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Confessions
of a Record Producer:How to Survive the Shams and Scams of the Music
Business Book Review Summary The RIAA, which represents 80% of the nations record labels, is suing Napster for infringing upon copyright, and is also making them seem like an evil pirate empire out to take money from artists. After reading the book, Confessions of a Record Producer, the description record labels put on Napster does not seem all too different than the description they should give themselves. Moses Avalon, the author of the book and a distinguished record producer, tells how the record industry does work; not how it should work. It describes the multitude of ways an artist, producer, engineer, manager, or A&R person can essentially get "screwed". A record label does not care about the music they sell, as long as it makes them money. "Record companies are so greedy for a good product that if someone put a hit on their desk, they wouldn't care if it was produced by a woman, man, or chimpanzee", says Avalon. To them, selling millions of copies of N'Sync is the same as selling millions of copies of Mozart. Record companies care even less about artist than they do about music. They know that if they bait artists with the hope of selling millions of records, the artist will give them music to sell. Beyond that, the record companies can do anything to the artist, such as forcing them to re-record an album or produce 40-50 minutes worth of new material in six months while touring. Here are some examples from the book I found extremely appalling: ' In an average major label record deal, an album would have to sell half a million copies just for the artist to make a penny off the album. Even if it went double-platinum, (2 million copies), they would only make half of a million dollars. Divide that by four for each member, and that leaves you with $125,000 each before taxes, while the record company has a net profit of 9 million. That is 72 times what the artist makes! ' The process that I found particularly unfair to the artist, producer, and engineer was the process of recoupment. When a record label signs an act, they give them a production budget for recording and living expenses. That usually amounts to $200,000 to $500,000, and at least 75% of it is spent on production. All of the money in this budget is charged to the artist's account, meaning that until the artist pays off the entire budget through selling records, the artist will not profit. But if they never pay it off, they do not owe anything. This may seem like an equal risk by the company and the artist, but the difference is that the system forces the artist to pay for their own work. It's like if you accepted a job, but you personally had to pay for your office space, computer, and desk. Music is the only universal language. No matter what country you are in, there is always music. The same is not true for movies or television. So why is the music business so horrible? Logically, it would be the most profitable business, and everyone would be happy selling records. But instead of focusing on bringing new and innovative music to people, the music business has used music as bait to make people spend money. They are in the process of surgically removing music from the music business, turning it into just another thing to buy. To the industry, music is not art. It is what makes money, and its quality is not based on the music, but how well the music sells. What if record labels existed in Beethoven's time. Would we not have heard his music because a label did not consider it marketable? So, how do the unfair business practices of record companies relate to online music? Basically, the music industry needs change, and online music could help that. Currently, the way to promote an artist is to beg radio stations to play their single and to send flyers to record stores. This is all done by a record company. What if instead of begging radio stations, a band could make its own online radio station, a website with tour dates, and an online store to buy music? Then all that the band would have to do is make music and play concerts. There would be no need for a record label. All that a record label does is give out a loan, suggest managers and producers, and distribute the music to stores. You can get a loan from a bank, you could find producers and managers online, and distribute through an online store. This puts the artist in control, so whether their music sells or not is determined by its quality, not by its label. Review If you are in any way considering involving yourself in the music business, read this book. It may be discouraging at points to see how many different ways artists can get tricked and lose money, but this book is only telling the truth. The best thing about this book is that it shows situations through all sides of the industry; the label, producer, and artist. This makes the puzzle pieces fit, and gives respect to all sides of the business. Another advantage this book has, is that it gives suggestions of how to avoid scams and how to be successful, without sounding like an instructional booklet. The greatest advice this book gives is to carefully select who you trust. The one addition that I would make to the book is a chapter on online music, since thousands of artists are undecided about how to use it to their advantage. That would make the book complete. Quotes "The artist may or may not do well, but the record company is here to stay." pg. 70 "It's more profitable to have one artist that sells millions of records than to have several that sell hundreds of thousands." pg. 85 "If you've ever gone out and bought a CD because you liked the song you heard on the radio, only to find that it was the only good song on the record, you're not alone." pg. 171 "The length of the contract is five years, but the record company can terminate the agreement at the end of any year." pg. 187 "The artist is working for the label, period." pg. 190 "The label has complete control over the artist's recordings." pg. 191 "Yes means maybe. Maybe means no. No means call back." pg. 200 "Make sure the person representing you has your best interests at heart." pg. 202 "Regardless of corporate influence, pop music responds to the values and needs of each new generation." pg. 239 "While you grow older, your client, the record buyer, is forever young." pg. 239 |