We have two vocalists and a producer talking licensing with us.
They are:
- British dance artist Victoria Aitken who’s top ten UK dance hits include “Queen Of The House” and “Vicki From The Yacht”)
Soca artist Kevin Lyttle who’s hit dance single “Turn Me On,” spent several weeks at the top of the UK singles charts.
Producer Marc JB who’s dance hits as a producer include remixes of tracks from artists that include Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Pink, Ke$ha, The Killers, and Katy Perry, to name a few.
These three pros did a powerful collaboration and their collaboration, Paradise, went to #12 in the UK dance charts.
SE: Victoria, Kevin, Marc, thanks for taking the time to speak to me today – now let’s get right into it. What are your thoughts on the music licensing market today?
Marc JB: There’s still strong revenue potential for top artists, but in the past five years I’ve seen a diminution of revenue streams from the dizzying heights of, say, five years ago.
Victoria Aitken: I’d like to add, purely from my own perspective as a UK-based dance artist – the state of the licensing is awful.
SE: What do you mean?
Victoria Aitken: Well, there’s a scarcity of licensing agents for me to deal with, and the ones that are interested typically want to take usurious commissions that are upwards of 40%-50%.
I mean, I certainly see the potential of licensing to help my career, but I’ve yet to see a good deal of real results. And, when something does happen it’s usually through my label, who are more reactionary than anything else.
SE: So in effect, what you’re saying is that you feel that while there’s potential for your music to be licensed, there’s scant support and resources available to allow you to take advantage of licensing opportunities.
Victoria Aitken: Yes.
SE: Now, Marc, I wanted to follow on to your previous point – how specifically have you seen the licensing business evolve as a producer – for better or worse?
Marc JB: Perhaps the best way to put it is that we’re taking a bigger slice of a smaller cake.
SE: Can you elaborate?
Marc JB: As one half of the production team of Bimbo Jones, I spend a lot of time dealing with labels and publishers on rights issues. I can tell you that since I started in the business, I’ve seen the level of both dealflow and royalties take a nosedive, especially for medium-level and developmental-level artists.
As for the larger artists, they continue to get the lion’s share of the revenue, interest and attention from potential licensors. Part of this is that they are better known/liked, and part of this is that there are more resources provided to these artists.
SE: Kevin, what’s your perspective?
Kevin Lyttle: To be honest, when it comes to licensing, I’ve pretty much had my hands held through the process – it’s designed in such a way that it’s difficult for me to navigate otherwise. That’s my main issue with licensing – it’s overly complicated – and I think this holds artists back.
SE: So what would you rather see?
Kevin Lyttle: A more “user friendly” process, more clear-cut regulation protecting creator’s rights throughout the process. This would make it simpler for me to understand and take advantage of licensing opportunities as an artist.
SE: Marc, what have you seen in terms of revenue/marketing potential for sync of your work?
Marc JB: Though I derive the majority of my revenue from remix royalties and fees, sync licensing royalties comprise a growing, significant percentage of revenue.
SE: Would it be fair to say then, Marc, that despite the issues the market faces, significant opportunity exists for medium-sized and independent artists in the sync market?
Marc JB: Definitely, though like Kevin said, in order for the system to work for the small-to-medium sized musician, more transparency and simplicity is needed to take full advantage of the opportunity.
Source:Sync Exchange
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