“Hand In My Pocket” – 360 Record Deals Look To Become The Norm
DIGITAL NEWS By TC on April 21, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Ask any respectable artist (read: one with a likely career in the industry) about a 360 record deal and they’ll tell you that it’s nothing short of a pact with the devil. For decades, labels have charged copious amounts of dollars for recording, manufacturing and distributing albums, but the show money was always their bread and butter. But according to Edgar Bronfman, CEO of Warner Music Group, the option to have the label in your pocket every turn of the way is no longer an option — it’s become mandatory.
Bronfman argued to a hostile crowd that it doesn’t make sense for labels to pour money into artist development when CD sales, their primary source of revenue, continue to decline (although he did say that digital sales now make up 20% of their revenue). Without other ways to make money from an artist, he said, they wouldn’t continue to promote artists.
What all this boils down to is record labels becoming increasingly disconsolate that they’re living in a world where artists are growing less dependent on them. Does a Drake or U-N-I need a record label to give away free music at one of their shows or online?
Let’s be real here.
Artists are accomplishing more and more without the security blanket of a major corporation so who’s going to feel pressured to split every slice of the pie with a company that can’t even promote their product to the fullest extent of their dollar?
Terry McBride explains the 360 deal in brief detail.
And as for artist development, Mr. Bronfman, I believe Curren$y said it best the other day:
When there’s no market for the bullshit, the labels will stop signing the bullshit, packaging the bullshit, shipping the bullshit…and filling the shelves with bullshit!
Take notes Mr. Major Record Label USA and act like you have the power to change things. Signing artists whose first hit will obviously be their only hit, got you in this mess to begin with.
“360″ Music Deal Becomes Mandantory As Labels Prep For Free Music [Tech Crunch]
Posted in DIGITAL NEWS, GENERAL, SMOKE BREAK, THE NEW MODEL, Videos — Tags: 360 Record Deals
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21 Comments
More power to the new revolution!!!! Let the talent speak and the net shall do the rest.
That makes alot of sense.
Take notes Mr. Major Record Label USA and act like you have the power to change things. Singing artists whose first hit is will obviously be there only hit, got you in this mess to begin with.
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Amen brotha.
Industry Rule #4080
Cocaine Blunts just did a great piece that touches on the 360 Deal. It’s worth a look….
http://www.cocaineblunts.com/blunts/?p=2426#more-2426
Industry Rule #4080
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lol
360 deals aint that serious ctually… the folks who benefit from ‘em the most (at least the ones being brokered these days) are the labels.
Artists still get jerked, largely for 3 reasons:
1) For an artist to truly leverage all their revenue streams, they need to own their catalog. A good 90% still don’t. (whenever I try to get music for a commercial I’m working on, I never talk to the artist or their reps. Why? They don’t own their own content. I talk to the publishing arm of the label because they own that ish. Quite often, artists don’t know their stuff’s in a commercial until they see it on TV.
2) Artists cant tour. I can’t name 10 hiphop/urban artists that i’d pay $20 to see live anywhere for any reason because so many of ‘em are so bad on stage and such bad public speakers.
A good chuck of a 360 deal’s value is in leveraging live appearances, shows, corporate events, etc… when you can’t leverage that angle due to a lack of polish/focus/ability, then your cut shrinks.
Hearing Bronfman argue that it doesn’t make sense for labels to pour money into artist development is stupid because that’s precisely why these artists are so bad live and why they have such a short lifespan.
4) Volume aint Value. I love Crooked I. Dude gave away more music in an 18 month span than LL Cool J recorded in his whole career at Def Jam. And what’s it done for him? Any commercial endorsements? Big time deals of any sort?
No, for all his work, he’s hooked up with 3 other cats in the same/worse situation than him. And i dig their work too.
The innernuts got these junior walkers fooled into playin’ shotgun when in truth, the game still belongs to the snipers. Take my fave little big man to ever do it:
Prince will sue a 3 year old for passing around his old outtakes on fisher/price gear, but look how much his latest album sold. Look at little man’s appearances on major media. (he got more shine than Jay did on Kingdom Come for a fraction of the outlay.) Look at Prince’s exclusive Target outlet arrangement. (genius.)
Prince is a one man 360 deal and has been for the last 15 years. He got that from (1) owning/fighting to own his stuff (2) being great live/knowing how to tour (3) artistic craftsmanship—no ringtone-dance-of-the-moment bs here (4) knowing his biz inside and out.
Cats need to follow the lead of Prince, Ani DiFranco and others who’ve always known how this game works insteada waitin’ for the game to keep workin’ ‘em over.
I done said it before, i’ll say it again:
“we got options, people. we got us some options.”
@ Conseco: Too real talk!!!
Yep. BC has it right with his Prince example.
The man is an absolute genius.
