How The Music Industry Works

[@seds94]

Best advice. Build your brand and wait for labels to knock on your door.

[@malindalewis5715]

Be your own label

[@-BONELESS-]

didnt expect to see Chester, got a tear in my eye :'( RIP Happy to see Serj aswell tho

[@mikeexits]

It makes me wonder if this had anything to do with his death.

[@doobyboy21]

Shit same for me ! I was about t right the same comment !

[@juda-one]

Me fucking neither. Me fucking neither....

[@darylninetofive1736]

Is there a longer version of this? This is really informative,.

[@KyleBeatz]

Dont know if anyone mentioned it but this is from a documentary called Artifact

[@GregLopesArt]

I had no idea things were that way. It’s really mind blowing, I can’t even put it into words. So you create your music, out of talent, passion, whatever... go through the colossal work that usually is recording, releases an album... and end up in debt? Seriously? You only make money out of live shows/concerts? That’s fucked up, man.

[@haaazzziiim]

That’s what the Beatles said. They really made money thru shows. And not really record distribution

[@andrewchaney6218]

Don't let this deter anyone from pursuing a career in music. Artists make the majority of their money through ticket sales to their shows. Album sales have never been the bread and butter for artists. The biggest appeal of high album sales are it will help you sell tickets, pack stadiums, and amphitheaters, and ultimately make enough money for you to be established and no longer need the resources of a record label.

[@Spark9819]

I don't know why YT recommended this video but thank you, really interesting.

[@MissTia777]

Being indie is GREAT! The video didnt mention the artist need the label's permission to have songs on the album!

[@MrJacksonvill]

Well I'am glad I never had to go totally through what most great Artists went through..but they are not showing us this to discourage us..its about the artist being intoune with business..because thats what it is..BUSINESS:

[@Enoc63]

tis why you go inde folks

[@davidcasaleno5025]

they need to post this on worldstar

[@HybridEnergy]

Doesn't matter, the labels have dug themselves a grave and are now dying. It's a shame to see what happened to musicians in the past though. Now there are new problems that have nothing to do with labels , all themselves issues , and once again the musicians gets fucked today. Everyone seems to always either get free music or get paid except for the musician.

[@weswesyallforalltimegreats9498]

I had 2 music classes through high school & was selected all region in choir from the 7th grade until my high school days ended. I had a group and we made music for a long time independent. although it was Rap with a R&B texture, I loved & listened to everything and everyone for inspiration. Especially soul, 80's pop, & all decades of rock music before a lot of my buddies cared to give it a true chance. I say this to say, we as musicians start off just wanting to be heard & acknowledged for we we have to offer. Getting paid changes everything and in my case everyone. I guess I didn't handle the change very well. Now, I am back to just admiring everyone's talents. I would have been crushed by the B/S. I was never the money first kind of musician. I wasn't in the know. I couldn't see past the writing & performing. I was Just like a kid I guess. I miss the camaraderie and the thrill of creating with the fellas. Everyone complimenting each other on the outcome of the music. Like a little locker room. lol. I loved that feeling of actually making a song that was appreciated at the end of the day by people who had nothing to do with the creative process. You never know how many will love or hate it. You think, this song will change everything & it doesn't. What do you do? Well...You make another song. Taking advantage of me wouldn't have been impossible. i thought all you needed was passion, talent, & a will to win. I was too "Right brain dependent." ✌& Love, 👑WES

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

I don't know why, but I've known this information for as long as I can remember. Musicians really only continued making albums for 2 reasons: 1. They unknowingly signed a multi-album contract. 2. To advertise their concert tours, which is where the real money is made. You have to be hugely successful to do something like Axl Rose or The Beatles and just not tour for many years. Nobody who knew the industry could understand Lars Ulrich's stance on Napster and Music Piracy.

[@MarionFiedlerMusic]

Thanks for sharing this!!! I hope more people will watch it. The music business is a crazy playground for talented people. It ´s tough...

