Learn our final A-Z music glossary for unbiased artists in 2023.

A&R

A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire, it’s the division at a report label or music writer chargeable for discovering new expertise and signing them to the corporate. A&R additionally works to information the artist’s profession as soon as they’re signed.

Aggregators

A digital aggregator (or digital distributor) is an organization that helps to distribute your music to streaming platforms like YouTube and YouTube Music.

AAC

AAC is a music file format. It’s Apple’s different to MP3 and stands for ‘Superior Audio Coding’, Used for Apple Music streaming.

AIM

AIM is the not-for-profit commerce physique completely representing the UK’s unbiased music sector, which makes up round 1 / 4 of the recorded music market.

A-B Testing

Also called cut up testing, refers to an experimentation course of the place two or extra variations of a variable eg advert inventive or viewers are run on the similar time to find out which model performs finest.

Acquisition

Analysis exhibits the easiest way for a model or band to develop is by specializing in acquisition over retention. It’s simpler to get new individuals to hear as soon as than current listeners to hear twice. So whilst you shouldn’t ignore retaining followers, your focus ought to be on broad-reaching acquisition.

Blanket License

A blanket settlement is a typical music rights licence which the BBC and different broadcasters have in place which permits them to make use of any music from their music catalogues, in trade for an annual price. They’re much less time-consuming than buying the licence for each music they want to use individually.

Blogs

A weblog is a usually up to date web site or internet web page. The first worth of a music weblog is credible, third-party endorsement. A very good weblog like this one, ought to present up in Google when individuals seek for your band or artist title. 

Weblog Aggregator

Weblog aggregators enable musicians to submit their music as soon as in trade for the chance to select up assist from a number of blogs or music promoters. See our very personal Proper Chord Music’s Indie Collective, Musosoup or Submit Hub.

BPM

BPM stands for beats per minute. The BPM of a chunk of music can be known as the tempo. A chunk of music’s tempo can differ from extraordinarily gradual (20 bpm) to very quick (200+ bpm).

Huge Three

The music trade’s three greatest report labels: Sony Music Leisure, Common Music Group and Warner Music Group.

Breakables

Whenever you play a gig drummers may share the bones of a equipment, however they’ll not often share the entire equipment. Breakables are the dear components of a drum equipment together with the snare, cymbals, and kick pedal, for instance, that every drummer brings themselves.

Copyright

Copyright is a authorized proper by which creators declare possession of their authentic materials. There isn’t a official technique to copyright work within the UK. You’ll be able to mail (put up or electronic mail) or save a replica of the work in any method that may assist to ascertain when it was created with a time stamp. Because the proprietor you’ve the only real authority to: copy the music, situation, lend or hire copies to the general public carry out, present or play the music in public or talk the music to the general public (i.e. broadcasting it by way of TV, radio, web and so on.)

Consistency

Model consistency is ensuring that your picture, model and messaging is constant throughout all channels. This makes it simpler for followers, blogs and music trade individuals to confidently know they’ve discovered the fitting artist after they search.

Cowl Variations

A canopy music appeals to our minds on a primary psychological stage. “Our brains like each the acquainted and the novel.” (Jason King) Cowl variations present a confirmed technique to assist artists develop their fanbase by leveraging the prevailing fairness of a well known and beloved music.

Conversion Adverts

A conversion happens when an advert click on leads on to a behaviour that’s priceless to you, equivalent to a stream, buy or mailing listing sign-up. You’ll be able to set them up on the Meta Advert Supervisor to trace conversions on a touchdown web page set as much as promote your newest launch. Learn extra.

Customized Viewers

A Customized Viewers is an advert concentrating on possibility in Meta that permits you to discover and retarget audiences which have beforehand engaged together with your content material. You’ll be able to construct customized audiences from sources together with Video viewers, Web page followers, web site guests, or advert interactions.

DSP

Stands for Digital Service Supplier a DSP is a streaming platform like Spotify or a web-based service that distributes digital audio to customers.

Disney

Musicians can study lots from Disney. Disney understands {that a} good story is all the time a great story. Additionally they perceive that after they’ve a great story, they’ve countless new audiences for that story. Disney ensures every new era is uncovered to the story within the newest consumption format. How are you going to be extra like Disney? Learn extra

Door Deal Break up

A door-split deal is a monetary association between a venue and the performer, through which the musician doesn’t receives a commission a set price to carry out, however receives a share of the revenue generated from ticket gross sales.

