Now I am not 100% sure how pertinent or topical this is, but I heard of this story a little while ago and thought that it was somewhat interesting. I feel that it ties in very nicely with the recurring tales of how artists feel and what they do to cope. What is even better is that this story is about yet another big time musical artist; the one and only Boss.
Bruce Springsteen is a name that is synonymous with what is known as heartland rock. He and is backing band the E Street Band have been singing about America since the early 70s. Let us face the facts, if you do not know of The Boss and his E Street band you have obviously been living under a rock for the greater part of half a century and should be strung up by your ear lobes and beat with a rusty pole. Be that as it may, you need some learning thrown your way so I shall do what I have done previously and provide you with links to Wikipedia and The Boss' site which should provide you with all the relevant information you need.
Now Springsteen and his band are allied with a record label, Columbia Records to be specific, and to my knowledge have never had too many issues arise due to their agreements with said label. That being said, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are somewhat of a finely tuned business machine. They promote their own concerts and retain a decent portion of the marketing and distribution rights to their music. While they may be on good terms with their label, it must have still seemed prudent to Bruce to branch out a little bit. Back in December 2008, he struck a deal with corporate giant Wal-Mart that gave them exclusive rights to release his new greatest hits album and sell it for fairly cheap.
To start off, the majority of fans and consumers alike were strongly opposed to the creation of this agreement and I will tell you why. It was primarily due to the fact Springsteen is known for his advocacy of the blue collar workforce through his lyrical content and people see his deal with Wal-Mart contradictory to his message because of Wal-Mart's track record. Wal-Mart is famous for their disrespect of their low-wage employees, their refusal to recognize unions of any kind, and their working climates rife with discrimination. Their conduct paints a picture that does not exactly fit in with what Bruce Springsteen sings about. The Boss went on to admit that the deal was a huge mistake, but fans noted that he still did not pull out of the deal. Bruce Springsteen, one who is normally very good with executive decision-making, hurt his image a decent amount because of all of this. This just goes to show that while artists may make decisions to branch out and succeed tremendously, there are some times where it just is not the right decision and things backfire.
Source(s):
Bruce springsteen. In (2002). Wikipedia Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen
Byrne, D. (2007, December 18). David byrne's survival strategies for emerging artists — and
megastars. Wired, (16.01), Retrieved from
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne?currentPage=all
Clark, A. (2009, February 1). Springsteen says wal-mart album deal was mistake. The
Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/feb/01/bruce-springsteen-
wal-mart
Derrick, L. (2008, December 25). Springsteen sells out -- to wal-mart!. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-derrick/springsteen-sells-
out--to_b_153441.html
Kreps, D. (2008, December 22). Bruce springsteen plans wal-mart only "greatest hits". Rolling
Stone, Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-plans-
wal-mart-only-greatest-hits-20081222
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Interview w/ An Uncle
Alright everyone, today I have a special treat for you all. I took the time to contact my uncle who lives up in Philadelphia (who we shall refer to as Ron from here on out) and ask him a few questions pertaining to the music industry and his take on everything that is going on at the present. Some of you might be wondering why him? Well not only did he grow up during the time of musical geniuses, he is also an audiophile and works as a DJ. He does not work for a record label per say, but he has ample experience in the realms of production and distribution as well as music marketing. I felt he could provide a unique perspective on the topic at hand, so I asked him a few questions to get a good idea of his range of thoughts. Enjoy!
Me: So let me just start off by asking you whether or not you purchase CDs anymore?
Ron: Absolutely. I love music and have always kept a fairly good-sized music catalog. I honestly prefer vinyl but I have tried to keep up with the times.
Me: Have you ever heard someone reason that the CD was created out of greed?
Ron: I have heard people say that. It is plausible to think that they would expressly want people to replace their record collections with smaller, better quality discs but I feel that it was just the natural progression of technology. Sound and the ways we use it are amazing and compact discs were just destined to be another notch in the evolution of music.
Me: Okay let's get down to it, you're a DJ so I assume you know a tad bit about the music creation process within the context of the music industry. What is it all about exactly?
Ron: I haven't done too much full-time work in the industry, I have more just worked as an overall sound engineer, but you are right in assuming that I have had a little experience in producing music. I've always found the whole process a bit daunting to tell you the truth. I'm a stickler for detail and what qualifies as producing music nowadays does not lend itself to its appreciation for attention to detail. When I output a sound I want to know that its going to sound good and I have thrown my hat in on some projects that completely threw creativity and passion to the wind and would've completely fallen apart if not for serious support from the guys upstairs. I regret nothing that I've worked on but I normally just work on my own projects.
Me: When you say serious support from the guys upstairs, you mean....?
Ron: The pieces we were working on were devoid of substance and proper technique and were so full of management changes and lack of time and structure that we almost dropped everything entirely and went about our merry ways. But the big guys in charge wanted the projects to happen so we followed them through to completion despite all the bugs.
Me: Sounds like you've had some bad, dare I say traumatic, experiences working directly with the industry.
Ron: Not particularly. Like I said, I regret nothing that I've worked on but I do have my preferences. I am not exactly a recording artist so my options are a little more diverse I guess you would say. In the end, my knack for attention to detail basically requires that I stick to my own devices.
Me: Why is it so important that you stick to your own devices?
Ron: Isn't it obvious? Working on my own projects with my own equipment at my own pace is just my lifestyle. It works for me.
