technocoy said:
Every single artist in existence would have to be pretty damn multi-talented to pull off a real career all by themselves. you are obviouslt pretty ignorant to what goes into production. or you are just ignoring the facts to try and make your argument sound like the right one. look at all the media that goes along with being a successful group. I guess every band "with a little knowledge" can be a professional photographer, print artist, website and graphic designer, video producer, cameraman, lighting technician, roadie, stage engineer, studio technician, event producer, media salesman, accountant, etc, etc.
Wrong, sir. I am saying, however, that most of that is entirely unnecessary and irrelevant, with a little cooperation among the artists, or a little enterprise by the bands that actually want to do something about their terrible contracts.
The 'media' in question is irrelevant in a format where people can listen before buying (from the comfort of their homes), have databases of similar artists (as reported by users), have the comfort of knowing they're
actually supporting the artist, and a whole host of other things that would be possible with an online distribution method (many of which were pioneered by the 'illegal' filesharing networks).
And they're still going to have time to play and create their art? HA HA HA HA!
So hire a sound engineer and a graphics artist on a comission basis. I hate how textbook communist this sounds, but if the people below the level of executives worked together, they could all make more money than they do now.
for the sake of argument, let's say they didn't tour, advertise, make large sums of money, or do anything for that matter except record their music. even with the software and computers out there that make it easier to pull off your own recordings, whose going to do the monitoring and mixing while they are playing? then they're going to just post it to the web and hope someone finds it? These things aren't cheap. just setting up the acoustics in the studio can be expensive (when done properly).
See above. Also, since touring is about the only way that bands make money in the current system, it can hardly hurt to at least make more per sale than they do. The way I've read it, most bands that aren't headliners but who have a contract end up making around $40-60k a year, after everything's said and done, and that's if they do well. That wouldn't be heard to break at all, for a talented group with a little drive.
either you don't know any creatives or aren't one yourself, but most of them just want to make their art and do it well and in volume, not deal with everything under the sun.
As mentioned, I'm helping a friend who's band has been touring a lot lately to try to set up some studio space. I know plenty of "creatives," even if I'm not a "real" musician myself.
and you need advertising in this world if you want to be seen, no matter how miniscule it may be. still ain't cheap.
Dead free, for my friend's band. We do word of mouth, flyers, and internet postings, along with their getting on tours with other bands so that they can group promote.
I could go on about it all day....will probably see in our lifetimes. boo-hoo.
I recall an ad campaign:
Those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. Think Different.
the point is that there is no magic media machine that makes a band look and sound good. people work their asses off to put them there, and people should respect that. it bothers me when people like you say **** the middle man, wait till' you are the middle man, and your wife and kids depend on that check, and your passion is recording music and helping a good band go stardom-bound. see how it is when you're in those shoes.
Ah, I see. Well, calm down, because everyone is forced into this position when they work with technology. I'm sorry if you take personal offense, but I'm not talking about studio and sound personell, but the "fat cats" you spoke of before - the studio executives. You could still find work, and probably better conditions than you have now, but it would take a little different approach.
sorry for the rant, we just seem to have a lot of new millenium hippies that think that everything in the whole world grows on trees and all you have to do is pick it's fruits.
New millenium hippies? Hardly!
I am a technofetishist, in the sense that I look for new applications of existing or emerging technology all around me, and try to have enough to do what interestes me. Opportunity
is out there. Have you forgotten that the company that prompted this forum to exist was once two guys in a garage? Many companies start down at the bottom, but even more importantly, many social movements do, too. This country was just some guys griping over taxation, at one point, while under British rule.
