Pay For It, Or Lose Us – The Challenge Facing Independent Musicians

I can really relate to this. I have had people tell me they like my songs, I should record more of them, but I can't afford to. I have spent a couple of thousand dollars, and have made zero.

www.musicthinktank.com/blog/pay-for-it-or-lose-us-the-challenge-facing-independent-music.html

BY: MARK KNIGHT
Dec. 16, 2013

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All of the good press, viral videos, gushing praise and devoted fans in the world do not equate to revenue. And if musicians are not recouping their costs (let alone making a profit) then music is not a viable career for them, as they won’t be able to afford to make it. Let’s eliminate a common misunderstanding and clarify this matter here: It is uncommon for a record label to pay for its artist’s recording these days.

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I have an American friend who fronts a fantastic band that has (a pretty modest) 300 likes on Facebook. Their last EP was downloaded 20,000 times, for free, illegally in 6 months. In that period, they‘ve sold less than 200 copies for the $3 asking price. This means that they have not recouped even half of the cost of the 6 days spent in the studio recording it. Yet tens of thousands of people own their music and presumably, lots would prefer it if they made more.

Now, if we assume that Facebook likes are a genuine gauge of popularity and that there is a correlation in the number an artist has and the number of illegal downloads their music generates, then the potential of lost revenue for bands with a greater online profile is significant. This ‘Lost revenue’ is of course impossible to measure - as we should take into account that when people have free music available to them, they will download more than they would have bought had they had to pay. But when we look at my friend’s band and their 1% paid download rate, we can be certain that they have suffered a considerable loss in revenue.

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It could be argued that this is all fair game and nothing but evolution. It is also often said that the music industry is in flux and the money is now available through licensing, publishing, synching and other such means; but those in control of these markets are exploiting the vulnerability of musicians and the rate offered for a song to be licensed and featured in a film or television series is significantly lower than it was 10 years ago and hardly represents a sustainable income.

The top brass in the music industry are guilty for its current predicament because they ignored fair warning from eminent business analysts about the need to adapt to an MP3 market in the late 90s, now this warning goes out to the music consuming public: pay for it - or lose us.