Half of Bandcamp staff laid off

[Linuxmusician01]

[...]
Really, what is the difference between Napster and Spotify? Spotify has a nicer UI, and supposedly Spotify is legal, which means record companies get the money, not artists.[...]

Ha ha. Never looked at it that way.

If we could only build a time machine and tell Metallica that (you know: they went in very aggressively against Napster). At the time I argued that the artists didn't get paid anyway because of a little something called "the cassette tape". I couldn't get into contact w/ Metallica for some reason but I bet you a million dollars that they even had an argument against that. Yeah, I know: supposedly a few dollarcents per cassette went to the artists or record companies. A friend on mine copied his CD of Metallica's Black Album to tape so I guess I was what Spotify is now: pay peanuts and that to the record company not to the artist.

BTW Still got Metallica's entire ouvre on the SD card of my mobile phone. Via the Pirate Bay. Will never pay for Metallica: hypocrites.

I do go to bands live though. Small ones, like I wrote. I hate stadium shows and big festivals. So via a "detour" I guess I personally I support starting bands more than the average Spotifier.

Nothing's changed if you ask me.

[sunrat]

There was a campaign many many years ago with the tag "Home taping is killing music". Last I checked, music is still alive.
Today's home taping is pirate downloads via torrent sites or others. One could argue these are actually promotion avenues for music. Personally I have spent quite a few bucks on music for which my first encounter was some downloads, whether going to the bands' live shows, buying merch, CDs or legit downloads such as from Bandcamp (artists I never would have heard of otherwise such as Hania Rani, Carbon Based Lifeforms, even Sigur Ros). Most of them would have earned more for that than ever from Spotify et al.

[glowrak guy]

Last I checked, music is still alive.

Indeed, Taylor Swift just released a redo of a song she did in 2014, got a million purchases (not streams) in the first hours
of availibility: $$$ ka-chingggg $$$

I've never knowingly heard, or sought out her music, but as a businesswoman, she has clearly found her niche,
and the smaller niches orbiting it. That's where she focusses her musical effort, and also her public appearances
are likely orchestrated with hardcore fans in mind. Business 101, regardless of what is being sold.

To be fair, checking on Bandcamp, I found someone has made a compendium of some of her Eras tour songs, listening now,
first time knowing who is who with Taylor, it's what I would call 'romantic pop', well mixed, good players, some melodies,
and she has a pleasant voice, kept in range, not pushing beyond capabilities for regrettable theatrical stylistics.
This also means a thousand girlbands and female vocalists have abundant doable cover material! And of course. a gazillion
young girls can fearlessly sing along.

Cool that she's getting her masters in-house, and improving them!

https://josephjamesmashups.bandcamp.com ... as-megamix

[glowrak guy]

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. That's what the system is set up to do.

The situation with streaming was bad enough that the UK Government set up a commitee to look into it.

To summarise -- it shafts artists and makes songwriting a job that pays below minimum wage. From the musician's side there is the Broken Record campaign that has proposed solutions to make streaming fairer for artists.

A long informative article, from Feb 2023:

https://www.musicradar.com/news/inside- ... -streaming

This question was posed in the article:
"The debate as to whether equitable remuneration should apply to streaming, cuts to the philosophical core of what music streaming actually is, asking whether streaming a song on Spotify constitutes a sale (equivalent to the purchase of a record), a rental, a broadcast, or something different altogether that requires separate legal provisions."

Musicians waiting for their respective governments to bail them out, are in for a long wait, only getting tax-payer funded studies leading to more studies etc etc. One can only hope that WHO, CDC, DEA, and UN type regulations won't ever take over the arts. The Broken Record people should focus on educating musicians, and create their own platforms with larger potential rewards for the art creators. An expensive undertaking! It is clear that in 2023 and beyond, musicians will have to work harder/longer, participate in ever more media, define their market/demographics, have a website with physical and digital product distribution at the ready, self-promote locally, while upping the quality of their art. And moving house near enough to a big media center, to enable making industry contacts, could be crucial.

In the USA, 'the poor' who are actually extremely well off by global standards, get poorer by failing to gain and use a marketable skill, followed by
bad lifestyle choices, bad budget choices, and bad health choices, including substance abuse/addiction.

Then 'the poor' want the taxpayers to bail them out, with states, counties, and cities each offering an array of perpetual bureaucrat-stocked welfare programs, beyond the Federal behemoths, which themselves are all FLAT BROKE, the country being [T}trillions of dollars in debt, floating themselves play-money loans just to pay the interest, and keep the lights on. (the next money-printing fiasco is due November 17th )

[Linuxmusician01]

[...]
It is clear that in 2023 and beyond, musicians will have to work harder/longer, participate in ever more media, define their market/demographics, have a website with physical and digital product distribution at the ready, self-promote locally, while upping the quality of their art.
[...]

