Tom Silverman conducted research to determine how many new artists are breaking into the music industry each year. He defined "breaking" as selling over 10,000 albums in the year of release. In 2008, out of over 105,000 album releases, only 12 artists sold over 10,000 albums for the first time that year. The vast majority of breaking artists were signed to major labels or significant independent labels. Silverman concluded that technology has made it harder, not easier, for great new music to rise to popularity due to a lack of mass exposure, which requires money or luck.

1. State of the Music Industry Part 3
Posted By Musician Coaching on January 20th, 2010 shareshare
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I wasn�t really expecting a part three to this article but it seems there was quite a bit of
excitement about the statistics that Tom Silverman had mentioned in the first part of this
interview. Tom was kind enough to add more information.
I will add only this � that of all of the people I know who did really well for themselves in the old
world of music- Tom Silverman is one of the only executives I have met who actually really
cares about the future of the music business unrelated to getting a paycheck. Thanks again for
this Tom.
Please check out the New Music Seminar in Los Angeles on February 1st and 2nd. Readers of
MusicianCoaching.com can get a two for one discount by going to www.newmusicseminar.biz.
and entering the code �nmsla2�.
Tom Silverman:
In preparing for the February 2nd Los Angeles New Music Seminar, I wanted to learn more
about how many new artists are breaking each year. After all, the New Music Seminar is
dedicated to helping more new artists break.
First we had to determine the definition of breaking. At the New Music Seminar we identify the
obscurity line arbitrarily as 10,000 albums sold in the year of release. That is not a hard
number, nor is it the only meter of success. 300 hard ticket sales for a headliner in multiple
cities might be another definition. 25,000 paid single downloads might be another. I�m sure
there are many more but 10,000 albums doesn�t sound as elusive as gold or platinum (those
archaic arbiters of success) or even 50,000 which only a decade ago might have been
considered below the obscurity threshold. Looking at the 1517 albums that were released in
2008 and sold more than 10,000 units in 2008 we find that only 225 of them were by artists that
had surpassed 10,000 for the first time in their career (either by themselves or with another
band).
The vast majority of these were released by significant indies (110) or majors (103). Last Friday,
I thought that only 14 of those were self released artists or artists on start up labels. Further
inspection disqualified two of them. One was a gospel record whose Bishop had exceeded
10,000 in the past under a slightly different name and the other was a Soundscan placeholder
for a title distributed by Anderson Wholesale, the distributor for Walmart, that showed the title
�TBD.� We had thought it was a Dutch electronic artist called Anderson but alas, nay.
Who were these valiant artists? A quick inspections indicated that beyond Bon Iver, the real
indie artist success story of 2008, there were three hip hop artists, one that had financing of $10
a unit in marketing spend to sell under 30,000 units, another associated with the big indie hip
hop powerhouse Tech N9ne and the last a gospel hip hop artist. The rest were largely
alternative rock artists, two had been contestants in America�s Got Talent or American Idol
and a few others were on small labels with big budgets.

2. What does this say about the Chris Anderson �Long Tail� promise? Clearly the ease of
making and distributing music does not benefit �breaking� music. Breaking music requires
mass exposure which requires luck or money or both. I can say with great authority that less
new music is breaking now in America than any other time in history. Technology has not
helped more great music rise to the top, it has inhibited it. I know this is a bold statement but it is
true.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to all of the technologists that participate in the New Music
Seminar is to correct that issue so that great music can rise to its true potential regardless of
politics, power or money. I believe that the next decade will bring improvement to the music web
that allow that to happen. In the meantime, artists can still make a very good living without
selling 10,000 albums by careful cultivation of their fan relationships. This is another theme of
the New Music Seminar�redefining the music business around the artist/fan relationship�how
to manage it�how to monetize it. Records are no longer currency in the next music
business�fans are.
Here�s the list of the 12 artists that sold over 10,000 albums in 2008 for the first time.
Remember these are 12 albums out of 105,575 new album releases that year.
BON IVER
Record Label: Jagjaguwar (US/CAN)
Album: For Emma Forever Ago 103,112
TMI BOYZ
Record Label: TMI Entertainment
Album: Grindin� For a Purpose 29,119
CAS HALEY
Record Label: CaptainHooks, also Big Karma Records, a �Texas start up label�
Album: Cas Haley 22,580
DUKE SPIRIT
Record Label: SHANGRILA
Album: Neptune 19,403
EYES SET TO KILL
Record Label: BreakSilence Recordings
Album: Reach 16,133
PROZAK
Record Label: Strange Music Inc./ DeadMan Productions Inc.
Album: Tales From the Sick 14,929
SLIGH*CHRIS
Record Label: Brash Music

3. Album: Running Back To You 14,785
REBEL SOULJAHZ
Record Label: GO Aloha Entertainment
Album: Nothing To Hide 14,262
BLIND PILOT
Record Label: Expunged Records,
Album: 3 Rounds & A Sound 11,281
MORNING BENDERS
Record Label: +1 Records Album: Talking Through Tin Cans 11,201
STS9
Record Label: 1320 Records
Album: PEACEBLASTER 10,601
TRIP LEE
Record Label: Reach Records
Album:20-20 10,003
Continue on to the 4th and final part of this series