Demo

A demo is a primary recording designed to showcase the standard and magnificence of a musician’s work. Demos are sometimes despatched to A&R representatives, reserving brokers or administration firms who is perhaps keen on working with the artist.

Dolby Atmos

Dolby Atmos removes the bounds of inventive expression for artists to create a spatial sound expertise that places you within the centre of your leisure.

EPK

Brief for “digital press equipment,” an EPK is a digital promotional package deal of belongings that an artist can ship to journalists, radio DJs, report labels, and reserving brokers. The EPK ought to present a abstract of the artist’s profession and newest work. The belongings sometimes embody a biography, promotional pictures, present singles and movies, social media hyperlinks, and highlights of the artist’s streaming, gross sales, and radio statistics. If you need one designed get in contact!

Eyes Earlier than Ears

When creating social content material keep in mind that on most social platforms (excluding TikTok) content material is consumed with the pontificate because the default. Meaning you must interact the eyes with a view to interact the ears. In case your content material appears to be like boring, no one will click on to hear.

Engagement

Engagement can take many types, however not all engagement is similar, so all the time consider it as a spectrum and concentrate on driving the very best types of engagement EG Shopping for, listening, and becoming a member of the mailing listing fairly than the bottom: A like or 5-second view. Learn extra

Match For Format

When creating social media content material guarantee it’s appropriately formatted to suit the complete display, it’s far more impactful. Keep away from widescreen YouTube movies in vertical Tales or Reels.

Followers

They’re greater than listeners. Followers take heed to every part, they purchase your merch, be part of your mailing listing, come to your exhibits and inform their mates about you. Take time to get to know them and do every part you’ll be able to to get extra followers at each flip.

Pretend It To Make It

‘Pretend it to make it’ means to consciously domesticate an perspective, feeling, or notion of competence or success that you simply don’t presently have by pretending you do till it turns into true. For those who look and sound skilled, individuals will imagine you’re. Learn extra

FLAC

FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) information are one other instance of lossless audio, however there’s restricted assist for them. You’ll be able to play an MP3, AAC, or WAV file on nearly any system, however not FLACs.

Pretend Followers

Keep away from the temptation to spice up your social media follower base by shopping for followers. It’s counter-intuitive, faux followers or bots received’t interact, and it prevents you from creating significant lookalike audiences as the bottom viewers is faux.

Style

Genres are a easy, if considerably lazy approach to categorise your music. In actuality, most individuals select music to soundtrack a temper or second. For instance, you may by no means select to take heed to Nation music, however you may get pleasure from love songs which occur to be Nation in model. Contemplate this when writing your subsequent press launch.

Development

How are you aware if you’re rising for those who don’t observe development? Report benchmarks earlier than the discharge of each single to know the influence on Followers, Engagement, Listeners and Followers. Set targets and perceive what success appears to be like like.

Assist Musicians

Assist Musicians is a charity for skilled musicians of all genres, each in work and in retirement. They assist at instances of disaster, but in addition at instances of alternative, giving individuals the assist they want on the essential phases that would make or break their profession. They love music and need a world the place musicians thrive.

Hashtag

A hashtag refers back to the hashtag image (#) used earlier than a related key phrase. Hashtags present a approach to hyperlink your content material to a wider dialog or theme. 99% of the worth of hashtags comes from linking to an current dialog. Creating your individual hashtag is barely efficient if a lot of different individuals use it.

Hello-Hat

In a drum equipment, a Hello-Hat is the double cymbal on a stand, normally positioned subsequent to the snare, which will be performed with a foot pedal and/or by the highest cymbal being hit with a stick.

Revenue

A latest examine of unbiased artists carried out by Main Labl, found solely 18% of musicians are assured they receives a commission what’s owed to them. To resolve this situation, they’re launching a brand new service. You will be the primary to strive it by registering right here.

Revenue Per Stream

Spotify pays artists between $0.003 – $0.005 per stream on common. That works out as an approx income cut up of 70/30. 70% to the artist/rights holders and 30% to Spotify. If you wish to calculate your approximate earnings from Spotify streams make use of our free calculator Proper Chord Music.

