Rattle wrote:
] Steve Albini writes an essay for the Negativland site about
] how screwed the music industry really is, particularly if
] you're a young indie band looking for a "Big Break."
]
] Never mind any "artists rights" noise you might hear - examine
] the hypothetical numbers he includes toward the end of the
] article and you'll see exactly why the music industry
] hates MP3s.
]
] This is actually a very old article.. I remember reading this
] several years ago. The numbers are dead up accurate. The
] only thing the Internet has done to change the numbers here is
] that there will be a web design and hosting company getting
] several grand.

the numbers are pretty acurate, but Steve has even skewed things on the brighter side. No one mentioned other expences like insurance during the tour, promotions expenses for the album or tour, and the inevitable 'petty cash' needed for unforseen expenses during the tour (bail, ammo, etc).

There are income potentials that are not included, but it's all relavent to the band. They might get a teevee appearance. There are situations where the band could make money doing this, or they could over spend. They might get nominated for some award show. Again, they could make money or over spend. There is also the possibility that they could do instore performances or other promotional gigs, which would again cost money but might increase unit sales.

Finally, the saddest thing about this whole scenario is that the following will inevitably occur:

o label won't promote to the best of it's ability, despite making a tremendous ROI on the project.
o band might stand up for itself, but gets dropped or backpeddled because there are a 'million mother fuckers on the planet Earth' willing to take their place.
o band might be able to negotiate costs and trim expenses, but that will end up in their pockets and effectively blown on stupid things like jewelry, real estate, or booze/guns/drugs/women.
o band will fade into obscurity/cult stardom after their contract is up. Most band members will not have a clue as to how to take advantage of this momentum.
o label will complain about the numbers, despite the fact that this is pretty much one of the best situations they could ever have for an 'unproven' act. Most bands never even have this much success despite going through the same process.

In the end, being in a successful band is like being in a startup. You have to sacrifice, exist as a pauper, be brilliant to even be recognized, and with all that, you MIGHT have a chance to eek out a living. This is the reason why I decided on a career as an entrepreneur in business instead of being Trent Reznor's lackey. The game is the same, but the odds are a bit more in your favor of being able to put food in your belly.

flynn23 wrote:
] the numbers are pretty acurate, but Steve has even skewed
] things on the brighter side. No one mentioned other expences
] like insurance during the tour, promotions expenses for the
] album or tour, and the inevitable 'petty cash' needed for
] unforseen expenses during the tour (bail, ammo, etc).

The petty cash you speak of is usually referred to as the "Band Fund" in the industry, and Steve alotted $15,000 for that. Most of the costs that don't take a legnthy explination are correct in Steve's break down.

Things to keep in mind... You want to break out all tour related expenses into a seperate sheet, as tours usually generate revenue when all in said and done, and thats most of what the band gets.. Minus a chunk that goes to the record company.

Each tour and each album gets a seperate budget. They are recouped independently. Etc.. Like, if your first album bombed, and you still have not recouped, and your next album comes out and is a smash, your profits from the second album are not necessarly applied to the debt of the first album. Thats all entirely determined by the bands contract, but thats usually the way it works..

The Royality breakdown is non-existant, which matters as you have your circles p's managed by the record label, your circles c's managed by your publishing company (hopefully the band), the performance royalties managed by the PROs, etc, etc.. And Harry Fox somewhere in there trying to audit it all and take a point or two..

Insurance wasn't mentioned.. Taxes weren't mentioned. This was a basic example made to get a point across.

Finance in the record industry isn't exactly a simple thing to easily explain. Thats why schools like MTSU have four semesters worth of classes to teach it..

Rattle wrote:

] Finance in the record industry isn't exactly a simple thing to
] easily explain. Thats why schools like MTSU have four
] semesters worth of classes to teach it..

spoken like a(nother) RIM major.

Let us all unite and overthrow the establishment.

flynn23 wrote:
] spoken like a(nother) RIM major.
]
] Let us all unite and overthrow the establishment.

Damn straight.