Friday, June 7, 2013

The Music Gallery: Can Music Ever Be Valued As Fine Art?

__________________________________________________________________________

DOWNLOAD “SONIC WEAPONS: The Official Stereo Thesis Music Sampler FOR FREE.” To get your FREE full-length album…click here.
_________________________________________________________________________




Introduction: The Highest Art Auction in History


Recently a Christie’s art sale became the highest auction in history. The sale included works by Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat, among others and in total generated $495 million. The sale established 16 new world auction records, with nine works selling for more than $10m (£6.6m) and 23 for more than $5m (£3.2m). Christie's said the record breaking sales reflected "a new era in the art market".


The top lot of Wednesday's sale was Pollock's drip painting Number 19, 1948, which fetched $58.4m (£38.3m) - nearly twice its pre-sale estimate.


Lichtenstein's Woman with Flowered Hat sold for $56.1 million, while another Basquiat work, Dustheads (top of article), went for $48.8 million.

All three works set the highest prices ever fetched for the artists at auction. Christie's described the $495,021,500 total - which included commissions - as "staggering". Only four of the 70 lots on offer went unsold.

In addition, a 1968 oil painting by Gerhard Richter has set a new record for the highest auction price achieved by a living artist. Richter's photo-painting Domplatz, Mailand (Cathedral Square, Milan) sold for $37.1 million (£24.4 million). Sotheby's described Domplatz, Mailand, which depicts a cityscape painted in a style that suggests a blurred photograph, as a "masterpiece of 20th Century art" and the "epitome" of the artist's 1960s photo-painting canon. Don Bryant, founder of Napa Valley's Bryant Family Vineyard and the painting's new owner, said the work "just knocks me over".

Brett Gorvy, head of post-war and contemporary art, said "The remarkable bidding and record prices set reflect a new era in the art market," he said. Steven Murphy, CEO of Christie's International, said new collectors were helping drive the boom.

Myths of the Music-Fine Art Price Differential

When I came across this article I was stunned at the prices these artworks were able to obtain. Several of them would hardly evoke a positive emotional response in me, while others might only slightly, but for almost all of them I really don’t understand how their prices are reflected in the work, and vice versa. Obviously, these pieces were not intended for people like me, while wealthy patrons certainly see their objective artistic value. But why doesn’t music attract these kinds of prices? Is it even possible for a piece of recorded music, not music memorabilia or a music artifact (such as a rare record, LP, bootleg, T-shirt, album artwork, etc.), to be worth $1 million or more? Are all musicians and music composers doomed to struggle in the music industry and claw their way up into a career in music? If one painting can be valued at $1 million, why can’t a song or piece of music also be valued similarly?  Apparently, the $.99 download is the highest price a song is able to command at market value, no matter what its quality or content, and the musician or composer must become accustomed to his value as such.

The financial equation looks something like this:

1 painting = $37 million

1 song = $.99

Now here are a few statements that should help us clarify what the monetary or value discrepancy between painting and music is based upon.

(1)   There are fewer painters than there are musicians.

(2)  Musicians are less talented than painters?

(3)  It is easier to create music than it is to paint.

(4)  The public values paintings more than music.

(5)  Paintings are more beautiful than music.

(6)  Paintings are impossible to copy unlike music.

(7)  Painters work harder than musicians and composers.

(8) Blah, blah, blah.

Hardly anyone agrees with all of these statements and yet all, or at least some of them, would have to be true in order for the price of paintings to so greatly exceed the cost of music. Moreover, I doubt that art collectors and great painters have to deal with as much legal red tape as do musicians when releasing their work into the public domain, so why aren’t the rewards equal, if not greater for musicians who have to work almost as much protecting their work as in producing it. Musicians and composers must do more than authenticate their work and obtain accurate appraisals concerning what their work is worth.

Maybe it’s fame, and not money, musicians are after? That would explain why most musicians settle for the low pay they receive from record deals and digital downloads. Perhaps, that’s also why many of them are touring more often to increase their fame and not their fortunes. But wait a minute, that’s where musician actually make most of their money from live performances and the selling of merchandise. I guess this is why many musicians see themselves not as composers, but rather as performers and entertainers. So what can musicians do, who don’t see themselves as entertainers, but instead as composers who create music as a fine art? Because they too have a strong desire to earn a living to support themselves in their chosen profession, there must be a specialized approach whereby they present their work to art collectors in search of assets and curators for unique pieces to place in their private galleries.

In thinking about how a musician can follow the example set by painters in the fine arts, I've isolated 4 principles that should help to make the spectacular financial rewards they've reached possible for you. So let’s analyze some of the characteristics that govern the market for fine art and see how musicians can apply these concepts to their creative, production, and marketing processes.

The Ideal Vehicle for Music as Fine Art

Here are 4 principles and practical suggestions for musicians who want to elevate their music into the realm of fine art by following the example of the great painters of the past as well as today’s top painters and art collectors. Part of the reason why I think art collectors and the art world in general places such a high value on paintings is that they are tangible assets, whereas music is not.

1) Strive to make unique music or music collections.

The composer must design experiments with sound or compositional techniques. Some music belongs in the realm of the public, while other music solely belongs in the realm of fine art. It’s really not that difficult to tell the difference. The difference is clear when one compares the environment of the nightclub and the music one finds there with the elevated environment of the ballet or opera and its music. The difference is not necessarily one of the types of music, but rather in the composer’s sonic fingerprint. In other words, not everyone thinks Jackson Pollock was a great painter, but everyone acknowledges that it took him years of development to reach a point where his style could be born. It’s the style of the artist or composer that will call to attention wealthy patrons, the respect of his peers, and widespread admiration. In music, the style of the composer, regardless of genre, I call ‘a signature sound.’ It’s the signature sound that music and art collectors will want to own and for that they might be willing to pay or bid up to a higher price.

2) Create a music gallery.

This could be modeled after the art gallery where one or several artist put their work on display. The difference with the music gallery is that you would have a hall filled with listening rooms or stations. These showings would not be live performances, but instead will be in effect sound installations. You could also separate one hall into several compartments for different composers. The music showing would be an exclusive event provided to serious music and art collectors who actively seek out sonic experiences and buy what they like. The purpose of the music gallery would be the same as the art gallery – to give the public a sample of the artist’s talent, to give critics something to write about, to have other composers comment on the work of a peer, and to create buzz in the art world. 

3)  Turn your music into a tangible asset.




The obvious difference between a painting and music is that one is a tangible artwork and the other is not. This may or may not be one of the key reasons why music cannot demand a much higher price to purchase. In any case, one of the defining characteristics of a painting is that the medium and the art are one. Unlike music, where the music must be transferred onto another object such as a cassette tape, vinyl, CD, or mP3 player, with a painting (or sculpture) an object has been transformed into art. In other words, a cassette or CD can never be transformed into art by music and the canvas or stone isn’t merely a medium that makes a painting or sculpture transportable. The cassette and CD are more akin to a photograph of a painting, rather than a true expressions where the medium and the art being one.

So one step a musician can take to elevate their music into fine art is by making your music and its medium one. The best way that I can think of to do this is by looking to the past. Ironically, the vinyl LP very closely achieved this quality with album art, sizing, and packaging. Let’s quickly discuss some of the qualities of the vinyl LP and valuable marketing angles that I think opens up interesting approaches for musicians to turn their music into fine art at price appropriate levels.



Today there are several companies around that let you customize your LP vinyl album and artwork. This is wonderful because it gives you total control over the art direction your packaging takes. This is an expressive way to bring the personality of the artist, band, or project out into physical form. Many colors are available and unique mixtures are also possible to add a dimension to your music that isn’t normally possible with cassette tapes, CD’s, or digital downloads. Even split colored and glow-in-the-dark vinyl are available for bold composers looking for something with a bit more flair. In the end, really it’s all about the music, but honestly, when it comes to painting is it really always about the painting? To answer that question review the pieces shown earlier in this article. 


