Meet the Music Company Changing the Way Artists Make Money

0:00As a backend, we use Shopify to help us manage all the transactions and all that. but it's the most effective way to support the artist directly because there's no middle man or middle woman.

0:21Hi there, I'm Shuang Esther Shan, and this is Shopify On Location, coming to you from Montreal. You know, any type of business can be on Shopify. You don't have to sell clothes or gadgets or food. You can be a record label.

0:50That's Lisa LeBlanc with her hit Pourquoi Faire Aujourd 'hui. She's just one of the musicians represented by Bon Sound. It's a one-stop shop for independent artists from concert promotion to management and everything in between. Co-founder Gourmet Delis is here with me in studio today to talk about his business and why he's turned to Shopify to keep things rolling. Thank you so much for doing this, Gourmet. Thank you for inviting me. Well, it's a pleasure to have you here. I understand you actually had your own band. And back in the day, there were a few things you didn't like about the industry.

1:29So what were you trying to create with Bond Sound? Well, yeah, I was at a band and I was also doing like everything for the band, you know, like managing, tour managing, booking, all that. And also, you know, producing concerts and all that. So when I met three other guys, actually, who were in the same situation as me and we were, each of us were alone doing that. So we didn't have many means or many resources to go to to help us like promote the music or even book our own bands and stuff like that. So we actually created the services we needed to go forward and to expand and do more than just one person can do.

2:17like so many founders and entrepreneurs they noticed something was missing and for you that was major label services for underrepresented and independent artists and you love celebrating them much like this artist laurence ann

2:50That's a good example of an artist that's not going to be an instant catch on radio or like an instant thing. It's something, it's a project you have to work on and try to find the public for that, the niche here and abroad. So, yeah, she's an artist I really love and that, you know, it gets into you like it's a slow thing. So you have to understand that she's like a deep artist, you know. It's not just pop music, like in front and instead dancing or something. It's really something you have to let yourself, you know, be attracted to it. So that kind of project, we have a good amount of them. You have to nurture it and, you know, take your time and think about the future and not an instant success.

3:45So for us, it's a really great project. Yeah. And we just heard a little bit from her song Flores, which is from her upcoming album. Yeah. One thing I really want to highlight is how you've modeled the business and really have transparency and ownership to the artist. So I understand if they complete an album and they do publishing with Bonsound, the profits are actually split 50-50 between the label and the artist. And Bonsound actually never owns the masters or the IP, and they get renewed every couple of years. So talk to us why this model is so important. Yeah, well, because actually when we started Bonsound, we weren't even a label.

4:32I had a small label. One of my business partners had a small label. But we really started Bonsound as a management company and a booking company because that's the first things you need as an artist. The ideal thing is having a booking agent. And management is really key. And so as a manager, you always put the artists first. So when we started, like maybe in 2007 or 2008, we started the Bon Sound Records. And so we had managed artists that we wanted to have on our label. The contracts needed to reflect our philosophy. It needed to be something we would sign with an external label from one of our artists.

5:14So it's always with the artists in mind that we do our deals. And about the recording deals, all the artists are producers of their music. And in addition to that 50-50 model, there's also more flexibility you offer where you said, to me, it sounds like an a la carte menu where artists can choose and select the services. They can get their tours managed. They can actually be managed by the label. They can only do licensing. So there's so much more flexibility you offer as well. Yeah. And actually, you know, sometimes like the idea with that is it allows us to host projects that already have pieces of the puzzle in place.

5:58For example, you know, somebody comes to us and say, let's say like, I have a label, I'm looking for a booking agent and a tour production and maybe publishing. So if we're interested and all those teams are interested, then let's do all just those three contracts and we'll work with the label and, you know, just collaborate to make the most out of the career, out of the opportunities. So, you know, yes, it's a menu, it's an à la carte, but we have to be interested on both sides. I think what you're offering is also so essential for artists in this age of streaming, right? Because touring, merchandising, that all very much helps with additional streams of income.

6:45Yeah, speak to us about this current stage of music and why merch and tours are so important. Because of the new streaming era, it's so difficult to know what's going to come up. Before with the physical products, especially at the CD era, we would be able to say like, okay, we sold the, you know, 5 ,000 CDs of that artist. So next record, we're going to print more and we know we're going to sell more. And it was kind of easy to plan. Now the streaming is very tough to know what's going to happen beforehand. So it's become a part of the equation, but we don't rely on that. We rely much more on the shows.

7:23We try to make sure like the masters of the publishing gets some money in. And of course, with the shows comes the merch and especially the vinyl now. and all soft merch. And all the time I'm being asked by people who are not in the industry, how can I support the artist the most? It's always been the case, but now even more than before, it's through the merch, through the LPs, through the physical product bought on, for example, our store. As a backend, we use Shopify to help us manage all the transactions and all that, But it's the most effective way to support the artist directly because there's no middle man or middle woman.

