example, Gospel Music has had a solid history of being sampled by mainstream artists. In the past year alone, Mary Mary’s most popular hit “Shackles” (a UK Top 10 and US Top 40) was sampled by BRIT Award Winning Rapper Stormzy on his UK #1 album “Heavy Is The Head”, and most recently by Lecrae and YK Osiris. Kirk Franklin was also sampled on Daniel Caeser’s ‘Freudian’ album.
Twinkie Clark now owning the rights to her work with The Clark Sisters means she will also receive revenue from her songs being used the Lifetime Biopic. The day following the premiere, the sisters received the largest amount of daily YouTube views since at least 2018.
There was also a huge spike in google searches for tickets to see them live, according to Music Industry Platform ‘DEMAND’.
The Clark Sisters’ latest release ‘The Return’ was released on March 13, 2020.
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Ryan J. Bruce
Analysis
A.R.M.S. has delivered $1.6m in unpaid royalties to artists since 2018
ARMS (Artist Royalty and Music Services) was launched in 2016 by producer David Salas.
Story Highlights
- A.R.M.S. was launched in 2016 by producer David Salas.
- The company has collected unclaimed royalties for The Chi-Lites, Young Buck (G-Unit), Fobia, Tierra, and Bobby Day.
Family-owned royalty collection agency ARMS (Artist Royalty and Music Services) announced today that they have successfully delivered $1.6million in unpaid royalties to artists and rights holders over the last two years. Founded by longtime music producer David Salas, the company’s unique model is one that favors the client. As opposed to paying any fees upfront, ARMS takes a backend commission on any royalties collected on behalf of rights holders.
According to the company’s website, David Salas (and wife Daphee) started ARMS to track down his father’s lost royalty payments. David is the son of Rudy Salas, former member of latin soul group El Chicano and co-founder of latin R&B group Tierra (along with his brother Steve).
Unaware to many, streamlining royalty payments – from processing to payouts – is not always as straightforward as what might assume it ‘should’ be. In many cases, artists never receive the royalties they are due – often referred to as ‘Black Box Royalties’. This occurs when a performer, writer, label or publisher cannot be properly traced – leaving their royalties unallocated.
It may be hard to understand how this can even happen in today’s world – but it does. One of the most common and substantial ways is with streaming services. Platforms like Spotify pay an upfront licensing fee to labels for the use of their catalogs for a limited period.
If, however, the label’s catalog earns less in royalties on the platform than what was paid to them upfront before the contract ends, the ‘loose change’ ends up being unallocated.
Additionally, you still find cases where artists have not registered with the necessary collection societies, internationally – or the metadata on file is incorrect. In this case, the society does not know who to pay so the funds are held until they are sought out. This is where ARMS comes in.
The company was launched in 2016, and has worked to collect royalties for The Chi-Lites, Young Buck (G-Unit), Fobia, Tierra, Bobby Day (“Rockin Robin”) and more.
“Most artists and even actors or voice over artists are not aware that they can receive royalties from their actual performance, like the hook, as a feature, as a band member etc”, said Salas.
Most artists and even actors or voice over artists are not aware that they can receive royalties from their actual performance
Most royalties traditionally had gone to songwriters, publishers or the label but international streaming royalties are different and we help make sense of it all.”
To ensure artists are not shortchanged by their services, ARMS does not process any royalties they collect on behalf of performers or rights holders. Instead, the company has the collection society make the cheques payable to the client – who then pays ARMS a pre-agreed commission.
To that end, Salas added: “Being a musician myself, I know it’s hard to trust people in the music business, so I built this company with the premise that transparency would be absolute and our role would be hands-on. We are a small company with big ambitions.“
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MBN Staff
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