To get a sense of what other color options are available, click here.

To learn more about the vinyl album manufacturing process check out this video featuring one of the oldest companies in the business - United Record Pressing. Here’s a brief segment about them from VH1’s “For What It’s Worth” – segment starts at 8:30 min.



Etched Art and Your Album

Another fantastic way to elevate the music via packaging is to consider etched art in vinyl. Etched Vinyl is an image pressed into an unplayable side of your record which has a frosted appearance. The Etched side does not contain any grooves or music but adds a real touch of style to your music package. I don’t know if etched art can also be made in to a hologram, but that would be another dimension that would enhance the visual component of your music package. As you see below the artwork can be very elaborate with etched vinyl so you can also splurge with tremendous creativity in this direction with your album art. And yes, you can custom your LP’s so that you can manufacture a color vinyl album with a piece of etched art on one side.


To see more examples of etched album art, click here.

Art and LP Sizes

The last aspect I’d like to touch on is the size of the LP. Unlike the cassettes and CD’s, which both come in a single universal size determined by the media player, LP’s are played on phonographs or turntables whose arms can adjust to the size of different LP’s. In general, LP’s come in 3 sizes: 7”, 10”, and 12”. And because the album covers have to provide a sleeve for a large surface, they correspondingly must also be large. At a minimum the 12” LP will require an album cover that’s 1 square foot. That’s about 4 times the size of a standard CD and anywhere from 8 – 12 times the size of cassette tape. To give you another sense of this measurement, houses are measured in square or cubic feet.

If you think about it even further the size of the 12” LP is actually the size of a small painting, while the CD and cassette tape would be tiny and miniatures. The wonderful thing about album covers is that they too can vary in size depending on their design. Foldable or dual LP covers are also available which provide a much larger surface with which to more greatly present amazing album art work to dazzle customers. The dual LP album cover would give you exactly a 24” x 12” surface to work with.

For examples of how elaborate and spectacular vinyl album cover art can be click on amazing album art or great album art

[A Note on LP’s and Playing Speed: Interestingly, LP’s also play in different speeds: 33½ and 45 rpm’s (revolution per minute). I remember as a kid one of the fun parts to playing LP’s was in changing the speeds to incorrect settings for the album I was listening to. For example, if you speed up or slow down a record, the results are sometimes artistically quite startling (usually a good thing) or amusing (think Alvin and the Chipmunks or Freddie Kruger). Another possibility for manipulating the sound of the LP is in physically turning the album counter-clockwise on the turntable just for kicks. DJ quality turntables also have an additional feature known as pitch or speed control that allows them to control the music’s tempo and timbre, so as to match one piece of music with another piece for mixing. Some cassette players also have this feature, but its use was very limited and impractical.

The reason I wanted to remind you of this aspect to the LP is because this is another feature you can exploit in your music package. Requiring an owner of one of your unique music packages to change playing speeds for every other track on the LP might be really annoying or could be viewed by the buyer as an integral part of their listening experience. Currently, I have no clear ideas how playing speeds can be used to enhance the listening experience or music presentation, but I do think this feature can be part of the LP’s value (in price and desirability) to a music or art collector as well as another reason why they would want to acquire it as a tangible asset.] 

The Non-Vinyl LP and other Miscellaneous Considerations

Other more sophisticated forms of the approach I’m describing here for the LP would keep the concept of the LP at the center of the music package, while removing the vinyl as material. The reason why I’m thinking about dropping the vinyl out as a material base is because it is a cheap material substance. Ideally, the perfect substance for a fine art music LP would consist of a material that didn’t warp, couldn’t be shattered, that would prevent grooves from wearing out, and that would be scratch-proof. So that would mean you’d need to do your homework and find out what’s possible with all known exotic substances, metal alloys, industrial metals, specialized plastics, and non-scratch surfaces to achieve the perfect substance for a fine art music LP. Moreover, this substance would play CD quality sound on any or a special turntable with a uniquely designed needle made specifically for this material or album.

