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"It's worth noting that Warner Brothers' response to Swift re-recording her albums was to update their contracts to prevent any other artist from following in h

"It's worth noting that Warner Brothers' response to Swift re-recording her albums was to update their contracts to prevent any other artist from following in her footsteps." Is there any indication how this is working for them and their artists? I would think given the massive publicity that the Taylor Swift effort has received, it would be quite the other way, with more artists insisting on getting those rights upfront. I know they're typically young and desperate/powerless when these things are being negotiated, but I would think the "go it yourself" route is if anything more robust now than ever before— no one cares about physical distribution, there are many paths to getting your stuff on Spotify and iTunes, and most small-time artists I know are doing the publicity/engagement side themselves with some combination of regular video content on YouTube and streaming mini-concerts. What can WB or any other major label offer an artist like this in exchange for the gigantic ask that is "we own all your stuff forever and btw we also own any re-recordings of these songs"?

Hokusai 5y ago
> with more artists insisting on getting those rights upfront I doubt that unknown artist can negotiate anything. What you are offered is better than nothing. Big corporations abuse their position all the time, individuals can not realistically opt out. The only option is regulations and law enforcement. > What can WB or any other major label offer an artist like this in exchange for the gigantic ask that is "we own all your stuff forever and btw we also own any re-recordings of these songs"? Advertisement, legal protection (mainly from themselves), access to traditional media, and distribution in general. How many artist make it out of the big labels system? There is a reason for that.
- mikepurvis 5y ago
  "How many artist make it out of the big labels system?" Lots, particularly if your criteria is "big labels" and not just "labels": https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/2017/07/independent-record-labels-you-should-know/r-and-s https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/2017/07/independe...
dhosek 5y ago
>What can WB or any other major label offer an artist like this in exchange for the gigantic ask that is "we own all your stuff forever and btw we also own any re-recordings of these songs"? You will never be played on the radio without a big label to pay off the programmers. Every single song you hear on the radio is bought and paid for. Spotify and other streaming revenues are a joke for the vast majority of musicians. I personally own all my music and thanks to iTunes I know how many times every song has been played over the last 15 years (from when I got my first iPod and then my iPhone and migrated all my CDs to iTunes). My most-played track would have earned the artist $.53, the median would have yielded about $.05. (And remember this is over 15 years.) And discoverability is not necessarily that great. My wife pays for Amazon music that she and the kids listen to on Amazon Echoes and in my experience, the ability to get the specific song that you want to listen to is pretty hit or miss. I suspect that most people who are still in the discovering new music stage of their lives end up getting their music discovery happening through channels that are pretty much controlled by the majors.

Hokusai 5y ago

> with more artists insisting on getting those rights upfront I doubt that unknown artist can negotiate anything. What you are offered is better than nothing. Big corporations abuse their position all the time, individuals can not realistically opt out. The only option is regulations and law enforcement. > What can WB or any other major label offer an artist like this in exchange for the gigantic ask that is "we own all your stuff forever and btw we also own any re-recordings of these songs"? Advertisement, legal protection (mainly from themselves), access to traditional media, and distribution in general. How many artist make it out of the big labels system? There is a reason for that.

mikepurvis 5y ago
"How many artist make it out of the big labels system?" Lots, particularly if your criteria is "big labels" and not just "labels": https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/2017/07/independent-record-labels-you-should-know/r-and-s https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/2017/07/independe...

dhosek 5y ago

>What can WB or any other major label offer an artist like this in exchange for the gigantic ask that is "we own all your stuff forever and btw we also own any re-recordings of these songs"? You will never be played on the radio without a big label to pay off the programmers. Every single song you hear on the radio is bought and paid for. Spotify and other streaming revenues are a joke for the vast majority of musicians. I personally own all my music and thanks to iTunes I know how many times every song has been played over the last 15 years (from when I got my first iPod and then my iPhone and migrated all my CDs to iTunes). My most-played track would have earned the artist $.53, the median would have yielded about $.05. (And remember this is over 15 years.) And discoverability is not necessarily that great. My wife pays for Amazon music that she and the kids listen to on Amazon Echoes and in my experience, the ability to get the specific song that you want to listen to is pretty hit or miss. I suspect that most people who are still in the discovering new music stage of their lives end up getting their music discovery happening through channels that are pretty much controlled by the majors.