As announced in a recent BBC article, Prince has agreed to release his latest album Lotus Flow3r via US retail chain Target. Prince, known for his strong pro-copyright activism, chooses to price his album at $11.98 only. And he is not the only one; both AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen have also distributed an album via Wal-Mart, ignoring the record labels.
Artists here make their point clear: this is their way of showing their dislike of the label’s policies. They are actually pioneers towards a change of status regarding the domination of the music business by record companies.
A lot of bands complain about the way the record companies work by restricting them and controlling every step of their public appearance, giving them a lot of pressure and no freedom of expression. Sometimes they have to lower their standards, allowing labels to alter their songs in order to become more commercial and most of the times claim all the royalties. And still, all this sacrifice is not enough. No label is going to do us the favor to exploit us if we don’t already have our own audience or if our publicity is not beforehand boosted in some way. And it is particularly difficult to go public without the help of an expensive promoter/label, unless we are extremely lucky, no matter how good or bad musicians/songwriters we are.
The music industry does suffer from piracy and the phenomenon has been considerably increased by the current economic situation. Some buyers are enraged by the corruption of the record companies and by the non-affordable prices and refuse to be part of the vicious circle of greed. The result is the gradual collapse of the music industry system as all the small record labels, being unable to afford or risk investment in unknown artists, have been absorbed by the majors that work mainly with temporarily famous musicians, promoting only “fast food” music.
Will the decay of the record companies open new doors for many worthy fresh talents? Of course it looks like a positive sign. The artists can and do resort to alternative methods; they can sell albums independently or cooperate with music agencies to get promotion for gigs without the need of the labels. Musicians can also find alternative ways of reaching the audience and distributing their music (technology and internet is the key) and stop hoping that sending demos to the labels will work because it simply doesn’t.
Post a Comment
Read also
- Improving the mainstream music… We saw in the last 6 months that the music industry has not been badly affected by the global financial crisis. Some say it is recession-proof or that the recession has been helpful to them while there are a few reports that confirm that the record industry does suffer but not as much as others [...]...
- Thou shalt not steal… . Thousands of users today prefer to download songs online for free using sharing software instead of buying cds from the record stores or paying the artists via itunes or other online stores. The controversy: First opinion: This illegal. Everyone gets paid and the same should happen for musicians. Why do we have to accept [...]...
- Should youtube stop removing copyrighted videos? I recently came across several online petitions asking from Youtube to stop deleting copyrighted material such like music videos, movies, and other shows. It is well knows that youtube follows a very strict policy regarding copyrights. At 2006 BBC has reported that “Its policy is to take down copyrighted material when it is alerted by [...]...
- Michael Jackson and the media hysteria 25 of June 2009. One of the most famous artists of the international music scene, Michael Jackson, died after a long period of medical treatment. Thousands of his fans around the world feel devastated as Jackson was their idol, the man with the multiple talents, dancer, showman, singer, songwriter was their inspiration. Almost everybody has [...]...
8 Comments
Our blog, the "Free Voice Network" is looking for your active participation. Now you can publish your own articles/stories….
Be informed about new articles…
Loading ...
07/09/2009 @ 15:59
Jori I think your music is good however the problem is not what I think but what “they” think. The music industry does not see the artists as “artists” but as a way to make money.
Always remember, copyright your music before you do anything. Do not trust.
07/09/2009 @ 15:09
Okay,
I am so confused now. I just turned 15years old and signed with an independent record label. It is taking longer than I thought to complete the project. Does anyone have suggestions on how else to begin getting recognition? I am doing gigs, have a demo and would like to send it to Labels. But everyone says it is not worth the time. So what is the answer if any? Here is my link. Check me out and tell me what you think
Thanks- Jori from Crystal Lake Illinois
Wanting fame! and trying to find a pathway that will get me there.
07/06/2009 @ 06:32
The music industry will change dramatically soon. I am a teacher and my students do not know what it means to go into a store and purchase a CD, let a lone an album. That is not to say they pirate everything. It has changed and the industry will change or die. Maybe we have reached the time when we no longer think it is acceptable for a young musician to be asking millions of dollars.
28/04/2009 @ 22:31
I am not talking about big labels vs small indie labels.I believe that small labels are hopeless cases that cannot support artists and I completely ignore them, as if they don’t exist.
I don’t think there is any point pursuing a label contract because they only sign you if you already sell or have audience. And I am asking myself (and anybody interested): Why on earth should I sign if I have managed to have my own audience and if I have managed to sell?
