Another example of famous artists who are realising how labels short change them of royalties and are making some noise about it.
This type of case is notoriously difficult to prove even though many musicians at least have an inkling that it is taking place.
Best of luck to Cher as she attacks this.
Visit this link for more of the story.
via Techdirt
The guys at Techdirt have long been supporters of new and creative music business ideas.
Lately the Music Label Warner has been discussing a voluntary license for ISP’s to pay that covers the use of downloaded music on their networks.
The latest Techdirt article Bags out Warner for defending their idea
I really appreciate the thought that Techdirt has put into their discussion -I’m not sure how comfortable I feel about all musicians giving their music away for free though, for now though, its an exciting time to be in music.
Here it is in a nutshell.
The record companies have shafted artists for years. Now as the online world starts to make the independent artist more viable, they are running scared. Let me spell it out for you, for some of the non-reading in between the line readers, the recording industry has made money on artists. The artists have gone broke.
Best example I have is the band called - Extreme. Remember them? Late 80’s, early 90’s band. Had that hit – “More Then Words“. Big time crossover #1 hit. Well when they signed their contract, they yes,screwed themselves. In defense of the band, when you have been out there for years busting your a$$ to make it – and some major label comes calling, your forget allot of what you learned on the road on your own time. Now of the 2.5 million albums they sold, the didn’t make a dime. It’s a fact. Research it if you must. They were (personally) playing music and having a great time and on top of the world. They were in fact (personally) though - broke. The record company was making all the money.
Yes, the were able to make money on the touring, and merchandising, but basically that was the last hurrah for the record industry. The last rape so to speak. Artists have now gotten wiser. Smarter. Bands have one or two “Rex Dixon’s” in them now. That have learned from the mistakes made already.Technically Speaking, if you are a musician in a band, you need to go it on your own. You really need to be independent. It does work as long as you have your band’s version of “Rex Dixon” handling your business.
thanks to http://rexdixon.wordpress.com/ for today’s post.