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Back before he began selling his work online (and this was long before anyone was doing it – including Apple), I knew the Internet to be the way of the future. I also understood and would encourage artists to LEAVE the majors if they had a solid fan base, were already rich, and were not afraid to pay for everything themselves. Because I always thought (even as someone in the industry), “Why would you continue to work for small royalty checks if you truly did not have to?”
The problem is that most artists (even with millions upon millions) cringe at the thought of paying for their own videos out of pocket (but would easily spend 3x as much on one ride), hiring someone to do their promotions, putting together tours, etc.
Let me tell you… it is not that difficult. But acts are too focused upon the old adage of, “Let me just be an artist.”
Yeah, and let a company make you their slave along the way?
Prince got it right. He was not afraid of the hard work and it has paid off tremendously.
While he does not own the masters to his biggest hits (Warner just is not a company to give those types of things up), he owns everything now, runs everything now, etc.
I cringe every time I speak with an artist who has a true and solid fan base in which to push records (i.e. records SOLD), play to (shows/concerts)… and the idiots sign with a label… and then push the same amount of units… or even less after signing. Then they get online, YouTube, print media, etc, and claim how they were jerked, they made less money than before, etc, etc.
An act just did the above and I actually called their manager an idiot to his face. They will push exactly the same amount of units… yet have to split it more ways.
Sheer stupidity.
Percy Miller was a genius at this angle. 80/20 split – 20 going to Priority for distribution ONLY. He never slept, but he took care of all ads, promotion, marketing… everything out of his own pocket. And look at what that man accomplished.
But too many artists do not wish to put in the work that he did. The man NEVER stopped, bloodshot eyes not from smoking, but from a lack of sleep.
That is the drive that is necessary. Nothing comes without hard work, and that is exactly why artists continue to be broke.
Ah… the music industry. Let me tell you aspiring acts (and established ones who come through)… do it YOURSELF IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT FINANCIALLY. Unfortunately, most cannot because of buying chains, cars, and blowing money (I do not pause).
I would rather spend the money it costs to make a decent video that BET and MTV will put into rotation than buy a new car. Thus I have no sympathy for artists who get played time and time again.
To many artist get caught up in the glitz and they don’t learn the business until they get jerked on their deal. BC excellent points
anybody from the hood with no money is going to sign away there life for $200,000 people never think long term until they fuck up… Look at the lox, any bad boy artist, max b, etc… Then they get the $200,000 have to pay $80,000 in taxes and they buy a car and some clothes and jewels are lucky if they got $30,000 left… Not realizing that unless they tour succesfully this will be there only income for a cpl years…
but we as fans hate on rappers if they pull up to a show in a scion with a cubic zirconium chain and talk about how broke they are if all there money is in the bank and not on there necks. It’s a vicious cycle…
@Gz Up
That is a VERY valid point… for new artists.
For established acts that have a loyal fan base and strong touring power… once you fulfill your contractual obligations…
Bounce and do it the Prince (and as BC pointed out) and Ani DiFranco way.
An act just did the above and I actually called their manager an idiot to his face. They will push exactly the same amount of units… yet have to split it more ways.
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sounds like the Clipse…
most artists who care about their craft usually have one ( or several) self-financed videos. “let’s get this paper” did wonders for Rich Boy
I feel you BC, but the one thing you left out about “do it yourself” model, is no matter how much, artists can not financially back themselves.
These labels, are tied to these companies, (Clear Channel, CBS, Viacom) etc.
That’s the only reason “do it yourself” will never work. It’s like trying to prove that the Illuminati exists. Myself, as an artist I UNDERSTAND, but theres somethings that can’t be fought. And me willing to do these things on my own? I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet. Call me a coward, call me a dumbass. But when I grew up saying “I wanted to be an artist” I did, the whole 9, not just becoming a musician.
@ MONEY MAKIN
No disrespect intended (at all), but tell that to Too Short, E40, Cash Money (Baby and Slim), No Limit (P), etc.
Those men turned absolutely nothing into amazing empires, wealth, and/or careers with longevity.
And they all did it at a time when it was much more difficult (the cost to press cassettes and CDs was much higher than today). All of the things you HAD to pay for back then, with the Internet, most you can obtain for free now.
If you need some advice, perhaps I can help.
I was there firsthand with all of the abovementioned.
Midas Touch
Ya’ll were dropping jewels in here……good advice people!
if you only us rappers knew how to turn money into more money
like the whites do…
Yo TRA, is that still an option now-a-days? For a new artist lets say, who has a strong following or whatever, can they do what P did? 80/20? That sounds like the BEST way to go.. Or is that long gone with the internet age?
This entry was great, but the comments were even more interesting!
“I believe Curren$y said it best the other day: When there’s no market for the bullshit…” ~~ Are you joking? yeah. Blame the masses. Quit reinforce the religio-mythical superstition of a ‘free market.’ (Read “All Consuming Images” or “Amusing the Million.”) Images create desire, corporation create mass images, thus mass desire. We can do our work/art AND call these Captains of Mediocrity out! Have a Nice Day. jb