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What is the status of current label situation on the music market? (pg. 3)
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It isn't a bad idea to start your own label imo. Everything is in your control, and mostly everything is in your hands. Look at what MSZ posted, prettylights is doing pretty well and they give their music out free and prettylights gets money from gigs too.
I don't think it's a bad idea to make your own label and release it the way you see fit. Dance music is pretty DIY and filled with botique labels that's being run in their bedroom. That's just the norm.
The bad part is that you aren't going for people who aren't djs, producers, or chin strokers. There are more people in the Armin and Skrillex crowd than the traditional crowd who scour new releases on vinyl or digital. That's a lot of potential money. |
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| Seandroid |
| quote: | Originally posted by MSZ
beatport takes 60%, label takes 50% of that usually. wont discuess what im getting, but thats standard. now factor in just a few dozen tracks sold. well now. |
S..........
SIXTY PER.................
Holy ing . My EP sold a hell of a lot more than I thought it did then.......... |
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| Looney4Clooney |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ RANN
Thanks guys, but that is really news.
Basically, for selling a few hundred tracks on beatport per release, you're lucking if you'll see enough enough to cover your rent for one week.
I've said for a long while that people should sell their own music through their own websites - there are enough cheap shopping cart and direct digital delivery providers that it won't cost much in the long run and it's especially worth it if you're someone that can sell a few dozen records per release.
I actually think demanding the the advance again is quite smart. I reckon every label will tell you to off, but it would make them actually go out and promote the track, rather than just slapping it on beatport and waiting for a few miserable sales to drip in that you'll never see any payment from anyway.
Imagine if everyone producing started asking for advances again - I reckon all those crappy little labels in bum nowhere would crawl back under the rocks from whence they came.
I remember back in the days of late vinyl, early digital downloads, bidding wars breaking out between labels to sign a particular track. One house track my mate wrote eventually got signed to defected due to a £6k advance. He then made a load on the compilation sales as the label put all their weight behind it (due to their outlay) and it was on about 15 different compilations across europe. |
i remember when a 500$ was a slap in the face. I was asked by tunnel trance a while back to do a remix of das boot track they did and offered 500$ each for 3 remixes. I told them politely to go Sakin in his ass.
But really, the people that don't sell would never of been good enough to be on vinyl anyways. It was a quality filter in some regards. 90% of the stuff on Beatport would not of ever been considered for release. |
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| Storyteller |
| quote: | Originally posted by Seandroid
S..........
SIXTY PER.................
Holy ing . My EP sold a hell of a lot more than I thought it did then.......... |
Lasttime i checked (which was a looong time ago) their agreement said 40 plus some administrative/random fees averaging to about 50%. Still quite a bit though. Itunes is way friendlier from what I've heard.
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In order to succeed I think a label needs to broaden it's product and services and think outside the box. I've finally started graduation and will graduate on writing a businessplan that supposedly solves all the problems discussed here ;). Running a label shouldn't be for fun. Everybody needs to get paid and I've got my own view on how it can be realized. It's rather interesting, biggest hint I can give you is to think outside the box on how to differentiate your label from others. Dare te be different, and be darn good at it. |
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| TranceLover007 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Looney4Clooney
i remember when a 500$ was a slap in the face. I was asked by tunnel trance a while back to do a remix of das boot track they did and offered 500$ each for 3 remixes. I told them politely to go Sakin in his ass.
But really, the people that don't sell would never of been good enough to be on vinyl anyways. It was a quality filter in some regards. 90% of the stuff on Beatport would not of ever been considered for release. |
It makes perfect sense what you are saying man, but you also have to understand that people likes different things, different styles and different melodies, sometimes I couldn't believe what kind of crap that they are willing to pay money for and if they can find what they are looking for + knowing that most of it goes directly to support her/his artist, I think will do the trick. So this idea of creating something like 'Music Markt” or “Artist Direct” will provide them with that kind of services, I think??
And, no, I don't want to call it another damn label lol lol lol.
Something new and different may have a chance to do something good for all of us.
Cheers,
Darek |
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| tehlord |
It's worth noting that it's highly unlikely you'll get a Beatport account as a new artist or label with no track record. You'll need to go through an aggregator such as Labelworx as Beatport won't even respond to emails.
Something else worth considering is that to earn even $100 off a single track you'll need to do a lot of promo work on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and all that BS, otherwise you'll be lucky to sell 20 copies to your mates.
There's probably a 'label' for every 10 producers out there as well. |
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| Richard Butler |
My first release, prior to Dirtbox Diva days was with Alterego and they claimed they were some big deal as they owned some distbibution platform called Labelworx (I think). Saw peanuts from it - never got any feedback or anything so was kept totaly in the dark.
