Share the post "Online Music Service BAMM.TV Offers New Way to Monetize Music Video Content"
Have you heard of BAMM.TV? Here’s how they describe themselves:
“BAMM.tv is a new kind of music company that connects emerging artists, entertainment service providers and audiences worldwide. Through an extensive global content distribution network, the company delivers fresh music video content from hot new artists to the web, mobile devices and television. BAMM.tv gives device makers and service providers a highly differentiated music offering without the hassle and high cost of traditional music licensing, while giving artists absolutely free HD music video content creation, an instant global audience, and 50 percent of the net profits from the music video distribution agreements.” (BAMM.TV website FAQ)
I’m going to keep my eye on these guys as I move forward in exploration of how it is that the music industry is going to find its way again. I like this idea, and I think it has the potential to really work, but I’m a little skeptical about what kind of revenue could really be generated from this, and if this way of distributing music could really be sustainable long term. After all, there’s a reason why MTV doesn’t play videos anymore… I think. According to BAMM.TV no online music service offers HD video and they believe that music services alone will not be able to compete with their “frictionless global distribution network”. We shall see.
BAMM.TV creates HD video content via emerging artists with no cost to said artists, and they offer these artists a 50/50 on all revenue generated from said video content. “The artist also retains all of the copyrights, publishing, and all composition royalties associated with the underlying work. BAMM.tv simply gets a license to specific performances.” (BAMM.TV website FAQ)
The way it works:
BAMM.TV editorial staff seeks out emerging artists to work with; artists are invited to participate in a 5-10 song live, free video shoot. The shoot takes place in either their San Francisco studio, or select festivals and venues around the world. The video team takes care of all editing and video production. Then BAMM.TV delivers the content to a worldwide distribution network. They maintain distribution agreements in over 150 countries that eliminate the need for traditional licensing agreements with their partners. And, they offer the same deal to artists’ labels that they do to artists… BAMM.TV only holds licenses to the performances they capture and produce.
Hmm… so, will labels be able to restrict which material artists can perform in these videos? This question isn’t answered by their FAQ page, and I don’t remember what the prevailing law is in this area. I’m hoping somebody out there can address this for me in response to this post. Hint, Hint…
The reason this just might work is because licensing gets “hairy” for online music services; labels typically restrict which markets streaming music services can enter. BAMM.TV is creating a fully restriction free catalog of music for global distribution. Whatever this means… I know I said this already, but the best part is that it costs artists nothing.
On the surface BAMM.TV is impressive. It seems like they’ve got all their ducks in a row, and they’re poised for something big. But, it looks like they’re creating sort of a modern version of a record label without all the trimmings. I don’t mean to sound cynical, because I’m not, but my attitude, though positive, is stuck in “wait and see” mode.
I would love to hear from any of you who have a better understanding of how contracts typically work with a record label, or from those of you who might have an opinion about this. Please feel free to comment below.
Hi Christian,
Many thanks for writing about BAMM.tv! I just wanted to offer some quick responses to the questions you raised to help take the conversation further.
“I’m a little skeptical about what kind of revenue could really be generated from this, and if this way of distributing music could really be sustainable long term. After all, there’s a reason why MTV doesn’t play videos anymore.”
As a startup, there is always uncertainty to deal with. But BAMM.tv has one big advantage over other content distribution networks, and that is that we do not need major label licenses in order to legally distribute and monetize music content to a global audience. When Pandora filed their IPO paperwork, we learned that they pay anywhere from 50-70% of revenues to the labels on an ongoing basis. They are a great company–we’re big fans of the product and people who work there–but major label licensing fees and jurisdictional restrictions are a weight that the company will always have to carry.
“Will labels be able to restrict which material artists can perform in these videos? This question isn’t answered by their FAQ page, and I don’t remember what the prevailing law is in this area. I’m hoping somebody out there can address this for me in response to this post. Hint, Hint…”
BAMM.tv does not touch the copyright or publishing rights of the songs in our library. We simply get a license to distribute the content. In the event that a label wants to buy back the content, we agree to a third party appraisal of the value that serves as the basis for the transaction, after which the artist and label are released from their agreement with BAMM.tv.
I hope this helps to clarify the business model a little. Thanks again for your post, and the thoughtful consideration you’ve given to the future of the music industry. I will be sure to add the labels question to our FAQ.
All the best,
Chris Hansen
Co-Founder and CEO of BAMM.tv
Chris – thanks for the clarity. I probably halfway answered my own questions in the above post. I really like what BAMM.TV is trying to do, and I’d love to continue the conversation with you as well. You’ve obviously got something unique going that could be one small piece of the overall answer; I’m pumped to see what happens with it.
Hello Christian,
as I’m working at a music licensing startup I need to confirm that the music industry hasn’t found alternative business models yet. BAMM.TV could be a good option and it has the power to become sustainable within the next years as long you can hold your USP and seperate from competitors.
There is definately a demand for new business models and I think BAMM could solve the problem of the old music industry.
Anyways good luck for the future!
Kind regards
Amanda