[@JM-kp1fg]

It's the devils playground look at the video artists that sold thier souls. Katy Perry Eminem, others pay attention. I was signed to vibe addictions entertainment. I had to pay the producer for my time in the studio. And I was on the contract.

[@agthaog1986]

wow this should be spoken on alot more

[@MegaKarume]

Eye opener. Thank you.

[@AmalgamationMusic]

thanks for these worthwhile, yet alarming insights. as a musical artist, I will take note.

[@bhuvanchandv666]

where's the next part ..? please share the link

[@neaituppi7306]

I can't believe Irving Azoff is talking about the artists being screwed.

[@kushalbhattacharjee2252]

It broke my heart

[@huss2600]

This is definetly true

[@SneakyDSP]

I'm grateful to be aware of this now. I got a lot of questions now to ask if I get signed

[@MrJacksonvill]

We Artists should care about the business,because they do..I mean the suits who set this gig up..so as much as we care about our Art..we should care about the business aspect of it as well..and try to F.. the gatekeepers..and have them come in when they can really do something for you.but creating great art..and creating great material..like how they sell us burgers.. we need to eat..and we need music.So lets make those people aware of the business aspect of t.

[@rockleah18]

This is why I fucking DESPISE Simon Cowell. He uses all of those contests such as X Factor to trick young artists, obviously inexperienced in the music business, into contracts with his label Sony/Syco, which is the worst label tbh. Sony (Syco is a division of Sony) is fucking trash and uses its artists and tries to slander them when they try to leave. Just imagine young artists getting fucked over by this shit! The youngest that can audition is like 13 on X Factor, no limits on America's or Britain's Got Talent, and they lowered the age on American Idol to 15 (when it was on, thank God that's over). Some artists under Sony include Michael Jackson, Ke$ha, and One Direction. Sony was definitely behind a lot of shady things that happened to MJ including his slander in the press because he left their label, they didn't allow Ke$ha to WORK WITH SOMEONE ELSE (THAT'S ALL SHE WANTED!!!) because Dr. Luke was raping her so she went to court, and they are allowing the defamation of 1D in the media all the time while all of their philanthropic accomplishments get BARELY any press, if that (there are rumors that 1D are leaving the label and I don't blame them because they toured for like 6 years straight, 3 years UK & USA and 3 years Worldwide I believe, with only Christmas & New Year's as break when they were still young teens/early 20s!!!). They don't listen to the what the fans want, they listen to what their fucking rigid product model says sells. This is only what I know of Sony, but I'm damn sure every other label is the fucking same.

[@BossChronicles]

Wow love this clip is this from a documentary ? Where can I watch the full video ?

[@scootsmcgee77]

It's from 30 Seconds to Mars' documentary, Artifact which should be on Netflix now. okmagazine.com/meet-the-stars/jared-leto-artifact-new-on-netflix/

[@jaypritchett6846]

I LOVE Artifact!!! I have the DVD on the shelf right above me, the poster on my wall, and I have an Artifact shirt!!! ;)

[@Jim1971a]

One of my favorite artists said that when her album went platinum, her label sent her a huge bouquet of flowers. When she got her earnings/expense statement, they charged her for the flowers they sent her!

[@jondough3177]

& to add insult to injury, TUNESAT.COM was started b/c a guy who figured that his PRO (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) was under reporting his royalties. So he hired a computer wiz to put a digital fingerprint on his music, & found an 80% discrepancy. That means they told him he made a $1M, but actually he made closer to $1.8M, that means that even the fucking PRO is robbing you, keeping damn near 1/2 the fucking money!!! SESAC says its an invaluable piece of software while ASCAP to this day has said that they fail recognize TUNESAT as credible. What I don't understand is why something like TUNESAT isn't just automatically standardized, so the artist can check, for THEMSELVES to see if the PRO is reporting accurately. B/c there is currently no checks & balances for PROs, people just accept w/e the PRO tells them as truth ...