Made me realise that probably most labels operate this way.
I had a couple other small releases but tbh I made up my mind not to bother releasing unless I thought a track really had a lot more bite and potential.
Happy now just producing and see how we go. Will consider selling from our website once we're confident in our product but I dont think we'd sell much, afterall people shop in supermarkets cause its all in one place, they dont want to tramp from one shop (website) to another mostly, UNLESS THE PRODUCT / EXPERIENCE IS EXCEPTIONAL.
Maybe us folk here ought to set up our own platform to sell our own stuff, with a strict rule that only people who have been contributing to TA a while can put up thier wares for sale, as a form of quality control and so someone considering buying tracks knows the TA label is a bit of a community, something worth taking note of - perhaps. I'll be in charge of Banking:crazy:
I'd suggest coupling this with THE best production tips videos known to Man as a way of driving the brand out there in the ether. Couldn't be just trance though - could it? |
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| Looney4Clooney |
| quote: | Originally posted by tehlord
It's worth noting that it's highly unlikely you'll get a Beatport account as a new artist or label with no track record. You'll need to go through an aggregator such as Labelworx as Beatport won't even respond to emails.
Something else worth considering is that to earn even $100 off a single track you'll need to do a lot of promo work on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and all that BS, otherwise you'll be lucky to sell 20 copies to your mates.
There's probably a 'label' for every 10 producers out there as well. |
If you suck. Yep. But that is the litmus test. |
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| TranceLover007 |
I'm all for the new idea, new concept, new way of doing the business and interact with customer/listener. Everything will take some planing and smart strategy but I know it can be done. From the beginning I/we can start slow and progressively adding more producers and more tracks. I know few guys on SC which are very popular and like three of them can add almost 40,000 followers/potential buyers :eek: - it is all about traffic and pleasant experience, but the most important thing is the we will get pay what we finally deserve and I really like that ;)
Cheers,
Darek |
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| tehlord |
| quote: | Originally posted by Looney4Clooney
If you suck. Yep. But that is the litmus test. |
If you have no track record you could suck OR blow, it wouldn't make a difference.
But yeah, there's a lot of sucking going on.
| quote: | Originally posted by Richard Butler
I'd suggest coupling this with THE best production tips videos known to Man as a way of driving the brand out there in the ether. Couldn't be just trance though - could it? |
Cunning business model, where on earth did you get that idea from ;) |
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| meriter |
It is no longer realistic to expect any kind of substantial income from record sales alone. (music in general not just EDM) The labels are pushing the artists' head down underwater to keep themselves afloat. Artists are letting themselves get taken advantage of, but it seems more and more people are wising up. (usually after the first few releases of making zero money)
A label used to be the only way an artist could reach their mass audience and facilitate a marketable product. It's not like that anymore. They don't serve that same purpose anymore.
Labels are on their way towards total obsolescence (for the vast majority). It's a slow and predictable collapse. (imagine collapse as a series of small failures followed by small recoveries, similar to the way a python squeezes a little tighter each time it's victim exhales) Right now they function as a middle man that just harvests money from artists and barely preforms a service in return. When you sign to one of these labels you are basically saying "Here, make money off of this for me."
What do producers have to gain from this? If you want your track on beatport to make yourself feel better thats fine. There are a bunch of labels that can fulfill that for you
As far as making real money..
If you want to make a living off music you have to launch an identity for yourself and be a performer. You have to function as your own business. You're just not gonna make a killing off sitting in your room pumping out tracks, not saying you shouldn't be able to but you have to face the reality. The industry right now is in a transitional state of collapse and reformation, so adapt or die off. The money is in the show. I know a lot of producers (myself included) are good at computers for a reason, and we hate to hear that networking and social skills and getting up on a stage and staying up late are the avenues for success.
All of the functions of the traditional record label can now be preformed by the individual. But that means actually preforming those functions. Promote the out of your music, and your show. Be your own booking agent, and start your own business and sell your records. ( paypal)
These labels are parasites and why would you want someone else playing your music to begin with? Don't you want to be there when the audience freaks out? You're forfeiting that earned experience to the DJ. Lame.
Also I know playing shows isn't the only way to make $$$, it's just the most realistic for most of us |
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| Kysora |
Labels just seem to have been made obsolete because of the internet. Technology is changing way faster than anyone's bothering to keep up with it. There's nothing a label does that a musician can't do on their own anymore, yet everyone sticks to the "old" method without adapting to the changes and finding new ways of satisfying the artists, distributors and buyers. And then they wonder why the hell there's no money left in the scene.
edit: well I got ninja'd there pretty bad. |
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