Spotify shows that 1% of an artist’s work generates 90% of revenue, but how much of that revenue goes to artists, the musicians they perform, producers and songwriters? Of the 13,000 catalog that Spotify guarantees is earning over £36,000 a year, does the artist pay him a penny?We don’t know and no one will tell us. . Clearly, the most vulnerable members of our community, Sessions Her musicians, get nothing out of streaming. They are paid for their radio, which has gone down in history aboard a steam train. Songwriters get the thin end of the wedge, even though they produce work. Producers, sometimes neatly paid upfront, seem to be indulging in accounting nightmares to receive the backend. but it won’t last forever. Nothing lasts longer than royalties…they can keep coming in up to 70 years after you die.
Artists continue to be the most likely to get involved in unfair deals. Of course, licensing agreements, distribution and profit-sharing agreements are available, but a realistic overview of the market and the practices of the largest players, the companies, reveal that the most common deals are – Relevant for great value in 2021 – is still a Standard Record Deal and a Recoup Deal. A contract that deducts all advance payments, recording costs, etc. against the artist’s earnings. Coming from a poor environment can lead to strict terms and conditions, but they are very insistent on cash upfront.
Music recorded in the early 20th century did not reward performers. Vested interests in the manufacturing industry have managed to get ahead of copyright law and view plastic printers as creators of recorded performances rather than performers. Every step since then has been a struggle to return power, control and value to the creators of their performances. Artists with a “standard recording deal” approached 18% when they filed. Companies still owed only 90%, leaving 10% for “physical damage” (mythical damage inflicted on vinyl in transit that had no real effect on the CD). rice field. After another 20 years, we still hear labels make 18-25% deals every day.
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One of the greatest impetus for the creation of royalty payment systems was the life of Samuel Coleridge Taylor, a black English composer who died in 1912. His most famous work, “Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast,” has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. However, he died in financial ruin, and the British publishing world made the decision not to let this happen again.As a result, PRS was created. As you can see, loyalty is the lifeblood of a career. They put food on the table and wolves out the door. As such, #BrokenRecord has been campaigning for what it calls “equitable remuneration” (ER) to secure some royalties in the pockets of the entire recording community, regardless of genre or contract. Alternative models that might simply redistribute income, such as the “artist growth model”, are ironically rightly treated by creators. ER, on the other hand, applies broadcast performers to streaming. For the first time, any background performer who’s been working with the label for as long as you can imagine is guaranteed some payout. After all, about 70% of streaming is catalog listening today. We end up being a “catalog”. The music he made when he was 21 can support the music he made when he was 30 or his 50.
I’ve heard some people try to position the “catalog” artists as an old white organization, but “Straight Outta Compton” was released 34 years ago. A “catalog” is simply defined as tracks that have been released for at least 18 months. The promise of having a valuable catalog with an established audience and a decent share of royalties offers the only way to have a realistic and rewarding long-term recording career in the 21st century. , it’s easy to pretend that everything is fine, but if you keep listening, shouldn’t your job keep paying you? Many of the “catalogs” support old and unfair systems. All that needs to be changed. That’s why we’ve been campaigning against “Life-of-Copyright” contracts. These are contracts that last for 70 years. If we can get the rights back in a shorter period of time, we could erode major catalog monopolies, give independents far more market access, and make British artists a little richer.
Economics textbooks teach that unregulated markets tend toward monopolies. It’s clear. Universal has well over his 30% of the market. Although this is a monopoly position, it can also lead to what is called “rent-seeking”. It turns out to be an important term for anyone who likes to pay rent after all, but it means companies gain additional wealth without having to do additional work. Major used to be a manufacturing company with factories, a distribution company with complex logistics, and had his A&R scouts in every metropolitan area. They had very high costs that they no longer had, yet they kept *at least* 80% of the money, still putting the cost of recording against an artist’s income. Excess profits should be in the pocket of every enterprising music maker.
Read this: Why We Started The Black Artist Database
One of my proudest moments with #BrokenRecord was the day Sony announced the forgiveness of its outstanding debt. But what really struck me was when I got a call from the manager of a brass band in New Orleans, most of these guys are now in their mid-60s to his 70s, and sadly he has two passed away. Our work meant that several old men who had dedicated their lives to music and started playing together in the marching band of their local Baptist church would receive royalties from the back catalog for the first time in their lives. He contacted me to thank me. Of course, this change is also behind the Black Lives Matter movement’s glorious achievements, pointing out that black performers are such a large part of music’s history that they have been exploited by unfair practices. doing. Thankfully, Universal and Warner now seem to be trying to do the same.
Solving this problem would allow artists to tour less and be better for the planet. Money can go back to the communities where the music we love comes from. Years of unrewarded exploitation can begin to heal. can thrive. Music cuts across class, region, ethnicity, gender, education, and wealth. It knows no bounds, but we got lost. Mistakes are numerous and date back over a century, but we are back to wild profitability. Indeed, in this new time of self-reflection on our ethics and sustainability, there is no excuse for leaving more great creators behind.
Tom Gray is a musician in the Gomez Band, chairman of Ivers Academy, and a campaigner. twitter
