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Do illegal downloads mean lower revenue/royalties for the artists? (pg. 6)
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| derail |
| quote: | Originally posted by EddieZilker
negate illegal downloading and therefore negate DRM and the need for a business like Beatport - the apparent Wal*Mart of dance music - and prices would go up. Re-introduce a comodifiable medium (i.e. vinyl), opposing infinitely replicable data and, again, prices go up. |
How do you propose that illegal downloading be "negated", while still allowing people to connect with each other (such as via emails)?
How would a new "hard medium" such as vinyl prevent people from recording it and turning it into digital versions? |
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| Aesthetic |
| Why not sell your own music? The industry is chock full of , that it doesn't matter if a label is selling it, or you are selling it on your own. If the song is any good, your own promotion should yield some good airplay. |
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| MSZ |
| quote: | Originally posted by Aesthetic
Why not sell your own music? The industry is chock full of , that it doesn't matter if a label is selling it, or you are selling it on your own. If the song is any good, your own promotion should yield some good airplay. |
im sure there are a few here that sell their own music, let them tell you how thats going for them. not only do you have to put hours and hours into your music, then another load on top of that onto promotion? in the long run im sure its better, but, you should at least use the machine to establish yourself. its so hard to start off without a big local following at least. for example, there is no way i would match the sales from my first EP if i was promoting alone, units sold is more important than money earned per unit obviously. |
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| Lolo |
:Cough Cough:
Downloads don't need to be illegal to lower revenue significantly.
Because of the new business models I earn about 10% of what I used to get from royalty and author rights, if not less. And that's not because of illegal downloads only, piracy has always been over there.
Put simply, today I'm struggling to feed my two kids. Honestly if I didn't have stuff on the side, I'd have been gone for at least 3 years. And this is exactly what I think doesn't get right today.
But enough whining here.
I gotta be fully honest with you. I found the cause of this lack of sales, and it's not label-dependent, it's not a question of illegal downloads even. The cause is just the artist. By doing 3 simple things an artist could sell a dozen times more.
1) Stop making average or just above average music and focus on state-of-the-art music for yourself.
2) Be social and find people who spread the word for you, like 5 times a day. Make some noise about the releases because my life depends on it.
3) Have an image. Whatever it is, have an image. End of story. If you don't, then you're not serious about what you're doing, so don't expect a public to buy anything from you when you're not serious at convincing people that what you do is good for them.
The latter really scared me off, but this is my friends, the truth. I see a lot of talent pass by my door, all with the same problem, lack of image and lack of self-confidence. And those who have less talent but come up with an attitude get through easily. No justice? probably. Logical? For sure!
There are ways to generate even more revenue off downloads because of the internet. Everyone has the tools in hands. But for those big things you need a PLAN, a strategy, and don't rely on record labels to do it for you, they are way too busy trying to keep their deals with portals as their revenue is as crap as yours, unless you want a crap royalty deal? Don't rely on sending promo stuff out to thousands, it makes things look cheap!
Very very simple things can make a world of difference in good or bad. |
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| MSZ |
you need to do this.
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| MSZ |
| man, im not making any more music. im just gonna spend that time spamming and promoting/advertising. LOL ill let you guys know how it goes. just need to finish 1 remix. |
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| Storyteller |
youtube seems to be a good way to generate extra income... Armada has advertisements on there and has millions of views it gets paid for. None of it goes to the artists.
@lolo by reading your post it seems individualism has put it's mark on the industry. producers such as myself putting the blame on labels and you're going for the opposite; Truth migh be somewhere in between.
I sincerely believe in a mutual agreement where the artist can be expected to do a bit more than just sit back after signig a track. However, in most cases you're dealing with a person instead of a company or business communication mastermind. A label should be able to leverage their communication skills and platforms to create or stimulate the interest. I agree times are changing but I don't see how an artist can be held responsible for a loss in sales. Why would an artist promote himself while the sole reason labels exist is based on their ability to promote/communicate/market an artist (apart from their connection to outlets)? I agree the extra effort will probably add to the equation but is it their job, really?
If a label blames the artist for a lack of selfpromotion would an artist who does so even need a label? Why not engage on direct deals with a distributor or webshop? |
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| Lolo |
Some of you are confused. Who's talking about spamming here?
MSZ i'm happy that you show this Deadmau5 merchandise thing because this is for me exactly what we shouldn't do. Our purpose is art and not merchandise although it sometimes helps.
Storyteller's right though, it's a question of balance.
By the way, Doesn't armada pay royalties on youtube plays? Strange...
Believe me guys, it took me 3 years to have a clear sight on what's going on inside the music industry. Thanks to people like 00 it goes a lot better now.
My purpose? Sell pieces of art I've created on my own, or alongside with others. My goal is that everyone who might be into this kind of art gets to hear it. With all my due respect for many, their music doesn't get to their target audience which creates frustration, and not a little.
Guys, I have just spent the last 3 years on a bunch of tracks, only a few, not hundreds. I won't rely on the record label guys to have this music sold. I'm the driver, they're just the engine. Even worse, I doubt they're into this music at all. I went for intimate and personal music, so I take the risk. But once they get to see my vision, they will be into it, and they will start calling people, creating movement.
Most importantly, I will be a social artist, showing what I do, how I do it, because this is what people want to see. 90% of the dance scene neglects this aspect of things, which shows a lack of self-confidence and/or abilities. |
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| MSZ |
lolo while you do that, some guy will claw his way ahead of you. no disrespect here, you've been in the scene for super long, i wish you were more "well in place" you know what i mean. some guy like deadmau5 comes in out of nowhere and obliterates you, not in skill, but in industry. did you do the wrongs moves?
btw, if you're ever playing in toronto, and need an opening act other than the supplied at vola lounge, please recommend Maciek Sztel On Facebook, MSZ. ive been djing longer than i have been producing. sorry had to do this, un-private perhaps a poor choice... shameless i know. |
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| Storyteller |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lolo
By the way, Doesn't armada pay royalties on youtube plays? Strange...
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That's what I've heard from a friend whom I consider to be very well informed... I can't verify it for myself unfortunately. |
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| MSZ |
| quote: | Originally posted by Storyteller
That's what I've heard from a friend whom I consider to be very well informed... I can't verify it for myself unfortunately. |
i heard armada is very poor at communicating with their clients.(multiple sources) |
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| Raphie |
My take on it: Soundcloud perfectly reflects the music industry.
Too many "artists & producah's"
People do remixes for free, people release for free, people viral tracks for free, it's nearly impossible not to obtain a track for free. and there are soooo many to choose from
I our genre, music is considered "disposable" and nearly solely distributed via online media. Our "fans" are the online generation.
The one or 2 oflline opportunities are releases on compilations, which by themselves are probably for 80% being pirated by our fans (the online generation)
So, from a producers/artist perspective one has to be in it for the love, or become that huge that they continueously have iTunes top10 coverage and radio airplay (and i don't mean internet radio, but real radio) And even there if you look at the breakdown of revenues from artists like Beyonce, most is airplay gigs and endorsements.
So, is it "piracy" or is it "transparancy" and "accesabillity" that hurt the "industry" and to be frank, how many of us ARE really in the industry and how many pretend they mean something in the industry? |
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