I started a business in my early twenties to address everything she mentioned in this speech.
It failed.
If artists are slaves to the system, then it's a very good system. In my experience there's still a strong Stockholm Syndrome between artists and "the industry." Many young musicians still think they will sign a deal, get fronted a million dollars, and go right on tour across the country. It's a real shame, but I couldn't convince them to sign with a small company focused on leveraging the Internet and file sharing.
I came close, but they all ended up wanting that "shot."
I still have ideas after some years about how to do it now... but it's a matter of hearts and minds. The idea of the mythical "record label," is still deeply ingrained in our culture. If you can convince the artists to go grass-roots rather than over-night success then you might have something. If there are any artists (or interested parties) reading, get in touch.
How much did you know about the industry? Did your company know any promoters or booking agents? Could you get a band that signed up to do business with your company an opening slot on a tour? Could you get them a write-up in a music magazine? Did you know where to send them when they got kicked out of their practice space?
See, that's the thing. Music isn't just distribution of content on the Internet. There's a lot of other shit going on.
I do know a lot about the industry. I was an audio engineer and session musician at the time myself. I knew people and had lots of friends in various places. That wasn't the problem.
I said "levaraging the Internet and file sharing." That's an intentionally simplistic description of what I was up to. There was much more to it that I just didn't feel the need to go into to make my point.
Yeah. A lot of punk, folk, and electronic bands are DIYers and that's been around for a long time. Bands like Fugazi are a great example of finding success outside of the mainstream industry.
I have friends who run indie labels and they do pretty good for themselves.
But the kind of success Courtney Love is talking about doesn't happen on a DIY budget. She wants to get a better deal for artists at her level, but I don't see that happening. There's no one for her to negotiate with and that gives the majors a lot of leverage. The kind of fame that artists who want to be on the same level as Courtney dream about costs a lot of money. Majors are the loan sharks who have that kind of money.
Could there be a major label that doesn't give its artists such crappy deals? I like to think so, but it's a hard problem. One I've tried to solve once and failed (ah, youthful ambition)... but one I'd take another stab at if I get the chance.
It failed.
If artists are slaves to the system, then it's a very good system. In my experience there's still a strong Stockholm Syndrome between artists and "the industry." Many young musicians still think they will sign a deal, get fronted a million dollars, and go right on tour across the country. It's a real shame, but I couldn't convince them to sign with a small company focused on leveraging the Internet and file sharing.
I came close, but they all ended up wanting that "shot."
I still have ideas after some years about how to do it now... but it's a matter of hearts and minds. The idea of the mythical "record label," is still deeply ingrained in our culture. If you can convince the artists to go grass-roots rather than over-night success then you might have something. If there are any artists (or interested parties) reading, get in touch.