Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Price of Fame

So Snowpatrol have sold over a million albums. Bully for them and their sound just like Coldplay approach to music. Still, whatever I might think about their music it doesn't alter the fact that the poor bastards have suffered for their art at the hands of Universal, the major that owns them. You might think that a band that sells a million might have a few quid in the bank. I mean, after all that represents around £10 mill to the label right? So how come the Snowies still owe Universal in excess of a million.

Come on musos out there. It's time to wise up and stay with the small labels, even better do it yourself. I don't just mean myspace but you know there has to be other people out there who would be prepared to get involved in a csual way, PR companies, distribution companies or awal.com - if you don't make the effort for yourselves then don't be surprised if you end up back at the fast food joint serving fries with everything.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Starting out

Finally thought I'd start doing this after trying to persuade my teenage daughter that it would be "a good idea" if she took up blogging. Being as when I was her age I was invariably off my face or causing my parents excessive worries the fact that she seems a bit disinterested in current affairs is the least of my worries.

Having once been in a band I know find myself operating on the fringes of the music industry, which isn't so bad. At least I don't have to go through the shit that most of the poor kids trying to get off the ground have to do; that said it has never been a more auspicious time for them to get out from under the burden of the major labels. These greedy rapacious companies should bear the prime responsibility for the collapse, a few years back, in music sales. The fact that all they were marketing for almost a decade was the drek and detritus from cheesy TV game shows or production line pop should have caused no surprise when people just stopped buying.

Now these corporate hogs want to get their snouts into all other areas that bands can make money from. take it from me young musicians, don't do business with major labels. They are all intellectual copyright rapists. They are all over the moon with this new technology - downloading. If they'd been smarter at the start they wouldn't have been pursuing twelve year old kids through the courts. As for the bands, how come you're still having to pay packaging charges when there's no fucking packaging. For a 79 pence iTunes download the artist is lucky to see 4 pence on the sale. If they're lucky they'll make some cash on their publishing, but now the pigs are screaming that the publishers and artists are being greedy demanding a slightly larger cut - 12% - than they've been getting. Hey kids, wise up. Get yourself a good PR, get your name out there, build a website and sell your own downloads.