cobrapunchers.blogspot.com — It's no secret that the record industry is in trouble. They have moved from selling music as their main source of income to creating revenue through lawsuits against their customers. Here are a few concepts every musician today should understand in order to thrive in the new music economy.
Apr 16, 2007 View in Crawl 4
biuebonicsApr 16, 2007
wow, i thought i recognized your name from some old buzzmachines forum or somewhere on that site. your music was great from what i remember. and yea, buzz tracker is great... even with all kinds of other software available i still use buzz, i've used it for so long it's all second nature now.
Closed AccountApr 16, 2007
So, you're an artist and you have 2 options:1 - You sign with a major record label, and have instant exposure to millions and millions of people. You end up selling a few million units and at a dollar or two per unit you make a few million dollars.Because of your millions of fans, you are able to go on a nationwide tour across multiple cities. You have the ability to make millions more.2 - You release your music independently online, counting on myspace and word of mouth to sell your music. You end up selling a 5-10 thousand units and you make a few thousand dollars.You have a few loyal fans, so you play small gigs in small locations. You make a few thousand more.Which one would you choose? Seriously. I think the only reason people are complaining about major labels is because they're either not a musician, or they are a musician that can't get signed.I know consumers hate the conglomerates and the people behind them, but if you were an artist that had the opportunity to sign a major deal, you know you would.
spiffytechApr 16, 2007
@ttntyler- That might work if the "millions" part was right. <a class="user" href="http://www.riaa.com/about/members/">http://www.riaa.com/about/members/</a>There are more labels that are a part of the RIAA than there are bands whose CDs are sold at most stores (FYE, Walmart, etc.), let alone the many bands under each label. Most bands don't get presented to millions of people, and even if one do, it doesn't necessarily get millions of fans.
madvibeApr 16, 2007
@CaughtThinkingI agree with you that technology has got to a point that it is viable to do music at home but not everyone is that savvy. I don't think people realize how important these "middlemen" are to good sounding music. Go to myspace and listen to some of the stuff on there. There is some good sounding stuff but most of it is so low budget sounding you don't even want listen to see if it's a good song. Whatever new business model is used for music sales needs to include these "middlemen".@src666How? Where's money coming from?
mrnoApr 16, 2007
I know some of you go, "STEAL MUSIC, because I hate RIAA." You know what? Most people in the world hate RIAA. Hey, I think most artists wouldn't care if you stole from RIAA bands. RIAA protects like 0.5% of all the artists. Most likely when you steal, you are stealing from the artists who are trying to show up at your town. If they can't make enough money from the initial sales, they are going to skip their tour until the next release. If they can't break even, there might not be a future release. I don't think most artists aren't trying to be rich. They just want to break even without going into a serious debt.
elwoodherringApr 17, 2007
"Multiple exclamation marks - a sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head" - Terry Pratchett.Seriously thought, you are right. I agree with everything you exclaimed. And it starts by not digging musicians down who post links to their own sites!!!!!!!!!!!mmmm.... comfy
Closed AccountApr 17, 2007
I heartily agree! Being a musician and an author of original music, I've come to the same conclusion.People just don't want to buy music any more, they seem to feel "automatically entitled" to it.If you allow free personal downloads, those folks *might* buy a Tee-shirt or Coffee mug or something like that.---- Get Copyright any way to prevent unauthorized resale ----
src666Apr 17, 2007
Where is the money coming from? Live performances, CD sales (direct to the listener, yes many will still buy), donations, merchandise. Pretty much the same places it comes from now, only it's going to the artist, not the RIAA.What you seem to ignore is that the money that the recording labels provide to the artists isn't "free money". They have to pay it back, and it comes off the top of any income they may otherwise have earned. And the label's production costs (passed on to the artists) is hugely inflated over what a band would pay if they made the arrangements themselves. Most bands working for labels are NOT doing well, and are actually being sucked dry. They are lucky to earn a dime when the full accounting is done.I know plenty of musicians - I work directly with at least 8 people who make a significant portion of their income from playing music. They make their money without the RIAA. The ones who record get by just fine with ProTools, friends, and occasionally paying someone for the finishing touches (producing, down-mixing, mastering, etc.). They perform live, the do studio work for commercials/local shows/etc, they sell CD's to fans - in other words they earn an honest living by doing honest work. And that's the future of music.
danielkongosApr 18, 2007
I do think that the music business is in a slump, but as different models become popular, perhaps subscription based, it'll hopefully evolve and not completely lose its vitality. But one thing that won't change is like you said, the marketing/promotion etc. That'll will still usually require serious money. That's one reason signing to a major is good - the artist doesn't have to worry as much about the business side of things. There is also a new type of management coming about from companies like nettwerkk (avril lavigne, sarah mclachlan, the format) where they are do everything - management, marketing, distribution - and take about 20% of everything. Sounds a lot better than signing a million dollar deal with a record company only to end up owing them money. It sucks that bands just give away music now though (including my band), it's really a sign of how devalued music has become in this popcorn+remote control culture.
rattelerApr 20, 2007
I used to work for a local newspaper. This was in the late 80's before Desktop Publishing.I used to have to get text from typesetter, then wax it, and a board. I would literally build the page that way.Lines were done with press tape. Borders too, with corners cut at right angles by razor blades.For photos I would have to go an make photostatic copies on photo paper with a screen over the photo that broke it up into dots that would print.I would have to count the lines on the page and figure out how to break them up into columns.When the computer took over... NO ONE tried to protect my job. My skill was thrown away almost overnight. Luckily I was computer geek and paved the way. But lots of guys just got pushed to smaller and smaller papers... until they were pushed out.The same thing SHOULD happen to the producer, engineer, mixer, or one of the many other peripheral jobs connected to song creation. They'll either find a new niche, or go obsolete. Punishing the customer isn't going to help these people keep their jobs.We've never protect out dated business models to prevent progress before. Why do it for the worst con artists in the history of media?
rattelerApr 20, 2007
Who need warez? Audacity is free.
djmayne2001Aug 3, 2007
i think that is really interesting as my friend is a new musician and trying to find his way in the world. Check out his stuff at www.robinbaileyonline.co.uk
qwertyxuiopDec 28, 2008
Having tried exactly this for the past year and a half with my own music I can tell you that no one ever donates... thousands of downloads 0 dollars... but increased live turnouts, so good enough
qwertyxuiopDec 28, 2008
if money is your only incentive for creating "high quality" art you should quit...creating art and having it appreciated has always been good enough for me
antiqcoolJan 31, 2010
We are an independent record label not a big bad corporation out to sue you for file sharing, we WANT you to spread our music around. To listen to the Antiqcool Music Business philosophy podcast go here <a class="user" href="http://antiqcool.podbean.com/2010/01/22/the-antiqcool-podcast-episode-1-how-can-you-be-a-part-of-our-success/" rel="nofollow">http://antiqcool.podbean.com/2010/01/22/the-antiqc ...</a>