Had To Share.... 6.9 Billion |
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Jul 22 2014, 03:10 PM
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Hey guys, there are really wise words and quote here. I can confirm Bowie's words (awesome to know that he said it 12 years ago!) with my band's experience. We record albums, we edit them, we have them on Spotify, Itunes, we monetized youtube, and we did everything else recommend to get some extra cash for the band, but on the long term, these services are mostly used as promotion to have more assistance to our shows which are the ones that generate the real money that we get to live and to re-investment.
By the way, I still insist that these changes and crisis are a great opportunity for new and indie bands compared to the 80's and 90's. Nowadays you just need a small investment but a lot of creativity to use all these new tools to promote your music. Music Industry is now anarchist, there are not rules that work for everything, everything is possible, the stronger and the most creative will survive. 
-------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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Jul 22 2014, 07:35 PM
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QUOTE (jstcrsn @ Jul 22 2014, 11:13 AM)  This is what the mayor of Chicago is known for saying,But when a politician says it, it comes across more as an opportunity to score political points than actually fix things I know we don't always agree but a big +1 on that. 'Indie' has always been a very viable option ... since the birth of recording (sound and film). Same with promotion and management. Motown, Atlantic, Blue Note, A&M, SST, Casablanca, Def Jam and a host of others ALL started in someone's garage/house or tiny rental space with an old recording machine, a couple of mics, a lot of creativity, a lot of drive and some decent business sense. Golden Voice and Cornerstone (concert promo cos.) started as indie companies. Even Ticket Master and Live Nation started small. Generally speaking, all the overfed behemoths of the entertainment industry - every arm of it - started the same way. An idea, a plan and a lot of hard work. And very little initial investment. *The film company United Artists, 'UA' - started as an independent film co. set up by actors, directors, writers, cameramen, etc. It was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks with the intention of controlling their own interests rather than depending upon the powerful commercial studios. Sound familiar? Most bands in 'the good ole days' (which I don't even know when that really was?) never made enough money from record sales to live on - they had to gig. Of albums released during the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and into the early 90s, probably 1 in 200 turned enough of a profit to pay the band. If you didn't (don't) go platinum at least twice in a row you didn't really make enough money from record sales to live on for more than a couple of years. And only then if you were still gigging/touring. Read a R&R biography. Pick one - any one. Play gigs. Write songs (song is king!). Keep your publishing. License your music. Learn to play more than one thing. There are no more bands/artists now that people care about or follow or whatever than there ever was. The delivery options always change. How you get to where someone actually wants to take delivery of your product has never changed. This post has been edited by klasaine: Jul 23 2014, 03:22 PM -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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Jul 23 2014, 12:15 AM
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Some KILLER replies guys!!! Glad to see folks embracing change and seeing the glass as half full!!!
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Jul 23 2014, 11:30 AM
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That and I think most people hate record labels getting fat profits off other peoples works
-------------------- I don't suffer from insanity, I love every minute of it
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Jul 23 2014, 03:48 PM
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Believe me, it's equally unfathomable to me too but 'vinyl' sales CONTINUE to grow.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/20...down_chart.html http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-06...es-dusty-groove http://www.statista.com/statistics/188822/...tes-since-2009/ http://qz.com/232845/the-music-industrys-n...-vinyl-records/ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/on-...aretto-20140618 http://mashable.com/2014/01/07/vinyl-comeback/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/vinyl-sales/ Now it may be (probably is) a momentary blip for whatever nostalgia reason you wanna ascribe to it but folks are spending money on LPs. Most bands new and old out here press some vinyl (with free download code included). Of course the numbers in actual 'real' sales terms are miniscule compared to what a pop hit, regardless of medium, will still sell. But if you're doing it all DIY (i.e., no label, no manager, no prod co to take a %), then a vinyl 'record' with cool art WILL be your (as in you and the bands) highest grossing piece of merch (providing people like you of course). At this point, it's way cooler than a CD and you can get the full $15 (or even $20) bucks for it. How long will it last? Probably not very. But I've mentioned pressing and selling 'vinyl' here at GMC since I started participating a little more than 18 months ago ... and so far, it's only gotten bigger. Nostalgia = simplify, then exaggerate. This post has been edited by klasaine: Jul 23 2014, 03:50 PM -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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Jul 23 2014, 06:33 PM
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Because this is an 'indie' themed thread I point out vinyl sales primarily because when you are truly DIY indie - i.e., "doing it yourself" - you keep ALL the money after costs.