ISRC

An ISRC (Worldwide Commonplace Recording Code) is a string of 12 distinctive alphanumeric characters that’s used to establish any sound recording or music video. ISRCs are like ISBNs for books. ISRCs make recordings routinely identifiable, which helps be sure that royalties are correctly distributed.

Jack Your Physique

Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley hit the UK primary in 1987 with the observe ‘Jack Your Physique’ and helped launch dance music within the UK. It arrived with no promotion, a video reduce from black-and-white movies and barely any lyrics. 1987’s dance hits additionally included Pump UpThe Quantity by M/A/R/S Frankie Knuckles’s Your Love and Coldcut’s Say Children What Time is It.

Jokes

Q: What do name a guitar participant and not using a girlfriend? A: Homeless.

Q: What do you name a drummer in a three-piece swimsuit? A: The defendant.

Key Man Clause

A clause inside a contract that names a person, the place the contract relies upon upon the named particular person remaining of their position. For instance, you’ll be able to’t think about Radiohead with out Thom Yorke.

KPI

KPI stands for Key Efficiency Indicator. At the beginning of yearly or earlier than a brand new launch, it’s best to set some to assist decide whether or not your targets have been reached. KPIs may embody month-to-month listeners, follower development, press protection, or the variety of headline exhibits you carry out this yr.

Latency

The time delay skilled between a sound or management sign being generated and it being auditioned or taking impact, measured in seconds.

Load In / Load Out

Whenever you play reside the Load in time is when you could get your devices and kit from the van into the venue and on stage. Load-out is the precise reverse.

Layering

Layering is a manufacturing method which refers back to the mixing of comparable, a number of musical components or vocals without delay, typically mixed on one channel or assigned to 1 controller. The purpose is to create a fuller, richer sound than the vocal/instrument by itself.

Music Advertising

If music promotion is the output, music advertising is the enter, it’s the thought and plan behind the motion. The what, the why and the the place. Music advertising considers the larger image and one of the best resolution fairly than racing to the quickest or least expensive resolution. Music advertising is about constructing a plan for achievement not simply anticipating it. Learn extra

Metadata

Metadata is the information about your audio information, which is embedded in them. It consists of, amongst different issues, artist title, music title, album title, yr of launch, songwriter credit, and style. With out correct and full metadata, your information aren’t searchable, received’t show appropriately, and royalty distribution can’t occur.

Supervisor

The ‘Supervisor’ is the enterprise supervisor for a band. Their obligations differ vastly from one supervisor to the following. Usually, band managers are paid within the area of 15%–25% of complete earnings. It’s arduous to draw a supervisor as an unbiased artist as a result of 15% of nothing doesn’t pay the payments! Main Labl provides a pay-as-you-go resolution for unbiased artists who need assistance and assist. Uncover extra.

Significant Distinction

Analysis from the model advertising world carried out by Kantar highlights the significance of 1) significant and a couple of) distinction. For those who can construct a enterprise that mixes these two behaviours it’s confirmed that you simply develop at a sooner price. Suppose AirB&B. Contemplate how as a musician you’ll be able to stand out by being each significant and totally different.

Marquee

Spotify Marquee is Spotify’s personal in-platform promoting and advice service. It allows musicians to activate their fanbase by recommending new releases to their present and former listeners. To make use of the platform musicians must have a minimal of 5,000 streams within the final 28 days and have greater than 1,000 followers, so sadly it’s not for everybody.

NFT

NFT is a (Non-fungible Token) Okay consider this analogy… As a child I collected soccer stickers, think about in the event that they solely printed one Lionel Messi sticker and also you owned it, had proof you owned it and there was no method you can lose it. That’s principally the precept behind an NFT. An NFT is also a singular piece of artwork, music, video, invite to an unique occasion and even an merchandise of clothes. Uncover extra

Harry Coronary heart bought the tracks from his newest album Cambistry as NTS earlier than releasing it on Spotify.

