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[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL
"10 Ways To Bankrupt The Labels" |
06.08.11 |
BY MIKEY MIGO
My parents never got too screwed on album sales. They would buy a new album on the cheap and get hours of enjoyment from their vinyl art. As time went on technology advanced. We went right by cassettes and CDs to MP3’s and digital audio. Somewhere along the line the record labels decided to start milking every penny they could out of their fans. Sure they’re in a business to make money. I get that and respect that. But the way they go about things is a disgrace to the arts. You know it, I know it, and we all know it.
For the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about this specific column. I would jot down notes here and there and let my mind wander about the topic. The more and more I put into it the more and more I got sick of getting screwed over. Music is a beautiful art form, but the corporate commercialism has almost drained the art of all its humanity and legitimacy. The music business had a huge decline in recent years. Major acts are leaving labels all together. The way the music business is done is changing in front of our eyes. If WE, the fans and listeners don’t take a stand we’re going to be taken advantage of.
I want to make one thing clear. Don’t steal or do anything illegal. I’m not recommending it or suggesting you try it. You are your own person and capable of making your own decision. If not, you’ll find yourself on the wrong side of the law. “Big Bubba” doesn’t take too kindly to filesharers, but he WILL upload all over your desktop.
So without any further warnings and legal clearances, here are ten (hypothetical) ways to bankrupt the labels…
10. COMPLAIN WHERE IT COUNTS
This one almost seems like a lost cause, but it still doesn’t hurt. If you really want to hurt a record label you’re going to need more than complaints. People complain about everything so it’s hard to really take notice. And the record labels get the luxury of hiding behind an artist’s product. Most people aren’t going to really care what record label a band is on. The way to get attention is to complain in the same public forums that sell their music. Complain on in the comments section of their facebook. Complain in the feedback of their Best Buy page. Complain on venue’s web page. The trick is to pin point the record label you want to go after and be specific. Try to leave the artists out of it as much as possible. I tend to think it’s a bigger statement if get specific.
9. START A BAND
This one is like when they send over moles and spies to other teams on reality shows. If you want to take down a big conglomerate then it’s often suggested you do it from the inside. So in this case you have to start a band, get big, and change the way things are done. It’ll be a lot of work and unless you have talent and soul then your chances are slim. But look on the bright side, you might even get laid because of it.
8. TURN OFF THE RADIO
This one is almost phasing itself out. The radio used to be where most people heard their new music. With the internet coming followed by satellite radio, it’s pretty easy never have to listen to FM or AM again. Good riddance. The censored nonsense that is broadcast radio is way past us. With the internet we have access to all the filth we want. So what if an Alice in Chains song has the word “shit” in it? The point here is that these radio stations are paid to play certain songs by certain artists. Playlists go out and they’re just puppets for the labels. You know you can’t get that one Killers song out of your head? Because the radio station played it so much that it damn near brainwashed you. Just turn on an MP3 player or a CD. Stop letting the radio make your decisions.
7. CLOSE THE MAGAZINES
This is a small one, but still important. Specific magazines are the problem. You have genre specific rags coming out that labels put tons of cash into for advertising. Tell me a record label pumping a magazine publisher with tons of cash isn’t going to affect coverage and impressions. I used to love reading music magazines of all kind. For awhile there I was getting Rolling Stone, SPIN, VIBE, and Metal Hammer. Yeah, awesome variety. Slowly and surely each of those subscriptions ended and weren’t renewed. I got tired of the ads. The last straw with me might have been all the Jonas Brother, Bieber, Glee, Jersey Shore, Gaga nonsense. No wonder rock music pales in comparison to any other generation. In Rolling Stone they have advertisements that are designed to look JUST like a Rolling Stone written article. It’s deceptive as fuck and it’s a shame that Rolling Stone has allowed it. It’s just another nail in an already sealed coffin.
6. YOUTUBE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND
I remember having to wait up late in the night to see a music video on television. It sucked having to wait, but the anticipation rocked. These days are gone. We don’t have to wait for really ANYTHING anymore. With high speed internet we can watch high definition quality music videos whenever we want, however many times we want, and for as long as we want. It’s amazing. You have the whole world right there with a click. Do I want to see Van Halen’s “Jump”? Maybe for twenty seconds... How about that new Black Keys? Right there. A few clicks. This was awesome for awhile. Then the record labels got a whiff of the money Youtube was making and wanted their cut. So now the record labels make money whenever a video is clicked because they put those annoying as all hell commercials in front of them, during them, and after them. I know from experience. That money DOES ad up and “VEVO” has to be rich enough by this point to start Skynet.
5. BOOTLEGS
Live concert performances shared between fans is pretty awesome. You’ll be amazed by how great of quality these bootleggers are getting these days. I’ve heard some live bootlegs that sound A LOT better than the “live albums” some put out. That’s one side of it. The other is a little more “debatable”. If you don’t want to “steal music” then how about “copy it”? Tape traders remember what I’m talking about. From the dawn of man, copies have been made. People copied cassettes, people copied CDs, people copy DVDs, and so on. A “personal use copy” is “iffy” to some, but who is it really hurting? As I said before, don’t screw with the little guys. Lady Gaga herself doesn’t think her latest album should be any more than 99 cents digitally. We CAN’T argue with her can we? I’m pretty sure I’d be bullied if I did.
