For many, it is common knowledge the “music industry” is “evil”, cares as much for artists as a lion does a dying gazelle, and that record labels, especially the majors, are synonymous with the four horsemen – or may even be a direct machination of the unspoken one himself. Exploitative, manipulative, conniving, devious, deceiving – they are not to be trusted. And Record Contracts, well, if Record Labels embody the devil – then Record Contracts are that which chains an artists immortal soul to the netherworld. This is clearly an exaggeration, they can´t be that bad – I mean, they at least make artists rich and famous. Well, famous maybe – but rich? Is this another common sublimation which needs evaluation?

The above one sided polemic finds support in an excellent article written by a rather well respected and renowned veteran of the music industry. Except he, Steve Albini, likens the process of signing a major Record Deal, with “a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit”. On one side of the trench is a “faceless industry lackey holding a fountain pen” and the other, a collection of eager artists wanting to sign the contract. The lackey shouts “go” and the in they plunge, scrambling and fighting to reach the other side.
Now think what you will about the Label structure, but before you make up your mind, read this article!

The Problem With Music by Steve Albini

This article will give new insights into the traditional A&R structure, the Deal Signing process as well as factual evidence proving how many Record Deals just dont pay out. Read it! Espcially if you are one of those who measures success as synonymous with being signed by a major label.

This clip is a trailer for a film created in 2006 called “Before the music dies”. A documentary, it gives provocative insights into the music industry as it is today. It tells the story a music industry split in two – “the homogenous corporate product which is spoon fed to consumers, and the diverse independent music that finds devoted fans online and at clubs across the country”. The film features engaging interviews with artists, music industry insiders, critics and fans who all tell of their own unique experiences of two aspects of an industry which are fundamentally at odds. It brings out well the contrasting ideologies of the mainstream and the independent, and hints towards the political rammifications of both outlooks. The film comes highly recommended. Find out more about the film, or purchase it at www.beforethemusicdies.com.

Pick the band is an interesting concept: it is the first fan run label.  It is a label which relies heavily on the participation and collaboration of the music community to make decisions. It is loosely a talent contest featuring unsigned bands from various locations within the US (it is not global yet), and is orientated around Rock. Fans get to vote on which bands continue to the next stage of the competition, their favourite single, create music videos and design merchandise and album artwork. It invites fans to participate by provide designs, video concepts, song ideas, song title and tour stops. Pick the band really has embraced the possibilities for collaboration that the internet provides; it is an archetypal music 2.0 (or 3.0?) website.

This is a website which understands the weaknesses of the old record label structure and is attempting to redefine, it its own way, what the term record label means within a new music environment. However, it does incorporate some of the tendencies that Record Labels are known, and sometimes criticised, for. It does require Bands to surrender a deal of control over their music, although now it is the fans who influence decisions rather than production managers. If anyone should affect the decision on which t-shirt the band should use, what song they should release as a single, how their video should look, it should be the fans, right? This raises an interesting question though – is the role of a band to satisfy their fan base or to make music on their own terms?  Shouldn´t bands just “do their own thing” and collect fans based on their evolving individuality? It is their music, after all – they should do with it as they please.  What does everyone else think about this idea?