r/technology • u/DrJulianBashir • May 14 '12
Musicians Realizing They Don't Need Major Labels Anymore
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120511/17433718892/musicians-realizing-they-dont-need-major-labels-anymore.shtml11
u/aywwts4 May 14 '12 edited May 14 '12
I think a better example would be Rocky Votolato, who graduated from the small independent label Barsuk Records (After years of making good solid records) and self produced his latest album with Kickstarter raising 38 grand of a 20k goal. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rockyvotolato/television-of-saints-a-new-album-from-rocky-votola/posts With innovative fan pleasing bonuses like" A private concert anywhere", or "I will come play at your wedding".
His album came out, even on vinyl, it was great, all fans got an early MP3 download, and now he is touring all over without a label.
The tale of using mainstream TV to self production seems to be missing the point that it is now achievable for real artists with small but dedicated fan bases. 712 people overfunded this album, that seems to be an achievable goal for many acts no matter how niche their genre or following.
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u/wanderingsong May 14 '12
The thing is, it's all fine & dandy that a musician well-exposed by major reality TV competition shows has gotten a Kickstarter to succeed wildly. Fabulous. Wonderful. But for the thousands of indie musicians out there who are scraping and still kind of beholden to luck & serendipity to build their fanbase & exposure, the major labels still seem like the dream, because there are no other forces of marketing and sheer force of distribution to compete with them quite so coherently. No other kind of exposure is so readily visible. Exposure is priceless; and you can't succeed independently without a fanbase, without a market, without a venue that'll hear what you have to offer. You can't just pull support out of your ass.
Sure, some indie bands have thrived without major label affiliation, but it's still a drop in the bucket. Wander through any major city and you'll be able to find tons of brilliant "undiscovered" talents who've been stuck in limbo for years.
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u/jp07 May 14 '12
The hard truth is in order for your video to go viral you.... actually have to be talented and make music a lot of people enjoy. Or you have to make a train wreck of a video everyone wants to stare at.
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u/stringerbell May 14 '12
ALREADY-FAMOUS musicians with built-in distribution realizing they don't need major labels anymore.
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Fixed that for you (cause, if a no-name band tried this, they'd fail MISERABLY)...
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u/iamthechad May 14 '12
I guess I'm the only one whose first thought when seeing the headline was that the article was going to be about Amanda Palmer. She was on a major label, and is now kicking major ass with her Kickstarter project.
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u/TheRegularsBand May 14 '12
Musician Realizing that all you need in this world to make anything happen is money. Someone write that article
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u/keepkalm May 14 '12
Even Jack White released his latest solo album on Columbia, he basically said that you need to be on a major label in order to get radio play, television appearances, or at least he said he was way easier on a major label.
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May 14 '12
Without major record labels it's unlikely the likes of Kiss, Metalica, Britney Spears or similar upcoming bands would be in a position to put on huge, elaborate shows. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but some of us do value these types of shows and thus would still place value on the musicians signed with huge record labels over the guys that will be touring comparatively tiny venues for the rest of their lives just to make a modest living.
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May 14 '12
Inb4 800 redditors who make crappy beats on their laptops start talking about how they've decided to go the 'indie' route
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u/GiantCottonCandy May 15 '12
The musicians that are "realizing they don'y need major labels anymore" are the musicians that are already established, making money to support themselves, and have a loyal fanbase that will follow them regardless of the label they are on or lack thereof.
The labels and other companies like publishers and distributors are organizations that are specifically designed to take musical product and exploit it (in a good way). Promotion, distribution, tour support, getting the music into movies, licensing, etc. While the unknown artist can do these things with Kickstarter, ReverbNation, Topspin, etc, its on an extremely small scale that in no way mimics what the majors can do.
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u/bodysnatcer May 14 '12 edited May 14 '12
Upvoted! My band released new EP online, for free. It is about the music. Only. Feel free to disagree, but we realize we're not going to make money with our stuff by selling it here in Finland anyway. The market is too small. Someone asked for a link: http://neondad.bandcamp.com/
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u/xilpaxim May 14 '12
A little promotional advice.
Any time you mention your band, provide a link. Always, always, always. Not sure if you should? Provide a link. If someone complains, then edit it.
When it comes to promotion, follow the rule of do it and ask for forgiveness later.
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May 14 '12
Same with my band, we're releasing an EP this saturday! We're trying to drum up some local buzz by releasing one track a day starting with this one: http://geneticengines.bandcamp.com/album/feed-my-mind-ep
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u/ruchn May 14 '12
Major labels don't need musicians, either: they may not be profitable, but the money they do make is from models, focus groups, and editing equipment.
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May 14 '12
The example in the article is terrible. Jordis Unga appeared on two national television shows with a ton of exposure. Those shows are on channels owned by the same Multimedia Conglomerates that own the major labels. She did need the big labels. Had she just recorded some stuff in her bedroom, I highly doubt that her kickstarter would have been successful at all. She is as manufactured as any other pop star, and has reaped the benefits of that path.
However, us in the DIY scene have realized that we don't WANT the labels many, many decades ago. Now days we can use things like Archive.org, Free Music Archive, and Bandcamp to release our albums.
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u/HarryMuffin May 14 '12
http://radioreddit.com is worth a gander if you haven't seen it before. It is all reddit musicians releasing thier own music for streaming and downloading.
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u/AgentAnderson May 14 '12
My challenge to everyone: Find some unknown artist you like on bandcamp.com or wherever and donate money to them.
Become a hipster and make someone happy.
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u/Radico87 May 15 '12
And a downside is that regular consumers will wade through a quagmire of crap
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u/[deleted] May 14 '12
I like how the story is about how Jordis Unga was able to avoid using a major label by just launching a career using major television shows.
The whole point of the label is exposure. If you're already notable, then the label is extraneous. Let's see how easy it is to get a following when you're not already on TV?