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Why Are You Giving Your Music Away?

six acre lake

By six acre lake
in Effects and Processors

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chakosh Newbie

chakosh

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Here's an article I just recieved via email from ASCAP. (I'm an ASCAP publisher & writer btw)
;)

White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator says digital piracy is costing U.S. jobs
http://fb.me/L6Hu7M3M

 

... and automation cost American jobs building cars in the short term. In the long term it created higher skilled jobs (and higher pay). New markets were created with new suppliers, new specialties, and new technologies came out as a result of having more skilled labor.

 

You could argue that the music industry is starting to go that direction with sites like soundcloud, soundclick, bandcamp, hell even Myspace. Find out more creative ways of making money - package your CD with a DVD or have the purchase version have unique Robo-art. Set up codes to get cool sh!t on the band's website - screensavers, wallpapers, ringtones... Embrace the electronic age and the "sharing" community. Use it to your advantage. Innovate.

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TheHarakiriEnd Newbie

TheHarakiriEnd

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Just curious, to you guys who want to make a living through music or are currently making a living through music, what constitutes a living to you? I know most people aren't very open about their money situation, so it doesn't necessarily have to be what you make now but rather how much you realistically think you can (or in a couple of cases here a ball park figure of what you make currently with it).

BTW SAL you said you wouldn't play a show for free, are you serious? I have been paid for tons of shows but have also played plenty of free ones. If I play locally with a friends band from out of state who are touring I always pass everything along to them...

Also some of you guys value your opinions waaaay to much.

:wave:

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six acre lake Newbie

six acre lake

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BTW SAL you said you wouldn't play a show for free, are you serious? I have been paid for tons of shows but have also played plenty of free ones. If I play locally with a friends band from out of state who are touring I always pass everything along to them...


Also some of you guys value your opinions waaaay to much.


:wave:



Passing on your take of the door to a friends band from out of town is very different then playing a free show.

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satannica Newbie

satannica

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Right....





That's an idiotic way of looking at things. I worked in large data warehouse(I'm talking many terabytes of historical data) for major company(100,000 employees) that used free software for certain tasks. Ever use PuTTY? Its a free telnet client. Used it to connect to the Unix box. If you can't connect to the Unix box when a problem happens the entire operation can come to a halt. Lot of money at stake. Example of very important software thats free. FYI the program worked flawless.





This is a ridiculous discussion. I'm not against anyone charging money for their music. Just don't be naive enough to think free = crap.

 

 

Quite frankly, if Putty wasn't there, there would be something else. It just happens to be a benefit that someone put that together at some point.

 

But by in large, free things are generally thought of as crap. I doubt you'll do well in changing the view of near on 99% of the general public.

 

You ever use beer mats? Would you pay for them if asked?

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TheFigurehead Newbie

TheFigurehead

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or if it's really good you could sell all 1000 at $10 a piece
:idk:



Not realistically. You're going to charge $10 for a 5 song EP (which is what I was talking about in my post), when someone could download a full album from their favorite artist on iTunes for less? It doesn't matter how good it is... unless you are offering something beyond a single silver disk and some lame packaging, you've priced yourself out of the market.

...and unless you can generate some demand for your product, no one is going to buy it. You'd better put on a damn fine show.

Think of it this way... someone comes out to see your band (who isn't a friend or acquaintance). They've paid $5 - $10 to get in the door... bought drinks, etc... They're now $20 - $30 poorer than when they got there...

Now, you're asking for $5 - $10 more of their hard earned money for your CD.

If your music really connected with someone... sure, they'll buy it for five or ten bucks...

but all the folks who thought you were "pretty good" (whether it's an issue of taste or your talent), and are on the fence... but could probably be convinced of your awesomeness if the heard your kick ass CD... are just going to keep on walking...

if it comes down to buying your CD, or hitting the Taco Bell on the way home, and your performance has not already convinced them to buy your disc, you're going to lose the sale. That person already knows they love Taco Bell, and can be assured of a reasonable amount of consistency and quality...

Your disc is a gamble.

For $4, you'd sell more... for a $1... anyone who liked you won't think twice about buying it.

Yes, you will take a loss.

However, a "band" (the kind were talking about here... who are looking to make a living off their original music) should not be following such a short term business plan:

"We paid X amount of dollars making this EP, we must not only recoup our investment, but also profit from this release..."

It doesn't work that way. It's a business, and like every other business, you invest upfront, and hope to recoup and profit in the long term.

It would be like opening a restaurant, and expecting to recoup all of your investment the first week of business.

It takes money to make money (as they say over, and over, and over... and for good reason).

Your product is a tool to generate more demand for your music. It's that simple. Bands need to realize that.

Yes, in this scenario, your product is "art"... I get it... but like any other business, it operates on the concept of supply and demand.

This is why companies spend such fantastic amounts of money on advertising... to increase awareness, and thus, demand for their product.

Your recorded music is your advertising. You should treat it as such. The money invested is hoped to be recouped on the back end from increased demand, not from the advertisement itself.