Me: So what I'm getting is that you don't feel you fit in with goals and schedules of the industry?
Ron: Kind of what it comes down to if you think about. Its somewhat depressing because I love the products of the process so much, that is the great musical artists and tracks, and yet I don't fit in with the process because it is a process so fraught with rules and checklists. Its all kind of beyond me.
Me: So overall, what is your opinion of the business of making music?
Ron: All I will say is this because I feel that it sums it up nicely: that really depends on how you view and/or define the "business of making muisc."
Me: So let me just start off by asking you whether or not you purchase CDs anymore?
Ron: Absolutely. I love music and have always kept a fairly good-sized music catalog. I honestly prefer vinyl but I have tried to keep up with the times.
Me: Have you ever heard someone reason that the CD was created out of greed?
Ron: I have heard people say that. It is plausible to think that they would expressly want people to replace their record collections with smaller, better quality discs but I feel that it was just the natural progression of technology. Sound and the ways we use it are amazing and compact discs were just destined to be another notch in the evolution of music.
Me: Okay let's get down to it, you're a DJ so I assume you know a tad bit about the music creation process within the context of the music industry. What is it all about exactly?
Ron: I haven't done too much full-time work in the industry, I have more just worked as an overall sound engineer, but you are right in assuming that I have had a little experience in producing music. I've always found the whole process a bit daunting to tell you the truth. I'm a stickler for detail and what qualifies as producing music nowadays does not lend itself to its appreciation for attention to detail. When I output a sound I want to know that its going to sound good and I have thrown my hat in on some projects that completely threw creativity and passion to the wind and would've completely fallen apart if not for serious support from the guys upstairs. I regret nothing that I've worked on but I normally just work on my own projects.
Me: When you say serious support from the guys upstairs, you mean....?
Ron: The pieces we were working on were devoid of substance and proper technique and were so full of management changes and lack of time and structure that we almost dropped everything entirely and went about our merry ways. But the big guys in charge wanted the projects to happen so we followed them through to completion despite all the bugs.
Me: Sounds like you've had some bad, dare I say traumatic, experiences working directly with the industry.
Ron: Not particularly. Like I said, I regret nothing that I've worked on but I do have my preferences. I am not exactly a recording artist so my options are a little more diverse I guess you would say. In the end, my knack for attention to detail basically requires that I stick to my own devices.
Me: Why is it so important that you stick to your own devices?
Ron: Isn't it obvious? Working on my own projects with my own equipment at my own pace is just my lifestyle. It works for me.
Me: So what I'm getting is that you don't feel you fit in with goals and schedules of the industry?
Ron: Kind of what it comes down to if you think about. Its somewhat depressing because I love the products of the process so much, that is the great musical artists and tracks, and yet I don't fit in with the process because it is a process so fraught with rules and checklists. Its all kind of beyond me.
Me: So overall, what is your opinion of the business of making music?
Ron: All I will say is this because I feel that it sums it up nicely: that really depends on how you view and/or define the "business of making muisc."
Monday, November 28, 2011
Stax On Deck
So with the creation of SoundScan, record label execs saw an opportunity to put more than their foot in the door and take control of the creative process of music production. They knew what to market to consumers and what areas of the market to target so they felt that they knew the proper method of music creation. They took over every aspect of the production process in order to have artists create a vision that was not their own. The corporate finagling took the industry and turned it into something that it was not. And that was to remain the standard for years to come....
The sad thing is, like most other situations of this nature, this corporate takeover and reshaping tragedy that beset the music industry could have very well been avoided if the corporate suits had remembered their industry history. Musical woes stemming from corporate tug-of-war have plagued the music industry one time in the past. That is right, its story-time.
There once existed a quaint little record label called Stax Records. Stax was set up in Memphis, TN in 1957 by Jim Stewart and and his sister Estelle Axton under the name Satellite Records. In September 1961 the name was changed to Stax and the label was already producing R&B and blues hits from well known artists of the time such as Earth Wind and Fire and Sly & the Family Stone. They even had a partnership with Atlantic Records, another major label back in the day, where Atlantic would have first choice on releasing Stax recordings, which allow the people at Stax to focus completely on the music and its recording process.
As the years went by, Stax signed more and more popular artists which garnered them more and more success. All they released were hits. Their success peaked in 1967 right before tragedy was to strike. Atlantic Records was sold to Warner Bros. who called for a renegotiation of the Stax/Atlantic partnership. It was found that Jim Stewart had actually signed over ownership to all of Stax's master recordings from 1959-1967 and Warner Bros. refused to return ownership to Stewart. Because of this, Stewart did not renew his Atlantic partnership deal and decided to sell Stax Paramount Pictures in 1968.
Stax was now an independent label and needed to rebuild its catalog of recordings which it did. Despite regaining momentum though (they even put on a concert in 1972), their overall situation was unstable at best. In 1972, Stax's new president took complete financial control of the label and struck a distribution deal with CBS. A few executive decisions later though, some people at Stax lost their jobs and CBS's interest in Stax disappeared. The label was getting no profits despite high consumer demands for Stax recordings. In 1975, the president was arrested for bank fraud and Stax Records was forced into involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 19. And thus marked the end of a great contribution to the music industry so early in its timeline.