If a fine art music LP were to ever come into existence it would have to stand the test of time and survive usage, storage, and travel as it transfers custody from one owner to another over centuries. These are the main reasons why owners of fine art music LP’s will need to get insurance for the asset. A non-vinyl LP could also be manufactured to blow away the art collector, music enthusiast, and investor with something like an LP made of 24-karat gold or another precious metal. This one alteration could make such an LP worth a $1 million or more depending on the aggressiveness of the bidders. Overall you’ll have to do some research of your own to discover what your options are and can be in order to raise your LP into the class of an investment, a tangible asset (collectible), and fine art. In the absence of the existence of this perfect substance, we must aim for novelty to achieve appeal.

So let’s review some of the ideas we’ve covered. First of all, we discussed how important it is for an artist to have a signature sound because this is what art collectors will want to own since it represents the years of development the artist used to achieve their own personal style. Then we talked about the possibility of creating music galleries and how they would be useful for introducing new individual works or unique collections of music for art and music collectors. We also covered what I think is the most important aspect of this article, which is design and how to turn your music in fine art via packaging. This concept is based on the idea of making the music and the media one, so that you can maximize the visual impact your music package has on a potential buyer. Other suggestions I recommended included using colored vinyl, etched art, large LP sizes, and album art to further assist you in appealing to the curator and wealthy collectors.

Another aspect we should explore has to do with the exclusivity factor in regard to ownership of fine art. Not everyone can afford a Picasso, but those who can, generally, aren’t willing to share it with everyone because they want exclusive ownership over the Picasso, that’s part of the package of owning fine art. The way to provide exclusive ownership to interested parties is through contracts, so you’ll have to hire legal advice to shape the legal framework governing ownership of the album. You want your buyers to know that they can transfer ownership of the album to heirs or sell it to other private collectors as you can with any other tangible asset, but that they will also be responsible for the capital gains taxes on such a sale as well as the legal paper work. This is part of the process of owning fine art, which they’ve come to expect in their dealings with galleries and other collectors, so deal with them as a professional.

In addition, you’ll want to prevent your buyers from publicly broadcasting the music from your fine art LP. It’s ok if they talk about it and even play it for a small group of people, but what they can’t do is make copies or profit from your recordings. The beauty of a limit supply and contracts is that together they will help you to track all of the owners over your lifetime. If one of them can be found to be responsible for leaking the material out into public, you’ll have a lawsuit on your hands which you should easily win. But if a leak was to happen, the value (price) of the LP might drop precipitously and demand could even dry up completely. So do your due diligence and find good legal counsel.

Similarly, the law of supply and demand must also be part of the equation for pricing your music as fine art. Basically, the law of supply and demand works like this: the greater the supply, the lower the demand and the lower the supply, the greater the demand. In other words, the more of something there is, the less it’s worth and the less of something there is, the more it’s worth. The law doesn’t always work out this perfectly, but as a general rule it works. The problem with this law is that it only slightly takes into account mass psychology and the way demand is created, which is by advertising, marketing, and PR (public relations). Without these 3 factors working in your favor, there will be little or no demand for your fine art music LP, no matter how small your supply is. It’s only when these 3 factors are working in your favor and demand is fairly high that the price of your limited edition fine art music LP can skyrocket. So be thorough with your advertising, marketing, and PR and make sure the demand is there among your target audience prior to pressing your LP so that you can be certain your album sells out.
  
