Spaghetti Music Publishing, MusicPro and BabbleGum now join with Music2Deal in providing more opportunities for Music Industry Specialists and Artists to expand nationally and globally. (Interview with new Australian / New Zealand Music2Deal Representative, Paul Iannuzzelli)
Paul, you are the exclusive representative of Music2Deal in Australia, anything you would like to share about this?
Music2Deal is a fantastic opportunity for individuals and business entities in the Australian and New Zealand Music Industry. Thank you Mario Christiani and Music2Deal for inviting me to be involved. It is also great to see a high quality platform enabling international expansion for those musically minded people ‘down under’. There is so much fantastic and fresh music coming out of Australia and New Zealand at the moment, I count it a privilege to be able to contribute to its worldwide success.
Tell us a little bit about your experience in the Music Industry.
I began my passion for sharing music when I became the main church organist at only eight years old. Music as a career path was kind of frowned upon back then, but I had good parents who encouraged me to chase my dreams, and I discovered there is a whole world of opportunity in the Music Industry. My ‘musical career’ journey then meant I learnt to play a number of other instruments, performed all over the world, picked up a couple of degrees from the Conservatorium, and fell in love with Songwriting and Music Production. Consequently, I established myself as a Music Producer and Songwriter in London for many years and founded Dante Rhymes – connecting Musicians to Music Industry and Educational specialists all over the world. When I returned to Australia, I was blown away by the musical talent (often hidden) just waiting to be heard. To help that process, I founded Spaghetti Music Publishing, MusicPro and BabbleGum.
Very Impressive, please tell us a bit about Spaghetti Music Publishing, MusicPro and BabbleGum.
Spaghetti Music Publishing (www.spaghettimusicpublishing.com) has two main aims – to export Australian/New Zealand music to International opportunities, and to import music as a means of injecting foreign market interest and financial activity in the local Music Industry. The main focus for our writers is pitching their music, with a strong emphasis on International Sync opportunities such as Film/Advert placements. MusicPro (www.musicpro.com.au) is a Music & Media production company, with fully equipped recording studio and video facilities. MusicPro aims to provide local artists with the facilities and skills needed for those wanting to achieve International quality at local prices. BabbleGum (www.babblegum.com) is a Digital Marketing company developed in response to the revolutionary changes in the Music Industry worldwide. The way music is consumed and distributed today is entirely different and there are so many more opportunities for musicians to rise to global influence. BabbleGum provides creative release strategies for musicians, providing high end Marketing Campaigns and Worldwide Distribution channels. It has since expanded to other industries, but its core intention still holds. As you can guess, they all work hand in hand. If you have great music recorded, Spaghetti Music Publishing can help you get it placed Internationally. If you want help in recording high quality exportable music or video, MusicPro can step in there. If you want your music to be heard and be successful on a global scale – then BabbleGum is the team to call.
Have there been any major “stumbling blocks” for you while growing in the competitive world of Entertainment?
Every stumbling block has ended up creating the learning experience I needed to step up another level. I don’t necessarily see competitors in the Australian/New Zealand Music Industry, we can all help each other – to me its a river not a pie. Sure, we all have unique strengths, and in that respect, we can all offer something that sets us apart. It still means we have to study each other’s strengths and understand our role in the market place, but its not a competition for me. If someone else is successful, I’m happy about that. If I’m as creative as I need to be, it won’t affect me negatively but will provide insight into how I can be successful with the unique qualities I have to offer.
What do you think is the single largest problem faced by the music industry today? How do you think it can be resolved?
Many are talking about the value gap, but I don’t see a ‘single’ problem. I read a Facebook post in Italian recently, which translated means “Negative people always find a problem for every solution”. It’s a matter of perspective. There are changes for sure, massive ones, and the largest being the way music is consumed and distributed. But they are all opportunities, and particularly for those in the Music Industry because it’s so full of super creative people. For example, sure, you can’t sell CD’s as easily through a local outlet store, but it just means you can now sell Digital CD’s online without having anywhere near the amount of manufacturing or distribution costs, and globally! Another one – sure, Generation Y (Echo Boomers and Millenniums) and the emerging Z almost expect music to be downloaded for free. That’s a perfect opportunity to develop inroads into streaming (less hard drive space than a download) and publishing royalties – not to mention the boom it has caused in Sync placements. The amount of Advertising spots needing music (and by the way, the trend is still toward songs rather than jingles – so more good news for bands and artists) has grown astronomically – thanks to the same ‘free’ platform which many were afraid would destroy them. Incidentally, global music revenues increased 3.2% as digital revenues overtook physical for the first time (IFPI Global Music Report 2016).
Big plans ahead for 2017?
We hope to see Music2Deal open many doors for the Australian/New Zealand Music Industry. A focus on expanding awareness for this great platform will be high on our agenda. For Spaghetti Music Publishing, we hope to expand with new writers and artists looking to release globally. We are also launching a new initiative for all of our catalogues, both international and local, to increase placements in the Australian/NZ Media sector. MusicPro is increasing its number of engineers to provide more specialist services and there is talk of another studio and a music school. BabbleGum is rapidly growing in other industries enabling it to subsidise its musical initiatives. It’s a busy time for them with with 3 EP launches coming up soon and all the associated Social Media and Press Release campaigns, not to mention the airplay and video distribution channel timelines. So, good times ahead.
Do you think Music2Deal.com can help get Australian/NewZealand artists to a further audience both nationally and internationally?
Music2Deal has an inbuilt filtering system already allowing quality Australian/NewZealand artists to stand out above the crowd. There are a lot of opportunities out there for artists today, but having one which brings your music in front of valid Music Industry specialists provides a definite advantage. Keep in mind, connection through Music2Deal is not just about an exchange of product, but it is a coming together between like minded people all over the world – people who all love music and are actively working in the Music Industry. I say go for it!
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