Source(s):
Callahan, M. (n.d.). Jim stewart and estelle axton's stax records. Retrieved from
http://www.history-of-rock.com/stax_records.htm
McDonald, H. (n.d.). Stax record profile. About.com, Retrieved from
http://musicians.about.com/od/indielabels/p/staxrecords.htm
Mellencamp, J. (2009, March 22). On my mind: the state of the music business. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mellencamp/on-my-mind-the-state-of-t_b_177836.html
Montier, P. (n.d.). Stax story. Retrieved from http://staxrecords.free.fr/staxstory.htm
Stax records. In (2003). Wikipedia Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stax_Records
The sad thing is, like most other situations of this nature, this corporate takeover and reshaping tragedy that beset the music industry could have very well been avoided if the corporate suits had remembered their industry history. Musical woes stemming from corporate tug-of-war have plagued the music industry one time in the past. That is right, its story-time.
There once existed a quaint little record label called Stax Records. Stax was set up in Memphis, TN in 1957 by Jim Stewart and and his sister Estelle Axton under the name Satellite Records. In September 1961 the name was changed to Stax and the label was already producing R&B and blues hits from well known artists of the time such as Earth Wind and Fire and Sly & the Family Stone. They even had a partnership with Atlantic Records, another major label back in the day, where Atlantic would have first choice on releasing Stax recordings, which allow the people at Stax to focus completely on the music and its recording process.
As the years went by, Stax signed more and more popular artists which garnered them more and more success. All they released were hits. Their success peaked in 1967 right before tragedy was to strike. Atlantic Records was sold to Warner Bros. who called for a renegotiation of the Stax/Atlantic partnership. It was found that Jim Stewart had actually signed over ownership to all of Stax's master recordings from 1959-1967 and Warner Bros. refused to return ownership to Stewart. Because of this, Stewart did not renew his Atlantic partnership deal and decided to sell Stax Paramount Pictures in 1968.
Stax was now an independent label and needed to rebuild its catalog of recordings which it did. Despite regaining momentum though (they even put on a concert in 1972), their overall situation was unstable at best. In 1972, Stax's new president took complete financial control of the label and struck a distribution deal with CBS. A few executive decisions later though, some people at Stax lost their jobs and CBS's interest in Stax disappeared. The label was getting no profits despite high consumer demands for Stax recordings. In 1975, the president was arrested for bank fraud and Stax Records was forced into involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 19. And thus marked the end of a great contribution to the music industry so early in its timeline.
Source(s):
Callahan, M. (n.d.). Jim stewart and estelle axton's stax records. Retrieved from
http://www.history-of-rock.com/stax_records.htm
McDonald, H. (n.d.). Stax record profile. About.com, Retrieved from
http://musicians.about.com/od/indielabels/p/staxrecords.htm
Mellencamp, J. (2009, March 22). On my mind: the state of the music business. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mellencamp/on-my-mind-the-state-of-t_b_177836.html
Montier, P. (n.d.). Stax story. Retrieved from http://staxrecords.free.fr/staxstory.htm
Stax records. In (2003). Wikipedia Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stax_Records
Sunday, November 27, 2011
SoundScan Rising
Now time and time again I have consistently talked about the importance of CD sales in the music industry. I have talked about how record labels follow sales statistics to a tee and base all of their time, efforts, and resources into making sure their pop hit sells the most and makes them the most money. Now as much as we all hate talking about corporate dealings, it is sometimes prudent to talk about its origins. Where did all this corporatizing begin and how and why did it originate? To understand any of that, we need to learn a bit about a little thing I like to call SoundScan.
In all actuality it is not something that I like to call SoundScan, it actually is called SoundScan. For those of you not aware of what it is, Nielsen SoundScan is the system created for the express purpose of accurately tracking music and music video product sales. It was thought up by marketing analysts Mike Fine and Mike Shalett back in the early '90s, March 1, 1991 to be exact. You see, before SoundScan came into being and was adopted by Nielsen Media Research, album sales were tracked in a fairly haphazard fashion with retailers having to venture a guess as to approximately how many units they moved then sending in their figures. As you can probably already tell, that method was fraught with errors in distinction and retailers committing fraud.
On May 25, 1991 the first Billboard charts were released using SoundScan sales data and days of those old methods were no more. It now worked in a way that had retailers track their cash registers figures and submit it electronically. They would track all music product barcodes scanned and the quantities sold on a weekly basis. SoundScan was designed to consolidate all of this data from millions of retailers and spit out rankings based on said data. Naturally, the more units a specific album sold, the higher the ranking said album would gain.
With a good portion of Nielsen SoundScan's clients being all major and many independent record labels, it is easy to see where labels get all of their sales data. Not getting it yet? Here is the main point I am trying to get across in talking about SoundScan: in the days before legitimate album sales tracking, sales were tracked horribly. More often than not, the numbers that record labels would end up getting were fairly far off from what the sales figures actually were. Yet without knowing which way was up and what color was purple, music was still produced, bought, and sold and the industry was progressing, if not thriving. Give record labels the real numbers, they start knowing where they can afford to cut corners and what they can sell "pop." So corporate label execs got more involved in the creative process and started tailoring the music to their own design, a design that sells. It is not a design based on value or lyrical content or even talent, the most obvious deciding factor. It is simply a design that will maximize profit. SoundScan was and still is the music industry's tool for acquiring the almighty dollar.
Source(s):
Cloonan, M., & Williamson, J. (2008). Popular music: Rethinking the music industry.
