how to sell 1 million albums and still owe..

[Skyweaver]

interesting article


http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...-sell-1-million-albums-still-owe-500000.shtml

 

[Ensi]

Real interesting watch for me that don't know very much of this. Is it really this bad?

 

[James Murphy]

no, not really.... i've sold far less in my career and still get royalty checks, years later in some cases.... but recording contracts are business deals, and as with any business deal, you can surely get fucked if you aren't well represented. there are some records i've done that i have to chase down.

 

[egan.]

My experience is the same as James'. I get royalty checks and I'm sure I've sold well under 100k cumulatively across all the stuff I've done. That said, I don't love the current system but too often these "this is what's wrong with the biz" pieces end up being a justification for why no one should pay for anything which screws artists (and engineers and producers) even harder.

 

[Skyweaver]

I think the distro deals are a much safer bet for musicians these days....although our previous distro company (Amphead) went under, didnt notify us except for a post on their site.....

http://www.amphead.com.au/

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Yeah this is somewhat why I lost interested in "making it" 9 years ago.

The toiling just wasn't for me. Plus there was a couple local bands that got burned by their labels when all was said and done and that just sucks out loud for real.

 

[-Noodles-]

James and Egan:
There's another article which is along a similar vein. Song writers are where a lot of "pop" artists lose money. Production costs etc for pop productions are often huge. The case is a Rhianna track, costing $1m.

I think when you're dealing with heavy rock or metal - it's probably a smaller budget, on a smaller label who are cooler [but still dangerous].

Edit: the record label don't make $20m gross in the video like they suggest, most retailers will be taking closer to $15 off that price. The label will be making 1/4 of the figures he suggests. He talks about it but very loosely and in an unclear manner.

 

[AD Chaos]

I've always wondered about this

Is it better to use labels only as 'distributors'? (for metalz.. not talking about million-selling artists)

I mean, produce/distribute the physical copies yourself, and use a label only for advertising?

 

[Skyweaver]

I've always wondered about this

Is it better to use labels only as 'distributors'? (for metalz.. not talking about million-selling artists)

I mean, produce/distribute the physical copies yourself, and use a label only for advertising?

yep I think so, the distro deal is not a bad concept, I know of groups of bands getting together and starting a distro label for all things internet etc, which you can do on your own, but as more contacts come etc you benefit from a collaborative/collective approach or you can do most of it on your own...