whoa. umm, you're wrong. radio stations pay a gross percentage of revenues to licensing agencies such as ASCAP and BMI. feel free to visit their respective websites for the precise amounts. on the other hand -- the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) calls for payments to the record labels AND the ASCAP's of the world. Not really sure why broadcast fees should be greater online than in traditional radio, but they didn't ask me for my opinion.
>>Musicians tend to get shafted with Major Label deals, since people are so eager to "sign up" simply don't look closely enough at their contracts
this would be why people hire lawyers and managers. if you are not aware of what you are signing and the implications, then you are a fool.
You're second paragraph is a great idea, but lives in a dream world. To take on the majors, you have to understand their world and the role that they play. MP3.com could and IMHO should get into the label business but its not as simple as you make it out to be:
btw --all contracts are negotiable.
1- How is promotion guaranteed and how will they make money in the online medium?
Promotional slots on MP3.com are limited because they have a responsibility to advertisers that PAY them tangible $$'s. MP3.com is also currently limited to the online world, though they are rolling out to provide music streaming in stores. Don't know if that will work, but HEY give it a shot! Mass amounts of records get sold for 2 reasons: Radio and MTV. Those are the 2 most important avenues that most bands have to work with. Internet, concerts, hype, fanbase, etc all play a part but not nearly as phat as Radio and MTV. Here is where the majors excel - they have whole groups of people who work with outlets to get their artists promoted, played, seen, and read about! Its not cheap.
Fact is, you need offline distribution! Eminem for example-- what, 1.6 Million records sold during the first week? Those are records that were sold in stores -- not online. Online sales were insignificant in the overall sales compared to the sheer number.
2. millions they make off advertisements...
Well, think about the rest of the money that MP3.com pays out. Couple hundred employees, rent, bandwidth, advertising, LAWYERS and Lawsuits, etc.
Bottom line -- MP3.com [according to their Q1-2000 report] sold 71,000 cd's out of a total of 68,000 bands. Not a good sign, especially since this is a PERFECT outlet for a band lacking $$'s to get CD's pressed.
3. couple hours in the studio
Spoken like a true outsider. Listen to random band on MP3 and then random band on Warner. More than likely you will hear a HUGE difference. That difference is costly not only in "more than a few hours" of studio time, but producers/engineers, mastering, equipment, etc.. Don't expect to do a great sounding radio record for under $100k. [studio, producer, lodging/catering, blah blah -- insert rock star rider here]
As a note -- you CAN do a record for much less - but in most occassions you get what you pay for. You mentioned engineer time -- uh, I could never do a record with an in-house engineer mixing and producing. Just think - the top mixers, strictly mixing AFTER you have spent months recording - make upwards of $3,000 plus points PER song.
4. bands pay for their own tours..
They can, but as a new breaking act you really look for sponsors and tour support from your record label. I've done tours where as a support act for a major band playing 3,500 seat venues (sell outs)we made $200 a night. 5 guys, crew, truck rental, food,rent, etc.... doesn't go far BUT it was great exposure and thats why you look for the underwriters. Its great to be able to make money and sell out shows in your hometown but its a different world when you are 2,000 miles away and no one knows who you are!
For a great factual band experience, complete with $$'s and breakdowns - check out http://www.disgraceland.com/there's_this_band.htm its quite enlightening.
A great example of what MP3.com could do is the Farmclub model. Instead of just an "online" model they have combined multiple mediums:
online--seed it with big music stars--draw attention to TV show--showcase unsigned band--sign band to major record label--break band in all forms of media=airplay and record sales.
Works well I think. Sonique [top 20 airplay] and Dynamite Hack [currently 13 on rr air charts] have already been proven to work. Sev will be next.
>>Well...MPPP's market cap is 1.4 billion... rumor has it that MP3.com has a large cash position and no debts, therefore making the 100MM a painful check to write but it doesn't break the bank.
