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insider · 06-27-2003, 05:56 PM

OK, so this is my first post on here and I'm probably going to piss a bunch of people off, but here it goes.

I have worked in the music industry for over 12 years. I have been an artist, an artist manager, a booking agent, a tour manager, a distributor, a record label owner and now I own my own record store. I've pretty much done everything there is to do in the music industry.

There are a lot of misconceptions in these posts about how much the artists and record labels make. Artists get more per disc than what you think. If they write their own songs, an artist can easily make $2 or more per CD sold. That is why it is so important to purchase the disc. Also, the record label doesn't make as much as you think. I'll break it down for you.

Most CDs are a $17.98 list price which I sell in my store for $15.99.
I pay $12 for that CD from a wholesaler.
That wholesaler pays around $9.50 for that disc from the label.
The label has to pay the artist their $2 from the sale of that disc.
The label also has to pay the manufacturing of about $.50 per disc and packaging
That leaves $7 for the label.
The label has shelled out about a million dollars to record, market, promote and distribute that CD. They have to recoup that money somehow. Record labels have staffs of thousands of people. They send out thousands of promo copies of those CDs for free (which not only costs them money for manufacturing, but also for mailing them!). They print thousands of promo posters and bin cards. They buys hundreds of ads in magazines.

You aren't all naive enough to think that you are discovering these bands all on your own are you? You found out about them through the marketing that these labels have done. These artists that you love so much wouldn't even have a chance to make a CD if it wasn't for the label signing them and putting up the money to record their album. And don't give me the whole "you can record your CD yourselfat home and distribute it on the internet" thing either. Do you know how many local bands record their own discs and never go anywhere? An artist needs the marketing power of a record label in order to be succesful.

I'm not saying that you have to be a on a major label. But an artist needs to focus on what they do best: making music. They need to leave the marketing and distributing to the labels because that's what they do best. And it costs money to do that.

I hate this whole "CDs cost too much" argument. CDs are the cheapest form of entertainment. How many of you paid $8 to sit through that 3 hour crappy Matrix movie? How many of you pay $4 for a beer at the bar? How many of you spend $6 on dinner at McDonalds? All of those things are gone almost immediately. $15 for a CD that you can have forever sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

Besides, don't pretend like everything else you buy is such a great value. When you buy a car, you aren't paying for the metal that it is made from. You are paying for all of the labor that went into making that car. All of the research and development. All of the design. All of the testing. Do you get it? It's the same thing with CDs. You aren't paying for the plastic. You are paying for everything that went into the creation and distribution of that music.

It just comes down to the fact that it is the nature of humans to take advantage of a situation if they have the opportunity. Nobody complained about how much an artist was or wasn't getting paid before the internet. Don't pretend like you care now. It comes down to the fact that if humans have the ability to get something for free (whether it is right or wrong) they will.

People feel like they are "entitled" to free music. Like it is owed to them. Guess what? It's not. Music is a creation by someone that deserves to get rewarded for it. You have no right to decide whether that person gets paid or not. If your boss told you that you were no longer going to get paid for working you wouldn't work for him anymore. Well guess what? If artists don't get paid for their work, you will soon have fewer songs to choose from on your favorite download site.

I could go on for days, but I need to close up my store and go home. I've had this store for 3 years and have never made a penny. I get my ass handed to me every day. I watch people go to Best Buy and get CDs for below my wholesale cost. I watch a person buy a CD and tell all of his friends right in front of me that he will burn them all a copy when they get home. But I keep doing this because I love it. I love it when a kid comes in and his face lights up when he buys that new CD from his favorite band. I love the conversations that all of us music nerds have about our favorite CDs. I love the debates over whose favorite band is the best. The people who shop here are true music fans. They want the packaging. They want to support the artist. They want to support the local indie store. They love the fact that they have their own personal music consultant. It's an experience that many young people are missing out on. My store is a place where I know all of my regular's names. I know what music they like. I call them at home and tell them that that rare out of print CD they were looking for just came in used.

Those days sadly are coming to an end for many indie retailers. Indie stores are dropping like flies and I blame thieving bastards that think completely about themselves. But then again, isn't that what America is all about...me...me...me.

06-27-2003, 05:56 PM	#47 (permalink)
insider Upright	OK, so this is my first post on here and I'm probably going to piss a bunch of people off, but here it goes. I have worked in the music industry for over 12 years. I have been an artist, an artist manager, a booking agent, a tour manager, a distributor, a record label owner and now I own my own record store. I've pretty much done everything there is to do in the music industry. There are a lot of misconceptions in these posts about how much the artists and record labels make. Artists get more per disc than what you think. If they write their own songs, an artist can easily make $2 or more per CD sold. That is why it is so important to purchase the disc. Also, the record label doesn't make as much as you think. I'll break it down for you. Most CDs are a $17.98 list price which I sell in my store for $15.99. I pay $12 for that CD from a wholesaler. That wholesaler pays around $9.50 for that disc from the label. The label has to pay the artist their $2 from the sale of that disc. The label also has to pay the manufacturing of about $.50 per disc and packaging That leaves $7 for the label. The label has shelled out about a million dollars to record, market, promote and distribute that CD. They have to recoup that money somehow. Record labels have staffs of thousands of people. They send out thousands of promo copies of those CDs for free (which not only costs them money for manufacturing, but also for mailing them!). They print thousands of promo posters and bin cards. They buys hundreds of ads in magazines. You aren't all naive enough to think that you are discovering these bands all on your own are you? You found out about them through the marketing that these labels have done. These artists that you love so much wouldn't even have a chance to make a CD if it wasn't for the label signing them and putting up the money to record their album. And don't give me the whole "you can record your CD yourselfat home and distribute it on the internet" thing either. Do you know how many local bands record their own discs and never go anywhere? An artist needs the marketing power of a record label in order to be succesful. I'm not saying that you have to be a on a major label. But an artist needs to focus on what they do best: making music. They need to leave the marketing and distributing to the labels because that's what they do best. And it costs money to do that. I hate this whole "CDs cost too much" argument. CDs are the cheapest form of entertainment. How many of you paid $8 to sit through that 3 hour crappy Matrix movie? How many of you pay $4 for a beer at the bar? How many of you spend $6 on dinner at McDonalds? All of those things are gone almost immediately. $15 for a CD that you can have forever sounds like a pretty good deal to me! Besides, don't pretend like everything else you buy is such a great value. When you buy a car, you aren't paying for the metal that it is made from. You are paying for all of the labor that went into making that car. All of the research and development. All of the design. All of the testing. Do you get it? It's the same thing with CDs. You aren't paying for the plastic. You are paying for everything that went into the creation and distribution of that music. It just comes down to the fact that it is the nature of humans to take advantage of a situation if they have the opportunity. Nobody complained about how much an artist was or wasn't getting paid before the internet. Don't pretend like you care now. It comes down to the fact that if humans have the ability to get something for free (whether it is right or wrong) they will. People feel like they are "entitled" to free music. Like it is owed to them. Guess what? It's not. Music is a creation by someone that deserves to get rewarded for it. You have no right to decide whether that person gets paid or not. If your boss told you that you were no longer going to get paid for working you wouldn't work for him anymore. Well guess what? If artists don't get paid for their work, you will soon have fewer songs to choose from on your favorite download site. I could go on for days, but I need to close up my store and go home. I've had this store for 3 years and have never made a penny. I get my ass handed to me every day. I watch people go to Best Buy and get CDs for below my wholesale cost. I watch a person buy a CD and tell all of his friends right in front of me that he will burn them all a copy when they get home. But I keep doing this because I love it. I love it when a kid comes in and his face lights up when he buys that new CD from his favorite band. I love the conversations that all of us music nerds have about our favorite CDs. I love the debates over whose favorite band is the best. The people who shop here are true music fans. They want the packaging. They want to support the artist. They want to support the local indie store. They love the fact that they have their own personal music consultant. It's an experience that many young people are missing out on. My store is a place where I know all of my regular's names. I know what music they like. I call them at home and tell them that that rare out of print CD they were looking for just came in used. Those days sadly are coming to an end for many indie retailers. Indie stores are dropping like flies and I blame thieving bastards that think completely about themselves. But then again, isn't that what America is all about...me...me...me.