SneakerFiend

Average-Dudes

Jamesbp

But then again there are probably some record companies who take care of the artist and dont screw them.

wizzledizzle

First guy to get this right will own a new porshe.

There is no longer a need for big corporations in music, except maybe to do concerts. Studio time can be purchased affordably now. Everyone can edit their own tracks on a reasonably priced computer. What does a corporation do, piece together boy bands? Screw 'em. Crush them.

In the mean time. buy less music, but support local small artists. Find a paypal 'donate' button and use it. The only way to kill corporate music is stop feeding it.

lummox

This is GIZMODO which regularly uses flamebait Apple hater headlines to pull in click$ from the suckers. There are over 6 billion A-holes in this world, so there is a lot of money to be made.

zato3

briantiong

Go read some of these comments. Seriously.

@ilikesegways:
@docrock:
@Padriac:

Dearhaw

skulldriveshaft

skulldriveshaft

it was never for the money until you had to go on tour.

skulldriveshaft

Mick Nye

SinAmos

It looks like Apple is a dick here, but if they give 4% of retail sales whereas record companies give 9% of wholesale, that is almost equal if the wholesale cost is 50% of retail. I bet the wholesale cost is less than that and Apple represents a better value.

The Lab

jkr

ANoel

xgenius

DiMA members are: Amazon, AOL, Apple, BestBuy, Broadband Instruments, CNET Networks, E-Cast, iMeem, Live365, LoudCity, MediaNet Digital, Microsoft, Motorola, MTV Networks, Muzak, Napster, National Geographic Society, Netflix, Pandora Media, RealNetworks, Slacker, Sony Connect, Spacial Audio Solutions, Thomson, TouchTunes, Yahoo!, and YouTube.

It's also worth mentioning that DiMA made two filings: one to require only the Performance royalty, and a separate one stating that the Performance royalty should be increased (but it did not specify a percentage or amount).

GruffPelt

I just want that to be clear. I know lots of folks will not read the article. But, to me it looks like you guys are painting the picture that an artist could only get a maximum payout of < 10% using iTunes as a vendor.

I have an album on iTunes right now and I get 70%.

Thanks

My reply is in response to the comments here only.

D

Arsenal6

The reason why big companies are trying to give smaller cuts to artists is because they always got huge amounts of money this way.

And this is also the reason why piracy came to existence in first place.

Long time ago, music stopped being about the musicians, the talent, the art itself and became more like publicity.

It's not about making good music anymore... it's about which company invests more. And while some people can be ok with that, I'm glad this model is giving signs of falling apart, finally.

I'm all for local musicians having more chances, all for musicians showing their talents on places like the Internet, and all for people choosing musicians for their talent rather than because of some pretty videoclip or because the singer is hot and posed on playboy or something.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

They only pointed out Apple because it would start the exact kind of unfounded bickering seen in most of the comments here. I will not comment on the beef; however, I will say check the sources and take everything you read online with a grain of salt substitute or MSG. It is so easy to skip a word and change the whole story... just to get hits up... thats almost as bad as turning off all the TV's at CES2008.

We all look to Giz and site like these for good, quick sources of tech info. I would hope they will clean up their act soon. Don't get me wrong... I love Gizmodo... thats why this slight miss really stings.

The whole article is here:

[www.hollywoodreporter.com]

docrock

CarbonatedWater

$ green and %#!% brown...

ideaman2020

rainfever

It's not uncommon to get $250-$350 for writing music for a :60 TV spot demo. At that point you are up against 10-30 composers all turning in 1-7 tracks each. Then that music house might be competing with 4-5 other music houses. That can be a LOT of music to compete with. If you get picked out of all that, you still might do tons of revisions or get dropped. You might only be the backup because the ad agency is trying to license a track from a band who's label is holding out for more money. If your spot goes broadcast in the end you might make (through a music house) 20-25% of the music budget since they have overhead and full-time producers. So a TV spot that had a budget of over $1,000,000 might equal a composer getting $3,000-$7,000.

If you decide to compete with the music houses, you can make more money per spot, but then you have to rope in talent, producers, reps, etc. You also have to get in and build loyalty with the ad agency producers which is near to impossible if they are already comfortable with another music house. The learning curve is steep & the industry/mediums are constantly changing.

johnnyabnormal

They got the rights to their catalog, got out of their contract, now they get paid pretty much directly. They are an exception, however, because the band is huge already. Most bands cannot simply buy their catalogs, continue to release music, and continue selling a ton of albums or sell out large venues.