Slashdot Mirror
whoa. umm, you're wrong. radio stations pay a gross percentage of revenues to licensing agencies such as ASCAP and BMI. feel free to visit their respective websites for the precise amounts. on the other hand -- the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) calls for payments to the record labels AND the ASCAP's of the world. Not really sure why broadcast fees should be greater online than in traditional radio, but they didn't ask me for my opinion.
depends on the deal. typical is between 1-2 dollars minus some odds and ends.
>>Musicians tend to get shafted with Major Label deals, since people are so eager to "sign up" simply don't look closely enough at their contracts
this would be why people hire lawyers and managers. if you are not aware of what you are signing and the implications, then you are a fool.
You're second paragraph is a great idea, but lives in a dream world. To take on the majors, you have to understand their world and the role that they play. MP3.com could and IMHO should get into the label business but its not as simple as you make it out to be:
btw --all contracts are negotiable.
1- How is promotion guaranteed and how will they make money in the online medium?
Promotional slots on MP3.com are limited because they have a responsibility to advertisers that PAY them tangible $$'s. MP3.com is also currently limited to the online world, though they are rolling out to provide music streaming in stores. Don't know if that will work, but HEY give it a shot! Mass amounts of records get sold for 2 reasons: Radio and MTV. Those are the 2 most important avenues that most bands have to work with. Internet, concerts, hype, fanbase, etc all play a part but not nearly as phat as Radio and MTV. Here is where the majors excel - they have whole groups of people who work with outlets to get their artists promoted, played, seen, and read about! Its not cheap.
Fact is, you need offline distribution! Eminem for example-- what, 1.6 Million records sold during the first week? Those are records that were sold in stores -- not online. Online sales were insignificant in the overall sales compared to the sheer number.
2. millions they make off advertisements...
Well, think about the rest of the money that MP3.com pays out. Couple hundred employees, rent, bandwidth, advertising, LAWYERS and Lawsuits, etc.
Bottom line -- MP3.com [according to their Q1-2000 report] sold 71,000 cd's out of a total of 68,000 bands. Not a good sign, especially since this is a PERFECT outlet for a band lacking $$'s to get CD's pressed.
3. couple hours in the studio
Spoken like a true outsider. Listen to random band on MP3 and then random band on Warner. More than likely you will hear a HUGE difference. That difference is costly not only in "more than a few hours" of studio time, but producers/engineers, mastering, equipment, etc.. Don't expect to do a great sounding radio record for under $100k. [studio, producer, lodging/catering, blah blah -- insert rock star rider here]
As a note -- you CAN do a record for much less - but in most occassions you get what you pay for. You mentioned engineer time -- uh, I could never do a record with an in-house engineer mixing and producing. Just think - the top mixers, strictly mixing AFTER you have spent months recording - make upwards of $3,000 plus points PER song.
4. bands pay for their own tours..
They can, but as a new breaking act you really look for sponsors and tour support from your record label. I've done tours where as a support act for a major band playing 3,500 seat venues (sell outs)we made $200 a night. 5 guys, crew, truck rental, food,rent, etc.... doesn't go far BUT it was great exposure and thats why you look for the underwriters. Its great to be able to make money and sell out shows in your hometown but its a different world when you are 2,000 miles away and no one knows who you are!
For a great factual band experience, complete with $$'s and breakdowns - check out http://www.disgraceland.com/there's_this_band.htm its quite enlightening.
A great example of what MP3.com could do is the Farmclub model. Instead of just an "online" model they have combined multiple mediums:
online--seed it with big music stars--draw attention to TV show--showcase unsigned band--sign band to major record label--break band in all forms of media=airplay and record sales.
Works well I think. Sonique [top 20 airplay] and Dynamite Hack [currently 13 on rr air charts] have already been proven to work. Sev will be next.
-f
>>Well...MPPP's market cap is 1.4 billion... rumor has it that MP3.com has a large cash position and no debts, therefore making the 100MM a painful check to write but it doesn't break the bank.