Are majors becoming obsolete?
With the rise of the indies being years in the making, and the fall of the majors being decades in the making, is it time to call majors obsolete yet? The majors still monopolize the billboards, with a few indies breaking into the boards, but sales are down. Top of the lows is what the majors control now, and indies making record sales because of the rise of talent through cheaper recording practices. Who needs that Major deal anyways? Everybody knows its a scam. They pay you money, and your happy. You do a lot of drugs, and now your broke. You think, oh, I’ll just keep making music and I’ll get money. No. You owe the label all the money they gave you that you sniffed away.
Who didn’t see this coming? With the internet age, just about anybody except your grandmother can be posting music online. While your grandmother is still trying to download MP3’s on a typewriter, the next next big indie label is going to step up and possible outsell the majors. Artists are wising up and working with indies since it is more of an incentive deal, you do good you get paid and you don’t… you don’t. Simple. You do better next time. Majors are still on the, you get paid, you do good, they bleed you dry till they find another. You do bad, they drop the artist and they never touch music again unless its on mixtapes, reunion tours, or a reality show.
In Conclusion, majors are not close to being obsolete though since they own TV, Radio, Venues, Stadiums, and you. They have investors, and people who believe it can change, and little do they know record sales are a bubble that started a few decades ago, and when that internet needle came and popped it, indies jumped on life rafts that were significantly smaller but they are making some waves. The last major waves from the majors get smaller everyday, while the indies grow from their small ships. So Indies haven’t taken over yet, they just haven’t hit their bubble yet.
Inspired by HypeBots prank, Major record labels are obsolete
From the mind of
Keveeno
August 2, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Why sign anything with anyone? Fugazi was right about this almost 30 years ago! What about making music for people to buy and selling it on the websternet? What are indie labels good for? Marketing? Bulk CD orders? Dahahah…. and they have clueless crooks working for them too, freshly laid off from SONY BMG. I say let no one but paypal stand between the artist and their revenue. If the sounds are good enough people will come.
The real problem with music is that those who don’t know shit about it have been running the game and holding the keys long enough to loose them, promoting the likes of strippers and reality puppets…These “artists” they pump vital funds into have nothing to say. Are we really surprised when no one listens, when no one buys their dickass anal creampie protools auto tune demo? On second thought, I should know better then to disparage purveyors of anal creampie movies…they actually know how to sell what they make.
When the baby boomers finally die we might have a chance. They run these companies mind you, and they won’t spend a dime on anything that doesn’t remind them of their own youth (cue John Mayer single) or give them that rare and elusive chubby (cue Pussycat Dolls single)….those fucks are getting older every day…but they must try to live forever 1st dammit!….You see, they invented R n’R and they’ll take it to the fucking grave with them whenever they’re God damn good and ready!
As long as they continue to eat their young, we who actually have bands must stay as far away from them, and their bad ideas, and the bad ideas of those they influence in business as we possibly can. Indies are just a smaller version of the babybooming, babyeateing, monster….fuck’em
amiestreet.com/wheatus
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lemonparty.org
August 2, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I agree with many points you have, but not every artist has the resources, or the knowledge to do both the business and perform their art. Sometimes it is good for a label to utilize their old contacts from the past to help push the artist to their full potential. I personally know people who own and run Indie labels, and they in no way want to run the same business model of the majors. They thrive off the internet, but because of past contacts they can help push artists further than they could have done by them selfs. Isn’t the point of a musician to perform, and get their art to everybody? With the over saturated internet it is becoming harder to break out. There may be some independent labels out there who do eat their young, but the majority of them have a love of music, and wish the best for their artists out there. Money isn’t the driving point of most Indies (from the ones I know), it is about the visibility of their artists and their full potential of creativity.
Keveeno
PS,
I saw you’re doing good yourself, and I congratulate you on all of your successes. Everybody has different ways to succeed and you have your way. May your future stay strong man.