Meet the new boss

[Josiah]

He's using HIS OWN CONTRACT as a reference and comparing his rate when using digital downloads to CDs. It is a COMPARISION. He's using HIS OWN DEAL for reference.

Explain how that works. $15 is the wholesale price of his cd contract? He got $2.50 from it... Do you actually buy that?

Why don't you tell us how much money YOUR music is bringing in, seeing as you think things are so fucking sweet now?

I am not an artist. Don't sing. Don't write. I am a supporting player, all of us are with the few exceptions. I've done just fine making a living playing music. Can I afford the Ferrari I want? No. Do I have Todd's practice room? No. Endorsements? Nope.
But I get to play drums for a living.

And yes, I think that's pretty fucking cool. I got no room to complain about the industry. A kid from LA can play drums for the majority of his life and make a living doing it? HELL YES!!!
Despite all the bitching. I've managed to do it, and apparently a few other people have as well, if you didn't notice all the drum mags, ad's, bands, signature products and everything else?
Heck I'm a nobody and I pull it off. No signature products. No huge gigs. No major endorsements. But you know what, my calendar is full. Booked out to October, I get to play music 4-7 days a week. Sure most of it's covers. Wedding bands, pop gigs, church gigs, country gigs and I even squeeze in my own original band, which, believe it or not, makes money from our gigs too.

Sorry dude. If I can do it, pretty sure most anyone else can. I'm nothing special.

Things ARE FUCKING SWEET. I make a living PLAYING MUSIC. How fucking righteous is that?!?! Sorry if you couldn't pull it off. But lots of us have, and it IS pretty righteous. I feel very excited. Very fortunate. Is it about the EXACT number of dollars I make per year? Or maybe that one really cool gig that was free for a friend, but lead to an awesome paying gig from the producer? Who knows man, I'm not going to sit down and quantify every playing opportunities financial gain.

What do YOU do for a living? Cause if it's not making music, you really have no say in the conversation... seriously...

[deseipel]

this is purely reference

"...One of the most well prominent cases of an artist's financial woes is that of TLC. Upon selling over 10 million copies of their 1994 sophomore effort, CrazySexyCool, TLC filed for Chapter 11. As the late Lisa Left-Eye Lopes explained in their 1999 VH1 Behind the Music special:
This is how a group can sell 10 million records and be broke, and everybody get ready to do your math. There are 100 points on an album, TLC has seven; every point is equal to 8¢. Alright, seven times eight is 56¢. That means every time an album gets sold, TLC gets 56¢. Sell 10 million records: $5.6 million. So, LaFace Records had to spend about $3 million on [CrazySexyCool], so that automatically gets deducted from the $5.6 million before we can see a penny. Now, we have $2.6 million dollars left to split between the 3 of us. Well guess what? When you have that much money you’re in the about the 47, 48, 49% tax bracket, so that immediately gets deducted to $1.3 million.

With profits split three ways, with additional funds dispersed to managers, accountants, legal team, etc., the members of TLC each took home approximately $50,000 in 1993 and 1994. ..."

http://www.theinclusive.net/article.php?id=52

[deseipel]

I'd like to point out something to; those who say it's poorly written. First sentence in the article:

"What follows is based on my notes and slides from my talk at SF Music Tech Summit." So this isn't a scholarly piece, it's his notes.


And this is the point of the speech he did

"if we are gonna come up with a system to compensate artists fairly in the new digital age we need an honest discussion of what is going on. The tech side of the music business really needs to look at how their actions and policies negatively impact artists, just as they have pointed out the negative effect record company actions have had on artists."


and here's the man himself






OT: the bitorrent guy seems like a huge terd.

[Julián Fernández]

If you want to talk about monopolies in the music industry. Start with the big one that hasn't changed, TicketMaster.

[Josiah]

Ooooohhhhh should have googled his name earlier... makes a lot more sense now. He didn't make money from percentage points being low, he just doesn't make money because his music kinda sucks. A key element he left out in his writings, the public still is the determining factor in popularity.

It's the guy from Cracker.

Anyone listen to 'Camper Van Beethoven' ?!


No? Anyone? Anyone buy the albums? Go to the shows? Well that's why he doesn't make money.

TooL and Sting sell out every show to this day.


/argument.



P.S.
It should be noted however that the comment from TLC is probably not entirely accurate. There is no tax bracket in the U.S. above 35%.

[DSOP]

What do YOU do for a living? Cause if it's not making music, you really have no say in the conversation... seriously...

This argument is about doing what is right for those who CREATE music. A real musician would understand and support any effort at changing what is a very bad deal for artists today. The article/blog/copy we're all referring to shows EXACTLY what is happening, and how the MAJORITY of artists/bands/etc. are NOT making enough money to continue. This isn't about playing a church or wedding gig. It's not about showcasing your band along with five other bands. It's about artists/songwriters/bands who are generating EASY money for companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc. while these companies DO ALL THEY CAN to change laws so they can CONTINUE to profit from content THEY DID NOT CREATE.

[deseipel]

Ooooohhhhh should have googled his name earlier... makes a lot more sense now. He didn't make money from percentage points being low, he just doesn't make money because his music kinda sucks. A key element he left out in his writings, the public still is the determining factor in popularity.

It's the guy from Cracker.

Anyone listen to 'Camper Van Beethoven' ?!


No? Anyone? Anyone buy the albums? Go to the shows? Well that's why he doesn't make money.

TooL and Sting sell out every show to this day.


/argument.



P.S.
It should be noted however that the comment from TLC is probably not entirely accurate. There is no tax bracket in the U.S. above 35%.

oh so because he's not Tool or Sting, his argument is less credible? You seem to indicate that unless an artist appears to make money currently (and continues to do so in the future...until they die) that they'd have no room to argue for better pay? Read the article and listen to the video AGAIN, the dude's not hurting for cash. So your argument against his is dumb. Sorry, its just how I feel about it. Nothing personal.

[circh bustom]

I gotta say, I kind of had the same thought as Josiah about David Lowery. Let's call a spade a spade and realize that Cracker was a one hit wonder. Low. That's it. Camper was one of those bands that was talked about in hushed tones in coffee bars and Details magazine in the late '80s-early '90s. Or dropping its name got you laid by the artsy girl in your ethics course at NYU. My argument is not that he doesnt deserve to make money off his his work, he most certainly does. But maybe it is time for him to get a different job in his later years. I mean, really, Eric Gravatt was in one of the biggest bands of its type, sold millions of records and he later became a prison guard. It happens. At least he got his head far enough above the radar that there are some people that even care about what he has to say.

[deseipel]

here let me read and listen for you guys: he works for the University of Georgia. he worked as an advisor on what would become Groupon. Read the article again. If you think that he's just trying to get more money for himself, you're missing the big picture and I respectfully think you're wrong. don't you think he'd present some sort of system to be paid more, if that's what he was after? And why do it now? 15+ yrs AFTER his hit single? Nope, sorry. Read the article again. You guys are simply looking for a way to discredit his message.



http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/ ... n-groupon/

Yeah, he's on skid row. Definitely. Let's see, college professor, on the advisory board for a huge IT start up, yeah he's definitely soup kitchen fodder. Gimme a break already...u guys kill me.

[circh bustom]

I wasn't trying to discredit his message, just pointing out a fact. I read the article, and I see that he does other things. Maybe people just dont feel strongly enough about his music to plunk down the money. That's all Im saying.
So then, what is a proposed solution to all of this mess?