Byrne, D. (2007, December 18). David byrne's survival strategies for emerging artists — and
megastars. Wired, (16.01), Retrieved from
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne?currentPage=all
McCourt, T., & Rothenbuhler, E. (1997). Soundscan and the consolidation of control in the popular
music industry. Media Culture & Society, 19(2), 201-218. Retrieved from http://mcs.sagepub.com/
Mellencamp, J. (2009, March 22). On my mind: the state of the music business. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mellencamp/on-my-mind-the-state-of-t_b_177836.html
Nielsen soundscan. In (2009). Wikipedia Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_SoundScan
Phillips, C. (1991, December 8). Rock 'n' roll revolutionaries: soundscan's mike shalett and mike fine
have shaken up the record industry with a radical concept. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-08/entertainment/ca-85_1_sales-figures
In all actuality it is not something that I like to call SoundScan, it actually is called SoundScan. For those of you not aware of what it is, Nielsen SoundScan is the system created for the express purpose of accurately tracking music and music video product sales. It was thought up by marketing analysts Mike Fine and Mike Shalett back in the early '90s, March 1, 1991 to be exact. You see, before SoundScan came into being and was adopted by Nielsen Media Research, album sales were tracked in a fairly haphazard fashion with retailers having to venture a guess as to approximately how many units they moved then sending in their figures. As you can probably already tell, that method was fraught with errors in distinction and retailers committing fraud.
On May 25, 1991 the first Billboard charts were released using SoundScan sales data and days of those old methods were no more. It now worked in a way that had retailers track their cash registers figures and submit it electronically. They would track all music product barcodes scanned and the quantities sold on a weekly basis. SoundScan was designed to consolidate all of this data from millions of retailers and spit out rankings based on said data. Naturally, the more units a specific album sold, the higher the ranking said album would gain.
With a good portion of Nielsen SoundScan's clients being all major and many independent record labels, it is easy to see where labels get all of their sales data. Not getting it yet? Here is the main point I am trying to get across in talking about SoundScan: in the days before legitimate album sales tracking, sales were tracked horribly. More often than not, the numbers that record labels would end up getting were fairly far off from what the sales figures actually were. Yet without knowing which way was up and what color was purple, music was still produced, bought, and sold and the industry was progressing, if not thriving. Give record labels the real numbers, they start knowing where they can afford to cut corners and what they can sell "pop." So corporate label execs got more involved in the creative process and started tailoring the music to their own design, a design that sells. It is not a design based on value or lyrical content or even talent, the most obvious deciding factor. It is simply a design that will maximize profit. SoundScan was and still is the music industry's tool for acquiring the almighty dollar.
Source(s):
Cloonan, M., & Williamson, J. (2008). Popular music: Rethinking the music industry.
Byrne, D. (2007, December 18). David byrne's survival strategies for emerging artists — and
megastars. Wired, (16.01), Retrieved from
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne?currentPage=all
McCourt, T., & Rothenbuhler, E. (1997). Soundscan and the consolidation of control in the popular
music industry. Media Culture & Society, 19(2), 201-218. Retrieved from http://mcs.sagepub.com/
Mellencamp, J. (2009, March 22). On my mind: the state of the music business. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mellencamp/on-my-mind-the-state-of-t_b_177836.html
Nielsen soundscan. In (2009). Wikipedia Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_SoundScan
Phillips, C. (1991, December 8). Rock 'n' roll revolutionaries: soundscan's mike shalett and mike fine
have shaken up the record industry with a radical concept. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-08/entertainment/ca-85_1_sales-figures
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Scoring Goals with a Yellowcard
As we've seen multiple times in these past discussions, the record companies seem at fault when concerned with the health of the music industry. Greedy corporate industry preying upon the (mostly) talented musicians that produce audible works of art shames and defaces the image of the music industry. Fear not, dear citizens, for I have seen the beautiful flower in this relationship between contract signers and keepers, and its name is Yellowcard.
From humble beginnings to avid rock stars, the members of Yellowcard enjoyed a blissful, healthy relationship with the record company that produced their early popular albums, Capitol Records. The band was on top of the world for a brief moment, before they announced an 'indefinite hiatus,' meaning the band was going to take a break from producing music for an undetermined amount of time. Two years later, the band drops their contract with Capitol records and produces their latest album, “When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes” with Hopeless records, a lesser known 'indie' record company. Sean Mackin, the violinist of the punk pop band, stated in a later interview the breakup between Capitol Records was on positive terms, or at the very least, non-negative terms.
“[...]we had a great relationship with our old record label until they got bought out and restructured.” Sean reported to Infectious Magazine.
Sean went on further to talk about their new partners in producing, Hopeless Records, with great enthusiasm.
“We still feel like the only band on Hopeless Records, and they’re really focused on making sure everyone has the new Yellowcard record and we’re working very hard just to make sure that we can be as successful and take advantage of every opportunity. You can’t ask for anything more in any situation.“
Hopeless Records and, for a time, Capitol Records treated Yellowcard with mutual respect and dignity, not careless greed and manipulation. While not a major contributing factor to the band's success, I feel the band was not hindered by interacting with their managers, as so many other bands seem to have this problem. I feel if other major contributing record companies would follow this beautiful relationship Yellowcard and Hopeless records have developed, the music industry would be better for this change.
