music industry is not about music and talent, it's about money and record labels and about money again
14/09/2013, 12:09
It got very hard to make money on music when hard media like CDs dropped out of common use in favour of free, illegal streaming in the late 90s.
Then, after accepting which way the wind was blowing, the record labels cut deals to license their entire music libraries to legal streaming services, and they are bouncing back fairly well now, BUT the artists aren't getting a fair cut of those streaming deals.
The top 40 acts can still make a decent amount of money touring and performing concerts, but for everyone below that, touring is so expensive that they often don't manage to break even, never mind make a profit.
So be a little more forgiving if you see your favourite artist allowing product placements in their music videos, or doing B-list celebrity stuff like commercials. They may not be "selling out" so much as they are "trying to eat". OR showing a bit of extra skin in the hopes of tipping over that top-40 line.
Ah, though in the most recent of recent times, less headliner-esque artists have some new options like Patreon and other internet transaction services that allow their fans to support their work directly, rather than pay a huge record company who will take all the profit for themselves. Those are good options too!
Then, after accepting which way the wind was blowing, the record labels cut deals to license their entire music libraries to legal streaming services, and they are bouncing back fairly well now, BUT the artists aren't getting a fair cut of those streaming deals.
The top 40 acts can still make a decent amount of money touring and performing concerts, but for everyone below that, touring is so expensive that they often don't manage to break even, never mind make a profit.
So be a little more forgiving if you see your favourite artist allowing product placements in their music videos, or doing B-list celebrity stuff like commercials. They may not be "selling out" so much as they are "trying to eat". OR showing a bit of extra skin in the hopes of tipping over that top-40 line.
Ah, though in the most recent of recent times, less headliner-esque artists have some new options like Patreon and other internet transaction services that allow their fans to support their work directly, rather than pay a huge record company who will take all the profit for themselves. Those are good options too!
