by | May 24, 2012

MMBE & Gateshead College to Sponsor Music Futures Series Event

MMBE and Gateshead college are pleased to announce sponsorship of the second in the Music Futures Series, ‘The Future of Music Publishing’.

‘Music Futures Series’ is Generator’s new music business panel programme, giving regional musicians and businesses the chance to pick the brains of some of the industry’s leading figures like Simon Raymonde (Bella Union) and Caroline Elleray (Universal Music).

Featuring a series of weekly panels, running from Thursday 28th June to Thursday 19th July at Newcastle’s Live Theatre, industry experts will give their unique insight into the future of record labels, publishing, marketing and broadcasting. The panels will demonstrate how regional artists and music businesses can take advantage of the latest industry developments and use them to create new platforms and sources of income.

The second event on 5th July will focus on music publishing, which is now considered by some more important to an artist’s career than getting a record deal. Panelists will discuss how songwriters and musicians can generate income from their songs in the new music industry.

Giving their insight here are Caroline Elleray of Universal Music, who signed publishing deals with Coldplay and Keane; Ryan Farley of Warner Chappell; Steve Farris of Polar Patrol, a publishing company set up by the band Snow Patrol and Helen Gammons CEO of Sync in the City and author of ‘The Art of Music Publishing’.

The 5th July event will be an ideal opportunity for anyone interested in studying MMBE to come down, meet the tutors and have a few free drinks!

Future of Music Publishing – Thursday 5th July: 5.30pm – 9.30pm

Each panel runs from 6pm – 8pm and is followed by networking and drinks

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by | May 17, 2012

Former MMBE London student Viewpoint

John Coates has been in the music industry for many years and is launching a new music business enterprise this year, the Stiffard project. John recently attended the MMBE course in London and has some interesting observations to share…

“I enrolled on this course as a professional on the creative side of the industry, wanting to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of this business side, but believing I knew most of it. How wrong could I be! This course took me on an intense exploration of the ‘Music Business’ as it is today, digging and delving into every nook and cranny of the newly evolving industry and all of the multiples of new ways to monetise music, with Steve Melhuish (London course leader) invoking the wealth of his years of experience in the industry to put it all into context. I was also exposed to an exceptional array of guest speakers from the industry who brought the realities of their roles and experiences to the classroom, reinforcing specific areas of the course content.

I would guess that in normal educational situations this course would be delivered over two years, but the problem with that as I see it, is that by the time the course had finished it would be two years out of date! One thing that was very obvious from this MMBE course is that the modern music industry is constantly and rapidly evolving, which is why I found this sixteen week fast track course so critically essential to me, as someone wanting to re-familiarise myself with the industry an emerge totally up to date with it and empowered.

I take my hat off to Steve Melhuish who kept a constant handle on all the developments as they occurred, feeding them back into the classroom, to append and update relevant previous lesson content. I also got to share this learning experience with some very like-minded, interesting and sometimes surprising fellow students. I would and will recommend this course to anyone wanting to enter or re-enter the music industry, or bring their knowledge up to date.”

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by | May 17, 2012

MMBE Gateshead Taster Session and Next Course Dates Announced

MMBE Gateshead is running again this year for a third term beginning on Wednesday 7th November 2012. We recently held a taster session for people who want to get involved and find out more.

Due to extra demand, we are holding another MMBE taster session on Wednesday 27th June from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Gateshead College where you can meet the Generator team and lecturers to find out more information about the course.

This session is strictly limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. If you’d like to attend please email jonny@generator.org.uk.

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by | May 11, 2012

MMBE Graduate’s Festival Tops the League!

Ian Mcmanus set up the Red Dreams charity in honour of his son Kyle, who sadly passed away in 2007. Inspired by his son’s love of music, film and all things creative; Red Dreams works with singers, bands, filmmakers, sound engineers, the list goes on. “We have a very basic ethos of ‘Confidence through Creativity’; however this is underpinned by a number of values including dedication, respect, focus, determination and support.”

