Gray’s Anatomy Sure Beats a Record Contract!

John Jurgenson writes in today’s WSJ about Ingrid Michaelson, a young singer on Staten Island who struck it big in the Web 2.0 way. Secret Road Music Services found her Myspace Page and liked her music. So tonight’s Grey’s Anatomy final episode, the high-rated season ender, will feature her song at the end. They’ll pay her $15,000 for each song she has on the series.

She’s earned more than $39,000 selling 60,000 downloads of her tunes on iTunes. She gets .63 per download. Compare that with .10 or .15 she might make from a major label. But the song America will hear tonight won’t be on sale, it’s reserved for the series soundtrack that will come out in the fall.

“Three of her songs have already been aired on this season’s ‘Grey’s’ as the sonic backdrop for the drama’s soapy tales of Seattle Grace Hospital. The exposure sent one of those songs to No. 13 on the iTunes pop music chart. Tonight’s placement will likely widen her exposure, and help to generate more ka-ching at her store.”