Written by Matt Prince <http://chordsandcords.blogspot.com/>
Source(s):
DeAndrea, J. (2008, April 28). Yellowcard on Indefinite Hiatus - News Article . AbsolutePunk.net - Music
Mends Broken Hearts. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://www.absolutepunk.net
/showthread.php?t=314190
Yellowcard. (2011; May 13). Infectious Magazine . Retrieved November 22, 2011, from
http://www.infectiousmagazine.com/yellowcard/
Saturday, November 19, 2011
For Customer Service, Dial 867-5309
You are all probably wondering what all of this means. This is a lot of information to take in, I know. But where does all of it lead? Does this spell the end of music and the industry that once flourished as we know it? As I have continually stated throughout the tenure of our time here together, no the music industry is not on its way out and music is not going to disappear from the face of the earth. I believe what we have discussed thus far proves the contrary.
I am sure by now it is blatantly obvious that the majority of the industry's problems originate with the record labels. The issues can all be summed up in one sentence: the music industry is no longer about producing and releasing good quality tracks, it is about record label execs lining their pockets with as much money as possible. Musicians exist in a world where they are not judged by the quality of their music but by the amount of albums they can sell, because the more albums they sell, the more money they make their record label. At some point in time, greedy corporate figures took complete control over bands by manipulating the industry in such a way that musicians were moved to the bottom of the totem pole and basically told that the creations born of their mind and soul were not theirs. Some artists who have been around long enough to really be able to know for sure reason that it was sometime in the late 80s to early 90s around the mainstreaming of the CD and the inception of SoundScan, which is a story for another day that I just know you are going to love.
The question remains is what could possibly be done about any of this? Well the obvious solution is for record labels to wise up and get with the program. Their clients, the musicians, are their most valuable assets and they could certainly start treating them as such. Artists are sometimes mistreated and overworked to the point that they feel the need to do everything on their own. Also, the unflinching dependence on CDs is sealing the inevitable downfall of record labels.
What it really comes down to is this: the music business is changing with the times and the industry is in a period of transition. As we learn from the past, one media source always rises up to eclipse the previous one as technology progresses, and mp3s have risen up to eclipse the CD. Record labels live in denial though. They would stay with the CD and sacrifice talent for higher sales numbers instead of progressing along with society. It is this rift between record labels and reality that leads people to think that the music industry is failing. CD sales are lower than they have ever been so naturally we must prepare for music's demise. Music not only embraces progress but transcends time, how could it possibly fail? What me must prepare for is either an overhaul of record labels or the end of record labels as we know it, which if you think about it, may not be the worst thing that could happen.
Source(s):
Mellencamp, J. (2009, March 22). On my mind: the state of the music business. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mellencamp/on-my-mind-the-state-of-t_b_177836.html
I am sure by now it is blatantly obvious that the majority of the industry's problems originate with the record labels. The issues can all be summed up in one sentence: the music industry is no longer about producing and releasing good quality tracks, it is about record label execs lining their pockets with as much money as possible. Musicians exist in a world where they are not judged by the quality of their music but by the amount of albums they can sell, because the more albums they sell, the more money they make their record label. At some point in time, greedy corporate figures took complete control over bands by manipulating the industry in such a way that musicians were moved to the bottom of the totem pole and basically told that the creations born of their mind and soul were not theirs. Some artists who have been around long enough to really be able to know for sure reason that it was sometime in the late 80s to early 90s around the mainstreaming of the CD and the inception of SoundScan, which is a story for another day that I just know you are going to love.
The question remains is what could possibly be done about any of this? Well the obvious solution is for record labels to wise up and get with the program. Their clients, the musicians, are their most valuable assets and they could certainly start treating them as such. Artists are sometimes mistreated and overworked to the point that they feel the need to do everything on their own. Also, the unflinching dependence on CDs is sealing the inevitable downfall of record labels.
What it really comes down to is this: the music business is changing with the times and the industry is in a period of transition. As we learn from the past, one media source always rises up to eclipse the previous one as technology progresses, and mp3s have risen up to eclipse the CD. Record labels live in denial though. They would stay with the CD and sacrifice talent for higher sales numbers instead of progressing along with society. It is this rift between record labels and reality that leads people to think that the music industry is failing. CD sales are lower than they have ever been so naturally we must prepare for music's demise. Music not only embraces progress but transcends time, how could it possibly fail? What me must prepare for is either an overhaul of record labels or the end of record labels as we know it, which if you think about it, may not be the worst thing that could happen.
Source(s):
Mellencamp, J. (2009, March 22). On my mind: the state of the music business. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mellencamp/on-my-mind-the-state-of-t_b_177836.html
Friday, November 18, 2011
Guilty of Greed
Now what happens when record labels actually do embrace digital downloads as a pertinent form of music distribution? It all comes down to the fact that the industry is moving towards a new age of how people find and consume music. This means that no matter how much resistance major labels put up, they do still have to cater in some form or fashion to the digital market.
This is where things start to get a little sketchy. Where current musicians see a new horizon for the music industry, record label execs see an easy way to make a quick buck while simultaneously screwing over their clients. The labels are able to do this through use of poorly delineated contracts. Many new artists that want to sign on with a record label can only do so by signing a contract that states the artists' obligations to the label, what will be expected of them and so on and so forth. Here is the catch though; for new artists, the sections pertaining to digital download royalties are usually very poorly worked out and end up with the label taking a major portion of the profit, even though selling music online costs the record label less than making and distributing plastic CDs.
