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More Bands Ditching Record Labels
CBS 5 SAN FRANCISCO ^ | 29 MAY 2007 | AP

Posted on 05/30/2007 5:02:12 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist

(CBS) NEW YORK -- When the band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah packaged and shipped its new CD, called "Some Loud Thunder," they released it without a record label. And this was after their first self-financed album had sold more than 200,000 copies, prompting plenty of offers from the big labels, which they turned down.

When asked why, Sean Greenhalgh, the band's drummer, told CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason, "The question that we asked record companies was essentially, 'What can you do for us that we can't do for ourselves?'"

Billboard magazine made the band the poster boys of a "do-it-yourself revolution." Even million-selling artists like Jewel are considering going it alone. Garth Brooks did; so will The Eagles with their next album.

One big reason: The Internet is now doing much of the promotion & distribution work, as fans themselves spread the word and the music.

"Now you have blogs, other places where people go — that's how the publicity happens now," said Greenhalgh.

So band members hired their own manufacturer, distributor and marketing company, and instead of the $1 an album they'd typically make from a record company, they'll get about $6 for every copy they sell.

Jeff Tweedy is lead singer of the Grammy-winning band Wilco, whose new album, "Sky Blue Sky," comes next week on the Nonesuch label. But he wonders how long labels will be important.

"Technology has evened the playing field. If the artist can gain more power over the situation — over the economics of the situation — why wouldn't they take it?"

Like many artists, Tweedy admits asking himself the question: Do record labels deserve that big a cut?

And his answer? "It's getting to be a really tough call" — because the record companies aren't moving albums the way they used to. CD sales plummeted 20 percent the first three months of this year.

Empty shelves are all you'll find now at Tower Records, which until December was one of the most famous music store chains in the country. But it's now out of business, bankrupt — the abandoned display cases another unsettling sign of an industry in turmoil.

As the industry tries to figure out where the business is going, bands like Clap Your Hands believe they're better off going it alone.

"It was definitely a calculated risk," said Greenlagh, "but we felt like we had everything in place to do it ourselves."

It's not necessarily their music that's revolutionary — it's their business model.


TOPICS: Music/Entertainment
KEYWORDS: copyright; intellectualproperty; riaadmca
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1 posted on 05/30/2007 5:02:13 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

Good for them. My wife and I were just talking about the same sort of thing, though about publishing.


2 posted on 05/30/2007 5:22:52 PM PDT by kenth (I got tired of my last tagline...)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

If radio isn’t going to play new non-hip hop/dance music on the radio, then the majors’ weight won’t count for much.

And just because you are on a major doesn’t mean they will spend their resources on marketing your album.

Record stores are falling away so they can’t even guarantee you prime real estate/visibility in retail.

The RIAA says we are paying too little for CDs now (and the majors got caught a few years ago in a price fixing scheme trying to push the retail price of a CD up past $17). Do you think that the bands would see $5/disc profit that way?

The old guard killed what was once a lucrative business.


3 posted on 05/30/2007 9:01:26 PM PDT by weegee (Libs want us to learn to live with terrorism, but if a gun is used they want to rewrite the Const.)
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To: kenth
I've been thinking the same thing about publishing as well. I've read so many poorly written, poorly edited books from Big Name publishers! Also, there's a huge difference in creative quality in books written a couple generations after TV came into play from those written before.

I'd like to write in retirement but I think I'd like to just work hard and go it alone with publishing and marketing. If I'm good, people will read it. If I suck, the people who watch a lot of TV might like it. Anyway, this is a business model I'll be watching as it spreads to other industries where a mediocre middleman controls the success of the artist.

4 posted on 05/31/2007 3:51:50 AM PDT by meowmeow (In Loving Memory of Our Dear Viking Kitty (1987-2006))
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To: meowmeow
I've been thinking the same thing about publishing as well.

www.lulu.com was founded by one of the co-founders of Red Had Linux, and offers an intriguing self-publishing print-on-demand solution. You can even sell your downloadable books from their site.

5 posted on 05/31/2007 4:18:40 AM PDT by TomSmedley (Calvinist, optimist, home schooling dad, exuberant husband, technical writer)
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To: 04-Bravo; aimhigh; andyandval; Arizona Carolyn; backhoe; Bahbah; bert; bilhosty; bwteim; ...

