Where the future lies ...

If you're an aspiring musician, I strongly recommend reading this article to see where music is heading. The dream of a deal with a major label is long dead, & the reality is that for most, it was a nightmare.
The best thing is that many new prog bands & some of the older ones are already following these steps & doing it themselves.


http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2007/05/22/reasons-not-to-sign-with-the-major-labels/

As one who spent most of the 70s trying to get the attention of A&R shmoes from the major labels so they might listen to material so they might be kind enough to bestow a completely unfair contract on the band I was with I say Hurrah!  The days of a handful of rich idiots determining who gets to record and who doesn't are over.  May they never return again.

Sure, the old model is quite dead. A band I was in got a deal with, I guess, a large indie, almost major label size. We were doing a great job building up a buzz until we were signed. Then the label killed us. Every opportunity had to be funnelled through them, and they would proceed to ignore it or screw it up. They were unresponsive, had no idea how to market in this era, and basically just made the CDs, which we could have done ourselves! And this is also how major labels operate. I spent a month on a tour bus with a Capitol band who had to ride with us because Capitol was too cheap to even rent them a van for the tour.

The best way to market your music is on the net. CDs are going down the tubes, so everyone should sell their music online.

Unfortunately, the live arena is also suffering...at least around here. I live in the biggest city in my country, and there are lots of gigs, but unless an act has a lot of hype or an established following, they can't expect a curious audience to show up. There are simply too many entertainment options competing with live rock these days.

But chins up, something new has to emerge from all this!

Hell, if you can sell 10000, you should be able to make a go of it...think about it, if you sell a CD for 10 bucks and have assumed all the costs yourself, you're getting at least half that back. And touring should theoretically provide income for bands, which it can, but not with middlemen in the way recouping "advances" (forever, since they also recoup their so called "tour support" money), taking a cut of your merch (which they generally do) and manipulating your publishing deal to their advantage (which they also do).

The biz is scummy. If you can find a way to work outside its framework, then that's the way to go...of course, it's easier said than done.

Making music is not about the money, the best artists have always been the starving ones, who cares about commercial sh** because it will never stand the test of time anyway.