Originally posted by skonaz
Exactly !
Ask any major label artist (that writes their own material , that is !) how much they made on album sales vs. the retailers and record label and you
would be very, very surprised indeed
edit on 18/1/12 by skonaz because: (no reason given)
Well there is a statutory minimum that must be paid to the person that owns the publishing. Every song sold actually puts money in the writer's
pocket. Technically every song on every cd manufactured pays back to the person that owns the publishing. Now if the writer doesn't get that money it
is because they voluntarily sold or signed away their rights.
The writer/artist writes a song and performs it. The label and retailer take all of the risk of promoting the product, paying for studio time, and all
other related costs. They take a far larger risk than the artists, most of the time. Why don't they deserve greater compensation?
So, if I loan somebody hundreds of thousands of dollars, then spend hundreds of thousands more on publicist, promoters, agents, secretaries, A&R,
distribution, and other costs, I shouldn't expect a large return on my investment? The fact that I will probably have to wait two or three years for
the first hint of repayment doesn't entitle me to a larger share of the pie until I'm paid back?
Nope, Artists and the people that take a risk funding them aren't entitled to make money. Art is for the people, those that can produce it should do
so without the expectation of making a profit. No one else should profit off of it either.
Record labels, movie studios, and publishing houses took huge financial risks to promote art and enrich the culture of the world for years. You want
to know why their is more Britney Spears and less Led Zeppelin? You want to know why you have Die Hard 30 instead of more risky fare at the theatre?
It is because the companies have to stick to the formula of what will sell. They can't take the risks they use to. Financially it doesn't pay. There
is a formula that works and they will use it because capital ventured on something new and adventurous could easily bankrupt a company these days.
So, what we get is a constant barrage of Selena Gomez because of her Disney channel tie in, We get craptastic electronic beats instead of real
instruments to save money. We get more Michael Bay and much less of the Kubrick style You can't risk the big budget on such a long and demanding
shoot.
The industries had their own faults. I have listed many of the music industry's problems else where on this site. None of them are free of blame.
However, they are less likely to change for the better when the financial rewards are disappearing.