8:11Well, I'm so glad you mentioned about the direct support for musicians and artists. I'm probably wearing my Milk and Bone t-shirt today.

8:25I discover them locally at a show, love their merch and was super happy to find out that they were on Shopify. And that's how they brought me to Bonne Sound. So, yeah. And we definitely have to chat about Montreal and its music scene coming up. I'm chatting with Gourmet Delise, the co-founder of Bonne Sound. I want to say our whole Shopify Masters team appreciates you for tuning into our show each week. If you want to support the podcast and listen to more inspiring conversations like today's, you can go ahead and write us a review. And be sure to hit that follow button wherever you're listening now.

9:10You work with a lot of local artists here in Montreal, and you also celebrate Indigenous performers like Elisa P. let's take a listen to one of her tracks. It's a cover in Inuit language of Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time.

9:50I love the blend of this track because she's singing in an Inuit language and she's singing something so familiar to us. So tell us more about this song. Yeah, I can tell you more about the whole project. Actually, she had this idea of covering big hits from the 80s and 90s because when she was a teenager living up north, as an Inuk person we all know the situation of that people they've been through really tough times and it was really hard for young people to relate to something so this music that they were listening to, like the music Top 40 from down south was what they were holding on to and that's how they discovered the world actually, because they were very isolated so she wanted to convey that and give it to her people in their language.

11:04So it's all songs that mean something to her. And it was very interesting because she had to translate everything into Inuktitut, her native language, which is also the title of the album. And to get the rights to release that, you have to reach out to all the rights owner and show the translation. But you also have to explain the translation because nobody can verify the translation. So it was a very interesting process. And since we know on that album, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, all really big names, they all received the whole info, the whole story and all that. And they were moved by that and said, like, OK, go ahead, use our songs and do those versions.

11:51So there's many levels of emotion through those songs and those releases. And so you're mentioning and we're hearing time after time, but also the first one, the first single was Blondie's Heart of Glass.

12:29And, you know, Blondie reposted the song and the video and emailed her directly. And I know Metallica's team also said, like, we're going to share everything. And so it's really impressive to see the release unfolding. So, yeah, it's a special thing. And she's a very special artist. Yeah, it sounds like such an intensive process to bring this project to life. But I'm so glad to hear so much of the positive responses from all the artists that she's covered. I know that this is kind of the beauty of Bonne Sound and also a part of being in Montreal is elevating the different voices and artists. I wanted to ask you about Montreal's music scene and why is it such a good place for artists?

13:18It's a good question. I'm from Quebec City, you know, so I moved here because in Quebec at that time. There was not much happening in terms of industry, the music industry. It's a mix of Europe meeting America, the duality of the language. It's a very welcoming place. So there's all sorts of people from anywhere around the world and even from Canada. A lot of people come here for the artistic spirit that there is here. Also, the fact that it's less expensive. Although we enter the competition of, you know, higher prices. But for a long time, it's still true, it's still lower than every other big city, Toronto or Vancouver.

14:04You can still find a decent place to live, a part-time job to allow you to practice your art. And without having your eyes on a prize that doesn't exist, like a lot of people in big, big cities like Toronto or LA or New York, they kind of want to be signed or something like that. So they have a, sometimes you can find another mentality. Here, everybody's pretty much relaxed. And maybe they have big also ambitions, but they want to get it somewhere else usually. So they like to live here and meet other musicians. And it's big and small at the same time. So it's big enough to, you know, be lost in the city and not meet the same person every minute.

14:49But at the same time, it's easy to find everyone if you need to. And if you want to see a show here, a show there, like everything is walkable. So there's something there, you know, that's my own interpretation of that. I love the city and the vibe that there is here. So I've traveled quite a bit. And every time I come back here, there's something that, you know, I don't think I could, I would need a really good reason to move elsewhere, even though I'm amazed by other places. But there's something here that is good for the art. Definitely. Well, you have to fit into the Montreal vibe. Yeah. Well, earlier you mentioned that artists in Canada and especially Quebec can benefit a lot from grants.

15:37Can you explain to us what those are and how you're able to help artists find them? Yeah, well, the first layer of grants is the arts council ones. So there's one for the province of Quebec, and every province has its own arts council. And then you have a Canadian one. And so these arts councils will help the artists create. So the first money they can get there is to help them create. So you have to come up with your artistic plan, kind of, you know, what is it that you do? and where do you want to get your art to? And these arts councils, they're not about the business at all. If you send a text, like a copy to submit something, it's really about the philosophy that you have behind your art and what you want to do with it.