Natural

Natural attain is the quantity of people that have seen your social media put up by way of unpaid distribution. We advocate you all the time begin by posting content material organically to check which content material resonates probably the most together with your viewers. Paid promotion can be utilized to spice up content material that’s confirmed to have interaction. Uncover extra

One Sheet

One Sheets are utilized by Report Labels, Distributors, and Impartial Artists as PR summaries to promote a brand new launch. As their title suggests they need to be one web page lengthy. They usually embody: Brief Bio, Press Images, Upcoming Launch Particulars, Tour/Exhibits and key promoting factors or achievements.

PRS for Music

PRS for Music pay royalties to their members when their music is: broadcast on TV or radio, carried out or performed in public, whether or not reside or by way of a recording or streamed or downloaded. The MCPS have an settlement with the PRS, they pay royalties to their members when their music is: copied as bodily merchandise, equivalent to CDs and DVDs, streamed or downloaded or utilized in TV, movie or radio.

Playlist

There are three main kinds of playlists on Spotify: Spotify editorial playlists, Spotify algorithmic playlists, and listener playlists. The important thing algorithmic playlists are: are Uncover Weekly, Launch Radar, Each day Combine, Repeat or Rewind and Radio. You’ll be able to improve your possibilities of Spotify playlist assist by pitching new music to them, growing streams, followers and saves.

Push Advertising

Push advertising is because the title sounds about pushing content material at their viewers and hoping a few of it sticks. EG. ‘We now have one thing to let you know and you’ll hear’. The issue is 90% of the content material on social media has grow to be about passive push, and consequently, 99% of it turns into bland wallpaper that’s ignored or skipped. Your problem is to create content material that pulls individuals in Learn extra.

Pre-Save

The pre-save was designed as a approach to improve engagement with music forward of launch. Nevertheless, for unbiased artists, it not often works because the fan base is just too small to drive any pre-saves past the core followers that had been going to hear anyway. It’s typically more practical simply to ask individuals to hear and save on launch day. Learn extra.

Pay to Play

By no means pay to play. If a promoter asks you to pay your method onto a reside invoice in return for publicity don’t do it. It not often if ever pays again, know your price and make sure you all the time receives a commission to your artwork and your time!

PR

Public Relations is usually a key a part of the music advertising effort. However for unbiased artists, it’s not often definitely worth the outlay. Bear in mind anybody can set themselves up a PR, sending emails to a mailing listing will not be PR. A evaluation printed on a weblog that may’t be discovered on Google isn’t useful. Construct your individual relationships with blogs and do it your self. Learn extra.

Queen

Do you know… Brian Might’s father really made his guitar for him by hand. Affectionately often called “Pink Particular”, Might even helped work on the guitar himself. The wooden used to make it was over 200 years previous. They took the wooden from an vintage mantle.

Radio Pluggers

Daytime radio playlists are managed by main report labels. Your finest guess is a one-off spot play. Don’t waste your cash on radio pluggers. Begin with free performs by way of BBC Introducing and Wonderful Radio, construct relationships with native radio, scholar radio and Podcasters and construct buzz till the radio stations have to return to you. Learn extra.

Royalties

Every time somebody makes use of your mental property, they should pay for the fitting to take action and people funds are normally within the type of royalties. Be sure you are registered together with your native PRO to make sure you are receiving the royalties owed to you. See PRS for Music.

Rider

​​A rider is part of your contract that stipulates what extras the promoter should present. That is most frequently within the type of meals and drinks within the inexperienced room earlier than and after a reside present. Bear in mind: the rider comes out of your cash on the finish of the day.

Launch

The most important mistake made by unbiased artists is to spend months writing and recording their music after which releasing it, asserting the discharge with one social media put up and anticipating everybody to flock to hear. Main Labl have produced a free webinar to assist musicians plan to launch music extra successfully. Watch it right here

Save Fee

Don’t be obsessive about Spotify streams. Your save price (complete observe saves divided by complete observe listeners x 100) is a superb proxy for engagement and exhibits which of your tracks followers love and wish to hear once more. Use this knowledge to determine which observe to launch or promote. We sometimes see a lot increased save charges for tracks promoted with Meta promoting than utilizing playlist promo. Something above 10% is sweet, something above 20% is outstanding.

