I ain't in the indstury or nuthin and I've heard a million differnt reasons on each side to why which can make you more $$..I'm guessing it isn't black and white and diffenrt situations work better for differnt people...but do people often make more money being on an indie or being on a major, and does the best major deal beat anything the best indie deal can make you? Lets hear from some real industry dudes...
Major vs. Indie
- Thread starter BayBoss420
- Start date
These past 3years I have had the privilege to speak at several different
conferences, seminars and open mic sessions to fledgling and
professional producers, artists, musicians and entrepreneurs. What I've
found in approximately 90% of these people is their desire to obtain a
major record deal and not become a business owner. I find this desire to
be entirely counter productive, selfish and lazy; a major record deal is
completely the wrong way to run your career.
Let me give you a few reasons why a major label deal is inappropriate.
MAJOR LABELS DON'T PAY
Yes you can receive an advance against sales for your project. Based on
what you do to get this project started, your advance could be as high
as $450,000.00. But when do you receive any more money? You immediately
start out in a position of OWEING the record label; they now own ALL of
the rights to your music, your image, your web presence and you can not
even make additional deals (licensing) on your music without the labels
authorization. You are now tied into a deal for at least 3 years and the
label makes ALL of the choices for you.
New label contracts now include ALL of your ancillary revenue sources.
Endorsement deals, publishing income, web based income, merchandizing
and even a portion of your touring monies.
LABELS TELL YOU WHAT TO DO
Music is like bread, it is best when it is delivered directly from the
oven hot, flakey and smelling sweet. Your music is now under the rule of
the label so they determine which song to release as a single, when the
album will be released, when & if you will have a video and who you
should talk with for publicity. Please remember that the major labels DO
NOT UNDERSTAND how to work a record in the streets, how to obtain and
maintain the freshness of a new "hit" or even how to work your fan base.
If they did they wouldn't need to get music from unknown independents,
they'd make their own.
The bottom line for labels is cash and now that ALL labels are run by
accountants, lawyers or corporate executives there only concern is for
the immediate future of the label. They have no concern for the artist
and little or no understanding of the music.
LABELS STAFFS ARE WEAK
Within the past year the music industry has amassed hundreds of job
firings, downsizings and miss management issues. These changes within
the workplace are to make the balance sheets look better, to stanch
losses, and hopefully report profits. It has got nothing to do with
whether these people were NEEDED, whether they had jobs essential to the
company, what their track record was in assisting the growth of the
artist or even how many records they sold, just what their salaries and
benefits were. No longer are record people working records, we now have
the dubious new program called OUTSOURCING.
What I've found out about outsourcing is that it opens up new companies
for the children and relatives of the major label executives, friends,
family and business associates. In other words it is just another reason
to extract more money from the artist under the heading of RECOUPMENT.
So as an artist you can no longer go to the company and speak with
someone concerning your project, but you can sit in a room and listen to
a conference call about your project. Remember that outsourced companies
have MANY clients so why should you become a priority?
By the time you release a second album some if not most of these
outsourced companies will not even be in business. So you have to find
NEW people to work on your project.
RETAIL DISTRIBUTION IS NOT WORKING
Major labels became major by creating a distribution system that started
with independent store owners and moved to chain accounts. Now there is
a glut of product at the physical stores, fewer consumers are buying the
lack luster hits and digital distribution is allowing artists to reach
the consumer direct.
U.S. album sales dropped to 588.2 million in 2006-a 5% decrease from the
619 million copies scanned in 2005, and the first time since 1993 that
the figure has slipped below the 600 million mark. In 2000, R&B moved
nearly 200 million copies, accounting for 25.4% of sales, while the rap
subgenre-which is included in the R&B total-itself scanned 107 million
units, or 13.6% of album sales.
Since then, album sales have declined 25%, but R&B is down 41.4% to 117
million units and rap is down 44.4%, with scans of 59.5 million units
last year. To put it another way, R&B now accounts for nearly 20% of
U.S. album sales, while rap now stands at 10% of album sales.
It is now easier and much more profitable to release your music online
where you can receive ALL of the money.
MTV / BET / VH1 ARE GONE
Why go into debt with the labels for a big budget video when the airtime
available on television is drying up? Programming at the major video
outlets is turning to reality TV and now is reflecting a difference
audience structure. You can enjoy more views and create a larger fan
base by making an inexpensive video and placing it on My Space & You
Tube thereby going directly to the consumer. You just need a digital
camera and Final Cut Pro, maybe even iMovie.
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) has recently made a new commercial using
footage from MySpace & You Tube. This has effectively saved them
millions of dollars. No Ad Agency to pay, no actors, no unions only free
footage from the consumers that enjoy there product. If they can
understand the significance of it I know you can.
