Quote:
Originally Posted by RawAlex
Kane, I don't disagree with you, but you are missing the important points:
Radiohead has effectively ZERO media at this point. The album is out there, there is no push to get it on radio, there is no media interest, there is no reviewer copies, there are no press tours, no junkets, no internation record listening parties, no hype. For a band like Radiohead with an established fanbase this, might be an okay situation, but they are trading entirely on what was created by the record companies and their artist management and promotion department over the last 15 years.
If Thom Yorke was a box filler at a local factor with a record, he would make exactly NOTHING. The album isn't that good. Radiohead without the labels behind them over the years would be nothing, just a bunch of pre-emo bitches with bad blue collar jobs.
The other part is that in the end, the artists have the big end of the stick long term. The Beatles, the Stones, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Scorpions, Styx (nice round and random list) are all artists that don't have to really put out new music to make a ton of cash. Styx play something like 200+ dates a year, making pretty darn good money. Even without a single additional album sale, these artists can go on and on making money without paying the record companies a cent. They own themselves and they make the cash. Record companies make the money up front, sucessful artists make their money long term.
Do you think the record companies make any money off of Mark Wahlberg acting? Do you think that the record companies are making money off Will Smith? Nope. The artists go on with long term value created in a greater or lesser part by the record companies and management that discovered them, nurtured them, and paid for them to learn and make mistakes.
Take that out of the equation, and everything changes.
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I agree with you fully that having a long term goal and being lucky/talented enough to establish yourself while you are young could pay off big time down the road. Like you said most of the people on that list you put together haven't had a hit record in years, yet make millions touring and that all comes from them having established themselves and using the media/promotional tools available to them to get their name out.
Here is the problem. Everyone on that list was successful under what was really an old record industry. These days there is no such thing as artist development at most record labels. They sign new bands/acts, put money in them, hype the record and put it out and see what happens. If it hits, great, that band/act is the labels number one priority and they will probably have some big success (at least over the next 2-5 years) because the label will put the money and promotion machine behind them. If the album fails to hit, they are pretty much left out to dry. They may get a chance to make a second record to see if they can come up with a hit, but if they don't (even if the record is good, it just lacks a radio hit) they will either be dropped or ignored. gone are the days when a label would sign an act and help develop them and help them build up an audience. Most of the acts that do that these days do it on their own or with smaller independent labels. Major labels want home runs, not base hits.
Sure Radiohead has benefited from many years of promotion that the record label has put behind them and while the money for that promotion has come out of their royalties, it was still the industry knowhow that got them that promotion. Now that they are established they can benefit from that. Will that success continue for another 20 years? Who knows.
For me it is a simple equation. The list of artist you put together are well known, if not rock and roll hall of fame type bands. They are one in a million type bands. Most bands that have success put out and album or two then they either break up, get dropped by the label or the public just loses interest and even if they have a hit or two they will never be one of those bands that can still sell records and concert tickets 20 years after their one hit. For a few they will get lucky and have the right combination of foresight, talent, marketing and timing and they will end up being one of those elite few that can draw on short term success for years to come.
The number one thing any act can do is make sure they write their own songs and that they retain publishing rights to it. That way, 20 years after the song was released, if someone wants to use it in a commercial or a movie or TV show or something they can get paid and if their is a resurgence of interest in them they can cash in.
All that said you have to understand that ultimately it is the artist who pays the record label for that promotion/media hype. They don't pay up front, but they do pay out of their future royalties. There are many bands that get signed, get a small advance then have a ton of money put towards promoting their record and it flops. The artist is then in debt (sometimes millions of dollars worth) to the record label. They may or may not ever make another record because of all the contracts/debt that they now have to the label. It's hard to think long term and plan to be Led Zeppelin when your first record (while maybe good) lacked a hit, got dropped from radio and landed you a million dollars in debt to the record company who is now all over your ass to produce an album with a hit single so you can make that money back.