Story Telling

Bear in mind there isn’t a story in unknown band releases an unknown music’. Enhance your possibilities of press assist and a spotlight by creating an interesting story round your launch. Learn extra 

Stage Plot

A stage plot is a visible illustration of what your set-up appears to be like like. It signifies the place amps, drums, keys, microphones, DIs, and the rest you’ve obtained in your arsenal goes. It’s normally only a easy drawing of the place issues go on stage, most frequently a digital picture file, and is supplied to the venue’s stage supervisor so that they know how you can put together to your set.

Splits

Current analysis by Main Labl exhibits solely 18% of unbiased musicians are assured they receives a commission what’s owed to them. This miserable statistic is brought on by guide processes. In spite of everything, if you’re relying in your drummer to recollect your splits and acquire and distribute your cash, you is perhaps ready a very long time! Main Labl are constructing a brand new service with computerized splits, so that you all the time receives a commission. Enroll to be the primary to strive it.

Sync License

Music sync or publishing placement is when your music is utilized in TV adverts, programmes, movies, movies and video games it may be a priceless income stream for unbiased artists. 

Tech Spec

A venue or promoter is more likely to ask for a tech spec to allow them to arrange the stage correctly for a band and guarantee the entire bands’ technical wants will be met. Additionally see Stage Plot.

Tour Supervisor

Tour managers take cost of the main points of a tour, making a tour deliberate by a Reserving Agent, really occur.

Goal Viewers

At the beginning of your musical mission, your audience will likely be your family and friends however as you develop you’ll hopefully appeal to a wider viewers. Use stats supplied by social channels to know which audiences are partaking probably the most. Whenever you begin paid promotion begin with broad concentrating on to a large viewers and slowly slim down primarily based on who’s persistently partaking probably the most.

Speak Again

A microphone within the management room of a recording studio that’s carried on a separate circuit from the recorded channels, which permits the recording engineer to speak with the musicians within the reside room or sound cubicles by way of the monitoring system.

UPC

A Common Product Code is critical to establish your product inside a digital or bodily retailer. Much like an ISRC, it’s a 12-14 digit alphanumeric code; Nevertheless, UPCs denote the album stage and never the music stage of your product.

USP

USP sounds for ‘distinctive promoting level’ and it’s the profit or characteristic that makes you stand out out of your rivals. The USP should spotlight the advantages in a method that’s significant to its audience. See Significant Distinction.

Vinyl

Vinyl recorded a fifteenth yr of development in 2022 and overtook CD by way of income for the primary time in 35 years. In response to ERA, 2022 vinyl album gross sales income grew 11% to £150.5m, whereas CD album gross sales fell 17.4% to £124m – the primary time vinyl outsold CD by worth since 1987. That improve is basically because of the format’s growing costs – £30 is now frequent for an LP. Uncover a intelligent approach to promote vinyl.

Vibrato

A easy and repeated altering of the pitch up and down from the common musical pitch, typically achieved by singers or carried out by string and wind gamers.

Viral

When a chunk of social media content material which has been shared organically (with out paid promotion) shortly reaches an viewers bigger than your regular following or benchmarks by receiving an uncommon quantity of shares and engagement.

Wah-Wah

A wah-wah pedal, or just wah pedal, is a kind of electrical guitar results pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar sign to create a particular sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic title “wah-wah”.

Waveform

A visible illustration or graphic of a sound wave, audio sign or different kinds of wave, displaying the wave’s oscillations above and under the zero line.

WAV File

A format for storing uncompressed audio information.

XY Miking

A microphone placement method through which two cardioid microphones are positioned with their heads towards one another at a 90-degree angle, and as shut collectively as potential. Stereo miking strategies can be utilized to create the notion of width, area, and site.

A microphone placement method through which two cardioid microphones are positioned with their heads towards one another at a 90-degree angle, and as shut collectively as potential. Stereo miking strategies can be utilized to create the notion of width, area, and site.

Xylophone

A percussion instrument arrange within the type of a keyboard whose bars are manufactured from wooden and performed utilizing mallets.

YouTube

Launched in 2005, YouTube is the largest video-sharing platform and the second-biggest social media platform on the planet, with over 2.68 billion customers. Regardless of the dimensions, it stays arduous for unbiased artists to monetise their channels. To qualify for monetisation an artist wants 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours (inside 12 months). 

Zither

A musical instrument composed of strings mounted upon a resonating body, strings will be plucked with fingers or struck utilizing small mallets.

Phrases Mark Knight