What Is Really Wrong with the Music Industry
I don’t know how many of you follow the CD Baby DIY Musician Blog, but something happened there recently that reveals a lot about what the Major-Label Music Business has done to the independent artist. Take a look at this screenshot from their blog:
Sure, they get a decent amount of comments on each blog post, anywhere from 60-100. That’s a good conversation right? Now read the top article: 323 Comments as of this writing, more than three times their average response. This sort of thing can’t be just a fluke, Scott James really touched on a nerve in the community here. While this isn’t an accurate sample of the labels and in-crowd themselves, it certainly spells out the number one fear of unsigned artists:
You are dead to the Music Industry when you turn 30.
Whether or not this is true, it’s obvious that the Independent Musician crowd feels strongly about how the industry looks at birthdays. When you see the New Artist bins filled with Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Justin Bieber, it’s easy to believe the industry is growing alarmingly enamored with children. If the Music Industry were a priest, fans would be calling the cops.
My guess is that the phenomenon is one part cultural and one part slimeball. We as a society put youth on so high a pedestal that women literally carve up their faces to try and look younger. From a business perspective, though, it’s easier to exploit someone with little world experience. Younger artists haven’t made enough connections on their own to find a good lawyer or manager yet. Once they’re signed, a label can own 90% of their revenue for a lot longer if they start at 16 as opposed to 35.
I’m not claiming that every major player in the industry functions this way, but given the reaction to the post over at CD Baby, it’s clear that many of us have that in mind. Independent Musicians feel their time has run out at 30, even though Sheryl Crow and Pat Monahan of Train weren’t signed until they were 35. Fortunately, it’s becoming easier to exist as an entrepreneur in the music business. A major label is only necessary to get your songs on iPod commercials, not to make your mortgage payments.
I’m over 30 now, and I’m a little afraid of the future. But I’m doing something the major labels, for the most part, can’t do: Pay my bills.
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