I am sure by now you have already heard or read the NPR piece on how much it costs to make a hit record. And whereas the exact numbers may be debatable (they say 1 million for Rhianna's “Man Down"), it really doesn't matter; what should be paramount in the debate is the principle of the thing. Surely this just confirms that for any self-respecting artist, the old music industry is completely dead.
I have often written about the need for a change in people's perception of the industry. Many seem to have a twisted faith that the majors are the ones who still hold the key to success. They will argue that any talk of the old industry being an ailing dinosaur, is mere hyperbole led by a bunch of jealous indie musicians who can't get a deal.
Surely the way the majors conduct business these days is making sure the old 5% success rate, found through the channels of the major music industry, is fast approaching a big fat zero. To throw millions of dollars at an ever-shrinking wall, with the hope that something might stick, is not a business model built to succeed. They are bypassing the quality of product, and sacrificing it for something that they can control and mold into what they believe is a sure thing. Trouble is, people are making their voices heard loud and clear. They no longer support the judgment of the labels, they tire of the music that the major label machine focus group thinks will click with the majority. They make their sentiment heard by simply not buying product.
It's not a case that people don't want to buy product from artists they love. It's just that most of what they are exposed to is unlovable. Because it is made by committee and channeled through a puppet willing to expose as much of their body as needed. Not as an artistic statement, but purely because they know a pair of tits will probably get a mention on TMZ and a feature in the Huff Post's entertainment section.
On the other hand, for the amount of money a successful indie musician puts into their craft, it is possible to get good returns. Without the ridiculous overheads of paying a team of writers, bribing radio and saturating whatever outlets they can with advertizing, an independent can, with a pretty basic plan, get results.
The key is of course good product and hard work. If you are good, people will share your video, like your page and tell their friends about you. They will sign up to your mailing list, they will come and see your show and they will buy product. You may no longer be able to sell a million records, but if you sell 1000 albums, then that's roughly 10,000 bucks—now that is good business with good return. Couple that with shows, and if you can pull 50𤸼 paying customers, then there is money to be made there too. It's not going to happen over night, but it can happen pretty rapidly once you get the formula right.
If you are a band or musician building your career, do you really want to be part of this type mass-produced music machine? Rhianna has obviously had torrid experiences in her life, the Chris Brown incident should itself spawn a plethora of influence for song writing. However, the only influence that comes out in the music is when the label exploits it for publicity purposes, like in a music video designed purely for grabbing headlines and devoid of any real content.
If you want to chase a major deal then you go ahead, and you can argue me till you hearts content. The only way the majors think they can save their asses is to not care about you or your craft, but by doing this they just run their own business into the ground in the process.
How many sell-outs does it take to ruin the music industry? Doesn't matter—it's already too late. The real question is how many true artists will it take to save it?
Hypebot contributer Robin Davey is an independent musician and Head of Music & Film Development at GROWvision.
I have often written about the need for a change in people's perception of the industry. Many seem to have a twisted faith that the majors are the ones who still hold the key to success. They will argue that any talk of the old industry being an ailing dinosaur, is mere hyperbole led by a bunch of jealous indie musicians who can't get a deal.
Surely the way the majors conduct business these days is making sure the old 5% success rate, found through the channels of the major music industry, is fast approaching a big fat zero. To throw millions of dollars at an ever-shrinking wall, with the hope that something might stick, is not a business model built to succeed. They are bypassing the quality of product, and sacrificing it for something that they can control and mold into what they believe is a sure thing. Trouble is, people are making their voices heard loud and clear. They no longer support the judgment of the labels, they tire of the music that the major label machine focus group thinks will click with the majority. They make their sentiment heard by simply not buying product.
It's not a case that people don't want to buy product from artists they love. It's just that most of what they are exposed to is unlovable. Because it is made by committee and channeled through a puppet willing to expose as much of their body as needed. Not as an artistic statement, but purely because they know a pair of tits will probably get a mention on TMZ and a feature in the Huff Post's entertainment section.
On the other hand, for the amount of money a successful indie musician puts into their craft, it is possible to get good returns. Without the ridiculous overheads of paying a team of writers, bribing radio and saturating whatever outlets they can with advertizing, an independent can, with a pretty basic plan, get results.
The key is of course good product and hard work. If you are good, people will share your video, like your page and tell their friends about you. They will sign up to your mailing list, they will come and see your show and they will buy product. You may no longer be able to sell a million records, but if you sell 1000 albums, then that's roughly 10,000 bucks—now that is good business with good return. Couple that with shows, and if you can pull 50𤸼 paying customers, then there is money to be made there too. It's not going to happen over night, but it can happen pretty rapidly once you get the formula right.
If you are a band or musician building your career, do you really want to be part of this type mass-produced music machine? Rhianna has obviously had torrid experiences in her life, the Chris Brown incident should itself spawn a plethora of influence for song writing. However, the only influence that comes out in the music is when the label exploits it for publicity purposes, like in a music video designed purely for grabbing headlines and devoid of any real content.
If you want to chase a major deal then you go ahead, and you can argue me till you hearts content. The only way the majors think they can save their asses is to not care about you or your craft, but by doing this they just run their own business into the ground in the process.
How many sell-outs does it take to ruin the music industry? Doesn't matter—it's already too late. The real question is how many true artists will it take to save it?
Hypebot contributer Robin Davey is an independent musician and Head of Music & Film Development at GROWvision.
