Quote:
Originally Posted by ricgough
There is a school of thought that says Indie labels have been replaced by self-production (not a realistic option in the past) and social media promotion.
It is an interesting debate because there is a criminality issue here and then there is social and technological flux; potentially which renders traditional industry structures redundant.
I'm all for the protection of copyright and intellectual property, but how much of your argument (djfierce) is to do with this specific issue of legality and how much to seeing your own corner of the market shrinking through technically legitimate means - ostensibly a technically "protectionist" argument ?
Challenges from new technology and business structures is a vital component of the free market after all.
(Sorry, playing Devil's advocate a bit with this one but would appreciate your response!)
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With respect, It's an incorrect school of thought
There have been so few self released artists to actually 'make it' that many really don't see it as a viable option still. The 'you can do it yourself' hype is taken up by artists at first because they believe they can, usually because they see someone doing well who is self published. But look deeper and you will always find they are funded and produced by an indie label on some level and sometimes even by a large label, why? Because the i did it myself in my bedroom story sells, because people like to think all the money they spend goes to the artist,almost always it does not. Just checking the release code against the bpi or prs tells you exactly who has a stake in that production, its usually a label of some description whether a full discreet deal, a production or just a promotion and distribution deal, there is a proffessional body fueling their success.
I'm not saying there aren't any self released artists, there are lots, its easier than ever to release your own music. The difficult part is paying for recording, mixing and mastering time. The costs of distribution (which are still there albeit smaller than before) and the knowledge time and contacts to effectively promote. Many radio stations, festivals, events, even internet bloggers and vendors will not deal with unsigned artists. I must point out there are some that will only deal with unsigned artists too but not enough to level it for unsigned.
The market isn't shrinking, in fact it's growing,those are official figures, people are consuming music much more than they ever did, what's shrinking is the revenue. Studio time is cheaper, meaning if i work as a producer only for a band, i probably get paid less for the 16hr day than an average person does for 8, it's a passion, no one on this side of the mic gets into this business for the money i can tell you that for sure lol. When i started working i said many times i just want to make enough money to afford to keep doing it.
I don't need to defend my corner of the market because i can happily tell you every person i produce and release have all previously hired me on producer only work, so why do they come to me when they can do it themselves? The most simple answer i can give you is that they found out the truth behind the self release option, a band i have just released are doing very well now having come back to me after a year and a half. I produced them a year and a half ago, they paid me for my time and went off to self release and promote their new album convinced they could do it. They tried for over a year before coming back to sign up to me on a promote and release deal. So what did they get? They got instant attention to their music and website, they got their music played in places they never could before, they got gigs they couldn't get before, access to film companies who produced top notch music videos for them.
The long and short of it is, that even though it took them a year, they realised they couldn't just put a track out there and wait for their facebook friends and twitter followers to buy it amongst other things. They realised there were places they just couldnt penetrate or have the knowledge how to use effectively. The market has evolved in a big way, that just means labels have to make sure there is a reason for artists to use them. The attitude has shifted in a big way, indie labels in particular see working with an artist as a partnership much more than the artist works for them attitude.
My posts are obviously business related as it's the environment i work in but mostly as a music fan and consumer based on how i like to consume music, i use sites like Last FM and Reverbnation but more for the use of finding artists i never heard of rather than the artist i like, i still buy music because on a moral level i believe its right, and i know first hand how hard it is for artists unsigned or on indies to move into a position of doing what they love on a regular basis.
I apologise for the long ass post, and i hope it makes sense but i'm typing during my break here at the studio lol