Artist Development: What is a “Full Service” Music Company? Gourmet Délice answers live.
This February 1st, 2022: 12 pm ET / 5 pm GMT, Byta will present our ninth #HowWeListen Live: In Conversation.
Live online via Zoom
Understanding and planning for multiple angles in an artist’s career. Today, full “services” for artists can mean many things for an artist. Twenty years ago some record labels looked around and realised they might have to do more than just release recordings if their artists were to see any success. Our next guest is Bonsound Co-founder and Managing director Gourmet Délice. Bonsound is one of those companies, offering multiple types of services to artists. Established in a very unique marketplace: Quebec, Canada.
Bonsound is an organisation that works at the service of the artists it works with and does not own their intellectual property. The company offers a full range of professional and personalised services to contribute to the sustainable development of the careers of original and authentic artists.
They are a record label, music publisher, booking agency, concert producer, artist management and PR team. They also run two sublabels: Make It Rain and Blow the Fuse records.
This is a monthly online event that will be presented in two parts:
- A workshop: Tips & insights for tomorrow’s artists & music industry leaders with Byta founder, Marc Brown.
- An in-depth interview with Gourmet Délice, who will discuss the juggling act that is running a music company that does far more than just release and distribute albums, working with artists on all sides of the music ecosystem
For this months’ event Byta are happy to be partnering with Unison Fund, Canada’s music industry charity, providing counselling and emergency relief services to the Canadian music community in times of hardship or difficulties. Our other partner is Bonsound, an organisation that offers a full range of professional and personalised services to contribute to the sustainable development of the careers of original and authentic artists.
About the Event
This series is designed to deliver the knowledge to enable tomorrow’s artists and industry leaders to better manoeuvre their way through the music ecosystem. Providing fun and insightful Q&A along the way!
#HowWeListen Live: In Conversation will be hosted by Byta’s founder, Marc Brown, whose deep music business background and digital audio knowledge have helped him deliver unique insights to audiences from Tallinn to Toronto. Marc is a former label owner, A&R, manager and radio plugger.
Key takeaways:
- Building an artist’s career on all sides of the music ecosystem
- Adapting to significant changes in the music industry
- How to develop a community
- Publishing, Live, Album sales- what is the key
- Full Services & ‘360’, have the negative connotations disappeared in the digital age?
- Helping artists help themselves
- DIY: the evolution
- Language and releases: French and English
Event Format
#HowWeListen Live (part 1):
The workshop will introduce industry insights that Marc has picked up from his work in A&R departments, running his own radio promotion company, plus years of experience managing artists and significant large-scale projects. Some of the topics he will touch on include artists teams, timelines and connecting the web of the music industry. Plus, most importantly, tips on what you can do yourself to better increase the chances of your success.
#HowWeListen In Conversation (part 2):
Each event will feature an in-depth one-to-one conversation. Gourmet Délice has been in the music industry for over twenty years and he has had a hand in almost every aspect of that industry from artist management, publishing, booking tours, you name it. He will chat with Marc about being a 360º company before that was even a thing. Bonsound has found success due to a lot of hard work, and, in part, from being incredibly flexible and seeing what their artists needed to move their careers forward and getting it done. It is a team effort.
About Byta
Byta (“Bee-tah”: the Swedish word for exchange) is unrivalled in taking advantage of the unique properties found in audio files. By simplifying the reading and writing of file metadata, conversion of file formats and delivery of fast yet secure streaming, the platform enables everyone to send and receive digital audio in a clean, simple and secure way. Byta has also launched #HowWeListen, a not-for-profit organisation that compliments the company’s ultimate goal: providing artists and their teams with the tools and knowledge needed to move their careers forward.
About Gourmet Délice
Gourmet Délice is a co-founder/owner of Bonsound, a music company based in Montreal, Qc, Canada. Established in 2004 by three associates, it started out as an artist management and booking agency. It evolved into now being a label, artist management, publishing, concert production and booking agency, with 30 employees. Bonsound works with a wide variety of artists and projects such as management clients Lisa LeBlanc, Les Louanges, P’tit Belliveau, Laurence-Anne, Dead Obies, and the booking agents and / or label for Lumière, Beyries, Safia Nolin, Paul Jacobs, Elisapie, Sophia Bel, Marie Davidson & l’Oeil Nu, Corridor, Tanya Tagaq, Pomme, Zoon, Plants and Animals, and more.
Formerly a musician in various bands in the mid-90s and into the early 2000s, he cut his teeth managing, booking and releasing music for these bands, as well as promoting numerous concerts of touring bands. Now his official title is Head of Business Development at Bonsound. Gourmet is also a board member at the Music Managers Forum Canada, l’ADISQ, CIMA and CDCE. Over the years he has taken part in conferences such as SXSW, CMW, M for Montreal, FIM Pro, Fluvial, SIM, MaMA, The Great Escape, A2IM, and more.
About Marc Brown
Marc is the founder of Byta / byta.com. Run as a distributed team across 3 continents, Byta enables sending and receiving of digital audio in a clean, simple and secure way. Built for everyone working with music today.
He has an extensive music business background and considerable digital audio knowledge which have helped him deliver unique insights to audiences from Tallinn to Toronto.
Marc got his start at murderecords, Canada’s premier artist-owned label during the mid-90s. After working in A&R at the legendary London indie, Creation Records, and then at Alan McGee’s Poptones, Marc started his own boutique UK radio promotion company off the back of his success with The Hives. For over 10 years Marc worked with an impressive list of indie rock luminaries including Wilco, Bloc Party, Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes, Spoon and Refused as well as legends such as Tom Waits, Yoko Ono, Booker T and Mavis Staples.
Marc currently lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.