GOKOR

We have the greatest distribution machine in history at our fingertips, literally, in the internet.
All an artist has to do is set up a website and sell it from there.
Frankly, if some artist is using Clear Channel as a way of being heard, their music is probably shit anyway, and they already have the mansion and are going nuts (I'm looking at you Brittany.)

This is a great time for the artist if he or she is savvy enough to generate viral videos, word of mouth, and just plain music in the basement.

Give the record companies the bird and DIY

lucky_you

All but a small percentage of artists are barely getting by. A lot of famous recording artists, even, are just living comfortably. Very very few earn enough to be wealthy, and fewer still do it off album sales because the business model is insanely balanced in the label's favor. Bands pay to produce the recordings and all promotion and manufacturing costs are deducted from their royalities. Even costs which no longer exist like broken vinyl records. Artists are STILL paying to cover the costs of broken vinyl records even their albums are on CD.

This isn't rich guy vs rich guy. Its insanely rich corporation vs. struggling musician. Metallica isn't the only band collecting royalties, but the great coup on the part of the media corporations controlling the recording industry is successfully convincing people that huge-name artists are representative of the musicians they work with. Not even close. Jay Z may not need that percentage, but your favorite small act probably does. Moreover, NO ONE is suggesting this savings get passed onto the consumer. The big corporations just want to keep it from themselves.

I swear, in 10 years or so artists are going to figure this all out and become totally independent. Most hesitate because they would lose control of their existing catalog, but in the near future new artists will have a genuine choice of self-distribution and even if they aren't as widely heard, it'll be much more profitable for them. I think it'll ultimately be good for consumers, too, as niche music gains a real home and user communities take over promotional duties from marketing departments.

BStu

berribrand

teexcue

GOKOR

toyotaboy

Here's an example. Clear Channel pretty much runs the bulk of radio stations, and runs Ticketmaster as well as many venues who happen to have exclusive deals to sell tix through Ticketmaster. Well, when an artist refuses to use Ticketmaster because they charge too much and then want to charge enormous handling fees to their fans, Clear Channel won't play them on any of their radio stations, thus slowly eliminating them from the public's consciousness until the band caves in.

GOKOR

Songwriters = Artists if you wrote your own material.

johnnyabnormal

@gokor: True. Even if they are writing that with their self-interest in mind, I still think they are defending a good cause.

johnnyabnormal

1) This is about song publishing rights. This has NOTHING to do with the "artists" (aka "the band") except for where the songwriter and artist are the same, but these figures do not represent the entirety of a band's compensation. Song publishing rights and what the "band" receives are two separate things (although retaining publishing rights is one way for a band to get paid). Way to misrepresent that, Gizmodo.

2) The original article seems to imply this applies to internet streams and makes no hard "download" distinction. Maybe they mean for the two to be one and the same, but it's not quite clear.

Padriac

Not to mention your local scene and how active you are in it, and how wide you spread it (In Philly we have many bands that play Philly, all of NJ, NYC, Boston, all of Delaware, DC, eastern PA, etc.). Creating a great image for themselves and the ability to live as an artist, not just make it a part time gig.

GOKOR

A+.

shifuimam

Elliuotatar

The NMPA is a lobbying organization just like the RIAA. Go to their website. [www.nmpa.org] Look at their board members. They are all employees of *gasp* record labels.

The bands have no horse in this race, no dog in this fight, no cliche in this metaphor.

Hiphopopotamus

Many labels will do what's right for them and not let you know what the next guy might be offering you.

Don't just sign on to make a handful of albums, sign on to make a handful of albums, create a brand out of yourself, and the marketing of yourself, however it may go down. Make sure you get paid well off of every endeavor you're likeness (in any form) is involved.

GOKOR

The point is not that one man/woman/single-cell organism/less (IE, Britney Spears) is making 4% of a large sum--it's that one party, bringing new and marketable media to another party, is getting 4% of the cut. Weak. Extremely.

fluidexistence

NachoBoy

ANoel

y2julio

NachoBoy

Of course, that sounds too "opposite day" to be at all truthful, which makes it decidedly dickheaded.

Lloyd

GOKOR

So, yeah, those people you see in Cribs knows how the business works.

ripfire4

What about the record execs. They're not exactly sweating it and they don't really do anything except distribute posters and bribe radio deejays. So, they should keep their same cut, and the artists should pony up for the retail employees. Chances are, they don't even like the CD that they're selling you.

