Support New Horn Recordings

A link to an article on the Techdirt site, “RIAA Accounting: Why Even Major Label Musicians Rarely Make Money From Album Sales” caught my attention as it lays out some truth clearly on the earnings of musicians in relation to recordings. In short, they don’t make much. They cite a statistic that “for every $1,000 sold, the average musician gets $23.40.” The longer version is not much better, and it relates to how the contracts are laid out and expenses recorded in the music industry. The full article lays it all out pretty clearly but cutting to the chase again,

Going back ten years ago, Courtney Love famously laid out the details of recording economics, where the label can make $11 million… and the actual artists make absolutely nothing.

…huge megastars like Lyle Lovett have pointed out that he sold 4.6 million records and never made a dime from album sales. It’s why the band 30 Seconds to Mars went platinum and sold 2 million records and never made a dime from album sales. You hear these stories quite often.

The element I would like Horn Matters readers to ponder is that of new horn recordings. These are done on much lower budgets, of course, and even with the poor economics of the endeavor a few do keep coming out. In the best scenario of independent release and such the net profit will be low. But, as noted in the same article,

…take a look at the models that some musicians have adopted by going around the major label system. They may not gross as much without the major record label marketing push behind them, but they’re netting a whole lot more, and as any business person will tell you (except if that business person is a major label A&R guy trying to sign you to a deal), the net amount is all that matters.

When you see something new and interesting from a horn artist be sure to consider buying it, especially independent releases, as a few sales will certainly help the artists get closer to the breakeven point on the project and will generate ideas toward future projects. It is highly likely that they have put personal funds on the line to bring the recording to you because it is a project that they believed in; they will appreciate your support.