FIERCELY INDEPENDENT

At the indieFINANCIALnetwork™, we root hard for the independent music community. We are fiercely independent too. We respect you. We understand you. We support you. We know you are the future. For over fifteen years, we have experience in all aspects of the music industry; there isn’t a hat in here we haven’t worn. The iFn is a full-service business management company, dedicated exclusively to providing global financial services and networking to the diverse needs of the independent music community. Core to the iFn concept is the idea of providing an “off-premises Chief Financial Officer™” (CFO) whose diverse knowledge and wealth of experience can be successfully utilized by the smaller company; a company who otherwise may not be able to afford a full-time CFO.

 

BUILDING YOUR MUSICAL EMPIRE

Let’s face it, in this new musical frontier, it is all about building your musical and financial empire. The iFn can take care of everything financial for you. We will run your back office in order to free you for the more critical areas of your business. The iFn allows you and your artists to spend your precious time writing, rehearsing, recording, touring, marketing, promoting, coercing, convincing, conniving, begging, pleading, scheming, mobilizing and basically plotting your massive takeover of the modern world. At the end of the day, you need every ounce of energy, savvy and skill you can muster in order to tap into that precious crystal-clear vision you have so precisely cultivated for all those years. So why get bogged down in the complex day-to-day financial details that you may or may not have a true talent or an aptitude for?  Quite simply: Focus on what you have always dreamed of doing, do it incredibly well, and leave the back office details to the iFn! Hiring us to handle your back office more efficiently will end up saving you time and money. The iFn has the ability and experience to seamlessly handle all of the increasingly complex financial aspects and transactions of YOUR music company.

 

THE NEW FRONTIER

The recent upheaval in the music industry has spawned a new frontier. Music distribution and delivery systems are changing DAILY in the global music industry. it is a full time job keeping up with those changes. Major labels are frozen and broken. Their bloated and archaic business model, which has always been questionable, is teetering on the verge of a full collapse. If not for the ownership of their music catalogs, they wouldn't stand a chance. As in any broken business, opportunities abound. The major label system wasn't developed for the modern era. It was developed for that old school mentality, where inventory and sales figures could be manipulated via questionable accounting practices. It was devised for an era where paying off radio was standard operating procedure. It was developed to feed a brick and mortar retail system which is shrinking every day and finds major chain stores like Tower Records closing their doors in bankruptcy. It was developed for the old-school bean-counters and lawyers who took over from the REAL music people; slowly but surely the statesmen died and the politicians took over. The bottom line gradually became more important than supporting and developing exceptional talent. In fact, artist development has completely disappeared as the bottom liners are taking less shots, but risking considerably more money per shot. They simply haven't been able to figure out how to spend less and still break bands within the confines of the major label system. The majors have always controlled distribution in the stores and on radio. Now, a significant laundry list of new platforms are emerging, and much to their chagrin, the majors can't hold any power over them. They can no longer cheat their way through and pay people off. They can't throw their weight around the way they used to. Distribution has always ruled and they have put their eggs in one big brick and mortar basket. There is no turning back. Who knows, maybe we can finally get back to the day when radio airplay is based on the combination of fabulous music and the phones lighting up. It will certainly take time for the indies to get a firm grip on terrestrial radio, but the importance of that format shrinks daily. More than at any time in recent memory, indie labels are poised to compete. They now have access to all the same marketing, promotion and publicity tools as the majors. If an indie label has a product that rings true, and they strategize properly with respect to their marketing plan, they can succeed BIG in the new frontier. It is fascinating and sometimes sad to watch the slow and agonizing death of the major labels. It is difficult to observe how each sector of the music world, from record stores, to recording studios, to the touring business; relates, reacts and adapts or folds in the wake of these profound changes. When Arctic Monkey were showcasing and putting together their music delivery business recently, they insisted to the venue owners in the UK that NO major label reps would be placed on their guest list, nor would they be allowed in the building! It is now an indie world and it is going to remain so for years to come. The playing field has changed and it is getting more and more level each and every day. it puts us in unfamiliar territory. Part of this new frontier is finding the right strategic partners; companies that share your dreams, visions, goals and values. It will be about how and where to maximize your funds over the life of a record; after all, we all want to maximize the return on our music business investments.

 

THE BRAVE NEW ARTIST WORLD

In this brave new artist world, it is all about true musical artistry, content ownership, digital aggregation and strategic partners. Royalties are nowhere to be found and instead “revenue sharing” is the new financial buzzword. In this global internet-driven world, it is not so much about “music distribution” as “music delivery” and those delivery systems are evolving and becoming more diverse and complex every day. With fewer CD's to press and ship, accounting is suddenly a different task. On the surface it would seem like it should be easier, but have you ever tried to reconcile and account to your revenue partners based on statements from several different download houses? Hundreds of transactions, complex royalty splits and non-standardized reporting can be a recipe for disaster. Download sales revenue is projected to be in excess of $2.5 BILLION dollars by the end of the year from services such as Itunes, Rhapsody and eMusic, to name a few. There are dozens of providers selling downloads online, and a new download company seems to emerge every week. To complicate matters, some fees are subscription-based and others are on a per-download basis. Having the ability to consolidate, interpret and pass along this diverse data from all of the download services has become a daunting task, no matter how many titles you currently have in your catalog. Digital download accounting is like the wild, wild west. There is no file format or reporting standard for aggregating, monitoring and managing the preparation of statements for all of your revenue partners. Any label with true long-range plans needs to address this potential accounting nightmare NOW in order to maximize their future revenue opportunities worldwide. You can't afford not to be "buttoned-up" in this area or you will get bogged down in time-consuming audits and distracting discontent with your download partners. It’s an exciting time but it can also be confusing and intimidating. Surprisingly affordable, the IFN gives you the opportunity to hire your own CFO to grant YOUR back office the competitive edge. Why should anyone have an advantage over you and all of your hard work?

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