$ound Advice
Throughout my career, I have been blessed to work with many amazing artists and musicians. Some are no longer with us, while some are just hitting their stride… Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Booker T. Jones, Vince Gill, Eddy Shaver, Barry Beckett, James Luther Dickinson and his right righteous sons of the south – the North Mississippi Allstars, The Oak Ridge Boys, Rosanne Cash, Lyle Lovett, Jason and the Scorchers, Herbie Hancock, and the original crunk of Memphis Gangsta Rap (back in the day when a mixtape was a cassette) with my brother Al Kapone, Juicy J and DJ Paul (Three Six Mafia) and Eightball & MJG. One constant has been these artists’ ability to adapt their vision in the ever-changing world of the music business. As CEO of Lyric Financial, I am constantly evaluating the economics of the music industry to help provide financial support and guidance to my clients.
It is a responsibility that I take seriously — from creating products like our FastForwardMyRoyalties advance program, which provides easy access to your royalties, to actively supporting legislation that will make sure that you continue to be paid for the use of your creative work. It’s my job to stay in tune with the rhythm of your needs – keeping you current on issues affecting your career.
Which brings me to a critical piece of legislation making its way through Congress — legislation that will have a significant impact on your economic future: the Performance Rights Act. If passed into law, it will be every artist’s (and label’s) economic safety net in this age of illegal downloads. This bill ensures a fair distribution of terrestrial radio advertising money back to those that create and invest in the music. As we are all too aware, the traditional music business model of a radio hit equaling a platinum album (or, for that matter, even gold) are over. Traditional record sales will never again be the key economic driver of an artist’s career. Therefore, it is absolutely essential for artists and labels to participate in all “revenue” streams related to the use of their music. That means the old broadcasting business model of “use-your-music-for-free” because the for-profit radio station is “promoting your record” needs to be retired. While the broadcasting industry has its own economic issues, your music is the inventory. (They would say their inventory is advertising space, but that dog don’t hunt. If radio had no programming other than commercials, no one would listen.) I don’t know of many business models where inventory costs you nothing, and I’m interested in helping put a piece of that advertising revenue back in your wallet where it belongs. Here’s the kicker: Although the Performance Rights Act has passed through committee in both houses of Congress, it has yet to be brought to a floor vote. The corporate broadcast industry is fighting this bill with every trick and dollar (can you say millions?) in its vast arsenal. The bottom line is that all of us who make our living in the music industry need to step up and be counted, while we still have a job!
Remember, Lyric offers much more than just words to help you manage your career. We put our money where our mouth is! Pick up the phone and give me a call at 615.739.6515 or shoot me an email to eli@lyricfinancial.com, and let me help guide your career toward success.
Happy Holidays,
-Eli Ball
CEO Lyric Financial
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LYRIC Team Announcements
Please welcome Folayan Knight to the LYRIC family. Folayan brings a wealth of music industry experience from her previous gigs at Def Jam and L.A. Reid’s Hitco Music Publishing. She also manages some of the top producer/writers in R&B/hip-hop, people who work with artists like 50 Cent, Britney Spears and Alicia Keys, just to name a few. Not bad, and still hasn’t hit the big 3-0! Forget it guys, she’s already taken — and smart too!
You can reach Folayan at folayan@lyricfinancial.com.
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