Why Performers Hate Their Record Labels

[Justin V]

Articles like that make me happy that I'm coming along in the era of the internet. I get to watch the "Big 5" fall, however long it takes. Kind of like in that NOFX song.

I did think it was really cool about that guy on the "O Brother..." soundtrack. That'd be awesome. Really cool movie, too.

 

[brianrost]

There's a reason Elvis was a delivery driver and not a rocket scientist. There's a reason he died fat and drugged. Boy wasn't too bright.

An interesting point about Elvis is that you can make more money by either retiring or dying.

Why? As the article pointed out, acts keep financing their careers out of future royalties. If you just stop making records and get off the road, your expenses go to ZERO but if the recordings continue to sell, the royalties finally start rolling in.

Elvis has been dead over 25 years, Hendrix for 35 yet they've sold millions of recordings since then. That's why Lisa Marie was recently able to sell her dad's estate to a big corporation. It's also why Jimi, Elvis and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tim Buckley, Jerry Garcia and Jeff Buckley ( to name a few) have released many more albums AFTER they died.

The other thing left out of the article is the REAL money is in songwriting. Songwriting royalties are paid immediately and are paid not only for sales of the recordings but also radio and TV play. That's why getting your name on a song is so important.

Some bands split all songwriting credit equally even when not all members write to guarantee there's no sour grapes over royalties. Even when not all members get credit, there are classic cases of partnerships (think Lennon/McCartney of Jagger/Richards) which continue to exist for financial reasons even after they no longer really write together.

 

[xshawnxearthx]

yeah, signing to a major may be like getting the "no reach around" service, but, most bands cannot get to that next level without it.

so its the catch 22

another catch 22 i hate is this..

you need a label, to get a booking agent
yet booking agents dont want you unless you have a label

 

[LiquidMidnight]

yeah, signing to a major may be like getting the "no reach around" service, but, most bands cannot get to that next level without it.

so its the catch 22

another catch 22 i hate is this..

you need a label, to get a booking agent
yet booking agents dont want you unless you have a label

Actually around here, many cover bands have booking agents. Of course, we could get into a whole discussion about book agents.

 

[Eric Moesle]

Actually around here, many cover bands have booking agents. Of course, we could get into a whole discussion about book agents.

Yeah, but we're talking a whole different kind of booking agent here. We're not referring to the dudes who work out of a home office or a small run down office booking bands for weddings and such. We're talking people with national connections who book tours and smaller venues designed to build original bands' exposure.

 

[slinkp]

This is a little off topic, but the link that this article was tied to goes to a radio station in Toronto called 102.1 the Edge. This is only interesting because I listen to the Dallas Texas radio station, 102.1 the Edge.

Both stations calling themselves 'the Edge' is a moderately interesting coincidence. But both having the same frequency as well is just wierd.

No coincidence at all. It's a Clear Channel station. They do the same stations all over the place.