Publishers: Shapiro Bernstein Are Prime Musical Movers
MIDTOWN, Manhattan: As powerful as publishing is in the music world, it can also stand as one of the least-understood components as well. Artists who can attract a premiere publisher like New York City’s own Shapiro Bernstein Music Publishing have a powerful ally in their revenue stream.
David Hoffman, Creative Director of Shapiro Bernstein Music Publisher
David Hoffman, Creative Director of SB&C, knows exactly what a publisher can do for an artist. He also tells it like it is about what artists need to be able to do before they can get signed on with a quality publisher. For those who want to learn more about how to take control of their musical careers, well, best read on.
Q: What roles does a publisher play in the musical big picture in 2009?
A: Definitely a larger role than in years past. Before, you would find that a publisher would be treated like a bank: They would give an advance, put songs in their system, and collect – hopefully accurately. By collecting, I mean from all the various royalty streams – mechanical, performing, synch rights and make sure things are coming and going out accurately and on time.
There was always the aspect of exploiting – and in publishing terms, exploiting is a good word – to TV, film and advertising, and to get our writers’ songs cut by other artists on other labels. But I think publishing has evolved so much in the past century, and now we do whatever it takes to give whatever songs we have the most avenues of exposure possible, whether we’re pitching to music supervisors, ad agencies, songwriters, A&R people, artists trying to get their songs cut. We need to help our people any way possible, including connecting them to radio promo people and agents.
Our firm is different because we’re more hands-on with our rosters, but that said most publishers are taking on larger roles, because labels that artists are signed with may not be doing their jobs, or maybe their A&R guy got laid off. So artists are going to publishers for more now than they were in the past.
Q: How is what you do more challenging, and more rewarding, in 2009?
A: It’s more challenging, because when people think publishing, they think, “How can I get my songs into TV, film, and advertising?” That’s one big aspect of what publishers do. That’s very challenging: on the one hand there’s a lot more outlets to place music in, but a lot fewer opportunities for the really important placements.
Also, because mechanical royalties are down – meaning album sales are down – the outside songs are so hard to get. It used to be that when you’d get a “B” cut or a deep cut on an album, you’d still get a sizable mechanical royalty statement. But now deep cuts aren’t worth the same, and fewer people are buying albums. But on the other hand, we have growth in ringtones, ringbacks, video games. It hasn’t evened out, but I’m certainly an optimist.
Q: How can artists today attract the attention of a publisher?
A: The good news is that I think you can do more as an artist now without professional members of your team, than ever before. You can generate a sizable fan base using MySpace, Facebook, etc… with relatively low costs of promotion. Get in a van, go, and get your friends out to see you in a few markets. It’s the rise of the middle class in the industry.
The bad news is that’s hard to be a young band or artist with nothing but brilliant talent and get signed. You need to create the story. I’ve found it’s a risky thing to just throw money at something where you don’t have any guarantees whatsoever. It’s hard to break a band now. So my suggestion is you exhaust as many of your own outlets as possible and get in the mindset of, “I’m not depending on anyone but myself.” That way, when the labels or publishers do come in, you can prepare yourself for a better deal.
That said, I think there are publishers, managers and agents that will help artists that they believe in before contracts are signed. I’m of the mindset that you go with someone you really trust and love, so to establish that you make your presence known. There are many panels and festivals where you have the opportunity to meet these people. If a publisher sees an artist three or four times, they may listen to your CD a little quicker. If they like you, they’ll help you out.
But really it’s about you making your story on your own. When an A&R guy presents you, he’s got to be able to present your story.
That said, there’s always the chance that if you’re a really brilliant artist, and you get discovered, people might take a risk on you. The majority of times, though, it doesn’t happen like that.
Q: Are unsigned artists sending music to you, like you were a record label?
A: It happens a lot more now. But sending unsolicited material/cold calling is not the way to do it. It’s a constant battle to accept unsolicited material for a number of reasons. It’s really about knowing people who know people, with one degree of separation.
Q: Just like they’re being encouraged to act as their own record label, can artists act as their own publisher?
A: Absolutely. One thing you need to do if you’re writing songs and need to get them out there, is you need to become a member of a performance rights organization (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC). That way, the royalties are going directly to you, and that’s a smart thing until you really need a publisher. Anyone can be their own publisher. People say to me, “My music was placed on MTV or Lifetime,” but they didn’t have publishers. It can be done, because there are plenty of music supervisors out there who will deal with artists directly.
Q: What artists are on your own personal roster?
A: For instance, I have signed bands that were just signed to an independent label, and I just loved their music. And I’ve signed cuts, just songs in the pipeline, so it does definitely get done. I found a band at SXSW, and I signed them, and I hear about bands who are musicians from attorneys – they find out about stuff. It’s a lot more potent to get an email from a friend that I trust. Think of it as a restaurant recommendation: If someone tells you they’ve tasted the food, you’ll say you’ve gotta go.
Q: Who else is at Shapiro?
A: One of our songwriters is Dimitri Ehrlich, who was signed a while back. He had written with Moby, and once we heard he had a Moby track, it was easier for us to make a fair deal. This is more for the story now: instead of someone just being a wildly talented songwriter, there are artists with success, and we sign them off of that. Then there’s a band called Lovesick Radio, heating up with songs that are on the radio across the country. And there’s a band we have called Oppenheimer that we signed based on seeing them at SXSW, and done well with placing songs on TV.
My company is known for their back catalog. You can’t compare “Ring of Fire” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and “In the Mood” to anything else – they’re standards that will live on forever.
Q: How do these songs cross over into commercial or film placement?
A: We often get music supervisors calling us and saying, “We need a song for this scene. This is the money we have. The rights we need. What do you have for us?” One example is Adventureland. It takes place in the 1980’s, and we pitched them, “Let the Music Play” by Shannon. It’s an excellent placement. Then one of my friends works on the show “How I Met Your Mother.” He’s used a few of my songs because of the relationshipis there. Relationships are important. “Ugly Betty” used a song for one of their scenes by the band Oppenheimer – it was basically a custom video for the song. And commercials can do a lot for a song: “Woo Hoo” by the artist 5,6,7,8’s is used by Vonage.
Q: So is there a way to encapsulate the role of a publisher in 2009?
A: I think the role of publishers is to be an active member of your team. The publisher should be willing to go the extra mile, and not just be a bank that collects money – they need to have proactive relationships with music supervisors, ad agencies and A&R people. And if you’re not in a band, they can set up relationships with other writers, and set up a team that writes brilliant songs. – David Weiss
Visit David:
http://www.shapirobernstein.com
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@MusicSupe