Case Studies/Yunyu
The ease with which I have allowed podcasters, bloggers and the like to use my music could only have helped me make my living as a musician. — Yunyu
Overview
Yunyu is an understated, self-proclaimed member of the emerging (and in many cases emerged) generation of bedroom-based artists who may not, without the Internet, have ever seen the cold light of day. She is a classically-trained musician, though she admits to having been bored by the restrictions of that genre. Yunyu first saw success before ever having played a live gig, via the Triple J Radio 'Unearthed' competition (a new talent competition hosted by Australian national broadcaster, JJJ). Following her being 'unearthed,' Yunyu received radio airplay all over the globe, including some chart domination on Canadian college radio.
Yunyu uses the services of several online businesses to sell and share her music. For both physical and digital distribution, Yunyu's business model utilises a number of different music platforms. She has CDs and mp3s available for purchase from US independent distributor, CD Baby. CDs are also available from the Australian independent store Earshot Music, while paid digital downloads are available from iTunes. Yunyu also offers fans the option of buying CDs directly from her.
As with a number of independent bands, Yunyu uses the services of a company called Usync. The service provides a 'backstage pass' to paying fans, who can then get access to exclusive content in the 'backstage' area of the Usync website. The service essentially brings ticket sales, music sales, news announcements and other components of a music business model into the one location or interface.
Popular online radio station 'Lastfm' also assists in the proliferation of Yunyu's music, together with social networking platforms like MySpace and Facebook.
RONISYAHRONY
RONIS uses the Creative Commons NonCommercial-Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 licence for promotional purposes. Two of her songs, A Prayer and Lenore's Song, are available under this licence as streaming music videos. Whilst her site does not include any downloadable tracks, Ronisarono blog on her webpage that, though only two of her songs are
Motivations
Yunyu's experience using the Internet as a distribution and promotional platform makes her use of Creative Commons licences a logical step. To enhance CC’s presence in the music community, Yunyu thinks that there could be more done to spread the word about the licences, suggesting that 'maybe a few CC roadshows are in order for creators and the like.'
While the benefits of Creative Commons licences are obvious from the above discussion, Yunyu cites difficulties with Creative Commons licensing as far as other artists or content producers understanding the licences:
- 'There is, when I speak to some creators, a certain misconception that Creative Commons equals public domain which is not true. So there is a general perception that they have lost some income due to putting their work under Creative Commons licenses but I beg to differ because I think I have benefited from the spread of my work through this channel.'
Media
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