A Digital Point of View

Some of the ideas I’ve presented here so far can be applied to music in digital formats as well. For example, a limited edition, gorgeously designed iPod or alterative mP3 player with your fine art music LP built into its locked memory is one approach. Even a really cool thumb drive could work. You just plug it in and enjoy exclusive access to an album only a select few have in their possession. The number one problem with a digital format is that it’s too easy to copy files from one device to another, which is why a locked or unhackable memory is crucial. Without the locked memory, the exclusivity factor cannot exist and undermines the creation of a fine art music digital device.

Here’s one example of an mP3 player that has the potential to impress an art or music collector. As long as this player was manufactured using some or all of the principles in this article, then a fine art digital album locked in its memory can sold for a hefty price.  



And for the extreme high-end buyers here’s a likely candidate for an mP3 player that would act as a vehicle to house a very limited edition fine art digital album. This iPod is made from 22k gold and it features an Apple logo made of diamonds, it estimate price is roughly $120,000. 


These are by no means all of the ways in which these ideas can be applied to your situation or in these formats, but whatever you choose to do you’ll need to formulate the right balance of factors that make sales happen. Many of you may be stunned by the extent of initial investment capital you may require to elevate your music into a fine art collectible, which is why you may need to amplify your people skills and look into taking courses in sales training. Several of the approaches I mentioned may require you to raise capital from a bank, institution such as a private equity firm, or venture capitalists to get you started, otherwise you’ll need to get access to credit at low interest rates. This will give you more time to implement your program and generate your first wave of sales.

If your business plan for turning your music into fine art is solid and your sales presentation is thorough, then the money will find you as more investors see profit in the opportunity. Additionally, wealthy patrons may see your work as an important contribution to art history or your art may really resonate with them to such a great degree that they may just give you money to finish your project. In either case, be business-like, get all of your agreements in writing and have them reviewed by a competent legal representative expert at intellectual property issues and financial transactions in particular.

4) Put your music to auction.

Part of the reason why the paintings in the beginning of this article sold for so much money is because competing bids pushed the price upward. After you’ve designed an amazing fine art music LP using some or all of the ideas I’ve presented here, you’ll need to decide how to auction your product. Many options are available but probably the most well-known is eBay. It would be very easy for you to set up a simple website where you talk about your album on video, in a music blog, on the radio, in interviews, on music or artists-oriented podcasts, and your own articles, so that you can send all the traffic to your eBay page where all your selling are copies of your limited edition fine art music LP. The simplicity of this plan is that you, along with eBay as your broker, control the entire process. The idea here is as with most auctions and that’s to watch the bidders compete with one another as everyone watches the price get higher and higher.

The Radiohead Experiment: Name Your Price

The band Radiohead did something like this but differently. Instead of auctioning a one of a kind or limited edition exclusive digital album, they allowed their fans to pay what they wanted for their new release at the time. The experiment brought in mixed results but overall was a success for the band members who made more money personally than on any previous album. However, it’s been reported that 38% of buyers spent an average of $6, while the other 62% downloaded the album without paying anything at all - $0. Globally, the average price paid was around $2.26 and $3.23 in the U.S. Of those who did pay something, 17% paid below $4, but 12% paid between $8 and $12.

NIN and a Tiered Approach

Likewise, tiered fine art music packages whose prices range from a few dollars up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars are another way to entice collectors to buy music as fine art. Here’s how Nine Inch Nail’s Trent Reznor made a bundle with his “Ghosts I – IV” album release. In total 5 tiers are available.

The first tier offers a free download of the first 9 tracks from the album.

The 2nd tier offers a $5 digital download with a 40 page PDF.

The 3rd tier offers a 2 CD’s with a 16 page booklet for $10.

The 4th tier is a $75 deluxe edition which includes 2 audio CD’s, a data DVD with all 36 tracks in multi-track format, a 48 page book of photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan, a 40 page PDF book, and an accompanying slideshow on a Blu-Ray disc.

