Where the future lies ...
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Forum Name: Music and Musicians Exchange
Forum Description: Talk with and get feedback from other musicians on the site
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38256
Printed Date: December 02 2024 at 16:45
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Topic: Where the future lies ...
Posted By: debrewguy
Subject: Where the future lies ...
Date Posted: May 23 2007 at 13:00
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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/ ------------- "Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice,” Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case. |
Replies:
Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: May 23 2007 at 13:09
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Steven Wilson attributes the success of Porcupine Tree to the Internet. It wasn't until recently (In Absentia?) did he have the luxury of serious marketing. He talked about it on the XM CD. ------------- 
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Posted By: Chicapah
Date Posted: May 23 2007 at 13:42
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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. ------------- "Literature is well enough, as a time-passer, and for the improvement and general elevation and purification of mankind, but it has no practical value" - Mark Twain |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: May 23 2007 at 13:59
I kind of liked the way Hawkwind started . My cousin was involved with the music industry , signing bands scouting etc. and got so disgusted with it he quit and went into real estate. So much great talent has gone to the dogs over the years because of the apathy of the music business.
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Posted By: Heptade
Date Posted: May 23 2007 at 14:34
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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! ------------- The world keeps spinning, people keep sinning And all the rest is just bullsh*t -Steve Kilbey |
Posted By: debrewguy
Date Posted: May 23 2007 at 14:55
That's the thing. Bands who can move 100 000 units per album, should be able to make a long term career out of their music. I remember reading that Big Head Todd & the Monsters made about 4-5 million $$$ off their first few albums. They financed the recording and all, signed a distribution deal, & because they were actually getting money back on each album, managed to make more money than many big labels acts, & this just by selling about 700 000 copies of their first 3 albums. Their distribution deal meant that they got approx $5/record?CD sold. How many "Big" signings only manage to pay back their "big" advance ? If that. ------------- "Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice,” Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case. |
Heptade wrote:Posted By: Heptade
Date Posted: May 23 2007 at 15:19
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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. ------------- The world keeps spinning, people keep sinning And all the rest is just bullsh*t -Steve Kilbey |
Posted By: purplepiper
Date Posted: July 02 2007 at 01:43
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I think i'm gonna have to establish my own label...I'd like to 'make it' somehow, but I can imagine what kind of crap i'd have to deal with from those old time big wigs. I know! I'll just have a site set up revolving around my music and try to get people to visit it...okay fine, my plan is crap! I just wish I could play whatever I wanted and make money doing it. ------------- for those about to prog, we salute you. |
Posted By: Proletariat
Date Posted: July 02 2007 at 01:59
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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. ------------- who hiccuped endlessly trying to giggle but wound up with a sob |
Posted By: ailgun
Date Posted: July 03 2007 at 18:40
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Being a good business man is much more important than being a good musician. And I feel like they are in opposite sides of my brains. ( One works another don't :( )
Atay |