Granted he got his fans through the regular big label promo vehicles in the first place, so there’s that to contend with.  But still, an amazing success story and a game-changing model for being a working musician.

http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/how-ginger-wildhearts-shoestring-album-beat-rihanna-7895861.html

Given all the static he’s received from his original article, why would he post anonymously at this point? To save himself a little more hate mail?

I’m personally far far happier with a thousand bands getting some success than everything going to a ‘top ten’ and anyone below that threshold being considered valueless by the industry.

Great, let’s see that list, then. Until then, he’s not much of a teacher.

Unsurprisingly, it’s all the small labels that are really embracing new modes of distribution. I’m quite partial to Bandcamp, here’s a great label’s page: http://richtercollective.bandcamp.com/ They’re considered to be the premier independent label in Ireland.

They’re still going under though: http://www.richtercollective.com/blogs/news-1/6128066-richter-collective-to-close-doors-at-the-end-of-this-year As they say, money is one of the reasons, but not the only reason. I can’t help feeling that if they’d been around 15 years ago, they’d have been unstoppable.

Patronage was historically a function of the rich. The rich are getting richer. And they’re no longer patronizing artists.

That’s high art you’re talking about, and it’s not part of this conversation. I’m talking about films, music, books, video games; mass media essentially.

And you’re blaming students who live on Top Ramen?

No, I’m not Sony and I don’t pretend every download is a lost sale. I’m talking about people who can and won’t fund the artists they enjoy. If someone is low on cash, I don’t believe they should be deprived of any art that they can acquire without incurring a cost on anyone else. Nobody is losing money because they couldn’t have bought it.

However, if someone says “Although I can afford it, I’m never going to fund any recording artist whose output I routinely enjoy unless I can buy a ticket to their gig or some of their merchandise”, that person is ignorant, and a bit of a dick. How do they pay for their tour? How do they know where to go when albums torrented by region isn’t publicly recorded? How do they pay for their merchandise to be made?

If they’re lucky, enough people will buy the record to make those things possible. If they’re not, well, they’re fucked.

Enough said. We obviously are dealing with different realities.

“When you bring up the evils the labels and cartels have wrought upon the world, he dismisses it as people just looking for an excuse for piracy and theft.”

Its as if we read different things.

My sources are the record labels. Call them. Ask them. Call the RIAA, ask them. Look at the release schedules of the majors every year in the bi-weekly new release books sent to physical retail outlets and count the number of releases and compare this against what “hit”
Speak the CFOs and CEOs of WMG, UMG, EMI and Sony.

Its been 22 years of being in this business. Its what I eat and breathe and know.
You can be as skeptical as you like, but that doesn’t make the facts false.
Im not trying to be condescending or rude, honestly. Just don’t have the information.
You’re a bit all over the map in your comments.

David’s point is the same as mine -artists should be compensated for the use of their music.
however, David’s arguments are just false and discredit his argument which hurt artists.
For example, David suggests artists made signifigant money off of advances. They did not.
David states most artists made money off of the royalties from selling pre-recorded music, they did not.
David states artist made money off their mechanicals – some did, perhaps one of the four band members if that one band member wrote the songs, but the others did not.
He states revenue from sales of pre-recorded music for artists is less today than what it was, its not.

And the list goes on and on.

In the month of April, 2012 (sales reported in June) there were 1,122 artists that made over $1,000 in music sales via TuneCore

No major, or indie label, ever mailed out band royalty checks for the sale of pre-recorded music to this many bands a month.

Below is exactly how much some TuneCore artist earned in April, 2012

Each line is a different artist. An artist that made money that they would not have made in the old industry. This is how much they earned via TuneCore from the sale of their music in the digital stores we distribute to.

Tell them this is not real and does not matter.

Then look at David’s comments about how great the old system was and how artists are not making money.

