Why The Music Industry Sucks Part 978 |
|
|
|
|
Nov 20 2010, 03:00 PM
|
|
QUOTE (brandon @ Nov 9 2010, 02:56 PM)  ...So that's about $8,000 in the whole and about $72,000 unaccounted for. So I can only guess where that ended up because we didn't see a dime from the label.... TBH I think this is pretty much true for most. With a group I was in years ago the major we signed to spent 7 years threatening to take legal action to recover ALL of the advance when we didn't sell loads of records and they dropped us. That's despite the fact that the label had already clawed back most of the advance anyway. QUOTE I do know a few people who scrape out a small living playing in a band, ... and even they still work part time jobs ... Similarly I know a lot of engineers who have to hold down a normal job as well. Those that can make a full time living are in the minority. QUOTE Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like it would be so much easier to make a living at it if you lived in Europe. So many countries and cities so close by. Depends on which part of Europe I guess. I live in S Spain and the population density here is much lower than a lot of N Europe. Also income is much lower and there is high unemployment. QUOTE Another problem with the US is that it's completely over saturated with musicians and bands. People are at the point where they're indifferent on seeing live music because half the people they know play music or aspire to do so. Good bands a lot of times go without ever being heard because no one cares. People here enjoy seeing live music but most of it is free - very few get paid for performing. TBH I think most people here are often very good amateur musicians interested in doing it than paying to see it. Traditionally people often perform when the 'spirit moves them' rather than at a particular time or at a specific venue. That sort of duende doesn't lend it self to being paid or to normal gigging. There's also not a great amount of variety where I am - mostly flamenco and classical. The flamenco varies from the very good to the rubbish churned out for tourists. With classical it's performed by small, local orchestras rather than the big national ones. The ayuntamiento normally put on a live group for major fiestas but they usually play 'hits of the 70s' type stuff. This post has been edited by tonymiro: Nov 20 2010, 03:00 PM -------------------- Get your music professionally mastered by anl AES registered Mastering Engineer. Contact me for Audio Mastering Services and Advice and visit our website www.miromastering.com
Be friends on facebook with us here. We use professional, mastering grade hardware in our mastering studo. Our hardware includes: Cranesong Avocet II Monitor Controller, Dangerous Music Liasion Insert Hardware Router, ATC SCM Pro Monitors, Lavry Black DA11, Prism Orpheus ADC/DAC, Gyratec Gyraf XIV Parallel Passive Mastering EQ, Great River MAQ 2NV Mastering EQ, Kush Clariphonic Parallel EQ Shelf, Maselec MLA-2 Mastering Compressor, API 2500 Mastering Compressor, Eventide Eclipse Reverb/Echo. |
 |
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nov 26 2010, 06:41 AM
|
|
There are some interesting new business models that have a lot of potential. A favorite band of mine, Over The Rhine sent out a newsletter to all the fans on their email list, and basically said "Let's make a record together." They offered various packages of goodies based on how much money you invested, from $15 to pre-buy the CD, up to a few thousand dollars which would buy you a private house concert.
Ultimately they collected enough to pay for the entire record. Two weeks recording in Los Angeles with Joe Henry producing, and a duet with Lucinda Williams. The record is coming out in January, but everyone who contributed has already heard the finished record with some bonuses. A very successful project. It would still require that you have enough fans to pull this off. This post has been edited by jdriver: Nov 26 2010, 06:42 AM -------------------- "I dreamed a lot when I was younger.. I'm older now but still I hunger For some understanding. There's no understanding, now. Was there ever? ...Joe Puerta (Ambrosia)... Finally got a YouTube page going. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nov 26 2010, 07:12 AM
|
|
jdriver,
That's the kind of innovation bands will need to display to 'make it' in this changing industry. ------------- For those of you who are gig and recording bands, here's a relatively new blog where the writers road-test self-promotional services and then review them. Might be of some use. http://www.passivepromotion.com/ -------------------- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nov 26 2010, 03:32 PM
|
|
[quote name='Ben Higgins' date='Nov 26 2010, 10:02 AM' post='506597']
[quote name='tonymiro' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:39 PM' post='504703'] I think the figures he's quoting are not far out. Years ago a band I was in signed to a major and we saw maybe 5% of the advance - the rest was clawed back by the record label for various things. One thing to add is that these are probably the figures that the record company/label accountant will present to band management rather than what the label pays. quote] How did they manage to get away with that ? Forgive my naivete, but if a band has legal rep and the terms have been agreed, how can they hold back on your advance legally ? I know the industry is constantly shifting, but am I right in thinking that fundamentally the advance and recording costs were kept separate ? We were young and naive and got some very bad advice including fundamentally listening to a solicitor who knew nothing about the music industry. Following her advice we signed a pre-contract that left us personally liable. The record company spent several years trying to recover about 50k from each of individually when they dropped us because of the contract. With the pre-contract we signed we also 'agreed' to use the label's in-house production, including tracking/mixing and mastering and we 'agreed' to pick up all the promotion costs. Only way to cover those was the advance. Really stupid bit was we got the pre-contract from some A&R after a gig and when we signed it we thought it would lead to a proper full contract but it actually committed us to a lot and the label to virtually nothing. -------------------- Get your music professionally mastered by anl AES registered Mastering Engineer. Contact me for Audio Mastering Services and Advice and visit our website www.miromastering.com
Be friends on facebook with us here. We use professional, mastering grade hardware in our mastering studo. Our hardware includes: Cranesong Avocet II Monitor Controller, Dangerous Music Liasion Insert Hardware Router, ATC SCM Pro Monitors, Lavry Black DA11, Prism Orpheus ADC/DAC, Gyratec Gyraf XIV Parallel Passive Mastering EQ, Great River MAQ 2NV Mastering EQ, Kush Clariphonic Parallel EQ Shelf, Maselec MLA-2 Mastering Compressor, API 2500 Mastering Compressor, Eventide Eclipse Reverb/Echo. |
|
|
|
|
 
|
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:
