According to the book, This Business of Music $0.447/CD.
According to Courtney Love, Toni Braxton declared bankruptcy in 1998. She
sold $188 million worth of CDs, but she was broke because of a terrible
recording contract that paid her less than 35 cents per album.
According to Matt Johnson of TheThe, $1 for every CD sold.
From personally speaking with artists it really is about $0.50.
And remember artists only see this money after they've repaid their advance and all the costs that went into producing and marketing the CD.
If I'm going to shell out $12.99 I want *ALL* of it going to the artist and
that is why I compensate through Fairtunes as opposed to
through the RIAA cartel.
My inbox was flooded today with Slashdotters letting me know Amazon was moving in on the Fairtunes space. Thanks for the heads up:) and the support.
Here's a quick comparison between Amazon and Fairtunes.
15% transaction fee (Ours is 3.5%)
Receive money only if you're American (We don't discriminate)
Lose your privacy (We respect it)
$1 minimum transaction (Ours is $0.25)
We also have a Winamp Plugin so *you* (not us) can track your music preferences and then quickly and easily send money to an artist, or you can use the integration in FreeAmp.
Fairtunes isn't just for musicians! I.e. Look at Linus Torvalds who has received $175 from Slashdot readers.
The power of Fairtunes is that you can send money to anyone. Even if they don't ask for it!
Check out Fairtunes. The name implies music but it's a voluntary payment system for virtually anything and we do not track you or your users. You use your own html and post to a form back on our site. Plain and simple.
I have a very bad feeling that despite the fact that Napster will be charging a subscription fee the artists will still be abused. By this I mean that they'll continue to receive a very small amount of the overall amount that you pay. It'll probably be even lower since it'll be a flat fee.
If you want Fair Compensation and you care about your probably starving artists check out Fairtunes.
People are paying for comics on the web and they are doing it voluntarily. Check out Nitrozac's page on Fairtunes.com. Someone out of the blue sent Nitrozac $10 for their comic series.
While I certainly don't imagine that voluntary payments could feed a family of four. I do think many artists and fans would be surprised at how many people would voluntarily send money for art that they appreciated if it was presented to them properly.
Anyhow, we certainly saw a bit of an out pouring for Linus over the last several days ($145 in voluntary contributions so far).
We've approached all the Canadian banks that handle MasterCard and none of them will set us up with an Internet Merchant account because our average ticket size is too small. Hopefully now that the Royalbank and the Bank of Montreal have teamed up to form Moneris Solutions we'll see them introduce an American Dollar MasterCard Internet Merchant account for small businesses.
In the meantime you can use MasterCard through PayPal.
:) The site is geared towards musicians but we've sent money to musicians, artists, cartoonists, lawyers, programmers,... We hope to soon have a more generic interface so that we're not biased towards musicians.
So feel free to send money to whomever you please! (Currently we're sending the money off after only $20.00 has been collected).
For example you can find Linus' Fairtunes page here: Linus Torvalds
..You can use either your Visa card or your PayPal account to send your contribution.
I too was disappointed that they didn't answer the first question. I was also disappointed that this question of mine on voluntary payments.
While what we propose and what the Street Performer Protocol propose are different, they are similar in many regards, and it would be nice to actually hear the artists talking about them, since it seems like the only folks who do talk about it are us techies.
It's imperative that artists participate in the discussion of new distribution and remuneration systems. So far I believe the tech community has failed to do this.
So far you've received $11.20 from fans through Fairtunes.com. While that isn't a huge amount, what are your thoughts on a voluntary payment system? Do you think the potential exists for a voluntary system to take off? Would you support a voluntary payment system?
Actually the paylars.com people haven't sent Metallica any of the money (read the fine print on the site carefully, first they have to recuperate their costs).
Another option would be Fairtunes which lets you send money directly to the artist, which bypasses the blood sucking RIAA. And unlike Paylars we've actually mailed thousands of dollars worth of cheques to artists who have in turn cashed them. (Metallica cashed their cheque this Tuesday).
Everybody is reporting on it, but what are we doing about it? Who is starting the letter writing campaings, who is starting the boycotts. wheres the flyers. Everybody wants to get on their little hind legs and bitch, but whos doing anything about it?
People are speaking with their wallets at Fairtunes and sending their money directly to the artist and cutting out the record labels. I totally agree that we need more action and less whining.
There was an article from way back in May. Here's a quote from the article:
Within the next four months, a student or "other individual found downloading illegal MP3 tracks" will go to jail "as a clear signal that piracy will not be tolerated in the US."
So my question is, do American jails have enough room for 20 million pirates?
Suing universal isn't cheap and if you support Courtney in her fight against the record labels consider sending her a voluntary contribution via Fairtunes.
I would disagree with the statement that tipping will ever work.
At www.fairtunes.com we allow anyone to send voluntary contributions over the internet. Of course we are primarily geared towards musicians right now but we do have some poets and authors in our database. But if you look at our stats in a little over a month we've already received approximately $2150USD in contributions for artists. Some of our artists have received more through us in the form of tips then they ever have in CD sales over the net.
What if there was an X.com (PayPal) tie-in, where all you need to remember is your email address? Even better, I think.
True enough.. But we are Canadian and PayPal doesn't accept Canadian users or businesses. We're working on establishing a US presence to circumvent this but it'll take some time.
Marketspeak free (the fine print re: credit card fees is refreshingly clear and frank)
Actually we have been slapped on the wrist for some credit card contract violations so far in terms of what we disclose....So read the FAQ while you can!
What do the artist's contracts look like?
And that is the million dollar question! We are working very hard to ensure that the artist gets their entire tip...Even to the point where we're prepared to have our lawyers go up against any record label. I also think there would be a large public outcry if artists aren't allowed to accept tips for their work. Who knows maybe I actually bought their album and then tipped.
I have yet to see a non-profit organization move as quickly as a for profit one. If we left this up to some organization or group it would take them years to get it done and at the end of the day it would probably only be available to people who belonged to that group.
Whereas a for profit (we certainly don't have any profit!) organization can move much quicker. There is no bureaucracy or red tape. Someone wants a feature added, we add it. And we make it accessible to everyone.
I think you're much more likely to know if a small band gets paid because for the most part they're running their own websites and are much easier to get a hold of. I've emailed with numerous small independent artists but have yet to talk to a single 'big name'. And I'm sure that these independent artists are going to post how much they've been recieving on their websites as a way of 'independent audit'. Some are even going so far as to send CDs to everyone who donates.
This means systems like fairtunes should try to make people who tip look good, i.e. publish your handle on a list of people who contribute to this artists AND give a message to the artist for you---
We definetly do this. Check out www.fairtunes.com/stats.jsp now that things have sorted themselves out on our end:).
Slashdot Mirror
Wrongo. This is from the Fairtunes' FAQ on how much artists make from CDs:
According to the book, This Business of Music $0.447/CD.
According to Courtney Love, Toni Braxton declared bankruptcy in 1998. She sold $188 million worth of CDs, but she was broke because of a terrible recording contract that paid her less than 35 cents per album.
According to Matt Johnson of TheThe, $1 for every CD sold.
From personally speaking with artists it really is about $0.50.
And remember artists only see this money after they've repaid their advance and all the costs that went into producing and marketing the CD.
If I'm going to shell out $12.99 I want *ALL* of it going to the artist and that is why I compensate through Fairtunes as opposed to through the RIAA cartel.
Matt
Here's a quick comparison between Amazon and Fairtunes.
We also have a Winamp Plugin so *you* (not us) can track your music preferences and then quickly and easily send money to an artist, or you can use the integration in FreeAmp.
Fairtunes isn't just for musicians! I.e. Look at Linus Torvalds who has received $175 from Slashdot readers.
The power of Fairtunes is that you can send money to anyone. Even if they don't ask for it!
Matt.
Matt.
If you want Fair Compensation and you care about your probably starving artists check out Fairtunes.
Matt
While I certainly don't imagine that voluntary payments could feed a family of four. I do think many artists and fans would be surprised at how many people would voluntarily send money for art that they appreciated if it was presented to them properly.
Anyhow, we certainly saw a bit of an out pouring for Linus over the last several days ($145 in voluntary contributions so far).
Matt.
We don't charge a service fee so while you're using two intermediaries you're only being charged a service fee by one (PayPal).
Matt.
In the meantime you can use MasterCard through PayPal.
Matt. (of Fairtunes)
So feel free to send money to whomever you please! (Currently we're sending the money off after only $20.00 has been collected).
For example you can find Linus' Fairtunes page here: Linus Torvalds
Matt
Are any of the sites hosted by Page Creators still functioning? Matt.
While what we propose and what the Street Performer Protocol propose are different, they are similar in many regards, and it would be nice to actually hear the artists talking about them, since it seems like the only folks who do talk about it are us techies.
It's imperative that artists participate in the discussion of new distribution and remuneration systems. So far I believe the tech community has failed to do this.
Matt
Thanks, Matt
Another option would be Fairtunes which lets you send money directly to the artist, which bypasses the blood sucking RIAA. And unlike Paylars we've actually mailed thousands of dollars worth of cheques to artists who have in turn cashed them. (Metallica cashed their cheque this Tuesday).
Matt.
Use Fairtunes and have 96% go to the artist. It's a voluntary system where the fans control the amounts not the record labels.
Matt
People are speaking with their wallets at Fairtunes and sending their money directly to the artist and cutting out the record labels. I totally agree that we need more action and less whining.
Matt.
Within the next four months, a student or "other individual found downloading illegal MP3 tracks" will go to jail "as a clear signal that piracy will not be tolerated in the US."
So my question is, do American jails have enough room for 20 million pirates?
Matt
Fairtunes
Send her the $16 directly.
Matt.
Matt.
Matt
At www.fairtunes.com we allow anyone to send voluntary contributions over the internet. Of course we are primarily geared towards musicians right now but we do have some poets and authors in our database. But if you look at our stats in a little over a month we've already received approximately $2150USD in contributions for artists. Some of our artists have received more through us in the form of tips then they ever have in CD sales over the net.
Matt
Fairtunes co-founder.
If you're Canadian we can arrange to send you a Canadian check since we're also Canadian.
Matt.
Fairtunes co-founder.
True enough.. But we are Canadian and PayPal doesn't accept Canadian users or businesses. We're working on establishing a US presence to circumvent this but it'll take some time.
Matt
co-founder
www.fairtunes.com
Actually we have been slapped on the wrist for some credit card contract violations so far in terms of what we disclose. ...So read the FAQ while you can!
What do the artist's contracts look like?
And that is the million dollar question! We are working very hard to ensure that the artist gets their entire tip. ..Even to the point where we're prepared to have our lawyers go up against any record label. I also think there would be a large public outcry if artists aren't allowed to accept tips for their work. Who knows maybe I actually bought their album and then tipped.
Matt
co-founder
Fairtunes
And either have the hits (till today).
Matt Goyer
co-founder
www.fairtunes.com
I have yet to see a non-profit organization move as quickly as a for profit one. If we left this up to some organization or group it would take them years to get it done and at the end of the day it would probably only be available to people who belonged to that group.
Whereas a for profit (we certainly don't have any profit!) organization can move much quicker. There is no bureaucracy or red tape. Someone wants a feature added, we add it. And we make it accessible to everyone.
Matt
co-founder
www.fairtunes.com
I think you're much more likely to know if a small band gets paid because for the most part they're running their own websites and are much easier to get a hold of. I've emailed with numerous small independent artists but have yet to talk to a single 'big name'. And I'm sure that these independent artists are going to post how much they've been recieving on their websites as a way of 'independent audit'. Some are even going so far as to send CDs to everyone who donates.
This means systems like fairtunes should try to make people who tip look good, i.e. publish your handle on a list of people who contribute to this artists AND give a message to the artist for you---
We definetly do this. Check out www.fairtunes.com/stats.jsp now that things have sorted themselves out on our end :).
Matt
co-founder
www.fairtunes.com