FM RADIO AIRPLAY HAS CHANGED
Just a few years ago having a record in power rotation at radio would
mean hundreds of thousands of sales. Now a top 10 rotated record brings
in 5 to 20 thousand units a week this is a long way from the multi
platinum selling days of yester year.
The new avenues for music are Internet radio, mobile cell phone
streaming and the ability to license your music.
If all you care about is money, sign with a major label.
If you want all your money up front, instantly owe a corporation, and no
longer own your creation, sign with a major.
If you want to whore yourself out, do whatever it takes to sell your
unimaginative, non creative, un original music, then sign with the major
label.
-Daniel "Danny Dee" Aguayo
conferences, seminars and open mic sessions to fledgling and
professional producers, artists, musicians and entrepreneurs. What I've
found in approximately 90% of these people is their desire to obtain a
major record deal and not become a business owner. I find this desire to
be entirely counter productive, selfish and lazy; a major record deal is
completely the wrong way to run your career.
Let me give you a few reasons why a major label deal is inappropriate.
MAJOR LABELS DON'T PAY
Yes you can receive an advance against sales for your project. Based on
what you do to get this project started, your advance could be as high
as $450,000.00. But when do you receive any more money? You immediately
start out in a position of OWEING the record label; they now own ALL of
the rights to your music, your image, your web presence and you can not
even make additional deals (licensing) on your music without the labels
authorization. You are now tied into a deal for at least 3 years and the
label makes ALL of the choices for you.
New label contracts now include ALL of your ancillary revenue sources.
Endorsement deals, publishing income, web based income, merchandizing
and even a portion of your touring monies.
LABELS TELL YOU WHAT TO DO
Music is like bread, it is best when it is delivered directly from the
oven hot, flakey and smelling sweet. Your music is now under the rule of
the label so they determine which song to release as a single, when the
album will be released, when & if you will have a video and who you
should talk with for publicity. Please remember that the major labels DO
NOT UNDERSTAND how to work a record in the streets, how to obtain and
maintain the freshness of a new "hit" or even how to work your fan base.
If they did they wouldn't need to get music from unknown independents,
they'd make their own.
The bottom line for labels is cash and now that ALL labels are run by
accountants, lawyers or corporate executives there only concern is for
the immediate future of the label. They have no concern for the artist
and little or no understanding of the music.
LABELS STAFFS ARE WEAK
Within the past year the music industry has amassed hundreds of job
firings, downsizings and miss management issues. These changes within
the workplace are to make the balance sheets look better, to stanch
losses, and hopefully report profits. It has got nothing to do with
whether these people were NEEDED, whether they had jobs essential to the
company, what their track record was in assisting the growth of the
artist or even how many records they sold, just what their salaries and
benefits were. No longer are record people working records, we now have
the dubious new program called OUTSOURCING.
What I've found out about outsourcing is that it opens up new companies
for the children and relatives of the major label executives, friends,
family and business associates. In other words it is just another reason
to extract more money from the artist under the heading of RECOUPMENT.
So as an artist you can no longer go to the company and speak with
someone concerning your project, but you can sit in a room and listen to
a conference call about your project. Remember that outsourced companies
have MANY clients so why should you become a priority?
By the time you release a second album some if not most of these
outsourced companies will not even be in business. So you have to find
NEW people to work on your project.
RETAIL DISTRIBUTION IS NOT WORKING
Major labels became major by creating a distribution system that started
with independent store owners and moved to chain accounts. Now there is
a glut of product at the physical stores, fewer consumers are buying the
lack luster hits and digital distribution is allowing artists to reach
the consumer direct.
U.S. album sales dropped to 588.2 million in 2006-a 5% decrease from the
619 million copies scanned in 2005, and the first time since 1993 that
the figure has slipped below the 600 million mark. In 2000, R&B moved
nearly 200 million copies, accounting for 25.4% of sales, while the rap
subgenre-which is included in the R&B total-itself scanned 107 million
units, or 13.6% of album sales.
Since then, album sales have declined 25%, but R&B is down 41.4% to 117
million units and rap is down 44.4%, with scans of 59.5 million units
last year. To put it another way, R&B now accounts for nearly 20% of
U.S. album sales, while rap now stands at 10% of album sales.
It is now easier and much more profitable to release your music online
where you can receive ALL of the money.