If greed is a factor, better it be distributed than consolidated.

e.g. professional sports

Lloyd

tgwaste

Accordion

[www.riaa.com]

"With an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Rice University, Bainwol began his career as a budget analyst in President Ronald Reagan's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He went on to become chief of staff for U.S. Senator Connie Mack (R-FL.), U.S. Senate leadership staff director from 1993-97, chief of staff of the Republican National Committee in 1998, and consultant for Clark and Weinstock in 1999. "

"The Washington Post has called Bainwol a "Top D.C. Lobbyist and Man in Demand." Capitol Hill's Roll Call newspaper hailed Bainwol as one of the 50 most influential "politicos" in Washington. In their annual recognition of top lobbyists, The Hill newspaper hailed Bainwol as one of "The Best on K Street"

....Talk about being proud of being a scum bag.

johnnyabnormal

Go indie and make more or at least equivalent money getting less exposure, or go major and get exposure, but poor pay scales. Look at Master P, he made himself insanely rich back in the mid 90's by selling all his music himself. Look at NoFX, they're the best selling indie band of all time, and have been doing it for over 20 years. You can attain a lot of fame being independent, you just have to hustle for your spot.

GOKOR

.... i hope :)

tgwaste

Quite possibly the best thing ever written on Gizmodo ever. I'm an Apple fanboy all the way, but I had no idea they had such disregard for the artists that are making the music filling up their damn ipods. That's absolutely fucking ridiculous and infuriating. Shit like that makes me rethink the amount of money I spend on Apple products... 4%?! really now? WTF?

cloudnine

>a post by the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA)
 
On Monday, January 28, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) begins the hearing that will determine mechanical rates for every songwriter and music publisher in America. It will be the most important rate hearing in the history of the music industry because in addition to setting rates for physical products, rates will be set for the first time ever for digital products such as digital downloads, subscription services and ringtones.
 
The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) will be representing the interests of songwriters and music publishers and will be fighting vigorously to protect those interests to ensure that musical compositions are compensated fairly.
 
On the other side of this fight stands the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Digital Music Association (DiMA). Both the RIAA and DiMA have proposed significant reductions in mechanical royalty rates that would be disastrous for songwriters
and music publishers. This is literally a fight for the survival of our industry.
 
To give you an example of what is at stake, the current rate for physical phonorecords is 9.1 cents. The NMPA is proposing an increase to 12.5 cents per song. The RIAA, however, has proposed slashing the rate to approximately 6 cents a song - a cut of more than one-third the current rate!
 
For permanent digital downloads, NMPA is proposing a rate of 15 cents per track because the costs involved are much less than for physical products. The RIAA has proposed the outrageous rate of approximately 5 - 5.5 cents per track, and DiMA is proposing even less.
If you find that troubling, it gets worse. For interactive streaming services, which some analysts believe will be the future of the music industry, NMPA is proposing a rate of the greater of 12.5% of revenue, 27.5% of content costs, or a micro-penny calculation based on usage. The RIAA actually proposed that songwriters and music publishers should get the equivalent of .58% of revenue. This isn't a typo - less than 1%. And DiMA is taking the shocking and offensive position that songwriters' and music publishers' mechanical rights should be zero, because DiMA does not believe we have any such rights!
 
The initial hearing will last four weeks, with the three permanent Copyright Royalty Judges hearing arguments Mondays through Thursdays from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm each day. At the conclusion of the initial hearing, there will be more discovery, followed by a rebuttal hearing in May, and a final decision expected on October 2.
 
The NMPA will be spending millions dollars in this proceeding to protect the interests of songwriters and music publishers against the much larger record labels and digital media companies. And although we face such an enormous fight, we have an incredible advantage - we represent songwriters, without whom the record labels and digital music services could not exist.
 
Please forward this to anyone who is involved in the songwriting and music publishing industry. We will be sending out regular updates as the CRB progresses to keep you informed. Through your networks, we hope to reach the vast majority of the industry. If you did not receive this directly, and would like to be added to the master NMPA communications list, please send your contact information to Jamie Marotta at jmarotta@nmpa.org.
 
As always, we appreciate your support of the NMPA which allows us to wage this fight on your behalf.
David M. Israelite
 President and CEO
National Music Publishers Association

johnnyabnormal

mindflenzing

I think the writers have a tougher sell. Musicians who write their own lyrics & music and play it don't need others. Wirters need all kinds of stuff like actors and directors and... it's not comparable in an apples to apples kind of way.

