i just took a look at Billboard 200 for w/o 10/22. Of the 200 albums, guess how many are AT LEAST distibuted by a major label. Gwan… 200. Every single one. So why is everybody telling me they're over? Does an occassional aberrant band who makes it without getting into bed with one make a movement, why isn't it visible via sales. And if sales isn't the barometer, what is?
In researching a post I didn't actually write a month or so back, I contacted some really small indies I am friendly with and I asked them how much money they were making from Spotify. Not only did they not know how much money wthey were making, THEY DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE ON SPOTIFY.
Hows is this possible.
There are huge "indie distributors" at least partially owned by the major labels. The indies don't maintain strict control of manufacturing or distributing, they farm it all.
The difference between the indies today and the indiesfrom the early 50s thru the early 70s, is that those indies either cracked the charts as real indies with their own distribution of were ethnic (aka black) record labels making a living because the majors hadn't wised up yet,
Today, the indies, the Sub-Pops and Merges, handle the management of the product but not the delivery. Days of warehouses filled with CDs (as Paul Finn detailed to me here, years ago) is over. And there are deals within deals to get the product where it needs to and that isn't necessarily to stores at all but to middle men like Amazon and mp3 distributors like ITunes who have to negotiate product place with these middlemen.
This Bob Lefsetz approved daydream where DIY rock stars with abilities do their 10,000 hours, bypass the man, and do it themselves IS JUST THAT. Once in a blue moon, somebody will give away music and make the money in sold out concerts but really, that ain't a paradigm for success.
The majors are the mafia, they have their hand in all aspects of the business and people who tell you otherwise are suspect or stupid and probably both.
And I haven't even mentioned music publishing where the majors are the only game in town and when you see how they end up selling MI? It will be in two halfs, one of which will be SOLELY MUSIC PUBLISHING.
Cmon, guys naivite is very nice but not very helpful.