16:27And they don't want to hear about streaming numbers or crowds reached or something like that. It's really about the art. And if we give you money, how are you going to bring your art further?

16:46And then after that, if you get that grant, it allows you to create without thinking about how am I going to eat or pay my rent. So it's to give you money to create and not think about anything else. Then after that, you can record something or prepare a show and then maybe go to a label or release it yourself. and then you can ask money to also a provincial body and or federal body. In Quebec, it's Musique Action and Sodec. And in Canada, it's Factor. Factor, Musique Action, they really help the artists and the labels and the managers. And then Sodec will help the businesses. So they will help the businesses release records, but also organize tour.

17:37the problem is there's a jury behind that. So you never know who's going to be looking at your application. So there's a bit of a roll the dice situation, but it's also what you do. So it has to be convincing. It has to be good, authentic. And what is good, we don't know. So it's really an amazing thing, the grant system, because it allows us to first have artists not struggling too much and also have companies and structure. Sometimes the artists want to do it themselves, and that's fine, and they can get help for that too. And sometimes you need a bigger team or a stronger structure that's always there.

18:19Because as I was saying earlier, it's tough to be an artist from 20 to 50. It's nonstop, you know. But usually companies will last. So you can maybe do something else as an artist, come back to a structure, or, you know, it's somebody else takes care of something. We're in the era of everybody can do everything themselves, but there's only 24 hours in a day. And if your mind is only on the business side, then it's tough to create and just be totally, like, absorbing whatever you need to create your art. So some people want to have a big career, quote-unquote, but they're not necessarily ready or have what it takes or there's no need for that sometimes.

19:05There's so many artists now. You can record a full album, like a professionally produced album at home. So the quantity of people doing music now is impressive. But the end of it doesn't necessarily have to be touring all over the world on private planes and with big buses full of stage stuff. So I think sometimes you can do also music for fun or just to keep it at the normal level without going through all the crazy stuff, which is also really fun, by the way, but I'm not dissing my own job. But it's, yeah, the good thing now is the spectrum is super large. So that's interesting. I know some people, some artists, they don't want to hear anything about a label or a booking agent or a manager.

19:56They just want to do the music, reach out enough people to make a living. But, you know, sometimes it's just it's good to have different levels. The question here, I guess, would be, like you said, music is so accessible. Anyone could start making music. And I'm sure there's a lot of listeners who are probably in that position. How do they stand out? What are some marketing strategies? What do you think people are doing to get their music heard by more people? It sounds so weird saying that all the time. But it has to be impressive and good. The thing is, it's not because anybody's jaded. Even just a regular audience person, if we're talking about a show or even recorded music, you know, it has to stand out somehow.

20:45And usually how to do that is just do what you feel. Everybody talks about being authentic. And sometimes it can sound a bit vague or empty, but it's true. If you're trying too hard or if you're trying to emulate something that you're not, it's going to be hard to do whatever with it. You won't be able to market something that you don't believe in or that you're not comfortable with. So it has to be coming from you and be what you want to convey. Then after that, yeah, there's techniques to get there and there's marketing techniques, but it all starts from there. And personally, I really fall in love with music when I see it live.

21:32Then after all, I would like the recordings usually, but it has to move me somehow. Well, to wrap up our show, I think I got to ask, we started off by saying that you're not the typical Shopify merchant. You're not in a fashion industry. You're not creating a product. So for those who are interested to actually try their hands in the music industry and be an entrepreneur in it, what's your advice for them? The idea, I think, is to start where you are and just advance. You know, like we didn't think much about the future when we started. It was just like we need something now. like we were we're trying to find a booking agent for bands like mine were mostly like very heavy rock and roll and stuff like that there was absolutely no structure in in the province here uh to help us with that so we just well we'll do it ourselves we'll start our own thing our own management thing so i mean there's always as there's always artists so there's always a need then after that innovate is is always maybe tough but it's i mean it's surely coming it's somebody's going to come up with another way to do things, I'm pretty sure.

22:45Because, you know, it's almost 20 years now of Bon Sound, and I'm still pinching myself like, wow, you know, this became my job. So happy to hear that Shopify is a part of many musicians' journey and also their way of operating their tours and their careers. Very happy to chat with you, Gourmet. Same. Very happy. Thanks again. That's Gourmet Delis, co-founder of Bonsound. Thank you for joining me on Shopify On Location in Montreal. Our show is produced by Megan Coyle and Gogo Zoger. Our engineers are Matt Shorts and Miku Betlam. Benjamin Gottlieb is our supervising producer. Special thanks to Audio Z and Eric Gendron for production assistance.

23:33I'm Shuang Esther Shan. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Shopify Masters. Bye.