LINER NOTE #17

THE BIG BIZ

Came across a blog recently about how money works in the music biz these days. This isn't that different from how it was in the days before MP3s, which just goes to show you how little has changed in these big companies.

http://www.theroot.com/views/how-much-do-you-musicians-really-make?page=0,1&GT1=38002

(Look below in "comments" for the live link)

A truism from the 80s was that 80% of bands who signed a major label deal ended up in hock to the record company. What this often meant was a kind of indentured servitude, since you were still under contract, which meant you couldn't work for anyone else as a musician. Back to washing cars and mowing lawns. People always treated getting a big contract like it was the goal, but for four out of five bands who "made it" that far, it was the end of their careers. I have the guys in the band talk about this a bit. The "income calculator" at the link above shows that probably hasn't changed...

COOL STUFF ON THE INTERNET

In the other cool stuff I saw on the Internet category, Retro Virus Records advertised recently on DGC through Project Wonderful. I clicked through to see what they were all about and how cool is this? Punk, goth, industrial... and they came out recently with a Glow in the Dark vinyl album that is "The Worst Music Dracula Ever Heard." (You get a CD in the package, too.) A mere $25 including shipping for the vinyl album and CD. That is just plain cool. Unfortunately, they are no longer around since this Liner Note was originally published.