ryanve Ha yea it was hard trying to get those into 140 chars. This video generalizes the issue (the abundance of music). Fans are happy to pay for shows though, and t-shirts etc. too, right? I like the idea of the exclusive content subscription where fans can pay a yearly fee to get extra content, but I think you have to give at least something away for free, because, otherwise people will listen to something else that is free.

infinitestylez That’s the same as you going to work everyday and not gettin’ paid for your time. Instead they only pay you for a purchase above $100. It’s the same concept, the majority of your productivity is time consumption, and the result of the majority of your efforts you have to give away for free. The volume of music isn’t the issue. You gave it away when you were starvin’, how much longer should you starve? You get all these other middle-men involved who each want a piece of your dedication and love for what you do. It’s a scam.

What did THIS dickhead really do for YOU? He made a new radio station, whether broadcast or digital, and he’s NOW collectin’ TWO paychecks from each commercial client and buildin’ an advocacy group against you. Now you have to pay the label, pay him, pay your manager, your producers, engineers, publicists, security, etc. and STILL give your music away. And there’s the issue, you’re a walkin’ business. How do you function when you can’t pay yourself?

All that expense for some promo? It hardly seems worth it. Especially when the discounted sales or stolen tickets come in, and that $17 million tour was only enough to pay off the massive debt you accrued.

Billboard – $1 million per year
Promo – $3 million per country
CD duplication – $500 grand per million
Production – $7 million per album
Merchandise – $5 million
You – Already over budget and in debt

The radio spins are free, the interviews are free, the public appearances are free, the autographs are free, the charities are free, the pics are free, the publicity time is free, the advice is free. You work like they do, but you’re required to do it all for free while they can unionize and and pitch a bitch over their pay…and WIN. How is that fair to you? C/O Michael Jackson, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, etc.

ryanve I prefer the DIY route whenever possible. I’d like to that think the internet is lessening the need for the industry middle-men, who are all trying to get a piece of the action but often out to screw you. There are a few middle-men that are helping artists without raping them financially. For example, Tunecore has relatively low fees for distribution. Aside from the actual audio production, an mp3 is free to produce, and doesn’t cost anything to duplicate like CDs do. From an investment point, the mp3 is a lower risk because less capital is needed.

My friends’ band released an album with a major label, Koch Records, and in doing so screwed themselves because they signed away the rights to their own songs. They’re not even allowed to give those songs away if they want to. Fortunately the deal was only for the one album, and their next album they are releasing independently. On the flip side, there are labels that really have helped artists make their careers.

The bottom line is that when artists give music away for free, they need to be smart about it, and at least collect an email address in exchange for, say, a free download. That way the artist has a way to stay in touch with their fans, and let them know about shows etc. Have you seen Bandcamp? It supports downloads in exchange for email/zip code. It has options for pay-what-you-want pricing with the drawback that PayPal takes a cut. I think it would end up more profitable to release one track per month, and opposed to one album per year. Less, but more often.

You’re bringing up some ace points. If you want you could publish some of this on virtualmusic.tv like, maybe your last email, parts of our conversation, or whatever you think. It might be a good way to generate some discussion—what do you reckon?

infinitestylez You’re right and that’s what I mean, it’s a double-edged sword, but both sides are necessary to make a sharp blade. Usin’ internet marketin’ tools is a good bet versus rollin’ over for the internet radio stations and media pirates. See, now we understand each other more clearly, however, the internet tools can still only carry us so far.

Artists as a race of people, not a creed such as nationality, but a race described by its creative genius need to learn the value of free enterprise. Don’t find the label—build the label. Find the distributor or evolve into the distributor but don’t believe the hype. Everything isn’t all about a deal and free music leaves only a starvin’ artist, however, cheaper alternatives satisfy all parties.

Labels still get paid, artists get paid fairly, and fans save money without stealin’ from us. Still $14.99 for a classic, multi-platinum, autographable, detailed, fully-enhanced, 15-track, unbroken, complete album hard copy is reasonable provided you have the money to make enough copies. LOL

ryanve LOL Yea I don’t expect to ever be selling an album where the hard copy makes it to Wal-Mart or gets played on mainstream radio, but I don’t need that to feel successful. It seems like music is more of a part-time thing for most people, because to make a full living from it is tough. I have faith that the changes to the industry due to the internet will ultimately end up making it bigger and better. I think videogames are going to be a bigger part of the business too. We’re in a transitional phase now. What I meant before about adapting was that seeing as change is inevitable, the people that can most quickly adapt and use the changes to their advantage will prosper. It’s easier for indie artists to adapt than it is for the big record co.’s who are always playing catch up and deriding the changes because they know their business model is going down the drain. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to be here to find out. We have to let each other know of any killer ideas!

infinitestylez Yeah, bro, the business model issue they wrestle with is all about pride. Too proud to accept they’ve become dated and the new model must upgrade, or at least update, the old. They have to face the “music” (pun intended lol) and learn the new avenues as well as venture back down memory lane and remember how they improved upon new business models.

As far as success, it’s all in vision, passion, and what you know. You know a lot. There’s room for you here, and you should publish our discussion almost verbatim. Set it up interview style and we’ll be the subjects of interview. That’ll be sweet. We can add some images and make a blog of it, post some music…who knows, you’re on a roll with that publishin’ idea. People love this kind of informative discussion especially when it’s viewable by everyone.