Maximus Rex
New member
2. Electronic Dance Music is Having a Moment
You may not have heard of Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer Calvin Harris, but enough people have not only heard of him, but also showered him with enough revenues, to make him one of music’s top earners. So just because you’re not a US stadium act, it doesn’t mean nobody’s heard of you.
Harris has been around since 2007, and has enjoyed numerous hit albums and singles in the UK. His 2012 release, “18 Months,” broke into the US Billboard charts, and he appeared on the 2011 Rihanna song “We Found Love,” on which he also served as writer and producer. He remains a much bigger star overseas than he is in the US, but the $66 million he earned last year proves that it clearly doesn’t matter.
“Calvin Harris has been involved in some major hit songs as producer and feature performer, and he makes a lot of money,” Kuge said. “He’s an EDM [electronic dance music] artist and they’re huge touring business. EDM is having a huge, huge, huge moment.”
3. Diversification
Justin Timberlake and Sean Combs round out the list of music’s top earners. Upon closer inspection, that seems odd, since Timberlake last released a studio album, “The 20/20 Experience,” in 2013, and Combs’ last proper studio album, “Last Train to Paris,” is now five years old. His current offering, “MMM,” was just released, and is completely free of charge to one and all.
Mike Knobloch said that to earn money with staying power, it’s not uncommon for a musician to branch out into many different efforts outside of the recording studio, which is exactly what both of these artists have done.
“There are different facets of what [Justin Timberlake] is getting paid to do,” he said. “There are movie roles, publicity income. If you have, domestically and abroad, publicity money and licensing money, film and TV and advertising, there are different columns of revenue that would factor in. A more active artist like him is ticking more of those boxes.”
Timberlake’s entrepreneurial efforts include the William Rast clothing line, which he co-founded, the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team, in which he is a limited partner, and the endorsement of products by Sony, Givenchy and Audi. For his part, Combs is making money outside of the music industry as the CEO of the clothing line Sean John, whose annual retail sales in the US are $525 million.
4. Merchandising
While music’s top earners mostly make their money touring, it’s by no means a surefire path to prosperity. Plenty of artists lose money on the road, but in the era of illegal downloading, there’s little choice but to tour.
Touring also offers a chance for revenue beyond just the cost of a ticket. It offers the opportunity to make more money through such merchandise as t-shirts and other collectables.
“One Dimension merchandise sales are through the roof,” Mara Schwartz Kuge said. “Their fans are fanatical.” She added that it’s not just the shrieking tweens who want something to take home from the concert, either.
“I wouldn’t rule out Fleetwood Mac, Garth Brooks, The Eagles,” she said. “Merchandise is a big part of being a fan.”
Except for those who have found revenue streams outside of music, the takeaway seems to be that the only way to make money as a recording artist is not even to record – it’s to tour. And if you’ve tried buying concert tickets for your favorite act lately, it’s easy to see why.
“The price for Madonna’s last tour was $400 a ticket, and good seats in a stadium for a popular act can be about $250,” Knobloch said. “Those shows aren’t cheap. Even the cheap ones aren’t cheap.”
Daniel Bukszpan is a New York-based freelance writer.
You may not have heard of Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer Calvin Harris, but enough people have not only heard of him, but also showered him with enough revenues, to make him one of music’s top earners. So just because you’re not a US stadium act, it doesn’t mean nobody’s heard of you.
Harris has been around since 2007, and has enjoyed numerous hit albums and singles in the UK. His 2012 release, “18 Months,” broke into the US Billboard charts, and he appeared on the 2011 Rihanna song “We Found Love,” on which he also served as writer and producer. He remains a much bigger star overseas than he is in the US, but the $66 million he earned last year proves that it clearly doesn’t matter.
“Calvin Harris has been involved in some major hit songs as producer and feature performer, and he makes a lot of money,” Kuge said. “He’s an EDM [electronic dance music] artist and they’re huge touring business. EDM is having a huge, huge, huge moment.”
3. Diversification
Justin Timberlake and Sean Combs round out the list of music’s top earners. Upon closer inspection, that seems odd, since Timberlake last released a studio album, “The 20/20 Experience,” in 2013, and Combs’ last proper studio album, “Last Train to Paris,” is now five years old. His current offering, “MMM,” was just released, and is completely free of charge to one and all.
Mike Knobloch said that to earn money with staying power, it’s not uncommon for a musician to branch out into many different efforts outside of the recording studio, which is exactly what both of these artists have done.
“There are different facets of what [Justin Timberlake] is getting paid to do,” he said. “There are movie roles, publicity income. If you have, domestically and abroad, publicity money and licensing money, film and TV and advertising, there are different columns of revenue that would factor in. A more active artist like him is ticking more of those boxes.”
Timberlake’s entrepreneurial efforts include the William Rast clothing line, which he co-founded, the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team, in which he is a limited partner, and the endorsement of products by Sony, Givenchy and Audi. For his part, Combs is making money outside of the music industry as the CEO of the clothing line Sean John, whose annual retail sales in the US are $525 million.
4. Merchandising
While music’s top earners mostly make their money touring, it’s by no means a surefire path to prosperity. Plenty of artists lose money on the road, but in the era of illegal downloading, there’s little choice but to tour.
Touring also offers a chance for revenue beyond just the cost of a ticket. It offers the opportunity to make more money through such merchandise as t-shirts and other collectables.
“One Dimension merchandise sales are through the roof,” Mara Schwartz Kuge said. “Their fans are fanatical.” She added that it’s not just the shrieking tweens who want something to take home from the concert, either.
“I wouldn’t rule out Fleetwood Mac, Garth Brooks, The Eagles,” she said. “Merchandise is a big part of being a fan.”
Except for those who have found revenue streams outside of music, the takeaway seems to be that the only way to make money as a recording artist is not even to record – it’s to tour. And if you’ve tried buying concert tickets for your favorite act lately, it’s easy to see why.
“The price for Madonna’s last tour was $400 a ticket, and good seats in a stadium for a popular act can be about $250,” Knobloch said. “Those shows aren’t cheap. Even the cheap ones aren’t cheap.”
Daniel Bukszpan is a New York-based freelance writer.
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