Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooter520
Gives you a new perspective on cd's in the market place. Looks like a lot of people have there hands in the pie.
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Right. It reminds me of an episode of "Behind the Music" that VH1 ran. It was about TLC. They were a top group with great CD sales and selling out huge arenas with all the best special effects. And, because they had little spare time to spend money on personal things because they were touring constantly, they were surprised to learn that they were broke.
On the VH1 special, one of the members gave a break down of where all the money went. After all the label and agents fees, promotion, the services for their stages, costumes, etc, etc, they had nothing left.
It seems to me that others were managing all of that and made sure to spend all the money on everything possible. I suppose all the industry people knew one another and they made sure they all supplied everything they could -- whether the act needed it or not.
I recall an interview in Offbeat Magazine a few years ago with Dr. John about the music industry and bands in New Orleans. He said that people think the labels want to sign young bands because the music is more hip. He said it's more because the older guys have been around longer. They know the ropes and it's harder to take advantage of them.
With digital downloads, the music industry is in a state of change. The distribution networks must be trying to figure out how they'll survive when no one needs to distribute CDs. What about the manufacturers and packaging? Promotion has to change too. You don't have to wait for a song to be on the radio to learn about a band. You can sample it on iTunes and download just a few while you decide whether to buy the whole album. Radio had nothing to do with me buying Kellie's album.
Music is going to cost less and I'm sure everyone who is used to getting a piece of the bigger pie is going to be grabbing for their slice. In the mean time we have deal with squabbles between retailers and labels while they figure out who is going to let go of their pieces first.
I have to wonder how much the artist is being pressured to give something up in order to meet Wal-Mart's demands for low price. If the past is any indication, they'll get squeezed before the labels, promoters, distributors, etc. give it up. And that's especially true for new artists.
I wish I had a better understanding of whether Kellie is better off not being in Wal-Mart. Do you have to give up too much to get shelf space? If so, that might be the best thing for now.