FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WHAT ARE THE McCARTNEYS DOING IN SOCAL? Ruth McCartney (Beatle Paul's sister) has started a new music company in Los Angeles with her mother, Angie. They call it ifanz, and their company motto is: "keep your friends close, but keep your fanz closer!" Ruth and Angie have moved here from Liverpool UK to give back to the music community via a new model, open-source record label/distribution system, one that is not based on the old (artist exploitive) traditional label model. For starters: the ifanz artists retain all their rights; ifanz is NOT a work for hire company; ifanz allows recording artists to distribute their content globally without creative interference; ifanz provides CDs and band logo'd merchandise for sale at no cost to the artists, hence there is no recoupability with ifanz. ifanz puts the recording artist in direct communication with their fanz. The ifanz label was created to help unknown artists take control of their career destinies, however a number of known artists are already on board. These include: REO Speedwagon, David Cassidy, The Estate of Tupac Shakur, America, Penn&Teller and others. For more information visit these URLs: McCartney.com McCartney.com/Ruth ifanz.com Please contact me directly and I will happily arrange for an interview with the McCartneys. They have great stories about the Beatlemania days and their current music passion, ifanz. They are eager to introduce their new label to the artists of SoCal. Thank you, Lucy Conlon lucy@mccartney.com
What is ifanz? So you re an artist and you have a website. There are tons of fans somewhere out there in Cyberspace. You have a record coming out. Now what? Well, we ve got you covered with our specially designed suite of ifanz tools which work together or separately to achieve the visibility and marketing stuff that you have no time for. ifanz helps you find your fans and keep your fans. The basic function of this brand new service is that it allows an artist to compile a database, no matter how big or small, of fans email addresses and demographic information. With this information, an artist can communicate directly with their fans, announcing shows, new CDs, and merchandise. Services like AOL or Yahoo don t allow users to send high volumes of email. The ifanz email Blaster, however, sends thousands of emails to fans in minutes. This ifanz blaster can send text, html, and even full action rich media messages to inform/reach/alert fans. The blast can be regionalized by zip code, written in advance, and blasted later (say a few days before the gig, CD release, etc.) At ifanz, we believe that your fans are your most valuable assets. Communication with them is key, and the ifanz blaster is an essential tool for any artist. Now, about that music you've recorded. You can both manufacture a CD and distribute worldwide via ifanz! Don t get tangled up with a restrictive "work for hire" record label deal, where you'll receive about a buck a record royalty. Make your own music and sell it directly to your fans with ifanz, making approximately $7 a CD. With ifanz's CDs-On- Demand and Merchandise-On-Demand, an artist can sell their music and merchandise to their fans at no cost to themselves. There's no up-front capital required from the artist and no warehousing hassles either. In addition, we can handle credit card transactions for you, sell tickets to your gigs, and let you in on our PR contacts. At ifanz, we want you to be seen, be heard, and earn profits for your talents! The best part about ifanz is that all these communication and merchandising functions are linked seamlessly to the artist s own website. ifanz.com powers the tools that enable artists to interact with their fans, but the fans will actually be accessing their favorite artist s website, not ifanz s website. ifanz.com is simply the invisible middleman that allows artists and performers to supercharge their personally crafted websites. ifanz.com is new and revolutionary distribution model for artists of all kinds. With ifanz, you can control your marketing, image, promotion, merchandizing and career.
What does ifanz offer? ifanz features unique tools to handle all of an artist s music and merchandising needs at no cost whatsoever to the performer. That s right no more having to lay out funds to manufacture band CD or band T-shirts no more paying to accept credit card payments no more expensive storage or warehouse bills no more treks to the post office to mail the items out to your fans These advantages are a result of the revolutionary burn on demand feature at ifanz. Here s how it works: 1. A net shop is linked seamlessly to the artist s own website where fans can order CDs, books, posters, and merchandise all personalized for that artist. 2. When an order comes in, ifanz will manufacture and mail the item to the fan. ifanz doesn t mass-produce the items they are manufactured on demand, or as the orders come in, so the artist won t be stuck with a thousand items he/she can t sell. 3. ifanz charges a base price for each item manufactured. The artist sells the item to their fans at a price the artist sets themselves. Thus, the price the fan pays covers both the base price and the artists profit that s how you can sell CDs and other items for pure profit! An artist can make $7 or more per item. With a traditional record label, an artist would only make approximately $1 per item. At ifanz, you set your own price and receive a hefty profit, all without the hassle of providing up-front capital or a way to mail items to fans. Plus, ifanz gives you the ability to perform credit card transactions online at no charge. We do it all for you.
Why wouldn t you choose ifanz? At a record label, a musician signs the label s work for hire contract which takes away all artist rights, including all performance master rights, and often publishing and merchandising rights. The musician does NOT sign a work for hire contract, hence ALL rights remain with the artist in perpetuity. A contract locks a musician into a seven-year term, while the label may drop the artist anytime. The musician is NOT locked in to a seven-year term exclusively, while the label may drop the artist anytime. The artist may terminate the ifanz contract anytime they wish. The label contract includes no commitment to release the artist s CD. ifanz is committed to the artist and MUST release the artist s CD. 85% of the musician s royalties go to the label. The musician s royalty rate can reach 100%. All costs of the artist s CD are charged back to the musician prior to any royalty payments. All costs associated with the artist s CD are NOT charged back to the artist prior to any royalty payments. The artist has every say in how funds are actually spent on his/her career. The label owns the artist s performance of the material. They may interfere with the artistic vision at any time. Absolute and total artistic freedom.
Who is ifanz? ifanz is a service McCartney Multimedia, Inc. McCartney Multimedia (MMI) handles brand marketing and merchandising both offline and online. In an age where most businesses already have a web site MMI realized that there was a growing need for more than just web site creation. MMI began providing ways for a web site to pay for itself as a fully functioning corporate revenue stream. Founded in 1995 in Nashville, Tenessee, MMI is a Creative Solutions provider that has designed custom Flash, HTML, ecrm and e- commerce presences for clients such as Clint Black, Richie Sambora, David Cassidy, Paula Abdul, America, Andrew Gold, Steve Tyrell, Oleta Adams and others. ifanz is the brainchild of Ruth McCartney, C.E.O. and founder of McCartney Multimedia. As Beatle Paul s younger stepsister, Ms. McCartney has had much experience with the world of music and fans. When she was just 9 years old she answered snail mail addressed to Paul, Liverpool. Later she helped to run the Beatles fan club with her mother, Angie McCartney. At MMI, Ruth shares her talents as a respected music industry veteran, communications expert and strategist with a strong marketing, crosspromotions, and entrepreneurial background. Ms. McCartney pacted with music industry veteran Andrew Frances to create ifanz. Frances has held executive positions with several record labels, including RCA, MCA, Capitol-EMI, Atlantic, and Time-Warner. Eventually, Frances started his own music management consulting company with such diverse superstar clients as Garth Brooks, David Bowie, Jimmy Messina and The Alarm. Frances is excited to be the president of ifanz because he says that the music and publishing industries as we knew them are seriously changing. The old model is calcifying and dying off; overall retail sales drop daily. Now is a time for artists, managers, labels and publishers to find new 21st century solutions. Solutions that benefit the artists and their fans directly and substantially. This is what ifanz is all about, 'keeping your friends close, but keeping your fanz closer. Managing ifanz together, Ruth McCartney, Martin Nethercutt, and Andy Frances are set to revolutionize the music industry as we know it, freeing artists of record labels and connecting them directly with their fans.