- Doom for Record Companies?

Where do musicians go who are no longer wanted by their record companies? Years ago, they just rode off into obscurity, never to be heard from again. Where do new artists go to get heard? It used to be, they would play the club circuit for however long it took, if ever, to finally get discovered by some record executive. What about established superstars whose contracts have expired, and want more control over their own music, and a bigger share of the profits? The answer to all of the above, is that they now take their music directly to the public over the Internet. Artists are establishing their own labels and selling their songs on places like iTunes where almost any artist is welcome. Going independent and cutting out the record companies, is far more lucrative for the artists, who not only keep the rights to their master recordings, but increase their profit margin on sales from $1 to $2 a record to $5 to $6. Quite a hefty increase going to the artist rather than the record company. I would say that in itself is quite an incentive to go independent. You can sell less but still make more. Having total creative control over your music and not having to answer to a record executive is yet another big selling point for many artists.

Sounds great, but like anything else there is a downside. For newcomers and unknowns, the record companies do offer a powerful marketing and promotion machine to get your music heard on the radio and MTV. Consumers are less likely to download music of unknown artists. There is hope however. When people talk, interest is generated and music sells. People are talking all the time on the Internet and places like MYSPACE.COM are the new sounding boards to generate interest in all kinds of unknown artists. With enough buzz you won't remain unknown for long. This is quite a change however, from the traditional way of having the record company find you shelf space and get your record into the stores.

Many people believe that digital music over the Internet is coming into it's own and will be how all records are sold in the future, thus eliminating the major record companies. True or not, there is a definite shifting of power from the record companies back to the artists. Some big names are already testing the waters and going solo. Music giants Hall Oates are releasing their first Christmas album on their own, under their 3 year old U-Watch label. Their deal with music giant Trans World will give them prominent displays of their CD in places like Sam Goody and F.Y.E., all don on their own without the help of a record company. Other big names like Jimmy Buffett, Hanson, Motley Crue and Barenaked Ladies are already on their own. Two of the biggest music acts of all time, Garth Brooks and The Eagles have also parted ways with their record companies to go independent. The Eagles have an exclusive deal with the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart to sell their CD's.

Many more artists are expected to follow suit when their contracts expire. Letting the public decide what to buy and who to listen to, is a novel idea whose time has come. For too many years this decision has been made for us by the Record Companies. It's got to be better than the current corrupt system of favoritism and payoffs to get your music on the air. Hopefully, once that is eliminated, talent will once again become the deciding factor in what music we listen to. For too many years we've been forced to buy expensive albums with only 1 or 2 decent songs on the whole thing while the rest were just nothing more than filler. Now artists can cut down on the number of songs and only put their best stuff out there. It's got to be better than the current system. The consumer wins and the artist wins when your providing what is asked for. Either way, the artists and record companies are being shifted in a new direction. It will be interesting to see if they can work together to make things better, or, whether the digital revolution on the Internet will be the death toll for the record company as we know it today.

THOMAS BRENNAN