http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2...y/#101e8445605b

Buying music...who does that anymore?

Not many folks About 17,00 actual units sold. WOW. 17k units sold is a #1 album now. Times really have changed

from the article:
Yes, that’s right—the number one album in the largest music market in the world sold just 17,000 units.

Wikipedia quote : Presently, an American RIAA-certified Gold record is a single or album that has sold 500,000 units (records, tapes or compact discs). The award was launched in 1958;[3] originally, the requirement for a Gold single was one million units sold and a Gold album represented $1 million in sales (at wholesale value, around a third of the list price).[4] In 1975, the additional requirement of 500,000 units sold was added for Gold albums.[4] Reflecting growth in record sales, the Platinum award was added in 1976 for albums selling one million units, and singles selling two million units.[4][5] The Multi-Platinum award was introduced in 1984, signifying multiple Platinum levels of albums and singles.[6] In 1989, the sales thresholds for singles were reduced to 500,000 for Gold and 1,000,000 for Platinum, reflecting a decrease in sales of singles.[7] In 1992, RIAA began counting each disc in a multi-disc set as one unit toward certification. Reflecting additional growth in music sales, the Diamond award was instituted in 1999 for albums or singles selling ten million units.[3] Because of these changes in criteria, the sales level associated with a particular award depends on when the award was made.
Gold 500.000
Platinum 1.000.000
Diamond 10.000.000

So it looks like no one will ever earn these trophies again unless new rules :

Gold 1000
Platinum 5000
Diamond 10000

This post has been edited by nikeman64: Jul 7 2016, 04:59 PM

I was listening to a Pat Monahan podcast recently and he was talking to Jakob Dylan. Dylan had an interesting comment on album sales. He described an album sales figure that would make you a chart topper today. He then said that same sales figure 20 years ago would mean you're getting dropped from your label .

Very true 20 years ago, numbers that low would get you dumped from the label. Now, it's a #1 record. It goes to show how hard it is to sell physical units these days. If you can move 1,000 units of anything on your own, you can take your sales numbers to any label you like and probably get them to sign you up. However, if you are able to sell 1k units by yourself, you just made as much money as you would by selling 10,000 units for the label assuming you the typical $1 per unit deal. Not to mention you have to go in to debt to the label for your Music Vid, your physical production of units (cds/duplication etc.) and for tour support. So you really don't make a dime til all that is paid back.

At which point, you could be six figures in debt to the label. So being able to move units on your own really is a better deal for the artist overall IMHO. Only folks at the very top of the food chain, e.g. (Rhianna) move enough units to make it worth it to have a label deal with all the details.

So the good news is, there has never been a better time to be an indie artist in terms of getting exposure for your music, Sadly, there has never been a worse time to be an artist in terms of actually "selling" your music. This had led artists to "diversity" quite a bit and try to license their music to games, commercials, movies, anything that will make a buck. Since per unit sales are low and heading lower, new revenue outlets are key Touring and merch can be great, but only at a certain level of market participation. Most tours cost money, not make money. Once you are IRON MAIDEN of course, touring is your bread and butter. For smaller acts, it usually is a break even proposition at best.

So finding a way to get your music heard and finding ways to license it broadly, are key in terms of creating an income stream big enough to "quit the day job" assuming that's a goal at all Some folks are fine with the day job and don't care if they ever sell music. This is the most pure form of artistry imho as it's divorced from the profit motive. But whichever course you take, it just needs to work for you

Todd

If you're Adele then you're doing ok. That's about it.

I knew it was bad, but not this bad!

Part of the problem is that the world is in a creative low. The 1950's were once thought of that way. Music today makes the 50's look positively inspirational.

Regarding Adele, I gave her a listen with an open mind. Her voice is OBVIOUSLY very digitally processed. I guess most people can't tell, but I can, easily. And that does not appeal to me, I like real things. Even when a singer has limitations, if it is real, and has something to it, something unique, I will appreciate it. But I don't like fake things.

