i use soundcloud all the time to find music. there are tons of artists out there that don't have record label support and/or proper releases, but a lot of folks wind up on soundcloud one way or another.
also, you should check out my abs right now if you haven't yet.
Finding them probably entails that you find something worth listening to? I mean there's a search feature, so hehe... anyway.
Are these artists you wished you could buy something from, or was it a good "one night stand"?
I'm finding more and more lately that the mainstream music outlet from big record companies like Universal and Sony is lacking any exciting or surprising new acts.
Why would they bother?
Not following you Norman. Are you saying that big record companies make money with garbage, so why take the effort to find something worth listening to or what?
I'm not saying mainstream = garbage.
I'm saying that, what with records not selling as much as they used to anymore, why would you sign unknown bands whom it'll take five to ten years fabricate into arena monsters when you already have an unbeatable money-making roster? Why would you sign, say, Parquet Courts when you have the Stones or U2 to make the machine work already? Why not let the "indies" find the next Muse and then snatch them from them?
It makes no sense for Universal to scout for the Big Star or Hüsker Dü that'll bring mad respect but won't make a buck and will have to be dumped off eventually.
I'm finding more and more lately that the mainstream music outlet from big record companies like Universal and Sony is lacking any exciting or surprising new acts.
Why would they bother?
Not following you Norman. Are you saying that big record companies make money with garbage, so why take the effort to find something worth listening to or what?
I'm not saying mainstream = garbage.
I'm saying that, what with records not selling as much as they used to anymore, why would you sign unknown bands whom it'll take five to ten years fabricate into arena monsters when you already have an unbeatable money-making roster? Why would you sign, say, Parquet Courts when you have the Stones or U2 to make the machine work already? Why not let the "indies" find the next Muse and then snatch them from them?
It makes no sense for Universal to scout for the Big Star or Hüsker Dü that'll bring mad respect but won't make a buck and will have to be dumped off eventually.
Ok yes, this makes perfect sense. Fantastic point. Having said that, it isn't always this way (as I'm sure you're already aware), but I still agree.
Possibly the hope that Parlophone or Capitol or Warner would sign a decent artist again is possibly what was the original concern, regardless of the source (direct or through independent label).
I mean that's Nirvana in a nutshell... and countless other bands, including U2. Island records was not a big record company when they were signed. It was the largest independent record company until they were bought out in 1989.
Interesting video about how U2 got signed (they were rejected by all the big ones):
i use soundcloud all the time to find music. there are tons of artists out there that don't have record label support and/or proper releases, but a lot of folks wind up on soundcloud one way or another.
also, you should check out my abs right now if you haven't yet.
Finding them probably entails that you find something worth listening to? I mean there's a search feature, so hehe... anyway.
Are these artists you wished you could buy something from, or was it a good "one night stand"?
i've purchased things from a number of these artists, if that's what you're asking. i don't do rentals. _________________ follow me on the bandcamp.
Really really interesting points being made. Particularly the one about why bother. Ha. Yeah, why would they bother? Better to just leave the 'indies' fighting in the pit and pick the one that survives.
But I would argue that it hasn't worked out that way. The last band 'worth their salt' in my opinion would be Arctic Monkeys who, thanks to hitting the perfect wave with myspace, had a hugely successful first album. This lead to loads and loads of bands being signed to major labels based on myspace popularity, which turned out to be a huge mistake they mostly all flopped and Arctic Monkeys are the only ones that really 'made it'. Again the industry wasted their money and no longer looks simply at online popularity.
Out of this situation the '360 deal' phenomenon has arisen. 360 deals are like the full package of success for a band or act. The company promotes the sh*t out of them, pays for their videos, distributes the record and even the merchandise for one big trade off: total control. The artist has almost no say in the direction of their career and they'd be lucky if the company don't start nibbling into their song-writing too.
This risk-less approach to business will inevitably lead to stagnation in the big companies. The market has began split into small independent artists who sell their music themselves through online platforms. I think artists have begun to realise a really important thing, you can make more money by selling less records. Here's what I mean...
A band signed to a major label sells 30,000 records, the label then takes a 50% cut (or whatever) of this, leaving the band with the money from 15,000 records sold.
The independent band sells 15,000 records and takes all the money.
I'd definitely trade popularity for freedom any day.
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