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What do record labels bring to the table now? They provide the capital to record an album (or at least the studio that can record it), and a complex distributio
by neotek 14y ago
What do record labels bring to the table now? They provide the capital to record an album (or at least the studio that can record it), and a complex distribution channel to get albums on shelves and tracks on the airwaves.
The distribution channel is slowly being eroded by the Internet, where a band with the right mix of music and self-promotion can get their music in front of half the planet for the cost of a Wordpress template and some solid hosting.
Getting music on radio and raising the initial capital to get a studio album made are the two missing pieces of the puzzle, but I strongly suspect the Internet will fill those gaps competently in the next few years, as crowd funding reaches maturity and old media like radio realises they don't have to deal with the major labels directly any more and can find new, popular music with a few google searches.
There is such scope for a startup working in this field. You could host and sell albums on behalf of bands, offer a crowd funding model for those who need to raise the funds to record, and build relationships with radio networks to funnel new music their way once a band has reached a certain threshold of community appreciation or some other relevant metric.
The record industry is almost universally loathed, it just seems so ripe for disruption.
- qq66 14y agoProduction costs are rapidly approaching zero. Both the equipment to record, and the skills to manage the recording and mixing process, are much cheaper/easier than they were. The current #2 album on the Billboard 200, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "The Heist," is completely independently produced.
- forrestthewoods 14y agoWhat do they offer? An ungodly and unparalleled level of marketing. Any artist can put their music on iTunes but nothing organic can ever compare to a $200 million media blitz. "Popular" music will always be predominantly influenced by deep pockets. Not exclusively, but damn near close.
- tsotha 14y agoYep, and the record company pockets pretty much every dime of the profit. As a musician you're counting on concert tours to pay the bills. Even wildly successful musicians who are still on that first contract.
- jasonlotito 14y agoBut if they are pocketing all that money... what do they offer besides more exposure? You make it seem like artists get nothing out of the deal. If the labels are just providing exposure, what does the artist get?
- k-mcgrady 14y agoThe exposure is all they need to offer. More exposure will lead to more concert ticket sales and merch sales. With the modern '360 deals' in which the label now takes a cut of those things (because of declining record sales) exposure might not be enough anymore.