The point is, artists deserve to be paid for the use of their music. David’s arguments are so outlandish and wrong, the discredit the argument hurting the cause…

here’s the list

$192,714.52
$165,515.19
$164,904.86
$135,401.44
$102,566.44
$85,678.27
$74,762.85
$68,938.98
$60,985.48
$58,382.82
$55,231.35
$49,684.39
$45,894.55
$45,601.54
$43,247.21
$42,708.50
$41,258.14
$38,435.32
$37,811.93
$37,704.64
$37,428.98
$36,424.74
$36,081.84
$35,576.45
$32,367.74
$32,271.21
$31,225.07
$30,596.07
$29,778.70
$28,848.74
$28,159.22
$26,714.51
$25,767.53
$25,291.53
$25,271.20
$24,366.04
$22,487.09
$22,374.39
$21,111.20
$20,880.33
$20,863.93
$20,831.88
$20,715.28
$20,612.84
$19,272.57
$18,790.06
$17,690.82
$17,084.69
$16,279.58
$15,882.74
$14,965.94
$14,363.43
$14,203.80
$14,037.58
$13,771.36
$13,615.44
$13,613.87
$13,396.09
$13,046.05
$12,953.47
$12,693.62
$12,640.20
$12,576.62
$12,427.47
$12,338.76
$12,247.59
$12,247.59
$12,182.13
$12,151.41
$12,104.49
$12,020.40
$11,965.08
$11,889.97
$11,824.19
$11,747.79
$11,701.97
$11,482.26
$11,332.51
$11,329.94
$11,286.83
$11,022.91
$11,018.81
$10,790.30
$10,741.61
$10,662.20
$10,642.68
$10,548.55
$10,527.77
$10,479.88
$10,408.17
$10,326.06
$10,300.25
$10,270.61
$10,237.30
$10,196.45
$10,095.45
$10,044.66
$10,003.98
$9,991.97
$9,926.20
$9,837.49
$9,800.48
$9,800.48
$9,800.48
$9,660.86
$9,653.07
$9,568.85
$9,266.36
$9,206.21
$9,189.59
$9,097.89
$9,000.62
$8,962.80
$8,951.58
$8,834.39
$8,695.57
$8,676.61
$8,643.32
$8,619.17
$8,541.20
$8,496.17
$8,496.17
$8,473.58
$8,376.56
$8,289.97
$8,226.59
$8,082.45
$8,071.31
$8,041.07
$8,016.02
$7,996.31
$7,990.91
$7,982.04
$7,891.09
$7,878.35
$7,839.67
$7,810.17
$7,770.68
$7,719.33
$7,707.46
$7,696.34
$7,642.54
$7,607.21
$7,551.85
$7,395.41
$7,364.50
$7,270.17
$7,201.66
$7,189.56
$7,100.12
$6,969.10
$6,951.05
$6,930.92
$6,929.08
$6,904.74
$6,788.67
$6,755.19
$6,662.18
$6,573.51
$6,562.99
$6,504.52
$6,428.64
$6,428.64
$6,406.21
$6,360.02
$6,347.56
$6,321.48
$6,297.94
$6,293.15
$6,290.86
$6,223.08
$6,205.25
$6,198.06
$6,138.67
$6,093.83
$6,092.52
$6,091.46
$6,089.19
$6,087.93
$6,058.07
$6,038.30
$6,016.71
$5,962.80
$5,937.24
$5,925.13
$5,918.60
$5,838.43
$5,796.43
$5,762.13
$5,762.12
$5,749.77
$5,738.65
$5,730.39
$5,679.36
$5,659.73
$5,622.94
$5,598.11
$5,598.06
$5,583.87
$5,568.29
$5,556.79
$5,550.76
$5,550.76
$5,496.01
$5,493.68
$5,459.44
$5,408.75
$5,362.59
$5,284.14
$5,276.81
$5,274.92
$5,247.75
$5,209.50
$5,194.59
$5,172.20
$5,127.79
$5,118.42
$5,032.24
$5,028.72
$5,013.83
$5,003.17
$4,983.65
$4,968.16
$4,948.19
$4,911.41
$4,906.04
$4,885.63
$4,883.81
$4,830.14
$4,828.18
$4,814.94
$4,768.87
$4,755.56
$4,710.58
$4,677.98
$4,674.46
$4,639.20
$4,623.08
$4,605.47
$4,559.13
$4,558.96
$4,549.21
$4,498.27
$4,471.46
$4,443.07
$4,420.02
$4,394.17
$4,391.67
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,383.52
$4,381.64
$4,369.85
$4,367.35
$4,338.19
$4,332.71
$4,289.90
$4,261.95
$4,245.58
$4,245.14
$4,234.35
$4,226.18
$4,217.02
$4,214.26
$4,208.28
$4,187.81
$4,178.05
