Our friends at Long & McQuade provided a series of seminars in the month of March for their Long & McQuade University event. The fifteen different presentations took place at L & M stores in the Greater Toronto area and featured something for everyone in the business of making music in Canada.

On Monday, March 10, Bob Roper presented an in-depth lecture entitled "The Business of Music." In this issue, and the next 7 of the GW Review, we will present some of the insights shared by Roper.

Introduction to The Business of Music

According to Bob Roper, who has spent the majority of his life succeeding in the Canadian music industry, the business of music combines art AND commerce. In order to be successful, musicians need to focus on what they do (writing songs, performing, making music, etc.) AND "take care of business." After all, it's great to be a musician, but if you want to make music your full-time job, you have to treat it like the business it is.

This requires combining technology (gear, recording equipment, sound equipment, software, etc.), demographics (knowing your audience) and, most importantly, economics (making and managing your money).

The bad news is that the pre-recorded music industry is in trouble. There's been a 30% drop in revenue over the last 16 months. Roper suggests that this is possibly a result of sites like Napster providing free access to music over the Internet. There are over 1.8 million free pre-recorded music downloads on the world wide web.

The good news is that Canadian recording artists are #1 in the world in 9 genres. The majority of these success stories are female solo artists. Roper lists such examples as; Shania Twain, Dianna Krall, Alanis Morrissette, Lorenna McKennet, Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion and Nickleback (notably, the latter is not a female solo act).

The latest Billboard Top 50 has 9 Canadian artists represented on the charts. There are 5 major record labels in Canada, or, with a significant presence in Canada (meaning they may be based out of the U.S., or elsewhere). There are also a variety of Independent labels. However, according to Roper, most have limited ability to distribute and are "tied by the bootstraps by the major labels." An example of an exception is Sonic Onion who manages to distribute quite well in the GTA. Outside of Toronto is another story...

Another advantage Canadian recording acts have is CANCON (Canadian Content). It is mandated that at least 30% of all music played commercially in Canada is produced by a Canadian in some context, either; the artist/performer is Canadian, or the writer is Canadian, or the recording was created in Canada, etc.

As mentioned earlier, many of Canada's current success stories are "solo artists," but what is a "solo artist" anyway? Roper states that most major "signed" solo artists have a team composed of approximately 250 to 300 employees getting the job done. When you're starting out, most don't have the luxury of having such an elaborate team at their disposal. So, for the most part, new artists need to do all the work themselves.

Roper suggests that a good place to start is with NETWORKING. The most important part of networking in the business is "whom you know and, more notably, who knows YOU."

During your journey of self-promotion, there are several Gatekeepers that are key players in your successful music career. They include A & R Reps, Publishers, Managers, Booking Agents and Media.

In the forth-coming issues of the GW Review, we will examine Bob Roper's recommendations for becoming your own Key-master in the Canadian music industry.

Bob Roper is the President of The Bob Roper Company and is currently managing Larry Gowan, Rick Emmet and Glass Tiger to name a few. Bob also lectures at The Harris Institute and was formerly the A & R rep for Sony Music Canada. Bob has an extensive history of success in the Canadian music industry, too notable to do justice in this short profile.