For artists that were signed with a record label before the dawn of digital downloads it can be even worse. Because they signed a contract back in the day that did not outline provisions for digital sales, the record label is able to lay claim to all the royalties while leaving these long time artists without what is rightfully theirs. Naturally, one would get pretty ticked off about this pretty quickly, their own label robbing them blind while the label execs fill their pockets. It is simply not right and many bands are willing to do things differently in order to turn a better profit.
As talked about previously, the alternative rock band Cake distanced themselves form their record label and struck out on their own by building their very own solar powered recording studio and independently releasing their music. Now I am sure most if not all of you know the band Radiohead. They have been around since the 80s and are extremely popular. If there are those of you still not in the loop check out the band's website or Wikipedia page. Now they too were fed up with their record label for constantly jerking them around especially when it came to download royalties. So in 2004 they left their record label and went on hiatus. After three years of being on hiatus, they released their seventh album In Rainbows as a digital download on their website. The real draw was that consumers could name their own price for the album download, they could even get it for free.
In Radiohead's interview with Stephen Colbert, when asked about their decision to release their new album directly to fans, the band's guitarist Ed O'Brien was quoted as saying, "We sell less records, but we make more money." So breaking away from their record label's obsession over CD sales and shortchanging was obviously a positive move. They have also released their eighth album, The King of Limbs in the same fashion and plan to continue doing so in the future. This method of distribution is not as clever as a solar powered studio, but it is another example of bands becoming independent and changing along with the climate of the industry, leaving the record labels behind, which is how it should be. Record labels can be so underhanded in the ways they rob artists of their royalties. This state of affairs is a travesty really and is a sign of not only greed and absent-mindedness, but also of strife and desperation on the part of the record labels. It is no wonder many people believe that the industry is dying.
Source(s):
Anderson, N. (2008, January 2). Radiohead: artists often screwed by digital downloads. Retrieved
from http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/01/radiohead-artists-often-screwed-by-digital-
downloads.ars
This is where things start to get a little sketchy. Where current musicians see a new horizon for the music industry, record label execs see an easy way to make a quick buck while simultaneously screwing over their clients. The labels are able to do this through use of poorly delineated contracts. Many new artists that want to sign on with a record label can only do so by signing a contract that states the artists' obligations to the label, what will be expected of them and so on and so forth. Here is the catch though; for new artists, the sections pertaining to digital download royalties are usually very poorly worked out and end up with the label taking a major portion of the profit, even though selling music online costs the record label less than making and distributing plastic CDs.
For artists that were signed with a record label before the dawn of digital downloads it can be even worse. Because they signed a contract back in the day that did not outline provisions for digital sales, the record label is able to lay claim to all the royalties while leaving these long time artists without what is rightfully theirs. Naturally, one would get pretty ticked off about this pretty quickly, their own label robbing them blind while the label execs fill their pockets. It is simply not right and many bands are willing to do things differently in order to turn a better profit.
As talked about previously, the alternative rock band Cake distanced themselves form their record label and struck out on their own by building their very own solar powered recording studio and independently releasing their music. Now I am sure most if not all of you know the band Radiohead. They have been around since the 80s and are extremely popular. If there are those of you still not in the loop check out the band's website or Wikipedia page. Now they too were fed up with their record label for constantly jerking them around especially when it came to download royalties. So in 2004 they left their record label and went on hiatus. After three years of being on hiatus, they released their seventh album In Rainbows as a digital download on their website. The real draw was that consumers could name their own price for the album download, they could even get it for free.
In Radiohead's interview with Stephen Colbert, when asked about their decision to release their new album directly to fans, the band's guitarist Ed O'Brien was quoted as saying, "We sell less records, but we make more money." So breaking away from their record label's obsession over CD sales and shortchanging was obviously a positive move. They have also released their eighth album, The King of Limbs in the same fashion and plan to continue doing so in the future. This method of distribution is not as clever as a solar powered studio, but it is another example of bands becoming independent and changing along with the climate of the industry, leaving the record labels behind, which is how it should be. Record labels can be so underhanded in the ways they rob artists of their royalties. This state of affairs is a travesty really and is a sign of not only greed and absent-mindedness, but also of strife and desperation on the part of the record labels. It is no wonder many people believe that the industry is dying.
Source(s):
Anderson, N. (2008, January 2). Radiohead: artists often screwed by digital downloads. Retrieved
from http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/01/radiohead-artists-often-screwed-by-digital-
downloads.ars
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Folly of Record Labels
Let us take a step back for a second. In talking about Cake before, I mentioned how the band is fairly in tune with the growing trend of music being a downloadable and sometimes free commodity. While Cake is only one of the many bands that understands that trends come and go, not everyone is ready and willing to adopt such an attitude. The top offenders are the ones that you would least expect, your friendly neighborhood record labels.
Record labels have been around for decades and have usually went with the natural ebb and flow of technological progress in the music industry. What is it that makes it so difficult in this day and age for them to accept change? The main reason is that the majority of the internet is public domain and with so much file sharing and piracy, most record labels are afraid to move their market online for fear of not turning a profit. The labels' reliance on CDs as their main media source drives them go at great lengths to protect their music rights, therefore removing said media from said media source and sharing it on servers across the web goes against their supposed claim to the royalties. The real kicker is, while the musicians are the true artists behind the music and deserve the majority of the profit, not only do record labels pay them less than they are owed they more often than not withhold royalties from the artists claiming some kind of contractual obligation.