The work of the charity quickly culminated in the creation of a festival, ‘Pitch Invasion’. From 1500 attendees in 2008 to 9000 last year, Pitch Invasion has lived up to its tagline: ‘The little festival that roared!’

Ian was subsequently approached by Hartlepool United and Pitch Invasion has been promoted to stadium proportions. This year’s festival is being held on 12th and 13th May featuring fifty acts across two stages. The main stage will see performances from bands such as General Fiasco, who have previously opened for Snow Patrol, The Hype Theory and Howaysis. The main stage line-up has been designed to have a wide appeal and family friendly atmosphere. Lovers of dance, dubstep and electronic music are catered for at the Marquee stage; acts performing include Lost State of Dance, Lennox and Rossi Noise.

The festival has gone from strength to strength and Ian credits the knowledge he gained while studying the MMBE course as being a catalyst. “MMBE made me evaluate the festival in terms of the return on investment. It made me develop my understanding of the structure of the industry.

Not only that, but it gave me leads into the industry, who to talk to and how to talk to them, it lifts the veil of mystery. This has given us a springboard to make Pitch Invasion more commercial, this year is the first time we’ve got signed bands. Using what I gained from the MMBE has helped to give us a good foundation and reputation.”

Pitch Invasion is being held at Hartlepool Stadium on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May. Weekend tickets cost just £3 for under 16’s, £5 for adults and £12 for a family pass.

We would like to wish Ian, Red Dreams and Pitch Invasion continued success!

http://www.pitchinvasionfestival.co.uk/

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by | May 11, 2012

MMBE Open Evenings at Gateshead College

If you’d like to find out more about the UK’s only accredited Music Business course drop into our open evenings at Gateshead College on 21 May & 18th June from 4.30pm onwards. We’ll be happy to see you and answer any burning questions you may have!

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by | March 28, 2012

Case Study: Grant Brydon

This week we’ve tracked down MMBE student Grant Brydon, founder of Hip Hop blog HipHopFiend to give us an insight into his time with us:

I started HipHopFiend.com, a hip-hop blog, when I left university two years ago having studied Contemporary Art Practices. Hip-hop music and culture have always been a passion of mine and I initially started the blog as a new creative output.

The site became increasingly successful and I began to work more on it, dealing with PRs and managers in order to secure interviews and content for my site. When dealing with these people and talking to some of my favourite artists about their music, it became clear to me that I wanted to work within this industry full time.

I have gone on to build a continuously growing readership on my site and contribute to other sites and publications such as SBTV, The Tipping Point, OkayPlayer, The Crack and AboveGround Magazine. I have also released several mixtapes by US rappers through the site and do bits of PR and consultancy work for artists and events.

Why did you sign up for MMBE?

A lot of what I knew about the music industry was just self-taught or stuff I had picked up along the way. I wanted to clarify my existing knowledge and understand all areas of the business to help me with my own role and knowing how it fits into the overall industry structure.

How have has the course benefited you?

The understanding of the industry that I have gained from the course is invaluable. Knowing how various jobs fit together surrounding an artist’s career has made it a lot easier. Also, knowing who I need to contact when I’m looking for interviews, gig tickets etc, has given me access to some exclusive content for my site and has resulted in a growth in readers. It has also opened my eyes to new revenue streams that I can access using my skills, and has helped me completely re-shape my career and it’s prospects.

Keep up to date with Grant’s work on his site here or over on twitter.

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by | March 27, 2012

Time to Face the Future

When Facebook launched their new Timeline for pages I think we were a little caught up in the excitement of it all. But now we’re a month in and our love for it is starting to wane. Sure we like having a cover picture and the more sophisticated feel but is it really the best layout for pages never mind emerging artists?

There’s been a few outcries from those who aren’t exactly happy with the change (isn’t that always the case?) and with the enforcement of the Timeline on all pages from the 31st March what impact will it have for artist pages?

Today we stumbled across this presentation from Nimbit at SxSW – and it’s not all doom and gloom!

