Paying the artist
Posted by adze thuggery on 1 April 2008 - 6:13am.
Time to confess lack of understanding. I know that if I copy someone's CD or download illegally the artist doesn't get paid. But if I buy a second-hand CD, as I often do, they don't get paid? And if I buy copies from a sale does the artist get paid less? So the question is: when and how much does the artist get paid? When CDs are shipped to the wholesaler? To the retailer? Do paid-for downloads provide a more controlled rate of payment, each download producing the same revenue for the artist? Or do these have bulk pricing rates? Please explain.
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There's no right answer to this except...
...most bands never get royalties. They're paid an advance to make the record but the record's revenue never exceeds the advance. If you want a brilliant detailed account of what it's been like to be in a band in the USA in the last ten years, read this by producer Steve Albini.
Well...
if you will waste money on potato-shaped bass guitars, what do you expect?
Reminds me of this similar article by Courtney Love
I've always thought this was quite an interesting piece of writing and says similar things
http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/print.html
There's also this from the (massively unrecouped) Nerina Pallot
http://www.nerinapallot.com/cnts.aspx - other stories on the web site carry on the tale - this is her signing...
I believe it works like this...
When the moon is full, a very fat man chomping on a cigar behind a desk in a record company office holds up an enormous wad of notes in front of 'the talent', peels a couple off and hands them over. "There you are lads... treat yerselves to somethin' nice" he growls. "Fank you, mister", squeak the band.
I am reminded
of the opposite situation, when the cigar chomper tells the band to go forth and multiply.
There's a nice folky album called "Legend Of The Kingfisher" by a band called Gygafo, whose name came from an utterance they received from such a fellow, "Get Your Gear And F*ck Off".
So, in that case...
theoretically if you download for free you don't rob the artist in most cases since they will probably never see the money unless they are Robbie Williams or someone similarly big.
Er, except that...
....the size of the advance is based on what the record company think they might make back so the less that is the smaller the advance and so on.
Yes
I suppose the artist still suffers since the funds available for advances reduce. Was not really serious suggestion though, somewhat flippant. Don't agree with not paying for music.
Re-Invest
Essentially you're funding the label, not the artist themselves. But their arguement is that they re-invest this money in new artists and cannot do so if don't purchase. Still, I've never seen a label announce how much of the profit from a cd goes towards this and where the rest ends up...
Immaculate logic, Sven.
Pity the woman in the states, fined 10k for downloading 11 songs, or thereabouts, didn't think of that one. Mind you, it was, of course, the label that was suing, not the artist.....
What, I wonder, was she downloading?
see above
he's always got an answer hasn't he? You have to get up pretty early to catch him out. Or rather the middle of the night judging by some postings I've seen made at 5 am-ish.
As far as the downloading goes - I recall Snoop Doggy Dogg was one of them? Or that might be a different woman downloader. Not worth getting caught for, not that any music would be, but especially that.
Plea
I think the problem with that was she tried to get out of the original fine which was far far smaller. It was a daft outcome, but it was a hell of a gamble for her to let it get to court. It's like Homer challenging Mr Burns, and then he presses a button to reveal a secret door behind which are a massive team of expensive legal representation.
Record company executive-excess...
...was made flesh when I watched Sky Sports News on Sunday. Former record company exec lives in Jamiriquoi's old house and buys football club (MK Dons). Are we surprised that artists get square-root of beggar-all in record sales?
I keep coming back to this
A few years ago we did a Future of the Music piece and Moby, who was interviewed, said "I think in the future there will be less millionaire record execs and also less millionaire musicians."
I still think he was getting at a basic truth. The cake is not getting that much bigger but the number of artists wanting a slice is increasing.
The one major shift that ought to take place has still not taken place. It used to be you needed a record company to:
a) make a record
b) get it distributed.
That is no longer the case. All this whinging about the record companies conceals the fact that many musicians - and not just old ones - still hanker for the way it was.
The funny thing is
That in some ways I hanker for the way it was too in a way. Ok it was greedy, fat and all the rest but sometimes there is alot to be said for less choice.
I for one just can't keep up anymore and I just don't care to either if I'm honest.
And Mr H you said it yourself in this months article, I get much more from my DVD Boxset than I do from my new favourite artist.
And may I recommend Battlestar Galactica the reimagined series while you wait for Season 5 of The Wire.
Its the other best thing on TV, don't laugh.
BG Season 3
Has gone off the boil a bit. Too many stand - alone episodes that don't advance the story.
Apart from that, it's great. Roll on season 4.
season finale
have you seen the last two episodes of season 3? I was suitably gobsmaked. And the weird arrangement of a rather well known tune [no spoilers from me folks ] was also a bit of a shock when I finally twigged what it was. Shame season 4 is to be the last.
On the other hand
I was once visiting the offices of a major record label who shall remain nameless shortly after redundancies. I was being shown round the building, and noted that the top floor offices were locked. "Due to looting" apparently.
Not Getting Paid
My partner used to work at an (un-named) independent record label. It was her job once every six months to answer the phone to a rather-pathetic sounding bass player from one of the more famous but not million-selling punk bands. As his royalty cheque amounted to 37p it wasn't really worth writing a cheque this time. If you don't write the songs you really are looking at needing to sell a lot to get much. And what about Ron Wood - getting paid.... a salary by the other stones after twenty-odd years for live and album sessions.
I like Ronnie
But after reading his book I think that Ronnie's troubles are of his own making and not of the other 3 or 4 Stones. The man needed a (deep breath) Financial Advisor and maybe (deep breath again) Life Coach.
But mine was a Christmas present. Wait for a paperback sale.