[randxx]

Back in the day, I paid for music when I went to the store and bought a CD. These days, I pay for music every month of every year, whether I listen to music from that service or not.

Every week I check out new releases and see albums from bands and there are no descriptions of either. What do labels really do? Where's the marketing?

There's still enough money flowing from listeners into the music eco-system, but the player's aren't doing their job.

No sympathy. At all.

[joesmo]

I really do not understand why artists sell their work to record labels anymore. Back in the days, they would in theory get some marketing and promotion out of it in addition to the all-important distribution. Now that distribution is practically free and the most successful artists promote themselves (through touring and other means) what is the point of working with record labels? Being a musician myself, it is perplexing to me.

Without the record label, the artist can negotiate way better deals and doesn't have to pay over 90% to record labels that just don't care about them. Does Spotify not negotiate with individual artists? I wouldn't be surprised and that would explain a lot of this. Still, there are many other ways of distribution and promotion that artists could seek out with the 90%+ of the earnings they're no longer giving up.

As far as I can tell, it no longer matters to most artists' financial standing if listeners are obtaining their music legally or by piracy since the bottom line is essentially the same (asymptotical to zero) for all but the most successful musicians.

[bdcravens]

Up front money and access. Studio time is expensive. Imagine working every day at your crappy job, saving up enough time to put together some tracks, struggling with getting people to your YouTube channel or getting your songs a single play on the radio at 3am. Someone comes along with a $50K advance check, or you can continue to struggle and possibly one day control your destiny.

Imagine Eminem had remained independent, and never signed with Interscope (parent of Aftermath). He'd have a following, but not be the hundred millionaire. Look at Tech N9ne - got in the music game the same time as Eminem, has his own label, and is reasonably successful. However, he doesn't get the same venues, only last year got on national television, and struggles to get the big name collaborations. (His latest album was hyped to have a collaboration with Eminem after a couple years of trying, and if you listen to it, it's obvious that it was an afterthought for Eminem, definitely not his A-game)

[aikah]

> What do labels really do?

They hold the rights to at least 60 years of content.

> No sympathy. At all.

For whom?

[josteink]

60 years worth of content, where significant amounts should have been public domain already, had not said industry corrupted copyright law to make copyright perpetual, making it go against its very own intention.

Yeah. No sympathy.