If you sell 5000 units over a year (a pittance if people actually like you and come to gigs) at $15.00 a pop - that's $75,000.00 *The standard Discmakers price for vinyl is around $15,000.00 for 5000 lps (they are one of the most expensive). You can get it cheaper if you research. Sometimes, considerably cheaper. - Record at home. - Get it professionally mastered for both Vinyl and digital distribution. - Do your own art work. - Distribute it via your web site, Band Camp, at shows - however(?). Is that all gonna cost you $55,000.00? No, it's not ... Is it easy? No, it's not. If you're good and you do the necessary work ... and depending on how experienced you are with your home studio and what kind of deal you cut with the lp manufacturer and maybe the mastering studio/engineer - you can make a little bit of money. Again, this is the 'old' DIY way. Make tapes, do some funky art work - sell 'em at shows. Les Paul, that guy who's name is on your guitar, he made hit records in his garage in the 1940s and 50s. In the 'old' days (notice I don't say good old days), if you and your band DIY'd it and sold 5000 copies of even a demo tape at shows - a record company would usually come calling This post has been edited by klasaine: Jul 23 2014, 07:35 PM -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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Jul 24 2014, 06:08 PM
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LPs are not viable for a medium or larger sized record company (right now - and I doubt they'll ever be again) but for an independent artist that gets to keep all the profit, it seems to be a nice option. All depends on your 'clientele'.
I play with a band that's printing a 'comic book/graphic novella' to go along with the record (CD or download - no vinyl). You will also be able to use an app that reads a couple of the chapters - Aurasma. When you view the comic cell through your smart phone (with the app) the captions advance/read ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurasma There's a lot of stuff out there that you can monetize alongside your music. What do people 'want'. *The Beatles (Brian Epstein) were great at it! Fan club only releases, Christmas releases, B-sides, they had a comic strip and they made movies (totally revolutionary at the time) and promo films. No one's re-inventing the wheel here in the 21st century. The only real difference is how the end user/fan/consumer takes delivery. That's distribution - which has always been at the heart of the producer/consumer relationship. This post has been edited by klasaine: Jul 24 2014, 07:02 PM -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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Jul 25 2014, 04:00 AM
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I agree all the way. LPS are not going to get "huge" they seem huge now due to the large year on year growth they are seeing compared to the year on year decline CDs are seeing.
The comic is a great idea! ANYTHING one can do to "Add Value" to the music is a GOOD THING. The music itself, sadly, is perceived by the preponderance of consumers as something that should be free. So it's the "value add" that gives the product it's appeal. It can be nearly anything of course. CDs housed in a small haunted house, an entire collection of music in lossless digital form on a usb key shaped like a SKULL, etc. Bands are getting very creative in their use of the "value added" concept. It's a good thing IMHO  You are also spot on when you say one of the big thing that's changed is the distribution. The internet/web eliminated the need for the middle man. No longer are we chained to 5 inch pieces of plastic (cds). Anyone, anywhere can distribute anything at any time. It's a wonderful thing Todd QUOTE (klasaine @ Jul 24 2014, 01:08 PM) LPs are not viable for a medium or larger sized record company (right now - and I doubt they'll ever be again) but for an independent artist that gets to keep all the profit, it seems to be a nice option. All depends on your 'clientele'.
I play with a band that's printing a 'comic book/graphic novella' to go along with the record (CD or download - no vinyl). You will also be able to use an app that reads a couple of the chapters - Aurasma. When you view the comic cell through your smart phone (with the app) the captions advance/read ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurasma There's a lot of stuff out there that you can monetize alongside your music. What do people 'want'. *The Beatles (Brian Epstein) were great at it! Fan club only releases, Christmas releases, B-sides, they had a comic strip and they made movies (totally revolutionary at the time) and promo films. No one's re-inventing the wheel here in the 21st century. The only real difference is how the end user/fan/consumer takes delivery. That's distribution - which has always been at the heart of the producer/consumer relationship. This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jul 25 2014, 04:01 AM |
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