 |
|
  |
| Ingrid Michaelson on Grey's Anatomy : Wall Street Journal article |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Singers Bypass Labels For Prime-Time Exposure
By JOHN JURGENSEN
Wall Street Journal - May 17, 2007
Tonight, some 20 million or more viewers are expected to watch the season finale of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" to find out whether Cristina and Burke's wedding will take place. They'll also hear the premiere of a song that will serve as the soundtrack of the episode's climactic final five minutes. That high-profile tune will be performed by an artist who doesn't have a contract with a record label.
The singer is Ingrid Michaelson, a 26-year-old Staten Island native who lives at home with her parents and has become the chanteuse of "Grey's Anatomy." She was discovered on MySpace by a management company that specializes in finding little-known acts and placing their works in soundtracks for TV shows, commercials, movies and videogames.
This unconventional model has worked well for Ms. Michaelson, who until recently was earning about $250 a week teaching theater to kids part-time but can now support herself with her music. Three of her songs have already been aired on this season's "Grey's" as the sonic backdrop for the drama's soapy tales of Seattle Grace Hospital. The exposure sent one of those songs to No. 13 on the iTunes pop music chart. Tonight's placement will likely widen her exposure.
Ms. Michaelson's musical path reflects a shifting entertainment-industry landscape, where heavyweight record labels are increasingly being sidelined in music deals. Managers and agents are turning to business models anchored in TV, and using the Internet to develop new ways of scouting talent.
For TV shows that make liberal use of music to ratchet up emotions, this approach is a way to get evocative soundtracks without paying top dollar for established artists. Breaking new indie artists is also seen as a way to bring some hipness to a show.
For the performers, it's a career jump-start that may help them bypass years of playing clubs to attract the attention of traditional music-industry scouts. And for the middlemen that are bringing the shows and artists together, the approach is evolving into a new and profitable path to musical success.
Ms. Michaelson's efforts to establish her music career began in 2005. That's when she set up her page on the MySpace site. The goal was to network with musicians and potential fans. Long before she landed a slot on "Grey's," friends and family told her that her breathy vocals and lush piano work would fit well on the show. Ms. Michaelson says she used to watch "Grey's" and "sing my songs over the dialogue."
In the fall of 2006, she came to the attention of Lynn Grossman, who founded Secret Road Music Services in March of 2006. Ms. Grossman, herself a TV music supervisor -- she helps select songs for the Fox drama "House" -- established the company to seek out fresh talent that would work for TV.
One of Ms. Grossman's consultants was assigned to be a "constant surfer," spending hours online each day checking out MySpace pages and other artist Web sites. She found Ms. Michaelson's page and liked what she heard. Before long, Ms. Michaelson was contacted by Secret Road via email. They told her she would "sound good on TV," Ms. Michaelson remembers. Her first song aired on "Grey's" in November, followed by another in January and a third last week.
Many shows will only pay unsigned artists about $1,000 for the use of their music on TV, while artists on major labels might garner more than $30,000. Since she has been signed to Secret Road, Ms. Michaelson has been paid up to $15,000 each time her music has been featured on a show or commercial, according to someone familiar with the deals. Secret Road says its cut of Ms. Michaelson's income is in keeping with industry standards of between 15% and 20%.
TV, of course, has become an increasingly powerful force for driving music sales. Apart from "American Idol" and "Saturday Night Live," possibly the most coveted TV slots for musicians are on "Grey's Anatomy," which has helped make songs like "How to Save a Life" by the Fray into top sellers on iTunes. A finale spot on "Grey's" is considered a particularly plum slot. Last year, the finale allowed Scottish band Snow Patrol to break through to a broad audience and played a role in making its featured song, "Chasing Cars," a hit.
Because Ms. Michaelson doesn't have a record-label contract, she stands to make substantially more from online sales of her music. For each 99-cent sale on iTunes, Ms. Michaelson grosses 63 cents, compared with perhaps 10 or 15 cents that typical major-label artists receives via their label. So far she has sold about 60,000 copies of her songs on iTunes and other digital stores. Ms. Michaelson is pouring most of her profits into pressing her own CDs and T-shirts, hiring a marketing company to produce promotional podcasts and setting up distribution for her CDS.
There are some drawbacks to Ms. Michaelson's approach. Because she doesn't have a record label or distributor, her two CDs, "Slow the Rain" and "Girls and Boys," which she put out herself in 2004 and 2006, aren't carried by many traditional music stores. "The fact that you can reach more people in a moving way as an unsigned, completely independent artist is a huge shift in how the business works," says Jordan Kurland, the manager for several bands, including Death Cab for Cutie, which signed to a major label after several independent-label releases and wide exposure on television shows like "The O.C."
But Mr. Kurland says that labels are much better equipped to capitalize on such exposure and that an unsigned artist risks losing momentum. "There's a lot more components to an artist's career than being featured prominently on a show, just as there's more to it than having one hit on the radio," he says.
Although she hopes to sign with a label eventually, Ms. Michaelson says she wants to build up her reputation and fan base. "I want to make my presence known before that happens, so I can have some clout," she says.
Unlike her other tunes on the program, Ms. Michaelson won't be able to sell her "Grey's" finale song immediately after the show airs. The song will appear on a soundtrack for the series that will be released in the fall. Viewers will be able to listen to, but not download, the song on her MySpace site after the show's conclusion tonight.
Ingrid Michaelson on CD Baby
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Great story, thanks for posting!
I re-posted some of the highlights and added comments on the Industry Message Forum at Just Plain Folks. Maybe we'll see some of you there. :)
Michael
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Congratulations Ingrid! Hard work and talent pays off - way to go : ) Best wishes for your future endeavors -
Michael
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
way to go, ingrid! bravo! may all of your musical fantasies come true! and may your story inspire others!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Congrats, Ingrid
This is so awesome
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
These are great times for the independent artist!
Congrats Ingrid and keep the momentum going strong! You have a fan here!
Jose'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh yeah, I read this in the Wall Street Journal, very interesting indeed!
I did find especially interesting the comments from the manager of Death Cab for Cutie. Strike while the iron's hot, as they say.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Great article. We are all inspired here at CDbaby. Go out and get 'em Tiger! You are great.
Kara
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looking forward to hearing it DownUnder ...
Cheers,
Hughie
|
|
|
|
|