$4,175.92
$4,169.94
$4,145.76
$4,064.70
$4,063.04
$4,048.01
$4,023.36
$4,020.51
$3,978.24
$3,968.22
$3,951.40
$3,949.17
$3,949.03
$3,942.07
$3,932.69
$3,919.67
$3,883.21
$3,881.08
$3,868.13
$3,862.15
$3,858.13
$3,852.35
$3,845.27
$3,844.29
$3,834.34
$3,818.21
$3,804.65
$3,793.58
$3,782.96
$3,781.79
$3,773.70
$3,773.06
$3,753.98
$3,749.99
$3,736.89
$3,736.16
$3,722.04
$3,683.48
$3,673.12
$3,639.93
$3,635.42
$3,624.15
$3,620.84
$3,589.50
$3,564.61
$3,527.55
$3,508.59
$3,498.68
$3,495.07
$3,490.57
$3,485.74
$3,474.76
$3,469.51
$3,464.03
$3,440.79
$3,419.09
$3,397.85
$3,395.97
$3,388.42
$3,387.48
$3,381.38
$3,380.44
$3,356.05
$3,350.49
$3,342.69
$3,286.12
$3,280.47
$3,250.64
$3,250.52
$3,235.33
$3,234.65
$3,218.27
$3,203.31
$3,202.80
$3,198.69
$3,193.58
$3,183.88
$3,174.13
$3,163.39
$3,145.49
$3,119.04
$3,114.66
$3,100.81
$3,095.67
$3,077.81
$3,064.73
$3,062.82
$3,062.51
$3,062.35
$3,056.91
$3,055.56
$3,055.50
$3,055.06
$3,047.43
$3,041.26
$3,029.81
$3,029.64
$3,022.15
$3,018.89
$2,998.64
$2,994.51
$2,989.82
$2,973.61
$2,939.83
$2,933.28
$2,923.76
$2,920.30
$2,904.06
$2,903.36
$2,896.76
$2,891.56
$2,888.51
$2,887.34
$2,884.20
$2,876.16
$2,872.61
$2,870.49
$2,870.04
$2,864.82
$2,861.94
$2,856.58
$2,842.07
$2,836.28
$2,827.45
$2,822.54
$2,798.67
$2,797.54
$2,790.83
$2,774.12
$2,773.73
$2,773.56
$2,770.99
$2,770.53
$2,767.43
$2,762.80
$2,756.03
$2,755.80
$2,752.23
$2,737.23
$2,736.39
$2,727.25
$2,724.92
$2,718.09
$2,715.78
$2,711.40
$2,709.09
$2,695.50
$2,690.54
$2,688.62
$2,685.53
$2,685.20
$2,680.54
$2,679.52
$2,677.88
$2,673.61
$2,673.09
$2,666.96
$2,662.25
$2,651.86
$2,647.51
$2,642.76
$2,640.18
$2,634.76
$2,611.60
$2,602.14
$2,598.42
$2,596.34
$2,592.27
$2,550.97
$2,546.12
$2,545.30
$2,544.37
$2,537.09
$2,534.45
$2,532.04
$2,531.14
$2,522.58
$2,520.12
$2,518.75
$2,518.44
$2,515.42
$2,513.68
$2,504.12
$2,498.68
$2,495.21
$2,491.37
$2,481.21
$2,478.45
$2,471.57
$2,465.21
$2,459.95
$2,452.77
$2,452.67
$2,439.49
$2,439.11
$2,432.03
$2,431.04
$2,427.46
$2,427.20
$2,419.81
$2,417.16
$2,417.06
$2,399.56
$2,397.11
$2,395.71
$2,392.94
$2,392.59
$2,386.68
$2,386.54
$2,379.52
$2,376.61
$2,364.14
$2,363.87
$2,351.59
$2,349.31
$2,349.23
$2,347.32
$2,339.16
$2,334.26
$2,329.59
$2,323.70
$2,297.69
$2,295.48
$2,289.16
$2,286.66
$2,284.03
$2,281.39
$2,246.76
$2,242.76
$2,241.29
$2,233.23
$2,231.44
$2,229.49
$2,227.49
$2,225.16
$2,225.03
$2,224.01
$2,223.45
$2,214.58
$2,201.62
$2,198.26
$2,192.95
$2,191.52
$2,187.50
$2,186.12
$2,182.55
$2,172.55
$2,170.64
$2,166.85
$2,166.35
$2,157.69
$2,157.35
$2,145.03
$2,139.63
$2,138.43
$2,137.16
$2,130.83
$2,124.81
$2,120.62
$2,118.05
$2,116.12
$2,115.97
$2,109.45
$2,109.06
$2,106.90
$2,098.89
$2,098.33
$2,098.17
$2,096.40
$2,092.96
$2,092.08
$2,091.38
$2,090.11
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$2,088.29
$2,076.55
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$2,047.70
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$2,030.27
$2,023.29
$2,017.48
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$2,004.18
