I am so sick of stuff like this!!!!
I am tired of old industries refusing to fully adapt to their changing markets! This is their JOB! We pay them to stay on top of their game. You wonder if the Major Record Labels are outdated? They are still called "RECORD" labels for crying out loud! Now that the rules have changed, they cry fowl and want government money!!!! Enough is enough.
Not unlike some auto-makers, some major record labels have refused to accept that things have changed. What WE want and how we get it is not up to them anymore. In the past, those with the most money and power decided who got played on the radio and who was 'popular.' Indie bands could never have afforded to record and distribute their own albums. They would never be able to afford to pay radio stations tens of thousands of $$$$ to play their music. And without the funds to tour, no one outside of their home town would ever know that they existed! So, deep pockets would choose which bands deserved to record, tour and get played on the radio. Anyone else that was not 'chosen' by record companies was forgotten.
Now WE decided who we want to hear. With the advent of the internet we listen to whoever WE want, whenever WE want. The cost of recording has come WAY down and distribution is free! ANYONE can post their music or videos on myspace or youtube. Which means that bands who could have never toured in the past ARE touring any time anyone clicks their music or video online! A guy in his basement in Farmington, Utah is being noticed by people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I know because they have emailed me! And as far as record sales, most would rather buy 2 or 3 songs on iTunes than purchase the whole album on a CD. Any band can upload their music to iTunes and distribute it themselves.
The execs have lost control, and rather than adapt to the needs and wants of their customers, some major record companies want to continue doing everything on their terms at their price.
How? They want to TAX the radio stations that are playing THIER music! Gimme a Break!
It's called: "Performance Tax."
Quick Economics lesson: IF you want to discourage something: TAX it. If you want to encourage something: Subsidize it. Why would Record labels want to TAX their distributors?
What is a performance tax?
A performance tax is a fee that record labels want the government to impose on local radio stations simply for airing music free of charge for listeners.
In recent years, the record labels have seen sales of albums decline as more listeners opt for digital downloads. However, radio remains the number one promotional vehicle for music – it’s not responsible for the label’s resistance to the digital age, and it shouldn’t be on the hook to fix it. Radio already provides between $1.5 to $2.4 billion dollars annually in music sales for artists and record labels. By pushing a tax on local radio, record labels are biting the hand that feeds them.
-taken from the website: NoPerformanceTax.org.
Get all the info HERE. The SITE is awesome. It won't take long... but it involves all of us!
It's a measure of one's culture's ignorance of how they treat their artists. Yes the industry quickly morphed with technology as the slow evolution of generously paid executives who couldn't be creative enough to make millions off of the digital wave had to buy and persuade the government to intervene and therefore tax. Richard Branson can't loose his extravagant lifestyle, it's all he's got. If he couldn't parasail with a naked model on him (he really did this) his heart would all but die. I'm sure after becoming satiated to a wealthy existence, the thought of losing that security is terrifying, but to abuse the liberty of our government to save your bank accounts is utterly pathetic, illegal, and you mom even thinks your shady, or she is as benign and retarded as you. As if Limp Bizkit didn't kill radio before, you will be the one to slay the podcast, and force the consumer to adapt to a more taxed market. Which is as simple as visiting another website, pirating torrents, finding people with music collections and ripping them onto your macbook, stealing, etc. Everything that has caused record sales to drop is only going to be exacerbated by radio stations having to be wrongfully taxed. YOU ARE TAXING YOUR OWN PROMOTION!! If you didn't know that all ready, but that's sort of the beauty in, because you can control it. Now we will get more top 40, and less independently distributed music causing those artist to become more guerilla in their distribution. Imagine when that tax begins to apply to MySpace and Pandora (if it isn't part of it already). Now the tax can apply to some kid with a tape recorder, a guitar, and an imagination who puts his songs up for his friends, and then the gov. is taxing them for listening. The great think about taxation, is you don't have to own it to tax it. Just like your house, boat, car, etc.
ReplyDeleteNow if it's not enough to destroy radio on it's upswing. Live performance is being threatened as well. ASCAP vs. Portland. ASCAP is an organization that pays royalties to artists whose music is played. They have determined that your bar, cafe, venue, etc. needs to buy an expensive license to have live music played. Basically if an all female Led Zeppelin band wants to play, the bar better have a license or they face fines, in one case in Portland, of up to $120,000 (they settled for $16,000) and now the bar can't have live music anymore and is very close to closing it's doors. They hire spies to testify in court that a certain song was played at a certain venue at a certain time. Craigslist has been a battlefield for this topic, posts have been flagged, even though they were factual and informational only. Opinions are shot out like flaming arrows at both sides, and all in all it just makes artists more poor, pissed off and ripped off. While leaving the consumer with no choices at all.
I would like to believe that the government and a record label i'm not signed to, don't have any control over my artistic representation of the world. It is sad that certain entities would like to tax something that is free. I guess what i really believe is what doesn't kill the music only makes it stronger. "We rise, and we are everywhere"-Nick Drake lyric and inscription on his headstone. Much Love and Beautiful Noise, The Miller
Wow!! Ha ha! Yes! That was awesome! AND, you bring up some interesting points that I hadn't considered. It is possible that if left to themselves, the worst parts of the industry enter a type of self-destruct cycle? And perhaps those methods better suited to the modern market are then allowed to flourish? I mean, at the point where radio ceases to be viable, the huge record companies will have lost their primary distribution and their "Hit" or "Top 40" based business model will collapse. Perhaps then, podcast and indie radio will take it's rightful place as king. Maybe then the strangle hold on youtube covers and the like will be lifted. How dumb is it to rip down videos that are nothing but free viral promotion for your company? (nothing but a sign of pure desperation if you ask me)
ReplyDeleteNow obviously there are some large record companies that are doing a GREAT job of adapting to the new climate. They are creative and willing to work WITH the current rather than flailing with futility against it.
Plus, I was terrified to read your comments on the threats facing live performance! Food for though... and pretty messed up!