And on the 5th tier you get pretty much everything else on the lower tiers except you also get a 3rd book with art prints of imagery from Ghosts I – IV and each limited edition copy is numbered and personally signed by Trent Reznor. This limited edition was restricted to 2500 copies with a limit of one per customer for a grand total of $300.  The $300 tier was known as the Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition Package and is currently sold out.

The financials on the 5th tier can be calculated really quickly and I’d like to do that with you right now. Since we don’t know how many of the other packages were sold we cannot come up with a good estimate for Reznor’s income on them. However, with the Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition Package, we know there were only 2500 copies and that each sold for $300. So, 2500 x 300 = $750,000. Imagine what prices could have been reached if Reznor had allowed the buyers to bid on the Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition Package. He could have started the bidding at or just below $300 and watched the prices go up from there. I think he still would’ve sold every copy and his income might well have been closer to $1 million. In a bidding environment, a $400 average price per package would have been needed to reach the $1 million target. Let’s not forget though his $750,000 income on this album package excluded his income from tiers 2 – 4, which certainly brought his total revenues further passed $1 million than anyone realizes.

To learn more about how NIN structured their website to facilitate their sales, click here.

So with all of this information now at your disposal I think it’s possible for every composer and musician to rethink their approach to selling music on- and off-line to maximize profits. All of the ideas in this article can only work though if the artist follows them as specified. So let me leave you with a brief summary of the key concepts we’ve covered throughout.

1)   Strive to make unique music or music collections. Possessing a signature sound is a prerequisite for turning your music into fine art. In the art world, this will be known as your sonic fingerprint. It will signify a distinct style found in all of your music and unique only to you.

2)  Create a music gallery. Come up with your own ideas for how to present your new compositions at a music showing. It should look and feel much like an art exhibit, but be adapted for music. My suggestions included setting up private listening stations for individual art collectors or small rooms for a limited listening audience and auctions to occur.

3)  Turn your music into a tangible asset. The primary difference we’ve identified between a painting and music is that the painting elevates the canvas and paint into art, whereas music can never elevate a cassette tape or CD into art. Another key difference is that a painting elevates and transforms its medium, while music is almost always is simply transported by its medium. Consider the vinyl LP as an ideal vehicle for music as fine art.

4)  Even though we’ll sacrifice the best in sound quality, nearly all of the characteristics and features specific to the vinyl LP make it the ideal vehicle for music as fine art. Remember, we’re not trying to be practical we’re talking about art and novelty not sound quality. For example, colored vinyl (solid color, mixtures of color or split color), etched art, large album art, and the manipulation of playing speeds are all qualities that contribute to the LP’s specialized nature. Even the possibilities of manufacturing LP’s made of precious metals, exotic materials such as industrial metal alloys, high-grade plastics, and non-scratch surfaces can exponentially increase the fine art LP’s value.

5)  Figure out ways to adapt these ideas to music in digital formats. This may require you to research technology companies that may be willing to design a limited edition mP3 player or a really cool thumb drive just for your music in a win-win partnership for massive profits. Just be careful to do your due diligence and protect your fine art music with legal contracts and unhackable technologies to prevent pirating. So be sure to have legal counsel on your team and get familiar with tech companies or services that can help you stop illegal filing sharing. This is extremely important in cases where frauds of fine art pieces destroy the price and demand for the work in question. Above all, exclusivity is part of the package of fine art ownership, so be sure you can guarantee this for your buyers.

6)  Lastly, use an auction system to create massive profits. Keep the law of supply and demand in mind when building your music into a tangible asset and don’t forget the vital role advertising, marketing, and PR play in creating demand. There’s no purpose in creating a supply of anything for which there is no demand.

______________________________________


Related Music:

Ceremony

Geoforms

Take Me Higher


______________________________________


Related Articles:

A Living Album: Why Stereo Thesis Albums Grow and Change Over Time

_______________________________________


P.S. To support Stereo Thesis with a financial donation, click here.


Marc





No comments:

Post a Comment