Post 2344848 by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
(DIR) More posts by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
(DIR) Post #2307904 by emsenn@mastodon.social
2018-12-26T15:34:42Z
7 likes, 12 repeats
I used to run a music label and here's some numbers from 2012 to 2016:Within my county, pay for 1h of live music dropped from ~$30/h to ~$6/h.Average pay per streamed song dropped $0.03 cents to $0.007Cost to belong to proper songwriting and such unions went up from $160/yr to $780/yr---Note that over this period, online piracy plummeted and subscriptions to streaming services rose dramatically.Don't assume not pirating has improved things for musicians.
(DIR) Post #2308613 by emsenn@mastodon.social
2018-12-26T15:40:34Z
0 likes, 4 repeats
So, gotta pay ~$780 a year to be able to (with good protection) submit your songs to spotify and such. That's more than 111k Spotify plays to break even on *membership fees* ...assuming you get all the money yourself, but in practice usually 25% is eaten by other intersts, so we're up to 138k plays.Again, that's assuming you didn't pay anything for your instruments, training, recording, or production, and that you aren't paying yourself: 138,000 listens to not lose money sharing your music.
(DIR) Post #2310572 by emsenn@mastodon.social
2018-12-26T15:56:05Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
It's a weird place to be in: thanks to technology, anyone can record, produce, and distribute music cheaper than at all point in history.But... thanks to technology, you NEED to do all that to produce music, if you don't wanna get slapped by a record label, and because of the tie-in with labels and the law, it's not actually as cheap as it could be.So in reality, it's very cheap to make music, very cheap to receive music, but very expensive to distribute it, and that's... weird.
(DIR) Post #2310590 by emsenn@mastodon.social
2018-12-26T15:44:10Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
So, it's real cool that folk can stream music at such low cost to themselves. But I don't want anyone to ignore the effect that'll have on folks' incomes. And also, think about the effect this might have on musicians and the art they produce, when they've got to hit such high goals in order to break-even. They'll be more inclined to make music that ends up on playlists, since that's an easy way to boost listens.This isn't just a fear: it's already happening: https://thebaffler.com/downstream/streambait-pop-pelly
(DIR) Post #2310659 by djsumdog@hitchhiker.social
2018-12-26T17:57:21Z
2 likes, 1 repeats
@emsenn I hate renting music. I keep a 200GB sdcard in my phone with my entire music collection. I'll be honest that if it's a big name, I'll probably pirate it, but the majority of my music I buy at bars, straight from bands or off Bandcamp (which only take 15% compared to Apple/Amazon/G's ~33%).The best thing you can do is buy a CD in person and rip it. Artists buy those for ~$1 each. The online store money has to go to the label's costs first before the band will see a profit from it.
(DIR) Post #2310748 by DetectiveHyde@shigusegubu.club
2018-12-26T18:03:41.350868Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@djsumdog @emsenn I listened to a documentary last year about how fucking impossible it is for small acts to actually make money in the spotify era, so I'm glad people care about this issue.Fuck tech giants, fuck labels, fuck parasites and fuck platforms. Buy directly from the artists when you can, you're completely right.
(DIR) Post #2310977 by Alonealastalovedalongthe@toot.cafe
2018-12-26T18:05:50Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@emsennI think the issue boils down to centralization and the control that affords people who own the gates in and out.Thank heavens for bandcamp but what scares me is they are a bastion of culture and small artist support but they are still a business. Just because they aren't toxic now doesn't mean they won't be bought by someone who is (although the owners do seem very ideologically opinionated in a good way).Does spotify actually even make money for investors yet?
(DIR) Post #2310978 by emsenn@mastodon.social
2018-12-26T18:08:34Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Alonealastalovedalongthe I don't think we'll be able to escape the association of art and economics, but I agree that a big problem is centralization... or our shit attempt at it, that's left us with 3-4 "centralized" systems for distribution that all are slightly incompatible with the others, but all necessary.No, Spotify does not yet make money for investors and as I last heard, only has "monetizing purchased assets" left to try and do so - making money off the companies they bought already
(DIR) Post #2312787 by js0000@toot.cat
2018-12-26T17:20:13Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@emsenn or they just go completely undergroundwithout concern for paying customerskeeping their "day jobs"releasing irregularlyculture decentralizing rapidly(fediverse)🌐
(DIR) Post #2312788 by emsenn@mastodon.social
2018-12-26T17:24:46Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@js0000 "Sir, doctors can't earn enough to eat!""Ahh, don't worry, the only doctors left will be those with the privilege to explore it as a hobby and invest in it as a profession, and knowledge of its methods and means will fall out of the mainstream. It'll be great!"
(DIR) Post #2312801 by grainloom@cybre.space
2018-12-26T20:01:31Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@emsenn @js0000 Can't believe I have family members who say almost literally that. :blobscream:
(DIR) Post #2312842 by jc@scholar.social
2018-12-26T17:41:27Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@emsenn good points in that read. It's similar to the Netflix video culture machine--now pumping out films and series from "all over the world." They generally have formulaic Netflix or Hollywood style filming/scoring/acting no matter the country they purport to come from. Tiring.
(DIR) Post #2317626 by staticsafe@mastodon.zombocloud.com
2018-12-26T18:16:24Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@emsenn yep this is a common topic mentioned in r/hiphopheads when you see an hip-hop artist releasing an album that is optimised for playlist placement (latest Migos album as an example) and therefore increased play counts
(DIR) Post #2317627 by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
2018-12-26T21:56:07Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@staticsafe @emsenn I had been wondering for a few years whether this "tail wagging doggo" was going on across all music/creative content; I'd already noticed it when I was last buying EDM and DJ'ing a bit (in recent years more as an indoor hobby) and I'd noticed music becoming more formulaic (made mixing easy but everything began to sound all the same). Had thought it was just me becoming old, but clearly its a much wider phenomenon >>
(DIR) Post #2317628 by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
2018-12-26T22:01:40Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@staticsafe @emsenn another thing I notice increasingly is if I ask a younger person "what is your favourite music?", "what DJ's do you like?", "do you play an instrument or mix records or work with DAWs etc?" the answer is increasingly "no", or "not any more" (they might have done it in teens/early 20s but rarely have time/energy because of day jobs)BTW I'm in England on the border with Essex and near London and this area used to be a hub of creativity for decades..
(DIR) Post #2317629 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2018-12-26T23:06:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@vfrmedia Ditto. I see a lot of creativity by young & older alike in trad/folk music. Specifically in the Highlands & elsewhere in Scotland. Although there is increased demand for music of this type, it is still extremely difficult for musicians to make a full-time living. Most folkies fit their music around other jobs.Money is the problem, not creativity. Making music needs to pay enough that people can live & support a family. You know, the usual things.@staticsafe @emsenn
(DIR) Post #2317697 by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
2018-12-26T23:08:59Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@fitheach @staticsafe @emsenn I notice this too in the traditional music of the Netherlands, Germany and Austria (which I've become interested in through language learning). Performers who used to get in the charts and appear on national telly are increasingly fitting in the last few years of their careers in amongst day jobs or going back to them (I saw a video of a popular Austropop group and a lad commented "that singers my music teacher now at high school!"
(DIR) Post #2318049 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2018-12-26T23:20:21Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@vfrmedia I know quite a few performers who put up with years of travelling around in the back of transit vans going to gigs. Selling some concert tickets and CDs at the door. Lots of good times in the pub afterwards.Eventually though supporting families or getting a mortgage puts an end to that career choice. Time to get a "proper" job. The folkies who do make a career out of it often do so *because* they also tour Denmark, Germany, Switzerland etc.@staticsafe @emsenn
(DIR) Post #2319195 by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
2018-12-27T00:04:01Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@fitheach @staticsafe @emsenn I hear quite a few Scottish performers (old and new) on Dutch pirate radio, and I've noticed a lot more folk events get licensed elsewhere in Northern Europe. I think its harder for younger people though who like EDM rather than guitar pop as there seems to be a massive backlash against this music Europe wide (as its identified with people of lower socio-economic groups who might take drugs and indulge in riskier lifestyles, algorithms unearth stuff like this..)
(DIR) Post #2333037 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2018-12-27T11:02:51Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@vfrmedia There has been a bigger market for Scottish trad/folk in continental Europe for decades. The Battlefield Band or Silly Wizard would often have extensive European tours back in the 80s. Events like the Lorient festival helped build an audience and also provided a gig (tours could be built around festival gigs).Perhaps EDM works best with big events, but organising big events is more difficult (speculation). In comparison a folk event can work with a handful.@staticsafe @emsenn
(DIR) Post #2342474 by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
2018-12-27T18:54:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@fitheach EDM can work with relatively small events too; it is just the reputation associated with it that makes things difficult (noise, later opening hours, higher chance of Ambulance or other blue light services being requred etc..)I remember Silly Wizard from the theme to "Take the HIgh Road" but haven't heard much of their other material...@staticsafe @emsenn
(DIR) Post #2342592 by LittleDiamond@freespeechextremist.com
2018-12-27T18:56:30.789707Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@vfrmedia @emsenn @staticsafe @fitheach Did you know that gay men have a lifespan 30 years shorter than heterosexuals? Did you know that 78% of gay men have STDs? Did you know that 28% of gay men have 1000 or more sexual partners? Homosexuality is THREE TIMES more fatal than smoking!
(DIR) Post #2344722 by emsenn@mastodon.social
2018-12-27T18:57:42Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@vfrmedia @fitheach @staticsafe I don't have anything important to say here, but the noise scene (in my experience) is like what EDM would be like if it had the same roots as folk music, and it's a lovely atmosphere: softly lit living rooms with a dozen and half people, and loud crashing wubs and such.
(DIR) Post #2344723 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2018-12-27T20:28:15Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@emsenn > I don't have anything important to say here...If that was the criterion, 99% of the Fediverse content would be missing 😉 Right, I'm away to find out what "wubs" are.@vfrmedia @staticsafe
(DIR) Post #2344848 by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
2018-12-27T20:31:53Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@fitheach @emsenn @staticsafe A "wub" is exactly what you think it could sound like 😉