So I listened to the first 5 songs off of the link you posted. I think it sounds really good. Do I think it sounds as good a Major Label release... I'm sorry, but no. That is saying nothing about the musicality or content of the song.... like I said earlier, I like it. What I
am talking about is the sound of the recording itself. It sounds like a good demo to me, but not comparable to a Major Label release. Maybe everything doesn't need to be held up to that standard... it's a small amount of difference, but to me it does exist.
In reviewing the thread, I thought I had made myself clear in that I am talking about artists with Major Label deals... maybe I was not as clear as I thought though. Here are a couple of links talking about how many bands recoup their initial advance:
From the definition of Recoupment offered by About: musicians exchange...
http://musicians.about.com/library/glossary/R/bldef-recoupment.htm
notably this, "Even in major label deals, the costs of album production and management rapidly consume the advance, often leaving the artist with little extra to spend. If album sales fail to earn back the money, the artist is often dropped from the label and forgotten. Fewer than 10% of signed artists recoup their advance and become financially successful."
And from the Wall Street Journal....
http://blog.mattgoyer.com/stories/2...StrikeAChordDespiteTheMillionsSpentByMCA.html
notably this, "Of the thousands of albums released in the U.S. each year by the five major record companies, fewer than 5% become profitable, music executives say." from the lower link.
but that figure is from record executives.... can't trust them, so additionally from the Wall Street journal, "As a result, industry executives estimate that major-label releases must on average sell about 500,000 copies just to break even. Last year, of the 6,455 new albums distributed in the U.S. by major labels, only 112 have sold at least that many, according to SoundScan, which monitors music sales. Overall music sales were down 5% last year -- the steepest decline in a decade."
So about 1.7% recouped the initial investment. I would doubt if it gets much better for Indie labels....
Also in the Wall Street Journal article is a relative total of how much a typical first album costs "The total tab, including studio time, musicians' salaries, producers' fees and Ms. Hennessy's living expenses, was about $350,000 -- typical for a first pop record, MCA says."
So no, I am not "insane" to think that it can cost well over $10,000 to record an album. You can go out and spend a few thousand dollars (or less) on an album... but there are things that you cannot reproduce on a cheap budget.... namely experience and equipment. Granted, this is (and has been) changing drastically since the cost of recording gear has dropped so there are a lot more people doing the home studio thing (including myself). But do I believe that I can record, mix, and master an album (from a technical aspect) as well as or better than engineers or producers who have been doing it everyday for years and that have access to equipment I can't afford?... no.
I agree that there are a lot of other way for musicians to make money... but that also costs more money, but you make it sound like it would be easy to get 10,000 people to pay $25 dollars a head to see a band. How much money has to go into promoting that band before they will see anything close to those numbers? How much do the promoters take? How much does it cost everyone to get down the road? How much for the buses, a place to stay, gas, food? How much to hire to crew to work the show?
For an independent artist trying to make it work without support... it's even more difficult. Most of the people that I know who are signed to independent labels say that they basically break even at the end of a tour.
Your friends who make $1,500 a night playing, how often are they able to get 300 people (at $5 a head) to show up? Once, twice a month? Sure they are making about $375 a night... that would be great if it was like 3-4 times a week around town... but it is probably more like 2 times a month at the most.... unless they go out on the road... which costs more money.
The point of all of this... the broad picture if you will... is that it is very difficult for musicians to make a living and regardless of how you feel about labels, or the "biz" or what ever. You should support any and all artists that you want to see stick around... and that means paying for the music that they have put so much on the line to make.