Although in the minds of most today, I think they see fake as just are real as anything else.

Really? I don't see it that way at all. IMHO there's more great music being made today than ever before. By taking advantage of today's technology, Caelumamittendum can record songs that would have been impossible to create 20 years ago.

It may seem like there is less great music because we no longer have the funnel of record labels/radio/MTV that created these massive cultural waves of music in years past. Now things are so fragmented that it's hard to recognize any cultural trends in music and I suspect some people might mistakenly think that means the musical scene isn't as creative as it once was.

I agree. In the past artists needed a record deal (money) to get into a "very expensive, high end" studio. Unless you were a millionairs son/daughter that was the only way to get a professional sounding record. Now, musicians can make professional sounding songs sitting in their home chair. Ofcourse, recording, mixing and mastering is still a pro's job but I'm very often amazed by the quality of home studio productions. I'm a big Joe Bonamassa fan but his album "Black Rock" is IMHO sadly enough, badly produced. The songs are great but the sound isn't. If you compare it to the "Dust Bowl" record , the difference is huge. But what's more, I've heard lots of homestudio productions that sounded a lot better than "Black Rock"
I also agree that music was more outlined in the past. We had Blues, Rock, Disco,New wave, Rap, Reggae..... Nowadays different styles are bleeding more into eachother, and that's been going on for quite a while. The RHC Peppers combined, Rock, Funk,Rap and they shook the world, just like RATM. Just to give an example.
I believe musicians are still very creative but it seems harder to develop a completely new style. But there will rise new refreshing bands !

It's gotten bad in terms of the middle of the industry being cut out, and mostly folks at the very top making money. It's always been that way to a degree, but in the heyday of the CD (somewhere in the 90's) Mid Level acts could produce their own CDs and with an indie label or by touring constantly, they could make enough to earn a living.

Those days are mostly gone. There are a few exceptions of course, as there are with nearly every rule. But with the decline of physical media sales (cd's in particular) the entire economic base of the music industry started to collapse and it's been shrinking, as an industry, for years. Here is a handy chart It shows expenditures on media per type adjusted for inflation. The industry is down about 64% from it's "peak". For a long time, full album sales propped it up, then CDs. With digital, we have digital pennies not making up for analogue dollars. So the pie itself is getting smaller.

Link to a very informative article where I got this graph.
http://www.businessinsider.com/these-chart...industry-2011-2


Still, even with all this, there have never been a better time to be a musician IMHO. Due to the web/social media, you can get your work out there and have it seen by millions in ways that were not possible before. Pre 1995, you did it the old fashioned way for the most part. You sold albums/cds and you went on tour and sold merch. Otherwise, you "tape traded" for underground music or something similar.

The trick is, how to make any income with music and music related activities. Assuming one wants to do that, of course. There is NOTHING wrong with keeping money out of it and making music just for the love of music, and sharing it for free on youtube/soundcloud/facebook/etc.

If you do want to "monetize" your music, as I mentioned earlier, it's about diversifying yourself. Trying to license your music anywhere. To stock music services, to commercials, films, anything really. You have to start small, as with anything. E.G. Scoring a film for free for a friend who likes your music. Hoping that the movie does well and he asks again and can pay you the next time around. It's something you grow in to, just like music itself Don't forget the performance aspect as well, learning to read music can help you in places like Nashville, L.A., New York, where folks still hire session/studio players. Tina Guo
https://www.youtube.com/user/demix500 (40k subscribers)
is a Cellist who makes a wonderful living (after a decade of earning the crap out of it) and drives a porsche bought with money made from gigging/concerts/merch/etc. Ola Englund
https://www.youtube.com/user/fearedse (106k subscribers)
is great example of "Doing it from home" and turning youtube in a real gig. He has toured the world with Six Feet Under and now with THE HAUNTED. He was an office working for about a decade as he built his following on youtube.