[@derekirons2615]

Angelic Horror THEN SOMEONE FORM A NEW UNION OR SOFTWARE TO MAKE SURE NONE OF THESE SCUMBAGS ON THE BUSINESS SIDE GET AWAY WITH STEALING OUR MONEY!

[@alwaysapplypressure2477]

We appreciate you

[@oholm09]

Like I asked myself go independent I'm an musician entrepreneur

[@TutorialeProAudio]

Does anyone know what the documentary is?

[@OddOneOut665]

Artifact

[@ergnoor3551]

I must tell you one simple thing - that's a true nature of business. Music Industry is not unique. Hierarchical structures motivated by money (fracture of it actually, on every level of the hierarchical pyramid) and led with numbers and figures (KPIs) - so most employes don't really understand What they're doing. Bosses at the top are those who benefit and they never mess with common people...what's strange though - we usually admire those people. Just wanted to clarify.

[@neemaf829]

FACTS!

[@hughjass1280]

This is the cold hearted truth, record labels don't care about art at all, they just care about how much money they can make off of it. The disheartening factor comes from the fact that most of what people love to listen to and experience is the product of business and not the product of sharing music.

[@Illuminatethedark_]

HOLLYWOOD HERE I COME!🎶🎵

[@DREGOTDREAMS]

RIP CHESTER

[@xxwantedxx]

and now the very same people are complaining about how youtube and streaming are ruining the industry!!! lol music "industry" hypocrisy 101 this is exactly why a lot of bands have really short life spans in today's world.

[@sanjam.4251]

That's how it is in general. You work in company, CEO use your knowledge so you make for him a good product he can sell. When he sells it, he got all the money in his pocket. Now he just have to decide how much is he willing to pay you.

[@Rodoadrenalina]

And that's why I'm into mixing and recording, gimme money I don't care if you have a contract :v

[@LokeybeatsInstrumentals]

The harsh truth :s

[@madelaw1362]

Scott McMahon, where can I find the full length documentary?

[@scootsmcgee77]

+Arthur Murray it's on Amazon at this link: amzn.to/1UpnB7t

[@jbthegrinder]

wow , this is good info

[@OffBrandBrooklynite]

Bro on your claim that you haven't heard of a label that doesn't screw the artists, try Monstercat

[@bassbanger87]

What's the difference with them?

[@Joe-bw2ew]

Music business is like a parent of a child movie star. When kid grows up, he or she is broke.

[@Bangaly16kaba]

Whoa, how the fuck you spend 300,000 on recording, that must be some a

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

Plot twist, the labels often own the studios so obviously they jack up the prices. But really, if you're at a studio to work on an album you're going to spend a lot of time in there and studio time is pretty pricey.

[@justiceboy4799]

i agree is ridiculous

[@AzraeltheRightous]

I mean, sure you are going to spend a lot of time there, but you should only be there to record (almost) finalized songs. Sounds like you'd spend weeks or a few month there xP

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

AzraeltheRightous Many songs have to be reworked in the studio, not to mention that it may take several hundred takes to get something right. How many songs end up cut from the album? How many songs are written but never finished in the studio? I actually looked it up and it turns out that it's not unfeasible for big production studios to charge 20k per track. A 10 song album would cost 200k.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

superblonde Why bother questioning my reasoning if you already provided the correct explanation for it?

[@brennen22359]

Is there a video on how the record industry works with the radio industry? The whole thing, from record to radio is a sham. Ever wonder why there are 50 thousand recording artists and only 300-500 songs in your daily radio rotation?

[@steviequinn3345]

I'm pretty sure artist get a huge cut of ticket sales for live shows. Say you did a 30 show tour, with an average attendance of 2k people paying £40 a ticket. That's nearly £2.5m! Not saying it's right. Just pointing it out. I'm using fairly conservative figures for ticket prices too which have become extortionate!

