YOU TUBE KEEPS MY LIGHTS ON AND PAYS MY MORTGAGE

Most of us probably think of YouTube as a recreational site where we can find old clips, or self publish videos to share with digital strangers. The smart people amongst us are the ones who have not only become famous on You Tube but have cashed in on the attention. There is real money to be made on YouTube through it's partner program,ad revenue, product placement, and sponsorship opportunities. While we sit behind our desks, working at jobs we hate, underpaid, overworked, and stressed out, these You Tube phenoms are making 100s of thousands of dollars(that's not a typo), from the comforts of their makeshift home studios. To add insult to injury for some of us, they are making that money mostly off of the desk workers amongst us who visit YouTube to get a brief respite from the doldrums of our 9 to 5's. The top independent earner on YouTube last year, brought in $315,000 in the last 12 months.(and he's only 22). If your reading this please go back and watch the Legal Hustler series we shot and refer about 30 million people to it!

CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES FROM THE TELEGRAPH AND NEW YORK TIMES ON THE YOU TUBE CASH COW.

YouTube RICH LIST: TOP 10 EARNERS AMONGST INDEPENDENT ACTS

YouTube VIDEOS PULL IN REAL MONEY: NEW YORK TIMES

BROKEN RECORD: MUSIC IN THE DOWNLOAD ERA

The record industry is dying! Yes I know its been said so many times, and the "record" is broken literally and figuratively. This sentiment isn't shared by everybody though. In business, they say more new millionaires get their start in a recession than at any other time, maybe the same is true for successful recording artists. While the major record labels who controlled the "cd era" as I like to call it, struggle to survive( maybe just bad karma) , many small independent labels are on the rise. Their trick, low overhead and creativity. Music Licensing, embracing the digital culture, and creative marketing all factor in. Maybe the music business's curse really is a gift to the artists who've been getting the short end of the stick for all of these years. Hustle hard, get your business right, or find somebody that can do it for you. Check out this article from the LA times about the many flourishing Indie Labels out there.


BROKEN RECORD: MUSIC IN THE DOWNLOAD ERA

YOU CAN CATCH ME ON SPORTSCENTER....

Maybe not Sportscenter exactly, but still ESPN! We're excited to announce that Mekka has had two songs licensed by ESPN for its College Football broadcasts this fall, Time To Rumble, and SEC(Get Riled Up). Don't get it twisted though we're still all about the Big Ten and Ohio State over here. Big shout outs to Mike Hill, and Kevin Wilson for helping make this happen. The songs were written specifically for commercial use through our new publishing company, The Writer's Block. If your looking for a writing team or looking to license music, please contact us.

THE MUSIC COPYRIGHT ENFORCERS

Interesting article on the vital and mysterious performance rights organizations (P.R.Os) from the NY Times. It goes into detail on how these organizations collect royalties for their artists and writers. One of the more shocking parts of the article was when it stated that "during the years that during the years the recording industry lost nearly 60 percent of its income, BMI and its competitor ASCAP had steady increases in profits." "The trick, says BMI's CEO Bryant, is to understand the content world as an ecosystem. When a new player comes along, don’t kill it, make a deal with it. With each new medium, he says: “We made agreements that weren’t that heavily monetized, and not that heavily binding because we didn’t know if it’d be around for long or how it would evolve. They were place keepers, ways to get us working together. And they slowly solidified. It’s all a question of pricing. The system has to serve everyone’s purposes.” If your an artist its very important that you not only become familiar with BMI and ASCAP but also register with one of them if you haven't. Its very nice to see organizations in the music business that actually work hard to get their artists paid.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/magazine/08music-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=music