MTV / BET / VH1 ARE GONE
Why go into debt with the labels for a big budget video when the airtime
available on television is drying up? Programming at the major video
outlets is turning to reality TV and now is reflecting a difference
audience structure. You can enjoy more views and create a larger fan
base by making an inexpensive video and placing it on My Space & You
Tube thereby going directly to the consumer. You just need a digital
camera and Final Cut Pro, maybe even iMovie.
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) has recently made a new commercial using
footage from MySpace & You Tube. This has effectively saved them
millions of dollars. No Ad Agency to pay, no actors, no unions only free
footage from the consumers that enjoy there product. If they can
understand the significance of it I know you can.
FM RADIO AIRPLAY HAS CHANGED
Just a few years ago having a record in power rotation at radio would
mean hundreds of thousands of sales. Now a top 10 rotated record brings
in 5 to 20 thousand units a week this is a long way from the multi
platinum selling days of yester year.
The new avenues for music are Internet radio, mobile cell phone
streaming and the ability to license your music.
If all you care about is money, sign with a major label.
If you want all your money up front, instantly owe a corporation, and no
longer own your creation, sign with a major.
If you want to whore yourself out, do whatever it takes to sell your
unimaginative, non creative, un original music, then sign with the major
label.
-Daniel "Danny Dee" Aguayo
It depends on what kind of money you wanna make. If you're an indie, you make more per album sold, but you're not really cashin' out huge on tours and publishing like a major artist would. Indie artists don't headline sold out arenas, don't get knocked on the radio as much as major artists do...all that is where major money comes from. BUT, if you're happy with just gettin' your bread from album sales, that's all good. Depends on what you want to do with yourself as an artist.
Apples & oranges...
Independent you gotta manage yourself and 100% of the money.....with you own team of homeboys,family...
Major manages your tours,event dates,luxury plane rides,magazine promotionproduct endoresements,shows & concerts etc...Depending on your "deal"...And you get a percentage...
In more words the less...
Crack dealer with no 401k..or your Local pysa on the corner selling fruit....Vs the Gov Employee or even Major Corporation employee with all the Health,retirement benefits etc.
Independent you gotta manage yourself and 100% of the money.....with you own team of homeboys,family...
Major manages your tours,event dates,luxury plane rides,magazine promotionproduct endoresements,shows & concerts etc...Depending on your "deal"...And you get a percentage...
In more words the less...
Crack dealer with no 401k..or your Local pysa on the corner selling fruit....Vs the Gov Employee or even Major Corporation employee with all the Health,retirement benefits etc.
^not really bro, cats who really have thier label setup right have health plans, self employed IRA's setup and have hedgefunds, shares in the company the whole shit. it depepnds on who is running the label & thier knowledge.
The majority of cats we all know do not run thier label like that because they dont know the 1st thing about business, much less the music industry.
more lables in the bay and in the usa are ran correclty like this than you may think...just not the run of the mill bay rapper w/ a soundclick or myspace page.
The majority of cats we all know do not run thier label like that because they dont know the 1st thing about business, much less the music industry.
more lables in the bay and in the usa are ran correclty like this than you may think...just not the run of the mill bay rapper w/ a soundclick or myspace page.
You can get health and life insurance through a publisher.
Dude is right though, if it's YOUR label, you're responsible for everything that you need. If you're on somebody else's indie label, you can't expect the push or the funds you're looking for, and you're not going to make the bread that you can make being a major artist unless you know how to brand yourself. Which, let's be honest here, a lot of rappers aren't THAT deep into business...most musicians aren't. The biggest indie artists still come and do club shows...but never do they come and sell out at HP!
You're talkin' about a few G's to do a show vs., say, $25-$50,000 plus to do a show. You're talkin' about minor radio play vs. once an hour on every radio station in the United States...that brings in at LEAST $0.03 per spin, which adds up like a muthafucka. Commercials, sponsorship, and hit records which makes your worth as an artist skyrocket...and brings bidding wars to cats who are about to get out of a contract, which has labels throwing big bank at you.
Dude is right though, if it's YOUR label, you're responsible for everything that you need. If you're on somebody else's indie label, you can't expect the push or the funds you're looking for, and you're not going to make the bread that you can make being a major artist unless you know how to brand yourself. Which, let's be honest here, a lot of rappers aren't THAT deep into business...most musicians aren't. The biggest indie artists still come and do club shows...but never do they come and sell out at HP!
You're talkin' about a few G's to do a show vs., say, $25-$50,000 plus to do a show. You're talkin' about minor radio play vs. once an hour on every radio station in the United States...that brings in at LEAST $0.03 per spin, which adds up like a muthafucka. Commercials, sponsorship, and hit records which makes your worth as an artist skyrocket...and brings bidding wars to cats who are about to get out of a contract, which has labels throwing big bank at you.
