42 Different Ways That Artists Can Earn Money

I have never been a shy person when it comes to educating those that choose to ignore the obvious.  Therefore, I will begin my blog by being as candid and straight up as I can.  So don’t blame Nick for letting me loose on this site.

I read countless blogs and articles and listen to so many aspiring and not-so aspiring artists say the same thing, Fuck the Majors!   Those with an opinion are quick to downplay the importance of the machine responsible for the catalogs of music that we have cherished since the introduction of the ADAT recorder and 45s.  We are under some impression that the lack of major label monopolies will somehow save our beloved ears from the consistent garbage that we are exposed to playlist after playlist.  Others feel that if it was not for the major labels opinion on their music they would out sell Jay Z.  Not likely.   But let us really entertain the idea of “No More Major Labels”.

Major means more than Minor and anybody past a grade school education should understand that being considered a”major anything” just means you are bigger than anything smaller than you, simple mathematics.  So a major label just means they have a larger market share due to having more capital which allows for more resources and a wider range of exposure.   A free market may sound like a gift to those who find it hard to get noticed or have not had luck with their major label relationships.  But a free market means anyone with a little extra money can be a Star.  I think most of us can agree that most fans are aspiring artists and the average artist can’t sign an autograph without being solicited a demo.  Therefore, there would be no more mass market and smaller territories would be flooded with people releasing their self proclaimed “Hits” on and offline with no attention to quality or direction. It would be absolute chaos, like a city with no police or like living in the internet.

Furthermore, if we realistically absorb the idea of a free market where all artists have equal opportunity to promote to a consumer market; there are resources that “said” artists will need to provide for themselves to even compete with the least successful artist.   Because as long as you are trying to sell yourself you are in fact as much of a product as that last box of Tide.  A) Development (Producers, Studio, Songwriters, etc.)  B) Distribution (i.e. ITunes, Retail Stores) C)Advertising/Promotion (Agencies, Online and print publications, etc.) D) Most importantly, unless you can be in a thousand places at once, you need a solid team (and not just your High school homeboys), people who actually know what organization, planning and consumer behavior means.

With that said, advertising and promotion agencies would reign supreme, freely charging whatever they want to promote just your single to your mere region or neighborhood.  Distributors like iTunes would increase their percentage of sale to account for the increased server space and become more selective in who they allow to sell through their portal. Record stores would charge what ever they want to charge fans for your record and you would be negotiating shelf space because they would have even more options.  There would be no more sweet-ass royalty checks. You would have to pay broadcast and online radio for just a hint of radio play because you desperately need more exposure than your neighbor.  Independent artists would be completely reliant upon banks to obtain enough capital to outdo the exposure of the 5000 songs released in that one day.

So what! the label does not sign YOU.  Stop taking it personal.  Major labels are lenient banks.  They loan you a set amount of money to pursue a dream that would otherwise be difficult to pursue in exchange for a percentage of your successful or unsuccessful business.   With no guaranteed and less likely chance of recouping if you are not as good as they bet on.  Now ask yourself, would Citibank give you a loan to be the next “Kanye West”.  And even if that was an option, I hope you considered your lifetime goals long before that first Macy’s and/or Visa credit card that you were dooped into maxing out during your ONE semester in the technical college that has federal and state garnishing your taxes for the debt you never paid a few years back.  Or perhaps you or your parents own a house or an expensive car that you can put up for collateral because the loan officer is void of artistic vision and secretly wishes music would revert back to the days of vinyl.

Or maybe you can hope for an increase in private investors who will throw all of their available funds into a few talented acts.   These talented acts can go on to sell millions of records and this investor will decide to become an indie label.  Then this indie label will have enough capital and resources to take market share from the majors and then you can submit your demo to them, it can land on top of the thousands of demos the free market has provoked,  they can sign you, criticize and change you, make bad marketing decisions, release a few budding artist that keep the lights on, wait for more records to sell from the two priority artist that sell less records than their last record, in an effort to finance your underdeveloped project and then drop you for not meeting expectations.   Oh, right… that’s a major.

Ok class… I repeat.  Anything that is bigger than the smallest thing is major.  So if you were one of those people thinking “fuck the majors!” Save yourself the agony of over-thinking the obvious scientific fact that it would only lead toEVOLUTION, another Major Label.  And if you think it’s hard to catch a break now, imagine multiplying the pain of exposure to the worst artist simply because they have more money or having to negotiate an overseas distribution agreement with a foreign government who does not see you as important or profitable as your friends and family brag about.  So instead of wishing for the demise of the Major Labels, let’s all get together and pray for the layoffs of all A&Rs who lack the drive to innovate and/or seek talent outside of their friends and family.  Pray for the firing of executives who don’t understand the importance of creative vision and variety, and ANYONE who bases what is hot on what was hot last year.  Even more, let’s throw rocks at ANYONE whose only idea of a great record is any record produced, written and recorded by (insert artist/producer name of choice) instead of becoming, finding and exposing outstanding new talent.

So now that we are on the same page, let’s talk about how to get a deal… when I wake up.

A&R Uncut

Email me at: aruncut@newindustrytips.com