So it can be done You just have to be a bit original about how you approach it. So get creative and start building your audience once video/song at a time

Todd





This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jul 12 2016, 12:43 AM

Great "article" Todd

Maybe it could be a useful thread to have on GMC, to gather information, tips, experiences about getting your music "out there" Everybody knows FB, Youtube, etc but there are lots of other things you can do as an unsigned musician to give it a shot. Like : getting your music on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or any other "music canal". Or tips about creating a website, getting airplay or other useful subjects ...

Thanks much! I have a thread called PROMOTING YOUR MUSIC AND YOU that talks about various tips and tricks to get your music and yourself out to a wider audience. Here is the link It dives in to alternate distribution resources and promotional ideas. It's a thread with many responses and questions, but it's worth diving in to.

http://bit.ly/promotingyourmusic

EVEN BETTER, here is a link to one of my articles specifically about promoting your music in the knowledge base in our wiki.

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde..._And_Your_Music

Todd




This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jul 13 2016, 01:55 AM

Super !! Thanks !!

Happy to help Please feel free to post in the thread about promoting your music and you with any questions or experiences that you have. Building an audience can seem a daunting task, but like anything, it happens one step at a time, one day at a time

Todd

Just updated the article

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/inde..._And_Your_Music

I'll add the Euro, Asia, S. America, Africa, etc. numbers for gold and platinum have always been way lower than in the states. As low as 1000 units (Bulgaria) in some countries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_music..._certifications

In the 70s, 80s, and even early 90s - if an indie band could sell at least 5000 copies of their demo tape at shows or out the trunk of their car(?) - it would usually lead to a 'demo deal' with a label (or possibly with an independent 'producer'). That meant a budget of between 5 to 10 grand with a producer of their (the rec cos) choice. If the record co. liked the results, you'd get a deal to make an LP (and a video starting in the 80s - MTV). If you sold at least 60,000 units of that, you'd get one or two more chances to sell more. 200,000 to 350,000 units was considered a success. Not 'gold' but certainly profitable. Even if you only sold 100,000 records you usually wouldn't get dropped, especially if you were reasonably talented, cool and didn't put all the money up your nose. *Lots of now legendary artists and bands never sold 'gold' initially. There were TONS of bands/artists that were given a chance. Most failed to make a dent except of course the ones you ended up hearing. The indie scene was just as vibrant then as it is now. In fact it was probably bigger and there were way more places to play. Everybody recorded, especially by the early 80s. The Tascam Portastudio 144 debuted in 1979, wasn't really that expensive (about a $1000 US) compared to even making a cheap ass demo at a studio and many many bands/musicians got them.

It might be a little easier now to physically 'make a record' (collection of songs archived in some way) but I don't think 1) any more folks are doing it than were doing it before (less people in the world are interested in music anymore - tech is the new rock star). 2) The talent isn't any better (or worse). 3) Just being able to record doesn't mean it's any good or that it should be recorded or that anybody even listens to it.
*You can do it all yourself in your bedroom, take all the profit but you still gotta get people to listen. It's NEVER been any different, ever.

This post has been edited by klasaine: Aug 5 2016, 02:58 AM

You certainly have a point there. When you enter a big music store (for instruments), there is so much DJ equipement, allmost as much as all the instruments together. Big festivals that have been known for booking rock/pop artists, for more than 30years, are now headlining DJ's. The biggest festival in my country now is Tommorowland : Techno DJ's. It's just the hottest thing today. I have respect for everything but Techno is not my thing.
I know other musicians but I don't know anybody in my environment who is actually recording music at home. With all the possibilities, I consider this strange !
I agree it remains very difficult to create something that other people really like so much it could become a hit. that actually feels like being as difficult as winning Euromillions And even if you succeed in creating sucha masterpiece it's definitely no garanty you will score with it. Even if you are as cool as every big breakthrough artist in the past, you will still need a lot of dedication and good luck .
But let's end possitive : keep making music and when you believe in it use every possibility to show it to the world, ...... you never know. But most of all, be proud on what you do and happy with that !!!!