On March 9, 2012 Billboard posted what they called Music’s Top 40 Money Makers 2012. Apparently for
at least the last three years they have posted top earners in the industry with
a description of how their money was made.
The data that was used to configure the possible incomes of these
artists were basically airplay, record sales and tours. What was not so simple is the general math
that was used to estimate how much money was made. However it is very interesting
to see, according to Billboard, who are the moneymakers and what that could
mean towards trends and popularity among music fans.
The fact is that we give our money to what we like. If you want to find out what people like and
what they are connected to, find out where they spend their money. McDonalds is
not going anywhere because too many people have decided with their dollars that
there should be a restaurant on every major road in every major city in the U.S.A. While
I’m not sure if the same statement would be totally accurate for the music
business, we can at least say that is true temporarily, as trends in
entertainment consistently change.
The point is that we should be able to look at this data
published by the Billboard staff and come to some very good possible
conclusions or at least a hypothesis of what we as writers, producers and
artists can do to make our selves more money.
Factor # 1: Touring is a must. We all know the story of how the Internet is
making it more difficult for the music business people to make money in the
business. There is only two ways to
approach this fact, fight it or embrace it. It seems that the majority of these
top 40 list makers have decided to embrace it to some degree. Let the fans get a little for free, and hit
them in the pocket for ticket sales. With all that we can get for free at home
on the computer, still it seems that nothing beats seeing your favorite artist
live on stage. Lady Gaga who topped the list in 2011with over $30 million,
grossed $70 million from the tour. Ranked number 4 in 2012 with $25 million,
Gaga grossed $51 million from the tour. This trend is similar for most of the
ranked artist on this list. Touring is the primary thing that earns money in
the music business today.
Factor # 2: Study the rock, country and pop genres. I
apologize to all the urban hip-hop and r&b fans but the truth is in the top
10. In 2012 and 2011 there was only one
representative for each year from the urban genres, Lil Wayne (2012) and The Black Eyed Peas (2011). In 2010 there were
none in the top 10 as Beyoncé was the closest at number 13. Maybe there is something to learn from the
band U2 who apparently made over $100 million in 2010 and over $30 million in
2012. Maybe there is something that we can capitalize on. How do they market?
Who do they market to? Listen to their songs. What do they sound like? What are
they about? There is no need to change a style to sound like another, but what
can be done to appeal to more people without compromising who we are in our
music?
Factor # 3: Study the legends. Every year, from 2010 until
now, a legend with a 30 plus year career breaks the top 10 of these lists. This year it was Bon Jovi at number 7 with just under $16 million. Last year there were 2 with Paul McCartney at number 10 with $14 million and, again, Bon Jovi at number
2 with $30 million. For so many, popularity is only a season, but for artists like those just named it seems to be a lifetime. In 2010 Bruce Springsteen made the list at number 2 with over $57 million made. The question is how does he do
it? What is his inspiration? What is his strategy? What can we learn to create
longevity in our music? What is the message that lasts forever, not just today?
Maybe the answers to these questions can put money in our pockets for several
years to come too.
Check out Billboard's moneymaker lists for the last three years.
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