Stockholm-based music licensing platform Epidemic Sound has partnered with legendary British guitarist, songwriter, and producer Johnny Marr.
Beginning this quarter (Q1 2025), Marr will mentor three rising Epidemic Sound artists, offering steering on profession growth, “inventive progress”, and launch methods.
Based on Epidemic Sound, Marr, recognized for his guitar work in The Smiths, Modest Mouse, and The Cribs, quite a few collaborations, and a prolonged solo profession, will give attention to guiding these artists “to diversify their strategy, exploring alternatives in sync licensing, collaborations, social media, and business releases”.
Added the corporate: “His versatility as a guitarist, singer-songwriter, producer, and movie composer — via collaborations with Hans Zimmer for films resembling Inception and the James Bond movie No Time Die, together with the title monitor created with Billie Eilish — makes him a super mentor for Epidemic Sound artists navigating the advanced trendy music ecosystem.”
Based in 2009, Epidemic Sound supplies royalty-free music and sound results to content material creators and types via a subscription mannequin.
It counts over 50,000 tracks in its library, and claims that its music options in YouTube and TikTok movies with a complete of 2.5 billion day by day views.
The corporate mentioned that the partnership with Marr “comes at a vital time for the music business, with many artists going through challenges resembling a struggling grassroots reside scene and low remuneration”.
The corporate’s personal remuneration mannequin features a 50/50 streaming royalty break up, mounted charges per monitor, and a portion of a SEK 30 million (USD $2.7m) Soundtrack Bonus. You possibly can learn precisely how the corporate pays artists on this MBW Explains characteristic.
Johnny Marr is the newest artist to crew up with the platform, following Richie Hawtin’s partnership with the firm earlier this yr.
Epidemic Sound mentioned that every mentee was chosen for “how their distinctive expertise and objectives aligned with Marr’s experience”. The three Epidemic Sound artists chosen for this program embrace:
Rebecca Mardal, a guitarist primarily based in Sweden, who “started mastering her craft” at 11 years previous, and who Epidemic Sound mentioned, “has constructed a powerful profession with thousands and thousands of streams from each her solo tasks and collaborations”.
Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen, in the meantime, is a Swedish composer and multi-instrumentalist whose orchestral-cinematic works have been featured globally in commercials, TV reveals, documentaries, and trailers. Based on Epidemic Sound, his “ardour for each black steel and rock guitar showcases his versatile vary throughout moods”.
Marr’s third mentee, Kylie Dailey, is influenced by genres starting from American people music to African people melodies.
“Johnny Marr’s extraordinary profession and his means to repeatedly reinvent himself make him the proper mentor for our artists,” mentioned John Cleary, Epidemic Sound’s Director of International Music Recruitment.
“His insights shall be invaluable in serving to them develop the broad ability set wanted to thrive in as we speak’s music business. We’re thrilled to have him on board and might’t wait to see the impression of this collaboration for our artists.”
“In as we speak’s difficult music surroundings, it’s essential for artists to develop a various ability set and I’m excited to work with some gifted people to assist them navigate the business whereas staying true to their imaginative and prescient.”
Johnny Marr
In a press release issued with the press launch, Marr defined: “I’ve all the time been involved in new expertise and attempt to be of assist if I can with rising artists discovering their distinctive voice.”
He added: “Epidemic Sound is a brand new form of music firm with its progressive platform opening up methods for rising musicians to make a residing, whereas distributing their work at scale to as we speak’s on-line viewers of viewers, followers, and listeners.
“In as we speak’s difficult music surroundings, it’s essential for artists to develop a various ability set and I’m excited to work with some gifted people to assist them navigate the business whereas staying true to their imaginative and prescient.”
MBW caught up with Johnny Marr this week to search out out extra about his partnership with Epidemic Sound. He famous in our interview that the “digital revolution” has considerably impacted artist growth over the previous 35 years.
Marr additionally mirrored on the evolution of the file business, contrasting his early profession with as we speak’s panorama, and mentioned that he appeared ahead to studying from the musicians via this partnership.
You possibly can learn an abridged model of our dialog in full under:
Why did you wish to work with Epidemic Sound?
Epidemic reached out to me about 18 months in the past and invited me to get entangled. It appeared to me to be initially a cross between idealism and realism. I simply went on an intuition that they appeared to have a imaginative and prescient that was, on the coronary heart of it, a profit to musicians.
I used to be intrigued, actually, is the reply. I appreciated what I heard in our early discussions. It gave the impression to be, and is the case, that it’s actually centered round principally [emrging] musicians. In order that was interesting to me.
“Within the trendy [music industry], there are such a lot of challenges for bands, new writers, new singers, composers.”
Within the trendy [music industry], there are such a lot of challenges for bands, new writers, new singers, composers – and for all types of causes. Quite a bit [of it has] to do with economics, so much to do with enterprise, and lots to do with the digital revolution and being heard via the noise. I do perceive and have seen, in my very own expertise, the knock-on results of all of those challenges.
Is there sufficient artist growth within the file business globally, and the way completely different is the present panorama, by way of growth, in comparison with what it was whenever you had been beginning out? had been you given ample alternative, and had been your friends given ample alternative to develop?
Tradition is enjoying catch-up with the digital revolution of the final 35 years. There’s little question about that. We live via evolutionary instances of large significance. There’s little question about that both.
