DISQUS

synchronicity · 1 year ago

This is a exactly what the music industry needs - a shake up of the hegemony that the majors have exerted over the digital music landscape and their abominal payment scheme of muscians. It still boggles the mind when you hear stories like in 1991 when Q-Tip from a Tribe called quest who was only getting $1.12 per ($20) album he sold - yet had to pay back all of the money the group had spent on making and producing the album, manager fees and then the 4 music videos they were required to make. That year the album sold 1.5 million copies, going platnium, yet he was living at home on his moms couch after only making a grand total of $14 000 - less than if he'd worked at a convenience store. This scenario isn't uncommon. Many artists come out of the process owing money to the labels. And they don't even own the music they produced, unlike book publishers who own their books and license them to publishers.

It's great now that the artists are now finally standing up and geting a fair share of what they deserve. The decline in the major record companies control over the industry could be the best thing to ever happen to music.