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vanblah · 03-26-2008, 04:03 PM

Martian, I don't think we have very different ideas about how the music business should work. I think we agree that musicians should get paid, presumably by the fans who like them. I would never expect payment from someone who did not like the music I produce.

I said in my original post that my music is certainly available for download for free. I whole-heartedly agree that digital distribution is the preferred method of delivery for music for the PRESENT not just the future.

Your assumption that we sell more than 300 CDs per year is wrong. We give away 300 to 500 CDs+/- per batch to various magazines; music critics and DJs that's why a batch of 300 is not viable. Again it's cost of doing business. We've sold maybe 150 of our current CD and maybe an equal number of downloads.

What does the Grammy winning producer get us that a local doesn't? Well, first off, he is local. You can't spit in Memphis without hitting a Grammy winning "somebody." To answer your question: the difference he got is almost immediately apparent in quality. Would I do it the same way again? Not with my money.

I'm not going to go into the legalities of the whole thing but suffice to say we really had a reason to go the direction (Grammy direction) we did at the time ... it just didn't work out as planned. We gambled ... we didn't win big.

To answer your question about patrons at the shows we play: I don't see those people who ask for downloads or free CDs as anything in particular ... to me, it's just the nature of the beast these days. Besides, they're broke--just like me and everybody else. If the person comes across as nice and I can verify that they actually paid the cover fee I usually give them the CD for a beer ... if they act like they are entitled to it I don't do anything in particular. Perhaps I shouldn't have said iTunes ... I really meant ANY of the preferred digital distributors. I know some people have a problem with iTunes. We're on about everything you can get your hands on.

I would like to make one thing VERY clear. I am not at all complaining about downloading music or digital distribution in general. I'm not even complaining about "feeloading" ... I just want to get a feel for how many people realize the amount of work is involved in being an INDEPENDANT working band. And start a discussion maybe about how to solve this beast.

03-26-2008, 04:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
vanblah Junkie	Martian, I don't think we have very different ideas about how the music business should work. I think we agree that musicians should get paid, presumably by the fans who like them. I would never expect payment from someone who did not like the music I produce. I said in my original post that my music is certainly available for download for free. I whole-heartedly agree that digital distribution is the preferred method of delivery for music for the PRESENT not just the future. Your assumption that we sell more than 300 CDs per year is wrong. We give away 300 to 500 CDs+/- per batch to various magazines; music critics and DJs that's why a batch of 300 is not viable. Again it's cost of doing business. We've sold maybe 150 of our current CD and maybe an equal number of downloads. What does the Grammy winning producer get us that a local doesn't? Well, first off, he is local. You can't spit in Memphis without hitting a Grammy winning "somebody." To answer your question: the difference he got is almost immediately apparent in quality. Would I do it the same way again? Not with my money. I'm not going to go into the legalities of the whole thing but suffice to say we really had a reason to go the direction (Grammy direction) we did at the time ... it just didn't work out as planned. We gambled ... we didn't win big. To answer your question about patrons at the shows we play: I don't see those people who ask for downloads or free CDs as anything in particular ... to me, it's just the nature of the beast these days. Besides, they're broke--just like me and everybody else. If the person comes across as nice and I can verify that they actually paid the cover fee I usually give them the CD for a beer ... if they act like they are entitled to it I don't do anything in particular. Perhaps I shouldn't have said iTunes ... I really meant ANY of the preferred digital distributors. I know some people have a problem with iTunes. We're on about everything you can get your hands on. I would like to make one thing VERY clear. I am not at all complaining about downloading music or digital distribution in general. I'm not even complaining about "feeloading" ... I just want to get a feel for how many people realize the amount of work is involved in being an INDEPENDANT working band. And start a discussion maybe about how to solve this beast. Last edited by vanblah; 03-26-2008 at 04:07 PM..