4. NO MORE MERCHANDISE
Do you really need a T-shirt sporting the same regurgitated promotional photo? I bet not. I’m cool with “band tees” for sure. I have a pretty decent collection myself. Of course we ALL love the “sleeveless Metallica shirt and cut off cargo” guy. I’m talking about going all out in excess. If you’re going to get a shirt get it at a concert. In some cases a band will be able to use that merch money on the road for food and necessities. That’s cool. At the same time, a lot of venues will tax the hell out of a band for their merch sales. I’ve read that some venues will charge an artists upwards of 20% of what the band makes at the table OFF THE TOP. So that’s a huge hit and a big reason that even the bigger “anti-label” bands have to charge so much at shows for the same shirt you can get at Hot Topic for at least ten dollars cheaper. As a rule of thumb, if you SEE the band hanging out by the merch table and out giving autographs then there’s a good chance they could use your shirt money. It’s a double sided sword. Anything that takes the most money out of the label’s pocket and back in the artist’s and fan’s pocket is cool with me. Then again, there’s another option that makes this idea harder…
3. AVOID CONCERTS
One fact that is often kept quiet in the industry is “the tour buy on”. A “buy on” is when a record label will pay for a band to be on a big tour. When Ozzfest was actually going strong there was a HUGE buy on. In 2005 it was rumored to have been $75,000 plus about a third of that for a bus fee because all bands MUST have a bus. Ozzfest charged crazy amounts, but it’s just one old ass example. Even smaller third and fourth tier acts will charge a supporting band five figures to be “on the bill”. It’s a great business for the headliners, but for the smaller acts it’s almost like pouring your money into a hole and only getting back whatever a pair of tweezers can hold. It’s NOT a big band saying “whoa! I like this! Let’s put THESE guys on a tour!”. It’s now “yeah, yeah, yeah… they sound okay… are they going to pay the money or not?” This is sometimes just what a band needs to get noticed, but often it’s just a chance for fans to talk amongst themselves before the people on their shirt come on stage to lip sync all their favorite song. That’s not plural for a reason.
2. GO LOCAL
This is the best option. You’re always going to follow your favorites. I’m always going to seek out music by Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Bowie, Foo Fighters, Jack White, etc. etc. These are the “givens”. But instead of filling out the rest of your musical lexicon with whatever crap is on the radio or whatever is popular within your preferred genre go local. It could just be me though, but my local regional music scene is pretty amazing. Granted I’m close enough to Chicago to be able to stay up on the awesomeness coming out of there. There is a solid rock scene and a solid hip hop scene. You just have to know where to look. There WILL be crap. I can promise you that some of the shit you hear will make you want to punch babies and kick kittens. You WILL find artists who are “weekend warriors”. Those who suck in their sucky band who will let you know about their sucky band and the fact they’re in a band! BAND! Then there’s those who bust ass and treat it like a mission. But there WILL be that diamond in the rough that’ll stand out and be of your liking. These are the real artists out there grinding it out to make art and make ends meet. Like I said, you just have to know where to look.
1. STEAL YOUR MUSIC
This is more so the “illegal” way and in all reality the most likely way you’re already “stickin’ it to the man”. Just about everyone I know who knows how to do more than e-mail has stolen, traded, or emailed music to someone else. Hell, I think my mom passes videos and MP3’s around in those shitty FWDs between her and her friends. Don’t tell on her. I don’t think she’d be able to handle prison. Never the less, Lars and Metallica tried but file sharing is forever! It went from the old school sites like Limewire, Napster, Bearshare, and the like to torrent sites like Piratebay, BTJunkie, the almighty Demonoid, and the like to newsgroups and other forms of peer to peer file sharing. When one method gets too much heat a new one pops up. This IS stealing and it IS wrong, but there are some people who make a good argument. A CD isn’t going to cost anywhere near the $14 a store will sell it for. We’re talking pennies on the dollar. The profit margin is vomit inducing. Chains like Best Buy will put the bigger releases out there for $9.99. They actually LOSE a little money themselves, but it’s a measure used to get you into the store to buy other things. Amazon just sold Lady Gaga’s latest album for like 99 cents for a couple days. Of course Amazon is losing some money on it, but with all the tie ins and what not they did their damage elsewhere. But even that is crazy. A digital album being used as bait. Apple controls around two thirds of all digital downloads. They charge anywhere between 99 cents and $1.29 for songs. It’s greed. In the days of vinyl you’d not only be buying the music but a new possession. The album art was something special. You got to hold that CD booklet in your hand as you listen for the first time. It wasn’t just a casual “did you hear this?”, but rather an anticipated event. It could also do with the fact that as soon as you get an album they put out a “Reissue” or “Remaster” of it. If you’re not going to try then I don’t know how you can expect the consumer and fan to. I’m not expecting bands to not want to get paid for their work. They completely deserve it if that art is worth appreciation. It’s all subjective and people will all like and love different things, but we don’t get more than one single worth of a chance to know if we want to drop a small fortune down on some new music. Artists like Radiohead, Trent Reznor, and others have taken it upon themselves to release their music online in a more open market format. You can get it for free, spend a couple bucks, make a donation of sorts, and really pay what you not only can but what you want. It’s almost as if they’re letting their art sell itself! If only….
What are other ways YOU are responsible for bankrupting the record labels?
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