secondchoice said:
Does anyone know what the financial breakout is for on line sales? On average what percentage does the retailer, music publisher and or BMI, ASCAP, SESAC etc and the record company get. I knew several folks in the music business when I lived in Springfield TN and they all stated that a even with a good entertainment lawyer the acts got very little from the sale of records, cassettes, CD's. The artist makes made most of (their, his-hers) money from concerts. I guess now an act / artist could self public or sell their recordings (many porn stars have become very rich this way), but if you have a deal with record company can you make 2 or 3 cents per download?
From what I understand you have to sell a LOT of recordings to make back your advance from the record company, and very few acts actually accomplish that. I would imagine that artists make more money today from the publishing rights of the song (the ASCAP/BMI money) instead of the recording.
I've always believed that the real reason that the record companies don't like downloads is twofold; one relatively old problem and one new problem.
The old problem is that record companies hated dealing with Wal-Mart, who used to be the #1 seller of music. When you sell to Wal-Mart, you dance their tune. Now replace Wal-Mart with Apple and Amazon, both of whom are not shy about throwing their weight around. The major labels were long used to having it their way. Not anymore, and old habits and attitudes die hard.
The new problem is that technology has made it easy to DIY. No need for a fancy recording studio, payola independent promotion, pressing, and distribution. Just send your homemade MP3s to Apple and Amazon, and put your DIY video on YouTube. Sony/Uni/Warner/EMI coughing up 30 cents on the dollar to Apple or Amazon is a big bite out of their profits that they used to pocket. In comparison, a starving artist getting to keep 70 cents on the dollar is a huge windfall. And the long tail of the online stores makes it easier to get your music out there, without having to go through the A&R filter.
Yes, there is piracy, but Home Taping Didn't Kill Music, and neither did the modern-day equivalents.
Hence the 360 degree deal. You might not need a record company per se anymore, but it helps to have management for merchandising, concert booking and promotion, and the like.
