Some interesting points/ideas for bands....

[Afro Droid]

...from the afistfulorock discussion group, by Sal Canzonieri from Electric Frankentien:

"Well, the big talk amongst the major label people is that in a few years two big changes will happen to the "their" music biz:

1 - They won' t be able to sell any physical product, it will be digital transferable music. No matter what propaganda they the UK press, CDs sales are still dropping at a steady pace. We are talking about the average consumer, not music fans like we all are, these consumers don't care about the bands, they care about the song, once they are bored of the song they forget about it and move on, so they would rather "rent" a song than own a physical thing. For the major label world, this changes things to be more like AM radio was. So, labels are looking to change the nature of how they contract with music "producers". They will either consider a "band"'s songs as "work for hire", you record it and sell it to them and you have no rights to the songs after that OR you go get your own sponsors to pay for the whole thing and then they will license it from you and you get a percentage of the profits (instead of a royalty).

2- Touring is fast becoming uneconomical because the expence of touring is rising too fast (gasoline, rental, hotels, transportation) and

payouts from clubs are dropping to pre-1980s rates. So, major label bands are already stopping to tour and instead play "events" (like festival tours, radio events, sponsored concerts, etc, etc).

So, that's where they are headed, which means so are the large indie

labels so after. To survice in that kind of market, the majors are stripping down to smaller sizes.

EMI has been trying to sell itself off to a bigger major and again the

other day failed to secure a bid. So, they are laying off a lot of

staff and bands. Don't be surprise if they don't exist in 5 years or less.

Meanwhile in the self produced small indie world, rentals of halls and

so on by a band or a group of bands or a "kid" promoter or a group of

fans, just like happened in the 1980s, are growing at a fast rate. These

are all ages shows and the younger kids are flocking to these "VFW"

hall shows. This is the growing scene now in the Seattle, Portland areas and also in Cali, just like 20 years ago.So, it would be smart to build up a new fanbase to this young crowd. What bands out west that do this are doing is to give away a dvd of a live show all over the place to young kids and these kids are making copies and using the internet to pass the dvd to all their friends. Whole areas get covered fast this way.

So, it looks like you have to make something that you can give away in

sufficient quantities that kids will like so that they will make more

copies and give it to more people. Then, you have an instant audience that will come to the shows (and they buy shirts more than cds) in areas that surround the base that you started from.

So, that means that you need to get sponsers that you can put their

advertisement on your giveaway dvd/cd so that you can afford to record material and get it manufactured in decent quantities.

That's the new world, embrace it and use it to your advantage or be an

old jazz relic playing to 3 people in a club."

[Dayeth]

I think its pretty sad. (upsetting sad)

[spellchecker]

Hmm, that's a bit non-sensical. First the writer projects that audiences and music listeners won't care about bands, just songs. Then he says at the end that bands will make money by selling merchandise like t-shirts, etc., instead of buying cds.... why the hell would they do that if they didn't care about the band in the first place, in fact, why would they turn up to the gig at all?

it's great to promote awareness of the changing music industry though, because it is going to change. however, much of it is just things going round in circles, just seems like we're at the crest of corporate saturation at the moment. And I hope with all my fingers and toes crossed that EMI are no longer a company in five years time.

[craig deadenstereo]

nah, he's talkng about the difference between casual listeners - people who liked the first Evanesence song, but never listened to the others or thought they sucked as the first group of people.

The kids who go to the shows and buy t-shirts are the actual "fans" of the band - who like all their stuff.

Personally I've decided that I can't be arsed being in a "proper" touring band or whatever, so will keep playing low key gigs and putting our songs on the internet or selling cds as cheap as we make them.

Just because only 40 people have heard a band and there are 10 people at a gig just to see them doesn't mean that multi-platinum Nickleback are any better.

I like to think deadenstereo play in such an "independent" scene that it's not even a scene. I think we've reached the true ethos of "indie".

Craig

[Guest Bob]

Only thing is, it's easier to have a big fan base if you're in a place like Seattle, but not so easy if you're in Aberdeen. It's a totally different kettle of fish innit? Maybe Kris has the right idea.

[Mr.Mike]

this brings to mind an interview I read with Ian McKaye a while back. He was basically talking about how the music industry is "dying" but rather than something for music fans to mourn, it is in fact good news(kinda). Think about it, the death of the current music industry isn't really such a bad thing. All it means is that there's less money flowing and most of the industry types (PR, Management, Bigwig types etc) that have nothing to do with the actual making of music might lose their jobs. It doesn't, however, mean that music is going to stop being written. I think if this does happen then it might give a proper independent scene the chance to flourish. The internet is giving small scene bands the oppurtunity to have their music available all over the globe for significantly less cost than before which opens up many doors for actual artists.

These changes would also mean that with less industry types around, the artist would have a far greater say in the final outcome of the music which would hopefully mean more honest, decent music and less bandwagon jumping as is the case at the moment.

Personally, I think something big is going to happen and I think whatever it is will probably be a good thing for real music lovers, lets face it; it can't get much worse than it has been since the mid 90's.

[Guest redmeat]

Hey, what's wrong with jazz?

[Michael MacLennan]

My prediction all along is that record companies will transform into promotions companies. Basically they'll recoup money for promoting the goods, but won't be needed for producing any 'product' (ie the CD). Instead they'll provide money and the know-how for promo pictures, interviews, etc, much the same as PR companies do.

Hate Simply Red as most sensible people should, but Mick Hucknall releasing the latest album off his own back has been seen as a big success, so it's a matter of time before most big artists leave companies at the end of the contract and have more creative control (and more profits), depriving the majors of the cash cows that keep their businesses going at the moment.