EXCLUSIVE RECORD SCHEMES (Royal Platinum, Rhythm Exclusive, Sting Ambassador) (CL204 May 2011)
Jeff Garbutt, Western Australia

We now have three record producers using some form a "Limited membership exclusive use of new music" arrangements for their labels from Royal (Royal Platinum), Sting (Sting Ambassador) and Rhythm (Rhythm Exclusive) records. They are each based upon a similar structure and they were created for a similar purpose. For those who don't completely understand why and how here is a brief breakdown:

BASIC PROGRAM STRUCTURE:

1. Limited to a set number of members each year, (usually 200)
2. The label guarantees to release a set number of new music tracks, (usually 12), to only the signed up membership.
3. The producers have the ability to restrict membership in geographic areas to reduce saturation of their product in one area.
4. Members are supplied a list of planned music for the year.
5. The members then have exclusive use to the music.
6. Members will also be given free copies of "unplanned" extra tunes beyond the original planned list of tunes.
7. Square dance label producers will pursue anyone outside of the membership list using the music for copyright action.
8. After a fixed period, (generally a year, but could be two), the tunes are sold through normal distributors.
9. As an alternative to the last point above, the producer can elect to never release the tune to anyone outside the membership list for the year it was originally released. (So far none have, but it was mentioned in the early thinking of one of the schemes).

WHY DO THESE SCHEMES EXIST?

Simple really, reduced sales, If they could be guaranteed the sales they used to get years ago - they probably wouldn't need these schemes. Reduced sales of existing tunes mean reduced capital to fund the set up cost of any new tune. So they can't afford to produce new tunes. One way to secure funding for the set up costs is to ask for "shareholders" who are willing to "fund the release of a new tune", (offer venture capital). Now "shareholders" normally get dividends from their investments at the end of the year. But I don't imagine that the producers make big profits that will allow them to pay back dividends in real money so they find another way. So they give shareholders exclusive use of the new tune for a set period.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO LABELS?

The obvious benefit is to secure funding up front to release a year of new tunes. But there are others.
* The caller members will use the new tunes and become "advertising agents" for the label.
* If the tune becomes popular it will increase interest in the tune. More callers will want a copy, but that creates "scarcity" in the market.
* Production costs of each new tune is funded up front.
"Scarcity" in a market place tends to drive up the price that a customer is willing to pay. So when the tune is finally released after the exclusive period it may generate more profitable sales.

By restricting membership in geographic areas there is a chance that the tune will become known in more places. With "advertising agents" spread in many areas, the tune will be danced in more areas. (The product is more widely known).

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO RECORD BUYERS?

Two main benefits to the members of the scheme:
* Direct purchase from record label, reducing purchase cost.
* Early access to a tune before it becomes popular to the wider square dance world.

Benefits to non-members:
* New and good quality music is still being produced, though you will have to wait.
* Because "exclusive members" have been using it, you would have had more chance to listen to an even danced to these tunes, thereby making a more informed decision when it does become available.

Benefits to the square dance community:
If enforced, a crackdown on piracy by the record labels. This means that:
* More records are sold rather than copied,
* Which means that producers have enough profit to re-invest in new tunes,
* This means that we have more variety of music to choose from.

WHAT ABOUT THE RECORD DEALERS?

So far, the record dealers seem to be the losers in these schemes. But if they are smart they might also benefit because:
* "Exclusive members" have been using the tunes and, the record should be well known and hopefully create a waiting list of potential buyers.
* If the reduction on piracy happens, there should be more copies sold through legitimate means (dealers).

HOW TO DECIDE IF IT IS GOOD FOR YOU?

Remember that, you don't actually have to choose any of the schemes if you are willing to wait for the exclusive period to finish. So far none of the labels has chosen to invoke the idea of "never releasing tunes to non-members".

I guess you need to ask yourself questions such as:
1. Do I actually like the music from that label?
2. How often have I previously brought new tunes from that label as they were released? (In other words: what is the frequency of new purchases a year that I have had in the past?)
3. Would it have been advantageous (cost saving) to me if the scheme was active in past years?
4. Going on their past form, am I likely to want the new tunes they release this year?
5. Are they ever going to release these tunes outside of the exclusive period? If so how long would I need to wait?
6. Do I really need these tunes before anyone else? Or can I wait until they are out of the exclusive period?

I would then suggest that you create a matrix, give each question a ranking and add up your total score. This is an example, not a real selection of choices:

 

 Question                                       Label 1                                        Label 2                                           Label 3

 

1 - Do I like label                          Yes (all releases)                        Yes (most Releases)                     Yes (but not all releases)

2 - Record of past purchases     Yes - 95%                                    Yes - 80%                                       Low - 20%

3 - Would I have purchased

      If scheme existed in past      Yes                                               Yes                                                 No

4 - Form guide of label                Excellent                                     Good                                              Fair

5 - Will tunes be released

      afterwards anyway                No                                                Yes                                                 Yes

6 - Do I need it when released    Can't wait                                    Can wait                                        Can wait

 

      DECISION                                 Yes                                              Can wait                                        Can wait

 

It then becomes a personal choice based on your finances, but in the example above this mythical person would probably chose to go for "Label 1", would probably suggest "Label 2" to anyone asking "what to buy them for their birthday", and probably not worry about "Label 3" until releases are in the wider market. (By the way, my birthday wish list includes a subscription to the Royal Records scheme.)

Of course none of these schemes would be needed in the first place if sales weren't so low compared to historical sales. So if you object, you only need to reverse the trend of falling record sales, and this could be achieved by doing two things:
* Reducing piracy that cuts into record sales.
* Increasing dancer numbers, which puts more demand on caller numbers, which puts more demand on diversity of record availability.
Simple really!