The modern era music entrepreneur will most certainly have a great deal to contend with as they attempt to monetize their business efforts in the age of web 2.0. There are more resources available via online platforms than any other time in the history of the music business, and knowing where to invest your time and resources is becoming as essential as knowing how to get the right sound out of the board. The ability to connect with potential fans, consumers and business contacts from various countries via the net combined with the breaks that usually favor the efficient, and the courage to stand firmly behind your product will, undoubtedly, be considered the new "a,b,c's" of success in the music biz.
PMP Worldwide took the opportunity to talk to Natalie Vandersluis, the CEO of Tryxo Entertainment L.L.C.(USA) and Tryxo Entertainment GmbH (Germany) that intends to bring the worldwide music landscape into reach for those entrepreneurs savvy enough to navigate the online wilderness in the "age of independence" through its online music store http://www.tryxo.com.
What is the story behind Tryxo?
We have worked in the entertainment industry for several years, doing events in Germany and the USA, working with independent record labels and doing business management for independent artists. Since we started working in this industry, it has been our intention to bridge the gap between continents for independent music. When we worked with artists from the U.S., we were confident that many of them would sell really well in Europe and Asia and vice versa. Yet we felt there wasn't a single established webstore which would provide independent artists everything that we envisioned. So we decided to create Tryxo.
What are some of the ways that tryxo.com will benefit independent music companies, bands and individual artists?
The major benefit is that we pay the artists 75% per song sold from the first song on. It is our philosophy that it costs money, takes time and inspiration as well as talent to make music. The independent artists should have an outlet to sell their work. We will continuously strive to find ways for the artists to earn more money while we improve the site features and services.
We will start with Tryxo standard functionalities like current click and sales statistics per song. The sales statistics allow the artists to see how much money they have earned or to use it for contract negotiations. The clicks vs. sales statistics can also give the artists a quality control of their own music and indicate trends.
To ensure a streamlined process of signing up - no matter where the artists are from - and to still guarantee legal protection for the artists works, we have created an online Licensing Contract-signing procedure.
Last but not least, we have international presence from the beginning. Unlike other companies that start in one country or continent we already have presence on two continents and intend to utilize this to the fullest.
Is there a pricing system that tryxo.com mandates or is that left up to the individual user to determine?
Currently the price is fixed at US$0.59 of which the artists will receive 75% per song sold. We considered leaving the pricing up to the artists, but decided that we wanted to start with a very competitive price, that will allow us to still pay out the artists a decent amount per song sold. This also makes it easier for the buyers to understand how much they have to pay for a song - which ensures that there will not be any confusion on that end.
Can you go into how your Quality Control system works in regards to music that will be made available for sale to the public?
One person will check the song to verify that the MP3 has at least 128kb, then 3 people will listen to the song and rate it based on Quality, Ability to sell and Uniqueness and assign 1 point per approved criteria. The song needs to score a minimum 7 points out of the 9 possible to be Pre-Approved and to enable the artist to then sign the non-exclusive Licensing Contract online.
The main focus is to have the best independent artists around the world sell their music on Tryxo and have a top notch roster of artist in the webstore that will drive buyers to return to check out what is the latest at Tryxo.
What genres of music should a user expect to find on tryxo.com?
We accept all kinds of music genres on http://www.tryxo.com - anything from HipHop to Rock, Jazz to Pop or RnB and even Spoken Word. Part of our team works with Urban Artists while others provide knowledge in areas like Rock, Alternative and House.
What are some of the reasons for making tryxo.com exclusive to the independent music industry?
We feel that it is important that there is a worldwide outlet that provides as many services to the independent music industry as possible. There are many great artists signed to Major Labels, but these artists already have online stores, get radio play and tour worldwide. Why not provide the same for the independent music industry?
What are some of the ways tryxo.com plans on attracting potential music buyers?
The main selling points is the very competitive price compared to the major websites and retail outlets. At the same time, the quality of the music is very high. Tryxo will use a cutting edge Marketing Campaign which will launch in the U.S. and Europe
Customer relations will be a focal point. We will continuously improve the customers experience and add new features to Tryxo, so end-users continue to return to check out the latest releases and ultimately to purchase music from these great independent artists.
There are already several independent based online retail destinations. Can you discuss some of the advantages of selling your music on tryxo.com?
First and foremost http://www.tryxo.com is set up as a store. It is easy for the buyers to find their way to the product they are looking for and have a pleasurable shopping experience.
The process of signing up and uploading songs is simple and fast (based on your Internet connection) and we provide a simple online contract signing procedure which allows us to work with artists from all over the world.
We do quality control and although anyone can sign up - for free - not all the songs will be released for sale, so that buyers will not be flooded with a lot of music - quality not quantity is the key. This gives the artists the opportunity to shine.
Once their songs are released artists and bands can always see how many times the songs have sold and how much they are due to receive, so they have full awareness of their financial situation with Tryxo.
And last but not least, we mentioned before that we start with international presence and intend to bridge the gap between the different independent music segments worldwide - with sales.
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