The new record label
I mentioned that Pete’s band, Elizabeth and the Catapult, just got signed to Verve. Same label as Brazilian Girls. Great news for Pete and I’ll obviously be following how things turn out for them. They’re all incredibly talented in that band and richly deserve the success they’ve earned.
But I have to admit that I still am not sure what it means exactly to ‘get signed’ these days in the context of helping an artist earn a living playing music. Because record labels, per se, if they’re still calling themselves that, seem (a bit) like an antiquated idea. Record labels made money selling records because people bought records. Now people don’t. So record labels look for revenue in other arenas and the deal (as everyone knows) becomes less about the ‘selling of the record’ than about a venture capital investment in the ‘brand’ of the artist. That has always made sense to me. These 360 deals that everyone is talking about.
I haven’t seen the specifics so I don’t know how onerous they are but the one thing I do hear repeatedly is that they still don’t seem to reflect a basic understanding of reality on the part of the ‘establishment’. It’s still trading a lot of control and creativity and intellectual property for a fairly restrictive contract. And instead of taking really radical approaches to the concept of empowering artists to earn money, the labels and the musical establishment just look for ways to get their hands on more revenue streams. They don’t offer much. They don’t know a lot about enhancing these streams or growing them. But they want their cut. And their cut will be more than it should because they won’t give you accurate accounting.
Here’s what’s happening. They’re irrelevant. Who cares? Who cares what Universal thinks? Yes, in the short term, majors still represent a significant source of capital and that’s what most musicians need. But they also need guidance. And they need platforms and services and tools that empower them to be more.
If you asked a label exec if his mission was ‘empowering artists’ I doubt you’d get an affirmation. So slowly (and yes it does take awhile) the labels disintegrate. At least the majors do. And I’m not sure what the indies do. But if they keep overhead low and support touring acts where they’re getting a cut of merch in exchange for tour support – well that works for a small company. But that’s not growth.
So who is the new record label? And what does that even mean?
I’d posit that the new labels are the digital marketing platforms that create opportunities for artists to realize their vision. In that category I’d put Apple, I’d put CD Baby, I’d put Rhapsody and, perhaps most importantly, I’d put DigiDesign. Who “helps” an artist more? The label that has no idea how to help take an artist to the next level in the digital age or ProTools that helps artists record more cheaply than ever before and empowers them to create music in new and interesting ways. What’s better for music? A few artists getting a few record deals or a company like CD Baby that puts the power in the hands of the artist, gets them digital distribution, provides clear and transparent accounting, is NON-EXCLUSIVE, and PAYS THEM ON TIME.
Can these tools take artists to the next level? Is there a platform in place that helps grow an artist and increase their exposure in the way that traditional labels do? Getting to the highest stage still requires a major label. But for everything below the top 1% of artists — the John Mayers of the world — I don’t see how an effective use of available technology tools and distribution platforms (and hard work) doesn’t get you to the same place that you’d get with a label.
Who’s defining their mission as “empowerment”? That’s who I’m putting my money on (or with).
Tags: music and the web, music recording
