Clay Aiken – The Shrinking Music Industry

The Music Business Registry is a business that publishes contact directories for the music industry.  In business since 1992, their registry is an important part of the music business.  It is considered the most complete directory available for the people you need to reach in the music industry.

The Music Business Registry published four different journals:

  • A & R Registry
  • Film  & Television Music Guide
  • Music Publishers
  • Music Attorneys, Legal and Business

Each publication is revised constantly and is published every 8 weeks.

This past week, the company published some interesting results about the music industry.  It seem that in the past five years, 319 A & R executives have been let go by the major record houses.  A & R executives are the people who do the talent scouting and work to develop the talent. They also act as a liaison between artists and the record label. A = artists:  R = Repertoire.

According to Paul Resnikoff at Digital Music News:

Out of those 36 A&R executives who left their A&R positions in 2011, only 1 of them so far, has gotten another job in A&R,” Music Registry founder Ritch Esra relayed.  “In 2010, 40 A&R executives exited their A&R positions at various labels and not one of them had gotten another A&R job in 2010.”

That being said, there are some important hires over the past couple of months.  Paul lists Jaymes and David Foster signing as A & R executives with UMG/Verve as an important step for UMG.

Top A & R Executives have influenced the course of music history.  These are the people who sign the artists and choose the type of music that we listen to.  Because of the new forms of digital distribution, it is questionable if A & R executives will still have as much influence on the public’s musical tastes as they have in the past.

Whatever the future, it is good to see Jaymes and David Foster a part of the Universal Music Group.  They seem to find some amazing talent.

What do you think?  Do you think that record labels are a thing of the past or are they still the way to go for recording artists?  Will Jaymes and David help Clay at Universal?

Graph from Digital Music News

 

 

 

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5 thoughts on “Clay Aiken – The Shrinking Music Industry

  1. I am so confused about the future of the music industry. What I do know is that wherever music is heading I hope Clay can keep making his beautiful music. I hope Jaymes and David can help him for sure.

  2. Well, the sound of a lot of so called music is pretty much in the dumps right now, so hopefully it will be climbing out and improving *soon*. Actually, I'm thinking it probably can't go anywhere else but up.

    I do believe David Foster once remarked that he would gladly lend a hand to do what he could to help Clay if it was at all necessary. So yes, David and Jaymes will surely do just that. Congratulations to both of them for signing on with UMG Verve.

  3. I was telling someone the other day about a book I read 20 years ago. It was basically a helpful information guide for someone trying to break into the music business. I would bet that less than 50% of that information would be accurate or helpful today. If Clay and Jaymes offer help, I sure hope Clay will accept their help.

  4. The music industry has been down in the dumps for quite a while now. I am hoping that it will improve soon.

    Yes, I think David and Jaymes would help Clay if he needs it. Well, look, he is already on the UMG Site along with a bunch of big stars. I'm putting all my bets on Clay doing great. Love BBML. <3

  5. As a fan of music, I find the state of the music industry really sad. Hopefully it will be rebuilt without the corruption that I believe runs rampant within it.

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