Companies not related to making music are constantly offering free samples of new products, free trials, money off, etc... It's a valid method for generating demand for a product.

Yes, "art" is precious to it's creators, and to those it touches... but in order for anyone to make a living off of it... it must be commodified. Making art and earning money from said art are two entirely different processes. Unfortunately, one must be able to wear both hats as an unknown artist.

It is not enough to just make great art, in order to live off it, in most cases.

One must be, not only a talented (hopefully) artist, but also their own managers, booking agents, marketing firms, accountants, and be able to do all of those things well (I cannot).

If that means giving some music away free... or taking a loss upfront... then that's what it takes.

:thu:

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satannica Newbie

satannica

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Just curious, to you guys who want to make a living through music or are currently making a living through music, what constitutes a living to you? I know most people aren't very open about their money situation, so it doesn't necessarily have to be what you make now but rather how much you realistically think you can (or in a couple of cases here a ball park figure of what you make currently with it).


BTW SAL you said you wouldn't play a show for free, are you serious? I have been paid for tons of shows but have also played plenty of free ones. If I play locally with a friends band from out of state who are touring I always pass everything along to them...


Also some of you guys value your opinions waaaay to much.


:wave:



There are a few main sorts of bands

If you want to quickly make a shedload of cash, put away any thoughts of a baying swathe of fans chanting the lyrics you penned together after a heady night in the studios. Learn that Brown Eyed Girl and Dead Or Alive {censored} and get advertising your wares for functions, weddings etc. You have to can the ego and learn the crowd pleasers. Nobody's interested in your song about feelings or that one you wrote about how bad the world is.

If you're the type with a 9-6 job, work every hour you get sent and got a wife and a few kids to juggle, you're pretty much a weekend warrior! And weekend warriors don't do much. Rare to get a crowd, doubtful you'll get much attention... just be glad of the gig and the people goodly enough to stay.

The last type is if you play original and want to make it. If you have any hopes of making it, 80% of your band time is spent promotion and I don't mean on the internet. The rest of the 20% is spent either doing your day job or writing music/rehersing. Sadly, you'd don't become a mega star sat behind a computer.

I have experience of the first and last. I hope to never be reduced to a weekend warrior!

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TheHarakiriEnd Newbie

TheHarakiriEnd

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There are a few main sorts of bands


If you want to quickly make a shedload of cash, put away any thoughts of a baying swathe of fans chanting the lyrics you penned together after a heady night in the studios. Learn that Brown Eyed Girl and Dead Or Alive {censored} and get advertising your wares for functions, weddings etc. You have to can the ego and learn the crowd pleasers. Nobody's interested in your song about feelings or that one you wrote about how bad the world is.


If you're the type with a 9-6 job, work every hour you get sent and got a wife and a few kids to juggle, you're pretty much a weekend warrior! And weekend warriors don't do much. Rare to get a crowd, doubtful you'll get much attention... just be glad of the gig and the people goodly enough to stay.


The last type is if you play original and want to make it. If you have any hopes of making it, 80% of your band time is spent promotion and I don't mean on the internet. The rest of the 20% is spent either doing your day job or writing music/rehersing. Sadly, you'd don't become a mega star sat behind a computer.


I have experience of the first and last. I hope to never be reduced to a weekend warrior!

 

 

Only a few, huh? Be reduced to a weekend warrior? Hmmm... what about the, I love music so much I would never try to make it my job? I did it for a couple of years when I was younger and I grew to hate the whole situation, playing included. So I realized that I want to work, build my own studio, record, be popular on a local level (maybe moderately known outside of that), tour a few weeks a year with friends, play festivals and keep the music what it is to me, a release. I could never be a successful musician in the traditional sense because I can't look at it as a business or it falls apart. My company/farm gives me all the financial support I need and that leaves me in a great position to fully enjoy my art without having all those strings attached. The other stuff gets in the way of the reason I started to begin with which is to write and express myself.

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spentron Newbie

spentron

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I think that people can make better music if they can concentrate on making music and not a day job (or fulltime promotion). But when people can get rich off it, it tends to make music worse.

 

At any rate, I think many of us will be working for less in the future, unless you're a farmer or oilsman. Anything not a necessity, or there's a glut of.

 

I haven't been successful selling music or even giving it away ... now I wish I had given away more back before everyone was doing it. But one thing I do know, while I wouldn't put myself or anyone I've played with in my top 10 musicians, I know it was better than a lot of music that people do pay for.

 

The only other thing I can say about free stuff, when you go into the realm of software, there's an incredible amount of cool free stuff (NOT stolen).

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renula Newbie

renula

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I grew to hate the whole situation, playing included. So I realized that I want to work, build my own studio, record, be popular on a local level (maybe moderately known outside of that), tour a few weeks a year with friends, play festivals and keep the music what it is to me, a release. I could never be a successful musician in the traditional sense because I can't look at it as a business or it falls apart.the financial support I need and that leaves me in a great position to fully enjoy my art without having all those strings attached. The other stuff gets in the way of the reason I started to begin with which is to write and express myself.



Edited. but exactly my situation.:thu:

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