$2,001.29
$2,000.71
$1,994.94
$1,993.51
$1,989.59
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$1,981.08
$1,979.38
$1,977.74
$1,974.52
$1,972.06
$1,971.48
$1,967.67
$1,966.68
$1,956.45
$1,953.77
$1,948.99
$1,945.16
$1,944.61
$1,930.48
$1,919.48
$1,914.03
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$1,895.02
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$1,882.90
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$1,879.53
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$1,863.40
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$1,857.41
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$1,854.77
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$1,846.42
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$1,834.36
$1,830.96
$1,827.30
$1,826.98
$1,822.56
$1,821.30
$1,820.94
$1,820.65
$1,818.81
$1,804.50
$1,798.69
$1,793.84
$1,789.07
$1,788.47
$1,787.90
$1,787.72
$1,784.25
$1,782.30
$1,779.25
$1,772.78
$1,770.76
$1,770.54
$1,763.51
$1,761.72
$1,761.53
$1,758.69
$1,755.58
$1,755.56
$1,753.41
$1,751.05
$1,744.80
$1,742.28
$1,742.01
$1,740.90
$1,737.95
$1,737.25
$1,736.72
$1,736.64
$1,736.55
$1,733.38
$1,733.03
$1,733.03
$1,732.54
$1,726.91
$1,726.57
$1,724.24
$1,723.77
$1,709.92
$1,708.85
$1,704.20
$1,703.38
$1,702.36
$1,700.65
$1,700.21
$1,696.35
$1,696.08
$1,690.40
$1,689.04
$1,684.65
$1,677.16
$1,674.22
$1,666.42
$1,665.85
$1,662.58
$1,661.84
$1,659.52
$1,657.48
$1,656.05
$1,655.18
$1,644.10
$1,640.96
$1,636.38
$1,633.62
$1,632.08
$1,624.16
$1,621.54
$1,619.18
$1,618.18
$1,617.06
$1,616.38
$1,615.48
$1,614.28
$1,613.01
$1,609.61
$1,605.67
$1,601.18
$1,593.57
$1,591.44
$1,590.16
$1,588.62
$1,588.06
$1,586.37
$1,585.88
$1,585.01
$1,583.88
$1,583.21
$1,580.11
$1,578.54
$1,578.32
$1,575.62
$1,572.12
$1,565.09
$1,563.84
$1,563.59
$1,559.96
$1,559.96
$1,559.79
$1,558.24
$1,557.96
$1,552.85
$1,551.22
$1,548.39
$1,545.10
$1,536.78
$1,531.78
$1,530.76
$1,529.78
$1,529.53
$1,526.83
$1,523.10
$1,514.45
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$1,477.27
$1,476.47
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$1,471.99
$1,471.64
$1,466.54
$1,462.22
$1,461.04
$1,457.39
$1,456.21
$1,454.76
$1,451.19
$1,449.83
$1,447.10
$1,446.95
$1,444.29
$1,440.86
$1,439.38
$1,439.05
$1,437.96
$1,436.51
$1,432.64
$1,429.94
$1,428.59
$1,423.62
$1,421.42
$1,420.75
$1,419.98
$1,417.45
$1,417.42
$1,417.01
$1,411.13
$1,410.63
$1,408.85
$1,407.23
$1,405.35
$1,403.73
$1,401.50
$1,399.60
$1,399.52
$1,398.58
$1,398.29
$1,389.55
$1,386.59
$1,385.64
$1,385.24
$1,384.84
$1,384.50
$1,383.39
$1,383.33
$1,382.87
$1,381.09
$1,377.26
$1,374.67
$1,372.09
$1,363.42
$1,361.24
$1,358.20
$1,356.90
$1,353.14
$1,350.85
$1,347.87
$1,347.54
$1,345.90
$1,344.84
$1,342.40
$1,341.65
$1,336.65
$1,336.03
$1,336.01
$1,335.75
$1,333.56
$1,332.99
$1,329.78
$1,329.35
$1,326.93
$1,326.74
$1,324.39
$1,323.72
$1,323.59
$1,323.36
$1,322.42
$1,322.30
$1,321.25
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Jeff

