Did Young People Kill Music ? |
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Feb 9 2021, 08:54 AM
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In a recent interview Gene Simmons of Kiss fame recently doubled down on statement he made in a preview interview blaming young people for the death of the music industry. He is quoted as saying “You have killed the thing you love”. He blamed streaming and the love young folks have for streaming platforms as the reason that they have killed the music biz. He seems to really have an issue with streaming. It’s true that streaming doesn’t pay very well. A fraction of a penny for each stream played. As a result, musicians have had a hard time making enough money to make a living. The biz has certainly changed. Now more than ever it’s important to have as many revenue streams as possible in music. Gone are the days when just unit sales and air play could support mid level artists. Mid level and lower is where the real problem is.
When CD’s were a thing, artists made about one dollar for each one sold under a record contract. This went to pay back the money they had borrowed from the label for the recording of the album and music video and promotion etc. Most artists never made any money under that system either, it should be pointed out. Some artists made huge money, but most never made enough to pay back the money they borrowed and took as as “advance” against future royalties. So in that respect, things have not changed that much. There are a few folks near the top of any genre that manage to make a living just doing music and then there’s everyone else. Bands like periphery have managed to make a decent living despite leaving their record label and doing it all themselves. However, they did have a record label to help them break through the noise and allow them a chance to connect with an audience. Once they had an audience, I think they did the smart thing. They realized that their “Brand” had value and they went off on their own. In addition, each member has their own business interests, that stem from the band. For example, guitarist Misha has a deal with Jackson guitars, for which he makes money each time one of his signature models sells. Also, he created his own line of effects pedals which are distributed through another larger vendor. This replaced his previous relationship with a much smaller effects pedal vendor. Having a large vendor makes sure that enough product can be delivered and ensures build quality. Members have each been creating new avenues of revenue including software plugins. This all helps to supplement their income from sales of music and touring. Now that very few folks are able to tour, the supplemental income is critical. So why are streaming payout so low anyway? Well, the streaming companies like spofity, made a deal with the record labels long ago. Major labels agreed to give spotify a very lower royalty payout rate in exchange for stock options of spotify. This resulted in great profits for the labels, but very low payouts for artists. This isn’t likely to change any time soon. As a result, it’s more important than ever for artists to adapt and find other avenues from which to earn income. So really, young people didn’t kill music. They just adapted to the changing technology by which music is enjoyed. The rise of the smart phone makes spoftify a very handy thing after all. It’s just about every song one could ever want for a small monthly fee. Owning music is something that is almost alien to young people these days. They stream, basically rent, music, rarely do they actually buy it. It happens, just not often enough to create the income streams we used to see with cd sales That said, artists can still join bandcamp and other sites to put out music themselves and charge for it. Of course, most of them won’t make much money on that. A band has to break through to some degree in order to get some kind of traction. Individuals can do this as well, through social media, without ever going on tour. So there are ways to connect with an audience. It’s just that the audience has changed the ways they typically consume music. Times change. Gene seems to be pretty angry about that. QUESTION: WHAT DO YOU THINK? DID YOUNG PEOPLE KILL MUSIC? https://guitar.com/news/music-news/kiss-gen...ung-fans-again/ |
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Feb 9 2021, 06:07 PM
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Interesting talk coming from the guy who's band is (at least partially) responsible for turning Rock and Roll concerts into a special fx and light show event more than being about the music. He's just pissed off that he can't laze around on the couch anymore and make money doing nothing.
In the arts - all of the arts - there's only a very small percentage that have ever made any real money from it for any length of time. -------------------- - 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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