Times have changed. One can unfortunately not earn a living anymore by releasing an album/singles like the Beatles and the Stones did. Your album is an extra (as in: freebie) next to performing live. I like what that screamish guy from 'SpectreSoundStudios' says about that in his video's. He's a small/small-time producer who you can hire to record your stuff. He sees more upcoming/struggling bands than most record companies. One may not like how he screams and shouts but the substance of his arguments in the video "13 Reasons why recording an album is a terrible idea" I found to be enlightening:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fM5u33 ... undStudios

BTW He also has a video called "11 Reasons why making an album is a great idea" and IMHO that comes down to: "It's great publicity but don't expect to earn any money on it.".

Taylor Swift is not an example on how you can make it in the music biz.

[merlyn]

A long informative article, from Feb 2023:

https://www.musicradar.com/news/inside- ... -streaming

This question was posed in the article:
"The debate as to whether equitable remuneration should apply to streaming, ...

WTF mate? Really, that's a debate is it? You're saying that corporations get to not equitably remunerate musicians because ... what? Because they have more money than musicians and can afford more lawyers? Thanks for supporting musicians.

Musicians waiting for their respective governments to bail them out, are in for a long wait, ...

It doesn't look like you read anything at the link. It's not in any way about the government giving musicians a bail out. It's about changing the law so that streaming is fairer. And the government has found issues with streaming under UK law. OK, so you want to feel good about yourself because you're ideologically opposed to taking money from the government for whatever reason, but I can tell you rich folks have no problem taking money from anywhere. The snowflake banks said exactly "Aw boo-hoo, bail me out gubbamint" in 2008, the government did, and that's all fine apparently.

One can only hope that WHO, CDC, DEA, and UN type regulations won't ever take over the arts. The Broken Record people should focus on educating musicians, and create their own platforms with larger potential rewards for the art creators.

Music itself is unregulated. Well, it isn't really if you want to make mega bucks out of it. Making mega bucks means the music in question has to be fairly shit. Without regulation of the financial framework around music corporations abuse the system. I don't think the Broken Record campaign will be particularly interested in your advice, but you could try them.

In the USA, 'the poor' who are actually extremely well off by global standards, get poorer by failing to gain and use a marketable skill, followed by
bad lifestyle choices, bad budget choices, and bad health choices, including substance abuse/addiction.

That doesn't really hang together, does it? You seem to be saying that the poor deserve to be poor. Is that really what you want to say? This also implies that the rich deserve to be rich. Some may. Some inherited it, do they deserve it? Some rich people are crooks, do they deserve it? In the same way not all poor people are the same, and have different reasons for being in the circumstances they are in.

At the moment the labour market is a buyer's market. Surprise, surprise, that suits the rich who can pay people minimum wage. There are more people than jobs, making it a buyer's market. Let's say poor people did get a better job. How many better jobs are there? Are there enough for everyone to move up the financial scale? Obviously not. And who would do the jobs lower down the financial scale? There's poor people because the system needs poor people to do low paying jobs. Increasing wages for these jobs would be a way to alleviate poverty, but the corporations won't like that, as they're kind of mean, and higher wages would eat into their profits.

Then 'the poor' want the taxpayers to bail them out, with states, counties, and cities each offering an array of perpetual bureaucrat-stocked welfare programs, beyond the Federal behemoths, which themselves are all FLAT BROKE, the country being [T}trillions of dollars in debt, floating themselves play-money loans just to pay the interest, and keep the lights on. (the next money-printing fiasco is due November 17th )

The banks wanted the taxpayer to bail them out, and that was all fine. A ridiculous amount of national debt is often floated as a potential downside of socialism. Well, you may be surprised but the US is a socialist country. It's socialism for the rich. Tax breaks, government contracts ... all this taxpayer's money goes to the rich. Oh, and that trillion dollar bail out of the banks. That didn't go to poor people, that went to rich people.

Blaming the people at the bottom sounds like something that would be heard on Fox News. Let me assure you that it's not the people at the bottom who are a problem -- it's the people at the top.

[ForrestH]

¹ How the national debt works.

[glowrak guy]

WTF mate? Really, that's a debate is it? You're saying

No, not me saying, I quoted a salient point raised in the article. Please read s-l-o-w-e-r, and don't put words in my mouth.