Ping


6 posted on 05/31/2007 4:22:26 AM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist; abb

If instead of earning $1 for each album sold, they can earen $6, will they then LOWER the price of their album, and make it up on volume? That’s what is killing CD sales..IMHO. prices of$15-$20 for a CD, when most people onyl want one or two songs on any given album


7 posted on 05/31/2007 4:29:55 AM PDT by ken5050
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To: ken5050

What I’m learning about this upheaval in newspapers, television, hollywood, etc. is that its all about DISTRIBUTION. The content providers (newspapers, tv, etc) in order to maintain their monopoly and pricing power, had to also control distribution. All gone now...


8 posted on 05/31/2007 4:33:16 AM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
... we asked ..., 'What can you do for us that we can't do for ourselves?
... "It was definitely a calculated risk," ...
... instead of the $1 an album they'd typically make from a record company, they'll get about $6 for every copy they sell.

Capitalism at it's best, learned first hand, at a young age. Love it.

9 posted on 05/31/2007 4:39:03 AM PDT by LantzALot (Yes, it’s my opinion. No, it’s not humble.)
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To: abb

Yup..and actually...I think that once the dust finally settles, there will be a way for a great many good journalists to earn a good living.. They’ll pick a particular field or area of expertise, follow it, and be able to sell their product...to a wide range of users..


10 posted on 05/31/2007 4:40:40 AM PDT by ken5050
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To: LantzALot; abb

FYI..related news..today’s NY POST reports that the best seats at MSG for the upcoming Police concert are going for $11,500@...


11 posted on 05/31/2007 4:54:02 AM PDT by ken5050
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To: ken5050

Even if I were a Police fan, I’d pass.


12 posted on 05/31/2007 5:01:33 AM PDT by LantzALot (Yes, it’s my opinion. No, it’s not humble.)
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To: TomSmedley

I’ve heard of them. There are a number of POD options out there now but some of them seem shady (although it’s possible some writers just don’t do their homework before going that route, get screwed and then complain loudly).


13 posted on 05/31/2007 5:04:30 AM PDT by meowmeow (In Loving Memory of Our Dear Viking Kitty (1987-2006))
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To: kenth
Good for them. My wife and I were just talking about the same sort of thing, though about publishing.

Or Realtors.

14 posted on 05/31/2007 5:59:15 AM PDT by SkyPilot
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

Good news! Thanks for posting.


15 posted on 05/31/2007 6:05:18 AM PDT by PGalt
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To: abb

Thanks very much for the ping.


16 posted on 05/31/2007 6:06:47 AM PDT by PGalt
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To: meowmeow; All

Do you know of any specific problems that people have had with podcasting or other publishing/broadcasting sites?


17 posted on 05/31/2007 6:14:24 AM PDT by The Spirit Of Allegiance (Public Employees: Honor Your Oaths! Defend the Constitution from Enemies--Foreign and Domestic!)
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To: The Spirit Of Allegiance

I can’t think of anything specific, but I used to read some newsletter that had a warning section about shady publishing deals, both PODs and small mainstream publishers. I just recall people complaining about certain PODs (XLIBRIS or something).


18 posted on 05/31/2007 6:25:18 AM PDT by meowmeow (In Loving Memory of Our Dear Viking Kitty (1987-2006))
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To: meowmeow

Thanks. Beware vanity poetry publishers, I’ve heard! ;^)


19 posted on 05/31/2007 6:46:47 AM PDT by The Spirit Of Allegiance (Public Employees: Honor Your Oaths! Defend the Constitution from Enemies--Foreign and Domestic!)
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To: abb
The content providers (newspapers, tv, etc) in order to maintain their monopoly and pricing power, had to also control distribution. All gone now...

Welcome to the world of de-massified media Alvin Toffler prophesized about way back in 1979 when he wrote The Third Wave. And that's EXACTLY what happened when you have 60+ channel analog cable TV, 100+ channel digital cable TV, 150+ channel small-dish satellite TV, 80+ channel satellite radio, home video devices such as VCR's and DVD players, and the public Internet.

20 posted on 05/31/2007 6:56:37 AM PDT by RayChuang88
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