In the Uk at the moment , regardless the fact you mention about the radio, the majority of the music produced by new band during the last 10years is utter rubbish, because young people have forgotten all about their music tradition. They have forgotten how to produce meaningful music enriching it with folk like all the great songwriters have done.
Where is Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Chris Rea, Jethro Tull influences in today’s music? Nowhere.
Consequently there is so much junk, cheap music around in the UK and meaningful music will not be noticed. And on top of that they seem to be laboring under the illusion that they are producing great music and that music now is much better than in the 90s because all there then were boybands!
There are cases of musicians who broke with their labels and went independent, because they were already relatively known and they had the power to do it. Isn’t it better if a new artist hires a couple of people to do the promotion for him, book gigs etc and music distributes the music directly to the audience?
28/04/2009 @ 21:39
Sounds a bit like a ‘sour grapes’ blog re. your outlook on the record companies. The music industry is always going to be around long after you and I are both dead, and it moves in cycles. The golden time for independently recorded and distributed music was the late 50′s to mid 60′s after which the major labels found modern music was a great way of creating revenue. In Britain, independent music does get a chance of being successful because their radio station formats are more open compared to the likes of the American ones. During the 80′s up till a few years ago, independent music was on a healthy competing par with the likes of EMI, Sony, Warner and Polygram (now Universal), but now the British seem to have taken to mainstream American music more than what’s coming out of their country.
However, I do agree with you 100% on production being the key to being signed as well as musicians (mostly young kids) sending in unsolicited demo tapes to record labels.
The problem with the record companies today is that there is no balance between making money and producing original and diversified music the way they operated back in the 1960′s.
Most record company CEOs today know virtually nothing about the basic rudiments of music – even Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Records admitted that he knows nothing about music, preferring to leave any artistic and technical knowledge of it to people who are more qualified than him in that area.
And sadly, most record labels owned or started by musicians and producers (even reputable ones) don’t last very long either.
What is needed for the music business to go forward is to look four steps back, find out what made chart music so good a few decades ago and continue on that. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
09/04/2009 @ 07:13
I had just enough money to record tracks for my acoustic jazz album in a decent studio with a piano, but then mixed and mastered it at home on my Macintosh – partly because I had no money left. And, of course, I have trouble selling it – I’m a decent sound engineer, but an awful producer and promoter.
04/04/2009 @ 20:28
@George
Thanks for the lovely comment. It seems like there is more quantity than quality in music today. Here in UK and Ireland they only copy the same sound G,C,D chords with lyrics… oh my God, I still wonder where they got this dump inspiration. Where is David Bowie with the Ziggy Stardust and Alladin Sane, Where is Queen, Led Zeppelin, where is the folk music?
It seems like the face of music industry is changing, the agencies could do it better than the record companies undoubtedly, however as you say dollars will win at the end and that because the artists considered inferiors in most of the communities and it is worsening, as the following example confirms that: Here in UK and Ireland, if someone wants to go in a work agency to find a job, the application is free, the agents will get payed by the employers but the music agencies charge the musicians instead.
It is true the listeners don’t pick up what they like. We have to confront the mass culture, the sheep community. And I resist to that. That’s why I am… the black sheep :)
03/04/2009 @ 19:36
“New Age of Discography” was good. I love the metephor “fast food music” you nailed that one buddy. I have heard of bands that got deals just so they wouldn’t be heard and compete. The face is changing and I hope it goes the way that gives new talent a break. In this consumer age so many people like what they are marketed to like…Like a lazer dot comes out of the radio or TV putting a red dot on their forehead. In the 50′s,60′s and 70′s it seemed more like the listener picked what they liked. Maybe I am wrong.
It seems also that myspace is getting caught up in the BIG MACHINE and DJ’s and Kareoke take more of the small venues. Computers and the internet will alter the old ways
I hope for the better of the listener and the artist. But promotion and promotion… dollars will win in the end.
Since Sears Catologue and Rockefeller and Gobels learned the not so secret, secrets, of how to sway the masses…We have been a manipulated public. I fear “The Decay of the Labels” will be just a redistribution of wealth. And it will be the unpromoted newer artist that suffer the most “Some or most are AMAZING TALENTS”…but never heard. Walmart will never make a deal with them.
The computor does level the playing field and those that have savy at it…stand a much better chance. And on a certain level brings back the days when a one take recording done in an unknown small indie or home studio could be a hit.
In the 50′s,60′s and 70′s there was no home studios. At least not with the quality you can do at home today.
Keep writing and spreading your word.
George