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An Interview with MECA Conference speaker Eric Beall, Vice President of Creative of Sony/ATV Music
By Anne Freeman,

Two issues have increasingly come front-and-centre in the debate over the future of the music industry: How do we make money in this new music industry, and perhaps more importantly, how do we find and nurture the new talent that will drive tomorrow's revenues. Sony/ATV Music's VP of Creative Eric Beall will tackle the issues head-on as a featured speaker on both Publishing Income (There's Gold In Them Thar Non- Mechanicals) and Artist Development (Where's The Love For Tomorrow's Stars?) panels at the upcoming Musician's Education and Career Advancement (MECA) Conference & Festival to be held May 12-15 in Chicago, Illinois.

Beall is well-qualified to speak on music publishing and artist development topics: as Vice President of Creative for Sony/ATV Music in New York, Beall oversees a staff of leading writers and producers such as Billy Mann, Steve Diamond, Teron Beal, Walter Afanasieff, John Mayer, and many others. Prior to joining Sony, he was the Creative Director for Zomba Music Publishing, where he signed and developed top writers like KNS Productions and Riprock & Alex G., and he has coordinated and directed Zomba writers in the development of material for Jive Records pop superstars like Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, and Aaron Carter.

Beall is also the author of "Making Music Make Money: An Insider's Guide To Becoming Your Own Music Publisher," due out in November on Berklee Press, the publishing arm of the prestigious Berklee College Of Music. "Making Music Make Money" is intended to educate songwriters, as well as aspiring music business entrepreneurs, in the basics of becoming an effective independent music publisher. Topics include a discussion of the various roles a publisher plays in the music business: collection, administration, protection, exploitation and evaluation. An emphasis is placed on the exploitation process, and the importance of creating a sound business model for a new publishing venture.

Before joining the publishing ranks, Beall was a songwriter and producer, penning the pop hits "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix" for Joey Lawrence (Top 10 Billboard Hot 100) and "Carry On" by Martha Wash (#1 Billboard Dance Chart) as well as songs for Diana Ross, The Jacksons, Safire, Samantha Fox, Brenda K. Starr, and many others. He also co- founded Class-X Recordings, an independent dance label in New York.

More on MECA Music Conference & Festival
* Date: May 12-15, 2004
* Location: Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
* Website: www.mecaconference.com
* Register: Saturday Pass
* Register: Full Conference
* Sponsorship/Advertising
* Contact: Kathy Morrissey
kathy@themorrisseygroup.biz
847-927-5307
* Publicist: Traci Failla (t.failla@comcast.net)

[The Aspiring Songwriter] Thank you, Eric, for agreeing to be interviewed by MusicDish about some of the things that you will be talking about at the MECA Music Conference & Festival. Among the topics you and others music industry professionals will be discussing at the conference is the fact that many songwriters and artists are trying to break into the music business as independent publishers because staff writing deals are scarce. With the contraction of the major label/publishing industry, do you see a viable place for independent publishers/songwriters, or will this kind of income stream be limited to signed acts and producers affiliated with major labels or large publishers?

Eric Beall I really believe that this is an ideal time for small and midsize independent publishers. With so much attention being paid to the woes of the record labels, many people have missed the fact that the publishing business is actually growing. While it's true that mechanical income is down, the income from syncs and other licenses, like ringtones and karaoke, have more than made up for decreasing record sales. At the same time, many of the major publishing companies have been forced into severe cost cutting, largely because of difficulties in their affiliated record companies and the pressure of corporate mergers and acquisitions. So the business is getting bigger, and the big companies are getting smaller. That means there's opportunity out there for someone.

[The Aspiring Songwriter] For those who are serious about taking the independent route to break into the publishing industry, what kinds of steps would independent publishers have to take, or what action would their catalogues have to have to be viewed as serious by those already in the industry?

Eric Beall There are two obvious things that always help an independent publisher to be taken seriously. The first thing is diversification in the writer roster. I don't mean stylistically-- in that respect, it's actually more effective to keep your business focused on one specific genre in which you can bring some real expertise. But I do think that a company appears a bit more legit by representing more than one writer. It's okay to represent your own work (as a songwriter), but it helps if there are a few other writers you represent as well.

The second thing that always helps is "hits." It doesn't really matter how many songs you have in your catalogue-- what really counts are the "hits." Most of a publishing company's income is generated by "hit" songs-- they get on the radio, they get in movies, people sing to them at karaoke bars. You need songs that are radio-oriented-- uptempo, mass appeal songs with big choruses.

I recently wrote a book called "Making Music Make Money" (Berklee Press)-- the point of the book is to encourage songwriters to become active as their own publishers. In the book, I stress the importance of focusing on one particular genre, organizing your catalogue so that you can respond to requests quickly and efficiently, and building relationships. If a small publisher does those three things, they'll be taken seriously by anyone. They'll also be several steps ahead of the vast majority of music publishers, large and small.

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