As you may have noticed Timeline for pages has erased the ability for artists to use their customised apps/tabs for their landing spot. Instead users are taken directly to the Timeline.

This move away from bands relying on apps could be the start of a better artist/fan relationship. Being less ‘like’ driven means that artists will have to focus on their relationship and engagement with their fans.

In other words: Let your fans ‘try before they like’.

Sure traffic to apps will drop but fear not – customised apps haven’t completely disappeared – infact they can now be found as a tab at the top of a page and can be easily ‘prioritised’ to show your more frequently used apps.

But our favourite Timeline feature is the cover photo which is an ideal space for artists to place the spotlight on their new EP or tour dates.

What do you think? How do you think Timeline is going to impact your artists or business’ page?

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by | March 16, 2012

You Me at 6

This week we asked our very own Bob Allan from Generator to guest post for us on the topic of BBC 6 Music and their 10th birthday… Take it away Bob!

BBC 6 Music celebrated it’s 10th birthday this week two years after the station was threatened with closure, it was rightfully saved by the overwhelming response from it’s listeners supporting this special place on the digital airwaves.

The station deserves to be celebrated for its John Peel-esque eclecticism, its passionate presenters, its home for the alternative but most of all for its huge support of new music. If you’re a DIY musician, Record Label, Publisher or Manager then radio is a really important platform giving exposure to new artists and for collecting royalties.

6 Music is heavily involved in BBC Introducing that gives the opportunity for new music to be played on national radio and Tom Robinson’s show is an incredibly important part of this. The show plays all new music and feeds into a network of DJs both at 6 Music and Radio 1 who can give spot plays on daytime shows. It’s not only BBC Introducing that plays new music on the station, if your music is great, sent in the right way and targeted at the right DJ then the specialist evening shows and presenters give play to new music they like. Check my toolkit on ‘How to… send your music to radio’

This is why 6 Music should be celebrated: it gives a national voice for new alternative music.

I’ve had the pleasure of my music being played on 6 Music, the first time in 2008 by Tom Robinson and it gave me and my band a big confidence boost, we then got invited for an interview and after working at Generator sending Tom loads of music from the region I got the chance to co-present a whole show of North East music with him. The passion and enthusiasm for new music from the presenters along with playing the what they want from the best of what has been is really what sets this station apart.

Happy birthday 6 Music, your ten years are truly worth celebrating. Here’s to ten more.

Enjoy Bob’s post? Keep up to date with his goings on via his Twitter

Bob Allan : Support musicians working at @GeneratorNE / Plays Bass in@young_liar / Runs a Record Label @thecalicoprint / Manages @vinyljacketuk / Promoter @monthoffridays

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by | March 16, 2012

Case Study: Amanda Gallagher

This week we’ve asked Amanda Gallagher, owner of rockpig., to do a guest post for us about her time on the MMBE course:

Having been asked to write this blog, it got me thinking about where it all started for me. Growing up in a house where music legends such as Elvis, Johnny Cash and The Beatles were played daily it was inevitable really that music would be a big influence in my life.

From a young age I remember dreaming of being a professional singer though (unfortunately) it soon became apparent that I had not been blessed with the vocal abilities required. After reality hit that I didn’t actually have much musical talent myself, I had to grow up and get a job and went on to build a fairly successful career (which I still have) but my passion for music always stayed with me.

Early in 2011, after finding myself in a review situation at work due to the local government cuts, it got me thinking about what I would do if I was made redundant I asked myself: ‘what was I passionate about and would really WANT to do?’

The answer was always music and so the seeds had been planted…

Why did you sign up for MMBE?

Being very much into the live music scene, going to gigs and festivals etc, my initial thoughts for my business were around gig promoting. Having spent the last 10 years building a career I know that some things can only be learned through experience, so I was very conscious that I lacked insight and any length of experience of working in the industry.

I’d heard about Generator through some festival organisers, where I’d applied to volunteer at, so I looked it up and saw the MMBE course advertised. It sounded perfect! I went along to Generator’s free Music Clinic to talk about my business ideas and whether the course would be suitable for me, which was also really useful as I got to chat with a gig/club promoter who had been doing it for years, so then decided to go for it and sign up for the course.