Here is the sad part; it is because of this love affair with CDs that record labels, and the industry as a whole, are suffering. Not many people buy CDs anymore. A lot of people have the capability to find whatever song or album they might be looking for on the internet for either free or very cheap, so why would they go out and pay $20 for a CD? Record labels are not moving anywhere near as many CDs as they should be and they are in some dire straits presently, so it is reasonable for a lot of people to think that the industry is on its last breath.
The good news: The music industry is not going anywhere. The fact of the matter is that music actually does sell online. The majority of mp3 sites (that have songs for as low as 99 cents at times) have recently seen surges in their consumer base. The best part about selling the music online is that all the money goes into the hands of the musical artists who created the tracks. There is no greedy middleman micromanaging every detail of production in order to push a plastic disc with a pop hit on it, which is why many artists, like Cake, have decided to branch off on their own. The profits are better and the only micromanaging involved comes with a personal touch which more often than not leads to a better quality track. Now you cannot beat that.
Source(s):
Anderson, N. (2008, January 22). A brave new world: the music biz at the dawn of 2008. Retrieved
from http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/01/state-of-digital-music-2007.ars/1
Record labels have been around for decades and have usually went with the natural ebb and flow of technological progress in the music industry. What is it that makes it so difficult in this day and age for them to accept change? The main reason is that the majority of the internet is public domain and with so much file sharing and piracy, most record labels are afraid to move their market online for fear of not turning a profit. The labels' reliance on CDs as their main media source drives them go at great lengths to protect their music rights, therefore removing said media from said media source and sharing it on servers across the web goes against their supposed claim to the royalties. The real kicker is, while the musicians are the true artists behind the music and deserve the majority of the profit, not only do record labels pay them less than they are owed they more often than not withhold royalties from the artists claiming some kind of contractual obligation.
Here is the sad part; it is because of this love affair with CDs that record labels, and the industry as a whole, are suffering. Not many people buy CDs anymore. A lot of people have the capability to find whatever song or album they might be looking for on the internet for either free or very cheap, so why would they go out and pay $20 for a CD? Record labels are not moving anywhere near as many CDs as they should be and they are in some dire straits presently, so it is reasonable for a lot of people to think that the industry is on its last breath.
The good news: The music industry is not going anywhere. The fact of the matter is that music actually does sell online. The majority of mp3 sites (that have songs for as low as 99 cents at times) have recently seen surges in their consumer base. The best part about selling the music online is that all the money goes into the hands of the musical artists who created the tracks. There is no greedy middleman micromanaging every detail of production in order to push a plastic disc with a pop hit on it, which is why many artists, like Cake, have decided to branch off on their own. The profits are better and the only micromanaging involved comes with a personal touch which more often than not leads to a better quality track. Now you cannot beat that.
Source(s):
Anderson, N. (2008, January 22). A brave new world: the music biz at the dawn of 2008. Retrieved
from http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/01/state-of-digital-music-2007.ars/1
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Cake's Basic Facts of Life
So were any of you aware that you CAN have your cake and eat it too? So many people have told you throughout your life that you cannot but today I am here to tell you that you indeed can. That would of course require you to acquire your own baked delicacy. I am of course referring to alternative rock band Cake. For those of you not quite sure who Cake is, they are a rock band that have been around since 1991 and have released such hits as "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" and "The Distance." If you would like to indulge your appetite for some Cake, check out the band's website or Wikipedia.
The reason I bring up Cake is because of their recent album release Showroom of Compassion. When the album was released back in January it became the lowest-selling number-one album on the Billboard 200, with 44,000 copies being sold. I mention Showroom of Compassion not for its stellar success and critical reception, but for the methods by which it was produced and distributed.
To put it lightly, Cake was fed up with all the hoops they had to jump through with their major record label. They also were more in tune with the growing trend of music being a downloadable and sometimes free commodity.The band's solution was simple really: build a solar powered recording studio and independently release all of their future albums on their own label. This method is certainly not conventional but it was obviously what the band was looking for. They went about leaving their old label and created their own, ILG, which would also serve as their distributor. In an interview with Electronic Musician, Cake's lead singer John McCrea had this to say,
"It’s our own label, and we’re pretty much doing it ourselves, and it’s all on our schedule, which is great. One of the things that frustrated us and a lot of other bands is having to work so hard on recording your album and then handing it over to somebody and being really at their mercy, being at the mercy of things that we’re not related to at all, to their business model, or their hiring and firing of employees—just random corporate hi-jinks. The stupidity of corporate culture sometimes affects something that you’ve worked on your whole life."
It is just like I said, this move was obviously what Cake was looking for. Now Cake is no stranger to independent releases; they released their first album independently by selling it out of their tour van. This bold move is no van store though; the band has multitudes of overhead. Every single thing they do they must pay for, but I am sure that the solar panels help with that.
Cake is showing us how to be creative in order to keep up with the changing times. Who else would have thought of building a solar powered recording studio? The idea is clever and aims to be very successful, albeit with longer periods of time in between album releases. They are also a prime example of musicians distancing themselves from all the corporate micromanaging of record labels to set off on their own. They are representative of a transitory climate that many refuse to recognize. As metal band Metallica would say, sad but true. Until next time.
