gossamer axe wrote:
3)For every penny the artist gets, the label still gets 65 or 70.
Literally. I refuse to support those greedy parasites.
How much does an artist get from allofmp3.com?
With few exceptions, more than they get from the labels. Most
label-promoted musicians are effectively indentured servants.
I read an article some years ago in Guitar Player Magazine. It was all
about the music industry and how much artists get, and where the rest goes.
A lot of it depends on the contract they get when they sign. New artists,
get pennies for each cd sold. This is why you read about popular
artists/bands that sue their record company. They want more money after
they've proven they're a big market band/artist.
Actually, they want /some/ money after they find out that, despite their
success, a rereading of the contract says they *owe* money.
The way the label works is little different than a drug dealer: Find the
talent, front their first song and album, after which the artist must
produce an industry-standard minimum of additional albums (most
contracts specify 5-6 albums) in order to repay the upfront expenditures
of the label and have some income to live on.
So, the artist pays for all recording and some promotion costs. They pay
studio time, backup musician time, etc. Because a new artist doesn't
have that kind of money, the label "Advances" that money to them. The
artist must pay that back. The contract stipulates that the advance can
be paid back in the form of future albums (the costs for which must also
be paid by the artist).
Additionally, the label has exclusive right to determine what
constitutes an album. If the label doesn't like a song, it doesn't go on
an album. They many not like anything the artist develops, instead
forcing the artist to do whatever they, the label, thinks the market
wants. It's not uncommon for an artist or band to work for months on an
album only to have it rejected in part or in whole by the label (while
still having to pay for that now-wasted studio time - incurring even
more dept repayment. In the form of more albums, of course).
The label gets unilateral say on all post-production changes to the
artist's work: boost the bass, change lyrics, rewrite backup tracks,
digital enhancements, etc. Also, the label usually takes copyright
ownership of the work.
I'm sure it's the same for the online music, the artists sees very
little...A lot of artists make more money (per dollar) on things like
T-Shirts and posters than from a cd. It's the price they pay for signing a
contract with the devil.
The reason bands do concerts, even in crappy venues like county fairs,
is because that is the only way they make any money at all. Same with
t-shirts and such. Any royalties made from record sales go back to the
label as loan repayments.
The only way a label-supported artist can get ahead is to become so in
demand that they become a superstar, thereby enabling them to produce
their own music. And some manage not to get screwed because they had
either a very shrewd business talent, or had an agent who did. I suppose
a few even get lucky.
--
Best Regards,
~DJA.
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