Red Mosquito

Neither am I, and I could be totally wrong, but my impression is that it’s much easier for smaller, independent artists to make and produce music since the means of making and producing music has been democratized via technology. But the large streaming platforms like Spotify have a crushing monopoly on the streaming industry where only the biggest and most popular artists can make money from streaming because they can generate the volume. Spotify pays an abysmally minuscule amount per single stream of a song. I think most artists make their money from touring and merch.

Maybe Ed is onto something…

96583UP wrote:i am not a music industry expert by any means

but as a lay person, it does seem that the evolution of online / apple music as a distribution mechanism for albums may have had a leveling effect on major record labels?

maybe put differently, the major labels which previously used an (intense) indentured servant model to sign their artists don't seem as crazy any more because they can't be, because they no longer have a monopoly on the channels of media distribution?

or am i totally wrong and they still do they just make even more money quietly now due to the amplification effects of online media

just seems like fewer artists bitching about controlling record labels these days

which was a major theme in the 90s (and understandably so, the business practices sounded heinous)

and maybe there is less to hate now

or maybe all the artists now are just assfucker losers who don't protest bc they have no self-respect to seek to preserve

Neither am I, and I could be totally wrong, but my impression is that it’s much easier for smaller, independent artists to make and produce music since the means of making and producing music has been democratized via technology. But the large streaming platforms like Spotify have a crushing monopoly on the streaming industry where only the biggest and most popular artists can make money from streaming because they can generate the volume. Spotify pays an abysmally minuscule amount per single stream of a song. I think most artists make their money from touring and merch.

Maybe Ed is onto something…

96583UP wrote:i am not a music industry expert by any means

but as a lay person, it does seem that the evolution of online / apple music as a distribution mechanism for albums may have had a leveling effect on major record labels?

maybe put differently, the major labels which previously used an (intense) indentured servant model to sign their artists don't seem as crazy any more because they can't be, because they no longer have a monopoly on the channels of media distribution?

or am i totally wrong and they still do they just make even more money quietly now due to the amplification effects of online media

just seems like fewer artists bitching about controlling record labels these days

which was a major theme in the 90s (and understandably so, the business practices sounded heinous)

and maybe there is less to hate now

or maybe all the artists now are just assfucker losers who don't protest bc they have no self-respect to seek to preserve

Did some quick googlin’:

“Spotify pays artists between $0.003 - $0.005 per stream on average. That works out as an approx revenue split of 70/30 - so that's 70% to the artist/rights holders and 30% to Spotify.”

The rights holders (usually music labels/producers) get on average 2/3 of the remaining 70%.

Some interesting points from this article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/202 ... 094437001/

“In August 2022, Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib introduced a new resolution calling for new streaming payment systems to fairly and directly compensate artists every time their music is streamed. Tlaib’s release included a staggering calculation. It would take more than 800,000 streams a month to equal a wage of $15 an hour.”

“Mackenzie Miller is a 22-year-old singer based in Seattle. Her single “Peach Lemonade” gained nearly 14,000 in the first few weeks of its release, but her paycheck was barely $5.

“You have to have an enormous amount of streams to even make minimum wage,” Miller says. “If your streams plateau, if people aren’t listening to it as much anymore, you’re not going to get paid anymore.””

Fattie_Vedder wrote:Neither am I, and I could be totally wrong, but my impression is that it’s much easier for smaller, independent artists to make and produce music since the means of making and producing music has been democratized via technology. But the large streaming platforms like Spotify have a crushing monopoly on the streaming industry where only the biggest and most popular artists can make money from streaming because they can generate the volume. Spotify pays an abysmally minuscule amount per single stream of a song. I think most artists make their money from touring and merch.

Maybe Ed is onto something…

96583UP wrote:i am not a music industry expert by any means

but as a lay person, it does seem that the evolution of online / apple music as a distribution mechanism for albums may have had a leveling effect on major record labels?

maybe put differently, the major labels which previously used an (intense) indentured servant model to sign their artists don't seem as crazy any more because they can't be, because they no longer have a monopoly on the channels of media distribution?

or am i totally wrong and they still do they just make even more money quietly now due to the amplification effects of online media

just seems like fewer artists bitching about controlling record labels these days

which was a major theme in the 90s (and understandably so, the business practices sounded heinous)

and maybe there is less to hate now

or maybe all the artists now are just assfucker losers who don't protest bc they have no self-respect to seek to preserve

Bands don't make money through album/single sales any more. Heritage acts can make up the shortfall through touring, hence the rise in ticket prices. For new bands you are totally screwed unless you have the independent finance to tip you over to the point where you are selling enough tix to be self sufficient. Basically we're at the point (certainly here in the UK anyway) where working class bands are a thing of the past. Sad fucking days.

PJ Harvey shared an interesting thought in a new interview, about how new artists who debut via streaming platforms have the potential to get immediate negative feedback that may prematurely throw them off course from their artistic vision. I thought this was very insightful.

did that band ever achieve anything on their own or were they just conveniently alphabetically located next to pearl jam in the aisle at best buy

lol

Well she never did a Target ad if that’s what you mean

96583UP wrote:did that band ever achieve anything on their own or were they just conveniently alphabetically located next to pearl jam in the aisle at best buy

Uhhh

The general critical consensus is that Polly is one of the great female artists of all time. So yeah she's done OK. Granted she's been more successful as a solo artist than with the band.

lmao literally never heard of her, get back to me when she's written some bangers like swallowed whole or big wave

lecherouslittlestump wrote:lmao literally never heard of her, get back to me when she's written some bangers like swallowed whole or big wave

Assuming you're serious (questionable?), listen to the album "To Bring You My Love." If you want a banger, I suggest "Long Snake Moan."

stump's ability to be so absurd yet consistently believable is mindboggling.

i didn’t know that women could do music

this is all new to me

did their husbands / dads approve?

Possible Song or Album Titles for a rumored November release date:

Cease and Desist
Center of Nothing
Steely Dan Groove(Instrumental)
Crapshoot Rapture Pt. 2
No More Bags

ten part 2

Brentwood Revolutionaries
Bel Air Punk
Beverly Social Justiciary
Malibu Rebels

Self-titled Part II

The Heavy Lifting of Mineral Rights
Predatory Lending
Dow Jonesing
Come for the Butter, Stay for the Churn

Pearl Jam II: The Banana Album