Tom Cadaret - record label junk...

record label junk...

Fri Apr 15 2005 at 11:17am

After researching how most record companies work(..yuck), I've decided it would be much easier and more effective for a few(5-10?) independent artists to just band together and act as a large label. This would make the process of negotiating tours, distrubution, and promotion much easier.

I've heard other people talk about this "perfect record label" where everything is run by musicians and they share everything equally, but this almost never works because someone gets greedy, or the label invests too much of its money into a project and then goes bankrupt. The only way I could see it work is to get rid of all fees and %, because as soon as musicians start sharing/spliting money, everything goes down the drain(for fun: hang around a bar after hours while the band is packing up and see the drama/confusion that ensues). Basically we all promote each other for free, because we are all so terrible at promoting our own stuff.

If none of that made sense I blame waking up, banana nut bread, and listening to greg brown-

Discussion: record label junk...

Josh Woodward on Apr 15 2005 @ 12:07
Who needs 'em?

Who needs record companies anymore? Wasn't their main purpose back in the "good old days" to finance musicians to record albums, which used to be extremely expensive? It's gotten so cheap and easy that they're not needed for that. In the end, all most musicians really need to get their records heard are a means for duplication (tons of companies for that), distribution (still a concern, but this should be a band paying a company for their service), and promotion (again, should be something a band hires a company for). And tour booking shouldn't be the job of a recording company, and only is currently because they "own" you. None of these needs a traditional record company anymore.

Maybe it's just my entrepreneurial spirit, the idea of record labels seem like a dying concept for anyone who's not looking to become the next Britney Spears. It's just another business - you do what you do, and hire people to do what you need done.

Tom Cadaret on Apr 15 2005 @ 12:38
Who needs 'em?

Cool someone else agrees, and agrees using logic. I talk to a whole bunch of people that flat out hate all record labels...just because. But they are a company like any other, and when you sign a record contract its not like winning the lottery, you are basically given a loan and expected to repay(recoup) it through album sales, touring ect. But the main problem with record companies is that they choose how your (loan)money should be spent....and often times it is not spent in the best interest of the artist.

Like you said duplication is cheap and easy for any musician.

Big distribution really can't be had by any indie artist at the moment, but online sales, itunes, and local places like finders are changing things(mabey)

promotion is a tough one, because most places will ignore you unless you have that label tag on the back of your CD, and we don't have the big army of people plugging your CD(thats why I think independent musicians should just "band together" and promote each other for free....but there is alot of fuzzy trust there, so that idea could easily flop).

Josh Woodward on Apr 15 2005 @ 12:45
Who needs 'em?

> Big distribution really can't be had True. But when it comes down to it, big distribution means being stocked in record stores. Which is all well and good, but internet sales are getting more and more important, making physical record stores less relevant. Anyone on earth who wants a copy of my music can get it. > promotion is a tough one Yeah, true. There aren't a lot of big companies to help with promotion for indie musicians that I know of. Which is odd, because they should be there to serve the people who want to give them money, just like any other business. Any time there's a market that's "leaving money on the table", there's room for someone to swoop in and fill the void. If that wasn't my least favorite part of the musicmaking process, I'd start a company myself. :)

Tom Cadaret on Apr 15 2005 @ 12:49
Who needs 'em?

> Any time
> there's a market that's "leaving money on the table", there's room for someone
> to swoop in and fill the void. If that wasn't my least favorite part of
> the musicmaking process, I'd start a company myself. :)

I hope the Josh-hawk-dragon dosn't come back and swoop up my....ahh it's back-

Post a Message: