(not) getting a record deal

A question that we often get asked is if our goal is to get signed to a record deal. I think most people would expect the answer to be “yes,” but in reality it’s not that simple.

Bob Lefsetz recently wrote this article about the need for record labels to cut costs if they’re going to be competitive (or even stay in business). Here are some highlights of that article:

Major labels provided the capital for production. And controlled distribution. For this, they extracted a pretty penny. Which they made back because they controlled exposure too, and only what they signed sold.

But now anybody can make a record and sell it on the Internet. The key isn’t finding out how to put the genie back in the bottle, how to make the major labels dominant today, but to figure out what your niche is and how to compete!

Used to be that the only way to make serious money as a musician was to be on a major label, and if you were one of the stars of the label you sold units by the tonnage. Today more and more people are finding out about new acts online or through word of mouth rather than the traditional radio/tv methods. This creates more opportunity for a band to survive without the help of a major label.

Your revenues come from recorded music sales, live gigs, merch and any sponsorships/endorsements/advertising you choose to do. LOOK AT IT THIS WAY! You have YOUR OWN 360 deal. Recorded music revenue is just part of the pie. And chances are recorded music is not driving touring sales, but vice versa.

Today we get 100% of the money that we make when we play a show, sell a CD, t-shirt, etc. The struggle is to get more exposure so the amount of people supporting our band increases. Think of it like a small business owner; if you can develop a customer base that supports your business/service you can be self employed and make a decent living.

If we were to sign a record deal it would be like that same small business owner accepting money from an investor. Sure we’d have more resources available to market our product, but now someone else is getting a big cut of any money that the band brings in. At the end of the day it’s only worth it if the added resources puts more money in your pocket long term.

Great music can still be made. And good stuff is sold by word of mouth. Which has the advantage of being instant and vast on the Internet. You can’t control the public the way you used to be able to, you can’t manipulate the consumer. Quality is the start, a relationship is second and managing this connection is third. Most of this requires sweat equity more than cash. Start perspiring.

We’re not anti-record deal, but it would have to be a deal that is profitable for us. Otherwise, we may as well keep working hard on our own to make a living doing what we love.