How has MMBE helped your music career?

The MMBE has been invaluable to me as it has given me a real insight into the music industry and has really ‘fast-tracked’ me and allowed me to identify a gap in the industry for a PR, Marketing & Promotions business.

Choosing to do something completely different after so long was a bit scary, but our course tutor Mark Hobrough was really supportive throughout and encouraged me to believe in myself and that I could make a success of my business. Also, having spent 20+ years working in various fields of the music industry, Mark’s experience, insight and anecdotes were priceless!

After just one year on from my initial business idea, I have now firmly established rockpig. as a PR, Marketing and Promotions business; I’ve just finished managing an album release campaign for a band called Danny’s House with a sold out launch gig. It’s been hard work and I’m enjoying every minute! It’s all go now and the enquiries are now rolling in.

I’m currently doing some work with a promoter and a venue, plus I have campaign for another great band booked in for the Autumn.

 I’m finally making my dream of working in music a reality, which just goes to show it’s never too late!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ROCKPIG AND WORKING WITH AMANDA HEAD OVER TO HER NEW SITE

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by | March 15, 2012

What is a Hotspot not?

‘My homeless hotspot keeps wandering out of range…’

It’s SxSW o’clock in Austin, Texas, and sadly for us we’re back here in the UK manning our desks, slurping tea and having to settle for watching Twitter feeds/websites for breaking news and controversy…

Whilst we’re excited to see and hear about new music what’s really caught our attention, and the rest of the world’s, are these ‘homeless hotspots’.

At first we didn’t really pay the term much attention when it popped up as a trending topic… we’ve made that mistake before; investigating something ‘interesting’ and for it to turn out to be about Justin Beiber. Again.

But then we got our act together and decided to investigate what on earth ‘homeless hotspots’ could possibly be.

‘What are they?’ you ask. Well, homeless hotspots are the brainchild of advertising agency BBH NY. Known for their campaigns for Google and other major brands, BBH NY are collaborating with the homeless of Austin to give them an opportunity to sell a digital service rather than a material commodity (think Big Issue for a digital age).

In other words a dozen of Austin’s homeless have been given a 4G MiFi each and a t-shirt that reads ‘ I’m a homeless hotspot’ to pimp their wares to hipster conference goers in desperate need for wifi access for a small fee.

For a small donation of $2 (be it cash or via paypal) you can get 15mins of wifi and the chance to hang out with a member of the homeless community.

Sounds good, right?

It’s a charitable cause that highlights the plight of Americas homeless with all proceeds going to the individuals. The individuals who’re taking part in the scheme also get paid a daily rate of $50 for their work.

Not only this but the scheme is encouraging us to engage with those living on the streets. After all they’re just like us but something in their lives has unfortunately gone awry, such as Clarence who found himself on the streets after losing his house to Hurricane Katrina.

To be fair ‘homeless hotspots’ aren’t necessarily a way to end homelessness but as some have pointed out it’s better than doing nothing. It’s probably safe to say that the majority of us have been guilty of just walking by a homeless person and ignoring them.

Innovation and new technology is a key focus of SxSW, just look at the success of foursquare and twitter, but this innovative idea has had quite the backlash.

What could possibly cause outrage?

• There have been cries of exploitation: at $2 for 15minutes the hotspots won’t necessarily even get paid the National Minimum wage in America (it’s about $7.95).

• There’s been outrage that the homeless are being treated as mere street furniture, which is similar to what happened in Victorian times, and are being dehumanised.

• And what happens for the rest of the year? Surely the project would only be beneficial and profitable when events and conferences are in town.

It seems like Austin might be the end of the road for ‘homeless hotspots’ but let’s not criticise entirely a charitable project. After all it is drawing attention to a social issue that we should all care about.

But what do you think? Would you use a ‘homeless hotspot’?

To find out more or even make a donation visit Homeless Hotspots

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