nytimes.com— Major labels have begun demanding a cut of concert earnings or T-shirt, ring tone and merchandise revenue from new artists seeking record contracts.
Dec 11, 2006View in Crawl 4
"I can't think of any real artists that have made it without one."fugazi sold tens of thousands of cd's, toured to packed shows for years and did all of it without label backing or merchandise. and this was before they could self promote on myspace etc.
Aren't Fugazi on Dischord? I don't know if they always were but thats where they are now (certainly not a major label - IINM Mackaye started it himself but its still a label).For that matter whats going on with them? Its been forever since the Argument.
Nice reply to a question about Fugazi's 'label' status ... obviousy you've been taking their message to heart. I was going to originally ask why you thought some unknown as Lily Allen not being able to make it alone warrented the existance of labels.
Perhaps we will see another BMI emerge. For those who don't know the history of the music business, BMI was formed to stop the ASCAP monopoly which was (literally) killing the business. And you're right. This entire fight is about much more than $$$. It's all about power and control. The cartel will accept nothing less than total control of the content from artist to end user and each and every stop in-between.
Direct distribution is tough for several reasons if you want to actually produce CDs. Maybe its easier now if you just opt to do downloads, but even then you have to either know how to get an online store up and running or know someone who does. Then you have to figure out how to take credit cards. Knowing how to do it is, of course, half the battle -- you can use Paypal and other services, it just takes a good bit of work. And many musicians would rather just make music.
Im glad that there are people out there who realise the potential in online marketing for bands and music in general. Think about all the options when it comes to advertising...you won't have to settle for Google Adsense, you can go to music companies etc. Bands dont need to websites anymore just log on to myspace and meet, share, and build traffic.Traffic is a for of FAN!
People are realizing that these CDs are not worth the 18-20 dollars that these retailers charge. This is why Tower Records went under. They are literally pricing themselves out of the marketplace. That is what an out-of-touch mammoth dinosaur-like business model would do. I think its a shame-and its ironic they always always blame the pirating. There is not even enough good music out there if you were to pirate it! I think until they start 1) making better music and 2) lowering the prices, the music industry will continue to be on the decline and they will continue blaming it all on pirates!
Closed AccountDec 11, 2006
"I can't think of any real artists that have made it without one."fugazi sold tens of thousands of cd's, toured to packed shows for years and did all of it without label backing or merchandise. and this was before they could self promote on myspace etc.
coffeedemonDec 11, 2006
Aren't Fugazi on Dischord? I don't know if they always were but thats where they are now (certainly not a major label - IINM Mackaye started it himself but its still a label).For that matter whats going on with them? Its been forever since the Argument.
coffeedemonDec 11, 2006
Nice reply to a question about Fugazi's 'label' status ... obviousy you've been taking their message to heart. I was going to originally ask why you thought some unknown as Lily Allen not being able to make it alone warrented the existance of labels.
pabsterDec 11, 2006
Perhaps we will see another BMI emerge. For those who don't know the history of the music business, BMI was formed to stop the ASCAP monopoly which was (literally) killing the business. And you're right. This entire fight is about much more than $$$. It's all about power and control. The cartel will accept nothing less than total control of the content from artist to end user and each and every stop in-between.
wackaDec 11, 2006
Direct distribution is tough for several reasons if you want to actually produce CDs. Maybe its easier now if you just opt to do downloads, but even then you have to either know how to get an online store up and running or know someone who does. Then you have to figure out how to take credit cards. Knowing how to do it is, of course, half the battle -- you can use Paypal and other services, it just takes a good bit of work. And many musicians would rather just make music.
dunceDec 12, 2006
Im glad that there are people out there who realise the potential in online marketing for bands and music in general. Think about all the options when it comes to advertising...you won't have to settle for Google Adsense, you can go to music companies etc. Bands dont need to websites anymore just log on to myspace and meet, share, and build traffic.Traffic is a for of FAN!
amonblackDec 13, 2006
Screw that!
wabbitman1Jan 3, 2007
People are realizing that these CDs are not worth the 18-20 dollars that these retailers charge. This is why Tower Records went under. They are literally pricing themselves out of the marketplace. That is what an out-of-touch mammoth dinosaur-like business model would do. I think its a shame-and its ironic they always always blame the pirating. There is not even enough good music out there if you were to pirate it! I think until they start 1) making better music and 2) lowering the prices, the music industry will continue to be on the decline and they will continue blaming it all on pirates!