http://www.mediapocalypse.com/in-defense-of-free-music-a-generational-ethical-high-road-over-the-industrys-corruption-and-exploitation/

I’m afraid I’m still not convinced about your info, and of your opinion on David’s supposed false facts, and I think you’re being somewhat misleading about your sources.  What is this “industry statistics?” Some secret newsletter you have to be in the club to get?  The only statistic I found a source for from you on the linked article was the one about 98% of major label artists failing.  That seemed to be drawn from some quantity info from one year of CD releases by Warner Bros. in the late nineties, and you apparently extrapolated that to apply to all music made before digital distribution took hold.  Also, David Lowery’s point is that for many small bands in the old system they made decent money while being unrecouped on the initial advance.  So that figure about 98% of Warners’ output in 1999 not recouping doesn’t necessarily tell us anything about what the individual musicians did or didn’t make.  

The rest of your info, I suspect, comes from your own experience in the music industry rather than empirical sources.  Some seems based on contracts that would have been considered crappy even back in the day, and some is just you using label jargon without explanation and in a way that sort of overstates your differences with Lowery.  You started refuting Lowery point by point, and I kind of think nearly every point you raise needs more explanation.

For instance, you start off seeming to debate Lowery’s explanation of advances, but quickly sidetrack into a discussion of who owns the master tapes.  You say labels own them if you accept an advance.  Well, that depends on the contract.  An example: Matador Records, a pretty big indie that put out a bunch of important records in the nineties, generally only had rights to the masters for a set period (5 to 10 years for most of the music they put out, I believe), before it reverted to the artist.  This is why the new reissues of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion back catalog, released on Spencer’s own label, don’t say anything about being licensed from Matador.    

You also say the majority of an advance goes into recording, not the artist’s pockets.  Well, duh.  If you give a musician a bunch of money, what do you think they’re going to do with it?  Probably make music.  In a world without advances does the cost of making music go down?  Not really, it’s just now the musicians are by and large shouldering all the upfront costs themselves, as well as their cost of living.

Later on you try to confuse the issue of songwriting mechanicals (legislated minimum payments to writers) by mentioning that they’re not paid on free goods and promotional copies.  Well, duh once again.  If it’s not sold, how can you expect mechanicals to be collected on it?  Also, free goods and promos are small portions of the whole retail stock, and they’re one of the tools labels used to use to help a band become better known.  Not generally nefarious at all.  How does this take away from the importance of mechanicals anyway?  And where is Lowery’s misinformation?  Nothing you wrote on the topic actually contradicts what he wrote.  That last sentence is true of most of your corrections of Lowery.  