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

Because it's the only way to make money. CD sales to an artist are pretty much generating buzz for the live shows. In the old days a lot of bands wouldn't even tour, just crank out albums on a yearly basis. Today they release an album in between 4-5 tours.

[@SneakyDSP]

Stephen Quinn it's actually the only place where they get money (if they didn't sign the contract ;))

[@CamRebires]

Rest in peace, Chester

[@brianbranham1977]

With the drastic changes in the way music is bought and consumed I just assumed that everything else remotely connected with the industry would inevitably be forced into drastic change as well. For better or worse....but I hoped it would be better on the artists end. Is this not the case ? I mean damn ...I figured the album itself would eventually disappear and things we be more oriented around releasing songs.

[@NICKPAYNEMUSIC]

Sheesh

[@Joe-bw2ew]

What's Difference between a Pimp and a Record company? ................. 🤔

[@thefactsaccordingtogabbie149]

So.......the rich and famous millionaires really ain't all that rich? and have net worth worth 100 million dollars. Haha no surprise I don't let the fame, money, clothes and glam fool me.

[@Dzanarika1]

I know, why would anybody want to be famous, where you loose your privacy and freedom. You must be so lost and pathetic to want to loose ghe most precious things.

[@justiceboy4799]

u should add also without much earnings

[@justiceboy4799]

what if the artiste dont record??they are part of the job too???? i thought they pay the artise for the video but in the end is the artiste paying them wtf?????if is something like that i believe if i perform on the streetsi will earn more money than working with a record label with such a shitty pay

[@treysmith1792]

In Russ we trust

[@tigerscott2966]

Music today is trashy and uninspiring, but artists can release their music in digital format...

[@GraceSaren]

huh...........

[@Oelrock_dk]

Who the f.. would sign a deal like that , total rib off … big joke!

[@astronaut6518]

My only question is how the fuck is Justin Bieber making so much ?

[@robertoflamingo]

This documentary preview gives the wrong idea using examples and facts that seem true, but are blown out of proportion. The music industry is not rigged to leave the artists millions of dollars in debt. Like WHO IN THE FUCK IS STUPID ENOUGH TO MAKE THAT KIND OF DEAL? Any artist who gets screwed over in the music business deserves to stick to being a musician, but needs to work on being an artist so that when they perform in the studio or on stage they don't let themselves get screwed over and make shitty deals.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

With almost every thing in life being rigged, why would you believe that the music industry isn't?

[@SneakyDSP]

Robert Garza wow, you live in a very beautiful world with rainbows lol. Just in sports, owners make 60% of the profits over players getting hit and injured... Well music business is even worst. We talk about 90% of the profits

[@richellereynolds881]

If 10% of your or we're going to be taken out for damage records during shipping would you sign it. The signer has some responsibility here come on and it does not written in plain English in the contract then it cannot be enforced so I don't really understand what the complication is here. Perhaps you have artists that don't know how to make a deal or don't know how to come out on top like Donald Trump we have hungry desperate people signing deals that sucks. Don't blame the reference record companies that won't help. Taking responsibility means taking charge making things better

[@jacques-henrihervemahicka8195]

That's some bullshit ! When you sign to a label you have an advance and you have a budget which are two different things. Then once the record label has recouped your advance they won't take you half the price of anything. If they needed to take half of something it means you're in coproduction and you would have to pay half the prize of the budget, when the budget was assigned. And also Artists make a lot of Money if they're smart with their publishing and shit. Even if at the end of the day you down make a lot of Money out of the sales (which is normal if ou didn't paid for the production) you're certainly not in dept and you still got the show/publishing Money. Stupid Artists sign Stupid contracts stop hating on record labels.

[@paulrodriguez173]

+Jacques-Henri Hervé Mahicka Most of the deals now from labels are 360 deals. They take part of everything.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

But the labels wrote "the stupid" contracts. You criticize the one who signs it out of naïveté but support the con artist who drafted it?