READ THIS, IT'S IMPORTANT -> TAKE BACK THE MUSIC NOW!! <-

X

XXX Music

New member
Hey folks, PLEASE take the time to read this essay, it is IMPORTANT; in fact, please copy and distribute it freely:

For the first time in music history, artists NOW HAVE THE POWER TO DISTRIBUTE THEIR OWN MATERIAL en masse via the Internet. This seems obvious, but think about the implications of this. The record companies are NO LONGER NECESSARY to distribute music; they are quickly becoming outdated, overpaid, price-fixing MIDDLEMEN.

Think about this: Right now the VAST MAJORITY of money spent on music goes to the RECORD COMPANIES. Think about HOW MUCH BETTER music would be if, instead, artists were to receive this money directly. Think about HOW MANY MORE ARTISTS would be able to provide a decent living for themselves, and how this would encourage yet more artists to produce their own music.

Also, think about how much better it would be IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY SO MUCH for the music you want. If you weren't forced to shell out $15 for a CD which has only one or two songs you really want. If, instead, you could download tracks one at a time from a website, and pay only a small nominal fee.

HOWEVER, in order for this to succeed, CONSUMERS NEED TO SUPPORT this system of distribution. It WILL NOT WORK if people continue to ripoff and copy music free of charge. Right now, it is very easy to do this without getting caught. The only way indepedent artists will be able to survive on the Internet is if consumers adopt an HONOR SYSTEM, and pledge to reimburse independent artists for their hard work.

PLEASE people, let's CUT OUT THE MIDDLEMEN. Music will be MUCH BETTER if people actually SUPPORT independent artists on the Web. Think about it - wouldn't you LOVE to buy music for a fraction of the price you do now? Wouldn't you much rather have the money you do spend go DIRECTLY to the ARTISTS? Wouldn't you much rather be an artist who has TOTAL CONTROL over the music they make, and who receives 100% of the hard-earned revenue you are generating??

C'MON folks, LET'S GET THIS REVOLUTION UNDERWAY!!

CONSUMERS: If you don't already have the capacity to download music from the Web, GET IT!! If you don't already support one of the thousands of independent musicians distributing their stuff on the Web, START NOW!! Don't RIPOFF their stuff, PAY them for it; in the end, you will get BETTER MUSIC and MORE CHOICES.

ARTISTS: If you are an artist looking to distribute your music, DON'T SIGN AWAY YOUR MUSIC to an expensive MIDDLEMAN; distribute it YOURSELF! It is NOT that hard to do!

NO MORE MIDDLEMEN!!
SUPPORT THE ARTISTS!!
LET'S TAKE BACK THE MUSIC, NOW!!!!!!

Please copy and distribute this essay.
 
But MP3 sucks! And so do soft copies and CDR media. If I'm going to pay for music it's going to be at least CD quality...and I'm going to have a physical copy.
 
But if artists can start accumulating a real income, an actual budget of their own, they could take over physical distribution themselves. If their music was good (and consumers responded by paying them for it), there would be a means for them to start their OWN record company - the difference being that they would retain control over their own music (both artistic and distributional).

Besides, the technology is improving VERY rapidly. Broadband/MP3's etc are still in the evolution stage. Truly high quality, web-based music distribution is NOT far being. (Although for most listeners, MP3 is already acceptable quality-wise).

But in order for it to happen, we need to SUPPORT it; it has to be built from the GROUND UP. Otherwise, record companies themselves will take control over these same means of distribution.
 
I agree in the aim but the record company still has a major part to play, they get recognition for the artists and promote them, give advances for the gear to produce good music (studio time, guitars, amps etc), a producer who will up the level of the songs/album and will then organise tours and do the business side that most are not inclined to do.

It does make sense though. Music is way to overpriced and that is why napster exists and is so supported. Indie labels help bands a lot more and offer many more incentives for the artists whilst also providing the additional support needed.

You have to remember that it sometimes takes a band/artist a few albums to actually produce real quality, if you are on your own distributing the music this may deter you, you will most likely have a job and can't invest the time you would into your music that you would if you had signed to a label.

I would much rather buy the original work in the form of a CD and have the sleeve etc than download it over the internet. I think what the internet is doing is making record companies, shops realise the over pricing which will hopefully force down the price to a reasonable level.
 
But if we give bands a budget by ACTUALLY PATRONIZING them on the web, they could perform ALL the functions that a record company does - hire their own producers (at a more competitive rate), promoters, distribute CD's physically, fund tours, and so on!!

Remember, if we took all the money we're spending on music now and gave it DIRECTLY to the artists, cutting out the middleman, you have VASTLY more efficient economics!

All it means is that bands have to work up to it, they have to "prove" their worthiness on the web by actually attracting sales w/good music. A true meritocracy!

Wouldn't that be about a thousand times better than having some A&R asshole deciding which bands get funded?

--
http://xxxmusic.com
Hours of radical yet accessible music - FREE!
 
While I agree, in part, with what XXX has to say... There are other factors that WILL keep prices over $12.00 per CD.
Like the fact that duplicating short-runs of CD's can be very expensive.
Who wants to take a chance on mass producing a shitload of cd's they can't sell? Most people, wisely, will not do so.
So, duplicators are making lots of $$$, but still not as much as the distributors!
The distributors are the ones who are the "rip-off middlemen" now.

Case in point:

We released an album last month... The Mac Brothers "Assorted Flavors"
Because of production and mastering costs, bar-codes, as well as artwork... (we got a kick-ass looking cd with a 12 page booklet and clear trays), we have to ask for $12.97 for our product, and we're making SQUAT for each CD!
WHY????
Because the E-TAILERS get 30 percent of our asking price, and our DISTRIBUTOR also gets 30 percent! 60 percent to the middlemen!
When you do the math, that leaves us only $5.19 per CD.

WAIT!! It gets worse!

Our distributor only holds on to 30 copies of our CD at a time. So, we have to UPS or MAIL the CD's to them, which costs even MORE money!
On top of that, we are giving $1.00 per CD to charity.
So, in the end, we are basically losing money for every CD we sell on the internet through the e-stores. And there's no way around it, because we don't have a way to take credit cards on our own... and taking personal checks is a BIG risk.
We make at least SOME profit, albeit a small one, when we sell them for $10.00 in person, or if someone asks us (by e-mail) to send them one for $11.00, shipping included.
The bottom line is, the record companies excel in maketing, promotion, and distribution because they can do it much cheaper... on a mass scale.
From our perspective, it's like putting up a coffee-cart in front of a Starbucks. You may get a tiny bit of business here and there, but people are creatures of habit... they're gonna go with the PROVEN product.
 
These are good points. Here are some replies:

1. It is getting cheaper and easier to charge using a credit card; I had the setup for a while, it was costing about $45 a month.

2. Yes, CD prices (at present) may be stuck at around $12 for small batch-makers like ourselves, but as the technology to make them will get cheaper.

3. We can and must find ways to promote oursleves; the Internet is the cheapest way to do it obviously. We must also work to educate people that they there are many places to buy coffee besides Starbucks, so to speak.

Nobody is saying any of this will be easy; but I think it is going to happen, and is already starting to happen on a small scale (like we are doing). We need to to all we can to nurture and cultivate this movement.

This is a great forum for doing exactly this, by the way - encourage people to record and distribute their own music - EXCELLENT!! I hope you folks keep up the good work.

--
http:/xxxmusic.com
Hours of radical yet accessible music - FREE!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top