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Diversify. It’s not either or.
Makes sense to me.
But it seems like there has to be certain trends that we could all agree will never be good long term for the artist. And I’m speaking more to the career musician. Not the people who have posted they just enjoy doing it whether the get paid or not. Those people don’t really need to worry about this, if income is not a primary goal. If you are willing to give your music away for free for the fun of hearing it on TV or in a youtube video then there will always be a market for what you do. I’m worried about whether or not I have a sustainable career. And I know there are no definite answers.
The problem with following trends is that trends change!
To be honest, many large multinational corporations have no long-term plans for success. Most of the managers cannot see that far into the future. Many of them live on a quarter-to-quarter basis. Corporations are just like the average lower class to middle class citizen; they live paycheck to paycheck.
Career musicians have been disrupted. People that made millions of dollars a year have been forced to embrace new business models in order to survive. Most careers outside of music have been negatively impacted as a result of the rapid changes in finance, technology, and advertisement.
One skill that composers need is the ability to adapt. The ability to hedge one’s bets and participate in short-term, mid-term, and long-term gains will bear the most fruit. One business model that seems exploitative could become the new norm. A tried and true business model could become obsolete. Be vigilant and continue to work hard.
Friends don’t let friends read Desire Inspires’ posts.
Derek works at one of the big libraries and is a deep well of knowledge. I think his points here put this model in perspective. http://www.gearslutz.com/board/9975900-post6.html
Friends don’t let friends read Desire Inspires’ posts.
HAHA! That was funny! 😀
Friends don’t let friends read Desire Inspires’ posts.
Time to get better friends then. 🙂
But on a serious note, the developments around the performance free model will be interesting to see. I hope that composers that participate will not be hurt by it.
Why would someone not want to be in a PRO?
I have heard from a couple people who work in music licensing clearances that it is cheaper for a network and more profitable for the composer to bypass PRO’s. After a dollar is pushed through the PRO’s formula, a significant amount is spilling over to the Max Martins of the world because of the “weight” variable. So, the network can either pay the royalties + Max Martin tax thru a PRO, or negotiate directly with the writer and offer them something more than what they would receive from a PRO but less than the royalty + MM tax.
The same thing happens with the tour industry. A certain percentage of ticket sales are paid to PROs on every performance that takes place in venues across the U.S. that has a license, yet royalties are only the top 200 grossing tours.
oops,
*that have blanket licenseFor part-timers and wannabes I suppose they just see “opportunity.”
99.9% of composers never have and never willexperience the kind of pay days that you talk about. You’ve heard DI’s point of view, basically ” So, when you say to them that “our way of life” is being threatened they don’t get it, because it never was their way of life.Wait a minute. I said “extra money is extra money.”?