At the moment, there is much talk of so-called “360 deals”, whereby an artist and record label do a revenue split for a wide variety of income sources, including touring, merchandising, publishing rights and any other possible money maker. But the debate is on as to whether this is the positive way forward for artists, as many in the industry believe it’s just another way for record companies to gain money that they are losing on record sales. “I don’t subscribe to them nor the term as many are just an extension of a very binding and one sided contract,” says Hans Ebert, a long-term music industry executive who is currently the Chairman and CEO of We-Enhance Inc.

Instead, Ebert believes in matching an artist’s talent with a receptive market and then lining up appropriate deals that all parties can benefit from. To cite one recent example, he recently got the promising 26 year-old UK singer/songwriter Stewart Mac to sing an English version of a popular David Tao hit, resulting in 11 million downloads in China. Ebert then followed that up by getting Mac to perform in Taiwan, a distribution deal with the record label Gold Typhoon, and convinced the brand Hennessy to showcase the singer live. “It’s always good to have sponsors as it means money, something the music companies no longer have,” says Ebert. And so far, this approach has worked in Mac’s favour. Though he did have to make some concessions such as singing his hit in Mandarin. His public exposure combined with the millions of downloads means he may have a bright career ahead of him.

In fact, the artists, executives and brands who have the foresight to team up in the years ahead may have the brightest futures of all, with major labels tagging on for distribution rights. Ebert cites Hennessy at the top when it comes to focusing on music, with Remy, Absolute, Red Bull, Pepsi and Coca-Cola being other brands which are switched on for crossover possibilities.

Jasper Donat, the CEO of Branded, which runs Music Matters, Asia’s only major music industry conference, believes that the partnership between advertisers, music and passionate music fans may just be the ‘Holy Grail’ that the entire music industry needs. He cites Nokia, Converse, Sony Ericsson, Heineken, Tiger, Levis, Diesel and Chivas and Pepsi (who have even formed their own music company) at the forefront of this movement, but believes there should be many more who forge the connection. “The music industry hasn’t made it easy to join in, but if we can achieve this synergy, then everybody wins,” says Donat. “More brands will embrace the sheer power of music as a marketing platfom. More artists will be able to create great music and more fans will be able to enjoy it over more and more innovative platforms.”

So whether it’s through sponsorships, new outlets, investment firms or a combination of the above, it’s clear that there’s never been a more wide open time for artists to hit the big time with the help of some meaningful partnerships. But at the end of the day, the artists have to do their part too. As Ebert so succinctly puts it, “It’s always down to the song.”

To see part one of this story, click here.

To learn more about music trends around the world click here.