Source(s):
Levine, M. (2011, March 1). Cake- nothin' fancy. Electronic Musician. Retrieved from
http://emusician.com/interviews/feature/cake_showroom_compassion/
The reason I bring up Cake is because of their recent album release Showroom of Compassion. When the album was released back in January it became the lowest-selling number-one album on the Billboard 200, with 44,000 copies being sold. I mention Showroom of Compassion not for its stellar success and critical reception, but for the methods by which it was produced and distributed.
To put it lightly, Cake was fed up with all the hoops they had to jump through with their major record label. They also were more in tune with the growing trend of music being a downloadable and sometimes free commodity.The band's solution was simple really: build a solar powered recording studio and independently release all of their future albums on their own label. This method is certainly not conventional but it was obviously what the band was looking for. They went about leaving their old label and created their own, ILG, which would also serve as their distributor. In an interview with Electronic Musician, Cake's lead singer John McCrea had this to say,
"It’s our own label, and we’re pretty much doing it ourselves, and it’s all on our schedule, which is great. One of the things that frustrated us and a lot of other bands is having to work so hard on recording your album and then handing it over to somebody and being really at their mercy, being at the mercy of things that we’re not related to at all, to their business model, or their hiring and firing of employees—just random corporate hi-jinks. The stupidity of corporate culture sometimes affects something that you’ve worked on your whole life."
It is just like I said, this move was obviously what Cake was looking for. Now Cake is no stranger to independent releases; they released their first album independently by selling it out of their tour van. This bold move is no van store though; the band has multitudes of overhead. Every single thing they do they must pay for, but I am sure that the solar panels help with that.
Cake is showing us how to be creative in order to keep up with the changing times. Who else would have thought of building a solar powered recording studio? The idea is clever and aims to be very successful, albeit with longer periods of time in between album releases. They are also a prime example of musicians distancing themselves from all the corporate micromanaging of record labels to set off on their own. They are representative of a transitory climate that many refuse to recognize. As metal band Metallica would say, sad but true. Until next time.
Source(s):
Levine, M. (2011, March 1). Cake- nothin' fancy. Electronic Musician. Retrieved from
http://emusician.com/interviews/feature/cake_showroom_compassion/
Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Hard Truth
Now last time we were together we talked about where music started and how it evolved to where it is at today. While music's history is interesting and the path it has blazed throughout the years is no less than amazing, it is time to take a step back and look at where that path has lead. A lot of artists and music enthusiasts feel that the music industry is in some dire straits.
The fact of the matter is that what the music industry is actually all about is selling CDs. The individual record labels throughout the industry really care about finding the lowest common denominator in popularity and making said track or artist the main focus. Basically what it boils down to is this; record labels micromanage every stage of a band's production period in order to create the most popular hit. They judge whether or not such a hit has been created by watching the CD sales. If a band sells x amount of CDs, x being a fairly high number one would assume, the record label puts all its energy and resources into selling that band's album, whether or not another artist on the same label might be getting a better mainstream reception. Then to top it all off the record label takes the greater majority of the royalties from said CD sales and leaves the musical artist out in the cold.
This is the sad truth of the music industry presently. A band might be selling out all of its concerts and racking up major downloads online, but if they do not have the CD sales to "back up" how good they are doing then it can be very difficult for them to get anywhere in the industry. Without stellar CD sales, a record label will not even bat an eyelash towards a band, which means a lot of raw musical talent goes unnoticed and unappreciated. With the industry being this way a lot of artists are deciding to not even bother with record labels, which may be the best solution. Some bands are noticing the trend of the industry to be a cold and cruel mistress and are developing other methods of production and distribution. "What are these methods?" you ask. "Please tell me, I NEED TO KNOW!" you scream. Well my compatriots you will be taught in good time, but you must be patient. These solutions are things best left for another time.
Source(s):
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne?currentPage=all
Mellencamp, J. (2009, March 22). On my mind: the state of the music business. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mellencamp/on-my-mind-the-state-of-t_b_177836.html
The fact of the matter is that what the music industry is actually all about is selling CDs. The individual record labels throughout the industry really care about finding the lowest common denominator in popularity and making said track or artist the main focus. Basically what it boils down to is this; record labels micromanage every stage of a band's production period in order to create the most popular hit. They judge whether or not such a hit has been created by watching the CD sales. If a band sells x amount of CDs, x being a fairly high number one would assume, the record label puts all its energy and resources into selling that band's album, whether or not another artist on the same label might be getting a better mainstream reception. Then to top it all off the record label takes the greater majority of the royalties from said CD sales and leaves the musical artist out in the cold.
This is the sad truth of the music industry presently. A band might be selling out all of its concerts and racking up major downloads online, but if they do not have the CD sales to "back up" how good they are doing then it can be very difficult for them to get anywhere in the industry. Without stellar CD sales, a record label will not even bat an eyelash towards a band, which means a lot of raw musical talent goes unnoticed and unappreciated. With the industry being this way a lot of artists are deciding to not even bother with record labels, which may be the best solution. Some bands are noticing the trend of the industry to be a cold and cruel mistress and are developing other methods of production and distribution. "What are these methods?" you ask. "Please tell me, I NEED TO KNOW!" you scream. Well my compatriots you will be taught in good time, but you must be patient. These solutions are things best left for another time.
Source(s):
Byrne, D. (2007, December 18). David byrne's survival strategies for emerging artists — and
megastars. Wired, (16.01), Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne?currentPage=all
Mellencamp, J. (2009, March 22). On my mind: the state of the music business. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mellencamp/on-my-mind-the-state-of-t_b_177836.html
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