LOS ANGELES (www.gmanmusic.com) - There is nothing like going straight to the source to get your facts, and for their presentation on Indie Distribution, the
National Association of Record
Industry Professionals (NARIP) did just that. The event was led by Clay Pasternack, co-executive director of AFIM (Association for Independent Music) and president of his own consulting firm.
He knows his stuff, and he wasn't afraid to share it.
In his 35 years in the business, Pasternack has held jobs in every aspect of distribution, from one-stops to rack jobbers to radio to record labels. Now heading Clay Pasternack Inc., he is providing consulting to a wide variety of indie labels.
More importantly, he is proving on a daily basis that hard work, attention to detail, and business savvy can lead to solutions in independent record distribution.
The fact-packed 4-hour workshop was notable for sticking to the outline and avoiding all extraneous data. Pasternack never once regaled us with stories of his career -- instead, he spoke about the state of the indie distribution biz as it related to everyone in the hall, be they label exec, manager, attorney, publisher, or artist.
His opening comment revealed his attitude toward the event as well as indicating his wry approach: "As we go along, feel free to ask questions. I'm not a politician -- I will actually give you the answer."
Some highlights of the event:
* What percentage of the business belongs to independent distribution?
"Indies have about 15% of the market right now. Traditionally, the majors have 75-90% of the business."
* Can a new artist or small label compete nationally?
"Sure, but remember, records break locally first. Establish a foothold in one market and build from there. Only if you're dealing with a major act like
Madonna can you look at breaking nationally. Most independent distributors are national, but you might have to concentrate your marketing locally first."
* How should you approach a distributor?
"Do your research to find out who to contact at each organization. A lot of it is available online. Benchmark your product with similar artists or genres and get in touch with the distributors that make sense for you. You don't want your product to be Latin music while you're approaching a country label or a new age distributor."
* What should go into a package sent to a distributor?
"The CD with artwork, artist picture, bio, any tour info for the artist, list of airplay, all relevant web sites and online sales outlets, your business card, and a one-sheet."
* What should you ask of a distributor?
"You might ask them about their reserve -- the percentage of sales they hold back against the possibility that retail may return unsold merchandise. And you can find out if there's a charge for including your artist's album one-sheet in the book of releases they send to their buyers."
* Is it a problem collecting from some distributors?
"It can be difficult if you only have one product. A distributor is much more likely to pay you for current releases if they know they're going to want other releases from you in the future."
* Does this make dealing with a distributor easier for a label than a single artist?
"Yes."
It is difficult to convey the good humor that infused many of his replies. The answer above may seem terse, but as with much of any conversation with Pasternack, it was good-natured, factual, and refreshingly to-the-point.
The course handouts alone were worth the price of admission (they included a list of the top 31 indie distributors, the personnel and company structure of a typical distributor, a sample 6-page distribution agreement, 3 sample one-sheets, a distribution price grid and release schedules, and a 16-page glossary of terms relating to distribution, retail, manufacturing, marketing, radio, print media, and finance).
NOTE: Clay Pasternack returns to Los Angeles for another NARIP presentation on November 13. See
www.narip.com for details.
Some sites to check out:
https://www.afim.org https://www.livewireent.biz/pasternack.html https://www.muze.com https://www.lamn.com https://www.narip.com The G-Man is on Delvian Records and at
https://www.gmanmusic.com 