Also, I have never stated support for bank bailouts, or corporate bailouts. Please don't imply that. Your views on socialism for the rich, seem very accurate, as I see it. It's been hard to get the congressional villains to self-inpose term limits, so we have many oligarchs there with powerful positions in Congress. Mitch McConnel's wife, and Nancy Pelosi's husband, for examples, have very fat accounts. Some suspect that spouses are creating and steering beneficial legislation, and whispering insider-trading data. The truth will leak out. That pathetic pair alternate between majority and minority congressional leader positions based on the current congressional membership, while their spouses incomes blossom like shrooms in a cow pasture.

Also, I distinguish between the 3rd world's poor, often helpless, and 'the elite netflix-iPhone poor' in the USA. I live in a metro area of around of 2 million people. Despite a record number of job openings, we have a record number of deadbeats, a record murder rate, record assault rate, record armed-robbery rate. Record car theft and burglary. All the mass transit vehicles have been found to have fentanyl and meth residue. Drug overdoses are off the charts. But an hours drive east, west, or north, and the world is very different. Low crime, low stress, and peaceful sleep.
(Going south for an hour leads to the state gubbamint city, with it's own sad issues)

In the west coast USA states, California, Oregon, and Washington, one of the biggest industries is 'helping' the poor. But that quickly became a self perpetuating oligarchy fund, stuffed with well paid bureaucrats having no desire to put themselves out of business, by actuating policies and programs that actually help or solve the various issues. Some perspective, California is the 7th largest economy in the WORLD, so we're talking $$$Billions$$$ of tax payer monies every year, squandered, that maybe could have been spent on the arts, if the taxes were lowered appropriately.
Citizens are forced to beef up home and business security to avoid becoming a bleeding statistic, be it bleeding blood, or loss of business or personal property:

https://guitar.com/news/shop-asks-for-p ... on-camera/

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/thre ... olin-Store

Cheers

[glowrak guy]

Taylor Swift is not an example on how you can make it in the music biz.

??? As a child theatre student, she had little success, As a pre-teen, she wrote poetry, even entered contests,
and won one of them. She won a talent show singing a country song, and was noticed by a star, and got to open
for one of his shows.

Next, she caught the guitar flu, learned some chords, and began singing her poems, and shaping them into songs.
Still just a young girl. But the family saw potential, and in full support, moved to Nashville, 'the proximity principal' wearing boots!
Where at least one star had already shown interest in her potential. The parents were successful career people,
so money was not an issue. Taylor began doing the legwork as a teen, making the rounds of the Nashville scene, playing her music,
and was again noticed, which eventually led to her first album. She hit the ground running with a skilled co-writer, and was soon surrounded by excellent talented co-workers, has never slowed down, gained a decade+ of wisdom*, is staying on top of things, and is a great example
of being laser focussed on achieving one's dreams.

• I do think that her soft-porn concert performances should be shelved. Probably highlighting that in her shows is a break-even scenario
  financially, at best, that won't help later in life if seeking a healthy marriage bond. *
  Cheers

[Linuxmusician01]

Taylor Swift is not an example on how you can make it in the music biz.

??? As a child theatre student, she had little success, As a pre-teen, she wrote poetry, even entered contests,
and won one of them. She won a talent show singing a country song, and was noticed by a star, and got to open
for one of his shows.

Next, she caught the guitar flu, learned some chords, and began singing her poems, and shaping them into songs.
Still just a young girl. But the family saw potential, and in full support, moved to Nashville, 'the proximity principal' wearing boots!
Where at least one star had already shown interest in her potential. The parents were successful career people,
so money was not an issue. Taylor began doing the legwork as a teen, making the rounds of the Nashville scene, playing her music,
and was again noticed, which eventually led to her first album. She hit the ground running with a skilled co-writer, and was soon surrounded by excellent talented co-workers, has never slowed down, gained a decade+ of wisdom*, is staying on top of things, and is a great example
of being laser focussed on achieving one's dreams.

• I do think that her soft-porn concert performances should be shelved. Probably highlighting that in her shows is a break-even scenario
  financially, at best, that won't help later in life if seeking a healthy marriage bond. *
  Cheers

I'm afraid I painted the wrong picture. I agree with you that Taylor Swift is talented. However, just like the Beatles ain't no example on how to make it in the music biz anymore (unfortunately) and Sly Stallone ain't no example on how to make it in the film biz dear Taylor Swift ain't no example either. They are the tip of the iceberg.

If you want to become an actor or a musician do not take The Beatles or Taylor Swift as an example on how all your talent and hard work is gonna pay off. As a matter of fact the large majority of artists, musicians and actors struggle to earn their daily bread. I don't think that that is fair, but it's the hard reality. The actors and writers in Hollywood do not strike for nothing every now and then. If you want to become a professional musician then I think one had better look for an example among one's acquaintances and ask how to "do" it and if its worth the trouble. Taylor Swift's success cannot be achieved, nor half of it.