In centuries to come back, we are going to look again on this era we’re residing in now as simply as vital because the Industrial Revolution or lots of the different large evolutionary adjustments in human historical past. Now, 35 years into [internet] tradition, it optimistically, it’s solely within the very early levels.
Nonetheless, to reply your query, as you fairly rightly put it, one of many many aspects that we now have to meet up with is [artist] growth.
So the reply to that [question], is, no, I don’t assume that artist growth is as in control because it must be. Should you ask most musicians underneath the age of 35, they’ll inform you a similar.
However I have a look at it with a little bit of positivity. I’m hoping it’s only a matter of enjoying catch up, however [that we] catch up quick. I can’t fake to know all of the solutions or all the opposite layers of complexity of those points, however I’ve seen quite a lot of it firsthand with youthful musicians who I’ve been round.
Both in my hometown or engaged on films, working in studios, or with bands which have been opening for me, or [bands] I’ve bought to see in grassroots venues, which is one thing I’ve continued to do since I’ve been an expert musician.
What function do grassroots venues play in artist growth?
I’ve had associates who run small venues. The Evening & Day Café on Oldham Avenue in Manchester is one in every of them. Over the past 30 years, it has been very important in artist growth, giving artists an area — actually a stage — and an viewers.
And it’s a two-way factor, this matter [of artist development] that we’re discussing, as a result of we’re all music followers. In addition to these points affecting musicians, which is hopefully the place I could be of some assist, it additionally impacts music followers.
There’s an excessive amount of wrestle, and you may break down these causes to economics, social media, or as I mentioned earlier, simply the quantity of noise [to cut through]. However take the economics, for instance. It’s one thing so simple as, how younger musicians get their tools to a venue. How do musicians get from A to B? How do musicians get transport? How do musicians pay for gas? How do venue house owners pay the payments?
All of it impacts the musicians and music followers. Now, everyone knows for positive that folks don’t thoughts paying musicians as a result of arenas are full all all over the world each week.
Why are grassroots venues struggling to pay the electrical energy payments? It’s a matter of realization and altering the mannequin. These are issues I’m intuitively conscious of and have some expertise of firsthand due to the younger musicians that I’ve encountered.
And I come from a music city, Manchester, which historically, for the reason that post-war [period], has been a hotbed of musicians, whether or not that’s the Buzzcocks Pleasure Division, New Order, the Smiths to Oasis, Stone Roses, B.C. Camplight, The Orielles..
“In my very own case, it took me a number of years of what appeared like an interminable time earlier than I bought heard and had my first success.”
To reply your [earlier] query, the panorama and the tradition are, certainly, very completely different from once I was developing. It’s by no means been a shoe-in that [just because] you’re a musician with a expertise or one thing that folks wish to hear [your music ]and that you just robotically achieve success.
In my very own case, it took me a number of years of what appeared like an interminable time earlier than I bought heard and had my first success. I attempted to be heard, knocking on doorways, discovering studio time, musicians, rehearsal rooms, and all that. So I’m no stranger to that, and it’s all the time been the identical, however sadly, it appears to me to be much more troublesome now.
ED SHEERAN GAVE A SPEECH A few weeks in the past on the Music Enterprise UK Awards in London, and mentioned that each one ‘the legacy artists we all know as we speak and love as we speak had been developed over time and allowed to discover and fail and construct and experiment…’
I believe Ed is totally proper there. It’s not all about economics although. Most musicians beginning out now, merely wish to be heard.
It’s a really altruistic and idealistic impulse. They need their concepts to be shared and, no less than, appreciated, recognized, and heard.
That’s tremendously essential. Communication is a human want, notably for inventive individuals. And folks wish to hear what different musicians have gotten to say.
Hopefully with Epidemic, we are able to take the primary steps to a extra profitable mannequin for musicians in these instances and assist them understand their objectives ultimately.
You’ve been doing this for a very long time, and also you’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work from a inventive and business standpoint. With that each one in thoughts, and with the proliferation of other platforms for the distribution of music and remuneration, what are your short-term and long-term predictions for the normal file business?
I noticed fairly early in my skilled profession, after I’d signed to Tough Commerce Data that it wasn’t totally the norm to be on a 50/50 break up.
I’ve all the time realized how grateful I’m for that. Now, that’s no good should you get 50% of nothing, in case your music is so willfully uncommercial, which is the artist’s prerogative, that it doesn’t make something.
However should you do make some form of cash, I believe you possibly can’t actually [get] a lot better than a 50/50 break up with a companion.
I’m speaking about Manufacturing unit Data, Tough Commerce Data, and a number of the different indies again within the day.
And that’s what Epidemic are proposing for his or her royalty break up. I haven’t heard that for the reason that early eighties. In order that gave me an excellent feeling about this mission, however it’s actually early doorways.
However should you ask me what I might mission, on the danger of sounding actually cliche, it’s the phrase: necessity is the mom of invention. Youthful musicians have been compelled to adapt for too lengthy due to the way in which economics work. However platforms are going to have to fulfill the musicians‘ wants so as to compete.
A technique or one other, the tradition of striving musicians who actually [bend] over backward so as to adapt has to come back to an finish. I do know it sounds somewhat naive, however that’s what my hopes are, that even when it’s nothing to do with altruism and the goodness of enterprise individuals’s intentions, that simply the aggressive market implies that presumably the fairest [platforms] would be the one which musicians go to.Music Enterprise Worldwide
