NIN and Radio Head have put the nail in the coffin

[V. Barbarino]

for record labels...

here

here

Discuss

[V. Barbarino]

My take:

I read an article a while back about the day the record industry lost control. It happened recently and the labels are powerless to stop it. It was the last episode of the Sopranos. When they played Journey at the end the music industry as we know it died. Their song 20 years old, jumped back up on the charts and made the top 20 on itunes. It signaled that us, the people, the consumers are now in control, not them! We make the hits, not the radio stations or labels or MTV.

As for NIN and Radio Head, RH should get over the full album obsession, however think about it, if they both sell on itunes, they keep 100% of the money as opposed to splitting it with the label.

I also think this is great news for the death of the RIAA!!!!!!!

[Apotheosis]

first off....

Welcome to the Future: Radioheads bold step

i pre-ordered my new radiohead album yesterday. gladly paid $20 (that's about £10 for the blokes).

i really hope they find success with this. everything is changing....

[myles hie]

Originally Posted by Apotheosis

i really hope they find success with this. everything is changing....

Indeed. While i'm glad that autonomy of the major label is fading, they do help serve a purpose with thier marketing. It's going to be harder for a band to "break" if they have little or no $ for marketing. Social networking sites are already jammed with bands trying to make it. What other avenues to have with no $ to spend? They need the muscle and money to really push thier marketing to all potential corners. Who cares if you band makes 90% profit off a .99 download. That won't even buy new strings for you guitar.

[V. Barbarino]

Originally Posted by myles hie

Indeed. While i'm glad that autonomy of the major label is fading, they do help serve a purpose with thier marketing. It's going to be harder for a band to "break" if they have little or no $ for marketing. Social networking sites are already jammed with bands trying to make it. What other avenues to have with no $ to spend? They need the muscle and money to really push thier marketing to all potential corners. Who cares if you band makes 90% profit off a .99 download. That won't even buy new strings for you guitar.

If their track gets bought by 1 million people it will. Also this signals the return of the touring band. Without tours you won't be able to make the serious money.. Which is good for me, I like concerts.

[myles hie]

Originally Posted by V. Barbarino

If their track gets bought by 1 million people it will. Also this signals the return of the touring band. Without tours you won't be able to make the serious money.. Which is good for me, I like concerts.

Bands sell a million because A. They are already established or B. They have a ton of marketing and airplay. How will Joe Garage Band obtain the status to be able to sell a million songs? The band market is a tough nut to crack. With no marketing machine it could take a band years if ever to sell a million songs.

As far as touring goes, the big touring money is made when you reach a certain level. Not everyone is touring in luxury busses or plains playing stadiums or amphitheatres. The majority of these bands are touring in beat up vans living off .99 cent menues.

You need money to make money. The majors as convoluted as it is, gives that "start up" money to bands to get them going. With out that source of capital, it's going to be harder for bands to get going and longer to possibly make it profitable.

[coach]

Myles is correct.

I dub both of these bands assclowns of the week. They can't do without the function that a label provides, all this means is that they have to hire all their own people. For example, who is doing their website? Who is doing their booking? Who is advertising their wares? Are they going to take time out of their recording and touring schedule to learn all these skills and do it themselves? No. They are going to hire functionaries to do them. These employees provide the same services that the label personnel do. So, now RH and NIN get to manage their own people instead of letting someone else do it. Anyone who manages people knows it sucks. And it sucks up time.

[V. Barbarino]

So let me get this straight, they can't outsource their work and hire a few employees? If they spend 500k a year on operating their business, it's still chump change to what the label costs and they are now not forced to adhere to the labels demands..

Oh yea, they make 100% of the profit, so they only need to sell half the amount of records..

[mr.miami]

Kind of cool but who knew NIN was still around. I used to like radio heads old stuff a lot better. They just don't move me anymore.

[myles hie]

Originally Posted by V. Barbarino

So let me get this straight, they can't outsource their work and hire a few employees? If they spend 500k a year on operating their business, it's still chump change to what the label costs and they are now not forced to adhere to the labels demands..

Oh yea, they make 100% of the profit, so they only need to sell half the amount of records..

We are not neccasarily talking about NIN or RH. They are established and have money to experiment with new avenues of sales and distro. Good for them. What about the next potential NIN or RH who don't have the resources to "make it".

If your making 100% (which you never are, unless your selling out of the trunk of your car) of the profits but paying out twice or 3 times the amount to get your product out there, you'll be in the red in no time.