[merlyn]

@glowrak guy You seem to be describing the breakdown of society. American society is falling apart, but it's still possible to get an Amazon Prime delivery the next day. That's some pretty messed up priorities.

BTW low taxes isn't going to fix this, even though low taxes appear to be your preferred solution to ... well, just about everything.

[glowrak guy]

There is a local group here helping addicts and people homeless for other reasons, that has a proven 65% success ratio
in the first run, and some that went back to the streets, do return again for another try. Costing a fraction of the money
used by gubbamint entities, that have far lower success rates, if any can be detected at all.

Taxes wisely spent are fine by me. Sadly, it is rarely the case around here. Office-holding grifters, entrenched for decades,
regardless of party affiliation, must be exposed and voted out of office. Not easy when the cronies they enriched return the favors
by funding their re-election videos and radio ads.

Lower taxes just means people keep more of the money they worked for, to be used as they choose, without bureaucrats
having a vote in the decisions. People feeling they haven't paid enough taxes, are always free to donate to their various governments.
Just mail them a check whenever the guilt overcomes...

The breakdown of American society is ongoing, and would continue without the Amazon culture and it's machine.
Wealthy societies become fat and complacent, the morals and work-ethic are eroded by constant pleasure-seeking,
and eventually, national defense suffers to the point where some power feels the need to grab the power and wealth
by crime or war, civil, or international. The clock is ticking on the USA.
Cheers

[glowrak guy]

the Beatles ain't no example on how to make it in the music biz anymor...Taylor Swift's success cannot be achieved, nor half of it.

I'm not a big Beatles music fan, (I do like some of The Wilburys songs) but experts I respect have said that they are perfectionists extraordinaire, extremely skilled, with a work ethic to back it up, starting in their teens if not earlier.

Decades later, teen-age Taylor, work ethic in tow, energizes her way into a studio, and maximizes the results.

I think it's important that each person defines what success actually is in their own situation,
rather than counting the platinum records or streams of 'the stars', and lamenting whatever the gap may be in between.

A decade from now, there will be someone refusing all the defeatist mentality, working their craft to the max,
and enjoying great results. But hopefully many more will work/play in peace, within their own definitions of greatness.

Working hard with what we've got, and sacrificing pleasures for practice, will serve the quest for success well.
Being well positioned geographically, and on the net, can be crucial. Being "in the right place at the right time",
is difficult without first being in the right place. Fire up the moving van? Maybe. Maybe not.
Should the right time arrive, presenting enough musical excellence to be memorable, goes a long way to fulfilling
the second part of that old saying.
Cheers

[merlyn]

... The breakdown of American society is ongoing, and would continue without the Amazon culture and it's machine. ...

Recently I have heard people say "It's all going to shit", "Everything is broken", "The wheels are coming off" and similar ways of saying that there are a lot of things going wrong. It's true, there are a lot of things going wrong. But there are some things that are not going wrong, like Amazon, and if you look at what's not going wrong, that's where the power lies.

I would suggest that the availability of as much mass produced Chinese crap as you want on a next day basis is part of the problem. It's so short term and profit driven. Society can fall apart as long as people keep buying stuff, making the rich richer and the poor poorer.

[glowrak guy]

The Amazon warehouse workers in my area earn $40 thousand dollars a year, not counting overtime. It's hard busy work not suited
for lazy people. Amazon delivery drivers are also paid in that range. At that pay scale, four poor people could team up, share a living space, and in four years, buy a nice house in cash, and then with no rent payment, in two more years, buy another house in cash, a no-brainer wealth-building process.
Some family oriented cultures have similar traditional processes. Teamwork for success.

Some portion of that 'mass produced...crap' is in the form of daily necessities, the manufacture of which has been outsourced to many countries
where wages are very low in relatively high-tech workplaces. High USA corporate taxes, and insurmountable regulations, along with plenty of
old-fashioned greed, fueled that transition. The first thing our current sock-puppet president did was to shut down our national energy sector, to the benefit of corrupt evil dictatorships around the world, (for which he is paid handsomely via an array of once secret money laundering shell-corporations) while launching massive inflation at home, and minimizing the ability of enterpreneurs to manufacture necessities (and crap) within our borders, with decent wages.

Remembering that all this mess is floated on (T)trillion$ of dollars in debt, the USA gubbamint is FLAT BROKE, (as are many foolish citizens) and will come crying to print the next round of play-money bailouts on November 17th.