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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 30, 2014 15:20:13 GMT -6
Sounds like a 1 in 10,000,000 chance is better odds than signing a deal with the devil and assuring U'll never get paid. remember the movie war games? "the only winning move is not to play the game"
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Post by mobeach on Aug 30, 2014 15:37:09 GMT -6
I guess you hope to come out of the first contract with enough money to produce your own the 2nd time around. I remember reading years ago that Whitesnake got really screwed and Coverdale never got any profits until after several albums were put out.
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Post by Johnkenn on Aug 30, 2014 17:01:04 GMT -6
Sounds like a 1 in 10,000,000 chance is better odds than signing a deal with the devil and assuring U'll never get paid. remember the movie war games? "the only winning move is not to play the game" Not particularly, but it seems like you've made up your mind that's the way to look at it. Inevitably, you are going to have to sign an unfavorable contract in the beginning of your career to be at a major publisher or a major label. There are advantages and disadvantages. The key to it would be exit strategy, reversion clauses and short term contracts. Most artists now realize that there is no A&R anymore and they are finding ways to start their careers independently...then they have leverage to sell to a major label that can take them to the next step.
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Post by yotonic on Aug 30, 2014 19:05:22 GMT -6
Yes the majors have a handful of products/properties they sell. They aren't too interested in new artists unless they are replacing one of the old horses/Britney. They have a lock on radio/TV/distribution, through vertical integration. They are just looking for product (songs) for their stable of artists. Just like the old days with MGM in the movie business. And like the old movie studios they have no problem recycling hits over and over for their artists.
I have friends that live in shitty lofts in New York and LA with writing teams/ top line companies, grinding out songs for a handful of singers at the majors. These guys (25-33) are chasing some sort of dream. They have written songs for Pink, Daughtry etc. It looks cool on Wikipedia, but they are still broke as shit. And they do all the travel and co writing for free hoping they get royalties off of writing credit on some future hit. The problem is those royalties are a joke and they could make more money opening a small business or ad agency or something.
I also have friends that work for Dr.Luke and do programming, drums for Katy Perry etc. These guys are a group of musicians and producers who all know each other and try to share work amongst themselves. They make a decent living, about the same amount of money as my attorney and accountant provided they are hustling 7 days a week picking up pretty much anything that comes across their radar. These guys are at the top of their game and the money is still nothing that's making them rich, except for Luke and a few at the very top.
But these are 30-50 year old guys who actually like what they are doing, they love music. And none of them strike me as guys chasing stardom. It's the younger songwriters I know that seem to really be chasing after the limelight. They all call themselves Grammy winners because they have a song on Pink's album that won a grammy, but they've made $23,000 off of it. They are definitely intoxicated by the lifestyle and the glamour. Just like Jarod Leto who was willing to spend all of the money from his day job to be a rockstar.
I'm all about following your bliss in life. It's too short of a ride just to do it for collecting pieces of silver. But there's an important distinction between that and the narcissistic pursuit of celebrity. As John Kennedy said "if you want to be on the radio" you have to sign a deal with a major. And in Jarod Leto's case that was more important to him than money. He wanted to be "on the radio" and a big deal, a rock star. In my experience that's the force behind many artists from yesteryear and today. Obviously there are much easier ways to get rich and make money, but no better way to be an idol. In many ways I'm glad the "idol business" is suffering. I hope it filters out more of the people doing it just to be stars, I find them tiresome.
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 5, 2014 7:29:20 GMT -6
Well, yeah...if you want money, I would suggest being a baseball player. There's really not much money in this business compared to others - even if you "hit it big." But if one of your writer friends gets a Pink No.1, they can expect anywhere from $500,000 to a Million dollars in radio royalties. That's not a paltry sum in my book. The problem is, that's even lower odds than being on a World Series roster. (Why would Pink record your song when she can "write" her own and make that money herself?) Some of the really successful writers here in Nashville have what - 10-15 No.1's - you have to think that's only about $5-8 Million. Now I could definitely live the rest of my life on that, but considering that's ONE season of playing a major sport, it's kind of a paltry sum. Top of the game in lots of business and sports is in the 100's of millions.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Sept 5, 2014 7:43:45 GMT -6
Hey Johnkenn, a bit off topic, but any idea how many number 1's Dr. Luke has?
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