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> how well does what we're doing support people who are in a position to make musical contributions that people value? This is the best possible time to suppor

by zwkrt 8y ago

> how well does what we're doing support people who are in a position to make musical contributions that people value? This is the best possible time to support an artist you enjoy. You can buy physical and digital copies of any artist in the world, artists can set up Patreon accounts, and you with a small amount of ingenuity can probably even mail your favorite artists a check directly. The issue is that people don't do this, because they don't value the music enough to do it. It is not a great argument to say that Apple Music is mistreating artists, the fans are mistreating artists. As a final point, the way most popular (not just pop) artists get popular is through marketing, advertising, venue promotion, radio deals, etc. The record company probably deserves the majority of the money produced by such enterprises because without their intervention no one would be that famous to begin with. Kanye West is a brand, just like Ford and Dockers.

not2b 8y ago
Only indie artists can do that. Record companies are now signing musicians and bands to what they call "360" accounts, meaning that the company controls every aspect of how the musician might make money, from digital presence to merch to advertising to touring. By staying independent, they can make their own deals, but then they have the problem that they can't get on the radio and have a hard time getting known.
- amyjess 8y ago
  On the flip side, it's easier to be an indie artist now than it's ever been.
- mikepurvis 8y ago
  Do those deals have expirations, or are they "for life"? I feel like once a musician is established, the label should have to justify their ongoing role in that musician's career, and certainly in the past lots of musicians have switched labels or started their own small labels later on in their career.
  - ZoomZoomZoom 8y ago
    5-10-15 years and more is not unheard of. In case a musicians becomes established they will just say it's the result of their support and their investments, so that's when they push for max returns (see the many stories of rushed albums which labels forced out of the artists while trying to ride the wave of initial success).
wwweston 8y ago
> You can buy physical and digital copies of any artist in the world, artists can set up Patreon accounts, and you with a small amount of ingenuity can probably even mail your favorite artists a check directly. > The issue is that people don't do this People did do this. From the time legit outlets like iTunes appeared to up through around 2013, revenue from digital recording sales rose into the billions, on the road to matching 90s CD sales. But then they fell dramatically over the last 5 years, and we shouldn't talk about this as if it's a law of the internet or there's a big mystery why. Streaming services offered on-demand listening of huge catalogs for a fraction of the price. Consequently, the demand for purchased recordings dropped, and artists get paid a fraction of a fraction. Patronage is nice, I'm glad the option exists, it's one of the rays of light. Still it lacks one of the virtues of retailed recordings: you know how much you're supposed to pay to make a meaningful economic contribution. Do you want to listen to this song again and again? Great, pay an asking price for a single or album, you have done your part. Or decide it's not that important and listen to it when it comes up on transient music services like terrestrial radio or shuffle-streaming. Or decide it's kindof important and pirate but you know in the back of your head you haven't really meaningfully participated yet and you'll need to decide to one day (which is another thing services like Spotify work against -- they grant an imprimatur of legitimacy which erases that sense in the back of your head that you might owe something).

by zwkrt 8y ago

not2b 8y ago

Only indie artists can do that. Record companies are now signing musicians and bands to what they call "360" accounts, meaning that the company controls every aspect of how the musician might make money, from digital presence to merch to advertising to touring. By staying independent, they can make their own deals, but then they have the problem that they can't get on the radio and have a hard time getting known.

amyjess 8y ago
On the flip side, it's easier to be an indie artist now than it's ever been.
mikepurvis 8y ago
Do those deals have expirations, or are they "for life"? I feel like once a musician is established, the label should have to justify their ongoing role in that musician's career, and certainly in the past lots of musicians have switched labels or started their own small labels later on in their career.
- ZoomZoomZoom 8y ago
  5-10-15 years and more is not unheard of. In case a musicians becomes established they will just say it's the result of their support and their investments, so that's when they push for max returns (see the many stories of rushed albums which labels forced out of the artists while trying to ride the wave of initial success).

wwweston 8y ago

> You can buy physical and digital copies of any artist in the world, artists can set up Patreon accounts, and you with a small amount of ingenuity can probably even mail your favorite artists a check directly. > The issue is that people don't do this People did do this. From the time legit outlets like iTunes appeared to up through around 2013, revenue from digital recording sales rose into the billions, on the road to matching 90s CD sales. But then they fell dramatically over the last 5 years, and we shouldn't talk about this as if it's a law of the internet or there's a big mystery why. Streaming services offered on-demand listening of huge catalogs for a fraction of the price. Consequently, the demand for purchased recordings dropped, and artists get paid a fraction of a fraction. Patronage is nice, I'm glad the option exists, it's one of the rays of light. Still it lacks one of the virtues of retailed recordings: you know how much you're supposed to pay to make a meaningful economic contribution. Do you want to listen to this song again and again? Great, pay an asking price for a single or album, you have done your part. Or decide it's not that important and listen to it when it comes up on transient music services like terrestrial radio or shuffle-streaming. Or decide it's kindof important and pirate but you know in the back of your head you haven't really meaningfully participated yet and you'll need to decide to one day (which is another thing services like Spotify work against -- they grant an imprimatur of legitimacy which erases that sense in the back of your head that you might owe something).