The biggest thing you generally add to the discussion is to say that labels didn’t always actually hold up their end of the contracts.  Which is true of some labels, but not of others.  As in all business fields, there are players who acted ethically and some who didn’t.

I would love to go on, point by point with your article, but I fear I’ve already bored the Internet to death.  

I’m glad you agree that music should have monetary value, but I’m afraid that the information you provided gives ammo to those who want to justify not paying for entertainment.  The issue, for me, isn’t whether millions of hobbyists can squeeze out $100 a year while technology companies skim millions from the transactions, but whether a professional class of musicians, artists, writers, filmmakers, etc. can still exist in this country.

I hope that gave you a better sense of where I’m coming from, and I’m certainly willing to have a more in depth conversation if you are.
(Edited to add paragraph breaks I thought were already there)

While he has been working on the internet for a long time, he seems to blame the internet for him not making enough money.  And that lack of money might lead to his death like these other 2 people he talked about dying that weren’t tied to the internet.

He makes these moral panic complaints, and if you disagree with him you can’t possibly be worth his consideration.  When you bring up the evils the labels and cartels have wrought upon the world, he dismisses it as people just looking for an excuse for piracy and theft.

He has his target to blame and is complicit of the methods the cartels are using to exploit new acts, as long as he still gets his share.

“Lowrey is all for companies to have the right to monitor your internet connection, check your MP3 players, and invade your privacy to make sure he gets paid.His “right” to get paid trumps your right to privacy.”

I don’t recall reading that.

“If you don’t want to participate don’t, but then don’t complain that the old model – which has no clue how to leverage the internet ”

Maybe read some other posts by Lowery on that site. Lowery stated he has been working on the internet for a very long time.

You’re entitled to your interpretation of what he said but imho he seems more in good faith than you.

That’s just Google. And that’s just “hard” lobbying.

Travis Morrisson’s piece is similarly stupid, as he equates the actions of early pirates who shared mixtapes and dubbed radio programs with the absolute sea-change of digital music reproduction. I’m sure there’s no way you can support the position that sharing, shoplifting and radio dubbing in the 80s had in ANY way anything close to the numbers that digital sharing does.

I think you completely missed the point of Travis’ essay. He’s basically saying that his attitude toward music copying as a child in the 80s was pretty much the same as Emily White’s is today. It’s just that the technology back then didn’t make it as easy as it does now, though large numbers of people did engage in various ways of copying music back then.

It’s not really an issue of scale but an issue of mindset: kids want that music, and they’re going to get it by hook or by crook, however the technology permits them to do it, and no amount of moralizing will be able to get them to stop on their own. So (he appears to be saying) instead of trying to change people’s mindset we should design a compensation system for musicians with this reality in mind. It’s actually a very astute point Travis is making, not a “stupid” one.

Well, that sounds fair enough, except that you call people who disagree with you “zealots” and their complaints “moralistic whining”.

For the record, Lowery pointed out that it’s very difficult to have a resonable conversation on this topic. So it would seem.

While he was busy rending the “freetards” from end to end, he never once commented on the actual theft by the labels in Canada, that little “oversight”, where if they had to pay the same damages they demand from regular people it totaled over 60 billion.

He had no comment on Justin Beiber who is famous because he violated copyright publicly and his current earnings should be considered tainted because he is only there because he “stole” from others and now profits.  Funny I guess if your signed to a label you can do no wrong.

Wacky idea, if the old model works for you enjoy, but stop claiming the newer models are ruining you.  If you don’t want to participate don’t, but then don’t complain that the old model – which has no clue how to leverage the internet – isn’t getting you enough money.  I’m sure your manager and label contacts are making the same money if not more while you still try to recoup so you can have a royalty check for your song being in a commercial.

…your basic assumption that artists deserve to get paid is flawed. (Not wrong, but flawed)

It’s just an opinion, neither right nor wrong.

This would be good, if the band was actually asking you to pay with mindshare, but most, want you to pay in dollars.

But I don’t download from those bands.  So what’s the problem?