Sure the writers get screwed, but their fight is on its own in terms of who gets what. They don't have as good of an argument to get the same percentage a musician who writes their own stuff does. No offense, seriously.

BrandonL

MrThunderfield

@Le0nidas: I made this rational too. The artists are already being screwed, So screw the RIAA's pooch as much as we can. Most,and take this with again of salt, make more money on touring and performances then actual record sales. The recorded music, hopefully. drives fans to experience their artist of choice live. This model may only really work for big name bands, but I bet the little guys are still making more in free beer and door covers then from their record label.

Buy independent. Support local music. Screw DRM.

tamoko

My rant is simplistic, I know.
But, so is the solution...
Buy from the artists directly. Buy tickets to shows you like and purchase CDs there. Support local bands at every chance. If you must have RIAA-controlled music buy from second-hand shops or "borrow" from friends.
Avoid the DRM leashes at all cost.
Peace.
Out.

ANoel

the only reason i would ever feel bad for stealing music is that the artists wouldn't be getting money, but that argument just got less valid...

Le0nidas

Hiphopopotamus

Knowing the artist makes that little doesn't really give me much of an incentive to purchase now.

BrandonOBrien

Serolf Divad

xgenius

rednecktech

For the other 98% of professional musicians, you have to rely on some sort of deal with some sort of gatekeeper. If not the RIAA, then someone else. And eventually, that someone else will get just as greedy. You only have to look at the state of college radio in the 80s and 90s to see how that works out.

The new gatekeepers of the internet era will be groups that have already made it big and use their existing brand identity to give other groups time on their websites, or the more innovative online radio stations like Pandora. One-click purchasing from iTunes or Amazon will make buying the song you like easy. The gatekeeper will take their cut, just like the RIAA, and you'll get what's left. Maybe that'll be more than today, maybe not.

There will always be a need for someone to *filter* the worthwhile music from the bad. Consumers will never listen to 2 hours of horrible music in the hopes they'll hear that one song they'll like. There will always be middlemen in the process for this reason.

shawn_dude

weege77

sumocat

GOKOR

phoomp

I feel their pain and understand that the RIAA needs to make a living as well...

...off of the backs of the creative people who actually do all the work.

GOKOR

contempt

Viva La Volvo

pandasonic

Machines

HeartBurnKid

Machines

Machines

First, this isn't about the singers. It's the royalty to the songwriters. If Jay-Z sings a song written by Barry Manilow (this is an example, folks, don't let your mind be boggled), it's about the money that Barry gets. It has NOTHING to do what Jay-Z gets.

But also...the Hollywood reporter article quotes the Digital Media Associations filings, DiMA is a trade association of companies that are involved in digital media distribution, both sales like Apple, and streaming like Live365. Slashdot says "big digital music companies, such as Apple" in their summary. And Gizmodo says "Apple wants artists to get 4% of wholesale royalty rate". Um...say what?

Gadgetdon

Rand

Taking more money away from the songwriters (or the band) only makes me want to buy RIAA product even LESS.

I don't think you thought your dastardly plan through very well.

Hugs and kisses,
-Ax

axiomatic

tinshaker

ecypher

You don't need to tell the next generation "if you have talent, you will get screwed, but if you talent is screwing others, then your set for life!"

Darrone

Mopster

Z

Kaiser-Machead

So yes, there are some artists getting PAID. Many of them, however, are not and NO ARTIST is making money off album sales directly.

nachobel

If you've actually sold enough copies of an album to get royalties (because you have to cover the advance you are paid - which you get if not even your mom buys a copy), then you are guaranteed a successful touring/live show income.

The label gets zero money for your touring, which is fueled by their money for marketing your album. They get none of the money from the albums you sell at the shows either.

Just sayin'...

Hiphopopotamus

Darrone

In case you couldn't tell, I'm a cynical musician.. :/

Average-Dudes

dcmidnight

tinshaker

Adam Frucci

That's not to say Apple doesn't deserve some shrapnel over this, but they're not the ones directly pulling the strings on this one.

enceladus

RIAA and Apple wants to cut that down further?

Lizard_King

The contention is that in terrestrial radio no one gets paid but right now they are forcing streaming services to pay because its "new media." Apple and others are saying they will pay if they must but they wont be paying as much as a actual SALE which is what they are now.

Falconfire

Coder4Life

appsbyaaron

hanswurst0815

hanswurst0815

Mopster

pandasonic

Rmags

drum

soulfinger