Shii Posted:

Artists WOULD make money from CD sales if the record labels weren’t having to take so much of the profits to break even from the piracy.

Now, what are the record labels doing in this situation? Trying to keep their pockets lined.

Do tell me, why are we still using CDs? Why have we not moved on, to doing everything digitally? To have all the music bought online, track by track, and all radios/boom boxes being equipped with device to play music directly from an MP3 Player of sorts?

Because of the plethora of lobbying done by the record label, in order to keep themselves a job.

I have a friend, who records everything from his home studio, remixes everything himself, and releases it using social networking. Completely cutting out the record industry.

Now tell me, how can the record label justify trying to double the price of albums, only to keep a consistently affluent, and wealthy lifestyle? When the artist can do it all himself?


-MLF- edited this message on 04/18/2009 2:57PM

MeatLoafFan Posted:

Now, what are the record labels doing in this situation? Trying to keep their pockets lined.

Do tell me, why are we still using CDs? Why have we not moved on, to doing everything digitally? To have all the music bought online, track by track, and all radios/boom boxes being equipped with device to play music directly from an MP3 Player of sorts?

Because of the plethora of lobbying done by the record label, in order to keep themselves a job.

I have a friend, who records everything from his home studio, remixes everything himself, and releases it using social networking. Completely cutting out the record industry.

Now tell me, how can the record label justify trying to double the price of albums, only to keep a consistently affluent, and wealthy lifestyle? When the artist can do it all himself?

Except what you’re forgetting is the vast amounts of money record labels sink into artists. When a label finds a new artist, they give them an advance of $1,000,000 or so to make the album, be publicized, etc.

Then they take all the artists’ profits until they’ve recouped their money back. It might sound unfair, but just imagine if the artist isn’t a hit; they lose all that money.

They need to keep their pockets lined because they’re essentially gambling on every single new venture they do.

Plus, without that mbumive funding, the artist would have an extremely, extremely difficult time making it into the national limelight.
Shii edited this message on 04/18/2009 3:42PM

Shii Posted:

Except what you’re forgetting is the vast amounts of money record labels sink into artists. When a label finds a new artist, they give them an advance of $1,000,000 or so to make the album, be publicized, etc.

Then they take all the artists’ profits until they’ve recouped their money back. It might sound unfair, but just imagine if the artist isn’t a hit; they lose all that money.

They need to keep their pockets lined because they’re essentially gambling on every single new venture they do.

Plus, without that mbumive funding, the artist would have an extremely, extremely difficult time making it into the national limelight.

And if the best possible scenario is:

1) Record Company gives artist $1,000,000

2) Artist pays back $1,000,000

And there being a huge risk that the artist won’t make it big enough to pay back the label, how does it make it’s money them? Lawsuits against pirates?

As the shield evolves, so does the sword. Or whatever, I’m just too cheap.

Nothing to see here, plz move on.

Sneaky27 edited this message on 04/21/2009 4:20PM

Shii Posted:

You really live in your own world, don’t you.

...

That means to just make the same amount of money they would have prior they’d have to DOUBLE the prices on the CDs or mp3s. Not only are you screwing over the company by stealing from them but you’re screwing over the law-abiding people who want to actually support the artists in question.

I’m a Music Business major here in Nashville. I get to see firsthand how crippling piracy is for these labels. As a result of mbumive amounts of money lost to internet music pirates, record labels are having to dip more and more over into the artists’ income, that they get from touring and merchandise sales.

ok… where to start. i don’t want to be a jerk, you’re obligated to feel the way you do because of what you aspire to be. i guess that means you’re thinking of becoming some kind of a&r guy or label rep, maybe an exectutive at some point. or you’re in a band and don’t want to be surprised when you’re eventually screwed by these labels.

if anything, itunes etc. show that people are willing to buy digital music with actual money (i’d rather trade real goods for real cash personally) and in a sense, that goes a long way toward making the labels irrelevant, for the majority of artists that never become megastars. even with the big boys, most money is made off touring and merch (until the bloodsuckers invented 360 contracts), and the best promotion is word of mouth from likeminded music fans. let’s break up all this talk w/ some links you’ve probably all seen and/or won’t look at anyway:

http://www.negativland.com/albini.html

^ the numbers might be off due to inflation, but the theme probably hasn’t changed much.

http://news.cnet.com/5208-1027_3-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=9823&messageID=70813&start=-1

^again, the exact figures might be out of date, but for grins, let’s consider it as accurate. the last 4 items, which all support the label execs and retail (nobody who created anything included in the product i love listening to) are about 2/3 of the total price in the example. the artist would see a tenth at best, if they already paid the advance back, that is. if that’s the case they’re still touring in the old utility van & eating dry ramen waiting for the club to open so they can get something to wash it down with. had this fake band never signed w/ a label, stayed local and done things slower on a scale they could manage, they could make real profit for themselves, instead of for all the industry vampires.

they’re like the government- totally unproductive, only concerned with sustaining themselves. unless you count rootkits and drm garbage that ruined many a computer. at best you could say they’re like banks for bands- a necessary evil- except they’re not so necessary anymore, and they know we’re figuring that out- and artists are too.

it would be nearly impossible to sell a million records diy, don’t get me wrong. but the average band won’t sell than many anyway, and instead they want to make as much as they can, live as well as possible, and keep making music as long as people will buy it.

i was working at tower records the day we locked the doors for the last time, and it sucked to lose the last major physical source for music (and sucked to lose the job) nonetheless, i didn’t blame downloading, but the rediculous prices we had to charge to be able to run a store of that size. okay for the more obscure stuff, but most folks wouldn’t pay extra for the new NIN or now #20whatever when they could get it cheaper a block down the road.

intellectual property… doesn’t make sense. you can’t own an idea. if i share an idea with you, and you do it first or better; profit, and not share in the profit, i’d be upset. but ultimately, it was i who set it in motion by telling you my idea. it’s only “my idea” because nobody else has it yet. once you do; it can grow or change in ways i didn’t intend. remixes. fan fiction. ****ty remakes. knowing the way the internet works, anything i put here can be pbumed around, viewed, and edited to say things i didn’t intend. that’s what the internet is for- sharing information- 1’s and 0’s that hopefully add up to something.

if you stuck w/ me , thanks.

tl;dr: the industry killed good music, “downloaders are killing the industry”, eventually good music will kill downloaders. but not literally. i mean, it would have to be, like really great (or awful) to do that.

Electric-Turtle-02 edited this message on 04/18/2009 10:20PM

MeatLoafFan Posted:

There will always be downloaders, but it’s a matter of listening to music before paying for it.

The advent of Itunes, and being able to pay track-by-track for only $0.99, would be great, without the DRM.

What’s funny is, in 1998/1999, when Napster was huge lawsuit news and internet music piracy was a sudden, new watchword, I said “Y’know, record companies should just set up a system by which to buy individual tracks cheap… maybe recommend more based on what you buy.”

I should’ve worked on coding it, instead of figuring that it couldn’t be that good an idea, or they’d be working on it.

Oh, and because eventually somebody has to cite something – Here’s a Guardian article on a Norwegian study that showed So-called “pirates” are 10 times more likely to buy music.

I’ve heard that concerts are the bread and bumer of a recording artist.